Meh…no comments at this point. But what the heck, I'll post anyway. If you were one of my fans before the hiatus…I'm so freakin' sorry. And now to the story.

Yami finished up his explanation, feeling a bit worse then he did when he started. His friends and grandfather now sat with dumb looks on their faces. Yeah, it was a bit much to absorb. Impending war always was. Tristan was the first to speak.

"So…they're going to attack? With what? I mean…we don't have armies…"

Yami shook his head. "That's all they would tell me. But, I'm thinking they're going to do things…"

"Indirectly," Sogoroku finished. All heads in the room turned to him. "True, we don't have armies or warriors. But we do have the power of the planet on our side. Of course, I'm not sure what exactly they're planning, but you can be sure it'll include disastrous weather, earthquakes and the like."

Serenity squeaked, and two arms instantly went around her shoulders, the owners of said arms glaring at each other. Another of the friends, Anzu, rolled her eyes then spoke up. "What will this mean for us? Or the innocent people? I mean they can't all be bad…"

"True. But at this point, we can't be sure what's going to happen," Sugoroku said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I just don't know…"

Silence filled the room as the icy fingers of dread entered their hearts. If people were going to die. was it worth it? The silence was then broken by a loud sob. All heads in the room turned to Serenity. She suddenly stood, and without looking at anyone, bolted from the hut. The ones left now had a very awful uncomfortable feel in their chests. Finally, Anzu stood.

"I'll go talk to her." With that, she walked out of the hut, turning off in the direction Serenity most likely went off in, leaving the boys in silence. Ryuuji made several hysterical noises before looking up at everyone.

"This isn't right," he cried. "Why are they going through so much trouble for one person? I mean, I want him back home too, but come on!"

"I…I think they said something about a prophecy. But, they were mumbling, and they didn't seem to open about all of this," Yami said. He sighed. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

It had now been nearly 3 hours, and Joey was still playing video games. For never having seen one before, he was oddly good at it. Also, oddly addicted. No matter what he had tried, the younger Kaiba brother had yet to pry the blonde away from it. They were now sitting in what could be called a den. It was more like a cinema though. A gigantic television screen took up the entire front wall of the room. Dark blue and purple drapes covered the rest of the walls and surrounded the screen. Several gigantic sofas and beanbags were spread out in the middle of the room. I won't even go into detail about the lighting. Joey was now sprawled out over one of the beanbags, looking probably more comfortable then he should. Mokuba was on one of the couches, watching the blonde, who hadn't quite figured out that moving on the game didn't require that he actually move.

Seto swung open the door to the room, sighing at what he saw. The kid wouldn't give up. He reached over and lowered the lights a bit, then walked to the couches. Picking up the remote, he sat next to his brother, who looked mightily distraught.

"No luck I see." "Yep", Mokuba sighed. "He's hooked."

Seto smirked. "Go help him save his game. I know how to get him away from that thing."

Mokuba did just that, taking a few seconds to assure the boy that he wasn't there to steal the thing. Joey let out more sounds of protest as the young one turned the device off, then began pulling on the blondes arm. He was too comfortable…But, he eventually gave in, letting the boy lead him to the couch to sit with him and his bother. Upon sitting, he wormed around on the seat, still amazed at how comfortable it was. He could get used to this. A few words were exchanged between the brothers, then, pointing the remote to the TV, Seto turned it on.

Joey only flinched this time, seeing as he had seen so much of this today, he was really surprised when something impossible didn't happen. He heard sounds from the device before he saw anything, but it didn't stop his curiosity. He leaned forward, trying to get a better view that he didn't really need. He picture brighten, then shapes became apparent. Then people. By this point, he knew that people couldn't really be inside the box, but the science of it all was lost on him. He really didn't know what to make of all this.

He watched as odd cartoon characters bounced around, hawking sugary candies to anyone that would listen. He also watched as oddly happy people tried to convince him to buy prescription medications that he didn't need. Music swelled dramatically, flailed joyously and all around sounded weirdly. Truly television was one of the most intriguing things he'd ever beheld.

After forever, the ads stopped, and switched over to an authorities voice declaring certain events of the day. Time for the 5 'o clock news….

Mokuba scrunched up his nose. "Why are we watching the news? We never watch the news…"

"I'm keeping up with my stocks," his brother replied, monotonously. The little one sighed. "Boooring. I'm gonna go watch a movie or something." With that, he stood up a bit too quickly. Then once he was balanced, slowly walked out of the room.

Seto paid no heed. His eyes were glued to the screen. He wasn't really looking for stock info. He listened for the story…Massive fire in the city near here…nope. Earthquake on the other side of the world…nope. Violent employee uprising at the biggest company in the colonies…sorry he missed it but still….nope. Then, he heard it. He knew he would. The media always liked to keep close tabs on his own affairs.

He sighed. Maybe the human shouldn't see this one.

Serenity ran across the wooden planks back to her house. It was empty now; it had only been her and her brother before and now…well, that was the reason she was crying. She reached the small hut, throwing back the curtain that served as the front door in this season, and ran into her brother's room. She threw herself on his bed, trying not to get tears on the blankets for fear that they might wash his scent away. The smell wasn't all that special; it just smelled of Joey and soap. Possibly of dirt too. And food from a few days ago when he decided to eat in his room at 2 in the morning. Yep. Her brother. Who she might never see again. She cried harder.

Anzu neither hurried nor took her time in following Serenity. She needed to be comforted most of all, but what could she say? They were all at a loss. She sighed, wiping a stray tear away from her face. She at least needed to look strong for this. She was just as torn up on the inside, but he wouldn't let it show.

Reaching the house, she stopped, collecting her thoughts. This wasn't going to be easy. She sighed again, smoothing out her clothes; an odd pink number that was made of a skirt and a halter top with butterfly patterns decorating it. Slowly, she pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. Following the sobbing sounds, she went to Joey's room. Serenity was kneeling on the bed, her face in her hands. Anzu walked closer then sat beside her on the bed. She put a hand on her shoulder in a weak comforting attempt which made no difference. She furrowed her brow, then started talking.

"I'm so sorry. We all are. We miss him so much. You're not alone…please, don't cry. It'll all work out…" She herself cringed at the last part, not quite believing it herself. Serenity shook her head, refusing to take comfort. She lifted her head, looking out the window.

"Once, I thought it might be fun to see one of those people. To see how different they are from us. I…I never thought they would do this…Maybe it's a good thing we live separately…" she lamented. "They probably haven't changed over all this time. They were even speaking the same language."

She stopped suddenly. They were speaking the same language they had been…the one that he village elders had been teaching them. They could do something with this. She turned to Anzu.

"We can get him back! I'm sure of it!"

Anzu was shocked by the sudden outburst, but recovered quickly. "Um…We can? You are?"

Serenity nodded. "Yes! Well…I'm sure it would be very dangerous…but, I'm not going to sit back and let them steal my brother away. If it had been me, he wouldn't have just stood here and watched!" Anzu blinked at her and opened her mouth to speak, but didn't get the chance.

"What if…what if one of us sneaks in there? They didn't look too much different from us. And if we get someone who speaks the language really good," she grabbed Anzu's hands, "it could really work."

Anzu took a minute to process all of this. Sneak in… steal him back…hmm. It's possible. It's dangerous. But still…

"Who speaks their language that well? I mean…it's not like even those who know it speak it that often at all.."

Serenity grinned for the first time in days. "Well, remember how I said I thought it'd be cool to meet one of those people? I've always been impressed by their culture…and I know two guys that would do anything to impress me…"

"…40 people were arrested and 5 were sent to the hospital. Talks to improve company healthcare coverage is still in the works. Dan?"

"Well, here's a story for ya. We've all heard about it. Humans actually living, hidden, in the forests around the world. Fairytales? Not according to one of the most popular young people at the time."

"That's right folks. Genius business owner and teen girl's fantasy, Seto Kaiba, is out to prove these stories true. Reports from several sources have indicated that he is actually claiming to have one of these humans in his presence. Apparently, he went out looking for them and found one. Imagine that. Dan?"

"And he's not the only one, take a look at this." The picture changes from the drab reporters behind the desk to an odd looking forest. "These have not been edited. What you see is really there. From the looks of it, it seems there is a giant 'city' in the trees. A lone helicopter pilot shot this just a few days ago. Now, why we've never seen this before is beyond me.." Seto had heard enough. Publicity was nice, but he was really resenting it right now. He imagined the general morale of his entire company had just gone down by 20 points.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking over at the blonde at the other end of the couch. He had fallen asleep sometime around the weather reports. Just as well. It might have been to much for him if he had seen one of his cities on television.

Seto stood up, walking over to Joey. He stood over him, taking in his appearance. He looked so peaceful, comfortable. Not at all like the goofy, fiery teenager he really was. Seto sighed, then picked up a throw that was draped over one of the chairs. Gently, he spread I out over the blonde careful not to wake him. He leaned over, actually tucking him in a bit. Then the though crossed his mind… 'Just a small peck…that's it…' he leaned in, coming nose to nose with him. Just a bit more… Nah….

He stood up quickly, blushing uncharacteristically. He stalked out of the room, desperately trying to regain his composure.

There you have it. Bit longer then usual. Tell me what you think. Thanks to all one of you that replied to the last one. You were a fan before, weren't you?