Chapter Four
It was an immense relief and joy when the Big Five and Dartz were led to a stone building with bars on the windows and the door was opened with a command to release the prisoners. Yugi and everyone in his group emerged, looking equally or more relieved and joyous.
"Guys!" Yugi exclaimed. "You made it!"
"Are all of you alright?" Gansley demanded.
"We're all fine," Téa said. "But this sure wasn't what we expected to find when we crossed over!"
Rebecca scowled. "I'm so mad at these creeps for arresting Grandpa! And poor little Yugi! And I'm not so happy at being arrested either!"
"I'd sure like to give those things a piece of my mind!" Joey growled. "I never did like that card."
"Be quiet, man!" Tristan hissed. "You'll make 'em mad!"
Mai had to give a dark smirk. While normally she didn't encourage Joey shooting off his mouth, she was pretty angry at being arrested too. Especially when the jailhouse was as filthy as it was. Vorse Raiders were not known for their cleanliness.
The Vorse Raiders sneered at the lot of them, but thankfully made no move to attack or to re-arrest them.
"I've been trying to ask about my father, but none of these barbarians know anything about him," Mako frowned.
"We should go to the palace and speak with the Dark Magician Girl and the Legendary Knights," Atem said. "We also need to talk to Critias about his younger brother."
Lector cringed. "I doubt he'll be happy to see us, when we resemble the men he trusted who ran away."
"Yeah, but you guys aren't those men," Yugi countered. "And if it's possibly true that they saved his little brother, he'd have to feel differently towards them!"
"Unfortunately, we don't know that that's true," Lector said.
"And we don't know that it isn't," Atem said. "We should present the possibility to him, in any case."
"So . . . are these guys gonna leave us alone?" Joey frowned, eyeing the Vorse Raiders with suspicion. They bowed in response.
"I believe so," Dartz said.
Yugi nodded. "I think they'll do whatever Dartz tells them to."
"At least for the time being," Gansley grunted, still not convinced they would continue to obey once they knew the truth about Dartz.
"So where's this palace we're supposed to go to?" Crump wondered.
"I believe it's over there," Solomon said, pointing to a nearby hill. "We saw it in the distance right before we were all captured."
"Then let's go, boys and girls!" Joey exclaimed.
They were halfway to the hill when three men came over the hill from the opposite direction. "Hello!" called a very deep-voiced one in turquoise armor. He waved to the group.
Both Atem and Dartz stiffened in recognition, for different reasons. "Timaeus," they whispered.
"Hi!" Yugi called with a wave.
The Legendary Knights hurried over to them. "We heard that the Vorse Raiders had captured several visitors to this world," one in blue said. "We came as quickly as we could!"
"How did you get them to set you free?" one in red demanded. "Vorse Raiders love destruction and death!"
"Kaiba . . . and Joey," Téa whispered in shock. "And Timaeus sounds and looks like Atem. . . . They really must be their ancestors! And still alive because they were frozen in time all those years. . . ."
Mai was stunned too. Of course she had heard about the Knights, but it wasn't anything compared to actually seeing them.
Professor Hawkins just stared in utter, awed amazement. "This is truly incredible!" he exclaimed. "These are actually the Legendary Knights of Atlantis!"
"Hmph." Rebecca studied them and then looked away. "Yugi's cuter."
Yugi went red.
Atem sighed in response to the red knight's question. "As to how we got free, Hermos . . . it's a long story."
"But you will have to know sooner or later." Dartz stepped forward, resigned and fully expecting retaliation from the knights he had injured and cursed so long ago.
All three knights stiffened. "Dartz," Timaeus whispered. He gripped his sword tighter.
"You'd really dare to show your face here?!" Hermos exclaimed. "After everything?!"
"We should strike you down right now!" the knight in blue, Critias, snarled.
"Wait." Timaeus held his sword horizontally in front of Critias. "Dartz was corrupted by the Orichalcos and then set free. We all know this. We can't strike him down in good conscience now."
Critias snarled. "After what he did to your eye, as well as to all of us, you should want to see him suffer at least half as much as I do, if not more!"
"I might like to," Timaeus agreed, "but it wouldn't serve any purpose. We must adhere to a higher law. Dartz is not a threat now."
"Not to mention, killing him would incite all the renegades we're trying to keep down," Hermos said.
Critias still didn't look pacified, but he didn't raise his sword. Instead he caught sight of the Big Five and stiffened, the color draining from his face. "All of you too?! How many enemies and traitors am I expected to encounter in one day?!"
Gansley sighed. "We are not the men who served you," he said. "We are their modern descendants."
Critias frowned as he took them all in. ". . . My apologies," he said at last. "What those men did to me, and to all of Atlantis, still burns my heart and soul."
By now they were all walking down the other side of the hill. Atem hesitated, then finally took the plunge. "Did you ever consider that perhaps they weren't running from the Battle of Atlantis as cowards, but to save the life of your younger brother?"
Critias stopped walking. "Makarios. . . ." He whirled to stare at Atem. "What makes you say this?! Do you have some evidence it's true?!"
"Sadly, no," Atem said. "We are merely speculating."
"But I am hoping to find some evidence of it," Professor Hawkins spoke up. "That's one of the reasons why we came over here."
"And the other was to search for my father," Mako spoke up. "Have any of you possibly heard of him—Akio Tsunami?"
The knights looked to each other. "I'm afraid not," Timaeus said.
"He would have fallen into this world by a mysterious vortex that opened over ten years ago," Mako said.
"We were still frozen in crystal then," Hermos said. "You would need to talk to our ruler, the Dark Magician Girl."
"That's exactly what we hope to do," Atem said.
And now said Dark Magician Girl was hurrying towards them too, floating through the sky. "My Pharaoh!" she called. "I was so worried when I learned you had crossed over to here! It's a dangerous time to be in our dimension. That was why I closed the last portal that connected our worlds."
"You closed it?" Atem said in surprise. "While a noble gesture, this problem with your renegade Duel Monsters will likely spread to our dimension if it is not stopped."
"I know," she sighed. "They want to find a way to revive the Leviathan and the Orichalcos. Thankfully, right now they cannot do either. But they hope that if they turn enough Spellcasters to their side, and possibly even Fiends, they may obtain enough power to call forth these evil powers."
"Then let us pray they never will," Atem said.
Dark Magician Girl still looked uneasy, but she tried to smile as they reached the castle grounds. "Well, I know you must have had very important reasons for coming over here," she said. "Let's go to the castle and we can all discuss it."
Professor Hawkins was staring at her and everything else with goggle-eyed interest. "Would it be permissible for me to take photographs of the castle and some of the Duel Monsters?" he asked. "Studying the origins of Duel Monsters has been my lifelong work, and this dimension is a dream come true."
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Dark Magician Girl told him.
"That isn't why we've come over," Atem quickly said. "Although it was part of why the Professor accompanied us."
"Please go on, my Pharaoh," Dark Magician Girl said. They reached the steps leading up to the castle and started to climb up.
It took some time to explain yet again about their reasons for coming. Dark Magician Girl listened very seriously, frowning to herself as she contemplated their tale.
"I'm afraid I don't have any information on the Big Five's Atlantean ancestors or Makarios," she said. "I would have told Critias if I knew anything about them."
"We were sure that was the case," Atem said.
"And as for this Akio Tsunami . . . well . . . I was trying to open portals to your world during that time period," she continued. "I remember opening one during a heavy storm and I tried to hurry and close it before the storm swept into this world as well. A man and a boat fell through it before I could close it."
Mako perked up. "My father!" he cried. "Tell me, was he alive?!"
"Yes, he was," Dark Magician Girl told him, "but he was badly hurt from the experience. I took him to the castle and all of my best healers worked on him for quite some time. He was delirious and kept calling for his son, but he couldn't remember his name or where he belonged. He still didn't when he physically recovered, so I thought I'd better keep him here instead of turning him loose in your world."
"And he's still here?!" Mako exclaimed.
"Yes, he is," Dark Magician Girl said. "He lives near the sea and fishes."
"I must go to him!" Mako said. "Please, is there anyone who can take me to him?"
"I will take you," Critias said. "Anyone who can be deserves to be reunited with his family." Sadness flickered in his eyes. "Dartz took all of that from me. I am finally free to live my life, but my brother has been dead these long centuries. I do not know when I will see him again."
Dartz looked down. "I am sorry," he said. "But I know that isn't any consolation."
"No, it isn't," Critias growled.
Yugi bit his lip. "With these renegades running around, will it be dangerous to go find Mako's father?" he worried.
"It's always possible," Dark Magician Girl said, "but as long as you have Dartz with you, you'll probably be alright."
"But I no longer wish to destroy the world," Dartz said. "If any of them find out, won't they turn against me?"
"Probably," Hermos said. "So we'll just have to make sure they don't find out."
Crump shifted nervously. "Do you think we need Kaiba along on this trip?"
Dark Magician Girl sighed. "It would be better if he were here," she admitted. "But then I suppose it would be impossible to keep Mokuba away."
"How'd you keep Serenity from coming anyway?" Crump wondered.
"I told her it'd probably work better if there was a small group, and anyway, I wasn't expecting any danger," Joey said. "I thought we'd be able to pop back to our world in an hour or less, like last time."
"Maybe we shouldn't all go along," Johnson said. "We brought Dartz, but are we really useful here? Our rings won't activate unless the world is in danger, and I'm guessing that means our world and not another one." He adjusted his glasses. "I wasn't planning on plunging headlong into a war. . . ."
"It's not a war yet, and I hope to keep it that way," Dark Magician Girl said.
"I don't feel right about leaving them here," Lector said. "I think we need to do what we can."
"My point is that we may be more of a hindrance than a help," Johnson said.
"We certainly won't hold you here," Atem said. "Naturally you're all also worried about each other and don't want to risk harm coming to any of you. I can open a different portal right now and send you home."
"You are our friends as well," Lector said. "We want you to be safe."
Johnson bowed his head. "Of course that's true. . . . Even though I once never thought it could be. If we can help, I want to."
Gansley nodded. "Let's take a vote. All in favor of staying?"
All of the Big Five raised their hands, including Johnson.
"Alright then," Gansley said with a small smile.
"How long can it take to go get a guy and leave?" Crump said.
"It may take longer than you're thinking, when he doesn't remember who he is," Critias cautioned.
"On the other hand, perhaps seeing me will jog his memory!" Mako countered. "He even remembered me when he remembered nothing else! I will take comfort in that."
Nesbitt looked away. Even when Gozaburo had tried to make him forget Lector, it hadn't really worked. He had still felt completely safe with the other man. And being around Lector had restored his memories in full before long. So he certainly couldn't say what Mako hoped was impossible.
"We should set out immediately," Critias said. "It shouldn't take long, but we need to be prepared for anything that might happen to waylay us."
"Maybe we need to send a message home and let everyone know what's going on," Téa suggested.
"I just hope Serenity won't decide to come over after all," Joey worried. "With these renegades, this is no place for her!"
Yugi nodded. "I won't mention them, just that Mako's father is alive and we're going to get him." He took out his phone.
xxxx
Seto had been hard at work all day, with no knowledge of all that had been unfolding. For all he knew, Mokuba had been at Penguin World all day and everything was peaceful and calm.
He wasn't happy in the least when Shadi suddenly appeared in his office.
"Oh great. What do you want now?" Seto scowled.
"There are dangerous events unfolding, Seto Kaiba," Shadi said. "Your brother did not tell you because he didn't want to endanger you, but it is information you need to know."
Seto leaped to his feet. "Is Mokuba in danger?!" he demanded.
"No, but many of your friends are, including the Pharaoh and Téa Gardner," Shadi told him.
"Téa," Seto whispered.
He listened in growing displeasure as Shadi rehearsed to him all that had been happening that day. At the conclusion Seto leaned forward at his desk, lacing his fingers in front of his face. He didn't like the sound of any of this. Renegade Duel Monsters going after the others, wanting to unleash Dartz's insane plans on everyone. . . . And if that wasn't bad enough, there was also the worry of them crossing over to this world.
"Am I supposed to go over there and use my ring?" he asked at last.
"Perhaps," Shadi said. "Whether you find a situation in which to use your ring or not, your presence may turn the tides in our favor."
"Oh, well, that's beautifully vague," Seto shot back. "And supposing I decide to go over. How do I keep Mokuba from following me?! That's the last place I want him to be!"
"You will have to decide that for yourself," Shadi replied. "Although Mokuba may have a part to play in this situation himself."
Seto got to his feet, his eyes flashing. "Look. I'll go over there if I have to, but I'm not taking Mokuba with me or allowing him to go. Is that clear?!"
Shadi nodded. "Perfectly." And he vanished.
Seto growled and turned away. "Roland, hold all my appointments for the rest of the day," he said into the intercom. "Something's come up."
"Of . . . of course, Sir," Roland stammered. "Is everything alright?"
"I don't know," Seto grumbled. "Téa and some of the others are in trouble. I'm going to see what I can do about it."
"Be careful, Sir," Roland implored.
Seto's thoughts were whirling as he collected his cards and Duel Disk and changed out of his business suit into something more comfortable. He still hated getting involved in magical messes, but he hated the thought of his friends in trouble even more. One way or another, he had to get over there and help them.
"Why did they have to go over there anyway?" he muttered. "Chasing some foolhardy fable about Mako's father?"
He frowned. Only apparently it wasn't a fable; Shadi had said they had found him and were going to him. If it had been Mokuba lost and there was any smidgen of hope to get him back, Seto never would have given up on him, just as Mako had never given up on his father. As frustrated as Seto was, he couldn't deny that he understood Mako's resolve perfectly.
And this mess they had stumbled into with the renegade Duel Monsters. . . . Well, knowing how things went, they would have likely all become involved in that sooner or later. Seto didn't know how they were going to fix that situation. If the renegades wouldn't listen to reason, the only solution might be a battle to the death.
Could Duel Monsters even be killed, though? Seto scowled. He had never had to wonder such things before. But considering that they lived in a magical realm and there were countless ways of reviving them when they were sent to the Graveyard in duels, it seemed like they might very well be immortal. That wasn't a pleasant thought when it came to ones that were causing so much trouble.
He was heading for the Turtle Game Shop when a blue car got in his path and both cars were forced to throw on the brakes very quickly. "What's going on?!" Seto demanded of his chauffeur.
"We narrowly avoided a collision, Sir," the chauffeur replied.
A door slammed and the driver of the blue car stormed over to the limousine. "Say, what's goin' on here?!" an indignant voice exclaimed in an Australian accent.
"Oh great," Seto muttered. He rolled down the window. "Our near-collision was your fault, not my driver's. And I've got an important appointment, so you'll just have to move along now," he told Valon.
"Oh yeah? Well, I disagree about whose fault it was!" Valon shot back.
The passenger window rolled down. "Nevermind, Valon. You were driving too fast. He could sue you. If he's not going to, just leave it alone and let's go," Alister told him.
Now Valon was even more annoyed. "I knew you wouldn't be likely to take my side, but I didn't think you'd take his!"
"Valon, come on," Raphael growled from the back seat.
Valon still looked displeased, but he headed back to the blue car.
Seto sighed to himself. Actually, he supposed, the bikers might even want to be involved if they knew renegade Duel Monsters were threatening to carry out Dartz's treacherous plans. But he really didn't want to deal with them right now. And since things always unfortunately seemed to involve magic and they didn't have any, they might just as well stay behind. He didn't give any of them a second glance as the chauffeur drove around them and continued to the Game Shop.
"Wonder where he's off to in such a hurry," Valon mused.
"Who cares?" Alister retorted. Deep down, he was relieved that Valon seemed to have forgotten any desire to argue.
"It is kinda odd," Raphael said as he turned to look down the street. "He's heading for Yugi's Game Shop. In fact, he's stopping in front of it. And he was so uptight. I'd say something must be going wrong again."
"Then I say we should find out what it is!" Valon exclaimed. He leaped back in the driver's seat and spun the car around faster than he probably should have. Alister and Raphael both crashed into the car doors.
"Valon!" Alister reached to straighten his sunglasses, which were now ajar. "I knew it was a mistake to let you drive!"
"Ugh," Raphael grunted. "I'm pretty sure you can't make a U-Turn here."
"Wasn't any reason not to," Valon retorted.
Raphael found it a minor miracle that they weren't given a ticket before they parked next to Seto's limousine. Valon leaped out almost immediately and headed inside, letting the bell on the door jangle furiously. Shaking his head, Raphael followed. Alister scowled but joined him.
David was leaning against the front of the counter with folded arms when they walked in. "Let me guess," he mused. "You're here for the next emergency conference, not to buy cards. Upstairs, in Yugi and Atem's room." He pointed over his shoulder at the stairs.
"Right!" Valon chirped, thundering up the stairs.
"Just what kind of emergency conference is this?" Raphael frowned.
"Something about the portal to the Duel Monsters' dimension, I guess," David said.
"The what?!" Raphael growled and facepalmed. "This is not gonna be good."
Alister glided past Raphael to the stairs, not even bothering to ask why there was a portal to the Duel Monsters dimension. Frustrated, Raphael opted to follow. They'd learn the rest of the story at the top, he supposed.
In Yugi's room, Seto was discussing the matter with Yami Bakura, who was still boredly standing guard.
"You say Shadi came and told you there's trouble?! Oh my," Bakura said in alarm.
"Oh no!" Serenity exclaimed. "Then I should be there too!" She gripped her phone. "Yugi sent a message to all of us that they found Mako's father, but he didn't say anything about more trouble!" She had been out of the room when the Big Five and Dartz had come to cross over, but Duke had told her about that when she had got back. They had been discussing what to do when Seto arrived.
"Seto, you can't go over without me!" Mokuba cried.
"Mokuba, I don't want you anywhere near there!" Seto retorted.
"You're the one who lost his soul when Dartz tried to destroy the world!" Mokuba shot back.
"As I understand it, right now these Duel Monsters don't have either the Orichalcos or the Leviathan," Seto retorted, not wanting to address the matter of losing souls at all. "But I'm not even going over to do anything about them. I'm just going to try to help the others."
"One thing is no doubt gonna lead to another," Raphael said as he and the other bikers came to stand in the doorway.
Alister removed his sunglasses. "If there's any danger of the Orichalcos coming back again, we have to do our part to try to stop it," he said.
Seto didn't even bother to ask why they were all here. "It's probably another magic-based problem that requires magic to stop it," he said in disgust.
"So? That's never stopped us before," Valon smirked.
"I don't want to have to baby-sit you," Seto said flatly.
"We can look out for ourselves," Raphael replied.
Marik looked to them. "If you go over, you'll see Dartz." While he knew the experience with the Neo-Orichalcos had softened Alister's feelings towards the man, he wasn't sure Raphael wasn't still struggling with feelings of anger and betrayal. And Valon . . . it was hard to know one way or the other about Valon.
"I know," Raphael said.
"If you want to come, then come." Seto started to climb into the portal. "I'm leaving now. Mokuba, you are not to follow me! Do you understand?!"
"But Seto . . . !" Mokuba cried.
Marik laid his hands on Mokuba's shoulders. "Your brother is right, Mokuba. We should stay back."
"What I'm wondering is why Shadi hasn't said anything to me," Yami Bakura growled. "Am I not needed over there? Or are my suspicions correct and I will be needed on this side of the portal if something nasty comes through?"
"Having a magic user on this side of it is probably a good idea," Marik told him, even though he wasn't crazy about spending even more time with him. They had never gotten along, but were trying to make it work to be allies.
"Alright then! Off we go!" Valon called. As soon as Seto was through, he leaped in himself. "Woohoo!"
"This isn't a party," Raphael scolded.
"It's useless, Raph," Alister said with a roll of his eyes. He climbed into the portal with a swish of his coat.
Sighing, Raphael followed.
Serenity narrowed her eyes as she stood looking into the swirling vortex.
"You're going, aren't you?" Duke knew that look.
"My place is supporting Joey," Serenity said. "Maybe I'll even be able to do something to actively help." She smiled at Duke. "But I don't expect you to come with me, Duke."
"As if I'd stay back?" Duke retorted. "No way!"
"Okay then." Serenity took Duke's hand. "Together?"
"Together," Duke nodded.
They stepped through.
David came running up to the doorway almost as soon as they vanished. "Duke-!" He exhaled in exasperation.
Yami Bakura gave him a blasé look. "If you want to accompany them, I won't stop you."
David sighed. "Vicious monsters, real magic, and a plot to destroy the world. Just another typical day." With that, he climbed in too.
Mokuba stamped his foot in frustration. "Everyone's going! I need to be there too! . . ." But he trailed off, his shoulders slumping. "I get why no one wants me there, though. . . . Everybody always gets hurt trying to protect me." He looked away, blinking back the forming tears. "Even if I manage to do something to help, it's probably something someone else could do themselves, and I'll probably just get somebody hurt again."
"Mokuba. . . ." Marik gripped the boy's shoulders. "That's not true. Your brother is just being protective of you. As am I."
"And waiting here isn't necessarily safe," Yami Bakura grunted.
Mokuba turned and hugged Marik. "I just want to help," he whispered. "I'm so worried about them! . . ."
"I know, Mokuba," Marik said quietly. "I know. . . ."
He prayed that the group would accomplish their mission quickly and be able to leave. And that he could keep Mokuba from going after them until then.
