Hey guys! Well, this chapter is done! I would've had it up Sunday morning but as I was going to upload it my computer battery died and I lost the whole chapter. So that was a HUGE pain in the ass. BUT I got this chapter up so I guess that's all that matters. Anyhoo, read and enjoy!

xxxx

There was a dull beeping sound nearby. That was the first thing he became aware of. Pain seeped in through his mind and he gurgled out a groan. His eyes snapped open when he remembered where he was last. He needed to help Alissa.

"Seto?" The voice that called his name was so familiar. He turned his head quickly in surprise, hoping to see Alissa safe, and out of Sam's clutches, but there were only blurry shapes hovering far too close for his liking. The beeping next to him sped up as he rolled onto his side to throw himself off the bed. It was obvious that Sam had drugged him, but there was no way in hell he was going down without a fight.

"Seto, please, it's okay!" the same voice insisted.

"Mokuba?" he choked out

"Yeah. It's me."

"Alissa-."

"She's fine. She's asleep just down the hall." Seto's uneasiness faded when his vision finally became clear enough for him to see. He was relieved to see that he was lying in his bed at home instead of in the hospital. He hated hospitals. An IV and drip was hooked up to his arm. A heart monitor beeped next to him. Mokuba stood on the other side of his bed, his eyes wide with worry. The younger Kaiba stared at the dark purple bruises on his brother's throat in disgust.

"Oh Seto." He hugged his brother and buried his face into his chest. "I thought you were going to die! You were barely breathing when Roland and I got there! Dr. Swanson had to put you on a ventilator for the first twenty four hours that you were back. You've been out for two days, I thought I was going to lose-."

"I'm fine Mokuba," Seto croaked out.

"Don't ever do something like that again! We're a team, we're supposed to help each other!"

"I wasn't going to put you in danger Mokuba."

"But you'd put yourself in danger?"

"Can we not bring this up now? I have a splitting headache."

"No, you aren't brushing this off. How many times do you have to almost die before you realize you don't have to do this stuff on your own?"

"I'll do whatever I want Mokuba." Mokuba pulled away from his brother with a frown.

"That's the problem! You do whatever you want, even if it's dangerous! I was so worried about you Seto, I don't want to have to go through that ever again!"

"He's awake." The voice in the doorway stopped Seto from responding to his brother. Alissa stood in the doorway, her hair in a disheveled ponytail and her eyes still hazy from sleep.

"Uh, sorry. Did I just kill the brotherly moment, 'cause I can let you guys finish-."

"No, it's fine. I know you want to see him." Mokuba walked away from Seto's bed and stopped at the doorway. "We'll finish talking later." Once Mokuba had left, Alissa pulled Seto's desk chair up to his bed and sat.

"Does your throat hurt?" she asked suddenly.

"An agonizing amount actually."

"You probably shouldn't be talking. Dr. Swanson said straining your voice might cause complications." She stood and walked to his desk as she spoke. "Do you have a notebook and pen in one of these drawers?"

"In the second drawer." She rummaged through the second drawer of his desk as she continued.

"Dr. Swanson said you were lucky. There was just a little bit of swelling around your larynx, no fractures or anything. There was also some damage to your vocal cords but Dr. Swanson that you'll be able to recover. I guess Sam didn't place enough weight on your throat. Here." She handed him the notebook and pen before sitting down again. "Until you can talk I guess this is how we'll have to communicate." He quickly scribbled something onto the notebook then turned it to face her.

What happened to Sam?

"He's dead. Um, Seto, you'd tell me if you weren't feeling right wouldn't you?" His brows furrowed in confusion. He nodded, even though he himself knew it wasn't true. He wasn't one to ask for help.

"Good, because Dr. Swanson said that the only thing we really have to be concerned about now is cerebral hypoxia. I've been reading up on it, and a lot can happen to the brain if it's deprived of oxygen and since you fell unconscious when Sam strangled you, it's likely that you'll suffer from the symptoms. In some cases some people have extreme emotional changes, and you aren't exactly acting like yourself." He wrote something then handed her the notebook.

I'd like to point out that I can't really say more than a sentence.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Hey Seto?" He looked at her when she called his name. "Can I ask you something?"

You just did, he wrote. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious.

What is it?

"Do you remember anything before you passed out? Anything that would explain how I escaped?" He frowned before scribbling in the notebook.

I saw something.

"What did you see?'

I saw the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

xxx

A week had passed since the couple's return home, and everything had returned to a state of normalcy. Something about what happened still bugged Alissa though. Something wasn't…normal.

"Hey Mom?" Alissa's mom looked up from the cutting board when her daughter spoke.

"What is it Alissa? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you something." Abigail put down the knife she was using to cut the carrots for their dinner.

"Of course, what is it?"

"This is going to sound weird but, do you believe in magic?"

"Magic?"

"Never mind, it was a stupid question."

"I mean, I suppose it could be possible."

"Does anyone in our family have any magical abilities?"

"What is all this about?"

"Nothing, I just thought I saw something while I was kidnapped."

"Sweetie, you were drugged. You were hallucinating." She's lying to me.

"Yeah, of course. You're right. I'll be in my room okay?"

"Okay, I'll call you when dinner is ready." Once Alissa was sure that her mom's focus was back on preparing dinner, she made her way down the hall and into her mom's room. She could tell by the way her mom spoke that she was keeping something from her. She slid the closet door open slowly, being careful not to make too much noise. She spotted a shoebox on the top shelf. She pulled it down and brought it back to her room before sitting cross-legged on her bed with the box in her lap. It was filled with newspaper clippings, pictures, and other articles. Alissa picked up one of the pictures and looked at it. The picture showed a young man and woman; her parents, with a little girl around the age of five. The girl had long, white blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She turned the picture over and found writing on the back.

Mom, Dad, and Alissa age five. She put the picture back in the box and pulled out another. This picture was of the same man and woman and the same little girl. This time, the girl's hair was the shade of ebony and her eyes were green like the cut grass.

Mom, Dad, and Alissa age five. She replaced the picture and pulled out some of the newspaper clippings. Words were circled and highlighted. The words that stuck out to her the most were Egyptian sex slave ring. She grabbed the box and took it into the kitchen.

"Mom." Abigail looked up upon hearing her daughter's voice. Her eyes widened when she saw what box her daughter was holding.

"Alissa, where did you get that?"

"I found it in your closet. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Alissa, you should sit." Alissa sat and listened as her mother explained everything. As her mom continued, her anger began to grow.

"You lied to me?"

"Alissa-."

"No! I did so much to protect you! How could you lie to me?"

"Alissa, I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me or protect yourselves?" Alissa got up from her seat and headed to the door.

"Alissa stop! Where do you think you're going?"

"Wherever you're not!"

xxx

"Alissa, what are you doing here?"

"Can you let me in before you start with the third degree please? It's freezing." Seto stepped out of the way to allow Alissa in. She sat cross-legged on the living room couch with the blanket from the back of the couch wrapped around her.

"Can you turn up the heat before you sit please? It's the end of June, it shouldn't be this cold outside."

"Did you walk here?"

"Well I wasn't going to have my mom drive me." He sighed.

"You snuck out."

"False. She knew I was leaving. She just didn't know where I was going."

"You walked here alone? Are you stupid?"

"As if I'd actually answer yes to that question."

"You should've called me. I could've sent Roland to pick you up."

"Well, then the whole thing about my mom not knowing where I am wouldn't have worked."

"What is wrong with you? You can't go walking around alone at night. You just got kidnapped Alissa."

"I wasn't the only one who was kidnapped. Besides, I can take care of myself, but I appreciate you thinking that I need to be coddled. Really, it's a great boost for my self-esteem.

"Alissa-."

"Forget it. I know that's not what you meant."

"What happened? Why are you upset with your mother?"

"Oh, I just found out that she's been lying to me for my whole life basically."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for one, I'm not even supposed to look like this."

"Look like what?"

"This. You know, dark haired and green eyed. I'm supposed to be blonde. Like white blonde. And my eyes are supposed to be blue and-."

"Can you start from the beginning? You aren't being very clear."

"Right, sorry. Okay, well I told you before that my dad owed money to a gang, and he did. But he owed it even before I was born. My parents changed up their looks a little and they thought they escaped them, but Tony and his father's gang were on their tails. When they had me, they came to the hospital. They were going to take me. There was some slave trade in Egypt or something looking for people who looked like me. Obviously, my parents got away again. They thought my hair color would change with age because that's what usually happens with babies, but it didn't change. They took me to some weird doctor who specialized in genetics. They had him change the way I looked! I've been living a lie!"

"Do you need to be so dramatic? They were doing it to help you."

"Help me? They lied to me! Not to mention they kept the fact that I have magical abilities from me."

"Magical abilities? Have you been hanging out with the geek squad?"

"Would it kill you to be a little more opened minded? Something happened there Seto and you know it!"

"What I know is that I was obviously hallucinating due to lack of oxygen."

"You know what, whatever! If I had known you were going to take sides I would've just gone to Joey's!"

"I'm not taking sides!" He pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply. She was obviously upset and him losing his cool wasn't going to help anything.

"I understand you're upset Alissa but it isn't fair for you to be upset with your mother."

"No, you don't understand! I went through a lot to protect my mother and she couldn't even have enough courage to tell me the truth? She's a coward!"

"Alissa, you shouldn't say that."

"And why shouldn't I? She lied to me!"

"Alissa-."

"No, stop acting like you understand. You don't understand! You think that because your stepfather punched you around that you understand what I went through, but you don't! You've had everything fucking handed to you on a silver platter! The most you've ever had to worry about is whether or not "Daddy" was getting you the right color pony for your birthday!" Seto's eyes hardened like stone.

"How dare you!"

"How dare me? No, how dare you! You have no right to pick me apart for how I talk about my mom!"

"If the situation you went through was anyone's fault, it was yours! You're the one who agreed to be his whore!" A sharp slap sent his head swinging to the side. She peered up at him with her jaw clenched.

"Whatever this is. Whatever this was between us, it's over." She got up from the couch and headed towards the front door. She stopped before she reached it and turned back to him.

"You know, everyone said that you were heartless. People tried to warn me. But I didn't listen. I took a chance on you, and it was a mistake I wish I never made."

"The feeling is mutual."

"Well then, I'm glad we can agree on something." Then she left, letting the front door slam behind her.

xxxx

Phew! That chapter is done! And let me tell you, it was a bitch and a half to write. I tried to make Alissa come off really bratty because, let's be honest, when a teenager is mad at their parents, they bitch about them. So, hopefully Alissa's behavior wasn't too much of a turn off, cause to be honest I kid of wanted to slap her while I was writing this. Another note, I am in no way a doctor. I've had the strangulation planned out for a while and spent a couple weeks researching it to make it as accurate as possible. Hopefully my sources were correct. Well, with all that said, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll talk to you guys next update!