Nightmare
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Notes: Fixed a mistake last chapter; thanks to Misura for pointing it out.
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Chapter 5
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Seto had paused only once in the last three hours, and that was just a five-minute break to roll his shoulders a few times and use the two-way radio to request some coffee. The maid had dropped that off, and he'd drunken about half before becoming so absorbed in his work that he forgot about it. Now, as he stopped to arch his back, he saw the abandoned mug partially full of ice-cold coffee. He picked it up and dumped the contents into the trashcan before setting the mug on one of the side tables and turning back to his work.
About two hours ago, he'd heard Mokuba come in. He was considering going out there, but the file he'd been working on was extremely pressing. Seto did feel slightly guilty about the amount of work he'd been doing the last two weeks, but it was for a good cause. He'd recently closed a deal with Domino Corporations. Once he finished this project, he'd be done with all the extra work he'd taken over. The wrap-up of the project, not as important as the initial plans, would go to his subordinates and he would be nearly free for an entire month. Not that he wouldn't have work; it would just be the same amount of work most employees were expected to do. And with the highly efficient skills he'd developed over the years, he would have a lot of free time to spend with Mokuba.
He thought he heard other voices as his little brother entered the mansion, and his typing had slowed so that he could listen. Serenity Wheeler's voice had rung out a little, so he'd gone back to his work and forgotten about the visitor. He trusted the two of them together, even if it had taken a few days of having the maid keep a close watch on them. He might not like the fact that Mokuba was dating the mutt's younger sister, but Serenity herself wasn't horrible. Mokuba had convinced him that he couldn't hold Serenity accountable for Joey's idiocy, just as it wouldn't be fair to judge either of the Kaiba brothers on the other. Besides, the fact that Mokuba had a companion made Seto feel a little less guilty about throwing himself into the work as he had.
The voices had died away soon enough anyway as Mokuba and Serenity moved to the other part of the mansion. So Seto worked steadily into the night. When he next glanced at the clock, it was two a.m. and he'd finished the project. Feeling smugly satisfied, he saved the file; then double-and-triple checked it in paranoia.
Seto left his trenchcoat in the room as he trudged down the hall. A maid would get it sooner or later. He blearily decided to just fall right to sleep in his dark pants and shirt; it wasn't worth the energy to change. Not that he would admit it, but the constant unrest from the last few weeks had finally caught up with him.
He started to turn into his bedroom, but some impulse made him hesitate. Slowly, he spun around and creaked open Mokuba's bedroom door; he and his little brother had rooms right across from each other.
His little brother's bed was empty. Not only that, his sheets and pillow were missing.
Feeling more confused than worried yet, but nonetheless wide-awake now, Seto started down the hall. He would search the mansion until he found Mokuba, and get an explanation for this confusing behavior.
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Téa sat up, rubbing her eyes slowly. Her sleep had been anything but restful. She'd dreamed that she was under the mindcontrol of Marik once more. But this time, instead of being ordered to bait Yugi and Yami, she was being made to sit on a chair in the middle of the room. Marik circled her, a predatory smile on his face. She stared blankly ahead. Finally, he stepped up and grabbed her chin, testing his grip. It was getting hard to breathe. Marik opened his mouth and started to laugh-
And then she'd woken. Téa shuddered involuntarily, then glanced around at her companions. Joey was wedged in between Serenity and Mokuba; he'd put his foot down on letting them sleep next to each other. The couple had inched up so they could hold hands over his sleeping head. Téa smiled slightly as she watched the three of them doze.
She sat up, scratching the top of her head. Luckily, they hadn't seen Kaiba- Seto, she supposed she'd better call him. Mokuba had informed them, in a slightly depressed tone, that Seto had been working on some really big project and hadn't emerged from his office except for school and maybe an hour or two of sleep a night. Sometimes Mokuba was just waking up to shower when he caught Seto creeping in his room for twenty minutes of sleep before school started.
Serenity had gently squeezed Mokuba's hand as he related this, and Joey had snorted under his breath.
She'd asked Mokuba about the security systems, but he confidently informed her that everything was automatic and overseen by a team of guards living in a control room built in an obscure wing of the mansion. He had, however, dashed over to them to tell them to keep a closer eye out, while Joey and Téa unraveled the four sleeping bags the younger Kaiba had brought out. He also went with Serenity to his room (a fact Joey didn't realize until after they got back) and the closet, and the two of them came back with an armload of blankets, sheets, and pillows. To top it off, Joey had raided the Kaiba's kitchen while a red Téa tried to mumble an apology to Mokuba.
Unfortunately, Joey had been so kind as to share the soda he stole- and now she had to go to the bathroom. Not that she knew where it was, in this house. She'd used it before, but it had been off the kitchen and she didn't even know where that was. But it couldn't be that hard to find. And she didn't want to wake Mokuba to help her find it. And never mind how creepy the house looked at night; she couldn't wake Joey just because she was scared. Besides, when he saw Serenity and Mokuba holding hands in their sleep he might explode.
She gently pushed the sheets over her legs and stood up. She was wearing her oldest, most comfortable pajamas; flannel pants and a tanktop. It was vaguely comforting, and she found herself wishing she'd brought one of her old stuffed animals to cuddle. Softly, she padded out of the room, catching the glowing green letters of the digital clock on the stand in the corner. 2:13. She'd rarely been awake at this hour of the night.
She passed three doors on her left that looked too big to go into a bathroom. How many rooms did this house have, anyway? How many did it need? Where could they all go?
Téa came to the end of the hallway and furrowed her brow. Solid wall was directly in front of her, with an opening to her right and a door to her left. She put her head through the opening to the right and craned her neck, straining to see in the faint light: a staircase. She tentatively opened the door, but it was just another staircase. Disappointed, she tried to shut it as quietly as possible. When she turned around, she found herself directly facing something dark, broad, and living.
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Seto stared down at Téa Gardner's frightened blue eyes. 'She's got really big eyes what the hell is she doing in my house?' he thought disjointedly. "Gardner?"
"Kaiba!" she squeaked, jumping backwards and nearly bumping into the door. "I'm sorry! I didn't think- Mokuba said you wouldn't be down here-"
"Mokuba?" he growled, pushing past her and striding down the hallway. He veered right, into the living room. At once, he flipped on the blinding overhead lights and bellowed, "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"
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"Mokuba, you should have known better."
"This has nothing to do with Serenity!" Mokuba protested. "She's not the reason everyone is here!"
"You were sleeping right next to her and holding her hand," Seto repeated scathingly.
"Joey was between us!" Mokuba pointed out.
"Yo, Mokuba," Joey called, poking his head out from the refrigerator. "What kinda cheese is this?"
"Expensive," Seto responded shortly, striding across the room and yanking the package from Joey's hand.
"Look, nothing was going on between me and Serenity," Mokuba said in exasperation. "Don't you believe me?"
"Well, I thought I did," Seto grunted, dangling the cheese above his head and away from Joey's frustrated jumps.
"Gimme that! It smelled good!"
"Too good for you," Seto growled, passing it from one hand to the other. Joey leapt in the air and came down heavily on Seto's foot. He yelped in pain and shoved Joey across the kitchen and into Serenity.
"Oof!"
"Sorry, sis."
"Leave my girlfriend alone!"
"Hey, I'm her brother, buddy. You tell your brother to leave me and my sister alone."
"Seto…"
"Don't you even think about saying it, Mokuba."
"It's okay, Mokuba, I'm fine. I just want you guys to calm down."
"Seto, you're missing the point. Serenity and Joey are here just for company. It's Téa who's in trouble."
"As a matter of fact, little brother, it's you who's in trouble now."
"Aw, Seto!"
Téa was the only one not joining in this conversation. She sat at the bar-style gleaming counter, elbows on the table and head in her hands. She was staring despondently at what she could see of her own pale reflection.
"Mokuba."
"Mokuba!"
"Seto!"
"Kaiba!"
"Serenity-"
"Joey!"
"Mister Kaiba!"
Everyone turned to look at this new arrival. A middle-aged, graying man stood uncomfortably in the doorway. Téa slowly lifted her head to look at the man. His suit identified him as an employee in the mansion, and the gun tucked carefully into his pocket marked him as one of the security guards.
"Mister Kaiba," the man repeated, addressing Mokuba. "That is, Mister Kaiba Junior. Mister Mokuba."
"Get on with it," Seto growled impatiently, fluidly shifting the imported cheese to his other arm right before Joey pounced.
"Mister Mokuba, you asked us to inform you if the cameras picked up an intruder on the premises," the guard said carefully. "Well, we've picked up something."
Téa's arms hit the table with a thunk. Seto shot her a half-irritated, half-confused look.
"A person?" Mokuba asked calmly, moving over.
"Yes."
"I'd like to take a look."
"You can certainly view the video if you'd wish, but for your convenience I printed out this," the man said, handing Mokuba a small square of paper. A photograph, Téa realized. "It's the clearest shot we had of the prowler."
Mokuba only needed to glance at it for a second. "That's Marik, all right," he said grimly, crumpling the paper into a ball. Seto moved up behind him and took the picture.
"What the hell is Marik Ishtar doing on my property?" he demanded angrily.
"Stalking Téa, you insensitive creep!" Joey's voice rang out.
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"Marik."
His body tensed like a cat. How hadn't he seen this threat coming? He whirled around, crouched low, holding the Millennium Rod out like a weapon.
The dark Bakura laughed in amusement. Marik stiffened, then slowly unwound. "Tombrobber."
"My skills haven't diminished," Yami Bakura said, sounding pleased. Marik offered a stiff shrug.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, surly. A sudden smile lit up his face: "If you've come here to help-" he started, but abruptly his smile faded. "If you've come here to help, that's fine, but don't expect a share in the profits."
"You mean the girl?" Bakura asked, sounding amused. "No, thank you. I have no interest in petty things like that any longer."
"What do you have an interest in?" Marik asked guardedly.
Bakura shrugged. "The Millennium Items. Power. Whether you can pull this off or not."
"What do you mean?"
"Let me put it this way." Bakura put a finger to his lips, grinning evilly. "If you can obtain the girl within a week, I shall offer you my services in eliminating all threats to your safety- the so-called Pharaoh, for one, who would do anything to stand in your way." Marik's eyes narrowed.
"If, however-" Bakura paused. "If she is not in your firm grasp at the end of the week, I claim your Millennium Rod."
"That's ridiculous!" Marik spat. "I would never agree to a bet like that!"
"And why is that? Afraid of losing her? Do you realize, perhaps, that you never had her?"
"No," Marik hissed. "But Téa is not one to be toyed with."
"Hmm." Bakura paused, leaning back against the fence surrounding the mansion and crossing his arms. "Am I to suppose, then, that Gardner means a lot to you?"
Marik drew his lips back over his teeth.
"Perhaps…" Bakura started thoughtfully. "Perhaps not a bet is in store, but a bargain."
"I'm listening," Marik said guardedly. "But I don't promise anything."
The white-haired spirit used his foot to push himself away from the fence and began pacing. "I help you to get the girl and wipe out her friends. Once the two of you are safely away together, you give me the Millennium Rod." At Marik's hesitant expression, he added: "And I vow to come to your aid in the future, should you need me."
Marik snorted. "Last time we made a bargain, you failed to keep it."
"And would it have mattered in the end?" Bakura retorted, stung. "As I recall, you came running to me when your other half took over."
"And then you lost the duel for good."
"I wasn't alone!" Bakura snarled. "You were right there! You couldn't have done better!"
Silence, except for their heavy breathing.
"You would have to pledge it."
"Very well."
From a pocket Marik hadn't seen, the yami drew out a dagger. The blonde boy watched closely as Yami Bakura dragged the sharp blade across his flesh, letting a few red drops of blood trickle to the ground.
"Aaah," Bakura sighed, apparently reveling in the pain. "There. I pledge my loyalty to you in capturing Téa Gardner for your sake alone. Should you deliver the Millennium Rod to me as promised, I will help you forevermore in defending your property."
"Done," Marik said, putting his hand over the dagger. With a sigh, Bakura sheathed it.
"Done," he repeated.
The two of them grinned demonically at each other, the old alliance renewed. But when Marik turned to gaze again at the mansion, now ablaze with light, Bakura's grin became cruel.
'Fool. Never trust a tombrobber.'
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"Wheeler, consider yourself lucky I don't throw you out."
Seto's voice was suspiciously absent of the usual venom. He simply sounded weary.
Téa was wrapped up in a huge, fluffy blanket and huddled on the loveseat in the living room. Seto sat, arms and legs crossed, in a high-backed chair next to the loveseat. Across from them, Serenity and Mokuba sat next to each other on a long couch. At least, they were sort of next to each other. They would have been a lot closer if Joey weren't leaning over the edge of the couch, thrusting his upper body in between them as he glared at Kaiba. "You can't throw me out!"
"I can indeed, and I'm coming very close to it," Seto threatened.
"No you can't! Téa needs me!"
"Please," Serenity interrupted, clasping her hands together. "Can we stop this?"
"Yeah, let's stop," Mokuba said, crossing his arms and leaning back into the soft cushion of the couch. "What do we do?"
Joey huffed and drew back slightly, abandoning the argument with Kaiba.
"Go to sleep, because it's past our bedtimes," Seto responded coldly.
Téa gave a slight shiver and glanced up at him. He wasn't looking at her, but rising from his seat. "It looks like you're set as far as sleeping quarters go," he said, indicating the mess of blankets and sleeping bags on the floor. "I'll be down the hall, should you need me."
With that, he strode calmly out of the room. Téa pushed the blanket off of her body and stood. "I'll be right back, guys," she said distractedly, heading off after him after taking a last glance around.
Joey's mouth was agape. "He doesn't mind us staying here?"
"He was embarrassed," Mokuba said crossly. "I keep telling him to be nice to my friends, but he's not very good at it. He can't just come out and say that it's okay for Téa to hide here, he has to tell you to go to bed and run out of the room!" He scowled. "Seto keeps saying that he has deficient social skills, which is just a load of bu-" He caught himself in time, grinning sheepishly at a glowering Joey, who was waiting to see if his baby sister's boyfriend had a dirty mouth.
"Look, Mokuba," Joey said, waggling his finger warningly. "Don't you swear around Serenity!"
The girl in question groaned and buried her head in her hands, wondering where Téa had run off to.
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"Kaiba?"
Seto paused in mid-stride. After a few agonizing seconds, he turned around. Téa remembered the incident a few days before, where he hadn't bothered to stop walking, and felt grateful. Abruptly, her brain reorganized the jumble he'd spoken: 'H'whsrt gnot w'm rutr'… 'His sister is going out with my brother.' At least that mystery was solved.
"I just wanted to say thank-you," she said shyly. "For letting me stay here." She paused, rubbing her arm absently. It wasn't easy to admit, because she knew Kaiba despised weakness, but she had to say it anyway. "I'm really scared to go back outside right now."
"Gardner, why the hell are you thanking me?" Seto questioned roughly. Her sapphire eyes widened slightly.
"I mean, who do you think I am? How could anyone throw you out of their house now? Marik is out there, wandering the streets like a psycho he is. I would never willingly send you into danger. No one would." He crossed his arms, daring her to argue with him. When she was silent, shocked, he added, "You don't need to be thanking me right now. You don't need to be thanking anyone. Those who suffer much, deserve even more. They might not always get it, but they deserve it. You aren't being handed all this help from your friends- you're justified in getting it."
She was completely floored. Seto eyed her, a faint tinge creeping into his pale skin. Was he blushing?
"So no more of this whining crap!" he suddenly bellowed, and spun around and stomped down the hall.
"Kaiba!" she called before she thought about it. He froze, and turned around again.
"What?" he asked, his face a careful blank. She bit her lip, deciding it would be better not to cross him right now.
"Uhh… could you tell me where the bathrooms are?"
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"We were beginning to worry about you," Serenity said softly when Téa re-entered the room. "Joey was about to go looking for you."
"Yeah," Joey piped up, looking up from examining the design on the sleeping bag. "What were you talking to that creep about, anyway?"
Mokuba coughed discreetly. Joey had the grace to look a little embarrassed and mumble an apology.
"I was using the bathroom," Téa said, arranging herself on one of the sleeping bags and smoothing the edge of her pajamas down.
"Aaah," Joey said, nodding wisely. "Womanly necessities."
She raised her head slowly and gave him an incredulous look. "No, Joey," she said carefully, pronouncing every word like he was an imbecile. "I. Had. To. Pee!"
"Oh," he said, face red. Serenity threw back her head and laughed- the first time any of them had really laughed that day.
"Mai told him, about two months ago, that he didn't understand women," she explained to Téa through a grin. "He hasn't forgotten about it yet. And he still doesn't understand us, but you have to give him points for trying."
Joey grumbled something unintelligible and got up, pacing restlessly. He pressed his forehead to the window and stared out at the broad expanse of lawn, lit an eerie green at the borders by the light streaming from the window but fading to an even more intimidating darkness.
"Say, Mokuba," he said, seriousness back in his voice. "How far away is that fence?"
"About a hundred feet," Mokuba guessed. "Two hundred in the back, but only fifty on the sides."
"Hm," Joey grunted. "I almost wish it were closer. When it's so far away, it's hard to tell it's there."
"But we have the cameras," Mokuba reminded him. "They're at staggered intervals along the fence and have built-in motion sensors."
"Didn't do much good before," Joey grumbled. "I mean, they picked up that Marik was there, but he went away on his own. What good is knowing that he's there if we can't do anything about it? And if we ever tried to go out there- look at the lawn! It's completely flat and open. We'd be walking targets! The only bushes are along the fence, which might be handy for Marik."
Mokuba bit his lip. "I should probably tell you what I had the guards do," he confessed. "Right after our fa… right after Gozaburo disappeared, Seto got really nervous for a while and he built in a laser system to work cooperatively with the cameras. I had the guards turn it on."
Serenity gasped loudly, and they all turned to look at her. "Mokuba!" she said, sounding alarmed. "The robots would shoot Marik?"
"What other choice do I have?" Mokuba asked defensively. "The fence can be made electric, but I bet that wouldn't stop Marik. Sometimes you have to resort to the big guns. All our security is designed to protect against regular burglars, but we've never had one quite like Marik."
"But I'm sure you've had to consider high-tech robbers," Téa said slowly. "Mokuba, exactly what kinds of security do you have?"
Mokuba blinked a little, then came to stand by Joey at the window. Right under the window was their heating system, blowing out warm air and causing the glass to fog. He absently traced a house out, then a fence surrounding it.
"If this is the house, here's the fence. You know about the cameras and the lasers. The fence is electric at the top, with sticks to keep away the birds. There's also a way to turn the electricity on completely- to make the whole fence electric- but I don't want to do that, it's too risky. A stray animal could come too close."
"What if a stray animal comes too close to the lasers?" Serenity interrupted passionately.
His shoulders hunched. "The lasers are targeted specifically for humans," he said softly. "They're very sophisticated."
"All right then, Mokuba. What if a human wanders too close? Are you going to shoot them too?"
"Well, that's the thing," Mokuba said pleadingly. "You know about the main fence, but there's a second loop. That's barbed wire, and it's got a kind of force field around it. It's like a milder version of an electric fence. Most people wouldn't be able to cross it. Of course… Marik already did," he continued, his eyes darting from side to side. "That's how the cameras picked him up. If he's out of their range now, he's probably hanging somewhere just beyond that fence."
"How do you think he got through?" Joey asked.
Mokuba shrugged. "Smashed his way in?" he offered. "Cut it up with the Millennium Rod?" He hesitated a second. "Stood the pain and climbed over?"
Téa squeezed her eyes shut, hearing his demonic laugher. Serenity put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Anyway, if anyone got over the main fence- which trust me, Téa, is extremely difficult- the sensors would go off." He absently doodled in the perspiration on the window. "Lights would start flashing out there, and an alarm would go off in here. Then a couple trap doors in the lawn would open, and robots on wheels would come out. Their job is to protect the house. Believe it or not, we have a couple of dogs too." He grinned. "Roland convinced Seto that we couldn't rely only on technology. Anyway, the dogs and the robots fight off intruders. All the door and windows here automatically lock as long as they were already shut. Steel bolts, and magnetic fields to reinforce them. There are a couple passages that lead to an underground network. We follow that network to any of three target stations: the Bank, the Police Station, or the middle of the forest that runs along the beach."
He looked up to their astonished faces. "That must be huge," Serenity mumbled.
Mokuba smiled proudly. "Yeah, it is. Don't worry, you wouldn't have to walk that far. There is a pathway in case of emergencies, but when you get underground there are mini-trains to take you to the target stations."
"Your brother built all this?" Téa asked softly, her eyes wide. How could anyone be that utterly paranoid?
"Well, some of it was already in place for when Gozaburo was running things. The trains were already there. But Seto added to it a little bit. Now there are a couple of computer labs down there too."
"Well, Téa, I think you're in the best place you could be," Joey admitted. She nodded slowly.
"Mokuba, thank you again-"
"Don't thank me!" Mokuba interrupted. "You don't need to!"
"That's what Seto said," she said, a small smile tumbling from her lips as if by accident. She'd referred to him by his first name.
"Good," Mokuba said in satisfaction. "Finally. He's starting to make up for his 'deficient social skills'."
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"Tell me your plan!" Marik said roughly, feeling his skin tingle with excitement.
"Will you be quiet!" Bakura snarled, his concentration broken. "You're lucky they were done talking."
"You were listening to them?" Marik questioned, his violet eyes narrowing. "How?"
"Through the powers of my Millennium Ring," Bakura said smoothly, rising from his cross-legged position in the dirt and dusting off his bottom in a perfect imitation of his pristine hikari. "I have a plan."
"Well, Ra-damn-it, tell me!" Marik spat.
Bakura lifted an elegant hand and pointed his slender white finger at the Kaiba Mansion, where a single window was lit. "We wait until all the lights are out. Then we strike their weakest link."
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Half an hour later, they'd finally stopped discussing strategy, mostly because they noticed it was giving Téa a headache. Her face, which had become so pale these last few days, was now positively white.
So she found herself lying on her back, in much the same position as she'd been a few hours earlier, before she decided to try and find the bathroom. Her head was pounding; she could hear her own heart beat. Listening to the hypnotizing rhythm, she drifted off into a discontented slumber. It couldn't rightfully be called sleeping, though. It was like she was floating out of her body, in a world of darkness and shadows. It creepily reminded her of her few stays in the Shadow Realm- no warmth, no sun, no happiness. She stared into the blackness, feeling it practically crawl all over her body.
Her mind was working furiously, causing her heart to beat louder than ever. She remembered, just two days ago, the conversation at the Wheelers. Joey had reminded everyone that he couldn't be controlled by the Millennium Rod. Yugi said he couldn't be either. And probably not Ishizu.
Seto hadn't seemed affected by it either, for some weird reason. In the classroom, when Marik had tweaked everyone's mind and erased memory of the scuffle, Kaiba had noticed that something was going on. She wished she'd thought to ask him if he remembered what happened.
She felt safest around them, really. And in the Kaiba mansion, she was probably the most physically safe.
'But technology can't stop mind-control,' a little voice in the back of her head whispered. 'And while Seto and Joey might be immune to it, Mokuba isn't. And neither is-'
She bolted upright, glancing wildly around. Outside, the dogs were howling like mad. To her right, Mokuba sat up as well, rubbing his eyes.
"The guard dogs," he muttered blearily. "Why are they howling?"
Dogs were supposed to be able to sense when an earthquake was coming. She'd even read about a dog who went ballistic right before its owner died in a car crash the other side of town. Was it possible that dogs could sense magic too? Did they feel the waves pulsating from the Millennium Rod, coming to possess an unwary mind?
"Where's Serenity?" Joey demanded, twisting around. "She was right next to me when I fell asleep!"
A low moan escaped Téa's lips. At precisely that second, a harsh grating noise sounded from outside and a piercing siren went off. Immediately, the occupants of the room clasped their hands over their ears.
"The alarm!" Mokuba hollered over the noise. Téa glanced outside in time to see the first wave of lights being set off. The flashes dimly lit up the room they were in. They were interspersed with small explosions: something was blowing up the automatic laser system. Across the room, a door flew open and Seto charged in the room, his lips moving in soundless swears. He scanned them to make sure everyone was okay, then roughly grabbed Téa by the arm.
"Come on," he hollered over the siren. "I'll show you the way out!"
She stumbled to her feet. "Serenity," she called.
"What?" From outside, a dog broke into furious snarls, then fell silent after a frantic yip. Téa involuntarily shuddered.
"Serenity!" she shrieked with all her strength. Seto paused and looked around the room.
"Damn!" he screamed. "Where is she?"
"I don't know!"
"Damn!"
He put an arm around her shoulder and pushed her out of the room, Mokuba and Joey following them anxiously. Down the hall, faint light from the outside still streaming in, something was coming out of the shadows.
"Serenity!"
The red-haired girl paused, looking straight ahead. Téa's blood froze, and she latched onto Seto's arm, trembling slightly. It could have been her imagination, but was Seto Kaiba shaking as well?
Serenity's lips curved into a wicked grin, her eyes focused on Téa. Her pupils were completely blank, but behind them Téa could have sworn she saw evil violet eyes, leering at her. Suddenly the attention shifted to Seto Kaiba, and Serenity's petite face twisted into an expression of utter rage. She let out a guttural roar and lifted her arm, wielding the weapon she must have taken from the kitchen.
Looking completely out of place in Serenity's innocent, smooth hand was a gleaming butcher knife.