EDIT 11/21/2014: Wow, so many errors. I was seriously sick last night to make so many mistakes. I'm so sorry.

FYI: On a side note, why are people still shocked there's slash in this? I've made it clear several times there is and will coninue to be slash in this. If you honestly can't stand that, then go read something else. Do NOT leave me nasty anonymous reviews cursing me out, attacking my story and me, and telling me how muc you hate slash. It's chapter 47 y'all. You could have sopped reading 47 chapters ago.

Clarification: Also, to clear up some confusion, the Endymion in this is NOT from YGO. I'm using the Endymion, Helios, and Selene from Sailor Moon to avoid too many OCs.

A/N: Good news? I'm finished with school for Thanksgiving Break. WOOHOO! Bad news? I may have caught the UGA plague again (that'd be twice in one semester if this is what I think it is but hope it isn't), I've still got work tomorrow, and homework to do over the break. ...yay...

That aside, this chapter's a bit short sorry. I'm not fedling too good as I said earlier.

Slight warning for Kaiba's mouth, I suppose. Just for themore sensitive readers out there.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Florida State University. There was a shooting in the library at FSU at 12:30am Thursday morning. Three people were shot but only the shooter died. He was shot by the police who responded to the emergency when he refused to surrender. FSU, from me and my college, I and the Univerity of Georgia and the whole Bulldawg Nation stands behind you. FSU United.

Chapter 47 summary: In which there is an unplanned eclipse and Kaiba chooses to accept the risk.

Siblings and Wary Acceptance

She knew there was little luck of catching up to Helios while they were both in the sky, but she sincerely hoped she could push her pegasi hard that evening. Thankfully, the days were getting shorter and she was able to get close enough to her brother for him to notice her and glance over his shoulder with a warm smile. She met his eyes with open fear and his smile slipped to a worried frown.

Selene snapped her reins begging her pegasi to push harder until she finally came close enough to speak to her brother. Helios slowed his horses down and waited for Selene to catch up. When they were almost side by side, he called, "Sister, why are you so frantic? We are not due for a solar eclipse for several months yet."

Selene shook her head. "I've come to warn you." Helios's brows furrowed in confusion. "Zeus has sent out an order for you to attend the council tonight when you land. Artemis told him you knew something of Set."

Helios paled and looked away, staring forward in confusion. "Why? Why would she do that? What I know is little and nothing of import."

"I do not think she meant you harm," Selene called. "Ares was there."

Golden eyes grew shadowed. "I see." He fell silent and Selene grew worried the urgency of her message had not gotten through to the sun god. But then Helios bowed his head. "So be it."

"Helios!" she cried. "You must not do this."

"And if I don't, what then?" he called back, eyes sad. "Zeus murdered our brethren, all but us. If I defy him now, he will view us both as enemies. We are powerful, Sister, but we cannot hope to defeat the entire pantheon of Olympians alone, even should we combine our powers and fight together." He looked away. "Remember Eos."

Selene felt her breath catch in her throat at the memory of their sister. She had dared defy Zeus and fall in love with a mortal. Zeus had feared she was hoping to foster a demigod army to fight against him and murdered her lover and drove her to suicide. Selene had escaped the same punishment by granting Endymion eternL youth.

Selene and Helios were now the only Titans left in a pantheon ruled by the younger Olympians. The Olympians tolerated their presence because the solar gods' worship was not as popular as it had been, usurped by their own Apollo and Artemis. The younger gods also understood the need for the sun and the moon to keep turning theough the sky and feared what would happen should they harm the two solar dieties.

"Helios, please," Selene begged. "Heed my words. Do not face Zeus tonight."

"And where will I go then, Selene?" Helios demanded, distraught. "If I do not appear before Zeus, he will have me hunted down."

"Then seek asylum."

"From whom?" Helios countered incredulously. "The Norse are gruff and just as set in their ways as we are, the Celts are strange and wary of outsiders, the Chinese are aloof and pacifists, the Japanese are tricky and wary of strangers, the-"

"The Egyptians," Selene interjected firmly. "Go to them."

Helios shook his head with a weary smile. "If I do that, I would be setting our two pantheons up for war."

"Ares has already attacked the Egyptians-"

"And they were merciful and returned him to us," Helios countered.

"But since we acted first, they have the right to fight back and defend their own," Selene pressed. "If you seek asylum with them, I believe they will help you." She watched the many emotions play across her brother's face and pressed her advantage. "The Amazon princess is with them now," she said, watching Helios's fortitude waver. "When she hears your tale, she will defend you."

Helios was silent for a moment before shaking his head. Selene feared he would resist but instead, he smiled in defeat. "She already knows and has offered her sympathy." He lifted his head and Selene saw the last vestiges of his resistance beginning to crumble. "Princess Diana has Artemis's protection," he said. "If I go to her-"

"Not her," Selene interrupted. "Go to the Egyptians. If the Amazon princess truly does sympathize with you, then she will defend you. Set will likely protect you as well considering who you were to his lover."

Helios's form slumped in defeat. "Very well," he said just loud enough for Selene to hear over the wind. "But what of you? When I am gone, what will you do?"

"I and my husband will hide among the humans," Selene said. "We will leave the solar bodies to drift as they will." Her silver eyes grey hard to match her will. "We survived a massacre once by refusing to take sides and simply carrying out our duty. This time we will pick a side and fight for them." A crafty smile adorned her angelic face. "Let's see how the Olympians take to the solar bodies they dare take for granted begin to drift."

A small, cheeky smile graced Helios's face. "So be it."

The sun god slowed his chariot so Selene could ride directly beside him. The eastern continents stared at the heavens in confusion as an unplanned solar eclipse in the late afternoon and evening blanketed their day with night. Their worry only increased when the moon set with the sun signaling the start of a long, moonless night. The Internet exploded with photographs and videos of the unprecedented phenomenon. And so the day of the confrontation began.

Kaiba held back his raging emotions with an extreme effort. He stood, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower to dry off. He dried off and quickly pulled his clothes on earning him a worried look from his little brother. When he burst out of the bathroom still pulling on his shirt and completely forgetting his long white sleeveless trench coat, everyone looked at him strangely.

He paid them no mind and frantically looked around for Yuugi and Yami but they were still nowhere to be seen. He reached out with his Shadows as fast as he could and searched for the King and the Pharaoh. They needed to know something was wrong with Seth. He could not lose the spirit. He may dislike the spirit's constant nagging and implying he was not whole, but he still valued Seth's input and company. He had come to see Seth as an extension of his own self in a way. He could not lose him.

The instant he felt the King, he snatched the lighter Shadows and yanked them forcefully until Yuugi stumbled out of the stairwell carrying tray of coffee take-out cups and a box of Dunkin' Doughnuts Munchkins. The King regained his balance when Yami appeared beside him quickly grabbing the precariously tilting coffee tray from his other half. Both monarchs turned to Kaiba in shocked confusion.

"What was that for?" Yuugi demanded, catching his breath.

Kaiba said nothing but stalked up to the King. Yami almost stepped between hm and the King but something in his Regent's eyes stopped him. "Kaiba?" he asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

"Seth," Kaiba said.

Yami's and Yuugi's eyes flew open when Kaiba actually spoke before he had coffee. The shock quickly faded, replaced by focused concern. "What about him?" Yuugi asked in hieratic. He noticed the way Kaiba's eyes flickered to the coffee tray tellingly and he handed his Regent the blackest coffee of the group.

Kaiba grabbed the offered cup and guided his fellow Shadow monarchs out of the stairway so John Diggle and Jounouchi could pass by and set their loads down. He felt the eyes of most of the people in the room boring into his back and shifted uncomfortably. His nerves were not ready to handle this right now. He was too high strung. He guzzled as much coffee as he could, wincing as the heat burned his tongue.

"Seth is dying," he said when he had had enough coffee to lubricate his dry throat and could catch a breath to speak.

"Dying?!" Yami gasped. Yuugi was horrified and took an instinctive step back, closer to Yami. "How is this possible?" Yami demanded in rapid hieratic.

Kaiba took another long draught of coffee, shaking his head at the burning bitterness. "I don't know," he said reluctantly. "He won't talk to me. He kicked me out of his soul room. That's another thing." Blue eyes stared in barely concealed fear. "My soul room is freezing over."

Yami stilled. "How do you mean?" he asked softly when Yuugi remained silent.

"It..." Kaiba began before shifting awkwardly and trying again. "There's frost everywhere and I could see my breath. It's like winter in there."

"And Seth's room?" Yuugi asked after a moment to let the information sink in.

"Seth's door was closed. It's never closed," Kaiba said. "It was rotted and hard to push open. The room itself was...I couldn't see anything. It was dark and empty. I only found Seth because I tripped over him. He..."

"Kaiba," Yuugi said gently, drawing his Regent's attention to him. "We need to know this. What did Seth look like?"

Kaiba swallowed down his anxiety. "He was...he looked half starved. He was thin and curled in a corner. He kicked me out when I tried to ask what happened. Pharaoh, what by Osiris's fucking hell is going on here?" he demanded, resembling the Kaiba of old much more now as the familiar fury flooded his veins.

The Pharaoh remained silent but his eyes cast to the side meeting Yuugi's was telling. The two stared at each other for several seconds conversing telepathically. It irked the Regent to no end.

"If you've got something to say," he growled, "then say it to my face."

Yami met Kaiba's eyes in a silent battle of wills; he was the first to look away. "Kai- Regent," Yami began. Kaiba became rigid at the use of his title, his eyes narrowing to steel blue slits. Yami refused to back down under the glare and forged onward. "Last night, after you dismissed your Triad, did you and Seth speak in private?"

"What's it to you?"

Crimson eyes burned with fury. "Do you want our help or not?"

Kaiba backed down but crossed his arms to show he was not doing it happily. "We did, though I hardly see how that matters."

"It matters," Yuugi said quickly before Yami could snap at Kaiba causing further strife, "because something that was said may have played a part in this."

Kaiba blinked. "How?"

"Tell us what was said, please," Yuugi commanded in his soft voice. "Kaiba, please," he pleaded when the Regent still hesitated.

With a heavy sighed, Kaiba relented. "He kept insisting my...that my soul was broken."

"It is," Yuugi said, having an idea of where Kaiba was going with this but wanting him to say it out loud. He deliberately played a different card. "All of our souls are. We would be unable to use Shadow magic if our souls were whole."

Kaiba was already shaking his head. "Not like that." He was silent, gathering his thoughts and pondering the best way to say what he wanted. "When I left...I couldn't find Seth. Then I felt a hole in my soul. By all rights, it was too big for me to survive. The Shadows should have filled it but they haven't. Seth said it was because I was...am his Ka."

Yuugi just nodded. Kaiba glared. "That's all you can say to that?"

"What do you want me to say?" Yuugi asked gently. "I've suspected you were a Ka for a while now, I just didn't have any evidence to back it up so we didn't say anything."

"We?" Kaiba hissed turning his cold gaze to Yami who met it evenly.

"Yes," the Pharaoh replied. "We both suspected Seth was your Ba and not the whole spirit of your last incarnation."

"How?" Kaiba growled. "And more importantly, why?"

"Because Seth is much more gentle and unassertive than Set was in the past," Yuugi said. "Whereas you are more assertive and forceful than Set ever was. You both are two extremes of a single character." He met Yami's gaze. "Just like Yami and I."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I'm myself."

"Yes, you are," Yami said firmly. "You are yourself, Kaiba Seto, just as Seth is his own person as well. If you were to become one on an intimate level, your two half souls would try to merge into one. Fortunately, they would be unable to hold the union for long."

Kaiba was visibly shaking. "I'm not interested in men."

Yuugi shook his head. "Neither are Yami and I. I was actually interested in Anzu for the longest time."

Kaiba pressed his hands to his forehead and massaged his temples feeling the headache begin to grow stronger. "If you liked her then why didn't you...how..." He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted to control his raging thoughts an emotions.

Yami smiled sympathetically and Yuugi placed a hand on his stressed Regent's elbow. "Kaiba-kun," Yuugi said gently, "it's okay to be confused. We were too."

"And now?" he asked, still holding his nose but his eyes opened and pinned the King with their powerful gaze.

"Now..." The King turned to Yami and the two gazed deeply into each other's eyes in a way that spoke of a deeper connection than words could ever describe. "Now," Yuugi began again, "I can't see myself feeling this way for anyone else. With Anzu, I would have been happy, but with Yami," he took the Pharaoh's hand, entangling their fingers together, "I'm whole, complete in a way I could never gave achieved with Anzu."

Kaiba closed his eyes again when the Pharaoh lifted his other half's fingers still entwined with his and kissed their knuckles. He shook his head, slowly at first, then faster. "I can't," he said, dropping his hand from his face.

He lifted his eyes to stare directly at Yuugi with conflicted eyes. "I can't betray her," he said simply.

He turned away from Yuugi's dismayed expression and noticed their conversation had attracted the attention of almost everyone in the room. He narrowed his eyes and drew on his Shadows, darkening the room threateningly. "I'm sorry," he said in English, voice dripping with cruel sarcasm. "But don't you have other things to do besides stare at me? Like preparing for battle?"

"There won't be a battle," Wonder Woman said.

Kaiba snorted. "Right, wrong word. It's a Duel."

"There won't be a Duel either, I hope," Flash said, stretching from his post-watch shift nap.

"Heh." Kaiba grinned fiercely. "If that's really what you think, then you've got another thing coming." He cast one last glance at Yuugi, dropping his eyes when he could not stand the worry and dismay written on the King's face.

"Kaiba-kun," Yuugi said softly in hieratic. "Seth is dying because you refuse to accept him and allow him to live as your Ba. Just..." Violet eyes watered. "Just know you wouldn't be betraying Kisara for allowing him to exist."

Hen Kaiba refused to respond, Yuugi's shoulders drooped sadly. "At least," he said softly, "give him a chance. Just one day."

Kaiba did not move or give a response of any kind for a full minute. Then, "Just one day?"

Yuugi perked up, hope lifting his heart. "Yes," he said quickly. "One day, just one. Let him act as your Ba just for one day. If you find you can't stand it..."

"Then what?" Kaiba pressed.

Yami answered. "If you find you can't stand it and reject fully, then he will vanish into oblivion as if he had never existed leaving you to go insane and most likely die."

"How?"

Yami sighed. "If my personal experience from DOMA is anything to go by," he unconsciously pulled Yuugi closer at the mention of those terrible events, "then suicide."

Kaiba refused to admit how much that scared him. Instead he embraced his inner businessman. "And I choose to accept him?"

Yami smiled warmly. "Then you will be whole and have a lifelong companion who will know you as well as you know yourself. You will be separate but inseparable. You will share thoughts and emotions while still remaining your own distinct self. Not to mention," he added, watching his Regent's reaction closely, "you will be much more powerful than before. And there will still be room in your heart and souls for Kisara."

Kaiba thought about his options, weighed them, examined them, tried to find ways around them, and eventually came to a decision. "Then I'll accept him for now. But," he added sharply, cutting off Yuugi's premature whoop of joy, "if I dislike him, I will reject him."

Yuugi's eyes sparkled with joy even as his face remained calm and softly smiling. "I believe you." The smile grew into something more teasing. "But I doubt the great Kaiba Seto would survive without the challenge Seth could give you. You're too competitive and honorable for that."

Kaiba snorted. "Whatever," he muttered, turning away. He knew exactly what Yuugi was doing. He also knew he would rise to the challenge as always.

"Ni-sama?"

Blue eyes flicked down to see Mokuba gazing up at him in worry and small, lanky arms holding the Regent's long, white sleeveless trench coat. Kaiba smiled and mussed Mokuba's hair as he pulled the trench coat on over his long sleeved black shirt and tight black jeans. When his little brother reached up, Kaiba could not refuse.

He scooped up his little brother into his arms, perching him on his hip as Mokuba's arms looped around his neck for support. Kaiba walked to the now folded up daybed, sat on the couch cushions, and set his brother down beside him. He pulled on his combat boots, relying on his long built up muscle memory to do the work while he retreated back into his frigid soul room.

When he arrived in his soul room, Kaiba strode right up to Seth's door and knocked. "Oi," he called. "I'm willing to give you a chance," he said with some reluctance. "Just one day. No more. You can be my..." He bit down his wounded pride and forged on. "My Ba, if you wish. I'll accept it. But just for today." He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

He was answered by silence, then he heard the soft snick of the bolt holding the door shut sliding out of the slot. The rotting wooden door slowly pulled open revealing a dreadfully exhausted looking Seth. The two stared at each other for several seconds before Seth opened the door wider revealing more of his sickly thin figure.

"You accept me?" he whispered, blue eyes glittering with hope.

"Consider it a trial period," Kaiba said. "If I think you're not worth it, I'll reject your sorry ass and kick you out of here."

Seth narrowed his eyes before smiling and looking down. "Your words do not reflect your emotions, Seto," was all he said. His eyes lifted and met Kaiba's steadily. The Egyptian stepped into Kaiba's soul room and sighed. "I will not disappoint you," he said softly. "My Ka."

Kaiba might have imagined it, but he thought for a moment, he could no longer see his breath in the cold.