Warriors

-The Mists of Avalon-

Well, Yu-Gi-Oh and Yu-Gi-Oh GX aren't hours, that's for sure. We WISH that they were but... For the betterment of the Kaiba Siblings, Yuugi Mutou and Judai Yuki? They're better with Takahashi-sensei.

It has occured to us that we have NEVER introduced ourselves. But you can check the profile for that - lazy ass Yui-chan was supposed to fix that for us. But she has so much school she never got around to it.

Anyway, Suzuno-chan wrote most of this chapter, with a little help from me. We also noticed that it was Miaka-chan who wrote RASHID instead of RISHID in the previous chapter. We're sorry for the error and we shall beat her up with pieces of ham.

Enjoy this chapter, We hope...

Pieces of The Puzzle


"Disappeared…?" Mokuba asked, his voice somewhat shaking.

Yuugi sighed and shook his head, looking over to his cousin who was looking down at the floor as he spoke in the same lowered tone. "After your mansion burned down…" he said as he sighed. "Three years ago, after that – it was reported that you were dead and that he went missing – so everyone suspected that he was dead." Judai paused and looked up at him, and he was obviously sympathetic. "I'm really sorry…"

Mokuba was quiet as he didn't exactly know what to say. He felt his eyes fill up with tears once more, he could feel sobs rising from inside of him, getting caught up in his throat. It looked like he was too late for anything, just as he had been afraid of. He wanted to scream, he hated himself and the mere fact that he was alive when his brother was possibly the opposite, made him sick to his stomach. The men might've been too strong for him to handle – maybe as hard as he tried there was no way out. Mokuba looked down at his shivering hands – he failed to protect the person whom he loved and respected the most. What right did he have to be here?

"Niisama…" he trailed off, looking down, shoulders shaking.

Yuugi could only look at him with all the sympathy he had. Judai remained quiet, waiting for Mokuba to say something.

The younger boy thought for a moment, looking up and towards the window. Then again, they didn't know for sure. His brother always was a smart one, too smart for his own good, but still – he was always clever enough to get through whenever he was in a fix, ever since he was young. All those years, even against their manipulative bastard for a stepfather – Seto was always able to stand his ground and defend whatever it is he chose to do. That's why Kaiba Gozaburou never liked him. Seto was too headstrong, always wanted and always got his way. Sometimes, when Mokuba would think to himself, he started to think that their stepfather was the reason why the two of them were separated and thrown into this mess anyway.

With that being said, Mokuba thought for another moment. There was no way that Seto would allow himself to be beaten by Gozaburou's dogs. He would rather bite his own tongue off. That's how he knew his brother. Unyielding and strong, and of all that's happened and all the years gone by, if he was still out there – Mokuba was confident that he could've only gotten stronger. A great part of him believed in Seto and what he was capable of. He trusted him that much.

It looked as if there was no hope and that he was impossible to track down – but Mokuba knew that he was still considered missing and dead – by people who had no idea about what kind of person his brother is like. It was just a speculation – and it would remain that way.

In other words, Mokuba was going to find out for himself.

He wiped his eyes with a sleeve, shaking his head.

"Niisama isn't dead!" he said in a dignified tone. "He can't be. There's no way a bunch of small fries like them can hold him down!"

"Mokuba…" Judai trailed off, watching him.

"I know that Niisama is stronger than that. If he wants to stay hidden – no one will ever be able to find him. That's why I know he's still out there. I believe that he's out there waiting for me to find him."

Judai found himself slowly grinning at what he was hearing. If there was anything he could understand, it was believing in someone and putting that much trust in someone you love. He admired Mokuba for thinking that way, just shows that he wasn't the type to give up. If Seto was anything like what he was saying, then Judai definitely saw where the kid got it. Well, he, himself never backed down from anything or anyone. It just wasn't in his nature.

It wasn't in his nature to stop someone from finding a loved one either.

"I kinda agree with you actually." Judai said, a bit more cheerful now. He looked up at Mokuba who was staring at him. "I mean, people could be wrong about what they're saying about your brother…"

Yuugi looked at Judai. "You really think that Kaiba Seto is out there somewhere?"

"Well…" Judai said, stretching his arms comfortably. "They haven't found a body, have they? In all the years that they've proclaimed him dead – have they ever said that they found his body?"

"No." Yuugi blinked, shaking his head. "I guess they haven't."

"Then he can't be dead yet for sure!" Judai concluded with a confident nod. Mokuba brightened a bit, or at least his mouth curved into what resembled a slightly relieved smile. "Isn't that right, Mokuba?"

Mokuba nodded. "But I don't really know where to – start looking." He frowned. "I haven't been out in a while – I'll have no problem finding my way through the city. I can get away from the men if worse comes to worse, but – " he looked at them. "I don't know where to start looking."

"We'll help!" Yuugi offered, looking up at him and smiling.

"Yuugi… You will?" Mokuba looked somewhat hopeful. Though he was fine with fending for himself, a little help wouldn't hurt. They didn't seem like they were lying. He was a smart boy, and he was level-headed enough to know who to trust. Yuugi Mutou and Judai Yuuki were not people who seemed malicious. That amazed him somehow that people like them still existed.

It figures they were related.

"Of course." Yuugi said with a nod. "You really want to see your brother, don't you?" he looked at him a bit gently. "It's sad enough that both of you had to be separated. It'll even be sadder if you never get to see him again."

"Don't worry! You can trust us for sure!" Judai added with a grin.

"Thanks…" Mokuba smiled and nodded to them, but then he paused and thought for a moment. Wouldn't getting two people involved in something like this be dangerous? It would be nice if he had the help, but when push comes to shove, could these two defend themselves against what he's had to go up against just a few hours ago when he was out there running for his life? It was nice that they offered – but maybe it'd be safer for them if they had nothing to do with him, otherwise, the men might go after them as well.

But wait a minute – the more obvious question was… why would two complete strangers like them care so much?

Even more questions started to bother him – first off, if Yuugi was able to see what he had done to those men, wouldn't he be more afraid to approach him rather than offer to help take care of him and nurse him back to health? Another thing was, if they've known how shady the situation and unsure the state was with Seto's case – why would they be offering to help? Wouldn't the more normal thing to do be to turn him away as fast as they could before they'd get involved?

Now these two were just getting suspicious.

"Wait –"he trailed off. "Why do you care so much? Don't you know how dangerous this can get?" he looked up at Yuugi. What if he was wrong about the two of them? His heart started to beat hard in his chest and he started to ready himself in case he had to run. He looked apprehensive; Yuugi looked back at him with an uneasy smile as he got up.

"Well you see, Mokuba-kun…" Yuugi trailed off. Judai kept his grin as he watched his cousin. The shorter teen stretched out his hand – and immediately, around Mokuba was a warm and protective violet net-like barrier. Mokuba was surprised, backing away slightly – his hand started to touch the net barriers, he felt a bit of the electric shock pass through his skin and he quickly drew his hand away. He looked up at Yuugi who smiled slightly and nodded, putting his hand back down to his side, it disappeared.

"You're…" Mokuba was still wide-eyed.

"We're one of them, too." Judai concluded with a nod. "So don't worry. We know what it's like. We're most certainly not going to turn you in either." He smiled.

"They go after you, too then."

Judai nodded. "They do. In fact, we're looking for someone, too. Like you are."

"Eh?" Mokuba turned his attention to Judai.

Judai frowned slightly, but did not avert his gaze away from him. "Our grandfather was taken away some months ago. We were staying over somewhere else and when we came back…" he paused. "This place was a mess and he wasn't anywhere to be found."

"I can help you guys find him." Mokuba offered. "I don't doubt that it's those guys who took him. They probably still have him captive." He shook his head. "Those guys are strong, though."

"Well, Judai here has tried a couple of times to track jiisan down – I was lucky enough to be able to pull him out of it." Yuugi answered. Judai only grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "But he never really actually found or got to the place where they could be keeping our grandfather…"

It was possible that the same people responsible who had their grandfather taken was the same person who planned to take Seto away as well. Either way, Mokuba knew that he really had no choice but to work with these two as it was leading to that direction anyway.

"In the meantime, get some rest and get your strength back." Judai said getting up. "Yuugi will watch over you for now, I'm gonna go downstairs and make sure no one's hovering around, if you know what I mean."

"Will you be alright by yourself, Judai-kun?" Yuugi asked.

"Yeah! I'll be alright. Stay here with Mokuba." He headed off downstairs.

Mokuba picked up his spoon again, his soup was getting kind of cold and the bread was starting to look good to him. At least for now, he could breathe easy.

"Varon…?" Isis trailed off, looking at the file.

Shadi nodded as the three of them emerged from the elevator. The hallway was long and the walls were painted gray. Isis's heels were heard clicking against the marbled cemented floors. There were well-lit lights hanging above them and a few potted plants stood by the side of the halls. There were rooms and sliding automated doors across each other. It was pretty obvious that this is where the darker side of 'work' went.

But Isis was used to this sort of thing. For years, which she worked in Millennium Corporation, she's seen people born with the mutation being taken in this place. Where they waited until people would run tests on them – that they be taken in and out to be prepared to work as 'defense units' for the company. But of course, it took some serious work to control their abilities as well as to tame the people who had them. Some of them were still test objects until now, Some of them were already part of the exclusive and still developing Defense Unit (though with complete freedom stripped of them and replaced by a million restrictions) some of them died within the tests and experimentations. Isis was sometimes amazed at her ability to withstand it all.

Most of the time, it was just unbearable – the way Gozaburou Kaiba ran things. Gozaburou who anyone hardly saw. They said that he was always there in his office – but no one has spoken to him, besides his bodyguards (there were quite a lot) and his secretary. Everyone was always talking about him, wondering what else he could've been up to. There were a lot of rumors about him – especially about his eldest son, Kaiba Noa. No one really knew the details of his eldest son's death – but it did happen a few years prior to the burning of the Kaiba Estate in the secluded parts of Domino City. No one really knows about the full details of that accident either. No one knows what caused it, since Kaiba Estate is heavily guarded and anyone who would try to break in would sooner find himself hung on a tree with wild dogs feasting on him rather than finding himself being able to get in through the gate – it's a mystery that someone was able to destroy it. There's always the big possibility that the one responsible was someone from the inside the Estate – then again, that was the only possible way if one thought about it.

Isis was always good at keeping secrets, she knew so many of them – though she knew that sometimes, things went deeper than they already seemed to be. She was aware that there were a lot of things being hidden from her as well.

She had her reasons. Her reasons of being here.

"Isis-sama? Are you alright?" Rishid asked.

Isis looked up, recovering quickly – she nodded and looked back at the file. "Varon was brought in an hour ago or so?"

"That's right." Shadi said with a nod. "Though he won't really cooperate – we've saved the more forceful methods later." He looked at her. "We decided that maybe – it would be best if he talk to you. Maybe we'll get something out of him."

Isis shook her head. "Forceful means aren't necessary – he has to realize on his own that it is inevitable for him to tell us the things we need to know." They stood in front of one of the sliding doors. Shadi started to punch in the security codes, pressing his fingertips on the screen as they processed his fingerprints.

"Isis-sama, please stay behind me." Rishid took a step, staying in front of Isis. He was her second in command and it was also his job to protect her. He was loyal enough to her and he respected her greatly. He knew more about her than anyone else. Maybe that's why he's chosen to stay in this corporation, working for her – though the thought of what they did somehow made him uneasy at some point.

Shadi, on the other hand, didn't seem to reveal much about himself. It seemed like he was fine with the work that they did, sometimes, it looked as if he even approved of it. He didn't talk to Rishid much and he only spoke to Isis about official matters. Mostly, he was with the other troops and often kept to himself. Rishid sometimes felt that he wasn't someone who should be trusted – and so he kept his distance from him. He knew that Isis felt that as well. But they kept a respectable and civil relationship. They were going to work with each other after all.

The metallic doors slid open and apart, Rishid stepped in first before Isis did. It was dark, the lights were kept off for some reason. In the center of the room, leaning on the cold walls, there was a figure slouched comfortably, his palms rested on his knees. He looked down, but he wasn't unconscious. Isis knew he was awake and possibly waiting for a chance to escape.

"Open the lights." She ordered calmly.

"Don't." the rough and yet young male voice spoke. "I kinda like it like this." He looked up. Isis could see enough with the little light coming in through the outside. Rishid stood behind her in case the teen did try to escape – Rishid, still in front. Isis looked carefully at the young man. Dark brown hair and blue eyes, he looked a rough around the edges and he definitely had the makings of a trouble maker. Isis frowned a bit as she took a deep breath, remaining calm. She had to show this one that she indeed meant no malice.

"You're Varon?"

"What's it to you?" Varon answered, looking somewhat smug. "Let me guess, you're gonna beat the answers out of me right? Like what you've done to the others around here."

"You're wrong." Isis answered. "If you cooperate with us, Varon. There is no need for such measures – even I myself don't approve of them."

"Is that what you're all supposed to say so that idiotic saps would fall for it and actually trust you?" his tone was a bit more resentful now, he looked up to her, brows meeting. "What about the ones who don't bark by your feet? Do you kill them off?"

"That's enough." Shadi interrupted calmly but sternly. Varon frowned this time around, he glared towards Shadi's direction.

"Or what?" Varon's voice cut through coldly. "You can go on ahead, I really don't care – But allow me to retaliate, at least."

"That's enough." Isis grew tired of this and fast. She looked over to Varon once more and asked. "Are you on your own?"

Varon snorted. "Do you see anyone else here with me?" he snapped.

Isis knew this was a lie. Sure, he was alone – he was found by himself and there was no one else with him. But she didn't exactly believe that he was working by himself. It was noble of him to cover up whoever it was that had his loyalty. She sighed. It was not going to be easy getting answers out of him.

"What do we do now, Isis-sama?" Rishid said with a frown.

"You can keep me here all you want, nothing is going to work." Varon said with a lazy sigh. "So you might as well just let me out." His eyes narrowed. "Unless you wanted me to do that on my own."

Rishid's frown deepened as he reached for his gun as did Shadi. Isis held up a hand and shook her head.

"No. That won't be of any good…" she said. "He won't talk properly if we threaten him." Then again, didn't look like he was going to talk whatever happened. Period.

"Well… there was that kid." Varon suddenly trailed off.

"What kid?" Rishid asked, readying to reach for his gun still.

"I don't know – I don't know him. But he's got it, too." Varon said a bit absent-mindedly. He sighed and shrugged. "But I don't know him, so…"

Isis froze, she looked to him again. "What did he look like?"

"Ah, it was dark – I didn't see anything, how should I know?" Varon answered her with a frown. "He was short, messy dark hair. But I told you, I don't know him."

She gasped softly, eyes widened a bit as she took a step forward, emerging from behind Rishid.

"Isis-sama…"

She paid no heed to him. "Do you know what he can do?"

"I didn't spend much time with him." He was annoyed now. "Why do you care so much about that little runt?"

Rishid and Shadi immediately caught up, as they looked at Isis.

"Do you think that the child he's talking about is –"

"If that's true…" she trailed off. "Then he's loose in the city somewhere."

Before she could even finish the thought alarm systems started to go off in every direction and mass panic was already evident. Troops from upstairs were starting to gather and emergency lock-downs were being implemented. Isis backed away as suddenly her radio on.

She pushed on the golden pendant she had and spoke calmly but eagerly. "What's going on up there?"

"There's someone in front of the building creating a ruckus!" a guard had answered, one of her own troops. "He has the mutation! And he's giving our troops a hard time!"

Isis looked over to Rishid and Shadi. "Go up there right now --"

"My turn!" Varon got up, throwing two blue flames towards them. Rishid immediately grabbed Isis before lunging aside, Shadi lunged towards the opposite direction – aimed a gun at him and started shooting. But Varon moved too fast. He dashed towards the automated doors and started to run down the hall.

"Isis-sama, are you? –" Rishid asked but Isis had already gotten up, taking out her own gun.

"I knew he wasn't working alone…" she whispered under her breath. "Let the other units handle the one making a mess outside – we have to catch up with Varon! We can't let him escape!"

The three of them headed out.

"Is that the best you guys can do?" a young teen with honey blond hair and dark brown eyes shouted as he ducked bullets headed towards him. He kept running towards the main gate as everyone else shot at him. He looked up, his hands suddenly surrounded by bright orange flame-like lights as he threw them towards the direction of the men blocking his way.

"I warned you! Don't blame me for anything!" he growled as he let the flame-like lights loose

You know the rules - read and review if you want. :) Flames will be ignored. We shall beat up Miaka-chan now.