Notes: David is a canon character, Duke's store manager from episode #46. He is canonically unnamed; I named him. But the eerie thing is, there's a character in Duel Links who looks almost exactly like him except for not wearing glasses, and his name really is David! Naturally, I headcanon that they're the same person. He just decided to wear contacts in Duel Links!

Chapter Eleven

Ishizu and Rishid were both growing highly tense. It had been sometime since Marik had called them, and now they could not call him or anyone else.

"The Big Five must have decided that it was foolish to allow their victims to communicate with each other," Rishid said.

"Yes . . . or they're all hurt," Ishizu feared.

"Marik did not even have anything to do with the Big Five on either of the previous occasions where they caused trouble," Rishid said. "They should not want anything to do with him."

"But we know they will," Ishizu said. "They went after everyone in Noa Kaiba's virtual world, even people who hadn't been responsible for trapping them the first time. Marik will be steadfastly fighting against them, so they will no doubt wish to rid themselves of him."

Rishid bowed his head. He knew Ishizu was right, but he didn't want to believe it. "We should go look for him," he said. "It's highly unlikely that the Big Five will be interested in this tablet."

"On the contrary," came a gruff and gravelly voice.

The siblings started and looked up. "Who are you?" Ishizu demanded of a stocky man with a mustache who had suddenly appeared in the room.

"Adrian Randolph Crump III," was the smirking reply, "and you're looking lovely today, my dear."

Ishizu gave him a frosty look. "Thank you. But what is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm going to stay here and inspect this tablet to see if there's any information here the Big Five can use," Crump said. "And just in case you two have any ideas about escaping, my penguin army will take care of that."

Ishizu quirked an eyebrow. "Penguin army?"

Both she and Rishid stared as multiple Nightmare Penguins, Flying Penguins, Penguin Knights, and other penguin Duel Monsters waddled in after Crump. Some stood guard at the door, while others surrounded Crump and the tablet. From Rishid's expression, he could scarcely believe that they were actually being overpowered by little flightless birds, Duel Monsters or not.

"There! So you see," Crump laughed, "neither of you will be getting out of here any time soon."

Despite her anger, Ishizu restrained herself and very coolly said, "Perhaps." She had no intention of being bested by one of the Big Five and his penguins, and she knew Rishid didn't either. But they would need to bide their time and carefully plan their method of attack and escape.

Crump walked over to the tablet and studied it. Although he looked thoughtful, he was really quite confused. "Come over here and help me understand this," he barked.

Ishizu didn't move. "It's quite straightforward," she told him. "The man wielding the Infinity Ring is about to fight that monster."

"Yeah, yeah, I can see that," Crump retorted. "But how is he going to fight it?! What kind of power does that little Ring have?"

"That," Ishizu said, "is something we all wonder."

She exchanged a worried look with Rishid. While they were trapped, they would have to pray that Marik and the others were safe. And that Crump wouldn't learn anything the Big Five shouldn't know.

xxxx

Mai and Solomon were making quite an interesting team. Solomon had acquired a Curse of Dragon and it and Mai's Baby Dragon were flying over the car, patrolling for trouble. But Yugi was still unreachable by phone, something that was worrying Solomon more and more.

"I was able to talk with him at first," he exclaimed to Mai. "Something terrible may have happened!"

"They're probably just out of range," Mai said. "Or the Big Five realized it was just plain stupid to allow everyone to communicate over the phone and jammed the lines."

"Or all of the above," Solomon retorted. "You know how Yugi and the others are, always getting into trouble."

"Believe me, I know," Mai said. And everyone around them gets dragged into it with them, she silently added. Although this was actually the first time that had happened to her; she had chosen to become involved in the previous misadventures. Of course, she hadn't known what she was getting into either time until it was too late.

"Hey! Mai!"

She looked up again, with a start. Valon was riding towards them on his motorcycle. Raphael and Alister were following in their blue sedan.

Quickly she pulled over to the side. "Have you had any luck?" she asked.

"Not really," Valon said.

Mai sighed, leaning on the top of the door. "Well, at least I know who's behind this," she said. "Some corporate sleazeballs who tortured me and a lot of the others before. I ran into Duke, Tristan, Serenity, and David and they told me. But I don't know where they or Joey or anyone else is right now."

"And I'm getting worried," Solomon said.

"Well, we'll keep looking," Valon promised. "We wanna find out where everybody is too. Not to mention that we don't take kindly to being caught up in these corporate creeps' world just because they've got some grudge against somebody else."

Mai smirked a bit. "I'm sure. It's definitely not a nice feeling. Of course, in this case I feel like it's my problem for more reasons than one. The people they're targeting are my friends."

"Yeah." Valon sighed, leaning on the motorcycle's handlebars. "We're not really close or anything, but none of us wanna see the others get hurt either." He started at the huge shadows overhead. "What the . . . ?!"

Solomon grinned. "You like them?"

Valon stared at the dragons. "Sure, if they're on our side."

"They are," Mai smiled. "You remember my Baby Dragon, I'm sure."

"Oh yeah." Valon kept staring.

"So, haven't you boys found any friends yet?" Mai asked.

"Sure we have," Valon replied. "Here he comes now."

Everyone looked as a Marauding Captain ran up to the scene, sword bared. "I haven't found any trace of them yet," he told Valon.

"That's alright, Mate," Valon told him. "We're about to shove off and try again. Hey." He looked to Mai. "Why don't we travel together this time?"

Mai hesitated. "But . . . what about Raphael and Alister?"

"They admitted that to be fair, they need to give you another chance," Valon said. "It's okay, Mai."

Mai still wasn't sure she was convinced. She looked in her rear-view mirror. Raphael and Alister looked back. Raphael gave a slow nod, while Alister lowered his sunglasses partway.

"We could certainly use some help," Solomon said.

Finally Mai nodded. "Okay." She smiled. "Let's go."

Valon grinned widely. "Alright!" He revved his motorcycle and sped off down the street.

Shaking her head, and still smiling, Mai started her engine and headed off after him. The blue sedan followed her.

"The more the merrier," Solomon smiled.

"Yeah," Mai mused. "You're right." Her heart swelled. Even if she still doubted she deserved it, it still felt good to know people were willing to give her another chance.

xxxx

Everyone was tense in the duel with Nesbitt. Duke and Tristan had both had bad luck draws, while Serenity could only place a weak monster on the field in Defense mode. That left David, who studied his cards very carefully before also laying one down in Defense mode.

Nesbitt couldn't have been more pleased. "Ha! As before, none of you are any match for me!" he crowed. "And I will start my turn by showing the two Golden Ladybugs in my hand. They will grant me an extra 1000 lifepoints! While I prefer Machine cards, I can't deny that the effect of Golden Ladybug makes it a highly useful card to have in my improved deck."

"Not to mention that since it's made out of metal, it still kind of fits your theme," Duke muttered.

"Next, I will activate an old nemesis. I'm sure you remember Giga-Tech Wolf." Nesbitt placed the Machine card on the field.

"How could we forget?" Tristan scowled.

"I could attack you or Mr. Devlin, since neither of you managed to summon a monster, but I think I want to destroy the newcomer's monster instead," Nesbitt continued. "Giga-Tech Wolf, attack Mr. Tanaka's face-down card!"

Duke recoiled. "David . . . !"

But David just smirked. "I was hoping you'd do that." His card flipped up. "My Fire Charmer has more Defense points than your wolf has Attack points. Not to mention it has a special ability. The reason why it's called a charmer is because when it's flipped up, it can hypnotize any monster of the same attribute as it into joining its side. So your Giga-Tech Wolf is now mine."

Nesbitt went stiff as his wolf went to stand beside the Fire Charmer. "What?!" Even though his body wasn't mortal, right now he looked very close to going purple.

"And it won't just be till the end of the turn," David continued. "It's for keeps. Well, until you destroy it or I decide to Tribute it, that is."

"No!" Nesbitt boomed.

Duke laughed. "Alright! That was a really lucky draw!"

David adjusted his glasses. "My deck is full of surprises."

Serenity beamed. "We've all got some surprises in store. Nesbitt, I think this time you're in for a really different duel!"

Nesbitt scowled at her. "Don't think just because you made one good move that it seals the duel for you. I have plenty of tricks in store."

"But it looks like you're still using your same old Machine monsters," Tristan said. "We know your strategies by now, Nesbitt, and we're ready for them." He drew a card and smirked. "So bring it on."

Nesbitt clenched his teeth. "I have no further moves until it's my turn again. Just go."

"I activate Polymerization," Tristan said. "Super Roboyaru!" He grinned as the monster appeared on the field. "One of my personal favorites." He delivered a direct attack to Nesbitt. "And oh, did that feel good!"

Nesbitt stumbled back, cursing under his breath. "There's still a long way to go before you defeat me," he vowed.

Duke laid a card facedown. "This should be useful later."

"We're still ready to help too," the Dark Magician interjected.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Duke blinked. "Since you're already here, do we still need to Tribute monsters to get you guys on the field?"

"I think so," the Dark Magician said.

"We'll call on you if we need your help," Tristan said. "Which I'm sure we will."

Serenity placed another monster facedown. Hopefully, she thought, Nesbitt would leave her alone long enough to assemble her new Fusion monster.

David smirked. "I'll place another card facedown and deliver two direct attacks, courtesy of my Fire Charmer and your own traitorous Giga-Tech Wolf. And that ends my turn."

"This is perfect!" Tristan cheered. "We've already knocked his lifepoints down more than halfway!"

"Don't get too confident," Duke warned. "We've seen plenty of incredible comebacks when lifepoints are lower than Nesbitt's are right now."

"Spoilsport," Tristan retorted, even though he knew Duke was right.

Nesbitt drew and then sneered. "I've drawn Pot of Greed," he announced. "Now I can draw two more cards." This he did, and then quickly laid one of them on the field. "I will also claim another 1000 lifepoints by showing my Golden Ladybugs again. And speaking of old nemeses, I have a card here that I know none of you will want to see again. Robotic Knight!"

Indeed, Duke, Tristan, and Serenity all cringed.

"I knew he'd be bringing that out if he could," Duke groaned.

"So we'll beat it," Tristan snapped.

Serenity looked over worriedly. "But . . . nothing on the field is as powerful as it is right now!" she exclaimed.

"Don't be so sure," Tristan smiled.

Nesbitt was not impressed. "Foolish boy! Don't you think I've researched how all Machine cards work? I know that if I try attacking your Super Roboyaru, its attack power will automatically increase by 1000. Therefore, I will make another one of you my target. And since you have already insulted me, Mr. Tanaka, I choose to attack your facedown card!"

"Wait a minute," Duke interjected. "I play my facedown card! Wall of Disruption! Your Robotic Knight loses 800 attack points!"

"No!" Nesbitt wailed. 700 of his lifepoints vanished as Robotic Knight's attack failed to go through.

David smiled as his new card flipped up. "Dukey-Boy told me all about your duel against him, Serenity, and Tristan," he said. "I was also sure you'd play a Robotic Knight if you could. So, just in case, I played my Light Charmer. Now your Light attribute Robotic Knight is also under my control."

Nesbitt just fell back and stared. "No . . . this can't be real," he gasped.

"I guess Tristan was right about this being a whole new game," Duke smirked. "Unless you have an incredible facedown card, Nesbitt, you're going to be wiped out on our turns. You only have 2100 lifepoints left!"

"It just so happens that my facedown card is Gift of the Mystical Elf," Nesbitt replied. "It grants me 300 lifepoints for every monster on the field."

"Oh no!" Tristan moaned. "Now he's up to 4200 lifepoints!"

"Don't worry, Tristan," Duke retorted. "All of the monsters we currently have in attack position will still more than wipe him out! And if Serenity plays hers too, we'll have even more firepower!"

Serenity beamed. "I will definitely be playing mine! Or maybe I'll Tribute them to get Dark Magician on the field!"

"I could Tribute one of Nesbitt's to bring out Dark Magician Girl," David smirked.

Now Nesbitt looked pale. "This just isn't possible! I beat most of you brats before! What's different now?!"

"Lady Luck is on our side," Duke said. "And we have some different cards. Not to mention you challenged one extra Duelist this time around." He flipped his hair. "You weren't expecting David to actually have a working strategy, were you?"

Nesbitt's expression twisted in his rage. "This isn't the end. I won't go down like this!" And he vanished.

The group was left staring at the blank space in disbelief.

"I . . . think he just surrendered?" David finally offered.

"That big coward!" Tristan snarled. "He wasn't even willing to go down like a man!"

"He probably disappeared to plan more misery for us," Duke said. "Even though it looks like we've won, we have to be careful. Something new could go wrong for us at any time."

"We'll stay alert," the Dark Magician promised. "But maybe now we should get back to looking for your friends?"

Duke snapped to. "Yeah, good idea." He headed for the car. "Let's try this again."

Everyone got back inside and Duke started the engine. As he drove off, he couldn't deny the feeling that they were all being watched.

xxxx

Yami Bakura's duel had also been going quite well. He had managed to trick Johnson into destroying three Fiend type monsters, allowing him to summon Dark Necrofear to the field. She then attacked, one by one, all of the cards he had on the field. On the turn when she destroyed his last defense, Johnson fell back in horror.

"No! I can't lose this duel!" he cried. "I won't lose to another of these people!"

"And just what can you do about it?" Yami Bakura mocked. "Unless you can draw something valuable on your next turn, Dark Necrofear will attack you directly. Even with the power-ups I've given her, she won't bring you down to zero since you've been increasing your lifepoints all duel. But I'm not worried."

Johnson drew, and stared at his card. It wouldn't help him in this situation. He looked back up at Yami Bakura, eager and waiting to attack. Then, giving him a cruel smile, Johnson adjusted his tie. "I do have one trump card left."

"Oh? And what's that?" Yami Bakura retorted.

To his sickened horror, Johnson once again changed his appearance to that of Bakura. "Can you directly attack the boy you love so much?"

Yami Bakura stared at him for a long moment, clenching his fist tight enough to draw blood.

"You can't, can you?" Johnson said. Now he was imitating Bakura's voice as well. "Yami . . ."

And Yami Bakura snapped. "No, I couldn't attack him," he snarled. "But since you are not him, I won't have any problem at all!" His voice boomed off the nearby mountain. "You are desecrating his memory with your trick! Now you will pay for what you have done! You murdered that innocent boy and I won't have it! Dark Necrofear, attack!"

Dark Necrofear lunged, swinging the Lucky Iron Axe that she was still equipped with. As Johnson yelped in shock and surprise, the Duel Monster attacked him directly. He switched back to his own appearance, half-stunned into it by the attack.

"And now, thanks to the Berserker Soul I drew on my last turn, I will keep drawing cards, attacking you every time I draw a monster," Yami Bakura sneered. "I saw the Pharaoh do this once. It seemed like such a good idea that I decided I would also do it, if the time was right. I can't think of a better one."

"But that's only supposed to work if your monster has 1500 attack points or less," Johnson protested.

Yami Bakura held up a card. "And I have just the card to correct that little problem. Thanks to both power-ups Dark Necrofear currently has, this Shrink card will cut her attack power down to exactly 1500."

"No!" Johnson took a step back in horror.

Yami Bakura pulled one card. "The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams. Dark Necrofear, attack him again!"

She did. Johnson flew backwards to the ground with a scream.

Yami Bakura drew again. "Earthbound Spirit. Dark Necrofear, show him no mercy!"

Another attack. Now Johnson's lifepoints were at zero, but Yami Bakura wasn't about to stop.

"You're terribly unlucky today, aren't you?" he grinned. "I've drawn Hysteric Angel."

Dark Necrofear hesitated now. Another attack was not needed; Johnson was already defeated. Due to the terms of their duel, his made-up world was flashing and vanishing around them, freeing his section of the city from the Big Five's control. He would not be going anywhere else to start new chaos. He was shuddering, cowering on the ground and staring up at the sky. But he did deserve to suffer, and she had to obey Yami Bakura's orders. She attacked again.

"The Man-Eater Bug!" Yami Bakura exclaimed. "Bakura's blood cries out for vengeance, and I will deliver! Dark Necrofear, go!"

Again she attacked, but the hesitation was even longer this time. Now Johnson threw his arms up over his face.

"I wonder if Bakura looked and felt like you before you killed him," Yami Bakura said. "Lady of Faith! I also wonder where all my magic and trap cards are right now. Not that I'm complaining!"

Dark Necrofear swung her magic axe. Johnson flinched, hard. "Stop," he begged. "Please. . . ."

"Please?!" Yami Bakura mocked. "Isn't it pathetic, how someone like you kills without a second thought, yet turns into a sniveling coward when your own safety is at stake?" He drew his sixth card, and couldn't help starting to laugh. "Ancient Elf!"

Dark Necrofear hesitated again.

"What are you waiting for?!" Yami Bakura demanded. "Attack him!"

She did.

Johnson rolled onto his side. "I'm begging you to stop," he quavered.

"Never," Yami Bakura cackled. "The Electric Lizard! I would say the cards agree with me that vengeance and justice will be served! Keep cowering and groveling! It only proves how pathetic you truly are, and how deserving of feeling pain!" He reached out, spreading his fingers and then clenching them into a fist. "If I could repay you a hundredfold for what you did to Bakura, it still wouldn't be anywhere enough!"

Dark Necrofear turned to look at him. His eyes were wild, filled with hate and sadism. His rage was completely justified, and yet . . .

Master . . . I don't want to see you like this.

She dropped the axe. It clattered on the pavement, startling both Yami Bakura and Johnson.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Yami Bakura spat.

She walked back over to him and took his hands, silently holding them between hers.

Yami Bakura stared at her, stunned into silence by her actions. She was a Duel Monster of bitterness and hatred, cruelly experimented on until her humanity was all but gone. Yet now, she wanted him to stop?

Bakura would want him to stop too, no matter how much Johnson deserved this. . . .

The memory of Bakura desperately pushing him out of the way of the explosion erupted through his mind.

"Yami! You're going to have your second chance! I promise you!"

The words shot into his heart like an arrow. Bakura still believed in him so much. He had given his life to protect Yami Bakura. It would break Bakura's heart to see him so crazed now.

He looked back at Johnson. Pitiful, pathetic mess of what was once a human being. Had Johnson ever cared about people? Even before he had been rendered a wandering spirit, he had manipulated people's lives for his own selfish desires. And after Zorc had poisoned Yami Bakura, so had he. In ancient Egypt Yami Bakura had fought for justice, even though he had been misguided and had mostly gone after the guiltless. But this time he knew he had the right target. Johnson deserved every attack Yami Bakura had launched, and more. But even so, all the attacks in the world wouldn't bring Bakura back. And under their current circumstances, Yami Bakura couldn't really do much damage to Johnson anyway. Each assault brought momentary pain, but Johnson was little more than a solid hologram and it didn't last. And it was unlikely that he regretted his abomination. Yami Bakura clenched a fist and turned away.

"Bakura . . ." he whispered. "It's all pointless, isn't it? It won't bring you back. And maybe now you'll be afraid of me, as you were when I first attacked the White Death. I . . . don't know if I could stand that outcome. I braced myself for it in the past, but then you felt differently because I was trying to protect you. Now you're not here to protect. Do you still feel as you did then? Can you? Or do you see me for what I am—a tired old madman who can't and won't forgive your murderer? I wonder . . . if I took the Ring off, would I be able to see you again? Talk to you?"

His hand drifted to the cord, then fell away. Bakura had sacrificed himself to keep Yami Bakura alive. He had to honor that, somehow, even though right now the anguish and the loneliness were crippling. It had been crushing to lose his loved ones the first time. To have it happen again and be all alone once more . . . well, he really wasn't sure he could handle it at all. He felt like a helpless child again, truly broken.

Johnson stirred, slowly focusing on the scene. Seeing the fallen axe, he quietly reached out for it. Physical assaults were Nesbitt's specialty, but this case was made to order. He got to his feet, lunging as he planned to bury the weapon in Yami Bakura's back. Even if it didn't deliver the wounds of a real axe, especially to a real person and not a solid hologram as Johnson currently was, the sudden pain would be real enough to shock Yami Bakura's body, possibly fatally. Then Johnson could take the Ring.

He never had the chance. Dark Necrofear got in the way, shooting him down again with her Doom Gaze attack.

Yami Bakura looked up with a start as Johnson fell. The axe again clattered to the ground, where this time it was picked up by Dark Necrofear. "What . . ."

Dark Necrofear stood in front of him and drew him close to her in an embrace. He started, stunned, but then closed his eyes and allowed it. No matter how he tried to insist she was only a computer program, he could no longer believe that. She was real, and her caring for him was real. And right now, love and caring were what he so desperately needed.

xxxx

Bakura fell to his knees in tears. He had seen the whole thing on the screen in the room where he was still held prisoner. But he wasn't disgusted or disappointed in his friend. He wasn't afraid or heartbroken to see Yami Bakura backslide. He was instead heartbroken that Yami Bakura had been deliberately pushed to his breaking point.

"This is so cruel!" he spat. "Doing this to Yami on purpose to make him lose control of himself!"

"Yes, but unfortunately he didn't tap into the powers of the Infinity Ring," Gansley said.

Bakura looked up with a start. "That was what this was about?!" he cried. "You were trying to make the Ring kill him, weren't you?!"

"Of course," Gansley sneered.

"Oh Yami . . ." Bakura reached out a shaking hand, running it over the image on the screen of the heartbroken Yami Bakura being held close by Dark Necrofear. "I'm so sorry, Yami. You're in so much pain because of me. . . ."

"Because he was foolish enough to open his heart again," Gansley mocked.

That was the last straw; Bakura's patience snapped. He got to his feet, his eyes flashing with a cold and determined anger. "It took a great deal of courage for Yami to love again. I won't have you using that against him. I won't!"

"Oh? And just what are you going to do about it?" Gansley asked.

"I'm going to stop you," Bakura said. "And then I'm going to Yami."

"You're going to stop me?" Gansley snorted. "How?"

"With this." Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled out the card he had found just after the explosion. "The Change of Heart."

"What?" Gansley scoffed. "That's not going to . . ." But his eyes went blank.

"Now," Bakura said calmly, "you are going to unlock the door and let me go free. You will not come after me, nor will you send any of the others after me. You will also stop tormenting Yami and all of my friends."

"Yes," Gansley said, his voice as empty as his eyes. "I understand."

"Good." And with that, Bakura marched out the door. He wasn't stopped.