Master Of PuppetZ

End of passion play, crumbling away

I'm your source of self-destruction

FAB: OK, time to chapter 2. I want to thank my reviewers very much, they helped me to see some misunderstandings in my story, but don't worry, I will explain everything and everything will become more clear as I progress.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YGO! Nor the song – it's Metallica's…Well, nothing doing.

I want to remind you to REVIEW…Thank you very much again…

Master Of Puppets – Chapter 2 – Starvation

Crystal stared into her computer screen, feeling much better since she was doing the thing she loved to do. She was programming, building an array of sub-systems to fit Kaiba corp.'s new development: a super advanced Duel Disc with enormous data base and forum system. It was something that seemed unreal, imaginary, complicated…But not impossible. (Everything is possible these days, I believe) said Crystal's teacher and that was enough to convince her she could find a solution for everything. Every obstacle or error in her program just encouraged her to keep trying. /He was right. Everything is possible, I have to believe too./

The busy excitement that filled Crystal's being clouded the sudden feeling of emptiness inside her. It was such an intellectual challenge for her, that it surpassed her human needs…Like the need to eat, for example, to consume food. And it was good for her now, because she still got no money. Her first payment was supposed to be in the end of the month, and till then she had almost 20 days and four small pieces of bread, some cheese and tap water. This menu was really limited and she couldn't allow herself breakfast or lunch for some time now. So she filled her time with her work, forgetting about hunger and working to no end.

Kaiba Seto was alright with her, yet he demanded too much too fast. He wanted the work finished in a week or so, and she didn't want problems with him so she did her best. The plans were almost finished, the theory and the interface of her plans were done, and now she tried to program certain parts of the sub-system to make sure it can work properly. It helped her to ignore the prickly feeling in her stomach.

Her first week was really alright, she met many people that were working with her, and shortly she learned about their magnificent skills. Everyone in this company had a huge talent, and everyone seemed to respect Kaiba Seto, although his temper and mood swings. He could be very angry for no reason, or really friendly. He talked to her several times, and at first he helped her to study the system. While doing so he discovered Crystal was skilled and very clever. She could fit herself to working with his most complicated systems. Later he left her the project, but still they talked on the phone when he wanted to ask about the progress or add something to the program.

Crystal was buried with work, and she left the office very late, sometimes at 22:00 or even later. She used to walk home, though it was quite far from Kaiba crop. There she was skipping dinner and going to sleep, not bothering even to remove her clothes only to get up early again. She felt she just couldn't stay at home, because the remains of her food were still there, and she knew she was going to need them later.

A week passed and Crystal didn't eat almost anything. And then she got her all weekend free. The hunger started bothering her, disturbing her. But she knew how to make it out without breaking: she brought some work back home, and locked the door to the kitchen so she wouldn't think about the food left there. She stretched her printed programs on the floor, and using a pen started checking them. (Checking programs without the computer is a nasty thing) Crystal's teacher used to say, but it was a great way to spot the commands and the errors and get better in programming. The checking of a program requires sketching of many tables and takes a lot of time. But Crystal was in no hurry. She just didn't want to look at her kitchen's door, and think how hungry she really felt.

/I guess I have to make it out. It just a couple of days…No one dies from a thing like this…I heard about people who survived almost two weeks without eating…/ all the workers in Crystal's office were taking a coffee break at 12:00, however, she never did so. She remained on her place, programming.

The sun this Sunday was really bright yet rain clouds were making their way from the north toward the city. The light from the window created a square of sun rays on the floor, and the tiles were heated during the morning so Crystal lay there and checked her programs. The room was silent, only the soft ticking of the clock could be heard.

Crystal felt tired, and the letters she wrote were blinking in front of her eyes. /I just can't concentrate today…Well, maybe I should rest./ she rolled over her back, feeling the limpness crawling into her BoNez, making her body numb and her mind sleepy. She closed her eyes /only for a little while…/ and fell asleep right there, on the floor.

/I just don't understand…/ he thought to himself as he looked at her, lying on the floor. He sat on her windowsill, on the height of the seventh floor, and watched the girl. /Why is she trying to destroy herself? Is she too afraid because of her power? Or is someone trying to get her power too? I just don't know…Am I alone in this business?…/ he followed her for some time, learning her habits and found them strange and surprising. She got up early almost everyday, and went to work at Kaiba corp. /She is working there…I can't really understand this term. My useless hikari told me once that in the modern world, humans have to work in order to get…Wait – what was the word? – Money – oh yeah, the small coins and dirty papers they are using everywhere. I always wondered what the coins are for, and I still can't get it. If I need something, I just come and take it./ he smirked as he thought about what he wanted. /For now, I want the power of ancient Egypt, and it seems this girl has too much of it./

Yet the thing that really surprised him was the fact she wasn't eating…/I wonder if she is feeding on blood just as I am…How strange, I could sense she is a human, nothing else. A powerful human, I have to say, but not a vampire. And I never saw her slashing in order to get this precious meal./ he instinctively licked his lips, the remembrance of the sweet delicate taste playing in his mouth /I know humans need food in order to survive. But she isn't eating, and I feel strange oscillations in her power…So what the Hell is she doing?.../

The window wasn't closed, and the girl was asleep on the floor, so he decided he could enter and take a look around. As he crawled through the frame, something in his pocket started to glow /Hmm…Now it is so interesting/ he thought as he pulled out the millennium ring and the millennium eye /This items are serving me well, especially after I took them from that stupid spirit. I blasted him away into the nothingness of the Shadow Realm…After his betrayal. He and my stupid hikari plotted against me, yes they did, and I punished them. Then I got the items…And I see there is another one…Really interesting…/

He passed near the figure of the sleeping girl on the floor. Her pale arm was stretched so he could see her beautiful blue vein in the bright light. /I have to admit, her blood seems delicious. I will taste it after I figure out what item she is hiding./ He started pacing towards the bedroom, yet his second step fell on a recalcitrant tile. Crystal moved when the noise of crack was heard.

He froze on his spot, glaring at her. To his great disappointment, she moved again and sat weakly, yawning and stretching. Crystal opened her eyes to find herself on the floor. Sun's light wasn't heating the titles anymore, and the floor was cold and stiff.

She tried to get up, and her legs betrayed her. She fell down coughing and feeling really ill. /No…I have to eat…/ she crawled on the floor to the kitchen, being watched by two bright lavender eyes. She was so concentrated in her way she didn't noticed them. They examined her, her petite body and free hair, the way she desperately tried to reach her goal, and an evil smirk formed on his face. /So she has weakened herself…Stupid girl!…She will be my easiest prey ever…Yet I can't do it now. I have to wait to the right day…It will be the day when the starz stop in their orbits and the land shakes, the seas leap up to the sky…I hope she survives…I didn't even touch her, and she's already so weak…She is killing herself slowly, so I'm not her enemy. She is the worse enemy of herself, dear girl…My dear girl…/

Crystal supported herself by the wall, getting up and unlocking the kitchen, she got out some bread and cheese and ate it. Then she filled another glass with tap water and drank. She was still tired, still somehow dizzy and her sight was spinning around her. She hardly found the way to her bed, collapsing into it. She fell asleep the instant her body lay on the cover, shivering lightly when the sun set down and the cold ruled her apartment. She couldn't afford herself an air-conditioner, so she just lay, too weak to get up, too weak to even break out from the nightmare she was in. Too weak to resist the pain in her head and stomach.

He heard her soft whimper as she shivered more and more. Getting inside her apartment once again, he made his way to her bedroom, where he found her on the bed, lying and trembling, sometimes letting out whimpers of pain. He looked at her miserable starved form, still smirking. /Poor girl…Watch it, don't let yourself get too weak…I still need you…And when I'm done using you, I will kill you, just like she wanted to kill me…But by then, I will save your useless life…Or shall I say your useless-life-to-be…/ he lifted her unconscious body, his arms sweeping her up, and he took the blanket into his hands, placing her down again. She was light and cold in his arms. "You are so stupid…Don't try to end your miserable life before I do it…Because I will…" he whispered into her ear as he covered her. "Save yourself for me, dear…" his cold lips planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

/I may leave her alive…/ he thought as he closed the window and slid down on the wall of the building /If she is a good and obedient girl…/ and his laugh echoes through the night.

That evening Kaiba Seto was sitting in the living room along with his beloved brother Mokuba. The room was heated, and the brothers were building a small airplane together, gluing small pieces of wood and plastic. Mokuba laughed and Seto guided him and tried to fix the parts that weren't on place. The result wasn't important but the game. "I'm so glad we spent the day together, big brother," said Mokuba, admiring Seto. Seto smiled "Well, lately many memories are coming back to me and I wanted to let the good ones live again. I love you, Mokuba, don't forget that. And if sometimes I need to work hard, that doesn't mean I have to forget about you. So I'm sorry and I'll try to spend more time with you from now on." Mokuba smiled, gluing another piece "What happened, Seto? What changed your mind like this?"

Seto smiled, remembering Crystal. "I…Sort of met a long known friend, Mokuba." he said, and the kid smiled "Really? Well who is it?" he asked. Seto thought for a moment and said "Actually, it is a girl I've studied with in high-school. Her name is Crystal, and I haven't seen her for a long time. But we met again, and now she is working in my company." Seto paused, thinking about how well she was doing with his systems.

"I see you like her," said Mokuba quietly "She has good influence on you." . Seto eyed him.

"I don't know, kid. I just don't know. I can't tell, but something strange is happening around her. I don't know what brought her to me, but I have the feeling she is somehow in troubles. You know, I can't do anything unless she tells me. And I know something isn't quite right with her, still she keeps her silence. I wish I knew, and I wish I could help her. She is a good person, Mokuba."

"Maybe it is just your imagination," said Mokuba "You know, maybe everything is alright.". Seto thought for a moment "Yeah, maybe. But I will talk with her, maybe I can discover something." Mokuba smiled, trying to gather the courage to ask a difficult question: "Is she beautiful?" he let out finally.

"Well Mokuba…I think she is beautiful, yes. She is really beautiful." admitted Seto as he looked at his little brother "I was surprised to see her." Mokuba looked outside the window, to the gloomy night.

"What is it, kid?" asked Seto as he tried to put together the wings of the airplane. "Nothing," said Mokuba returning his attention to Seto "It is nothing. Let's drink some tea," and Seto smiled as the boy ran to kitchen to get two cups of his favorite lemon tea.

/I hope you are alright, Crystal. I hope you are fine./ thought Seto.

And behind his warm window, far away from his home, the girl named Crystal shivered in the cold and whimpered in pain and hunger, lying on her cold bed trapped in darkness and frost.

She was so pale on Monday morning when she entered the office, and even paler the day after that. Kaiba Seto watched her as he came to give new parts of the system, studying her silently. She sat weakly on her place, working as hard as she could, ignoring everything. She completed another project, programming the problematic parts and writing comments about her sub-programs and system alerts.

/What is it with you? What are you doing when you are not here, under my eyes? Why are you withering in front of me, merely talking?.../ Seto never let himself ask her firmly what was up with her. Just the regular talks: "I did the work you asked, Mr. Kaiba." she said, her voice weak on the phone. He sighed and said "Call me Seto please. Do you remember our little agreement, Miss Saigo?" she never said anything back.

/Don't think about eating, I don't need it, I can tolerate this…/ Crystal thought, as people in her office ate sandwiches and drank some coffee. She allowed herself to drink the coffee, but she never ate. /I'm not going to beg people to give me money or food. I will make it my way, and I can make it. I will./ she convinced herself, fighting against the dizziness.

She pushed herself another week, until Thursday. It was already late, and she was alone in the office, working hard to get her mind off food. Now she finished her third project. Soon her system runs in the computers of Kaiba corp., and she could start programming the Duel-Disk data base. Her head hurt so much, her eyes weren't focused and she felt swollen and burning sensation crawling down her throat to her stomach. Her legs couldn't carry her anymore. She closed her eyes, trying to regain consciousness. Breathing hard, she got up, her legs shaking under her, and stepped once then fell. Her chair fell along with her for she caught it in her way down, and the sound echoed through the whole floor.

/What was that?.../ thought Kaiba Seto, the last one left in the building. He went down the corridor, turning off the lights and closing the doors silently. He heard a strange noise so he went to check what it was.

The room from where he heard the noise happened to be Crystal's office. It was semi-dark, thanks to the light from the computer screen. He glanced at the program, and found it was the new sub-system she was working on. /I can't believe she left this like this. It is very irresponsible! Yet…It is programmed perfectly./ Seto read the program and saved it, turning off the computer. Then he saw the chair on the floor. Getting down in order to fix it up, he saw her lying on the floor, motionless.

"Crystal!" called Seto, kneeling beside her "What happened?" his arms slowly brought her body closer to him. She was so cold, cold like ice, and her eyes were closed. Seto wasn't a doctor, but he could tell something was definitely wrong. She was hardly breathing. "Crystal!" he whispered "Talk to me, what have you done?" his hand was on her cheek, on that cold pale skin. /Firstly, I have to bring her to some warmer place than this office. Secondly, she has to see a doctor, and immediately. What the Hell happened here?.../ Seto got up, taking her with him. She let out a small sound that indicated she was still alive. Her body was limp in his arms and her long silky hair was free on her back.

/I'll take her home/ thought Seto /And I shall do it fast. It is not a game anymore. Something is wrong with her and if I don't hurry, it can be her end…/ Seto closed the door, carrying her outside Kaiba corp. building and into his private car. He told the driver to head home as fast as possible.

"Damn her!" he yelled, watching the car getting away. /Well, she is even weaker than I though she is. She must have collapsed during work, and now that rich-boy Kaiba Seto took her with him. I wonder if he knows about the power hidden inside of her…Nah, he never believed the ancient stories. He is a blind fool, and he is going to pay for that someday./ He jumped up into the air, landing on a roof. He started following Kaiba's car, his eyes never leaving the road as his body jumped from roof to roof, flexible like a cat, fast like the wind. /Perfect. No traffic jams over here./

"Treat her right, Kaiba," he whispered as he followed the car to the gates of Kaiba's mansion "Treat my dear little queen right or…" and an evil laugh was heard all over the neighborhood. Kaiba got out the car, carrying Crystal with him /Hold on…Just hold on…/

Mokuba already waited them with a doctor since Seto had called him on the way home. "What do you think is the problem?" asked Mokuba when the doctor started his examination in the medical room. Seto and Mokuba sat outside, waiting and nervous.

"I don't know," Seto said, worried "I found her lying on the floor. She was hardly breathing and so cold…It seems like some kind of attack…" /You were heading toward it all the time, and I was too blind to notice. I had to make you tell me what was happening with you, Crystal…Now – are you going to be Ok?.../

Mokuba looked at his brother. /He cares about this girl, I can see it. She changed his life somehow, and now he is afraid of losing her. I don't know her, but she has to live. She can't die now…/ Mokuba hated to see Seto worried so he put a hand on his shoulder and whispered "We have to hope, Seto. We have to." They sat like this for some time, silent, just hoping Crystal would end up fine. Finally, the door was opened, and the doctor got out, looking serious. Seto and Mokuba looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"When you brought her to me, I thought she had a heart attack," said the doctor "You can't assume the relief I felt when I discovered it didn't happen, though she was close to having one. If it happened to her, she wouldn't live through. Her body is too weak to bare such violent event." the doctor paused, looking at Seto "I think I found out why she lost consciousness today."

"Well, what happened? She is one of my workers, I found her on the floor and brought her here so I think I have all the rights to know," said Seto rapidly, looking at the doctor. The doctor nodded.

"It can sound really strange, but it is the truth. This girl was starved, Mr. Kaiba. It seems to me she doesn't ate for more than a week. Her body is so weak because of the starvation. I don't really understand how it happened, but if you hadn't found her and her heart had given in, she could have died by now. Now can you figure out the reasons she didn't eat for so long?" the doctor eyed Seto who gave him ponderous look.

/Didn't eat? What have you done to yourself, Crystal? And what is most important: How come I never thought about it? Am I that blind?.../ "I have no idea what caused her to do this doctor." said Seto shortly.

"When she wakes up, I think we must be interested in this story. For now, I gave her intravenous infusion, and I hope she will wake up soon. You can see her now, but she won't be very talkative. I'm going to be in the office if she wakes." the doctor paced down the corridor, leaving Seto and Mokuba alone.

Mokuba looked at his brother to see his reaction. "I can't believe…" Seto said slowly "Why would she do this to herself?" Mokuba glanced at him and then said "Maybe she is in real troubles, far more serious than you thought, Seto."

Seto got up, making his way to the room Crystal was lying in. She lay on the bed, still pale and weak, but her breathing was more intensive, more normal, and she was breathing by herself. Seto sat beside her, looking at her. Mokuba stood behind him.

/Why, Crystal? Why were you so determined to harm yourself?…You are so lucky I found you, and I feel so stupid I never saw it coming…Please hold on now, or else your body will give up and…/

Seto sent Mokuba to bed when it got too late, yet he stayed near Crystal. /I have to be here when she wakes up./ he looked at the drops falling into the tube of the infusion, and thought about the short time she worked in his company. He spoke with her everyday and he thought something was wrong, yet he never demanded to know. /She must have thought I don't care about her. I can't believe I was such an idiot./ She moved lightly, and Seto looked at her hopefully. Yet she didn't wake up.

It happened only near 3:00 a.m. Seto was still sitting near her, watching her, never falling asleep. She blinked several times, a soft sound escaped her lips as her grey eyes were filled with the dim light. She slowly tried to move, and a pain shot through her arm because of the needle.

"Don't try to move, Crystal," she heard a familiar voice near her, and turned her head to see him, her sight still dizzy. "Seto?" she asked, her voice weak. She had to close her eyes because of her dizziness. "Are you feeling better?" asked Seto when he leant over her, taking her other hand into his /She is still so cold…/ he thought as she nodded slightly, opening her eyes again. He put her hand down, not sure what to say.

"What did you think to yourself Crystal?" he said, his voice was a little angry and disappointed than he meant "Why did you starve yourself like this? You could have died! What has gotten into you?" Crystal looked at him, still silent. He glared at her, and hissed, his voice somehow angered "You better start talking Crystal. Because I've had enough."

She closed her eyes and reopened them, looking at his demanding ones. "I-…" she said "I was looking for a job for some time, and during this time I wasn't working so I had no food left. That's it." she whispered. "What do you mean?" he asked, amazed "You are working for me now."

"Yes, but my first payment is in the end of this month, and till then…" started Crystal, but he cut her short "Why didn't you tell me anything? Why didn't you ask for help or for getting paid before the end of the month?"

Crystal didn't answer, but Seto knew what she was thinking. She was too proud to ask for help, too independent and too shy to confess she was in troubles. But was she really alone? "What about your family, Crystal? Do they know where you are currently?" he asked. She looked away after his questions were heard, her eyes lying on the ceiling.

Seto waited, feeling he asked something wrong. Finally she said "I have no family." and he was amazed once again /So she is indeed completely alone…I can say I know this feeling…But I have my brother with me, always by my side, and she has…No one…/

"I'm sorry," he said more gently "I never knew. I'm sorry Crystal, I was just so worried when I found you on the floor and you were hardly breathing…But now you are going to get better, you are not alone."

Her grey eyes closed again, two small droplets streaming down her face. He looked at her silently, feeling sorry for her yet knowing she didn't want him to pity her. She was too strong for that. He sat there, his hand taking hers again. She wasn't sobbing still tears rolled down her eyes. He never saw anyone crying that way.

"What happened to them?" he asked finally, wanting to know "What happened to your family?" she looked at him, surprised he was interested in her past. /I thought I can forget it now…Does it even matter? I don't know…/

"I don't know," she said her thoughts more loudly "I…I never happen to meet them. I don't know who they were or if they are alive today." Seto looked at her, nodding shortly /Completely alone…/ "Maybe you know the name of someone of them? What about your last name?" he asked her. She shook her head "I was too young. A fire broke in the house where I was found. I heard the whole block was burned so it doesn't exist today. The only thing I…" she said, her good hand shot to her neck. But she couldn't find the thing she was looking for.

"What?" asked Seto "What are you looking for?" Crystal's sight fell upon some of her clothes the doctor pulled off to check her, and saw the golden string. "Here," she reached it, placing it in Seto's stretched hand "This is the only thing I have from my past. It was found on my neck that night." Seto examined the item.

"It is somehow familiar to me…I'm not sure." he said, giving it to her again. She held it tight. "I never saw my parents, or I just can't remember."

She was silent again, and Seto said "I know how you feel. I know…But I do remember my parents, and I have my brother Mokuba. He is always with me, and I never gave up my life because of him." Crystal nodded. "You asked about my last name earlier. Saigo isn't really my last name. I was given this name when I started studying at school. The supervisor of my group in the orphanage gave this name for me. It was her youth name."

Another silence fell between the two. Crystal thought about her childhood, plagued in memories, and Seto thought about what he can do for her in the future. /I thought my childhood was oppressed, but look at her: alone in the world without a name or a clue who she is. I have my memories, I know who my parents were and I have Mokuba. I am never alone because Mokuba is always in my mind./

"Seto," she said finally "I'm sorry about what you went through because of me. I don't deserve this, and I'm sorry for all the trouble that I caused." he looked at her "I understand what you did, Crystal. You don't have to be sorry. Yet be grateful you are still alive now. If I hadn't found you…You know I could just go back home yesterday. My doctor said if you hadn't been brought to him in time, you would have surely died – because your heart couldn't take it." he stopped, taking a breath "But I was there, and I'm glad. And as for you…You have to solemnly promise me you won't do this again. Please tell me if you need something, we aren't in the Middle Ages or something. You, as a worker in the independent world, have many rights, and one of them is to get paid in the middle of the month or even earlier if you need it. I know I can rely on you, and if you needed the money you could just tell me."

She didn't look at him when he spoke, and lightly nodded when he finished. "Ok," she said quietly. "Now, I'm going to tell you what you should do. Stay here until the doctor says you are fine. Meet my brother and rest this weekend. After that, I will change your payment date, and you will get your money. You deserve some grant – I saw your projects and I must say you quiet impressed me. It was perfect." she looked away again "Exaggeration," she whispered. He smiled lightly "No Crystal. You are very talented, and you deserve some rest after your hard work. Now I didn't hear your promise about my request."

She looked at him "I told you I won't do this again." she said. "Don't do what?" he asked stubbornly. "I won't starve myself again." her voice was quiet and shy "I promise."

"It is much better." he said "Now try to rest, I will send the doctor to check you in the morning. Crystal, you are a welcomed guest, please don't be shy with us. Mokuba and I are your friends." Seto said, and looked at the smile creeping over her face.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for saving me. I can never be grateful enough for that." she said, and he nodded, getting up and going to the door. He went out and closed it silently, and Crystal returned her gaze into the ceiling, thanking Ra for allowing her to breathe on this earth again.

/Maybe it was just false alarm…/ Dartz thought to himself as he opened his eyes. His meditation was strange this time, he couldn't really concentrate on the person who had the Egyptian power he sensed. There were about 30 appliers for a job in his company on the day when the power appeared for the first time, and he started thinking who it was. Yet when he meditated, he found the aura was somehow reduced, and for a long time. He kept the mind connection, trying to understand what happened to that person, and after some time -5 hours to be exact- the aura regained its strength and stability.

Dartz narrowed his eyes as his thought. /I have to find this person as fast as I can. Because something is happening to him, and in this world he can die every moment and this great power will be just wasted. I don't know what he is doing, but I feel some danger around him. He isn't in good hands, or maybe he is alone and can't protect himself…And maybe others are after him…To get his power. This person needs me, because after I take his power he won't need anything anymore…/ evil smirk formed on his face as Dartz made some plans. He looked again at the list, reading the names of the people on it. The last name said

"Saigo, Crystal."

Dartz eyed the list again, and then got up. The candles around him flickered and cast dim silhouettes on the walls around him. He stood in the middle of the Orichalcos sign, and raised his hands. Thirty shadows emerged in front of him, circling him.

"Now my slaves, go and find the person with the Egyptian power. Take these," and Dartz tore the list with the names to some pieces, giving one to each Orichalcos soldier "And find the right person for me. But don't do anything yet." Dartz glanced up to the ceiling where starz were imprinted "It is too early…"

Sounds of light sliding, like rat climbing on the kitchen's cupboard, were heard as the shadows went to fulfill the Master's command.

FAB: That's it. I hope you like this chapter, and I'm sorry for taking so long. If you have some time please REVIEW the story and tell me what do you think.

Have a great time reading FICs! See you all soon!