The Calm Before the Storm

Emily finally found the inn she and her friends had been staying at. She stepped inside and walked to the room. Thankfully, the door was unlocked and she was able to enter. When she did, she was greeted by worried expressions from her friends.

Yugi walked up to her and grabbed her by her shoulders. "Where were you!?" he asked with his voice raised. "Do you have any idea how worried sick I've been about you? When you didn't come back, I was worried that you'd been captured or killed."

"Yeah," Joey told her. "I thought that maybe Frollo had caught you and was going to do stuff I don't even want to mention."

"We've been looking all over the whole city for you," Kaiba added. "We even ran into Frollo and it was not a pleasant experience."

"I'm sorry," Emily said, trying to calm them down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you guys. I was going to come back here like I planned, but I got sick and collapsed. After that, Esmeralda found me and took care of me."

"Esmeralda," Kaiba asked. "You mean that gypsy girl?"

"Does that mean you've been to the Court of Miracles?" Joey asked.

"No," Emily lied. She didn't feel good about lying to her friends, but she knew that if she answered differently, she'd be breaking the promise she made to Esmeralda and Clopin. "She just took me someplace safe. She brought me to a family who harbored travelers until they were ready to get back on the move. They took care of me until I was feeling better."

Joey was convinced. "Some people do that," he told Yugi and Kaiba. "They harbor gypsies and welcome travelers until it's time for them to leave."

Emily nodded. "I've also decided that it's too dangerous for us to stay here any longer. Now that we know that Frollo's after us, he'll stop at nothing until we're dead."

Yugi and Joey agreed, but Kaiba thought differently. "That's just running away from our problems," he argued.

"Don't push your luck with him, Kaiba," Joey warned. "That guy's dangerous."

"I'm not afraid of him like you are," the brunette argued. "And I'm tired of having to run and hide from him all the time. Mokuba and Rebecca have been smart enough to do that because they know they can't protect themselves."

"Listen to me, damn it!" Joey pleaded. "I've seen Frollo kill a woman just by throwing her against the stone steps of the cathedral." He was referring to the opening scene of the movie. It was one of the scenes Joey hated because Frollo killed an innocent woman who was only trying to protect her baby. Frollo even stole the child from the woman's arms in the process of killing her. "Imagine what he could try to do to us," Joey said, his voice threatening to break. "Plus, I've heard he has cruel methods of punishment for his prisoners. He tortures them until they come to their breaking point where they beg for death and that's when he finally finishes them off." He softens his voice, but keeps his eyes locked with Kaiba's. "I've seen the things Frollo's done. I know what he's capable of. And I can't imagine what he could try to do to us; especially now that he knows we're the Heroes of Millennia."

Kaiba understood how afraid his friends were, but he still didn't want to just run away like a coward.

"Look, we did what we came here to do," Joey was saying. "We found out what Mokuba and Rebecca have been doing, we're back together with Emily, let's just go home."

Before a decision can be made, the heroes see a note sliding towards them through underneath the door. The brunette takes the notes and reads the contents. He recognizes that it's his brother's handwriting. "It's from Mokuba."

"What does it say?" Yugi asked.

"He's asking me to meet him at the cathedral," he answered. He looked closer at the note. It looked like it had been written by a shaky hand. This gave him the impression that something was wrong. "I'd better go see him and make sure everything's okay."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Yugi asked.

"No, thanks," he replied. "I won't be long. Shouldn't be more than an hour, at least." To be safe, he got his scepter. He had been secretly practicing his magic over the past few days. It turned out that all Kaiba had to do was concentrate on the type of magic he could perform and it his scepter would do the rest. Just now, for instance, he shrunk it to the size of a pen and tucked it safely inside his hat.

Kaiba left the inn and crossed the square. When he made it to the steps of the cathedral, the bells began to ring. He wondered, did Mokuba want to meet him during mass? He was about to walk through the entrance until he felt someone grab him and place their hands over his mouth. Kaiba struggled as he was being dragged away, but managed to free himself. He turned around and got a look at his attacker.

"Claude Frollo," he shouted.

The minister chuckled. "I knew you would be coming, so I waited."

Kaiba realized that he was tricked. "It was you," he accused. "You forced my brother to write that note just so you could lure me here."

Frollo continued grinning. "Nothing gets past you, boy."

"Why did you bring me here?" Kaiba demanded. "What have you done with my brother?"

"I've done nothing but ask for the boy's help," he lied.

Kaiba wasn't convinced. He had seen one too many men of power in his life. They all even carried themselves the same way the minister was doing right now: stiff, tight-lipped, hands clasped, and always gazing down their noses. In Kaiba's eyes, those people were true monsters inside and out and could not be trusted. And now that Kaiba was getting a better look at Frollo, he knew that the minister was no different. He started sharing the same feelings his friends had towards the man.

"To answer your first question," continued Frollo, "I thought perhaps you and I could negotiate."

Kaiba arched a brow. "Negotiate what?"

"I don't enjoy playing this game of cat-and-mouse with you and your friends," he was saying. "I'd rather we settle things peacefully. You see, I know how you Heroes of Millennia have a reputation for protecting the peace. I was hoping you could do me a service by helping me with a certain problem."

Kaiba grinned in disbelief. "Oh, come off it, Frollo. Your ideals of justice don't exactly fit with our duties of protecting mankind. And besides, you asking me here has nothing to do with your hatred for the gypsies." He looked at him and said, "Let's not lie to each other."

Frollo gritted his teeth, but kept his composure. "So you saw through me."

"I'm not stupid," Kaiba snapped. "I've had these kinds of discussions with people like you before and I've been able to catch on to their plans. I know you're after me and my friends. The question is, why? You're not even a follower of the Dark Lord."

"No," Frollo replied. "I'm a man of God. And I actually saw you and your friends when you first came to the cathedral. I heard everything you talked about with each other." Kaiba stopped grinning and looked at him in slight shock. "When I heard your dear friend Emily confess her troubled thoughts and how terribly she has sinned in her life, I knew she was a lost soul in desperate need of being shown the way of the Lord. I felt my heart going out to the poor dear and thought there must be something I can do."

Kaiba knew Frollo was lying, but he also knew that if he played his cards right, he could figure out what the minister was after. "What do you want with her?"

"Just to talk," Frollo lied. "See if there's anything I can do to, shall we say, cleanse her spirit. Saver her from her troubled thoughts and from being taken over by evil. You know she wants the same thing. She wants to be saved, be a better person. Isn't that right, Kaiba?"

The brunette remembered what Emily said back in Notre Dame. But he still had his doubts that Frollo wanted to help her. "You say you want to talk, but you don't strike me as the social type."

"Kaiba, you are her friend," Frollo was saying. "I know you care about her and want to help her. The least you can do is give me a chance for her sake."

Kaiba finally responded. "If I should agree to bring her to you, what will you give me in exchange?"

He thought he'd never ask. In response, the minister snapped his fingers. Soldiers came by and revealed Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon, who were tied up and gagged.

Kaiba's eyes widened. "Mokuba!"

"Do we have a deal then, boy?" Frollo asked. "Bring the princess to me and I will release your brother and friends."

Kaiba looked at the children. They were shaking their heads, pleading him through their gags not to give in to Frollo. The brunette didn't know what to do. He had to protect Emily, but he couldn't neglect his brother. As much as Kaiba cared about his friends, his brother still came first for him and it would always be that way. But maybe there was still something he could do to protect his friends and rescue his brother. He nodded while looking down.

The minister smiled with satisfaction. "Good. I'll be waiting here. I'll expect your return presently."

The brunette looked as his brother one last time before leaving, promising to come back. Mokuba looked down in dismay. Rebecca kept struggling against the grip of the soldier holding her. She tried to shout, but all that came out were muffled protests.

Kaiba came to the first street at the end of the square. He stopped and faced the ground, panting. How was he going to let his friends know about the situation he was in or the danger he was putting Emily in? He pulled himself together, reminding himself to promise them that he had a plan. Of course, he would be making it up as he would go and a little improvisation never hurt. At least, he hoped it wouldn't in this case. He hurried back to the inn.