-CHAPTER 14-

-Shizuka's POV-

I flopped on to my bed with an exhausted sigh and buried my face in my hands. I felt as though I'd spent the day on a runaway roller coaster —whipped around on a wild ride of danger and fear with no control over where I was headed or when it would stop. In the last twenty-four hours, I'd been joyful, sorrowful, crying, terrified, screaming, in pain, crying, relieved, crying again, concerned, in shock and completely worn out…in that order. Physically, I had nothing left. Emotionally, I had so much left I couldn't even decide how I was supposed to feel.

We'd gone to the hospital first (the hospital where Katsuya still lay in a coma). It had been awful (smell of rubber gloves, muffins that taste like cardboard). They'd taken Anzu away almost the second we walked in ("Will she be OK?"). They wanted to take a look at the cut on my forehead ("I'm fine; it's nothing!"). I ended up getting twelve stitches (ow, ow, ow!). I had to call my mom and explain what was going on ("Um…hi, mom…guess where I am right now at…um…4:00 in the morning…."). Something about getting insurance information and how we were going to pay for the procedure (it's all about money nowadays, isn't it?). They looked at Mai's hand, too (everybody's getting hurt). She was all right (no infections, foreign objects or flesh-eating bacteria found). And then my mom came to take me home ("Where have you been? Don't you ever, ever do something like this again!"). Honda offered to drive me home ("Are you going to be all right, Shizuka?"). Mom said no ("I don't want any more of these shenanigans, young man, is that perfectly clear?").

Why is all of this happening? Why did that man kidnap me? When is it all going to end? Why did Katsuya…. I stopped myself short, unable to bring myself to think of my brother's condition. "Katsuya," I whispered and slowly moved my hands away from my face. "I thought…I was so sure that…that you were getting better." I stared up at my ceiling and felt hot tears well at the corners of my eyes. "It's not fair. None of this is fair." I wiped the tears away and sat up. "Why did any of this have to happen?"

I yawned so deeply my eyes scrunched themselves closed and my jaw ached. I glanced at my bedside clock radio. The glowing blue digits unblinkingly announced that it was 5:05 am. Natural light was already beginning to filter through my mini-blinds and a few early-rising birds were chirping outside my window.

I should sleep, but what's the use of going to sleep now? It's Monday. Mom will just be waking me up in another hour anyway so we'll have time to stop at the hospital before school. I snorted, disgusted with myself. This is ridiculous…I'm already thinking about these hospital runs like they're routine.

Pointless as it was, I still decided to strip off my bloody, grimy, sweaty clothes, pull on my favorite pair of pink flannel pajamas and crawl into bed. I fell into a blissful slumber almost the second I closed my eyes.

-Seto's POV-

The trip back to Dante's residence seemed unbelievably long. Jezebel left us the moment Yuugi regained consciousness and she received her pay, leaving us to fend for ourselves in regards to transportation and, unfortunately, navigation. I wasn't pleased to hear that none of the three nitwits I'd been stuck with throughout this ridiculous caper remembered the name of the village that Dante lived in, much less how to get there (though I can't say I was surprised).

We wasted several days searching for a sailor who knew where the wizard lived and was willing to offer us a ride to the town at no charge. That in itself was one of the most demeaning experiences of my life. Me, Seto Kaiba, reduced to begging! To make the situation all the more embarrassing, half of the sailors we talked to seemed to be either terrified of me or harboring a deep grudge against me. They would barely allow Yuugi, Ryou or Jounouchi to begin to speak before glaring at me, muttering something along the lines of, "I don't work for mutants" and stalking away. Eventually, we found a sailor by the name of Zachary (who, strangely enough, looked exactly like Ryuuji Otogi) that agreed to give us the ride.

None of us spoke much during the three-day boat ride; not even Jounouchi…although the mutt kept shooting me the oddest looks. I constantly caught him staring at me when he thought my back was turned, but whenever I confronted him about it, he would deny it or insist that it was "just nothin'". I frequently took short flights away from the boat to have a bit of time to myself and to escape Jounouchi's gawking.

I suspected that Jounouchi's staring had something to do with what he had seen in the cesspool, but I wasn't about to attempt to find out. If the mutt wasn't going to dig the subject up, I was perfectly content to keep it buried. As far as I was concerned, the images and memories I had experienced in the cesspool were rubbish, a useless jumble of hocus-pocus.

Finally, we arrived at Dante's home. I was understandably surprised to discover that Dante was a perfect double of Mokuba, and mildly irritated that Yuugi had failed to mention this detail in giving his recount of all that had happened before I joined his pathetic group. The moment we set foot in the door, Jounouchi began giving Dante a narrative of all we had been through with all the composure of a five year old. I slouched against a wall, careful to avoid knocking anything off a nearby set of shelves with my wings and waited for him to stop yapping when a bit of the conversation caught my attention.

"…so Jezebel was about ta kill da little kid and Yug was all 'no, no, no! Don't hurt an innocent child!' Turns out, da 'innocent child' was really da Ruler. He threw us inta somethin' he called a cesspool."

Dante winced. "That was a low blow on the Ruler's part," he muttered.

I straightened up and diverted my full attention to what was being said, finally interested in the discussion.

"Why? It was just a whirlpool, wasn't it?" queried Ryou.

Dante bit his lip before replying, "Well…yes and no. It is a whirlpool of sorts…a whirlpool of memories. Unpleasant memories, for the most part. Rather than water, you are drowning in your own memories along with the memories of whoever happens to be in the cesspool with you."

I stiffened as Jounouchi flicked a guilty glance in my direction, and my wings swept a jar of yellow powder off its shelf and to the ground. It landed with a loud crash and shattered, spilling its contents on the floor. Dante, Ryou and Yuugi all jumped and turned their attention to me. I gave them a steely glare and they quickly went back to their conversation.

Damn it, I thought, glaring daggers at Jounouchi. I wonder what he saw. I had plenty of 'unpleasant' memories that I wasn't planning to share with anybody, least of all that brainless Chihuahua. I returned my attention to the discussion, hoping to learn more about the cesspool, but Jounouchi had already resumed his rambling narrative.

"…so da next thing I know, I see Yug here glowin' gold and hittin' da Ruler with some kind 'a weird energy." He turned to Yuugi and said, "So…uh…where exactly did da power come from, anyway? You neva' did tell us, Yug."

Yuugi's face adopted a bewildered expression. "I…I don't know," he admitted. "It just…came to me."

Dante smiled. "I can explain that for you."

I arched my eyebrows. "If you know so much about all of this, why don't you explain what we're doing wasting our time and effort here in the first place? And while you're at it, I want to see you explain how I ended up with these." I flexed my wings and held up a clawed hand. Let's see how he explains all of this. Now I'll finally get some real answers.

Dante nodded and took a deep breath before beginning, "First off, I owe you all an apology. Ryou, Yuugi, Jounouchi, when I was telling you how the Ruler assumed power, I did not tell you a small, but vital piece of information. Please understand that I kept it from you for your own protection; not necessarily because I wanted to keep it secret." He paused and shifted uncomfortably back and forth on his feet before going on. "I assume you all remember that I told you the Ruler recently acquired the Millennium Tauk." He paused and waited until he got a nod or some other form of affirmation from each of us before lowering his voice to something just above a whisper. "I gave him Tauk."

Yuugi, Ryou and Jounouchi gasped, each wearing an identical expression of shock on their faces. I simply smirked and thought, Of course. How foolish of them to put their faith in a total stranger.

"But Dante…no…you said that…" sputtered Yuugi.

"What the—why da hell did ya do that?" Jounouchi heatedly demanded.

Dante sighed and held up one hand, signaling them to be quiet. "I gave him Tauk because I knew that it would bring about his destruction." He paused, waiting for any comments that this statement would bring. When he was satisfied that we had all processed this last bit of information, he spoke again. "I was able to use the powers of Tauk to see the future. I saw that I would give Tauk to the Ruler, and that the Ruler would attempt to use its powers for his own benefit. I saw that the Ruler would see a future in which he was destroyed. I saw that the Ruler would try to prevent this future from occurring, and in doing so, would ultimately cause his own destruction."

"Please stop talking in riddles," said Ryou.

Dante frowned, but answered, "Very well. In the future that the Ruler saw, it was the four of you, plus Jezebel, who destroyed him. He decided that in order to prevent this future, he would eliminate the threat before it ever even came into existence. So, using the powers of Tauk, he sent one of his henchmen back in time, to the year 2004. The henchman's job was to find the four of you and Mai Kujaku, kill you all, and, using the powers of the Millennium Eye, trap your souls within a series of cards for all eternity, thus ensuring that you would never be able to destroy the Ruler. However, there were complications.

"The henchman failed to kill any of you. In fact, the explosion that was meant to kill the four of you was what sealed the Ruler's doom. Of course, the blast was strong enough to kill you all. You should have died in it. But destiny had something different planned for you. Instead of killing you, the blast separated your souls from your bodies. Because your bodies were so severely injured at the time, your souls were unable to re-enter them. Therefore, your souls were sent forward in time, to inhabit the bodies of your future selves. This is why Ryou and Yuugi were being called Elijah and Aiden, respectively. This is also why Jounouchi is a robot, and why you are a mutant" (he gestured to me).

"So my reincarnation is a robot?" Jounouchi blankly questioned. "How exactly is that supposed ta work?"

"You're here, aren't you?" Dante wryly retorted, answering Jounouchi's question with a question of his own. "Anyways, as I was saying, the four of you were sent to inhabit the bodies of your future selves. When you arrived in this time, I knew that your primary concern would be to find a way to return to 2004. I knew that if given the proper motivation, you would indeed kill the Ruler and fulfill the very future that he had attempted to prevent from happening. So I found you and steered you in the correct direction to find everything that you would need to be successful. And lo and behold, I was right." He chuckled and said, "Isn't it ironic that in attempting to prevent the future he had seen, the Ruler did precisely the thing that would cause it to happen?"

I glowered at Dante. He talks about us as though we're his little science project, I thought. I do not appreciate being manipulated to do somebody else's bidding, and I don't believe a word of this 'fulfilling destiny' mumbo jumbo. The truth of the matter is most certainly that Dante wanted the Ruler dead all along, and that he used us as pawns to get what he wanted.

I was about to voice my thoughts, but Yuugi spoke before I could get a word out. "You still haven't explained where the power I used to defeat the Ruler came from, Dante," he quietly stated.

They believe him! I incredulously realized. Those gullible idiots! I sighed. I suppose his motives don't make a difference, as long as he gets us back to 2004 like he claimed he would.

"I'm afraid that I must apologize a second time," Dante replied. "You see, when I told you the story of how the Ruler assumed power, I stated that the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Ring were both still lost. That is only half true. Ring is indeed still lost, but Puzzle was destroyed."

Yuugi's eyes went wide. "No," he breathed, horrified.

"Yes," Dante firmly answered. "Anyhow, you're completely missing the point. When a Millennium Item is destroyed, the soul that is destined to bear it will retain its powers. You've been harboring the powers of Puzzle within your soul ever since you arrived in this time. Therefore, you used the power of Puzzle to defeat the Ruler." He smiled. "Quite impressive, if I say so myself."

These "explanations" are completely ridiculous, I thought. Ludicrous. I wanted facts, not a bunch of talk about magic and those damned Millennium Items. I cleared my throat to get the wizard's attention and waited until he looked in my direction before saying, "If you've finished feeding us these stories, Dante, I believe it's time for you to keep your end of the deal. Send us home. Now."

The smile on Dante's face disappeared. "I'm sorry," he unwaveringly retorted. "I can't do that."

The room was tensely silent as the news slowly sank in. Ryou plopped down onto a chair with a dazed expression on his face. Jounouchi's jaw dropped. Yuugi looked as though he was about to cry. That figures, I bitterly thought, giving Dante a look that would have left any Kaiba Corp. employee shivering on the ground.

"But…but…Dante, you promised!" Yuugi stammered.

"If you will remember correctly, I promised nothing," replied the wizard. "I said only what needed to be said to send you on your way to fulfill destiny."

"You bastard!"Jounouchi spat. "After everything we went through…you son of a bitch!" He raised his arm and pulled it back, ready to take a swing at Dante.

Dante winced and screwed his eyes closed. "Hit me if you must. Lord knows I deserve it."

Jounouchi sighed and lowered his gaze to the floor. "Forget it," he muttered, allowing his arm to drop back to his side. "Just forget it."

Cautiously, Dante peeked one eye open and relaxed. "As I was saying, I can't send you back. Without the Millennium Tauk, I cannot control time. However, unless I'm sorely mistaken, one of you already knows how to return to your time."

I glanced at Jounouchi and remembered his stubborn claims that he had somehow returned to the year 2004. "I really did go home, honest!" "I swear I went home and it wasn't a dream." Could he have possibly been telling the truth? I wondered.

Jounouchi squirmed uncomfortably when he realized that everybody's eyes were on him. "I think…maybe…we have to…have to die," he haltingly stated.

I laughed a mirthless laugh. "That's easy for you to say. It's not much of a concern for you, is it, mutt?" Much to my glee, Jounouchi growled like a dog at the use of the word "mutt". I held back a snicker and went on. "After all, if your little theory ends up being wrong, you can easily be revived. To the rest of us, death means death."

"Kaiba has a strong point," agreed Ryou.

"What else could it be?" Jounouchi demanded. "Do you guys really wanna be stuck here forever? We've gotta die. You know; kick da bucket, swim with da fishes…all that crap." He turned to Dante, desperate. "Come on, Dante," he pleaded. "Tell 'em I'm right."

"I am not a part of this discussion," Dante stated. He paused for a moment, then awkwardly queried, "How about something to drink while you think things over?" Without waiting for an answer, the wizard disappeared into a back room and returned with a tray bearing four brass cups.

Jounouchi smiled and immediately snatched one of the cups from the tray. "Thanks, man." He took a hearty swig of whatever the cup contained, smacked his lips and said, "Anyways, guys, I think we've gotta die to get back to 2004. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

"But Jou, what if you're wrong?" Yuugi questioned, taking one of the offered cups with a polite nod of his head. He took a small sip from the cup and added, "It's really risky. Good juice, by the way, Dante." Dante flashed him a pleased smile and handed Ryou his cup.

Jounouchi irritably rolled his eyes. "Look, if I'm wrong, you guys can all haunt me foreva', OK?"

"I'm not sure that would be much of a consolation prize," Ryou sighed. "And Yuugi, you're right; this is good juice."

"I said it before and I'll say it again: we can't afford to be wrong on this," I argued. I absently took the last cup. Dante casually lowered the tray and watched as I brought the cup to my lips. I hesitated with the cup at my lips. Something about this isn't right, I thought. Dante continued to watch me, unblinking and I felt a shiver go down my spine. His eyes held a cheerful glimmer that seemed to mask something darker hiding just below the surface….

I squinted, trying to decipher what it was I saw, what Dante was trying to keep hidden. As suddenly as I had noticed it, the dark, hungry shadow was gone, replaced with an expression of genuine goodwill. What's the matter with me? I thought. I'm seeing things. Without a second thought, I tipped the cup and drank.

The juice tasted something like a cross between guava and strawberry. Behind the fruity taste, there was something odd, something I couldn't quite identify. I swallowed my mouthful and quietly set the cup down. The drink was far too sweet for my taste.

"I ain't wrong," Jounouchi insisted. "I'm sure of it!"

Yuugi quietly shook his head. "I'm just not sure we should rush into this, Jou. I mean, what if—" he trailed off with a silent gasp and clutched at his stomach.

"What if what, Yug?" Jounouchi glanced at Yuugi and started with surprise. "Shit man, are you OK?"

Yuugi moaned and shivered in response before slowly sinking down to the floor and hugging his knees to his chest. A film of cold sweat began to form on his face and his eyes were glazed with fear.

Ryou knelt beside Yuugi and said, "Yuugi? What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know," Yuugi whispered. "It hurts. Ah!"

"Dante, what in da hell's happening to him?" Jounouchi frantically questioned. Dante gave no reply, other than to watch as Ryou collapsed to the ground with a cry. "Don't just stand dere! Do somethin' to help them!"

"The drinks," I gasped, the truth dawning on me in an instant.

Dante looked my way, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Clever," he commented. "You are correct."

"What did you do?" Jounouchi shrieked, horrified. Yuugi sobbed and began to convulse, arms and legs twitching uncontrollably. Ryou whimpered and spat a mouthful of blood to the ground.

"I thought I would help speed your decision," Dante calmly explained. "I put a fast-acting poison into the drinks. Those two will be dead quite soon. Within minutes, if not seconds."

Jounouchi gaped at the wizard. "But what if I was wrong? Make it stop!"

"There's no way to stop it. The poison goes straight to the bloodstream the moment it is swallowed."

"You—oh…." I groaned as my guts twisted in agony. I doubled over, gasping for breath. My throat seemed to have nearly swollen shut in seconds.

"Kaiba! Shit, not you, too!" Jounouchi shouted.

I tried to answer with a snide remark regarding his intelligence (or lack thereof), but my tongue felt thick in my mouth, and all I could manage was a choked "Nrrgh." My legs trembled and buckled, sending me sprawling on the ground.

"Goddamn you, Dante!" snapped Jounouchi. "Ya goddamned double-crossa'!" I blearily saw him charge across the room, and saw the wizard withdraw something metallic from within his robes. Before I could even begin to process what was happening, I heard a crackle of electricity and Jounouchi slumped to the ground, utterly still, eyes staring blankly ahead into space.

I tasted bile in the back of my throat and grunted miserably as the warm vomit spewed from my mouth and over my face. Yuugi's convulsions stopped and he was motionless. Ryou's breathing came in shallow, short gasps. I saw him move his lips, trying to form words, but he was too weakened by now to speak. He slumped to the ground and did not move again.

Distantly, I heard Dante's voice. "I'm truly sorry about all this. I know this isn't a pleasant way to go, but you have to understand that this is for the best."

"Uhn," I gasped in response. Is he really apologizing to me? I groggily wondered. A strange, numbing heaviness was settling into my arms, wings and legs. My eyes ached and I slowly closed them. The heaviness spread to my body and into my head. I felt my heart, my blood, my mind all slowing and shutting down. And all was dark.

-Bakura's POV-

I growled, exasperated as the machines around Ryou began to whine, whir and beep wildly. What in the name of Ra is the matter with that boy? I wondered, glaring down at his still form. This is the second time those machines have done this. The last time this happened, an army of mortals invaded this room like a plague.

I studied his face, looking for any sign of change, something that might tell me what the machines were so excited about. I don't see what the big fuss is all about…he looks no different to me. If those mortals knew what was best for them, they would be worrying about the fluctuations I've been feeling between the shadow realm and this one these past few hours.

The trouble had started around 3:00 am, mortal time. Fluctuations unlike anything I had ever felt had torn through Domino, threatening to rip the city to shreds. The Source was making up for the few days of relative calm it had allowed to pass, that much I was certain of. Much to my disgust, none of the thickheaded mortals felt a thing. Pathetic, I thought. They come running at the beeping of a machine but don't even react when their entire world is threatened.

I glared down at Ryou in his hospital bed. "Why don't you wake up already?" I muttered, giving his shoulder an annoyed swipe. "You've caused more than enough trouble for me as it is. The last thing I need now is a troupe of foolish mortals storming in here."

Something shuddered throughout my entire being and my head exploded with pain as a horrendously strong ripple between the two realms passed through me. This is it, I thought, clutching at my temples. One more at that strength will be more than enough to rend this world to pieces.

I was surprised to feel something warm and deeply familiar flood my being. Well, isn't this ironic? I thought, immediately recognizing the feeling. I regain the power of the Ring just before this world passes into oblivion. Grand. Just grand.

I was so occupied with preparing myself for the end of the world that I was completely shocked to hear somebody inquire in a mildly amused tone, "What exactly are you doing, Bakura?"

I opened my eyes and glared down at the now very much awake boy in the hospital bed. "Preparing for the end of the world, you twit!" I snapped. I had absolutely no idea how long he had been awake and frankly, I didn't care.

Ryou winced. "What are you talking about?"

"The imbalance is—" I paused and raised an eyebrow. Gone! I thought. It's repaired itself! Dear Ra, if the Pharaoh were here, he'd be rubbing this in my face. I can't believe he was right! "Never you mind."

"But—"

"I said forget it!" I growled. I heard footsteps fast approaching the room and prepared myself to return to my soul room. "By the way…." I sneered down at him as the footsteps drew nearer. I gave him a light punch on the shoulder, and he winced, weakling that he was. "Welcome back."

I disappeared into my soul room in a flash of light as the door of the room flew open. Thank Ra this ordeal is over, I thought, settling into the familiar surroundings of my soul room. I don't believe I could have stood another day of working with the Pharaoh.

Author's Notes: There you have it: the last chapter of Jackknife 20! It turned out a lot longer (and a lot more complicated) than I'd planned it to be, that's for sure. But wait! Don't go away just yet—there is going to be an epilogue! So no, the story's not quite over yet. The epilogue will be here sometime in the near future.

Thanks to shadowwaker, Cherrii, ShamanQueens, WheelerWolf, Yuki Tsukihana, mandapandabug, WildBlackWolf and Viva, Leland Lancaster, AmunRa and dragonladay 1220 for all of your kind reviews. I'm glad to see that you are enjoying the story. I really appreciate all of your support!