From Darkness To Light: School
By Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless.
Summary: The dark power continues to manifest itself in Mokuba, exploding out of control. Now, left weak and defenseless, the only one who can save the young Kaiba from capture is... Yami Bakura?
*_* - Personal Thoughts
/_/ - Yugi to Yami
\_\ - Yami to Yugi
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Air rushed through Bakura's long white hair as he clung for dear life to the bus that was taking him to his destination. The tomb robber silently cursed his luck to be attached to a human of with no real income. Ryou didn't even have the cash to spare for bus fair, and while Bakura could have easily pickpocketed the needed money, time was of the essence and Bakura was unsure if the power he'd felt earlier would be used again. The ancient spirit gripped the back of the vehicle with all his might, angry.
*If this isn't everything I want it to be,* Bakura thought to himself, *I'm going to tear whoever is using it to pieces for dragging me out here.* Soon the wielder of the Millennium Ring arrived at his destination, jumping from the still moving bus just as it began to slow down. No need dealing with bothersome officials when he didn't have to. Calmer now that he was no longer moving so fast, Bakura took a look around at his surroundings. Decay and filth surrounded him, reminding the tomb robber of the places he'd grown up back in ancient Egypt. *Four millenia and these idiots still haven't come up with a better way to live.* Nearby, a man with no legs held up a tin cup, begging for change from every passerby, while three teenage hoods stood in an alley, watching for any potential victims they could make some quick cash off of. Realizing that his gold ring was still very visible on his chest, Bakura
wasn't the least bit surprised when the delinquents began to follow him as he began his search.
Bakura sighed, this was going to be more trouble than he'd thought. Afterall, he couldn't very well have witnesses following him around. Quickly, the tomb robber turned down a dead-end alley, ready to teach his pursuers the folly of their ways. Predictably, the three would-be robbers followed, making no attempt at trickery or leaving anything in reserve.
*Amateurs!* Bakura bitterly thought. This was how far the skill and power of the thief had fallen.
"All right sucker, I suggest you hand over any money you have, plus that pretty little necklace of yours, and maybe we'll only break your ribs," the lead punk said.
"An interesting offer," Bakura said as he eyed the knives the other two teens were drawing. "But I have a better one." So saying, the tomb robber drew a line in the dirt between him and the robbers. "How about if any of you losers cross this line, I'll send you all packing on a one way trip to oblivion."
"Oh, we have a tough guy here," the leader said. "Get him!" The two knife wielders advanced on their target, crossing the line as they did so. With the speed of lightning, Bakura drew one of his cards from his dueling deck, the Dark Assailant. The zombie warrior's sword made a deadly arc as it sliced through the two teen's hands. Another swing and the Assailant's psycho sword killed them both.
"Now for you," Bakura said as the Dark Assailant returned to his card. A look of horror came over the teen's face as he realized his peril. His hand shaking, he drew a gun, pointing it at the tomb robber.
"Man, I don't know what kind of freak job you are, but if you don't get back, I swear I'll ventilate ya!"
"I don't think so," Bakura began to draw another card from his deck looking at it. "In fact, I predict you're about to undergo a Change of Heart!" With those words, a half angel, half demon flew from the card, entering the hood's body. The teen's eyes widened even more as he watched his own arm begin to turn the gun back on him. Bakura smiled at the sound of the gun going off as a lifeless body fell before him, the spirit of the Change of Heart card returning to his deck. No longer needing to worry about prying eyes, the tomb robber began his search.
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Seto Kaiba arrived at his mansion, staying in his car as he started looking over the grounds. Everything certainly seemed normal, but then people seldom screamed out they were setting an ambush. Seto reached under his seat, pulling forth a secret compartment. Carefully, the young CEO ran his finger under the box, disarming the lock that held the compartment closed. Inside was a small revolver and ammunition. Silently he loaded the gun, putting it into his belt where he could draw it as he got out of the car. Seto tried to look as natural as possible as he walked up to the mansion. The elder Kaiba opened his front door, taking in a deep breath as he entered his home. Nothing was out of place, and Seto certainly didn't feel in danger. Of course, Mrs. Carmine had said the cat had left to wait for him at KaibaCorp. Certainly when whoever was after him discovered he hadn't come in, they'd come back here, where Seto would be waiting.
Suddenly, the phone rang, prompting the millionaire to pick it up. "I'm very busy so this better be important."
"Mr. Kaiba, this is Takanaka, Principal of Six/Six Intermediate... I'm calling in regards to your brother, since you're listened as the only guardian for the boy."
"What about Mokuba?"
"I'm afraid he was in a fight earlier today and..."
"He had better not be hurt!" Seto growled, already planning to have the man fired if this proved true.
"Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba was the one who did the hurting. He broke another student's arm. And when he was told to report to my office, he failed to show up. He also didn't show up for his afternoon classes. No one seems to know where he went."
"WHAT!?!?"
"Mr. Kaiba, yelling will not solve anything," the principal calmly said. "We thought he might have returned home, but obviously this is not the case."
"I assume you're looking for him."
"Of course, but with a city the size of Domino, you have to understand..."
"In other words, you're totally unequipped to do this," Seto stated more than asked.
"Well..."
*This has gone on long enough,* Kaiba thought as he slammed the phone down.
*First I'm attacked and now Mokuba goes missing... This can't be coincidence.* With those thoughts, the elder Kaiba abandoned his house, preparing to search for his brother himself. *Don't worry little brother, I'll find you, if I have to tear Domino City apart doing it.*
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The rare hunter known as Xanz walked down the streets of downtown Domino, his stomach grumbling. It was nearing lunch time, and his stomach was quickly reminding him he'd missed breakfast.
*This day certainly won't make my top ten,* Xanz thought. And to top everything off, he would more than likely be returning to his master Malik with no rare cards. Why had Malik told him to scout this run-down dump. A low level rare hunter would have been able to handle any duelists they would have come across, no need for Xanz to waste his talents, not to mention the power of his Exodia Deck. The rare hunter promised himself that after one more alley he'd go and get a burger, not really expecting to find anything, the whole block was completely deserted. As he turned the corner, he was more than a bit surprised to find two kids hunched over behind a trash can. Both looked pretty clean, probably not homeless, but their shabby appearance marked them as poor. Xanz sighed, it was highly unlikely these things could have rare cards, or at least that was what he thought.
"Wow a Buster Blader! That is so cool, where'd you get it?" asked the girl as she looked at the shining card.
*Buster Blader!? Now that's a rare card if I ever saw one,* Xanz thought. Stopping in his tracks.
"I spotted something shiny in the dumpster behind that new game shop. Someone threw away a whole booster pack. I opened it up and this was staring at me," the boy said. "It's gonna make my deck super-powerful, maybe as strong as Yugi's, or even Kaiba's."
"Of course having only one rare card, even one such as Buster Blader, seldom means your any good as a duelist," Xanz said, smiling at the two startled children.
"I can't get any other rare cards, they cost to much separately, and I never get them in booster packs."
"Well then, today is your lucky day, cause I'm more than willing to give you a chance to win one of my rare cards. Just beat me in a duel, and I'll give you, say... this." Xanz held up a Mystic Tomato card. "The only catch? If you loose, you have to give me that Buster Blader of yours."
"Thanks, but I really don't think I should risk this card. It'd be too difficult to replace." With those words, the children started to leave, only to find themselves blocked by Xanz's body.
"I don't think you understand, I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. You can either duel me for the card, and have a chance at winning my card, or I can just take your rare card." So saying, Xanz kicked over a trashcan, turning it into a makeshift dueling field.
*****************************************
Mokuba moved through the streets with a purpose, glad he'd switched clothes before coming here. He'd never be able to move as discreetly as he was in his normal clothes.
*It's already begun,* Mokuba thought to himself as a feeling came over him. His pace began to quicken, but only until he was stopped by three people, hidden in trench-coats similar to his own. A new feeling came upon Mokuba, one of fear as a part of him recognized these newcomers.
"It's time for you to come home with us," the leader said in an almost friendly voice.
"I'm not going back, I want to stay here!" Mokuba said, backing away from the three.
"I'm afraid that just isn't an option anymore," the left one said as the three advanced
on Mokuba.
"NO!" Mokuba screamed as he grabbed a card from the deck in his hand. "DIMENSION HOLE!!" The card activated creating a black disk underneath the raven haired boy that he sunk into before it closed up.
"Blast... He's advancing quicker than we thought, he's already manifesting cards into this world," the middle figure said.
"Finding him again may prove difficult, especially if he doesn't use his powers."
"He will," the right figure said, finally speaking, though it sounded to be in two different voices at once. "He came here with a purpose. But now that he knows we're after him, he will be on guard. Still, he is currently human. Perhaps, if he can still be overtaxed, we'll stand a better chance at capturing him."
*********************************************
Bakura was running as fast as he could. His Millennium Ring had once more tried to yank itself off his neck, and was now floating in front of him as he ran after it. The tomb robber could sense the source of all that power was close, very close. The spirit's mouth almost salivated at the thought of all that power being his. Soon, his ring simply stopped, falling back to Bakura's chest, the engraved eye at it's center glowing right in front of an alley.
*I have arrived.* Bakura thought to himself as he poked his head around the corner. The dark spirit was surprised to find a duel going on, between a grown man and two little kids. Bakura recognized the man as one of Malik's rare hunters, the one who used a deck full of Exodia cards if he wasn't mistaken. It looked like he was trying to force the children to give up a rare card. *So Malik is the one behind all that power. This may be more difficult than I thought.*
*******************************************
Xanz smiled as he looked at the cards in his hand. He had four pieces of Exodia, and a Sangan sat on the field, ready to be destroyed, not that that seemed likely with this kid's deck. Only a few of his cards actually broke the thousand point marks, which meant it was difficult for the boy to even take out the Rare Hunter's weakest cards. The boy's lifepoints had been reduced to less than a thousand by Xanz's Cannon Soldier, and he would without a doubt loose his Buster Blader soon.
"Well, kid, unless you can come up with a monster that can take down my Sangan, I think I'll just be taking MY new card now."
"This isn't fair, there's no way I could have beaten you," the boy protested, upset over his imminent lose. Suddenly, a body dropped down between the two duelists, it's trench-coat fluttering down with him. Xanz could see it was another kid just by his size, and the rare hunter couldn't help but think he knew this intruder.
"Leave," the stranger hissed at the two children. Neither one needed more prodding as they gathered up their cards. "Don't forget your rare," the figure said, grabbing the ante card before Xanz could and giving it back to the boy.
"Hey that's mine!" Xanz yelled as the two children ran away.
"Picking on little kids for their treasures? And you're proud of this?" the boy said. light falling on his face.
*I knew he was familiar. It's Kaiba's bratty little brother... Mokuba. This may not be so bad.*
"Okay brat, since you cost me a rare card, I think it's only fair that you replace it," Xanz said as he advanced on Mokuba.
"Why settle for one rare card when I'm offering three?" Mokuba said as he produced all three of his brother's Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. The rare hunter's eyes grew wide as he imagined the reward Malik would give him for returning with such a prize. Still there had to be a catch.
"And what would I have to do to obtain those three beauties," Xanz asked, one of his hands moving into his pockets, fingering the small gun he kept there for emergencies. "Does your brother know you're here?"
"Do you think Seto would let me be here alone?" Mokuba said, hoping the rare hunter would misinterpret the question. Xanz looked at the three assembled dragons and knew the elder Kaiba had to be around somewhere, making sure this was all on the up and up. "As to what you have to do, simply play a short game with me. I want you to draw three cards from your deck, any three you want. I will tell you word for word the name of the card, what it is, and a third detail you will decide. If I can't correctly do that, you get all three of my brother's blue eyes. But... If I succeed, you've got to do one thing that I want. Deal?"
"Deal." the Rare hunter shuffled his deck, visions of blowing away his victims with his new Blue Eyes White Dragons dancing in his head. Quickly he drew the first card as Mokuba placed as hand to his own head, closing his eyes.
"I see... The Witch of the Black Forest, an Effect Monster card."
"And what is her attribute?"
"She's a dark monster."
*Lucky guess.* Xanz drew another card.
"That would only be... it's the magic card The Swords of Revealing Light."
"And how long does it's effect last?"
"Three turns, starting from your opponent's next turn." Another card is drawn. As soon as he saw it, a huge smile spread across Xanz's face.
*He'll never see this one, those cards are mine.* A smile came over Mokuba's face as well.
"This is the easiest one. It's Exodia, the Forbidden one, an effect monster." The same smile remained on Xanz's face.
"And what's in it's upper left hand corner?" Xanz folded his arms, confident he'd finally stumped his opponent. He was not prepared for Mokuba's eyes to open, revealing them to be black and red once again.
"A three with a circle around it, denoting it to be part of the third such series in your deck. I believe I've won." Instantly, the smile dropped from Xanz's face.
"That's... that's not... possible," the rare hunter said in disbelief.
"Quite possible. And as the winner, I would like to see your deck," the black haired Kaiba said, grabbing all of Xanz's cards from the man's hand. Quickly, the boy shuffled through the deck, pulling all twenty-five of it's Exodia cards separately. Off to the side Bakura had watched the whole thing with great interest. His Millennium Ring had been pointing directly at Seto's younger brother during the entire exercise.
*So it was Mokuba who was generating all that power. That explains why the ring led me to the middle school. But where did the brat pick up so much power?* Bakura prepared to move in, to investigate with the Millennium Eye, but that was when he heard a click. Mokuba looked up to see a gun being pointed at him by Xanz.
"I don't know how you did it, but there is no possible way you could have won without cheating," Xanz said. "It's not nice to make fools out of the Rare Hunters. Now, give me back my cards, AND YOURS!"
"As you wish," Mokuba said, tossing the man back his deck, sans the Exodia cards. T
"I said all of them!"
"Exodia looks so good, Pegasus really outdid himself with these pictures. The detail and workmanship are superb." Mokuba held the cards up for Xanz to try to take. "A pity he never asked MY permission before doing it." With those words, smoke began to appear from the upheld cards, as flames began to lick their edges, but not even singeing Mokuba's exposed hand. Within seconds, the cards were all reduced to ash. "Still want them back?" the younger Kaiba asked, blowing the blackened ash back at Xanz. What really frightened the rare hunter however, was the fact that both the boy's feet were no longer firmly planted on the ground. He was now hover several feet in the air, his red and black eyes shining a fearsome shine. Even Bakura, watching in the shadows was taken aback.
Dark energy swirled around Mokuba as his long black hair rose into the air. Several strands in the back of his head braiding themselves into two very thick tendrils. The hair to the sides of the boy's head spread rose around him, coming down around his chest while the top part fanned out more. The dark energy morphed around Mokuba's body, transforming into bronze armor that covered his torso, right arm, and left leg. The metal sunk and rose as it conformed to the boy's body, at least in size. As far as appearance, it gave Mokuba the sculpted appearance of a miniature bodybuilder. His gauntlet's fingers terminated as claws as a silver ankh appeared in the dead center of his chest. A skirt of metal wrapped itself around the boy's hips as what remained visible of his flesh took on a purplish hue.
"Wha... What in the world?" Xanz asked, his gun drooping a little as Mokuba floated back to the ground.
"Oh what a rush!" the youngest Kaiba groaned, thoroughly enjoying the most pleasurable feeling of pure power flowing through his veins. In the shadows, Bakura licked his lips, enjoying the rush of fear from being in the presence of such energy.
*This couldn't be better if I'd planned it myself,* Bakura thought. *With that kind of power under my command, Yami himself would bow before me.* The tomb robber then noticed Xanz's gun was rising again as he took aim at Mokuba. *What does that blasted fool think he's doing?!* Bakura began to draw a defensive card, doubting his target even knew how to use such power.
"Such a pity," Mokuba said, his voice grainier than before as he looked down at his still exposed arm and leg, his two thick braids not even swinging or bobbing as his head turned this way and that. In fact, they almost seemed to be made of the same bronze metal as his armor.
"I'll make you pay!"
"RRRROOOOAAAARRRRR!!" Mokuba yelled. Simultaneously the Xanz's gun went off as dark energy exploded from the boy's body. The bullet fired got less than a foot from the barrel before it was vaporized by a wave of destruction that swept all about Mokuba. Unable to react in time, Xanz and his gun met the same fate as his bullet, the same fate as the buildings that surrounded them as they were confronted by the rapidly expanding sphere of power. Bakura's eyes widened as he saw the destructive bubbles surface heading straight for him. With little time to react Bakura through up his card.
"FORCE FIELD ACTIVATE!" A bright light shimmered around the white haired boy, rising to rescue the tomb robber from certain death. Even with the energy barrier, though, Bakura could still feel the intense heat of the blast, and watched as his blue uniform jacket became singed. All around him, stone and concrete were reduced to ash as the earth itself opened under them.
*Ra help us, is there no end to this,* Bakura thought focusing all his energy into maintaining the force field.
**********************************
Elsewhere, the energy levels of Mokuba's transformation had not gone unnoticed by his three pursuers.
"What has happened?" the right man said.
"I fear a difficult task has just become more difficult," the center said. That was when all three sensed the approaching wave of energy. From right to left wings of blue, gold, and red exploded from their backs, closing before them to block the barrier of death. As the wave passed them, they looked around to see the broken remnants of buildings all around. "His power grows too wildly out of control," the center figure said as he took off running, closely followed by his compatriots. "But this may still work to our advantage... Come, we must stop the Forbidden, while our chance remains."
********************************
Seto's car fairly glided down the streets of Domino as the CEO tried to find his little brother. That was when he saw the dome of dark energy rising from the downtown area. Quickly, Kaiba turned on his car radio.
"Attention listeners, reports have begun coming in of a massive explosion that has reduced a section of the lower downtown area of the city to rubble. Firemen and police have arrived on the scene and are currently battling the flames, but no news yet on if there are any casualties in the area. Motorists are advised..." Seto Kaiba stopped listening to the broadcast, his mind already leaping to a worst-case scenario. Several cars came screeching to a halt as the brown haired teen's car peeled out, racing to the scene of the tragedy.
***********************************
Back at the bubble's center, Mokuba finally began to run out of steam, his energy reserves quickly being depleted from his attack. As the attack ended, the young boy fell to the ground, the bronze armor quickly fading away as his braids unraveled falling to cover his face as Mokuba fell to sleep. The danger now gone, Bakura's forcefield was allowed to lapse as he crawled out from what was left of his hiding spot, singed but glad to be alive. Calmly, the white haired teen walked over to the unconscious Mokuba, a smirk on his face.
"Well, you've certainly proven to be full of surprises boy. How a pampered rich boy like yourself came to possess such power is beyond me, as is how I can take possession of it. But it matters not. I'll figure out a way. But the question remains as to what I'm going to do with you for now."
"I would suggest you leave the boy to us, tomb robber, and forget you ever saw any of this," came another voice. Bakura turned around to see the three men in trench-coats, their wings once more folded behind them.
"You don't think I'd give up a treasure like this to useless rabble like you," Bakura said.
"If you will not surrender him to us, we'll just have to take the boy from you, the hard way." So saying the center man ripped off his trench-coat, revealing a golden dragon, Ra himself. To his left now stood a solid blue humanoid dragon, Obelisk, and to his right floated a red serpent-like dragon with two mouths, Osiris. The three Egyptian gods began to close on Bakura, who was seriously beginning to reconsider his plans. Still one didn't become a great thief by simply backing down whenever one was confronted by a stronger force. Quickly Bakura grabbed Mokuba's inert body and ran.
"So now I'm trying to evade gods... I bet this'll make a good story when I get old," Bakura said to himself as he used his one free hand to shuffle through his deck, hoping to find something that could get him out of this. None of his monsters had the power to do anything more than be a speed bump in the three dragon's way. Suddenly, Ra landed right in front of the fleeing spirit, gold energy beginning to form infront of the god as he prepared his attack.
"I would suggest you surrender, before you get in to deep over your head," Ra said.
*Kid, if you've got any of that power left, I'd really appreciate you using it right now,* Bakura thought, dodging to the side as the golden ball was sent on a collision course with Obelisk. Obelisk merely knocked the attack away as he advanced for his own attack. Finally, Bakura pulled the card he'd been searching for, smiling as he tossed down Widespread Destruction. The tomb robber and his bundle dived for cover as the entire area exploded. As the dust cleared, Bakura looked out to see that all three gods were gone. *That probably only slowed them down. That means we need to get out of here, now.* With those thoughts Bakura quickly left.
************************************************
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the area, fire trucks sprayed water over the last remaining out bursts of flame as police worked diligently to seal off the area. Seto Kaiba's car pulled up, and the young man got out, witnessing the destruction he'd seen only once before.
*Could... Mokuba have...?* The elder Kaiba banished such thoughts from his mind quickly. Seto moved like a knife through the crowd of people, cutting his way right to the police barricade, where he was stopped by an officer.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the..."
"What happened?"
"I am not at liberty to release such information at this time, sir. Now if you'll please..."
"I SAID WHAT HAPPENED!" Seto almost screamed, grabbing the man's collar.
"We... We don't know yet. As far as we can tell, someone planted a bomb," the man stammered.
"Hey, who do you think you are!?" yelled one of the senior officers, stomping over to Seto.
"I am Seto Kaiba," the brown haired teen said, grabbing the newcomer. "And I demand to know if there have been any casualties. Answer me or I swear I'll have you busted down to meter maid!"
"There... there haven't been any casualties reported, but then again this area's reportedly been deserted for a long time. And again, it's very likely anyone in there might have been vaporized in the explosion." With those words, Seto Kaiba let go of the officer's shirt.
*Perhaps... perhaps Mokuba wasn't there,* Seto thought, even as a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach told him different. *Brother, what have you gotten yourself into now?*
*************************************************
Bakura looked down from his perch, watching as the humans below cleaned up the mess. Beside him, Mokuba still lay asleep, unmoving despite the chaos he'd caused. Bakura reached into his pocket, pulling forth his Millennium Eye, moving it infront of his own.
*Time to see where all that energy came from,* Bakura thought as he felt his mind begin to probe the boy's own. The probe lasted for about a minute before Bakura got the shock of his life as his mind slammed into a solid mental wall. The tomb robber couldn't even pick up surface thoughts from the boy. *Whatever the secret of this brat's power, it's able to block the Millennium Eye as though it was child's play.* Bakura bent down to look Mokuba in the face. *So I'll take him home... Once I figure out how to take command of the kid's powers, I'll know where to find him.* A smirk came across the ancient spirit's face. *And maybe I'll make some money off the whole trade.* With those thoughts, Bakura gathered Mokuba up again, and left.
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Three hours, and many mile later, Seto Kaiba returned to his mansion, a defeated expression on his face. He'd exhausted every place he could think of that Mokuba might have gone, even the Turtle Game Shop, and his brother hadn't been anywhere. It was almost like he'd dropped off the face of Domino City. Seto walked up to his door, only to be surprised as it was opened for him. Inside Mrs. Carmine stood, smiling as she saw Seto.
"Mr. Kaiba, it's the most wonderful news. Your little brother is back."
"Mokuba?" Seto said, shoving his way past the woman. "Where is he?"
"He's asleep on the sofa," Mrs. Carmine said, displaying the peacefully slumbering boy. "And this is the gentleman who found him. Mr. Bakura." Seto looked over into a nearby chair to see Ryou sitting quietly, his hands in his lap as though he were scared to touch anything in the house.
"You found my little brother?" Ryou nodded, looking very uncomfortable under the elder Kaiba gaze. "Where was he?"
"I was going home when I saw him at the park. He looked upset, and you weren't around, so I decided to find out what was wrong. When he didn't want to talk I offered to take him home. He just sort of fell asleep on the way home, so I just carried him the rest of the way."
"I see. Well, I am most grateful to you for bringing my brother home. Rest assured your deed will not go unrewarded."
"And what about my deed," came a purring voice as from a dark room strode the Fusionist. "Seto Kaiba, I've been waiting so long. You know it's rude not to meet with people who have taken so much trouble to come and find you."
"I don't meet with freaks," Seto said, reaching for the gun that was still in his belt. *So this is the cat Mrs. Carmine was talking about.*
"I don't think so!" Fusionist said as he leaped into the air, his claws slicing through the gun as he landed on the couch over Mokuba. "Now, are you going to come along quietly, or am I gonna have to ack...!" Fusionist's words were cut off, however, as a small hand wrapped itself around the winged cat's neck. Mokuba's eyes opened as he looked up at the monster, staring the feline right in the eyes. Recognition, and then terror, fell over the Fusionist's features as Mokuba's grip tightened.
"I don't appreciate uninvited guests in MY home," Mokuba growled. "Tell your master not to bother me again..." So saying, the raven haired boy tossed the winged cat away.
"Yes... Yes... I will," Fusionist stammered trying to leave.
"On second thought... I'll tell him my self." A finger was pointed at the cat, and, in an instant, he was reduced to ash. Mokuba then turned to the other occupants of the room, all of whom looked stunned.
"How... How..." Mrs. Carmine tried to ask.
"It's not important. What is, though, is the fact that you're all in danger with this information. Fortunately, Bakura here has provided a remedy for this." That was all it took for Ryou's darker side once more took over.
"I don't think so," the tomb robber said, ready to summon a new card to defend himself. Before he could act, however, his body froze over as Mokuba gestured towards the teen's Millennium Ring.
"I do. Millennium Ring remove their memories of all I've done this day." The eye of the ring glowed as three beams of light struck all three targets. For his part, Mokuba once more began to feel faint and indication he was still not at full power. Not surprising considering what it took to take control of a millennium item. As the boy began to pass out, he watched the ring attempt to complete it's work.
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Night had fallen over Domino City as Mokuba lay in his bed returned to a state of complete normalcy. He felt completely wiped out, which was odd considering how little he remembered doing. In truth, he had no real memory of the day past Jesse trying to knock his head off. Then, Seto had been yelling at him, screaming about how worried he'd been over his younger brother. Blue eyes scanned around the room, falling on the area where his television and game system had previously occupied, now confiscated by his elder brother as part of his punishment. He'd be lucky is his elder brother even allowed him out of the house for school. Had Mokuba been more awake, he might have been a little upset that his elder brother was yelling at him for no apparent reason. As it was, he was just happy to take a warm bath and go to bed. Now he had a new problem, he couldn't help but feel he'd forgotten something, and that it was important. As his eyes finally began to droop closed, a single thought fought it's way to his mind.
"Yugi..."
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Well that's it for now, but next chapter should prove even more interesting. As always, if you read, please review. And here's a question: Does anyone know where I can find the rules for that Capumon game Mokuba originally played? Oh well, until next time.
By Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless.
Summary: The dark power continues to manifest itself in Mokuba, exploding out of control. Now, left weak and defenseless, the only one who can save the young Kaiba from capture is... Yami Bakura?
*_* - Personal Thoughts
/_/ - Yugi to Yami
\_\ - Yami to Yugi
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Air rushed through Bakura's long white hair as he clung for dear life to the bus that was taking him to his destination. The tomb robber silently cursed his luck to be attached to a human of with no real income. Ryou didn't even have the cash to spare for bus fair, and while Bakura could have easily pickpocketed the needed money, time was of the essence and Bakura was unsure if the power he'd felt earlier would be used again. The ancient spirit gripped the back of the vehicle with all his might, angry.
*If this isn't everything I want it to be,* Bakura thought to himself, *I'm going to tear whoever is using it to pieces for dragging me out here.* Soon the wielder of the Millennium Ring arrived at his destination, jumping from the still moving bus just as it began to slow down. No need dealing with bothersome officials when he didn't have to. Calmer now that he was no longer moving so fast, Bakura took a look around at his surroundings. Decay and filth surrounded him, reminding the tomb robber of the places he'd grown up back in ancient Egypt. *Four millenia and these idiots still haven't come up with a better way to live.* Nearby, a man with no legs held up a tin cup, begging for change from every passerby, while three teenage hoods stood in an alley, watching for any potential victims they could make some quick cash off of. Realizing that his gold ring was still very visible on his chest, Bakura
wasn't the least bit surprised when the delinquents began to follow him as he began his search.
Bakura sighed, this was going to be more trouble than he'd thought. Afterall, he couldn't very well have witnesses following him around. Quickly, the tomb robber turned down a dead-end alley, ready to teach his pursuers the folly of their ways. Predictably, the three would-be robbers followed, making no attempt at trickery or leaving anything in reserve.
*Amateurs!* Bakura bitterly thought. This was how far the skill and power of the thief had fallen.
"All right sucker, I suggest you hand over any money you have, plus that pretty little necklace of yours, and maybe we'll only break your ribs," the lead punk said.
"An interesting offer," Bakura said as he eyed the knives the other two teens were drawing. "But I have a better one." So saying, the tomb robber drew a line in the dirt between him and the robbers. "How about if any of you losers cross this line, I'll send you all packing on a one way trip to oblivion."
"Oh, we have a tough guy here," the leader said. "Get him!" The two knife wielders advanced on their target, crossing the line as they did so. With the speed of lightning, Bakura drew one of his cards from his dueling deck, the Dark Assailant. The zombie warrior's sword made a deadly arc as it sliced through the two teen's hands. Another swing and the Assailant's psycho sword killed them both.
"Now for you," Bakura said as the Dark Assailant returned to his card. A look of horror came over the teen's face as he realized his peril. His hand shaking, he drew a gun, pointing it at the tomb robber.
"Man, I don't know what kind of freak job you are, but if you don't get back, I swear I'll ventilate ya!"
"I don't think so," Bakura began to draw another card from his deck looking at it. "In fact, I predict you're about to undergo a Change of Heart!" With those words, a half angel, half demon flew from the card, entering the hood's body. The teen's eyes widened even more as he watched his own arm begin to turn the gun back on him. Bakura smiled at the sound of the gun going off as a lifeless body fell before him, the spirit of the Change of Heart card returning to his deck. No longer needing to worry about prying eyes, the tomb robber began his search.
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Seto Kaiba arrived at his mansion, staying in his car as he started looking over the grounds. Everything certainly seemed normal, but then people seldom screamed out they were setting an ambush. Seto reached under his seat, pulling forth a secret compartment. Carefully, the young CEO ran his finger under the box, disarming the lock that held the compartment closed. Inside was a small revolver and ammunition. Silently he loaded the gun, putting it into his belt where he could draw it as he got out of the car. Seto tried to look as natural as possible as he walked up to the mansion. The elder Kaiba opened his front door, taking in a deep breath as he entered his home. Nothing was out of place, and Seto certainly didn't feel in danger. Of course, Mrs. Carmine had said the cat had left to wait for him at KaibaCorp. Certainly when whoever was after him discovered he hadn't come in, they'd come back here, where Seto would be waiting.
Suddenly, the phone rang, prompting the millionaire to pick it up. "I'm very busy so this better be important."
"Mr. Kaiba, this is Takanaka, Principal of Six/Six Intermediate... I'm calling in regards to your brother, since you're listened as the only guardian for the boy."
"What about Mokuba?"
"I'm afraid he was in a fight earlier today and..."
"He had better not be hurt!" Seto growled, already planning to have the man fired if this proved true.
"Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba was the one who did the hurting. He broke another student's arm. And when he was told to report to my office, he failed to show up. He also didn't show up for his afternoon classes. No one seems to know where he went."
"WHAT!?!?"
"Mr. Kaiba, yelling will not solve anything," the principal calmly said. "We thought he might have returned home, but obviously this is not the case."
"I assume you're looking for him."
"Of course, but with a city the size of Domino, you have to understand..."
"In other words, you're totally unequipped to do this," Seto stated more than asked.
"Well..."
*This has gone on long enough,* Kaiba thought as he slammed the phone down.
*First I'm attacked and now Mokuba goes missing... This can't be coincidence.* With those thoughts, the elder Kaiba abandoned his house, preparing to search for his brother himself. *Don't worry little brother, I'll find you, if I have to tear Domino City apart doing it.*
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The rare hunter known as Xanz walked down the streets of downtown Domino, his stomach grumbling. It was nearing lunch time, and his stomach was quickly reminding him he'd missed breakfast.
*This day certainly won't make my top ten,* Xanz thought. And to top everything off, he would more than likely be returning to his master Malik with no rare cards. Why had Malik told him to scout this run-down dump. A low level rare hunter would have been able to handle any duelists they would have come across, no need for Xanz to waste his talents, not to mention the power of his Exodia Deck. The rare hunter promised himself that after one more alley he'd go and get a burger, not really expecting to find anything, the whole block was completely deserted. As he turned the corner, he was more than a bit surprised to find two kids hunched over behind a trash can. Both looked pretty clean, probably not homeless, but their shabby appearance marked them as poor. Xanz sighed, it was highly unlikely these things could have rare cards, or at least that was what he thought.
"Wow a Buster Blader! That is so cool, where'd you get it?" asked the girl as she looked at the shining card.
*Buster Blader!? Now that's a rare card if I ever saw one,* Xanz thought. Stopping in his tracks.
"I spotted something shiny in the dumpster behind that new game shop. Someone threw away a whole booster pack. I opened it up and this was staring at me," the boy said. "It's gonna make my deck super-powerful, maybe as strong as Yugi's, or even Kaiba's."
"Of course having only one rare card, even one such as Buster Blader, seldom means your any good as a duelist," Xanz said, smiling at the two startled children.
"I can't get any other rare cards, they cost to much separately, and I never get them in booster packs."
"Well then, today is your lucky day, cause I'm more than willing to give you a chance to win one of my rare cards. Just beat me in a duel, and I'll give you, say... this." Xanz held up a Mystic Tomato card. "The only catch? If you loose, you have to give me that Buster Blader of yours."
"Thanks, but I really don't think I should risk this card. It'd be too difficult to replace." With those words, the children started to leave, only to find themselves blocked by Xanz's body.
"I don't think you understand, I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. You can either duel me for the card, and have a chance at winning my card, or I can just take your rare card." So saying, Xanz kicked over a trashcan, turning it into a makeshift dueling field.
*****************************************
Mokuba moved through the streets with a purpose, glad he'd switched clothes before coming here. He'd never be able to move as discreetly as he was in his normal clothes.
*It's already begun,* Mokuba thought to himself as a feeling came over him. His pace began to quicken, but only until he was stopped by three people, hidden in trench-coats similar to his own. A new feeling came upon Mokuba, one of fear as a part of him recognized these newcomers.
"It's time for you to come home with us," the leader said in an almost friendly voice.
"I'm not going back, I want to stay here!" Mokuba said, backing away from the three.
"I'm afraid that just isn't an option anymore," the left one said as the three advanced
on Mokuba.
"NO!" Mokuba screamed as he grabbed a card from the deck in his hand. "DIMENSION HOLE!!" The card activated creating a black disk underneath the raven haired boy that he sunk into before it closed up.
"Blast... He's advancing quicker than we thought, he's already manifesting cards into this world," the middle figure said.
"Finding him again may prove difficult, especially if he doesn't use his powers."
"He will," the right figure said, finally speaking, though it sounded to be in two different voices at once. "He came here with a purpose. But now that he knows we're after him, he will be on guard. Still, he is currently human. Perhaps, if he can still be overtaxed, we'll stand a better chance at capturing him."
*********************************************
Bakura was running as fast as he could. His Millennium Ring had once more tried to yank itself off his neck, and was now floating in front of him as he ran after it. The tomb robber could sense the source of all that power was close, very close. The spirit's mouth almost salivated at the thought of all that power being his. Soon, his ring simply stopped, falling back to Bakura's chest, the engraved eye at it's center glowing right in front of an alley.
*I have arrived.* Bakura thought to himself as he poked his head around the corner. The dark spirit was surprised to find a duel going on, between a grown man and two little kids. Bakura recognized the man as one of Malik's rare hunters, the one who used a deck full of Exodia cards if he wasn't mistaken. It looked like he was trying to force the children to give up a rare card. *So Malik is the one behind all that power. This may be more difficult than I thought.*
*******************************************
Xanz smiled as he looked at the cards in his hand. He had four pieces of Exodia, and a Sangan sat on the field, ready to be destroyed, not that that seemed likely with this kid's deck. Only a few of his cards actually broke the thousand point marks, which meant it was difficult for the boy to even take out the Rare Hunter's weakest cards. The boy's lifepoints had been reduced to less than a thousand by Xanz's Cannon Soldier, and he would without a doubt loose his Buster Blader soon.
"Well, kid, unless you can come up with a monster that can take down my Sangan, I think I'll just be taking MY new card now."
"This isn't fair, there's no way I could have beaten you," the boy protested, upset over his imminent lose. Suddenly, a body dropped down between the two duelists, it's trench-coat fluttering down with him. Xanz could see it was another kid just by his size, and the rare hunter couldn't help but think he knew this intruder.
"Leave," the stranger hissed at the two children. Neither one needed more prodding as they gathered up their cards. "Don't forget your rare," the figure said, grabbing the ante card before Xanz could and giving it back to the boy.
"Hey that's mine!" Xanz yelled as the two children ran away.
"Picking on little kids for their treasures? And you're proud of this?" the boy said. light falling on his face.
*I knew he was familiar. It's Kaiba's bratty little brother... Mokuba. This may not be so bad.*
"Okay brat, since you cost me a rare card, I think it's only fair that you replace it," Xanz said as he advanced on Mokuba.
"Why settle for one rare card when I'm offering three?" Mokuba said as he produced all three of his brother's Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. The rare hunter's eyes grew wide as he imagined the reward Malik would give him for returning with such a prize. Still there had to be a catch.
"And what would I have to do to obtain those three beauties," Xanz asked, one of his hands moving into his pockets, fingering the small gun he kept there for emergencies. "Does your brother know you're here?"
"Do you think Seto would let me be here alone?" Mokuba said, hoping the rare hunter would misinterpret the question. Xanz looked at the three assembled dragons and knew the elder Kaiba had to be around somewhere, making sure this was all on the up and up. "As to what you have to do, simply play a short game with me. I want you to draw three cards from your deck, any three you want. I will tell you word for word the name of the card, what it is, and a third detail you will decide. If I can't correctly do that, you get all three of my brother's blue eyes. But... If I succeed, you've got to do one thing that I want. Deal?"
"Deal." the Rare hunter shuffled his deck, visions of blowing away his victims with his new Blue Eyes White Dragons dancing in his head. Quickly he drew the first card as Mokuba placed as hand to his own head, closing his eyes.
"I see... The Witch of the Black Forest, an Effect Monster card."
"And what is her attribute?"
"She's a dark monster."
*Lucky guess.* Xanz drew another card.
"That would only be... it's the magic card The Swords of Revealing Light."
"And how long does it's effect last?"
"Three turns, starting from your opponent's next turn." Another card is drawn. As soon as he saw it, a huge smile spread across Xanz's face.
*He'll never see this one, those cards are mine.* A smile came over Mokuba's face as well.
"This is the easiest one. It's Exodia, the Forbidden one, an effect monster." The same smile remained on Xanz's face.
"And what's in it's upper left hand corner?" Xanz folded his arms, confident he'd finally stumped his opponent. He was not prepared for Mokuba's eyes to open, revealing them to be black and red once again.
"A three with a circle around it, denoting it to be part of the third such series in your deck. I believe I've won." Instantly, the smile dropped from Xanz's face.
"That's... that's not... possible," the rare hunter said in disbelief.
"Quite possible. And as the winner, I would like to see your deck," the black haired Kaiba said, grabbing all of Xanz's cards from the man's hand. Quickly, the boy shuffled through the deck, pulling all twenty-five of it's Exodia cards separately. Off to the side Bakura had watched the whole thing with great interest. His Millennium Ring had been pointing directly at Seto's younger brother during the entire exercise.
*So it was Mokuba who was generating all that power. That explains why the ring led me to the middle school. But where did the brat pick up so much power?* Bakura prepared to move in, to investigate with the Millennium Eye, but that was when he heard a click. Mokuba looked up to see a gun being pointed at him by Xanz.
"I don't know how you did it, but there is no possible way you could have won without cheating," Xanz said. "It's not nice to make fools out of the Rare Hunters. Now, give me back my cards, AND YOURS!"
"As you wish," Mokuba said, tossing the man back his deck, sans the Exodia cards. T
"I said all of them!"
"Exodia looks so good, Pegasus really outdid himself with these pictures. The detail and workmanship are superb." Mokuba held the cards up for Xanz to try to take. "A pity he never asked MY permission before doing it." With those words, smoke began to appear from the upheld cards, as flames began to lick their edges, but not even singeing Mokuba's exposed hand. Within seconds, the cards were all reduced to ash. "Still want them back?" the younger Kaiba asked, blowing the blackened ash back at Xanz. What really frightened the rare hunter however, was the fact that both the boy's feet were no longer firmly planted on the ground. He was now hover several feet in the air, his red and black eyes shining a fearsome shine. Even Bakura, watching in the shadows was taken aback.
Dark energy swirled around Mokuba as his long black hair rose into the air. Several strands in the back of his head braiding themselves into two very thick tendrils. The hair to the sides of the boy's head spread rose around him, coming down around his chest while the top part fanned out more. The dark energy morphed around Mokuba's body, transforming into bronze armor that covered his torso, right arm, and left leg. The metal sunk and rose as it conformed to the boy's body, at least in size. As far as appearance, it gave Mokuba the sculpted appearance of a miniature bodybuilder. His gauntlet's fingers terminated as claws as a silver ankh appeared in the dead center of his chest. A skirt of metal wrapped itself around the boy's hips as what remained visible of his flesh took on a purplish hue.
"Wha... What in the world?" Xanz asked, his gun drooping a little as Mokuba floated back to the ground.
"Oh what a rush!" the youngest Kaiba groaned, thoroughly enjoying the most pleasurable feeling of pure power flowing through his veins. In the shadows, Bakura licked his lips, enjoying the rush of fear from being in the presence of such energy.
*This couldn't be better if I'd planned it myself,* Bakura thought. *With that kind of power under my command, Yami himself would bow before me.* The tomb robber then noticed Xanz's gun was rising again as he took aim at Mokuba. *What does that blasted fool think he's doing?!* Bakura began to draw a defensive card, doubting his target even knew how to use such power.
"Such a pity," Mokuba said, his voice grainier than before as he looked down at his still exposed arm and leg, his two thick braids not even swinging or bobbing as his head turned this way and that. In fact, they almost seemed to be made of the same bronze metal as his armor.
"I'll make you pay!"
"RRRROOOOAAAARRRRR!!" Mokuba yelled. Simultaneously the Xanz's gun went off as dark energy exploded from the boy's body. The bullet fired got less than a foot from the barrel before it was vaporized by a wave of destruction that swept all about Mokuba. Unable to react in time, Xanz and his gun met the same fate as his bullet, the same fate as the buildings that surrounded them as they were confronted by the rapidly expanding sphere of power. Bakura's eyes widened as he saw the destructive bubbles surface heading straight for him. With little time to react Bakura through up his card.
"FORCE FIELD ACTIVATE!" A bright light shimmered around the white haired boy, rising to rescue the tomb robber from certain death. Even with the energy barrier, though, Bakura could still feel the intense heat of the blast, and watched as his blue uniform jacket became singed. All around him, stone and concrete were reduced to ash as the earth itself opened under them.
*Ra help us, is there no end to this,* Bakura thought focusing all his energy into maintaining the force field.
**********************************
Elsewhere, the energy levels of Mokuba's transformation had not gone unnoticed by his three pursuers.
"What has happened?" the right man said.
"I fear a difficult task has just become more difficult," the center said. That was when all three sensed the approaching wave of energy. From right to left wings of blue, gold, and red exploded from their backs, closing before them to block the barrier of death. As the wave passed them, they looked around to see the broken remnants of buildings all around. "His power grows too wildly out of control," the center figure said as he took off running, closely followed by his compatriots. "But this may still work to our advantage... Come, we must stop the Forbidden, while our chance remains."
********************************
Seto's car fairly glided down the streets of Domino as the CEO tried to find his little brother. That was when he saw the dome of dark energy rising from the downtown area. Quickly, Kaiba turned on his car radio.
"Attention listeners, reports have begun coming in of a massive explosion that has reduced a section of the lower downtown area of the city to rubble. Firemen and police have arrived on the scene and are currently battling the flames, but no news yet on if there are any casualties in the area. Motorists are advised..." Seto Kaiba stopped listening to the broadcast, his mind already leaping to a worst-case scenario. Several cars came screeching to a halt as the brown haired teen's car peeled out, racing to the scene of the tragedy.
***********************************
Back at the bubble's center, Mokuba finally began to run out of steam, his energy reserves quickly being depleted from his attack. As the attack ended, the young boy fell to the ground, the bronze armor quickly fading away as his braids unraveled falling to cover his face as Mokuba fell to sleep. The danger now gone, Bakura's forcefield was allowed to lapse as he crawled out from what was left of his hiding spot, singed but glad to be alive. Calmly, the white haired teen walked over to the unconscious Mokuba, a smirk on his face.
"Well, you've certainly proven to be full of surprises boy. How a pampered rich boy like yourself came to possess such power is beyond me, as is how I can take possession of it. But it matters not. I'll figure out a way. But the question remains as to what I'm going to do with you for now."
"I would suggest you leave the boy to us, tomb robber, and forget you ever saw any of this," came another voice. Bakura turned around to see the three men in trench-coats, their wings once more folded behind them.
"You don't think I'd give up a treasure like this to useless rabble like you," Bakura said.
"If you will not surrender him to us, we'll just have to take the boy from you, the hard way." So saying the center man ripped off his trench-coat, revealing a golden dragon, Ra himself. To his left now stood a solid blue humanoid dragon, Obelisk, and to his right floated a red serpent-like dragon with two mouths, Osiris. The three Egyptian gods began to close on Bakura, who was seriously beginning to reconsider his plans. Still one didn't become a great thief by simply backing down whenever one was confronted by a stronger force. Quickly Bakura grabbed Mokuba's inert body and ran.
"So now I'm trying to evade gods... I bet this'll make a good story when I get old," Bakura said to himself as he used his one free hand to shuffle through his deck, hoping to find something that could get him out of this. None of his monsters had the power to do anything more than be a speed bump in the three dragon's way. Suddenly, Ra landed right in front of the fleeing spirit, gold energy beginning to form infront of the god as he prepared his attack.
"I would suggest you surrender, before you get in to deep over your head," Ra said.
*Kid, if you've got any of that power left, I'd really appreciate you using it right now,* Bakura thought, dodging to the side as the golden ball was sent on a collision course with Obelisk. Obelisk merely knocked the attack away as he advanced for his own attack. Finally, Bakura pulled the card he'd been searching for, smiling as he tossed down Widespread Destruction. The tomb robber and his bundle dived for cover as the entire area exploded. As the dust cleared, Bakura looked out to see that all three gods were gone. *That probably only slowed them down. That means we need to get out of here, now.* With those thoughts Bakura quickly left.
************************************************
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the area, fire trucks sprayed water over the last remaining out bursts of flame as police worked diligently to seal off the area. Seto Kaiba's car pulled up, and the young man got out, witnessing the destruction he'd seen only once before.
*Could... Mokuba have...?* The elder Kaiba banished such thoughts from his mind quickly. Seto moved like a knife through the crowd of people, cutting his way right to the police barricade, where he was stopped by an officer.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the..."
"What happened?"
"I am not at liberty to release such information at this time, sir. Now if you'll please..."
"I SAID WHAT HAPPENED!" Seto almost screamed, grabbing the man's collar.
"We... We don't know yet. As far as we can tell, someone planted a bomb," the man stammered.
"Hey, who do you think you are!?" yelled one of the senior officers, stomping over to Seto.
"I am Seto Kaiba," the brown haired teen said, grabbing the newcomer. "And I demand to know if there have been any casualties. Answer me or I swear I'll have you busted down to meter maid!"
"There... there haven't been any casualties reported, but then again this area's reportedly been deserted for a long time. And again, it's very likely anyone in there might have been vaporized in the explosion." With those words, Seto Kaiba let go of the officer's shirt.
*Perhaps... perhaps Mokuba wasn't there,* Seto thought, even as a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach told him different. *Brother, what have you gotten yourself into now?*
*************************************************
Bakura looked down from his perch, watching as the humans below cleaned up the mess. Beside him, Mokuba still lay asleep, unmoving despite the chaos he'd caused. Bakura reached into his pocket, pulling forth his Millennium Eye, moving it infront of his own.
*Time to see where all that energy came from,* Bakura thought as he felt his mind begin to probe the boy's own. The probe lasted for about a minute before Bakura got the shock of his life as his mind slammed into a solid mental wall. The tomb robber couldn't even pick up surface thoughts from the boy. *Whatever the secret of this brat's power, it's able to block the Millennium Eye as though it was child's play.* Bakura bent down to look Mokuba in the face. *So I'll take him home... Once I figure out how to take command of the kid's powers, I'll know where to find him.* A smirk came across the ancient spirit's face. *And maybe I'll make some money off the whole trade.* With those thoughts, Bakura gathered Mokuba up again, and left.
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Three hours, and many mile later, Seto Kaiba returned to his mansion, a defeated expression on his face. He'd exhausted every place he could think of that Mokuba might have gone, even the Turtle Game Shop, and his brother hadn't been anywhere. It was almost like he'd dropped off the face of Domino City. Seto walked up to his door, only to be surprised as it was opened for him. Inside Mrs. Carmine stood, smiling as she saw Seto.
"Mr. Kaiba, it's the most wonderful news. Your little brother is back."
"Mokuba?" Seto said, shoving his way past the woman. "Where is he?"
"He's asleep on the sofa," Mrs. Carmine said, displaying the peacefully slumbering boy. "And this is the gentleman who found him. Mr. Bakura." Seto looked over into a nearby chair to see Ryou sitting quietly, his hands in his lap as though he were scared to touch anything in the house.
"You found my little brother?" Ryou nodded, looking very uncomfortable under the elder Kaiba gaze. "Where was he?"
"I was going home when I saw him at the park. He looked upset, and you weren't around, so I decided to find out what was wrong. When he didn't want to talk I offered to take him home. He just sort of fell asleep on the way home, so I just carried him the rest of the way."
"I see. Well, I am most grateful to you for bringing my brother home. Rest assured your deed will not go unrewarded."
"And what about my deed," came a purring voice as from a dark room strode the Fusionist. "Seto Kaiba, I've been waiting so long. You know it's rude not to meet with people who have taken so much trouble to come and find you."
"I don't meet with freaks," Seto said, reaching for the gun that was still in his belt. *So this is the cat Mrs. Carmine was talking about.*
"I don't think so!" Fusionist said as he leaped into the air, his claws slicing through the gun as he landed on the couch over Mokuba. "Now, are you going to come along quietly, or am I gonna have to ack...!" Fusionist's words were cut off, however, as a small hand wrapped itself around the winged cat's neck. Mokuba's eyes opened as he looked up at the monster, staring the feline right in the eyes. Recognition, and then terror, fell over the Fusionist's features as Mokuba's grip tightened.
"I don't appreciate uninvited guests in MY home," Mokuba growled. "Tell your master not to bother me again..." So saying, the raven haired boy tossed the winged cat away.
"Yes... Yes... I will," Fusionist stammered trying to leave.
"On second thought... I'll tell him my self." A finger was pointed at the cat, and, in an instant, he was reduced to ash. Mokuba then turned to the other occupants of the room, all of whom looked stunned.
"How... How..." Mrs. Carmine tried to ask.
"It's not important. What is, though, is the fact that you're all in danger with this information. Fortunately, Bakura here has provided a remedy for this." That was all it took for Ryou's darker side once more took over.
"I don't think so," the tomb robber said, ready to summon a new card to defend himself. Before he could act, however, his body froze over as Mokuba gestured towards the teen's Millennium Ring.
"I do. Millennium Ring remove their memories of all I've done this day." The eye of the ring glowed as three beams of light struck all three targets. For his part, Mokuba once more began to feel faint and indication he was still not at full power. Not surprising considering what it took to take control of a millennium item. As the boy began to pass out, he watched the ring attempt to complete it's work.
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Night had fallen over Domino City as Mokuba lay in his bed returned to a state of complete normalcy. He felt completely wiped out, which was odd considering how little he remembered doing. In truth, he had no real memory of the day past Jesse trying to knock his head off. Then, Seto had been yelling at him, screaming about how worried he'd been over his younger brother. Blue eyes scanned around the room, falling on the area where his television and game system had previously occupied, now confiscated by his elder brother as part of his punishment. He'd be lucky is his elder brother even allowed him out of the house for school. Had Mokuba been more awake, he might have been a little upset that his elder brother was yelling at him for no apparent reason. As it was, he was just happy to take a warm bath and go to bed. Now he had a new problem, he couldn't help but feel he'd forgotten something, and that it was important. As his eyes finally began to droop closed, a single thought fought it's way to his mind.
"Yugi..."
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Well that's it for now, but next chapter should prove even more interesting. As always, if you read, please review. And here's a question: Does anyone know where I can find the rules for that Capumon game Mokuba originally played? Oh well, until next time.