A/N: Fourth draft of this chapter, I have to get this one in paticular right as there is so much potential for Sue-ness. I hope I haven't fallen into the trap, but if I have I BLAME YOU LOT FOR CHOOSING THE ENVELOPE! XD
~Ava
~XxX~
It had been close to an hour-
Lava-
And I had realised that Noah was beyond insane-
Water-
He was, in fact-
Dinosaurs-
Fancying himself to be-
Ice-
Some sort of God.
And now? Now he was even worse.
City.
~XxX~
"Mokuba!" Kaiba yelled at the sight of his brother dropping about a foot out of the air to stand infront of Noah. Mokuba looked up and stared at us, his eyes pupiless, and spread his arms wide...protecting Noah.
"No! If you want to harm my brother then you'll have to go through me first!" His voice sounded as bright as usual, but his face was emotionless and judging from the way that Noah was laughing manically behind him, that was of his doing. Kaiba gasped a little, Mokuba's words probably literally knocking the wind out of him.
"Yes Mokuba, that's right," Noah said, still laughing, "protect your brother, protect me. This stranger is trying to break us apart." At the ending of his sentence, Noah put on an innocent voice, goading both Kaiba and Mokuba to do what he wanted them to. Namely, break composure and still stand infront of the blow that could defeat him, respectively. I was ignoring my friends for the first time. Since the Ice Age that Noah had inflicted upon us had finished, I still hadn't moved from the rock that both Kaiba and I were on, instead I busied myself with either insulting Noah every now and then, or providing quiet moral support, which I knew, if I voiced it aloud, Kaiba would hate. I was sure that no-one save for Teá actually understood why I was still on the rock, and was thankful for that. I would talk with her later, after I stopped my patience from snapping alongside Kaiba's.
"Mokuba! You have to remember! I'm your brother!" Kaiba's words struck me. Noah had basically stolen Mokuba from him. Erased him from his mind. I could think back over everytime I'd ever come into contact with Kaiba and knew for fact that I wouldn't be so determined to gain his trust had he not had a brother. He would be so undiscernable without Mokuba. And after seeing those memories...
"You bastard." I hissed, coming to my conclusion. I hadn't spoken since the Ice Age left but what I was witnessing was...twisted. Kaiba beat me to the punch before I continued.
"You little bastard. You've taken my only family from me. You will pay." Kaiba looked to his Dimension Dragon, about to set it on Noah to end the duel. But he hesitated, and I knew why. Noah decided to voice it.
"You can't attack me, no matter how much you want to. Or, actually, you can attack me, but you won't. How could you? When Mokuba is so willing to die instead? You choose Seto. Your brother, or your company." Kaiba growled and paused, thinking over his options. It was then that my patience parted and I started to shriek in a highly undignified manner, moving forwards against my cowardice and balling my hands into fists once more.
"You absolute bastard." I repeated, Noah loking at me amusedly, "you jerk, you cad, you infernal little weasel. I feel debased for just knowing that someone like you exists." I was venomous now, letting all the bitch I had been back in London out once again, "Would a hawk pick you up, drive its beak into your brain, and upon finding it so twisted set you loose to fly for a short while before bespattering the ocean rocks with the frothy pink shame of your ignoble blood." I took a deep breath, thinking over every insult I had ever used to my peers and those above me, it was like I was two different people now. The one I had been cultivating over the past few months and the one I had been. I screwed my face up in feigned confusion, "What fantasy do you hold that you would believe that your tiny-fisted tantrums would have more weight than that of a frothing-at-the-mouth desert rat, spinning rabidly in a circle, waiting for the bite of the snake? Hmm?" I felt nauseous now, disliking the venom I was speaking with, the words sounding foreign to me, eventhough I had repeated them before at earlier points in my life, "You, Noah Kaiba, are unreservedly pathetic, starved for attention, and lost in a land that reality forgot, so you took something dear from someone who was not. I wish you nothing but the worst." I spat my last words, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at the fact that he was no longer laughing or smirking, but I knew that Noah wouldn't take my hate lightly.
"That's enough Callaghan." For the first time, Kaiba's tone was softer than normal, as though he was shushing me rather than telling me to shut up. He looked up and fixed glares with Noah. "I switch my Dimension Dragon into defence mode, and end my turn." I exhaled heavily through my nose, still feeling nauseous but nodding to him and once again moving back from my position infront of him. It hadn't escaped my notice that everytime I said something I felt the need to step infront of him.
"Ha! That's the move of a defeated man." Noah shifted his eyes from me back to Kaiba as Mokuba did the same as me, moving to the side of Noah, "attack!" The monster that Noah had ordered to attack Kaiba hit both of us instead. I guessed it was intentional, a get-back for what I had said, this get-back knocked both Kaiba and I from our feet, me collapsing to my knees to move my centre of gravity and make me more stable and he, off the rock completely. The second the harsh tornado was over I glanced over my shoulder, hearing my friends shout from a slightly raised area to our left. I scrambled to my feet, feeling my feminist side curse my teenage girl side for being so emotional towards him as I ran to see if he was okay. I needn't of bothered, he raised himelf to one knee, lacking the physical strength to get up fully as I dropped back to my knees, fussing incessantly over the cut to his right hand and left cheek. I was soon set straight by the the look he gave me, it clearly said, 'Honestly? You're worried about this?' I rolled my eyes but stopped what I was doing, instead half turning to look at Noah and grit my teeth. Yugi was the one to throw a lifeline.
"Kaiba! Listen to me!" Yugi yelled from where he was, I looked over to my friends and felt myself colour slightly at the look Teá gave me as I realised what I girlish fool I was obviously looking like at the moment. I inwardly slammed m palm against my face, even Joey would notice now.
"I don't need your help Moto!" Kaiba yelled back, I winced at the closeness of such a loud sound and shoved Kaiba in the arm, he glared at me momentarily.
"Leave it. He could know something." I hissed as Kaiba looked at me like I'd just suggested that he should get a puppy instead of Mokuba.
"Remember when this happened to Joey?" Yugi yelled back, oblivious to what I had just said, "When he couldn't remember me?" I almost saw the rememberance behind Kaiba's eyes as he heard that. " got through to him! Just like you can get through to Mokuba! I believe in you Kaiba! And I believe the answer may be in your deck!" Yugi had a point, I did remember something like this happening with Joey only a few days earlier. Kaiba obviously did too, as he braced himself to say something, wincing as he attempted to stand after just being slammed against the ground, I placed a firm hand on his shoulder and glared at him, daring him to contradict me. For once, he didn't. Today seemed to be full of firsts.
"Yes, well I don't need your belief Moto...Mokuba!" He muttereed the fist half, so low that I barely heard it before yelling at his brother, who regarded him cooly, "I may not have always treated you the best sometimes! But there's one thing I never told you!" Kaiba took a breath and closed his eyes while yelling his next words, "But you saved me!" I heard the five-strong gasp from my friends up on the ledge as I frowned slightly. "Back when we lived with Gozaburo, I was ready to give up. But you saved me Mokuba! You gave me something to hope for and you made me realise that as a team, there was nothing we couldn't do together!" Kaiba winced again, possibly from pain or possibly from embarassment as to the amount of emotion in his voice as he spoke when Yugi yelled too.
"He's right Mokuba! Seto's your brother! Not Noah!" Yugi was teetering dangourously on the edge of the ledge, while it wasn't high up, Teá still pulled him back. I nodded and yelled too.
"Se-acckk-Kai-acckk" I half-turned to Kaiba, "-fuck it I'm just using your damn name-" back to Noah and Mokuba, "Seto would neverbetray you! Or your trust! Noah is usingyou!" Mokuba had been frowning with mild rememberance at Kaiba's words, clutching his head with revelation at Yugi's and now looking at Kaiba with clarity by mine. He mumbled something, too low for any of us to hear, but seemingly displeasing Noah, who frowned and said something to Mokuba, only to be brushed off by the kid, who took one look back at Noah before running towards where Kaiba and I were. Said older brother reached out his hand to grab Mokuba's outstretched one.
The world froze.
~XxX~
A/N: OH GAWD THIS CHAPTER IS A LITERARY MINEFIELD OF POSSIBLE SUE-NESS. I don't know about this chapter. I like it kind of, but I think the ending falls down a little. I don't really know what it's like to be turned into a statue however, so I can't lend my own twist to that XD
~Ava