ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it. My sincere thanks to anyone who remotely likes this story, and also my even more sincere apologies for any typos that are buried in here.
Baka Neko Molly-chan- LOL. Don't worry... it's not too bad... But you'll see.
Peneia Teke- Yeah... the whole stalking thing felt very Kaiba-like to me. I'm glad you agree. That and him being very in control. BTW, you have great writing skills and beautiful work.
kikoken- Thanks! I try to keep them in character. Just drop me a note if something doesn't seem to work. Also, I love your work. I haven't read all of it yet, but of course I'm planning to (if my internet decides to work right for once). Till later!
Eternity's Angel- Yeah... You have to feel bad for them don't you. But it's better if you read it without me telling you anything. I'll try to get the next chapter out faster.
Yamiko Yakou- Yay! You can review again! That's very good. How did you get around the firewall? I know people who've been struggling with those for weeks. Anyways, thanks a bunch!
Jieli- Ah, you like Duke? I was hoping people would find him interesting. Thanks. And yeah, I'm really bad about putting in cliffhangers. Sorry... It's one of my worst habits. Well, I hope you can update soon.
Firekeeper727- Hey, I'm glad you checked this out. Your friend is a really talented writer, as you said. But thanks so much... and now you can just go ahead and read what comes next.
PyroKittyKat- This didn't come out as quickly as I had hoped. But thanks! That's really nice to hear. Read on.
KrNKyutEe- It's ok... Don't worry too much. I mean, well, you'll see. Lol.
Elenion: So without further ado, here's the next chapter to this ever-continuing saga...
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Chapter 6
Tap.
Tap. Tap.
Kaiba moodily rapped his fingertips lightly on the fine wooden top of his desk, brooding it over. Of course, it made perfect sense. Blowing the rebel docks was one of the first things that anyone with half a brain would have done. Marik almost seemed to have waited too long. But then, you never really knew when it came to Marik.
"Mr. Kaiba, the surveillance has completely loaded onto your laptop now."
So it had.
"I'll take it from here," Kaiba stated roughly, flicking his cell phone closed. His communication line was snapped shut now- and that was how he liked it.
Alone.
He had always worked better alone... in the swelling shadows of his private office. It was his only place of peace; it always had been. Apart from the rest of the world... He didn't need anybody- not now, not ever. Dragons never did- they were solitary.
With one fluid motion, the towering man slipped into his leather desk chair. A smirk was squirming its ruthless way onto his face. From this one laptop, he had control of virtually all of his company. It was a hellishly good feeling.
'This will be interesting.' There was always a certain satisfaction that came with seeing one of his inventions in action- no matter how violent.
To him, violence really didn't matter. It was just a power-struggle. To Kaiba, there was nothing shameful or particularly despicable about it. If that was what needed to be done, then so be it.
Some called him heartless.
For the most part, those people were right.
Kaiba prided himself on that. Emotions were a waste of his time. Kaiba Corp was his life, and he didn't need anything else. Opportunity was knocking, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste because of idealistic morals.
With dexterous movements, the CEO's fingers whisked over the keyboard of his laptop- identity sequence after identity sequence... until finally, he was granted access to his personal mainframe. His steely blue eyes gleamed coldly reflecting the light glow of the screen. Shadows were cast over his pale face from under the fine chestnut hair falling in his eyes' way.
It took one swift glance over the desktop to find what Kaiba was looking for- the surveillance file his underlings had sent him.
Click.
A whole nother screen popped into view, providing a coded digital map showing the precise location of each individual CRES explosive- now planted around Dock 118. It was in wonderful detail, particularly for such short notice.
But that wasn't quite enough for the technology prodigy.
Nope. Kaiba wanted video surveillance- and he was going to get it. Afterall, no one could beat his hacking skills.
He was a dragon- no one dared to mess with him.
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Serenity watched misty-eyed as all the familiar places trickled away from sight like milky sand through her fingers. All the while, the petite girl was wondering why she was feeling such overwhelming guilt for leaving a place like... this.
No matter what the reason... it was happening. And it didn't feel good.
They were getting closer to the docks now. The crisp smell of salt in the pre-dawn air was getting thicker and thicker. Altogether, it wasn't a bad smell- not at all- but to Serenity, it meant something deeper. It meant leaving...
She glanced up once worriedly, seeing the mechanical gleam of a camera lens watching. Her hand instinctively tightened on her brother's, but she dared not speak. You never knew when someone might be listening. Joey gave her a pointed look that told her clearly not to worry about it. They'd paid to get out and there was very little that could put a stop to that.
Yet it was still unnerving. Small mechanical eyes were watching their every step.
Mai tugged nervously on Joey's arm. With her free hand, the violet-eyed blonde tentatively pointed to something... A cargo boat. It was a large monstrosity of coldly gleaming metal rising like a great mammoth from the depths of the sea. Its sides had become somewhat soiled and rusted from endless days on the salty waters, but the beast still seemed to create a dominating presence- like something from a child's story. Unlit windows watched the three young people approach warily, measuring their insignificant size up its own.
The normally collected blonde woman felt her blood churn icily through her veins and she shivered violently for a moment. To tell the truth, this ship wasn't what she had expected. It was their way to freedom- and yet it looked just as oppressive and chilling as the darkest corner of Domino ever had.
They stood in silence for a moment... in a mix of awe and horror.
Joey was the first to recover. His resolute hazel eyes passed once over the two blue slips of paper in his hand. "Well, what are we waitin' for?" Without another look at the two girls beside him, he strode resolvedly to the entry ramp- the path to freedom.
In the pitch air before the ramp, he paused. There he took one look around him, almost as if he was checking to be certain that it was all real.
With a flurry of dully shining golden hair, Mai hoisted her purse further up onto her shoulder and followed after him. All of her inherent confidence had drained from her. She had no shame left as her hand timidly wandered into his, and there their hands remained as they stood silhouetted before the beast on the open ocean.
But Serenity didn't move. She couldn't move. Her eyes observed her brother and friend innocently... just waiting in the bitter silence broken only by the rustling waves.
Together, the couple walked cautiously over the boardwalk, never even guessing that the third member of their party wasn't in tow. For once, Serenity was lingering behind. But Mai was comforted by the firm grip Joey had on her hand- something that she would never admit aloud- and Serenity had slipped from her mind.
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Kaiba listened keenly in the tense silence of his personal office. He was waiting for the sign from his laptop... Then, there it was, spoken in its mechanical voice:
"Access granted into Domino City Cargo-Shipping surveillance database."
Arctic eyes burned in chilling triumph. He was wearing the look now that many men both loathed and feared- his look of complete, intimidating control. It was wonderful.
His fingers agilely maneuvered over the keys, tapping with dead-on precision exactly what he wanted... The fruits of his labors came quickly. His laptop was suddenly presented with a choice of over 140 locations. Right now, all he wanted was one:
Dock 118.
The CEO was immediately presented with a choice of five cameras- each from a different part of the dock.
'Not bad...'He focused his eyes on the first. There were three humanoid figures moving around in the shadowy area- one slightly apart from the others. It was strangely out of place on the dock. People were never out there at this hour... unless...
Kaiba chuckled deeply.
Of course... they were stowaways- people making one last desperate attempt at leaving the country before the situation got any worse. It was so desperate... so vulnerable.
It was downright entertaining.
Possibly he could see who they were... right before Marik ended their miserable lives for them. They were as good as dead by that point.
But before he could view any more, the AI voice of his computer spoke up:
"Please wait... Incoming data..."Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned back in his leather chair with folded arms... waiting for the information to download. Interruptions were becoming part of his daily life. It was hellishly annoying, and it made Seto Kaiba even more moodily dangerous than usual.
"Data loaded."
A screen popped up. CRES and the projection software were armed and ready.
Now it was the tense calm before the storm. Adrenaline was probably rushing through whatever person was operating the system that day. It would only take one small phone call to that very person- and there wouldn't be a Dock 118 any longer.
It was an exciting feeling, having such control of nature and man alike.
Kaiba's eyes were glittering now, watching with hawk-like intensity. He had the look that signaled he was ready to kill. He suddenly leaned forward, elbows on the desk, pressing the tips of his long, pale fingers together in deep eagerness and thought.
What Marik- and nobody else for that matter- didn't know was that Kaiba Corp had taken the precaution of setting in an override system to every Chain Reaction explosive. At any moment, Kaiba could not only watch his systems, but from his personal mainframe, he could stop them as well.
It almost seemed worth his while to abort this system... just to piss Marik off.
'I've been doing that a lot lately.' The young CEO thought with a bitter grin. His hand consciously snaked into his coat pocket and hooked itself around a delicate metal chain. The silver shown coldly in the dimmed office lighting. 'What a fool...'
His eyes flicked back to the screen with triumph. It was all set up... The fate of Dock 118 was at his fingertips. All Kaiba needed was to press the ENTER key, and the explosives would stop.
But he'd never done it before. And, as much as he might like to, he certainly wouldn't do it now.
Casually using one hand, he switched back to the video surveillance screen. The figures were still there- moving around. If only he could get the cheap camera to zoom in... The camera was refocusing now... it was on the back of one farthest from the ship. It was a female... that much was certain. Rather small too... with long hair.
Kaiba gritted his teeth. The resolution of the lens wasn't worth a dime. Whatever company designed them was certainly not his. All the features were blurry beyond recognition. He wouldn't be able to see much of whoever the pathetic girl was unless she turned around.
'This is just plain irritating.'
He carelessly flicked a key, looking for a new camera angle. The screen lit up with a sudden camera angle... of a very familiar image.
Kaiba's hand reflexively tightened its grip, crushing down on a certain silver locket, eyes staring unblinking at the screen.
His computer spoke again: "Please wait... The Chain Reaction Explosive System has been activated."
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Serenity watched as her brother and significant other reached the other end of the ramp, both standing in the doorway to the cargo ship. They were one step closer to freedom...
Joey pivoted slightly, remembering that his baby sister should be right behind him. But she wasn't...
"Ren?"
His head whipped up violently- eyes settling on a frozen auburn-haired girl with her toes on the very edge of the ramp. The young blonde man was plummeted into confusion. His brow furrowed and he beckoned her toward him with his free hand. "C'mon, sis! What're ya waitin' for?"
If he had thought that those words would break some sort of spell over her, he was gravely mistaken. Instead, she stared at him with those misting honey eyes- unmoving- so close and yet so far.
She felt uneasy, and she couldn't figure out why. Some demonic presence seemed to be lurking just beyond her realm of comprehension.
"Serenity? What are you doing, hon?" It was Mai this time, watching her friend with scrutinizing eyes.
Joey felt a touch of panic now. There was no telling what was going through his sister's head. All he wanted was for her to come across the ramp and join them. "Ren! C'mon! We're gonna leave dis place!"
Serenity finally moved- but not in the way he'd hoped- she slowly shook her head, whispering more to herself than anyone else: "This is all wrong."
That was when all hell broke loose.
A monster of sorts broke through the wooden dock- shattered splinters raining down into the sea. All the world thundered around her in a monstrous wall of debris. Confusion slammed around her like a strangling cloak- choking out every last breath. The dock was writhing beneath her, and with each passing moment, whatever it was came closer.
The demon found her... Serenity felt her feet leave the ground.
From then on, it was only broken pictures... The dark predawn sky- closer now than she'd ever seen it before... Her pale hand stretched out before her, reaching, reaching... Voices screaming something incoherent...
Pain.
Boiling hot pain wracked her petite frame, seeping through her bones.
There was no sound now- only the constant screeching of the dock as splinters flew airborne for a moment with the salty sea spray. It was all a jumble- a collage of images flooding her vision- making her delusional.
Her petite body crumpled onto a rigid surface, the back of her head smacking onto the inflexible wood.
Serenity couldn't move. Darkness was encroaching around her, and groping icy fingers of air made her body shiver violently. Her eyes watched the snaking motion of the rising fountains of debris. Nothing was really making sense. Her mind was stuck- just as unmoving as she was- frozen in a moment of time.
There was nowhere to go now... whatever was happening hadn't finished yet.
Distantly, she could hear someone hoarsely shouting... shouting her name...
"SERENITY!!!!"
...but somehow, it seemed to be getting farther away- drifting off on some unseen tide of time or consciousness. The unexplored realms of her mind enveloped her, then.
Then a pinpoint of light seemed to expand, molding into something... expanding to the size of a person. It began to take shape, morphing, twisting, mutating. A pair of cold lavender eyes surveyed the situation happily... then that sharp laugh as the man brushed a champagne-blonde strand of hair from his eyes.
Serenity's blurring eyes widened in horror, and she recoiled from him with a scream rising in the back of her throat. How she feared that man... But her vision was darkening now, possessed and taken by the spirits of the dock.
It seemed that this was the end.
And seemingly out of nowhere she thought of one last thing... one last image yanked violently from her realm of sanity:
Icy blue eyes burning into her very soul.
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No one would have been able to tell what he was thinking. No one would even have dared to try.
He stared emotionless at the screen, watching in silence at as his project possessed the dock, claiming it for its own before the small splinters crashed into the waves. Marik's projection of himself was standing, dominating the dock as it was destroyed from beneath his despicable digital feet. That alone sent Kaiba's mind into a dangerous rage, however, that was not enough to act irrationally.
But there was another factor now... something he hadn't counted on.
'What use is she to me?'But something was cutting through his pale skin... something small and delicate- the locket. Dully shining in the shadowed light was the single word it bore: Serenity. It was almost a reminder of something... something that he couldn't quite put a finger on. Almost like something he'd forgotten.
And at that moment, the heartless Kaiba did the unexpected... something not even the dragon himself could explain.
His fingers punched down with deadly force on the ENTER key.
"Chain Reaction Explosive System aborted."
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Elenion: Hmmm... Don't know how this went. Hope you liked it. You know, part of the reason this took so long was because my friend got me hooked on the manga "Fruits Basket". If any of you want to check it out (if you haven't already), I think it's really sweet. Tohru kind of reminds me of Shizuka/Serenity.
