Chapter 36

Considering just how bizarrely his cousin was acting, SK wasn't totally sure whether or not he was surprised by the way Kaiba had stalked off after Body. Powerless or not, the Pure was still the only conscious Mistress left on their side and, as the Mistresses Helper, SK somehow felt like he should be taking greater steps to insure her safety at this point. But there wasn't a whole lot he could do, after all guarding an unconscious Mistress had to take priority over tracking down a conscious but powerless one.

Sighing heavily, SK turned his attention back towards the others and watched as Heart knelt down beside Joey and began gently stroking his hair. Any idiot could see she hadn't wanted things to go this far. In fact the look on her face suggested she wasn't totally sure how things had ended up this way to begin with. SK's gaze shifted towards Mind; she was the one who'd allowed Heart to lighten Joey's mood, for want of a better word. But whose idea was it to use laughter? And why didn't Heart stop when Joey was clearly struggling? It's what Body had wanted her to do, so why didn't she? Why had she listened to Soul? Or had she listened to Soul?

SK flicked his attention towards the youngest of the Voices. He was still milling round looking as though the rest of the world was to blame for what had just happened. Could that be true? Could that whole scene have been staged by Mind? Could she be capable of something like that? She was a part of Catilin after all and SK wouldn't have put anything, not even something like this, past Catilin.

'Body shouldn't have stopped the music,' Duke's voice was dry.

'What?' SK licked his lips as he turned his gaze towards him.

'Body shouldn't have stopped the music. I learnt a lot about the four of them whilst Mind was in control of me,' he tilted his head to one side, 'music is important to them. Stopping the music whilst one of them is still enjoying it is just about the worst insult any one of them can throw at each other.'

'Okay, but...' SK hesitated, 'why did he stop the music? I mean, I know why he stopped the music, but... Why did Soul want Joey to pass out?'

'I don't know, but I get the feeling Soul differs from the others in more ways than just the obvious.'

'What do you mean?'

'You must have noticed by now that Soul doesn't act a whole lot like the others,' Duke wearily rubbed his face. 'He's a lot more animalistic for one thing and, if you'll forgive the pun, he's a lot more spirited. There's something almost... wild about him and I'm not totally sure if that's just how he is or... well Catilin said there was something strange going on in the Kaiba household.'

'Something strange?' SK's tongue skated across his lips as he frowned. 'Wait, how would she even know that?'

Before Duke could answer, Mind wandered over to him and took hold of his hand. She then tugged him in the direction of Joey.

'I know you want me to wake him up, but I'm not totally sure it's possible right now.'

Her visible eye filled with a deeply sorrowful look.

'I... I can give it a try, but... you have to be prepared for him to be out for a little while, okay? There's probably not a whole lot I can do.'

Mind nodded, before leading Duke towards Joey's unconscious body. SK then watched, as Duke knelt down opposite Heart and gave Joey a proper once over examination.

'Is he still alive?' SK licked his lips again.

'Yeah, fortunately,' Duke sighed in relief, 'but I'm pretty certain he's not going to be waking up anytime soon.'

Duke's words made Heart's expression crumble. The confusion in her visible eye was clear as she flicked it questioningly between Soul and Mind. It was clear she had no idea why what just happened had happened. This only strengthened SK's belief that the scene had been contrived or staged somehow and why he doubted it had occurred just because Body has stopped the music. But who was to blame for it happening, Mind or Soul; from the way Heart's eye kept switching between them SK couldn't help but wonder if he'd been a little too quick to blame Mind earlier.

He didn't know the full details, but he did know Mokuba had been somewhat traumatised by his visit to the so called hell future. The problem was SK didn't exactly know just how badly his younger cousin had been traumatised. For a start he hadn't actually seen him since he woke up three months ago. Not that he hadn't tried, of course, but Kaiba had constantly come up with excuses and reasons not to let SK get involved. All he would say was that Mokuba was dealing with a few issues and that he was best left alone until they were sorted out.

From the first time Kaiba had said that to him, SK had been uneasy about it. But his cousin wasn't someone easily argued with and, increasingly so over the last few weeks, whenever he ran out of arguments he just hid behind the Pure. Mistresses' Helpers didn't have to approve of what the Mistresses were doing; in fact according to Jay even Guardians were encouraged to voice their opinions if they felt the need to. But at the end of the day if a Mistress put her foot down about something then you had no choice but to obey.

'So... do you think one of us should go after Kaiba?' Duke interrupted SK's gradually meandering train of thoughts. 'I mean, we should have at least one conscious Mistress here, even if the Pure is powerless.'

'In case the Reganna attack you mean?'

'Exactly, you might be dead, but I have no plans on joining you just yet.'

'You don't have to worry too much about dying as long as you remain in Kama Traydon,' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'As for my cousin, I don't think he'll be gone for too long. Body took his brother's body with him when he left, so it's only natural for Seto to want to make sure it's safe.'

'Yeah, you're right. Although I'm sure the thought of a little alone time with Body...'

'Don't even finish that sentence,' SK cut him off.

'You don't even know what I was going to say,' Duke smirked.

'No, but I can tell. My cousin is having a hard enough time keeping his head straight as it is without you winding him up about... whatever.'

'And by whatever you mean...'

'I'm not going to let you finish that sentence,' SK's tongue skated across his lips again as he folded his arms.

'Why, what do you know that you're not telling us?' Duke frowned at him.

'I don't know anything and neither do you and that's exactly my point. All your speculation and... whatever is just winding him up and that's the last thing we need.'

'But he's not even here right now, how will he even know what we've talked about?'

'This is Seto Kaiba we're talking about here,' SK rolled his eyes, 'trust me he'll know.'

He was beginning to understand now; not just their plan, but who they were and who he was. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became. In fact, he was starting to wonder how he'd forgotten and why it had taken him so long to remember. A deep sense of amusement moved through him, creating waves inside the feelings of cruelty and blood lust stirring inside of him. These were the feelings which made him arrogant and proud and a million other things which only excited him further.

His companions shared glances with him. They knew he knew who he was again. They knew it and they revelled in it just as much as he did. Because the three of them together were stronger and more determined than ever. They would get what they wanted. They would succeed this time. Because they had the upper hand. They had what they needed. Well... almost.

There was still one little piece of their puzzle missing. One tool with which their victory would be assured. It annoyed him more than a little that the best method to get this tool back was trickery, but he wasn't going to complain. After all, once they had what they needed there would be every opportunity to make up for lost time in the most deliciously torturous way possible. The thought excited him so much he could almost taste it. Soon, soon, everything would come crumbling down again soon.

Covo felt as though he was fleeing from an angry pack of wolves in a forest fraught with danger. He was running on the fearful adrenalin coursing its way though his veins, forcing him to keep going. Not that he could stop even if he wanted to. Stopping meant death. Death meant he couldn't protect the child anymore. And if he couldn't protect the child then all of this was meaningless.

He had no idea how long he'd been running for. He had no idea where he was going. His body ached and cringed and cried out for him to rest, just for a second, just long enough for him to catch his breath. But he couldn't listen to his body. He couldn't stop. He had to keep going. He had to keep running. Running until his lungs burst. Until his body exploded with exhaustion. Until every last drop of water he contained sweated its way out of him. He had to keep running. Running until they were safe. Until he knew the danger was behind them. He had to keep running. He had to keep running.