A/N: The cliffhanger on this is evil, yes. It has a purpose, yes. You'll find out what it is doon, yes. Just breathe, read, and wait. ^_^ Also, I didn't update earlier because I had the flu...again. That's twice this semester. -_-;

Chapter 48 summary: In which the showdown begins but already things are grim.

The Long Overdue Meeting

It was lovely outside, even the cool breeze was welcome. Kaiba had decided to sit on the rock outcropping beside the lake in the park to wait for the inevitable confrontation. Mokuba was staying close and within sight, thankfully. The younger Kaiba had climbed down the rocks facing away from the grassy field to dip his feet in the cool water below. Kaiba sat comfortably on the ledge above with one leg bent and the other stretched out watching Mokuba. A part of him wished his little brother was far away and safe, but the rest of him was glad his younger brother was here, close to him.

"You care for him," J'onn said, no inflection in his voice. It was simply a statement of fact.

"More than anything," Kaiba replied in the same way. He felt Seth hovering near his consciousness listening to every word that was said and offering silent support. It felt...nice. Kaiba felt Seth grin at that particular thought and groaned, refusing to blush at getting caught thinking something like that.

Fortunately, that was when the vigilante's communicator buzzed to life. "Arrow, you read me?" came John Diggle's electronic voice.

"Loud and clear," the Starling City vigilante said after tapping his ear, his voice changed thanks to his own technology. "Any news?"

"I got two adult males approaching from the southeast," Diggle's voice said. "Both dressed nice and caucasian: one mid-forties with brown hair and broad shoulders, the other older, say mid-sixties, with graying hair and beard. Arrow, if I didn't know better, I'd say the older man was the same guy from the cafe the other day."

Kaiba stiffened feeling Seth shiver in anxious anticipation. "That's him." He glanced to the general vicinity of the southeast where he knew Diggle, dressed as the vigilante, Ryou, and Batman were hiding. " Mokuba," he called softly.

"Hai, Ni-sama," Mokuba replied just as softly, quickly pulling on his shoes.

"Stay here," Kaiba ordered in English. He wanted his companions to know Mokuba would be here. He knew Shaadi and Arrow at least would protect his little brother, but he wanted the Justice League to also be aware of his little brother's presence and value. If anything happened to Mokuba, Kaiba would do anything to get him back, even if it destroyed himself. "If things get bad," he said, "run."

Mokuba jumped up from his sitting position and stood as tall as his three foot nine inches allowed and stared at his big brother in disbelief. "Ni-sama!"

"That's an order, Mokuba," Kaiba said a little more harshly than he meant to, but if that's what it took for Mokuba to obey, then so be it.

Without waiting for a reply, Kaiba slid off the rocks followed by Shaadi, Arrow, J'onn, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl. Together, they walked away from the boulders into the flat, open grass. Kaiba kept waiting for the sickening feeling he always got when the distorted Shadows used be Shadow Thief to make itself known, but so far nothing.

"Something's not right," Arrow muttered, incidentally echoing the Regent's thoughts.

"I agree," Hawkgirl said, hefting her mace to a more comfortable grip. "Only Akhenadin and Shadow Thief were supposed to be here."

"Unless the younger man is the Shadow Thief," Shaadi said quietly. "Perhaps we will finally get to put a face to our previously faceless troublemaker."

"So long as I'm not puking out my guts," Arrow said sardonically, "I'll take what I can get and call myself lucky."

Kaiba stopped walking when he reached a safe distance from the rocks and any other hiding place. He took a deep breath and forced his tensed muscles to relax. :I hope you know what you're doing,: he told Seth mentally.

:Trust me, my Ka: Seth replied. :You promised to give me a day to prove myself, so give me the day and let me prove myself.:

Kaiba bit his lip before reluctantly retreating back into his mind so Seth could take over. :If this ends badly or Mokuba gets hurt-:

:He won't,: Seth said firmly. :I won't allow such a thing to happen.:

"You have my word," he added aloud.

Arrow and Shaadi stared at Kaiba's body now occupied by Seth and said nothing aloud. They did, however, meet eyes and Arrow drew a bolt from his quiver, knocking it to his bowstring while Shaadi drew up several chants and incantations to his mind, ready should the need arise all while his hand hovered over a concealed knife. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl noticed the changes in their companions and followed suit, tensing and readying to attack or defend. J'onn did not move from his usual stance. He simply stood calm, loose, and resigned to anything and everything that could possibly happen.

The two men Diggle warned them of walked slowly down the sidewalk winding through the park, stepping off of it to keep moving towards Kaiba and his group. Kaiba wanted badly to take back control of his body but he understood Seth's reasoning. It made sense the Traitor would be unaware there were two of them just as he was unaware there were two of Yuugi.

Since Seth had been the one to fight the Traitor during the majority of the Shadow Game in their head, it was stand to reason Seth would be the one the Traitor expected to see. By presenting the expected, they hoped the Traitor would see nothing wrong with the scenario. It was a long shot; but if it worked, it would give their side the advantage, something they desperately needed at the moment.

The older man was indeed the Traitor and Seth could barely contain the shiver of fear as it spiked up his spine and set his nerves ablaze with the instinctual urge to fight or flee. He fled last time, this time he would stand and fight. He glanced curiously at the unknown man beside the Traitor and was struck by the most peculiar and unexpected feeling of vague recognition. He knew that man, but for the life of him he could not say why.

"I don't believe it," Green Lantern murmured in astonishment.

Seth cast his borrowed eyes to the superhero nearby suspiciously. "You know him?" he asked, indicating the younger of the two men approaching.

Green Lantern nodded. "Yes," he said, still stunned. "That's Carter Hill, the archaeologist who found the tomb Shadow Thief raided."

Hawkgirl fluffed her feathers in fury. "So he wasn't missing, after all," she growled. "Coward."

Seth nodded absently, still trying to puzzle out why the man, Carter Hill, looked so familiar to him. Kaiba gazed through their shared eyes and hummed in agreement. :He does look familiar,: Kaiba said, his voice laced with an edge of uncertainty.

Seth narrowed his eyes and shifted his feet to a strong, balanced stance. He felt Kaiba agree with the choice and sent back a soft brush of pleasure to his Ka. Kaiba fumbled with the unexpected emotion before settling on annoyance to which Seth snorted in amusement. Then Green Lantern's voice broke through the two souls' communication.

"I thought the agreement was with Shadow Thief," Green Lantern said loud enough to be heard over the shortening distance between the two groups.

The older man nodded. "It was, yes," he said easily. Seth stiffened visibly when a single dark brown eye and a glass orb focused on him. The old man smiled. "But I suggested he come here without the use of his Shadows considering how unwell it makes my son."

"I am not your son," Seth snapped vehemently.

The old man's smile slipped. "Still insisting on that, are you?" He shrugged. "I suppose it is true in this lifetime. But you were my son in your first life."

"I was not," Seth said. "The man I called 'father' died the moment he came home with a fake golden eye and abandoned me and my mother without a penny in an unfamiliar village."

Akhenadin shook his head sadly. "I did it for you, Set. I did it to protect you."

"You did it to further your own selfish reasons," Seth countered. "You are not nor have you ever been nor ever will be my father."

Akhenadin sighed. "We seem to be -what is the saying?- beating a dead horse, hm?" He turned to the younger man next to him. "How about we start over? I am called Akhenadin and this is my associate, Carter Hill."

"We know who he is," Hawkgirl said, green eyes narrowed under her feathered mask. "And I'll wager a guess he's Shadow Thief as well."

The man smile genially. "And a fine guess it is, my fair lady," Carter said, causing Hawkgirl to snarl.

"I am nobody's lady," she hissed, wings unfurling to give the illusion of a growth in size.

Carter merely smiled. "No, you were always your own self."

"I'm not sure I like you talking to Hawkgirl that way," Green Lantern said, eyes burning green.

Carter shrugged, the careless smile never leaving his lips. Akhenadin smiled as well. "Well now, seeing as we are now all acquainted," he said, straightening his back, "how about we get down to business."

"Indeed," Shaadi said, pale brown eyes glaring at the one-eyed man.

"Ah yes, Shada, ever the patient one, if I remember correctly," Akhenadin said, turning his single eye to the Egyptian.

"It is Shaadi now," the Egyptian corrected sternly. "It is the name I prefer."

Akhenadin nodded. "A poor choice of names, but nonetheless I will honor it. Now," he returned his focus to Kaiba, "I believe the Justice League made a deal with Shadow Thief, am I correct?"

"They did," Carter said easily. "They promised to exchange Set for information."

"On the contrary," J'onn said, finally breaking his silence. "We promised to meet with you, nothing else."

Carter waved the Martian's words aside. "And yet Set is here, so either way, we have gotten what we want."

"Easy Carter," Akhenadin said. "Do not underestimate my son. He is more powerful than you on your strongest day."

"At least you admit it," Seth said through Kaiba. Seth's mind was racing, trying to figure out why Carter seemed so painfully familiar. It was distracting. Even Kaiba had joined in on scouring their memories for an identity. As of yet, they had come up with nothing.

Akhenadin hummed. "I do. I also admit that, strong though you are, you are nowhere near as powerful as you once were. I will find out why and have that error remedied quickly, I assure you. We can't have the new Pharaoh being weak, now can we?"

Seth bristled. "I will not be a Pharaoh. I will not rule. I have no desire to rule anything or anyone except my Triad and my Court. Nothing you say or do will ever change that."

"You have a court then?" Akhenadin asked, pleased. "Very good. I should not be surprised. You were always born to rule."

"I was not-"

"Be silent when I speak boy!"

Seth immediately fell silent, shocked by the abrupt command. Kaiba growled at his silence and attempted to retake control, but Seth fought back. :Kaiba please, trust me.:

Kaiba stirred. :I don't take kindly to following orders,: he warned.

:I know.:

Seth's eyes hardened. "I wil not stay silent, nir will I bow to you in any way. If this is all you wanted to talk about, Traitor," he said sternly, "then I have no more reason to stay. You have my answer and it will never change."

He turned and made as if to leave when suddenly he felt a familiar revulsion seize his gut. Shadow Thief. Seth grinned and whirled on Akhenadin and Carter Hall who was now a writhing mass of distorted Shadows.

"Is this a declaration of war?" he asked, a dark smirk on his face. He held up a hand and cracked his knuckles. "I haven't had a real enemy to fight in a while now."

"Yes, I'm sure you haven't," Akhenadin said chuckling.

"You struggled against me!" Shadow Thief snarled.

"On the contrary," Seth said, glancing at the Shadow Thief with open disdain. "Your Shadows make me sick, but you yourself are a pathetic copy of a Shadow user. Those aren't even your Shadows," he turned to Akhenadin, "are they?"

"No, they are mine," Akhenadin said with a grin. "I gave them to him to replace what he lost in a way."

"And I assume that's why you would work with such a lowly piece of scum?" Seth sneered.

"Careful Regent," Shaadi whispered, seemingly unaffected by the sickening affect of Shadow Thief.

Arrow, fighting back his own nausea, could not help but agree. This seemed more like a stand off to determine who could throw the worst insult before someone snapped. Speaking of, the vigilante lifted his bow and aimed his arrow at Shadow Thief when he saw the creature twitch towards them.

"Your friend seems ready to kill," Akhenadin said, nodding to Arrow.

"He has reason to be," Seth replied. "This is his city you've terrorized and his citizens you've murdered."

"Is that so?" Akhenadin asked. "My most sincerest of apologies, Vigilante. Or, what should I call you? Green Arrow? Arrow? Or is it Oliver Queen?" Arrow tightened his grip on his bow and Akhenadin grinned. "Oliver Queen then."

"You will leave him out of this," Seth hissed.

"Yes! There is the Set I know and love," Akhenadin said, lifting his arms as if to embrace Seth. "Always so possessive of what and whom you deem yours to the point it blinds you to the painfully obvious."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, is so obvious and yet invisible to me?" Seth sneered. Kaiba could not help but feel impressed by this new side of Seth. Who knew the normally quiet Ba could be so vicious?

:I can be many things, my Ka,: Seth whispered. :It all depends on my mood and motivation. I kicked you out of my soul room did I not?:

Akhenadin sighed and shook his head, speaking before Kaiba could answer Seth's rhetorical mental question. "Your vulnerability, of course." Seth froze when Kaiba's fear pierced him like a sharpened lance. Mokuba.

"You cannot fool me, son," Akhenadin said, shaking his head in blatant disappointment. "It was a nice try but you forget," he swept his hand across his face, disturbing the gray bangs hanging over the glass eyeball, "I can see into the soul, and I see both of you."

Seth blew a sigh of relief just as he flinched in fear. Mokuba was safe, but Akhenadin now knew about his and Kaiba's separate existences.

"So, your soul was split in two," Akhenadin said intrigued.

"Wait, what?" Green Lantern gasped, whirling on Seth who looked suitably disconcerted. "You have a split soul too?"

"Too?" Akhenadin murmured.

Seth and Kaiba glared at Green Lantern before Kaiba forced Seth aside so he was back in full control. "I didn't know until recently. And thank for spilling the beans like the incompetent fool you are."

"Who's incompetent? Us, who have been honest in almost every regard, or you, who insist on keeping secrets like this? Secrets can get you killed."

"Secrets can protect!" Kaiba snapped.

"Fascinating," Akhenadin said, drawing the arguing group's attention back to himself. "So even now there is a rift separating Set from his allies. Truly something worth studying. However, I'm afraid that will have to wait." He clasped his hands in front of him calmly. "Mr. Carter and I have a standing agreement to which I intend uphold my part. Mr. Carter, if you would please calm yourself so you cease making my son sick, I would appreciate it." Shadow Thief glared at Akhenadin but obediently dispelled his distorted Shadows causing all three Shadow users to draw a deep sigh of relief. "Now, my son, if you, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl would please step forward."

"Why?" Green Lantern asked.

"I don't bow to anyone's commands except my own," Hawkgirl snapped.

"I'll second that," Kaiba growled, refusing to let Seth's insistent calling distract him. He gave the spirit his chance, and the spirit failed.

:Kaiba! Kaiba please listen to me,: Seth pleaded. :Kaiba. Seto!:

:Shut up!: Kaiba roared at the spirit who instantly fell back.

:Seto, it's a trap!:

Akhenadin smiled. "And yet you already have." He ignored the looks of confusion on the faces of his audience and reached into his pocket to pull out something small. He held up the card and Kaiba reached for his own Deck in retaliation. But he was not fast enough.

"Swords of Revealing Light!" Akhenadin cried.

Kaiba was momentarily blinded when several large, glowing swords fell from the sky and planted themselves into the ground. One sliced close to Kaiba's left separating him from Shaadi while another fell between Kaiba and Arrow. More fell until they formed a rough rendition of a circle surrounding Kaiba, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Carter Hill, and Akhenadin. Kaiba felt Seth begin to panic and reluctantly admitted his own heart was pounding and his breathing had definitely become much heavier than before. He spun and tried to get to Shaadi but ended up pounding on the barrier created by the Swords.

"Damn it," he muttered, drawing on a Spell from his own Deck. "Heavy Sto-"

He choked on the last syllable when something thick and powerful wrapped around his throat and cut off his air supply, eliminating his chances of casting the Spell. The chain yanked him away from the barrier and slammed him to the ground. Blue eyes opened to see the Spell Chain Energy held in the Traitor's hand.

Shadow magic did indeed have weaknesses. One of those weaknesses was the need to verbally cast a Spell or Trap or summon a Monster or Beast. Very few Monsters could summon themselves, Kisara being on of them. Kaiba may have been unable to speak but Kisara was free to summon herself and attack. And judging from the rumbling growl she let loose in his mind through his Deck, she was coming and she was not happy.

Green Lantern reacted the moment the first Sword fell into place, activating his Ring of Power and sending a fist of green light at Akhenadin. Unfortunately, the ever annoying Carter Hall, now transformed back into Shadow Thief appeared by his side and knocked his ring hand down. The green fist of solid light swerved and struck the Sword barrier instead.

Hawkgirl was caught off guard by the Spell but saw her chance to counterattack and took flight. She did not make it far, however, before she was stopped by a force field of some kind that blasted her back down to the ground. Surprisingly, it was not Green Lantern who made it to her side first, but Shadow Thief. He glared at Akhenadin accusingly. "You said she would be unharmed."

Akhenadin sighed. "She would have been had she not tried to escape. Swords of Revealing Light is a defensive Spell only. It will keep everyone else out of this for about three minutes or so. I will have to recast it if more time is needed, so I suggest you hurry."

Shadow Thief nodded then froze at the sound of a furious roar. Everyone looked up to see a huge, white dragon shimmer into existence, glistening in the light of the Swords.

"That's it," Shadow Thief hissed. "That's the beast that laid waste to my armies."

The dragon released another earth-shattering howl of fury before unleashing a blazing attack of pure, raw power on Akhenadin. The former dark priest remained unmoved, simply muttering something and holding up yet another card.

Kaiba's eyes glistened with silent horror as he and Seth saw Kisara's attack cease, replaced by a shriek of terror and desperate struggles to escape. They writhed against the Chain Energy Spell now binding their entire body as well as their neck. They could not breath, they could not cast anything in her defense, they could not stand and fight for her. All they could do was watch in despair as the woman they loved and worshipped with all theirs hearts was once again ripped from them and sealed away, this time in a Dragon Capture Jar.

Tears welled in their eyes, their chest was in agony, and their sight was beginning to tunnel as the lack of oxygen began to affect their body. Their struggles became more frantic even after the dark shadow of Green Lantern appeared in their tunneling vision. They felt the superhero try to work the Spell off of their throat so they could breathe. They barely made out Green Lantern's concernec glowing eyes in the encompassing darkness. Those eyes were the last thing they saw before they lost all awareness.