Atem stepped out of the car determinedly, his violet eyes scanning the area.
They had found the deserted cabin that their mysterious caller had told them about in a small clearing; from this position they could see the top of the Paradius building. Moonlight filtered through the tree branches, peppering the ground with light and shadow. The cabin itself bore all the signs of having someone residing within it—a light within one of the windows was evidence of that.
Another sign of life was the cloaked man standing on the porch.
"Are you the one who called us?" asked Atem in an authorative tone, his voice seeming to echo around the clearing. He heard movement behind him and knew that the rest of the group had left the car. He kept his attention on the man before him, however, gauging if he was a threat or not.
Nothing much could be determined about the man's identity, other than his height. The cloak's hood was draped in such a way as to obscure all facial features. He almost blended into the night save for the light coming from both the moon and the cabin that illuminated the edges of his cloak.
"I am," replied the other figure simply, offering no further greeting. "And I am neither friend nor foe—consider me as a neutral ally, merely participating to prevent the rise of the Orichalcos."
The voice was matter-of-fact and spoken with an odd smoothness; Atem felt as if he had heard the voice before, but he could not place where he had heard it. He frowned and asked, "If you are not taking sides, then why did you call us here?"
"Simply put, Pharaoh: you need to know what you are dealing with. I called you here also to prevent any temptation to enter the building; Akira is in a different location as of right now, but he plans to transfer himself here later on this evening. Valon is not in the building, either. If you had decided to enter, you would have jeopardized both his life and your own."
"Is Valon alive?" asked Raphael quietly. If this stranger knew about Akira's movements, surely he should know the condition of their young friend.
The cloaked figure said nothing for a moment and then slowly nodded. "For the time being, he is still in the land of the living, but I am not certain how much longer that will last," he replied carefully.
"Hey, wait a minute…how do you know Valon's not in there anyway?" said Jounouchi suspiciously, his brown eyes narrowed. "And how'd you get Anzu's cell number?"
"Can you really be so stupid and still be breathing?" growled Bakura in annoyance. "How do you think he knows that Akira isn't here unless he wasn't spying on him, dolt? And if he knows Akira's movements then he knows about the foolish mortal that he's holding prisoner."
"Valon is not a 'foolish mortal'," retorted Alister coldly, gray eyes narrowed at Bakura. The tomb robber rolled his eyes in an 'I could care less' sort of gesture, but otherwise did not reply.
"Jounouchi does have a point, though—how did you get Anzu's phone number?" asked Yugi quickly before Jounouchi could start an argument with Bakura; that was the last thing that anybody needed. "She doesn't give it out to just anyone."
"You are correct in that statement. For now, let's just say that we've encountered each other before and I had access to that information. It is barely past nine o'clock now. Akira will arrive at midnight and I only have so much time to explain what his motives are. Pharaoh, they directly concern both you and your easily irritated friend there."
Bakura bristled in indignation when the man gestured to him, but he was cut off as Atem said, "Yes, we have gathered that much. And we also know much about Akira's past—excepting his real name—but we know nothing of why he is so interested in both the Orichalcos and us."
"Ah…I see. Raphael, it's a lucky thing that you remembered him; you've given me time that I would have spent explaining what you know," said the man after a moment's pause.
They all started, wondering how it was that he knew Raphael's name, but for the moment let the subject drop.
"Akira never told anyone his real name so that no one could go into his past and use anything from there. Has he mentioned any hints as to why he's been after you?" said their mysterious ally.
"To get our Millennium Items," replied Atem firmly. "And he nearly succeeded in doing just that. I feel like there is more to this than what meets the eye, however."
"You would be correct. I am aware of your encounter on the hospital roof, Pharaoh—I am the one who put a stop to it. And I am also the one that prevented Akira from receiving both the Ring and the Puzzle."
Atem started. "So you are the same man after all…I thought so. But do you know his reasons for wanting the Items we hold?"
"You are aware of the origin of your Millennium Items, Pharaoh? Tomb Robber?"
"Of course I am, you dolt! It was my village that the blasted Pharaoh annihilated!" snarled Bakura angrily.
Atem looked at the silver haired teen and murmured something in ancient Egyptian, to which Bakura retorted sharply to in the same language. The cloaked figure merely watched, choosing to remain silent.
The bikers, meanwhile, were more than a little confused as to the turn of the conversation. "What are they talking about?" asked Raphael with a frown.
Yugi opened his mouth to explain when the stranger cleared his throat and began to speak again. "I can explain that as well, Raphael. The Millennium Items were forged with a powerful dark magic; the souls of an entire Egyptian village fuels their power. The village in question was Bakura's home," he said.
At Raphael's and Alister's appalled expressions the man sighed. "I did not say that they were pleasant origins."
"So how did the Millennium Items get back to begin with? And how did Akira find out they were back?" asked Yugi. "Not even Atem knew if the Items had returned."
"Simple. Akira knew the Items had returned because he was responsible for their return. He used a form of dark magic to bring back the Millennium Items, but he found that they had limited power and that two of them—the Puzzle and the Ring—were unaccounted for. Akira has tried using the Items he has, to limited success; you were given a demonstration of the Millennium Rod's power on the roof, Pharaoh. That is the only Millennium Item that still has even a trace of its power. The rest of them are useless to him now, seeing how as they lost their power when you, Pharaoh, returned to the afterlife.
"His plan is to reclaim the Ring and the Puzzle and, along with the current Items he possesses, destroy them."
"But why would he do that?" said Jounouchi with a small frown. "He went to a lot of trouble to get them back…I mean, he can't exactly order those Millennium Items out of a catalogue, so what's he thinking?"
"To answer your first question, the current Items all are bound to their previous owners; the reason why the Millennium Rod could not be wielded so easily is because it is still bound to Marik Ishtar—and to Seto Kaiba as well, if he so desired to use the Item. He combined both the Orichalcos and the Millennium Rod's powers in order to arrange that little meeting; whether it has any power left or not has yet to be seen."
"Well…okay, that explains that. But it doesn't explain what his plan is," said Yugi doubtfully.
"Once he has amassed all of the Millennium Items, he must destroy all at the same time in order to advance his plan."
"And that would be…?" asked Jounouchi skeptically.
"Think about what the Orichalcos does, boy. Think about the Millennium Items and how they came to be. Now, what do you see?" replied the man flatly.
Atem paled immediately. "No…It cannot be. Are you absolutely certain about this?"
"Of course, Pharaoh."
"Certain about what?" asked Yugi nervously, but his amethyst eyes went round with alarm as the same thought hit him; Atem had inadvertently transmitted his thoughts through the mind link.
"Would someone enlighten the rest of us as to what you two are thinking of?" said Bakura irritably. Even as he said it, though, he suddenly seemed to understand. His brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "Surely not."
Raphael and Alister looked lost, as did Jounouchi. "Okay, you three. Fill us in. What's going on?" asked Jounouchi impatiently. "We're not mind readers. What's Akira up to?"
Atem simply looked up at him with a blank expression. "Akira's planning to recreate the Millennium Items by using the Orichalcos," he said.
"…What?"
Mokuba was furious.
He knew that this had been done to protect both him and Noa, but that did not lessen his anger any. In fact, Noa was just as indignant and angry as Mokuba was, but both of them could do nothing about their current location.
After collecting his shirt from a distraught nurse—who was still shaken up after bumping into a certain blood-covered individual—Seto had managed to walk all the way to the back entrance of the hospital without assistance. Otogi and Roland had been waiting for him, the security guard failing to conceal his relief at Seto's appearance. Seto had gone to the back door of Roland's car and had opened it, instructing his brothers to get in.
"I'll be riding in the front," he had said simply, blue eyes firm.
But the moment they had gotten in, Seto had told Roland to drive back to the Kaiba mansion and was not to let either Mokuba or Noa leave the car.
Mokuba knew that Seto was only concerned for his welfare, but nonetheless he wanted to assist Seto in any way he could. He didn't want to be sent home like a little child. And he knew Noa felt the same way; the mint-haired boy felt like he was useless already, thanks to his injuries.
"Well, I don't feel like a third wheel," said Noa bitterly, his eyes narrowed. "Nope, not at all..."
Mokuba sighed. "Seto just doesn't want us to get hurt any worse than we are."
"Yeah, but Dr. Sohma can make sure of that. We should be allowed to go, too. What are we, toddlers? We could take care of ourselves!" snapped Noa angrily, blue eyes hurt.
Without warning, something collided with the side of the car.
"NOT AGAIN!" cried both boys in unison.
The car swerved violently, skidding desperately out of control. A sudden impact sent both boys flying to the floor, crying out with alarm. Their world was suddenly plunged into darkness as they lost consciousness.
Sometime later, a pair of stormy blue-grey eyes opened.
Mokuba groaned, his head throbbing worse than ever; his head had crashed against the door on his side upon impact. He sat up shakily, trying to look out the window to see what had hit them, but his vision was blurring too badly at the moment. "Noa! Noa, are you okay?" he called.
"When my body stops screaming bloody murder, I'll get back to you on that," retorted Noa, wincing as his wrist throbbed. He was more than a little annoyed at the impact. "This is getting old…Roland, what just happened?"
No answer. "Roland?"
Noa unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed into the front seat. The security guard was slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious; from the look of things, he had also hit his head—perhaps too hard. Noa gulped and shook the other man's shoulder. "Roland?" he asked again.
Still nothing.
Deciding to try to figure out what had just happened, Noa looked out of all the windows. He figured maybe another car had hit them. His eyes traveled around the area, trying to see if there was any other car, but there was nothing.
He did see three Orichalcos soldiers moving slowly toward the vehicle, however.
He noted that the creatures were large—apparently too large to move quickly. But they still were getting closer, and their driver was unconscious.
Noa unbuckled Roland and carefully but quickly began to attempt moving him to the back seat. "Mokuba, help!" he cried. "We've got trouble coming at us, and I need Roland back there and you up here!"
The raven-haired child took one look at the situation and immediately began to help Noa move the unconscious man. A few seconds later they managed to get Roland into the back and Mokuba slid into the passenger side of the car.
"Do you know how to drive?" asked Mokuba anxiously.
No. "I'm twenty years old, Mokuba. Of course I know how to drive!" he replied irritably, struggling to reach the gas pedal.
"Technically, we don't know how old you are!" retorted Mokuba, noticing Noa's predicament. He quickly adjusted the driver's seat forward to allow his stepbrother to reach the pedals, and Noa finally pressed his foot against one of them.
Nothing happened.
"Noa, that's the brake!" screeched Mokuba in alarm.
"I knew that!"
Noa pressed on the other pedal, and they shot forward, driving through the assembled monsters. He let out a startled yelp as the car quickly accelerated. He hadn't expected the car to move so fast! "I need you to act as navigator and direct me towards home!"
"Don't you know where it is?"
"Not from behind the driver's wheel!"
He looked in the rearview mirror and gulped. "Mokuba, quick question. Those monsters aren't supposed to have wings, are they?"
Mokuba frowned. "I…don't really know. Why are you asking?"
"Because they have them now—and they're right behind us!" cried Noa, quickly turning the wheel to avoid one of the soldier's axes.
They nearly collided with oncoming traffic as they frantically tried to avoid being hit. One car accident per day kept the doctor relatively occupied, and neither boy wished to return to the hospital. In desperation, Noa turned down a side road, hoping that traffic wasn't as heavy here.
"NOA, WATCH OUT!" Mokuba screamed in alarm as someone abruptly ran out in front of them.
Noa slammed his foot on the brake hard and stopped just in front of the person. When Mokuba saw who they had nearly hit his eyes widened in surprise. "Dr. Sohma?"
"Who?" asked Noa in confusion. His gaze landed on the man that was lit up by the headlights.
"That's Yugi's family doctor; they only just hired him a couple weeks ago," said Mokuba distractedly.
Sure enough, the black-haired older man was standing in front of the headlights, shielding his eyes and looking right at them. When he saw just who was in the driver seat he smiled in relief and went to them. "Mokuba! Noa! You're all right! Thank heavens—I saw what was on the news—quick, we need to get out of here!"
"Couldn't agree with you more, Dr. Sohma! Get in!" replied Noa sharply, noting that the Orichalcos monsters were right behind them. The moment that the door shut was the moment they took off again. "What are you running from?"
"I was driving on my way home when this horrible monster ambushed me and made me wreck my car! Then this strange man told me to come with him or 'lose my soul'! When I asked him why, he said that he was doing this because of Yugi! What in the world has been happening?"
"Tell ya what—why don't we explain that after we lose them!" said Noa, mentally cursing as he turned sharply around a corner.
"Let me drive," said Dr. Sohma quickly. "I'm fairly certain that you could use a rest, and it probably is difficult to drive with a broken wrist."
"And how do you propose to switch seats? I have to lose them first!" retorted Noa angrily. "But if you want to try to take over, be my guest!"
Expertly, Dr. Sohma took hold of the wheel and held it in place. "All right. Noa, get in the back with Mokuba. Quickly!"
Noa scrambled over the back of the seat and sat down, buckling his seatbelt. He winced as a sharp turn made him hit his wounded side, but thankfully not his broken wrist. He turned in the seat to see how close behind the monsters were and blinked in confusion. "They're gone!"
The creatures had vanished into thin air. But Noa knew better than to not expect them around there somewhere. There had been one too many of those situations in his short lifetime to not expect it. And sure enough...
Dr. Sohma let out a startled cry as the Orichalcos soldiers reappeared in front of them. He slammed his foot on the brake and the car lurched to a halt. "Now what'll we do?" he moaned. "There's no escape!"
"Don't talk like that!" said Noa sharply, his mind racing to think of a way out. "Back up!"
Dr. Sohma began to comply, but one of the monsters grabbed the front of the vehicle and held it in place. He let out another startled cry. "Now what?"
"BAIL!" said Noa sharply, grabbing Mokuba with his uninjured wrist and dragging him out of the car. Dr. Sohma followed suit—after pulling Roland onto his back—and managed to keep up with the fleeing boys as they ran away from the assembled soldiers.
They ran for an unmeasured amount of time, twisting and turning around every corner. Every time they thought they had lost the Orichalcos soldiers, they would be proven wrong and they were forced to run again. They soon found themselves in an abandoned alleyway, gasping for breath.
"Did we lose them?" panted Mokuba wearily, looking at Noa.
"Sure hope so, cause I can't run anymore," replied Noa, equally as weary as Mokuba—more so because he had been injured far worse than he wished to admit. He turned to face their other companion, who had set Roland down. "Dr. Sohma, are you—?"
A sharp pain ignited in Noa's broken wrist as Dr. Sohma grabbed it harshly.
"Let go of him!" shouted Mokuba angrily when Noa's pained scream rent the air. "You're hurting him!"
"That's the point, you little brat!" retorted Dr. Sohma evilly, his eyes lit up with sadistic delight.
"Mokuba, run...get out of here!" Noa said in a shaky voice, realizing that Dr. Sohma was in actuality a bad guy. He should have realized that something was wrong—it was too much of a coincidence that Dr. Sohma had shown up as he had. He groaned as his wrist throbbed. Struggling would only make the pain worse—and besides, he was too worn out from being chased to free himself.
Mokuba narrowed his eyes and shook his head stubbornly. "No! I'm not leaving you here!" He lunged at Dr. Sohma, tackling the older man around his waist. "Let go of him!" he cried.
Dr. Sohma was highly unconcerned about the boy's attack. He watched him boredly for a moment before he delivered a karate chop to the base of Mokuba's neck. The child went limp, falling to the ground facedown.
"Mokuba!" shouted Noa in alarm, struggling to free himself. Dr. Sohma sneered in contempt at Noa's attempts and—using the broken wrist—put him into an armlock. Noa hissed in pain.
"You there, take that one back to headquarters. Leave that man there for the garbage man to find. I've got this one," said Dr. Sohma smoothly, tugging on Noa's arm enough to make the smaller teen groan.
Noa watched through blurred eyes as an Orichalcos soldier threw Mokuba's unconscious body over its shoulder and began to fly off; its wings were hampered by Mokuba's unmoving form, causing it to rise awkwardly. Willing himself not to pass out from the pain, he growled weakly, "Dr. Sohma...I'll get you for this! You better hope you can hide, because when I get out of this!"
"Actually, Noa Kaiba, I would prefer it if you would call me by my real name—'Dr. Sohma' is really quite lame sounding when you have a name as awe-inspiring as Tsukasa Akira. Now, time for you to take a little nap."
Noa felt a sharp pressure on the base of his neck and he fell into darkness.