Greetings!

Here is the latest chapter. I usually take a week to write a chapter, but I had no time to do it this week. I wrote this one in about three hours tonight, which means that it'll probably suck and have lots of spelling errors. My apologies! I just don't want to get out of my Friday night posting schedule, or else I won't get back to it. I promise to do better next time!

I won't reply to reviews this time, because it's so late and I seriously need sleep. But I thank every one of you for taking the time to review *hands everyone cones of chocolate chip ice cream* You all rock!!

Disclaimer: They're not mine; I'm just borrowing them for a bit!

Legend (I've never done this; I just assumed it'd be self explanatory, but just in case):

**Yugi to Yami or Kaiba**

*Yami to Yugi or Kaiba*

~Kaiba to Yugi or Yami~

Sheesh, that's confusing! Now on to the chapter. Enjoy!

**~~**

Part 7: A Different Perspective

Kaiba moved quickly down the stairs that led to his underground workroom. Behind him, he could hear Joey grunting and panting as they quickly descended. He smirked at the other teen's discomfort, glad to hear the mutt struggling with the decline. He would have enjoyed the moment more, but a voice in his head made him jerk out of his thoughts.

**That's not nice**

Kaiba rolled his eyes, knowing that Yugi wasn't around to see him do it.

~It may not be nice, but it sure is amusing,~ he countered.

**Amusing, why, because he's suffering and you're not?** Yugi insisted.**Is it a power trip for you?**

Anger flared through Kaiba's mind like a flame, and he struggled to squash it before Yugi got the satisfaction of knowing that he'd gotten a reaction.

**Don't bother, Kaiba, I can feel what you're feeling as soon as you feel it**

That caught Kaiba so completely off guard that he stopped, his foot perched above the step below it. Unfortunately, Joey didn't see him stop and plowed right into him. His quick reflexes allowed him to regain his footing fairly quickly, while Joey tumbled down a few steps before regaining control.

"Will you watch where you're going, you arrogant jerk? What are you trying to do, kill me?"

Kaiba ignored him. Instead, he concentrated on Yugi's mental voice.

~What do you mean you can feel what I feel?~

Yugi didn't immediately reply, and Kaiba could feel apprehension slowly sifting though his anger. That had to be Yugi's feeling, because all Kaiba felt was a raging anger.

**You're in my body, Kaiba. You're sharing it because of the magic of the Millennium Puzzle. A side effect of that is that a bond is created to the host, in this case, me. I'm able to feel what you feel when you're in control of my body or when you're in your soul room if I concentrate hard enough. I can do the same with Yami. The two of you can do the same with me if you wanted to. You can feel my emotions just as I can feel yours**

Kaiba was speechless. His inner thoughts and emotions, things that he guarded more than he guarded anything else, were now an open book for Yugi Moto to look through as he pleased? That was unacceptable. There was no way he'd let Yugi have that much access to himself. Not even Mokuba knew about half of the things he thought about or felt, and he wasn't about to let Yugi into the inner part of his mind.

*I don't think this was a good time to tell him that, Yugi*

Kaiba winced when Yami's voice entered his mind. Great. Now the spirit could feel his emotions and read his thoughts too?

**Yami doesn't have access to your mind, Kaiba. He has access to mine because I allow it. You don't have to. I'll teach you how to block the link to me if you want, but that'll have to wait**

"Hey, Kaiba, what's keeping you?"

Kaiba ignored Joey. A part of him wanted to let Yugi into his mind to see the horrors and baggage that lived there. Maybe then he could stop pretending. Maybe Yugi would be willing to just accept him the way he was, scars and all. The other, stronger, part of him, however, rebelled at the thought. Gozaburo's voice entered his mind suddenly, a long forgotten memory drifting unwanted to the surface of his mind.

'You must never let another see your weaknesses. They will exploit them and destroy you with them. The strong survive, Seto, never forget that.'

~You will teach me how to block the bond now, Yugi~ Kaiba managed to finally say, his mental voice as calm as he could make it. He heard Yugi's mental sigh and for a fraction of a second wished that he could take back what he'd just said.

**Very well** Yugi finally said. **Imagine that your mind and mine are connected by a steam of light. To block the stream, simply imagine a wall between us, blocking the light's passage** Yugi was quiet for a moment, until he seemed to come to a decision. His mental voice seemed sad when he spoke. **I'll block the connection on my end if it'll make you feel better** Yugi said. Kaiba couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if Yugi was hoping that he wouldn't ask him to.

"Kaiba! What's wrong with you?"

Kaiba shook his head and returned to his surroundings. He couldn't see Joey, but he felt the other teen standing somewhere to his right. He could hear soft tapping and could imagine the blonde tapping his foot impatiently.

"What's the matter? Is it time to feed you already?"

"Why you arrogant little. . ." he trailed off suddenly. "You know, it's hard getting pissed at you when you're in Yugi's body. The insults just don't sound as bad in Yugi's voice."

Kaiba said nothing. Instead, he visualized what Yugi had told him to, feeling silly for resorting to this crappy mumbo jumbo instead of the cold facts he was used to dealing with. Once he'd put up the wall between himself and Yugi, he continued to walk down the stairs, leaving Joey behind.

He came to a stop in front of a wide, metal door. Kaiba cursed, realizing that the retina scanner that served to identify him and allow him access would no longer recognize him as Seto Kaiba. If he even tried, the security protocols would immediately alert Gozaburo about the break in. Kaiba definitely wanted to keep Gozaburo away from this place.

He ignored the retina scanner and instead opened up the small key pad just below it. Inside the key pad was a small screen with its own keypad. Kaiba quickly typed in a few lines of code, before returning the key pad to its previous position.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked.

Kaiba turned to him. The soft illumination from the retina scanner bathed half of his face in blue light, giving him an eerie appearance.

"The retina scanner that allows access to the workroom will no longer recognize me. I've reprogrammed the system to accept a manual password instead of the scan."

Without waiting for a reply from Joey, Kaiba entered the password he'd programmed the system to recognize and sighed in relief when the door opened to reveal a dimly lit hallway and another door.

Joey entered first and stopped in front of the other door.

"This way," Kaiba said, turning to his left. He set a quick pace, wanting to get to Mokuba as soon as he could.

Joey had to run to catch up with him, even though his longer legs granted him wider strides.

"What was behind that door?"

"My work room," was all Kaiba said. The walked in silence, until Joey spoke again.

"So we're under your mansion?"

Kaiba nodded.

"Wow. . . a whole network of tunnels. What are they here for?"

Kaiba gritted his teeth in annoyance. Why couldn't Wheeler just keep his mouth shut?

"Gozaburo was paranoid. He wanted a way to escape if he ever had to, so he had this whole network built."

Conversation quieted again when they reached another set of stairs, this one shorter and better lit, than the last one.

"The kitchen is right up there. Be quiet and follow me."

Kaiba quickly made his way up the stairs and opened the door. He had an explanation ready in case someone happened to be in the kitchen, but was relieved to find it empty. He immediately went to the pantry where he'd seen Gozaburo lock Mokuba and found a sturdy lock standing in his way.

"I'll get something to cut that," Joey said without being asked. He returned a short time later with a pair of industrial strength metal cutters.

"Where'd you get those?" Kaiba asked, surprised. The cutters weren't usually stored in the kitchen, and he hadn't seen Joey leave the room.

Joey shrugged. "They were lying on the counter over there."

'How convenient,' he thought.

It had to be a trap. Gozaburo must have known that he'd come. If he'd left the cutters out, then it meant that he wanted Mokuba to be freed. That would make sense. Mokuba didn't really matter to Gozaburo; Kaiba was the one he was after.

Shaking his head, Kaiba cleared his mind of stray thoughts. Once he got Mokuba out of danger, he could ponder the rest.

He made quick work of the lock and opened the door. He didn't have a chance to say anything, because as soon as he was through the door, he found himself in someone's arms.

"Yugi, thank goodness. Are you okay? Did Kaiba find you?"

**Grandpa? What's he doing here?**

Kaiba was just as shocked as Yugi. The arms around him were warm, though. Mr. Moto was rubbing his back gently, and Kaiba hated himself for feeling secure and comforted in the embrace. Quickly, he pulled out of the older man's arms and looked at him, noting the ugly looking black eye he was sporting.

"Yugi!"

Kaiba turned to see his brother standing behind him.

"Something's wrong with Seto. We have to get out of here and figure out what's going on before he comes back."

Kaiba's heart constricted at the fear in his brother's eyes. The fact that Mokuba thought he'd done those things made him feel even worse. Ignoring Mr. Moto, he turned to Mokuba.

"I'm here, Mokuba. I'm Seto. It's a long story, but I'm not in my body. I didn't lock you up in here."

Mokuba looked up at him, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Yugi, what's wrong with you?"

Kaiba sighed. Yugi was saying something to him, but he chose to ignore him.

"Ask me anything, Mokuba. Ask me something that only Seto would know so I can prove to you that I'm here."

Mokuba swallowed, but nodded.

"Our first night in the orphanage, I asked you something. What did you answer?"

Kaiba closed his eyes as the sudden rush of memories of that night flooded into his mind. When he opened them again, both Mokuba and Mr. Moto were staring intently at him.

"I told you that I'd never leave you, in response to you asking me if I was going to leave you like mom and dad left us."

Tears welled up in Mokuba's eyes and he threw himself into Kaiba's arms. "I knew that you'd never turn on me, big brother. I was so scared."

"I know, Mokuba, I know," Kaiba said, gently stroking his brother's back.

Suddenly, Mokuba pulled away.

"What happened? Why are you in Yugi's body? Where is Yugi? Who is in your body?"

"Where is my grandson," Mr. Moto asked, his voice tinged with anger. "What have you done to him?"

Kaiba held his hands up. "Yugi is fine, Mr. Moto. He's listening to everything we're saying."

**Tell him to ask you something that only I would know so you can ask me and prove to him that I'm in here. Otherwise, he's not going to leave you alone, and we don't have time for lengthy explanations**

Kaiba nodded.

"Mr. Moto, Yugi wants you to ask me something that only he'd know so I can ask him and reassure you that he's okay."

Mr. Moto thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Ask him how old he was when I taught him to ride a bike."

~Did you hear that, Yugi?~

**Yeah. Tell him that he didn't teach me how to ride a bike. My father taught me when I was four**

Kaiba repeated what Yugi had told him. Mr. Moto's jaw opened in surprise.

"How? Where is he?"

"I'm not exactly sure, since all this magic stuff is new to me, but Yugi says that it's the puzzle that's allowing us to do this. Yugi and Yami are in the puzzle while I'm out here."

He then turned to Mokuba. "Gozaburo isn't dead, Mokuba. He digitized his brain and is now in my body. We have to get out of here before he finds out that we came to get you."

Mokuba nodded, knowing that Kaiba would explain everything to him later.

"We have to get out of here. Joey, go with Mokuba and Mr. Moto to the garage and wait for me there."

"What about you?" Joey asked.

"Yami wants me to find the book of spells Gozaburo used to cast me out of my body. He'll probably have it in my office."

"Is it a good idea to separate, Seto? Wouldn't it be better to stay together?"

Kaiba shook his head. "No, Mokuba. I want you out of here. I don't want you anywhere near that man, you understand? Joey, if for some reason I'm not at the garage in thirty minutes, pick one of the cars and leave. I'll get out on my own."

"Now wait a minute. This is my grandson's life you're playing with."

Exasperated, Kaiba turned to the elder Moto. "We don't have time for this. I want my little brother out of this house and Yugi wants you out of this house. I know my way around so I'll get out on my own."

Without waiting for more arguments, Kaiba led the way to the living room. Halfway there, they were stopped by one of the servants.

"Mr. Kaiba, will your friends be staying for dinner?" the woman asked.

Kaiba opened his mouth to reply, but shut it when he realized the woman wasn't addressing him.

"No, they're not. I was just showing them out," Mokuba replied smoothly.

She nodded. "Your brother called and said that he was on his way home, so I'll begin dinner for the two of you."

"Very well, thank you," Mokuba said and dismissed the woman.

"We don't have much time," Joey said as they exited the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the living room. "We have to get out of here before that idiot shows up."

Kaiba nodded. He couldn't agree more. "Thirty minutes, Joey. That's all the time you are to give me, understand?"

Reluctantly Joey nodded.

With one last look at his brother, Kaiba made his way to his office. He looked around, noting that everything was quiet. Gozaburo probably hadn't made it home yet. He had about ten minutes to look thought the office and come up with the book before he'd have company.

Kaiba quickly entered the room and was already scanning the book shelves that lined it when the slamming of a door caught his attention. He whirled around and saw Gozaburo standing in front of the office door.

"I knew you'd come, Seto. I don't know why you love that little brat so much, but I knew I could count on you to rescue him," Gozaburo said as he approached.

Kaiba took several steps back but stopped when his back hit the bookcase. He looked around, planning his escape. He knew the office like the back of his hand, which was an advantage. Finding the spell book was going to be almost impossible now.

"You're not going to win this, Gozaburo. I'm not going to let you."

Gozaburo laughed. "You always thought you were better than me, Seto. I'm sorry to tell you that I made you. Whoever you think you are now, you owe to me. Never forget that."

With that, Gozaburo reached out and grabbed him by the collar. The move came so quickly that Kaiba didn't have time to react. Gozaburo threw him face down onto the desk and pinned him with his knees. Yugi's stature was a disadvantage in this case, because his shorter legs dangled, leaving Kaiba with no leverage.

Gozaburo roughly pulled off Yugi's school jacket and reached underneath to tear off the white shirt Yugi wore, leaving him naked from the waist up. A cold, metal rod was placed on his back and Kaiba froze. He knew what was coming. He could feel the length of the fire place poker along his back and clearly remembered what Gozaburo used to do with it. His mind immediately tried to go to the place he'd trained it to go when Gozaburo decided to beat him, the place where nothing could hurt him, but Kaiba fought it. He had to stay focused this time. He had to get away.

"Joey!" he yelled, hoping the blonde would hear him. He couldn't get Gozaburo off of him on his own and he knew it. He needed Joey's help.

The first blow to his back tore Kaiba from his thoughts. He involuntarily cried out, having not prepared himself for the blows as he used to. The pain, his position on the desk, and the cold voice taunting him all threw Kaiba back to when he'd first arrived at the Kaiba mansion. A time he wasn't too fond remembering.

"What you need is a reminder, Seto. You haven't had one of these in a while, which is why you've become so disrespectful," Gozaburo said. "Don't worry; I'll be more than happy to mold you back into shape."

A second blow followed, and Kaiba again cried out. He knew that the voice he was hearing was his own, but his mind couldn't help but substitute it with his adoptive father's crueler one. A third blow, and Kaiba found himself paralyzed with a fear and helplessness he hadn't felt in the years Gozaburo had been dead. It was as if he was ten years old again, and he hated himself for his weakness. Maybe Gozaburo had been right after all. Maybe he'd never been worthy.

*Kaiba, I'm taking over now*

The last thing Kaiba heard before succumbing to the darkness was the sound of Gozaburo's laughter.

**~~**

"Did you really think you could get away from me Seto? I made you, you ungrateful little orphan. I got you out of that hellhole of an orphanage and molded you into the perfect heir. You were always brilliant, but childish and idealistic. You would have been eaten alive if you'd stayed the way you were. I made you stronger, Seto. I made you who you are."

Yami sensed the motion of the metal rod as it descended towards his exposed back. He concentrated and erected a barrier around himself at the last possible moment. He heard Gozaburo cry out in surprise, before he heard the sound of metal hitting the desk he was still pinned against. With a burst of magic, Yami threw Gozaburo away from him. He straightened up, wincing as the wounds on his back reminded him of what Gozaburo had been doing.

"What the hell?"

Gozaburo was staring at him with wide eyes. Yami tried not to laugh at how ridiculous Kaiba's face looked with that expression.

"How can you take pleasure in inflicting pain on others?"

The man continued to stare. "You're not Seto, are you? You're not the other boy either, though. I've seen him and he didn't act like you." He stopped talking. "You're the spirit of the puzzle, aren't you?"

Yami's eyes widened slightly. "What do you know about that?"

Gozaburo chuckled. "I spent years in a computer with billions of bytes of data at my disposal. I know of the myth surrounding the Millennium Items. I didn't recognize that necklace you're wearing as one at first, but now I know what it is."

"Where is the book of spells you used to cast Kaiba's soul out of his body?"

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you?"

Yami clenched his hands and took a few steps towards Gozaburo. "Tell me where it is!"

"Or what?"

Yami was standing directly in front of Gozaburo now. He concentrated on his magic and could feel the third eye glowing on his forehead.

"You don't want to know where I can send you."

Gozaburo laughed. "You won't destroy this body," he said calmly. "You want Seto out of that boy's body, I can tell. He's not easy to get along with, so I can understand why you want him out. You'll have to ask nicely and maybe I'll consider giving you the book."

Exasperated, Yami reached out and put his hands around Gozaburo's neck. "Where is it?"

"Step away from Mr. Kaiba!"

Yami turned his head slightly and saw three armed guards standing by the door.

"What took you idiots so long?" Gozaburo yelled. "Shoot him!"

Yami didn't want to risk not being able to anticipate the trajectory of a bullet in time to shield himself, so he released Gozaburo. Before completely pulling away, however, he reached out and took Kaiba's locket off of Gozaburo's neck. Calmly, Yami slipped the locket around his own neck, the card gently coming to rest over the Millennium Puzzle.

"This is not over."

With that, Yami gathered the dark energies around himself. He created a shadow portal and transported himself to where he thought Joey was. When he exited the portal, he found himself in a room full of the machines modern people used to get around. He spotted Joey at the far end of the room and immediately walked over.

"There you are! What. . ." Joey trailed off as he noticed that he wasn't wearing his shirt or jacket. "What happened? My god, Kaiba, you're bleeding!"

Yami let Joey take a look at his back, before turning away.

"Kaiba is probably in his soul room right now, but I suggest we get out of here fast. The guards will find us soon."

"Yami?" Joey asked.

"Yes. Joey, do you know how to operate one of these things?" Yami asked, pointing to the car they were standing in front of.

"Of course. Come on, everybody; let's get the hell out of here."

Yami sat in the backseat next to Mr. Moto as Joey maneuvered the car out of the garage. Mokuba instructed him on an alternate way to get out of the grounds, and they did so without further interference.

"Let me look at those cuts, Yami," Mr. Moto said.

Yami turned his back to Yugi's grandfather without a word.

"What did he do these with?"

"A fireplace poker," Mokuba answered from the front seat.

Yami hissed in pain as Mr. Moto pressed something to one of the cuts.

"Did your adoptive father do this a lot? Did he do it to you?"

Mokuba was quiet for so long that Yami began to wonder if he'd heard Mr. Moto's question. He felt something warm drop onto his shoulders, and looked down to see a black jacket covering him.

"Gozaburo never laid a hand on me," the younger Kaiba finally answered. "I'm sure that was because Seto took the brunt of the punishments. He never really told me what Gozaburo did to him, but I would find out on my own."

Yami sighed as he leaned on his elbows so as not to aggravate the cuts.

"I'll clean those cuts when we get home," Mr. Moto said, and Yami nodded.

"Where is my brother now?"

Yami closed his eyes and turned his attention inward.

*Where is Kaiba? Mokuba is asking about him*

**He's still unconscious. I'm in his soul room with him. Are you okay, Yami? How bad are the injuries?** Yugi asked, concern flooding their link.

*They're not too bad, aibou, don't worry. Your grandfather will take care of them*

**Okay. Tell Mokuba that I'll stay with Kaiba**

"Yugi says that Kaiba is unconscious in his soul room. Yugi will stay with him until he wakes up."

Mokuba nodded but said nothing.

"Where are we going?" Mr. Moto asked Joey.

"To pick up Ryou and Tristan, and then back to Ryou's house. Gozaburo obviously knows where you live, gramps, so there's no use going back to the shop."

Yami ignored the conversations around him, choosing instead to focus on the passing scenery. He felt bad for Kaiba and what he'd gone through as a child. He still remembered Kaiba's reaction after his confession in his soul room, the words meaning more to him now that he'd experienced Gozaburo's ministrations first hand.

One particular thing kept replaying over and over in Yami's head:

'He's capable of anything, Yami, absolutely anything. If you think I'm cold and ruthless, just keep in mind that he was my teacher. He's hundreds of times worse than I could ever be. Because of Mokuba, I have a part of my heart left untarnished. Gozaburo has no heart left.'

He had thought that Kaiba had been exaggerating then, but didn't think so now. What he'd witnessed were the actions of a man who had lost his conscience long ago. If he hadn't experienced it for himself, Yami never would have believed it. He knew what Kaiba meant now and the thought filled him with fear.

How were they going to defeat an opponent who was not afraid of anything?

**~~**

Well, I hope that wasn't too horribly bad. See, no evil cliffhanger this time. . . I'm being good. Next up: A spell goes wrong. Yugi and Kaiba have a talk.