Chapter 38

Yugi arrived at the exact moment Kaiba did to see a distraught Mai cradling an unconscious Joey. Nearby a skeletal looking Duke lay motionlessly in pool of his own blood. There was something too horrific about the scene for either of them to find the words and all Yugi could do was allow the horror of the situation to wash over him. Eventually he turned his attention towards Mai and a strange amalgamation of emotions washed over him. There was something she was planning to keep from them, he didn't know why or what, but he knew there would be something…

'What happened here,' Kaiba broke into the deadening silence around them. 'Is Joey okay?'

'Is it Joey or the First you're worried about?' Mai's voice was dull.

'I didn't think there was a difference anymore,' Kaiba lowered his head, his near sightless eyes flickering from side to side. 'Just tell me how my sister is, please.'

'Joey's fine, he's just unconscious,' Yugi gave a nervous cough, 'he's not the reason we were summoned here.'

'I don't…' he lifted his head as his eyes did their best to see what else was going on. 'Who is that? I can't sense anything from them, so I can't tell who it is.'

'It's Duke.'

'Duke,' the tone in Kaiba's voice said more than Yugi was sure he meant it to, 'is he… Why am I even asking that question,' he lowered his head again, 'I already know the answer; I can't sense anything from him because he's dead.'

'For the last month he's been a part of the Teen, which means he's been a part of the First. When he died… When he died we felt it in the same way we would have if it had been the First.'

'No it was more than that,' Kaiba's voice was dry, 'when you were Re he became a pseudo-Mistress. Win mixed a little of his power in with him when he did that, meaning Duke has been connected to us, like a sister, since then, whether we realised it or not.'

'Which is probably another reason why out of everybody the Teen chose him,' Mai sniffed, 'because he was one of you and because he was easily influenced by power.'

'Do you think Crovell knows,' Yugi somehow managed. 'Do you think he sensed the death of his Daiosen?'

'I think if he had he would be here,' Kaiba shook his head.

'Not in the state he's been in lately,' Mai shook her head. 'He's not been himself since he lost his Chaos; I'm not even sure he was able to sense Duke anymore.'

For a few moments there was silence. Then Kaiba slowly made his way over to Duke's frail body and knelt down beside it. For a long time his eyes flickered about as though they were doing their best to examine him. Yugi wasn't entirely sure just how much he could make out from that distance, but he was unwilling to move closer and help.

'How did this happen,' Kaiba eventually broke the silence.

'He… did it to himself,' she turned her head away. 'He wanted me to kill him, but I just couldn't do it, so…'

'But how?'

'What?'

'How did he kill himself,' Kaiba pressed, 'there's no weapon and there's a lot of blood; so what did he kill himself with and what happened to whatever it was?'

'I… um…' Mai stammered, instantly sending shockwaves of mixed up emotions rocketing into Yugi.

It didn't take an empath to work out she was protecting someone. The only question was why? Why would Mai protect the person who had murdered a part of her village? Her friend. A member of her extended family.

'What were you doing here anyway,' Yugi interrupted. 'I mean, what is this place?'

'I… I don't know,' she shook her head. 'I… I was being attacked by… by Kasey and I… I found myself here. And then… then they appeared and… and…'

Warning beacons began sounding off like sirens in Yugi's mind, screaming the same words at him over and over; she's lying, she knows exactly what this place is and she came here on purpose.

'What happened to the weapon which killed Duke,' Kaiba persisted, clearly just as suspicious now as Yugi.

'I don't…'

'How can you not know what happened to it Mai, you've been right here since he died, haven't you?'

'Yes… but…'

'So then tell me what happened to it.'

'I can't.'

'Why not?'

'Because I… I don't know,' she buried her head against Joey's chest. 'I don't know alright. I've not been able to look at him since it happened. I've not even been able to go near him. So I don't know what happened to it.'

'You're lying,' Yugi felt more than a little mystified. 'Why are you lying to us? Why are you trying to protect Duke's killer.'

'I told you, Duke killed himself,' she half screamed at him, 'I'm not lying about that.'

For half a second Yugi hesitated. She was right, she wasn't lying about Duke's death being suicide; he could sense that from her now. But she was lying about something; Yugi just wished he knew what it was.

'Was Kasey here when Duke died,' he eventually managed. 'Are you trying to protect her?'

'No.'

'Then who was here Mai,' he swallowed hard. 'I know you're trying to protect someone; I'm an empath, remember, you can't hide these things from me.'

'I'm not protecting anyone.'

'Yes you are.'

'Why would I be protecting someone?'

'Because even though Duke did kill himself your worried no one will believe that was the case,' Yugi tilted his head curiously. 'You think people will believe it was the person you were with, but I don't know why.'

'Because it was their weapon maybe,' Kaiba suggested. 'That's why they took it with them when they left, because it looked too damning to leave it behind.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Mai puckered her face into an expression that fought to be unwavering. 'I'm not protecting anybody.'

'Yes you are,' Yugi insisted. 'And what Kaiba just said is completely true, isn't it? Only there's more. Much more. I just wish you would tell us what it was.'

'There is nothing more to tell,' she tried again to harden her expression. 'Now if you don't mind I would like to get my husband home please.'

'Not until you tell us what you're hiding,' Yugi shook his head.

'I'm not hiding anything,' she insisted.

'Mai we both know they didn't kill Duke, so why keep protecting them?'

'I'm not protecting anybody,' she pulled Joey closer to her. 'Now please, let me take my husband home,' and with that she and Joey disappeared.

Kaiba's gaze did its best to meet with Yugi's for a moment as his face revealed the same expression Yugi was sure his own was wearing. Then Kaiba turned his attention back down towards Duke's body and sighed.

'How am I going to break this to Drake?'

'What about Kasey and Catilin,' Yugi slowly moved towards him.

'As of now we still don't know where Kasey and Catilin are,' he shook his head, 'but we know where Drake is and someone has to tell him.'

'Poor Duke,' Yugi stared down at the blood soaked body, 'I don't envy him.'

'Why would you envy a dead man Yugi,' Kaiba frowned.

'Honestly… I don't know.'