Attara: Hi again, I've been trying to work out the middle of the story right now (I've figured out the end already), so once it gets there, I might not update quite as often due to writer's block.
Aria: I'm sure it would be a completely wonderful story if a certain someone would be in it more often…
Attara: And so, the main character of this is Devi not a psychopath who only cares about a husband. Well, anyway, I present to you, my loyal readers (and my only incentive for writing), part one of three of a sub-plot with none other than Devi and Seto! (I love Seto!)
"Listen, Aria, I'm going on a business trip for Liana's company after I go to the library, okay? So don't wait for me or anything," Devi told the former Egyptian queen through her cell phone.
"All right." Aria responded through the wire, her voice was suddenly filled with excitement.
"I'll see you next Monday, okay?"
"Okay, bye!"
She's probably going to call Yami over. Devi sighed. Oh well, she's a grown woman, anyway. She looked out of the tinted windows of her limousine and into the streets. Blurs of color encompassed the vehicle. Once in a while, one could discern a building or two if concentrated on, but, today, Devi lazily gazed at the flashes of random shades. They slowly came to a stop.
"We're here, Miss Liana." The chauffeur called from the steering wheel.
"Thank you, Adam."
Devi stepped out of the grand vehicle. Her clothing contrasted greatly with the extravagance of the limousine. She was wearing a casual outfit consisting of sneakers, blue jeans, and a black, sleeveless turtleneck that suited her comfortably. Two golden bracelets on her wrists jingled loosely in tempo with her movements, each with the mark of royalty that was never to be removed from her arm.
"No need to wait, Adam." She smiled at him as she fingered the jewelry. "I shall call you when transportation is needed."
"Very well, miss." Adam nodded and drove away.
Time to start on that English project. Devi quickened her pace as she headed for the doors of the library. It's going to take a while… I can't believe that teacher! She's letting her pathetic personal life affect her work! She fumed when she pushed open the wooden doors. A rush of cool air greeted her entrance. Okay, Devi, just calm down… It's just the emotions that are out of control. There's no need to destroy something in the process. She thought to herself when she felt her fingers go to an unusually high temperature. The doorknob became a little bit more pliable when she removed her hands, but hardened seconds later. Now, it was twisted into a not so circular shape. It was evident that someone had placed his or her hand on the melting metal and then had allowed it to become a solid once more.
"You have already effaced an entire realm, what are the deaths of a couple of innocent people in the library compared to that?" An icy tone of voice taunted behind her.
"Seto Kaiba, what are you doing here?" She spun around.
"I have a project that is dedicated to Aria and Yami." He referred to the same project that she was assigned.
In Domino High School, a stupid rule had been established to prevent any "underage dating" from occurring. The English teacher had suspected that Aria and Yami had been dating, and had punished the entire class in hope to withdraw any information about the subject from the students. But, technically, Aria and Yami had never dated, so there was no real proof…
"Shouldn't you be with Tori?" Devi groaned, but immediately regretted her statement.
Seto glared at her with his cold eyes. It hinted of a small amount of sorrow, but she didn't seem to notice. Don't think about it now. Devi told herself. Remember, you're just here to finish your project, nothing more, although this does put me in an awkward position. She purposely avoided Seto's eyes.
"Well, I see that you need to go on with your work now, am I right?" She started to walk toward the reference section of the library.
Seto headed for the computers. Anywhere that's not near her. He thought as he sat in the uncomfortably hard, wooden chair. Although they had lived in the same house, the two rarely saw each other in their everyday lives, and that suited both of them well.
Ugh, how boring Western culture is. Devi commented as she flipped through the encyclopedia. And me having to use extra energy just to keep my emotions from being hostile isn't helping me stay awake. Her head drooped and she felt the weight of her eyelids increase.
"Just a couple of minutes." She murmured as her head came into contact with the wooden table.
"What kind of ridiculous piece of machinery is this?" Seto stared at the loading screen that had maintained the same image for over five minutes. "That's it, I'm using my laptop."
He placed his suitcase onto a table and unlatched the two locks. Inside was the latest piece of technology known to man. He connected a wire from it leading to his cell phone.
"Modem can not establish a connection." The computer voiced.
"What? How is that…oh, I see." Seto realized what had happened.
He then connected the wire to the cable under the computer table.
"Now all I have to do is hack into the mainframe and then I'll be able to…"
Seto glanced around. No one should see him doing this. Quickly, he snuck through the closest door. It led to a very small closet. Inside, the only noises were of the clicking of keys and the occasional voice command.
"Connection established," was the long awaited phrase.
"Finally."
Seto opened another window and again the sounds of vigorous typing disturbed the silence. After what seemed like a couple of minutes, Seto sighed. Done. He turned off the computer and clicked it shut.
Meanwhile, Devi blinked her eyes several times as she lifted her head from the table. She looked out of the window and saw dusk approaching rapidly. I guess it's time to go. She got up and walked towards the exit of the reference room. Devi turned the handle. It didn't move. She jiggled it, but the door refused to open. She looked at the doorknob. Hm, I must have locked it when I came in. Devi gripped the handle and closed her eyes. I must still be angry enough to summon fire. The knob changed its state of matter in seconds. The silver liquid flowed through her fingers, and she gave a gentle push to open the door.
There were no lights in the general area of the library. She shrugged and headed for the main exit. Devi pushed against the doors, but they proved to be adamant in their position as well, but this time, she couldn't melt the latch. Oh no, this can't be happening! If I'm stuck in the library, then I can't go to the meeting! Devi started to panic. And if the library's closed, then that must mean that I just triggered the silent alarm.
Soon, the dim sounds of police sirens grew in a crescendo quickly. She opened a door that was closest to her and jumped in.
"Hey" A very familiar voice interjected.
"Kaiba?" Devi asked, as her heart leapt against her will.
"You could have broken my laptop!" He said in his petulant tone.
"Who cares? I'll buy you a new one, just be quiet."
Moments later, there was a pounding at the door.
"This is the police," a man spoke through a megaphone.
"What did you do?!" Seto yelled at Devi.
She rolled her eyes. "I'll explain later."
"I repeat, come out," the sergeant continued.
Several shouts were heard from outside.
"All right, you have received your warning. We are now entering the building." The megaphone guy admonished.
There were clicking noises, showing that the officials were picking the lock.
"Let's split up." The man with the megaphone had spoken in his normal voice.
There was the shuffling of feet and footsteps that echoed within the tiny space the two were confined in.
"Nope, no one here." A female voice informed.
"Just as I thought." A man responded.
"Uh, sir? I think you should see this…" Another person said in an amazed tone.
"Melted metal? And it leads a trail to the entrance."
Devi looked down at her hand. The remains of the now hardened metal stayed in the folds of her palm. She held her breath. Oops.
"Looks like the intruder left." The female concluded.
"The person didn't even seem to take anything." A fourth person noted.
"It's probably just an act of vandalism."
"Let's go." The sergeant ordered. "There wasn't any serious damage, except for that doorknob."
The group of authorities left and an electronic beep pierced the air.
"Oh great, they turned the alarm on again." Seto growled.
"Whew, that was close." Devi ignored his pessimism.
She leaned against the wall and sighed. Suddenly, she pressed her ear against the door.
"Someone's still here." She whispered.
Devi opened the door slightly and peeked through the crack.
"It's an officer." She whispered and quietly closed the door. "We're stuck."
"What about your magic?"
"What can I do?"
"How about teleporting?" He said in a caustic tone.
"I'm not scared of anything right now, and Clef can't hear me in a different dimension."
"That's it, I'm going." Kaiba stood up.
"No! Do you really want the publicity?"
"I don't care."
"What about KaibaCorp.?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"What about Mokuba?"
"Aria will take care of him."
"I don't know if she can even breathe with a pharaoh on her face."
"No-" Devi shook her head "-Aria would never neglect a child selfishly."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because, unlike you, Kaiba, I trust her."
He reluctantly sat down.
"Do you think he can hear us?" Devi referred to the lingering officer.
He didn't answer. Okay, I can take a hint. Devi thought to herself. Wait, there should be some sort of ventilation in here. She stood up. Now where could it be? She turned to Kaiba.
"Hey, if you can snap out of your stupor from being in my grand presence, do you think that you're smart enough to find a vent?" Devi questioned.
Seto glared. "And why would I want to do that?"
"Ah, I knew that you'd love to stay in enclosed quarters with me."
He glared again, but calmly looked for their alternate exit.
"Aren't you going to help?" He asked without turning around.
"Well, you see, first of all, a queen never does her own dirty work; second of all, I enjoy your presence; and third of all, I found it."
Devi pointed to a space that was completely covered by a metal shelf.
"So I'm helping at least a little bit." She shrugged.
Kaiba headed toward the direction and pulled on the large, gray object.
"Careful, you don't want the officer to know we're here." Devi said in a bored voice.
I can't get the shelf to budge with this amount of space… He glanced at Devi.
"What's the matter, you're too weak?" She taunted.
"I've had enough with your dimwitted insults!"
His blood boiled and he somehow awakened an amount of strength unknown even to him. But he absentmindedly placed an amount of pressure at a critical area, and the metal piece of junk tipped over and threatened to crush the two high schoolers. Devi immediately formed a chunk of ice formed under the object to meet its fall. Surprised, she stared at her hands.
"Go uncover the vent," was her whispered order.
Seto obeyed by revealing a one square foot hole.
"Now, your highness, it would be a pity to have you go down such a dirty duct." Kaiba provoked.
"Just go." She waved off the affront.
Kaiba forced himself into the cavity and continued on his way. Devi followed closely behind.
"So, have any idea where we're going?" Devi asked after several moments of pulling her body with her palms and elbows against the cold, metal tunnel.
He didn't answer.
"Okay, I'll take it as a 'no', then." She whispered.
The surface was covered with a thin layer of dust, and a black rat or two scurried across the passage every few minutes. Devi was definitely not accustomed to these conditions. It'll be over soon. It'll be over soon. She attempted to comfort herself. Suddenly, the tiny passageway became cleansed
"Look, there's a light!" She pointed excitedly to an exit that looked similar to their entrance.
Wordlessly, Kaiba pulled the rusty screen out of place and climbed through. Devi jumped out and dusted herself.
"This is disgusting," she muttered.
Her formerly clean outfit had spots of gray that had become more evident as it neared her legs and stomach. Disgusting.
"So, where are we?" She asked Seto after leaving as much dust on the floor as possible.
"In the library."
"Ah, so you don't know?" She smirked.
Her ephemeral grimace then disappeared.
"That's strange, I feel something…magical."
"Where?"
"I'm not sure; the signal is scattered all over the room."
Her brain took on their present situation. Unlike the rest of the library, this area was barren. A carpet and a malodorous pile of rags prevented the room from being completely empty, and despite the age of the new building, this abandoned room had walls stained with an uncomfortable reddish-brown color that was recklessly splashed onto the fading white paint. There was no door leading into, or out of, the room, and there was a single barred window that allowed just enough light to illuminate the objects in the room.
"Interesting…" Devi mouthed.
"Why would someone build a room without a door?" Kaiba asked more to himself than Devi.
She flipped open her cell-phone and started to dial the number of her house.
"That won't work." Seto muttered.
"Why not?"
"The library doesn't allow cell-phones."
"This is just great. Of all the times I could've been trapped somewhere, it had to be now! This meeting is really important to the company… Wait, what about that window?"
"It's too small to crawl through."
"Not without a little heat." Devi grinned.
"What can you do?"
Devi looked down at the necklace. The formerly red background split into two different colors: gray streaked with a fading red. Hm, anxiety now? Premonitions won't do me any good right now, but my anger isn't strong enough to summon fire… She closed her eyes. Visions of events that infuriated her flashed through her mind. Come on, get angry. She thought. The image of the boy who had invited Aria to play basketball formed in her brain. That stupid boy! How dare he mess with Aria! She then realized her fleeting thought. Finally. Her heart beat rapidly as the anger flowed through her veins, changing her magical ability for the moment. Devi rushed over and melted each of the metallic bars without another thought. Okay, now calm down. She told herself after her rush of anger. Ugh, this is the hard part. I might not even get a chance to calm down with Kaiba here. Okay, think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. She took a deep breath. Calm down. The direth was now completely bright red.
"Voilá!" Devi shrugged, hoping that there was some way she could stop her heart from beating so rapidly. "Now boost me up."
"Can't you just perform telekinesis?" Kaiba queried.
"I'm not exactly happy right now. My magic is controlled by my emotions."
They both stared at one another for a time. One demanded help and the other refused to give it.
"The sooner we escape, the sooner we get to Mokuba," she reasoned.
"And how do I know that you won't just leave me here?" Kaiba retorted.
"Because Mokuba's my friend."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"I doubt it."
"Mokuba would ask about you, right? And I can't just make up some excuse that you died or something since he knows that no matter what, you always pull through."
"Fine then," Seto stated after considering their situation.
He swiftly walked over to the window and used both of his hands to create a makeshift step. Devi stepped onto it and jumped through the opening. Her body completely vanished from Kaiba's sight. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her… He thought, but a persistent notion in his mind said otherwise. About ten minutes later, a thick rope was lowered into the prison.
Attara: Well, that's that!
Aria: OO I only got TWO lines?! FOUR WORDS?! What is that? Stupid Kaiba had more lines than me. The chauffeur had more lines than me! I thought I was the second main character!
Attara: Uh…no, Seto is!
Aria: Gr… One of these days, I'm going to publish a book that's only has me and Yami in it. You're not going to be in it!
Attara: Uh…good luck with that. Anyway, I would like to take this time to thank my reviewers: MarikzGal4Eva, Phil, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, and Master Ruby. Especially Master Ruby because she reviewed twice in one day! I know that I would never be that generous, so I'm glad there are people like Master Ruby out there! And, as always, I hope you review!