Author's Note: I'm not sure this chapter is good in any technical sense, but it does do its job. And this will probably be the last chapter for a while. Sorry. Still, I hope you enjoy it!


The crowd outside of the hospital was ridiculous. Reporters swarmed around the entrances and exits, their crew people in tow, eagerly harassing anyone entering or exiting the building for any information on the young CEO's condition. A slightly smaller, but no less vocal crowd consisted of well-wishers, fans of Duel Monsters who relied on KaibaCorp for their gaming equipment and idolized Kaiba as the games chief promoter. The parking lot was a mess of hastily parked vans, the abandoned bicycles of young and old fans alike, and the cars that moved slug-like through, seeking a spot to park so that their sick occupants could actually enter the hospital. It was a hazard.

Ridiculous.

Apparently, Joey was now officially the only person in the world who didn't think that Kaiba's existence was one of the centre points of the universe.

Not that he wasn't worried about the guy. He had run, like, five blocks nonstop to get here, after all, and was still recovering from the completely visceral reaction he had experienced from seeing someone he knew, had known for years, whom he'd only seen this afternoon, lying on that gurney like a corpse. So, yeah, he was worried. But he'd been in his own mystical coma in Battle City, and he was pretty sure that no one had acted as if the world were going to break apart at any second then, like Ishizu was currently doing. Really, Joey was starting to wonder what she knew that they didn't. So, Kaiba was the reincarnation of the priest who'd supported-slash-revolted against Yami in the past life. Big deal. Joey was probably the reincarnation of some random Japanese fisherman or some shit. Was the world going to break into a billion pieces if he died without ever catching a fish? What made Kaiba's past life so important?

It was an honest question. To Joey, it didn't make any sense. It just didn't. Sure, Yami's importance to the fate of the world did make sense, in that he was still around, with all of these magical objects dedicated to him, existing inside one of them, but the High Priest had been dead for a thousand years. Joey didn't think he was much more important than the Kaiba that they knew. In fact, being dead, he should probably be less so. Weren't the things people did in their current life more important than the actions they had taken in a previous one?

The funny thing was, the only person he could think of who would probably agree with him on these kinds of thoughts lay in a bed somewhere in the hospital in front of him, asleep and maybe never waking up, because the very past he'd kept denying had come to haunt him. Kaiba had always said that the Priest he had supposedly been was not an important part of himself. Now, he was in a coma because he'd had the misfortune of being born with the man's soul. Joey was no fan of Kaiba's, but he had to say, that seemed pretty damn unfair.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" asked Téa, gesturing toward the crowded doorway.

Just beyond the great crowds of people, they could see the reason that they were all flooding the parking lot and not the hospital: KaibaCorp's world famous security force. Apparently, Kaiba had created the system himself and hired only the most elite men to respond to its call. Joey was fairly sure that each one of those men could snap him like a twig using only their little finger.

Time for master planner Joey Wheeler to save the day.

"Okay," said Joey to Tristan and Duke. "You guys be the distraction. Keep the guards busy while we—"

"Wait, why do we have to be the distraction?" asked Tristan.

"Yeah," said Duke. "We're always the distraction."

"That's not true," Joey argued. "I've been the distraction lots of times!"

"Boys," Téa interjected, frowning. "Is this really the time?"

"Then you be the distraction, Joey," Duke said, ploughing on.

"No way! It's your turn!"

"Guys, come on."

"How do you figure?" Duke snapped.

"I don't even think we need a distraction," Tristan added.

"Yeah, this is a stupid plan."

"No, it is not!"

"GUYS!" Téa screamed.

They all paused and blinked at her, as she glared back at them.

"How," she gritted out. "Are we going to fix this? Does anyone have an actual plan?"

"Hey!" Joey interjected.

"We always do this," complained Duke. "We always run off heroically toward danger, but we never have a plan about what we're going to do when we get there. Am I seriously the only one who's noticed this?"

"Distractions always work!" Joey insisted, speaking over him.

"On KaibaCorp security?" Téa asked, sarcastically. "You think so?"

"Well, I think we should go around the building and see if there are any other ways to get in," said Tristan, crossing his arms defiantly.

They paused, thinking his suggestion over.

"You know... That's actually a good idea," said Téa, sounding surprised. "Let's do that."

"You don't have to say it like it's so shocking," Tristan complained, as they all got up from their seats on the curb and walked toward Ishizu and Yami, who were having some solemn, whispered conversation a little ways off.

"...the fate of the world!" Ishizu was saying earnestly.

"Oh, let me guess," Joey mumbled to Tristan. "It's at stake, right?"

Tristan turned his incredulous laugh into a cough as the two Egyptians turned to regard the group, Téa explaining their basic "plan" of action to them as they joined the group, walking foreword to get closer to the hospital.

"Wait," said Duke. "Wait a second, you guys."

They paused.

"Let's think about this. Don't you think we're a little bit... conspicuous?"

Joey glanced at the assembled group, quickly taking stock: One unusually short kid with huge, tricolour hair whom any media personality-slash-nerd worth their snuff would recognize as the King of Games; one tall, foreign looking woman wearing flowing, all white clothing and huge, gold jewellery; one extremely pretty boy wearing a belly shirt and a die for an earring; and an extremely busty schoolgirl.

At least he and Tristan weren't...

Oh, wait. Even he was somewhat well-known as a Battle City finalist. And the rabid KaibaCorp fanboys gathering at the hospital? They would definitely be in the know about that kind of thing. And Tristan's crazy hair wasn't exactly discreet either, now that he thought about it.

"Aw, man. We're not even going to be able to get close, are we?"

"Okay," said Tristan briskly. "I have an idea. Since I'm the least noticeable of all of us, I'll go and case the joint- which, by the way, I have always wanted to say- and then I'll call you guys and tell you what I find."

Okay, thought Joey. That seemed reasonable enough. What could go wrong?

Fifteen minutes later, as he picked leaves out of his blond hair and inspected the bruises he was sure were developing on his knees and elbows, he had to wonder why he always fell for this shit.

"You couldn't find a place to break in that wasn't a second floor window, Tristan? Seriously?"

"Not really," said Tristan. "And I was really sure that the human chain plan would work. How was I supposed to know you wouldn't be able to balance on my shoulders?"

Before Joey could reply with something appropriately scathing, Téa interrupted them.

"Guys," she whispered. "Guys, get down!"

The two crouched back down behind the row of bushes as a group of particularly dedicated Kaiba fanboys (one of them was actually wearing a bad knockoff of that hideous trench coat Kaiba had been sporting in Battle City, much to Joey's undying amusement) wandered past, apparently with the same idea of searching for another entrance as they'd had. Joey doubted it would work for them, either. According to Tristan, every one of the doors had Kaiba's guards posted at it, and they were only admitting doctors and patients into the building, requiring extensive conformation of the person's identity or condition before even doing that. Joey had to say, it all seemed very extreme, even for Kaiba. Then again, Kaiba may not have had a security plan that detailed what the security force was supposed to do in the event that he was put into a magical coma and announced as seriously ill on national television.

He glanced over at the others, all crouched in the bushes like himself. Ishizu appeared to be attempting to continue to look dignified, sitting with her legs tucked beside her and her hands in her lap, while Téa had somehow managed to crouch in a position that left her ready to move at any moment and didn't make her uniform skirt slip down. (The product of lots of practice, he was sure.) Tristan was, like himself, crouched just low enough to not be seen, while Duke sat cross legged on the ground, picking leaves out of his curls with an expression of extreme displeasure. Yami was glaring up at the window as if he was trying to decipher its great mysteries, crouching on one knee, a hand on the ground to balance himself and another clenched tightly in a fist. While appropriately dramatic, Joey thought that the position looked extremely uncomfortable. But hey, who was he to judge?

Wait a second...

"Um, other Yugi? Your hair's sticking out."

Yami blinked and then sat heavily back on the ground with a sigh, crossing his arms.

"Better?"

"Yeah," said Joey. "You're good."

"It's not your fault," said Téa kindly. "Yugi's hair is just really big. I bet you had a much more reasonable hairstyle when you had your own body."

Yami said nothing, and Ishizu raised an eyebrow, almost, Joey thought, actually making an expression. After a moment, Téa blinked and added:

"Oh, wait. On the tablet, you had... the same... hair. Huh. Well. It's still really big, right?"

She stopped, blushing heavily.

"We need a plan," said Yami, deftly changing the subject. "How are we going to get to Kaiba?"

"We have a plan," said Tristan, stubbornly.

"Yeah," said Duke. "It's just a physically impossible plan."

"If you'd just try it again—"

"No way in hell, Taylor," said Duke. "Once was enough."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was that bad," said Duke matter of factly. "My ass hurts like hell. And I am never going to get this shit out of my hair."

"God, Duke, you're such a girl," Tristan said angrily.

"Hey!" exclaimed Téa. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What did you just say?" Duke growled at Tristan, flipping his long, black hair over his shoulder.

"You heard exactly what I said!"

"O-kay," Joey said, attempting to break the tension. "I have a plan. We create a distraction—"

"Aw, Joey," Téa sighed exasperatedly.

"No, no, hear me out! We throw a big rock through one of these windows, and when the security guys run over to stop someone from breaking in, we make a run for the entrance."

"Sounds good enough to me," said Yami casually. "Where are we going to get the rock?"

Joey blinked, glancing around. There were no rocks in sight, big or otherwise. It was just his luck.

"Okay, new plan," he revised. "We take everyone's shoes and tie them inside of Tristan's jacket, and then we throw the jacket through—"

"Hey, guys!" a voice sounded suddenly to their right.

Turning, Joey saw Mokuba Kaiba leaning out of a first floor window, motioning to them frantically.

"Come on! Climb in! Hurry!"

"Okay," said Joey slowly. "Yeah, that works, too."

xxxx

Kaiba looked even worse in person than he had on the TV. Seeing him lying there in that hospital bed, hooked up to machines and I.V.s, his face impossibly pale, Joey couldn't help but wonder at the fact that, even at the end of Battle City when they had believed the Kaiba brothers to be dead for all of two seconds, it seemed that he had somehow never really accepted the fact that Seto Kaiba was actually mortal, just like the rest of them. And yet, here he was, looking somehow impossibly smaller and softer in his hospital gown. Vulnerable. Joey had known Seto Kaiba since they were fifteen years old. Kaiba had never looked as young as he did right now.

He wasn't sure why it made him feel so sick to his stomach.

"The doctors say they can't find any physical cause for it," Mokuba said, walking over to Kaiba's bedside to cup his brother's hand in his own. "They say that, sometimes, people go through something so bad that they go into shock kind of like this, but..."

"But that's not what happened," Joey finished. "No way. Not Kaiba."

Kaiba was way too much of a tough bastard to let a little trauma break him like this. Joey had gotten a glimpse of Kaiba's past on the way to the Battle City finals, and he couldn't imagine something that would hit Kaiba so badly that he couldn't pick himself back up and dropkick it in the face. And no matter how bad the situation, Joey knew that Kaiba would never, never give up. Not when Mokuba was around and needed him.

"It must have been Bakura," Yami said. "I'm sure it was."

"Bakura?!" Mokuba exclaimed. "My brother was in the most heavily protected area of KaibaCorp! How would Bakura get past security? These guys are tough! You don't know how hard I tried to get out of here to come get you."

"The news report said something about a security system glitch, didn't it?" Téa suggested. "Do you think he may have taken advantage of that to get in?"

"Considering the powers that three Millennium items provide him, it's entirely possible that it was he himself who caused the system to malfunction," said Yami. "Once he was inside, there's no telling what he could do to Kaiba."

Ishizu nodded.

"And yet, Pharaoh, I am getting a strong psychic signal that seems to indicate that Kaiba's current state is being caused by some sort of magical influence," she walked forward and looked at him for a moment, her brow furrowed. "His soul is still within his body."

Yami strode forward to join her, looking thoughtful.

"Can you help him, Yugi?" Mokuba asked softly.

"I don't know, Mokuba," said Yami. "If I can, I promise you, I will."

He reached out and, before their very eyes, his puzzle began to glow and the Eye, the seal of the Millennium items, appeared on his head. His eyes glowed, as he set one hand on Kaiba's forehead and another on his chest, in the area just above his heart. After a moment, the light ceased, and he let his hands slide from Kaiba's body, shaking his head.

"I don't know what Bakura has done," he said, after a moment. "Kaiba's mind... It's all wrong. It's as if he went through every bit of Kaiba's subconscious and ripped it all to pieces. It's no wonder he isn't responding."

"Whu— What do you mean, 'ripped it to pieces'?" Mokuba asked in a small voice. "You— You mean big brother is...?"

"He's not gone, Mokuba," Yami said. "His conscious mind is still there, somehow intact, but it lies dormant. The conscious mind cannot exist without memory, without emotions, without the unconscious influences of the past, without dreams."

Ishizu nodded solemnly.

"The mind is incomplete," she said. "Kaiba still exists, but the only way for him to emerge as he was before is if the two minds are connected, and right now, there is no way for him to reconcile his surviving mind with the part that is broken without going mad."

"So, you mean, basically, he's trapped in his own head," Joey said.

"In the strictest sense," said Yami. "Yes."

"So how do we get him out?" asked Tristan.

Neither Egyptian replied, and after a moment, Tristan said, hesitantly.

"We can get him out, right?"

Yami sighed.

"Since Bakura used the magical items to break his mind apart, it would take some great magical force to bring it back together again," he said. "The puzzle is simply not powerful enough to do something like that alone."

"What if we could get Shadi's help?" asked Joey. "Would it be enough, then?"

"I'm not sure," Yami said, thoughtfully. "What do you think, Ishizu?"

"I'm afraid that it is not possible, my Pharaoh," she said. "But there is another way, I think. The Millennium Puzzle may not be enough to fix his mind in one fell swoop, but it might be enough to put you in a position where you can do the fixing yourself."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"Your Puzzle can transport souls, can it not? If it can transport minds too, and I believe it can, what is preventing you from projecting yourself into Kaiba in the same way that Shadi might project himself into your own mind?"

"It certainly seems possible," Yami mused. "Both Bakura and I have transported minds at some point in the past. In theory, I should be able to place myself and even others inside of someone else's mind. "

"So," Duke interrupted, looking as lost as Joey felt. "What does all of that mean?"

Mokuba nodded vehemently.

"Yeah. Can you help my big brother or not?"

"What it means is that we may indeed be able to save Kaiba. But to do that, Yugi and I, and those of you who are willing to assist us, will have to use the powers of the Millennium Puzzle to enter Kaiba's mind and fix the damage from the inside."

"Can we really do that?" Tristan asked. "I mean, can we really fix him?"

"I don't know," said Yami. "But we can try."

"We have to try," said Téa. "We're all he has. Without our help, he could be trapped in his own mind forever."

She glanced at all of their faces entreatingly, begging them to agree with her.

"I'm in," said Tristan, finally.

"Me too," added Duke.

Joey at the hopeful face of Mokuba Kaiba, at his friends' expectant faces, at Yami's grave, questioning expression and thought that, of all the people in the world, Kaiba was the last person he would have thought he'd want to save (that he would ever need to save). He thought of all of the insults, the vicious duels, the jabs, the prods, the outbursts of violence that Kaiba seemed to draw out of him like a leach. He thought of the duel they'd had only this afternoon, of Kaiba asking when he was going to finally give up and admit that Kaiba was better than he was.

He thought about his reply, about losing Kaiba forever and losing those duels, those chances at victory. About never, ever seeing Kaiba glaring at him over the top of some novel or tilting his head as he called Joey a mutt or watching him brandish the Blue Eyes White Dragon card as if he were holding the very substance of the universe.

He looked at the frail, lifeless form of his rival, and thought that, as bizarre as it was, of all the people in the world, Kaiba had become one of the ones he was most unwilling to lose.

"Let's do it."