A/N: Yes, this is a bit on the short side, especially after last chapter's 6,800+ word count. But I had to cut it where I did because the rest would have been too much. And I'm tired and have an 8am Italian class to orrow morning. *grumbles* Anywho, I hope you enjoy this.

When I first wrote the last line in chapter 27, I honestly had no idea what characte said it. I had a list of 5 potentials and managed to narrow it down to 3. I wrote 3 different versions of the beginning fo this scene starting with Batman as the new speaker, then Bakura, before finally settling with who I did. It felt right and flowed easily. That said, it only gets darker and more feels attacking from here.

A Meeting and Distress

The only visible evidence of Kaiba's surprise was the slight widening of his eyes and tensing of his shoulders. He was slipping. How stupid could he possibly be for keeping his Shadows under control during such an important talk like that? He should have been watching for anything coming from anywhere, not just focusing in the direction of the Starbucks on the other side of the park.

He reached out with his Shadows now and felt the newcomer distinctly, cursing under his breath. Mai had immediately turned to their unwelcome guest and placed her arm over Mokuba's shoulders, pulling him closer to her Protectively. Her other hand was reaching for her bag where he hoped her Duel Disk was hiding. Oliver sat up, staring at the person behind Kaiba distrustfully. The vigilante had obviously overlooked the person's arrival as well and was not happy with that.

For his part, Kaiba could barely breath let alone move. That voice was something he would never, could never forget. Seth was writhing in his mind, desperately clawing at him, pleading with him to run, run now, run as far and as fast as he could. But that was the problem. He was too scared. His body had literally frozen in place, stiff and tingling. Blood raced through his body down to his legs making then warm and energized. But with no cognitive command to move, they were stuck twitching.

His hands were white and felt limp from lack of blood and sensation. Kaiba could feel the blood drain out of his face, racing to his feet, encouraging him to fight or at the very least flee. But he could not move. He just could not move. Only the hand covering his Deck managed to obey an indistinct desire; protect, protect what was his. It clamped dowm hard and tight around his Deck, protecting his Monsters from the voice.

Kisara.

Then a hand rested gently on his right shoulder, fingers following the curve of his bone to brush his neck. Kaiba flinched, eyes dilating in fright. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as his nerves sang with tension.

"We had a meeting, son," the voice said calmly. No anger or hatred of disgust colored the aged tone. "You were late so I came to find you."

"You never told me the time," someone said. It took a moment for Kaiba to realize it had been him, or his voice. He was no longer sure who was in control, himself or Seth.

"Ah yes, I suppose I didn't at that," the voice said, somewhat surprised. "My apologizes."

"Pardon me, I don't believe we've been introduced," Walter said, standing and reaching out his right hand to shake the newcomer's politely.

"Oh yes, forgive my lack of manners," the voice said. The hand on Kaiba's shoulder squeezed and Kaiba -or was it Seth?- very nearly fainted.

A steady hum began to fill his head, drowning out anything and everything else both external and internal. It increased in volume and frequency until it became a deafening ring. He could feel his Shadows calling him, tugging him, begging him to stay with them. Through his hand, he could feel his Monsters stirring. Kisara rumbled in his mind, muted by the ringing.

He could not breathe.

His sight began to darken around the edges, blurring as it narrowed to a pinprick of light at the center. His chest ached like something large and heavy was sitting on it, crushing it under the weight. There was faint ripping sound deep within him that both terrified him and stung him like something he had not felt since DOMA.

His Shadows screeched!

Kisara.

Silence.

"Ni-sama," Mokuba called quietly. "Ni-sama!" he called louder.

It could not be. It just could not be. Mokuba knew that blank stare all too well. He had been terrified of it since he first saw it after the Pharaoh crushed his big brother's mind. Whatever that man was doing to Seto was hurting him! He wriggled in Mai's arms, desperately trying to reach for his big brother. His brother needed him. He was Seto's Keeper. He could help him, maybe.

"Excuse me," Oliver said, standing and breaking into the conversation when the older man standing behind Kaiba simply smiled at Walter's offer to shake hands. Green eyes had seen the stark terror suddenly fill normally sharp blue eyes before Kaiba's figure literally wilted right in front of him. The idea of Kaiba, his Regent, willingly submitting like that bothered him on a level he could not quite explain.

Oliver felt something touch him and focused on his Shadow senses. It took some concentration but he felt the Shadows come to him. He reached out like he remembered feeling Kaiba do and felt for his Regent. His Regent's Shadows were faint and fluttering. It was like they were fighting something just out of his line of sight and loosing badly. They curled around Kaiba, clinging to him like a terrified child clings to its mother.

More importantly, the horizon of power he had come to associate with Kaiba, was fading. The Shadow not-place's dawn or dusk that normally radiated power was literally being crushed under something he could not make out clearly. It resembled a man but it was definitely anything but. It was taller, taller than Kaiba's impressive six feet or so, and dressed in black and purple. He could not see a face, but there was hint of something white and a glint of possibly gold from where the face should be.

Below the monstrosity, kneeling on the floor haphazardly as if forced there by whatever pressure was crushing the horizon of power, was a human, or what appeared to be a human. The person's skin was a dark tan that was only a shade or so lighter than the person's long, brown hair.

It was a human, Oliver realized upon closer observation. It just did not look like a human at first because the black and purple monster's clawed hands were clamped on either side of the human's head, crushing it between them. He could now make out tan arms encircled with bands of gold reaching up and long, slender fingers ripping and scrabbling at the claws, trying to pull them away. Tufts of brown hair poked out from between the clawed fingers as the human struggled to free itself. Muffled cries and grunts of pain could be heard as the human wrestled hopelessly against the monster's clearly more exceptional strength.

It was disturbing.

Oliver felt his Shadows screeching and trying to pull away from him to help the human fight back against the monster. But the limitations of Oliver's abilities and the strength of the monster prevented them from doing as they wished. Then a voice rang out in the not-place, a voice he had come to know and respect. The voice came from the human who's head was being crushed. It was muffled and agonized, a wretched scream of the hopeless and despairing.

"Kisara!"

Whatever happened next, Oliver could not truly say. All he could remember was an intense white light with what appeared to be a dragon at its core. He would always remember those two crustal clear blue eyes staring directly at him with an intelligence he never thought he would see in a creature of any kind. There was a roar and a burst of dazzling energy accompanied by an inhuman scream and then Oliver was back in his own body standing on the patio of the Java Script cafè.

Walter still stood next to him, hand slowly pulling back after the rejected handshake. Diggle had a hand on his holster, ready to draw his weapon and Mokuba was still struggling in Mai's arms. The Sorceress was glaring daggers at the older man behind Kaiba. It was as if only moments had passed by and not the minutes Oliver had spent in the Shadow filled not-place where that battle had taken place.

But the old man was no longer standing up straight, he was bent over as if in pain. The hand resting innocently on Kaiba's shoulder pulled away as the man groaned. "My apologies," the man said. "I sometimes get headaches from my prosthetic." He gasped and stood up, brushing his hair aside revealing a plastic eyeball in an obviously empty eye socket. "Anophthalmia, you understand."

He smiled and stepped back from the table and, more importantly for Oliver, away from Kaiba and made to leave. "Sorry for the interruption, gentlemen, lady." He nodded to Mai. "I'll call later when its less busy."

Then he walked out of the cafè patio, waved politely, and strolled down the sidewalk, but Oliver hardly noticed. He was too busy focusing on trying to catch Kaiba who had slumped in his chair and was slowly slipping to the cobblestone sidewalk below. Oliver reached him just in time to keep Kaiba's head from hitting the ground. His instincts, built up on an island where the inhabitants' sole purpose was to kill him, readily returned, informing him of what to do.

Diggle joined him on the ground a moment later. "He alright?"

Mokuba plopped down on to cobblestones next to his brother and grabbed Kaiba's hand that was not still clamped around his Deck. The younger Kaiba murmured something softly in Japanese before looking up at Oliver in fearful bewilderment. "Why is he cold?" the boy asked, gray eyes wide.

Oliver felt his heart skip a beat when he pressed two fingers against Kaiba's neck and felt the chill radiating from the young man's skin. But there was a pulse. It was faint and fitful, but there. For some reason, Oliver felt the need to place a hand on Kaiba's chest. Doing so would not hurt, so he carefully pressed his hand palm down on the clothed chest.

He felt something solid and rectangular press against his palm from under the shirt but dismissed it after a moment. Instead, he focused on his Shadows rising up inside him without his calling them. They hesitantly brushed against Kaiba's, searching for something. The response was weak but there, as was something else, something...important. It glowed like sunlight did when viewed from under water. It rippled and flowed like it was alive. But the glow was dim which worried Oliver and his Shadows for a reason he could not easily explain. He was not sure what the rippling glow was, but seeing it there felt right.

"I'm calling an ambulance," Walter said, quickly pulling out his phone and dialing.

"No, wait," Mai said, grabbing Walter's phone and slamming it shut, cutting off the call.

"He needs help," Walter insisted, swiping for his phone.

"And he'll get it, but not from the hospital," Mai said calmly, belaying the fear in her eyes. "All they can do is keep him stable. I'll call Shaadi and have him pick him up."

"I'm not leaving him," Oliver said firmly, looking up at Mai. "He's my Regent, and my friend. I'm not leaving him."

Mai stared at the vigilante carefully before nodding. "Fine."

"I'm not leaving my son," Walter said, finally getting his phone back.

"And I'm not leaving the both of them alone," Diggle said. "I'm their bodyguard," he said, cutting of Mai's refusal. "Would you let Kaiba go anywhere alone without his bodyguards or someone you trusted keeping an eye on him in the state he's in?"

Mai closed her mouth and sighed. "No, I wouldn't."

"Hey!"

Everyone turned to the door of the cafè where a female employee had come out. "Is he alright? What happened? Do you need me to call 911?"

"No, thank you," Oliver said quickly. "He just fainted. Been pulling a lot of all-nighters recently and didn't bother eating breakfast this morning. We got it covered, thanks."

The employee nodded hesitantly and went back inside, closing the door behind her. However, she stayed just inside the door, watching through the windows. So were several customers Oliver noticed.

"I suggest we clear out while we can," he said.

"Yeah," Diggle agreed. "Too much attention here."

"I can't take him on my Harpy like that," Mai said, biting her nail worriedly.

"Don't worry," Walter said, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We drove."

Mai's eyes hardened and turned to the businessman. "I don't know you well," she said. "But Kaiba trusts Oliver who trusts you." She took a deep breathe, glancing worriedly at her Regent and Mokuba. she made up her mind and turned back to Walter. "We're staying at The Haven hotel, room 1402," she said. "I'll meet you by the back entrance."

"Thank you," Walter said. "Oliver," he asked, brown eyes turning to his stepson-to-be and Kaiba still sprawled on the ground. "You think you can carry him to the car?"

Oliver nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Hey." Oliver turned to see Mokuba watching him determinedly. "Take care of my Ni-sama," he said in heavily accented English.

Oliver smiled. "I promise."

Mokuba nodded and squeezed Kaiba's hand one more time before standing and rushing over to Mai. Mai picked up her purse and nodded to the men. "I'm going to call Shaadi and let him know we're coming back to the hotel. He probably already knows something happened, so be ready for that," she said, pulling out her own phone as she walked to the break between the railing leading to the sidewalk. "I'm trusting you all to take care of this. Shaadi can be impulsive when it comes to his Regent so I suggest you hurry. You can follow me if you want."

She hurried across the street with Mokuba at her heels and put her things in the storage canisters, holding her phone by her ear as she did so.

"Yuugi," she said as soon as she heard the phone pick up. "I don't have time to explain, but tell Shaadi we're coming back to the hotel with Kaiba. Oliver's coming too along with two men named John Diggle and Walter Steele."

"I...right," Yuugi said, trying to bite back the urge to ask after Kaiba's health. "I know Diggle and Yami's met Walter. Kaiba has them under his protection."

"Alright then," she said, unpacked her helmet and Mokuba's helmet. "We'll see you in a few minutes. Have the bed ready. We'll be coming in the back way."

"I'll have Fuguta-san mert you then," Yuugi said. "Hurry, Mai. Please."

"As fast as I can," she said, hanging up. She put her phone away and pulled on her helmet before mounting her motorcycle. She kicked up the kickstand and started the ignition. Mokuba to climbed on behind her and wrapped his arms securely around her waist before walking her ride to the edge of the parking spot, ready to pull out into traffic.

Instead of taking off immediately like she wanted, she waited watching Oliver pick her Regent up in his arms and carry him to a car parked just a few parking spots back from her own. When she saw the car roar to life, she waited just until the traffic eased before rolling out into the street, making sure the car followed her. Then she revved her engine and roared ahead leading the car to the hotel.

It looked like this was going to be just one of those days; and it was not even eight-thirty yet.