This chapter's a bit long, to make up for the shortness of the last one...I
hope. Anyway, this is a very important chapter, and in case you haven't
noticed, it's coming close – very close – to the end of my little tale. One
chapter left, and an epilogue to close it out. So, enjoy, and tell me what
you think of it.
***
I was back in Domino, on my estate, early in the morning. Looking at my mansion, I realized I couldn't go inside. There were too many memories locked in that place. If I were to stand any chance of actually moving on, I had to get out of here. Not just out of my mansion, out of Domino City.
I walked around the side of the mansion to the front yard, and to my Corvette. In the back seat, I saw a metal briefcase. Inside, I knew, were my rarest Magic & Wizards cards. I found I didn't want them, either. They, too, reminded me of my past, which I didn't want to remember.
I didn't want to think about anything.
I decided that I had to get away from here. I had to get away from everything. But, I realized, if I was going to go away somewhere, I had to say something to my...friends. I didn't want to face Yugi right now, though.
I decided I'd tell Serenity. Serenity and Joey. They could tell the others.
As I slipped into my car, I wondered why I cared. Why tell anyone?
...Because they deserved to know.
I started driving toward Joey's house. Joey and I had been forced to work on a project together in school once, so I knew how to get there. I just hoped they would be there, and not at the game shop.
***
Serenity looked up from her book when the doorbell rang. She got up just as Joey was answering it. She was surprised to see Kaiba standing there, a metal briefcase in his right hand.
"May I come in?" he asked softly.
Joey stepped back and gestured. "Sure, man, sure. Come on in. Uh...ya want a drink 'r somethin'?"
"No," he said. "I won't be here long. I just thought I should tell you before I left. I'm going to be leaving Domino for a while. I need to get away from here, to sort things out in my mind."
"Sure," Serenity said. "That's understandable. How long will you be gone?"
"I have no idea," Kaiba said. "As long as it takes, I guess."
He handed the briefcase. "Here. I don't want these anymore. I figured you would appreciate them."
Joey set the case down, snapped it open. He gasped at the sight. There were hundreds of Magic & Wizards cards stacked inside the padded interior, all of them with a holographic picture and golden lettering.
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed. "These are...holy shit!" He took a stack out, looked through them, his eyes widening at each card. He set the stack down on the coffee table and turned to Kaiba. "You sure ya don't want these, man? There's gotta be, like...thousands of dollars worth of cards in there!"
"Take them, Joey...please...I can't look at them anymore."
Joey frowned, thought a moment, then nodded. "Sure, man. I understand. Hope ya can work this out."
Kaiba nodded. He turned to Serenity and smiled. "I want to thank you, Serenity. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten this far...You've really helped me." He turned to Joey. "And you, too..."
"Sure thing, man," Joey said, clapping Kaiba on the shoulder. "Anytime."
Serenity smiled and nodded her agreement.
Kaiba turned to leave.
"Bye, Kaiba," Serenity said.
He turned again. "Goodbye, Serenity..."
And with that, he was gone.
***
To counteract the deafening silence as I drove back home to pack, I turned on the radio. I couldn't remember the last time I'd done this. The first song I reached was a heavy metal song.*
"Another dream that will never come true
Just to compliment your sorrow.
Another life that I've taken from you,
A gift to add on to your pain and suffering.
Another truth you can never believe,
Has crippled you completely.
And all the cries you're beginning to hear,
Trapped in your mind and the sound is deafening—"
I hurriedly changed the station, shuddering.
The next song was a slow song, accented by melodic piano. The singer was a woman this time.
"I'm so tired of being here,
Suppressed by all my childish fears.
And if you have to leave,
I wish that you would just leave.
'Cause your presence still lingers here,
And it won't leave me alone.
These wounds won't seem to heal,
This pain is just too real—"
I switched the station again. Damn it, what was this?
Rap this time. I don't usually listen to rap, but I didn't care this time.
"Some days I just wanna up 'n call it quits,
I feel like I'm surrounded by a wall 'a bricks,
Every time I go to get up I just fall in pits,
My life's like one great big ball 'a shit,
If I could just—"
Damn it! Leave me alone!
"Days will come that make no sense,
My present situation makes me think too much, too much.
It all revolves around you,
This life I'm living means nothing without you—"
What is this?!
"There's no one coming,
And there's no way out.
Well, I've been falling,
And it's so far down—"
No!! Stop this!!
"I gotta get gone, get gone,
I'm feeling no meaning without you,
I've lost all of myself.
I'm searching for a reason without you—"
Goddamn it!!
"I'm here without you, baby,
But you still haunt my lonely mind.
I think about you, baby—"
Quit it!!
"I'm sorry that I hurt you,
It's something I must live with every day—"
No!!
"Sometimes I'm in disbelief, I didn't know—"
"When it gets cold outside and ya got nobody to love—"
"Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart—"
"Doesn't change a thing, it don't bring you back—"
"I paid my last respects this morning on an early grave—"
"I am hoping I can find, where to leave my hurt behind—"
"You are my brother—"
"I—"
"Can't—"
"Get—"
"Out—"
With a snarl, I turned it off and sped toward my mansion. This was it. Enough. This called for something drastic. There was no way to escape this. It wouldn't leave me alone. Goddamned radio...
***
Serenity watched Joey sort through the cards Kaiba had given him with a smile. "And you say I act like a five-year-old sometimes..." she murmured with a giggle. "Look at you!"
"Hey, you got no idea what this could do!" Joey said, looking up at her. "By the time next tournament rolls around, I'll be unstoppable! I already beat Yugi, and he's the best there is! With these, nobody can touch me!"
"Yes," Serenity said, "but doesn't Yugi say that winning involves having faith in yourself, not expensive cards?"
"Well, sure, but I got plenty of faith in myself."
She shook her head. "You always did," she said. "Well, I'm glad you're happy. I just hope this vacation can help Kaiba out."
"Yeah..." Joey agreed, his face growing somber. "Don't think Pegasus helped him out much...Ya know, Kaiba ain't such a bad guy..."
"No, he's really nice."
Joey sighed. "Just sucks that it took Mokuba dying to bring it out...Kid was always sayin' that his brother weren't all bad, but I never believed it...Now, look at him. Playin' games, throwin' parties, givin' cards away...almost like he's a whole new person..."
"I think he realized that that was what Mokuba wanted in the first place...and now's he's trying to atone for not doing it when he was alive."
Joey shrugged. "Maybe...probably. I don't know."
"Well, like you said, it didn't look like this Pegasus helped him too much, but he doesn't look any worse, either. That's something."
"Yeah...but you can never tell with Kaiba."
Serenity jumped when the phone rang, picked it up. "Hello? This is Serenity Wheeler speaking, who is this?" she asked. Joey raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Hello, Serenity? Is your TV on?" Yugi asked her from the other line.
"Um...no. Why?" She looked up at her brother, mouthed Yugi's name. He nodded.
"'Cuz...well, never mind! Heck, you can see it from my place! Come over, you and Joey! Quick!"
She hung up the phone. "Come on, Joey. Yugi says we should come over. Sounds important."
Joey nodded. "Yeah, alright." He snapped the briefcase shut, set it on the couch, and walked out to his car. As Serenity was putting on her seatbelt he sped off, earning him a surprised, irritated look.
***
As they pulled up to the shop, Serenity could see what Yugi was so excited about. It was smoke. A rising pillar of smoke. She and Joey got out of the car just as Yugi ran out to meet them.
"Grandpa was watching the news when they announced it! It's been burning for near to a half hour, they said!"
"What is it?" Serenity asked, fearful that she knew the answer already.
"Kaiba's mansion! The firefighters got the maids and butler out, and the cook and everyone else, but they can't find Kaiba!"
Joey watched the smoke rise, then gave Serenity an 'I told you so' look. "C'mon, sis. Let's go see if they found him yet. Maybe he's just...I don't know, maybe he ain't even there. He could've left already."
"Left already?" Yugi asked. "Left where?"
"Kaiba said he was gonna go on a vacation, ya know, to work stuff out. Maybe he already left."
Yugi turned his eyes to the smoke as well, and frowned. "Hopefully..."
As Serenity followed Joey back to the car, she tried to believe that he had left already. But somehow, she couldn't. No matter how much she wanted to believe that her friend was safe, she couldn't bring herself to.
She knew he was still there.
She knew she had to help him.
***
The firefighters didn't get to the mansion soon enough. By the time they got there, the entire mansion was up in flames. The smoke alarms were blaring. I walked out the front door, not even feeling the heat, and looked around at them. I could hear them talking amongst each other: "Let it burn. It's on a huge estate, anyway. There's no danger to the rest of the city."
Of course. My estate was set away from the city. And so now they were going to let it burn. Good. I didn't want them to save it. The place held too many damn memories. Better they be buried in ashes with the rest of it.
No one noticed me. They all thought they'd gotten everyone out. They weren't even looking in the direction of the mansion anymore. They were heading home. Home...to their families.
Lucky bastards.
I sighed, turned and looked up at the fire dancing out of the windows and the smoke rising into the wind. I wondered how long it would take for the mansion to burn all the way to the ground. I wondered if anyone would realize that it hadn't been accidental. I wondered if they would ever find out that I had started this fire.
Probably not.
They wouldn't ever figure any of this out because nobody would care. Half of the people in the city feared me and the other half hated me. They wouldn't care if I did it or not...hell, they probably wouldn't care if I was still alive.
My vision was impaired now, wavy and clouded from the heat and smoke of the fire. It was giving me a headache. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but it only made it worse. I blinked, trying to see clearer, but it did nothing. And those damned smoke alarms...
I started to sway; the world seemed to spin. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling. Logic told me that, of course, nothing was moving, nothing was spinning, but my body refused to listen. I blinked again, several times. It only made the dizziness intensify, and I nearly fell backward.
Wait...what's that sound?
Footsteps, fast footsteps...Someone's...running.
Hand...on my shoulder...shaking.
"Kaiba! Kaiba, answer me!"
Need...talk louder...Can't hear you...Who are you...?
"Kai—Seto! Seto!!"
Serenity...? Sounds like her...Maybe...Can't really hear...
"Seto, talk to me!"
Wait...Doesn't sound like Serenity...Mokuba! Sounds like Mokuba...Why does Serenity sound like Mokuba...? Stop confusing me...
Eyes...burning...Ugh...need to close...eyes...
"Come on, we have to get you out of here!!"
Out of where...? I can't...see...
"Please, Seto, listen to me!"
Still sounds like Mokuba...Stop that, Serenity...
"Seto, you have to go! The l..."
**************************************************************************** *
The songs Kaiba hears on the radio are as follows:
1. "Prayer" by Disturbed (you remember this from the first chapter, right?)
2. "My Immortal" by Evanescence (I love this song, and it fits so well, doesn't it?)
3. "Rabbit Run" by Eminem (a bit strange to find this among the others, but it works)
4. "Skin" by Adema (this one reminded me of Kaiba the first time I heard it)
5. "Down" by Motograter (eerie how many songs fit in with this story, huh?)
6. "Without" by the Exies (an interesting band...an interesting song...what genre is this?)
7. "Here Without You" by Three Doors Down (another song I love, and another song that reminded me of Kaiba right off the bat)
8. "The Reason" by Hoobastank (my number one favorite song at the moment)
9. "Don't Stay" by Linkin Park (this line is the only part of the entire song that fits in with the story)
10. "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5 (again, the whole song doesn't fit, but this one line does)
11. ".45" by Shinedown (this one fits a bit better)
12. "Blue on Black" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (I like this song, and it fits very well)
13. "Woke Up This Morning" by Nickelback (one of my favorites, but again, the whole song doesn't work, just this line)
14. "Alone I Break" by Korn (my favorite off of the Untouchables album, and another song that fits rather well)
15. "Ball Tongue" by Korn (I had to use this line...it's just too obvious! But again, only this one line works)
The "I-Can't-Get-Out" thing was just added for effect. I don't know what songs they're from.
***
I was back in Domino, on my estate, early in the morning. Looking at my mansion, I realized I couldn't go inside. There were too many memories locked in that place. If I were to stand any chance of actually moving on, I had to get out of here. Not just out of my mansion, out of Domino City.
I walked around the side of the mansion to the front yard, and to my Corvette. In the back seat, I saw a metal briefcase. Inside, I knew, were my rarest Magic & Wizards cards. I found I didn't want them, either. They, too, reminded me of my past, which I didn't want to remember.
I didn't want to think about anything.
I decided that I had to get away from here. I had to get away from everything. But, I realized, if I was going to go away somewhere, I had to say something to my...friends. I didn't want to face Yugi right now, though.
I decided I'd tell Serenity. Serenity and Joey. They could tell the others.
As I slipped into my car, I wondered why I cared. Why tell anyone?
...Because they deserved to know.
I started driving toward Joey's house. Joey and I had been forced to work on a project together in school once, so I knew how to get there. I just hoped they would be there, and not at the game shop.
***
Serenity looked up from her book when the doorbell rang. She got up just as Joey was answering it. She was surprised to see Kaiba standing there, a metal briefcase in his right hand.
"May I come in?" he asked softly.
Joey stepped back and gestured. "Sure, man, sure. Come on in. Uh...ya want a drink 'r somethin'?"
"No," he said. "I won't be here long. I just thought I should tell you before I left. I'm going to be leaving Domino for a while. I need to get away from here, to sort things out in my mind."
"Sure," Serenity said. "That's understandable. How long will you be gone?"
"I have no idea," Kaiba said. "As long as it takes, I guess."
He handed the briefcase. "Here. I don't want these anymore. I figured you would appreciate them."
Joey set the case down, snapped it open. He gasped at the sight. There were hundreds of Magic & Wizards cards stacked inside the padded interior, all of them with a holographic picture and golden lettering.
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed. "These are...holy shit!" He took a stack out, looked through them, his eyes widening at each card. He set the stack down on the coffee table and turned to Kaiba. "You sure ya don't want these, man? There's gotta be, like...thousands of dollars worth of cards in there!"
"Take them, Joey...please...I can't look at them anymore."
Joey frowned, thought a moment, then nodded. "Sure, man. I understand. Hope ya can work this out."
Kaiba nodded. He turned to Serenity and smiled. "I want to thank you, Serenity. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten this far...You've really helped me." He turned to Joey. "And you, too..."
"Sure thing, man," Joey said, clapping Kaiba on the shoulder. "Anytime."
Serenity smiled and nodded her agreement.
Kaiba turned to leave.
"Bye, Kaiba," Serenity said.
He turned again. "Goodbye, Serenity..."
And with that, he was gone.
***
To counteract the deafening silence as I drove back home to pack, I turned on the radio. I couldn't remember the last time I'd done this. The first song I reached was a heavy metal song.*
"Another dream that will never come true
Just to compliment your sorrow.
Another life that I've taken from you,
A gift to add on to your pain and suffering.
Another truth you can never believe,
Has crippled you completely.
And all the cries you're beginning to hear,
Trapped in your mind and the sound is deafening—"
I hurriedly changed the station, shuddering.
The next song was a slow song, accented by melodic piano. The singer was a woman this time.
"I'm so tired of being here,
Suppressed by all my childish fears.
And if you have to leave,
I wish that you would just leave.
'Cause your presence still lingers here,
And it won't leave me alone.
These wounds won't seem to heal,
This pain is just too real—"
I switched the station again. Damn it, what was this?
Rap this time. I don't usually listen to rap, but I didn't care this time.
"Some days I just wanna up 'n call it quits,
I feel like I'm surrounded by a wall 'a bricks,
Every time I go to get up I just fall in pits,
My life's like one great big ball 'a shit,
If I could just—"
Damn it! Leave me alone!
"Days will come that make no sense,
My present situation makes me think too much, too much.
It all revolves around you,
This life I'm living means nothing without you—"
What is this?!
"There's no one coming,
And there's no way out.
Well, I've been falling,
And it's so far down—"
No!! Stop this!!
"I gotta get gone, get gone,
I'm feeling no meaning without you,
I've lost all of myself.
I'm searching for a reason without you—"
Goddamn it!!
"I'm here without you, baby,
But you still haunt my lonely mind.
I think about you, baby—"
Quit it!!
"I'm sorry that I hurt you,
It's something I must live with every day—"
No!!
"Sometimes I'm in disbelief, I didn't know—"
"When it gets cold outside and ya got nobody to love—"
"Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart—"
"Doesn't change a thing, it don't bring you back—"
"I paid my last respects this morning on an early grave—"
"I am hoping I can find, where to leave my hurt behind—"
"You are my brother—"
"I—"
"Can't—"
"Get—"
"Out—"
With a snarl, I turned it off and sped toward my mansion. This was it. Enough. This called for something drastic. There was no way to escape this. It wouldn't leave me alone. Goddamned radio...
***
Serenity watched Joey sort through the cards Kaiba had given him with a smile. "And you say I act like a five-year-old sometimes..." she murmured with a giggle. "Look at you!"
"Hey, you got no idea what this could do!" Joey said, looking up at her. "By the time next tournament rolls around, I'll be unstoppable! I already beat Yugi, and he's the best there is! With these, nobody can touch me!"
"Yes," Serenity said, "but doesn't Yugi say that winning involves having faith in yourself, not expensive cards?"
"Well, sure, but I got plenty of faith in myself."
She shook her head. "You always did," she said. "Well, I'm glad you're happy. I just hope this vacation can help Kaiba out."
"Yeah..." Joey agreed, his face growing somber. "Don't think Pegasus helped him out much...Ya know, Kaiba ain't such a bad guy..."
"No, he's really nice."
Joey sighed. "Just sucks that it took Mokuba dying to bring it out...Kid was always sayin' that his brother weren't all bad, but I never believed it...Now, look at him. Playin' games, throwin' parties, givin' cards away...almost like he's a whole new person..."
"I think he realized that that was what Mokuba wanted in the first place...and now's he's trying to atone for not doing it when he was alive."
Joey shrugged. "Maybe...probably. I don't know."
"Well, like you said, it didn't look like this Pegasus helped him too much, but he doesn't look any worse, either. That's something."
"Yeah...but you can never tell with Kaiba."
Serenity jumped when the phone rang, picked it up. "Hello? This is Serenity Wheeler speaking, who is this?" she asked. Joey raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Hello, Serenity? Is your TV on?" Yugi asked her from the other line.
"Um...no. Why?" She looked up at her brother, mouthed Yugi's name. He nodded.
"'Cuz...well, never mind! Heck, you can see it from my place! Come over, you and Joey! Quick!"
She hung up the phone. "Come on, Joey. Yugi says we should come over. Sounds important."
Joey nodded. "Yeah, alright." He snapped the briefcase shut, set it on the couch, and walked out to his car. As Serenity was putting on her seatbelt he sped off, earning him a surprised, irritated look.
***
As they pulled up to the shop, Serenity could see what Yugi was so excited about. It was smoke. A rising pillar of smoke. She and Joey got out of the car just as Yugi ran out to meet them.
"Grandpa was watching the news when they announced it! It's been burning for near to a half hour, they said!"
"What is it?" Serenity asked, fearful that she knew the answer already.
"Kaiba's mansion! The firefighters got the maids and butler out, and the cook and everyone else, but they can't find Kaiba!"
Joey watched the smoke rise, then gave Serenity an 'I told you so' look. "C'mon, sis. Let's go see if they found him yet. Maybe he's just...I don't know, maybe he ain't even there. He could've left already."
"Left already?" Yugi asked. "Left where?"
"Kaiba said he was gonna go on a vacation, ya know, to work stuff out. Maybe he already left."
Yugi turned his eyes to the smoke as well, and frowned. "Hopefully..."
As Serenity followed Joey back to the car, she tried to believe that he had left already. But somehow, she couldn't. No matter how much she wanted to believe that her friend was safe, she couldn't bring herself to.
She knew he was still there.
She knew she had to help him.
***
The firefighters didn't get to the mansion soon enough. By the time they got there, the entire mansion was up in flames. The smoke alarms were blaring. I walked out the front door, not even feeling the heat, and looked around at them. I could hear them talking amongst each other: "Let it burn. It's on a huge estate, anyway. There's no danger to the rest of the city."
Of course. My estate was set away from the city. And so now they were going to let it burn. Good. I didn't want them to save it. The place held too many damn memories. Better they be buried in ashes with the rest of it.
No one noticed me. They all thought they'd gotten everyone out. They weren't even looking in the direction of the mansion anymore. They were heading home. Home...to their families.
Lucky bastards.
I sighed, turned and looked up at the fire dancing out of the windows and the smoke rising into the wind. I wondered how long it would take for the mansion to burn all the way to the ground. I wondered if anyone would realize that it hadn't been accidental. I wondered if they would ever find out that I had started this fire.
Probably not.
They wouldn't ever figure any of this out because nobody would care. Half of the people in the city feared me and the other half hated me. They wouldn't care if I did it or not...hell, they probably wouldn't care if I was still alive.
My vision was impaired now, wavy and clouded from the heat and smoke of the fire. It was giving me a headache. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but it only made it worse. I blinked, trying to see clearer, but it did nothing. And those damned smoke alarms...
I started to sway; the world seemed to spin. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling. Logic told me that, of course, nothing was moving, nothing was spinning, but my body refused to listen. I blinked again, several times. It only made the dizziness intensify, and I nearly fell backward.
Wait...what's that sound?
Footsteps, fast footsteps...Someone's...running.
Hand...on my shoulder...shaking.
"Kaiba! Kaiba, answer me!"
Need...talk louder...Can't hear you...Who are you...?
"Kai—Seto! Seto!!"
Serenity...? Sounds like her...Maybe...Can't really hear...
"Seto, talk to me!"
Wait...Doesn't sound like Serenity...Mokuba! Sounds like Mokuba...Why does Serenity sound like Mokuba...? Stop confusing me...
Eyes...burning...Ugh...need to close...eyes...
"Come on, we have to get you out of here!!"
Out of where...? I can't...see...
"Please, Seto, listen to me!"
Still sounds like Mokuba...Stop that, Serenity...
"Seto, you have to go! The l..."
**************************************************************************** *
The songs Kaiba hears on the radio are as follows:
1. "Prayer" by Disturbed (you remember this from the first chapter, right?)
2. "My Immortal" by Evanescence (I love this song, and it fits so well, doesn't it?)
3. "Rabbit Run" by Eminem (a bit strange to find this among the others, but it works)
4. "Skin" by Adema (this one reminded me of Kaiba the first time I heard it)
5. "Down" by Motograter (eerie how many songs fit in with this story, huh?)
6. "Without" by the Exies (an interesting band...an interesting song...what genre is this?)
7. "Here Without You" by Three Doors Down (another song I love, and another song that reminded me of Kaiba right off the bat)
8. "The Reason" by Hoobastank (my number one favorite song at the moment)
9. "Don't Stay" by Linkin Park (this line is the only part of the entire song that fits in with the story)
10. "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5 (again, the whole song doesn't fit, but this one line does)
11. ".45" by Shinedown (this one fits a bit better)
12. "Blue on Black" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (I like this song, and it fits very well)
13. "Woke Up This Morning" by Nickelback (one of my favorites, but again, the whole song doesn't work, just this line)
14. "Alone I Break" by Korn (my favorite off of the Untouchables album, and another song that fits rather well)
15. "Ball Tongue" by Korn (I had to use this line...it's just too obvious! But again, only this one line works)
The "I-Can't-Get-Out" thing was just added for effect. I don't know what songs they're from.