I don't own Yugioh.

"It's all my fault," I said rubbing my hands through my hair.

"But Mr. Kaiba," Roland began.

"I let him be the beta tester for the new Duel Pod."

"It was his choice. You couldn't have stopped him if you wanted to."

I sighed as Doctor Ross walked in.

"Sir?"

"How is he?" I demanded.

"His vitals are normal right now. I would suggest moving him-"

"No. It's too risky removing him from the Pod while his mind is still in the system. It could ruin his neurological capabilities if we take him out. His consciousness is still in the system, so if we take him out, he may never wake up, but it needs his memories to back it up if the system fails. He's not going anywhere."

"But what if something happens while he's still in there?"

"Sanitize the area and do whatever it takes to save him."

"I understand," Dr. Ross said, backing away.

"Mr. Kaiba," Roland said.

"What now?" I was getting a migraine.

"There's another victim from Industrial Illusions."

"Having another victim won't bring Mokuba back!" I snapped.

The phone rang. To give me a moment to calm down, Roland answered it.

"Hello?"

I recognized the answering voice, which doubled the pain of my migraine.

"Hel-lo? You're not Kaiba-boy, are you?"

My temper got the better of me, and I snatched the phone from Roland's hand.

"What do you want, Pegasus?"

"My, my, someone's in a bad mood!"

"I'm about to hang up right now. I have no patience streak, so make it quick."

"My condolences, Kaiba-boy. I've heard about Mokuba."

I took a deep breath, trying not to crush the phone in my hand. "I'm not on the phone to hear your false sympathy, Cyclops. State your business or I'll dissect you alive for that glitch you put in the system."

"I didn't put that glitch in the system."

"Oh really? Who else would put Toon World in the simulation? Zigfried von Schroeder?"

"It's true that it was my idea for Toon World to be a part of your virtual world, but, and listen here, Kaiba-boy. In the computer-controlled simulation, it was too glitched, so I scrapped the idea. Someone from my programming department must have kept the file for further use, perhaps to refine it so it could eventually be added. I don't know, but I think I do know who uploaded Toon World to your game."

"Who?"

"I believe it was a man named Ash Kai. He was fired for hacking into some of my other employees' files. Apparently, he knew the password to get into the game files and put Toon World back in to get revenge on me for firing him. It has cost you so dearly."

"What does Ash Kai look like? I want to know what kind of person to look for so if I see someone of his description on the streets, I can justify assault and battery."

"Now, now Kaiba-boy. We mustn't get violent with random strangers we see on the side of the road."

"Why are you even telling me this?"

"We agreed to work together on that virtual world of yours. You would come up with the main design; I would work on the monsters and their special abilities. I propose another business partnership of a more personal nature."

"Oh?"

"You may have heard about a victim from my company. She's around Mokuba's age. Her name is Kris Frost. I propose that you enter your virtual world to rescue the two damsels in distress…"

"Are you calling Mokuba weak?

"He has been kidnapped many times before."

"At least one of which was conspired by you. And why should I even trust you, Pegasus? You conspired with the Big Five to trap me in my own virtual world before."

"Because I'm a suspect."

"That's reassuring."

"It should be. If I'm a suspect and there is another victim, I'll very likely be arrested. Since I want to avoid being arrested at all costs, I should be off your list of culprits."

"Why are you even interested in helping me?"

"Because I'd much rather this story not get out to the media, and the fewer people involved, the better. And slap me thrice and hand me to my mother if I haven't grown fond of you over the years, Kaiba-boy."

"Sorry, Pegasus. I'm into women."

There was a pause. "That hit a little too far below the belt. And speaking of women," Pegasus started, but I interrupted him.

"I doubt you have any balls. Are you sure that would hurt?"

He ignored my comment and continued, "As I was saying, I was going to have one of my employees go along with you to rescue her little sister."

"So the other victim has an older sibling to rescue her. How do I know you're not trying to set me up? I wouldn't put it past you."

"If that happened, it would just be an added bonus."

I sighed. "What's her name?"

"Kisara Frost. There's something about her I think would interest you."

I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"She's like a human version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

No. Impossible. She can't have been reincarnated.

I made a noncommittal noise in the back of my throat.

"I know you're more interested than you sound, Kaiba-boy. You and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon go back thousands of years. Yugi told me all about the Nameless Pharaoh's journey back to the afterlife and how you had to fight Zorc in the past."

"For all you know, he might have tried drugs for the first time."

"Don't play dumb with me, Seto."

"We're not on first-name terms, Pegasus."

"So be it, Kaiba-boy. So, when were you thinking of entering your virtual world with dear Kisara?"

"It's about three here and ten at night in California."

"I can read clocks, Kaiba-boy."

"I want to log on as soon as possible. Unless she's going to your HQ right now, I'm not waiting on anything."

"She's already here. Maybe I'll let her talk to you and let you two get to know each other."

I heard voices in the background, but the softer of the two was unintelligible; the girl was too quiet to understand well. It seemed strange that her past life was the keeper of the most powerful Ka in existence.

"Oh well. I guess she's too shy to talk to you."

She spoke again in the background. Pegasus seemed to think whatever she said was a good idea.

"She wants to know if you should meet up somewhere in the virtual world. I think it's a great idea. She has a good deck, augmented by cards I gave her, but she doesn't get to use it much. Your skills could make up for her… inexperience."

I heard faint protest in the background.

"Where would we meet up in the virtual world?"

"The starting town near the fountain in the village square."

"How will I know who she is?"

"Trust me. You'll know who she is when you see her."

"When do we meet?"

"In one hour. Prepare your deck wisely."

I hung up, not honoring Pegasus with a polite goodbye.

One hour. Sixty minutes to have a crash dummy to verify my Pod's safety before I entered myself. Who would I send?

Wheeler. Maybe Muto, too.

I called the Kame Game Shop.

"Kame Game Shop. Yugi speaking."

"Yugi."

"Oh, hi, Kaiba."

"I need a favor. You and Wheeler pack your decks. You're hired as beta testers for my Duel Pod; I pay well. See you in thirty minutes," I hung up. I didn't want to talk with anyone after dealing with Pegasus's flamboyant mannerisms.

Thirty minutes before I would know if I could rescue Mokuba or not. The clock was ticking…

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