Apologies for posting this late. I've had a lot of real life things happen this week, so I'm only getting to this now. ^^

Chapter 44

It was Friday afternoon, and school had just finished for the week. After most of the students left the classroom, looking forward to the weekend, Alex and Kaiba got up, gathered their things and then approached Yugi, who was sitting with Joey, Max, and the others. Alex smiled at Yugi and said,

"You probably don't need us to remind you, but you don't need to drop by now. But make sure to come to Kaiba Corp this evening, ok? We'll make sure you get a ride and everything."

Yugi nodded happily and replied, "Sure, and thanks."

Kaiba then said, "We should go. We have a lot of work to take care of."

Alex nodded and replied, "That's right."

Alex waved goodbye to Yugi and the others, and then she followed Kaiba as they left the classroom and went outside to wait for Kaiba's limo.

Once Alex and Kaiba were out of sight, Joey looked at Yugi and asked, "Was that about your job?"

Yugi nodded and replied, "Yeah. Something happened, so Alex asked me if I'd mind dropping by this evening instead of now. She didn't give me the details, but I think something is going on with the project she's in charge of, so she needs to take care of it herself."

Joey replied, "I see. It sucks that you have to work then, but it's great that you get to hang out with us now. Let's get outta here."

Yugi smiled, and he followed Joey and the others out of the classroom after he gathered his things. Meanwhile, Max overheard the entire conversation, and thinking that this was the opportunity he was waiting for, he made his own plans, making sure to free up this evening.

A few hours later, Yugi arrived right outside of Kaiba Corp, having been picked up by one of Kaiba's drivers. Alex was there to greet him at the entrance, and she said,

"Hey, Yugi. I'm glad you got here ok."

Yugi smiled and replied, "Thanks. It was nice of you and Kaiba to send a ride for me, but I could have walked here."

Alex replied, "I know, but better to be safe than otherwise, right? Anyway, almost everyone else has left for the weekend, so we'll have the lab pretty much to ourselves."

Yugi looked at the lobby and commented, "Even the security guard left?"

Alex shrugged and replied, "Seto let him off work early."

Yugi replied, "That's unusually nice of him."

Alex smiled and replied, "I suppose it is, but you and I know that he has his good points."

Yugi replied, "True, and I think you've brought that out of him more."

Alex blushed a bit and replied, "Oh, I don't know about that. Anyway, we should get to work. Seto is going to be in his office as usual, but he says we can drop by if anything comes up."

Yugi nodded, and he and Alex entered the building and took the elevator upstairs.

Meanwhile, Max was hiding nearby, having heard the entire conversation. Even though a part of him thought that this was too convenient, he didn't want to let this opportunity slip by. Earlier, he returned to his apartment and packed up all that he needed to take out Kaiba. He packed a syringe filled with a lethal poison, but it would mimic what would appear to be a heart attack. Although it would be extremely unusual for someone of Kaiba's age to have one, it wasn't entirely impossible, and Max figured that the media would account for Kaiba's death due to stress from working too much.

After waiting a few minutes to make sure that he wouldn't be seen, Max entered the building. Indeed, as Yugi noticed, even the security guard left, so Max had no trouble getting in. Although the doors were locked, Max had no trouble bypassing them. He then took the elevator, heading towards the top floor where Kaiba's office was. Even if he hadn't heard random employees mention about being called to see the boss on occasion, Max would have concluded that to be the location of Kaiba's office.

Anyway, Max had no problems getting to the top floor and after getting out of the elevator, he looked carefully around. It was very unusual that the building seemed almost empty, but it was Friday evening, and it was normal that most employees wouldn't be at work at this time. Max stealthily made his way towards Kaiba's office, and once he was outside the door, he noticed that it was slightly open. He peeked inside and found Kaiba at his desk. However, what was unusual was that Kaiba appeared to be asleep, face down on his desk. Max thought to himself,

This is way too easy, but never look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess.

With the syringe in his right hand, Max quietly entered Kaiba's office and then approached Kaiba until he was right behind him. Thinking that it was best to get the deed over with, Max raised his right hand, ready to swiftly plunge the syringe into Kaiba's neck. However, to Max's surprise, a hand grabbed his right arm, stopping him. Then, a familiar voice followed, which said,

"I won't let you, Max."

Max slowly turned his head and saw that it was Alex who stopped him. He looked surprised and replied,

"Alex? How?"

Meanwhile, Kaiba got up and moved far enough away so that Max couldn't get to him. He looked at Max and smirking, he said,

"Did you really think you got the better of us?"

Shocked by this turn of events, Max let go of the syringe, which dropped to the floor. Max replied, "I-I don't understand."

Alex sighed and replied, "I know I'm the more intelligent out of the two of us, but even you must have figured it out by now."

Seeing how shocked and motionless Max was, Kaiba turned to Yugi, who was nearby and holding some rope in his hands. He motioned for him to approach and said,

"Let's tie him up over there."

Kaiba motioned towards an empty chair. Yugi handed the rope to Kaiba but replied,

"Is that really necessary?"

Kaiba gave a look and replied, "He did try to kill me just now, or did you miss that entirely?"

Yugi replied, "I know, but-"

Alex looked at Yugi although she still kept her hold on Max, and she said, "Seto's right."

She turned to Max and gently said, "We need to ask you some questions, but I promise we won't hurt you."

Still confused, Max nodded and allowed himself to be guided by Alex, who led him towards the chair that Kaiba pointed to. Kaiba then tied up Max's wrists to the armchairs and feeling satisfied, he commented,

"You won't be going anywhere."

Max replied, "Someone tell me what's going on."

Yugi replied, "This was a trap."

Alex nodded and added, "That's right. We didn't want to resort to this, but I wasn't going to let you kill Seto."

Max replied, "But how did you know?"

Alex smiled sadly and replied, "Because I know you well, Max. I don't know exactly what you've been told, but I think you can guess what happened to me."

Max looked at Alex for a minute, and then replied, "You're still Alex? You remember me?"

Alex replied, "Yeah. We worked together, and I guessed that you were sent here to kill Seto because I refused to go through with it."

Max replied, "That's right, but how can I be sure that it's really you?"

Alex gave Max a look and replied, "Seriously? You want me to provide proof or something?"

Max was about to reply when Kaiba interrupted, "We're the ones interrogating you, not the other way around."

Alex looked at Kaiba and replied, "Let's indulge him for a bit."

She then turned back towards Max and said, "I'd rather not say this in front of other company, but this may be a surefire way that you'll be convinced that I'm me."

She smiled mischievously and then continued, "Do you remember your last birthday when I told you that there was an emergency? And then you came out wearing-"

Max interrupted, "Ok, ok, I believe you. Sheesh."

Alex laughed quietly, and curious, Yugi asked, "What were you about to say, Alex?"

Max replied, "Don't tell them. It's too humiliating."

Alex replied, "We are friends, so I guess for the sake of friendship, I'll stay quiet for now."

Max looked relieved, and he replied, "I'm glad we're friends, and I'm definitely glad you're ok and that you remember me. But then why? Why did you pretend to have amnesia?"

Alex replied, "The answer to that should be obvious, too."

Kaiba scoffed and looking at Alex, he said, "You weren't kidding when you said you're the better agent. I can see why."

Max glared at Kaiba, and shaking her head, Alex replied, "Ok, let's keep this civil."

She turned to Max and said, "You know the punishment for agents failing their missions, right?"

Max nodded and replied, "Yeah. Either, they get executed or have their memories wiped. So you're saying that you pretended to have gotten the other punishment, but you actually didn't?"

Alex nodded and replied, "Correct. Cas and Seto saved me, although it puts Cas in danger."

Max replied, "Yeah, I get that."

He glanced at Kaiba and then turning back to Alex, he asked, "How long has he known?"

Alex replied, "For a while now. It hasn't been that long, actually, but he didn't find out or anything. I came clean when I could no longer find it in my heart to carry out what they wanted."

Max nodded, contemplating over what Alex was telling him. Alex continued,

"I know you must be confused about a lot of things. I'll do my best to explain, but you need to tell us what you know, too."

Max replied, "That's fair."

Alex nodded and replied, "What were you told before Cas sent you here?"

Max took a deep breath and then he explained to Alex and the others everything that Cas had told him. However, he left out one bit of info, as he was told to only tell Alex when the time was right.

After Max finished talking, Alex replied, "That's what I thought. Cas didn't tell you the truth, but I can see why. It's hard to tell who to trust over there, isn't it?"

Max replied, "I suppose. We hardly ever see those higher ups, and we were rarely allowed contact with other agents. It was kind of a miracle we became friends."

Alex smiled softly and replied, "That's how I feel, too."

They gave each other a soft, warm look, and that's when they heard a loud cough. Alex and Max turned to see that Kaiba was looking annoyed. Smirking, Max asked,

"Jealous, much? Of course, I've known Alex for much longer, so that's no surprise."

Kaiba scoffed and replied, "But you failed to go after her."

It was Kaiba's turn to smirk, and Max frowned at him. Yugi witnessed this exchange and said,

"Ok, let's get back on topic."

Alex gave Yugi a relieved, thankful smile. Then she turned back to Max and said, "Go ahead and ask me a question although I have a pretty good guess as to what you want to ask."

Max nodded and replied, "Why didn't you carry out your mission?"

Alex blushed and after casting a brief glance at Kaiba, she looked at Max and said, "It's complicated. I have a few reasons, but since you know that Seto and I are together, I ended up falling for him."

She leaned in closer so that only she and Max could hear, and she added, "At first, I thought he was this terrible person, but as I got to know him, I saw that there was much more to him. And he makes me feel like no one else ever has."

She moved away from Max and then added, "I've also noticed some weird things while I've been here, which has made me doubt that Seto is the cause."

Max contemplated over Alex's words and then he replied, "So you think our superiors' thinking is flawed?"

Alex replied, "I wouldn't put it in those words, but that's the basic idea."

Max replied, "I understand that you haven't always agreed with them, and if I'm to be honest, I'd have to agree with you."

He motioned for Alex to lean in closer so that they wouldn't be overheard. After Alex did so, Max continued,

"But isn't he the reason that Yugi and the others end up disappearing?"

Alex cast a doubtful glance at Kaiba and then quickly tuning back to Max, she replied, "I don't think so, and I'm not just saying that because of how I feel about him."

She wasn't sure whether to tell Max about the time anomalies that she had witnessed.

Meanwhile, Kaiba and Yugi were observing the conversation between Alex and Max, and Kaiba didn't like how they would end up talking quietly at times, as though they didn't want to be overheard. Kaiba coughed and said,

"You don't need to keep anything from us."

He was addressing both Alex and Max. Alex gave him an apologetic look and replied, "Sorry. It's just that we were talking about time agency stuff, and some of it is classified."

Max added, "That's right. It would be dangerous if the wrong people know what we do."

Kaiba scoffed and was about to reply when Yugi said, "I can see their point."

He looked at Alex and asked, "Do you two wish to talk privately for a while?"

Alex looked at Max, who seemed to like the idea, and she replied, "Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. Now that things are out in the open, Max and I can talk about our missions and whatnot."

Kaiba replied, "What if he tries something?"

He glared at Max, and sighing, Alex replied, "Max is tied up, but even if he were to get free from those restraints, I can easily take him down. And he knows it."

Max sweatdropped and replied, "Unfortunately, that's true."

Kaiba let out a smirk and replied, "I feel like there's a story behind that, but fine. 10 minutes and no more."

Alex nodded and replied, "Ok, and thanks."

She gave Kaiba a grateful smile, which Kaiba returned briefly. After he and Yugi left the office, Alex and Max were finally alone. She looked at him and said,

"For security reasons, I still need to restrain you, but we can talk more freely."

Max nodded and replied, "There's something I should tell you, but first. Search in my right jacket pocket. You'll find a small USB."

Alex did as Max told her to, and she found the USB. He then said,

"Cas told me that if things spiraled, to give that to you. I didn't know what she meant or even why she mentioned it at all since I thought you had amnesia, but I guess I know now."

Alex nodded and after taking a few moments to look at the USB, she put it in her jacket pocket. She commented,

"Ok. I'll take a look at it on my tablet as soon as I can."

Max replied, "Now I need to tell you what I found out."

He then told Alex about seeing Kiara and the mysterious figure and the unusual conversation that they were having. As Alex listened, she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to process Max's words and figure out what was going on.

After Max finished talking, Alex replied, "It sounds like those two are planning something really disastrous, especially since they were talking about Yuma and Astral. You reported this to Cas, of course, right?"

Max nodded and replied, "Of course. She said she'll try to intervene if she can, but even I know there's only so much she can do without arousing suspicion."

Max added, "Don't you think it's strange that she just happens to look like her?"

Alex nodded and replied, "Of course I think it's strange. But I met her before once while I've been here."

She then told Max about how she encountered Kiara during a Kaiba Corp charity ball. Max then replied,

"We know that no such reincarnation of her is supposed to exist, especially since her spirit is supposedly in Kaiba's blue eyes monsters."

Alex replied, "True."

Max replied, "Listen, Alex. I don't want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but maybe this is a sign. We know that past life Kaiba only had a thing for her, and this current Kaiba is obsessed with his blue eyes."

Alex smiled sadly and replied, "Perhaps although I've noticed that he hasn't really talked about that since we've gotten together. Well, we've hardly talked about dueling except on one occasion."

Max replied, "Also, if you think things through logically – which is what you tend to do – you and Kaiba really shouldn't be together, being from different eras and whatnot."

Alex felt upset upon hearing Max's words and replied, "I… It's not like I set out to fall in love with him or anything. It just happened."

Max smiled kindly at Alex and replied, "I know. You don't intentionally do things to make them worse. But you know what Kaiba's future is supposed to be like. I'm not saying that we go through with eliminating him, especially now that I know that there's something else going on. But if you find a guy lucky enough to win your heart, he should be someone from your time."

Alex looked at Max and asked, "Are you referring to yourself? Because I remember finding out that we're from the same time period."

Max blushed a bit and replied, "Perhaps. I've always had a thing for you, Alex. I just couldn't ever say anything because of those rules. But even if I were to only think of you as a friend, I'd still say the same thing. We don't want to make things worse. Also, I'm saying this because that Kiara person is going to go after you for taking what she thinks belongs to her."

Alex nodded and sadly replied, "I, um, I understand. I know you just want to look out for me."

She took a deep breath and then continued, "I hope it's ok that I only consider you a friend, Max. Even if Seto weren't in the picture, I'd never be able to see you as anything more. But I'll think about what you said. In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do from here."

Alex tried her best to keep her emotions in check although she made a mental note to herself to get some alone time as soon as she could.

Before either Alex or Max could say anything, Kaiba and Yugi returned to the office. Kaiba looked at the two of them and immediately noticed that something was off about Alex, despite that Alex was doing her best to keep a neutral expression. He immediately glared at Max and asked,

"What did you say to her?"

Max replied, "That's none of your business, but Alex needed a reminder. That's all."

Kaiba looked questioningly at Alex, but Alex simply shook her head and said, "Nothing too important. But for now, we need to figure out what to do about Max. And no, we're not eliminating him."

Yugi laughed awkwardly and replied, "Yami and I wouldn't agree with that idea, either."

Kaiba replied, "Then what do you propose we do with him?"

Alex looked at Max and said, "I would like to send him to see a certain someone, but I don't know if the time is right yet."

Max looked questioningly at Alex and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

Alex replied, "You remember that mission when I met Yusaku?"

Max nodded slowly and replied, "Yeah, but you didn't give a whole lot of details."

Alex replied, "I know, but I think I may need a certain item from him. I hope that it's ready although at the same time, I'm hoping I won't ever have to use it."

Max replied, "I think Cas' cryptic behavior must be rubbing off on you, but ok. If I can see him, I'll tell him that you said hi."

Alex replied, "That'll do. He'll know what I need."

Max replied, "In the meantime, do you want me to stay here?"

Alex replied, "That might be for the best. You can still maintain contact with Cas, and those higher ups don't know anything, so you can keep your cover. But-"

Max interrupted, "You don't want things between us to change publicly, right?"

Alex smiled a bit and replied, "Right. It would arouse suspicion, otherwise."

Max replied, "I understand, but now that I know that you're ok, I can see you when I want, right? As friends?"

Alex was about to reply when Kaiba said, "You're not going after her, not if I have anything to say about it."

Alex looked at Kaiba and replied, "Please, just let it go."

She looked sad and then turning her attention back to Max, she said, "We probably shouldn't be in contact too much, but if we need to talk about time agency stuff, that's ok."

Max nodded, and Alex took a breath to calm herself. She then put on a brave look and said,

"Well, we can let him go now. I know he won't try anything since he knows the truth."

Kaiba was about to protest when Alex added, "Excuse me."

She then hurried out of the office without sparing anyone a look.

Immediately, Kaiba turned to Yugi and said, "Stay here with him."

Yugi nodded in understanding, and Kaiba then quickly went after Alex.

Alex quickly headed towards the elevator, and once she got in, she pressed the number of the floor where her lab was. However, before the elevator doors closed, Kaiba entered, and Alex was surprised to see him. She smiled a bit and asked,

"What are you doing?"

Kaiba replied, "What does it look like I'm doing? Clearly, he said something to upset you, and I want to know what it is."

Alex sighed and replied, "Am I not allowed some privacy?"

Kaiba looked annoyed and he pressed the stop button, forcing the elevator to stop moving. He then looked at Alex and said,

"We're going to get this resolved. Now what did he say? And don't lie and tell me he didn't upset you."

Alex replied, "Max just said something that I've been ignoring. That's all."

Kaiba replied, "Which is?"

Alex replied, "I can't tell you because of time agency stuff."

Kaiba replied, "You already broke some rules by revealing your real identity, so is this any different?"

Alex replied, "Maybe? I just don't know if I'm ready to talk about it yet. I need to think things over."

Kaiba frowned and replied, "Normally, I'd let you take things at your own pace, but I suspect that would be a bad decision this time. Now tell me what he said, and don't leave anything out."

Alex looked sadly at Kaiba and asked, "Do you think it's right for us to be together?"

Kaiba scoffed and replied, "Are you thinking about the whole 'because we're from two different times'? Is that what that idiot put in your head?"

Alex replied, "Please don't call Max an idiot, despite that I am more intelligent than him. He mentioned that, but…"

Kaiba noticed that Alex's words trailed off, and he replied, "What else did he say?"

Alex replied, "I'll give you a hypothetical. What if you are meant to be with someone else, but because I'm here and I inadvertently interfered, things became worse?"

Kaiba sighed and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, but you sound like that pharaoh. I don't believe in all that past life crap, and if you know me well, this would be obvious."

Alex nodded and replied, "I know, but let's just say that you're meant to be with someone else, but because of me, that person feels like they've been cheated or something."

Kaiba replied, "Why are you saying this?"

Alex replied, "As an agent, I've always made sure never to take any actions that would severely disrupt events that are supposed to happen. But I've broken that. I-I never should have gotten involved with you. Then maybe she-"

Kaiba wrapped his arms around Alex's back, and surprised by his actions, Alex stopped speaking. He looked directly into Alex's eyes and said,

"Don't say that. We had an interesting beginning, but I don't regret us meeting, and I certainly don't regret wanting you with me always. Even if there were someone who would hypothetically make me happy, I wouldn't want them ever. Even if you were to push me away because you feel that it's right or whatever, I'll never stop wanting you and I'll never stop loving you."

Alex's eyes teared up as she heard Kaiba's words, and softly, she replied, "Seto…"

Kaiba held Alex closer to him until her head was on his chest, and there, Alex cried quietly, letting out all the sadness that was pent up inside her ever since her talk with Max. Kaiba held her in his arms, gently stroking her back and uttering loving words to her.

After a few minutes like this, Alex calmed down enough and slowly, she moved her head and looked at Kaiba. She smiled and then said,

"Sorry about that. I know I must be a mess."

Kaiba smiled softly and replied, "No matter how you look, you'll always be beautiful to me."

There was something on his mind, and then he said, "You mentioned a 'she' before. Who is that? Someone you think is going to interfere with us?"

Alex nodded and replied, "Yeah, I think so. I probably shouldn't say anything since you're not supposed to learn this now, but as you said, I've already broken some rules. It wouldn't hurt to break another. But it's a long story. It's probably better that we talk about it when we get home."

Kaiba nodded and then remembering that they were stuck in an unmoving elevator, he pressed the start button so that the elevator would resume descending. He then said,

"We should go back to my office and deal with Max. Are you sure you want to let him go? Can you trust him?"

Alex nodded and replied, "Yeah. He's my friend, and I know he won't make another move to hurt you. I'll still protect you, though, just in case. I would have Cas send him to Yusaku right away instead, but that would probably alert our superiors that Max failed."

Kaiba replied, "I understand."

After the elevator stopped at the floor that Alex originally wanted to go, Kaiba pressed the button for the top floor. Once the elevator doors closed again and the elevator ascended, Kaiba then asked,

"Who is this Yusaku?"

Alex smiled a bit and replied, "Another acquaintance I met during a mission. A great guy, and an awesome duelist, too. He helped me out a lot while I was in his time."

Kaiba replied, "I see. So you think he can help?"

Alex nodded and replied, "Yeah, assuming that he has what I need ready. I hope I won't need to resort to using it, but I can't take any chances."

Kaiba smirked and replied, "You prepare for a lot of possibilities, don't you?"

Alex smiled and replied, "It goes without saying, but there's one thing I wasn't prepared for."

Kaiba looked questioningly at Alex and Alex continued, "Falling for you."

Kaiba smiled and he kissed Alex passionately on the lips, holding onto her. The two of them stayed like that until the elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened. The couple then got out and headed towards Kaiba's office. Although there was still more that they needed to take care of, for the moment, the two of them enjoyed being in each other's company, and Alex felt more assured than ever that Kaiba loved only her, regardless of any outside interference.