A/N: I was bored, so I decided to update. I have a half-day in school today and tomorrow! Yay!! I also have a weird ceramics teacher who adopted a wolf spider he found in the classroom sink as a pet. -_-; Anyway, enjoy the chapter. They FINALLY leave the virtual world.
Escape at Last
Joey was seething by now, after searching for Noah and failing miserably. By the time the gang had finally caught up with him, he looked about ready to explode.
"That scrawny little twerp double-crossed us again! I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. Now he's toast!"
"Wait, Joey, we have to come up with a plan that makes sense." Yugi said.
Joey turned around. "Yeah, and I already came up with a plan. We shake Noah upside down till he tells us the way out!"
"I'm gonna have to agree with Joey on this one, guys." Duke said gravely. " Only Noah knows where the exit is."
"And we're running out of time." Tea said. "Because pretty soon, the whole world will be trapped."
Yugi seemed to shrink into himself as everyone tried to decide what to do. Finally, Yugi sighed. "All right. Lets' go find Noah and figure out how to get out of here so we can stop Gozuborou's plan."
"But how?" Tea asked.
"Once we're free of cyberspace, we can warn people in the real world that Gozuborou's planning to digitize the planet."
"There are two problems with your plan, Yugi." Sonja pointed out. She held up on finger. "One, once we do in fact manage to get out of here and try to warn people about Gozuborou and his little scheme, who in the name of Hades would be crazy enough to believe us? The press would be all over you for instance, saying the king of games has finally snapped from the pressure and we could face a bit of trouble from past partners of Gozuborou who believe we're trying to tarnish his name. I won't even go into possible lawsuits. Two, even if we found a few people who would actually believe us, what would we be able to even do about it? This guy's completely virtual and has been in this place long enough to make it so cutting his real body off from his mind would be useless. Plus, no one short of hackers and professional computer programmers would be able to reach him. And I have no doubt that they'd shrug us off as a bunch of crazy kids out for publicity."
Everyone gaped at her as she explained the flaws. Joey growled. "Sonja, did you have to go and ruin our hopes for this?" he snapped.
"Sorry." Sonja shrugged "My first part-timer was with a computer wholesaler. I know these things". Tristan-the-monkey sighed. "I hope-ooh ooh-stop that-ooh ooh-too late."
Duke glanced at him strangely. "Tristan, I couldn't understand a thing you just said. You're almost all chimp, now."
Suddenly, they heard a distant voice chuckling and turned in time to see a hoard of monsters appearing behind them. "It's Skull Knight!"
"There's a whole bunch of them!"
More monsters appeared all around them, cutting off all means of escape.
"Where are these monsters coming from?"
As more and more showed up out of nowhere, they all bunched into a group. "We gotta do something!" Joey said.
"Last I checked, running away was something!"
"But we're surrounded! There's no way out!"
One of them approached and turned its sword on Serenity.
"Stop!" Joey yelled, stepping in front of her. The monster instead raised its sword in preparation to attack.
Yugi quickly drew a card and summoned it to the field. "Come forth, Curse of Dragon!" he called. Thankfully, his monster appeared in front of them, blocking the attack and destroying the other monster.
"All right, Yugi! It's my turn now. I play, my Axe Raider!"
Joey called his monster as a further defense.
Sonja glanced around desperately. "The rest of you, follow me!" she exclaimed, grabbing Sophie's hand and taking off in the opposite direction. Tea, Duke, Tristan-the-monkey and Serenity all followed, leaving Yugi and Joey to set up a defensive to guard them.
//ooo//
In the real world, Noah made his way along the corridors toward central command.
"It's good to be back in the real world." He said to himself. "Mokuba's body was a perfect fit. Now I can go ahead with my plan and stop my father from completing his." He said as he punched a key code into an entry lock on the wall. The doors opened and he stepped inside, making his way along to the main computer network. It's so simple. I'll destroy the main central computer that allows my father's virtual world to exist, thus destroying every mind that's trapped there. My father's, Seto's, and all of Yugi's friends.
"Those fools. Thinking I was actually going to help them escape was the last mistake they'll ever make. Now it's time. The past is over. And I'll take my father down with his own satellite."
The computer began the system mechanics required to reprogram the satellite.
//ooo//
Kaiba, having separated himself from the group some time back, waited as the elevator leading to the top floor of the company's headquarters rose further and further. By the time he'd reached the top, he was totally drained of patience for this crazy place. Just waiting in the elevator had ended what little tolerance he'd had while still on the ground.
Once there, he approached the main office and threw open the door.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Gozuborou snapped.
"I guess you never taught me manners." Kaiba said sarcastically.
"Have a seat. It's time for a father and son chat."
"In your dreams." Kaiba droned.
"Seto, just give in, now. You'll make things much easier on yourself. Or you can choose to meet the same fate as your little friends. Take a look. My army of monsters is about to wipe them out." He said as a screen dropped down to reveal the mayhem going on below. Kaiba didn't even turn around, but he heard all of their voices as they struggled to escape the barrage of attacks.
"Your little threats don't scare me at all. So why don't you let us go before I really get angry."
Gozuborou chuckled, got up and stood beside him, facing the opposite direction. "You haven't changed a bit. All right, I know the perfect way to settle our differences. Do you recall the chess match we had the day I met you? Well I propose a rematch."
Kaiba smirked. "You are not worth my time. Why would I want to play chess against someone who couldn't even beat me when I was just a kid?"
Gozuborou hummed. "What makes you think I'm talking about you and me playing another chess game, Seto?"
"Then what did you have in mind, Gozuborou?"
"Take a guess. It's a game you're quite fond of. Duel Monsters."
"Really?" Kaiba exclaimed, barely able to contain the surprise. "What are you up to?"
" You seem mad. I thought you'd jump at the chance to duel your stepfather to win your freedom."
"You thought wrong, Gozuborou. You can't play with my life like it's a game."
"Well that's exactly what you did to me, Seto, on the day you stole the Kaiba Corporation from me."
"How heartbreaking." Kaiba grumbled. " You're here because I outsmarted you and took away your precious little company."
"I'm here because the virtual world gives me limitless power!" Gozuborou backfired. "Soon, I'll use it to digitize the world. But first, I'll get rid of you."
Kaiba sighed apathetically and shook his head. " And why do you have to beat me in a duel to do that?"
"To humiliate you, like you humiliated me. And once I beat you at your favorite game, I'll make sure you never stand in my way again. I'll erase your mind and reprogram you as my servant. Then you'll obey my every command just like the rest of the world."
Kaiba turned away. "I have never served anyone but myself, and I've never backed down from a challenge, Gozuborou. So lets' duel."
//ooo//
Noah still worked with the controls to reprogram the satellite. "It's almost ready." He said to himself as an alarm buzzer went off somewhere in the facility. He glanced up at the screen in time to see someone attack one of the machines and then disappear into the shadows. At the same time, the lights dimmed and the computer screen went black. Marik had shut down the main generators, probably without even being aware of what the heck he was doing. Noah slammed his fists down on the panel. "No!" he yelled as the backup generator brought the place back to life. "I was almost finished!"
Releasing magnetic docks, the computer announced, referring to the mechanisms holding the blimp in place.
Noah turned back to the computer as the systems were reactivated. "Good, now where was I?" he said. "Once that satellite attacks, the entire virtual world will instantly shut down, along with every mind inside."
He pressed ENTER to finalize the action and turned away. "This place is history."
//ooo//
Everyone paused for a quick break inside an alley. Duke had an exhausted Sophie on his back while Serenity held Tristan-the-monkey. Sonja glanced out toward the street, struggling to catch her breath. "Okay, I…think we're safe now." She gasped.
"Are those monsters coming back?" Serenity asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, it seems like we're safe for now." Duke said reassuringly. But when the ground began to shudder, they started having second thoughts. They looked up in time to see a large crocodilian monster peer in at them.
"Oh jeez!"
"Maybe not." Duke corrected himself.
"Run!"
Yugi and Joey stayed behind to distract the thing while the others took off. Sonja kept thinking all the while, If I ever see any of the kids back home again, they'll never believe a word of this.
//ooo//
Noah rode the emergency elevator to the surface where a helicopter was waiting for him. His mind kept running the images of Gozuborou's betrayal of him back in the field after the duel.
I've had enough. It's time to leave this place behind me forever.
Despite his efforts, the memories of what Mokuba had said to him also returned. How Mokuba had mentioned that maybe, Noah could live in the real world through a robot body once they all escaped. He'd said that no matter what, they were still family.
Mokuba's a fool. Noah thought angrily. Why can't I stop thinking about this?
"He trusts me. After all I did." Noah said bitterly. He climbed into the cockpit of the chopper.
"Brotherhood, family, who needs it? That's behind me. Soon, my so-called family will be gone for good." he snapped. But even as he thought it, all of the feelings, thoughts and anger at himself flooded to the surface. And the computer reiterated the time of the attack. "What have I done?" he exclaimed. "Oh no."
Noah scurried out of the chopper and ran as fast as he could go back to the main controls. But when he got there, he was horrified to see that that intruder had completely obliterated the computer panels. "No! Now Mokuba and the others are doomed! It's all my fault!"
Even as that terrible thought reached his mind, another vague possibility appeared and he turned and headed toward the simulation pods. There was a remote terminal there. Perhaps there was still time.
//ooo//
Finally, they'd managed to elude the monsters and stood in the center of town by the museum, resting. Sonja remained anxious and paced around, keeping an eye out. She didn't feel safe enough to stand still.
"Cut that out, Sonja, you're making me nervous too." Duke complained.
"Sorry."
"Did anyone ever tell you that kinda look like a ferret with that white hair?" Joey pointed out. Sonja just stared. "Okay, for the situation we're in right now, that was probably the stupidest thing you could have chosen to say, Joey." She grumbled.
"And it's not true." Sophie added. "Sonja does not look like a ferret."
"Thank you, sis."
"She looks like an arctic fox."
Sonja groaned and covered her eyes. "Okay, how about we all stop discussing what animal I most resemble and figure out how to get out of here?" she snapped.
"Yugi!"
They all stopped. "That sounded like Noah." Tea said.
"Listen to me! My father's satellite has been programmed to destroy the supercomputer, along with all of you guys. You must escape!"
"Woah, it sounds like this virtual world's about to go bye-bye." Joey said grimly.
"Listen to me! I can help! The only exit is in the Domino Arcade! Hurry! Time is running out!"
"Can we…trust him?" Tea asked carefully.
"Trust Noah? Forget about it."
"We-ooh ooh- no choice-oh-Joey!" Tristan-the-monkey said.
"You're right, we have nothing to lose." Yugi declared.
"Yeah, nothing except our minds, that is." Sonja grumbled.
"Are you always this pessimistic?" Duke snapped at her. "You're starting to remind me too much of Kaiba."
Sonja scowled and turned away sharply with a 'humph'.
"She just snubbed me!" Duke exclaimed. Sophie snickered.
"Cut it out, you two. Lets' go." Tea declared.
"All right, but I'm warning you, you better not pull any of your dirty tricks, Noah!" Joey yelled.
After a few minutes, they'd figured out how they were going to get to the arcade and it came with a little more hope. "The Domino Arcade is only a few blocks away!" Joey said.
"And the exit should be inside!" Yugi added. A sudden clamor behind them made him turn. "Oh no! Behind us! There's no way we'll outrun Gozuborou's monsters!"
Sonja grinned. "Maybe you won't, but I might!"
"How's that?" Joey asked.
"Back in middle school, I always made the track team. But I never stayed on because it was boring. You guys go on ahead, I'll try and buy you some time!"
She turned sharply and took off another direction. "Hey!" she yelled at their pursuers. "This way! How about a more challenging target?"
Just as she'd planned, they took the bait, allowing the others to make a break for the arcade.
"You'd better come back in one piece, sis!" Sophie yelled.
"Don't worry, I will!"
Sonja weaved back and forth as they took hits at her, striking the concrete instead. While she enjoyed playing cat and mouse with them, she knew she couldn't evade them forever and took a sharp veer to the right to head back to the group. "See ya!" she called. When she reached the front entrance to the arcade, she saw Tea and Serenity already heading inside with Sophie and Tristan-the-monkey. "Guys!" she called to them. "Hang on!"
They turned. "Sonja, lets' go, come on!"
"Listen closely! You must proceed to the stage in the back of the arcade in order to escape."
"All right guys, lets' go." Tea said. They ran toward the stage and Sonja watched as Tea and Serenity made their way up. "Come on, Sonja." She said.
" I think only two at a time can go. You two go first and Sophie and I will be right behind you."
Tea nodded. "Good luck." She said, as she was enveloped in a flash of light and vanished.
Once they were gone, Sonja gave Sophie a gentle push toward the stairs. "Lets' go, Sophie. We need to get out of here. I'm feeling less human and more like a digital computer file every second."
Sophie giggled and stood on the red platform while Sonja took blue. The same light surrounded them and they found themselves being pulled through some kind of warp. Then, everything went black and Sonja suddenly felt strangely solid. She opened her eyes and raised her hand to the glass lid above her as it lifted away. She sat up. "We're back." She whispered. At the same time, Sophie sat up and yawned. "I actually feel rested." She announced. Sonja smiled and got out, standing up shakily. Tea and Serenity were talking to someone over by the computer module.
"What's going on?" Sonja asked. She froze. "What the? Mokuba?" she exclaimed when she saw who was controlling the panel. But when he spoke, she recognized the voice. "Noah!"
Noah glanced back. "Sorry. The main controls were destroyed and this was the only way I could help you all. I'll return his body as soon as you're all back." He said.
//ooo//
"Proceed to the stage immediately." Noah said to Joey, Duke and Yugi. They'd made it into the arcade, but barely.
"That must be it." Joey said, spotting it in the back.
"Joey, you and Duke go first. I'll be right there."
"All right. But you'd better be right behind me." Joey warned. Yugi turned to continue the attack on Gozuborou's monsters while Duke and Joey climbed up onto the stage and were uploaded back into the real world. Once Yugi was sure they were safe, he turned to go too.
"Yugi wait! I have a favor to ask." Noah said. Yugi stopped.
//ooo//
Soon, Joey and Duke awoke and Joey tried to sit up, smashing into the glass in the process. "It's great to be back in the real world." He grunted.
"Joey!" Serenity exclaimed.
"Almost everyone's here." Sophie said. Sonja glanced at the three pods that hadn't opened yet. "Yeah, except for the Kaiba brothers and Yugi." She said.
While Joey ranted angrily, they all went over to watch the screen.
"Mokuba's still in the virtual world with Yugi and Seto." Noah said when Duke asked who he was. "That's why I needed Yugi to stay back."
"What!?" Joey yelled. "That's why he stayed back? Because Kaiba didn't have enough brains to find the exit on his own?"
Noah ignored him and spoke to Yugi, giving him instructions. "Seto is trapped in a duel with Gozuborou." He said. " You have to find him."
"How do I do that?" said Yugi's voice through the speakers.
"I'll use the central computer to create a virtual shortcut so you can reach him. He's in KaibaCorp headquarters."
Noah typed in some type of code to create a virtual doorway. "Go through that door and you'll find Seto."
"Okay! I won't come back without him!" Yugi called.
"So, I have a question." Tea said. "Why are you trying to rescue Kaiba? Last I checked, you hated him."
"I was wrong, Tea." Noah said. "I shouldn't have treated you guys the way that I did. I was jealous and angry. I'm sorry."
"Uh," Joey mumbled. "I'm sorry too, for everything I said about you."
"I deserved it." Noah said quietly. The computer announced the remaining four minutes until the attack. "Time is running out!" Noah exclaimed. "Everyone should return to the blimp immediately, it's not safe here now."
"Noah's right! Come on you guys!" Joey yelled. They all started back toward the landing docks. Sonja and Joey lingered behind. "Noah," said Joey. "You're the only one who can get those three guys outta there now. It's all up to you."
"I know." Noah said. Joey hurried away, but Sonja remained and glanced at Noah. "Hey." She said. "Listen. I know you're a good kid, and I can forgive you for everything you did to us in the past twenty-four hours."
Noah smiled a little. "Thanks." He said.
"Just promise me one thing."
"Yeah?"
"Bring them back." Sonja said.
Noah nodded. "I will." He said. "Now get going. There isn't much time left."
"Right." Sonja said as she hurried after the others.
//ooo//
Needless to say, upon reaching the aircraft, as it pulled out onto the launch deck, everyone was more than excited to see the true sky again.
"But we can't leave yet." Tea said to the officials. "Kaiba, Mokuba and Yugi are still back there."
"Sonni, are you sure Noah can bring them back?" Sophie asked.
"I sure hope so." Sonja replied. She heard the roar as the engine were fired up, but she remained on the deck, watching the exit to the underwater fortress.
"Kaiba Craft III preparing for takeoff."
"No, wait!" Sonja yelled. "We can't leave yet!"
"We have to get out of here before that computer blows. And time is running out!" Tea exclaimed.
"Hold on," Joey said. "Here they come! Sonja, Sophie, get up here, now!"
"Come on!" Sonja shouted. "You can make it!"
Then she turned, grabbed Sophie and climbed up behind Duke and Tea.
"Hurry up, guys!" Duke yelled. "Lets' go!"
"Hurry!" Sophie shrieked over the roar of the engines. Sonja glanced behind them and her eyes went wide. "The missile!" she yelled. "It's coming!"
"Pick up the pace you guys!" Joey shouted, climbing down to the bottom step. "You're almost here! We got ya!"
"I'm not gonna make it!" Mokuba exclaimed.
"Guess again!" Kaiba said. He grabbed Mokuba's coat and threw him at Duke and Joey. "Catch!" he yelled, before jumping on himself. Sonja glared at him as he got to his feet. "You idiot." She grumbled.
The blimp was almost in the air. Joey grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled him on. "He's in! Now lets' get out of here!"
The stairs folded in and Sonja felt it as the blimp gained a sharp increase in altitude just as the missile struck the fortress below them. The shockwaves it created hurtled into the blimp, causing immense turbulence.
Sonja held onto the wall by the window, watching wide-eyed as the water below them swirled in a fury and the flames from the explosion battered the outside. She was sure she heard an angry voice amidst the commotion outside.
Kaiba whirled and took off for the main control room. Everyone followed to be as far from the main explosion as they could get.
The pilot looked up when the door opened. "Mr. Kaiba, I'm afraid this ship is too slow to escape the explosion!" he announced.
"I'm taking control." Kaiba said.
"We're gonna die!" Sophie screamed as she huddled against the wall. Sonja and Tea watched out the window as a fiery creature of some sort swallowed the ship. Sonja heard breaking glass and turned. Kaiba had broken some sort of emergency hatch and something strange started to happen as flames engulfed the ship.
Suddenly, the force from the engines seemed to grow even stronger and as quickly as it began, the flames disappeared from view as the ship accelerated considerably.
Once the turbulence calmed down, Sonja found she could actually breathe again.
"Okay," she said as the ship smoothed its course. "That was way scary."
Sophie blinked and then giggled suddenly. "Yeah! Lets' do it again!"
Sonja glowered at her and lightly rapped her on the head.
Everyone gathered around the window, watching as the remains of the fortress sank into the sea. "Noah may have been a spoiled brat when we met him, but he turned out to be all right." Joey said.
"Do you think his mind was deleted when the computer was destroyed?" Tea asked nervously.
"Knowing him, he saved his mind on a backup file." Yugi said.
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be back."
Sonja quietly slinked away as they all recovered the original reason for them being aboard in the first place, because of the tournament. She was sure no one noticed as she left the main control room and paused, listening to them. She smiled to herself and departed for some rest. She was sure that in five minutes, she'd have blacked out from exhaustion.
However, someone noticed she'd gone.
//ooo//
Later on, after the original plan had been reinstated and the ship set back on course, Kaiba remembered Sonja had vanished. Slightly concerned, he decided to go check on her. Upon reaching the door to number 14, the same security code opened it easily and he stepped inside.
Sonja lay curled into a ball on the bed, facing the door, deeply asleep. He carefully approached and knelt down, making sure not to wake her up. She looked exhausted and he figured she'd probably sleep for several more hours.
It came as a surprise when he saw that she had that little brown book next to her, covered loosely by her hand. Curious, he gently picked it up and moved away a few feet. He flipped through the pages, surprised. It was a scrapbook of sorts. There were pictures of her parents at birthdays, one from the zoo, and a family portrait in the very center. It showed her parents with Sophie sitting on her dad's shoulders and Sonja in the center, holding the hand of a much older boy with hair the color of sawdust. Sonja only looked about seven or eight in this photo and the boy looked about his age as he was now. Sonja was smiling genuinely, something he had yet to see her do. He turned the page and found a few journal entries. What they contained stunned him:
I really like Domino High School. I may be the new girl, but the people here are so nice to me, like they've known me my whole life. I even got to duel, and actually enjoy it for once. I don't care if I lost. Heck, this guy's the world champion, so it's no surprise. But he gave me a good fight, so for the first time in years, I had fun dueling. I think his name was Kaiba, or something. Maybe he'll agree to duel me again. I actually learned a lot more from that one duel than I did the entire time I was in Osaka.
That was weird. He'd been under the impression that she'd hated that duel. He turned the page.
I can't believe it. I have friends! For the first time in my life, real friends. Not people who trick me into believing they're my friends, but honest-to-goodness bona-fide friends. On top of that, my flower shop is doing better than ever since Seto moved our location into the city. You know, he's much nicer than he pretends to be. I wonder why he's like that. But what's even better is that he no longer reminds me of Allan. I don't know what I was thinking, there. You know, I gotta wonder if he knows that his name is a variation of the god Set, the Egyptian embodiment of Chaos? Even so, he can definitely be trusted.
Kaiba stopped. He reminded her of someone named Allan? Why? Who was this Allan person? And in fact, he hadn't known that about his first name. He blinked a few times and glanced back down at the book. There was one more entry.
I'm still looking through directories online and stuff. So far, nothing, not a word on them. I wonder if they're even still alive. It doesn't matter, though. I'll be eighteen soon and that means I'll be a legal adult. But right now, I'm getting ready for a trip. Seto and Mokuba told us that we could attend the finals as guests. I'm so excited. I've never seen a tournament like this one. Unfortunately, my stubborn pride won't let me reveal how anxious I am. I'm giving myself a fit because I'm so excited to see the finals. I'm going to sneak this book with me, so I can write about it after they're over. But I don't want to miss a minute of it.
Kaiba closed the cover and gently slid the book back beneath her hand. She stirred in her sleep and sighed. Kaiba knelt down, staring at her thoughtfully. He felt he was one step closer to learning who she really was.
Her eyes twitched and he realized she was dreaming. "Mom…dad…." She whispered, curling into an even tighter ball.
He wasn't sure whether he was thinking or not, but he carefully reached forward and gently brushed a strand of snowy hair from her eyes. She looked so much more at peace asleep, more so than she did when awake, anyway.
She moaned in her sleep. "Sophie…no. That's not candy." She mumbled. "Don't eat it. You'll get…sick."
She sighed and fell silent.
"Attention, passengers, we are six miles from KaibaCorp Island, preparing for descent."
He glanced up at the announcement and then back at Sonja. He figured with the way this was going, she'd probably sleep through the rest of the tournament. For some reason, he couldn't help thinking how relieved he was that she was okay after all of this.
With that, he turned and left.
A/N: According to Mayan, my whole 'running away past scenario' is somewhat overused. For those of you who agree, I apologize for it. Sonja's plot changed somewhere between the first and twelfth chapters and I had to get something in. But all will be explained in upcoming chapters. This story is about half done. Maybe less.