Chapter 14

Cutting Wounds

Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.

Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.

The six left, finding themselves outside surrounded by warehouses. Yugi was still reeling over what Nezbitt said. "They said their goal was to get our bodies back."

Thinking for a moment, Merina smiled. "That means Tristan didn't get deleted. He's around here somewhere."

Joey nodded. "Let's split up and find him."

Everyone agreed.

Walking through the ruins, Tiki and the Kaiba brothers walked in silence. As they walked, Kaiba suddenly looked to his right: someone was following them. He stopped, making Mokuba and Tiki stop. Tiki asked, "What's wrong?"

Kaiba looked up. Mokuba and Tiki did as well and saw Tristan looking down on them with a dark smile and a kendo sword in his hand. Tiki smiled. "Tristan! You're okay!"

Mokuba asked, "Where's everyone else?"

Tristan answered by jumping, ready to attack Kaiba with the kendo sword. Kaiba jumped out of the way in time as Mokuba and Tiki split up. Tiki asked, "Tristan, what's wrong with you?!"

Kaiba demanded, "What the hell is this?!"

Tristan spoke but Kaiba recognized the voice as Nezbitt. "Kaiba! I have an ultimate grudge against you!"

Kaiba stood up. Unlike Nezbitt, he did not hold onto memories of what he did to the Big Five. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Tristan/Nezbitt said, "Enough talk!"

He attacked Kaiba, who quickly dodged out of the way. Tristan/Nezbitt took a few more swings but Kaiba kept dodging. Remembering the trick he used on the Rare Hunter at Yugi and Joey's death duel, Kaiba took a card and threw it at Tristan/Nezbitt, who quickly blocked it with his kendo sword. Before either could do anything, the group of friends minus Merina and Tiki (they were looking elsewhere) ran up to them. Joey smiled. "Tristan, you're safe!"

Serenity sighed in relief. "Thank goodness!"

Tristan/Nezbitt growled. "You're here to stop me?"

Everyone was surprised as Duke realized, "That ain't Tristan! That's that bastard we just dueled!"

Tristan/Nezbitt chuckled. "Correct. This body is mine!"

He attacked Kaiba again but, seeing a metal pipe off to the side, Kaiba dodged out of the way and grabbed it to defend himself. But Tristan/Nezbitt knocked it out of Kaiba's hands before teasing, "Never underestimate a kendo master."

Suddenly a small robot monkey attacked Tristan/Nezbitt. Taking advantage of the distraction, Joey rushed forward and kicked Tristan/Nezbitt through the door of a nearby warehouse. Tea looked at Joey. "Be careful; that's Tristan's body!"

When she and Serenity went to check on Tristan, Merina and Tiki ran up to the group. They were grateful everyone was okay but Kaiba paled at the sight of the second Tiki. "What the hell…?"

Tiki was frightened by the sight of her doppelganger. Everyone looked between the two and could not tell the difference; not even Yugi could tell. After a moment, the Tiki next to Merina smirked darkly and shrugged. "I guess I'm found out. It's been fun…"

That Tiki got digitized, leaving everyone to realize they were with a program the entire time. Kaiba was more relieved they were tricked instead of him. But suddenly things got worse: having found a motorcycle in the warehouse, Tristan/Nezbitt used it to escape. But he did not leave alone: he grabbed Mokuba and punched him out so he would not struggle. "Kaiba! You took something precious from me; now I'll take something precious from you!"

Kaiba was horrified. "You bastard!"

On a hunch, Kaiba went to the warehouse. To his relief, he found another and got on it as Tiki appeared in front of him. He growled, "Stay out of this!"

Tiki shook her head. "I'm staying with you until we find Mokuba!"

Kaiba turned on the motorcycle. "I don't need your help!"

Frowning, Tiki said over the bike's engine, "Whether you like it or not, I care about Mokuba too! He's my friend, Seto!"

Kaiba looked at her in shock: not only had she just scolded him, she called him by his first name. Normally, he would have been furious with her acting like they were close enough to call him Seto but this was different. He could see she was being stubborn about this and remembered how she saved Mokuba from the cliff earlier. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, "Get on!"

The group tried to follow Tristan/Nezbitt but knew they could not catch him on foot. Suddenly Yugi heard another motorcycle behind them. Hearing it as well, the group dodged just in time as Kaiba flew by them on the motorcycle with Tiki sitting behind him, clutching him for dear life. Yugi was surprised. "Kaiba! Tiki!"

Joey growled. "Damn it…has Tristan really gotten his ass taken over?"

Merina stated, "Not only that, Kaiba's going after him and Tiki's going with him!"

Kaiba focused on the road. 'Hang on, Mokuba!'

Scared, Tiki squeezed her arms tighter around, ignoring her blush. Trying to distract herself, she called out, "You see him?!"

Kaiba could not hear her over the engine as they reached the end of the tunnel. They were on a bridge and, up ahead, a section was missing. Seeing it, Tiki gripped Kaiba, more scared than ever. "Seto, look out!"

Kaiba gritted his teeth. "Hang on! I'm going to jump it!"

Tiki paled. "You're what?!"

Kaiba sped up the bike, making Tiki whimper. To her amazement, they made the jump. She lowered her face onto his back until he said, "Hang on!"

Before Tiki could react, Kaiba turned, grabbed Tiki, and jumped from the bike. The motorcycle crashed and erupted into a big fireball. Kaiba sighed in relief and looked at Tiki. Her eyes were spinning and she was clinging to him for dear life. Feeling her tremble, Kaiba shook her shoulders a little. "Snap out of it! Are you all right?"

After taking a few deep breaths, Tiki looked up and realized she was clinging to him. Blushing deeply, she pulled away. "Sorry…just…don't do that again…"

Kaiba stated, "I did not have a choice."

Tiki was about to ask what he meant when she saw he was looking at the fire. She looked and saw a man in a trench coat, sunglasses, and face mask on the other side. "It's been a while, Kaiba Seto."

Kaiba demanded, "Who are you?"

The man gave a lowly chuckle. "It's me…how could you forget me?"

Kaiba realized it was his former assistant and Big Five member Leichter. "Bastard…"

Tiki demanded, "Where's Mokuba, you creep?!"

Leichter asked, "Mokuba? Oh…now I remember. There was a motorcyclist holding a kid. He drove past here a few minutes ago."

Down the road, Tristan/Nezbitt kept riding with an unconscious Mokuba. But he stopped when Noah appeared in front of him. Noah demanded, "What is this?"

Tristan/Nezbitt paled and stumbled, "Well…to pay Kaiba back…"

Noah glared. "I believe I told you imbeciles to refrain from cheap tactics."

Tristan/Nezbitt protested, "But, if I didn't, I would have never gotten another chance at revenge."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Do you realize how pathetic you look? But then…why look a gift horse in the mouth? I'LL take the kid." Tristan/Nezbitt started to protest but Noah smirked darkly. "Are you…disobeying me?"

Tristan/Nezbitt knew better than to answer.

Kaiba glared at Leichter. "How dare you use such low tactics as kidnapping Mokuba?!"

Leichter chuckled. "You're not qualified to make such accusations. If you want your precious Mokuba back, you're going to have to defeat me."

Kaiba glared at him. "That's ridiculous. You don't have a chance against me!"

Tiki agreed. "You'd have to be an idiot to even think about challenging Seto to a duel!"

Kaiba was flattered his rival's sister thought so highly of him but he said, "It appears I have no choice. I accept!"

He activated his duel disk as a database of Duel Monsters cards appeared before him. Leichter stated, "Assemble your deck but keep in mind: God Cards are forbidden."

Disappointed he could not have a fast victory, Kaiba chose his deck and chose Lord of Dragon as his Deck Master. Leichter stated, "I'd like to tell you what my Deck Master is but I believe it would be more fun for you to discover it on your own; that way, the shock will be much greater."

Kaiba scoffed. "If you aren't afraid of the blue flame burning inside me, bring it on!"

Tiki blushed and looked at Kaiba. 'Okay, that was really cool.' She said, "Good luck, Seto!"

Kaiba smirked. "I won't need it; I will win!"

Tiki smiled as the duel began. Leichter played a monster in face-down defense mode and placed two cards face-down. Kaiba summoned Spear Dragon (ATK 1900) and the dragon destroyed the face-down monster. But the monster was Hiro's Shadow Scout: even though Leichter lost 1400 life points thanks to Spear Dragon's special ability, he got to see the top three cards in Kaiba's deck. Since two of them were magic cards, they were automatically discarded. While annoyed, Kaiba still played a card face-down. 'Crush Card Virus…this match is as good as over.'

Leichter activated Solemn Wishes, gaining 500 life points every time he drew. Kaiba gave Leichter a numb look. 'Keep replenishing your life points all you want…your deck will only live for one more turn.'

Leichter again put a monster in face-down defense mode and another card face down before ending his turn. Kaiba noticed what Leichter did. 'As soon as Spear Dragon deals battle damage, it automatically switches to defense mode and it has 0 DEF. So why won't he attack? I have no idea what you're planning, you bastard, but you're finished!'

Kaiba summoned Giant Germ (ATK 1000) and switched Spear Dragon back to attack mode to attack the face-down monster. Suddenly Leichter activated Mask of Perplexity and a gas mask attached itself to Kaiba's face. Tiki yelped. "What the heck…?!"

Leichter laughed as Kaiba tried to take the mask off. "You fell for it! Thanks to Mask of Perplexity, you won't be able to see where you're attacking."

Thanks to the mask's narrow vision, Kaiba only saw a card and ordered Spear Dragon to attack it. Tiki cried out, "Seto, stop the attack!"

Kaiba saw why when the mask removed itself: Spear Dragon was attacking his Giant Germ. Kaiba knew it was too late to call back the attack and so did Leichter. "Too bad."

Kaiba smirked. "Wrong, Leichter…you're the one who's been trapped."

He used the destruction of Giant Germ to activate the Crush Card Virus. Suddenly lasers came out of Leichter's eyes and destroyed the trap card, shocking Kaiba and Tiki, making them say at the same time, "What the…?!"

Kaiba growled, "That's impossible! How can a trap card be destroyed?!" He then realized. "Unless…your Deck Master…!"

Leichter nodded. "Correct. My Deck Master is…" he removed his disguise to reveal, "…Jinzo!"

Tiki yelped and backed up. 'That's not good. Most of Seto's combos need trap cards…and now he can't use them!'

Leichter leered at Kaiba. "I've waited for this moment for a long time. For years, I sold hundreds of KaibaCorp missiles and other weapons of war to other countries. By far, however, the most popular was your virtual system. Even now, your program is being used around the world as a tool of war."

Tiki shouted, "That system was not yours for the taking!"

Kaiba agreed. "That's why I—!"

Leichter interrupted, "'…forced Gozaburo to his death,' right? Gozaburo's first mistake was adopting you and that wretched brother of yours…" Kaiba and Tiki growled at that, "…but his biggest was that birthday gift."

That caught Tiki off-guard so she asked, "What birthday gift?"

Kaiba knew what Leichter was talking about.

Gozaburo sat the brothers down at the table. "As of today, Seto, your formal education is over. Allow me this opportunity to praise you…especially on today, your birthday. I have a present for you."

Young Seto stiffened, thinking the worse. To his relief, the butler came over with a covered wheeled tray. Under the sheet was a lot of money, divided evenly into two stacks. The brothers were shocked as Gozaburo explained, "Seto, Mokuba, as of today, you each own 2% of KaibaCorp's stocks. However…Seto…this money is a loan; you are to pay it all back."

Young Seto was more relieved that was the gift. "A loan, you say?"

Gozaburo nodded. "As of today, your year-long test will begin. At the end of the year, you are to return 100 times that money. If you cannot accomplish such a menial task, you are not truly fit to run KaibaCorp. Now…sign the IOU."

The butler put the contract and paper before Young Seto as Gozaburo asked with a sneer, "Or would you prefer to return to that dump?"

Young Seto glared and signed the contract. When the butler took the contract, Gozaburo added, "I will have Leichter lend you his aid. Seto…I am looking forward to our meeting in one year."

Later, with Leichter and Mokuba observing, Young Seto had his Duel Monster deck spread out on the floor; half showed the back and half showed the front. Young Mokuba was worried. "Nii-sama, what are you going to do? Paying back 100 times the money…it's way too hard!"

Young Seto brushed it off. "Just relax. Think of it as a game. For example, we have here 100 cards. Each card represents 1% of the total stocks. In my studies, I learned there's a rule among stock marketers: the person who holds this card cannot be bought out by any other."

Young Mokuba blinked, confused. "What?"

Young Seto flipped over the 51st card. "This makes 51%. If someone holds at least 51 of the total 100, no other person can have more. In other words, you win." He turned to Leichter. "Use all that money to purchase 51% of any company's stocks."

Leichter was surprised. "You're going to spend it all right away?"

Young Seto smirked coldly. "Any company will do. Just make sure it is highly rated and traditional."

Leichter came back some time later. "Master Seto, I have successfully purchased a company."

Young Seto smirked as Leichter showed the brothers a picture of an old building. "The company is an old funeral home where workers are highly devoted."

Young Mokuba laughed. "That's awesome, Nii-sama! That means you're the president of this company!"

Young Seto stared hard at the picture. "Becoming the president of a small business will not serve my purpose. It will be impossible to earn back 100 times the price in one year; hell, I doubt it would be possible in ten years." His cold smirk came back. "But…there is a way to make them pay it all right away…"

At the funeral home, the funeral director shouted, "Impossible! You want me to buy back my own company at five times the price?!"

With Young Mokuba and Leichter at his side, Young Seto nodded. "You have no choice. If you do not, I will fire you and every single one of your employees. It will be a huge loss…for everyone."

The funeral director glared. "I can't believe this…you're such a young boy…and for you to think of such an evil plan…!"

Young Kaiba was not fazed.

Leichter recalled, "Your money-earning abilities were beyond Gozaburo's expectations."

Tiki could not believe what she just heard but remembered the training Kaiba had growing up. 'If that man hadn't adopted them…maybe Mokuba was right to try and rewrite the past.'

Kaiba glared at Leichter. "Gozaburo used my virtual system for military weapons, crushing my dream in doing so. At that moment, I decided in my heart to do whatever it took to surpass him."

Tiki stared at Kaiba, still having a nagging feeling. 'Still…that can't be the only reason…can it?'

Leichter stated, "It's over…your dream will die and so will you!"

Kaiba growled, "Not yet!"

He used the special ability of Giant Germ to summon another Giant Germ from his deck. Leichter did not seem afraid. "Seto, during that year I spent at your side, I learned a lot about you and your ways. Without traps, all you have is your monsters' power."

Kaiba glared. "I believe in my deck!"

Tiki agreed. "And no amount of learning can ever teach you to truly understand Seto and his dueling method! You're delusional if you think this will keep him down!"

Kaiba peeked at Tiki. 'Impressive, Tiki…"

Leichter drew, getting more life points from Solemn Wishes, and placed two cards face down. Kaiba had Spear Dragon destroy the face-down defense monster. The monster was Cyber Pot, causing Spear Dragon and Giant Germ to be destroyed with it. He and Kaiba drew five cards from their deck, knowing they had to summon any level 4 monster to the field: Kaiba summoned Vorse Raider (ATK 1900) and Twin-Headed Behemoth (ATK 1500) and Leichter summoned Injection Fairy Lily (ATK 400). Leichter drew, got 500 life points, and played Watch Tranquilizer. He looked at it and commented, "This was designed by Gozaburo himself…and was supposed to be a new weapon developed by KaibaCorp. A shame it never made it to the testing phase…until now."

The watch shot a dart at Vorse Raider, hitting it in the neck. Leichter stated, "This card will drain an opponent's monster 100 ATK times their level."

Kaiba could only watch as Vorse Raider lost 400 ATK, dropping it to 1500 ATK. 'It does not matter: all he has is a 500 ATK monster.'

In his focus, however, he forgot about Injection Fairy Lily's special ability: in exchange for 1000 of Leichter's life points, Injection Fairy Lily's ATK went up by 3000, giving her 3400. Tiki covered her eyes as Lily attacked and destroyed Vorse Raider, dropping Kaiba's life points to 1200. Leichter than activated Sebek's Blessing, gaining Kaiba's lost life points as his own. As his life points rose to 2100, he relished, "Another step to victory!"

Kaiba growled as Leichter ended his turn after summoning a monster in face-down defense mode. Kaiba studied his hand. 'Lily's ATK returned to 400 after that attack. Wicked Worm Beast has 1400 ATK. If I can get through, I can deliver serious damage. But…if he increases Lily's ATK again, my life points will drop to 0." He gritted his teeth and decided, 'I'll just have to endure it. I've endured countless problems and torture in my life…'

Too focused to allow the memories to come back, he summoned a monster in face-down defense mode. Leichter sneered, "Not going to attack? Very well; allow me to activate another trap."

He played Life Absorbing Machine, a card that allowed Leichter to regain half of his lost life points from the previous turn. Kaiba's eyes widened. 'He's setting a Life Recovery combo?!'

Leichter took his turn, gaining more life points in doing so, and stated, "You've now earned the right to see it, Seto: Gozaburo's greatest weapon!"

Kaiba tensed up as Leichter sacrificed his two defense monsters to summon Satellite Cannon. A rocket appeared on the field, making Kaiba's eyes widen. "What the hell…?!"

Tiki backed up a little as the rocket launched itself into the atmosphere. When the rocket was out of sight, Leichter chuckled. "With 3600 points, I'm practically untouchable."

Kaiba sneered, "Shut up."

Leichter activated Lily's special ability: with her ATK back at 3400, she attacked and destroyed Twin-Head Behemoth. But Kaiba quickly activated its special ability, returning it to the field with 1000 ATK and DEF. Leichter scoffed. "How annoyingly persistent.

He set a card before playing Emergency Provisions, gaining 2000 life points for the two magic cards he discarded, including the one he just set. Kaiba growled. 'Damn it, his life just increased again. I need to stop his Life Recovery combo or I'll have no hope of winning. Not only that, that card he played sent a rocket into the air. When he declared 'turn end,' the meter's lever raised.'

Before Kaiba could ask, Tiki asked, "What is that meter?"

Just then, they heard Yugi's voice behind them: "Kaiba! Tiki!"

Tiki turned and waved. "Yugi! Guys!"

Kaiba was not thrilled his rival was watching but knew he had to focus on the duel. Joey looked at Leichter winced. "Yugi, look at the Duel Master!"

Yugi looked and paled. "Jinzo!"

Merina grimaced. "Damn it, that means Kaiba can't use his trap cards!"

Tea shook her head. "That's not fair!"

Tiki put her finger to her lips. "Guys, we can hear you! Seto needs to concentrate; do you mind?"

Kaiba smirked. "Thanks for shutting them up." Tiki blushed as Kaiba thought to himself, 'It's true that this duel was almost impossible from the start. But I'll do what I've always done: open up the path and walk with my own strength!'

Tiki blushed a little deeper. 'Seto…you're so determined…I have faith in you.'

With the card he drew, Kaiba smirked more. "Leichter, your Life Recovery combo is destroyed!"

He played Heavy Storm. But Leichter was ready. "As Gozaburo taught you, reality is crueler than you know!"

He played Imperial Order: for the price of 700 life points per turn, Kaiba could no longer use his magic cards. Kaiba glared at Leichter as Tiki and her friends grew worried. Leichter drew, now having 3400 life points thanks to Solemn Wishes and Life Absorbing Machine and paying the toll to keep Imperial Order in play. Leichter then stated, "It's time for Gozaburo's ultimate weapon to be utilized."

Kaiba tensed up. "What did you say?"

Suddenly a laser was shot down from the sky and destroyed Kaiba's face-down monster, leaving only a burned crater behind. Everyone was almost knocked over by the sheer power of the laser; even Kaiba himself felt worried against it. "Where the hell did that come from?" He then realized, "It can't be…!"

Leichter sneered, "Correct. The Satellite Cannon is in space…the ultimate weapon form.

Hearing that, Joey said, "There's no way a monster can attack from space!"

Leichter continued, "Satellite Cannon's special ability is unique: it cannot be destroyed by a level 7 or lower monster."

Kaiba's heart dropped. "What…?"

Leichter added, "That weakling you had did not have enough power to stop it even if it tried. When my turn comes to an end, Satellite Cannon's ATK goes up by 1000! So…tell me…how does it feel to be tortured by Gozaburo's greatest weapon?!"

Kaiba started to shake in anger and a little fear. 'It's terrifying…horrible…Satellite Cannon is almost as bad…'

Tiki saw the look on Kaiba's face and grew worried. Taking a chance, she reached over and touched his arm, waking him up. "Seto…? Are you all right?"

Before Kaiba could answer, Leichter stated, "I still remember…the day you drove Gozaburo to his death! You will finally be punished for your crime! You'll pay for using everyone like you did…including your innocent little brother Mokuba!"

No one expected to hear that. Tiki looked at Kaiba and saw his eyes narrow slightly. "Seto…is that true?"

Kaiba said nothing as Leichter looked at her. "Little girl…allow me to show you the real Kaiba Seto."

While Tiki gritted her teeth at what Leichter called her, she was curious about what he was talking about. Leichter explained, "Thank back…to that last test Kaiba Gozaburo gave you. You passed that test, proving you had what it took to become a ruthless business dictator, just like he wanted you to be. But even Gozaburo's imagination paled in comparison to your actual abilities. But that day…it more than put you on the path of business…it put you on a path of cruelty."

Tiki looked at Kaiba, who started to remember.

One day, Young Kaiba had a meeting with the Big Five. Gansley asked, "Master Seto, why have you called a secretive meeting with us?"

Young Kaiba smirked. "If you five agree to work for me, we can steal this company and wealth right under President Gozaburo's nose." The five were surprised as Young Kaiba asked, "Will you work for me and help me take over KaibaCorp?"

The five agreed. As time went on, they secretly bought KaibaCorp stocks: Kaiba kept track with his Duel Monsters deck, using the same method he used to explain his plan to Mokuba when the test began. But there was a problem.

Leicher said, "Someone began leaking information to Gozaburo about our plan. You eventually blamed Mokuba."

Kaiba remembered. 'Not my proudest moment…'

Young Kaiba pushed Young Mokuba against the wall. The child was scared. "Nii-sama…?"

Young Kaiba shouted, "How dare you betray me like this! Did you really think I was going to tolerate this?!"

He grabbed Young Mokuba by the shirt collar, who shook his head. "Nii-sama, believe me! I didn't say anything! It wasn't me!"

Young Kaiba threw Young Mokuba to the floor. "Get him out of my sight!"

Tiki was so shocked, she let go of Kaiba's arm. He was shaking and gritting his teeth as Leichter explained, "After that, the poor child ran to Gozaburo for comfort. He pretended to care about Mokuba but all he wanted were Mokuba's two 'cards,' if you will. With Mokuba by his side, Gozaburo had 51 cards in his hand and stopped buying stock because of that."

At the board meeting, Young Kaiba and the Big Five sat across Gozaburo and his most loyal workers. Young Kaiba stated, "It has been a year since our last meeting. As such, I have called you here to discuss something of the upmost importance."

Gozaburo cut him off. "It's useless, Seto! I know you intended to buy me out but, despite your best efforts, you only hold 49%…whereas I have 51%. Because of that, I have no intentions to hand over the position to you." He stood up and declared, "Starting now, KaibaCorp is declaring bankruptcy and all assets will be transferred to a subsidiary! Your stock is worth garbage, like you! I will continue to hold the title you coveted and you will now mortgage your life to me!"

Young Kaiba remained stone-faced but, inside, he was freaking out. 'If this doesn't work…I can't have him—"

Suddenly Young Mokuba burst into the office. "Wait! I'm…I'm giving Nii-sama my two cards!"

Young Kaiba was touched while Gozaburo was furious. "You can't! He disowned you!"

Young Mokuba stated, "He was just upset, that's all!" He stood by his brother's side. "I would never betray Nii-sama!"

Young Kaiba mentally sighed in relief. 'Mokuba…you saved me…' He then looked at Gozaburo and teased with a cold smirk, "Well…looks like you're the one who lost everything.'

The look on Gozaburo's face made Young Kaiba's heart soar.

Leichter growled, "After he lost everything he worked his entire life to obtain, Gozaburo committed suicide."

Kaiba hissed, "What are you implying?"

Leichter stated, "You're the one who caused it."

Kaiba whispered to himself, "He got off easy…after what he did to me…"

Tiki looked at Kaiba, hearing him, but was distracted when Leichter said, "The real one who leaked the plan to Gozaburo…was you, Kaiba Seto!"

Tiki looked at Kaiba. "Seto…is that true?"

Kaiba said nothing as Leichter said, "You plotted a conspiracy against Gozaburo, making him think someone else leaked the information. You made it so he could not win…even using Gozaburo and Mokuba to achieve what you wanted. You betrayed Mokuba and knew he would go to Gozaburo for support. You planned every more from the start! Even after everything you did, you knew Mokuba would remain by your side!"

Taking a deep breath, Kaiba said, "All I did…was believe in Mokuba…that our bond would beat Gozaburo!"

He clenched his first so tightly, it shook, as Leichter snapped, "Excuses, Seto! Imagine what Mokuba must have felt when you took advantage of you and used him like a puppet! You drove your own stepfather to kill himself!"

Tiki looked at Kaiba. Despite what Leichter said, she mentally shook her head. 'No…I believe Seto's words. His number one priority is Mokuba…their bond is stronger than the bond between me and Yugi. All the blame…is on the man who made Seto who he is today.'

Leichter started to say, "You even used the Big Five in the same way. By the time we realized it, it was too late! I'll pay back that anger ten-fold!"

Kaiba glared, "Life is a game. I will not allow you to crush my dream!"

He summoned Spirt Ryu (ATK 1000) and switched Twin-Headed Behemoth to attack mode. He had Spirit Ryou attack Injection Fairy Lily but Leichter commented, "Have you lost your mind?"

He activated Lily's special ability, making everyone think Kaiba would lose. But Kaiba had a little trick up his sleeve: by discarding two dragon cards, he rose Spirit Ryu's ATK to 3000. While it was still destroyed, Kaiba was still in the game with 800 life points. Tiki sighed in relief. "Warn me before you do that."

Leicher was shocked. "You raised your monster's ATK just to spare some life points?!"

Tiki heard Duke call Kaiba's dueling method reckless and murmured, "He has a point…"

Kaiba smirked. "Tiki, don't insult me."

Tiki blushed and covered her mouth as Kaiba made Twin-Head Behemoth attack Lily. Leichter and Tiki then realized why Kaiba did what he did: Leichter did not have enough life points to activate Lily's special ability. Injection Fairy Lily was destroyed, dropping Leichter's life points to 800. Tiki smiled. "Well done, Seto."

Kaiba smirked as Leichter drew. His life points did go up to 1650 thanks to Solemn Wishes and Life Absorbing Machine. Getting an idea, Tiki teased, "Don't forget: 700 life points to keep Imperial Order."

Kaiba almost laughed, glad he and Tiki were on the same page. Leichter glared at the two and destroyed Imperial Order. Tiki stick her tongue out at Leichter as Kaiba stated, "If this is your level of strategical ability, any company you would run would not have a chance to survive."

Tiki giggled, a giggle that grew when Leichter told them to be silent. Leichter played a monster in face down defense mode and fired the Satellite Cannon, destroying Twin-Headed Behemoth. Tiki yelped but Kaiba was not fazed. He played Pot of Greed and summoned Possessed Dark Soul (ATK 1200) and had it attack the face down monster. However, the monster was Dreamsprite, making Possessed Dark Soul (attempt to) attack Satellite Cannon. Leichter drew, giving him more life points, and ended his turn. "Don't forget: Satellite Cannon can only be attacked by a monster level 8 or higher! Seto, yours and that child's life ends in one turn!"

Tiki gritted her teeth at Leichter. Kaiba looked at Tiki and scoffed with amusement. "Don't let his words get to you."

Tiki looked at Kaiba. "How can I not? There's nothing that can defeat Satellite Cannon!"

Kaiba gave her a hard look. "I thought I told you not to insult me."

Tiki started to argue when she remembered: Kaiba did have a card that could destroy Satellite Cannon. Kaiba looked at his deck. 'It's all come down to this…' He drew and said, "Awaken, blue flame burning in my deck!"

Tiki's eyes widened and so did her smile. "You did it!"

Leichter almost had a heart attack. "You didn't!"

Kaiba played a monster in faced down defense mode and activated Lord of Dragon's Deck Master ability: using 500 life points, Kaiba used his two monsters as sacrifices for Blue Eyes White Dragon (ATK 3000). Hearing its master's order, Blue Eyes flew into space to find Satellite Cannon. Leichter was sweating in panic. "I can't believe you actually drew that!"

Kaiba pointed out, "When you attack Satellite Cannon, it will lose its attack strength. That makes its true ATK…"

Tiki figured it out and said, "…zero!"

Kaiba glared at Leichter. "My dream of creating games to benefit the lives of children will not lose to a weapon! Gozaburo, be gone!"

Tiki's heart soared, especially when everyone saw the light of Satellite Cannon being destroyed, but she noted who Kaiba wanted to disappear. 'Seto…just what did that monster do to you…?'

Screaming, Leichter collapsed to his knees. Kaiba went to him and demanded, "Where's Mokuba?"

Leichter hissed in pain, "Who knows…? But Seto…this is not over…!"

With that, Leichter disappeared. Kaiba called out to Mokuba in his anger, making Tiki flinch. She went up to him and touched his back. "Don't worry…we'll find him."

In Noah's lounge where he and Mokuba watched the duel, Mokuba stood up and cheered, "He did it!"

Noah looked at Mokuba in shock. "Mokuba…you mean…you don't hate Seto…? He betrayed you!"

Mokuba stated, "I trust Nii-sama! No matter how I feel at the time, it doesn't matter!"

Noah stared at Mokuba. 'Wealth…talent…power…not many are born with my good fortune…I have nothing I don't desire and I don't envy anyone. That's why I thought…I could obtain everything Seto has. And yet…Mokuba…what is it about your brother…that makes you so blindly devoted? Without a second's hesitation, you sacrifice yourself for Seto. You're the one thing Seto has that I don't…! In that case…' He verbally said to Mokuba, "You're a really good brother. But I have to ask: what makes you so sure that your brother is just as devoted? In fact, I wonder what he's thinking right now."

Mokuba scoffed and sat back down. "He's always by my side no matter what! I believe in him!"

Noah smirked. "Oh really…? Are you sure he feels that way?"

Mokuba looked behind him and saw Kaiba standing there. With his back to the screen, the child did not see that Kaiba was still on the bridge with Tiki; instead, he stood up with excitement and ran to his brother, who immediately back-handed him to the floor. Kaiba growled, "I'm tired of you always holding me back."

Ignoring his stinging cheek, Mokuba's eyes widened. "What…?"

Kaiba continued to glare down at the child. "All you ever do is get in my way. From now on, you're on your own!"

With that, he left, ignoring Mokuba calling out to him. When Kaiba was out of sight, Mokuba felt his heart turn to dust. "No…Nii-sama…"

Noah walked up to Mokuba. "I knew Seto was cruel but I never thought he would stoop so low. He wouldn't say such things if he truly cared about you. I, however, would always treasure you."

Mokuba looked at Noah, not expecting to hear that. "Noah…?"

Noah got closer and looked Mokuba in the eyes. "Please…let me protect you."

Mokuba stared at Noah until everything went black…

On the bridge, everyone suddenly heard Mokuba. Nii-sama…

They looked around as Noah's laughter surrounded them and a tunnel formed in front of Kaiba and Tiki. Kaiba glared. "Inviting me, are you?"

Tiki sighed. "A brat…we'll get Mokuba back."

Behind them, the missing section of the bridge was restored. Noah's voice rang out, "Seto, your most cherished treasure…it's now mine."

Kaiba and Tiki paled as Kaiba almost pleaded, "Noah, don't you dare touch Mokuba!"

Kaiba started to run and Tiki followed him but they were stopped by Yugi calling out, "Wait! We'll go with you!"

The two brunettes stopped and looked back at the group. Kaiba barked, "Stay out of this!"

Tiki agreed. "We'll handle this, Yugi."

Yugi was surprised by Tiki's words. "Tiki…!"

Joey growled at Kaiba, "What'd you say?!"

Kaiba growled, "This is a problem between us brothers! We don't need your help…" he then looked at Tiki, "…nor yours! I'm doing this myself!"

Kaiba started to leave but Tiki ran in front of him, almost making him run into her. "You listen here, Seto! I told you earlier: I'm staying with you until you get Mokuba back and that's final! You hear me?!"

Kaiba flinched: not only did Tiki continued to call him by his first name, she just scolded him in front of her friends and, worse yet, his biggest rival. Wanting to get Mokuba back as soon as possible, he hissed, "Fine but don't hold me back."

With that, he ran around her and Tiki followed before anyone else could stop her. Joey whispered to Yugi, "As cool as that was, your sister can be scary sometimes."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, she can be."

Kaiba and Tiki ran down the tunnel until they reached a fork in the road. Tiki looked at both paths and wondered, "Which way…?"

Kaiba was angrier than Tiki. "How long are you planning to screw with me?!"

Tiki was about to tell Kaiba to settle down when Kaiba ran down the path to the right. Tiki followed as Mokuba's voice echoed in the tunnel, calling out to Kaiba. Suddenly Tiki stopped at an opening. "Seto, wait!"

Kaiba growled and went up to her. "I told you to hold me back!"

Tiki gave Kaiba a cold look and pointed down the tunnel: there was Mokuba. "Nii-sama!"

Kaiba's heart started to hope. "Mokuba!"

The two brunettes went to the child and were horrified: it was actually Noah disguised as Mokuba. Kaiba growled as Noah rose into the air. "You bastard!"

Tiki was about to shout something when Noah blinded them with a bright light. When the light faded, all three were gone.