Bubbles: I'm glad you caught onto that. It was one of the more important details in the chapter. It's going to be a big deal in Part Two. And I love the semi-truce. It was just difficult to write.

Lace Kyoko: Detail was what I was going for. So, that's good that you thought it was nice. I actually thought it was a bit lacking, for Krin, at least. Oh, and I watched a couple of the subbed episodes!

Stormygio: All of those questions will be answered below. Please enjoy reading from a normal POV. And this is a quick update for me! Haha.

ZQuill: You may end up doing more than wincing for the Slaver. . . That is, if you still feel sorry for him. And I did consider going deep into Krin's thoughts, but what I found was just facts. And the emotion you were supposed to be getting was very subtle. It was in there. Haha. And for your sake, I'm going to touch on who was swing the shovel. There are some things that will never be known.

TeresaShiho: I missed this story too. That chapter was so difficult to write. Why couldn't you people have voted for Kisara? That would have been easy to write. Haha. I like Red too. I didn't originally. And yes! Only three chapters left, including this one. I cannot believe it only took me two years! (That was sarcasm, in case you didn't notice) I haven't read the manga, but I did watch a couple episodes of the Japanese version. I actually enjoyed that one way more.

Author's Note: I've decided to keep the poll open until the end of Part One. So, for the few of you who have yet to vote, please do. It's still a close race.

Seto

"Seto? Seto?"

I couldn't stop the groan from escaping my lips as I tried to sit up. My head was pounding and the moment I lifted it partly, a wave of dizziness struck and I dropped down.

"Seto, are you okay?"

"Mokuba?"

When my head fell back down, I noted that it was a soft surface that I came into contact with. Because of that, I assumed that I was lying on the mattress in the room the Slaver assigned us. Something else I noticed was a warm, sticky substance covering my ear. I began to reach out a hand to see what it was that was on me, but my arm stopped halfway through the motion.

I opened my eyes to see the chain around my wrist. Giving it a weak tug, I decided that it would be going nowhere. The other end of the chain was attached to a bolt on the floor. However, also coming off the shackle was another, shorter length of chain that was connected to Mokuba's wrist. The Slaver had chained us together. I chose to ignore it for the time being.

I still wanted to know what it was that was on my head, so I used my other hand to feel around my ear.

"You're bleeding," Mokuba said. The worry that came through his words was apparent.

When I pulled my hand back, I saw that he was correct. Then I remembered the shovel swinging towards my face. My reaction to turn away from the impact must not have been fast enough.

"I'm tired of blood," I said while using my free hand to feel around the injury. For the most part, it felt like the cut had closed. I stopped messing with it so that I would not risk further hurting myself.

"Are you okay?" Mokuba asked again.

I rolled my head to the side to look at my brother. He was lying down beside me on the mattress, staring at me as if he had been terrified. I quickly scanned over him and was relieved to find no visible injuries.

"I'm fine. Did he hurt you?"

Mokuba shook his head. "The Slaver came into the kitchen and dragged me in here once the fires were put out. You were already here, unconscious." Mokuba paused before asking. "What happened?"

I closed my eyes and tried to bring back all the memories from the previous night. "I set the sprinklers off, then I found a shovel to break the lock on the cage. I got Tea out, but someone used the shovel to knock me out."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it was the Slaver. I don't recall seeing his hat," I said.

"Do you mind if I look at your head?" Mokuba asked.

"Why?"

"To make sure you aren't going to bleed to death," Mokuba said.

I knew that Mokuba had no knowledge of injuries, but from the expression on his face, I could see his worry. Allowing him to look at it might make him feel better.

Instead of answering, I tilted my head towards him so that he had a clear view of the side. Just as I had done, he let his fingers feel around the area, searching for any place that might prove to be dangerous if left untreated. I knew he wouldn't find any blood flowing out, so I just waited until he felt more confident.

He never got to that point. His fingers stopped moving when a sound came from the other side of the door. There was no point in looking in the direction of the sound, so we looked at each other.

"Did that sound like lightning to you?" I asked.

Mokuba nodded. He opened his mouth, but didn't speak. A scream cut him off before he had the chance to begin.

"Was that the Slaver?" He asked.

Then we both turned to watch the door. There was something happening on the other side, and we both wanted to know what it was. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long.

The door opened and immediately I heard, "Seto!"

"Kisara?"

Kisara stood in the doorway. She didn't stay motionless for very long. She ran over, practically diving on the mattress when she grew close enough. She jumped between Mokuba and me and without hesitation, threw her hands around my head and pulled me up to meet her lips.

Since her kissing me was nothing new, I humored her. But after several uncomfortable seconds, Mokuba cleared his throat. Kisara still didn't stop. Once I began to lose breath, I lifted my free hand to gently push her away. When the gentle approach failed to work, I was left with no choice but to bite down on her tongue.

Kisara gasped and pulled back.

"I needed to breathe," I stated once I breathed a lungful of air.

The dragon moved one of her hands from my head. The one she moved came away covered in blood. A horrified expression appeared on her face. I watched as she shifted her gaze across my blood-soaked clothing.

"Why are you covered in blood?"

"It isn't mine," I said.

"Except for your head," Mokuba stated.

"Really, Mokuba?" I asked, trying to look at him. Kisara's hand stopped me.

"How did you find us?" I asked, switching the subject away from my injury.

"Well," she started. Her eyes traveled to the doorway and I followed the gaze. A second figure hovered in the space, watching.

Mokuba too had looked over, and I saw terror appear in his eyes. He moved towards me, although Kisara was still between us.

Kuriboh flew over and landed next to Mokuba. My brother closed his eyes and turned his head away so he wouldn't have to look at the beast, but Kuriboh began trying to get Mokuba's attention. He nudged his head and poked his shoulder with a claw, but Mokuba refused to even open his eyes.

"Why is Kuriboh here?"

Kuriboh started growling when I spoke. It hadn't been that long since last I saw him, but clearly he was still angry with me for having anything to do with Mokuba.

I saw Kisara bite down on her tongue before speaking. "It's not just him. The Magician and Red are here too."

"Don't you hate them?"

Kisara smiled and leaned down to kiss me on the nose. "You know me so well, Seto! Yes. But they wouldn't leave us alone."

Kuriboh growled and Kisara added, "And they managed to find someone who knew where the Slaver lives." There she paused and corrected herself. "Lived."

Mokuba opened his eyes then to speak to Kisara. "Was that past tense?"

She nodded. "What do you think the others are doing?"

Now that Mokuba was speaking, Kuriboh doubled his efforts to get Mokuba's attention. Instead of giving in to the small creature, Mokuba asked Kisara, "Do you think they'd do the same to him?" He gestured to Kuriboh while he spoke.

"If only," she answered.

Footsteps approached the room, and I looked back in time to see Krin appear.

"Seto." His tone was even, but I saw the exhale that accompanied my name. Had he been worried?

Right behind him followed the Magician, Kara, and Red. They entered the room to stand above Mokuba and me, separating according to who they were after.

I stopped looking at them to watch my brother. He seemed ready to burst into tears, but simply closed his eyes again. The Magician had been the one to break his ankle. Seeing him would only remind Mokuba of the pain he was experiencing.

"Why are you covered in blood?" Kara asked, just as her sister had done.

I answered the same way as before. This time, Mokuba didn't say anything. My eyes were locked on his face, so I could see his chin quivering. With our hands only inches away, I closed the gap and grabbed his hand. In response, Mokuba clutched mine tightly, though his eyes remained closed.

"You didn't answer the question," Krin stated.

"The Slaver had a party and some of his guests poured it on me," I said.

The Magician laughed. "He had a party? What an odd person he was."

Was. So they had killed him.

The Magician used the staff he carried to tap the back of Mokuba's head. "Ready to head home?" he asked.

Mokuba's hand squeezed mine even tighter. I tore my gaze away from his face to look up at Kisara, who had yet to stop staring at me. From the expression she wore, I could tell that we were having similar thought processes. Without Mokuba, we had no deal.

"We are chained together, and to the floor," I stated. "You'll have to find the key." I said that in order to stall for time. Hopefully, if the others left the room, I would have time to speak with Kisara privately.

"We can't just break the chain?" Kara asked.

"Maybe the one that is connected to the floor, but if you tried the other, you would break our wrists."

"That isn't a problem," the Magician said.

Kuriboh growled something in his direction. The Magician seemed to understand the sounds as he answered, "What? I can break his ankle but not his wrist?"

"I don't want Seto hurt," Kisara stated. I found her statement amusing, as only two days before, she had beat me to the point of breaking my bones herself. I didn't bring it up though.

Krin sighed. "Do you know where the key is?"

"No," I said quickly.

Krin turned and left the room. He must have been anxious to get out of the house and away from the Dark monsters. I didn't think of him as the type to aimlessly search. That seemed more like Kisara, who showed no signs of leaving her position beside me.

"We can't let him find it first," Red stated. The Magician nodded and the two of them left.

Kara followed behind them, most likely not liking the two to one odds. That left just Kuriboh, but I didn't think he would be leaving.

"So what is your idea?" I asked Kisara.

"I don't really know," she said. She looked down to Mokuba for a brief moment. "Maybe try something later?"

"There is no later, Kisara. We have six days."

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion, then the understanding appeared. "He told you?"

"Of course. So you need to decide now."

Kuriboh didn't appear to be paying attention to our conversation. He still was poking Mokuba, only the longer he was ignored, the faster his claw moved. I could see from Mokuba's face that he was beginning to become more annoyed than upset.

"If I try something right now, then I will be risking you getting hurt. They wouldn't let us out of the house."

"You are way stronger than the two of them," I said.

My comment made Kisara smile. I tried to think if that was the first time I had voluntarily complimented Kisara, at least, without an ulterior motive. I couldn't recall any other times.

"That is very true, love. But how do you think they will try to stop me? They will try to attack you. I can't risk that."

"You also can't risk letting him be in this city when the government decides to act," I countered.

"We found a key," the Magician declared as he reentered the room. As he walked towards us, I noticed him wiping it off on his pants. Something black came off its surface.

Kara, Krin, and Red came through the doorway. Krin and Kara wore irritated expressions, which I assumed were caused by the Magician finding the key. They had their arms crossed as they stood in their previous spots beside my head. We all watched the Magician kneel down to try the key in the lock.

He tried the key in the lock connected to the floor first. He grinned triumphantly as the lock fell open. Even Mokuba was staring at the key as the Magician next tried the lock around his wrist. It too came off easily.

But instead of unlocking my wrist, he pocketed the key. He then wrapped his hand around the back of Mokuba's neck and pulled him up, breaking our hold on each other's hand.

Mokuba cried out when the Magician tried to make him stand on his ankle, and I pushed myself up to try to help him. I didn't get close. The Magician tilted the staff towards me in a threatening manner, and Krin grabbed the chain still attached to my wrist and used it to hold me back.

"Give us the key," Krin ordered.

"No."

Krin didn't argue. He used both hands to grip the chain, then jerked it in half. He was left with a much shorter piece to hold onto.

Mokuba's eyes were locked with mine. Through the pain, I could see his fear. If they managed to get him away and hidden, then he would be at risk of the bombing.

We had an unspoken exchange. Mokuba raised his eyebrows and I responded with slight shake of my head. Then the Magician started to pull him towards the door, and Mokuba widened his eyes, eyebrows still raised. So I relented and sent a nod his direction.

"Domino is going to be bombed," he said. His words spilled out quickly, almost too quickly to understand. But the Magician stopped moving.

"What?"

I glanced to Krin out of the corner of my eye, just in time to see him glare at Mokuba. My brother looked in Krin's direction before continuing. "This city is going to be bombed," Mokuba said slowly, now that he had the attention of everyone.

"What does that mean?" Red asked.

"In six days, everyone in this area will be dead," Mokuba said.

The Magician smirked and shook his head. "Did you know about this?" he said, directing his question to Krin. When Krin didn't respond, the Magician continued. "I should have known you agreed to leave too easily. You were going to leave anyways."

"Seto can stop it," Mokuba said.

I smiled, realizing what he was doing with that statement. If the Magician believed that the only way to prevent an attack was by having me do it, then he wouldn't be able to separate the two of us. With that, it would give Kisara the time she needed to think of a way out.

"How?" Red asked sharply.

"I have to get in touch with our government and talk them out of it," I said.

"Why can't you do it?" The Magician asked Mokuba.

"You probably don't know this, but Seto is really important. They will listen to him."

Kisara grabbed onto my arm when the room fell into silence. If the Magician decided that he wanted to stop the attack, Mokuba had made it sound as though he just had the one choice. They would need me to do it for them.

"Can you really stop it, dragon-boy?" the Magician asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

"You're not sure?" Red pressed.

"They aren't just going to stop it because I ask them to. They will need something in return."

"Like what?" It was Kara who posed the question.

"I would assume you let all the people in the city go," I answered.

"That won't happen," the Magician said.

"If we let all of you go," Krin began, "Then there would be nothing to stop them from attacking."

His logic was unfortunately sound. Now that I reconsidered it, I didn't know what I could do to make the government change their mind. If they wanted to prove a point to the monsters, my request alone would do nothing. There needed to be some sort of a compromise. But what would be acceptable?

"They need to see that you are willing to compromise," I said, hoping that someone else would have an idea.

"I'm not letting you go, Seto," Kisara stated. Kuriboh growled something, as if he was saying the same about Mokuba.

"What if you let us live normally?" I asked.

"What?" Kisara questioned.

"What if you let us go about our lives as normal? No chains," I said, looking from my wrist to Krin. "No breaking bones," I said, glaring at the Magician. "And you let us live in our houses."

Kisara wrinkled her nose. "I don't see that working."

"Mokuba, Kuriboh, and I did a version of that before Krin found me," I said.

Mokuba agreed by nodding. "It wouldn't have been as bad if he let me move around the house at will."

The Magician shook his head. "That won't work. Even if you two agreed to it, you wouldn't be able to convince the other humans, and we wouldn't be able to get all of our kind to agree."

"Then you should get out of the city," I stated.

"The portal is here," the Magician said, as if that meant it was impossible to leave.

"You wouldn't run away if we let you live at home?" Kara asked me.

"If you actually allowed me some manner of freedom, I wouldn't have a reason to."

Mokuba cleared his throat as he had done earlier.

"And of course, Mokuba would have to be there," I added.

Kuriboh began to protest immediately. The Magician waved a hand in the beast's direction. "Shhh. I know, you don't want to live with dragon-boy again. Be quiet."

"Is that really the only way to stop the bombing?" the Magician asked.

"I haven't spoken to them yet, but I know they aren't just going to call off the attack. Protecting humans is their priority," I said, realizing that I wasn't being entirely honest.

Kisara elbowed me in the side. I turned to look at her and whispered, "That's mostly their priority."

"No one will go along with this," the Magician stated.

"We will," Mokuba said. "If you let us go about our lives, we won't have a reason to run away."

I was still looking at Kisara, so I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Kisara, if Mokuba is with me and safe, then I won't go anywhere. I swore that to you. If you let us live at home, I would greatly appreciate it."

I leaned back so I could see her face. I meant every word I said, so she had no reason to doubt me.

"You do know that Kuriboh is not going to agree to live with your brother again," the Magician said to Mokuba.

Mokuba shrugged out of the Magician's hold and shakily crouched down so that he was on eye-level with Kuriboh. Mokuba had to put his knee on the ground to steady himself. I doubted that he would be able to get back up without help.

"Kuriboh, I will promise you this. If you let me live with Seto, things will go back to how they were. I will talk to you and keep you company, and I will not try to run away. But if you don't let me, then I will never speak to you again. I will ignore you and refuse to acknowledge your presence."

The little beast hissed at Mokuba's threat. Mokuba glared at him without wavering, seemingly unfazed by the monster. But Mokuba had practice with dealing with the Slaver; Kuriboh shouldn't bother him.

We all waited for Kuriboh's answer. The beast alternated glancing between Mokuba and me. His glare remained in place no matter where he was looking. After a few minutes, Kuriboh made a sound.

Everyone turned to the Magician for a translation. What we heard was a laugh.

"You actually agree? Just beat the kid and move on!"

Kuriboh growled again, only this time, it was directed at the Magician. The leader of the Dark troops shook his head and chuckled.

Mokuba grinned brightly and hugged the beast. When he released his grip, he tried to stand up, but lost his balance trying to do so on one foot.

Kara stepped forward to help him back to his feet. She looked disgusted that she was so close to Kuriboh, but said nothing.

"So you two agree. The rest of the population won't," Red said.

"I can talk to the people in the city," I said.

"The Light forces will do what I tell them," Krin stated. He smirked. "Can you not get your people to do the same?"

The Magician sneered. "Don't taunt me, Krin."

"So you can't," Kara said smugly.

"Of course I can. But why would I want to? I don't want to let Yami have any form of freedom. He is staying locked inside his room."

"Even if that means you die?" I asked.

The Magician was quiet. His fingers ran up and down the length of the staff as he considered his options. There was the unspoken choice of leaving the city, but along with that came leaving the portal. But it was either that or accepting the plan I had come up with. He obviously was looking for a third choice.

I looked to Mokuba, who was leaning heavily into Kara's hold. He was watching the Magician carefully. He wore a apprehensive expression. Perhaps he assumed that if the Magician refused, Kuriboh would change his mind.

"Try talking to your government first," the Magician said. "Then we will see what they say."

I nodded, deciding that might be the best I could get from him. "I'll need to get to a computer."

"We can go back to that building you own," Kara said. She still sounded annoyed that I had run away.

"We are coming too. And that means we are going to a neutral location," the Magician said.

"What about Seto and Mokuba's house?" Kisara suggested.

When no one had a better location, our house was decided upon. Krin lead the group, and since he had yet to release the grip on the chain, I was dragged along right behind him. I glanced behind to make sure Kara was helping Mokuba limp after us.

I stopped when we reached the living room. A burned smell hit me and I had to use my free hand to cover my nose. I looked around quickly for the source and turned away when I found it.

In the corner of the room, the walls were black as though they had been electrocuted. I recalled the sound I had heard before Kisara entered the room. I took the black patch as the after mark of a white lightning attack.

That wasn't all that was in the corner. Crumpled up in the floor was the body of the Slaver. That had to be the source of the smell. His body was barely recognizable. The monsters had destroyed him. All his skin was black and burned, his face had all but dissolved, and his limbs had fused together.

I turned away and was glad to see Mokuba hadn't made his way into the room yet. I called out a warning. "Mokuba! Close your eyes!"

He wouldn't be able to handle the sight. I knew him well enough to understand that he was sensitive to repulsive scene such as the one in the living room.

"What-?" I started, but anything I tried to say afterward sounded foolish.

"He kidnapped you. He had to die," Kisara stated.

Krin tried to pull me towards the exit, but I couldn't move. Kisara's words scared me more than the Slaver's body. Would they continue to treat anyone who threatened me in that way? That was how they would react to anyone who tried to get close to me? When would it escalate? How long until they would kill just anyone?

I then realized that the Slaver had most likely been carrying around the key to our chains. The black substance I had seen the Magician wipe off the key was a part of the Slaver's charred flesh.

When Krin pulled again, I allowed him to lead me out of the house. The fresh air was a welcome relief and helped to clear my mind. My first thought was to check to see if Mokuba made it out of the house. I watched the door until he and Kara came into view. Mokuba had done as I asked and his eyes were closed. But his face was twisted up, having clearly smelled the Slaver's burned flesh.

"You can open them," I said when Mokuba was close enough to hear my voice.

His eyes opened and he asked, "What was that?"

"The Slaver," I stated.

Mokuba muttered an "Ugh" sound and made a face. "That is horrible."

"Forget about that traitor," Kara ordered. She didn't give Mokuba the chance to stop walking, so the group moved to the street.

We walked along. Well, I was dragged and Mokuba limped. But we moved down the street in the direction of the house. I knew it was across town, and at our rate we would be walking all day. To pass the time, I started up a conversation with Krin.

"How did you find us?"

Krin groaned before beginning. "After the Slaver sent us to the abandoned section of town, we realized that something was wrong. On our way back to the roof, we ran into the Dark troops. There was a small fight-"

"Which we were winning," Kara interjected.

"No you weren't," the Magician said.

Krin glowered in the Magician's direction. "So once Kisara discovered that the Slaver had set up both sides, we returned to the roof. And when we found out that you weren't there, we started looking."

"And they were hopelessly lost until we showed up and offered our assistance," the Magician said.

"We were moving along perfectly fine until they started following us," Krin continued. He gave another tug on my wrist to pull me closer to him. I saw the Magician nearing us and realized that Krin was trying to keep me away from him.

"I simply suggested that we work together as our goal was the same. And then I might have had the idea of searching out the Slaver's relatives," the Magician added.

Krin picked up his pace, so I did as well. "That was already our plan. It was Kisara who suggested going to his place of work."

"Which just so happened to hold secret Light headquarters!" the Magician exclaimed. He sounded incredibly smug as he continued, "Krinny tried to keep me from finding out, but I did."

"The Magician managed to search through every room while some of us were speaking with the other members in the slave trade. One of the others knew of a Locator. That was where we went next."

"But you see, the Locator was one of my relatives! Without me, Krin here wouldn't know the Slaver's whereabouts. I could understand what he was saying."

"A fact which you could brag about, except for the fact you refused to translate and Red had to do so," Krin stated.

"You didn't deserve to know," the Magician said sourly.

"After Red told us where the Slaver's neighborhood was, it was just a matter of finding the right house."

"And you clearly did," I stated.

"Clearly," Krin replied.

And the conversation fell away. The rest of the trip to the house was silent, with one exception. Kisara walked up to me at about half the distance. She took my free hand in her own and leaned her head on my shoulder as we moved.

"It's amazing that worked out," she said.

I glanced back as I answered, "It turned out very well."

Kisara smiled as I spoke. I knew that she heard my words as truth, because while I was speaking, I was looking at my brother.

I actually managed to update in a reasonable time frame! Yay me!