Virtually Yours
A Stake Dinner
Joey froze in the doorway, staring in the throne room at the vampires. Either Seto had been lying about how much input he'd had in the game's development, or someone on the production crew had a particularly nasty sense of humor. Pegasus and Dartz crouched at the feet of some old fart that Joey presumed was the Vampire King.
"Gozaburo." Joey frowned at the whispered name. Seto's father? What was he doing in the game? Beside him, Joey could feel Seto tense up.
Hoping that the Vampire King would start up a villainous monologue before attacking, Joey snuck a quick peek at Seto. All color had bled out of the boy's face as he remained riveted by the images on the visor-screen. Seto's jaw clenched and unclenched convulsively, but otherwise he remained still. That, Joey knew, was not a good sign. Seto might normally keep to himself, but he always had some snarky remark to unleash. Joey reached out to give Seto's hand a gentle squeeze, but Seto jerked away as though Joey's touch burned.
Through the earpiece, Joey could hear the Vampire King talking. Good. That meant there was time to snap Seto out of whatever this was. "Pitiful mortals, how dare you invade my fortress! You will pay for this insolence!"
That didn't sound good! "Weevil, something's wrong with Andiron. If the vamps attack, can you hold them off?"
"I'm a gaming geek, Wheeler, not a miracle worker!" the mage snapped back.
Mokuba pulled Seto's computer into his lap. "I'll back him up." Already the kid's fingers were flying across the keys, checking Seto's inventory, abilities, and equipped items.
"No!" Seto blurted, and Joey relaxed a little as he saw color start to return to his face. He pulled the computer away from Mokuba. "Mutt, I don't care who kills Pegasus and Dartz, but Gozaburo is mine." There was that icy tone Wheeler knew so well. It didn't look like Kaiba was going to let a little thing like near-petrifying fear get in his way, instead he was going to put his emotions into lock-down.
At a terrified squeal from Weevil, Joey whipped his attention back to the game. The two lesser vampires were closing in on the group, swords drawn. Joey lunged for the Pegasus vampire. "Roach, clear the Professor a way to the Vampire King!" Joey's dagger flashed between Pegasus and Dartz. Since Joey's character lacked physical strength, he depended on his speed to keep the vampires away.
As he fought, Joey found himself backing into a corner. Pegasus's sword glinted in the torchlight, ready to deliver a killing blow, when suddenly the vampire slammed into the ceiling. "Mages rule, thieves drool!" Weevil crowed.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool," Joey admitted, equipping a wooden stake and hurling it in Weevil's direction. The mage ducked with a yelp, as the stake rammed into its intended target. The Dartz vampire roared in pain, but didn't dissolve into ashes. "Damn. Missed the heart." Weevil rolled, and cast fireball to incinerate the vampire.
Joey started using the Pegasus on the ceiling for target practice. The vampires bothered him, and not just the fact that they wore the faces of past enemies. They didn't act entirely right. Pegasus, for instance, should have been babbling annoying inanities. Instead, though, he behaved as a game monster – all attack and no personality.
"Get him, Seto!" Mokuba shouted.
Joey finished off the Pegasus vampire and turned to watch as Seto made it to the Vampire King. Both hero and monster closed in on each other, swords at the ready. Seto struck first, a quick feint to test the monster's defenses. Gozaburo easily parried the attack.
Then Gozaburo swung his sword. The blade struck Seto in the side, cleaving away about a third of his health. Joey stared in surprise as Seto's health meter on the Party Status screen sprang back to full. "Wheeler!" Weevil shouted. "I can cast Heal two more times before my magic runs out!"
Joey brought up his inventory screen. Seto might get to kill the Gozaburo vampire all on his own, but that didn't mean that he and Weevil couldn't watch his back. Taking out a Magic Restorative, Joey dropped it near Weevil. The mage grabbed up the potion, and soon Joey saw his magic level raise on the Party Status window. Joey said a quiet prayer that he had enough Magic Restoratives to last the entire battle.
"Die!" Joey heard Seto growl with each strike - a growl that slowly rose in volume until Seto was screaming that one word at the creature that wore his father's face.
"Personally, I think 'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.' makes a better battle cry," Weevil murmured.
Joey shook his head. "Not in this case, roach." Joey would have bet his entire dueling deck that if the Vampire King had looked like anyone else, and if Seto knew the movie, he'd never use that particular line. The Professor's words came back to haunt Joey. "I know what it's like to be abused, Merry. I've been in your shoes." Shutting his eyes, Joey tried to imagine the untouchable Seto Kaiba as a child, cowering from the brute he now battled.
"Score! You did it!" Joey's eyes flew open just in time to see the Vampire King crumbling. He'd missed the finishing blow, but Seto had won. That was the important thing. Without a word, Seto looted the Vampire King's remains, grabbing the key needed to free the sphinx. Since they had what they came for, Seto started for the door.
Wordlessly, Joey followed. He hoped he'd get a chance to talk to Seto about what had happened, but that would have to wait. He couldn't bring himself to broach the subject with Weevil listening in. Even Weevil seemed subdued, as if he knew that this victory was tainted somehow. Barring the occasional "turn here" from Weevil, the three retraced their steps back to the sphinx in silence.
The sphinx was right where they'd left her. Seto unlocked the manacle that bound her leg. "I thank thee, heroes three, for freeing me," the sphinx purred. "Now that I may leave this loathsome bower, I shalt grant thee great power. Dear knight so strong, seeking to right all wrong, before me thou must kneel. Upon thee, I bestow Paladin Heal."
Seto knelt to receive the new ability. On the Party Status screen, Joey watched as a Magic bar appeared beneath Seto's Health bar. Apparently now Seto was a knight capable of using magic, though Joey bet the spells that Seto could use were limited. Magic based on job class. That might prove useful.
"Little thief, nimble and quick," the sphinx continued. "To thee I grant a new trick. To get out of danger thou knowest too well, here is a vanishing spell." As with Seto, a bar to measure magic appeared beneath Joey's health bar. Joey opened his personal character status screen and grinned as he saw the new Vanish ability listed there. He couldn't wait to get in a battle to try it.
"Wizard studying magic's lore," the sphinx droned on, almost through with her spiel. "Now mayest thou summon beasts of yore. Creatures thou dost befriend, into battle thou may send. Upon me thou mayest call, and before me, thy enemies shall fall." Joey let out a low whistle, feeling quite impressed. A monster summoning ability would be an awesome addition to any battle, especially when the creature summoned was as amazing as the sphinx.
Without another word, the sphinx bounded out of the room that had been her prisoner. "Any objections to going back to Lilyvale?" Seto asked. No objections were raised, and so Seto activated a teleport scroll to whisk them all safely back to the town. As soon as they were in Lilyvale, Seto logged off of the game. Worried, Joey also logged off without saying farewell to Weevil.
"Get to bed now, Mokuba," Seto was saying in a tone that brooked no argument. Joey watched, wondering how long Seto was going to stay in Ice Prince mode. Mokuba, being familiar with Seto's moods, left the room, with Seto following.
Joey rose and went to the doorway, watching the brothers leave. Mokuba went to his room, and Seto kept walking. Frowning, Joey trailed after Seto, through the long hallways of the manor and out a back door into a garden. Joey stopped on the porch as Seto strode barefoot across the lawn.
When Seto came to a stop, he stared up at the sky, arms crossed in his typical "leave me alone" body language. For a while Joey listened to the body language and kept his distance. But when Seto showed no sign of coming inside soon, Joey went out to join him. "Y'know, I really am an idiot."
"Heh." The sarcastic near laugh almost made Joey smile. This Seto he knew all too well. Joey wasn't about to let Seto put him off easily, though. "I mean it," he sighed, looking up at the stars, trying to guess which ones held Seto's attention. "I should've seen it earlier. But I'm just so used to you being, well, you that I didn't realize you were hiding your scars. I saw some of them tonight, though – some of the emotional ones anyway." What Joey didn't say was that he should've realized Seto was trying to hide earlier. After all, what kind of freak wore turtlenecks in the middle of summer?
"That wasn't Gozaburo," Seto sighed. "But someone slapped his face on a game character. I'm going to find out who it did it and make their life a living hell."
"You do that," Joey murmured. He took Seto gently be the arm and began leading him inside. Dewy grass bits clung to their feet, but neither even thought to wipe their feet as they went inside. Joey didn't much feel like going to bed, and he doubted Seto did either. "Let's go to the kitchen."
"Do you always think about food, mutt?" Seto grumbled, taking the lead.
The kitchen proved to be a chef's Food Network wet dream. Every fancy gadget imaginable decorated the counters. Joey paid no attention, though, as he started rummaging through the cabinets. He didn't need any high tech equipment for what he was going to do. Knowing his luck, if Joey tried to use the fancy stuff, he figured he'd end up blowing himself up.
So instead, he dug through cabinet after cabinet, setting out the items he needed. Seto sat at the counter and watched. Milk, chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla were soon simmering together on the stove. Seto inched closer, sniffing, mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I didn't know you could cook."
"This is hardly cooking," Joey snorted. "But, yeah, I can cook. I've pretty much been taking care of myself since my mom split." He flashed Seto his goofball grin, that he hid behind. Joey's tactics were completely different from Seto's – when he wanted to hide his thoughts, he played the fool. "I know enough not to poison myself."
Satisfied that the concoction was finished, Joey went to a cabinet he'd remembered from his previous search and pulled out two mugs. He poured the mixture into the mugs, adding a dollop of real whipped cream and sprinkling cinnamon on top. Seto took a mug and stared at it. "I can't remember the last time I had hot chocolate," he admitted.
Joey blew on his mug before taking a sip. "You don't know movies, you don't get TV jokes, and you've forgotten what hot chocolate is like? He really stole your childhood, didn't he?"
Seto nodded and then took a cautious sip. Joey didn't press Seto into talking about his past. If Seto wanted to talk about it, he would. They finished off the hot chocolate in silence, and then Joey rinced the dishes and put the dishes into the dishwasher. The whole scene felt ludicrously domestic.
Once everything was put back in its place, Seto led Joey back upstairs. When they reached Joey's room, Seto pushed his way in and began gathering up his laptop. He set it on the floor, out of the way so it wouldn't get stepped on, and then he did the same for Joey's clunker of a computer. Joey, meanwhile, sprawled back across the bed, ready to drift off into dream land.
A weight settled beside Joey, and he turned to stare. Seto's deep gaze met Joey's in a silent challenge. "You can't tell me where to sleep," those eyes seemed to say. And so he didn't. He was too tired to argue. "Good night, Kaiba," Joey mumbled, rolling over and turning his back to Seto. They could fight in the morning, or hunt down the stupid sap that modeled the Vampire King after Gozaburo and take their frustrations out on him.
"Good night, mutt," Seto whispered in the darkness.