From Darkness To Light: Duel
By Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless.
Summary: A duel with Yugi results in Mokuba and Seto going to the zoo together, were a stranger makes an attempt on Seto's life. Is this merely an assassination, or is there something more behind it?
*_* - Personal Thoughts
/_/ - Yugi to Yami
\_\ - Yami to Yugi
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"Now Yugi, I promise you will know defeat," Seto Kaiba said as his platform raised him to his command console.
"Is this the same promise you've been making the last four times we dueled," came the confident voice of Yami as he ascended to his own console. The two duelist elite were used to such comments being passed between as they waited for their computers to finish preparations. Such barbs and insults had lost much of their sting after being recited timed and again. In fact, the whole thing had become more of a preduel ritual than anything else, which was reason enough for those witnessing the battle to simply ignore it. Which wasn't really hard to do, considering there were only four people in the audience. Tea, Joey, and Tristan sat on Yugi's side of the field, while Mokuba took his usual place nearest his elder brother.
"Okay, we're ready. Shall we play under the new rules as usual, or go back to the original way? Kaiba asked his opponent.
"The new rules seem to present a better challenge to the game then the 'original' rules," Yami said.
"Very well. Since you chose, that means I get first turn," Seto said, smiling as he pulled his first five cards. Yami mentally slapped himself for so easily giving away the first turn. The elder duelist looked at the hand he had drawn. His smile faded a little as he saw one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, along with Polymerization, Steel Ogre Grotto #1, Invitation to a Deep Sleep, Negate Attack, and Dark Hole. *Blast, not a good hand. And I'd hate to waste my negating trap so early. Just gotta hope the card I draw next is something I can use.* With those thoughts, Seto performed his first draw pulling forth his Sangan card. With a refreshed smile, Kaiba set the card face down as he watched his life points sky rocket to eight thousand. "That's my turn."
Without saying anything, Yami pulled his first card, staring down at the Cyber Jar, Buster Blader, Giant Rat, Change of Heart, Giant Soldier of Stone, and Fissure. Considering his option, Yami decided to explore with Giant Rat., putting it in attack mode. As the two duelists continued, Joey and Tristan began yelling encouragements to Yugi, something that would typically be matched by Mokuba's own yells for his brother to win. Tea, unable to hear the boy's calls, looked over to see Mokuba sitting with his head in his arms, a dreamy expression on his face as he watched the match.
*Wierd, Mokuba's usually as into this as Joey and Tristan, so why does he look like he'd rather be in school?* Tea was almost tempted to go over and ask, until she heard the familiar sound of a monster biting the dust. She looked over to find that where a Giant Rat dominated the field, destroying Sangan. Kaiba quietly went through his deck, selecting a card with an attack under fifteen hundred and bringing it to his hand. Seto once more drew another card from his deck, his megamorph card. The young CEO smiled, he'd be able to end this match now, and in record time. He looked over to the card his Sangan had given him, Cyber-Stein. A 700/500 monster, it was not the type of card that would provide the crushing attack power that had been it's owner's trademark for so long. In fact, Kaiba would have entirely ignored it when he began reworking his deck, had his little brother not pointed out the monster's staggering effect. Now it was time to put it to the test.
"Okay, first I wipe the field clean with power of the Dark Hole," Seto said as he lay the necessary card on the field. Within moments, both player's monster areas were enveloped in a black hole that began to suck the Giant Rat into it's center. The monster struggled against the pull of the magic card, but to no avail as he disappeared within the swirling vortex. With the monsters swept clear, Kaiba began the second part of his plan, laying Cyber-Stein down in face-up attack position.
*What is Kaiba up to? Why would he waste his Dark Hole on my Giant Rat just to lay down such a weak monster?* Yami was soon to get his answer, however, as their opponent's life points plunged all the way down to three thousand.
"Now, arise my ultimate monster, arise my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Seto said ready for the third part of his plan as the three headed, silvery-white dragon materialized right beside the now chuckling Cyber-Stein. "And finally, I equip my dragon with the ultimate accessory card; MEGAMORPH!!" As soon as the young man placed the named card down, a stone disk appeared behind the Ultimate Dragon, bathing it in light. In an instant, the Blue-Eye's already formidable attack strength doubled to nine thousand.
"NO!" Yami yelled as he realized he had no defense against the dragon as it attacked. In the space of a moment, Yami's lifepoints went from eight thousand all the way down to zero.
"Looks like I won," Seto said smugly. That was when he noticed there were no cheers of joy and laughter for his victory. The elder Kaiba looked over to his brother, only to see Mokuba was still simply leaning over the railing in front of his seat, his eyes still glazed over as they watched the match. *What's wrong with him? He should be ecstatic, his card helped me win.*
"A good duel, Kaiba," Yami said, holding up his hand as Seto's platform lowered him back to the ground.
"I was hoping I'd get a chance to use out my new cards on you," Kaiba said, shaking Yami's hand quickly before walking away, while Yami once more shifted back into Yugi. At that point, his friends came running up to him.
"Man, that happened so quickly, I couldn't believe it," Joey said. "Course I see Kaiba's bein' his usual 'friendly' self after winning."
"He seemed to have more on his mind than the win," said Yugi as he looked to see Seto going over to meet his brother. "Has Mokuba been like that the whole match?"
"I don't know, I wasn't watchin' the twerp," Joey said, confused as to why his friend seemed so concerned about his rival's brother.
"He has," said Tea, shoving her blonde haired friend away. "He didn't even get excited when Seto pulled his ultimate dragon. And I would have thought he'd be jumping from his seat at that."
\Something certainly wasn't right with the boy,\ Yami said. \He was giving off a great deal of negative energy all through the match. And I'm still sensing it.\
/Could that be why he seemed so distracted?/
\I'm more interested to know what a person like Mokuba is doing with so much dark energy.\
************************************
In truth, Mokuba had come to Kaibaland with every intention of watching his brother duel Yugi, using the strategy that Mokuba himself had helped come up with. Of course, all that had been before the nightmare he'd had the night before. In truth, Seto had stayed up half the night trying to calm his younger brother down, all the while trying to figure out what had terrified the boy so much. Mokuba had been more than a little afraid that the lack of sleep would effect his brother's performance. Then, when he'd settled into his seat, he'd begun to feel tired, like all of his energy was simply being sucked out of him. He found himself falling asleep, something he really didn't want to do, especially after last night.
"Mokuba... Come on kid, the duel's over," came a voice as Mokuba felt a hand resting on his shoulder begin to shake him.
*Seto... I hear you,* Mokuba thought, fighting his way back to consciousness. *Please, help me.* As if hearing Mokuba's thoughts, Seto Kaiba began to shake his brother harder.
"Didn't ya hear me? I said the match is over."
"Seto, it's over?" Mokuba said as his trance was broken. "Who... Who won?"
"I did, so that means you won the bet, kid. Guess that means we're off to the zoo like you wanted," Seto said, before considering how Mokuba looked. "Of course, if you're not feeling up to it, we can always take a raincheck."
"No!" Mokuba almost yelled, feeling his energy instantly return to him. "I mean, I'm feeling much better now, so we can go to the zoo, like you promised." The last thing he wanted was to go to sleep, and he'd been looking forward to the zoo ever since Seto had made the bet with him. And besides, perhaps being out in the fresh air would cure whatever was making him so sleepy. Seto looked down at his brother who was smiling hopefully up at him. Mokuba certainly looked much better than he had a few minutes ago, and Seto really didn't have the heart to tell his brother no if there wasn't really anything wrong with him.
"Very well then." With those words, Seto led his raven-haired sibling out of the arena to a waiting limousine.
**************************************************
A few hours later find the brothers Kaiba in the zoo, with Seto staring almost impassively at the animals as his younger brother laughed excitedly at the exhibits. Currently, the two were busy watching a display of rather large hyenas. The animals were lounging in the sun, sleeping, something most of the animals had been doing this day. One hyena yawned, exposing his teeth as Mokuba smiled.
"Seto, do you see how sharp his teeth are? I'd hate to be in a room alone with him," Mokuba said.
"He looks like he'd fit right in with some lawyers I know, if they didn't kill him first," Seto said. Having his fill of the mammal exhibits, Mokuba quickly began to lead Seto to the section of the park reserved for reptiles. Specifically the two were heading for Mokuba's favorite attraction; the crocodiles. Seto had no idea what it was about the scaly monsters that his little brother liked, but they had been his favorite ever since he'd first laid eyes on them. The kid had even put three Krokodilus cards in his own deck, and every so often pestered Seto to include one in his.
As they walked, Seto had the strangest feeling they were being followed. The elder Kaiba cast a quick look behind him to see a man standing at the hyena pit exactly where the two Kaibas had been. He was slight of stature, and wearing a midnight blue tuxedo, complete with a top hat. While it didn't seem like much of anything, Seto couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the scene.
Soon the two made it to the crocodile pit, just in time to see the beasts being fed. Mokuba was leaning over the railing, fascinated as he saw the crocodiles grab their food.
"Seto, come over here and look at this one, it's huge," cried Mokuba, having lost his earlier malaise. Seto walked over to the railing, looking down to see what was indeed a huge crocodile. From snout to tail, the creature looked to be the length of the limo that had brought them there. It took up most of the small island it was currently sunning itself on it was so big. Seto had to admit as he leaned over the rail with Mokuba, he was impressed. Suddenly, Seto felt a hand slam into his back, knocking the elder Kaiba over the railing and into the pit, hitting his head on the wall in the process.
"SETO!!" Mokuba called as his elder brother landed into the water. Mokuba turned around to see a man in a tuxedo, smiling at him as he backed away. The black haired boy turned back around fearing for his brother's life as he saw the teen floating in the water. Everyone was yelling, screaming, and rushing around, trying to get his elder brother out of the water. Inside the pit, three of the crocodiles had left their perches and were heading towards the unconscious Seto.
"Oh that poor boy!"
"Somebody help him!"
"SETO!!" Mokuba yelled again, leaning further over the rail and attempting to grab his elder brother. Suddenly, the big crocodile finally began to move, entering the water as it began to swim over to Seto. Before any of the other reptiles could snap at the brown haired teen, the giant scooped him up in his massive jaws, carrying Seto back to his small island. As it carefully laid Seto down, the croc then moved it's body half in and half out of the water, blocking the other reptiles attacks as Seto began to regain consciousness.
"What?" the elder Kaiba said as he saw what stood before him. One of the smaller crocodiles attempted to snatch the teen, only to be smashed aside by a powerful tail swipe from the giant. At last a rope ladder came down the wall of the pit as one of the zoo-keepers came down carrying a noose on a pole. Another worker came down the ladder, grabbing Seto, only to be knocked away by the young CEO. "I'm all right."
"Sir, it's standard procedure, I..."
"I said I'm FINE," Seto said as he proceeded to climb the rope ladder. As soon as he reached the top, more zoo attendants helped him over the wall, while the other two workers made their own ascent. With nothing left to interest them, the crocodiles dispersed grumpily, leaving the giant one to once more take up sunning himself on his little island. Before anyone could stop him, Seto began scanning the crowd, looking for the one who had shoved him into the pit. Sure enough, staring at the now soaked Kaiba was the same tuxedo-clad man he'd seen earlier. Seto's hands balled into fists as he prepared to attack the stranger, but his plans were derailed as the crowd moved in on him, all clamoring to see if he was all right.
For his part, Mokuba tried to squeeze through the crowd to see if his brother was all right. The long haired boy had been screaming, begging for someone to save Seto, only to be pushed away by the mob just as the giant crocodile was approaching the teen. That was when Mokuba remembered the tuxedo man. He had not moved with the crowd, even though he seemed most interested in what was going on. When the crowd cheered at the elder Kaiba's rescue, the tuxedo-clad man simply turned, carefully trying to avoid any attention. Mokuba knew him instantly as the culprit behind his brother's fall, and also realized that if something wasn't done, he'd get away scott-free.
"Hey, somebody stop that guy!!" Mokuba called, but the twelve-year old's voice was unable to carry over the clamoring of the crowd. Mokuba looked back at the retreating man; soon he'd be out of sight and no one would be able to find him. With that possibility hanging over his head, the boy had only one option he could think of following. Silently, Mokuba began to follow his brother's assailant, trying to stay out of sight of the man. The man moved swiftly through the zoo, soon arriving at the restrooms. Mokuba hid behind a tree as he watched the tuxedo man as he seemed to have trouble deciding through which door he wanted to go.
Before Mokuba could even get settled, the man roughly pushed open the door to the men's room. As he entered, Mokuba sprinted to the door, catching it before it could snap shut. The boy sucked in some air and slipped into the room. The entire restroom was empty, save for the tuxedo man. Quietly, Mokuba snuck behind the trashcan, trying to catch a look a his brother's assailant's face. This proved difficult, considering the man was now wiping his face with a handkerchief. Soon though, the cloth was removed from the man's face, and Mokuba gasped as he recognized who, or rather what, he had been tailing.
*The Witty Phantom?!* Mokuba thought, stunned as he recognized the orange-faced, green-eyed fiend staring into the mirror.
"Ugh," the Phantom said to himself. "How can humans stand having skin of such ugly colors?" As soon as the last of the make-up that had covered his face was removed, the witty phantom stood up tall, pointing a finger at the mirror which began to ripple as he touched it. Suddenly, a shadowed figure appeared on the mirror surface.
"Witty Phantom... I trust you're mission was a success," the figure said.
"I think so. I believe the human, Seto Kaiba, is the one we're looking for," Witty Phantom replied, a smile on his face as he bowed before the mirror.
"And your proof..."
"He can command crocodiles, how else can you explain why such beasts would come to his rescue."
"This is your evidence?" the shadow asked. At that question, the Witty Phantom backed away from the mirror, as though afraid some horrible punishment was coming.
"Uh, if it pleases you, I can always find whatever evidence would appease your greatness."
"No, we must move quickly. Bring this Seto Kaiba to the Shadow Realm now."
"Of course, my lord," Witty Phantom said, bowing again as the shadow left the mirror. "Now if I can only figure out ho..." That was when Mokuba's turned to leave, intent on warning his elder brother. But as he tried to escape the tiled room, his feet slipped on a patch of water, sending him sliding back into the trashcan he'd been hiding behind and knocking it over. Witty Phantom turned around, a look of shock on his face as he realized he had not been alone. The look soon became a smile as he recognized just who his eavesdropper was.
"Uh, hi," Mokuba said, a feeble smile on his face as he backed up against the wall.
"Well, well, well. Here I am trying to figure out a way to snag a shark, and the guppy happily swims into my hands to play the role of bait," Witty Phantom said in a voice that made Mokuba extremely uncomfortable. The orange fiend waved his hand as a sword appeared in front of him, twisting in the air as it grew to it's full size, stopping only when it's hilt and handle reached the Witty Phantom's hand. "This is a Sword of Dark Destruction, a fantastic little weapon that greatly increases my strength, not that I'd need it to deal with a guppy like you."
"What are you going to do with me," Mokuba asked as the phantom fiend got closer.
"You'll be excellent bait to capture your brother with, but I imagine if I simply take you back with me, you'll give me no end of grief. So, I'm just going to use this sword to kill you, and use it's power of re-animation to make it look like you're still alive," said the Witty Phantom, smiling. "Now, if you stay still, this may not hurt as much." With those words, the tuxedo wearing fiend lunged at the boy, ready to insert his sword into Mokuba's body. Suddenly, a force-field rose before Mokuba, and fiend and sword bounced off the shield flying to the other side of the room.
"Woah."
"I would suggest you cease tormenting this poor child and return to the Shadow Realm," came a voice as the door to the restroom opened and in walked a young Egyptian man wearing a white robe and turban. Around his neck hung a key shaped like an ankh of pure gold, a single eye etched into it's crossbars.
"If you think you're going to ruin my plans with a simple trap, I'll be more than happy to show you the error of your ways," Witty Phantom said, his free hand beginning to move in archaic fashion as he prepared a spell to use against this new interloper.
"I think not," the newcomer said as he pulled out a duel monsters deck. Deftly placing his fingers around the sides of the deck, he drew a card from the very center and looked at it. His eyes closed as he displayed the card for all to see, displaying the Eternal Rest card. Witty Phantom's eyes widened as he recognized the spell and he quickly tried to dispose of his sword before the magic could take a hold of him. Too late, the orange ghoul felt it as strands of spirit energy flowed around him wrapping him in a crushing grip. The fiend howled as he felt his body crushed under the force of the magic, sending him to the graveyard.
"Wow, that was so cool," Mokuba said, unable to believe what he had just seen.
"Not really, I was hoping for a spell-binding circle, or a chain energy so I could question him as to how and why he came here," the Egyptian said.
"Who are you? How did you do that?" asked the boy.
"My name is Shadi, and as to how I did what I did, it is information you are better off not knowing." Shadi opened the door to the restroom, beckoning Mokuba to follow him. "For now, I think it prudent I return you to your brother."
"My brother!! Witty Phantom was talking about sending Seto to someone in the... Shadow Realm?"
"Hmm... Why would they be interested in Seto Kaiba?" Shadi asked no one in particular. Shadi then remembered that he was still in Mokuba's presence. The tomb guardian looked down at the boy. "Let us leave." With those simple words, Shadi began to usher his small charge out.
****************************
Seto Kaiba was mad, and his fury was steadily increasing as he was forced to accept the zoo's dubious "help." A doctor was checking him for signs of a concussion, while one of the zoo's managers continued to stammer his apologies over the whole horrible incident. Kaiba was not interested in apologies, nor did he particularly care about how worried the man was that the CEO would seek legal retribution. Right now, all Kaiba wanted was to find his younger brother, whom he was sure was worried sick about him. The crowd had still not dispersed, despite the workers' attempts to get them to. This of course made finding Mokuba from his current position impossible, especially when the doctor shined his light in Seto's eye, checking his pupils.
"Well, Mr. Kaiba, it seems you were lucky, I see no signs of a concussion," the doctor said.
"Yes, that's great..." Kaiba began, only to be interrupted by the zoo's manager.
"Mr. Kaiba, Domino City Zoo would like to offer it's deepest apologies for this incident. If there is anything we can do to off restitution..."
"There's no need, I just need to..."
"You are too kind Mr. Kaiba, but I simply can't allow you to leave without some sort of..."
"NO!" Seto said, as he began to push past the crowd. That was when he noticed Mokuba and Shadi, standing quietly at the back of the crowd as it began to disperse. As soon as the way was clear for him, Mokuba rushed over to grab his still soaked brother. Seto placed an arm around Mokuba as well, but his eyes remained focused on Shadi.
"Seto, you should have seen it. I followed the guy who pushed you in, only he wasn't a guy, he was the Witty Phantom, from duel monsters. He attacked me, but Shadi here threw up some sort of energy shield and the guy just bounced off it. Then he pulled a card from his deck and made the monster disappear." At the mention of the force-field, as slightly confused expression passed over Shadi's face for the quickest of moments, only to be replaced by his normal stoic expression.
"Well, it would seem you helped Mokuba out of a tight situation. I would like to thank you then," Seto said, the tone of his voice and facial features indicating that he was skeptical there had been a monster, something Shadi picked up on.
"I'm afraid your brother's imagination may have run away with him. I merely happened by at an opportune time," the Egyptian said, turning around to leave. "I would, however, suggest that you be on your guard, Seto Kaiba." With those words, Shadi walked away from the two brothers.
***************************************************************************
Domino City had erupted in flames. In point of fact it was still erupting as more red fire rose, claiming more and more buildings. Seto Kaiba was not really worried about the fires, he'd felt it's sting and it meant nothing to him. What he was worried about was the whereabouts of his younger brother, Mokuba.
"MOKUBA!!" Seto yelled through the firestorm as all around him people panicked, abandoning their homes with what few possessions they'd managed to save. "MOKUBA!!" There came no answer back, and Seto was becoming more and more afraid his younger brother had not been able to escape the fires. The elder Kaiba ran down the burning street of his hometown, watching as firefighters tried to get the blazes under control. Soon, Kaiba made it back to his home, which was miraculously unharmed by fire. *Could he still be inside?* Mokuba certainly had to know better, but as long as there was a chance, Seto Kaiba would follow through. The young CEO ran towards his mansion, only to watch in horror as a sphere of dark purple energy flew past him and into the large house. Within seconds, an explosion of flames erupted from the mansion, blowing the windows out one floor at a time before completely engulfing the building in flames. Seto turned around to see another purple sphere heading for him. Just before the deadly energy ball could strike the trenchcoat wearing teen, Joey slammed into Seto, knocking him out of the way. Unfortunately, Joey was not so fortunate, as the energy ball struck him instead, vaporizing the teen.
Seto looked to where the attack had come from. What he saw sent a chill up his spine. Mokuba Kaiba floated almost a full foot off the ground beneath him, his body shadowed by the combined effects of the fire and the aura of dark energy that swirled around the boy. His head was leaning off to the side as he lazily eyed Seto. The boy's eyes had transformed from their usual blue hue to black with flame red pupils. Slowly, the floating firebug began to advance on his brother.
"Mokuba, what is this?" Seto said, indicating the destruction that surrounded the two. Nearby, fifteen police cars had quickly pulled up, forming a barricade across the street as the cops jumped out of their cars, weapons drawn. Mokuba looked past Seto, watching the armed men with a slight interest.
"This is the police! You are surrounded!!" the officer in charge yelled through a megaphone. "Put your hands on the ground and surrender or we will be forced to open fire!!" Mokuba's formerly impassive face gave way to an almost predatory smile as he shook his head. Seto had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he younger brother drew one hand up, and across his chest.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA....!" Mokuba began to laugh like a maniac.
"FIRE!!" the officer yelled and the air was immediately filled with bullets. Or at least it would have been. Less than a foot away from Seto, each and every bullet was stopped cold, as if they had hit an invisible wall of mud. "It's not working!! Use the heavy stuff!!" came the call over the megaphone as one of his compatriots pulled out a rocket launcher. Carefully the cop took aim, but his efforts proved to little too late.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA...!" continued Mokuba's laugh as his hand swept back across at the assembled police force. From out of nowhere, a monstrous wind suddenly blew through the streets. Seto found himself grasping onto a lone light pole to keep himself anchored down. The police were not so lucky as the wind blew them, their cars, and everything that wasn't nailed down away. Seto heard an explosion in the distance that signaled when the hapless lawmen had landed. The elder Kaiba began to fight the heavy storm, hoping to get to his little brother and do something, but just as suddenly as the wind had picked up, it died. Mokuba continued to float in the air, laughing as to purple balls formed around his hands. The wind had whipped his hair into a frenzy, and Seto almost couldn't recognize the face the black mane framed. Mokuba threw the balls of energy in his hands, striking two burning buildings and causing them to completely collapse on themselves.
"STOP THIS!!" Seto found himself yelling as he moved towards his younger brother, though he really had no idea how he was going to enforce his command. Finally, Mokuba stopped laughing, turning his attention back to his brother, the same smile on his face as before. That was when Seto saw a beam of blue energy wrap itself around Mokuba's waist, binding the boy's arms to his side. Both Kaiba brothers looked to see Bakura holding the other end of the energy chain, his Millennium Ring glowing as it summoned his card to the real world. Next to him stood Yugi (or rather Yami) and Shadi, both holding their decks as they prepared for a fight. All three looked as though they'd been through twenty miles of bad road.
"Spell-Binding circle," Yami called.
"Germ Infection," called Shadi, as both duelists drew the appropriate cards from their respective decks. Around Mokuba appeared a shining circle of light filled with archaic writing while a green cloud flew towards the boy, entering his mouth as the magical bacteria tried to weaken him. For a few precious moments, the raging Kaiba seemed to be contained by the three cards. Instinctively, Seto Kaiba moved forward to protect his brother, only to discover how unnecessary such action was. Mokuba screamed, a horrifying, piercing scream a purple energy exploded from the boy's body, shattering all three spells as though they were nothing. Quickly, Yami pulled out another card, hoping it would be enough to block an attack. Seto watched as his baby brother brought both his hands down parallel to each other as a ball of black energy formed between them. The ball crackled and pulsed with bolts of purple energy, almost like a black hole as Mokuba drew back one hand and used it to send the ball flying towards his three attackers.
"Mirror Force!" Yami called as he held up his trap card in an attempt to stop the attack.
"OBLITERATE!!" Mokuba screamed as the ball crashed through the magical barrier, not even slowing down before hitting his three attackers. In a flash of dark light Yami, Shadi, and Bakura were gone. The attack was not without it's effects on Mokuba, however, as the purple aura surrounding him seemed to falter. Seto ran to his brother as the boy began to move to the ground, clearly weakened. The KaibaCorp CEO looked down at his brother, who's face no longer wore it's malicious grin.
"Mokuba. Are you all right? What happened?"
"Seto," Mokuba said quietly, his hand resting on his elder brother's chest. Suddenly, Seto felt a warmth coming over his chest. Too late he saw the purple light building up in Mokuba's hand, destroying him as it had done so many others...
********************************
"AAAHHH!!" Seto Kaiba yelled as he woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around the familiar surroundings of his home office, still haunted by what he had seen mere moments before. Nearby, a clock read the time as two thirty in the morning.
*I must've fallen asleep,* Seto thought as he looked at the screen-saver that had been activated on his computer. *So it was all just a dream?* Saving what he had been working on, the genius shut down his computer. *It just seemed real...* Seto walked upstairs and down the hallway, collecting his thoughts on the nightmare he'd just experienced. The elder Kaiba was not prone to even dreaming, typically going throughout the whole night in silence, so it what he had just gone through had surprised him. Soon, he arrived at the door, not to his room, but his brother's, stopping abruptly. While he had never been a believer of dreams being otherworldly messages, Seto was a firm believer in instinct. Quietly, the World Champion grabbed the doorknob, slowly and quietly turning it so as not to wake the rooms occupant. Opening the door with equal silence, Seto stuck his head into the doorway. Inside, laying in a messy tangle of flesh, pajamas, and sheets was his younger brother, the soft, steady sound of his breathing indicating his slumber. Mokuba's face possessed none of the cruel maliciousness that his brother had seen in his dream. Satisfied nothing was wrong, Seto quietly closed his brother's door and turned for his own room.
*Mokuba... Destroying Domino City? How absurd can a dream get?* Kaiba thought to himself, chuckling a little as he got ready for bed. As the eighteen year old laid down, he continued to mentally laugh at his own foolishness. Still, in the back of his mind, Seto could not help but wonder.
*************************************
Shadi watched the Kaiba mansion with great interest, standing in almost the same spot as the three strangers had stood the night before. He held his Millennium Ankh straight out, pointing it at the mansion as he looked into the surface of his target's soul. Proximity was needed for anything deeper, but until he was sure what he needed, he wasn't particularly interested in going through the soul of a persona as abrasive as Seto Kaiba would no doubt be. Soon he began to feel tension, anxiety, and... fear?
*How odd... What could make Seto Kaiba feel afraid?*
"Shadi?" Came a firm voice behind the Egyptian. Curious as to who could sneak up on him undetected, Shadi was not very surprised to find Yami to be the one who'd done it.
"A bit late for your host to be out, is it not Pharaoh?" Shadi asked.
"Yugi is asleep within his soulroom," the King of Games said. "And may I ask why you have come to see the Kaibas?"
"I encountered a most interesting assailant today, the Witty Phantom. According to the younger Kaiba, he was after Seto Kaiba."
"Interesting," Yami said, turning to leave.
"Wait... Why are you here?"
"I sensed a tremendous source of dark energy earlier today... But now, I can't sense anything." And with those words, the boy king left the tomb guardian alone.
*****************************************
Well, that ends this chapter, hope you all liked it. Remember, if you read it, please review, I always enjoy hearing comments on my work. They help me improve when necessary. Well, until next time.
By Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless.
Summary: A duel with Yugi results in Mokuba and Seto going to the zoo together, were a stranger makes an attempt on Seto's life. Is this merely an assassination, or is there something more behind it?
*_* - Personal Thoughts
/_/ - Yugi to Yami
\_\ - Yami to Yugi
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"Now Yugi, I promise you will know defeat," Seto Kaiba said as his platform raised him to his command console.
"Is this the same promise you've been making the last four times we dueled," came the confident voice of Yami as he ascended to his own console. The two duelist elite were used to such comments being passed between as they waited for their computers to finish preparations. Such barbs and insults had lost much of their sting after being recited timed and again. In fact, the whole thing had become more of a preduel ritual than anything else, which was reason enough for those witnessing the battle to simply ignore it. Which wasn't really hard to do, considering there were only four people in the audience. Tea, Joey, and Tristan sat on Yugi's side of the field, while Mokuba took his usual place nearest his elder brother.
"Okay, we're ready. Shall we play under the new rules as usual, or go back to the original way? Kaiba asked his opponent.
"The new rules seem to present a better challenge to the game then the 'original' rules," Yami said.
"Very well. Since you chose, that means I get first turn," Seto said, smiling as he pulled his first five cards. Yami mentally slapped himself for so easily giving away the first turn. The elder duelist looked at the hand he had drawn. His smile faded a little as he saw one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, along with Polymerization, Steel Ogre Grotto #1, Invitation to a Deep Sleep, Negate Attack, and Dark Hole. *Blast, not a good hand. And I'd hate to waste my negating trap so early. Just gotta hope the card I draw next is something I can use.* With those thoughts, Seto performed his first draw pulling forth his Sangan card. With a refreshed smile, Kaiba set the card face down as he watched his life points sky rocket to eight thousand. "That's my turn."
Without saying anything, Yami pulled his first card, staring down at the Cyber Jar, Buster Blader, Giant Rat, Change of Heart, Giant Soldier of Stone, and Fissure. Considering his option, Yami decided to explore with Giant Rat., putting it in attack mode. As the two duelists continued, Joey and Tristan began yelling encouragements to Yugi, something that would typically be matched by Mokuba's own yells for his brother to win. Tea, unable to hear the boy's calls, looked over to see Mokuba sitting with his head in his arms, a dreamy expression on his face as he watched the match.
*Wierd, Mokuba's usually as into this as Joey and Tristan, so why does he look like he'd rather be in school?* Tea was almost tempted to go over and ask, until she heard the familiar sound of a monster biting the dust. She looked over to find that where a Giant Rat dominated the field, destroying Sangan. Kaiba quietly went through his deck, selecting a card with an attack under fifteen hundred and bringing it to his hand. Seto once more drew another card from his deck, his megamorph card. The young CEO smiled, he'd be able to end this match now, and in record time. He looked over to the card his Sangan had given him, Cyber-Stein. A 700/500 monster, it was not the type of card that would provide the crushing attack power that had been it's owner's trademark for so long. In fact, Kaiba would have entirely ignored it when he began reworking his deck, had his little brother not pointed out the monster's staggering effect. Now it was time to put it to the test.
"Okay, first I wipe the field clean with power of the Dark Hole," Seto said as he lay the necessary card on the field. Within moments, both player's monster areas were enveloped in a black hole that began to suck the Giant Rat into it's center. The monster struggled against the pull of the magic card, but to no avail as he disappeared within the swirling vortex. With the monsters swept clear, Kaiba began the second part of his plan, laying Cyber-Stein down in face-up attack position.
*What is Kaiba up to? Why would he waste his Dark Hole on my Giant Rat just to lay down such a weak monster?* Yami was soon to get his answer, however, as their opponent's life points plunged all the way down to three thousand.
"Now, arise my ultimate monster, arise my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Seto said ready for the third part of his plan as the three headed, silvery-white dragon materialized right beside the now chuckling Cyber-Stein. "And finally, I equip my dragon with the ultimate accessory card; MEGAMORPH!!" As soon as the young man placed the named card down, a stone disk appeared behind the Ultimate Dragon, bathing it in light. In an instant, the Blue-Eye's already formidable attack strength doubled to nine thousand.
"NO!" Yami yelled as he realized he had no defense against the dragon as it attacked. In the space of a moment, Yami's lifepoints went from eight thousand all the way down to zero.
"Looks like I won," Seto said smugly. That was when he noticed there were no cheers of joy and laughter for his victory. The elder Kaiba looked over to his brother, only to see Mokuba was still simply leaning over the railing in front of his seat, his eyes still glazed over as they watched the match. *What's wrong with him? He should be ecstatic, his card helped me win.*
"A good duel, Kaiba," Yami said, holding up his hand as Seto's platform lowered him back to the ground.
"I was hoping I'd get a chance to use out my new cards on you," Kaiba said, shaking Yami's hand quickly before walking away, while Yami once more shifted back into Yugi. At that point, his friends came running up to him.
"Man, that happened so quickly, I couldn't believe it," Joey said. "Course I see Kaiba's bein' his usual 'friendly' self after winning."
"He seemed to have more on his mind than the win," said Yugi as he looked to see Seto going over to meet his brother. "Has Mokuba been like that the whole match?"
"I don't know, I wasn't watchin' the twerp," Joey said, confused as to why his friend seemed so concerned about his rival's brother.
"He has," said Tea, shoving her blonde haired friend away. "He didn't even get excited when Seto pulled his ultimate dragon. And I would have thought he'd be jumping from his seat at that."
\Something certainly wasn't right with the boy,\ Yami said. \He was giving off a great deal of negative energy all through the match. And I'm still sensing it.\
/Could that be why he seemed so distracted?/
\I'm more interested to know what a person like Mokuba is doing with so much dark energy.\
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In truth, Mokuba had come to Kaibaland with every intention of watching his brother duel Yugi, using the strategy that Mokuba himself had helped come up with. Of course, all that had been before the nightmare he'd had the night before. In truth, Seto had stayed up half the night trying to calm his younger brother down, all the while trying to figure out what had terrified the boy so much. Mokuba had been more than a little afraid that the lack of sleep would effect his brother's performance. Then, when he'd settled into his seat, he'd begun to feel tired, like all of his energy was simply being sucked out of him. He found himself falling asleep, something he really didn't want to do, especially after last night.
"Mokuba... Come on kid, the duel's over," came a voice as Mokuba felt a hand resting on his shoulder begin to shake him.
*Seto... I hear you,* Mokuba thought, fighting his way back to consciousness. *Please, help me.* As if hearing Mokuba's thoughts, Seto Kaiba began to shake his brother harder.
"Didn't ya hear me? I said the match is over."
"Seto, it's over?" Mokuba said as his trance was broken. "Who... Who won?"
"I did, so that means you won the bet, kid. Guess that means we're off to the zoo like you wanted," Seto said, before considering how Mokuba looked. "Of course, if you're not feeling up to it, we can always take a raincheck."
"No!" Mokuba almost yelled, feeling his energy instantly return to him. "I mean, I'm feeling much better now, so we can go to the zoo, like you promised." The last thing he wanted was to go to sleep, and he'd been looking forward to the zoo ever since Seto had made the bet with him. And besides, perhaps being out in the fresh air would cure whatever was making him so sleepy. Seto looked down at his brother who was smiling hopefully up at him. Mokuba certainly looked much better than he had a few minutes ago, and Seto really didn't have the heart to tell his brother no if there wasn't really anything wrong with him.
"Very well then." With those words, Seto led his raven-haired sibling out of the arena to a waiting limousine.
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A few hours later find the brothers Kaiba in the zoo, with Seto staring almost impassively at the animals as his younger brother laughed excitedly at the exhibits. Currently, the two were busy watching a display of rather large hyenas. The animals were lounging in the sun, sleeping, something most of the animals had been doing this day. One hyena yawned, exposing his teeth as Mokuba smiled.
"Seto, do you see how sharp his teeth are? I'd hate to be in a room alone with him," Mokuba said.
"He looks like he'd fit right in with some lawyers I know, if they didn't kill him first," Seto said. Having his fill of the mammal exhibits, Mokuba quickly began to lead Seto to the section of the park reserved for reptiles. Specifically the two were heading for Mokuba's favorite attraction; the crocodiles. Seto had no idea what it was about the scaly monsters that his little brother liked, but they had been his favorite ever since he'd first laid eyes on them. The kid had even put three Krokodilus cards in his own deck, and every so often pestered Seto to include one in his.
As they walked, Seto had the strangest feeling they were being followed. The elder Kaiba cast a quick look behind him to see a man standing at the hyena pit exactly where the two Kaibas had been. He was slight of stature, and wearing a midnight blue tuxedo, complete with a top hat. While it didn't seem like much of anything, Seto couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the scene.
Soon the two made it to the crocodile pit, just in time to see the beasts being fed. Mokuba was leaning over the railing, fascinated as he saw the crocodiles grab their food.
"Seto, come over here and look at this one, it's huge," cried Mokuba, having lost his earlier malaise. Seto walked over to the railing, looking down to see what was indeed a huge crocodile. From snout to tail, the creature looked to be the length of the limo that had brought them there. It took up most of the small island it was currently sunning itself on it was so big. Seto had to admit as he leaned over the rail with Mokuba, he was impressed. Suddenly, Seto felt a hand slam into his back, knocking the elder Kaiba over the railing and into the pit, hitting his head on the wall in the process.
"SETO!!" Mokuba called as his elder brother landed into the water. Mokuba turned around to see a man in a tuxedo, smiling at him as he backed away. The black haired boy turned back around fearing for his brother's life as he saw the teen floating in the water. Everyone was yelling, screaming, and rushing around, trying to get his elder brother out of the water. Inside the pit, three of the crocodiles had left their perches and were heading towards the unconscious Seto.
"Oh that poor boy!"
"Somebody help him!"
"SETO!!" Mokuba yelled again, leaning further over the rail and attempting to grab his elder brother. Suddenly, the big crocodile finally began to move, entering the water as it began to swim over to Seto. Before any of the other reptiles could snap at the brown haired teen, the giant scooped him up in his massive jaws, carrying Seto back to his small island. As it carefully laid Seto down, the croc then moved it's body half in and half out of the water, blocking the other reptiles attacks as Seto began to regain consciousness.
"What?" the elder Kaiba said as he saw what stood before him. One of the smaller crocodiles attempted to snatch the teen, only to be smashed aside by a powerful tail swipe from the giant. At last a rope ladder came down the wall of the pit as one of the zoo-keepers came down carrying a noose on a pole. Another worker came down the ladder, grabbing Seto, only to be knocked away by the young CEO. "I'm all right."
"Sir, it's standard procedure, I..."
"I said I'm FINE," Seto said as he proceeded to climb the rope ladder. As soon as he reached the top, more zoo attendants helped him over the wall, while the other two workers made their own ascent. With nothing left to interest them, the crocodiles dispersed grumpily, leaving the giant one to once more take up sunning himself on his little island. Before anyone could stop him, Seto began scanning the crowd, looking for the one who had shoved him into the pit. Sure enough, staring at the now soaked Kaiba was the same tuxedo-clad man he'd seen earlier. Seto's hands balled into fists as he prepared to attack the stranger, but his plans were derailed as the crowd moved in on him, all clamoring to see if he was all right.
For his part, Mokuba tried to squeeze through the crowd to see if his brother was all right. The long haired boy had been screaming, begging for someone to save Seto, only to be pushed away by the mob just as the giant crocodile was approaching the teen. That was when Mokuba remembered the tuxedo man. He had not moved with the crowd, even though he seemed most interested in what was going on. When the crowd cheered at the elder Kaiba's rescue, the tuxedo-clad man simply turned, carefully trying to avoid any attention. Mokuba knew him instantly as the culprit behind his brother's fall, and also realized that if something wasn't done, he'd get away scott-free.
"Hey, somebody stop that guy!!" Mokuba called, but the twelve-year old's voice was unable to carry over the clamoring of the crowd. Mokuba looked back at the retreating man; soon he'd be out of sight and no one would be able to find him. With that possibility hanging over his head, the boy had only one option he could think of following. Silently, Mokuba began to follow his brother's assailant, trying to stay out of sight of the man. The man moved swiftly through the zoo, soon arriving at the restrooms. Mokuba hid behind a tree as he watched the tuxedo man as he seemed to have trouble deciding through which door he wanted to go.
Before Mokuba could even get settled, the man roughly pushed open the door to the men's room. As he entered, Mokuba sprinted to the door, catching it before it could snap shut. The boy sucked in some air and slipped into the room. The entire restroom was empty, save for the tuxedo man. Quietly, Mokuba snuck behind the trashcan, trying to catch a look a his brother's assailant's face. This proved difficult, considering the man was now wiping his face with a handkerchief. Soon though, the cloth was removed from the man's face, and Mokuba gasped as he recognized who, or rather what, he had been tailing.
*The Witty Phantom?!* Mokuba thought, stunned as he recognized the orange-faced, green-eyed fiend staring into the mirror.
"Ugh," the Phantom said to himself. "How can humans stand having skin of such ugly colors?" As soon as the last of the make-up that had covered his face was removed, the witty phantom stood up tall, pointing a finger at the mirror which began to ripple as he touched it. Suddenly, a shadowed figure appeared on the mirror surface.
"Witty Phantom... I trust you're mission was a success," the figure said.
"I think so. I believe the human, Seto Kaiba, is the one we're looking for," Witty Phantom replied, a smile on his face as he bowed before the mirror.
"And your proof..."
"He can command crocodiles, how else can you explain why such beasts would come to his rescue."
"This is your evidence?" the shadow asked. At that question, the Witty Phantom backed away from the mirror, as though afraid some horrible punishment was coming.
"Uh, if it pleases you, I can always find whatever evidence would appease your greatness."
"No, we must move quickly. Bring this Seto Kaiba to the Shadow Realm now."
"Of course, my lord," Witty Phantom said, bowing again as the shadow left the mirror. "Now if I can only figure out ho..." That was when Mokuba's turned to leave, intent on warning his elder brother. But as he tried to escape the tiled room, his feet slipped on a patch of water, sending him sliding back into the trashcan he'd been hiding behind and knocking it over. Witty Phantom turned around, a look of shock on his face as he realized he had not been alone. The look soon became a smile as he recognized just who his eavesdropper was.
"Uh, hi," Mokuba said, a feeble smile on his face as he backed up against the wall.
"Well, well, well. Here I am trying to figure out a way to snag a shark, and the guppy happily swims into my hands to play the role of bait," Witty Phantom said in a voice that made Mokuba extremely uncomfortable. The orange fiend waved his hand as a sword appeared in front of him, twisting in the air as it grew to it's full size, stopping only when it's hilt and handle reached the Witty Phantom's hand. "This is a Sword of Dark Destruction, a fantastic little weapon that greatly increases my strength, not that I'd need it to deal with a guppy like you."
"What are you going to do with me," Mokuba asked as the phantom fiend got closer.
"You'll be excellent bait to capture your brother with, but I imagine if I simply take you back with me, you'll give me no end of grief. So, I'm just going to use this sword to kill you, and use it's power of re-animation to make it look like you're still alive," said the Witty Phantom, smiling. "Now, if you stay still, this may not hurt as much." With those words, the tuxedo wearing fiend lunged at the boy, ready to insert his sword into Mokuba's body. Suddenly, a force-field rose before Mokuba, and fiend and sword bounced off the shield flying to the other side of the room.
"Woah."
"I would suggest you cease tormenting this poor child and return to the Shadow Realm," came a voice as the door to the restroom opened and in walked a young Egyptian man wearing a white robe and turban. Around his neck hung a key shaped like an ankh of pure gold, a single eye etched into it's crossbars.
"If you think you're going to ruin my plans with a simple trap, I'll be more than happy to show you the error of your ways," Witty Phantom said, his free hand beginning to move in archaic fashion as he prepared a spell to use against this new interloper.
"I think not," the newcomer said as he pulled out a duel monsters deck. Deftly placing his fingers around the sides of the deck, he drew a card from the very center and looked at it. His eyes closed as he displayed the card for all to see, displaying the Eternal Rest card. Witty Phantom's eyes widened as he recognized the spell and he quickly tried to dispose of his sword before the magic could take a hold of him. Too late, the orange ghoul felt it as strands of spirit energy flowed around him wrapping him in a crushing grip. The fiend howled as he felt his body crushed under the force of the magic, sending him to the graveyard.
"Wow, that was so cool," Mokuba said, unable to believe what he had just seen.
"Not really, I was hoping for a spell-binding circle, or a chain energy so I could question him as to how and why he came here," the Egyptian said.
"Who are you? How did you do that?" asked the boy.
"My name is Shadi, and as to how I did what I did, it is information you are better off not knowing." Shadi opened the door to the restroom, beckoning Mokuba to follow him. "For now, I think it prudent I return you to your brother."
"My brother!! Witty Phantom was talking about sending Seto to someone in the... Shadow Realm?"
"Hmm... Why would they be interested in Seto Kaiba?" Shadi asked no one in particular. Shadi then remembered that he was still in Mokuba's presence. The tomb guardian looked down at the boy. "Let us leave." With those simple words, Shadi began to usher his small charge out.
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Seto Kaiba was mad, and his fury was steadily increasing as he was forced to accept the zoo's dubious "help." A doctor was checking him for signs of a concussion, while one of the zoo's managers continued to stammer his apologies over the whole horrible incident. Kaiba was not interested in apologies, nor did he particularly care about how worried the man was that the CEO would seek legal retribution. Right now, all Kaiba wanted was to find his younger brother, whom he was sure was worried sick about him. The crowd had still not dispersed, despite the workers' attempts to get them to. This of course made finding Mokuba from his current position impossible, especially when the doctor shined his light in Seto's eye, checking his pupils.
"Well, Mr. Kaiba, it seems you were lucky, I see no signs of a concussion," the doctor said.
"Yes, that's great..." Kaiba began, only to be interrupted by the zoo's manager.
"Mr. Kaiba, Domino City Zoo would like to offer it's deepest apologies for this incident. If there is anything we can do to off restitution..."
"There's no need, I just need to..."
"You are too kind Mr. Kaiba, but I simply can't allow you to leave without some sort of..."
"NO!" Seto said, as he began to push past the crowd. That was when he noticed Mokuba and Shadi, standing quietly at the back of the crowd as it began to disperse. As soon as the way was clear for him, Mokuba rushed over to grab his still soaked brother. Seto placed an arm around Mokuba as well, but his eyes remained focused on Shadi.
"Seto, you should have seen it. I followed the guy who pushed you in, only he wasn't a guy, he was the Witty Phantom, from duel monsters. He attacked me, but Shadi here threw up some sort of energy shield and the guy just bounced off it. Then he pulled a card from his deck and made the monster disappear." At the mention of the force-field, as slightly confused expression passed over Shadi's face for the quickest of moments, only to be replaced by his normal stoic expression.
"Well, it would seem you helped Mokuba out of a tight situation. I would like to thank you then," Seto said, the tone of his voice and facial features indicating that he was skeptical there had been a monster, something Shadi picked up on.
"I'm afraid your brother's imagination may have run away with him. I merely happened by at an opportune time," the Egyptian said, turning around to leave. "I would, however, suggest that you be on your guard, Seto Kaiba." With those words, Shadi walked away from the two brothers.
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Domino City had erupted in flames. In point of fact it was still erupting as more red fire rose, claiming more and more buildings. Seto Kaiba was not really worried about the fires, he'd felt it's sting and it meant nothing to him. What he was worried about was the whereabouts of his younger brother, Mokuba.
"MOKUBA!!" Seto yelled through the firestorm as all around him people panicked, abandoning their homes with what few possessions they'd managed to save. "MOKUBA!!" There came no answer back, and Seto was becoming more and more afraid his younger brother had not been able to escape the fires. The elder Kaiba ran down the burning street of his hometown, watching as firefighters tried to get the blazes under control. Soon, Kaiba made it back to his home, which was miraculously unharmed by fire. *Could he still be inside?* Mokuba certainly had to know better, but as long as there was a chance, Seto Kaiba would follow through. The young CEO ran towards his mansion, only to watch in horror as a sphere of dark purple energy flew past him and into the large house. Within seconds, an explosion of flames erupted from the mansion, blowing the windows out one floor at a time before completely engulfing the building in flames. Seto turned around to see another purple sphere heading for him. Just before the deadly energy ball could strike the trenchcoat wearing teen, Joey slammed into Seto, knocking him out of the way. Unfortunately, Joey was not so fortunate, as the energy ball struck him instead, vaporizing the teen.
Seto looked to where the attack had come from. What he saw sent a chill up his spine. Mokuba Kaiba floated almost a full foot off the ground beneath him, his body shadowed by the combined effects of the fire and the aura of dark energy that swirled around the boy. His head was leaning off to the side as he lazily eyed Seto. The boy's eyes had transformed from their usual blue hue to black with flame red pupils. Slowly, the floating firebug began to advance on his brother.
"Mokuba, what is this?" Seto said, indicating the destruction that surrounded the two. Nearby, fifteen police cars had quickly pulled up, forming a barricade across the street as the cops jumped out of their cars, weapons drawn. Mokuba looked past Seto, watching the armed men with a slight interest.
"This is the police! You are surrounded!!" the officer in charge yelled through a megaphone. "Put your hands on the ground and surrender or we will be forced to open fire!!" Mokuba's formerly impassive face gave way to an almost predatory smile as he shook his head. Seto had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he younger brother drew one hand up, and across his chest.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA....!" Mokuba began to laugh like a maniac.
"FIRE!!" the officer yelled and the air was immediately filled with bullets. Or at least it would have been. Less than a foot away from Seto, each and every bullet was stopped cold, as if they had hit an invisible wall of mud. "It's not working!! Use the heavy stuff!!" came the call over the megaphone as one of his compatriots pulled out a rocket launcher. Carefully the cop took aim, but his efforts proved to little too late.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA...!" continued Mokuba's laugh as his hand swept back across at the assembled police force. From out of nowhere, a monstrous wind suddenly blew through the streets. Seto found himself grasping onto a lone light pole to keep himself anchored down. The police were not so lucky as the wind blew them, their cars, and everything that wasn't nailed down away. Seto heard an explosion in the distance that signaled when the hapless lawmen had landed. The elder Kaiba began to fight the heavy storm, hoping to get to his little brother and do something, but just as suddenly as the wind had picked up, it died. Mokuba continued to float in the air, laughing as to purple balls formed around his hands. The wind had whipped his hair into a frenzy, and Seto almost couldn't recognize the face the black mane framed. Mokuba threw the balls of energy in his hands, striking two burning buildings and causing them to completely collapse on themselves.
"STOP THIS!!" Seto found himself yelling as he moved towards his younger brother, though he really had no idea how he was going to enforce his command. Finally, Mokuba stopped laughing, turning his attention back to his brother, the same smile on his face as before. That was when Seto saw a beam of blue energy wrap itself around Mokuba's waist, binding the boy's arms to his side. Both Kaiba brothers looked to see Bakura holding the other end of the energy chain, his Millennium Ring glowing as it summoned his card to the real world. Next to him stood Yugi (or rather Yami) and Shadi, both holding their decks as they prepared for a fight. All three looked as though they'd been through twenty miles of bad road.
"Spell-Binding circle," Yami called.
"Germ Infection," called Shadi, as both duelists drew the appropriate cards from their respective decks. Around Mokuba appeared a shining circle of light filled with archaic writing while a green cloud flew towards the boy, entering his mouth as the magical bacteria tried to weaken him. For a few precious moments, the raging Kaiba seemed to be contained by the three cards. Instinctively, Seto Kaiba moved forward to protect his brother, only to discover how unnecessary such action was. Mokuba screamed, a horrifying, piercing scream a purple energy exploded from the boy's body, shattering all three spells as though they were nothing. Quickly, Yami pulled out another card, hoping it would be enough to block an attack. Seto watched as his baby brother brought both his hands down parallel to each other as a ball of black energy formed between them. The ball crackled and pulsed with bolts of purple energy, almost like a black hole as Mokuba drew back one hand and used it to send the ball flying towards his three attackers.
"Mirror Force!" Yami called as he held up his trap card in an attempt to stop the attack.
"OBLITERATE!!" Mokuba screamed as the ball crashed through the magical barrier, not even slowing down before hitting his three attackers. In a flash of dark light Yami, Shadi, and Bakura were gone. The attack was not without it's effects on Mokuba, however, as the purple aura surrounding him seemed to falter. Seto ran to his brother as the boy began to move to the ground, clearly weakened. The KaibaCorp CEO looked down at his brother, who's face no longer wore it's malicious grin.
"Mokuba. Are you all right? What happened?"
"Seto," Mokuba said quietly, his hand resting on his elder brother's chest. Suddenly, Seto felt a warmth coming over his chest. Too late he saw the purple light building up in Mokuba's hand, destroying him as it had done so many others...
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"AAAHHH!!" Seto Kaiba yelled as he woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around the familiar surroundings of his home office, still haunted by what he had seen mere moments before. Nearby, a clock read the time as two thirty in the morning.
*I must've fallen asleep,* Seto thought as he looked at the screen-saver that had been activated on his computer. *So it was all just a dream?* Saving what he had been working on, the genius shut down his computer. *It just seemed real...* Seto walked upstairs and down the hallway, collecting his thoughts on the nightmare he'd just experienced. The elder Kaiba was not prone to even dreaming, typically going throughout the whole night in silence, so it what he had just gone through had surprised him. Soon, he arrived at the door, not to his room, but his brother's, stopping abruptly. While he had never been a believer of dreams being otherworldly messages, Seto was a firm believer in instinct. Quietly, the World Champion grabbed the doorknob, slowly and quietly turning it so as not to wake the rooms occupant. Opening the door with equal silence, Seto stuck his head into the doorway. Inside, laying in a messy tangle of flesh, pajamas, and sheets was his younger brother, the soft, steady sound of his breathing indicating his slumber. Mokuba's face possessed none of the cruel maliciousness that his brother had seen in his dream. Satisfied nothing was wrong, Seto quietly closed his brother's door and turned for his own room.
*Mokuba... Destroying Domino City? How absurd can a dream get?* Kaiba thought to himself, chuckling a little as he got ready for bed. As the eighteen year old laid down, he continued to mentally laugh at his own foolishness. Still, in the back of his mind, Seto could not help but wonder.
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Shadi watched the Kaiba mansion with great interest, standing in almost the same spot as the three strangers had stood the night before. He held his Millennium Ankh straight out, pointing it at the mansion as he looked into the surface of his target's soul. Proximity was needed for anything deeper, but until he was sure what he needed, he wasn't particularly interested in going through the soul of a persona as abrasive as Seto Kaiba would no doubt be. Soon he began to feel tension, anxiety, and... fear?
*How odd... What could make Seto Kaiba feel afraid?*
"Shadi?" Came a firm voice behind the Egyptian. Curious as to who could sneak up on him undetected, Shadi was not very surprised to find Yami to be the one who'd done it.
"A bit late for your host to be out, is it not Pharaoh?" Shadi asked.
"Yugi is asleep within his soulroom," the King of Games said. "And may I ask why you have come to see the Kaibas?"
"I encountered a most interesting assailant today, the Witty Phantom. According to the younger Kaiba, he was after Seto Kaiba."
"Interesting," Yami said, turning to leave.
"Wait... Why are you here?"
"I sensed a tremendous source of dark energy earlier today... But now, I can't sense anything." And with those words, the boy king left the tomb guardian alone.
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Well, that ends this chapter, hope you all liked it. Remember, if you read it, please review, I always enjoy hearing comments on my work. They help me improve when necessary. Well, until next time.