Rock Bottom: Season One

Captives

"No need to worry, gentlemen," Pegasus assured the Big Five over video conference. "The girl is secure here, and even if she were to escape my castle—which is highly unlikely—where would she go? This is an island populated by my employees and a few duelists. She's not going anywhere."

"Even so, do not take any risks with her," Johnson said with a scowl. "If we lose her, we lose control of KaibaCorp, and I'm sick of being bossed around by those Kaiba brats."

"People like Noah Kaiba don't deserve to run a company," Leichter added, his expression unpleasant.

"I completely agree with you, good sirs," Pegasus said with a charming smile. "As soon as I receive everything you have concerning the Solid Vision technology and its most recent breakthroughs since we signed our deal, she'll be released into your custody immediately and control of the Kaiba Corporation will be yours."

"It's still being compiled. Once that's done, it will be transported to you immediately," Crump said, looking irritated that Pegasus had kidnapped Adina before they did. But, they were businessmen, and as such were accustomed to negotiating deals and getting what they want.

"Excellent!"

"You do realize, sir, that the program still needs development," Nezbitt pointed out, looking incredulous, as if he doubted how useful the technology would be to Pegasus as it was.

"I am well aware of that. Very soon, I will have both of its creators under my thumb, so you needn't worry about me. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have a tournament to run." With that, Pegasus hung up on them before they could say anything else. He rose from his chair, grinning cruelly. "This is just too easy."

********** ********** **********

"...She must be somewhere, though. Little girls don't just disappear into thin air, you know. They'll find your sister any minute, I'm sure."

Noah Kaiba remained catatonic in his wheelchair, staring into empty space. Whether or not he could hear the words of his nurse was anyone's guess. Would he remember them when he woke up? Did he feel any concern about his sister, or was his mind too absent for anything to register with him?

Deep within his soul, Noah Kaiba was struggling through an experience he could only describe as hellish. It felt like his very being had been torn asunder. He'd lost the part of him that reveled in the pain of others, the part of him that wished to emulate his father, the part of him that felt anger and hatred and aggression, the part of him that enjoyed violence. The part of him that would do anything to win.

Ah, but what did it mean to win? He'd clearly lost his duel with Seto, but his rivalry with Seto was far from over. The rules for the duel were clear and indisputable, but the rules for a rivalry were quite the opposite: vague, undefined, nebulous. He could still win.

At the moment, though, he was not thinking about Seto or victory. With his darker half, the half that hid his humanity, separated from himself, he was forced to deal with the pain and emotion and vulnerability that he'd suppressed for so long. He was forced to remember how his own father had hurt him, how he'd cried and begged for mercy, causing his father to teach him that only dogs begged. He was forced to admit that in the dark of the night, when he was alone and everything was still and silent, somewhere deep within he ached with loneliness. He was forced to admit the fact that he envied Seto.

Seto had friends and a little brother that loved him. Seto was smarter than him. Seto knew what he was doing with his life. Seto was respected by the people around him.

Noah wasn't respected, he was feared. He made people fear him because he didn't know how to make them love him. Deep down, he was just a small scared child that wanted to be loved. His father had beaten his lessons into him, molested and defiled him without regard for his son's pain. His mother had been distant and silent because she'd also been screwed up by Gozaburo's behavior. Adina was the only one who'd escaped their father's abuse, but her innocence and happiness had grated on Noah in the past, making him bitter and angry. Why was he the only one to suffer like this? Why couldn't he be happy like everyone else?