A/N: I...am ashamed. I am so sorry for not updating this in so long. I promise it wasn't intentional. Life happened and then I graduated and then I started working on my thesis proposal and then I stumbled on this little show called Voltron: Legendary Defender and embarked on yet another series that became a monster. That has successfully gobbled up my life and time to the point I've been updating the Voltron series Warmth practically every single day (literally) since I started it in September.

I kept wanting to update this fic, but every time I tried, I couldn't push anything out. I felt like the fic was fighting me. Then I sat down and spit out 2,000 words towards this chapter today while at work and realized something: I always wrote the chapters for this series during the day and the chapters for the Warmth series in the evening/night. The overall atmosphere of this series is fairly light in comparison to the Warmth series. So, as a metaphor, by trying to write this fic at night, I was essentially trying to write a happy, go-lucky, fluffy fic (over-exaggeration) during a dark, oppressive point in my life. Not literally, but metaphorically.

I struggle to write chapters for Warmth during the day for the same metaphorical reason in reverse. Thing is, I work every single day and alternate between working and taking classes all day when the semester is in session. Last semester was tough. So I haven't had much free time during the day. I promise to do my best to change that and I'm starting with this chapter.. I hope you all can forgive me.

That said, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. My New Year's resolution is to pick this back up. I will not fail!

Chapter summary: In which Kaiba is the gladiator to Pegasus' lion and Seth is the distracting toy. Oh boy...

51: Resolving a Deal, Almost

The compartment of the helicopter was soft, padded leather that was light tan in color. It was nicer than the KaibaCorp helicopters. Kaiba kept his helicopters functional first, comfortable second. This helicopter was comfortable first and functional second. How typical of Pegasus.

"So good of you to join me, Kaiba-bo-"

"Cut the crap, Pegasus," Kaiba snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. He kicked his right leg over his left and pressed his back against the back of the compartment. "Let's get this over with, so I don't have to see your ugly mug any longer than I absolutely have to."

"I'm offended," Pegasus said. "I thought my company was the best of the best." When Kaiba just glared at the business mogul, Pegasus rolled his eyes. "Oh, very well. Hand it over," he said, holding out his hand.

Kaiba blinked, looking down at Pegasus' hand in mild confusion. "Hand what over?" he demanded.

"The card you managed to make all by yourself, of course," Pegasus said with a grin. "That was part of the deal, after all. I make a copy of the card you made and give it to this world's version of you."

Kaiba hesitated, but Pegasus was right. A deal was a deal, and no amount of not wanting it to be real would stop the Shadows from forcing him to comply if he tried refusing. A deal was essentially a promise. If Kaiba refused to keep up his end of the bargain, even though he had no hand in the original agreement, the Shadow would force him to comply.

Reluctantly, he rolled his eyes and reached into his Deck holster, opening it and pulling out the requested card when it came to his call. He fingered it before handing it out to Pegasus. The millionaire hummed thoughtfully as he took the offered card.

"Fascinating," Pegasus murmured. "Are you always able to draw the card you want without actually looking through your deck?"

Kaiba glared, but it wasn't a question that required spilling state secrets. Besides, Kaiba was fairly certain that if the Yugi of this world was anything even remotely like the King, then this phenomenon wasn't that unusual.

"Yes," he answered in a gruff voice that effectively communicated both his annoyance of the situation and his derision of the man in front of him.

Not surprisingly, Pegasus took no offense. He merely chuckled and turned the card over to study its face. The title of the card named the Monster 'Kaibaman.' It wasn't exactly the name Kaiba would have given a Monster had he actually thought about it, but he couldn't find it offensive either. Kaibaman was a level three, Light oriented Monster with two hundred attack points and seven hundred defense points. It was a Warrior type Monster with an Effect that Kaiba found particularly appealing.

"I'm not surprised you would create a card that ties to your Blue Eyes White Dragon," Pegasus said wryly, lifting his lone eye to Kaiba with a grin. "You made it so you can tribute this card to Special Summon a Blue Eyes from your hand. Your obsession with that dragon of yours is almost more intriguing than Yugi's preoccupation with his Dark Magician."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and glanced out the helicopter window. People in black suits were running around the square righting anything that had been tossed aside, removing or temporarily fixing anything that had been damaged, and making the location ready for the coming convention once more. It irked Kaiba because the speed and efficiency of Pegasus' men were impressive. If there was one thing Kaiba could not find fault in, it was Pegasus' ability to recover from a stumble without batting his one, deplorable eye.

Pegasus snickered. "It even looks like you," he said, flipping the card around so the Monster on faced Kaiba. "Granted, Kaibaman has more muscle than you, and longer hair, red hair too." He turned the card back to himself and continued observing the Monster's appearance and characteristics, locking them in his memory for later reproduction. "Did you do that deliberately?" he asked suddenly. "The hair, I mean?"

"No," Kaiba bit out after a moment's hesitation. "It took all my concentration to make it. The fact it looks like me is an improvement, at least."

"Your arrogance knows no bounds, Seto," Pegasus said, laughing gaily.

"Don't call me that," Kaiba snapped angrily aiming a vicious glare at the business mogul.

Unaffected as usual, Pegasus merely smiled and took one more look at the card. "I have to admit," he said, handing the card back to Kaiba who took it readily, "having the helmet resemble the Blue Eyes White Dragon's head was a nice touch. Let me guess, you were a little preoccupied with your dragon lover at the time?"

Kaiba grimaced, realizing too late that doing so had all but answered Pegasus' question. Annoyed with his slip, the Regent stuffed the card back into his Deck and draped his trench coat over it possessively. The move did not go unnoticed by Pegasus who smirked.

"You really are the same."

"The same as what?" Kaiba demanded.

"My Kaiba, of course," Pegasus said with a shrug. "Not exactly the same, granted. But the resemblance in more than appearance is astonishing to say the least. So," he sat up suddenly and crossed his legs, deliberately mirroring Kaiba's position, "I believe you have something else to show me?"

He did, and he would murder both the King and the Pharaoh for making him do this. He bought time by forcing himself to take a slow, deep breath to calm his nerves. :Seth, are you ready for this?: he asked.

:No,: Seth replied. :But yes.:

:Don't let him touch you,: Kaiba warned.

When he felt Seth nod in his mind, Kaiba aimed a glare at Pegasus and waited. He would have known the moment Seth materialized without his connection to his other half. The way Pegasus' lone eye grew wide and lit with an unholy light made Kaiba desperately want to yank Seth back into the depths of his soul room. If he thought he could get away with it, Kaiba would have ripped out Pegasus' remaining eye just to get rid of that leer. Since he couldn't get away with it, he just seriously considered it.

"Well I'll be damned," Pegasus said, staring at the apparition in front of him. He leaned forward, resting an elbow on his knee as he studied the spirit. "You aren't what I thought you'd be," he said. "Although, after seeing Yami, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

When Yami mentioned Seth, he'd implied Seth was the similar to him. The only difference was that Yami was a Ka and Seth was a Ba. Pegasus was no stranger to the parts of the soul in Egyptian mythos. He'd be a fool to be unaware. The Ib was the heart, figuratively and literally. The Sheut was the shadow, again figuratively and literally. The Ba was the physical part of the soul, the personality. The Ka was the spiritual part of the soul that gave life to the Ba, and the Ren was the name that bound everything as one. Together they were an Akh, full, whole, complete.

Missing a single piece of the soul, even something as seemingly insignificant as a name, would make the person incapable of passing on into the afterlife. For this reason, the Pharaoh had been unable to move on even after Yugi woke him from his slumber in the Millennium Puzzle. Without a name, he had nothing holding him together, no way of proving who he was. But it was more than that, wasn't it? Or, at least, there was more to it in whatever alternate reality that Pharaoh and this Kaiba were from.

"What did you think I would be?" Seth asked, and again Pegasus was shocked.

Despite the obvious accent, Seth's voice was nearly identical to Kaiba's. Perhaps it was a bit more cultured and much more formal than Kaiba's, but the pitch and intonation were definitely Kaiba's. It startled a chuckle out of the millionaire.

"I meant no offense," Pegasus said, waving away the death glare Kaiba was still aiming directly at him. "When I met your Yami-boy for the first time, he looked almost identical to Yugi-boy. His appearance was clearly heavily borrowed from your little King but he was taller and more imposing. Even if I didn't have my connection to the Shadow Realm, there would be no way I would ever mistake him for Yugi-boy. You, however," he said, fixing Seth with a calculating gaze that did not visibly disturb the spirit, "maintain the basics that tie you to Kaiba-boy here, but you seem to prefer your Egyptian appearance. Is there a reason for that?"

Seth tilted his head thoughtfully. "I did not awaken as early as the Pharaoh did," he answered, choosing his words with care. "The Pharaoh woke with no memory of who he was or where he'd come from. He also had no basis for comparison so he mimicked the King's current physical form. It wasn't until later that he realized the King's form was his own as well. However, he had grown accustomed to the form he'd worn for the past several years. So when he was forcefully separated during the Millennium Duel, he-"

"Millennium Duel?" Pegasus asked curiously. "You say that as if I should know what this is."

Two pairs of ice blue eyes narrowed and glanced at each other. It was truly fascinating to watch. This was one of those time Pegasus dearly missed his ability to gaze into the minds of others. He was certain Kaiba and Seth were communicating telepathically, much like his own Yugi communicated with the spirit of his Millennium Puzzle. Kaiba's face was a marble façade, unreadable and unmoving. But Seth…

Seth was clearly more open his emotions. His dark face was weighed down by trials and memories, but his gaze was clear and crystalline compared to Kaiba's closed, frigid glare. There was a darkness to Kaiba's gaze that wasn't present in Seth's. Kaiba dressed in clothes that made him seem larger than life. He announced his presence with his appearance and the way he carried himself.

Seth had no need to announce himself. He struck Pegasus as someone who preferred to observe from the sidelines and strike from the Shadows. Had Pegasus been a rat, Seth would be the panther to Kaiba's lion. It was deceptively dangerous and raised the hackles on the back of Pegasus' neck like Kaiba's presence couldn't.

A Ka and Ba indeed.

"What was the last serious duel your Yugi has played?" Seth asked cautiously.

"Against me," Pegasus answered readily. "He's planning on participating in KaibaCorp's Battle City tournament in a month. This world's version of you," he said, shifting his gaze to Kaiba, "is an arrogant prick who enjoys stealing my limelight."

"Then he's doing his job," Kaiba said sharply.

Pegasus scoffed and flipped his hair over his shoulder when it creeped back into his vision. "I wonder if there's a version of you in any reality that's remotely tolerable," he groaned.

"Over my dead body."

"Yes, well we all know what that accomplishes, now don't we?" Pegasus said. He tapped his fingers on his knee in mild annoyance. "Back to the subject at hand, this Millennium Duel?"

"It was the duel in which the King dueled the Pharaoh," Seth explained.

"Oh, did he?" Pegasus asked, an eager spark in his eyes. "Do tell, who won?"

"I don't know," Seth answered, a sly smirk on his face.

Pegasus groaned and slumped back against his seat. "You're more of a killjoy than Kaiba-boy is."

"I take that as a compliment," Seth said.

Despite himself, Pegasus chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you would," he said. "I take it, Battle City has already taken place in your world."

"It happened years ago," Kaiba said.

"And my Yugi-boy," Pegasus asked astutely, "he's younger than yours, isn't he?"

"By several years."

Pegasus hummed. "Fascinating. So even the flow of time isn't consistent between worlds. Makes me wonder what would be a constant in every world."

"The Shadows," Kaiba answered.

"Other than them, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, waving away the Regent's comment dismissively. "I meant something of scientific importance: time, space, Laws of Physics, etcetera. Magic very rarely takes the same form. I wouldn't doubt even Shadowmancy varies between realities. The rules may be the same, but the use and format of Shadowmancy will most definitely vary."

"Shadowmancy?" Seth asked, repeating the unfamiliar word.

"The use of Shadow magic," Pegasus said, a secretive grin stretching across his face. "You've never heard that word before?"

"English is not my first language," Kaiba said, glaring.

"No, I suppose it isn't," Pegasus said, practically preening. "Shadowmancy is the study and use of the Shadows. It's not a common magical practice in fantasy books and games, but it isn't uncommon either. The magic we use, the magic you use, the manipulation of Shadows and souls using Shadows is Shadowmancy."

Kaiba's eyebrow twitched and he glanced briefly at Seth. Clearly the spirit had said something in Kaiba's mind that amused the Regent. It irked Pegasus that he couldn't listen in on that conversation. Well, if he couldn't eavesdrop, then there was always the next best thing. Interrupt.

"But you were saying something about this Millennium Duel," Pegasus said, tugging his two guests back to the conversation. He hated being left out. "I assume something happened during the duel which allowed Yugi-boy to duel the Pharaoh. You mentioned something about forceful separation?"

"The Shadows split them apart," Kaiba said in a curt tone. "That was the first time he was able to manifest as a solid entity entirely separate from Yugi."

"And he chose to remain a mirror image of his pet partner," Pegasus purred. "I'm not necessarily surprised. Which brings us back to your form." His brown eyes focused on Seth. "Why did you decide to resemble your previous incarnation and not your current? Although, I fully understand not wanting to look like an asshole."

"I take that as a compliment," Kaiba said, visibly pleased. "I would rather be an asshole than a necrophiliac."

"Coming from you, that's rich," Pegasus said, shooting the Regent a poisonous glare. "Besides, I'm not a necrophiliac."

"You loved a dead woman and tried to resurrect your dead wife using souls because you were too dimwitted to move on with your life," Kaiba said.

"Yes, the woman, not her corpse. And as if you're any better, Seto," Pegasus snapped.

"Don't call me that," Kaiba hissed.

"Obsessing over your Blue Eyes White Dragon because it's your one and only link to the woman you lost in a previous life?" Pegasus said, ignoring Kaiba's command. "Someone whose existence you couldn't even remember?"

"At least I didn't try to kill people to resurrect her," Kaiba snarled.

"No?" Pegasus purred. "Did you not steal the Blue Eyes card belonging to Yugi-boy's grandpa and rip it apart when it wouldn't obey you?"

"Seto," Seth said, gripping Kaiba's arm when the Regent flinched.

Pegasus sneered when he noticed the move, smelling victory. "Of course you did. Before you start judging others for their actions, think on your own, Kaiba-boy."

"I never killed anyone before that," Kaiba argued. "I had no way of knowing my actions would harm the old man. It was a card."

"Oh come now, Kaiba-boy, even then you knew the cards were more than that." Pegasus rolled his eye and sniffed. "You aren't stupid, Kaiba-boy. You may act stupid, like you are now, but you aren't actually stupid. Are you?" he needled, enjoying the way the Regent entire body twitched as Kaiba worked hard to hold back his temper. "Besides, we both know you're a liar. Gozaburo didn't just decide to try flying as an alternative to taking the elevator one day, did he?"

"That is enough," Seth said. His words were spoken softly but had the razor sharp edge of a silk covered blade. "Hold your tongue, Pegasus, or I might just cut it out."

"I doubt you would, my boy," Pegasus said.

"Then that is your own folly," Seth said. "Care to test your luck?"

Not particularly. Better to change the subject while he was ahead.

"In answer to your original question," Seth said.

Or let someone else change the subject for him. That worked too.

"By the time I could fully manifest as I am now," Seth said, "Seto had already regained the majority of his memories from his previous life on his own. I had no time to grow with him, to accept his current appearance as my own."

"So you decided to stick with what you were familiar with," Pegasus finished with a nod.

Seth nodded in return. "As you say," he said.

Pegasus took a moment to think over what he was hearing. It was all fascinating. The fact this Kaiba was just as easy to rile up as this world's Kaiba was something he found he enjoyed. However, there was something he noticed in the previous exchange that Pegasus decided deserved his attention.

"Are you the only one other than Mokuba that our little Kaiba-boy allows to call him 'Seto'?" he asked with a cheeky grin. The resulting flush that flooded Seth's cheeks was reward enough, despite the threats Kaiba visibly wanted to carry out. Just to be sure though. "Hurt me or kill me Kaiba-boy, and you won't get any more cards," Pegasus warned, waving a finger at the Regent playfully.

"You can still do art if your legs are broken," Kaiba snarled. The boy looked every bit like he wanted to rip Pegasus' throat out. So, why wasn't he? What was holding him back?

"True," Pegasus said. "But I would also be hospitalized and doctors tend to be rather unfriendly to art studios. Too much chance of getting paint on their expensive equipment."

"They don't have a problem with children doing it," Kaiba hissed.

"Yes, well, children are an exception to many things, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, a cold edge to his gaze. "You know that better than most."

When the Regent flinched, Pegasus almost regretted the jab. Pegasus had looked into the mind of Kaiba Seto from his world and saw the truth of Kaiba Gozaburo. There seemed to be no significant apparent difference between worlds as far as Yugi and Kaiba were concerned, besides the acceptance of Shadow magic and the prevalence of superheroes. It would make sense if the Regent also suffered at the hands of Gozaburo.

Pegasus willingly admitted he had more than a few screws loose, but he wouldn't be able to embrace the Shadows if this wasn't true. Nevertheless, there was a difference between being slightly insane and abusing a child in the manner he suspected Gozaburo had. Pegasus had stolen people's souls, but he would never stoop to something as despicable as-

"If there is nothing else," Seth said, his voice intruding on Pegasus' dark thoughts, "then I think it would be best if I retreated for the time being."

"I do have one more question for you, Seth," Pegasus said. "Both of you actually."

Seth settled back in his seat, his hand resting on Kaiba's thigh in a comforting manner. "We are listening," he said.

"As I understand it, the Ka is the spiritual part of the soul and the Ba is the physical part," Pegasus said, tapping his lips thoughtfully. "According to your Pharaoh, you, Kaiba-boy, are the Ka to Seth's Ba."

"This is true, yes," Seth said.

"What of it?" Kaiba snapped.

"The Ba is always the part reborn in a physical body with the heart," Pegasus continued. "The Ka finds the Ba and grants it a shadow to cast, a sign of the Ba's connection to the spiritual world. The Ba and Ka remain separate but together throughout life on Earth, bound by the name that defines them. They only separate at the moment of death when the Ka flees leaving the Ba to follow. After the Judgement of Ma'at, the Ka and Ba reunite. If the proper funeral rites were performed, the Ba, Ka, and the other parts of the soul could form an Akh."

"This is ridiculous," Kaiba grumbled. "I'm already aware of all of this."

Pegasus shrugged. "It just strikes me as odd that nature would have allowed something so backwards to occur," he said.

The amusement Pegasus derived from watching Kaiba struggle with his desire to demand an explanation was positively sinful.

"What do you mean?"

Ah, so Seth wasn't as standoffish as his modern counterpart.

"I mean," Pegasus said, directing his reply to the spirit, "that the Ba is always the one reborn and the Ka always follows. This is a reliable fact, essentially one of the Laws, if you will, of the supernatural world. You, Kaiba Seto are a Ka, and you, Seth, are a Ba. So don't you find it odd that you were reborn backwards when even the Pharaoh who removed his name and split his soul was reborn correctly?"

Both Kaiba and Seth stiffened in obvious surprise. Pegasus groaned.

"Oh dear," he said. "It really never occurred to you?"

Seth bowed his head. "W-we never had any reason to doubt…" He pressed his lips together as he struggled with his words. "Kaiba was not aware I was a separate entity and not just the memories of Set, our former incarnation, until a year ago. Even then, he did not know he was a Ka until later."

"I see," Pegasus said, interlacing his fingers and resting them on his knees. "Well, now I can guarantee it won't leave either or your minds until you've solved this little riddle. At least losing this game won't result in the loss of your soul, I hope."

This time, Pegasus found himself on the receiving end of two equally venomous glares. It was intimidating, but it hardly phased him. The Regent's glares were perhaps a tad bit more impressive than this world's Kaiba, simply because he had the magical power to back up his implied threats and not just money and economic power. Losing a soul was slightly more of a threat than losing his corporation. Even though they both felt just as bad.

Pegasus harrumphed and tossed his long hair over his shoulder when it tickled his cheek. "Now that I've given you something to mull over," he began, "I believe you have one other thing to do before I consider our deal completed."

Kaiba blinked and looked up at Pegasus, momentarily at a loss. He recovered faster than Seth, schooling his face to a calm, unreadable mask. Seth, however, remained just as confused as before.

"What do you mean 'one more thing?'" Kaiba demanded, his temper held in check. "I've done everything I had to. The deal's over."

Pegasus merely lifted a perfectly waxed eyebrow. "Really?" he said. "And what about this," he waved his hand, "Kisara person, hm? I assume your Yugi-boy has her card? That was the whole purpose of this meeting, after all. Payment for me creating that card for you."

"We have the card," Seth said. "the King and the Pharaoh gave it to us the other day."

Pegasus leaned back in his cushioned chair, crossing his arms in disappointment. "Don't tell me," he grumbled. "Yugi-boy already gave you the card, didn't he?"

The momentary widening of Kaiba's eyes an instant before they hardened was the tell Pegasus was looking for.

"He did, then," Pegasus said.

That was frustratingly unexpected. Pegasus should have known Yugi's bleeding heart would have caved, but he also knew the value Yugi put in a deal. The boy always kept up his end, no matter the price. The fact Yugi had failed in this was upsetting. True, the price wasn't a lost soul or anything else quite so dramatic, but Pegasus wanted to see Kaiba's reaction. He lived to see that frustratingly glacial expression crumble in the wake of emotion.

"In that case, it appears I have a bone to pick with your King." Without another word, Pegasus stood and opened the door to his helicopter. He looked back over his shoulder when he stepped outside, the picture of impatience. "Are you coming, Kaiba-boy, or have you decided my company truly is superior to your own?"

Instantly, Kaiba hopped out of the helicopter and strode away without so much as a 'thank you' for holding the door or a 'sorry' for the blatant bump in the shoulder. Pegasus sniffed and closed the door, rolling his shoulder where Kaiba bumped him.

"Rude."