A/N: Woohoo guys, we have reached 200 readers! That seriously made my week, thanks so much to everyone who has read and stuck with the story this far!
A special thanks to those who have favorited and followed the story, and also thank you to animagirl, Drachegirl14, and lalalei for reviewing. You all are awesome!
I claim no ownership over the song The Blessing. The Blessing was written by David Downes and Brandon Graham, performed by Lisa Kelly. All rights to the song belong to them and their production company.
Disclaimer: I do not Own Yu-Gi-Oh or any characters created by Kazuki Takahashi. I only own my OCs, this fic is purely for entertainment.
Chapter 7
"Is it too much to ask for a bit of good luck?" I mumbled, gingerly poking my left ankle and wincing at the pain. In the past few hours it had swollen up nicely, and a dark bruise spread across half of it. I'd sprained it pretty badly this time; I've sprained ankles before but they were always minor, and after a day or two I was able to put weight on it so long as I wore an air cast or splint to stabilize it. My doctor keeps warning me that I need to stop wearing heels so much, that eventually my ankles will be permanently damaged. I suppose I should follow his advice, especially in the near future since I have no doubt that I'm going to be running quite a bit.
Movies lie, it's not easy running in heels and shouldn't be attempted on a regular basis. I thought I'd perfected the art, but running in heels and running downstairs in heels are two totally different things. Take my word for it, if you can avoid running in heels do so, especially when you're being held in a hostage situation. The resulting damage isn't worth it.
Sighing I attempted to elevate my ankle, hoping to reduce the swelling. I should be icing it every hour, but Pegasus seems to be taking a sick delight in letting me suffer; either that or his henchmen failed to tell him that I'd been injured. But seeing as the man was planning on taking the souls of my friends, and has already taken the soul of Yugi's grandfather I wouldn't be shocked if he was purposely letting me wallow in pain to try and teach me some sort of lesson. Joke's on him though, the only thing the pain is doing is fueling my temper and inspiring a series of diabolical plots that eventually end up with Pegasus in total disgrace, preferably homeless and penniless.
Blowing a curl out of my face I again surveyed the cell I was being held in. There wasn't a single piece of furniture, not even a pillow and blanket. Obviously the cells weren't for entertainment, but for legitimately holding Pegasus's enemies and hostages. Too bad I know nothing about lock picking, otherwise I would have high tailed it out of here by now, regardless of a sprained ankle. I even briefly considered pulling a Pirates of the Caribbean and just full on taking out the door like Will Turner had, however I had nothing to use to leverage the door and I wasn't entirely sure that this cell door and the one in the movie had the same type of hinges. Attached to the wall were a set of manacles, but the guards hadn't bothered to lock me in them, seeing as I could barely walk.
Thank whatever powers that be for small favors. Those tings would probably ratchet up my pain level to an eleven.
One thing that this entire craptastic adventure was teaching me; when I was outside the realm of my family's influence, I am effectively powerless. In the business world I'm a force to be reckoned with, but take me out of the boardroom and put me in a real situation that doesn't involve a business contract and I'm practically defenseless. I've never had to fight a day in my life – er, either lives – and hadn't ever thought to be in any situations that would require me to. That would change in the near future, as I fully intend to take Mariko up on those self defense lessons she's been pressuring me to take. It's unfortunate that something like this had to happen before I understood just how powerless I really am.
Thinking about Mariko, the head of security for my family and the company brought a wave of homesickness; this was the longest amount of time that my uncle, Hojo and I had gone without talking to one another since I'd been adopted back into the family. Hojo and I spent a lot of time together, always joking and laughing it up. We could truly be ourselves with one another without having to worry about keeping up appearances, and our friendship was all the stronger for it. Sure we had our disagreements, but we were both mature enough to talk things through after we'd had a chance to cool down. A family trait that seemed to have skipped my grandfather's personality was that when angered we walk away and cool down, never acting rashly. My uncle is the same, and although we are close there was still a small wall between us; he sees too much of my mother in me and it causes him pain. He never speaks of it, but I sometimes see a flicker of sadness in his eyes and know that he still carries unnecessary guilt over my mother's passing. No words from me can take it away from him, so we leave it as something unspoken between us.
They both must be going out of their heads with worry by now; despite Pegasus's insistence, I know that neither Uncle Sota nor Hojo will believe that I up and left without telling them myself. And poor Shuichi, he would have been the one to explain to everyone how he hadn't seen me leave. I felt horrible for making him face the wrath of his wife all alone; Mariko is a frightening woman when angered, despite being as petite as I am. But she's well trained in martial arts and can use just about any weapon known to man, all with startling efficiency. She's damn good at what she does and takes her position as head of security very seriously. I'll be lucky to be able to go anywhere without a dozen guards by the time I get home.
That also brought up the question of what I was going to tell everyone when I got home. Do I tell them that I went on a vacation with Seto and Mokuba? Or do I tell them the truth, minus the whole soul-stealing thing? Either way it was going to look bad and result in heads rolling somewhere...
Hearing footsteps in the hallway, I sat up straighter from where I sat with my back against the far wall. Straightening my clothes a little, I made sure my irritation showed on my face and prepared a menacing glare for whoever walked by; right now the only power play I had were my eyes, and making someone uneasy by looking at them might help make me feel a little better internally.
Kemo appeared, and I cursed softly under my breath that he was still wearing sunglasses, even in the darkened hallway. With those shades of his, I couldn't read any emotion from him unless he chose to show it. He had a wide smirk on his face though, but by this point having others so blatantly enjoying my situation didn't even faze me. Let them laugh and smirk all they wanted; I'd find a way to make them pay later. Another guard stood behind him, but I barely paid attention to him.
Opening the door, he motioned for the other guard to step inside while Kemo moved to stand right in front of me. "How the mighty fall. For being the Princess of Sarota, you're nothing compared to Master Pegasus. Look how easily he's put you in your place."
My lips formed into a condescending smile. "Only a complete moron thinks that clothing or location make someone powerful; don't ever count someone out of the game before it's over. A caged tiger is even more dangerous because you never know when or how they'll strike, but trust me when I say I will strike back. And when I do, nothing in this world will be able to save you from my wrath." I paused for just a moment before I half-way lunged forward, causing Kemo to step back involuntarily and I could practically taste the jolt of fear. I laughed quietly, because his body language told me everything I needed to know. He was unnerved under my gaze, and he'd just given me a weapon to use against him. "Watch your back Kemo, because one day you're going to look over your shoulder and see me standing there, ushering in your downfall."
Kemo sneered as the other guard grunted and cursed, taking a familiar looking shoe to the chin as he attempted to shackle my new cellmate. I'd been so focused on Kemo that I hadn't even seen them bring in anyone else. Glancing to the side, my eyes widened even as my heart plummeted right into my stomach; Mokuba had been recaptured. A small part of me had clung to the hope that maybe something different could have happened to prevent Mokuba being brought back into Pegasus's clutches. Joey and Tristan could have possibly teamed up to take down Kemo and protect him, but hoping that two teenage boys would think up such a plan was apparently asking too much.
Once Mokuba was shackled in both men turned to leave without another word. Waiting until they were out of earshot, I scooted closer to Mokuba, who immediately clambered into my lap as best he could. "Reila! I'm so glad you're alright. I wasn't sure what they'd done to you or where you were..."
"I'm glad you're alright too, Mokuba." I said, finally getting us both into a somewhat comfortable position. I'd managed to sidle up beside him, pulling him close and twisting my torso to give him a full hug, one that he returned tightly. "I was worried when Pegasus told me you had escaped; I kept thinking that you might have gotten hurt somehow."
"Well, I miscalculated how long I needed to make my sheet rope." Mokuba said, with a small grin. "Luckily a few tree branches broke my fall, and nothing's broken so I guess that's a good thing."
I groaned and shook my head in response.
"I tried to get Yugi out of the tournament so that Pegasus couldn't take over the company... But I failed." Mokuba said, tucking himself tightly against my side, one arm wrapped around my waist as though he were afraid to let go. "Maybe I should have tried to get help first though. No offense Reila, but you look awful. And your ankle... How did that happen?" He said, gesturing to the puffed up black and blue skin that peeked out from the jeans that I wore.
"Mokuba, you did what you thought was best. You only had so many options and taking Yugi out would have eliminated his chance to take over Kaiba Corp.; no defeating Yugi, no board members handing over the company. I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes, and I'm proud of you for trying so hard to protect your brother's work." Gesturing to my ankle, I grimaced. "As for my ankle, it's the result of a failed escape attempt on my part. I managed to get out of the guards' hands while they were bringing me down here, but apparently my brain shut off for a moment because I sprained it while running down some stairs."
Thinking back, I probably shouldn't have taken off down the stairs. I should have darted down the hallway and looked for an exit out of this stupid castle. But it was too late to go back and change that now. I'd beat myself up for that moment of glaring stupidity later.
Mokuba winced in sympathetic pain. "It looks pretty bad Reila... Wait how did you know Pegasus needs to beat Yugi in order to get the board to follow him?" Mokuba asked, and I saw a hint of suspicion enter his eyes.
I barely kept myself from tensing as I realized that Mokuba hadn't actually said anything about why he'd attempted to get Yugi out of the tournament; I'd been remembering the canon story line. I can't believe that I made such a stupid mistake. Mokuba was just as sharp as his brother, and with how suspicious Seto could be at times, it was no wonder that some of it had rubbed off onto Mokuba.
"Pegasus told me when he 'invited' me out of the tower to lunch." I said, making sure to keep my voice even and not let anything reveal the little lie. "I tried to get as much information out of him as I could, but after that admission he saw through me and clammed up."
The suspicion vanished from his eyes as he sighed. "I couldn't do anything. And now there's no way to contact Seto. I know he's still alive; he helped Yugi win a duel against some creepy imposter. Kemo tried to get us all to believe it was a ghost of Seto come back from the dead to get revenge, but I knew from the start that it wasn't my brother."
I leaned down and placed my cheek on top of Mokuba's head. "You know your brother best Mokuba. Pegasus even tried to get me to believe that it was a ghost; the duel was on his monitor while I was with him. That imposter may have been good, but even through a camera lens I could see that it wasn't him; your brother is not someone who can be copied or emulated easily."
Mokuba laughed, although it was a strained sound. "Yeah the guy started talking about how he was the 'evil part' of my brother that Yugi had sent to something called the 'Shadow Realm'... Do you know what he could have meant? Or was he just crazy?"
This time, I couldn't stop the tension that shot through my body and Mokuba noticed, looking up at me with a questioning look. Sighing I looked away, debating what I should say. But ultimately I had only one of two options; lie to Mokuba, or tell the truth... Well, a half truth. I couldn't tell Mokuba everything because I didn't want him to have the same burden that I did; knowing that I wanted to change as much as possible, but knowing that changing too much could lead to disaster. I didn't remember the entire story, but I did remember that Zorc loomed in the future – er, past-future? I'd always been a little vague on when exactly that particular threat existed in the time line.
"Mokuba, there are some things in this world that despite intelligence and advanced technology can't be explained." I started, choosing my words carefully. "I've heard... Stories about people having items that give them special abilities. Of realms that exist right beside our own, ones that are full of evil beings. I don't know if it's true or not; I don't know if Yugi actually has some ability to banish evil like that imposter claimed, but either way there's nothing to be done about it now. Your brother is alive and most likely on his way here, and the imposter has been defeated. That's the important thing, right?"
Mokuba was quiet as he thought over the words of my half-truth. I didn't want to outright lie to him, but maybe getting him to understand that some things were so outside the realm of normal would make it easier on him in the future; since there was going to be a ridiculous amount of weirdness and ancient magic mumbo jumbo being thrown around in the very near future.
Meanwhile...
Seto stepped out of his helicopter, seething with barely contained rage. Just when he'd managed to come to terms with his defeat from Yugi, Pegasus and the members of his own board of directors hatched a plot to take over Kaiba Corp., to take away everything he'd worked so hard for. His life's work was invested in the company, and he'd rather burn it all to the ground and scatter the ashes before he let anyone else take what he'd fought so hard to get. But even more than that, they'd taken his little brother captive; the one person who meant more to him then anyone in the world was being held here on this very island.
Already he'd evaded Pegasus's henchmen twice, once by jumping out a damn window and another by sneaking out of his own house. Fury over the insults rolled in his gut, fueled by his worry for his brother and his determination to beat Pegasus at his own game. Literally.
He would make them all regret the day they'd crossed Seto Kaiba.
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't ignore that he'd landed the helicopter right next to where Yugi and his friends had made camp for the night. When Yugi ran forward to him, he briefly entertained the thought of ignoring him; however, Yugi was a duelist who had skills that he could grudgingly admire, so he would give him two minutes of his time before heading towards the castle so conveniently perched within view above the tree lines.
"I haven't seen you since our duel, Yugi." Kaiba looked down at the boy who had a cheerful look on his face, despite the fact that he looked tired; Seto could see the bags under his eyes and briefly wondered what was causing him to lose sleep at night. But it was a fleeting thought, and to ask would invite more conversation which Seto didn't want nor had time for.
"Oh! Here... Your deck. I've been keeping it for you. Just think of it as a thank you for that duel you helped me win." Yugi held out Seto's Duel Monsters deck, and Seto felt a wave of relief at seeing it; he'd had to leave it behind when Pegasus's goons had managed to track him down at his private villa, where they'd taken it after his escape and given it to another person who had impersonated him. He'd find the fake Kaiba and make them regret ever having tried to impersonate him, but only after his brother and company were safe.
"Thanks." Taking the cards Seto tucked them into his coat pocket, weighing his options on what to say; Seto only freely talked with his brother and Reila, and even then those were small conversations where both of them knew he preferred to speak only when he had something important to say. Seto had never been one to waste time with small talk, so when confronted with situations like this, he really didn't know what the proper course was to take. Yugi was thanking him for helping to defeat an imposter, one who had the gall to use his deck. But Yugi had also kept his deck safe, so some show of gratitude was expected... "You'll be compensated for all of your trouble." Seto declared, turning to walk away.
"Huh? Actually Kaiba, I was thinking; since we're all headed for Pegasus's castle, you could stick with us. Of course, you'll need some star chips..." Yugi said, not even realizing how hopeful he sounded.
Seto paused for a grand total of two seconds while he just barely stopped the urge to shake his head; Yugi was thinking along the lines of the tournament and nothing else, and Seto marveled at his naivety. But Seto didn't care about the tournament nor who would eventually win; he only cared about the safety of his brother and company. For such a smart duelist, this kid was shockingly simple; that way of thinking, of never stepping a toe out of line because of the rules laid by someone else was something Seto couldn't understand.
"Don't be so naive, this isn't just a game for me Yugi. I'm going after Pegasus to save my brother, not to win some silly prize. Have fun with your tournament."
Turning and beginning to walk away – again – Seto had almost made it to the tree line when Yugi's friend Joey came darting around, taking hold of his jacket and beginning to rant at him.
"Hey, listen tough guy; I can understand you wanting to get your little brother and Reila back and all, but don't go thinking that you're the only one here with a noble cause, capisce? We all have something worth fighting for, so if you want a piece of Pegasus, get in line or deal with me."
Seto froze internally at the blonde idiot's words; Mokuba and Reila were here? How had Pegasus managed to get a hold of Reila, and what reason did he have for bringing her here? She had no part in the management of Kaiba Corp. and her family wouldn't let this insult go easily. His mind reeling, he shoved Wheeler aside. "What do you mean Mokuba and Reila?"
"It's true, Mokuba told us when we saw him earlier." The girl who always hung around Yugi stepped forward, and Seto recognized her from the class they'd shared; she was the one who had been so star struck when Reila had appeared at the school. Not the crazy one hanging out the window, but the brunette obviously had some admiration from Reila, if her tone was anything to go by. "Mokuba said that Reila had come to your corporate office to pick him up and take him to her home to stay while you were gone, and that when she saw him being taken she tried to rescue him. Pegasus's men drugged her and took her with Mokuba."
Seto's teeth ground together in frustration; Reila had been kidnapped while trying to protect his brother. This was the second time that she'd put herself in harms way for Mokuba, and although a part of him was grateful another part was furious; didn't she know that she couldn't take on fully grown men, especially ones who were trained as efficiently as they must be? She was smart enough to know that she couldn't do anything to harm them, so what had she been thinking? "Thanks for the information, but it changes little; do you really think that I'm going to let your little tournament delay me from finding Pegasus?" Seto pushed aside his worry, which had now doubled and embraced the emotions he could actively work with, ones that he was intimately familiar with; condescension and anger.
"Forget Pegasus; now you have me to deal with. So bust out your cards and let's get it on!" Wheeler faced Seto with a determined look on his face, and Seto could almost admire his courage, if it wasn't so painfully obvious that he was asking to duel someone so far above his level. Seto considered for a moment though, as his new dueling system was untested. If he was going to take on Pegasus, he needed to ensure that the biggest part of his strategy to win worked properly; not that he had ever created an inferior product. But a field test would ease his mind and allow him to concentrate more fully on taking down Pegasus, freeing his brother and Reila, and ensuring that his company remained untouched.
This would be interesting.
Mokuba slowly woke up from where he'd been sleeping awkwardly on the floor. We'd managed to shuffle into a somewhat comfortable position, with him using my thigh as a pillow while he slept. I hadn't slept while I sat propped against the wall, instead I had stayed awake the entire time watching over Mokuba and trying to come up with a way to protect him from having his soul taken by Pegasus. Because if I guessed correctly, today was the day that Seto would enter the castle for the first time, and Pegasus would take his soul as collateral to get Seto to do as he wanted.
Try as I may, I couldn't think of a single way to do it. I didn't possess a Millennium Item to counteract the Eye, nor did I have any magical abilities. I discarded ideas almost as quickly as they formed, because none of them could possibly work. The one that had dwelt the longest was possibly shielding Mokuba's eyes from gazing into the Eye; if he didn't have a clear line of sight, he couldn't take a soul right?
But then I remembered him taking Yugi's grandfather's soul through a video tape and that theory got shot right out of the sky.
The more I tried to come up with a plan, the more roadblocks I hit; the more roadblocks I hit, the more frustrated and angry I got. The helplessness of the situation before me weighed heavily on my heart, and the sensation to scream at the world came and went more than once. What good was having this knowledge of what was to come if I couldn't do anything to prevent one of those I card most about from being harmed. Mokuba was an innocent child, and Pegasus was going to use him in his sick delusion of bringing his wife back.
Even in this world where magic existed and souls came and went, bringing back the dead just wasn't possible. And even if you could bring back the dead, what was the point? To have them die a second time? It seemed like Pegasus hadn't thought this out clearly... Whatever disease had killed her would most likely still be a factor and while there had been many advances in medicine over the past few years, there was no guarantee that there would be a cure for her particular disease, especially not if it had advanced enough to kill her in the first place.
Folklore and mythology was full of stories that cautioned against attempting to raise the dead. But men like Pegasus assumed they were above such things, and add the power of the Millennium Items into the mix... It was a recipe for disaster of epic proportions.
Running a hand down my face, I tried again to find a way to keep Mokuba's soul in his body and not wherever Pegasus would lock him up. Although I doubted that Pegasus would send his soul to the Shadow Realm, I wasn't about to chance it. And relying on Yugi was a last resort; if I could just find a way...
"Reila, what are you thinking about? Your face is so serious." Mokuba said, peeking up at me. His hand was clutched around the card-shaped locket he wore, which I knew contained a picture of Seto from when they were in the orphanage. He'd shown me the picture last night, and explained how Seto wore a matching one with Mokuba's picture inside. I thought it was a sweet gesture, a way for them to always be connected even if they weren't right there with one another. He held it tightly, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. And to him, it most likely was.
"Just trying to think of a way to get us out of here. But I can't come up with anything remotely possible." As much as I hated lying to him, I couldn't burden him with my knowledge. The more time dragged on, the closer Seto got. And the closer Seto got to us, the closer both he and Mokuba got to having their souls taken.
"Seto will come. He said he'd always come for me, no matter what. We just gotta have faith, right?" Mokuba's eyes searched mine, and I saw hope flickering in their depths. Smiling faintly, I ran a hand through his hair, the action familiar to us both and going a long way to soothing both he and I.
"You're right. I just have a hard time accepting that I need to be rescued. Normally I'm the one doing the saving." I said, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the wall. "My father always said that I was less damsel, more warrior. He swore that if we had been born in the past, I would have shaken up everyone with my self-sufficient ways."
"You never talk about your parents much. What were they like?" Mokuba's question was soft, almost as if he were afraid of hurting my feelings.
It's true that I don't talk about my parents from this life much. Although I'd loved them with everything I had, a part of me was... Angry. My father, Marcus had been devoted to me and my mother. I could still see his bright blue eyes, so full of life and happiness as he watched me grow. I couldn't be angry at him; I knew in my heart that he'd done his best to fight off the illness that had taken him. My mother, Katsumi... I loved her, I truly did. But a part of me was angry and hurt that she had slowly willed herself to die. She'd been sorr for it, towards the end, but she'd loved her husband more than she had her child. She'd trusted that her family wouldn't leave me on my own, but she'd left me on my own. Sure, I buried the pain and the anger and did my best to honor her memory, but the anger and betrayal lingered.
Pushing those thoughts aside I opened my eyes slowly. "My father was a wonderful man. He was full of life, always smiling and laughing at every little thing. He worked hard to provide for me and my mom, but was never too busy to make time for me. He encouraged my love of music, even though my mother sometimes was uneasy by it. She'd had a bad falling out with her family – my grandfather to be exact – over marrying him. Uncle Sota told me that my dad, Marcus, had come to Japan to work in Sarota Entertainment's accounting department. That's where they met, and shortly after they fell in love." I paused, collecting my thoughts as I pushed aside the pain that always accompanied talking about them. "My mother chose love over everything else, and the two of them left everything they had behind to build a life together. When I was born, my mother said it was the happiest day of her life; that I was proof to the world how deep and true their love was."
Mokuba was quiet for a moment. "They sound like they were really nice people."
"They were; I don't think I ever saw them angry or raise their voices. My mother stayed at home to raise me, and although my father traveled a lot for business he always came home with a smile and gifts for the both of us." I smiled faintly at the memories. "And he would always be sure to sing me a song before he left, and every night that he was home he would sing me to sleep with the same song."
"What song was it?" Mokuba asked, sitting up and turning towards me.
"It's called The Blessing. My father said that his friend in Ireland wrote it, and planned to have a woman perform it. But my father heard it and knew right away that it was how he felt about me." I said, pain lashing me at the memory.
"... Can you sing it for me?" Mokuba was hesitant to ask, and I'm sure he could see the pain in my eyes. But strangely, the pain was dulling a little by talking about it, by remembering the good times. Swallowing thickly, I nodded and began singing.
"In the morning when you rise,
I bless the sun, I bless the skies.
I bless your lips, I bless your eyes
My blessing goes with you..."
Seto ran through the hallways, cursing softly under his breath. He needed to find Mokuba and Reila quickly. Since that idiot Kemo had tripped the alarm, Seto had seen scores of guards running around trying to find him; he'd managed to evade them all so far, but he knew that luck wouldn't hold out forever.
Who on earth would live in an actual castle with a maze of tunnels? Seto could wring Pegasus's neck for this alone. It was a waste of his time, and already it had taken him longer than he liked to get even this far. Defeating Wheeler had soothed a little of his anger, but too much of it remained. And until he was sure that his little brother was safe, it would remain with him.
Moving quickly down a set of stairs, he spotted two guards standing watch; guards only stood watch like that when they were protecting something important, or someone important. Moving silently, Seto caught one man off guard and thanks to a few self defense classes able to easily incapacitate him. The other guard didn't even manage to get a full sentence out before Seto knocked him out cold as well. Stepping over them, he glared and memorized their faces. Once his brother was safe, he would see to it that these two never forgot that crossing a Kaiba was the last mistake anyone made.
A little down the hall and to the left was a cell, and Seto moved quickly to it, pausing as a soft feminine voice sang quietly. Stepping closer to the cell, he kept himself in the shadows while he looked in, spotting Reila and Mokuba both. Relief flooded through him, even as anger over their treatment spiked. Mokuba looked physically alright, just a little dirtier than normal and his hair looked dull from not having a shower. But Reila...
His eyes flew over her figure, taking in every detail; dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, and her skin looked even paler as though she'd been sick recently. Dressed in ill fitting clothing, she looked so far from the usual vibrant young woman he knew that if it wasn't or her hair and eyes he'd think she was someone else. And when his eyes settled on the mess that was her ankle... His free hand curled into a fist at the bruise spread across the pale skin. Pegasus would pay alright, for kidnapping his brother and for subjecting Reila to such conditions.
Beginning to step forward, he stopped for just a moment as he realized that Reila was singing a lullaby of sorts to Mokuba, who watched her with wide eyes. Barely formed tears were present in Mokuba's as Reila stroked a hand through his hair, and Seto saw tears glittering on her lashes as she sang, her eyes slightly unfocused as if lost in memory. Whatever the song was, it held deep meaning to her.
"When the storms of life are strong,
when you're wounded when you don't belong.
When you no longer hear my song,
my blessing goes with you...
This is my prayer for you,
there for you ever true.
Each, every day for you,
in everything you do.
And when you come to me,
and hold me close to you...
I bless you, and you bless me too."
Reila's voice choked on a sob, and she hung her head as Mokuba panicked and clung tightly to her. "Reila, I'm sorry. You don't have to keep going..."
"It's alright Mokuba." She said quietly, brushing a tear off her cheek. "It's just that I haven't sung that song since my father died. But... I'm glad I shared it with you. I know he would have liked you to hear it, for me to share it with you." She gave him a sad smile, and Seto flinched at the pain he saw in her eyes. "You would have loved him, Mokuba. And I know he would have loved you."
Mokuba looked up at her, a pained expression on his face but a small smile there too. "I'm sorry for asking you to sing something that caused you so much pain. I didn't know you'd never shared it with anyone else."
"Don't feel bad. I knew that there was a chance that I might cry. But I wanted you to hear it and I want you to remember the words; because no matter what happens in life, I want you to know that my blessing goes with you." She said, kissing Mokuba's forehead and touching the locket that hung around his neck. "Whatever you go through a part of me goes with you, just like a part of Seto is always with you."
Seto chose that moment to step forward, partially because they needed to get going right away and partially because Reila's words... They stirred something within him, something that he didn't have the time, patience, or desire to investigate right then. Mokuba saw him move out of the corner of his eye and turned, a bright smile curling onto his lips as he stood.
"Seto? Seto it's you!"
I hastily wiped the remaining tears from my eyes, pushing aside the grief that had risen up while singing my father's song to me. Now wasn't the time to wallow, there was too much at stake right now. Clutching the wall, I stood slowly while Seto and Mokuba spoke. Making sure to keep my weight on my right foot, I braced myself as Seto's eyes turned to me, darkening slightly with anger. "Tell me what happened." He growled, eyes darting to my sprained ankle.
"I tried to escape and ended up spraining my ankle in the process. The heel of my shoe broke and sent me down the stairs... It's not broken, just a bad sprain." I explained, hoping to calm him down. Because if my guess was correct – and it usually was lately – Pegasus would be making his appearance in just a few short moments, and Seto needed to be focused on that.
When Mokuba attempted to move closer to Seto, forgetting the shackles on his own ankles. When they jarred him to a stop, Seto's face flashed a look of concern mixed with anger. "Give me a second to pick this lock and then we're all out of here." Seto swooped down to the lock on the door, reaching into his jacket pocket for his picks when a voice rang out.
Pegasus.
"Well well, the brother's Kaiba; reunited at last. And little Reila, I'm sure you're overjoyed to be with them both again as well. Bravo Kaiba, bravo. I knew nothing would stop you from getting here."
Seto turned his face to him, face set into a grimace of distaste and anger. "Pegasus." He spoke his name with such vehemence that I was actually impressed with how much hatred and anger could be placed in one word.
"I knew you'd come for Mokuba eventually, and Reila as well once you knew I had them both." Pegasus said, his voice brimming with amusement. It made me want to wipe the damn smirk right off his face.
"Oh you did? Well tell me something Pegasus – did you also foresee what I'm about to do to you for harming my little brother and Reila?" Seto's hands were clenched into fists, and I moved slowly towards the bars so that I could see down the hallway to where Pegasus stood, a triumphant smile on his face.
"Actually Kaiba I predict that you won't lay a finger on me."
Seto started to move forward in anger, but I reached through the bars and grabbed onto his hand, causing him to pause and wait. I gave him a pleading look, begging him to be cautious and he seemed to rethink his brash behavior, settling back into a wary stance as he eyed Pegasus. We'd all suffered for underestimating Pegasus already. "And why is that?" Seto asked, squeezing my hand lightly to let me know he'd got the message.
A dark chuckle sounded from Pegasus.
Seto ground his teeth in frustration. "You conniving snake, I should take you down right now for what you've done to them."
"Don't be ridiculous Kaiba-boy. In my dungeon, in my castle, in my realm the only one who makes threats... Is me." Pegasus's Millennium Eye glowed brightly in the dim light, and reflexively Seto's hand clamped tighter on mine, drawing my closer to the bars as I cried out in surprise, barely keeping my balance and the weight off my bad ankle. Clutching the bar with my free hand I closed my eyes against the harsh light, the air around me feeling heavy and weighted as I struggled to breathe.
The feeling was even more intesnse then what I'd experienced during Seto's duel with Yugi. The pressure weighed so heavily on my chest that I gasped, trying ot force my lungs into taking in oxygen. My skin tingled, as though an electrical charge was in the air and I felt light headed, dizziness hitting me hard. If not for Seto's hand clutching mine and my grip on the bars, I'm pretty sure I'd have fallen flat on my face but miraculously I stayed standing, holding myself up even as my legs shook from my fear and the pressure weighing on me.
When the light died and we opened our eyes, I heard a thud behind me and turned to find Mokuba face down on the floor, not moving. Terror clutched my heart as Seto called to him questioningly, but I knew the truth; Pegasus had taken Mokuba's soul, and I hadn't been able to stop it.
"Mokuba!" I screamed, darting forward and stumbling as pain lashed up my leg. I ground my teeth together and hissed at the pain, but once I was on the ground I rolled Mokuba over, brushing the hair from his face. "Mokuba? Come on answer me!"
Pegasus's laughter was the only thing I heard, and as Seto demanded to know what Pegasus had done I tuned them out. Pulling Mokuba into my lap I cradled him close, not able to stop a few tears from falling as they landed on his face. His eyes were open now and so hauntingly blank... I couldn't stand it. I'd failed him, failed so horribly. I hadn't been able to stop it, couldn't protect him from this. I shook from anger at myself, anger at the situation... I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood as I tried to push aside the guilt and helplessness, to focus and keep things from escalating further.
"Not just yet Kaiba – you must first earn the privilege to challenge me; and you can only do that by defeating Yugi in a duel. And if you can't win against him, then Mokuba's soul will remain mine forever."
I lifted my face to see the determined expression on Seto's face, and bit back another sob; because the duel that Pegasus spoke of would be where Seto would gamble with his very life. Clutching Mokuba tightly to my chest, I watched the inner turmoil he felt play across Seto's face. Turning to us, his eyes searched Mokuba's face, looking for some hint that it wasn't real; that it was a trick played by Pegasus. My heart nearly broke at the sight, and I wished with everything I had that I had the power to make everything alright for them. They'd been through so much already, why would they need to suffer anymore?
Seto's gaze locked with mine, and I saw the briefest hint of vulnerability; Mokuba truly was the one chink in his armor, and Pegasus had exploited it masterfully. Even without my knowledge of the events to come, I knew Seto would stop at nothing to save Mokuba; as much as I hated to see him gamble with his own life, I would do the same to save the precious boy I held in my arms.
"So what will it be, Seto Kaiba? Do you care enough about your brother's life to save his soul? Not that you really have a choice." Pegasus continued taunting Seto, and my jaw clenched in order to keep from shrieking in anger at the... Calling him a man was an insult to men everywhere, something that Seto apparently agreed with as he told Pegasus that he wasn't human. But Pegasus brushed off the insult and tossed some star chips at Seto's feet.
"Here, you'll need those for your duel with Yugi."
Pegasus smiled internally as he studied Seto Kaiba, could practically see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to understand what was happening. For such a genius, the boy had a lot to learn about how the real world works.
The real world... That was laughable. He, who possessed an item of unparalleled power actually entertaining the idea that the world could be anything remotely close to normal.
Ever since that fateful trip to Egypt, he'd discovered the truth; that there were powers in this world that could not be explained or quantified, only experienced. The moment the Millennium Eye had become his he'd seen the truth, that he could bring back his beloved Cecelia and keep her from death's embrace. But the magic of the Millennium Items alone wouldn't be enough; he needed the technology that Seto Kaiba so jealously guarded, and to get that he needed Kaiba Corp. at his disposal. Nothing, not even the Kaiba brothers would stand in his way; he would be reunited with his beloved, and soon.
Pegasus gave Seto a moment to realize that there was only one option available to him; follow the course that had been laid before him. It would have been much easier if his men had managed to kill Kaiba, but it was apparently difficult to hire competent men. However, Pegasus was intelligent enough to come up with a new plan once he'd foreseen that his original plan would fail... And how lucky it was that he now had another pawn to move across the board.
Glancing briefly into the cell, Pegasus bit back a smile; Reila, so proud, so stubborn. So loyal to those she deemed worthy. There was an air of maturity about her that far exceeded her age, and her eyes held such a look of disbelief...
No, wait; there was no disbelief, only rage and resignation. Pegasus's brow furrowed in confusion; she claimed she needed concrete proof, yet accepted this so easily? Even Kaiba was still struggling to accept the truth, but Reila studied Seto with a knowing look on her face, almost as though...
Almost as though she could see the future, knew what was happening before it happened.
His curiosity peeked, Pegasus used a little more magic, careful to keep the Eye hidden lest either of them know what he was doing, and turned the magic towards Reila, intent on reading her thoughts. He wanted, no needed to know if she had any way of ruining his plans.
Pegasus caught surface thoughts only; her mind was surprisingly resilient to his magic, normally using this amount of magic force he could delve deeply into someone's mind. But with Reila, all he got was surface thoughts. I wish I could protect you both from this Seto forgive me for not being able to protect Mokuba how could I let this happen if I get a chance I will DESTROY HIM Mokuba please be alright your brother loves you I love you-
Reila's eyes flashed in fresh anger as they turned to Pegasus, who barely suppressed the look of wonder on his face. She'd known he'd been reading her thoughts? Something in the air felt like a warning, a presence weighing heavily in the air that Pegasus couldn't identify. Turning his attention away from Reila and back to the elder Kaiba, Pegasus set aside the mystery of Reila for now.
He'd discover her secrets eventually. It was only a matter of time.
"For now, I have no choice but to play your game. But soon, soon I'll be back and you'd better make good on your promise to restore my brother – because if you don't I'll take great pleasure in seperating your soul from your body in my own way!" Kaiba had finally accepted the inevitable and Pegasus barely kept a satisfied grin off his face; everything was falling into place oh so nicely.
"Agreed. And as an added bonus, if you defeat Yugi and defeat me, Reila will be free to go with you as well. That is, if she's ready to leave my hospitality." Pegasus couldn't help laughing at the indignant fury that flashed on Reila's pretty face.
"Bastard, I'm not a prize to be won!" She snarled, never moving from the spot on the floor where she sat, holding the younger Kaiba's body protectively in her arms. It was actually admirable that even hurt, bruised and dirty she still could make lesser men quake in their boots. But Pegasus was no lesser man.
Seto glanced to her. "Reila, I'll defeat Yugi and Pegasus and get Mokuba restored. For now, take care of him and don't let anyone else near him."
Reila's eyes softened as she turned her gaze to Seto, and Pegasus watched the two interact with utter fascination. There was a deep bond there, and if he had to guess the soul that now sat in his pocket was the foundation for it. Reila nodded to Seto, wincing as she shifted and put weight on her ankle; well, that should teach the little girl to run away from a host.
"I'll look after him Seto. Just please... Be safe." Her voice was soft and pleading, and again Pegasus felt the desire to read her mind, know her thoughts and solve the puzzle of what secret she might hold, but he was already running low on magic; he needed to save what he had on the off chance that something drastic had to be done.
"Alright Kaiba boy, the deal is struck. Now you'd better hurry, from what I hear Yugi-boy already has the necessary ten star chips and will be here soon. Don't forget, your brother's soul hangs in the balance; lose to Yugi and you lose him forever."