The businessman ventured into the ancient structure. He knew that he couldn't risk calling for Mokuba; he had the element of surprise, and couldn't afford to lose it.
A panicked cry seem to come from deep within the pyramid; it was the faint, but unmistakable, voice of a child.
"Mokuba!" Seto's mind screamed.
The cry was short and abrupt, as if the one screaming had been stopped in mid-scream. And the feeling that Mokuba's presence was just ahead now flickered out. Seto feared the worst. But before he could grasp onto those thoughts, the sound of approaching footsteps filled the corridor.
"Of course," Seto realized. "Whoever kidnapped Mokuba must have installed infrared cameras in the pyramid, waiting for me. Why didn't I see this coming!?"
Seto punched the wall in frustration, but that action somehow triggered one of the pyramid's mechanisms. The panel of wall revolved 180 degrees, taking Seto with it to a new passageway. Seto pounded on the wall again, but it refused to move this time. He could do nothing for Mokuba as long as he was lost in here, he realized.
"What's happened to me…?" he asked himself, under his breath. "I was always on top of everything. There was a time when I could protect Mokuba with my hands tied behind my back. When did I become weak…?"
It would have been easy to blame Yugi; it was only after Yugi unleashed Exodia upon him that Seto's life started slipping from his control. It was soon after Seto's defeat by Exodia that Pegasus tried taking over Kaibacorp, and things had never been the same since.
Praying that Mokuba was merely unconscious, Seto continued down the passageway.
The passageway led to a large room, featuring an ornately tiled floor several feet in area. Seto's sharp azure eyes scanned the room. The floor resembled a map of some kind. As he walked forward to inspect it, he paused as he stepped on something. Glancing at the ground with his flashlight, he saw that it was a Duel Monster card.
"Mokuba?" he asked, trying to see if he was present in the room.
"You won't be finding your brother here," said a voice.
As a businessman, Seto met hundreds of people per year and had long since learned to commit voices, faces, and names to memory. It took his mind only an instant to match the voice to a name.
"Bandit Keith," Seto accused, eyes narrowed.
"Ooh, very good, Rich Boy," he replied, sarcastically. "But I'm glad you finally decided to show up here."
Rare Hunters swarmed the exit of the room. Seto calculated his odds, wondering if he might overpower at least a few if need arose.
"So you became the new head of the Rare Hunters?" asked Seto. "How fitting for a thieving vulture…"
"Don't try me," warned Bandit Keith.
"You kidnap my brother and then give me orders!?" he replied, voice rising. "I demand you release him!"
"Release?" mused the thief. "Your brother is no longer here."
The fight was beginning to leave Seto now.
"What are you saying…?"
"He's not in this world anymore," Bandit Keith replied. He indicated the map depicted on the tile floor. "If you'd like a family reunion, you might want to take a look there."
Seto's mind was screaming, "Trap!"
"Do you even know where you are, Kaiba?" the card shark asked. "This is a pyramid that bears a portal to a world where Duel Monsters live. They are born from capsules, and they return to those capsules when they sleep. And while they sleep, they are ripe for taming. And that map is the portal to that world. But there's another secret in that world. Solve it, and a great power lies within your grasp."
"And why are you telling me this?" asked Seto. "I would think you'd claim that power for yourself, if it even exists."
"It does exist!" snarled Bandit Keith. "See for yourself!"
Seto wasn't about to fall for it.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested," he replied. "There's nothing in your little magic world that would be of any use to me."
"Not even your brother?"
"What…?"
"He's there, lost and wandering," taunted Bandit Keith. "And that world is infested with Duel Monsters. That doesn't inspire much confidence, now does it?"
"I'll find him," Seto vowed. "And after I do, you and I have important matters to discuss."
"I'll bet."
Seto stepped to the edge of the map, his mind racing. There couldn't be power waiting for him, could there be? But… assuming that there was power there… would it be enough for him to be on top again? Would it make him powerful enough that no one would lay a hand on Mokuba or Kaibacorp again?
Seto shook the thoughts from his mind. It couldn't be true; even the strange Duel Monster World had to be a lie. The second he took a step forward onto the map, Bandit Keith would unleash his trap. But he didn't have a choice now; the Rare Hunters were standing behind him, practically forcing him to go on.
Holding his breath, Seto stepped onto the map. Blinding light flashed about him. His body felt as though he had just crossed the event horizon of a black hole and was being pulled in. And then all went dark.
"That's done it," said Bandit Keith, watching Seto vanish. "He'd better pass those trials quick; I'm bored already…"
"You are a fool, Bandit Keith," said Shadi, materializing. "To incur the wrath of the White Dragon keeper shall certainly be your downfall."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the five trials destined for him are even greater than the ones passed by the Pharaoh," replied Shadi. "Should the White Dragon keeper pass them, he shall gain powers far greater than you bargained for."
"I'm ready for him," said the card shark, taking a capsule from his pocket. "I made a deal with this one here…"
"Forget it," said Shadi, with disapproval. "You were a bigger fool to trust that one."
"I know what I'm doing," the thief snarled. "But what if Kaiba can't pass the trials?"
"If the White Dragon keeper should perish, which I fear is all too possible with these trials, then the power you seek falls to you by default--"
"And my business partner gets his end of the deal," finished Bandit Keith, pocketing the capsule.
Shadi glared at him
"May Ma'at prevent such a thing…" he muttered. And Shadi vanished.
Meanwhile, back in Domino, the gang was watching Yugi and Joey play a round of Duel Monsters for old times' sake when Yugi paused in the middle of his turn.
"Something wrong, Yugi?" asked Joey.
"No…" he replied. "I just thought I heard the call of a Millennium Item."
"I bet it's Atem," said Téa.
"Yeah; maybe he's just saying 'hi' or something," agreed Tristan.
"I don't think so; it's not the Puzzle," said Yugi. "It sounds like the Rod."
"Marik's saying 'hi'?" asked Joey. "I mean, think about it… it's cheaper than calling long-distance from Cairo…"
"No…" said Yugi. "I think it's Kaiba; something's happened to Kaiba."
Yugi was not the only one who sensed the call of the Millennium Rod. In a world where only spirits roamed, pharaohs of old were talking amongst themselves when one of them sensed the call of the Rod.
"Sethos?" asked Atem, as his friend and cousin seemed distracted. "Is something wrong?"
"Something is amiss… something concerning my modern-day self," Sethos replied.
"I suppose it was too much to hope that Kaiba would stay out of trouble even after the fall of Zorc," sighed Atem.
"Dare I leave the spirit realm to aid him…?" pondered Sethos.
"Knowing Kaiba, I doubt he would want your help…" Atem mused. "Your other self is quite keen on handling things alone."
"I pray he can."
"Oh, he can," said Atem. "I have battled your counterpart on numerous occasions, and he is quite capable of claiming victory on his own. My only concern is that he refuses to accept any help; I've often told him to change his ways. If only he can realize that a team will always have more power than just one, no matter how much power that one may hold, then Kaiba would be truly unbeatable."
"May the White Dragon watch over him," said Sethos.
Seto slowly regained his senses, awakening on a stone floor.
"Thrown in a dungeon," he growled, getting to his feet. "I knew it was a trap…"
He trailed off as he realized that he wasn't in a dungeon at all, but in fact on the turret of a castle.
He tried to get his bearings. For a split-second, he thought he might have been sent to Duelist Kingdom, but soon found that he could see two suns setting near the horizon. So much for the Duelist Kingdom theory.
From his vantage point, he could see vast fields, thick forests, high mountains, a seaside, and other topographies. Strange, unearthly calls and roars reached his ears. So… this was the world Bandit Keith had mentioned? If this part was true, then perhaps the power…
"No," Seto ordered himself. "First things first; I need to find Mokuba. He could be anywhere…"
His eyes scanned the land around him, searching for some signs of movement. No such luck—he'd have to search the hard way.
Seto glanced furiously at the setting suns.
"Don't get smug, Bandit Keith," he growled, not sure if the card shark could even hear him or not. "I'm down, but I'll never be out."
