Chapter 12

'So,' Piper glanced towards her, 'is this a one way thing or do I get to ask you questions too?'

'You want to ask me questions?' Catilin blinked at her.

'Well, it's only fair, right? You're getting to know things about me so I should get to know things about you too.'

'I guess you're right,' she grinned, 'okay then, for every question I ask you, you get to ask me one too.'

'Alright, but since you're the one who started this you should get to go first.'

'Uh-huh,' Catilin nodded, 'and I wanna start with the O.'

'The O?' Piper frowned.

'You call yourself Piper O; I wanna know what the O stands for.'

'Oh I see,' Piper pressed her lips together and shifted her gaze to one side, 'it stands for Ohpayo.'

'Not Onchasen?' Catilin felt a little disappointed.

'No...' there was a curious tone to her voice as she dragged the word out, 'Ohpayo suited me better. And isn't it my turn to ask the questions now?'

'Uh... okay, what do you wanna know?'

'Um...' Piper tilted her head to one side in thought, 'what were your parents like?'

'Uh... um...' Catilin shifted her gaze away, 'I don't really remember a whole lot about them. I... I know they were afraid of me; that they made me go to horrid doctors and crammed me full of medicine which made my head feel like cotton wool. But... I don't really remember a whole lot about them.'

'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you.'

'You didn't,' she shook her head, 'and it's my turn again now. Do you know Yugi Moto?'

'As in have I heard of him or do I know him personally?'

'Both.'

'My keeper knows him, but I've never met him myself.'

'Do you want to meet him?'

'That's another question, isn't it?' Piper smirked, 'I thought it was my turn now.'

'Uh, yeah it is, sorry. So what you wanna know now?'

'I'm not sure,' she gave a nervous laugh, 'I have so many thoughts in my head, but... I want to know what it's like to be... human, to have a family and friends. To have a life. To live. And all my questions are about that, but... they all sound really dumb in my head.'

'It's okay, sometimes the questions in my head sound pretty dumb too,' Catilin shot her a sympathetic smile. 'If you like I can ask all my questions first and maybe you'll get some idea about how to ask yours.'

'Okay,' Piper nodded.

'So... why did your keeper create you? Was it just to duel?'

'In a way, yeah it was. They wanted to... escape and this felt like the best way to do it.'

'Escape from what?'

'A lot of things I can't go into,' Piper sighed, 'not without giving away who they are and I can't do that, okay?'

'Even if I think I know?'

'Especially if you think you know. I'm afraid... I'm afraid they'll try to get rid of me if I do.'

'And you don't want to go, do you,' Catilin tilted her head in thought, 'because you're a person too.'

'Exactly. But my keeper just doesn't seem to understand that. To them I'm just this tool they can use whenever they want to and there's nothing I can do about it.'

'Do you ever... do you ever feel like it's a choice between them existing and you existing,' Catilin didn't really want to ask the question, but now felt like the only time she could.

'Yes and no,' her eyes flicked from side to side, 'I'm sure there's a way we can both continue to exist, but... right now I'm not sure how.'

'I can help you,' a sympathetic smile filled her face, 'you may not believe this, but I'm an expert in all kinds of things. And this is one of the things I'm an expert in.'

'Really?' Piper cocked an eyebrow at her.

'Uh-huh. I'm sure I could find a way to help you so you could both exist. Wouldn't you like that?'

'Well... obviously, but... I'm really not sure how you could manage something like that.'

'And then you and your keeper can both have lives and everybody will be happy,' Catilin grinned.

'I have to admit that is tempting, but... I'm not sure my keeper will go for it. It might make things a little too... complicated.'

'I don't see how,' she shook her head, 'onchasen can have completely separate lives from their creators all the time, even with both awake at the same time.'

'Uh...' Piper's face fell for a moment, before she forced a smile back into place and lowered her gaze, 'I see.'

'Is something wrong Piper?' Catilin frowned at her. 'Doesn't you keeper want to wake up?'

For a few long moments Piper was silent. Her face pulled through a series of thoughtful expressions, before she finally gave a heavy sigh and shook her head.

'I guess you could say it's complicated,' she met Catilin's gaze.

'Mm, these situations always are,' she pressed her lips together. 'Maybe I should give you and your keeper some time to talk it over now, okay Piper?'

'Okay, but... only if you go back to Domino without me.'

'Why?'

'Because after the conversation we're about to have, I'm pretty sure my keeper won't want me to go back with you.'

'Okay,' she gave an understanding nod, 'I'll see you later.'

'I sure hope so.'

Covo was tired and hungry and lost. He'd been walking around for what felt like hours with no luck and the only thing which could make the situation any more depressing for him was if it was about to start raining again. Almost as soon as he had the thought he regretted it and seconds later the skies opened up. Heavy, tear-like rain pounded down around him, soaking him.

'Great, just great,' he rolled his eyes, 'as if all that rain last night wasn't bad enough.'

His eyes scanned the horizon for some kind of shelter he could hide under until the latest storm passed. There was nothing obvious in sight, so he just kept pressing forward in the direction he was walking in.

'I sure hope Ahna's having better luck than me,' he sighed. 'I'd hate to think of her out in this rain; now if only I could get out of it.'

'The Master was most entertained at your decision,' the redhead clapped her hands together, 'he'll be here soon to congratulate you.'

'You can talk to the Master when he's not around,' she tilted her head to one side in thought.

'It's one of the abilities I was designed with.'

'He really did make you the perfect one to control this game of his, didn't he?' She found herself studying the redhead. 'I'm sorry...'

'I'm not,' the redhead cut her off, 'this way I get all of the fun and none of the responsibility. Trust me; I am not disappointed with the way this is turning out.'

'Once the game is over will the Master have any further use for you?'

'Only the Master knows that and either way it does not bother me. I am but a dream, my existence is fleeting from the start.'

'Just like mortality,' she turned her gaze back to the distant horizon. 'So when do the other players start?'

'Soon.'

'How soon?'

'Don't tell me you're bored already,' the redhead laughed, 'you're so like the Master; he's itching for this to start too. But we need at least one of each pair to be in place first; we don't have that yet.'

'That could take a while,' she pouted, 'I want the game to start now.'

'I'm sorry, but those are the rules and even the Master can't change them.'

'Fine,' she gave a heavy sigh.

'You should smile a little more,' the redhead draped herself over her shoulders, 'you're pretty when you smile. And besides, there's no reason not to smile. The Master is pleased with you and the players already in the game are still entertaining to watch, aren't they?'

'You're right, they are,' she tilted her head to one side. 'Can we go in for a closer look?'

'Of course, but we should wait for the Master to get here first,' the redhead laughed lightly, 'after all, he enjoys being entertained just as much as we do.'