Chapter Six

Seto came to attention as Ironheart opened the door. He had never met Dartz's father before, but upon seeing the man's Atlantis-style clothing, he determined that Pegasus perhaps was not insane for proclaiming that he had found out that Dartz lived here. Really, he found himself hoping that was true. Dartz could be useful, as he had thought to himself earlier. And maybe Ironheart would be able to help as well. Seto remembered Téa telling him how helpful the man had been when she and Atemu had met him.

"Can I help you?" Ironheart asked. He knew who Seto and Pegasus were, but that was because he and Chris had silently watched over them and the others during the Doom era. Knowing that at that time Seto had held one of the Legendary Dragon cards, they had hoped that he would be able to help bring about the end of the organization and of Dartz's madness, and so they had watched him.

"We're here to see Dartz," Seto said flatly before Pegasus could speak up.

Ironheart nodded. "Of course," he agreed. "Come in." He held open the door and allowed them to step into the parlor. "Might I inquire as to how you found out that he lives here?" he asked now, observing as they gazed around the room. The entire house had a certain Atlantean motif, so that the residents would feel at home. Chris had sewn the draperies and various throws, and Ironheart had carved small statues and designs into the doors. Mixed in with these things were certain modern elements, such as a computer and the kitchen appliances.

Pegasus smiled now, turning his gaze back to Ironheart. He was quite fascinated by the decor, but he knew that there were other things to think of at this point. "I saw a certain creature flying around my property, and he would always come up here to land," he reported. "Naturally I was curious."

Dartz frowned disapprovingly as he came over, with Alexander following him closely. "Yes, well, I trust you've heard that curiosity killed the cat?" he remarked.

Pegasus was undaunted. "Why, of course," he replied, and then noticed Alexander. "Oh! There's the boy now." He gazed at him, more intrigued than before. He looks like any normal human, except for those wings, he told himself silently. The creator of Duel Monsters was quite willing to accept such bizarre creatures without a second thought, though he could not help but wonder where Alexander had come from and why he looked like Alister. The thought crossed his mind that maybe Dartz had somehow created him to be an innocent lackey, but then he dismissed the idea. It did not make much sense. The creature's existence in general did not make sense.

Alexander tilted his head to the side, studying him and Seto for what seemed to be a very long time. Then suddenly he smiled. "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "I'm supposed to feel neutral towards the both of you."

All eyes were upon him now. "Why, whatever do you mean?" Pegasus asked.

Seto simply frowned, wondering what sort of odd creature this was. All he did know was that it could not be a Duel Monster. There were not any cards that resembled this redhead. Actually, when he thought of it, the creature looked like Alister—too much like Alister. Seto found that he was actually disturbed. The thought of Alister ever acting so cheerful was about as unheard-of as Seto himself acting that way.

"Alister feels neutral towards both of you," Alexander proclaimed before Dartz could stop him. "And when he feels neutral, I do too. At least, that's the way it's supposed to be, I think. . . ." He bit his lip, still feeling confused from the prior events. Maybe he simply could not know what Alister was thinking and feeling any longer. And Raphael's words still puzzled him. Did he hate Alister's brother? The more he thought about it, the more he did not like the thought. He knew from Alister's memories that Miruko had been a sweet, innocent boy. And could he truly hate something that Alister loved so much? Could he even truly hate Raphael and Valon? He did know that he would do anything to keep them safe, so that Alister would be happy.

Dartz shook his head wearily. "That's enough, Alexander," he scolded. He could only imagine how Alexander was baffling the guests, and he was not in the mood to explain where the odd being had come from and why he had such strange concepts.

"He's really quite fascinating," Pegasus declared. "Is he a doppelganger? Do tell me, where did you find him?"

"Never mind that," Seto growled irritably. "Let's get down to business." He looked Dartz firmly in the eyes. "I want to know what you know about Doom Reborn and the revival of Paradius." His own eyes narrowed. "The residents of two different cities have all fallen comatose, and I'm sure all of us know the reason for that." Though Seto searched for a change in the Atlantean's expression, he found none.

"Yes," Dartz replied curtly, giving an odd glance to Pegasus. He had determined that Alexander was, indeed, a doppelganger of some kind, but he had to wonder why Pegasus had arrived at that conclusion.

"We were just going to go out and look for some clues in those cities," Alexander proclaimed with a nod. "I was going to teleport us there." He smiled, oblivious to the disapproving look Dartz was giving him. "I can teleport people around, but I can't ever take very many and I can't do it too much at once or I get tired." As a child would, he spoke about such things openly and saw no harm in it. Dartz, however, did not want Seto and Pegasus (or anyone, really) to know about this odd creature and his strange abilities and quirks. Alexander did not realize it, but most people in the world would not be ready to accept him. Dartz did realize this, however, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, some part of him wanted to protect the innocent being from the stinging rejections he would face. Alexander did not deserve to be treated cruelly.

"Could you take us along?" Pegasus asked. Both Seto and Dartz shot him deathglares. Pegasus shrugged. "Well, we have a right to know what's happening as well," he declared. "The last thing any of us wants is for Doom Reborn to gain power again."

Dartz turned away. "Feel free to take one of your private jets," he answered coldly. He was not in the mood to work with two of the people whose companies he had commandeered during Doom. And he did not want them interfering in what he was trying to do. They could investigate if they wished, but Dartz did not feel that he had to cooperate with them. It had been annoying enough when Marik Ishtar and Seto's younger brother had started poking into the matter and had ended up at the fire-damaged building where Doom Reborn had been temporarily operating. Dartz did not want to have to worry about anyone getting in the way. At least Alexander could be useful and tended to obey what Dartz told him.

"Oh, there's no need to be so cold," Pegasus said with a mock-pout. "We all have a common enemy, after all."

Seto grunted. "It's just fine with me if we don't go." He looked at Alexander. "How would we know that you would even get us to the right location with your so-called teleportation powers?" Not that he would say it aloud, but he definitely did not want to become trapped in a very different part of the world than intended, or even to end up in an alternate dimension, if such things existed. He did not have time for such nonsense.

"I can get there, if I know the location!" Alexander reassured him, but Seto was not impressed.

Dartz sighed to himself in frustration. "Is there anything else you want to know?" he asked dryly, turning back to face the unexpected guests.

"As a matter of fact, I would like to know how it is that you're alive," Seto responded. "We were told that you'd been crushed to death when the Orichalcos temple collapsed." His blue eyes narrowed. "And, actually, you were supposed to have died long before that, when you gave up your own body in order to offer your soul to the Leviathan, or whatever it was that you were supposed to have done."

Before Dartz could answer, footsteps were heard and a soft voice said, "Seto?"

Everyone turned to look at Mokuba, who had previously been waiting in the limousine. Now he looked hesitant as he gazed up at Seto with worried blue-gray eyes.

"What is it?" Seto asked, frowning deeply. He knew that Mokuba would not have disobeyed him and left the vehicle if something important had not come up. And yet, what drastic news would Mokuba have gotten hold of? Calls rarely came to the limousine. Usually, if Seto was not in the office, the calls were redirected to his cellular phone.

"I got a really weird email from Leonhard," Mokuba replied then, still looking hesitant. He knew that Seto was not extremely pleased that Mokuba had formed a friendship with Siegfried von Schroider's younger brother, and he doubted that Siegfried was any more pleased.

But both Mokuba and Leonhard were tired of the unspoken feud between their elder brothers and wished that it would stop. They knew that the businessmen would never be friends. All they wished was that Seto and Siegfried could get along in a more civil manner, or even to form a business partnership. Leonhard was resigned to the fact that it would not ever happen, but Mokuba felt a certain determination to see that it did.

Seto grunted, walking over to a corner to the room with Mokuba to escape Pegasus's goggle-eyed interest in their conversation. "What did he say?" he wanted to know.

Mokuba swallowed. "He said that they're being attacked by Vikings and that two Valkyries are with him and Siegfried," he reported. "They have to get out of the von Schroider castle right away, and he said that they might end up here." He did not know what to make of it. The part about Valkyries he could understand, because of the Duel Monsters, but he was stumped on what Vikings had to do with anything. Where would they even come from? Vikings certainly did not exist any more—or at least, Mokuba had never thought that they did. They were supposed to have died out centuries before.

Seto stared. "What!" He frowned, wondering if it was some sort of joke or trick that Siegfried was pulling.

Mokuba shrugged helplessly. "That's what he wrote, and he seemed pretty upset," he said. "He wouldn't make it up, Seto!" He clenched his fists and sighed. "I'm worried about him. I tried to call him, and the operator said that the number wasn't working."

Seto growled, not pleased with any of this. "Well, if they're coming here, we'll find out soon enough," he said at last. He still wanted to go to the towns that had suffered the effects of the Orichalcos, but he imagined that he would not get to speak with Siegfried if he left now. This was quite an annoying addition to the list of odd things that had happened. Vikings and Valkyries? What was next? Would the warrior Sigurd himself appear and reenact the story told in Norse mythology that Wagner had adapted?

Realizing that Mokuba was looking off at something else, Seto turned to see his brother staring at Alexander in fascination and confusion. "What's that?" the child exclaimed.

"I'm an Alexander," the redhead answered proudly, then frowned. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here." He blinked at Mokuba, looking him up and down. By his logic, he was supposed to hate the younger Kaiba. But he did not know that he did. Why should he always feel the opposite of what Alister was feeling? Why could he not love what Alister loved? It had dawned on Alexander that he did not even understand why he had said that he had interests completely opposite to Alister's. Why would he, necessarily? Would they not share at least a few interests?

Mokuba continued to stare at the strange young man with mismatched wings, his blue-gray eyes revealing his amazement. "Okay," he said, not seeming to think about what he was actually saying. This was a bizarre creature, the likes of which he had never seen before. And he, like Seto, had noticed Alexander's resemblance to Alister. It seemed quite eerie to Mokuba.

Seto rolled his eyes, looking bored with the encounter. He turned to look back at Dartz. The Atlantean had not answered Seto's question, and the young businessman had a feeling that it was not going to happen. Dartz would keep his secrets. Seto determined that he would have to keep a close watch on the formerly insane man. He was a believer in the "keeping one's enemies close" policy, and after all, Dartz was about the worst enemy Seto had ended up having.

Dartz regarded Seto coldly. "If I'm not mistaken, your business is done here," he said.

"It looks like it is," Seto retorted, turning away.

Mokuba was happy to follow his brother out the door. Even if Dartz was not connected with Doom Reborn, the turquoise-haired man still made Mokuba nervous, and it seemed as though he was in a bad mood today. Mokuba did not especially want to have dealings with him.

Téa shut the door of the dance studio and sighed to herself, looking out at the dark Domino City night. There were some stars speckled throughout the sky, but it looked as though the slowly-moving clouds would soon obstruct them from view. The moon had a yellowish glow as the puffs circled around and in front of it, giving it a Halloweenish appearance.

I guess that makes sense, considering what's been happening to us lately, she thought ruefully to herself. It did not even feel like Christmastime, with all of the bizarre things that had been going on. Even now that everything had calmed down at least temporarily, nothing had returned to normal. They were all distraught over the events that had taken place at the Orichalcos temple, and Téa was especially worried about Yugi.

Over the months since their failure to save Duke, Téa had noticed the increasing bitterness and anger coming over her childhood friend. Yugi was usually so calm and kind and easy-going that this was a painful change to watch. She had a good idea of why Yugi was so upset, but he would never speak of it to her. He never spoke of the Orichalcos temple at all, and Téa was almost afraid to mention it to him for fear that this newfound anger would completely boil over.

Oh Yugi . . . what's happening to you? What's happening to all of us? Téa brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, looking ahead with sadness in her blue eyes. If it had seemed as though their friendships with Tristan were being severed before finding that Duke had been reborn as a servant of the Orichalcos, it was all of their friendships with each other that were being strained now. Téa no longer knew if anything would be normal again. We've come through so much together. . . . I don't want to see it end, especially not like this. But she did not know how to stop it.

Her eyes narrowed. Perhaps the best thing she could do was to confront Yugi head-on about what was happening. It was not like her to simply allow a problem such as this to drag on. Why had she not done anything about it earlier? Was she that afraid that doing something would be worse than doing nothing?

This was a conflict that she had been having within herself for some time now, and still she was uncertain of how to proceed. Yugi had been pushing all of them away. Trying to speak with him about a subject that he did not want to talk about might only serve to be the final nail in the coffin. And on the other hand, perhaps it would be what would help Yugi to overcome the anger in his heart.

Pharaoh, I wish you were here, Téa said silently. You'd know what to do.

The screeching of tires at the upcoming corner made her snap back to the present. She stared in disbelief and confusion as a taxi cab swerved violently to the side. The back doors were thrust open and a turquoise-haired, armor-clad woman alighted. She yelled something in a language that sounded like German, and then Leonhard scrambled out as well. From the opposite side, Siegfried emerged carrying a limp, pink-haired woman wrapped in a fleece throw. The healthy woman and Siegfried both had torn clothes and seemed to be bleeding from various small wounds.

Intrigued and puzzled, Téa began to walk over to them. This was a bizarre turn of events. They acted as though they were trying to escape from something. But what?

"Leon!" she called out as she got closer. "What's going on?"

Immediately everyone looked up. The aqua-haired woman looked wary and suspicious, but Leonhard's eyes lit up in relief. He hurried over to Téa. "Dritte needs a place to rest!" he exclaimed, indicating the woman that Siegfried was holding. "We've been chased through Germany by Vikings, and we might've been followed here!" He swallowed, looking around nervously. "We came here because Armina . . . I mean, Schwertleite, hoped that Dritte could stay here to recover without anyone intruding." But he knew that if they had indeed been followed, it was not likely that they would have any peace.

Téa felt bowled over. "Vikings!" she repeated in bemusement. "But they don't exist anymore!" Surely it had to be some sort of prank. She did not remember any Duel Monsters cards that were Vikings, but of course she was not very familiar with the game. She supposed that such a card could have been released without her knowledge. Other than the Vikings being Duel Monsters characters or simply being the result of an elaborate trick, it did not seem possible for any to be around.

Leonhard shrugged helplessly. "I didn't think so either!" he answered. "But, please, do you know where we can take Dritte? She's hurt pretty badly. . . ." And he was afraid that his brother was hurt more than he would admit. Both Siegfried and Schwertleite had been injured when they had tried to escape from their pursuers. Leonhard had managed to avoid injury, and Siegfried had protected Dritte from being hurt worse.

Téa bit her lip. "We could take her to Kaiba's infirmary," she suggested slowly. "But why didn't you guys stay in the taxi cab?"

"Because," Siegfried explained calmly as he walked over to her, "the driver was working with our enemies. He had to be knocked unconscious before he caused damage, and that is when Leonhard happened to see you, Fraulein . . . Gardner, is it?"

Téa just nodded numbly. "Maybe I can call an ambulance for her," she said, pulling out her cellular phone. "I was just walking home from dance class. . . ." She reached to dial 911 when Schwertleite stepped in front of her and shook her head.

"She's already been examined by Master's doctor," the Valkyrie said firmly. "What she needs now is to have a quiet place where she can rest and not be disturbed. Besides, it would be easier for them to trace us to a hospital than a residence." She gripped her sword tightly, though she kept it at her side, and Téa felt herself grow a bit nervous.

Still, she knew that she could not leave them to try to figure things out for themselves. They had obviously been attacked by something, whether or not it was Vikings—though Téa supposed that stranger things had happened. She did not care if she put herself in danger by helping them, but she did worry about suggesting what she was contemplating in her mind. She did not want to put others in danger.

"If you could just make a suggestion of a place we could go," Schwertleite was saying now.

Siegfried shook his head. "Let's go to a hotel. I can register under a false name." He shifted Dritte carefully in his arms. The longer they stayed here on the sidewalk, the greater the chance was that they would be sitting ducks.

"They would check the hotels, Master," Schwertleite replied softly, "but they wouldn't expect you to have any friends here." She was firm and blunt as always, and did not apologize for her frankness. She knew that Siegfried did not have any friends. He did not believe that he could trust anyone to be a friend, especially not in the business world. However, their enemies might realize that Leonhard had made friends with Mokuba Kaiba, so going to the Kaiba Manor would be out of the question.

Siegfried smirked slightly. "Yes, I suppose you do have a point," he said.

Finally Téa spoke up, having determined what she would do. "Maybe she could stay at my place," she offered. She knew that her parents would want to help people in trouble if they possibly could, and hopefully her family would be obscure enough that these enemies would not think to look there.

Leonhard looked at her gratefully, but worry and doubt still shone in his hazel eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. He knew that Téa would be putting herself and her family at possible risk by getting involved, and he did not want that. But if she could help, then it would definitely be welcomed. Perhaps Dritte could stay there while the rest of them went elsewhere and tried to sort out the mess. If they were not there and it was only the injured Valkyrie, then perhaps the danger would be minimized.

Téa nodded firmly. "I'm sure," she said. "My parents will be happy to help. There's not a whole lot of room, but you'll be welcome to have what there is." Quickly she dialed a number on her phone before anyone could protest. "I'll see if they can come pick us up." And even though her heart was in turmoil, she believed that she was doing the right thing.

Duke was dozing on the bed in his room. His mind wandered over many different things, mainly the events of the past few months. He saw himself being beaten again, and Yugi finding him. Then he had drifted away and the Orichalcos had taken control. . . . He hated to remember those times. He hated to realize what he had done. Surely it was unforgivable! He should have been able to overcome the poison, but he had not succeeded. It had destroyed him and ripped apart his friendships.

"And you're still corrupted," Duke heard his father's voice say as he moved into a state of partial awareness. "The Orichalcos tainted you, and you will never be the same again! Do you really think your 'friends' will take you back? You could have killed all of them!"

With a moan and a thump, the raven-haired boy tumbled out of bed and to the marble floor. His emerald eyes snapped open as he tried to take in the scene. He could feel that his heart was racing wildly. It had seemed so real. . . . And it had sounded as though his father had been right in the room with him.

"Are you alright?"

He started and looked up at the sound of the deep voice, finding himself gazing at Timaeus. "Yeah," he said slowly, pulling himself into a sitting position and letting out a shaking breath. "What's going on?"

Timaeus held out a hand to help Duke up. "It's time to go back to Domino City," he said quietly. From the tone of his voice and the grave look in his eyes, Duke got the feeling that something had happened that Timaeus might not tell him about. He accepted the assistance and slowly got up, turning to glance out the window. Nothing looked out of the ordinary from there. He looked back to the warrior.

"What's going on?" he demanded with a frown. "I know that you wouldn't just be deciding to go home out of the blue. Something bad must have happened!"

Timaeus shook his head. "We'll talk about it on the way there," he replied. "Come, we must hurry, or it will be too late." Without another word he turned and headed out of the room.

Flabbergasted, Duke was compelled to follow. He glared at the Atlantean, many mixed emotions crashing through his heart. Part of him was happy to finally be going back to Domino City. But his dream was still fresh in his mind, and he knew that it related to how he was feeling. Another part of him feared that he would not be welcomed back. They would have no reason to trust him. Though, he had never allowed himself to get extremely close to any of them. Perhaps he should not worry about whether they would receive him or not.

But if there was some new disaster that the Legendary Warriors were going to fix, Duke had to wonder how he would fit into the scheme of things. Would he be expected to help? Would he even be able to?

Valon turned the corner, letting the sound of his motorcycle's engine fill his ears. Alister had gotten up and had been painstakingly walking about the house, and the Australian had left to try to burn off his anger by riding his favorite vehicle. Seeing Alister stumble had made Valon again remember how helpless and outraged he had felt upon seeing Alexander repeatedly blasting the gray-eyed man.

I know Raph's mad too, he thought darkly to himself. But I think he's more upset about seeing Dartz again. Oh, he's probably ticked at that winged thing, but seeing someone like Dartz turn up again makes him hit his boiling point. Hypocrite, he's always tellin' me I'm a hothead, but he can get that way too if the situation's right.

Valon was actually afraid of what Raphael might do if he met Dartz again. The Australian had seen his blonde friend angry before, but he was certain it would be nothing compared to the rage and hatred he would be capable of unleashing on someone like Dartz. Valon did not like Dartz either and would be quite happy to beat him up, but he knew that Raphael's pained feelings ran much deeper than Valon's.

I kinda wonder about it, though, he mused as a snowflake fluttered past him. I mean, look at what happened to Alister a while back. He pretty much turned against us, but Raph didn't hate him, and I didn't either. I guess the difference is that we knew Alister wasn't acting on his own free will and that he really does care about us. But with Dartz, when he betrayed us, we realized that he'd probably never really cared. He had us helping him and almost eating out of his hand, and then we found out that he'd been using us all along. I don't blame Raph for still hating the bloke.

But there was another aspect to everything that Valon had never spoken of, and tried to deny that he wondered about. What if part of the reason that Raphael's feelings of anger and hatred were so strong was because some part of him still did care about Dartz? It made sense to Valon, because after looking up to someone for so long and thinking of them as a father, one could not simply stop remembering those feelings after a stinging betrayal. He had to wonder if sometimes Raphael would remember how highly he had esteemed Dartz and wish that the man truly had cared about them.

He was abruptly thrown from his thoughts, quite literally, as his motorcycle hit something. He went tumbling off, rolling over a couple of times before ceasing.

It took him several moments to regain his bearings after that. At last his world stopped spinning and he was able to sit up, dizzily looking to the direction of his fallen motorcycle. To his stunned shock, he could not see anything there that it could have banged against.

"What in the . . ." he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

He blinked when he noticed the reflection of a green light on the motorcycle's paint. Quickly he cast his gaze upward and then gave a loud exclamation of disbelief.

An enormous Seal of Orichalcos seemed to be forming over the entire city!