Chapter Thirty-Three: Evidence from Glasses

I know he couldn't have meant to, I know he didn't mean it. But, well, my brother did something I can't forget or just ignore.

He hit me. Shoved me hard right on my chest, right where the necklace from Yugi lay. And when that imbedded in me, it hurt. Seto couldn't've known I'd had it…I never told him I even wanted it. He would have been ashamed that I'd wanted something so similar to Yugi's or something that would be categorized as a type of fantasy. He hates those things most of all.

He came later and apologized, but it didn't even seem like he knew what he was apologizing for. I hope that just means he was so embarrassed and apologetic about what he did he couldn't say it.

I hope things change after this.

Trembling, I hit the "play" button.

Only darkness covered the screen, and light steps emanating the only sound echoing within the darkness.

"Tell another spooky story, Mokuba, I want to see Wheeler get up and run."

My voice sounded odd coming from the tape, especially when a flickering darkness was all I saw, almost like static. Like a DVD, this tape automatically played at the beginning, no rewinding needed.

Slowly, with a mesmerized trance-like focus, I listened and watched the tape as it showed the film of that night. This time, I noticed things I had forgotten or even changed. The tape wouldn't lie. My mind and memories had been lying.

My brother had told a story of a cursed thing, all right. But while he told a tale of a dragon pendant, I could tell, through long pauses and unaligned facts (my brother could repeat information quite well), Mokuba had been the one who had created it. Not the shopkeeper. No store had ever existed. No dragon pendant.

And after that, as I moved closer, nothing much still to see, I heard the gang asking my brother about the pendant and how he had made up the story. From there, they even made a brief try to see how my brother was health-wise. Apparently, they thought a connection existed between the story to his own wounds. But even to them, Mokuba never gave a hint of where he received his wounds.

My brother explained the rules…the gang took off. Then I made my appearance and I saw my brother.

"Mokuba…" I whispered, eyes riveted on his innocent, young face. Too many days had passed since I had last seen him in action, since I had last seen him with any life. Eyes shining, face so eager, I wanted to clutch him in my arms like I had in the dreams, but I feared that doing so would simply enforce that he was gone from me. Gone for good, somewhere I could never follow.

All too soon, the view of the camera panned off his angelic face. My brother was taking the glasses and putting them on. He had worn them all night…

"Really? Can I see?"

"Sure…but only because they've been fireproofed, waterproofed, idiot-proofed, smashing-proofed, and curiosity-proofed. You should be able to handle them without harm."

Why had I wasted such moments with my brother? Why had I teased him so much? But then, that had been our relationship. That had been how we conversed and proof of how well we had gotten along.

"Cool! When I look at the light, they change to sunglasses."

"They're called transitional lenses, Mokuba."

"So, these are some pretty nifty shades we have here! … What we need are some night goggles now…"

"We could probably find some."

"Nah, too much like cheating."

On we went in the basement, and I wished to see my brother's face once more. Almost, I halted the tape to go back and just look at him again, but I had to know the ending. I had to know what was going to happen and how it all added up.

This time, at my brother's mention of cameras, I had to agree with him.

"I kinda wish we had a setup like you did—uh, before. You know, cameras set up to watch how they were doing. But I didn't have enough time to add in a bunch of cameras, especially ones that would work with the darkness and still manage to see despite the added walls I put up. We'd've needed a lot of cameras to see everywhere."

"Hopefully," I whispered as my eyes burned, "this one camera was enough to hold the answers."

The butler caught up to us and informed my brother that the spider had been defeated. And my brother was worried the maze was too difficult. My reply startled me, however, as did the expression on my face as my brother looked up at me.

"We shouldn't have to help them, Mokuba. Let's just continue to see how they're doing before we interfere. You know Yugi'll be able to handle it just fine."

Such loathing had been in my voice? Such hatred? I didn't like Yugi, sure, but to turn downright evil and sound sadistic, ready to murder him? And…jealousy. Even today, the flare of it returned to me and I knew the envy of my biggest rival.

"No, go ahead; document your Kaiba Mansion Haunted House and see if you can sell it for some money. The idiots out in the world will buy anything."

The video slipped by so quickly…my brother's voice played as a Mozart symphony to my ears and I never wanted it to cease.

Why…why had I left my brother?

"You're going to find him, Seto?"

"Yeah, I better, or I'll have to hire an attorney to sue him for beaten servants. Listen; you keep checking out your maze while I go to seek out Wheeler and let him know the rules. I'll catch back up with you somewhere…eventually."

"…All right. If that's what you want. See you soon?"

"Sure, kiddo. Make sure no one attacks you, all right?"

"They won't. And don't be too hard on Joey. I want him to stay the rest of the night!"

"Sure, sure, whatever."

I had even warned him against an attack, not thinking it'd really happen. Irony really was infatuated with me.

Now, though, came a part I had not been present for. This section I truly needed to see. What happened and where did my brother go? How much had Bakura lied about during that attack?

"Ah—hey! Let go!"

Hearing my brother cry out made my heart bleed and my eyes truly start to blur. The camera angle did not move, staring at some blackness, and I knew someone held my brother tightly despite his struggling. Only a low chuckle came from somewhere.

"Ring! Now we must take over this new host!"

A light flashed…what nonsense was this?

"That's better, host. I knew you'd be better than this one I'm inhabiting now. I just hope this works."

I knew that voice. The tone had the same raspy residue as the one in my office that night. No, the voice was the same as Bakura. The teen could not have more than one aspect to himself.

"Wh-where am I?"

Somehow, though, that voice, the confused and quite one, I always expected and associated with Bakura. The harsher one vanished like there actually were more than one Bakura, kind of like what happened with Yugi and that creep in the Puzzle.

My brother screamed, the sound grating into static on the tape. Now, my eyes truly wept.