Chapter 47

They'd won him back. They'd won Tristan back; Kaiba had seen his reflection staring at him with cold accusation in one of the otherwise lifeless mirrors. It had been there, just for a second, before disappearing. Without hesitation Kaiba had taken off into the maze of mirrors after him. A sick feeling pulled and tugged through his stomach as he tried to figure out why Tristan would stare at him with so much anger. So many different reasons made their way through his head, but they all came down to the same thing. Kaiba had betrayed Tristan's trust; first by allowing the fake Mokuba to destroy his soul card and then by picking his soul card when they lost their challenge.

If Kaiba were being honest with himself there was probably a dozen or more reasons in between those two events as well, but right now... right in this moment... all he really cared about was finding Tristan and convincing him to forgive him for everything. Up until that moment he hadn't realised just how much he needed Tristan to forgive him for what had happened back then, but now he knew... he knew with everything in him there was only one way he'd ever be able to move forward.

The maze of mirrors he found himself in was larger than it appeared and it was near impossible to navigate. There was also something about it which made it feel as though every step he took shifted the world around him in a disorientating manner. The only thing that kept him going, were the glimpses he would catch of Tristan in the otherwise reflectionless mirrors. Somewhere in his head he knew this situation didn't make a whole lot of sense, but then nothing about this world Crovell had created made a whole lot of sense. The dream was becoming a nightmare and before Kaiba had a chance to realise what was happening, he found himself boxed in by a cage made of dull mirrors.

'Uh... no...' Kaiba took half a step back as his eyes darted around in search of some kind of opening.

As they did one of the dark mirrors snapped into colour, but instead of reflecting what stood before it, it revealed an oceanic view. A view Kaiba recognised.

'No... please... no...'

'What's wrong Seto?' A familiar voice sounded out of nowhere. 'That dreams just a reflection of your own guilt, isn't it? So what are you so afraid of?'

'Tristan?' Kaiba turned a full circle, but couldn't see anyone. 'Where... where are you?'

'Uh-uh-uh Seto, I asked you a question, you're not allowed to ask me one in return. So tell me, if this dream is just a reflection of your own guilt, why does it frighten you so much?'

'Why are you making it sound like guilt can't cause people to have nightmares,' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'People suffer from guilt driven nightmares all the time.'

'I guess there's some truth to that, but I think you're missing the point here,' the surface of one of the other mirrors began to shimmer and slowly the Sharpshooter emerged from it.

'Tristan?'

'I'm not Tristan,' the Sharpshooter shook his head, 'well not the Tristan you know at any rate. I'm not even really the Sharpshooter; I'm little more than a reconstruction.'

'A reconstruction? I... I don't understand...'

'Crovell is a very powerful child. He was also present during the time leading up to my destruction. Both of these facts mean he was able to recreate me perfectly, with my true personality as well.'

'True personality?'

'Soul cards are reflections of their masters, that doesn't mean they are their masters.'

'So... if Crovell managed to bring you back, does this mean...?'

'Don't be so stupid,' the Sharpshooter cut him off, 'my card doesn't exist anymore and not even my Master could repair the rift created by my destruction. I am nothing than smoke and mirrors, created just for you; my existence is only temporary.'

'I…'

'So this is what your guilt looks like,' he cut him off again, indicated towards the mirror, which now reflected an endless sea of moving people. 'I'll have to remember that the next time someone asks me why you take care of him.'

'But...'

'You know, I had no idea just how powerful guilt was. Thanks for showing me.'

'But…'

'But what? This dream is a reflection of your guilt, right? That's what you keep telling yourself so it must be true. And we both know your guilt is the only reason you bother taking care of him, right?' He folded his arms.

'But…'

'Is that all you can say for yourself? Is that all the defence you can muster?' The Sharpshooter laughed. 'You're pathetic. But you know something,' his eyes glanced back towards the mirror, 'if that dream is a reflection of your own guilt, then why does he get the end of it?'

'Get the end of it?' Kaiba frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'It didn't start off that way, of course. Not that he wasn't getting his own little nightmare,' he tilted his head to one side, 'but somewhere along the way he started getting dragged into the end of yours.'

'Dragged into mine? You mean, I started pulling him in?'

'Who knows; maybe you pulled him in, maybe he walked in by accident. All I know is at some point his nightmare met with your nightmare and you both have to suffer through that nice little ending.'

'I... I don't understand...'

'No, I can see that and I'm not sure I would expect you to right now. But I do know the Master has his own little theory about this,' he smirked slightly. 'As you must well know the Pure and Win are capable of dream sharing, it's part of their telepathic connection; it is also something you and Tristan have already demonstrated you're capable of. But the fact neither of you are aware of the dream sharing this time suggests that your individual subconscious have discovered some kind of common ground. It also means the dream is supposed to have a different ending, but right now your own individual fears are standing in the way of it.'

'I... I'm not sure I understand.'

'You and Tristan have both allowed your individual nightmares to become a shared nightmare, when in reality the ending is supposed to be a dream. And since we are in a land of dreams right now, my Master has decided to give you the chance to see the real ending to yours,' the Sharpshooter met and held his gaze.

'I see.'

'I'm not sure you do, not yet anyway. Do you remember you were told before you would be treated differently to the others? Well this is part of your individual challenge. If you succeed you will be rewarded with a glimpse of your own future. If you fail you will pay with your life.'

'What?' Kaiba took half a step back.

'Oh come on, you and I both know how this shared nightmare of yours ends. You die and he's the one who kills you. This may be a dreamer's reality, but no one said the danger in this world wasn't real.'

'But I thought...'

'I know exactly what you thought; it's what all of you have been thinking about this whole situation. That if this world is nothing more than a dream then nothing can really hurt you. Well you're wrong.'

'I should have known...'

'Yes, you should have,' the Sharpshooter's face filled with a slight smile, 'but I wouldn't worry too much about it. You've been given the opportunity to see a glimpse of your future; don't you want to take it?'

'All I have to do to get it is overcome this little nightmare of mine, right?'

'Of course.'

'And just why exactly is Crovell so interested in me overcoming my own fears?' Kaiba found himself studying the Sharpshooter for a moment.

'Because certain things which might happen won't happen if you don't.'

'And let me guess these things which might happen are things Crovell is interested in actually happening?'

'It is definitely a future he is interested in,' the Sharpshooter's voice gave very little away. 'But right now this little nightmare of yours is standing in the way of everything.'

Kaiba continued to stare at him for a few long moments, before turning his gaze towards the mirror, which now depicted the ballroom scene. He wasn't sure exactly what future it was Crovell was trying to ensure by doing this, but he would be lying if he didn't say he wasn't curious.

'So what exactly do I have to do here? How do I turn this nightmare into a dream?'

'You work out the real meaning behind the nightmarish aspects of it,' he gave a callous shrug. 'Right now you believe all of this is nothing more than a manifestation of your own guilt, but if you think a little harder about it you might find it's telling a very different story.'

'I see.'

'So are you accepting the challenge then?'

'I guess I am,' Kaiba almost couldn't believe the level of certainty he was feeling.

'Well that's I was hoping to hear,' the Sharpshooter's voice toned with amusement. 'Piece of advice though, if you don't want to face your own death, you might want to hide your card...'

'I've already got it all planned out,' Kaiba cut him off, 'and I've no doubt I'll work out what this dream really means long before that point.'

'If you're so sure you can, why haven't you worked it out already?'

'Because I wasn't ready to before,' he took a calm but confident breath in, 'but I'm more than ready to now.'