Meaningless notes: This chapter sucks. I'm serious. I had the absolute hardest time writing it. It wouldn't write itself, so I had to rack my brain for it to be done . . . hence the length of delivery. I wanted to put a small part in here about how Mai has to defeat the Harpy Lady she gave Valon, which in way lets her defeat a part of herself, but I am incapable of writing a good duel . . . so it was sadly left out. Sorry, but the next chapter is practically dying to be put on paper . . . er . . . computer . . . so I hope it will be easier. But you never know.
Reanne1102- Yes, past tense . . . but it's good to know that, I feel anyway. I'm glad you like the way I write . . . for some reason, most of my things tend to be a little bit dark, oh well. Sorry about the waiting, but I'm really busy and with spring vacation, I won't be posting a chapter for a while after this one. Um chapters, honestly, I have no idea how many more. It depends, I don't want to drag it out any more than it needs to be, but I want to wrap everything up clearly, ya know what I mean? So, I can't really tell you . . . except that there shouldn't be a whole lot. (How vague was that?) I can tell that after vacation I should have a general idea of how many more to go. Who knows maybe 2 or 3 . . . but I can't see more than 5. Nope, wow, my reply was long! Thanks for your review!
MissDomaYuset- Um, sorry about the stress . . . but what do you think Kaiba must feel like? (lol) Basically, Kaiba had money and power . . . so that's how he was dragged into it, Mokuba on the other hand, was kidnaped so that Valon could get back at Mai. Oh and Kaiba did get Mai upset so she took revenge, but she was still kind of evil then. You will find out about the timer soon. Yes you will. Perhaps this chapter!
Growing Pain- See the thing is is that I did proofread, but I have a grammar checking thing on my computer and it just wasn't working. Then I would try save it, and then it would freeze. So I'd have to do it again. Maybe I just type too fast and oh I don't know. Didn't mean it really, but I'll watch out carefully for it from now on instead of sharing my anger over my computer and the fact that I can never save everything . . . grr . . . I just overlooked it, so sorry about that.
The thing with Kaiba is that it's so hard to write him in character. I needed Mai to be alone with Valon yes, but you must remember, would Kaiba really . . . truly, deep down let Mai 'save' his brother? Do you Kaiba would actually wait for her . . . or do you think that he will find a way to save his brother, perhaps while she is . . . oops, giving too much away. (Between you and me . . . and everyone else really, he was lying.) He thought that it was a good thing for Mai to go off and fight her own battles . . . but I can say nothing more on this matter, although I'm dying too.
As for whom Mai will end with . . . yeah I can't answer that either. I can safely say that she won't end with Valon, no that ship has sailed and hints have been dropped. Valon has also been like his own roller coaster with me, he has so many emotions going on at once that I don't even know if he knows what he's doing half the time, huh, we've got something in common (lol)
I love angst too . . . maybe even too much. Although, I think I would like to try my hand at writing a somewhat happy type ending . . . or not, I can't really say. Thanks for the review, hey my response was really long. Huh weird.
5animefan- I couldn't agree with you more. Mai is such a interesting character and there should be so many more fics with her in it! She could really go with anybody. I think it'd be funny to see a Mai and Bakura story myself, but hey that's just me. Not that I ship them or anything, it would amuse me. Anyhow, I do like angst, but I said earlier to Growing Pain that I want to try my hand at writing a happy ending. It won't be a typical happy ending though . . . but I have said and still do that Mai will end up with somebody . . . yes she will. Also she'll be happy, so that works for me. It will be different though, not really a typical 'girl gets the guy and runs off to live happily ever after' ending, but it is something that she accepts and oops giving too much away. I have to stop doing that!
cherryopsicle- Thanks, I'm glad that it shocked you at least a little. I don't like the thought of blood either, I can't even see it because I get queasy! It's kind of pathetic really. Sorry my response to you isn't as long as the other ones . . . don't take it personally. I have nothing new to say that I haven't already said . . . and THANKS!
"You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. You only get one opportunity."
Eminem- Lose Yourself
"She's the one who saw my words
Broken, Torn at the seams
And broken words were all she heard
Now she's walking away from me"
Finger Eleven- Broken Words
Disclaimer: Nope, YGO still isn't mine. Neither are the songs.
Panic, fear and slight nausea ran through him. He was unlike other men of his age. He always considered himself extremely mature in every sense of the word . . . physical, emotional, mental . . . in his mind, he was practically flawless. The fact that there was such a rush of unfamiliar feelings traveling through him all at once annoyed him.
He was supposed to be perfect . . . the hero. It didn't matter if he was a hero to Yugi or any of his so-called friends, it only mattered to Mokuba. If Kaiba was Mokuba's hero, then his job was done. Being weak like he was, wasn't making him seem very heroic.
The fact that his hidden weaknesses were becoming obvious sickened him. He wanted to puke until all the life was out of him and he was dead in a corner somewhere.
Mokuba always said the building would kill him. He remembers laughing the young boy off and dismissing him. He wished he didn't.
He ran down the stairs as fast as he could manage, occasionally missing five or six steps altogether. It was miraculous that he didn't fall down all of them, but he wasn't thinking of that.
He was thinking of someone else . . . the one thing that his world revolved around. Mokuba Kaiba.
He finally reached the bottom of the steps, once he pushed whatever it was that was trying to rise through his stomach, down. He thought it seemed like hours, when his disappearance was only five minutes.
There were a few unconscious guards on the ground, but other than that the room seemed empty. The only occupant was Joey and he seemed to be breathing heavily.
Kaiba assumed the others vanished off into other sides of the building.
Kaiba stood on the bottom step for a second and Joey looked up at him. The usual humor that surrounded Joey was missing and he seemed angry and perhaps a little lost.
"Where did you go?" Joey asked bitterly. Kaiba shrugged.
"None of your business. Where's everyone else?" Kaiba asked. He remained in his similar position and it was up to Joey to cross the room.
"I don't know. They spilt up . . . hopefully looking for my sis and Mokuba." Joey answered rather blandly, if that is possible. Kaiba nodded.
"Fine." he said while glancing down at his watch. Mai still had 25 minutes to come through with their deal . . . her deal.
"Well we should be looking too." huffed Joey, for he was sick of waiting. It didn't make sense to him how everyone always waited for everything. Joey Wheeler was a man of action and he intended to take some.
"Fine." Kaiba answered again, without moving. He could tell from Joey's muttering that he wanted him to move, but he remained unresponsive.
"This isn't the time to be stupid Kaiba." Joey said as he tried to push him out of the way.
"What's your excuse then?" Kaiba asked. Joey could feel his fists clenching. He could feel words of hurt and anger trying to rise in him, but he bit them all back . . . literally. He bit his tongue so hard so that he couldn't retaliate.
Joey wasn't one to let Kaiba push him around, no, but he didn't want to waste time on petty arguments either. He didn't have the time.
"We can't go that way Wheeler." Kaiba said. Joey raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because there is another way to get onto the roof. It's more secretive than the regular way." Kaiba explained quickly. Kaiba then moved and started to walk briskly toward a door on the other side of the room. Joey remained rather still.
"What do you know Kaiba?" Joey asked, turning on his heel for effect. Kaiba rolled his eyes.
"A lot, Mai can only distract Valon for so long. This way I can sneak up there and save Mokuba." Kaiba hastily explained.
"Does she know she's your distraction?" Joey asked. It didn't seem like something Mai would agree too. Honestly Joey couldn't see Kaiba making deals with Mai either.
"No, she didn't need to." Kaiba said as he opened the door and started walking down a deserted hallway. Against Joey's best instincts, he followed.
"You're using her?" Joey questioned. His breathing was becoming harder and he was starting to feel a certain anger toward Kaiba.
He nodded. He didn't know why he was explaining things to Joey, but he wasn't really thinking at the moment. No, he was determined to get to his brother and that is all that mattered.
Besides, the answers flooded out of him and it didn't take him anytime at all to respond.
"So she's up with Valon all alone and you just let her go . . . just so you could save your brother?" Joey reviewed.
"Yeah. She's got her own problems. I've got mine. She's done far worse than I have and I've had enough of your questions Wheeler. I am going to save my brother by myself. I said I didn't need anyone, and I don't.'' Kaiba exclaimed. His voice was becoming harsher. Joey was starting to annoy him now, and it was odd that it took so long.
Joey didn't say anything for sometime.
"You can't risk her life for Mokuba's. I have to go help her." Joey asked. Kaiba shrugged.
"But is she worth risking your sister's? If you trust her that much, fine. I just know that I will stop at nothing to save my brother and if either of you thinks I'm going to wait around for her to do it, then neither of you know me at all, or at least you don't pay any attention." Kaiba said bitterly as he started to climb a ladder.
Joey sighed and watched Kaiba climb momentarily.
He admitted, only to himself, that Kaiba had a point.
"Stop pushing."
"I'm not."
"Hey that's not my hand."
"I'm not touching you."
"If you touch there again, I'm punching you."
"For the last time, I'm not touching you anywhere. I would never want to touch you anywhere!"
The voices echoed down the dark corridor. For some reason there wasn't any light. Duke assumed it was because the particular passageway was supposed to be secret. It was supposed to lead to the main computer room.
They, as in Duke and Tristan, were supposed to meet up with Yugi there. Then hopefully, along with the help of Rebecca via the internet, they could brake the code on Kaiba's computers.
Duke didn't know Tea and Abby's mission and he guessed they were sent to look for Serenity. He didn't have any actual clues though.
He was becoming frustrated. Tristan kept bumping into him and insisting that it wasn't him. Duke knew that there wasn't anyone in the said corridor. He also knew that if Tristan touched him again then he might injure him.
Tristan on the other hand, was becoming annoyed with Duke's constant anger. He couldn't help that he couldn't see and he wasn't touching Duke on purpose.
No, Tristan wasn't interested in Duke in any form other than some sort of friendship and he was trying to save the girl he loved . . . the girl that hopefully loved him and not Duke.
Even if Serenity didn't love him, he would eventually get through the pain as long as she didn't pick Duke. That might kill him . . . or mentally destroy him. Whichever is worse for him, he didn't know.
"There's a light ahead." Duke said happily. It was faint and came from under a door, but it was still a light.
Tristan could barely see the keypad. Luckily Duke remembered the password and was able to type it in.
They entered the computer room and to their surprise Abby, Tea and Yugi were ahead of them. Tea, although worried, was laughing in the corner uncontrollably.
Yugi kept typing in things, but his face was somewhat red. Abby kept shaking her head and laughing under her breath.
"What's going on?" Tristan asked, for he saw no humor in the situation. Tea took a deep breath.
"What was it that you were touching Tristan?" she asked through a fit of giggles. Tristan turned several shades of red and muttered an obscene word.
"Sorry . . . it's just that we could uh hear your unique conversation for a while now." Tea explained.
Duke and Tristan quickly walked to the direct opposite sides of the room, both slightly embarrassed and annoyed, mostly with Tea than with each other.
She was the one who pointed their small argument out after all.
"Tea, it was funny, but it might not be good that we heard them." Yugi said after sometime. He had contacted Rebecca and she was looking at him though one of the computers. Luckily Kaiba had a web cam.
"Why not?" Abby asked.
"Because that could mean that somebody else did." Yugi said. He was trying to listen to Rebecca's directions and finally they worked.
"Yes." Yugi exclaimed. They were finally back on Kaiba's own personal network.
"Okay, let's see what's going on in the building, shall we?" Yugi asked.
The others nodded in anticipation. Suddenly video monitors that were not working due to the virus, were running again.
They were able to see what was going on.
"Okay Yug, I'll look for Serenity and Mokuba." Tristan said automatically as he gazed at all of the different screens. Tea walked over to help him with his task.
Yugi, on the other hand, was trying to break some other type of code . . . one that would hopefully destroy the virus for good. That way they could determine where the money was spent, how much and at what time. He didn't know if Kaiba needed to know any of that, but it wouldn't hurt to have the information.
After all, Valon was technically the owner of KaibaCorp as of the present time and Yugi had hoped that once he was one the main computer that he could hack into Valon's.
Unfortunately he had the hacking and overall computer skills of a small deer mouse and was solely dependant on Rebecca. He could do the basic things, like typing letters, playing cards, chatting, but other than that he was pretty lost. If the internet connection was interrupted, Yugi had no back up plan.
"I don't see them, do you Tea?" Tristan asked. She shook her head and looked around the monitors.
"Hey what's that?" she asked, pointing to one of the screens. Tristan shrugged his shoulders and asked Yugi if they could get a close-up on the screen.
Yugi asked Rebecca how to and she quickly told him.
The small group gathered around the screen as Yugi zoomed in.
"It's just a laptop Tea." Abby said after sometime. Tea gave a small apologetic smile for wasting a few minutes by looking at something as irrelevant as that.
"Wait." Duke said before everyone started to move amongst themselves.
"What do you see?" Yugi asked, who unfortunately, couldn't see the image as well as the others because of his small height problem.
"Just doesn't make sense that it would be lying there on the floor." Duke said. Tristan shrugged and found in unimportant.
"Is that, is that a timer?" Duke asked after a closer observation. Suddenly his eyes became wide with fear.
"Why would there be a timer?" Duke asked.
"I don't know." Abby said as the room became filled with silence.
"Do you think counting down to something?" Tea asked.
"Obviously, but to what?" Tristan exclaimed a little harsher than he had meant too.
Yugi was now determined to find out.
"Okay, keep looking for Mokuba and Serenity. I'll try and see if I can get what's on that screen on mine." Yugi instructed as he once again turned to Rebecca.
Joey made some sort of odd grumbling sound. How he found himself climbing a ladder after Kaiba was even strange to him.
Joey trusted Mai. He really did. He knew that he did . . . just not enough to save his sister.
Okay, he knows that Mai turned over a new leaf. He gets that . . . and it's about time in his opinion. But the thing about Mai that worries him is her insecurity and her tendency to change sides when it benefits her.
Or at least that is what he told himself as he followed Kaiba. No, he wasn't listening to Kaiba. Kaiba's words didn't mean a thing to him . . . no matter how right they might be.
Might is the key word.
Joey saw Kaiba glance down at him once, and only once. He didn't care though, he wasn't doing this to prove anything to moneybags.
He was doing this to save his sister, because that is Joey's role in life. When the world lets her down, hehas determined to make it right.
He likes his role, the big, supportive older brother. He thinks he does okay . . . except in these types of situations where he feels his doing an absolutely horrible job.
If he had only payed more attention to Serenity than chasing after Mai then . . . well, that's always been his problem, at least in Tristan's opinion.
Joey always has chased after Mai. He can't help it. He tried. He really did try to ignore her. Forgetting about her was a totally absurd though. He thought about her all the time when she returned.
They weren't always nice thoughts, but they were thoughts.
He didn't choose Mai, even though he knows that's what everyone else thinks. No, if he had to choose right now between Mai and Serenity, well he would pick Serenity.
He figured he kind of just made that choice, but he doesn't know if it counts.
Joey has learned a lot of hard lessons, but one of them is that things get worse before they get better.
He just wonders how much Mai can fall before she can build herself back up again . . . and his thoughts slowly, somehow, return to Mai again. He always hated how he did that.
He glanced up at Kaiba again, it wasn't a lovely view, but he wanted to know just how many more steps he would have to climb.
It was her turn. The air around her was cold. She could see her own breath form in front of her. She could see his too.
Her hand shakily reached for her next card. It was a good thing that dueling was like riding a bike, hardly forgotten once one started back up.
Sure, she was a little dusty, after all she swore to herself that she was never going to duel again. She also remembers telling herself that she would never do anything stupid again either.
She found that she was braking two different promises over her stay in Domino.
Then again, life can never be boring or simple . . . especially when planning corporate takeovers.
"Scared Mai?" Valon asked across the rooftop.
Mai looked up at him, temporally forgetting where she was. She rolled her eyes and glanced at her hand.
She had a few good cards, but a few good cards couldn't really help her now. No she needed a plan, a strategy, she needed . . . advice.
It was always hard for her, at any age, to get advice over anything. Dueling was a prime example of this. She taught herself, and worked hard, to become the most famous duelist in the world.
Sometimes she remembers that dream, other times she considers it a nightmare . . . but that belongs in the past.
Thinking about how things used to be, how she used to feel, won't help her win. She knows it.
Sighing she placed a card face down. They are tied so far, but she knows from experience that each move counts for so much more than expected.
Valon leaned back and fourth on his feet and Mai wondered slightly if he is drunk at least a little bit. She considered asking him and then decided against it.
Her hand is basically unplayable. She doesn't know what Valon has instore, all she knows is that it will be a challenge to overcome.
But then, maybe she's not supposed to. Maybe she's not supposed to save the day and get the glory. Maybe she's not supposed to receive redemption. Maybe she is supposed to die on top of the KaibaCorp roof tonight.
Mai doesn't know the answer, but the thoughts continue to travel through her brain making her doubtful.
She never was the one to save anybody. She was the one to cause pain and . . .
"Mai." Valon called. She looked up and he waved a card in front of her face.
It was time to stop thinking and start playing.
Although he never felt any type of love toward his stepfather, the man did teach him some things. A main thing he learned was determination.
Kaiba lived his life by being determined.
He wasn't going to change now.
His palms were somewhat sweaty and the metal bars were cold against his skin, but he kept climbing.
Finally, after what seemed like a century, he reached a place where his head bumped some sort of wall.
He held on with his left hand and pushed the wall in various places with his right. There wasn't much light, so he had to feel for whatever it was that he was feeling for.
Eventually, to his delight, and to Joey's, he found a small handle. Using great force, he grabbed the handle and pushed on it.
It opened, reveling darkness and cement.
Kaiba walked out first and looked around. He didn't wait for Joey. When Joey arose from the pathway, Kaiba grabbed him and pulled him behind some sort of box.
Luckily in concealed them both.
Joey glanced around nervously, which was an odd thing for him to do. Yet, whenever his sister was involved, he was often nervous.
He peered around the side of the box and his eyes were immediately drawn to two large poles. He could feel his legs pushing him off of the ground before anything else, but for some reason, he also felt as though he was being held back.
Kaiba had a firm grip on his shoulder and Joey pushed him off.
"You can't just run over there." Kaiba whispered harshly. Joey rolled his eyes.
"Why not?" he asked. Kaiba bit the inside of his lip and fought back the urge to hit Joey. Somewhere inside of his head, a small voice said that Joey wasn't worth it . . . and he was trying to listen to that voice.
Kaiba pulled Joey around the corner of the box. Joey's eyes opened wider, if possible at the sight before him.
He was witnessing the duel between Valon and Mai, and Mai seemed to be losing.
"We've got to be quiet . . . I'm not sure if that's possible for you though . . . but it's what you have to do." Kaiba instructed. He was full of disgust.
Most of it was toward Joey, but some of it was for the way things turned out . . . how out of control they became.
Joey, desperate to insult 'Moneybags' in any form, held back his quips. Serenity's safety was more important than insulting Kaiba, no matter how much he wanted too.
Joey, instead, nodding and crawled behind Kaiba.
He didn't know how they were going to be kept hidden, but he guessed they would just try to stay out of the dim light that flooded the rooftop.
He could hear Valon's voice drifting through the background. He decided he should ignore it, because he knew if he didn't, then they would be caught for sure.
He wasn't exactly good at being quiet.
His eyes keep sneaking to the battlefield, and only his determination was making them move back.
"You shouldn't have gone through with this duel Mai." Valon said in the background. He was full of an older confidence that he had lost years ago.
"You can't beat me. You never have." he continued to say. His words, to his surprise, were bouncing off of Mai.
It was her physical pain that was making it hard for her to stand up, not her weakness to him. She gazed at the cards in her hand.
Suddenly a small noise drew her attention. It sounded like something fell over, and both she and Valon turned to look.
They didn't see anything except for a small crate falling over. Valon tried to see more, but the lighting was blurring in with the shadows and it was nearly impossible.
"What was that?" he asked. Mai shrugged.
"Mice." she answered through pursed lips. He rolled his eyes.
"You expect me to believe mice? It doesn't matter . . . because whoever it is can't help you now." Valon said rather excitedly. Mai stood up a little bit straighter.
"Maybe, they aren't trying to help me." was her response. Valon glared at her before looking away. They heard a small breaking sound, along with a scratching one.
They then heard a small thud, as if someone fell down.
"No, it doesn't sound like it." Valon noted halfheartedly.
"I lay this face down." Mai said, while she put a Harpy Lady in attack mode.
Valon gave a fake smile.
"You know, whoever is over there should show themselves, after all this is a great duel. But it doesn't matter. They can try to get out . . . but I doubt they will in time." he said.
"Time for what?" Mai asked.
Valon smiled, and his eyes became wider. His grin seemed sinister and dark, besides that a small chuckle bellowed from some place within him.
"The bomb." was his simple answer as he laid the card down. He sounded so civilized, as if it wasn't a big matter at all.
Mai froze.
"Bomb?" she asked, fear flooding the field. It seemed to be the response he wanted as he nodded.