Seto sat with his brother in the living room one evening playing a game of chess when a now familiar glow caught their attention. Seto remained seated, but Mokuba jumped up and ran to greet his mother.
She returned his hug before she told them, "It is almost time for you to return home, but there are still some events that you must see before that can happen. You have done everything you can here. Come with me, and we will watch these last proceedings unfold. What happens next will be crucial in forming the bond between your alternate selves." Before either boy could respond, all three disappeared from the room.
~`~`~`~`~`~
At Kaiba Corp"Seto Kaiba has been distracted lately with getting to know his long lost brother," said one of the five corporate executives. "Now is the perfect time to seize control of the company, and we can use little Mokuba to do it."
"Yes," one of his colleagues agreed. "The adjustments to Kaiba's virtual reality game have been completed. Once he gets in the pod, the program will trap him inside, and eventually we'll be able to kill him. Then we'll use that hyperactive little nuisance to take control of the company."
"Good. We'll contact Kaiba immediately and tell him that the final adjustments to the program have been completed."
~`~`~`~`~`~
Kaiba and his brother were in the middle of one of their lessons, still unaware of the disappearance of their counterparts, when the five executives contacted them on the computer screen with the news of the finished product.
Mokuba listened to the discussion with interest. He knew a little about this. Duel Monsters mixed with a virtual role playing system. The idea excited him since he loved video games. He wanted to try it out for himself someday, but that would have to wait. Kaiba wanted him to learn more about the actual card game first.
When the conversation was over, Kaiba took him to another room containing three virtual pods with which he could test the system. The older boy once again contacted his five executives via another computer to make sure they would monitor his progress.
"Do you understand how to operate the controls?" he asked his brother while climbing into one of the pods and placing his deck in the open slot.
Mokuba looked them over. "I think so."
"Good. Start it up."
Mokuba flipped the switch to begin the game and watched as a virtual image of his brother popped up on a screen nearby. Everything seemed to work properly for the first few minutes. Mokuba watched the virtual image as it made its way through the game when he suddenly saw sparks come out of Kaiba's pod. He heard his brother scream before he passed out. Mokuba ran over to him and called out his name but received no response.
He turned to the monitor, which held the image of one of the executives. "What did you do to him?!"
"It's quite simple really. We've trapped your brother in his own invention, and once he's sacrificed to bring out the game's boss, his mind will die in this world. We really must thank you, little Mokuba. You've been most helpful to us. Not only are you providing us the means to take over Kaiba Corp, but you've also managed to distract your brother long enough for us to make these adjustments without him noticing."
"I'll call the police!" the child screamed. "You won't get away with this!
"It won't do any good. They'll never believe you. Face it, there's nothing you can do now." The screen went blank. Mokuba ran out of the room to find Seto.
~`~`~`~`~`~
"Hello. Game Shop," Yugi said into the telephone receiver. "Mokuba? Calm down. Tell me what happened."
He listened for a few minutes as his little brother tried to explain the situation. "It's alright Mokuba. I'll get the others, and we'll be over as soon as we can. In the meantime, just try to stay calm."
~`~`~`~`~`~
Mokuba let Yugi and the others into the Kaiba mansion since the servants had already gone home.
"Did you find your doubles?" Yugi asked as Mokuba led them to the room which held Kaiba and the other pods.
"No, I can't find them anywhere. I don't know where they could have gone."
"Then two of us will have to go in the game and try to find Kaiba," Yugi said. "If we beat this boss you told us about, maybe he'll be set free."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Joey stated. "After all, you do have Exodia."
"About that," Mokuba cut in. "Kaiba told me that you can only summon Exodia once in the game. It can't be for any kind boss since it would give you an instant victory, and that's too easy. He said a real duelist shouldn't have to rely on one all powerful monster to win."
"And we won't have to," Yugi said, but he looked thoughtful. "We can defeat this enemy without Exodia."
"I didn't bring my deck with me." Joey walked over to Kaiba's pod. "But since he's unconscious, I'm sure he won't mind if I borrow his. Those Blue Eyes could come in handy."
"No!" Mokuba cut in. "I want to go."
"It's too dangerous. Besides, you're the only one who knows how to operate the controls," Yugi tried to reason with him.
"Please Yugi, I want to help free him. I can show the others what to do."
His brother saw how determined the child was and relented. Mokuba gave Tristan a crash course in how to use the controls. He then took Kaiba's deck as he and Yugi climbed into their pods.
~`~`~`~`~`~
Back at Kaiba Corp, the five executives noticed two new figures appear on the game screen.
"It's Mokuba and that brat who beat Kaiba," one said.
"Don't worry," another cut in. "We'll send Kemo and his guards to the mansion ahead of time just in case. Instruct them to keep Mokuba safe, but they can dispose of anyone else helping him."
~`~`~`~`~`~
Yugi and Mokuba were just getting used to the virtual world. "Kaiba's technology is really impressive," the older boy commented. "I can hardly tell that none of this is real."
Mokuba thought so too and was about to voice his agreement when a Succubus Knight jumped out from behind a bush.
"Now what?!"
"I'll show you how this works. Kaiba told me about it once. You can summon any monster as long as you have it in your deck. I think Kaiba has the Rude Kaiser." As Mokuba said the monster's name, it appeared in front of him. At the child's call to attack, it destroyed the Succubus Knight with one swing of its axe.
"Alright! You did it!" Yugi cheered him on. "Did Kaiba tell you what to do next?"
"Umm, I think we have to get to a castle beyond those woods."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I remember him saying something about it. Besides, that's how all these video games work. There's always a castle or something where you have to rescue a princess. Or in this case, Kaiba. Hm, I wonder if he'll be wearing a dress when we find him."
And so they continued on, fighting several duel monsters along the way. Yugi did most of the work since he was the more experienced player. Eventually, they made it inside the castle where they found Kaiba chained to the wall of a small room. Yugi went to free him when the Witty Phantom appeared.
"You help Kaiba! I'll take care of this creep!" Mokuba called out to Yugi from across the room. But as the monster stepped right in front of the small child, his previous bravado failed him, and he froze in fear for a moment. He tried to remember which cards Kaiba had in his deck.
"I call on the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Mokuba shouted before he knew the thought had crossed his mind. "White Lightning attack!" He watched as the dragon destroyed the Witty Phantom. "I love that card," the boy mused. "And so does Grandpa."
He remembered when he watched Kaiba tear his grandfather's most treasured card in two. He remembered the expression on his grandfather's face as his prized possession was destroyed. Mokuba thought his heart would break that day. But then he thought of the time he'd spent with Kaiba the past few weeks. How he had become kinder, more caring towards his younger sibling. Mokuba came to understand his brother even though he wasn't at all like Yugi and his friends, or even like the person he knew at the orphanage. He learned to appreciate Kaiba for who he had become when they were reunited. "My brother is different now," he said. "I know he's changed." The child turned to see that Yugi had freed Kaiba and ran to give him his deck.
"Mokuba, what are you doing here?" the brown haired boy asked him as he took it back. "It's too dangerous for you. And why did you bring Yugi?"
"I couldn't find Seto. He was gone, and I didn't know who else to turn to."
Kaiba growled. "Anyone else. But never mind that now. Let's just find a way out of this game."
To Be Continued