A/N: This chapter took a lot longer than any of the previous chapters for two main reasons. The first is that I went through about half a dozen different versions of the encounter at Joey's warehouse. Finally, I settled on one that I liked and I think it's better than the others I came up with. The second is that I was on vacation, but it was nice to come back to a solid bunch of reviews. Thanks all!

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing, not no way, not no how.

Chapter Eight: Illusions

Joey stepped into the gigantic warehouse. It was empty, except for a chair in the centre of the room in which sat his sister. And, of course, the guards. Ten guards, each equipped with nasty looking pistols, were spaced across the room. Joey held a black metal briefcase in his hands, and glanced about, looking for the leader. One Ghoul stepped forward. Unlike the other nine, he wore no cloak, simply black clothing. He sneered cruelly.

"Mr. Wheeler. My name is Koji. It's good that you've come."

Holding up the briefcase in his hand, Joey felt a sweat drop form on the back of his head. Those Ghouls' trigger fingers looked itchy. "I brought something to bargain with." He declared.

"You don't have anything worth having, Mr. Wheeler."

"I don't, no," He explained, hoping they'd wait to hear his explanation, "But in this briefcase is five million dollars hard cash on loan from Mr. Seto Kaiba. Perhaps we could… work something out?" He cringed, but no gunfire came.

"You have my attention." Koji replied.

Joey sighed audibly. Kaiba's plan had better work.

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5:07. He had better be on time. The plan bridged on timing. Leaping out of the BMW, he turned to Mokuba. "Stay here, keep your head down and under no circumstances leave the car. Do you understand?"

Mokuba nodded. A bitter smile crossed Kaiba's face as he made his way to the door. They were not expecting him. He pressed his ear to the door and listened intently.

"Go ahead, open the case." Joey's voice suggested. "You'll see that everything is in order." He sounded stressed. No surprise there.

"Do you think we'll let you live even if it is legitimate?" An unknown voice, probably this batch's leader, inquired. It was not the leader he'd met earlier.

"I figure I got a chance. There are ten of you, maybe you split the money and run or maybe you take the money to your leader and let him decide. I don't know, but it's better than sure-fire death."

"Open it."

Finally, the moment had come. As soon as he heard the telltale click of the opening of the briefcase he shut his eyes tight and stepped through the door. Taking two steps forward, he figured the discharge must've passed. He opened his eyes. The ten gunmen stationed at this warehouse stood in two neat rows. In the centre, a familiar man garbed in black stood, holding a pistol to the head of a kneeling Joey, hands bound behind his back. The briefcase lay at Koji's feet, unclasped but still closed. Behind them, offset several feet to Kaiba's right, was Serenity, bound and gagged on a simple wooden chair.

"Koji, my former head of security." Kaiba stated cordially, folding his arms over his chest and taking in the situation carefully.

"Mr. Kaiba. Your good friend Joey Wheeler here was kind enough to explain to us your little plan. As such, we were prepared to anticipate your arrival. We decided that Master Vex only requires two deaths from us. Instead of being the two Wheelers it will be you and Mr. Wheeler here." Koji explained, his gaze deathly calm.

Kaiba took a step forward and instantly all ten of the guards pointed their firearms at him. "You worked for me for, what, two years? You never did take the time to get to know me, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Koji asked.

A dark smirk crossed Kaiba's face. Sliding another of the flash-bangs he had taken from his stepfather's munitions room into his palm, he closed his eyes and dropped it at his feet. The initial flash scorched his shin by the sheer heat but the effect was accomplished. Having the guards dazed, if only for a moment, he broke into a dead run and charged at Koji. He was almost within striking distance when the effect seemed to wear off and the gunmen pointed their weapons at Kaiba. Sliding one hand to his deck at his waist he tossed two lightning fast cards at Koji's right shoulder.

Deftly, Koji ducked the projectiles but Kaiba achieved his desired effect. Stepping high he drove one foot into Koji's shoulder, stepping down hard. The other he brought across his former employee's jaw as he threw himself backward into a leaping flip. The bullets had already torn from the guns of his antagonists and blurred through the air in a black streak. Deadly accurate, they hit where Kaiba had been the instant they fired. Of course, as Kaiba was fully two feet above that point and inverted, they drove straight through into Koji's chest.

Completing his flip, Kaiba landed on the ground in front on the falling corpse of the Ghoul. Snatching the briefcase from the ground he threw it into the centre of the room. The second the lid flew open the pressure-sensitive gas grenade inside exploded into an eruption of thick black smoke.

"Serenity, hold your breath. Mutt, get to the door!" He ordered, sliding a tactical gasmask out from the inside of his trench coat. The gas spread quickly through the entirety of the warehouse, just as it was designed to do. Eyes tightly shut breathing only through the thin mask, he made his way to where he knew Serenity was.

Stumbling into her, he slipped the gasmask onto her face. Next, he removed his cards from the lumber of the chair arms, where they'd imbedded themselves after striking their intended target: the ropes that bound Serenity's hands. "Can you get yourself free? I can't find your legs without groping you." Kaiba managed through the smoke.

Serenity nodded, then realized the foolishness of the motion and stated a simple, "Yes," instead. Reaching down to her ankles, she freed herself from the chair and rose. Suddenly, Kaiba heard gunfire and the shattering of glass. They were shooting out the windows! Clever bastards.

Kaiba lead Serenity to the wall and started following it to where the door lay. He was fast running out of breath and Serenity's gasmask was only good for three minutes. Furthermore, the smoke was now venting out of the warehouse and they had to be out before the Ghouls could be sure where they were. Even Kaiba doubted he could handle ten armed Ghouls at a time.

As if on cue Kaiba felt the bar of the warehouse door against his palm. Gently tugging against it, the door opened a crack venting smoke into the outside air. He pulled it back only as far as he needed and slid Serenity out. Moving to slide out himself, he stopped suddenly as a bullet tore through his shoulder. Blood spattered against the door and he couldn't keep it open, falling against the wall next to the heavy steel doors. Involuntarily, Kaiba gasped out for breath, inhaling a sharp mouthful of the acrid smoke, laced with only enough oxygen from the air that had seeped in to maintain consciousness. Robbed of his strength, Kaiba collapsed to the floor helplessly.

A robed Ghoul made his way to the target he'd struck, robe wrapped tightly around his face to filter the smoke. He pointed his pistol down at the fallen Seto. "Mr. Kaiba, this is the third time we've met. You ran a katana through my shoulder the first and struck me with a crowbar the second. There will not be a fourth." He cocked the pistol, and then fell unconscious to the floor.

Suddenly Kaiba felt himself being dragged, the door swung open and he was pulled into the clean air. Gasping for breath, he quickly looked about to see just who was dragging him. He almost wished he'd been left to die. Joey Wheeler stood over the fallen Kaiba, waving a hand in front of his face. "Rich boy, you alright?"

As his blood oxygenated again, Kaiba found his strength returning. Tenuously he rose to his feet. "Is that the only door to the warehouse?" He asked dismissively.

"There's a fire exit on the east wall but it's blocked by shipping crates." Serenity replied, helping Kaiba to his feet with a worried smile on her face.

"Bar the door." Kaiba ordered, stumbling towards his car not far away.

"With what?" Joey asked, and in response Kaiba tossed him a steel pipe.

"I was prepared." He stated simply and made his way to the door of the car. Mokuba glanced at him and a worried expression crossed his face.

"Seto, you're bleeding!" He stated.

"It's nothing." Kaiba muttered.

"At least let me put something on it!" Serenity insisted earnestly, glancing uncomfortably at the wound.

"There's no time." Blue-eyes shot back, "The midget needs our help if he's going to survive. He said he could take care of himself, but I seriously doubt that. Mutt, is Morgan still around with the limo?"

"A couple of blocks from here." Joey replied slowly.

"Call him, have him bring you, Mokuba and Serenity to warehouse 414 as quickly as possible. I'll meet you there." He commanded, sliding into the sleek silver car.

"I'm coming with you!" Mokuba answered, setting himself firmly in the seat.

Kaiba turned to Mokuba, his eyes fiery with determination, his face gleaming with sweat, soot and blood. "No." He said, with such a tone that Mokuba knew it couldn't be questioned. Obediently, he stepped out of the car. An instant later Kaiba was gone.

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Despite the fact that he had never been to warehouse 414 at the Domino docks, Kaiba had no problem finding it. It was probable that anyone in or around the docks at the time could find the warehouse. It was the one encompassed in a giant black maelstrom sphere of churning and twisting energy. Seto had seen several such spheres before, it was a holographic trick Marik had used when duelling. Apparently it was a strategy his successor had adopted.

Pulling up as far as the edge of the orb, Kaiba was forced to go the rest on foot. It would not be possible to navigate the shadow sphere by car, but he would likely be able to find his way walking. Inhaling deeply, Kaiba stepped into the shadows.

As he navigated his way through the dark mist he found it was not nearly as obtrusive as he had originally assumed. He was still almost a quarter mile from the warehouse, but it was a distance that he could make on foot. It seemed he had more time than he had originally assumed. If Yugi had gotten the rare hunter to agree to a duel then he could spare the time to save his car.

Gradually Kaiba made his way to the door. He quickly inventoried his remaining resources: two flash-bangs, one strapped to the inside of either arm, a knife he had stowed in his boot, his deck, all forty cards, lethal projectiles when he needed them to be. Taking another deep breath he stepped through the door.

What he saw shocked him slightly. The warehouse was nearly empty, a few scattered scaffolds spread sparsely along the back wall. There were no crates, but it did boast a large shipping crane along the right side wall. There were seventeen gunmen in this warehouse excluding the leader, with whom Yugi duelled. Every one of the gunmen were lying unconscious on the floor of the warehouse, looking as though someone had gassed them out. He was too late to watch the duel: as he entered the door the duel ended, a draw.

"Kaiba…" Yugi called softly to the brunette as he collapsed on the floor.

"Seto Kaiba, so good of you to join us! I'm going to have to talk to my good friend Watanabe about the exact meaning of the phrase 'dead as a doornail'." Vex sneered at the CEO.

"Actually, he's currently an example of that particular colloquialism." Kaiba responded snidely. He turned to glance at Yugi, reaching down to check the fallen boy's pulse. "What did you do to him?" He asked again as he rose.

"Nothing. The stress of the shadow game simply overtook him."

"And the goons?" He continued, motioning to the fallen bodies.

"They outlived their usefulness. I sacrificed them in our duel. If I hadn't, the nameless pharaoh over there would have beaten me."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow toward the muscular leader of the Ghouls. "So where do we go from here? Your men failed to kill Joey or I and you failed to beat Yugi. Give us the old man and let us go in peace. Your plan has failed."

"It's the quintessentially characteristic of you, Seto Kaiba, that you said all of that without ever believing that I'd agree to any of it." Vex stated simply.

Kaiba nodded, "I don't approve of violence unless it's the only course of action. But it seems you intend to force my hand."

"Oh, my dear Kaiba, you won't even get close." Vex replied, baring his teeth and pointing the rod at Kaiba. A pulse of dark energy erupted from the end of the staff and struck Kaiba – and brushed off as though it were nothing.

"You just don't learn, do you?" Kaiba smirked as he charged at Vex. Grabbing the handle of the rod, Vex pulled the end of the rod off revealing a sharp blade underneath. Rearing it, Kaiba reacted reflexively, barely aware of his own actions. He planted his left foot forward and squatted, grabbing the knife from his right ankle and then twisting forward, bringing his blade against Vex's. "Clever trick." Kaiba quipped.

"Nice move." Vex quipped back. Both shook with exertion as the blades pushed against each other like battling rams. Finally, Kaiba realized that he couldn't sustain the struggle. The effort was causing blood to churn from the open wound on his shoulder, so he wisely retreated, planting one foot forward and kicking back out of range of the dagger.

Kaiba folded his arms, trying to appear like he was trying to look intimidating while actually carefully slipping one of the flash-bangs from under its strap on his arm. Timing would be crucial on this next move. "Well it's not really fair, you know." He stated, trying to draw attention away from his actions, "I'm injured and you're in perfect shape."

"I'm nearly as ragged as you from the exertion of the shadow game. Don't make excuses." Vex rebuked him.

"Oh, right. Well, if I'm lucky, maybe a magic elf will come by and I'll just have him defeat you for me." Kaiba sneered, rolling his eyes.

Vex planted his left foot and brandished the rod-dagger. "Shall we resume?" He asked.

"Absolutely." Kaiba replied, and heaved the flash-bang at the ground in front of him. As soon as Vex reeled from the blast he darted forward, slashing the blade against Vex's chest and snatching the rod from his failing grasp. An instant later Vex had recovered and grabbed Seto's wrists with his own strong hands. As he squeezed tightly, Kaiba's grip failed and he dropped the daggers to the ground. Desperate not to let Vex get hold of them, he kicked the weapons to the sides of the room.

Kaiba realized the door had opened and knew that it must be Serenity and the others. He began to feel dizzy as more of his lifeblood pumped out of the wound on his shoulder but he knew that he couldn't let his guard down now. He'd have reinforcements shortly.

Vex apparently realized the situation as well. Letting go of Kaiba's wrists, his hands dropped suddenly and he delivered a crushing blow to Seto's gut, bringing him to his knees in agony. Seizing the opportunity, Vex drove his knee into Kaiba's nose, breaking it and sending him sprawling on his back, writhing in agony.

Seeing Kaiba in obvious need, Joey rushed at the Ghoul leader. He had fought this one before, and had learned from his loss. He wouldn't be as aggressive this time, but he wasn't going to just sit on the sidelines. Vex clearly saw his charge and set himself to fight this new aggressor. Joey deftly ducked under Vex's leading right hook and drove his fist forward towards Vex's nose. The rare hunter blocked the blow with a bent elbow, and then extended the arm to connect with Joey's face. Stunned, Joey took a few steps backward but the vicious Vex was on him. Striking him in the face with a left, then a right, then a left-right-left Joey found blood spraying from his mouth. Dazed, he collapsed to the floor.

Suddenly Vex felt a surge of pain as Kaiba's foot drove into the front of the knee, forcing him to stagger back a few steps. Rising to a knee, Kaiba send his fist flying between Vex's legs, sending excruciating pain surging through his body. Springing upward, Kaiba's next punch was aimed squarely for the Ghoul's jaw. He never reached the height, as Vex's large fist drove into his shoulder, driving him back to the floor. Rage pumping through his veins, Vex kicked Kaiba in the face, lifting him clean off of the floor and careening back a few feet onto the hard concrete.

Blood now rushed freely from Kaiba's nose and mouth, as well as from his shoulder. Nearly sapped of all of his energy, Kaiba found he couldn't muster the strength to climb to his feet. He couldn't have managed to defend himself at the moment. As he soon realized, that was strength he'd have to find. Closing on Kaiba, Vex grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off of his feet. Sneering, he began to drive his fist into Kaiba's face again and again.

Not far from where Vex stood, Serenity knelt over Yugi, but her eyes remained firmly on Kaiba. Tears ran down her cheeks as Kaiba began to scream with each shot. "You – killed – Master- Marik!" Vex bellowed as his fists made pulp of Kaiba's face. Weak and beaten, Kaiba's body hung limp. His screams became a gurgling noise from somewhere in his blood-choked throat. Ultimately, he stopped screaming altogether. Finished with him, Vex tossed his body to the wall opposite the crane. He turned toward Joey.

Rage still coursing throughout his body, Vex kicked Joey in the chest. Joey grunted in reply. Vex scooped Joey up by the throat and looked him in the eye, "You're going to pay for what you did to the Ghouls now." He hissed.

"I…didn't…do…anything!" Joey whined as the hand tightened on his throat.

Viciously, Vex tossed Joey head first to the concrete a few feet away. He began stalking toward Joey to repeat the process. Lying against the west wall, Kaiba felt his hand touch something metal. Agonizingly, he forced his swollen eyes open. It was the Millennium Rod, still missing the scabbard of the wicked dagger. Laboriously, he forced his hand forward and closed his fingers against the cold metal. Suddenly, the tool began to give off a refreshing gold glow. Kaiba felt moderate strength returning to him. It didn't ache so much to move. Slowly, he rose to his feet and began stalking toward the distracted Ghoul. He knew what he had to do.

With Joey in a vicious chokehold, Vex glared into his eyes. "Now, I get my just revenge." He declared, and began to squeeze. Joey closed his eyes and fought for breath, grabbing meekly at the firm hand on his throat. Suddenly, it relaxed and Joey dropped to the floor, gasping for air. Vex stood stunned, the Millennium Rod sticking out of his shoulder. Behind him, Kaiba was fully exerting herself simply to stand and his breath came in short, ragged breaths.

"And I get mine, you sick bastard." He spat.

Disbelievingly, Vex reached cautiously to his back and touched the end of the weapon with his fingertips, "You… shouldn't be able to stand…" He whined, and wrapped his hand around the weapon, pulling it from his back. Slowly, he turned on the wounded brunette, visibly wounded but apparently unfazed. "You aren't able to aim. That hurt, I'll admit, but not as much as this will."

Vex drew back the dagger and drove it forward at Kaiba's chest. It struck him with an immense force and drove him backward, crumpling to a heap on the floor. Incredibly, it hadn't broken the skin! That was impossible, unless… unless he was the entitled owner of the weapon. But how could that be, he didn't even believe in it's power! It didn't matter, Vex decided; he'd be dead in a moment.

Stepping toward Kaiba, Vex glowered at his fallen opponent. He was a pitiful sight. His face was almost not visible through the blood that covered it. He was shaking, his muscles contracting uncontrollably from trauma, and he lay in a growing puddle of his own blood. Vengeance was sweet, Vex thought to himself. He placed his foot on his foe's skull, planning to crush him like an ant. He never got the chance. Broad-sided by the swinging arm of the crane, it drove him against the wall with a resounding thud, crushing his ribcage and knocking him unconscious. The rod fell at Kaiba's feet.

Out of the crane stepped a very disquieted Serenity. She raced to her brother, motioning for Mokuba to see to his. "Joey, are you alright?" She cried as she reached her sibling's side.

"I'm fine, Ren." Joey groaned, rising to his feet. "How's Kaiba? He took a pretty vicious beating. I never saw him as the kind of guy to take a thrashing like that for anyone else's sake, especially Yugi's."

Mokuba had succeeded in wiping most of the blood off Kaiba's face and wrapping some tensile bandaging around the bullet wound. Having recovered the first aid kit from the car a moment earlier, he tended to his brother's injuries. Worry clear across her face, Serenity made her way to Kaiba's fallen form. "Seto? Seto, are you alright?"

Kaiba made a groan by way of reply and slid his eyes as far open as they would go. He relaxed visibly upon seeing both Serenity and Mokuba above him. They were safe. He had succeeded, and even rescued Yugi to boot.

A smile crossed Serenity's face. Kaiba was resilient. He would be all right. She glanced to the crushed body of the Ghoul leader. "Jeez, Seto, do I have to do everything myself? You could've tried a little harder, you know." She scolded sarcastically.

Kaiba raised a hand to Serenity and motioned for her to move her face in closer, like he wanted to say something but couldn't manage the volume. Serenity leaned in closely, attentively. Seto flicked her nose.

Grabbing her nose, Serenity pulled back and stuck her tongue out at the fallen Kaiba. It seemed for a moment like Kaiba was smirking back, then he turned to Mokuba. "Take the smelling salts out of the first aid kit and see to Yugi," he rasped, "See whether or not his grandfather is okay. I don't… don't see him here."

Mokuba nodded and did as he was told. Slowly, Joey made his way to the fallen Kaiba. "You alright there, moneybags?"

Kaiba nodded. It was a question he was getting tired of. Still, he was appreciative for Joey's help. He knew that if it weren't for the distraction the elder Wheeler had provided, he might not have survived the encounter. Though he was a skilled fighter, Vex had clearly outclassed him, with superior strength and in better physical condition. The two Wheelers helped Kaiba to his feet. As he rose, Kaiba snatched the Millennium Rod from the floor. Making his way to where the scabbard of the weapon lay, he retrieved it and slid it onto the blade. Serenity looked at him curiously.

"This belongs in a museum." He explained, sounding somewhat ridiculous even to himself. The truth of the matter was that he felt stronger when he held the artefact and his injuries stung less. He glanced away from Serenity as Yugi rose to his feet.

"Recovered yet, Yugi?" Seto asked sharply.

Yugi nodded slowly, "He let my grandfather go when I agreed to duel him. I don't know where he went." He explained.

Kaiba shrugged, or tried to, his muscles still seemed reluctant to follow his commands. "He'll turn up," he predicted. "Mokuba," he called, turning to his brother, "Where did you leave Morgan?"

"He's not too far outside. We saw the BMW a ways away. Why'd you stop so far off?" Mokuba recalled, raising an eyebrow to his brother.

Giving a dismissive shrug in reply, Kaiba started for the door. "We should go, then."

"Yeah," Joey agreed, making his way toward the large double door of the warehouse. "Anybody else hungry?"

"I could eat." Yugi chimed in.

Kaiba grunted irritably. Serenity could only giggle. "Not hungry, Seto?"

Stopping suddenly, Kaiba scratched the back of his head. Finally, he sighed heavily, "Anyone know a good doctor?"