(AN/ I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but last chapter marked the 100th page of this fic! xThrows a partyx And, as always, please read, review, and enjoy! J)
The majority of the group was still on the bridge over the ocean, trying to figure out what to do next. The answer presented itself for them.
"Well, Seto…" said Noah, haughtily, from somewhere in the air.
"Huh?" asked Kaiba, looking around for the boy. "Well what?" He sounded down-right ticked.
Noah laughed. "You may have won your duel, but you have lost something more important. Your brother," gloated Noah. As he spoke a virtual car tunnel appeared on the road in front of them. As soon as it faded into existence, it looked completely normal sitting there. It was hard to see too far down it, though, because the lighting was very poor.
"Where is he?" growled Kaiba.
"Proceed ahead and you may find him," said Noah.
That was all Seto Kaiba needed to hear. He raced into the tunnel. "Mokuba! I'm on my way!"
"Kaiba! Come back! That may be a trap!" warned Yu-Gi.
"Just stay out of this Yugi!" snapped Kaiba, looking over his shoulder.
"What?" asked Yu-Gi, who sounded surprised.
"Who do you think you are?" demanded Joe. "No one talks to my friends like that!"
"This does not concern you Wheeler, it's family business," snapped Seto as he raced into the tunnel. The darkness soon swallowed him from sight.
"ARGH!" growled Joe in frustration. "Okay, fine, lose your body for all we care you stuck-up jerk! Who needs him? We're better off without him anyways. Right Yu-Gi?"
"Good-bye and good riddance Kaiba," agreed Kevin.
"I'm sure he can take care of himself," shrugged Drake.
"Hold on guys," said Yu-Gi. "We need to help him save Mokuba."
"Yeah, if he finds Noah then he might find my body," agreed monkey Tristan, who was still in Serenity's arms.
"Right, following Kaiba might be the only way to save Tristan," Serenity said with determination flashing in her eyes.
"That's right! I knew you'd really believe it's me in here Serenity. I can always count on you," said Tristan, hugging her.
Duke walked over, frowning. He grabbed Tristan by the tail and held him in the air. "For all we know, you're Noah's pet baboon."
Tristan made monkey noises in anger.
"We can't let Kaiba go alone," said Yu-Gi, bring them back on topic. "I'm going to go in after him." With that the shortest member of the group darted into the mysterious tunnel.
"Hey Yu-Gi, wait!" called Joe, trying to stop him.
"I'm going too!" shouted Téa, following him.
I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let you go in while I stayed behind, Téa," said Kevin, catching up with her.
"Give me a break!" shouted Joe, but the three were already hidden by the shadows.
"This isn't good, now we're all split up again," said Lara. "And that's just what Noah wants."
"I can't believe they're going through all that trouble for Kaiba," commented Duke.
"…Great. Now what are we going to do?" asked Joe.
"We're going to get in there and help Kaiba find Mokuba," replied Serenity, vehemently.
"No can do. I'm sick of helping Kaiba and not getting any 'thank yous'," replied her brother, instantly.
"I'm with you, if we were in trouble Kaiba would never go in after us," agreed Duke.
"If we were in trouble, Kaiba would probably be pushing us in deeper," added Drake.
"Well guys…suit yourselves!" exclaimed Serenity, bolting forward to the tunnel, still carrying Tristan.
"I can't believe this! Even my own sister won't listen to me!" exclaimed Joe, tearing at his head in frustration.
"Smart girl," smirked Lara.
"I'm going in!" exclaimed Joe, not hearing her comment.
"Come on! Can't we talk about this?" protested Duke. Serenity was at the lip of the tunnel, but before she could enter it faded out of existence. It now looked like it had never been there in the first place.
"The tunnel! It's gone!" exclaimed Duke.
"Yu-Gi! Tea!" gasped Joe.
"That Noah has some nerve," growled Drake. "We're going to have to be careful, he's up to something."
Lara nodded. "Worse part is, he managed to split us up."
"I guess that means we have to stick together at all costs," replied Tristan.
"Save it robo-spy," snapped Joe.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKaiba was running down the dark tunnel as fast as he could, fueled by the desire to find his brother. He was determined not to let anything stop him. He was mad when he had to stop because the road forked.
"I should have know this wouldn't be easy," he said, his eyes narrowing. "I'm tired of your tricks Noah." With that he raced down the right-hand tunnel.
Kaiba had hardly gone any distance when a very familiar voice reached his ears, "Seto! Help me!"
"Mokuba…" he said, hurrying even faster. He looked down a side tunnel and saw a short silhouette. "Is that you over there?"
"Seto…." replied the figure.
"Mokuba!" exclaimed Seto, running to him. But when he got within a few yards, Mokuba's feature blurred and shifted into another form. Noah was the one standing there in Mokuba's clothing. Kaiba gasped in surprise. "Noah! What have you done with him?!"
Noah replied with a sly smirk and started to float in the air. A blinding light flared from behind him, absorbing the entire area. When the light faded, they were both gone.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxYu-Gi, Téa, and Kevin had just made it to the same fork in the road that Kaiba did. They were looking down both shadowy tunnels, trying to decide which way to go. They were completely identical, which was little help.
"Great…Want to flip a coin?" asked Yu-Gi.
"No. This way," said Téa as she started running down the left-hand tunnel.
"Tea! Are you sure about that?" asked Yu-Gi.
"I have absolutely no idea," she replied brightly, looking back over her shoulder.
"That makes two of us," sighed Yu-Gi, hurrying after her.
"Make that three," agreed Kevin, hurrying after Yu-Gi. "Careful! This place is dangerous! You never know what kind of traps Noah might be using!"
"Slow down Tea!" called Yu-Gi. "Your legs are longer than mine, remember?"
"Make that three," said Kevin as he and Yu-Gi tried to catch up with Téa.
They did, though they were both breathing hard by the time they got close to her. Téa was in great shape from endless hours dancing, one thing the guys hadn't counted on. They ran on in winded silence for a few moments before a flicker of light could be seen directly ahead.
"Check it out guys!" exclaimed Téa.
"Yeah, there's a light ahead," agreed Yu-Gi.
"That means we chose the right path!" said Téa, happily.
"I thought we chose the left path," said Kevin. Then he smiled at Téa. "Well, since you picked it, it must be the right one. Goddesses like you don't make mistakes."
"Erm…" stammered Téa, blushing a hair at the flattery.
"Well, we're about to find out," said Yu-Gi.
The light suddenly flared around them, engulfing them. It faded a moment later. The dark tunnel had dissolved. Now the three were in the middle of a large, overgrown forest. They were standing on a narrow path the lead to a manor. The manor was painted white, but the paint was chipping. The wrought iron fence was rusting. It must have been magnificent at one time, but now it was dilapidated. It was two-stories high with a balcony the size of a small ball room on the second floor. Several large pillars supported it. Ivy grew up the sides and the gardens were now growing weeds.
"It's some kind of old mansion or something…really old," said Téa, looking it over. Yu-Gi walked over to the fence to get a better look. "Be careful Yu-Gi."
"Whatever this place is, someone doesn't want us going in there. I wonder why," comment Yu-Gi.
"I don't trust it," said Kevin. "I've seen Noah pull traps in situations like this before."
"Hey, do you hear what I hear?" asked Téa, listening careful.
"That's a good song, but it's not Christmas time," joked Kevin.
"It's sounds like crying," continued Téa. It was slightly louder now. It sounded like an infant was sobbing its eyes out.
"Yeah, I do hear it," admitted Yu-Gi. "It's a baby. Maybe this is some kind of virtual nursery."
"Or what if…that baby is all alone!" gasped Téa. "We got to get in there and find out!"
"No way," replied Kevin. "This is clearly a trap. I've got five dollars that says there's no baby in this entire virtual world."
"Then you won't be able to collect that bet until we go in and look," said Téa, putting a foot on the fence to try to climb it.
"That doesn't look safe, Téa," said Kevin. "And you're playing right into Noah's trap." Téa ignored him and scrambled over the top.
"Téa! Wait!" protested Yu-Gi, following.
"Come on Yu-Gi, this is a trap," said Kevin.
"You're starting to sound like Joe, accusing everyone of spying, but this time everything's a trap," replied Yu-Gi, as he reached the top.
"Fine, fine," shrugged Kevin, following him up.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"Is it me or did it just get foggy?" asked Duke. That group had decided to wait by the truck for the others to return. A thick mist was beginning to lace the ground. It was getting thicker by the moment.
"Looks like fog to me," replied Joe.
"Well, the virtual fun never ends in this place," replied Duke, sarcastically.
"You're going to jinx us," said Lara.
"I'm just dying to see what surprise Noah has in store for us next," groaned Joe.
"Now we are jinxed," said Drake.
"Try to be positive guys," said Serenity. "We're going to get out of here, all of us, and we're going to find Tristan's body."
"Thank you Serenity!" chimed Tristan hugging her again and chattering monkey noises. Joe and Duke were glaring deadly daggers at him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKaiba landed hard when the light finally faded. Noah had transported them to the virtual living room, the same place he and Mokuba had watched Kaiba's duel against Lector.
"Thanks for dropping in Seto," chuckled Noah.
"Noah!" growled Kaiba, who was furious. Where's my little brother?! I demand that you bring…" He trailed off when Mokuba sheepishly peaked his head out from behind Noah. "Mokuba!"
"Seto, you're little brother is safe and sound with me," said Noah, calmly.
"You're the one that took him in the first place!" shouted Kaiba. Now he wasn't only mad, he was in disbelief at Noah's attitude. "So I don't know what kind of stunt you're trying to pull. Just hand him over!"
"Don't you remember? It was your ex-employee Nesbit disguised as Tristan who took Mokuba," said Noah, as is he was talking to a young child. "Maybe you should have been a better boss Seto. It was me who saved Mokuba from the Big 5. You should be thanking me."
Kaiba gave Noah one of his wickedest glares and grabbed Mokuba's arm. "Come on Mokuba, let's go." He started to pull Mokuba away from Noah.
Mokuba pulled his arm away roughly and took a step away from his older brother. "NO!" he yelled.
"What's wrong with you? We're getting out of here, right now," stated Kaiba, firmly.
"Nothing's wrong with me, I'm staying right here! You just stood there and watched as he took me away Seto!" yelled Mokuba, glaring hatefully at Seto.
"I what?!" gasped Kaiba. He figured things out pretty quickly. He turned to the green-haired kid. "Noah, what did you say to my brother?! What kind of lies did you poison him with?!"
"Not one Seto," lied Noah, coolly. "Mokuba realized how little you cared about him all by himself. So maybe you should take his advice and just go."
"Snap out of it Mokuba!" said Kaiba, rage lacing his tone.
"It will take more than shouting to erase all those painful memories from your brother's mind," said Noah. "Think of all those times you abandoned him just so you could achieve your own selfish goals."
"That's a lie! I never treated Mokuba like that!"
"You don't have to raise your voice!" said Noah, raising his own voice.
"Mokuba! Don't listen to Noah's lies! He's trying to drive us apart," Kaiba said, getting down on one knee to look his little brother in the eye. Mokuba cringed away.
"It's okay," said Noha, putting an arm around Mokuba and turning him away from Seto. "I won't let him hurt you any more." He started to walk away, Mokuba following. They were slowly vanishing into the shadows.
"Get back here!" demanded Kaiba. "This is not one of your sick games Noah! You will not destroy the only family I have!"
"You have no family!" laughed Noah, looking back. "You're all alone now! Seems to me that Mokuba would rather be my brother. And he's not the only thing I'll take from you. As far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve anything that you have. So, I'll make sure your possessions go to someone who does."
"And who deserves to have what's mine?!" growled Kaiba, his left eye twitching in fury
"Me of course!" replied Noah, he had stopped walking away, though.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"I still hear it, but there's not a baby in sight!" said Yu-Gi as the three roamed the seemingly endless rooms of the mansion. They were all sparely furnished, and most of what was there was covered with sheets to prevent dust build up.
"It's getting louder!" commented Téa, who was a bit farther down the hall.
"I'm telling you, there's nothing here," said Kevin.
"Let's go that way!" said Yu-Gi, pointing down a new hall.
"It has to be coming from one of these rooms," said Téa.
"No babies in here," sighed Yu-Gi, opening a door.
"Nothing, nothing, and nothing," reported Kevin. "Not that there's anything to find."
"Another empty room. This place seems to be deserted. Weird…" Téa started to admit.
"I've found something!" exclaimed Yu-Gi.
"No way!" gasped Kevin as he and Téa hurried to the room he was in.
Yu-Gi was holding up a small object that had been left on one of the tables. What was unusual about it was the fact that it was dust-free, unlike everything else in the manor.
"A rattle!" gasped Téa. "I'd be crying too if I was stuck in a creepy old house with no rattle." The crying still continued.
"You know what, I don't think there's really a baby in this place at all Tea. I think Kevin's right," said Yu-Gi.
"Then who's crying?" asked Téa. "Unless it's a digital sound file that part of Noah's freaky universe!"
"Exactly," agreed Yu-Gi.
Kevin looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided not to. His personality wouldn't let him say anything slightly hurtful to a female.
"Huh?" said Yu-Gi, walking over to a small table in the corner of the room, right below a window. He picked it up. "Check it out guys. It looks like a picture of someone. This might tell us where we are."
"So who's in the picture?" asked Téa.
Yu-Gi rubbed off the years of dust. "This is weird!"
"What?" asked Téa as Yu-Gi handed it to her.
"Oh my!" gasped Kevin, looking over her shoulder.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"Being trapped in the body of a robot monkey is not as fun as it looks," thought Tristan with a depressed sigh. He climbed up the guardrail and looked down at the ocean. What he saw caused him to scream like a monkey. "Guys! What's got eight eyes and lives under water!"
"I don't know," shrugged Serenity.
"We're not exactly in the moods for laughs chimp-boy," retorted Joe.
"There's something down there I think you guys might want to look at," said monkey Tristan, on the verge of a panic. Four sets of glowing eyes were looking back at him from beneath the waves.
"Kevin tried that already, there's nothing there," said Lara.
"It's just an illusion," added Drake. "Like everything else in this place."
"And I was thinking you couldn't get any more annoying than you already were, banana breath," said Duke, irked. He walked over and grabbed Tristan by the head.
"HANDS OFF THE HAIR!!!" yelled Tristan, flailing his short arms to try and get away.
"That settles it for me, that's definitely Tristan," said Drake.
"You have got to chill out, gorilla-boy!" exclaimed Joe.
"Did you say chill?! Why don you take a look down there first?!" yelled Tristan, feverishly pointing down.
"Awww, the little monkey's scared," teased Duke. "I'll give you something to be scared about! It's my double monkey nuggie attack!" He grabbed Tristan again and began to rub his head hard from either side.
"NOT THE HAIR!" yelled Tristan.
WOOSH! A geyser shot up out of the ocean, right where Tristan had been pointing.
"Woah!" gasped the group.
"What is that thing?!" cried Joe.
The water fell away, but what was standing in the middle of it didn't. Hovering in the middle of the air was four Duel Monsters; Deepsea Warrior, Nightmare Penguin, Judgeman, and Jinzo.
"No way! It's four of the Big 5!" gasped Joe.
"We beat you freaks of nature fair and square!" yelled Lara, venomously.
"We have some unfinished business to take care of!" snapped Gamesly, the Deepsea Warrior.
"What do you creeps want from us?!" demanded Duke.
"The same thing we've always wanted! Your bodies!" answered Gamesly.
"Drop dead," spat Drake.
"Joe…" muttered Serenity, sounding worried.
"Don't worry sis, this bunch of wackos couldn't duel their way out of a paper bag with scissors," replied Joe.
"What makes you think we want to duel you?" asked Lector, the Jinzo.
"Yes, we've had enough games! Now its time for us to take action!" agreed Gamesly.
"What was that?" asked Joe.
"It means we're in a lot of trouble!" exclaimed Drake, readying his duel disk.
The Big 5 members present charged forward.
Why duel you when we can take your bodies by force?" asked Gamesly, evilly.
"Force this!" spat Lara, following Drake's example and activating her duel disk.
"Now we have a problem!" gasped Joe, starting his duel disk. Those three grabbed the first five monsters off of the top of their decks and slid them into place. Fifteen monsters charged forward to meet the businessmen's' attack. "This ought to keep these guys busy!"
"Let's get out of here!" exclaimed Tristan as everyone raced for the truck.
The fight raged on and they had to dodge stray attacks as they climbed in. Serenity had taken Kevin's seat in the co-pilot. Joe had narrowly beat Drake to the driver's seat. Duke and Lara were already in the back. The four members of the Big 5 were mowing through their monsters.
"Time to blow this taco stand!" said Joe, jamming the key into the ignition.
"How can you think of food at a time like this?!" yelled Lara.
The engine stalled.
"Hey! My dragon is stronger than Deepsea Warrior!" protested Drake. "Those cheaters!"
"Sit down!" exclaimed Lara, pulling him down into the back of the truck.
Joe tried to start it again, but the engine still stalled.
"What are you waiting for man?!" yelled Duke
"The thing won't start! Come on you piece of junk!" growled Joe.
The Big 5 only had a handful of monsters remaining against them. As they watched, Jinzo blasted Lara's Fire Sorcerer, and Nightmare Penguin took out Joe's Swordsman of Landstar.
"Joe…" whimpered Serenity.
"I'm trying! Start you rust bucket! Come on!" hollered Joe as he pounded on the dashboard. The engine sprang to life.
"It started!" gasped the Wheelers.
"We're not going to let them win," said Drake, ready to summon more monsters. The truck shot forward. Duke, Lara, and Drake slammed into the back end of the truck, adding to the bruises they had from Joe's last time behind the wheel.
"Warn me when you're going to do that! I'm not wearing a seat belt!" groaned Duke.
"Live up to your name, Wheeler and try not to get us killed!" snapped Lara.
"That's it, I'm driving next time," said Drake, wincing as he tried to sit up straighter.
The Big 5 had eliminate the remaining monsters and gave chase. They tried to attack the truck, causing Joe to swerve violently. Things didn't look good.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThe darkness by Kaiba and Noah shifted into another flashback. But this one was unfamiliar to Kaiba. Gozaburo was sitting behind his desk with Noah standing in front of him.
"Take a close look at the virtual projection in front of you," said Noah.
"It's you and my step-father," said Kaiba.
"Yes, he and I have a history as well," admitted Noah.
At that moment, the door in the flashback opened. Strangely, Yu-Gi, Téa, and Kevin entered the room.
"It's Noah and Kaiba! What's going on?" asked Téa, who sounded surprised. She looked back and forth between Noah and himself in the flashback, looking confused.
"Oh, great, just who we wanted to find…" muttered Kevin, who sounded anything but happy about running into both Noah and Seto.
It didn't seem to bother Yu-Gi at all. He walked right up to Kaiba and handed him the picture he had found. "Does this thing mean anything to you Kaiba?"
Kaiba looked at it once and instantly answered, "It's a trick. This is a picture of my step-father." A slightly younger version of Gozaburo was sitting in a chair, with Noah standing by his left hand
"Your step-dad? With Noah?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Pay attention to the show Seto. I think it will clear things up for you," said Noah, who sounded slightly irked at being ignored.
Gozaburo pulled a snapshot out of his desk and slid it across the table. Noah picked it up and looked at it. The others could see that it was a picture of twelve-year-old Kaiba.
"Who's this kid?" asked flashback Noah.
"My latest acquisition," answered Gozaburo. "His name is Seto and he and his brother will be coming to live with us. He's extremely intelligent, you could learn a lot from him. That's my plan. Seto will be here to constantly challenge you. Having him around the house will motivate you to improve your studies. After all, if I'm going to hand Kaiba Corp. over to you, you have to prove to me that you have the intellect to run a company of this magnitude."
"All right, you won't be disappointed, father," answered flashback Noah.
There were some gasps from the people around the room.
"What did he say?!" cried Kaiba.
"That's his dad!" exclaimed Yu-Gi.
Noah, the real one, stepped forward, "Not quite what you were expecting, is it Seto? You and I being step-brothers. But it's all true. I am Gozaburo's one true son. I was always supposed to inherit his empire, you were nothing more than another one of his servants to motivate me. That's the only reason my father let rift raft like you into the house. And that's the story of how and orphan with no class became president of Kaiba Corp.."
"Not true!" snapped Kaiba, who looked ready to slug him. Kevin, having seen that look before, backed up.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxShayla was still listening to everything that was going on from the place Noah had imprisoned her. She was upset about how he had used Mokuba and already has some things to tell him off for when he came back. She was also worried about half of her friends as she heard the Big 5 pursue them. But now, she was baffled by Noah's latest revelation.
"Noah K-Kaiba?" she gasped, trying the name. She knew how important names were, never having a full one herself. "That…that's impossible. Isn't it? It doesn't make any logical sense, but I can't sense even a hint of a lie from Noah. But…Noah sounds the same now as he did when he was talking to that jerk Gozaburo…that had to be years ago. He should be as old if not older than me! But, he's not lying, the Millennial Scales would know if he was…What is going on here? If Noah really is Gozaburo's son, then he must be using the virtual technology to make himself look different, like the Big 5 did…it's the only thing I can think of…I don't like this one bit. Well, I do know this much, I'm glad that I'm never going to run into the Gozaburo Kaiba. The more I hear about him, the worse he sounds."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"It's true. Now the time has finally came for me to reclaim my rightful position as president of my father's empire. Sorry, I guess this means that you're out of a job, Seto," smirked Noah.
"Noah! You're story makes no sense! If you were really Gozaburo's son, how is it that I never saw you before! Answer that Noah!" challenged Kaiba
"Well, that's part two of my story," started Noah.
"Alert alert alert alert alert," a computer voice said, over and over. The screen that Noah and Mokuba had used suddenly sparked to life, showing the chase scene.
Yu-Gi gasped.
"Oh no!" cried Téa.
"Now what are those freaks trying to pull!?" growled Kevin.
"Sorry, but I have to cut this short. Don't move. I'll be back, right after I deal with them," said Noah.
"You're staying here understand?!" yelled Kaiba. But as he was talking, Noah vanished, taking Mokuba with him.
The rest of the gang's in trouble!" gasped Yu-Gi.
"Come on! We have to help!" exclaimed Téa.
"Right, like we want to wait for Noah to get back so he can toy with us," agreed Kevin as they raced out the door.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"They're gaining on us!" exclaimed Joe, checking the rearview mirror. They had left the bridge in the dust. Now they were speeding though miles of desert. It was the virtual world, no one said it had to make sense.
"Keep your eyes on the road!" cried Lara.
"Joe!" growled Duke as a blast nearly threw him.
"Be careful!" warned Serenity.
"I want to live to get my body back!" protested monkey Tristan.
"Try to hold still so I can summon more monsters!" shouted Drake. He tried to stand but was thrown down again by Joe's driving.
"Sit down before you break your neck!" snapped Lara, who was worried about her beau.
Jinzo blasted right beside their truck, nearly causing the thing to tip. A wave of water nearly missed Duke's head. A flying crystal of ice shattered behind one of the wheels.
"Straight ahead!" warned Duke. Judgeman had managed to fly ahead of them and was standing in the middle of the road.
"These guys won't quit!" growled Joe, cranking the wheel to the right and heading off road.
"Ouch! That's my tailbone!" protested Lara.
"You are never driving again!" snapped Duke, whose knuckles were white from gripping the side of the vehicle.
"Look out!" gasped Serenity as Jinzo flew even closer.
"I got you now!" laughed Lector. He blasted the sandy wasteland in front of them.
Joe tried to avoid the hole, but it was too big. They skittered around the edge until the vehicle tipped on its side and went sliding across the desert floor. It finally came to a halt, but the teens were too shaken to move immediately.
"Are you still in one piece back there?" asked Joe. He had climbed out of the window, since the driver's side was now facing the sky.
"Ugh…I think so…" groaned Duke, who was several yards behind the vehicle, having been thrown off of it.
"Lara! Lara!" called Drake, who was on the underside side of the vehicle. He was shaking her, because the crash had dazed her.
"I'm fine…relatively speaking…." she said, slowly.
"Serenity?" asked Joe, looking into the truck.
"I'm okay…" she answered, trying to undo her seatbelt. Joe stuck a hand down and began to pull her up.
"What about me?" asked Tristan. Having a metallic body proved useful in this situation.
"For now you maybe okay, but all of your bodies will belong to us. Now, which of you two should I chose to take control of?" asked Lector as Jinzo as he eyed up the Wheeler siblings.
"Hold it. I want to have first choice Lector!" protested Crum as the Nightmare Penguin.
"We're going in size order Crum, so you go last," snapped Lector.
Crum was already trying to climb up the side of the truck "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! I'm choosing right now!"
"Keep your wings to yourself until I say so!" ordered Lector, pulling Crum away from the truck.
"Fools," muttered Johnson as he walked over with Gamesly. He had picked up Duke by the belt and was swing him like a school kid would a lunch pail. He threw Duke down right below Joe and Serenity.
"Get over there!" snapped Gamesly at Drake and Lara.
"You don't order me around," glared Drake, ready to summon a monster.
"Try anything and I'll strike before you can move," threatened Gamesly as the Deepsea Warrior.
"You're nothing but an old fool," countered Drake.
"We don't have time for all this bickering," said Lector. "Choose a body and stick with it.
"Let me go first!" shouted Crum.
"Calm yourself, we have to act quickly if we want to escape into the real world," said Gamesly.
A bright light flashed in the sky up and to the right of them.
"What's that?!" gasped Johnson.
"Attention fools. This game is over," said Noah from somewhere above them.
"Master Noah! This isn't what it looks like," protested Gamesly.
"Really?" asked Noah, appearing in front of them, floating. "So you're not breaking my rules? What kind of fool do you take me for?"
"Please, I can explain Noah!" begged Gamesly.
"I gave you all a chance to win your freedom and you all failed!" Noah vanished. The void where he had been became a powerful dust storm, sucking in everything it could. "Now you pay the price!" There was much screaming from everyone there. "Gentlemen, you're all dismissed. No one breaks my rules and gets away with it." The four member of the Big 5 were pulled off of the feet and into the cyclone. Joe, Serenity, and Tristan were huddled in the cabin. Duke had resumed his death grip on the vehicle, while Lara and Drake seemed to prefer to cling to each other. Then, as suddenly as it started, the winds died.
"Man…" groaned Duke, sliding to the ground.
"Hey? You okay Duke?" called Joe, looking back out of the cabin.
"Yeah, I've never been better…" replied Duke, who sounded like he was going to puke.
"What about you guys?" asked Drake.
"Serenity and I are fine," answered Joe.
"Guys!" called Téa, running over.
"We've found you! Is everyone alright?!" called Yu-Gi.
"We're fine," answered Yu-Gi.
Tristan waved and made happy monkey noises.
"Awesome! That's the best news I've heard all day!" exclaimed Yu-Gi, hugging Joe.
"Well, it's been a crappy day," commented Drake.
"Those wimps never stood a chance," gloated Joe.
"We never would have stood a chance if you continued driving!" snapped Lara.
"Hey, I got us away, didn't I?" asked Joe. The couple merely rolled their eyes/
"I guess the action never stops," said Téa, helping Serenity down from the truck.
"You can say that again," agreed Serenity.
"Are you okay?" Kevin asked, walking right up to Serenity. "The Big 5 have no right to mess with someone as lovely and sweet as you."
Tristan jumped on his head and began pulling at his hair, jealous.
"Hey! I'm on your side!" protested Kevin. "Leave the hair alone!" He pulled Tristan off by the nape of his neck.
"Oh great, there's two hair fiends here," groaned Duke.
"Serenity is mine!" Tristan hissed at Kevin. "So stay away lover-boy!"
"Geesh, okay, okay," said Kevin.
"This just doesn't add up," thought Kaiba as he stared at the picture Yu-Gi had given him.
"Kaiba? Could Noah's story about you being his step-brother actually be true?" asked Yu-Gi, noticing how quiet Kaiba was being.
"Noah's story is nothing but one big lie to mess with my head Yu-Gi," replied Kaiba. "Noah's conversation that he would have had with Gozaburo would have happened over 6 years ago, which is when this was taken." He handed Yu-Gi the picture. "According to the imprinted date. But look closely."
"Noah looks the same as he does now!" gasped Yu-Gi.
"He hasn't aged?!" exclaimed Téa.
"Who hasn't aged?" asked Drake.
"Noah," answered Kevin. "He's now claiming to be Kaiba's step-brother."
"What?" asked Serenity.
"Noah said he's Gozaburo's son," answered Téa.
"That's enough of that," said Kaiba, walking away.
"Touchy," commented Kevin.
"Just let him go, okay?" asked Drake.
"Come on guys, you know we need to stick together if we are ever going to get out of here," said Yu-Gi.
Lara sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, he's got a good point."
"We should help Kaiba find Mokuba," said Serenity. "Because Mokuba is probably in the same place that Tristan's body is."
"You heard the girl!" cheered Tristan.
"Let's just not stay here," said Duke.
"Come on guys," said Yu-Gi, who started walking after Kaiba.
"I know I'm going to regret this," groaned Joe.
AN/ Sorry to disappoint some of you. I did intend to combine this with the next duel, but there's too much duel and too much dialogue. But on the other hand it meant that this got updated quicker. Sorry. And, as always, please read, review, and enjoy! J