Author's Note 1: Hi everyone. Sorry it's taken us so long to get this chapter out but we had some trouble thinking of what to put into it. And we flip flopped on who should write what...but we worked it out and we finally are able to present it to you. Not to mention that we were also busy with schoolwork and stuff like that so we didn't have any time to write it. I'm sure all of you want to read the story now so let's keep this note short...hope you enjoy it!

Author's Note 2: You lie! We never flip flopped on who should write what...we just flip flopped on what should be written. But it's all good now! And I have nothing to say, so read.

Chapter Two

Hell is not only fire and brimstone. It is called home to those that are born there. The demons of the underworld live comfortable lives, yet they are ever in a ready state to be sent out into battle with the angels.

The blue-eyed demon was no exception. And he was very good at leading his troops. He could be woken up in the middle of sleep and be forced into battle without being the least bit tired. But his drive was slowly being weakened.

He returned to Hell slightly confused at what had happened on the battle field that day. Everything was going along nicely, he had even engaged the highest ranking angel, but he stopped. Right before the killing stroke, he had stopped. The demon shook his head and continued walking down the thin corridor to his home.

"How did it go, Seto?" The blue-eyed demon, Seto, shivered as he turned around to face his father.

"They retreated. We killed about half of their troops, they will be hurting for a while," Seto replied.

"Did you kill any of them when they were teleporting? They're especially vulnerable when they teleport," Seto's father asked.

"I..." Seto didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell his father that he had frozen up, that would earn him some sort of less than savory punishment. Though, this was the first time ever that he failed to take advantage of an opportunity, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad. "No, I didn't. But I'm sure that the others did."

His father opened his mouth to say something, but someone from inside a room called out to him, and he left without a second glance at Seto.

The demon sighed and turned around, only wanting to be alone in his room. He planned on going over the battle again in his mind to see why he had stopped, and try to justify it so he didn't feel so wretched. That angel... what did he do to the demon? The question was eating Seto alive. What did he do? What did he do?

Seto almost ran to the door when he spotted the main entrance to his house. The corridor he was walking through gave way to an enormous cave, the middle of Hell, and in the center, balanced dangerously on a pillar of rock over a large lava-pit, was a majestic house.

Seto quickly opened the heavy black doors of the house and walked directly to his room. There, he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, even though he wasn't tired. From then on, he replayed the fight in his mind. He saw the angel in his white robes, the sword, the magic, the power that the angel possessed. It was difficult deflecting the final attack the angel made, Seto had to actually rip the fabric of that dimension so that the attack missed him completely. Luckily for Seto, he had mastered that type of magic long before and could easily summon it.

The replay became more detailed as he reached the end. Seto willed it so that he could see the exact moment when his hand stalled and the angel walked away. He saw the angel struggling to get out of his grip and fall to the ground when he let go. Saw the angel's chest heave with the deep breaths he took. Felt himself turn the angel around and sit on him, pulling the dagger out for the kill. Seto felt the adrenaline rush he felt then when he pulled the dagger out. It was exhilarating. He felt his lungs take in deeper breaths, and all he could hear was the pounding of his heartbeat. But there, underneath his body, the angel whispered something. He focused on it, and barely heard "I don't want to fight anymore." The angel resigned and actually accepted the fate he was given. But this wouldn't stop Seto. If the angel was prepared to die, then it would only be right for Seto to help him on his way. Why did he stop?

Seto sat up in bed and frowned. Something was wrong with him. He wouldn't have stopped, he shouldn't have stopped. But he did. He brought a hand up and ran it through his hair. There was not going to be an easy answer to this question. Or maybe there was and he just didn't want to accept it. The easy answer was that he was tired of the war too. He didn't want to fight anymore either.

Seto stood up and started pacing around his room. He couldn't accept that answer. Never before had he gone against all that he was raised to believe, at least, never on the big facts of life. And there was no reason. Why would he question it now?

He growled. It was the angel's fault. Somehow the angel was controlling him. Seto couldn't believe that. He was stronger than to fall for mind tricks. No, it was all on him. And once he accepted the idea, he knew it had begun far before the red-eyed angel had ever entered his life. There was just something wrong with the war.

So what was the demon's next move? He couldn't go back to war, but he couldn't stay home, that would look suspicious. If the war would just end already...

That was it. He would stop the war. But he couldn't do it alone. As much as his ingrained hatred for the angels went against this plan, he would need the help of the particular angel that caused his epiphany. This plan was getting more and more complicated as the seconds passed. He would need to contact the angel somehow. He wasn't even sure if that was possible, but it never hurt to try.

Inspired, Seto walked over to the book shelf and used a bit of magic to quickly search all his books for any mention of angels. Most of them he discarded because they referred to angels only in the sense of how to kill them, and to Seto's chagrin, none of them contained anything on how to contact them. Seto stopped for a second and thought. He could not enter Heaven and walk around trying to find the angel, so he would have to find a way that his corporeal body wouldn't be there, just his spirit. He would have to find some way that he could link with the angel's mind. Seto thought long and hard, his brow furrowing more and more as he thought harder.

Dreams. He could do it through dreams. It was a common tactic for demon communication, and one that had been used on him when he would be woken up for battle. Seto had no clue if he could connect with an angel, but there was only one way to find out. Before he would try though, he decided to brush up on how to do it. Rarely had he ever had to use it on someone else, mostly he was the receiver. He sighed as he turned around to the bookself once more and did a search for dream communication. A few books flew to him and he nimbly caught them, taking them to a nearby seat and sitting down to start reading.

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Yami awoke to bright lights streaming into the room and had to squint his eyes against it. Groaning as he shifted, he looked around quickly, momentarily forgetting where he was until he remembered the familiar furnishings of his own room.

"You're awake."

Yami turned his head to see his brother staring at him, worry filling those large purple eyes. He nodded and let out a small smile.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked. His throat was sore, so the question came out more of a whisper.

"Two days," Yugi answered.

Yami struggled to sit up, his whole body was sore but he noticed that all his wounds had disappeared.

"Don't move so much," Yugi said, hurrying to help his brother by placing a pillow behind the injured angel.

"I'm fine," Yami said, relaxing.

"It didn't look like it when you first came back," Yugi said. "It was horrible…all those cuts and they were bleeding so much. The healers said it was a miracle you came away with just those wounds, it could've been much worse."

"It could have," Yami muttered, his mind flashing to the fight with the demon. The demon had been very strong, so strong that he was able to withstand one of his most powerful attacks.

"Yami?"

Yami turned his head towards his brother. "What is it?" he asked.

Yugi was silent for a moment, biting his lower lip to stall asking his question before he blurted. "What happened between you and the demons?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. There was a lot that happened…

"Why are you…alive?" Yugi asked.

Yami was slightly taken aback by this question. Yes, why did the demon commander spare him? Weren't they both enemies and weren't they supposed to kill each other? Yami wished he knew the answer. "I…I don't know," he said truthfully. "It was strange."

"A demon would never let an angel escape," Yugi said.

"That is true," Yami said, thinking back. "He seemed almost hesitant…but why?" Closing his eyes, he let out a deep breath.

"Are you tired Yami?" Yugi asked.

"A little."

"I'll let you sleep, then," Yugi said. He stood up and took his older brother's hand, squeezing it gently before letting go. "I'm glad you kept your promise," the younger one whispered before leaving the elder sibling alone.

Yami could feel the exhaustion that seeped into his brain start to affect the rest of his body. The last conscious thought was about the blue-eyed demon. Why did he spare me? In moments, Yami was sound asleep again.

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Whether Yami had been asleep for half an hour, or half the night, he wasn't aware, but after a few pointless dreams, everything went black. Rather than feeling like he was in a dream, floating around and watching figures go through a play, he felt like he was completely awake. Possibly because he could feel the injuries from the last battle. Yami wondered where he was; not exactly floating, but not solidly on ground either, suspended in a black room. Not that it was dark; no, Yami could see barriers, they were just painted black. It was very strange.

Yami looked around on either side, but still saw nothing but the black emptiness. He was alone. And apparently waiting for something. What it was he couldn't guess, he had never seen a room like this before. He turned completely around, and gasped quietly. The flight response geared up inside his body.

Lined up with the wall in front of Yami, was a statue. Not a statue of just anyone either. Sitting there on the low, stone throne, was a perfect representation of the demon that had almost killed him. Realizing it was only a statue, Yami let out a sigh and walked toward it. That was a curious thing to be put into Yami's dream, or whatever it was. Yami lifted a hand, brushing his fingertips along the demon's cheek and confirming it was made out of stone. But the moment his fingertips left the cheek, color started flooding into the statue. The skin faded from the cold, dark grey stone color into one that was more suitable for skin. The hair gained a more earthly color, and the blue seeped into his eyes. Yami was paralyzed, able to do nothing but watch the statue turn into something that could easily dispose of him.

The statue of the demon wasn't fully realized until Yami spotted the light in the eyes. It was like consciousness had fully seeped into the body, as the coloration had. Yami saw the demon takes it's first breath, and then appear to see the angel standing there in horror. The demon raised his hand and studied it.

"That was strange," he commented.

The moment that demon spoke, Yami's eyes widened and his mind raced. He needed to do something to protect himself. Without thinking, he focused an orb of energy in his hand, forcing it to grow slowly until the time when he would release it.

The demon glanced over at Yami and closed his eyes, sighing. Yami felt that his time had come and he threw the energy at the demon. He moaned as he saw the demon wave his hand and instantly dispel the magic. What was this place? The demon stood up and stepped down off of the platform the chair was on, but Yami didn't let him get any further. Yami brought forth another ball of energy and threw it at the demon. Yet another disappointment. Again the energy disappeared in front of the demon, who, in an act remarkably similar to the first time they met, teleported over to where Yami stood and grabbed the angel's wrists, tugging them high into the air.

"Now, now, play nice. You don't want to get beat again, do you?" The demon said.

Yami struggled to get out of the demon's grip, but to no avail. The demon held Yami steadfast.

"Not like you could do anything, this place is my creation," the demon continued. "But, I promise not to kill you when we're in here, I have something much more important than that to discuss. Can I let you go without you causing anymore disruptions?"

Yami glared into the demon's eyes and struggled fruitlessly one more time. When he could not shake the demon, his shoulders sagged in defeat and he sighed, nodding once. The demon released his wrists. Yami felt the adrenaline rushing through his system, making his blood pressure rise and his legs feel weak.

"Who...who are you?" Yami asked.

The demon took a step back. "I am Seto. Son of the Devil. I am one of the highest ranking generals of Hell's army."

That made Yami feel great about the position he was in. Why would one of this demon's position want a meeting with Yami?

"And though I called you into this place," Seto continued. "I have no idea who you are. Other than you are of some high rank like myself," Seto added.

"My name is Yami," he said. "And, I guess I'm a general." He was still wary of this demon, so he made sure he didn't tell too much. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't get killed in this...place.

"Are you high on the ladder? Because if you're not, then I have no need for you," Seto said.

Yami hesitantly took a step back. "How can I trust that you won't kill me?" He asked.

The demon seemed to think this over. "I guess you can't. Just know that I could've killed you before, and chose not to," Seto said.

A light flashed on in Yami's head, there was a question that had been bothering him. "Why did you spare me that day on the field? You seemed so intent on killing me, and then you just stopped."

The demon looked thoughtfully into the distance. His shoulders slumped, like a heavy weight had been placed on them. "Have you ever felt like a tool? Something to be used to further a purpose that not even the user knows?" He said quietly. Slowly, his cold gaze found it's way back to Yami, which sent chills up the angel's spine.

"Like a marionette," Yami said. Of course he had felt that way, it was one of the reasons he hated the war. "Someone behind the scenes pulling at my strings. Pulling blindly."

"Exactly," Seto said. He wasn't smiling, but something in his eyes had changed, they looked happy. "That makes us have something in common, and that is why I didn't kill you. I want you to help me."

"But how? I can't do anything, I only just became a general," Yami said, biting his lip for telling too much. The demon only looked at him.

"It'll do," he said. "Honestly, I have no clue what to do either. I know I can talk to a couple of...loyal...followers, but I can only stall. This is where I need you. You need to figure out way to stop it."

"Me? Why me? You were the one who called me here, this is all your idea," Yami said.

"But you were the one who started this," the demon said to Yami in a raised voice.

"That was very mature," Yami replied, a smirk forming on his features.

"Just do it, or else the next time we meet in battle I will kill you," Seto said. He turned around and walked back to his seat. The demon gave one last look to Yami and then sat down, and the room they were in started to disappear.

Before the two in the room fully disappeared, Yami smirked. "You can try," he mouthed to the demon. The demon saw and raised up his right hand. Yami squinted to see what Seto was doing, and the moment he saw a trickle of blood come down the demon's palm, he felt his own hand being cut. He looked down and saw a thin slice open up on his palm, getting bigger as the room disappeared.

"Lest you forget," Yami heard the demon's voice in his head, and the entire room disappeared.

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"BASTARD!" Yami screamed, bolting up in bed.

"Yami?"

Yami turned to see Yugi staring at him with wide purple eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking his head, Yami lay back down, taking a deep breath. "It's nothing," he said.

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked. "You were mumbling and twitching in your sleep."

"I'm sure." Yami didn't want to lie to Yugi but he didn't want his little brother to worry so much about him. Yugi was still young and innocent, not yet ready to be brought into cruel reality. "Did anyone come in?"

"Just Father," Yugi answered. "He wanted your report…"

"Ah." Damn that demon! What was his name? Seto? Damn Seto! Yami clenched his hands into fists but a burning sensation in his right hand made him relax. Looking down, he saw the cut. "It was only a dream though…"

"A dream?" Yugi asked, sitting closer. "What kind of dream was it?"

"Nothing important," Yami said. He moved to sit up, using his hands to hold himself up for a moment. Wincing, he took the pressure off his right hand, the cut reminding him of what Seto had said.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he pushed himself up to stand. "Where's Father?" he asked.

"In his study," came the answer. "But you shouldn't be moving right now…your body hasn't completely healed yet."

"It's fine."

"No!" Yugi moved to grab Yami's right arm. "Don't force yourself, Yami."

"I have to go give my report," Yami said. "Let go, Yugi."

"No!"

Turning around, Yami lifted his left hand and placed it on top of Yugi's head. "I'm fine," he said. "The healers did a good job."

"But…"

"You know it's my duty as a general in the army to report," Yami said firmly. "Now let go."

Slowly, Yugi loosened his grip on Yami's arm, head bowed. "I know," he said quietly. "But I don't want to lose you like I did Mom."

"We already went over this, Yugi. You won't."

Sighing, Yugi nodded. "I'll wait here," he said. His eyes looked to the floor but something red caught his eyes. He could see a cut on his brother's palm that looked fresh. But didn't the healers heal everything? Yugi thought. "Yami."

"Yes, Yugi?"

Grabbing Yami's right hand, Yugi looked up at his brother, purple clashing with crimson. "What's this?" he demanded, showing Yami the cut.

Yami's eyes widened for a moment. He hadn't wanted anyone else to know what he and Seto were planning. "It's just a cut," he said.

"But you didn't have it before…how did you get it?" Yugi asked.

"It's just a small scratch, nothing to worry about," Yami said, trying to play it off. "I have to go now."

He pulled his hand from Yugi and almost ran out of the room. Leaning against the door, Yami expelled a deep breath. He can't know…he'll never approve. I'm sorry, Yugi, but I'm doing this for the good of both sides. Standing firmly, Yami glanced at the door one more time before making his way to his father's study.

Author's Note 1+2: Review please. We'll try not to make the wait so long, but no guarantees.