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I Know You're Out There Somewhere	By : Firewing Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3536 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 32: Midnight Meetings

Disclaimer: I still don�t own it. Go figure.

��.
By the time the sun gave birth to Sunday morning, Seto had already spent hours tapping away at his link to the rest of the world. He had chosen research over rest, and to him, it had been worth every second. Now, he had a rough, sketchy concept of what would be involved in the creation of the most intricate, delicate, and intoxicatingly complex program he had ever attempted to write. More importantly, however, he knew that he could do it. The question was not one of ability, but of time.
Seto had decided that holographic technology alone would not be sufficient to produce a living human being. Cecelia�s physical form would have to be a fusion between two different sciences; otherwise, all she would be was a three dimensional projection of light.
Ironically enough, the key to the entire thing had come to the brilliant CEO while he was sleeping off his hangover. Droning voices had entered the realm of his dreams, going on incessantly about the benefits of cloning, as well as the general public's misconception that an animal or human being could be cloned in its fully developed adult form. In reality, a clone developed from infancy and grew into a mature specimen, just like any other living organism.
Seto's hypothesis, therefore, involved using DNA structures to create a stable, biologically correct construct of Cecelia, then employing holograms to artificially produce that construct. His mind reeled from the possibilities and challenges this project presented, suffusing him with a heady enthusiasm that he seldom felt during the course of his life.
Getting an adequate sample of Cecelia�s DNA wouldn�t be too difficult. Pegasus was a romantic fool; he likely had a lock of Cecelia�s hair laying around someplace. Of course, her body could always be exhumed, but if Pegasus objected to that, there was always the Jou-pup. He carried the DNA of both his parents, and Pegasus' could easily be screened out, leaving only Cecelia's.
As he plunged wholeheartedly into his latest task, Seto knew that he would eventually be able to reproduce the woman�s body. It would be up to the others to retrieve her soul.
��.
That afternoon, everyone but Seto and Mokuba went to Maria�s visitation at the funeral home. Although Seto had taken a break from his research and tentative calculations in order to eat lunch with Jou and Mokuba, he had returned to them as soon as he could.
Joey had no idea what his boyfriend was up to, but as long as it was keeping Seto out of trouble, he wasn't going to object. The blond had had a long talk with his boyfriend's brother about the repercussions of Jou�s confession to Seto, and they had come to the decision that Mokuba should keep Seto company that afternoon. Left to their own devices, perhaps the Kaiba brothers would finally be able to resolve their three-year-old nightmare and put it behind them.
There was one tiny problem with this apparently flawless plan, however, which was that Mokuba�s beloved big brother couldn't be pried away from his computer by anything short of a hurricane, or possibly a power failure, neither of which Mokuba possessed the ability to engineer himself. Undaunted, though, he sat patiently in the middle of one of the two beds, testing one strategy after another as he tried to come up with a Duel Monsters deck combination that might have a slim chance of standing up to Seto�s.
Becoming absorbed in one's tasks was evidently a trait that the brothers shared, however, for Mokuba didn't even notice that Seto had stopped typing until the brunet moved a stack of cards over and sat down beside him. �What are you doing, Kuba?� Seto asked, blinking bloodshot, monitor-strained eyes furiously in an attempt to get them to work properly once more.
�I�m trying to build a deck that can beat yours,� Mokuba confessed.
Seto snorted. �Not likely.�
Mokuba playfully stuck his tongue out at his older brother. �And what are you working on?�
Seto sighed, having already decided to tell Mokuba just enough of the truth to satisfy his little brother�s curiosity, but not enough that he would risk spoiling his puppy's surprise. �First, you have to promise me you won't to tell Jou anything. If he asks, just tell him it's something I'm working on for Kaiba Corp.�
Mokuba nodded, and Seto continued, inexplicably reassured by this gesture. �It�s a surprise for him, but I�m not sure how long it'll take to get the program working, if I ever do at all. That's why he can't know; I don't want to disappoint him."
�Is it another virtual reality game?� Mokuba asked hopefully. He had enjoyed the first one while Seto was testing it, and though this one would be Jou's, the raven-haired boy knew that the blond was too generous not to let him play as well.
�No, Kuba, this has more to do with holograms.�
�Oh.� Mokuba said, just the slightest bit disappointed. However, he'd rather see Joey happy than play some dumb old game any day.
An uneasy silence developed between the brothers. Neither of them knew how to bring up the subject of Gozaburo, and neither was sure he wanted to in the first place.
�Seto?� Mokuba finally ventured.
�Yes?�
�Are you angry at me?� The lavender-gray-eyed boy asked timidly, and Seto tensed up before relaxing once more, his gaze going soft in a way that only Mokuba and Joey would ever know.
�No, Mokuba. Why?�
�I should have told you about�about Gozaburo a long time ago.� Mokuba said around a sigh, still uncertain that this statement was entirely true.
Seto nodded in agreement, wondering even as he did if that knowledge would have interfered with his focusing on what needed to done to gain both custody of his brother and control of Kaiba Corp. Perhaps, in fact, Mokuba's silence had shielded them both.
�Yes, Kuba, I wish you would have told me sooner. I wish you hadn�t felt that you had to carry that burden alone." He reached out and stroked the silky ebony mane as he spoke, and Mokuba took his cue to climb into his brother's lap and wrap his arms around the taller boy's waist. "I wish you hadn�t had to carry it all.�
�You saved my life that day, Seto. He was going to kill me because he thought that would break you. He would have had complete control over you." Mokuba sobbed softly, though being held by his brother usually reassured him.
Seto had gone from relaxed to positively rigid. He hadn�t known Gozaburo was actually attempting to murder Mokuba, and he clutched the small boy as tight as he could without seriously injuring him. �No one messes with my little brother and gets away with it,� Seto growled fiercely, sapphire daggers dancing in his eyes.
Mokuba grinned up at Seto, the tears suddenly gone from his eyes. �I love you, too, big brother.�
��.
Maria�s funeral was on Monday morning. Having assumed parental responsibility of the Wheeler siblings, Pegasus took care of all the expenses and preparations, sparing them as many of the unpleasant details as possible.
Meanwhile, Serenity struggled to let go of the life she had always known. Every picture, every piece of clothing, and every household object had a story and she wanted to tell each one of them as the mismatched crew attempted to sort and pack, deciding what to keep and what to donate. To their credit, and Serenity�s eternal gratitude, both Tristan and Pegasus proved to be good listeners while Croquet organized and kept the rest of his team of muscle-bound teenagers moving. Mokuba was more than willing to do his share and was ironically the more productive of the three remaining Domino residents. Seto kept grumbling about being treated like a pack animal, and Jou kept stopping to whistle at Seto whenever the brunet bent over to pick up a box, no matter how many times his newfound 'Uncle Chris' reminded him that his sister's things weren't going to move themselves.
For once, Seto�s arrogant attitude was a complete and total bluff. Had they been in Japan, he could have called in a cleaning crew and had this task completed within hours, not days. He had said as much to Jou when the blond had returned from Maria�s visitation, explaining that he felt Serenity would suffer needlessly as a result of having to discard her life piece by piece. Joey, however, had reminded him of the fire in which everything he�d held dear, including the life of Jonathan Wheeler, had been destroyed in a matter of minutes. He had nothing left but memories and his motorcycle, and he wanted to give his sister the gift of time.
Seto had few sentimental attachments to material objects beyond his Blue Eyes White Dragon cards and the locket around his neck that bore Mokuba�s picture, but seeing the grief in Jou's eyes as he spoke of the fire had set of a pang of empathy in his once-frozen heart. When Jou had mentioned the motorcycle the brunet remembered suddenly that Jou only had it because of his timely intervention.

Still, Seto had an image to uphold, and did his best to maintain his icy façade in public, no matter how much he might have wanted to laugh at Jou's antics or, more likely, drag the blond into a corner and ravish him. Work first, then play.

As it turned out, work left no time for play; when they returned to the hotel, it was past dinnertime, and Pegasus had a light meal sent up to his suite for everyone. The silver-haired man took care not to order too much; the memory of the previous night's wastage was still fresh in his mind, and while he certainly wasn't cheap, he hated seeing otherwise good food go to waste simply because their little group was more than a bit dysfunctional.
Despite the drastically reduced portions, though, the same stony silence reigned in the dining room until Joey put forward the possibility of cancelling their vacation altogether, in order to give Serenity time to settle into her new home. Though Serenity was against cancelling the trip entirely, she agreed to reschedule it until the next week at her brother's insistence. That taken care of, she turned to Pegasus as the older man took a sip of crimson wine.
�Sir, will you be coming with us?� she asked. Though she had fully embraced the idea of becoming the man's adopted daughter, she would be the first to admit that she still found him a bit intimidating at times.
While Pegasus would have been only too happy to join the vacationing teenagers, he was the consummate gentleman, and since no invitation had been extended to him, he would not impose his presence on the group. "Unfortunately, my dear, I must really be getting back to Duelist Kingdom; I fear that the castle will fall apart if Christopher and I stay away much longer."

��.
For the rest of the meal, Seto tried to make sense of the recent developments concerning the Wheeler siblings and their relationship with Maximillion Pegasus. Though he had been severely tempted to do his first happy dance when the silver-haired lunatic had told Serenity that he wouldn't be coming with them, he hadn't missed the dejected look that had immediately appeared on his puppy's face. Whether he liked it or not, Pegasus was important to Jou, and he was just going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice in tolerating him. If he didn't, he risked losing his lover to the man who had tried to steal his company simply because he had refused to share, like a bratty child.
Therefore, as they were getting ready for bed that evening, Seto turned to Jou and told him that if he wished to invite his father to come with them, he wouldn't put up a fight. The blond was far too accustomed to Seto's ulterior motives for his own good, though, and the brunet spent more than half an hour trying to convince Joey that he didn't have any hidden agenda before giving up and taking things into his own hands.
Leaving his bewildered mutt behind for the time being, he strode confidently down the hall to Pegasus' suite and pounded on the door loud enough to wake the dead. He would need to speak to his enemy privately sooner or later; it might as well be now, while he had another reason to be associating with the man.
Eventually, Pegasus opened the door, dressed in a black brocade dressing gown. Despite the fact that it was past midnight, not a single silvery hair on his head was out of place, and Seto found that just the slightest bit unnatural as he brushed his own auburn locks away from his eyes. �Although you and I do not seem to require our beauty sleep, Kaiba-boy, I am sure that there are other occupants of this noble establishment that do. It would most likely be in our best interest to respect that need if we wish to avoid being thrown out into the street before daybreak.�
Seto barged past him and into the suite, a scowl already frozen on his face. �You think you�re funny, don�t you, Pegasus?�
�Yes, actually.� Pegasus smirked. It was truly evil how much enjoyment he derived from annoying his son's boyfriend, but it was a vice he was powerless to deny. Kaiba was just such an easy target, after all. �You really should lower your voice, however," he admonished. "You�ll wake Chris, and he deserves some rest.�
Seto�s eyes traveled to the bedroom door, and he wondered just how far Croquet would go to in order to keep his master happy before deciding that he really didn't want to know.
�Did you want something, Kaiba-boy?� Pegasus� voice drew him back to the present, and the older man�s knowing smirk grated against what was left of Seto�s nerves.
�I came to invite you to join us on our vacation!� Seto snapped in exasperation. The only person who could make him lose his temper faster than Pegasus was Jou. As this thought crossed his mind, Seto groaned involuntarily. It was a genetic trait that had been passed from father to son; he was doomed to have a short temper for the rest of his life.
�Would you care to sit down, or would you prefer to charge about like a caged wildcat?� Pegasus asked smoothly as Seto began to stalk back and forth, in serious danger of wearing a hole in the carpeting. Though his glare didn't soften one bit, Seto sat down. His purpose in being there was not to exacerbate matters, but in order to avoid that, he would have to be something approaching civil to his worst enemy, and accepting said man's hospitality without a fight would probably be a good start towards that end.
�I�m astonished, Kaiba-boy.� Pegasus said, sitting in the chair across from the sofa that the brunet occupied. �You are actually extending another invitation to me on Joseph�s behalf? Should I be asking what your intentions are toward my son?�
Seto growled. The concept of teamwork alone was alien enough to him, and the thought of doing anything with Pegasus made Seto�s blood boil with hate. Therefore, he preferred to consider his little proposal a 'gift' of sorts, although it was most certainly not the peace offering it seemed to be on the surface.
He given serious thought to the price he could demand from Pegasus for developing such radical technology. The idea of claiming Industrial Illusions and the rights to the Duel Monsters game itself did not seem too high in exchange for Pegasus� wife, yet those were Jou�s rightful inheritance and Seto didn't really want or need either. Blackmail, too, was out of the question. Even if Pegasus were willing to abandon his son again, Seto knew that the toll that would take on Jou might well tear them apart in the long run, especially if the golden dragon-pup ever found out just who was responsible for his one remaining parent deserting him. If only he could exact his revenge without Jou getting caught in the crossfire.... unfortunately for him, though, it just wasn�t possible. In the end, there was nothing Seto wanted from the man other than his son, and he already possessed Jou as completely as the other boy would ever allow himself to be possessed by anyone.
Seto was so lost in his musings that he didn't even notice Croquet's cautious entrance. The bodyguard was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and pajama pants, and the brunet was only aware of his presence when the ammunition clip of the bodyguard�s Glock clicked into place not ten feet from his skull.
�Well, your pit bull is awake.� Seto snarled, not the least bit apprehensive about the fact that his life was now in Croquet's hands. The man obeyed Pegasus, and said inventor wouldn't dare harm him for fear of losing Jou once again, this time forever.
�What is your obsession with dogs, Kaiba-boy?� Pegasus countered, pretending not to notice that his manservant was about one finger spasm away from killing the young CEO.
�Sir?� After the events of the past few days, Croquet had had enough of Kaiba to last a lifetime. All his frayed patience needed was an excuse to pull the trigger, and he would do it gladly.
�It�s all right, Chris. For goodness sake, put that thing away before someone gets seriously injured.� Pegasus waved at the gun disapprovingly, and the weapon disappeared into the bedroom. Croquet himself, though, began to hover protectively at his master's shoulder, something that Pegasus appeared accustomed to.
Seto glared at Pegasus' protector, deciding to ignore the annoying man rather than get into a dispute with his employer concerning his presence that he would likely lose.
�Look, Pegasus. There is something I have to know.� he said, sitting back and taking a deep breath as he prepared to launch into his carefully-organized proposal.
�And that would be...?" Pegasus prompted.
�Jou told me that your whole insane plot to takeover Kaiba Corp was because you wanted to use my technology to create a hologram of your wife. Is that true?� Seto's previously neutral tone became cold as he remembered the incident that had, ultimately, gotten Mokuba locked in a dungeon and both their souls stolen by the same madman that he was now being so foolish as to try and help. The things I do for the mutt....

Pegasus sighed, wondering if he was ever going to escape that episode of his life. He found it quite painful to be reminded over and over again that he had failed to resurrect Cecelia, especially when one such as Kaiba was rubbing salt into the still-unhealed wound with every syllable he uttered. �Why do you ask, Seto?�
Inwardly, the other businessman winced. Though he detested hearing his given name on his enemy�s lips, however, even he had to admit that it was an improvement over the insulting Kaiba-boy. Why can�t the man simply call me Kaiba, and why does he have to answer a question with a question?

�Yes or no, Pegasus. Were you attempting to create a body to house the soul of Jou�s mother, or did you have a different agenda?�
�What Joseph told you is the truth,� the silver-haired man admitted.
�You really didn�t want Kaiba Corp at all?�
�No, Seto, nor did I want to put your brother in the dungeon, but he proved to be as wily as Croquet when it comes to masterful escapes," Pegasus continued to explain. "As long as we're setting the record straight, I might as well let you know that I wouldn't have captured either of your souls had I not been forced to."
�Yet you sent your goons to kill me as part of your deal with the Big Five,� Seto growled.
�Actually, Kaiba-boy, I would have taken the first opportunity that came along to double-cross the Big Five. Had you not jumped off that cliff so quickly, you would have learned that my security team was ordered to bring you back to Duelist Kingdom alive. Of course, I could have simply had my technology experts pick apart your holographic design to get what I wanted, but it would have taken so much longer to reach my goal without the aid of your genius brain.� Pegasus had become rather gloomy by the end of his speech, and the last few words were spoken around a sigh. "If I had known that I was destined to meet with such failure..."
�I�ll do it.� Seto interjected. A condescending Pegasus, he could deal with; a depressed and moping Pegasus wasn't an idea he cared to dwell on too much.
�What?� The older man's head shot up, his single remaining eye meeting Seto's gaze dead-on, and it was all he could do to hold back the hope that threatened to fill that chocolate-brown orb.
�I�ve started the research already. It may take months, perhaps even years to perfect the program, but I will create a body for your wife,� Seto promised his lover's father, feeling a sudden surge of empathy with Pegasus. If it were Jou that had fallen victim to some terminal disease, Seto wouldn't have stopped trying to bring his puppy back until he fell dead himself from exhaustion.
Pegasus arched one graceful eyebrow while Croquet dug his fingernails into the chair that his master currently occupied hard enough to pierce tiny crescents into the decorative fabric covering it.
�Are we talking about revenge or blackmail here, Kaiba-boy?� Pegasus purred. Despite his understandable inclination towards hopefulness, he hadn't forgotten to whom he was speaking by any stretch of the imagination.
�Neither,� Seto replied shortly, and Pegasus' eye narrowed suspiciously. Abruptly, the brunet leapt to his feet, but Croquet inserted himself instantly between the other two men, a gesture that frustrated Seto, who had never had any use for bodyguards, to no end.
�You�re a coward, Pegasus!" the dragon master roared. "All you can do is hide behind your guards... and your castle walls! Don't you ever fight your own battles?�
�You of all people, Kaiba, should be aware that I do," Pegasus replied dangerously, waving his long-time companion away. "Christopher, please.�
Croquet retreated to his original place behind Pegasus� armchair, but his eyes never left Seto for a moment, and his muscles had yet to relax. �You don�t expect me to believe that you�ve decided to create a hologram of my late wife out of the goodness of your heart, do you, Seto?� Pegasus couldn�t help but be irritated, more with the circumstances than with Seto himself. �You would be wasting your time. A fancy hologram cannot replace my Lady. Though I appreciate the offer, Seto, it simply would not be enough.�
�You're giving up just because you lost your little gold eyeball?� Seto sneered. "If their loss cripples you so, perhaps you should take more care to ensure that your valuables remain safe."
His anger finally erupting from a few embers into a full-fledged blaze, Croquet jerked the chair that his employer was sitting in. "You cocky, arrogant, egotistical whelp! You have no right to disrespect him; you know nothing of what he's had to endure over the years!"

Pegasus was mildly surprised by his servant's outburst; the salt and pepper haired man rarely, if at all, lost control of his temper. Gently, the silver-haired billionaire reached up and patted Croquet's hand briefly in an effort to calm his friend down. "Your intervention is appreciated, Christopher, but quite uncalled for at the present time." As the tension level rose in his outer reality, Pegasus closed his eye, withdrawing into his mind in an attempt to relax himself. Behind him, Croquet's hands unclenched from the chair's upholstery, and the rest of his body followed suit.
�I cannot bring back her soul,� Pegasus said at length, and his tone was one of forlorn defeat. What tragic irony; Kaiba was freely offering to help him reclaim Cecelia now, after he had lost the ability to return her soul to the mortal realm. His frustration was nearly unbearable; it seemed as though he was cursed to forever be tempted and tortured by fate.
�Could Yugi Motou bring her soul back?� Seto asked seriously, and Pegasus gasped in shock. It had not occurred to him that it might be possible to acquire the willing cooperation of others; all of his elaborate plots and schemes, after all, had been designed to cover his true intentions, a delicately crafted mask behind which to hide the shards of his broken heart.
His entire life, Pegasus had been somewhat ostracized, and he had expected his radical dreams to be shunned, laughed at, and met with resistance or denial. It was, after all, absurd to believe a mere mortal could raise the dead. However, Yugi had the Millennium Puzzle, along with its powerful magics and the mysterious being attached to it, while Bakura had the Ring, and they were both Joseph�s friends�was it possible?
�Yugi would do anything within his power to help Jou.� Seto continued, seemingly oblivious to Pegasus' meditations. �Do you believe this falls into that category?�
�Possibly,� Pegasus nodded.
�The main thing, Pegasus, is that you must swear not to breathe a word of this to Jou until the program is functional.� Seto folded his arms over his chest as he placed his only condition on the offer.
�I agree,� Pegasus consented. There was no point in raising Joseph�s hopes; it was bad enough having his own raised once more.
�And don�t get the idea that I am doing this for your benefit. I don�t like you, I don�t trust you, and quite frankly, I despise you. You�re a miserable, conniving conartist. I�m doing this for Jou,� Seto told the other man bluntly.
�Oh, I understand, Kaiba-boy. I would not dare dream that you had had a change of heart concerning your opinion of me.� Pegasus shot back sarcastically, his former candor having returned with a vengeance.
Seto growled, and it was all he could do to resist the urge to throttle Pegasus. �Do you happen to have a lock of Cecelia�s hair?� he demanded, changing the subject before even his formidable self-control could crack.
�Yes, Seto, I do. Why do you ask?�
�I believe that by inserting Cecelia�s DNA into the holographic program, it will be possible to duplicate her body exactly in a solid, adult form. It will be as if time stopped and she never died.�
Pegasus� single eye went wide with amazement. �Hmm� Please, continue.�
�This is all conjecture at this point. I won�t be able to test my theory until I get to my lab and have the DNA sample,� Kaiba explained, stopping when Pegasus raised his left hand regally.
�Well, my dear Kaiba-boy, I know you are the one man on the planet who is both trustworthy and brilliant enough to pull off such a daring feat.�
�Trustworthy?� Kaiba choked.
Pegasus raised an eyebrow as he rose from his chair and opened the door for the young CEO, indicating that this particular meeting had drawn to a close. He wasn�t about to repeat himself for the benefit of Kaiba's ego. �Perhaps some sleep would be in order, Seto? We can�t have you collapsing from exhaustion, now can we?�
Seto was still so taken aback by the concept that Pegasus actually trusted him that he simply did as he was told without argument.
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