a fiction about an alternate path that Seto will take post-Crowdeath.

Warnings: Character death.

The room felt cramped; surrounded by the decaying smell of plastic and artificial limbs. Seto clung to his friend, unable to stop the tears streaming down his face. He didn't want to believe this was happening; he had so many things he still wanted to share with him. He wanted to help Crow find that place in his picture after saving the silver-haired girl. It wasn t supposed to end like this, he thought as he sobbed uncontrollably.

"You re my friend..." he choked out, tightening his grip on Crow as if he did his friend wouldn't leave. He could feel his tears soaking through the cloth around Crow's neck.

"But I m not human," Crow replied, mildly wishing he could embrace Seto back. The corners of his vision were fading quicker then he expected it too, but he struggled to stay conscious seeing as it was the most he could do at the moment. He'd lost control of everything else awhile ago, but even if he tried to move he d use too much energy and kill what power was remaining in his battery.

"You're my friend, dammit!" Seto exclaimed, taking Crow by surprise.

"Okay, I'm your friend..." he said, not wanting to upset Seto any further. "Come on... don't cry now."

".. Okay," Seto tried to meet his dying friend's wish, but it felt impossible to stop. He didn t want Crow to leave... he couldn't leave...

"Heh," Crow started. "I'm almost jealous... that you're able to cry." Seto could tell it was getting harder and harder for Crow to speak. "But really, that's enough already."

Crow figured Seto wouldn't stop, he couldn't. He knew though, as Seto managed a small 'mm-hm' that he was trying.

"Oh, yeah..." he begins again, remembering something. "The skull ring I gave you... you still carrying that around?" Seto sniffed, nodding slightly.

"Y- yeah," he stuttered out. "I keep it in my locket..."

"That's good. That ring is proof of our friendship," Seto noticed that Crow s voice seemed a little distant with this, causing him to hold him tighter. His friend was slipping away and he didn't want to accept it. "...our friendship."

Seto ignored the fact that it was proving to be difficult to recognize Crow's voice the more he spoke. "You know... you're the first real friend I ever had."

Crow would have commented on the irony of that statement, seeing as he wasn't 'real' at all. Before he could, his vision had vanished completely and he heard a distant beeping in the back of his head alerting him of his low battery.

"You are my number one friend." He struggled out, attempting to save power by giving his voice a rest and using his standard robotic one. "My best friend." That tone of voice... "My best friend." It made Seto's heart ache. "My best friend." It made his eyes burn. "My best friend..." It made his whole body tremble.

Crow was quiet, allowing Seto's sobs to fill the silence. What was a few seconds felt like eternity for Seto before his friend spoke one last time.

"Thank you for everything, Seto." he says, using the last of his energy to turn and look at the sobbing boy latched onto him. The distant beeping sound became loud and apparent before it stopped all together. Crow's eyes slid shut and he became unresponsive.

This isn't real. I'm dreaming. Seto thought desperately, trying to find a reason to deny reality. Anything to fill the void of this constant loneliness he felt. Crow was dead. Gone. The very thought made the boy s heart twist and stomach turn. The floating apparatus was forgotten until she decided to speak up.

"Mm.. come on, he shut down.." The feeling in Seto's stomach only grew as he heard those painful words. Seto refused to look up at Sai. He couldn't bear the thought of letting go of the limp boy in his arms. "You're wrong," he found it hard to speak, Seto only managed a whisper. "He died."

Silence engulfed the room as Seto withdrew the skull ring form his locket and stared at it with glassy eyes. What went wrong? He slowly brought the ring to his lips, planting a soft and small kiss upon it. "For you," he began. "I'll keep going..." A new determination blossomed within Seto's chest, as if a new objective presented itself to him. It was clear to him; he needed to unravel the mystery that was Crow.

a minty shoelace for Remi collab.