Disclaimer: Silver's boyfriend told her he wasn't getting us Yugioh for
Christmas. So, of course, we still don't own it. (Golden blames Silver's
crushes on Yami Bakura and Seto.)
Dedicated to Mr. T, as normal, as well as to Silver's little brother, because he WOULD get us Yugioh for Christmas if he wasn't broke. (As well as a meta-physical being. Gotta love him! ^_~)We put Seto-Kaiba Red Archery Girl's site url in the endnotes in the last chapter, but they didn't show. You can get to it through the link in her profile. This chapter should be a little more structured than the last one, since we have something of a plot for it. This part of the story will delve a bit into who are, in the series, the three Kaiba brothers. Keep in mind that Noa is older than Seto, even though in the VR Noa arc in the series he appears to be a young boy, here he is a young adult. (Who occasionally ACTS like a young boy. 0_o) Also:
BOOYAH!! All the Big 5 have names now! ^_^ Crump, Gansley, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Leichter. (We happen to know Leichter's name is spelled that way. We had the closed captioning on.)
Seto Kaiba Red Archery Girl: Hee, you have the same favorite parts as Golden does! Silver's was the "duel."
Lady of the Thread, we agree that no one can get Weevil and Rex to act normal. ^_~ That's why Seto called poor Mako's efforts "futile." (Golden feels kind of sorry for him.)
HCG: We've seen his name spelled both Noa and Noah, and we've seen people who yell at each other over the way his name's spelled, (though in English they probably spell it Noah) We kind of get the impression, though, that in Japanese it's spelled Noa. (shrugs) We don't think the Japanese really have the silent "h." Plus we just happen to think it looks cooler without it. In the end, either way works. And yeah, Kekatsu is so smooth he scares Yami. ^_~ You know THAT'S something. But who and what Asaka is just might surprise you....
GriffenFire: Don't worry, you'll see what Asaka is. We made it ambigious on purpose. As to Noa and his big words... Does NO ONE read the notes?! Besides, he was one of those eerily intelligent little kids, like Golden was. She keeps forgetting that your average child under ten doesn't normally use words more than three or four syllables long in our other stories, and people kept getting after her for it back in freshman English.
The Mad Tortoise: You've made our day. Thanks.
Tuulikki: ^_^ Yeah, anyone we haven't gotten in will appear eventually. It helps with plot.
Mara: TADA! Continued!
Namonaki Pharaoh:(if you've gotton up to this chapter) We like you already. :)
Chapter 11: Guess Who?
/The whip cut into Seto's arm as he tried to protect his face. He yipped with the pain, feeling tears well up, and grabbed his bare, bleeding forearm.
"Oh, listen to the little dog whimper," Kaiba taunted, kicking Seto to the floor. He landed on his face as Kaiba raised to strike again.
Seto managed to look up, trying to figure out where his knife and handgun had landed, but they were too far away. The whip slashed across his back, cutting open the cloth.
"Look at how weak you are!" Kaiba clucked. "And Mokuba thinks so highly of you, too!"
"Shut. Up!" Seto hissed as the whip struck again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you! What did you say?" The whip rose.
"SHUT UP!!" Seto screamed, rolling over as the whip whistled toward him... and catching it on one of his spiked cuffs. He jerked at it, but it wouldn't come out of Kaiba's hand.
"Not bad," Kaiba said, sounding astonished. He pulled on the whip, which was tangled in the left wrist guard's studs, yanking Seto up towards him.
He was about to catch Seto in the jaw, but the boy saw it coming and drove his right cuff into Kaiba's chin instead. Kaiba stumbled backward, letting go of the whip, and Seto ripped it free and threw it away, mostly useless.
Kaiba rubbed his chin, wiping away the miniscule beads of blood. "Impressive," he told Seto. "Not many manage to draw blood fighting me." Seto growled animalistically and charged.
Kaiba stepped out of his way. "Both of your parents are dead, aren't they?"
"What do you care?" Seto demanded, voice hoarse from the tears of pain.
Kaiba lifted a chair. "I would sit down a moment, if I were you, my boy." He threw the heavy chair at Seto, who dashed away from it. It crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces.
Seto backed away. "Why are you trying to have a conversation with me?"
Kaiba picked up a piece of chair and advanced, wielding it like a club. "You're certainly a better fighter than I first realized," he said. "And your brother's accounts of how smart you are don't seem to be all hero worship..."
"Why are you even bothering to talk to me?" Seto asked, bewildered. He dodged a swing of the "club." Kaiba grinned as he saw the confusion in the teenager's blue eyes.
"If you're as intelligent as you're supposed to be, reason shouldn't be above you, my boy."
"Reason?" Seto demanded incredulously. "My father was killed by Queliyg, my brother has been tortured by the pet of one, and you want me to listen to reason?"
Kaiba's eyes darkened. "I'm not their pet, Seto. Listen to me. You and I, we could drive them away! Kill them all, if it's revenge you want!"
"You've been kissing up to them ever since they landed! I know, my father told me how you helped them subjugate all of us!" Seto's cheeks were wet with furious tears. "You wouldn't get rid of them, you just want me where you can keep an eye on me, and nobody else'd be better off with you in charge, anyway!!"
"Seto," Kaiba said, tossing the chunk of wood aside, obviously to gain a little trust. "Seto, think of what I'm offering you here. It's more than an alliance, Seto. It's a home. I couldn't take your father's place, but I'm willing-- and offering to take his role."
Seto glared at him. "What kind of father would hurt his sons?"
"Are you refusing?" Seto nodded. "Even on Mokuba's behalf? Maybe he would accept me as a father." There was a little faltering, but then the boy strengthened again.
"You hurt him, too. That's worse than hurting me."
"Oh, how sweet, Seto. But I can hurt him more, too, if I don't get my way," Kaiba threatened softly. The teenager's eyes widened, and suddenly Kaiba saw something to fear in them.
"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN MY BROTHER!" Seto screamed, slamming into Kaiba and steering him toward the panoramic window.
Glass shattered./
Noa rewound the footage again, unable to tear his eyes away. His father... He remembered the day he'd been put into Ryin's care, the cold look in his father's eyes. His father... What did he know of fatherhood, anyway? Even before the Queliyg came, his father had never been much of a good father...
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Now he was thinking like Ryin! Not that it should surprise him, considering who had taken care of him the past nine years. Still, Gozaburo was his FATHER...
But the little boy his father had beat, just to be told things, the teenager who almost died in the name of his brother's safety... Could Noa overlook Kaiba's treatment of them? Or the offer, it had almost seemed like he'd wanted this Seto to take Noa's place.
Jealousy flared up for a moment, then was replaced with pity, as he watched the boy cry in pain. Watching his tears of anger, Noa had to wonder what kind of father Seto's had been. Probably one Seto had been proud to have. And according to Mokuba's interrogation, he'd been lost very long ago... Noa suddenly felt sick reading the words, knowing how the knowledge had been gained... but it could not be taken back, and he already knew it word for word. Activating another screen, he found himself gazing on Serenity Wheeler's face.
She had made this all happen.
Punishment was in order.
---
The girl in question was currently following her older brother through a busy street. Joey had insisted on taking her along for three reasons: Tristan, Duke, and Seto, the last of whom he felt Serenity needed to quit "pestering." (And the first two of whom he felt needed to quit pestering Serenity.)
Not that Serenity minded. She had spent most of her time since her liberation in Sub-Town, and it had been getting a little old. She liked the open air, the crowds, watching the selling and buying (although some merchants were dealing in human or elvin stock, and neither of them liked that much) and being with her brother. She didn't know exactly what it was Joey was planning on doing, but she had a feeling it was entirely to get her outside for a while.
The pair wandered up and down several alleys and streets for a while, both trying to reimagine what it had been like nine years before.
But when Joey realized they were being followed, the peace cut short. He dragged her off the main street and into a doorway.
"You see dat guy there?" he asked her in a hush, pointing out a non- descript streetie.
"Yeah, what about him?"
Joey glared at the streetie, who was watching them. "He's been behind us for the past three blocks. I t'ink somebody's payin' him to tail us."
Serenity looked back at him, rather fearfully now. "What do we do?" she murmured.
Joey gave her a measured once-over. "I don' wanna split up, not with you. Ya don't know your way around too well, and I don't want to think about if he followed you and not me. It makes more sense to try an' lose him, but he's been keeping on us pretty well."
"Maybe you two shouldn't have just gone off like that without telling anyone," Kel's voice came from beside them.
Both teenagers yelped and turned in the direction of the voice, Joey instinctively pulling Serenity away from the elf. Kel laughed.
"Don't DO that!!" Joey reprimanded him in a harsh whisper. "T'ink you can help out here?"
Kel nodded, a grin on his face. "Just you watch." With that, he walked away from them, right up to the streetie, and threw an arm around the startled man's shoulders.
[Did you know your zipper is down?] he asked him in elvish. Of course, the poor man had no idea of what he just said, and tried to pull away, but Kel wouldn't allow him to go. [I said, did you know your zipper was down?] It was true, but Kel suspected that the zipper might not work, anyway.
Joey took Serenity's wrist and pulled her off into the crowd while Kel spoke to the man. Joey couldn't understand a word of it, but from the way Kel was laughing he knew he probably didn't want to hear about it.
Quickly, the two tried to melt into the crowd, to get get back to Sub- Town as soon as possible. They turned into an alley, Joey telling his sister it would be a perfect shortcut.
A Queliyg soldier stood in the path.
---
Yugi wandered the streets of Domino, hoping to run into Joey and Serenity and praying he or Kel found them before someone else did. Max had pointed out, on the notice of their absence, that Serenity could be recognized and that there had probably been security cams taking images during the raid on Kaiba's estate. Suddenly he heard a shriek and the crowd began to melt towards the walls.
_That was Serenity!!_ Yugi realized, standing behind a dumpster.
A few moments passed before he saw them. A huge Queliyg, shaking the earth with each calculated step, trudged silently down the street. Joey was under one arm, his sister under the other.
The blonde was yelling a string of explitives at the alien, who simply looked down at him and said, in a heavy accent: "No speak, human." Serenity was heeding her order, biting down on her own hand with a wide- eyed expression.
Yugi stared in horror and awe at the creature threatening his friends. _Yugi,_ Yami muttered, _I think I should take over here._ With a nod, Yugi aquiesced.
Yami considered the soldier only a moment. What had worked once should work again. "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" he whispered....
With a proud roar, the dragon appeared above, spreading its azure wings. The soldier's head snapped upward to stare at it, her black eyes widening. Yami grinned.
Without skipping a beat, the soldier dropped Joey and whipped out a huge cannonlike weapon of a size equivalent to a bazooka. Joey gaped up at the impressive gun even as he shuffled away.
Everyone but the soldier herself winced at the thundercrack as she fired at the dragon. Serenity yipped.
Puzzled by the dragon being unharmed, the soldier cocked her head to one side. Yami was startled as he realized she wasn't in the least afraid of it. She looked down at Serenity, an odd expression in her eyes. Finally, she simply dropped the girl. Turning, she cocked her gun at Joey.
"JOEY!!!" Serenity shrieked, jumping to her feet and attacking the alien. It was like a mouse charging an ostrich. Reflexively, Yami sent the Winged Guardian of the Fortress into a screaming swoop, terrifying Serenity and recalling the Queliyg's attention. Not bothering with her cannon, which probably took too much time, she fired a volley of burning plasma from a smaller weapon mounted on her other wrist.
"RUN!" Yami yelled, coming from behind the dumpster. Galvanized, Serenity ran into a nearby alley, while Joey, shocked by his appearance, ran toward him instead. "RUN," Yami repeated when his friend reached him, grabbing his arm and dragging him in the direction Serenity was running.
The dragon, meanwhile, had reached the Queliyg and vanished around her in a blue smoke. She sneezed, ruffling her yellow feathers. Looking around to see her quarry vanished, she cursed and pressed a button on her battlesuit's collar.
I she chirped in Queliyg.
the barely-accented human voice replied. I have not.
---
Serenity was still running, her heart pounding in her ears. She didn't have a clue as to what had just happened, but she knew she'd never seen anything like it. And had Yugi been a part of it? Maybe it was part of Seto's holgraphic system.
She was running out of breath now. Maybe just a little farther, and--
A young man stepped into her path. Slamming into his chest, Serenity rebounded to the ground, scraping her elbows.
Panting, she stared up at him. Aqua-green hair hung in his endless blue eyes, which fixed her with a stern, somehow dangerous glare. About nineteen or twenty, he stood tall and proud, reminding her stunningly of Seto. His clothing, however, really struck her. Metal bands secured the silken sleeves to his wrists, the dark purple cloth making up the majority of his dress. A silver belt helped the cloth to better outline his thin, muscular frame. He wore high boots of black leather (an unusual material to possess in these times) and a black collar outlined in gold encircled his neck, seperate from his other clothes.
"Serenity Wheeler," he stated, never taking his eyes off hers, "You're coming with me." With this, he pulled a small device from a pouch on his belt and pressed a switch on it, aiming at her.
Her eyes shut off.
---
When Joey and Yami Yugi didn't find Serenity on the surface, the two headed for Sub-Town. "She probably headed for the nearest underground entrance anyway, Joey," Yugi reassured his friend, but the taller boy didn't look very reassured.
"She doesn't KNOW anything about the streets, Yugi," he said, shaking his head. "I hate to think what she might run into."
Of course, Serenity wasn't in Sub-Town, just as Joey had feared. Never was a girl so worried over. Joey and Yugi had a search party together pretty quickly. Tristan and Duke volunteered almost instantly, and Seto wasn't very far behind them once Mokuba reminded him of what they owed her. (Although he gave his brother VERY strict orders to remain behind.) Mai of course, had been Serenity's friend and cellmate for several years; she insisted on going, and both Téa and Kel would follow wherever Yugi led.
Bakura elected to stay behind, so that, as he whispered to Yugi, "Kekatsu and I can come and bail you out if you need us."
Yami instantly retorted that he shouldn't need any "bailing out," as Bakura said in such an undignified manner, which set both Yugi and Bakura giggling.
---
Serenity didn't know why, but after blinding her and carting her around for what seemed forever, the man simply left her in what sounded like downtown Domino. He never said a word the entire time he'd driven her around, simply held her to him despite her pleas and protests.
She tripped over what sounded like a tin can. Foot twisting, she fell to the ground with a yip, landing on something gravelly. The voices and people around her faded, like they were avoiding her.
"Please," she called, reaching out a hand, "Please, somebody help me!" When no one came, she struggled to her feet, trying to brush the gravel from her arms and feeling blood.
Crying from the pain, Serenity limped painfully to nowhere, blind and helpless in that cold street.
Pain lanced up her leg and through her body as she stepped on her injured foot wrong. With a shriek, Serenity fell--
Into a pair of strong, lean arms. "Serenity?" Seto's more than welcome voice came. (She really would have preferred her brother, but any friendly tone was heaven.) "What's happened to you?"
Sobbing, Serenity clutched to him, falling into his support. "I c- can't SEE--" She felt something warm and heavy being pulled over her shoulders and realized it was his newer trenchcoat.
"It's okay," he told her softly, "I'll get you back to Sub-Town, and Joey, and we'll figure it out, I promise." Scooping her up, Seto began to carry the girl home.
---
Yugi and Kel had decided to search for Serenity together, since both felt an elf as protection was less suspicious than shadow creatures jumping out at people.
They were combing the city square area when a certain Queliyg soldier found them. Yugi turned at a shadow, and gasped at the huge form that created it. It was the warrior who had nearly caught Serenity and Joey before. Kel turned to gape at her as she bent down, scrutinizing them both with spacey black eyes.
"You human," she said in that odd, broken accent. "I know you." Reaching down, she grabbed him around the waist quite suddenly, before Kel had time to react. Even as he started forward, her glare snapped to him and she chattered something long and harsh in Queliyg.
Kel stopped and looked up at Yugi painfully. "She says if I try anything she'll snap your head off," he translated, "and I suspect she means it."
Yugi squirmed in her grip and looked into her face. After a moment, he nodded. "I suspect she does. Leave it be. I'll be fine, I don't want you to get killed."
Screaming inside, Kel watched them go.
---
Seto stalked silently through the alleyways, Serenity clinging to him in his arms.
"What was that?" she suddenly whispered, shivering. Seto stopped and listened.
"It sounds like-- footsteps..."
He turned to look over his shoulder and glimpsed a shadow. A very large shadow.
"Hold on tight," he told her, and broke into a run.
---
In Sub-Town, Max watched silently as Mai, Mysti, Téa and his wife worked on maternity clothes. Mokuba sat beside him, still steamed about having to stay behind.
Kel ran in, Tristan and Duke behind him.
"They've taken him!!" Kel shouted. "Max! Mr. Moto!"
---
Several hours later, Yugi awoke in the dark. As he sat up, a loud clatter rang into the empty silence, which Yugi found to be chains.
"Hello?!" Joey's voice cried out. "What's there?"
"Joey? It's me, Yugi!"
There was a scuffling, and soon his friend was beside him. "Hey. This big old warsuiter picked me up down at the old park. You?"
"The one that almost got you and Serenity before. Domino Square."
Joey sighed. "There was someone else layin' over there. I t'ink it's Seto, but he hasn't woke up yet."
"How can you even tell?"
"His wrist cuffs, how'd'ya think?"
Yugi nodded, even though he knew Joey couldn't see him. "Of course." Joey's suspicions were soon affirmed by a deep groan. "Seto? That you?"
"Huh? Yugi?" There was a sudden panicked gasp. "Serenity!!"
"What?" Joey asked sharply. "What about her?
"I- She was wandering the streets, completly blind-- Don't bother asking how, I don't know-- but when I was trying to get her home--"
"You got picked up?" Joey asked grimly.
Seto grunted softly. "Yeah. My head hurts."
Light flooded the room, causing all three to yelp. "That's just a side-effect of the sedatives we used," a voice came loudly, assaulting their ears.
Yugi managed to blink the fog in front of his eyes away. Stone walls surrounded them in a very believable reconstruction of a medieval dungeon. Seto and Joey were rubbing their eyes still, although Seto seemed to be just as concerned over his temple.
At the door stood a young, aqua-haired man with deep blue eyes and wearing an outfit that seemed to be a translation of Queliyg dress onto a human form. Beside him stood a bright jade feathered bird, half the size of most Queliyg Yugi had ever seen and even more birdlike. Its red tipped wings seemed capable of flight, while Queliyg's wings were nonexistant. Chirruping shrilly, it fixed a keen, single-minded gaze on him.
"Calm, Asaka," the man murmured, running a hand along the creature's cheek. Producing what appeared to be a biscuit from a pouch on his belt, he tossed it into the air. Asaka caught it readily, darting its head forth in a vulturelike motion.
"What the heck is THAT?" Joey demanded, staring at the alien animal.
The man glared at him. "So rude, Joseph Wheeler. I can only excuse it with my knowledge that you have never seen a Queliyg male before." He had a Queliyg accent, which was extremely bizarre, since few humans could speak the language.
Joey stared at him. "That's-- That thing is actually a Queliyg?" The man nodded with a smirk.
"A male, Wheeler. And I am Noa Kaiba."
The three prisoners glanced at one another in surprise. "Noa Kaiba?" Yugi asked carefully. "Where were you when--"
"Your friend over there pushed my father out a window? I've been in space the past nine years."
Seto's eyes widened. "You're Gozaburo Kaiba's son? Why were you in space?"
Noa glared at him. "I owe you no answers. Governor Ryin would speak with you."
"Does he owe her answers?" Yugi asked as he and Joey moved to stand beside Seto.
"Did I say interrogate? Asaka here has been trained to disembowel you if I tell him to."
Seto rolled his eyes and pushed his friends aside gently. "I'll go, then." He walked up to the door, then stopped to look at Noa. "He is not."
Noa nodded. "No, he's not."
---
Ryin listened to the wind whistle through Gozaburo Kaiba's former office. She had developed quite a liking for the sound, but she realized she'd have to get the window repaired soon so that Noa could stop looking at it.
Speaking of whom...
Noa and Asaka led Seto into the room. Ryin watched the brown-haired boy as he looked around, and noted with some amusement that he shuddered almost at the same time Noa did.
"Hello there," she said in Japanese, and Seto's attention snapped to her in surprise. she continued in Queliyg. With a hrmph, Noa turned and left, taking Asaka with him.
Seto stared after him. "Who is he to you?"
Ryin stood, stretching carefully. "Officially, I'm his owner, but neither of us looks at it that way."
The human's eyes widened. "He's a slave?"
"A pet, my mother thinks. She doesn't know. Nine years ago, Gozaburo Kaiba gave him to us as collateral to prove he would have our best interests in mind as governor of Japan."
Seto put a finger in his mouth, as if to keep himself from saying anything. After a few moments, however, he pulled it loose and wiped it on his shirt. "What do you mean your mother doesn't know?"
"She doesn't know I've been educating and mothering him these past nine years."
Seto stared at her. Ryin knew that he could not have ever had any good experiences involving Queliyg. "You must be worried for your friend," she prompted.
The boy started. "Yes! Serenity!"
Ryin chortled cluckingly. "She is fine," she told him, pressing a button on her computer console so that Serenity's hologram leapt into view. Serenity had been cleaned and her ankle wrapped carefully, and the girl now slept peacefully in fine new clothing on a cushy couch. Ryin watched Seto gaze at her in relief. "You like her, do you?"
Seto once again snapped his attention to her. "No! I mean-- yes-- I mean, Not like that!" Ryin leaned back in noisy hilarity. "Come on, I don't even know her, and her brother, he's-- he's one of my best friends!"
The Queliyg's beautiful black eyes smiled knowingly at him. "I have not kept the company of a young human for nine years and not picked up on a few things, Seto." He continued to glower at her, so she decided to change the subject. "I suppose at some point you have thought me a bit... strange for a Queliyg."
"Yes," he said, "I heard about you from Max when you got here. He said the guy who got him to Japan loved you once."
Ryin stiffened, her feathers rising. "Xab're? He told Pegasus about me?"
Seto shrugged, a positively evil grin on his face. "Apparently."
Ryin's blood rushed to her skin and she shook herself, feeling hot. "I never wanted to love him, but I never wanted to leave him, either. You've seen Asaka, Noa's companion. What can honestly fall in love with something that can never love back?" Seto's eyebrows rose.
"I've seen humans do it," he replied. "They fall in love with money, they fall in love with power... Heck, under different circumstances I might have been one of them."
Ryin glanced at him. He was perfectly serious. "Noa loves his father," she said, surprising him. "He hates him, too, for giving him up as collateral, but he can't help but love him. I gave up loving my mother a long time ago, not long after she threatened to kill Xab're. I keep hoping that Noa will stop deceiving himself about his father, but I know it won't happen soon."
Seto stared at her for a long time, then seemed to come to a decision. "I watched my father die," he muttered.
"I'm sorry," Ryin said softly. "Was he good to you?"
"He kept us alive," Seto said. "He kept us free. I-- your soldiers shot him to death. Mokuba was there, too, but I kept him from seeing and I kept him out of sight. He heard it, though. We don't talk about it."
"I imagine not. But please. Never call them my soldiers. They are my mother's soldiers. Technically speaking only one is my soldier..."
Seto interrupted her. "Your _mother's_ soldiers!" He clapped a hand to his forehead, swearing in amazement. "Your mother-- Should I bow, your Highness?"
Ryin glared at him, but then found herself clucking in laughter. "If you have any sense of kindness you will not, my little friend. I'm the third in line. Mother does her best to keep me away from my older sisters. I think she's afraid I'm depraved enough to kill them in order to ascend."
Seto took a breath. "So far you seem to be the sanest Queliyg I've ever heard of."
Ryin shook her head, her heart sinking as she remembered why she had brought him up. "Not sane enough. I've enjoyed speaking with you, Seto, but now-- Now I have someone I'd like to reintroduce you to." She gestured at the far door.
Seto looked, puzzlement on his features. What was this? A figure, large and dark stood in the doorway.
Seto gasped as it came into the light, and Ryin suddenly decided she should have warned him.
Because despite the mechanical arm, the replacement eye, and the suit of armor...
It was Gozaburo Kaiba.
---
End Chapter 11. (shudder) We had a nightmare recently where someone had hacked into our author's account and messed up all our stories, particularly this one. (growls) Anyway, Meddy Chdistmas!! Mr. T thought we should give you all a gift (plus this update's taken WAY too long) so here is gift.
OFF THE DEEPEST END --
Parody Scenes (Warning: Several scenes imply very "adult" behavior. If this bothers you, don't read any scenes with Smith in them. :p)
-----
Scene: After Seto rescues Yugi from the streetie
Yugi: The only thing that was damaged was the string. *makes a face* It was burned to a crisp, I'll have to clean out all that soot...
Seto: You could replace it with a chain.
Yugi: Are you sure that's a good idea? Imagine how hard a melted chain would be to clean out!
Seto:*sweatdrop*
-----
Scene: Try being quieter
Seto: What have I told you about learning to be a little quieter?
Joey:*glares* Darn it, you're always on my case!! Wha' gives you the right to tell me how ta do things, anyway?!?
Seto:*grins evilly* I'm smarter than you!
Yugi: I'll tell Grandpa you were picking on each other!
-----
Scene: Where is...
Seto: Where's Tristan?
Tristan:*dropping silently from the ceiling* BOO!
All others: AAAAAAH!
Joey:*clocks Tristan* DON'T DO THAT!
-----
Scene: Max's strange dreams
Deep Voice: PEGASUS! YOU HAVE A BOOK THAT'S NINE YEARS OVERDUE AT THE LIBRARY!
Max: But that's when the Queliyg blew the library up! I kept it because I can't give it back!
Deep Voice: OH. SORRY, MY MISTAKE.
Max:*sweatdrop*
-----
Scene: Same
Max: ACK!
Cecilia:*waking up**sleepily* More monsters, dear?
-----
Scene: Same
Max: But this one was different.*tells Cecilia about dream* And so I'm not sure-
Cecilia: SNXK!
Max:*sweatdrop* Huh?*realizes she's snoring* She must be pretty tired.
-----
Scene: Uuushioohhhhhh...
Ushio:*nervously* Wha? Who's there?
Y.Yugi: Over here, Ushio...*suddenly adapts door-to-door salesman voice* Would you like to subscribe to twelve monthly issues of Aliens Illustrated?
Ushio:*high-pitched* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo......
-----
Scene: RULEBREAKER!
*SS seizes Ushio*
Ushio:*high-pitched* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
SS:*smooches Ushio* I'm going to love you and hold you and kiss you and put you in little pink dresses and name you George...
Ushio:*higher pitch still* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
-----
Scene: I've found the leader!
Liyeny: I'm guessing I've found the leader of this coup!
Max: No, no, no. Humans don't use coops, birds-such as yourself-do.
Liyeny:*sweatdrop*
Max: How come you can sweat, anyway?
-----
Scene: ALL the jailbirds, Smith!
Max: Get her to safety!*hands elven woman to Smith*
Elf: YES! Take me, Smith! Take me!
Max and Smith:*sweatdrop*
-----
Scene: SEHHHHHHLLebrate good times COME ON!
Smith: She keeps saying the same word over and over, and I can't understand it because it's elvish. What's she trying to tell me, sir?
Max:*listens for a moment**blushes* Are there any children here? I don't want to get in trouble with their parents.
Smith:*shocked* That bad?
Max: Maybe, but you should hear its approximate translation before judging...*whispers something in Smith's ear*
Smith:*blushes intensely*
Elf:*grins and kisses Smith**and not in a just-friends way**speaking elvish* [LET'S GO, HONEY!]
-----
Scene: Curse of Dragon
Y.Yugi: I don't cheat. Curse of Dragon!
*Curse of Dragon slips out of darkness and encircles Enforcer**then begins singing*
COD:*melodiously* I wanna hold ya, I wanna squeeze ya, come on come on bayaybeee!!
Enforcer:*sweatdrop* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Y.Yugi:*is laughing his head off*
-----
Scene: Cecilia's being kidnapped! OH NO!
*Keith enters the bedroom and prepares to wrap her up and carry her off*
Cecilia:*wakes up suddenly* UGH!*throws up on Keith**sits there looking sick for a minute**weakly* What are you doing here?
Keith:*looking down at shirt* Uh, just leaving.*runs away*
Cecilia:*woozily* Ohh-kay...*falls back asleep*
-----
Scene: On the airship
Cecilia:*wakes up and sees Keith's boots* UGH!*throws up on them*
Keith: NOT AGAIN! YUCK!
Cecilia:*woozily* Got what you deserved, traitor.
Keith: Me, a traitor?! What gives you-
Cecilia: SNNXXKKK!
Keith: I thought she was done sleeping!
-----
Scene: Same
Keith:*grinning cockily* You have to look out for Number One in this world, sweetheart. Number One's the only guy that counts.
Cecilia:*shaking her head* That's right Keith. Look out for Number One, and don't step in Number Two.
Keith:*angrily* Are you comparing me to--
Cecilia:*wagging a finger at him* Now, Keith, the rating on this fanfic is too low for you to be doing that!
-----
Scene: At the fine bar La Cuccaracha
Max:*walks in* So that's where the name came from!
Giant Cockroach:*tending bar* What'll it be, pal?
-----
Scene: At Kaiba's estate
*Keith is leading Cecilia towards the door**she is behind him*
Cecilia: Oh... UGH!*throws up on Keith's back*
Keith:*stiffening* I hope that's not what I thought it was...
Cecilia:*woozily* It was... SNNNNXXXXXKK!
Keith:*sweatdrop* Wow, she can sleep standing up!
-----
Scene: same
Cecilia:*looks up at the estate* You CAN'T tell me he isn't compensating for something.
Keith: I wouldn't talk like that if I were--
Cecilia:*interrupting* I can assure you my husband certainly doesn't have any need for compensation...
Keith: o.0 I did NOT need to know that...
Cecilia: ^_^
-----
Scene: same
Kaiba: Oh, so smart.*leans close* And beautiful, too-
Cecilia: UGH!*throws up on Kaiba*
Kaiba:*sweatdrop* And so charming, as well...
Cecilia: SNX!
-----
Scene: In Cecilia's cell
Mai: How do you feel, Cecilia?
Cecilia: I want a pickle RIGHT NOW.
Mai:*terrified* HEY! MY CELLMATE NEEDS SOME PICKLES HERE!
-----
Scene: Serenity complimenting Seto
Serenity: How'd you know about that, anyway?
Seto:*blushing slightly* Sometimes, I guess, I can just kind of feel the right way around a machine... I'm not sure why...
Joey:*turning to look at them* All right, that's enough!!!
Duke:*giggles*
-----
Scene: How'd Ya Do Dat?
Y.Yugi: Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!
*a shape appears in the sky*
Bakura: Look, it's a bird!
Joey: No, it's a plane!
Max: No, it's SUPerman!
*everyone stares at him*
Max: What? I've always wanted to say that!
-----
Scene: We can RULE the Galaxy together...
Seto: My father was killed by Queliyg, my brother has been tortured by the pet of one, and you want me to listen to reason?
Kaiba: They never told you what really happened to your father...
Seto: They told me enough! They told me YOU killed him!
Kaiba: No, Seto... I am your father!
Seto:.... My father didn't look anything like you!
-----
Scene: DIE! DIE!
*Keith is jumping up and down on his pants*
Keith: DIE! DIE!
Max:*eyes widening* I don't know about the pointy finger of death, but that is definitely unfit for public viewing!!! *tackles Keith*
-----
Scene: Bad wording on my part
Yugi:*glances over at the fish, Mako, and Cecilia attacking Max* What's going on?
Max: Help! They're ganging up on me!!
*evil shark tries to bite him*
-----
Dedicated to Mr. T, as normal, as well as to Silver's little brother, because he WOULD get us Yugioh for Christmas if he wasn't broke. (As well as a meta-physical being. Gotta love him! ^_~)We put Seto-Kaiba Red Archery Girl's site url in the endnotes in the last chapter, but they didn't show. You can get to it through the link in her profile. This chapter should be a little more structured than the last one, since we have something of a plot for it. This part of the story will delve a bit into who are, in the series, the three Kaiba brothers. Keep in mind that Noa is older than Seto, even though in the VR Noa arc in the series he appears to be a young boy, here he is a young adult. (Who occasionally ACTS like a young boy. 0_o) Also:
BOOYAH!! All the Big 5 have names now! ^_^ Crump, Gansley, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Leichter. (We happen to know Leichter's name is spelled that way. We had the closed captioning on.)
Seto Kaiba Red Archery Girl: Hee, you have the same favorite parts as Golden does! Silver's was the "duel."
Lady of the Thread, we agree that no one can get Weevil and Rex to act normal. ^_~ That's why Seto called poor Mako's efforts "futile." (Golden feels kind of sorry for him.)
HCG: We've seen his name spelled both Noa and Noah, and we've seen people who yell at each other over the way his name's spelled, (though in English they probably spell it Noah) We kind of get the impression, though, that in Japanese it's spelled Noa. (shrugs) We don't think the Japanese really have the silent "h." Plus we just happen to think it looks cooler without it. In the end, either way works. And yeah, Kekatsu is so smooth he scares Yami. ^_~ You know THAT'S something. But who and what Asaka is just might surprise you....
GriffenFire: Don't worry, you'll see what Asaka is. We made it ambigious on purpose. As to Noa and his big words... Does NO ONE read the notes?! Besides, he was one of those eerily intelligent little kids, like Golden was. She keeps forgetting that your average child under ten doesn't normally use words more than three or four syllables long in our other stories, and people kept getting after her for it back in freshman English.
The Mad Tortoise: You've made our day. Thanks.
Tuulikki: ^_^ Yeah, anyone we haven't gotten in will appear eventually. It helps with plot.
Mara: TADA! Continued!
Namonaki Pharaoh:(if you've gotton up to this chapter) We like you already. :)
Chapter 11: Guess Who?
/The whip cut into Seto's arm as he tried to protect his face. He yipped with the pain, feeling tears well up, and grabbed his bare, bleeding forearm.
"Oh, listen to the little dog whimper," Kaiba taunted, kicking Seto to the floor. He landed on his face as Kaiba raised to strike again.
Seto managed to look up, trying to figure out where his knife and handgun had landed, but they were too far away. The whip slashed across his back, cutting open the cloth.
"Look at how weak you are!" Kaiba clucked. "And Mokuba thinks so highly of you, too!"
"Shut. Up!" Seto hissed as the whip struck again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you! What did you say?" The whip rose.
"SHUT UP!!" Seto screamed, rolling over as the whip whistled toward him... and catching it on one of his spiked cuffs. He jerked at it, but it wouldn't come out of Kaiba's hand.
"Not bad," Kaiba said, sounding astonished. He pulled on the whip, which was tangled in the left wrist guard's studs, yanking Seto up towards him.
He was about to catch Seto in the jaw, but the boy saw it coming and drove his right cuff into Kaiba's chin instead. Kaiba stumbled backward, letting go of the whip, and Seto ripped it free and threw it away, mostly useless.
Kaiba rubbed his chin, wiping away the miniscule beads of blood. "Impressive," he told Seto. "Not many manage to draw blood fighting me." Seto growled animalistically and charged.
Kaiba stepped out of his way. "Both of your parents are dead, aren't they?"
"What do you care?" Seto demanded, voice hoarse from the tears of pain.
Kaiba lifted a chair. "I would sit down a moment, if I were you, my boy." He threw the heavy chair at Seto, who dashed away from it. It crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces.
Seto backed away. "Why are you trying to have a conversation with me?"
Kaiba picked up a piece of chair and advanced, wielding it like a club. "You're certainly a better fighter than I first realized," he said. "And your brother's accounts of how smart you are don't seem to be all hero worship..."
"Why are you even bothering to talk to me?" Seto asked, bewildered. He dodged a swing of the "club." Kaiba grinned as he saw the confusion in the teenager's blue eyes.
"If you're as intelligent as you're supposed to be, reason shouldn't be above you, my boy."
"Reason?" Seto demanded incredulously. "My father was killed by Queliyg, my brother has been tortured by the pet of one, and you want me to listen to reason?"
Kaiba's eyes darkened. "I'm not their pet, Seto. Listen to me. You and I, we could drive them away! Kill them all, if it's revenge you want!"
"You've been kissing up to them ever since they landed! I know, my father told me how you helped them subjugate all of us!" Seto's cheeks were wet with furious tears. "You wouldn't get rid of them, you just want me where you can keep an eye on me, and nobody else'd be better off with you in charge, anyway!!"
"Seto," Kaiba said, tossing the chunk of wood aside, obviously to gain a little trust. "Seto, think of what I'm offering you here. It's more than an alliance, Seto. It's a home. I couldn't take your father's place, but I'm willing-- and offering to take his role."
Seto glared at him. "What kind of father would hurt his sons?"
"Are you refusing?" Seto nodded. "Even on Mokuba's behalf? Maybe he would accept me as a father." There was a little faltering, but then the boy strengthened again.
"You hurt him, too. That's worse than hurting me."
"Oh, how sweet, Seto. But I can hurt him more, too, if I don't get my way," Kaiba threatened softly. The teenager's eyes widened, and suddenly Kaiba saw something to fear in them.
"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN MY BROTHER!" Seto screamed, slamming into Kaiba and steering him toward the panoramic window.
Glass shattered./
Noa rewound the footage again, unable to tear his eyes away. His father... He remembered the day he'd been put into Ryin's care, the cold look in his father's eyes. His father... What did he know of fatherhood, anyway? Even before the Queliyg came, his father had never been much of a good father...
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Now he was thinking like Ryin! Not that it should surprise him, considering who had taken care of him the past nine years. Still, Gozaburo was his FATHER...
But the little boy his father had beat, just to be told things, the teenager who almost died in the name of his brother's safety... Could Noa overlook Kaiba's treatment of them? Or the offer, it had almost seemed like he'd wanted this Seto to take Noa's place.
Jealousy flared up for a moment, then was replaced with pity, as he watched the boy cry in pain. Watching his tears of anger, Noa had to wonder what kind of father Seto's had been. Probably one Seto had been proud to have. And according to Mokuba's interrogation, he'd been lost very long ago... Noa suddenly felt sick reading the words, knowing how the knowledge had been gained... but it could not be taken back, and he already knew it word for word. Activating another screen, he found himself gazing on Serenity Wheeler's face.
She had made this all happen.
Punishment was in order.
---
The girl in question was currently following her older brother through a busy street. Joey had insisted on taking her along for three reasons: Tristan, Duke, and Seto, the last of whom he felt Serenity needed to quit "pestering." (And the first two of whom he felt needed to quit pestering Serenity.)
Not that Serenity minded. She had spent most of her time since her liberation in Sub-Town, and it had been getting a little old. She liked the open air, the crowds, watching the selling and buying (although some merchants were dealing in human or elvin stock, and neither of them liked that much) and being with her brother. She didn't know exactly what it was Joey was planning on doing, but she had a feeling it was entirely to get her outside for a while.
The pair wandered up and down several alleys and streets for a while, both trying to reimagine what it had been like nine years before.
But when Joey realized they were being followed, the peace cut short. He dragged her off the main street and into a doorway.
"You see dat guy there?" he asked her in a hush, pointing out a non- descript streetie.
"Yeah, what about him?"
Joey glared at the streetie, who was watching them. "He's been behind us for the past three blocks. I t'ink somebody's payin' him to tail us."
Serenity looked back at him, rather fearfully now. "What do we do?" she murmured.
Joey gave her a measured once-over. "I don' wanna split up, not with you. Ya don't know your way around too well, and I don't want to think about if he followed you and not me. It makes more sense to try an' lose him, but he's been keeping on us pretty well."
"Maybe you two shouldn't have just gone off like that without telling anyone," Kel's voice came from beside them.
Both teenagers yelped and turned in the direction of the voice, Joey instinctively pulling Serenity away from the elf. Kel laughed.
"Don't DO that!!" Joey reprimanded him in a harsh whisper. "T'ink you can help out here?"
Kel nodded, a grin on his face. "Just you watch." With that, he walked away from them, right up to the streetie, and threw an arm around the startled man's shoulders.
[Did you know your zipper is down?] he asked him in elvish. Of course, the poor man had no idea of what he just said, and tried to pull away, but Kel wouldn't allow him to go. [I said, did you know your zipper was down?] It was true, but Kel suspected that the zipper might not work, anyway.
Joey took Serenity's wrist and pulled her off into the crowd while Kel spoke to the man. Joey couldn't understand a word of it, but from the way Kel was laughing he knew he probably didn't want to hear about it.
Quickly, the two tried to melt into the crowd, to get get back to Sub- Town as soon as possible. They turned into an alley, Joey telling his sister it would be a perfect shortcut.
A Queliyg soldier stood in the path.
---
Yugi wandered the streets of Domino, hoping to run into Joey and Serenity and praying he or Kel found them before someone else did. Max had pointed out, on the notice of their absence, that Serenity could be recognized and that there had probably been security cams taking images during the raid on Kaiba's estate. Suddenly he heard a shriek and the crowd began to melt towards the walls.
_That was Serenity!!_ Yugi realized, standing behind a dumpster.
A few moments passed before he saw them. A huge Queliyg, shaking the earth with each calculated step, trudged silently down the street. Joey was under one arm, his sister under the other.
The blonde was yelling a string of explitives at the alien, who simply looked down at him and said, in a heavy accent: "No speak, human." Serenity was heeding her order, biting down on her own hand with a wide- eyed expression.
Yugi stared in horror and awe at the creature threatening his friends. _Yugi,_ Yami muttered, _I think I should take over here._ With a nod, Yugi aquiesced.
Yami considered the soldier only a moment. What had worked once should work again. "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" he whispered....
With a proud roar, the dragon appeared above, spreading its azure wings. The soldier's head snapped upward to stare at it, her black eyes widening. Yami grinned.
Without skipping a beat, the soldier dropped Joey and whipped out a huge cannonlike weapon of a size equivalent to a bazooka. Joey gaped up at the impressive gun even as he shuffled away.
Everyone but the soldier herself winced at the thundercrack as she fired at the dragon. Serenity yipped.
Puzzled by the dragon being unharmed, the soldier cocked her head to one side. Yami was startled as he realized she wasn't in the least afraid of it. She looked down at Serenity, an odd expression in her eyes. Finally, she simply dropped the girl. Turning, she cocked her gun at Joey.
"JOEY!!!" Serenity shrieked, jumping to her feet and attacking the alien. It was like a mouse charging an ostrich. Reflexively, Yami sent the Winged Guardian of the Fortress into a screaming swoop, terrifying Serenity and recalling the Queliyg's attention. Not bothering with her cannon, which probably took too much time, she fired a volley of burning plasma from a smaller weapon mounted on her other wrist.
"RUN!" Yami yelled, coming from behind the dumpster. Galvanized, Serenity ran into a nearby alley, while Joey, shocked by his appearance, ran toward him instead. "RUN," Yami repeated when his friend reached him, grabbing his arm and dragging him in the direction Serenity was running.
The dragon, meanwhile, had reached the Queliyg and vanished around her in a blue smoke. She sneezed, ruffling her yellow feathers. Looking around to see her quarry vanished, she cursed and pressed a button on her battlesuit's collar.
I she chirped in Queliyg.
the barely-accented human voice replied. I have not.
---
Serenity was still running, her heart pounding in her ears. She didn't have a clue as to what had just happened, but she knew she'd never seen anything like it. And had Yugi been a part of it? Maybe it was part of Seto's holgraphic system.
She was running out of breath now. Maybe just a little farther, and--
A young man stepped into her path. Slamming into his chest, Serenity rebounded to the ground, scraping her elbows.
Panting, she stared up at him. Aqua-green hair hung in his endless blue eyes, which fixed her with a stern, somehow dangerous glare. About nineteen or twenty, he stood tall and proud, reminding her stunningly of Seto. His clothing, however, really struck her. Metal bands secured the silken sleeves to his wrists, the dark purple cloth making up the majority of his dress. A silver belt helped the cloth to better outline his thin, muscular frame. He wore high boots of black leather (an unusual material to possess in these times) and a black collar outlined in gold encircled his neck, seperate from his other clothes.
"Serenity Wheeler," he stated, never taking his eyes off hers, "You're coming with me." With this, he pulled a small device from a pouch on his belt and pressed a switch on it, aiming at her.
Her eyes shut off.
---
When Joey and Yami Yugi didn't find Serenity on the surface, the two headed for Sub-Town. "She probably headed for the nearest underground entrance anyway, Joey," Yugi reassured his friend, but the taller boy didn't look very reassured.
"She doesn't KNOW anything about the streets, Yugi," he said, shaking his head. "I hate to think what she might run into."
Of course, Serenity wasn't in Sub-Town, just as Joey had feared. Never was a girl so worried over. Joey and Yugi had a search party together pretty quickly. Tristan and Duke volunteered almost instantly, and Seto wasn't very far behind them once Mokuba reminded him of what they owed her. (Although he gave his brother VERY strict orders to remain behind.) Mai of course, had been Serenity's friend and cellmate for several years; she insisted on going, and both Téa and Kel would follow wherever Yugi led.
Bakura elected to stay behind, so that, as he whispered to Yugi, "Kekatsu and I can come and bail you out if you need us."
Yami instantly retorted that he shouldn't need any "bailing out," as Bakura said in such an undignified manner, which set both Yugi and Bakura giggling.
---
Serenity didn't know why, but after blinding her and carting her around for what seemed forever, the man simply left her in what sounded like downtown Domino. He never said a word the entire time he'd driven her around, simply held her to him despite her pleas and protests.
She tripped over what sounded like a tin can. Foot twisting, she fell to the ground with a yip, landing on something gravelly. The voices and people around her faded, like they were avoiding her.
"Please," she called, reaching out a hand, "Please, somebody help me!" When no one came, she struggled to her feet, trying to brush the gravel from her arms and feeling blood.
Crying from the pain, Serenity limped painfully to nowhere, blind and helpless in that cold street.
Pain lanced up her leg and through her body as she stepped on her injured foot wrong. With a shriek, Serenity fell--
Into a pair of strong, lean arms. "Serenity?" Seto's more than welcome voice came. (She really would have preferred her brother, but any friendly tone was heaven.) "What's happened to you?"
Sobbing, Serenity clutched to him, falling into his support. "I c- can't SEE--" She felt something warm and heavy being pulled over her shoulders and realized it was his newer trenchcoat.
"It's okay," he told her softly, "I'll get you back to Sub-Town, and Joey, and we'll figure it out, I promise." Scooping her up, Seto began to carry the girl home.
---
Yugi and Kel had decided to search for Serenity together, since both felt an elf as protection was less suspicious than shadow creatures jumping out at people.
They were combing the city square area when a certain Queliyg soldier found them. Yugi turned at a shadow, and gasped at the huge form that created it. It was the warrior who had nearly caught Serenity and Joey before. Kel turned to gape at her as she bent down, scrutinizing them both with spacey black eyes.
"You human," she said in that odd, broken accent. "I know you." Reaching down, she grabbed him around the waist quite suddenly, before Kel had time to react. Even as he started forward, her glare snapped to him and she chattered something long and harsh in Queliyg.
Kel stopped and looked up at Yugi painfully. "She says if I try anything she'll snap your head off," he translated, "and I suspect she means it."
Yugi squirmed in her grip and looked into her face. After a moment, he nodded. "I suspect she does. Leave it be. I'll be fine, I don't want you to get killed."
Screaming inside, Kel watched them go.
---
Seto stalked silently through the alleyways, Serenity clinging to him in his arms.
"What was that?" she suddenly whispered, shivering. Seto stopped and listened.
"It sounds like-- footsteps..."
He turned to look over his shoulder and glimpsed a shadow. A very large shadow.
"Hold on tight," he told her, and broke into a run.
---
In Sub-Town, Max watched silently as Mai, Mysti, Téa and his wife worked on maternity clothes. Mokuba sat beside him, still steamed about having to stay behind.
Kel ran in, Tristan and Duke behind him.
"They've taken him!!" Kel shouted. "Max! Mr. Moto!"
---
Several hours later, Yugi awoke in the dark. As he sat up, a loud clatter rang into the empty silence, which Yugi found to be chains.
"Hello?!" Joey's voice cried out. "What's there?"
"Joey? It's me, Yugi!"
There was a scuffling, and soon his friend was beside him. "Hey. This big old warsuiter picked me up down at the old park. You?"
"The one that almost got you and Serenity before. Domino Square."
Joey sighed. "There was someone else layin' over there. I t'ink it's Seto, but he hasn't woke up yet."
"How can you even tell?"
"His wrist cuffs, how'd'ya think?"
Yugi nodded, even though he knew Joey couldn't see him. "Of course." Joey's suspicions were soon affirmed by a deep groan. "Seto? That you?"
"Huh? Yugi?" There was a sudden panicked gasp. "Serenity!!"
"What?" Joey asked sharply. "What about her?
"I- She was wandering the streets, completly blind-- Don't bother asking how, I don't know-- but when I was trying to get her home--"
"You got picked up?" Joey asked grimly.
Seto grunted softly. "Yeah. My head hurts."
Light flooded the room, causing all three to yelp. "That's just a side-effect of the sedatives we used," a voice came loudly, assaulting their ears.
Yugi managed to blink the fog in front of his eyes away. Stone walls surrounded them in a very believable reconstruction of a medieval dungeon. Seto and Joey were rubbing their eyes still, although Seto seemed to be just as concerned over his temple.
At the door stood a young, aqua-haired man with deep blue eyes and wearing an outfit that seemed to be a translation of Queliyg dress onto a human form. Beside him stood a bright jade feathered bird, half the size of most Queliyg Yugi had ever seen and even more birdlike. Its red tipped wings seemed capable of flight, while Queliyg's wings were nonexistant. Chirruping shrilly, it fixed a keen, single-minded gaze on him.
"Calm, Asaka," the man murmured, running a hand along the creature's cheek. Producing what appeared to be a biscuit from a pouch on his belt, he tossed it into the air. Asaka caught it readily, darting its head forth in a vulturelike motion.
"What the heck is THAT?" Joey demanded, staring at the alien animal.
The man glared at him. "So rude, Joseph Wheeler. I can only excuse it with my knowledge that you have never seen a Queliyg male before." He had a Queliyg accent, which was extremely bizarre, since few humans could speak the language.
Joey stared at him. "That's-- That thing is actually a Queliyg?" The man nodded with a smirk.
"A male, Wheeler. And I am Noa Kaiba."
The three prisoners glanced at one another in surprise. "Noa Kaiba?" Yugi asked carefully. "Where were you when--"
"Your friend over there pushed my father out a window? I've been in space the past nine years."
Seto's eyes widened. "You're Gozaburo Kaiba's son? Why were you in space?"
Noa glared at him. "I owe you no answers. Governor Ryin would speak with you."
"Does he owe her answers?" Yugi asked as he and Joey moved to stand beside Seto.
"Did I say interrogate? Asaka here has been trained to disembowel you if I tell him to."
Seto rolled his eyes and pushed his friends aside gently. "I'll go, then." He walked up to the door, then stopped to look at Noa. "He is not."
Noa nodded. "No, he's not."
---
Ryin listened to the wind whistle through Gozaburo Kaiba's former office. She had developed quite a liking for the sound, but she realized she'd have to get the window repaired soon so that Noa could stop looking at it.
Speaking of whom...
Noa and Asaka led Seto into the room. Ryin watched the brown-haired boy as he looked around, and noted with some amusement that he shuddered almost at the same time Noa did.
"Hello there," she said in Japanese, and Seto's attention snapped to her in surprise. she continued in Queliyg. With a hrmph, Noa turned and left, taking Asaka with him.
Seto stared after him. "Who is he to you?"
Ryin stood, stretching carefully. "Officially, I'm his owner, but neither of us looks at it that way."
The human's eyes widened. "He's a slave?"
"A pet, my mother thinks. She doesn't know. Nine years ago, Gozaburo Kaiba gave him to us as collateral to prove he would have our best interests in mind as governor of Japan."
Seto put a finger in his mouth, as if to keep himself from saying anything. After a few moments, however, he pulled it loose and wiped it on his shirt. "What do you mean your mother doesn't know?"
"She doesn't know I've been educating and mothering him these past nine years."
Seto stared at her. Ryin knew that he could not have ever had any good experiences involving Queliyg. "You must be worried for your friend," she prompted.
The boy started. "Yes! Serenity!"
Ryin chortled cluckingly. "She is fine," she told him, pressing a button on her computer console so that Serenity's hologram leapt into view. Serenity had been cleaned and her ankle wrapped carefully, and the girl now slept peacefully in fine new clothing on a cushy couch. Ryin watched Seto gaze at her in relief. "You like her, do you?"
Seto once again snapped his attention to her. "No! I mean-- yes-- I mean, Not like that!" Ryin leaned back in noisy hilarity. "Come on, I don't even know her, and her brother, he's-- he's one of my best friends!"
The Queliyg's beautiful black eyes smiled knowingly at him. "I have not kept the company of a young human for nine years and not picked up on a few things, Seto." He continued to glower at her, so she decided to change the subject. "I suppose at some point you have thought me a bit... strange for a Queliyg."
"Yes," he said, "I heard about you from Max when you got here. He said the guy who got him to Japan loved you once."
Ryin stiffened, her feathers rising. "Xab're? He told Pegasus about me?"
Seto shrugged, a positively evil grin on his face. "Apparently."
Ryin's blood rushed to her skin and she shook herself, feeling hot. "I never wanted to love him, but I never wanted to leave him, either. You've seen Asaka, Noa's companion. What can honestly fall in love with something that can never love back?" Seto's eyebrows rose.
"I've seen humans do it," he replied. "They fall in love with money, they fall in love with power... Heck, under different circumstances I might have been one of them."
Ryin glanced at him. He was perfectly serious. "Noa loves his father," she said, surprising him. "He hates him, too, for giving him up as collateral, but he can't help but love him. I gave up loving my mother a long time ago, not long after she threatened to kill Xab're. I keep hoping that Noa will stop deceiving himself about his father, but I know it won't happen soon."
Seto stared at her for a long time, then seemed to come to a decision. "I watched my father die," he muttered.
"I'm sorry," Ryin said softly. "Was he good to you?"
"He kept us alive," Seto said. "He kept us free. I-- your soldiers shot him to death. Mokuba was there, too, but I kept him from seeing and I kept him out of sight. He heard it, though. We don't talk about it."
"I imagine not. But please. Never call them my soldiers. They are my mother's soldiers. Technically speaking only one is my soldier..."
Seto interrupted her. "Your _mother's_ soldiers!" He clapped a hand to his forehead, swearing in amazement. "Your mother-- Should I bow, your Highness?"
Ryin glared at him, but then found herself clucking in laughter. "If you have any sense of kindness you will not, my little friend. I'm the third in line. Mother does her best to keep me away from my older sisters. I think she's afraid I'm depraved enough to kill them in order to ascend."
Seto took a breath. "So far you seem to be the sanest Queliyg I've ever heard of."
Ryin shook her head, her heart sinking as she remembered why she had brought him up. "Not sane enough. I've enjoyed speaking with you, Seto, but now-- Now I have someone I'd like to reintroduce you to." She gestured at the far door.
Seto looked, puzzlement on his features. What was this? A figure, large and dark stood in the doorway.
Seto gasped as it came into the light, and Ryin suddenly decided she should have warned him.
Because despite the mechanical arm, the replacement eye, and the suit of armor...
It was Gozaburo Kaiba.
---
End Chapter 11. (shudder) We had a nightmare recently where someone had hacked into our author's account and messed up all our stories, particularly this one. (growls) Anyway, Meddy Chdistmas!! Mr. T thought we should give you all a gift (plus this update's taken WAY too long) so here is gift.
OFF THE DEEPEST END --
Parody Scenes (Warning: Several scenes imply very "adult" behavior. If this bothers you, don't read any scenes with Smith in them. :p)
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Scene: After Seto rescues Yugi from the streetie
Yugi: The only thing that was damaged was the string. *makes a face* It was burned to a crisp, I'll have to clean out all that soot...
Seto: You could replace it with a chain.
Yugi: Are you sure that's a good idea? Imagine how hard a melted chain would be to clean out!
Seto:*sweatdrop*
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Scene: Try being quieter
Seto: What have I told you about learning to be a little quieter?
Joey:*glares* Darn it, you're always on my case!! Wha' gives you the right to tell me how ta do things, anyway?!?
Seto:*grins evilly* I'm smarter than you!
Yugi: I'll tell Grandpa you were picking on each other!
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Scene: Where is...
Seto: Where's Tristan?
Tristan:*dropping silently from the ceiling* BOO!
All others: AAAAAAH!
Joey:*clocks Tristan* DON'T DO THAT!
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Scene: Max's strange dreams
Deep Voice: PEGASUS! YOU HAVE A BOOK THAT'S NINE YEARS OVERDUE AT THE LIBRARY!
Max: But that's when the Queliyg blew the library up! I kept it because I can't give it back!
Deep Voice: OH. SORRY, MY MISTAKE.
Max:*sweatdrop*
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Scene: Same
Max: ACK!
Cecilia:*waking up**sleepily* More monsters, dear?
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Scene: Same
Max: But this one was different.*tells Cecilia about dream* And so I'm not sure-
Cecilia: SNXK!
Max:*sweatdrop* Huh?*realizes she's snoring* She must be pretty tired.
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Scene: Uuushioohhhhhh...
Ushio:*nervously* Wha? Who's there?
Y.Yugi: Over here, Ushio...*suddenly adapts door-to-door salesman voice* Would you like to subscribe to twelve monthly issues of Aliens Illustrated?
Ushio:*high-pitched* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo......
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Scene: RULEBREAKER!
*SS seizes Ushio*
Ushio:*high-pitched* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
SS:*smooches Ushio* I'm going to love you and hold you and kiss you and put you in little pink dresses and name you George...
Ushio:*higher pitch still* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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Scene: I've found the leader!
Liyeny: I'm guessing I've found the leader of this coup!
Max: No, no, no. Humans don't use coops, birds-such as yourself-do.
Liyeny:*sweatdrop*
Max: How come you can sweat, anyway?
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Scene: ALL the jailbirds, Smith!
Max: Get her to safety!*hands elven woman to Smith*
Elf: YES! Take me, Smith! Take me!
Max and Smith:*sweatdrop*
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Scene: SEHHHHHHLLebrate good times COME ON!
Smith: She keeps saying the same word over and over, and I can't understand it because it's elvish. What's she trying to tell me, sir?
Max:*listens for a moment**blushes* Are there any children here? I don't want to get in trouble with their parents.
Smith:*shocked* That bad?
Max: Maybe, but you should hear its approximate translation before judging...*whispers something in Smith's ear*
Smith:*blushes intensely*
Elf:*grins and kisses Smith**and not in a just-friends way**speaking elvish* [LET'S GO, HONEY!]
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Scene: Curse of Dragon
Y.Yugi: I don't cheat. Curse of Dragon!
*Curse of Dragon slips out of darkness and encircles Enforcer**then begins singing*
COD:*melodiously* I wanna hold ya, I wanna squeeze ya, come on come on bayaybeee!!
Enforcer:*sweatdrop* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Y.Yugi:*is laughing his head off*
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Scene: Cecilia's being kidnapped! OH NO!
*Keith enters the bedroom and prepares to wrap her up and carry her off*
Cecilia:*wakes up suddenly* UGH!*throws up on Keith**sits there looking sick for a minute**weakly* What are you doing here?
Keith:*looking down at shirt* Uh, just leaving.*runs away*
Cecilia:*woozily* Ohh-kay...*falls back asleep*
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Scene: On the airship
Cecilia:*wakes up and sees Keith's boots* UGH!*throws up on them*
Keith: NOT AGAIN! YUCK!
Cecilia:*woozily* Got what you deserved, traitor.
Keith: Me, a traitor?! What gives you-
Cecilia: SNNXXKKK!
Keith: I thought she was done sleeping!
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Scene: Same
Keith:*grinning cockily* You have to look out for Number One in this world, sweetheart. Number One's the only guy that counts.
Cecilia:*shaking her head* That's right Keith. Look out for Number One, and don't step in Number Two.
Keith:*angrily* Are you comparing me to--
Cecilia:*wagging a finger at him* Now, Keith, the rating on this fanfic is too low for you to be doing that!
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Scene: At the fine bar La Cuccaracha
Max:*walks in* So that's where the name came from!
Giant Cockroach:*tending bar* What'll it be, pal?
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Scene: At Kaiba's estate
*Keith is leading Cecilia towards the door**she is behind him*
Cecilia: Oh... UGH!*throws up on Keith's back*
Keith:*stiffening* I hope that's not what I thought it was...
Cecilia:*woozily* It was... SNNNNXXXXXKK!
Keith:*sweatdrop* Wow, she can sleep standing up!
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Scene: same
Cecilia:*looks up at the estate* You CAN'T tell me he isn't compensating for something.
Keith: I wouldn't talk like that if I were--
Cecilia:*interrupting* I can assure you my husband certainly doesn't have any need for compensation...
Keith: o.0 I did NOT need to know that...
Cecilia: ^_^
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Scene: same
Kaiba: Oh, so smart.*leans close* And beautiful, too-
Cecilia: UGH!*throws up on Kaiba*
Kaiba:*sweatdrop* And so charming, as well...
Cecilia: SNX!
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Scene: In Cecilia's cell
Mai: How do you feel, Cecilia?
Cecilia: I want a pickle RIGHT NOW.
Mai:*terrified* HEY! MY CELLMATE NEEDS SOME PICKLES HERE!
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Scene: Serenity complimenting Seto
Serenity: How'd you know about that, anyway?
Seto:*blushing slightly* Sometimes, I guess, I can just kind of feel the right way around a machine... I'm not sure why...
Joey:*turning to look at them* All right, that's enough!!!
Duke:*giggles*
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Scene: How'd Ya Do Dat?
Y.Yugi: Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!
*a shape appears in the sky*
Bakura: Look, it's a bird!
Joey: No, it's a plane!
Max: No, it's SUPerman!
*everyone stares at him*
Max: What? I've always wanted to say that!
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Scene: We can RULE the Galaxy together...
Seto: My father was killed by Queliyg, my brother has been tortured by the pet of one, and you want me to listen to reason?
Kaiba: They never told you what really happened to your father...
Seto: They told me enough! They told me YOU killed him!
Kaiba: No, Seto... I am your father!
Seto:.... My father didn't look anything like you!
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Scene: DIE! DIE!
*Keith is jumping up and down on his pants*
Keith: DIE! DIE!
Max:*eyes widening* I don't know about the pointy finger of death, but that is definitely unfit for public viewing!!! *tackles Keith*
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Scene: Bad wording on my part
Yugi:*glances over at the fish, Mako, and Cecilia attacking Max* What's going on?
Max: Help! They're ganging up on me!!
*evil shark tries to bite him*
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