Notes: I'm going to say that the Ishtars have been dividing their time between Egypt and Domino City in this fic, so theyve kinda been living in both places. Who knows, I might even decide Domino City is in Japan this time. LOL.

Chapter Three

Joey Wheeler walked home slowly, with one hand pulling his jacket close around him as he shivered. It was summer and should not be as cold as it was, but the oncoming storm made quite a difference in the weather. Also, Joey admitted to himself, ever since the Duel Monsters had invaded their dimension, there had always seemed to be a certain chill in the air. He frowned to himself, balancing the bag of groceries in his arms as he thought he heard a harsh flap of wings. But when he looked about, he could see nothing. But he knew that there was probably something lurking about. Many of the Duel Monsters traveled in shadows in order to have even more advantage over their victims.

He gave a low curse. This was not the way it should be. They should not be forced to live in fear, as they were being forced to do because of the possibility of being attacked by vicious creatures every time the shelter of one's home was left. Though, it most likely was not even safe in one's home. If the monsters wanted to, they could easily penetrate the walls or the doors—or even the roof. It had only been several days before when a Curse of Dragon had crashed into one of the skyscrapers downtown, nearly causing its collapse. Joey and Serenity had watched that on the news, and Serenity had been highly distressed at the sight. It was a miracle that no one had been hurt in that disaster. There had certainly been plenty of other injuries and fatalities since the creatures' arrival.

What's happening to Domino City? Joey silently demanded in frustration. Nothing's like it used to be. Yugi had never been quite the same since the Ceremonial Battle. He had become so close to Pharaoh Atemu that to suddenly have had to say goodbye had been a crushing blow, even though at the same time he had been happy that his friend was finally free to go on to the afterlife after millennia of being stranded on earth and in the Millennium Puzzle. Joey and the others had tried to give Yugi comfort, and the vertically-challenged boy had been grateful for their efforts, but it was obvious that he was still missing Atemu.

Joey was relieved when he saw his home just up ahead. He had managed to arrive without any serious calamities coming upon him or the groceries his mother had asked for. He dug the key out of his pocket as he went up the walk, but then noticed with alarm that the door was flapping in the wind. Eyes widening, he ran up the porch steps and through the open doorway. "Serenity!" he yelled, looking around frantically. "Ma?" He set the groceries down on the kitchen table before beginning his exploration of the home.

He discovered Serenity kneeling on the floor in her room, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Auburn hair fell across her face, concealing the shattered expression Joey was certain she was bearing. She grasped weakly at chunks of the carpet with her hands, her tears splashing down upon it as she continued to weep. Joey was dismayed.

"Hey," he said softly as he knelt down in front of her, "it's okay, Serenity. Everything's okay." He gently grasped her shoulders, causing her to look up at him with astonishment and awe, as if she could barely believe that he was truly there.

"Oh Joey!" she cried, throwing her arms around him in relief. "I . . . I was so afraid for you. . . . I was afraid they would get you. . . ." Her voice came out in a tremble as she shut her eyes tightly and held onto her brother. It was then that Joey genuinely noticed the disaster area her room had become. Things had been overturned in the living room and the kitchen, as well. And Serenity's clothes were torn. . . .

"Did they come here, sis?" he demanded urgently, pulling back to look into her distraught hazel eyes. The crystalline drops continued to flow as she answered him.

"Yes!" she choked out, gripping his shoulders with horror. "Yes, they came here, Joey—and they took Mama with them!" She had been forced to watch it all, and when she had desperately tried to intervene, she had been blasted back by a cruel Dark Magician. They had wanted to take her with them as well, but for some unknown reason, they had been prevented from doing so. Serenity wished she could remember what had come about to stop them, but she could not. The next thing she recalled clearly was discovering that she was all alone. The Duel Monsters had left, but so had her mother.

"What!" Joey gasped in disbelief. He checked Serenity over for injuries, his brown eyes filling with a furious flame. Now those beasts had taken things too far. They had broken into this peaceful home, abducted the Wheelers' mother, and had terrorized Serenity. Joey was not going to stand for any more of this. Now he was determined to find a way to bring the invasion to a halt. He was not going to give them the chance to do any further damage. What if they returned another time to get Serenity? What if the creatures killed their mother, Ms. Kawai? Joey had to find where they had taken her.

Serenity nodded weakly, the details of her experience pouring out. When she had realized that they had taken Ms. Kawai, she had been deathly afraid that Joey would be next and that he would not return home. Words could not express how grateful she was for this blessing. "We have to save her, Joey," she cried now, though she did not know how they would accomplish that feat. Certainly she did not want Joey to end up in any danger, but they could not simply do nothing about this alarming turn of events. "Maybe if we can get the good monsters to help us, we'll be able to rescue Mama!"

"We'll do something, Serenity," Joey assured her. "I promise, we won't let them do anything to her." But he had to wonder if it was already too late. For Serenity's sake, he had to believe that was not so. He had grown apart from their mother ever since the divorce had taken Serenity away from him. Now that he had been living with them both, he had found that not much had changed in the relationship between him and Ms. Kawai, who had resumed going by her maiden name after divorcing Mr. Wheeler. Even so, of course he did not want anything terrible to happen to the woman, and he was determined that he would rescue her from whatever madness the Duel Monsters had in mind.

He stood up. "Come on. Let's go see Yugi," he directed. "Maybe he knows how to contact the good monsters. We'll take my car." While he did not like the idea of Serenity leaving the house, he also hated the idea of her staying in it all alone. The Duel Monsters could return. And so he decided that it would be better to take her with him anyway.

Serenity nodded shakily, getting to her feet. "Let's hurry," she whispered, brushing the hair away from her face. She was just as determined as Joey was. They would save their mother, because that was the only thing that could be. She would not allow the invading Duel Monsters to win in whatever twisted game they were playing. If they wanted to wage war against the Wheelers, then the Wheelers would wage war right back. And they would win.

It was a long time that Alister waited for Valon to return from the inner workings of the manor. He had determined that it was best not to go in after him, even though a part of him longed to more than anything. Valon could take care of himself, after all (he would especially have to be capable of such, to be in a gang!), but more importantly, Alister felt that he might be more willing to trust his old friend again if Alister allowed him some space and time to digest what he had just been told. It would be hard for the now-amnesiac to suddenly be informed that what he had thought to be his life truly was not and that he had friends who missed him. Alister could not expect him to immediately accept this, especially coming from someone who was a complete stranger to him now. And so he limped to the broken-down porch swing to wait, stretching his long legs along the length of it.

He was not afraid of being alone in this bad neighborhood. Alister did not fear for himself, but only for his loved ones. He feared losing them. That was his greatest fear, and the reason why he had closed his heart for so long. There were not many who understood this about him. The wounds torn into his heart from the past had gone deep. It had been extremely traumatic for him to watch his family members and friends die in the war years before.

It was ironic, he thought, but the fear of losing his loved ones had nearly driven him to kill them when he was under the Orichalcos's influence and had gone quite insane. He clenched a fist tightly, unaware of the rusty chains creaking as the swing moved or of his own, wildly racing heart. But he was seeing the fatal penalty duel once again, when Raphael and Valon had nearly died. That was my fault. . . . With my own hands . . . I was going to deal out their deaths, when in my normal mind I never wanted to harm either of them! Was it my lot to kill the people I care about? Was that always my lot? As always, when his pondering wandered into this vein, he would remember innocent Miruko, whom he still believed would yet be alive if Alister had known better how to take care of him.

I managed to save Raphael and Valon in the end, when I got control again and surrendered the duel . . . but I couldn't save Miruko. He's still dead. My little brother is still gone. . . .

A tear fell from his eye as his memories went back to that horrible day when he had placed the child in the tank, only to see what should have been a safe shelter be targeted and explode moments later. His world had shattered in that moment. . . .

He started back to the present when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! You idiot, you're drawing blood!"

Valon had wandered all through the mansion, making sure that it was entirely vacant. All the while, he could not ignore two things—the feeling that this house had been used as a den of evil, and the fact that waiting for him outside was an odd redhead who insisted that Valon was his missing friend. As much as Valon wanted to say that it could not be true and that he had not been lied to for the past months, he found that he could not say so for certain.

He did not completely trust Rocky and his gang, even though he tried to give that impression when he was around them. But it had increasingly become merely an act. The problem was that he had nowhere else to go, so he did not see how he could leave. And if they had been lying to him, then he wanted to know why. He wanted to remain with them and attempt to find answers to his confusion.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. That redhead's unexpected arrival had only made his confusion all the more pronounced. Valon could not understand why he had suddenly appeared at the very location that Rocky wanted to relocate the gang to. He wondered if the older man was part of the rival gang and was just attempting to get close to him. But that seemed far-fetched. Valon had determined before going inside that the person was harmless, and he still truly believed that. Still, Alister's statements had disturbed him.

He's crazy, comin' up and ranting to me like that, Valon thought in an annoyed way. Why does he havta remind me of the bloke in my dream? He knew that if Alister was possibly speaking the truth, he must, indeed, be one of the two men Valon kept seeing in his nightmares. But how could they have survived? This is all just a big mess.

By now he had explored all of the rooms. Nothing seemed out of place, so he determined to go back outside. He was certain that Alister would still be waiting for him, and he was right.

He was stunned when he saw that Alister was clenching his fist so tightly that he had managed to draw several thin streams of blood from his palm. Instantly the memories from earlier that evening flashed into his mind. I knew someone who did that. . . . Shaking off the realization of what this could mean, the Australian boy ran over and scolded the stranger for not being more careful.

Alister started, coming back to the present. After regarding Valon in almost a daze, he finally noticed what he was doing to his hand and stopped, slowly pulling his fingers back. He looked down at the crimson trails blankly, then frowned.

"It's nothing," he said flatly. "I'm fine."

In spite of himself, Valon pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and grabbed Alister's wrist, dabbing the cloth over his hand as he tried to cease the bleeding. "You looked like you weren't gonna notice what you were doin' for a while," he snapped, wondering why he felt such an annoyance over the whole matter. If he had possessed his memories, he would have realized that it was because he did not want his friend to hurt himself. But he still had amnesia, so that possibility did not enter his mind. "Are you some kinda nut!" Valon sat down on the edge of the swing.

"Actually, I'd like to consider myself sane," Alister responded calmly, watching Valon work at cleaning his small wounds. It was strange, talking to the boy with the realization that he did not remember Alister at all. For weeks Alister and Raphael had searched for him and worried about him and had been afraid that they would never find him. Now, he was here, but he was not the Valon Alister remembered. Though . . . in another way, he still was. "That's the second time you've asked me that, though."

"Sane? Ha!" Valon glared at him, ignoring his last statement. "You blow in outta nowhere and claim that I'm your long-lost chum, and you won't take no for an answer!" But was he secretly relieved and grateful? He had not especially enjoyed being in the gang and had not thought that it seemed like something he would be involved with, but he did not know what to do about it. But now that this strange person was making these claims, perhaps Valon had started to consider that he had somewhere else to be. Still, he did not know that he was ready to trust him.

"You're right, I won't." Alister moved toward the back of the swing, allowing both him and Valon more room. "What are you going to do about that?" He gazed at the younger man firmly, his gray eyes demanding an answer.

Valon's expression was defiant. "I'm gonna go home and forget all about you and your crazy ideas," he retorted, though inwardly he knew it would be very hard to forget this encounter. He really doubted that he would. But he also doubted that he would actually go with Alister. As far as he knew, this redhead was a stranger. And he had better things to do than follow some stranger who was probably completely delusional. Yet, he could not ignore the other possibility. . . .

"And where is 'home' for you?" Alister asked calmly.

"None of your business," Valon retorted, tying the handkerchief firmly around Alister's hand. But soon, home'll be here. I just hope you're not gonna keep comin' around bothering me after we move in. And yet, another part of him seemed to be protesting the thought of Alister going away. He could deny it as much as he wanted, but the fact remained that, deep in his subconscious, he remembered his old friend—the times they had quarreled, the times they had risked their lives for each other, and the times spent with Raphael.

Alister found himself feeling frustrated. He knew he could not force Valon to go with him. Then Valon would be even less likely to trust him. If Alister could not convince Valon to come, then he would have to leave the boy for now and try again later. The thought did not appeal to him in the least, but he understood that it might be the only way.

"So," he spoke finally, "you're not willing to come back with me? Not even just for a visit, to see if I'm right?" He swallowed hard. It took immense mental strength to say what he did next. "You would be free to go if you still didn't remember anything and you instead wanted to return to the life you've been leading." Perhaps, under such circumstances, Valon would be willing to come with him—though Alister did not know how he and Raphael would handle it if the boy chose to go away after returning to a home that he did not recall, a home where his friends—his true friends—had missed him greatly.

Valon frowned, confused at this. "You wouldn't try to keep me there?" He let the swing rock them slowly as a stronger wind blew down the street.

"No," Alister responded. "Not if it wasn't what you wanted. I can't force you to remember the past, and neither can Raphael." It will have to come on its own, in time . . . if it ever comes at all, he thought bitterly.

"Why not?" Valon demanded. "I mean, if you think I'm this friend of yours, wouldn't you wanna keep me with you and not have me mixed up with a gang?" Though he did not outwardly show it, he was considering Alister's quiet invitation quite deeply. Perhaps he would agree after all. He did not believe that Alister was a liar. If, however, he proved to be insane, that Valon was not at all certain what he would be getting into by going with him. It would take a great deal of trust if he were to say yes to Alister's suggestion.

"Of course I would," Alister answered flatly. More than anything. "But I can't encroach on your free agency. That wouldn't make either of us happy. Valon, I promise that if you don't like it back home and you still think I'm insane, you can leave anytime you want. But what if you do remember? What if you reject my words now and then later wish you hadn't?" He continued to study the boy firmly as he spoke.

"That could happen, I guess," Valon said noncommittally. "Rocky wouldn't be too happy if I up and left, though." He crossed his arms, glaring at the calm redhead. Does anything ever rattle him?

"The Valon I knew wouldn't take orders from anyone," Alister informed him. "Have you changed so much that you'll allow this Rocky to keep you on a leash?" If there was any of the old Valon left—and Alister was certain that he had caught glimpses of him—then this comment would get to him.

"Naw, of course not!" Valon yelled. Alister was pleased to see him getting riled. "But you know, I'm kinda warning you that if he finds out you've been tryin' to get me to go with you, he'll get ticked off. He might even come after you and this Raphael. I don't want you gettin' hurt on my account." I'm just nobody . . . some idiot who got mixed up in a gang and doesn't know where to go from here.

"I'm willing to take the chance. Raphael will be, as well."

Valon was stunned at this response. "You're really serious about this, aren't you," he remarked, giving Alister a side-long glance. Most people wouldn't wanna risk getting hurt and all . . . 'especially on my account. . . . Why would he care so much . . . unless he is telling the truth?

"Yes," Alister said simply. "We both want our friend back." The wind tussled his crimson hair about, blowing the bangs into his eyes. He longed for Valon to say yes, but he knew begging and pleading would not help. That was against his personality anyway. "So, what is your choice?"

Valon glowered at the floor, considering everything over in his mind and weighing the possibilities of the various options. "I dunno," he muttered. "Maybe I'll pass on it." But that did not make him feel better. He found that he had a sort of unease as he rejected Alister. He had been longing for something else, after all. What if it was Alister who was offering him the truth about his past—and about his dream? He paused again, mulling things over, and at last looked back up at the redhead. He could see the disappointment in the gray eyes. "Or maybe I won't."

Alister felt a great weight being lifted from his soul. "You will come back then?" he asked.

"Eh . . . just for a visit, y'know? You got me curious." Valon shrugged. "Not that I believe you or anything like that. I'm just kinda bored. Somethin' new sounds good." He hopped off the swing and watched as Alister painstakingly followed suit, easing himself off so as not to further aggravate his ankle.

"Fair enough," Alister said quietly. He laid his hand shakily on Valon's shoulder as he stood up. The boy flinched at the touch, but then decided to ignore it. Alister sighed to himself as he limped down the stairs. "Let's go."

Marik growled to himself as he maneuvered his way down the aisle and wound up being flung onto a startled passenger's lap as the plane gave another lurch. He mumbled an apology and struggled up again, but then fell back down as the aircraft gave a violent shudder. The teenager hissed in frustration.

"We are approaching Domino City," Ishizu could be heard telling the passengers, "but the airplane has been damaged by one of our uninvited visitors. We will do our best to make certain of a safe landing, but it may not be possible under the circumstances." She cast her blue-eyed gaze around the area, taking in all the annoyed, frightened, and angry faces.

"How can you ensure anything?" a heckler yelled from the back. "You're not part of the crew! You're just a paying traveler, like us! Where is the crew anyway?"

Marik's eye twitched. He grasped at the plush backs of the seats on either side of him as he forced himself to rise. "The crew has mostly abandoned us," he declared angrily, "and the remaining staff is doing what they can. You're just going to have to accept that someone had to take charge around here, since no one else was doing it!" He managed to get out into the aisle, walking toward where Rishid was trying to calm a worried mother. "If you really have a problem with this, feel free to come up and help us!"

"Everyone needs to get settled in their seats, and to make certain their seatbelts are fastened," Rishid announced before the heckler had a chance to reply. "Most likely we will be landing in a matter of moments." Or crashing, he knew, but he tried not to dwell on that possibility. The passengers were upset enough as it was.

"Who's even flying this bird?" someone else demanded to know.

Marik clenched a fist. If he told them it was the Cyber Commander, with the Marauding Captain as his co-pilot, that would undoubtedly only cause more panic. And so he decided to just be vague. "I'm sure we can all hope that the one flying is a good pilot," he snapped, going to make certain that his siblings got safely strapped in. He knew that they would not until they had made certain that all the passengers were secured. The frightened stewardess was also attempting to do this, swallowing her fear as she wandered among the aisles.

Ishizu laid a gentle hand on Marik's shoulder when he approached. "We must remain calm, my brother," she told him kindly, looking into the depths of his lavender eyes. "Everything will be alright." She did not blame her brother for being on edge, but she knew that it would not help matters. The boy needed to calm himself.

Marik ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I'm just sick of how no one appreciates what we do for them," he answered darkly. That had been part of the reason why he had become so angry at the Pharaoh in the past. He had believed that the Tombkeepers' clan had been slaving away for millennia and that the Pharaoh did not recognize or care about their efforts, instead rewarding them with only heartache and grief.

"I know," Ishizu said in a soothing voice. "But come. Let us get settled. There is a landing strip just up ahead. Our pilot is going to attempt to navigate the aircraft safely onto it." Gently yet firmly she led Marik to a seat. Rishid was already arriving from the other direction.

"The other passengers are all in their seats," he said as he sat down. He hoped that this would not prove to be too much of a disaster. Surely they would be able to safely land and no one would be hurt. . . . Surely his siblings would be safe. . . .

He looked over at them as they sit down beside him. The lights flickered again, dimming and casting shadows over their faces. Marik was tense, his lavender eyes flashing in distress. Ishizu was calm, but her eyes showed how worried she was for the safety of her brothers. If the airplane crashed, any number of things could happen. A fire could start and they would not be able to escape, it could explode on contact. . . . Rishid banished such thoughts from his mind. Everything would be alright.

As the plane began to touch the ground, it jolted several times, the wheels barely touching the landing strip and then bouncing off again. The Cyber Commander was scarcely able to keep the large jet from crashing into a watchtower and bringing it to the asphalt. When the jet at last was able to settle down and into position, the passengers were highly awed, thankful, and relieved—for the most part. Others were still not satisfied and continued to complain as everyone got up to quickly make their exits.

The Marauding Captain turned to his ally as they listened to the sounds of the people talking. "They're all so oblivious," he murmured. "Some of them are complaining about their flight without realizing that their lives were in critical danger. None of them seem to understand what's actually happening around them."

The Cyber Commander narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't surprise me," he answered. "Humans in this dimension have always been like that. It's really hard for them to see the big picture. That's part of why dealing with them is so irritating." He watched the passengers file off the airplane as staff from the airport ran out to meet them. "In a way it almost makes you wish that some of these beasts could eliminate the idiots. They're an insult to the human race anyway."

The Marauding Captain only sighed in response. His friend had a tendancy to have no patience or tolerance for idiots, not that his colleague blamed him. "We have work to do," he said after a moment. "Let's get to it." The Cyber Commander was in agreement.

And so they left the airplane as quietly as they had boarded it.