Sycoandcrazy: I'm glad you clicked on it then! I don't think my summary is very catchy, which may be why you were SUPER curious. I mostly love the monsters, which is probably why you partly love them. They aren't pure evil afterall. Thanks for the review - the little push I needed to finish the chapter!
Doflamingo: Hm. That is a very different version of the story. I don't like killing off Mokuba, so I won't go there.
ZQuill: Sorry it took me so long to update. Laziness and all that. Yeah, Mokuba is a cutie pie. And I think everyone like Kisara and the water bottles. Such a random detail. And Part Two will be awesome. (In my opinion) I just wish that I hadn't waited so long to update this chapter. I really want to get started on the next. I may do that now. . .
Lace Kyoko: Thanks for reading my blog! It's good to know that someone does that. Hope you like the chapter!
AyaseFanGirl: Hey! It's been a while since you reviewed like, an actual review. I'm so used to the messages by now. Haha.
SetoKaibafan: I'm not typing out those numbers. Too lazy. Sorry. . . for the wait, not for the numbers thing. I'm really glad you like the story, and I hope you stick around through my excessively long update periods.
Aqua-Princess: We have a lot of people pitted against each other. It only gets worse from Part Two until the end. So much drama! But hey, you all wouldn't be reading if it wasn't dramatic.
drake0: Thanks for the review! And for liking the chapters' lengths. I work hard on those. Haha.
TrebleTwenty: Thanks. That is all I need to say.
Havelock Vetinari: And it continues to mount. . .
Author's Note: . . . . Hey. So, first off, I'm really sorry for the delay. I haven't even been blogging to give you all updates. Shame on me. I really had every intention of updating over the Christmas holiday and starting Part Two on the first of the year, but I just slacked off. No excuses. On to the chapter.
Seto
I blew gently on the motherboard of a computer I was repairing. A small cloud of dust spread into the air in a direction which happened to be where Kisara's face was leaning close, watching.
She waved her hand in front of her face as she coughed. I considered giving her an insincere apology, but finally decided just to ignore what I had done. I had given her a warning that she probably shouldn't sit so close to me while I worked, but she refused to move. She deserved the small annoyance.
"Seto, where did you say that video was?" Mokuba asked.
He was sitting at the desk in the main computer lab, going through old KaibaCorp files. Kuriboh was sitting on a chair beside him, watching him search through the computer.
"I'm not really sure. Look under the KCMil folder and see if I left that one alone," I said. Mokuba started clicking again and I went back to cleaning out the internal parts of the computer. Kisara remained where she was. Her head rested on her knees as we sat on the floor, and she ran a hand over my leg. Since we were seated, it would be far too difficult to move away from Kisara, so I left her alone.
"What did you say it would be labeled?"
"It would have been something like Missile Preview or After Effect. It is about a three minutes long, if that helps you narrow it down."
"I thought you were supposed to have an amazing memory," Mokuba muttered.
"It has been years since I've touched these files, kiddo. You can't expect me to remember the designation for every file."
"I certainly can!" Mokuba exclaimed. He sighed deeply after his words, then said, "I can't find anything. Do you want to look?" Mokuba asked as he turned to look at me.
I held up the pile of equipment I was working with. "Do you want to put this computer back together?"
"I'll keep looking."
Kisara started humming a song that I recognized. She hadn't forgotten the song she wrote about the two of us.
"Will you hand me that memory card?" I asked her.
Kisara raised an eyebrow. "What?"
I pointed to the card which had somehow ended up outside of my reach. Kisara followed my directions and tried to hand me the right item. I had to redirect her several times before she picked up the right piece.
"That's it."
"Are you almost done? This is so boring," she complained.
"I needed to make sure everything was working. You don't want another fire to break out, do you?"
"Another fire?" Mokuba asked.
"I tried to turn on a computer last week, just one of the ones upstairs. But when I turned it on, it overheated and a small fire was created," I explained.
"Would the file be 'Missile Demonstration and Results?'"
"That sounds right. Open it up and check."
"It requires a password."
"It's 3878h55aa12n," I called out.
"You remember that but not the name of the file?" Mokuba asked as he typed in the password.
"It was Gozaburo's password for all his private files."
Mokuba accepted the answer and went on, but Kisara jumped in. "Who's Gozaburo?"
I kept working the pieces of the processor back together. I should have realized that Kisara would want me to clarify the statement. Since I didn't want to talk about it, I needed to think of a quick solution to make her happy.
"He owned the company before I did."
"Does that mean his name was Kaiba too?"
I sighed and put down the CPU I had been about to put back into place. "Yes, his name was also Kaiba."
"Does that mean you were related?"
"Yes," I said simply, hoping she would drop it.
"Does that-"
"Kisara, he doesn't want to talk about that," Mokuba said. He didn't turn around as he spoke, but kept his eyes glued to the screen in front of him.
Kisara frowned. "Is there something you don't want to tell me, darling?"
"It just isn't relevant," I said. I stared at her until she closed her mouth, then I went back to the computer spread out before me.
"Seto, this is it. What do you want me to do with it?" Mokuba asked.
"Is there a flash drive in one of the drawers beside you?"
Mokuba began searching through the drawers, It took him longer than it should have. Kuriboh was getting in his way, most likely annoyed at his lack of attention. Mokuba tried to roll around him in the office chair, but Kuriboh cut off his path.
I knew that Kuriboh would make Mokuba's task take far longer than necessary, so I ignored it and went to finishing the computer. Kisara managed to stay quiet just long enough for me to reconstruct the device. Once I was finished, she immediately said, "Now can we do something more interesting?"
I pushed myself up into a standing position. For the moment, I left the computer on the ground so I could walk over to Mokuba.
Kuriboh was still hovering in front of my brother, who was trying to talk him down. I grabbed the back of Mokuba's chair and slid it out of my way so that I could look at the video he found for me. I clicked play and watched it to make sure that it was the right one, then hit the pause button once I was certain.
Kisara walked up behind me as I set about the search for the flash drive that I had asked Mokuba to look for. She watched as I pulled drawers open and pushed the contents aside. I didn't remember who the computer programmer was who had occupied this desk, but if I had come down here while KaibaCorp was still running, I would have fired him. He was a slob.
I came up empty handed until I opened the bottom drawer. I found a flash drive inside and picked it up.
"What's that?" Kisara asked. She reached out and plucked it from my grasp.
"It's called a flash drive. I need to transfer this file over to the other computer and to do that, I need that back."
She held it close to her face and squinted as she examined it. "I don't understand your human things," she eventually stated.
"That is because you aren't human," I said, reclaiming the flash drive from her hand.
I moved back to the computer I had just put back together. Before I picked it up, I put the flash drive in my pocket to prevent Kisara from taking it away from me again. I would not be surprised if she made another attempt to take it back.
"Kuriboh, I swear if you don't stop poking me I will kick you with my good leg!"
I bent down and picked up the computer. I had to carry it over to the monitor beside the projection screen, so on my way, I stopped by Mokuba and Kuriboh.
Mokuba was pushing at Kuriboh, trying to get him off his lap. I didn't say anything, but wrapped my fingers around the back of the chair Mokuba was sitting in. I then began to walk towards the monitor, dragging Mokuba along with me. He gasped in shock as he turned around to look at me. I smirked down at him and continued on my way.
Kuriboh growled after us. I paid that no mind, as all Kuriboh ever did was growl.
"Did you need me for something, Seto?" Mokuba asked.
We stopped next to the screen and I released the grip on Mokuba's chair. He used his uninjured leg to spin around so he faced me.
"No," I said.
Mokuba smiled and scooted up closer to the desk with the computer system I would be working with. He folded his arms across the desk and laid his head down on top of his arms. I pulled the flash drive out of my pocket and placed it right in front of his face.
"You can watch this for me," I said.
"Seto!"
Kara stormed into the room. Her hair was pulled back away from her face with a rubber band that I had offered her earlier in the day, so I could see the full extent of her annoyance printed on her face. I braced myself for the worst.
"Yes?"
"How much longer do we have to wait before this stupid thing starts?"
"I should have the computer set up soon enough. You can start bringing people in," I said as I put the computer tower on the floor.
"I don't want to bring people in, Seto. I need you to get your job done."
"That doesn't even make sense," Mokuba mumbled through his arms.
"I will be done in a few minutes."
Kara kept walking over until she stood right beside me. Kisara saw her sister's action and quickly moved to stand even closer. I stepped back until I could move no farther due to the desk.
"Stop messing with your brother and finish."
Hearing that he was being discussed, Mokuba lifted his head up. He shrunk back slightly upon noticing the two dragons' closeness. But when Kuriboh noticed how close the dragons were to Mokuba, he flew over and started voicing his protests.
"Get away from me," Kara hissed. Her teeth were clenched tightly together, as were her fists. Mokuba and I stared at each other. She was going to try to kill Kuriboh. If she did that before this meeting, we would be creating a war and ruining the compromise we had set up.
"Is something wrong?" Mokuba asked.
"No, nothing is wrong. I have just been flying around town all day trying to force all of our people and allies to come together for a meeting that none of us want. So clearly, nothing is wrong."
"Then give me two minutes and I will have everything ready," I said. Luckily, Kara stepped back enough that I had space to kneel down and begin plugging the wires in place.
While I finished, Kara and Kisara moved to get the large room ready for all the monsters. They had to push all the chairs and tables that were set up for conferences to the perimeter of the room.
In order to have access to the video and projector, the meeting had to take place at KaibaCorp. Since I doubted ever getting the building back to its former state, I grudgingly let them use the space.
When I had everything set up, I turned to Mokuba.
"Come on, kiddo," I said, taking Mokuba's chair in my hand once more. I began to pull him into the adjoining room.
"I still don't understand why I can't stay," he complained.
I opened the door and moved Mokuba inside. He put his good foot on the ground and started to slowly scoot his way over to the sound system that I earlier discovered still operated, even with all the time that had passed. It was designed to monitor and record the meeting I used to hold in the other room.
"I'm certain that a fight will break out, and the possibly of more than one is very likely. I don't want you in danger," I explained.
Mokuba picked up a headset from the desk and put it on. "But you get to stay?"
"I have to run the computer. You can still listen from here."
"Listen, not watch. It isn't the same thing."
"The security cameras are all broken. I can't do anything about that."
"Seto! Get in here!" Krin shouted. If he had returned, the rest of the monsters must be close by.
"I can't believe you want to be in there," I said.
When I reached the door, Mokuba answered, "I don't. I want to be asleep, at home."
"Don't make a sound," I added.
Mokuba responded with a "yeah, yeah, yeah," and a wave of his hand.
After I closed the door, Kuriboh came flying at me. He began growling and screeching in my face.
"Mokuba is in there," I said, pointing my thumb behind me.
I smirked as I walked away, well aware that Kuriboh would be unable to open the door.
All three dragons stood on the raised platform where I would give speeches from. The Magician and Red stood with them, making me hesitant to join the group. But I did, and Kisara took my hand when I was within her reach.
"The computer and video are ready?" Krin asked.
I nodded.
"Then we are ready. Red, let them in," Krin ordered.
"Why would I do what you say?" Red asked.
"The door needs to be opened and you are not a leader."
"Which means you open the door," Kara added.
"I won't do that."
"Why don't you open the door, babe?" the Magician said to Kisara.
"I have to be up here when they come in!"
"Then send your slave, Krin."
"He'll be killed the moment he opens the door," Krin said.
"Why would they kill me?" I asked. Kisara tightened her grip on my hand as I spoke.
"Because you are a human," Krin stated.
"Will someone just go open the door?" Kara asked.
"I'm not going to," the Magician said.
I rolled my eyes at the childish conversation. If it wasn't for Kisara's hold on me, I would have gone to the door already. But she was clinging on as if her life depended on the strength of her grip.
"Then scream 'Come in,'" I suggested.
They argued over the best choice for another minute. I could imagine Mokuba sitting in the other room, laughing at the absurdity of the conversation. He would be sure to find amusement in the five most powerful monsters in the city arguing over who should open a door. I was more frustrated than entertained.
I wasn't the only one. Kuriboh, who had yet to find a way into the observation room, flew to the group of the six of us and growled something at us collectively. He then flew to the door and knocked on it with his claws.
"Or that could work too," the Magician said.
Finally the door opened. In came a stampede of creatures, most of whom I did not recognize. There were some familiar faces, D.D. Warrior Lady, Zoa, and even the wolves that I had seen transform into humans all that time ago. Krin and the Magician had actually accomplished gathering all the monsters of the races.
They piled in, moving as close to the stage as possible. Even as the room began to fill, more and more monsters came through the door. I started to believe that the room would reach its capacity before all of the beasts had entered.
"There isn't going to be enough room," I whispered to Kisara.
She nodded. "We know. These are only the Light and Dark. We will have to bring in the other races once we finished here."
"So we will be here all day?"
"Probably a few days," Kisara said.
"That is ridiculous."
"Be quiet and get the video ready," Krin ordered. He angled his chin to Kisara to speak next, "Let go of his hand."
Kisara did so reluctantly. Once I was freed, I did as Krin said and went to the computer. I had purposely chosen to place a monitor on the stage that was larger than most. It was a detail that was unimportant to the dragons, but I didn't want all of the monsters in the room to watch me work. Also, I didn't want them to pay attention to me. The monitor would help keep me hidden while the monsters debated among themselves.
I pulled the chair up and sat down. From where I had positioned myself, I could only see the monsters on either end of the room, and the five on stage. A movement from the ceiling caught my attention, and I realized that some of the monsters had taken to the air.
Wasting no time, I plugged in the flash drive and began going through the files. Krin began to speak while I worked.
"Settle down!" he shouted. The room immediately fell into a tense silence.
"Look, we get that you don't want to be here. Really, we don't either," the Magician said. His words created a quiet buzz of voices and sounds throughout the crowd.
"The humans have posed a far larger threat than we could have imagined possible," Krin began. At that, a few of the monsters that could see me began to growl.
"Let's kill them!"
"Take them as slaves!"
"Eat them!"
"Destroy them!" arose shouts from the group. Krin raised a hand to silence them.
"Unfortunately, that is not an option. The only choice that we have is to cooperate with their rulers."
"Why should we do anything they tell us to do?" came another cry.
"Because they will kill us if we don't," the Magician replied.
"How can they kill us? Humans are weak!"
"The humans have weapons that our kind have never seen. Before we take action against them, we must understand what it is that we are dealing with," Krin said.
I wasn't sure when Krin wanted me to start the video, so I pulled it up and had it ready to go. He had claimed, upon hearing that I had such a video, that it would only be necessary if the monsters refused to go along with the agreement. After the first few seconds of the meeting, I knew that it would be. The only thing left to do was to show to them how deadly the situation we were facing truly was.
"What they want us to do is very simple," Krin started, but the Magician cut in.
"They want us to stop taking slaves, close the slave market, and stop killing humans."
That was a cause of distress among the monsters. They all began to shout their protests, not all directed at the stage. A few small fights broke out in the crowd.
I turned my head to watch Krin rub his hand across his face in irritation. He didn't bother trying to quiet the monsters again, at least, not with words.
Krin lifted his hand, palm facing the crowd and his fingers pulled back. I recognized the position from when I first saw Krin. I just hoped that he wouldn't let any of the lightning hit near the computer I was sitting in front of.
The room erupted into light. I had to close my eyes to keep from from burning at the amount of electricity that Krin produced. It streaked out among the monsters, hitting several of them, both Light and Dark. Their screams lasted for a moment before the room entered into silence.
"Unless you want to die, you will agree to obey their rules," Krin said. His words were low so that all in the room had to listen carefully in order to hear him. "This is only temporary. Until we can find a way to regain control, we must cooperate."
"That means all of us," the Magician added.
"What about our companions?"
I recognized the voice. There was no need for me to look around the monitor to see D.D. shouting up at Krin and the Magician.
"You are allowed to keep your humans," Krin began. "But you have to give them a manner of freedom."
"What does that mean?" came another voice.
"It means that you can't keep them locked up. You have to let them choose where to live and allow them to live unrestrained," the Magician grumbled.
More arguments emerged. It appeared that no one else was willing to allow their humans to live normal lives. But I had predicted that. However, I trusted that Krin and the Magician would be able to convince them, if not forcibly.
I glanced down at the clock on the computer. I had a second meeting to attend, and it was set to start in less than an hour. From the looks of the monster assembly, I doubted that I would be able to stay for all of it. We were meeting across town, so I had around twenty minutes until I needed to leave.
"They will just run away!" one of the monsters shouted.
"If they run, then they have broken their side of the agreement, and it is void for that one person," Krin said. He cast a glance in my direction and I sent in a small nod. That was what we had agreed on, and what I would have to convince the citizens of Domino to accept.
"What does void mean?" another monster shouted.
"If they try to leave you, feel free to beat them back into submission," the Magician said.
Kara was standing the closest to me out of everyone on stage. She was just close enough to tap her fingers on the edge of the desk. She drummed them in an irritated rhythm.
"Both sides have to cooperate," Krin continued.
"What if we don't?" someone responded.
Krin released a deep growl from the back of his throat. "You will do as I say," he hissed.
"We don't follow you!" That voice I assumed came from the Dark side.
"No? You follow me," the Magician said. He swung the staff back over his shoulders, wearing it like a yoke. "And I'm telling you all that I'll kill anyone who attempts to break this rule."
Grunts spread through the crowd, and a silence emerged shortly after. I leaned around the monitor and saw that one monster, in human form, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.
"What is to prevent us from just attacking their rulers? No weapon could stand against us."
Krin's eyes narrowed at the speaker. "I said earlier, they have weapons which we have never faced before."
"And just because they attack differently means that we shouldn't fight?"
I had the cursor hovering over the 'play' button. I expected that at any moment, Krin would become tired of arguing with them and would tell me to start the video.
"Do it, slave," Krin said quietly.
I tapped my finger against the mouse and watched the video begin.
I had chosen to begin a few seconds into the video. The idea was to catch all the monsters' attentions right away, and the description of what was to come was far from eye-catching. The moment I chose was right as a missile exploded.
KaibaCorp, back when it focused on weapons manufacturing, had a private missile testing range. Gozaburo had always recorded the tests and stored them on the computers in KaibaCorp so that he had a demonstration of what he product was capable of.
This particular video was not one of those. It was a film sent to the company by a anti-war protestor. The beginning moments were KaibaCorp footage, but the end was home videos compiled together. The purpose was supposed to turn people away from the idea of bombs by showing how deadly they were. Over two minutes of the three minute video was only images of destruction. There was the occasional before and after shot which I found very helpful in letting the monsters see what they were truly facing.
If the government decided to attack, we would all die.
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair as the video played. These sort of videos were not new or surprising as I had been immersed in such images for years of my childhood. I only hoped that the monsters were more effected than I currently felt.
I glanced over at Kisara and caught her gaze. It would be easier for me to sneak out without drawing the rest of the monsters' eye.
I angled my chin to signal her over. The brightness in her eyes was disgusting. She skipped over happily, as if I was actually wanting to talk to her.
"Yes, darling?" she whispered, leaning down next to my face.
"I have to go to my meeting," I said, matching her tone.
Kisara chewed on her lip. I knew that she was hesitant about letting me go to the meeting, as I would be going off on my own. According to the new agreement, they couldn't follow me everywhere. By letting me go, they were proving that they were willing to cooperate.
"Do you have to?"
I nodded. "Yes, I do. May I go?" I asked for permission only to make her feel more comfortable with the situation.
"I'll walk you out," she said.
Before we left, I told Kara how to restart the video if the need should arise. She grumbled something about not being a slave as Kisara and I walked out.
"Let me say bye to Mokuba," I said, but Kisara grabbed my hand and kept me from going to the observation room. I began to protest, but she murmured a "shhh" and kept pulling me towards the exit.
"Come back and you can see him," she whispered.
We stepped out of the room and into the connecting hallway. Since the monsters could no longer hear us, I stopped whispering.
"Kisara, I'm coming back. You can let me say goodbye to my brother."
Kisara shook her head. "Why don't you let me come with you?"
"I told you. You can't come because everyone will think that you are forcing me into this. We are proving that we will abide by the agreement-"
Kisara's mouth pressed against my own, cutting me off short. I stood motionless as she draped her arms around my neck to pull me closer. I clenched my fist and waited it out. This was not the time to make a point by pushing her away.
"Please come back to me, Seto," she said as she leaned back. She only moved far enough away so that she could speak, keeping our faces close together.
"I swore that I wouldn't leave you," I said. While I spoke, I reached up and grabbed her hands from my shoulders. To her, it seemed like I was trying to hold her hands. In actuality, I was putting more distance between us. "Trust me."
Kisara glanced at the door at the end of the hallway. She squeezed my hands and her lower lip began to quiver.
"Are you about to cry?" I asked incredulously.
"If I let you go, you won't come back," she explained.
I sighed and tried to pull out of her grip. However, when she tightened her hold, the grip became unbreakable.
"You have to let me go," I said, trying to downplay my annoyance.
A thought kept pressing to the forefront of my mind. I tried to ignore it, but Kisara was making it difficult. I was more concerned with what I was saying than Kisara's words. I was agreeing never to leave my captor. The three dragons were letting me walk away from them, but they might as well have been coming with me.
If I didn't need to be alone for the meeting, then I would have let Kisara come with me. At least if she came, it would feel more like I had no choice. Ironically, I felt more chained now than I did before the agreement had been made. Then, I had a chance of running. That had been taken for this false freedom.
Did I want to force this on the rest of the city?
"Please, Seto," Kisara whispered. She wrapped her arms behind me, which pulled my still trapped hands which hers. She leaned her head against my chest and held the position for a moment.
"Kisara. I am coming back," I said. "Sit with Mokuba if it makes you feel better. Even if you don't trust that I will come back for you, you can know that I will always come for him."
Kisara huffed and moved back upright. She dropped my hands and I took the chance to step back.
"You aren't even trying to sound sincere," she grumbled.
"I'm not a romantic," I said.
"How long will it take?" she asked.
"A few hours."
"I'm giving you three," Kisara said.
I opened my mouth, preparing to argue. Then I stopped. Three hours would be plenty of time. I knew that within a few minutes of being at the meeting, I would be ready to leave, so having a time limit would give me reason to leave early.
"Three hours," I agreed.
That made Kisara smile. She closed the distance between us once more and kissed me again. Luckily, it was brief.
Then I left before she had the chance to try to stop me again. When I reached the door, Kisara called out, "Be careful!"
I ignored her and left. Though her advice was sound, I didn't feel the need to respond. Of course I would be careful. The monsters who were not in the other room still were unaware of the agreement made between humans and beasts. Because of that, I was still at risk while walking around.
The roads were mostly empty. The only movements that I could see were fast darting blurs at the edges of my vision. Since they were so far away, I paid them little mind. As long as they remained at the distance, there would be no problems.
I was correct. The trip over to the meeting location went without incident. I stepped through the gate to get inside. A few people were scattered around, but I moved to the front of the room where Harrison sat.
"Mr. Kaiba! I was so glad to hear that you called a meeting. We were all worried when you didn't show up last week. A rumor had spread that you had been chosen," Harrison said upon seeing me.
"I was chosen."
Harrison's mouth fell open slightly at my words. "By whom?" he asked.
"The Blue-Eyes," I said. I glanced around the room to see if there was anyone else present that I knew. There wasn't, which meant that I had nothing else to do aside from speaking with Harrison.
"I have heard that there are three of them. Which chose you?"
"All three of them."
His eyes widened, which in addition to his mouth being open, gave him a very fish-like appearance. "How is that possible?"
"The regulations behind their choosing are still beyond my scope of knowledge. However, that is irrelevant to the point of the meeting," I said.
"So what is the point of the meeting?"
"I will explain once everyone arrives."
With that, I walked to the far wall and leaned back against it. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. I really wanted sleep, but that wouldn't come until I was back at the house. And even then, I would have to tell Krin and Kara about what all happened at the meeting about to begin, and then Kisara would do as she normally did. Between her excessive questions and kisses, I would never fall asleep.
"Kaib'!"
I groaned and kept my eyes closed. No matter how many times I heard that voice, it would never cease to create a migraine.
My eyes shot open when I felt arms pull me into a tight embrace. Wheeler had managed to pin my arms in his hug, making it impossible to push him away. And with my position against the wall, I was trapped.
"Get off," I said with my teeth clenched.
Wheeler did. "Man! Tea told us what ya did in savin' her!"
"Are you really that surprised?" I questioned.
"No! I knew ya had it in ya to be a decent human!"
"Make an attempt to hug me again and I will prove you wrong."
Wheeler found my threat amusing, so he laughed.
"I thought you'd been chosen?"
I looked around and to my dismay, enough people hadn't arrived. I had no excuse to start the meeting.
"I have been," I said, watching the door. Once a few – nine or ten, perhaps? – more people showed up, I could get started. And the sooner I began, the sooner I could be done.
"Uh, then how-"
I held up a hand to stop him. "I will explain later."
"During the meeting, later?"
"Yes."
"So," Wheeler began, clearly not receiving the hints that I had no interest in speaking to him any longer.
"Go sit down," I said while pointing to a chair.
Wheeler grumbled, but turned around. When he faced the door, he shouted, "Yami!"
Yami had just walked into the room. I shouldn't have been so shocked. The Magician had agreed to the deal as well. But seeing him move closer took me off guard. My doubts on the compromise working successfully were beginning to fade.
Wheeler ran to close the distance. He threw his arms around Yami's neck, holding him in a deathly-tight grip. Yami's face remained blank until he was released. It wasn't until Wheeler pulled back that Yami smiled slightly.
"It is good to see you, Joey," Yami said.
"Good? It's awesome! How'd ya get out?"
Yami's gaze fell to me. "I suppose I owe it to Kaiba."
Wheeler's head spun back to stare at me in complete shock. "Him? Kaiba, Seto Kaiba, helped you?"
I chose not to respond. The odds of Wheeler recognizing anything positive I might have done were slim. To him, every one of my actions came with an underlying scheme. Wheeler's opinions meant nothing to me. It was of no matter.
"Did he not tell you why we are here?" Yami asked.
"Nah- Kaib' hasn't said a word!" Wheeler shouted. A few people looked over.
"So when do you plan on telling everyone?" Yami asked.
"Whenever most everyone arrives," I said. I then did a quick glance of the room. It was still too early.
But since I had time, I could use it to discuss one of the details of the compromise with Yami. If he left without speaking alone with me, I might not get another chance. And if I waited until after I broke the news to the group, there would be no time at all for me to speak with him. The people at the meeting would be so angry at my decision to compromise that I expected a riot to break out in the room. There might not be another chance.
"Yami, will you talk with me for a moment?"
Yami nodded and stepped away from Wheeler. I walked over to the corner of the room where no one stood. I leaned my shoulder against the wall and waited for Yami to complete the walk over. I quickly looked around to ensure that no one would be able to overhear our conversation.
Yami spoke first. "How did you get the Magician to agree?"
"He told you nothing?" I asked.
"He said, 'Go to the meeting across town. Come back or die.'"
I nodded. "That is about the arrangement."
"I trust you won't wait to explain this to me?" Yami said.
"You're correct. I need to discuss this compromise with you before everyone else hears about it."
"A compromise?"
"Yes. The humans and the monsters have made an agreement. That is what this meeting is for. I am here to make sure that our side upholds the bargain."
Crossing his arms, Yami took a moment to think. "You agreed for everyone to participate in an arrangement without general consent?"
"I did."
"That will not go over well," Yami said as he glanced behind him. "No one will appreciate you controlling them in such a way."
"And what about you? The Magician let you leave without any form of guard, right?"
"Yes, he did. I hope you can tell me why he expects for me to return?"
"Because that is the agreement. They can no longer hold us captive," I stopped momentarily and smirked. "Well, in the way that they can't keep us locked away. They have to allow us free movement, and in return, we will live with them."
Yami took a step to the side and leaned against the wall in front of me. "They've agreed to this?"
I nodded once.
"The Magician said something about a bomb?" Yami pressed.
"What exactly did he say about it?"
"I believe his words were, 'If that stupid bomb was out of the equation, I'd just kill them all.' But he then promised to let me live in that event."
"It's true. The government was planning to bomb Domino, but I talked them out of it for the time being."
"For the time? Does that mean they plan on bombing at a later point?"
"We have until the end of the year," I said. I broke my eye contact with Yami to check on the numbers in the room. Doing a rough count, I decided that it would be acceptable to begin the meeting.
"To do what?"
"To close the portal."
Yami raised his hand to hold off anything else I might have to say. "And how exactly do you intend on doing that?"
I lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "That's why we are having this conversation. Yugi-" Yami flinched at the name. "-opened it. There must be a way to reverse the effect."
"Kaiba, I have gone over it many times. I know how Yugi created it, but it is now in existence. Destroying it would be like trying to eliminate an ocean. It isn't possible."
I shook my head as I answered, "We have to find a way. And if what you say is true, we can't close it, then we have to find a way to get rid of the monsters. Who knows more about them than we do?"
I had intended on continuing my thought process, but Harrison entered my line of sight. He walked over to the two of us and said, "Mr. Kaiba, I believe that most everyone is here. Shall we begin?"
"Yes, give me a moment."
He left to sit at his usual seat in front of the crowd. When he was far enough away, I turned back to Yami. "We don't have a choice. If we don't find a way to get rid of the monsters, this city will be bombed, even if we are still in it."
"Okay, I'll see what I can remember about Yugi discovering the spell," Yami said, but he sounded doubtful.
"Good. Now, help me convince these people to follow the rules of the compromise."
Yami stayed quiet as we moved to stand next to Harrison's chair. Everyone else grew quiet, sensing the beginning of the meeting.
"I'm glad you all could make it out on an irregular meeting day. But Mr. Kaiba has informed me that he had vital information for us all."
When all eyes shifted to watch me, I took a deep breath before starting. "I have rules for you to follow. You have no choice but to comply."
And the complaints began.
End Part One.
Phew.