Chapter Nine

By the time the Big Five dressed and came back downstairs, their Atlantean ancestors were in the house talking with Makarios in low tones. They all looked up at the sounds of their hosts on the stairs.

"Hi, guys," Makarios said. "May I present Aegeus, Karpos, Jonas, Nereus, and Leandros." He indicated, in turn, the Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Lector counterparts.

"Hello," Gansley slowly nodded in turn.

Greetings were exchanged all around and Mokuba headed for the door. "Well, we'd better get going to the portal," he said.

Everyone was in agreement and quickly followed him out.

". . . Does the Kaiba brothers' heritage really come through you?" Nesbitt asked Makarios as they started down the driveway.

"Yeah." Makarios looked away. "When I grew up, I got married and we had a son. Of course, my wife . . . not being an Atlantean . . . only lived as long as other humans usually did back then." Sadness flickered in his eyes, but he continued, "My son lived a long time, however, and I realized I'd passed some of my longevity on to him."

"Well . . . that's nice," Crump said slowly. "It must be rough living on without your wife and kid, though. . . ."

Makarios nodded. "And my brother. But these guys . . ." He smiled up at the Atlantean Big Five. "They've meant so much to me."

"I can't imagine being with anyone for so long," Mokuba admitted. "It must be amazing."

"It sure is." Makarios stopped when they reached the limousine and looked pleadingly to his guardians. "Can I tell them? Please . . . I want to tell them."

Aegeus sighed but gave him a gruff smile. "Go ahead."

"Tell us what?" Lector quirked an eyebrow.

Makarios smiled at him and the others. "There's enough Atlantean blood in all of you guys that you'll probably live longer than most people do now."

"That's if nothing fatally violent happens," Aegeus intoned.

"Most, if not all, of what goes wrong for us is because of violence," Gansley grunted.

"But maybe you'll all pull through!" Mokuba said. "That would be incredible!"

"It's the same for you and your brother, Mokuba, and anyone else who can trace their ancestry back to Atlantis," Leandros said.

Mokuba stared at him. "I can't think of anything more amazing than being able to be with Seto all that time," he said softly. "And then we'll all be together in Heaven too. . . ."

Nesbitt folded his arms. "I'm still finding all of this hard to believe," he said.

"It's not all perfect," his counterpart Nereus told him. "It's true that there's no guarantee you'll have extended lifespans. And living on longer would be a burden and not a gift if you couldn't all be together."

"I want that for us," Johnson spoke up. "I don't know if we'd really be able to have it, but I want us to . . . so much. . . ."

"And we hope you will," Aegeus told him.

The two groups climbed into the limousine and the rental car and started off for the Turtle Game Shop.

"Well, whaddya think of all that?!" Crump exclaimed.

"I don't know," Nesbitt grunted. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Although part of me wouldn't be surprised if it is true, but we won't all get to share in it through the years."

"Let's not think about that," Johnson pleaded. He sighed. "Although it is hard to believe that we'll keep having miraculous escapes long enough to enjoy that fabled peace Shadi mentioned and stay together all through the years. . . ."

"But there's no reason why you can't hope for it," Mokuba said. "I'm sure gonna keep hoping. Wouldn't it be crazy if everybody in the gang has an Atlantean counterpart?!"

"Since everyone seemed to have had Egyptian ancestors, I suppose it's not that unfathomable," Gansley said.

"I can't think of anything I would like more than for what Makarios and his fathers said to be true," Lector said quietly. "For us to all be able to live on and grow old together would be an incredible dream come true."

"Then let's keep hoping for it. Okay?" Mokuba said softly.

Lector smiled a bit. "Alright. I'm sure all of us will do just that."

Everyone certainly concurred.

xxxx

Mrs. Muto was tensely watching from the Turtle Game Shop counter when the groups arrived and got out of their vehicles. It only took a moment to process that there were two sets of Big Fives walking inside the shop, and that Makarios looked like Mokuba grown-up, and suddenly she was overwhelmed.

"Do I even want to know what this is about?" she exclaimed.

"Probably not," Mokuba said. "Did Mr. Muto go through the portal too?"

"Yes!" Mrs. Muto cried. "What is all of this portal nonsense lately?! And . . . oh." She went pale as she stared at Nesbitt. "Aren't you the man who was dead last night? I know Yugi said something about an enchanted death, but that sounded so bizarre. . . ."

Nesbitt went red. "It is bizarre, but it's better than a real death. Yes, that was me."

Mrs. Muto shook her head. "I just don't understand my son and his adventures anymore. I just don't."

"Where's the portal?" Nereus interrupted with impatience.

"Upstairs in Yugi and Atem's room again," Mrs. Muto sighed.

"I am sorry we have to keep intruding," Lector said with a genuinely apologetic bow. "Hopefully this won't go on for much longer."

"Oh, when it stops, it won't be long and something else will happen," Mrs. Muto said in despair.

No one could say anything to counter that, so they opted to quickly go past the shop and up the stairs to the apartment.

"You know, I was thinkin' about something," Crump said. "Don't you guys think it's kinda weird that Kuriboh and Revival Jam and those real affectionate Duel Monsters haven't been coming out while all this portal-opening and traveling's been going on?"

"I have," Gansley admitted. "I keep half-expecting a furry ball to bowl me over."

"Kuriboh sure ended up nuts about you when you saved Atem," Crump grinned.

Nesbitt frowned. "You think there's some reason why they haven't come out? Maybe they're just not near the portals."

"Perhaps," Gansley said, "but with so many bizarre things happening, it's getting harder and harder to know what's important and what isn't. And when they've been around before, I can't help thinking this is important. I'm sure it's occurred to Yugi and the Pharaoh as well."

"I'm sure you're right," Nereus said. "If certain Duel Monsters have been around often and now aren't, it is a matter of concern. Especially with the possible return of the Orichalcos."

They arrived at the bedroom and the portal. As always, it was twisting and spinning in mid-air, looking ominous in its silence.

"No one's guarding it today?" Crump frowned.

"Seto texted me and said that Dark Magician Girl herself was gonna guard it from the other side while everyone spread out to look for the Orichalcos," Mokuba explained. "He didn't know what to think, but Atem was sure it was fine."

Makarios took a deep breath. "Well . . . are we ready to go through?"

Aegeus gave him a look. "Are you?"

"I have to be ready," Makarios said. "I really do want to see Critias again. I just hope he won't be too angry with any of us. . . ."

"When we find him, we should probably stay back so you can greet him first," Leandros said.

"But I'll tell him right away that all of you saved my life," Makarios said.

"Yeah, and without them doing that . . . Seto and I wouldn't even be here," Mokuba said softly. "You guys made sure the family line would happen."

Leandros smiled. "And I am happy we could do that. Makarios didn't understand for a long time, but we were all more than happy to leave the battle when it meant saving his life."

"I owe everything to all of you," Makarios said. "I'm just sorry I wasn't more grateful at the time."

"It's understandable, you missing your brother and all," Karpos said. "We all felt horrible when we heard later about what Dartz did."

"But we couldn't have stopped it," Aegeus said.

"I can't even imagine how awful that'd be, to know there was nothing you could do to break the curse and you'd have to wait for some Legendary Warrior guy to show up and do it," Crump frowned.

Makarios nodded. "It was awful." He looked to the portal. "Well . . . we'd better go, I guess. . . . Thanks again, all of you. Especially you, Mokuba."

"Sure," Mokuba smiled.

Leandros stepped forward. "I'll go first." He stepped inside the portal before anyone could protest. But to all of their surprise, he leaned back in within the next moment, his eyes filled with concern and confusion.

"What's wrong?" Nereus demanded.

"There's no one here!" Leandros exclaimed.

"What?!" Aegeus stiffened.

"Oh no. . . ." Makarios looked sick. "Something's gone wrong!"

Mokuba looked up at the Big Five. "What're we gonna do?!"

"Your brother still wouldn't want you to cross over, I'm sure," Gansley said. "But one of us had better try contacting someone in the group and letting them know about this."

Mokuba nodded. "I'll do it." At least that was something he could do to help. He took out his phone and quickly texted.

Seto, are you okay?

Everyone stood around awkwardly waiting for a response. Leandros came back through the portal, definitely uneasy.

"Can you really communicate between dimensions?" Jonas asked.

"Well, we could before," Mokuba said helplessly.

Lector tried texting Yugi. But just as before, there was no reply.

"Something's gone wrong with everybody!" Mokuba cried. "I'm sorry, guys, but now I have to go over there!" And he ran through before anyone could stop him.

"Mokuba!" Lector cried in dismay. He grabbed for the boy, but in vain.

"I'm on it!" Makarios called. He leaped through the portal too.

Gansley growled. "At least some of us will have to go in after Mokuba and find out what's gone wrong," he said, "but with the Dark Magician Girl gone, there's no one to guard the portal. Someone with magic will have to stay on this side in case anything terrible comes through."

"Why are portals left open like this anyway?" Nereus said in frustration. "It's hardly safe!"

"It's in case something like this happens, where more of us have to go over and try to help," Gansley said. "Those over there need the candle-holder with them, so they leave a portal open for contact with this dimension."

Lector looked to Nesbitt. "I don't know where it would be safest for you. . . ."

"I'm not feeling poorly," Nesbitt said. "I say Gansley should stay here, since if something goes wrong he wouldn't be able to run as fast. But someone else should stay with him."

". . . I could stay," Johnson spoke up. "If you're insistent on going, Nesbitt. . . ."

Lector didn't know what to say. He didn't like Nesbitt going, but staying here and keeping watch for enemies coming through the portal was dangerous too. Of course, he didn't like for any of them to have to be in such danger.

"We don't have time to discuss it in depth," Gansley grunted. He sat on Yugi's bed and gestured with his cane. "Go on and go through, before Mokuba and Makarios get too far ahead!"

The Atlantean Big Five were already hurrying through. Crump, Lector, and Nesbitt hesitated.

"We'll come back as soon as we can," Lector said.

Gansley nodded. "I know you will. Hurry now!"

The three friends ran inside the portal.

All still looked peaceful on the other side, except for the glaring problem that Dark Magician Girl was definitely absent. The portal had come out on the castle grounds, and everything seemed quieter than it really should be. Mokuba and Makarios were up ahead, looking around in bewilderment and worry. The Atlantean Big Five were walking over to them, also staying alert for any possible trouble.

"Boy, I don't like this," Crump frowned. "Where is everybody?!"

Mokuba suddenly yelped. "Guys!"

Makarios bent down, examining something behind a bush. "Uh oh. . . ."

"Why does there always havta be an 'uh oh'?" Crump scowled.

Aegeus looked over at the Big Three. "Two of the royal guards are back here, asleep," he announced.

"And I can't wake them up." Makarios straightened.

Nesbitt growled. "More fairytale nonsense?"

"Well . . . since you brought it up, it does seem like something out of Sleeping Beauty," Makarios said, hooking his thumbs through his belt loops. "But we'd better look around some more to be sure."

It didn't take long to confirm that everyone on the grounds seemed to be in an enchanted sleep, including Dark Magician Girl. She was sprawled in the grass on her stomach, still clutching her staff.

"Is there a Duel Monster that could cause this?" Aegeus wondered.

"Well . . . Leon has a magic card that can put a Duel Monster to sleep for three turns," Mokuba said slowly, "but I'm not sure there's any card that could spread this much damage everywhere!"

"I would imagine some of the advanced Spellcaster Monsters could do it," Lector said. "Maybe the rebels have some on their side now."

"But . . . if they do . . . then what if they have the power to try to bring out that Leviathan thing now?!" Crump exclaimed.

Makarios looked worriedly to the sky. It seemed normal, but who knew how long that might last. "We'd better find the others, and fast."

Mokuba looked down at his phone. "Seto told me where they were going, just in case someone would have to look for them." He studied the area. "I think they were going that way, out past the back of the castle grounds."

"Then let's go." Makarios took off running, his guardians chasing after him.

Lector gave Mokuba a stern look. "Mokuba, you know your brother wouldn't want you over here. I should really just pick you up and send you back through the portal, whether you want to go or not. I would certainly be well within my rights, given the circumstances."

"I have to know if he's alright, Lector!" Mokuba countered. "And we all know it might not be safe in our dimension either!" His eyes turned pleading. "Please . . . let me stay. . . ."

Lector wearily rubbed his forehead. "As Gansley said, there's really no time to properly discuss it. But if I don't make time to send you back, you'll have to promise me that you will stay right with us, Mokuba. Your brother left us in charge of your safety, and I don't intend to fail either of you." He folded his arms and stood sternly over Mokuba.

At last Mokuba sighed and his shoulders slumped as he nodded. "Okay," he said in resignation. He didn't want to get Lector in trouble. And, he realized, Lector might still be shaken from not having been able to stop Nesbitt and Magician's Valkyria blasting at each other last night. He certainly didn't want to add any more burdens to the poor man. He knew so well how it felt to helplessly watch loved ones be hurt.

Lector smiled. "Good. Now, let's go find everyone else."

Mokuba bit his lip. "I hope they're not all in an enchanted sleep too," he moaned. "But that would fit why I can't hear back from any of them. . . ."

"Or they might be someplace where the signal isn't reaching," Nesbitt pointed out, desperately wanting to not have to think that bizarre magic was responsible for everything.

"That's possible too," Lector acknowledged.

They started walking after the other members of their group, making certain to stay together. Other Duel Monsters who lived or worked near the castle were everywhere, fast asleep with no indication of being able to be awakened any time soon.

"So . . . how do we fix this?" Crump worried. "I mean, if this is like Sleeping Beauty, one of the victims is the key and waking them'll wake up everyone else."

"You'd think Dark Magician Girl would be the key and that her sister could wake her up," Mokuba said. "But what if we find everyone else asleep, including her?!"

"Then maybe you can try waking your brother," Lector said.

Nesbitt nodded. "For all we know, maybe true love for any of the victims would wake them up and everyone else."

"I guess so. . . ." Mokuba sighed. "I kind of wish Leon was here. . . . He knows all about fairytales. . . ."

"You could try texting him for advice," Nesbitt said.

"Yeah. . . . I think I will." Mokuba quickly started tapping out a new message as they walked.

xxxx

As it turned out, the von Schroeder brothers were in San Francisco, meeting with corporate executives at Industrial Illusions. When Mokuba's message came in, Leonhard stared at it in shock.

"Leonhard?" Siegfried looked to the boy with a frown. It wasn't like him to suddenly become involved with his phone during an important business meeting. From his expression, it was bad news.

"Um . . ." Leonhard looked up, not at all sure if he should say anything in front of these people they barely knew. "I'm sorry, Siegfried. . . . It's from Mokuba. Things aren't going well."

"Can it wait?" Siegfried asked.

Leonhard shook his head. "I don't think so." He held up his phone so Siegfried could see the message.

Hi, Leon. I know how crazy this is probably going to sound, but . . .

we're in another dimension right now and it looks like everyone's in

an enchanted sleep. Seto and Yugi don't answer their phones and I'm

afraid they've been affected too. But what do I do if one specific person

has to wake up before everyone wakes up?

Siegfried snorted. "It sounds as though Mokuba has been spending far too much time with his brother's fantastic inventions."

"You can say that after what we went through with Reshef?" Leonhard retorted. "That Duel Monster was real, Siegfried! And I'm sure you remember the Neo-Orichalcos mess last year!"

Siegfried's eyes darkened. He most certainly did, and he didn't appreciate the reminder. It had shattered his heart when Leonhard had been attacked by a Neo-Orichalcos soldier and left for dead. "Alright, magic is real," he said brusquely. "But alternate dimensions? Mass enchanted sleeps?!"

"I believe Mokuba," Leonhard insisted.

"But what are you going to do?" Siegfried asked. "Are there any specific rules for mass enchanted sleeps?"

"I guess it depends on if it's the same kind of spell that was used in Sleeping Beauty or not," Leonhard said. "In that story, she had to be woke up before anyone else could wake up. But that doesn't mean that's the only kind of enchanted sleep." He was typing this out to Mokuba as he was saying it to Siegfried. "If it is, though, I guess they'd have to figure out who's the key and who has the true love necessary to wake them up. And that would be easier said than done, I'm sure. . . ."

The corporate executives were staring at them both by now. "Are we going to continue this discussion or not?" one of them grunted.

Siegfried nodded. "Of course, Gentlemen." Part of him wondered why he and Leonhard hadn't simply been thrown out. But then again, considering that these people's boss was Pegasus, they had probably had to put up with who knew how many oddities through the years.

The meeting proceeded for several minutes longer before Leonhard was squirming in his seat. "I'm sorry, Siegfried," he apologized again. "Now Mokuba isn't answering. Maybe he's just out of range, but maybe he's hurt now too! I really feel like I need to go to Domino City and find the way into this other dimension to help him!"

Siegfried passed a hand over his eyes. "Leonhard, we cannot simply get up and leave. . . ."

"I know this meeting is important," Leonhard said softly, "but Mokuba's safety is important too. You can stay here and finish the meeting, Siegfried, and I'll go to Domino City. I've been on my own a lot, traveling to tournaments."

"This is hardly like traveling to a tournament," Siegfried retorted. "Leonhard, you can't really expect me to let you go wandering off into who knows what! Just supposing that everything Mokuba says is true, it's obviously dangerous there!"

"But who knows fairytales better than me?" Leonhard replied. "That was why Mokuba contacted me! Please, Siegfried. . . . I have to help him. . . ."

Siegfried clenched his teeth. He didn't like this at all, and from the way the executives were staring, they clearly thought both brothers were insane.

"Wait a little bit longer," he said at last. "Maybe Mokuba simply hasn't been able to answer you yet."

"He needed to know right then," Leonhard objected. "He'd answer if he could." But he obediently sat back down, tense and stiff as a board.

Siegfried followed the meeting through to its conclusion almost an hour later. "Have you heard anything from Mokuba yet, Leonhard?" he asked.

"No!" Leonhard said in agonized frustration. "Who knows what's happened by now! I could have been in Domino by now if you would have let me leave!"

Siegfried flinched. Leonhard very rarely spoke to him like that. And as much as he didn't want to become involved in this mess, he wanted Leonhard's peace of mind much more.

"We'll go there now," he said in resignation.

Leonhard brightened. "Thanks. . . . I just hope it's not too late. . . ."

One of the executives paused and looked back at them instead of walking out the door. "When you go, keep a look-out for Mr. Pegasus and Croquet, won't you? They disappeared while in Domino City several months ago and we still haven't heard from them!"

"We'll look for them," Siegfried agreed.