Tea gently ran her hand through Seto's bangs, tears in her eyes. They had taken him downstairs and laid him on a bunk they'd found in one of the rooms. He didn't seem to be hypothermic, which was an added miracle to the fact that he was alive at all, but he also wasn't getting better from Seth's attack.
"I think he has a fever," Tea said shakily to Yugi.
Yugi nodded solemnly. "He's very ill, but it's likely not the water that caused it—it was Seth's staff. Kaiba should have died from the blast, and . . . the fact is, he really is nearly gone," he said softly.
Tea choked back a sob. "Mokuba will be heart-broken if anything happens to him. . . . Isn't there something we can do?"
Seto groaned, shuddering. Tea pulled the quilt up under his chin worriedly.
"We're on a ship in the middle of a lake," Yugi said grimly. "There's no way to call for help, and we can't possibly get Kaiba off this ship until his condition improves." He turned to go to the door, where Mokuba was waiting for the news. "It's not really in our hands," he said quietly. Tea nodded, knowing that was true.
The door flew open and Mokuba stumbled in. He was still weak from Seth's torture, but he was more worried about his brother. "How is he?" he demanded, taking Seto's cold hand.
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks. "You can probably help him better than any of the rest of us could," Yugi said at last. "He loves you more than anything or anyone."
Mokuba's eyes filled with tears. "You've gotta fight, Seto!" he cried.
"You've come this far, Kaiba," Tea said shakily. "Don't give up now!"
****
Tristan gasped as the fire climbed higher and the flames took in more of the surrounding area. "Man, this is too much like deja vu," he muttered, trying to lead Ishizu away from the flames. He was remembering the time Yugi had been trapped in a burning warehouse after his duel with a mind-controlled Bandit Keith. Interestingly, he also remembered that that was the first time Marik had been involved with them at all.
"Marik!" Ishizu screamed as Marik tried to flip his Yami over. She was terrified for her brother's safety. She couldn't forget her nightmare—the fiery furnace, Marik fighting with someone on a high ledge. . . . It was coming true.
"SILENCE!" Yami Marik roared, clubbing Marik over the head with the Millennium Rod to get him to back off. The boy swayed dazedly, barely managing to catch his balance before he fell. "Imprison them once more!" Yami Marik directed, and the Rod glowed before Marik could prevent it.
Tristan now grabbed Ishizu fiercely, trying to throw her into the flames. "Tristan! Stop!" she cried, trying to pull away.
Joey took Mai and tried to do likewise with her. The embers leaped out at her and she had to duck to miss getting hit. "Let me go!" she yelled, struggling frantically.
Tristan pushed Ishizu backward and the woman let out a shriek. "Fight the mind control!!" she cried, catching hold of a nearby shelf just before she would have fallen into the searing fire.
"Joey, please!" Mai screamed in terror, looking into the boy's brown eyes. "Stop!!"
Suddenly Joey blinked, his eyes becoming clear again. "Mai!" he gasped, pulling her away just as a beam fell from the ceiling and narrowly missed hitting her.
Tristan's eyes also became clear. "We've gotta find a way out of here!" he cried, helping to guide Ishizu along. The woman was very weak from the wound and the rough jostling she had just gone through.
"What is this?!" Yami Marik screamed, outraged that Joey and Tristan weren't carrying out his orders.
"They are stronger than your powers!" Marik replied sternly, taking hold of the Millennium Rod once again.
Yami Marik pulled it back viciously. "They are not! You will learn that you can never disobey me again! And neither can they." He raised the Rod again. "Every last one of them will perish, beginning with your sister!"
****
Seto thrashed on the bunk, his blue eyes wild and vacant. "Mokuba," he moaned. "Stop hurting Mokuba, you devil!!"
Mokuba's eyes were wide. "Seto, I'm okay!" he wailed. "I'm right here, big brother!"
Seto rolled over, breathing heavily. "Let him go!!" he yelled. "Go back to the infernal pit you came from and leave my brother alone!!" He tried to rise. Yugi immediately rushed over and tried to restrain him, but Seto jerked away. "He's only ten!!" he cried, rising up again. "He's just a little kid! You can't keep hurting him!!"
"Please, big brother," Mokuba sobbed, "please lay back down! You're not well!"
Gently Yugi pushed Seto back into the soft pillows. "He's in delirium," the short boy said grimly.
"He's only ten," Seto said again, softer this time. A tear fell from his eye and trickled down his cheek.
Mokuba was crying too. "Seto, I'm right here! Don't you know me?" He took Seto's hand pleadingly, but the older boy just gave him a blank look.
Tea tried not to cry herself—she knew she couldn't. She had to stay strong for Mokuba's sake. "Please get better, Kaiba," she whispered low. "You . . . you have to!"
****
Bakura and Duke slowly wandered down the corridors of the ship.
"What are we looking for anyway?" Duke asked, still feeling too weak to walk very far.
"My Yami," Bakura replied weakly. "Seth must have done something to him!"
"To your Yami? I'd have a hard time believing that," Duke snorted.
Suddenly they were surrounded by a group of Seth's minions, with Cheryl in the lead. "Punks." She sneered in contempt. "You may have got rid of our master, but you still have us to deal with!"
Duke backed up. "I don't like the sound of that," he muttered.
Bakura nodded, backing up as well. What were they going to do?
****
Seto groaned, his strange cries echoing through the room. At first he had been reliving the horror of watching Seth torture Mokuba, but it became obvious that he was now remembering events even more far past. He was screaming Pegasus's name and yelling that he would defeat Yugi and that he'd then be back to defeat Pegasus as well in order to save his brother.
"You're diabolically twisted!!!" he cried, thrashing wildly again, "and I'll make sure you pay for doing this to a sweet, innocent kid like Mokuba!!"
"Seto, Yugi defeated Pegasus," Mokuba said shakily, holding Seto's hand. "Everything's okay now, big brother! . . . Or it would be if you could just come back to us," he whispered.
Seto lay gasping for breath, his blue eyes glassy and only half-open. Tea held Seto's other hand and gently pulled the quilt up over his bare chest again. She could hardly stand to hear Seto going through this, and if she was feeling like that, how must Mokuba be feeling?
"Yugi," Seto said now, drawing a raspy breath. Quickly Yugi came over to him. "Yugi . . . I . . . I'm . . . sorry . . . about . . ." He groaned again, and Mokuba's expression was one of horror and alarm. "About the . . . the duel on the castle roof. . . . I . . . I had to save Mokuba. . . . I didn't know what to do. . . ."
Yugi blinked, feeling tears in his eyes. He had hardly ever seen Seto like this, so vulnerable and defenseless. "Kaiba, it's alright," he said softly. "I forgave you for that ages ago. I know why you did what you did. That's all behind us now."
Seto didn't seem to hear. "Mokuba. . . . He . . . he was trapped in . . . in the decaying monster. . . . He . . . he was buried in the debris. . . . I . . . I couldn't save him. . . ." The boy was becoming increasingly agitated again. "I just let it happen! I killed him! I killed my brother, the person I love more than anyone!!"
Mokuba couldn't stand it any longer. "No, Seto, no! It's just a nightmare, Seto!! It's not true!!! You saved me, Seto!! You saved all of us!!!" He sobbed, hugging his brother tightly.
Tea and Yugi exchanged horrified glances. Yugi's said that Seto was very far gone. Tea's wondered how it could really be so.
Seto still didn't recognize the surroundings, nor did he seem to know that anyone was actually there. "Forgive me, Mokuba," he choked out, and then fell disturbingly silent as his eyes closed wearily.
Mokuba stared at his brother in disbelief. "Big brother!" he cried.
****
Bakura and Duke looked at the cloaked figures gathered around them with increasing uneasiness. They were too weak to fight, and what was more, there were only two of them and countless numbers of their enemies.
"I think it's hopeless," Duke muttered.
Bakura shook his head. "I'm afraid you may be right," he said softly.
"Foolish mortals."
Everyone turned at the sound of the voice. Yami Bakura was standing there, looking disgusted.
"Yami!!" Bakura cried in relief. "You're alright!!"
"Of course I'm alright, you dolt." Yami Bakura turned to face Cheryl. "Your pathetic group is no match for me."
Cheryl only sneered. "I was able to defeat you single-handedly before, and I can do it again!"
Yami Bakura held up a card from his deck. "Once I put this into action, there isn't a thing you can do to stop me."
"We'll just see about that!" Cheryl cried, and all of the cloaked figures raised their ringed hands, preparing to unleash the darkness again.
At the same time, Yami Bakura threw his card into play. "The Morphing Jar!" he yelled.
"Morphing Jar?!" Duke repeated, wide-eyed.
With screams of panic, the cult members vanished, leaving nothing behind but a stray cloak or two.
Bakura was shaking. The sight of so many people disappearing and being sent to the Card Graveyard—even though they *were* evil—made a chill run up his spine.
Yami Bakura gave him an odd look. "What's the matter with you?"
Bakura shook his head. "Yami, you sent all of them to the Shadow Realm!" he gasped.
Yami Bakura snorted. "They were going to murder you, you dolt," he said, putting his deck away.
"I . . . I know," Bakura said slowly. "Thank you for saving us, Yami," he said with a smile.
Yami Bakura grunted. "I need you to conquer the world. I had to save you."
****
Marik grabbed the Rod fiercely once more and refused to let go. "I will not allow you to win this time!" he vowed. Ishizu's eyes widened. Those were the exact words her brother had spoken in the dream she had had.
"Marik!!" she cried. "Be careful, brother!!" The dream couldn't be fulfilled—it couldn't be!!
Yami Marik growled, pulling again to free the Rod. "If I didn't need you in order to further my plans, I would do away with you right now!" the spirit growled.
Marik's eyes narrowed. The flames were spreading quickly, and if he didn't get everyone out of there soon they would all perish. But he couldn't get them out until he defeated his Yami. "Evil will not prevail," he said solemnly, giving one final tug.
Two things then happened at once. The Millennium Rod came free from Yami Marik's grasp and flew across the room, landing with a clunk of finality on the floor at Ishizu's feet.
And Marik pitched backward off the ledge into the flames with a cry of pain while the others stood in shock and horror.
Yami Marik's features contorted in rage as he watched the boy vanish into the inferno. His plans were foiled. With an angry yell, he disappeared into thin air. Where he went, this tale does not tell. But he was defeated again.
Ishizu stood still, her heart beating wildly. "Marik!!!" she screamed, but she knew her brother had perished. The shock was too much. She slumped backward into Joey's and Tristan's arms in a dead faint.
"I think he has a fever," Tea said shakily to Yugi.
Yugi nodded solemnly. "He's very ill, but it's likely not the water that caused it—it was Seth's staff. Kaiba should have died from the blast, and . . . the fact is, he really is nearly gone," he said softly.
Tea choked back a sob. "Mokuba will be heart-broken if anything happens to him. . . . Isn't there something we can do?"
Seto groaned, shuddering. Tea pulled the quilt up under his chin worriedly.
"We're on a ship in the middle of a lake," Yugi said grimly. "There's no way to call for help, and we can't possibly get Kaiba off this ship until his condition improves." He turned to go to the door, where Mokuba was waiting for the news. "It's not really in our hands," he said quietly. Tea nodded, knowing that was true.
The door flew open and Mokuba stumbled in. He was still weak from Seth's torture, but he was more worried about his brother. "How is he?" he demanded, taking Seto's cold hand.
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks. "You can probably help him better than any of the rest of us could," Yugi said at last. "He loves you more than anything or anyone."
Mokuba's eyes filled with tears. "You've gotta fight, Seto!" he cried.
"You've come this far, Kaiba," Tea said shakily. "Don't give up now!"
****
Tristan gasped as the fire climbed higher and the flames took in more of the surrounding area. "Man, this is too much like deja vu," he muttered, trying to lead Ishizu away from the flames. He was remembering the time Yugi had been trapped in a burning warehouse after his duel with a mind-controlled Bandit Keith. Interestingly, he also remembered that that was the first time Marik had been involved with them at all.
"Marik!" Ishizu screamed as Marik tried to flip his Yami over. She was terrified for her brother's safety. She couldn't forget her nightmare—the fiery furnace, Marik fighting with someone on a high ledge. . . . It was coming true.
"SILENCE!" Yami Marik roared, clubbing Marik over the head with the Millennium Rod to get him to back off. The boy swayed dazedly, barely managing to catch his balance before he fell. "Imprison them once more!" Yami Marik directed, and the Rod glowed before Marik could prevent it.
Tristan now grabbed Ishizu fiercely, trying to throw her into the flames. "Tristan! Stop!" she cried, trying to pull away.
Joey took Mai and tried to do likewise with her. The embers leaped out at her and she had to duck to miss getting hit. "Let me go!" she yelled, struggling frantically.
Tristan pushed Ishizu backward and the woman let out a shriek. "Fight the mind control!!" she cried, catching hold of a nearby shelf just before she would have fallen into the searing fire.
"Joey, please!" Mai screamed in terror, looking into the boy's brown eyes. "Stop!!"
Suddenly Joey blinked, his eyes becoming clear again. "Mai!" he gasped, pulling her away just as a beam fell from the ceiling and narrowly missed hitting her.
Tristan's eyes also became clear. "We've gotta find a way out of here!" he cried, helping to guide Ishizu along. The woman was very weak from the wound and the rough jostling she had just gone through.
"What is this?!" Yami Marik screamed, outraged that Joey and Tristan weren't carrying out his orders.
"They are stronger than your powers!" Marik replied sternly, taking hold of the Millennium Rod once again.
Yami Marik pulled it back viciously. "They are not! You will learn that you can never disobey me again! And neither can they." He raised the Rod again. "Every last one of them will perish, beginning with your sister!"
****
Seto thrashed on the bunk, his blue eyes wild and vacant. "Mokuba," he moaned. "Stop hurting Mokuba, you devil!!"
Mokuba's eyes were wide. "Seto, I'm okay!" he wailed. "I'm right here, big brother!"
Seto rolled over, breathing heavily. "Let him go!!" he yelled. "Go back to the infernal pit you came from and leave my brother alone!!" He tried to rise. Yugi immediately rushed over and tried to restrain him, but Seto jerked away. "He's only ten!!" he cried, rising up again. "He's just a little kid! You can't keep hurting him!!"
"Please, big brother," Mokuba sobbed, "please lay back down! You're not well!"
Gently Yugi pushed Seto back into the soft pillows. "He's in delirium," the short boy said grimly.
"He's only ten," Seto said again, softer this time. A tear fell from his eye and trickled down his cheek.
Mokuba was crying too. "Seto, I'm right here! Don't you know me?" He took Seto's hand pleadingly, but the older boy just gave him a blank look.
Tea tried not to cry herself—she knew she couldn't. She had to stay strong for Mokuba's sake. "Please get better, Kaiba," she whispered low. "You . . . you have to!"
****
Bakura and Duke slowly wandered down the corridors of the ship.
"What are we looking for anyway?" Duke asked, still feeling too weak to walk very far.
"My Yami," Bakura replied weakly. "Seth must have done something to him!"
"To your Yami? I'd have a hard time believing that," Duke snorted.
Suddenly they were surrounded by a group of Seth's minions, with Cheryl in the lead. "Punks." She sneered in contempt. "You may have got rid of our master, but you still have us to deal with!"
Duke backed up. "I don't like the sound of that," he muttered.
Bakura nodded, backing up as well. What were they going to do?
****
Seto groaned, his strange cries echoing through the room. At first he had been reliving the horror of watching Seth torture Mokuba, but it became obvious that he was now remembering events even more far past. He was screaming Pegasus's name and yelling that he would defeat Yugi and that he'd then be back to defeat Pegasus as well in order to save his brother.
"You're diabolically twisted!!!" he cried, thrashing wildly again, "and I'll make sure you pay for doing this to a sweet, innocent kid like Mokuba!!"
"Seto, Yugi defeated Pegasus," Mokuba said shakily, holding Seto's hand. "Everything's okay now, big brother! . . . Or it would be if you could just come back to us," he whispered.
Seto lay gasping for breath, his blue eyes glassy and only half-open. Tea held Seto's other hand and gently pulled the quilt up over his bare chest again. She could hardly stand to hear Seto going through this, and if she was feeling like that, how must Mokuba be feeling?
"Yugi," Seto said now, drawing a raspy breath. Quickly Yugi came over to him. "Yugi . . . I . . . I'm . . . sorry . . . about . . ." He groaned again, and Mokuba's expression was one of horror and alarm. "About the . . . the duel on the castle roof. . . . I . . . I had to save Mokuba. . . . I didn't know what to do. . . ."
Yugi blinked, feeling tears in his eyes. He had hardly ever seen Seto like this, so vulnerable and defenseless. "Kaiba, it's alright," he said softly. "I forgave you for that ages ago. I know why you did what you did. That's all behind us now."
Seto didn't seem to hear. "Mokuba. . . . He . . . he was trapped in . . . in the decaying monster. . . . He . . . he was buried in the debris. . . . I . . . I couldn't save him. . . ." The boy was becoming increasingly agitated again. "I just let it happen! I killed him! I killed my brother, the person I love more than anyone!!"
Mokuba couldn't stand it any longer. "No, Seto, no! It's just a nightmare, Seto!! It's not true!!! You saved me, Seto!! You saved all of us!!!" He sobbed, hugging his brother tightly.
Tea and Yugi exchanged horrified glances. Yugi's said that Seto was very far gone. Tea's wondered how it could really be so.
Seto still didn't recognize the surroundings, nor did he seem to know that anyone was actually there. "Forgive me, Mokuba," he choked out, and then fell disturbingly silent as his eyes closed wearily.
Mokuba stared at his brother in disbelief. "Big brother!" he cried.
****
Bakura and Duke looked at the cloaked figures gathered around them with increasing uneasiness. They were too weak to fight, and what was more, there were only two of them and countless numbers of their enemies.
"I think it's hopeless," Duke muttered.
Bakura shook his head. "I'm afraid you may be right," he said softly.
"Foolish mortals."
Everyone turned at the sound of the voice. Yami Bakura was standing there, looking disgusted.
"Yami!!" Bakura cried in relief. "You're alright!!"
"Of course I'm alright, you dolt." Yami Bakura turned to face Cheryl. "Your pathetic group is no match for me."
Cheryl only sneered. "I was able to defeat you single-handedly before, and I can do it again!"
Yami Bakura held up a card from his deck. "Once I put this into action, there isn't a thing you can do to stop me."
"We'll just see about that!" Cheryl cried, and all of the cloaked figures raised their ringed hands, preparing to unleash the darkness again.
At the same time, Yami Bakura threw his card into play. "The Morphing Jar!" he yelled.
"Morphing Jar?!" Duke repeated, wide-eyed.
With screams of panic, the cult members vanished, leaving nothing behind but a stray cloak or two.
Bakura was shaking. The sight of so many people disappearing and being sent to the Card Graveyard—even though they *were* evil—made a chill run up his spine.
Yami Bakura gave him an odd look. "What's the matter with you?"
Bakura shook his head. "Yami, you sent all of them to the Shadow Realm!" he gasped.
Yami Bakura snorted. "They were going to murder you, you dolt," he said, putting his deck away.
"I . . . I know," Bakura said slowly. "Thank you for saving us, Yami," he said with a smile.
Yami Bakura grunted. "I need you to conquer the world. I had to save you."
****
Marik grabbed the Rod fiercely once more and refused to let go. "I will not allow you to win this time!" he vowed. Ishizu's eyes widened. Those were the exact words her brother had spoken in the dream she had had.
"Marik!!" she cried. "Be careful, brother!!" The dream couldn't be fulfilled—it couldn't be!!
Yami Marik growled, pulling again to free the Rod. "If I didn't need you in order to further my plans, I would do away with you right now!" the spirit growled.
Marik's eyes narrowed. The flames were spreading quickly, and if he didn't get everyone out of there soon they would all perish. But he couldn't get them out until he defeated his Yami. "Evil will not prevail," he said solemnly, giving one final tug.
Two things then happened at once. The Millennium Rod came free from Yami Marik's grasp and flew across the room, landing with a clunk of finality on the floor at Ishizu's feet.
And Marik pitched backward off the ledge into the flames with a cry of pain while the others stood in shock and horror.
Yami Marik's features contorted in rage as he watched the boy vanish into the inferno. His plans were foiled. With an angry yell, he disappeared into thin air. Where he went, this tale does not tell. But he was defeated again.
Ishizu stood still, her heart beating wildly. "Marik!!!" she screamed, but she knew her brother had perished. The shock was too much. She slumped backward into Joey's and Tristan's arms in a dead faint.