Disclaimer: I own merely the plot, and nothing else yet.

We have plot in this chapter! I have developed this into an interesting idea...as always, comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Dedicated to Matt. Because he's there for me. Besides knowing me for 2 months, he's a great mate and a lot of fun. And smarter than me, scarily enough

Chapter Three: Inner Workings

Pegasus sat back in his chair and sighed. Mokuba's tears had been difficult to stop, and Seto had refused to come down for dinner. Items had been thrown around within their room, and when finally the young one had fallen asleep, the damage had to be accessed.

Mokuba had been put to sleep in another room, but only after several hours of tears and falling into his dreams against Pegasus' shoulder. Though hurt by Seto's outburst, he could not help but feel attachments been made to Mokuba, who slept so peacefully he looked angelic.

What had fuelled that rather spontaneous outcry was a mystery- yes; he'd embraced Mokuba, but never with the intent of which he was accused of. The image of the red faced, so confident Seto glaring hatefully at him resounded within his memory. How did a child of 10 even now about such terrible things?

Again he sighed, reaching to refill his wine glass. How was it whenever he got remotely stressed it was always the bottle he reached for? Especially after it took so long to get off the medication?

Cynthia's death had taken a greater toll on him than anyone could understand. Not only was he facing the rest of his life alone; no woman could ever measure up to her, they were too plain, too unresponsive...but most of all he had to live with the knowledge he had failed her. He'd been unable, for all his wealth and connections and upbringing to save her...and that was what hurt. That he was the same as everyone else.

He was not arrogant; he had been told all his life he was special, that he in some way different from those from lower social standings...and everything he had believed in so devotedly had been taken from him, Cynthia, the words of his family...and so he had to start again.

Cynthia had died because of Leukaemia, an illness that had plagued her since her youth. So delicate, he wanted to take his princess away from the rest of the world and live the rest of their lives in a castle. Such a childish fantasy that he had made reality. It had made her happy when she was alive to live within its walls, but now she was sleeping eternally it felt more like a constant reminder of his failure.

But she had always insisted that they would adopt children. She would risk serious infection if she carried a child, and they were both compassionate enough to love children that had been unwanted. And so by taking in Seto and Mokuba he was reliving a part of their future; at least in some way he still held onto her.

Her portrait was barely visible in the semi-darkness, but those eyes....he had memorised them so long ago, and presently they seemed to hold all the love she had made so clear everyday of their short marriage. He was determined to have her back, to use the ancient magic the mysterious Shadi had given him with the Millennium Eye.

The knowledge that there were more items available; each with separate powers also gave him hope. And with the new research that had been promised to him by two eminent experts in the field of Egyptology, the chances that Mokuba and Seto would soon have a mother were high. And he would have his wife back...

He looked down at the student file beside him, taking the folder and opening it up to reveal the image of Mai Valentine, a college leaver and Domino City's recent beauty Queen. She was the closest thing to Cynthia he could ever hope for, and easily caught. Her looks were almost identical to that of his late wife, and with her reputation as being incredibly loose around those with more than a million in their accounts, she would be all too easy to draw into his scheme.

But first he had to deal with Seto. He had to convince Seto that he was someone to trust, and not someone to fear. And he had just the way. Duel Monsters was nearly ready for its launch; it had its creator, it would have its tournaments...all it need was its champion; Seto Crawford.

"Excuse me, Master Pegasus, but Mr. Motou has arrived to see you." The ever-obedient Croquet appeared after a short knock at the door, his shades flashing menacingly the darkness of the room. "Shall I let him in?"

"Of course." When the elder man entered, Pegasus extended his hand to shake the others, bringing him then into a one armed embrace. "Solomon, it's good to see you after so long."

"The feeling's mutual. What is it you wanted so urgently to see me about?" The two well-acquainted men sat down together before the fire, completely at ease in each other's company. Despite the age gap, there was a great deal of mutual respect between the two, even if Solomon Motou tended to find Pegasus a little too enthusiastic. His interest in certain occultisms connected to Egypt was almost unhealthy.

"It's about the Sennen Puzzle you found. I was going over some documents and I cannot fid reference to its ability, whereas every other has a power, it does not seem to." Pegasus took a spare glass, pouring Solomon and himself both a glass from the now empty bottle. "You have the Puzzle in your possession I believe?" The man opposite nodded. Pegasus watched him as he spoke, swirling the thick red wine around its glass holder.

"The Puzzle is rumoured to contain the soul of a powerful Pharaoh, one so powerful he returned the Shadow Games to the realm from which they came." He spoke finally, after a certain pause. He tried to read Pegasus, tried to understand what the point of this was.

"So this mysterious 'Shadow Realm' appears again? If we could prove the existence of it..." The voice of the younger was distant; Motou was shocked. Pegasus' eyes were wide now. Solomon shook his head. He had to quell this before it became too much of a fixation on the poor man.

"I do not share your passion for the discovery of such a place. We know very little about it, how can we even begin to try to understand the creatures that live there?"

"But-" Pegasus looked scandalized, as if he'd been told he was to die the very next day. How could he say this to him? An old friend, a trusted one...cut him off so quickly and easily...?

"You're a passionate, intelligent man, Pegasus, but you take things too far. Who in their right minds would believe us? The road to discovery will only cause you to lose what you've gained. Trust me, I know. If anyone should, it's me..." Solomon Motou looked sadly into the fire, recalling the distance between his family and himself; yes, he was their father, but he'd spent so little time with them they were almost strangers...

This was why this time with little Yugi meant so much. It was almost a second chance. And he would not return to Egypt. Yugi needed him, and so did his mother/

"Just...stick to your card game. That what got you interested in this whole affair, was it not? Take it from someone with experience its best to stay out of things magical."

He stood up, having not touched his glass, and left Pegasus, who was still staring into the fire. He simmered away at Solomon's words, at the dripping patronising that was laden upon every syllable...he was Pegasus Crawford; whatever he wanted, he always got.

Quickly draining the glass he stood up, angrily casting the glass into the fire.

"I will return you to your body, my darling! If it takes me my whole life, every last breath in this body will be devoted to your resurrection!"

The portrait smiled back, a willing witness to his pledge.

Hi all, I'm updating a.s.a.p to keep up the interest! Glad you all like the direction its going in!

Here are a few answers to my current reviews: keep 'em comin'!

Mystic Myra: I'm glad you like it! I was a little weary about putting it up you see...

Taekmkm: thanks for your enthusiasm! Although Gouzaburo and Noa will be in this later...lets just hint that certain things will change, and certain things will not.

Jmiet: with the amount of interst being shown in this fic, I can gurantee I will continue to update so long as reviews keep coming in. please recommend me to other if you enjoy my fanfiction!

The Psychotic One: Actually, although I agree that Peggy does seem to have the child-paedo in him, this isn't going to be one of those fics. Saying that, if he was a child-paeo, I'd say hes more of a Michael Jackson than an actual malicious one. He just loves kiddies too much. But I still condone ANY act of a sexual nature to a child. Period. And if you insist beats her over the head with the Spoon of Doom

SW1 : Yes, I liked this idea because it is actually different fom everything else ut there. I'm seeing a lot of recurring plots out there at present! And don't worry Seto will be won over by Peggy...they're actually very similar really...

Yamiko Yakou : I hope you likewhere its going so far!

Marcus1212: thank you for your kind offer of assistance, I shall be quite glad to take it up with you if I have any problems for the future. And especially for you, as my first reviewer, here is Solomon Motou in this very chapter!