Chapter Thirteen: There's No Place Like Home

The group sat down on the steps of the Wizard's castle together a few minutes later, a ball of lead in their stomachs.

"I…I hope Noa's friend will be able to help us," Mokuba said quietly.

"He will," Kaiba assured him, "I doubt Noa would send us a second false wizard…"

Ryou got up off the steps when he saw the Egyptian Armada come flying down from the sky.

"Heya there, cutie," White-Hair greeted, "How'd your meeting with the Whiz of Wizards go?"

"Alright, I guess," Ryou shrugged.

He looked at the staff in his hand, before stepping closer to White-Hair and handing the magic staff to him.

"It's yours," the Tinman told him.

"What…?"

"Whoever owns the staff controls the army, right?" Ryou smiled, "Well…now, you own yourselves. You're free."

White-Hair stared at Ryou, and then at the staff. "I…I don't know what to say …"

Ryou's smile broadened. "Well, uh…" he felt himself blush, "You could tell me your name. I never did catch it."

White-Hair blinked. "That's 'cause I don't have a name…no one ever bothered to give me one. Everyone just called me 'leader,' or, in Gozaburo's case, 'idiot.'"

"Well, now that you're free," Ryou shrugged, "You can choose a name for yourself."

"Hmm…" White-Hair thought a moment, before saying, "What's your last name, cutie?"

"Huh? Uh…Bakura."

"Alright, then," White-Hair laughed, "I'm now Bakura. Now everyone will know you're mine."

"Bakura" ruffled Ryou's hair. "Well…I can't do any more damage around this Popsicle stand…See you around, cutie."

He opened up his wings, looking ready to fly.

"Ryou," the Tinman said abruptly.

"Huh?" Bakura turned to look at him.

"My name's Ryou," he clarified.

Bakura smirked. "Alright. See you around…Ryou."

And with that, he fly away into the distance, the rest of the Egyptian Armada right behind him.

Ryou smiled.

"Damn, he's so hot," he whispered to himself.

Kaiba smirked at his friend watching the Egyptian Armada fly into the distance.

"Our little Tinman has a crush, I see," he muttered.

"Kaiba?"

Kaiba turned to look at Jou. "Hmm? What?"

Jou's face was flushed, and he was avoiding Kaiba's eyes. "Uh…Kaiba, I've been meaning to tell ya…I…I really…I think you're…Kaiba, I-"

It was then that a gentle gust of yellow smoke appeared in front of the group, and through the yellow smoke came a young man.

He was dressed all in yellow, his hair was black, purple and blond and his eyes shone a bright violet.

"It's you…" Yami whispered, "You're…you're the one who helped me save Kaiba!"

The stranger smiled at Yami kindly. "Yes. It is nice to see you again, Yami Yugioh, and in different conditions than in the middle of the Shadow Realm."

Yami felt his face grow warm. 'God, he's cute…'

Yugi stroked Yami's fur. "If I'm not mistaken…your clan is still without a king. After this whole mess is over, I'll take you home."

Yami's eyes widened. "Oh…really? Would you?"

"It would be my pleasure, Yami," Yugi replied.

"Wait a second…" Jou stood and looked at the stranger carefully, "Weren't you the one who saved Kaiba, Mokuba and Yami from the poppy field?"

The stranger nodded, his smile becoming wider. "That was me. Gozaburo never has played fair…I thought there was a need for me to intervene."

He then looked at Kaiba. "Seto Kaiba…if I'm not mistaken, you're waiting for a friend of Noa's. Well, you're looking at him. I am Yugi, the Good Wiz of the South and ruler of the Quadlings."

"Ishizu mentioned you!" Mokuba remembered, "She said you're really busy all the time…"

Yugi laughed. "That I am. But I've been keeping my eye on your journey ever since it first began… I do make certain exceptions for certain people, and I think you brothers are plenty ready to go home after everything you've gone through."

"So you can tell them how to get home?" Ryou asked.

Yugi nodded. "I can and I will…after I ask Kaiba a question. It won't determine whether or not he goes home…but I'm curious."

"And what's your question?" Kaiba inquired as he got up with a little difficulty thanks to his broken leg.

Yugi looked Kaiba square in the eye. "What would you do if I told you that you never truly left Domino?"

Kaiba didn't speak for a moment. He looked at each of his companions, one by one, at Mokuba, and then at Yugi.

Then Kaiba said, "I've never truly left?"

"No, you haven't," Yugi grinned, "Almost every person who has made an impact on your life is right here in Oz…and you could've gotten back Domino all along."

"I could?" Kaiba repeated.

"How?" asked Mokuba.

"Your silver shoes had plenty of magic to bring you home," Yugi replied, "All you would've had to do is click the heels three times and you could've gone home at anytime."

Kaiba was speechless. "So…I could go back at any time…now, if I wanted?"

"Certainly," Yugi granted.

Kaiba looked at Mokuba, and then at his friends. "The longer we stay, the harder it will be to say goodbye…"

Ryou went over to Kaiba and, crying quite noticeably, hugged the CEO tight.

"Oh…don't cry, Ryou," Kaiba wiped some of the Tinman's tears away with his sleeve, "You'll rust yourself again…"

"Now I know I've got a heart," Ryou moaned, "It's breaking."

Kaiba frowned sadly at his friend, before going over to Yami.

"Goodbye, Yami," he said as the lion half-pounced on him to give him a hug, "I…I know you'll make a great King of the Forest."

"Thanks to you," Yami sniffed, "And I swear: I'll tell Mokuba's and your tale to everyone in my pride until my vocal cords snap in half."

Kaiba stroked Yami's mane, before getting up and meeting eyes with Jou.

Then, to the scarecrow's surprise, Kaiba came over and hugged him tightly.

"I think I'll miss you most of all, Jou," he whispered.

Jou, still a little surprised, hugged him back just as tightly. They held the hug for a little less than minute, before finally pulling apart, both sets of eyes filled with tears.

Kaiba wiped his eyes on his sleeve, before taking Mokuba's hand and saying, "I…I'm ready now."

"Click your heels three times," Yugi told him.

Kaiba closed his eyes and clicked his heels gently once…twice…and three times.

"And think to yourself, 'There's no place like home…'"

"There's no place like home," Kaiba and Mokuba whispered together, "There's no place like home…There's no place like home…"


"I've never seen anything like it!" one doctor spoke, "They're talking at the same time and tempo, and they're both in a coma!"

"It's a natural phenomenon," a second doctor said.

Kaiba groaned; his eyes opened to reveal an empty hospital room. Two doctors were talking outside, he was lying in a hospital bed with his leg still painfully broken, and he could see Mokuba on a bed next to him, who had just opened his eyes too.

"Seto! We're back!" he whispered.

A few more voices chattered about outside, but Kaiba wasn't paying attention.

"So it wasn't a dream," Mokuba said quietly, "It was real…"

"Unless we both had the exact same dream at the exact same time, it would seem so," Kaiba muttered.

Mokuba smiled. "Hey…do you really think what the Wiz of the South said is true? That Jou, Ryou and Yami are people we know-"

"KAIBA! MOKUBA!"

Running into the room was Yami Yugi, Joey Wheeler and Ryou Bakura.

"You guys okay?" Yami asked.

"We were kinda worried about you two," Ryou laughed.

"We heard about what happened to KaibaCorp," said Joey, "I'm sorry."

Kaiba stared quietly at the trio for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Fin