A/N: Longest capter to date. Almost 7,000 words. Oh dear. I couldn't cut this in half because there's no good stopping point. So enjoy a heck of a lot of writing. Also, there's finally quite a bit of backstory explained here. enjoy~

The Whole Truth

Walter came back to the table on the patio in front of Java Script. People walked by on the sidewalk on the other side of the simple railing separating the sidewalk from the patio. It was a particularly brisk morning which required a sweater or sweatshirt and pants or leggings to be comfortable. Some people could even see their breath in puffs of fog. One man had taken a seat at a nearby patio table with earphones in and was reading a newspaper.

Walter sat in the seat next to his future stepson and set down the three coffees clamped between his hands down on the wrought iron table. The umbrella poking out through a hole in the middle of the table was swiftly removed by Diggle and leaned against the railing in the corner with several others. It was too early in the morning to need the umbrellas to block the sun and the sky was crystal clear and showed no sign of rain. All and all, it was a beautiful morning.

Minus the fact it would likely bring with it much information that was needed but not given out happily. Walter pulled his chair up to the table and handed Oliver his coffee. The steam floating up through the small mouth hole was a pleasant sight and he took a sip of his hot drink in preparation for what was to come.

It had always bothered him how distant Oliver had been with Moira since his unexpected but much celebrated return. Oliver's relationship with Thea was close if a bit strained, but that was to be expected after so much time apart. And despite Oliver's fervid denials, Walter was sure his future stepson had not been alone on that island. He had seen the scars decorating the young man's body and knew they were not self inflicted; torture rarely was.

Then The Hood had made his first appearance in Starling City not long after Oliver's return. Walter had not missed the significance of the timing and had long suspected his stepson of being the vigilante. But he refused to dig too deep into it for fear of straining their already new and tenuous relationship as well as creating a potential rift within the newly reassembled Queen family. He was still technically an outsider after all.

But then The Hood had become Arrow, then joined the Justice League as the Green Arrow, and was now generally considered to be a star citizen, pun somewhat intended. The police were still not exactly comfortable with the idea of a master archer vigilante running through their city and the fact they still could not discover or prove Arrow's identity. But the general populace had accepted the modern Robin Hood as a welcome addition to their society.

Next, there was John Diggle. The man had been Oliver's bodyguard and friend since the young Queen's return. They had not seen eye to eye at first but had warmed up to each other over time to the point the two were rarely seen apart. Walter strongly suspected that if Oliver was indeed the local vigilante, Diggle was Arrow's right hand man. While he was impressed with Diggle's loyalty to Oliver, he could not help but question his motives to a point.

Last of all, there was Felicity Smoak. When Oliver had mentioned her name last night saying she and Diggle had vouched for him, Walter had been caught off guard. But now that he thought about it, it made too much sense. Felicity had been pulling more late nights and all-nighters than usual; but Walter had just chalked it up to her love for computers and code. The young woman was brilliant and one of his best employees in the entire business not just the IT department where she all but lived.

But hearing her name mentioned with Diggle's by Oliver made Walter suspect she too was involved in this shady vigilante business, possibly even from the beginning. That meant, if Oliver was the vigilante Arrow, then Felicity knew and was helping him. Walter was still trying to decide how he felt about that little fact.

Now, Oliver was sitting in front of him, tense and constantly glancing towards the street. He had informed Walter that Seto Kaiba would be coming to help explain this mess. The Kaiba Corporations CEO was a wild card for Walter. He did not know much about the young man before last night's incident after which he had done some digging. Surprisingly, he could not find much of note with a few exceptions: the fact Seto and his little brother had been adopted, their adopted father's sudden death after Seto became the majority shareholder and the subsequent new CEO of KaibaCorp, and that he was now the runner-up for the title of World Champion of the card game Duel Monsters behind the current reiging King of Games, Yuugi Motou.

Then, to top it off, the stranger Walter had seen in his house last night with Oliver and Seto could be none other than Yuugi Motou. He looked exactly like the photograph he had seen of Seto's arch-rival in an online newspaper from Japan. More importantly, both Yuugi and Seto could do magic. All of this Walter could handle on some level because he did live in a world where aliens and superhumans ran around on a daily basis. What he worried about the most was the level of Oliver's involvement.

However, Walter had promised to keep an open mind and at least listen to everything through before condemning or accepting anything. Besides, if the vigilante was involved in this, than that meant there was a high chance the Justice League was, if not aware, than directly involved as well. That meant something big was happening. Especially if the unusual attack the other day was anything to go by. Things like that tended to avoid Starling City generally.

Either way, that was still more 'ifs' than Walter preferred to deal with at any one time.

He looked up when he herd the loud rumble of a motorcycle coming down the street. He leaned over to see around Oliver who had also turned around curiously. He was impressed by the sleek but powerful red and black, custom Harley Davidson motorcycle slowing down and parking in one of the parallel metered parking spots across the street. He was surprised when three riders dismount when technically it was illegal for motorcyclists to carry passengers in the state of Oregon. Not many motorcyclists actually obeyed that law, but none ever exceeded one passenger that Walter was aware of. Also, the smallest passenger he saw dismount could not be older than fifteen at most.

Then the shortest rider removed his helmet and it all made sense. Mokuba Kaiba waited calmly for Seto who undid his own helmet, removed it, and shook his head mildly. He ran a hand through the mussed brown strands before handing both his and Mokuba's helmets to the driver, a woman with long blonde hair pouring out from under her own helmet. She took the helmets and put them in on of her storage compartments then removed her own helmet and shook out her long hair dramatically. She put her helmet away as well and together the little group crossed the street.

The woman was tall and thin with a generous bust and gorgeous, thick blonde hair. She wore a black cut-off style shirt that tied up the front like a corset but did nothing to hold in her breasts. A long sleeved purple jacket hung unzipped over her torso while a matching purple skirt hugged her thighs. She wore black leggings and knee-high, high heeled, black leather boots she obviously took care of. A studded black and purple belt with a rectangular holster hung from her hip, long black gloves were pulled up to her upper arms, a tattoo of a rose entwined with thorny vines encircled her upper right arm, and a black, faux suede chocker with a simple fake teardrop moonstone dangled From her neck finishing the look. She was both beautiful and intimidating with a powerful presence. Her smile, however, was warm and friendly.

"Coffee?" she asked Seto who just looked at her like she was dimwitted. The woman snickered and sauntered off into the cafè. "Thought so, grumpy." She waved playfully and went inside. Mokuba hesitated only a moment before joining her.

Seto spared his little brother a glance before walking over to Walter and Oliver, pulling up a chair and sitting down without bothering to ask or wait for permission. He wore a long sleeved black shirt and pants and his trademark trench coat like yesterday. But today, his trench coat was sleeveless and had rivets lining the hems. He wore a black belt with a rectangular holster similar to the woman's as well as another holster holding a Glock 17 Gen 4 gun. Curiously, Seto's bodyguards from yesterday were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps that was the reason for the gun.

Oliver nodded in the direction the woman and Mokuba went and said, "Your Sorceress, I presume?"

Seto nodded and leaned back in the iron chair, crossing his arms and waiting. His sharp blue eyes constantly glanced through the windows of the cafè to where the woman and his little brother were paying for three drinks. When they finally came back outside, Mokuba sat down in the chair next to his big brother while the woman set the coffees on the table and dragged her own chair over to sit on Mokuba's other side.

"Well, drink up," she said. "I don't want to hear you complaining later about it being cold. Not when I'm treating."

"I never asked you to treat," Seto said, reaching for his coffee nevertheless.

"You didn't have to," the woman said, smiling. "I'll just collect on your debt later. I hear there's a lovely place called Lake Tahoe not too far from here. We can go camping."

Seto choked on his coffee and stared at his Sorceress with an expression of mixed horror and disgust. "I hope you're implying a cabin with phones and Internet accessibility."

The woman snickered. "You can hope."

Seto grimaced and drank his coffee in an obvious sulk. Mokuba covered his own smile behind his coffee cup. The woman caught the grin and gave the boy a subtle high five. It was not subtle enough because Seto caught the motion and glared at both of them.

"Ganged up on by my own allies," he grumbled. He swallowed a gulp of the hot liquid before crossing his legs and sitting up straight, suddenly all business. "I assume our agreement still stands," he said to Oliver.

"Still family, still under your protection," Oliver confirmed.

"And I'll answer as many questions as I can, but only," Seto added with a raised finger, "what I can. No more than that. Respect that. Some things aren't my secrets to talk about without special permission from those involved."

"Agreed."

"Very well, then begin." Seto placed both of his arms on the table and leaned forward attentively, his coffee still with reach of his hands and blue eyes staring hard at Oliver.

"Aren't you going to introduce your friends?" Walter said, deliberately interrupting.

"Nice to know someone still has manners," the woman said, a cheeky smirk on her rosy lips. She leaned over and stretched out her hand to shake Walter's firmly.

"Walter Steele," Walter said, shaking the woman's hand firmly.

"John Diggle," Diggled said, taking the woman's pale hand next.

Oliver shook her hand next. "Oliver Queen."

"Mai Valentine," the wman said, leaning back in her seat. "Sorceress of the Shadow Court."

"Shadow Court?" Walter asked, noticing Seto Kaiba's distinctly annoyed glance he shot Mai. "I'm not familiar with that group. Are they related to the Justice League by any chance?"

Seto snorted derisively. "We were here first," he said.

Mai crossed her legs and settled back in her chair with her coffee, a smile on her face. "Well, you were, I wasn't. But I have to admit, I'm glad you don't require a dress code."

"Dress code?" Walter asked, noticing Diggle's not so subtle attempt to hide a smile.

Mai eyed Walter with amusement. "Can you really imagine me wearing some ridiculous outfit like those superheroes of yours? The day I wear spandex is the day I give up my Deck."

"Careful what you say, Mai," Mokuba said. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Seto snorted, clearing his throat to cover it. He quickly recovered and took a sip of coffee. "My apologies." He met Walter's eyes evenly and extended his hand. "Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corporations," he said. "Regent of the Shadow Court."

"Regent?" Diggle asked, beating Walter to it as he took Kaiba's hand next, impressed by the firmness of it.

Seto shifted his shoulders in mild annoyance. "I wish people would stop being surprised by that."

"Ni-sama takes care of the technical sign of things," Mokuba said. His accent gave him some trouble forming the English words correctly, but the encouraging gaze from Seto kept him going. "He builds the technology," he stumbled over the word, "we use and makes sure we stay under the...the..."

"Under the radar?" Mai asked helpfully.

"Yes," Mokuba said. "Under the radar."

"He means I make sure evidence of our existence stays at a minimum," Seto said.

Both Oliver and Diggle nodded in understanding. "That's why you had Noa remove the videos of the Shadow Thief attack yesterday," Diggle said.

Seto nodded and Oliver leaned over to Walter. "That's why the news was having trouble finding video of the attack," Oliver said quietly.

"Yes, I did wonder about that," Walter murmured. "Mr. Seto-"

"Kaiba."

"Pardon?"

"I prefer it if you called me Kaiba," the CEO said.

"We all do," Mai said with a shrug and another gulp of coffee.

"Mr. Kaiba then," Walter corrected. Kaiba nodded and Walter continued. "You said you were the Regent. Does that mean there's a King or Queen?"

"A King and a Pharaoh," Kaiba replied.

"But isn't Pharaoh the Egyptian equivalent of a king?"

"It is," Kaiba confirmed. "But both the King and Pharaoh are the King of Games so we decided one would keep the title King and the other would use the title Pharaoh."

"Why two kings and a regent?" Diggle asked.

"Because they work as a triumvirate," Oliver answered. Kaiba nodded at him in approval so he continued. "The King rules the Triad of the Light, the Pharaoh rules the Triad of the Dark, and Kaiba rules the Triad of the Balance."

"Balance?" Walter asked.

"Basically, he makes sure neither side has more sway over the other at any given time," Mai said. "He keeps a direct contact with the Shadows and answers directly to the Shadows themselves. The members of his Triad, including myself, help enforce the Balance and keep him informed of any Shadow activity in our areas of observation."

"What areas of observation?" Oliver asked, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table.

"I keep track of things here in the North and South American continents as best I can, the Priestess keeps an eye on Europe and Africa, while the Advisor watches Asia and Australia. Each Triad has someone stationed in those general areas to keep track of what goes on in our little kingdom and reports back to the Court."

"The Shadow Court?" Walter asked, looking between Kaiba and Mai for confirmation. They both nodded. "And what is that exactly?" he asked.

"It's a gathering of the most powerful Shadow magic users in the world," Kaiba said. "Without going into details, we come from any and all walks of life, we all have different-"

"Sometimes clashing," Mai added, winking at Kaiba.

"-personalities," Kaiba continued, casting a glare at his Sorceress, "but we all have one thing in common. We all had significant damage to our souls and accessed Shadow magic through that."

"Wait, souls?" Diggle asked. "What do souls have to do with this?"

"My thoughts exactly," Oliver said, watching Kaiba cautiously.

"I told you before," Kaiba said, meeting Oliver's stare evenly. "All humans have the potential to use Shadow magic."

"But only a few have a latent ability and even fewer can actually use the magic," Oliver finished.

Kaiba nodded. "The reason for that is because of the state of the human soul. Every human has a soul, therefore every human has the potential to use the Shadows. But only a few have had actual damage to their souls."

"What does that have anything to do with this Shadow magic?" Walter asked, more than a little worried about the answer.

Kaiba turned his gaze to Walter and answered, "Only a damaged soul can access the Shadows. Someone who's soul has been damaged in some way now has fissures in their soul where the Shadows can leak in. Most of these people don't realize this and, over time, the fissures scar over and heal. But a few touch the Shadows before these fissures can scar. From that point on, they have Shadow magic."

"Why do I get the feeling there's a'but' in all this," Diggle said.

"Because once someone uses Shadow magic," Kaiba said, turning back to Oliver, "no matter how little, the fissures in their soul will never scar over. Instead, the Shadows fill the hole and hold the fractured soul together. The more damaged the soul, the more Shadows leak in and the more powerful the Shadow user."

"So my soul is damaged and won't heal? Ever?" Oliver asked, incredulous.

"No, it heals," Mai said. "It just uses the Shadows instead of itself. Kind of like when you get a deep cut. Instead of letting the skin heal over on its own, you synch the skin together with stitches."

"The Shadows are the stitches," Walter said.

"But that doesn't make sense," Diggle said. "By that analogy, the skin may be held together, but it still heals on its own."

Mai hummed and sipped her coffee as she thought of another example. "Well, how 'bout this. I'm no geologist but, think of it like a rock with water flowing over it. If the rock breaks, the water flows over the rock and through the cracks. If it gets cold, the water will freeze in the cracks, sealing them."

"Moss would have been a better example," Kaiba muttered.

"Well I didn't hear you speaking up, Mr. Blue Eyes," Mai said snippily, tossing her hair over her shoulder and sipping her coffee primly. Surprisingly, Kaiba did not snap at the name, instead he smiled.

"Mr. Blue Eyes?" Diggle asked, eyebrows lifted as he dug for the inside joke he knew he was missing.

"My main monster in Duel Monsters and, in a way, my trademark is the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Kaiba said. He set down his coffee and reached down to his belt. Walter felt a moment's trepidation before he saw Kaiba pop open his rectangular holster instead of the gun holster and pull out what looked like a deck of cards.

"This is my Deck," Kaiba said, placing the pack of cards face down on the table. "I can use any Spell or Trap as well as summon any Monster or Beast whose card I possess in here at will. I can summon other Monsters or cast other Spells and Traps I don't possess but they take more energy to cast and don't readily respond to me simply because they aren't mine."

"'Yours' as in you own them or 'yours' as in the way Mai is yours?" Oliver asked, eyes dark and alert.

Kaiba smirked, watching his kohai with pride. "Mine like Mai is mine," he said. Blue eyes darkened and his smile widened into something draconic. "And like you are mine."

"My stepson belongs to no one but himself," Walter said, disliking the way Kaiba was looking at Oliver.

"On the contrary, Mr. Steele," Kaiba said, never breaking eye contact with Oliver. "Your stepson-to-be is mine. His Shadow powers are of the Balance, therefore he answers to my Triad and by extension me."

"I'm still am my own self," Oliver said.

"You are," Kaiba conceaded. "But you are also still mine. Your soul answers to me and me alone. No one from the other Triads can command you. I won't let them. You are to remain Balanced and uninfluenced by them." An eyebrow lifted conspiratorially. "Similar to how you are with the Justice League. You are a member of their little group of heroes, but you are first and foremost the vigilante of Starling City. If you were ever forced to choose between the League and this city, we both know which you would choose."

"So I'm a Shadow user under your jurisdiction but also Oliver Queen," the vigilante said.

Kaiba nodded. "Yes, more or less. But no matter what," blue eyes darkened with a dangerous edge. "Should you ever break the laws of the Shadows Court, I will be the one to enact your Penalty Game."

"Not Mai or someone else from your Triad?"

Kaiba shook his head. "Theoretically, yes. Any member of my Triad could enact the Punishment Game, but they would have to call me to approve the Penalty Game. I have to preside over the Punishment Games enacted by my Triad by calling my Court to order."

"Your Court?" Diggle asked. "Punishment Game? What's the difference between a Penalty and a Punishment? And why on God's green earth do you call them 'games?'"

"Because that's what they are," Mai said. "They're Shadow Games, just different types. There are rules and regulations for each type and the Shadows monitor everything. It's like the difference between board games like Monopoly and LIFE. They're both board games but with different rules and objectives."

"And these...Shadows," Walter said hesitantly, "they 'monitor' these games?"

"Essentially, yes," Mai said. "The Shadows would be the equivalent of the board and rulebook. They enforce the rules and make sure no one cheats. Anyone who cheats automatically forfeits and suffers a Penalty Game typically decided by the Shadows themselves unless a member of the Inner Court is there to dictate a specific Penalty and offer mercy."

"Inner Court?"

"The Regent, the King, and the Pharaoh," Oliver said.

Mai nodded. "Yes."

"So you are essentially the ultimate authority for the Shadow Court and your respective Triads. But does anyone rule over you?" Walter asked, watching Kaiba with the eyes of a businessman waiting for an opening to take advantage of.

"Yes," Kaiba said simply.

"Yes, you are the ultimate authority for the Shadow Court as a whole or yes, someone rules over you?" Walter pressed.

"Yes I am the ultimate human authority for my Triad, as are the King and the Pharaoh," Kaiba said. "And yes we are ruled by greater entities."

"What kind of entities?" Oliver asked.

Kaiba hesitated, resting a hand over his Deck on the table. His eyes dropped to stare at the back of the top card, the swirling design of brown and copper into a central oval of darkness drawing in his gaze. Mai said nothing, waiting for his queue. Mokuba set down his empty cup of coffee and watched the situation cautiously. For a few moments, there was only the sound of the soft jazz music from the cafè speakers, the indistinct voices of the people walking by, the traffic, and the rustle of the newspaper the person sitting at a nearby table was reading folding to a new page.

"Kaiba," Oliver said, breaking te extended silence. "You promised-"

"To tell you what I could," Kaiba said, cutting off the vigilante. "I can't tell you everything; for both your safety and mine and my Court's. My Triad comes first, then my Court, then my Kingdom, then others. That's how it works."

Kaiba shifted to a more comfortable position, blue eyes never lifting from the top card of his Deck. After a moment, he lifted the top half of the Deck up and set it to the right of the remaning bottom half. Then he took both halves and shuffled them together three times. This was a test. If he drew the card he had in mind on the first draw, he would tell the whole truth. If he drew the second card he had in mind, he would tell the limited truth. If he drew any other card, he would keep silent.

No one spoke while he shuffled. Mokuba sat silently watching his brother's face. He understood what Kaiba was doing and had no doubt his big brother would get the answer he needed. Mai watched the cards move with apprehension. She also knew what card Kaiba was looking for and would always feel intimidated and small in comparison to the power the card represented and Kaiba wielded when he allowed that particular Divine-Beast to use him as a channel.

Oliver watched his fellow Shadow users quietly, taking in their expressions. Whatever Kaiba was doing had significance to them even if it seemed pointless and a delay tactic to him. Diggle sat next to him unmoving and wary. The ex-army Ranger could feel an atmosphere he normally associated with the tension right before a battle. His soldier instinct kicked in, keeping him silent and alert, waiting for whatever would happen. Walter could feel the tension in the air but could not decipher its meaning. He moved to speak when Oliver gripped his shoulder and shook his head, eyes never leaving Kaiba. Reluctantly, Walter sat back and waited.

For his part, Kaiba finished shuffling his Deck to his satisfaction and placed it back on the table. There was no breeze to disturb the perfectly stacked cards. Kaiba stared hard at his Deck for several seconds before taking a deep, steadying breath and placing his hand over his Deck, not touching, just hovering.

Why did he hesitate? Why did he feel so nervous about this? Oliver was already his. John Diggle and Walter Steele were already under his protection. Mai knew and answered to the same Divine-Beast as he did and Mokuba was protected by all three Divine-Beasts as the Keeper of the Regent's Balance. It might not even be the card he had in mind. It could be Kisara's card, there was higher chance of that. There were three copies of the Blue Eyes White Dragon in his Deck after all. There was an even higher chance of the top card being any of his other Monsters, Beasts, Spells, or Traps.

So why was his hand shaking?

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Nothing and no one intimidated Kaiba Seto. He very deliberately touched the top card. The resulting burst of divine energy was at once both expected and surprising, shocking his system and burning his nerves, causing his Shadows to well up within him, basking in the surge of Balanced power. For a moment, Kaiba's eyes glowed a fierce cobalt blue as Obelisk's essence merged with his own, commanding him, submitting to him, and granting him the permission he sought.

Then the surge died down, flowing back into the card like a retreating wave and returning to the Shadow Realm. Kaiba drew the card and flipped it so it faced his audience without even looking at the design on the face. He did not have to. He knew what it was intimately.

"This is who rules over me, who presides over the Triad of the Balance, and jointly rules the Shadow Court, the Shadow Kingdom, and the entirety of the Shadow Realm. We of the Court draw our power and authority directly from him and the other two Divine-Beasts like him." He placed the card face up on the table, fingertips never leaving the top of the card. "He is the Tormentor God of Obelisk, the god of the Balance. When I hold Court with my Triad or a full Court with my fellow monarchy, I call upon his power to do so. If he sees fit to use me as a vessel or a channel for his power, then the Court is called to order. In exchange, I can summon him and use him in battle as a summoned Beast if I so will it."

Oliver stared at the massive, cobalt blue monster whose image filled the card's face. The star levels were at the maximum and at the top of the card read, "Tormentor God of Obelisk." The creature was both frightening and awe-inspiring. He reached out to touch the card without even realizing what he was doing.

"Look, don't touch, kohai," Kaiba said, breaking whatever spell Oliver had fallen under. "A Shadow user's Deck is a type of manifestation of their essence. Watching someone's Shadows without ther knowledge or permission is equivalent with watching somene strip in a private bathroom. Touching a true Shadow user's Deck is on par with molesting them. never touch another Shadow user's Deck without their expressed permission."

Oliver withdrew his hand sheepishly, but had a hard time tearing his eyes away from the Divine-Beast. Kaiba smirked. "Your Shadows are drawn to him because he is the head of your orientation, kohai. It's natural to stare."

"I thought you said you were the head," Diggle said also looking at the god card. His face was a mix of confusion and horror at the god's appearance.

"I'm the human head," Kaiba said, continuing to watch Oliver's eyes devour the sight of Obelisk. "Obelisk is the God of the Balance, and the true head of my Triad."

"So you're more or less a priest, then?" Walter said.

Kaiba stiffened, withdrawing his hand, taking the god card with him, replacing it in the middle of his Deck, and shuffling it again. "You could say that."

"May I ask," Walter began. "What is the significance of the cards? You treat them like they're collectibles and you drew your...god from it. How do we know what you're saying is true?" He held up a hand to stave off Kaiba's offended retort. "I ask as a businessman. Surely you can understand that yourself; wanting all the facts then doing your own fact-checking to be sure what you're getting is the real deal or a very well forged fake."

However much it bothered him, Kaiba could understand Walter's point. He was a businessman and did indeed fact check everything himself, even things generally accepted to be true just to be absolutely sure. He rested a hand over his Deck protectively and thought carefully before speaking.

"The cards themselves are from the trading card game Duel Monsters," he said slowly. "The card game itself is harmless to anyone who does not possess Shadow magic. But the game was based on the Shadow Games the Ancient Egyptians played 5,000 years ago. Seven high priests answering directly to the Pharaoh wielded seven Items of power granting them access to the Shadow Realm and the monsters, spells, and traps within.

"These Items were lost to time until recently when they came into the possession of several humans who learned to utilize their powers. One of those people was Maximillion Pegasus, creator of Duel Monsters. He held an Item called the Millennium Eye which allowed him to view the darkness in people's hearts, including his own, as well as read people's minds, enact Shadow Games, wield Shadow magic, and observe the past and Shadow Realm to a degree. He was not to true master of the Item so he could never access its powers fully-"

"Thank god," Mai muttered. Mokuba nodded and huddled close to Kaiba who wrapped an arm around his younger brother protectively.

"But he was able to recreate the Shadow Games through the game Duel Monsters," Kaiba continued. "He used the game to draw out the others who held the Items and souls of significant power in the hopes of resurrecting his long dead wife."

"Resurrecting?" Walter gasped.

Kaiba nodded. "In order to do so, he needed the technology my company had been in the process of and had the capability to create. So he kidnapped Mokuba and used him as leverage to draw me into his sick game. He held a tournament for duelists on his private island in the hopes of drawing out the people he sought. He used a similar form of persuasion to convince Yuugi to join the tournament as well. Only he didn't kidnap Yuugi's grandfather directly. He stole the old man's soul instead and held it for ransom."

"His soul?" Oliver repeated, trying to comprehend the idea.

"Contrary to common belief," Mai said, "the human body can survive without a soul inhabiting it because the link between body and soul still exists. There are two halves of a soul, the Ba and the Ka. The Ka is what is traditionally taken leaving the weaker Ba behind to hold the body in a stasis, alive but in a vegetative state. Sometimes the Ba can be strong enough to manipulate the body but not without encouragement. On extremely rare occasions, the Ba can grow in strength and eventually be able to sustain itself entirely on its own but never for very long. The longest I've ever heard of a Ba managing that was fourteen years."

"This is...all..." Diggle shook his head, too many thoughts whirling around at once.

"After Pegasus kidnapped Mokuba, I initially refused to join the tournament believing I could track down Mokuba's location on my own. I managed to do just that but didn't have time do anything else before I was stopped by a group sent to take me as well. I escaped and went to find Pegasus." He picked up his Deck and absently shuffled through the cards, looking at them one by one. "I managed to make a deal with Pegasus. I duel him and Mokuba goes free; additionally Pegasus would relinquish all desire for my company."

"And if you lost?" Walter asked.

Blue eyes narrowed. "My soul was his." He paused in his shuffling, shoulders dropped ever so slightly. "I failed."

"He cheated!" Mokuba said, yanking his big brother's sleeve. "That man used his Eye to read Ni-sama's mind during the game. He knew what Ni-sama was going to play before he did and defeated him." He said something else as well but it was in Japanese and, judging from Kaiba's startled expression, obviously a filthy word of some kind.

Mai burst out laughing, undaunted by Kaiba's stunned expression and gestures for her to stop. Instead, it just egged her on. She finally managed to control herself long enough to gasp out, "Definitely his big brother's boy."

Kaiba groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment grumbling in Japanese. Mokuba just grinned unrepentantly.

"But how did you get here if you lost?" Walter asked, disconcerted by both the story and Mai's cackling.

"The King and the Pharaoh dueled Pegasus and won," Kaiba said, lifting his eyes. "They used the power of their own Item to counter Pegasus's Eye and defeated him, winning back their grandfather's soul as well as mine and Mokuba's."

"And that's how your soul got...damaged," Oliver said, beginning to understand. "And why you hate telepaths."

"That's what ensured it, yes," Kaiba said to both statements. "The cracks were already there from my childhood. I didn't have the ability to actually use Shadows to any extent until the Pharaoh cast a Penalty Game on me."

"You had a-"

"Yes," Kaiba said, cutting off Walter abruptly.

"But, I thought you said the King entered this Pegasus guy's tournament, not the Pharaoh," Diggle said. "How did the Pharaoh get involved?"

Kaiba glanced up at the ex-army Ranger steadily. "Do you remember what Mai said earlier about souls?"

"Yes bu-"

"And do you remember what I said about the storm that sank your ship and the King taming the uncontrolled Dark Shadows?" Kaiba asked, turning to Oliver.

Oliver nodded, mind racing, trying to piece together the full story. Kaiba just stared at him watching the thoughts process until slowly, Oliver's expression cleared into a look of astonishment. "Fourteen years," he murmured, glancing at Mai. "You said he was fourteen when he solved the Puzzle," the vigilante said to Kaiba.

Kaiba grinned victoriously but said nothing. Mai just rolled her eyes and smacked Kaiba's shoulder. "Control yourself, Regent," she said. "You're scaring the big strong men." She winked at Walter and Diggle playfully.

"Oh my god," Oliver murmured in horrified realization. "They're the same."

"Definitely mine," Kaiba said smugly, ignoring Mai's antics, even if the smack did smart a bit.

"Who's the same?" Walter asked, glancing between Kaiba, Mai, and Oliver. He knew he was missing something, but he was not sure what.

"The King and the Pharaoh," Oliver said. "They're the same person." At Kaiba's raised eyebrow, he corrected himself. "Or, the same soul."

"The King as in Yuugi?" Diggle asked. "The guy who came with you to the Arrow Cave?"

"Don't call it that," Oliver muttered absently. Then louder, he said, "And yes, that's the King."

"So the look-a-like we saw in the house yesterday..."

"Was the Pharaoh," Oliver answered. "He and Yuugi are the same soul." He sat up straighter, sure of himself now. "Mai said the longest she's ever heard of a Ba existing without its Ka was fourteen years. She means Yuugi. And Yuugi's Ka is Yami."

"Yami?" Walter asked.

"The Pharaoh," Oliver corrected himself. "That's what you meant when you said the Dark Shadows ran wild after Yuugi solved the Puzzle. You meant that literally."

"Both figuratively and literally," Kaiba said. "The Shadows themselves were always here, they had just lost most of their sentience when the Shadow Games were sealed 5,000 years ago. When Yuugi solved the Puzzle, he released their sentience. But 5,000 years is a long time by any standard and sentient things tend to go insane without access to outside stimulation. It's why solitary confinement is considered such a serious punishment in prison."

"But you're implying the Pharaoh, Yuugi's Ka, was sealed in the Puzzle for 5,000 years," Oliver countered. When Kaiba just smiled tolerantly, Oliver ran a hand through his short hair. "Oh dear god."

Kaiba snorted. "Hardly. He was just a Pharaoh. A very powerful Pharaoh, but still a Pharaoh, a human."

Oliver stared at Kaiba firmly, daring him to lie. "Yesterday, the Pharaoh said you killed the enemy playing the Shadow Games here in Starling City." Kaiba nodded. "But you countered saying Seth did it." Kaiba's eyes narrowed and his smiled shrank to something quieter, darker. "The Pharaoh wouldn't have made a mistake like that," Oliver said definitively. "He meant you killed him."

Kaiba glanced down at Mokuba as if subtly seeking reasurance. "He did. I was one of the seven High Priests under his command at the time. I wielded the Millennium Rod, and the Pharaoh, the unified Ba and Ka of both Yuugi and Yami respectively, ruled over us."

"The Millennium Rod?" Diggle asked. "As in like the-"

"The Millennium Eye, yes," Kaiba confirmed. "I have a particular hatred for that Item specifically. Both because Pegasus used it against me in this life and the previous owner used against me in my past life."

"I'm guess the previous owner was the one who forced you to betray the Pharaoh," Oliver said, remembering Yami's words. Kaiba nodded. "Which means this person is the same one behind the Shadow Games here." Again, Kaiba nodded. "And you can't speak his name."

Kaiba shook his head. "When I was still Seth, I swore an oath never to speak his name again. I swore on my name and the Shadows witnessed the oath. I'm physically incapable of speaking that name."

"Well maybe it's time you tried, Set," a new voice said, stepping up to the table.