A/N: Just found out today that Pegasus spells his Maximillian "Maximillion" like the number. A little too on the nose, had I known that before, I would have retained his Japanese name: Pegasus Crawford. As things are now, I am not changing it just to maintain continuity in my story, though I will in my master copy if I ever get the time to re-type and republish.
Dinner went as well as it could have under the circumstances. Pegasus and Sabrina discussed art for the majority of the courses, mercifully allowing Seto and Mokuba to remain disengaged. When dessert arrived, Pegasus finally shifted his focus to Kaiba.
"I know that you are pressed for time, but since Miss Harrison is so interested, I was hoping you'd permit us a little first?"
Had it been Mokuba or Yugi's interest, he'd have given a definite 'no', but he again found himself uncharacteristically indulgent. Rather than reply verbally, he simply nodded.
"Then let's get to it shall we?" When he stood, he helped Sabrina out of her seat, leaving the boys to fend for themselves. Sabrina grabbed her camera and led the group down a set of wooden steps into a basement, half of which had been converted to hold his private art collection. Not all of the pieces were his, but one wall was dedicated to his most prized Duel Monsters. Three of them stood on easels under sheest, but the most prominently displayed painting was the Blue Eyes, hanging on a way by itself enhanced by lighting. Kaiba had seen the original a few times before, but he and Sabrina were equally entranced by the image, drawn to it above every other piece in the gallery.
"It's so intimidating," she breathed.
"I've offered to buy the original several times," Kaiba mentioned, hoping the owner would overhear and name a price.
"And I keep turning him down," Pegasus countered with a smile.
"I collected Duel Monsters when I was a kid, though I never learned how to actually play," she said. "I always loved the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but…as you well know, only four were ever printed and three of them belong to you. I can't tell you how many stores I scoured and internet auction sites hoping to find the fourth. Knowing there was still one out there always gave me hope I might find it."
"There is no fourth anymore," Seto admitted. "I found it and destroyed it."
The look she gave him was one of disgust and rage. "Why!?"
Kaiba sighed. "I was sixteen and petty. I tore it up because Yugi's grandfather wouldn't sell it to me."
"Yugi's grandpa?" Sabrina looked at Yugi to confirm the story's truth.
"It marked the beginning of our rivalry," Yugi admitted.
"That's…wow…that's ruthless even for you," she blurted, though unlike before, she didn't seem unapologetic about letting that comment slip.
"It's bygones now," Yugi shrugged. "His friendship means more to me than any card."
"What friendship?" Mokuba interjected.
Neither had a chance to answer, because Pegasus appeared behind them. "I think we should perhaps move on to the main attraction." A door that separated the basement halves led to the other prize collection of Maximillian Pegasus.
The room had been modified to control both climate and humidity in order to preserve the pieces he'd kept for himself. No windows let in any light, to damage the precious pieces he'd so meticulously re-assembled. Small relics and documents were placed on stands covered in glass for further protection. The focal point of the private exhibit, however, was the stone tablet reaching to the ceiling on the eastern wall of the room. The inspiration for the Blue Eyes White Dragon stood immortalized in stone bearing details so fine it seemed impossible to accomplish with human hands. Despite careful handling, a six-thousand-mile journey left some chips and cracks in the tablet. A like the breadth of a hair traversed the entire creature above its eye.
"All of these things were found in one chamber?" Sabrina asked as she snapped pictures, adjusting the focus and flash as she went.
"Everything yes," Pegasus assured her, "My initial dig was funded by the University at Oxford, but I was able to re-assemble this collection for my own private use over the course of some twelve years."
"There's a shadow games tablet here, but there's other religious paraphernalia, and etching tools…and a flute." She crinkled her brow in confusion. "What was this room even used for?"
"It had two purposes," Pegasus explained. "The first use of the room was for sealing. The empty chamber was where the gods were sealed. Exodia and the others were summoned and sealed into stones to be the protectors of the pharaoh during the Shadow Games. After the nameless pharaoh ended said games, the next pharaoh turned the room into a shrine."
"Pharaoh Set," Yugi nodded at Kaiba.
"Records tell us that Pharaoh Set never married and had no children, yet this room contained the sarcophagus of a mummified woman and the tablet containing the White Dragon. I was able to bribe and barter to recover every last grain of sand from that excavation except the body."
"He tried reversing the process on Kisara," Kaiba.
"Kisara who?" Sabrina asked in passing.
"The woman Set fell in love with. The dragon's…keeper? Host?" Yugi looked to see if any of the others could come up with a better word. They shrugged. Host would have to do.
"To no avail," Pegasus sighed as if disappointed, "There are few records of pharaoh's that ancient: the ones the predate the unification of upper and lower Egypt. What little we have of Set states that he was a solid and just ruler, but I think it would have been noted if one of them had managed to raise the dead."
Sabrina lowered her camera a moment to admire the image. "I like the painting better, but this one is…almost mystical. Like it has its own aura."
"We'll give you a few minutes to work uninterrupted. We don't want to be in your way," Pegasus nodded indicated he wanted both guests and staff to leave the room. "A servant will be outside to escort you back downstairs once you are finished."
"I don't plan on taking long."
Pegasus waved his hand dismissively. "Take your time, my darling, there's no rush. The boys and I will be upstairs catching up."
The staircase up returned them to the foyer, off the side of which was a tiny sitting room. Pegasus ordered coffee to be brought before escorting the trio in and inviting them to sit. None of them sat.
"How long have you known?" The intensity in Kaiba's voice was not damped by his low volume. "Who I was. What I was. How long?"
Pegasus casually seated himself in an antique armchair. Nonchalantly, he leaned back feigning being taken aback by such a verbal assault. "That you were also the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh?" he raised his right eyebrow suggestively, "Almost ten years. I pieced it all together. The name, the connection to Yugi here and his darker half, the Blue Eyes fetish."
"It's not a fetish," Kaiba growled.
"You had a jet made. It's a fetish." Pegasus insisted.
"And how did you know about her?" Seto demanded, keeping his tone low but fierce.
The philanthropist sipped his coffee nonchalantly: grave, but hardly taking Kaiba's threatening demeanor seriously. "Something was your trigger. Something made you want to look into your Egyptian counterpart. I just assumed it was age; I couldn't have imagined you'd actually found her. This must be destiny."
"Destiny for what?"
"I don't know," Pegasus set his mug down on a coaster. "Finding out is part of the adventure."
"So, you knew all this time? Why tell me now? Why tell me at all?"
"Because I know what it's like to be consumed with the desire to bring someone I once loved back from the dead, Seto Kaiba," he enunciated every word, dropping his eccentric façade. "Why do you think this room in particular interested me twenty-five years ago?"
Kaiba snorted. "What makes you think I'm trying to bring her back?"
"My dear boy, you went digging in my servers for my research data. Why else would you of all people seek such research out? You don't even believe in your Egyptian roots, remember?" His demeanor now completely serious, he folded his arms. "The game you're playing is a dangerous one, thinking you can re-create life. That if you succeed you'll be truly happy, but you won't. It will eat you alive from the inside out and drive you to do things you never imagined yourself capable of, even with those closest to you."
"My brother is nothing like you!" Mokuba interjected. "He wouldn't…"
"You're right, Mokuba. He's younger, prouder, and far more reckless than I was when this opportunity presented itself. I've been in your shoes, and I know how I felt and how I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody else, not even you, Kaiba-boy." A tear welled up in his eye, and his voice sounded so sincere. The boys were taken aback by this sudden outburst of earnestness. "I don't know how she is going to play into your life, Kaiba, but with you two reuniting and Coliseum trying to un-earth everything from that era, the stage is being set for another crisis. You can't risk making poor choices and becoming the villain here."
"Wait. You know about Coliseum?" Yugi seemed perplexed.
"They've tried hacking my server a few times, same as you. Except they weren't dumb enough to get caught and allow my experts to trace it back to them." Here, he cast a sideways glace at Kaiba to see if his jab had gotten a rise out of him. "I merely know who they are, not where they are or what their end game is."
Before the conversation could continue further, Sabrina was escorted into the sitting room. Pegasus instinctively stood, reassuming his eccentric persona.
"Finished already?"
"Yes, sir," she said, putting the cap on her camera lens, "They're not super models that require multiple poses. Just a few snaps were all we needed."
"Lovely! Then as soon as you sign the non-disclosure agreement, I regret to say our business is concluded. I'll have the car brought around for you." Upon snapping his fingers, the servant that escorted Sabina in produced a manila envelope and pen seemingly out of nowhere. It was a simple document stating that the pictures were to be used for research purposes only and would not be accessible to anyone outside the project. Furthermore, the pictures would be deleted and any physical copies would be destroyed before the launch of the project and if the pictures made their way to the public KaibaCorp would be held liable. Once the paper was signed the manservant excused himself and departed.
"Good." Kaiba said shortly, "Then we can be going." He turned to Pegasus, demanding with his eyes that they be free to go.
Sabrina looked a little deflated that it was all over so fast. "I had a wonderful time, sir."
"As did I." He leaned forward to plant a small kiss on her cheek. "You're welcome to my home any time, Miss Harrison," He straightened himself and turned to Yugi, "If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to make good on my offer."
"Thank you, sir. As soon as I'm no longer needed for the project, I'll contact you."
A servant entered announcing that the car was waiting for them out front. Mokuba scrambled down the steps, not being able to get out of the house fast enough. Yugi and Sabrina followed, Kaiba taking up the rear as they loaded back into the limousine. Before getting in, Pegasus put a hand on Kaiba's shoulder in an almost father fashion. "Take my advice," he whispered so the others couldn't hear, "Don't be so hellbent on getting someone back you end up driving everyone else around you away."
He didn't reply; he simply shrugged the hand off his shoulder and ambled into the limo, shutting the door before Pegasus could assist him with it.
"What was that about?" Mokbuba asked as they pulled out onto the main road.
"Nothing, Pegasus is just still playing mind games."
Sabrina began playing with her hair which eventually turned into French-braiding it. "So what do we do now that that's over? Just fly back?"
"We can't get clearance to fly until tomorrow morning, but the night is still young," Mokuba said, "We can sleep on the plane tomorrow. Why not go see the sights? Times Square or something?"
Yugi and Sabrina agreed it was a good idea, though Seto declined insisting he had important work to do. Once they reached their hotel, the CEO immediately holed himself up in his room, while the other three gave themselves an hour to settle in and freshen up before going out on the town. Sabrina took the time to shower and change. Thinking she still had fifteen minutes, she turned on the TV to see what was on, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"I still got fifteen minutes," she muttered, but the face staring her down when she opened the door wasn't Mokuba or Yugi.
He was an intense looking man about her age with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, dressed in business casual attire. He blinked as if he was taken aback that she answered the door at all. After a moment, he realized that it was his job to break the awkward silence.
"Are you Sabrina Harrison?" The natural twang in his voice indicated he was a local.
"Yes, sir?"
He brandished a police badge, "I'm Detective Wheeler, NYPD and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your business trip here. I understand you're here as a KaibaCorp employee?"
"I am, what's this about?"
"I understand that you were at Maximillian Pegasus' estate this evening, taking pictures of his private art collection."
"Yes, sir," she replied nervously, "Mr. Pegasus himself gave me access. It's for research on a new project KaibaCorp. I signed a waiver and everything. Is there a problem?"
"Not necessarily," the detective replied, "Mr. Pegasus' estate was broken into this evening and we are simply trying to follow up on some leads. What time would you say you left Mr. Pegasus' estate?"
Her demeanor changed. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm not going to answer any more questions without a lawyer present."
Detective Wheeler nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "That's fine. I understand. Would you mind coming down to the precinct with me while we wait for your lawyer to arrive then?"
"No need," she stepped out onto the ugly carpet of the hotel hallway. "He's two doors down." She passed two doors over and knocked on Mokuba's door; the law enforcement officer trailing behind. The lawyer was at the door in a moment of seconds, flanked by his brother and the consultant.
"You're not going to believe this, but Pegasus got robbed tonight," she stated, wasting no time. "This detective wants me to go to the station and answer questions. I assume I'll be needing legal representation."
Each of the three men in the doorway offered a different facial expression entirely: Mokuba looked befuddled, Yugi shocked, and Kaiba disgusted.
"Wheeler," Kaiba seethed.
"No…" the detective's voice matched the disdain of the elder Kaiba's.
"Joey!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Yug?" Detective Wheeler seemed perplexed.
"Joey?" Mokuba asked, looking over his shoulder at Kaiba.
"Nye?" Joey replied.
Yugi pointed a thumb at Mokuba. "Moki."
"Ohh." Detective Wheeler said as if in comprehension.
Sabrina threw up her arms in frustration. "What the crap is happening? What is crappening?"
Yugi pushed past Mokuba, almost tackling Detective Wheeler in the process.
Mokuba sighed. "I think we probably aren't going to be visiting Time's Square this evening."