Rant: Okay, I have to say this . . . does anyone know how hard it is to find YGO quotes on the internet? It's horribly hard . . . first of all, I can't remember exactly what the characters say and I own a few YGO episodes . . . plus I don't have enough time to actually watch them just to find the quotes. So I said to myself, why not use the power of the internet? It failed me . . . I mean I found a lot of Joey quotes . . . but no Valon or Dartz or even Marik quotes and that is what I wanted. ( They had to deal with Mai.) AHHHH! Rant done, thanks for reading if you did.
Real Notes: This is a rather long chapter and I was listening to Evanescence while I wrote it, so I wonder if that reflected it in anyway. I really wanted to sum everything up so that I could make the next chapter the last, but I'm not sure if I will do that now or not. Most likely yes . . . but I'm not sure. Thanks to my ever so lovely reviewers again, I love you all! (The show has more funny moments than my fic does, but I did try to put some funny stuff in other chapters, I think. I found the Duke/Tristan ordeal in the passageway funny. There isn't anything funny here, at least I don't think extremly funny.)
MissDomaYuset- Depends what you think bad is.
Cherryopsicle- Okay thanks . . . oh I didn't take it as a flame. I'm really laid-back like that. Anyway, I think the problem with that chapter was it was so hard for me to write because I forced myself to do it. I knew that I needed a chapter that got Kaiba and Joey on the roof and the bomb to finally be revealed . . . but it was tough. That was my problem, I think. Hopefully this one is better.
Reanne1102- Everyone one is screwed, that's like my whole life message. (lol . . . I mean nobody is screwed and they all live happily ever after with white picket fences and perfect children . . . ) Yeah I'm a 'darker type' person, I write darker fics . . . and I read them. It's not that I don't like happy fluffiness, I can only handle it in very small amounts because most of the time it's ridiculously unreal.
Growing Pain-Why thank you so much! I'm sure there will be more action in this chapter . . . at least I think there is! Yeah . . . oh and you don't have to apologize . . . don't worry about it. I'm just glad that everyone was in character. Kaiba to me always seemed intelligent . . . so I thought that him lying a little to get his way wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Kaiba, sometimes, gets so caught up in life that I think he can forget what's important to him . . . and then horrible things happen and he seems to remember. So that's good. (I love sibling love too . . . so hey look that was positive! Yay!) The funny thing is is that I'm not a usually depressed person, I'm not the world's greatest cheerleader either . . . but I'm usually content. Oh and you don't sound old at all, because I say holy cow too . . . so it's all good! (unless we both sound old)
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO or anything relating to it. I don't own any of the songs I made reference to down below, I just thought they fit . . . and there are a lot of songs that fit with this chapter, but I picked verses from three.
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
And you bleed just to know you're alive" Goo Goo Dolls, Iris
"I tried to kill the pain,
But only brought more.
So much more
I'm dying, and I'm pouring, crimson regret, and betrayal.
I'm dying,
Praying,
Bleeding,
Screaming.
Am I too lost to be saved ?
Am I too lost ?
My God! My Tourniquet,
Return to me salvation.
My God! My Tourniquet,
Return to me salvation.
Do you remember me ?
Lost for so long.
Will you be on the other side ?
Will you forgive me ?" Evanescence, Tourniquet
"And it's been awhile
Since I could hold my head up high
And it's been awhile
Since I first saw you
And it's been awhile
Since I could stand on my own two feet again
And it's been awhile
Since I could call you
And everything I can't remember
As fup as it all may seem
The consequences that I've renderedI've stretched myself beyond my means
And it's been awhile
Since I can say that I wasn't addicted
And it's been awhile
Since I can say I love myself as well
And it's been awhile
Since I've gone and f things up just like I always do
And it's been awhile
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you
And everything I can't remember
As f up as it all may seem
The consequences that I've rendered
I've gone and f things up again
Why must I feel this way?
Just make this go away
Just one more peaceful day!
And it's been awhile
Since I could look at myself straight
And it's been awhile
Since I said I'm sorry" Staind, It's Been Awhile
She was hoping that she was dreaming.
Actually, she was praying that she was dreaming, but she didn't expect much. She wasn't that religious, so she doubted it counted for much.
She couldn't speak . . . no matter how hard she tried. Words wouldn't come out and it seemed that her whole world might have frozen. At that moment, she would have preferred being a statue.
Valon looked rather smug and almost unhuman. It was like there was something terrible in him that was driving his body around.
Mai wanted to believe in that theory, but she knew she was beyond lying to herself now.
"What happened to you?" Mai said after sometime. The words fell out of her mouth before she could control them.
"You." was his eerie response. Mai squinted and sighed.
"No . . . you did this. Dartz happened to you." she whispered, as if she was trying to convince herself more so than him.
"No. Do you think I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for you? Do you think I'd be doing any of this? Dartz might have tried to drive me crazy but you actually got me there." Valon explained.
Mai looked around the roof in complete distress. She was hoping . . . that maybe she was dreaming . . . and that something completely ridiculous would happen and snap her out of it.
"Your move." Valon said as he placed his card down.
Mai looked down at her duel disk.
She could finish the duel . . . but then by the time she did, the bomb could go off.
Then all the people in the building would be dead . . . and all of the useless suffering she created would be amplified to such a high intensity that she could never overcome it.
If Mai left the duel, then that would mean she lost . . . and she would die. Then nobody would know about the bomb.
She glanced around again, hoping to see whoever it was that made those noises. She knew it really wasn't mice . . . or they would have to be huge mice.
"Way to go." Kaiba muttered from the corner of his mouth. He was glaring down at Joey, who had clumsily tripped over something . . . causing the previous racking the duelists heard.
"What are we going to do . . . ya know, about the bomb?" Joey asked while rubbing his back. It was hurting him a bit after his fall.
He grabbed the crate which had fallen and stood on it. He again, started to cut Serenity's ropes.
They were thick ropes, and cutting them weren't as easy as he thought. It took several more minutes of severe aggravation before her body slid down into his awaiting arms.
"Sis." he said into her ear. She made no response, except for some very light breathing. Joey closed his eyes for a second and looked at Kaiba.
He gave Kaiba the knife he was using, because Kaiba decided that he could untie the ropes . . . which proved somewhat impossible.
Kaiba grunted something which Joey took as a thank you. His job now was to inform everyone about the bomb.
Unfortunately he didn't know how much time any of them had left, so he knew it was of the essence.
He put Serenity on his back, so that it looked like she was riding piggyback, and he held onto her tightly.
He started to run as quietly as he could across the rooftop to the opening in which he came. He was at the point of entrance when his instincts finally caved in and he glanced at the duel.
Valon had more monsters and from what he could make out . . . more life points. Mai, on the other hand, had two face down cards . . . which was always a threat.
Mai looked worried to him . . . something he hardly ever saw in her dueling. Usually, shewasalways full of passion . . . but she didn't even look real to Joey.
He figured that he could touch her and she'd fall over and never get back up. Half of him wanted to run over to her and shout out inspirational words and to cheer her on . . . but the half of him that seemed to be carrying Serenity knew different.
Joey felt a small rage toward Kaiba for tricking her to be his distraction . . . and at the same time . . . he wondered if there was more to the duel than he knew.
Of course, it was obvious, that Mai didn't look capable of holding a card, let alone winning a duel. Lines of worry and fear seemed to be drawn across her face and a trace of a frown was on her lips. She probably didn't have the energy to frown.
For some reason, he felt his right foot turn into her direction. Suddenly, Mai laid down a card and looked up. Her eyes met his and she started to shake her head toward Joey's escape root.
Valon turned to look at whatever Mai was, but found an empty space instead.
Joey ran.
He heart was beating faster than ever and he was sure that it would popthrough his chest and onto the floor.
He didn't know where he was going exactly . . . but he had to go somewhere. He was surprised he didn't fall off of the ladder, after all he was sweating profusely.
He ended up back in the lobby and saw an open door. He ran in it, and luckily came into a dark hallway.
On the far edge he could see a faint light, and he was hoping that whoever was near that light was a friend.
He traveled quickly and against anybody's advice, he started to bang on the doors loudly. Luckily, Yugi opened the door looking rather fierce, but easing up at Joey's entrance.
Duke and Tristan ran over and placed Serenity in a nearby chair as Joey bent over to catch his breath.
Yugi looked on worriedly and Abby was trying to rub Joey's back, but he kept pushing her away gently.
"There . . . there's a bomb." Joey said through heavy pants.
"That would explain the timer." Tristan said. The others nodded.
"I uh . . . I don't know how much time until . . . until it goes off." Joey continued.
"Well, hey . . . let's think of it this way, what else can go wrong?" Tristan asked. Joey shrugged in his response, while everyone else glared at him as if he was a complete imbecile.
"Well what do we do?" Tea asked, ignoring Tristan. Joey shrugged againand looked over at his sister. Duke was taking off her blindfold.
"We have to get out of here." Joey said quickly.
"Can't we stop the bomb?'' Tea asked. Yugi shook his head in confusion.
"We don't even know where it is." he explained.
"Yug . . . even if we did . . . I mean you're a great guy and you've saved the world plenty of times . . . but you don't even know how . . . none of us do. The closet I've ever been to any wires is hot-wiring a car. We can't risk it." Joey said after a while.
"I get that. Everyone, pack up . . . I wrote down the codes so we'll be able to get into Kaiba's network anywhere and thanks to Rebecca . . . hopefully the virus is gone. Uh, Duke . . . you carry Serenity. Okay, leave and get as far away from the building as you can . . . don't stop and don't come back." Yugi commanded.
"But what about you?" Tea asked. Yugi sighed.
"Kaiba, Mokuba and Mai are still on the roof. I've got to go help them . . ." Yugi started to say. Tea looked away.
"Why can't we all help?" she asked, tears were brimming from her eyes.
"You will help . . . but we don't have time. Just do what I say . . . and I'll know you'll be there, in spirit." Yugi explained, actually believing his words.
Tea just nodded and said nothing because if she did, she knew she would cry. Joey swore he heard he mutter something about 'being noble' as she dashed out of the room.
"Come on Joey." Abby said. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him out of the room. He pulled her hand off of his.
"I've gotta help." Joey said. Abby stomped her foot.
"Did you hear what he said?" she questioned, her voice was reaching an unusual anger.
"Yes . . . and I've got to help." Joey replied persistently as the reached the lobby. Abby shook her head in an upset manner.
"But what if something happens to you Joey. I know that she's your friend and you want to be the hero or whatever . . . but I am the one you are marrying . . . me not her. And yet . . . she's all you think about . . . and deal with . . . I mean she is attractive, but she's been like nothing but a bitch to you and you keep blowing me off for her. I mean do you even want this . . . I don't think you do. I think you're obsessed." Abby said through the tears that ran down her face. Joey shook his head.
"I know." was all he said as he started to walk toward the passageway.
"If you go up there . . . it's over." Abby said although it was hardly audible because of her hysterical bawling.
He didn't pay her any attention.
"Yugi, through here." he said waving his hand. Yugi rolled his eyes, he knew that Joey had to come . . . because frankly, Yugi had no idea where he was going.
"Wait for me Abby, I'll be back . . . I promise." Joey called through the hallway as she was running out of the doorway.
Mai took a deep breath. She had a plan, and in her mind, it was quite clever. Thanks to her hand and a twist of fate she had the card she needed.
She could tie the duel . . . taking their life points down to zero at the exact same time, then maybe . . . everyone could get out of the situation
A small unfamiliar smile crossed her face. She was surprised at the somewhat hopeful feeling that arose within her. It was old and new at the same time. It made her stomach turn, but it was like there was butterflies in it and it was a feeling that she missed.
She placed the card on her duel disk and waited.
Lights seemed to hope out of the projection . . . and sometimes Mai wondered if they were real projections at all. She supposed that her thoughts stemmed from previous experiences.
Valon, on the other hand, looked miserable as the counter went down to zero. He looked at Mai with wide eyes.
"What do we do now?" he asked. His voice sounded rough and harsh.
"We tied." Mai said, suppressing the urge to laugh. Valon nodded.
"I knew you could never beat me." he said. Mai laughed and walked over to him, rather slowly.
She stood in front of him as if she was measuring him up. He didn't like it.
"Guess we won't find out . . . at least . . . not for a while." she said as she pushed her hand in her pocket.
The cool metal that rested under her finger tips dared her to use it. It dared her to unleash the power and to end everything right then and there.
She pulled out the gun. Valon grabbed her wrist, but she kicked him and he fell.
He made a loud thud on the roof, and Mai wondered if anyone could hear.
He tried to stand back up, but Mai hit him as hard as she could with the back of the gun. Her plan worked and he was knocked out. She gave a bittersweet smile as she dashed across the rooftop to see Kaiba struggling with Mokuba's ropes.
Finally, he got the younger Kaiba down.
"Mokuba." Kaiba said worriedly. Mokuba didn't answer and his head just hung limply.
Kaiba climbed down the crate in which he was standing on and came face to face with Mai.
"You look terrible." he said as he hoisted Mokuba on his back. Mai only rolled her eyes at him.
A noise came from the corner and Mai quickly looked over.
"I don't know who that is." she muttered.
"I suppose we better make a run for it." Kaiba answered. He would have stayed and fought any of the guys who did whatever they did to his brother . . . but he had to get his brother to a hospital as soon as possible.
"We should sneak back over to the trap entrance." Kaiba whispered. The roof top was dark where they were standing and due to the time of day, it was hard for Mai's eyes to focus.
She followed him as quietly as she could, occasionally hearing heavy footsteps opening crates and boxes.
Suddenly she saw lights coming from flashlights and it was her best instincts to hurry. The lights seemed to make small patterns all over and they were careful to walk of the light's way.
Mai wanted to ask if they were there yet, but she knew that they would be heard.
One of the men moved his light and shined it in Mai's direction, and it reflected off of one of her earrings. He and five others ran after them as they came to the trap door. They were very quick and trapped Mai, Kaiba and Mokuba in a small circle at gunpoint.
"Put the boy down." a husky voice asked.
"No." Kaiba shouted back. Mai glanced around to see if she could spot anyone familiar, but everyone was masked in black.
"Seto Kaiba, it would be in your best interest to put the boy down." came another voice from behind them.
"I won't." Kaiba said, clutching onto Mokuba's knees harder. Mai looked at him sympathetically, but he hadn't glanced her way.
"Then, it's on bosses orders to shoot both of you." said the first man.
"No." Mai screamed. Her voice was loud and a forgotten strength had returned to it. The men, who had temporarily forgotten about her, turned in her direction.
"You have no power here Miss Valentine." one said mockingly.
She flashed him a dazzling smile.
"I will." she said as she grabbed Kaiba by his arm and pushed him and Mokuba out of the circle before firing at the unidentified man's leg.
Kaiba decided his best escape route was on the other side. He knew that he had to force himself not to look back, because if he did . . . he would feel like he had to help her.
He could hear the sounds of a huge fight going on in the background. He could also hear footsteps approaching him.
Kaiba was known for being a very fast runner. He wasn't known for, however, for running away. So the thought of retreating was bothering him somewhat, but he knew that for Mokuba to be safe, he had to run away. Kaiba would give his life up for Mokuba's.
The footsteps were coming closer and for some reason the dim lights were gone. Everything was flooded in blackness . . . except for the small beams of light that came from various flashlights.
Kaiba could hear his brother's frantic breathing, which made him hope that Mokuba was coming too. He could also hear his chasers coming closer.
Suddenly, he saw someone jump in front of him and then there were a few more men surrounding him. Kaiba knew that he knocked out one guy, but it was difficult to fight with a small boy on one's back. Luckily,he was rather strong.
Someone threw a punch at him and he dodged and punched back. The flashlights only had a small amount of light, so the attackers were hit off of pure instinct.
Kaiba then kicked someone else before he was hit over the head with something and pummeled to the ground completely surrounded by darkness.
Mai was never known for fighting, at least in the sense of hand-to-hand combat. After she pushed Kaiba, she had ducked a bullet by dropping to the ground and she was sure someone else was hit with it because she heard them scream "No more guns."
From there she pushed herself back up and despite the pain she had kicked someone from behind her.
Her senses were off though, and she blamed it on her current condition. Mai felt cold, hard hands push her onto the ground where her back hit some sort of crate.
Her mind was telling her to get up and to run after Kaiba and Mokuba. It was telling her to do something, but she couldn't.
She took deep breaths as colors started to swirl around her. She hoped Kaiba had gotten away and that Serenity was safe.
Mai was seriously thinking of putting herself out of misery and doing the one thing she dared Valon to do, but she had dropped her gun at one point during the franticness and she wasn't going to find it.
She was lucky she was leaning against something.
The noise of footsteps rushing toward the opposite direction wasn't calming to her. She could hear fighting going on and she hoped that they were fighting each other, but she knew better.
Biting her lip, she felt a single tear run down her face. She couldn't help him . . . because she was weak.
Her mind was unfocused and everything looked so dark and harsh. Her body hurt in the most unimaginable way and she could faintly hear somebody come toward her.
Mai's eyes were closed because she didn't want to see what was going on. She wanted to pretend that she was dueling.
She could almost imagine the feeling of being in some sunny field, facing an opponent with absolutely nothing at stake but one more loss to add to the list.
Mai wanted to feel the cool wind blow through her hair . . . and she wanted to go shopping with Serenity and laugh at the boys with Tea again.
She wanted to take everything she ever did back . . . and start over.
Mai's hand fell from her lap and onto the cold concrete. She could feel the roughness of it and she absentmindedly traced the patterns the unevenness of it made.
Her chest rose and fell slower each second and it seemed everything was slipping away. She could hear a scream from the distance, and she tried to push herself up . . . but she fell in her attempt.
The previous footsteps came closer and at that moment, she didn't care whom they belonged too.
Her vision was hazy and all she could make out was an outline of a body.
Someone crouched down next to her.
"Mai." the voice said.
Her mind, which was drifting away to places more imaginable, shot back to reality. She knew that voice.
"Joey?" she asked. Mai forced herself to look at him and her vision was becoming more clear.
"Yeah. I'm here, and we need to go." he said. Mai had decided to clutch onto his arms as hard as she could . . . which wasn't very hard. Joey hadn't felt anything.
"Okay, let's go." he said. Mai shook her head.
"No, we can't . . . I . . . where's Kaiba?" she asked. Joey looked at her and was half tempted to lie for her sake.
"Mai, there's a bomb . . . and we need to go or we'll both be dead." Joey said as he helped Mai rise.
"No, I've got to find Kaiba and make sure Mokuba is okay." she said. Joey held onto her a little harder than he had meant too.
"Yugi will find them." he said as he tried to lead her away, but she wouldn't move.
"Yugi can't keep cleaning up everyone's messes." she whispered faintly. Joey frowned. Mai's appearance was devastating to him and he wondered if she was covered in her own blood or somebody else's. She looked completely out of it.
"Serenity . . . is she ok?" Mai asked.
"She's safe. I promise." Joey said. Mai nodded again and mumbled something about Serenity being safe . . . as if she was trying to reassure herself.
"You go . . . I'll find Kaiba." Mai decided a second later.
"You can hardly move." Joey said. Mai rolled her eyes. She figured that her desperation to find Kaiba was giving her some newfound strength. If Mokuba was dead because of her . . . she didn't know what she would do.
"Joey . . . I have too. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I didn't ask for you to save me." Mai said as she let go of him and started to stand on her own.
"It's like my day job." Joey replied. He was honestly trying to make a joke, but he only matched Mai's expression of hopelessness perfectly. She looked up from the ground and tried to talk through a sob she couldn't suppress.
"It shouldn't be." was her whispered answer. It was so faint and low that Joey thought she sounded like a small child. Instead of saying this though, he nodded.
"We'll find Kaiba and Mokuba." he said. Mai nodded. She wanted to desperately tell Joey to turn back and leave her . . . but she couldn't. The words wouldn't form out of her mouth and all she could do was whisper thank you.
The hardest part of crossing the roof, besides the madmen that were trying to attack them, was walking across it. Everything was rather dark and Mai was having such a hard time that she could feel Joey catch her and push her back up a few times.
Although she didn't want to admit, his cool hands against her hurt arms felt good and she didn't want him to exactly let go.
They finally came to where Yugi was trying to revive Kaiba.
"Where's Mokuba?" Mai gasped as tears rolled down her face, leaving a stream of clearness through the sweat and blood.
"He wasn't here." Yugi said automatically as he was frantically shaking Kaiba. Kaiba, who arose after being shaken, seemed to voice the same question.
He was sporting bruises and cuts of his own, but he didn't look at damaged as Mai did. He pushed himself off of the ground, ignoring Yugi's offer to help.
They heard a small clicking sound and the rooftop was flooded in light. Right behind them they heard a small cough and they all turned around to see Valon standing on the edge of the roof holding Mokuba.
Mokuba, who was awake, looked terrified. He was still gagged, but the blindfold was gone.
"This has gotten out of hand." Valon said. He sounded upset and a small bruise was forming where Mai had hit him.
Valon had a death grip on Mokuba's stomach while his other hand was holding Mai's gun.
"Valon." Kaiba said dangerously. His voice had dropped to a tone of pure hatred and he started to walk toward Valon, but Valon only moved toward the back further.
"You get my game now, don't you Kaiba?" Valon said through a sick smile that lite up his face. He was totally consumed by power and Mai seriously doubted that he would ever become better. She would have liked to say, 'back to the Valon she once loved', but even he was consumed with power . . . only not as much.
"Let him go." Kaiba commanded. Valon shrugged.
"Or what?" Valon asked, "I already have everything you can give me."
Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, trying to come up with a sensible plan. He hoped that nobody would do anything stupid but to his extreme displeasure . . .
"Mokuba didn't do anything to you." Joey spoke. Kaiba was ready to punch Joey . . . because this wasn't Joey's problem and Valon was liable to do anything.
"Wheeler . . . like I need to listen to you. You know . . . I'm sure at one point, we could have become great friends . . . but we all make choices in life . . . so I messed up that opportunity. Your choice, on the other hand, is to act like an idiot all the time. Choices, it's life." Valon responded.
Joey could feel his fingers curl into fists. He was about to retort . . . but Mai shouted his name in such a undesirably harsh manner that Joey automatically shut his mouth.
Valon smirked. "Yes, good thing you're in control." he said while laughing. Mai didn't answer.
"Now, listen Valon . . . " Joey started to say, but Valon interrupted him.
"Joey, you know what your problem is. You're all talk . . . and then you try to go through with action . . . but you don't plan. You just hop in and wing it. That's how you get yourself into situations like these. This isn't your problem. I don't care what you say." Valon shot back.
"Hey . . . " Joey again started to say, but Mai grabbed his arm.
"He's right Joey. This has nothing to do with you." she said as gently as she could.
"But Mai . . . " Joey replied, all ready to argue, but she didn't let him finish. Instead she dropped her hand from his arm and yelled.
"Just shut up Joey." was her tired response.
"What do you want Valon . . . you don't want Mokuba . . . what do you gain from that?" Mai asked. Her voice was breaking up and the fact that her eyes were glued to Mokuba's tears didn't help matters.
"Oh, I gain annoyance from you and I get to destroy one of the most powerful men in the world. I get a lot." Valon answered.
He took another step back so that he was standing right over the edge, one more and Valon and Mokuba would fall to what Mai presumed to be their doom.
"Take me instead." Mai spat out. She heard Joey start to yell something, but she gave him the meanest glare she could muster and he let out a hopeless sigh of defeat.
"You, we tried that. What would I get from that? I mean really . . . yes there is the whole having you forever thing we talked about, but Mai . . . I couldn't shoot you." Valon said as he glanced down at the gun in his hand.
"You don't have to shoot me . . . just give them Mokuba. I don't care what happens to me." Mai pleaded. Valon looked as if he was considering the offer for a moment before he glanced over at Kaiba.
Kaiba desperately wanted to dash over to Mokuba, but he knew that Mokuba would die if that happened . . . and that he didn't want.
"I want Kaiba too . . . everyone but you and Kaiba can go." Valon said.
"No . . . " Mai started to say as she glanced at Kaiba, but he just glared at her.
"Mokuba will go free?" Kaiba asked, his voice sounding unfamiliar to her ears. He sounded defeated . . . and lost.
Valon nodded.
"You'll never hurt him again." Kaiba commanded.
"No . . . you'll be different on the other hand." Valon replied. Kaiba looked at him suddenly and nodded.
"Kaiba, you can't." Mai said. He shrugged.
"I have too . . . for my brother." Kaiba replied, and for the first time Mai could really tell how tired Kaiba sounded.
"Joey . . . take Mokuba." Valon said. He pushed the young boy to the ground as Joey ran over to him. Mokuba stood up and Joey put him on his back. Joey grabbed onto Mokuba's ankles and made sure he was safe. His shoulder was being covered with Mokuba's tears. They seemed to burn through his shirt and he was half tempted to stop, but Valon still had them at gunpoint.
Yugi had looked longingly at everybody, but they shooed him away. Joey had caught Mai's eye and tried to say something, but she shook her head and muttered "just go" through tears.
He wanted to stay and help but Mai gave him a small push and he ran toward Yugi.
A few minutes later, Valon still had the gun raised, but he watched Yugi, Joey and Mokuba run away from the building and down the sidewalk.
Valon moved from his perch. He never took the gun off of Mai and Kaiba.
Mai hadn't felt so much disgust toward one person in such a long time. The feeling was usually toward herself. It was taking everything in her power not to push him off the edge of the roof. She knew he'd shoot her if she moved though.
Yet something in her wouldn't let her push him. It made her stay rooted to the spot. She didn't know what it was . . . but it was an odd urging feeling to let him alone . . . to let him go on.
"See below us here. Well I happen to have men underneath opening a trampoline. I'm going to jump off and fall to the ground, only to be safely risked away to Mexico. You two on the other hand . . . will die trying to get out of the building within the two minutes that are left until the bomb goes off. See Mai, that way I don't have to watch you die. I do believe that two minutes isn't enough time to get out of the building, is it Kaiba?" Valon explained jokingly.
Mai couldn't take it anymore . . . it as in life, she walked toward Valon as he pulled his gun, but she was cut off by Kaiba who had pushed Valon off the roof.
Unfortunately, Valon wasn't ready to jump . . . but he wasn't going without a fight. He pulled the trigger and one last bullet escaped the gun.
It was aimed for Kaiba . . . at least Mai thought so . . . until she felt the silver brush against her and fell onto the roof with the blackness finally caving in on her . . . like it always had in her dreams.
Kaiba looked over the edge of the roof, not caring where Valon had fallen or if the trampoline was out yet. Instead, he picked up Mai and ran down the stairs as fast as he could.
He had to jump over bodies and he was becoming covered in Mai's blood.
Kaiba noticed the bullet had hit Mai's leg, but he knew the shock had knocked her out . . . it's not like she was in perfect condition at this point anyway.
He didn't know why he saved her . . . for it was her who caused the mess . . . but he couldn't turn away. He assumed that it was the fact that she tried so hard to help save his brother . . . she was going to give up her life for Mokuba's.
He figured that there has to be some good in her after all.
Kaiba didn't know how he was running so fast. His chest was hurting and he was sure he was going to puke some time soon. His heart was beating so loud that he was surprised Mai didn't wake up.
Her paleness matched the once whiteness of his now bloodied jacket. She was limp in his arms and only small breaths came from her mouth.
He felt like he was floating on air and when he reached the entrance doors he was filled with his second wind.
He ran as fast as he could and was greeted by the coldness of the outdoors. On the roof, he was sticky with sweat, but now he was covered in goose bumps that stayed hidden under his so many layers of clothing.
Kaiba quickly surveyed the surrounding area while he ran away from the building. To his luck and displeasure he saw an empty dumpster. He placed Mai in it and then put himself in it. It seemed to be far enough away from the building that they wouldn't get hit by the initial blast.
Kaiba took deep breaths and tried to plug his nose. He wanted to go see Mokuba but he knew that he would be killed if he stepped out of the dumpster.
He could hear Mai's breathing fasten.
"Oh God." she cried, "Where am I?"
"Hiding." Kaiba replied as he sat in the middle, with his arms over his head . . . just in case he needed to block something. He remembered Mokuba telling him they had to do it in school and he found it ridiculous . . . but he did it anyway just to relive the memory of talking to his brother.
"Where's Valon?" she questioned through deep breaths. Kaiba looked at her somewhat worriedly. He didn't want to go through all of that extra trouble to have her die on him then.
"I don't know . . . I didn't see him after he fell." Kaiba responded mysteriously. He thought he would have seen Valon on the ground, but he figured the trampoline trick really did work.
Mai again took deep breaths and her tears of pain were uncontrollable.
"Why did you save me?" she asked as it seemed the only reasonable way for her to get from the top of a roof to a dumpster somewhere.
"I don't know." he answered.
She pushed herself so that she was sitting up and coughed. She couldn't see what she coughed up, but she kept doing it.
"I think . . . I think I'm dying." she said through heavy pants, but her cries were unheard as an explosion went off in the background.
It was so loud that Kaiba thought he might become deaf. He could hear object pelting the side of the dumpster and Mai even shrieked a few times.
The smell of fire reached his nose and he frowned. His company was destroyed.
But it was just steel and glass and fancy carpet . . . it was just material . . . at least he tried to convince himself of that.
Mokuba was safe, at least he prayed his brother was safe, and that is what mattered. Everything seemed to happen so fast and so slow at the time.
A huge beam crashed against the dumpster on the side where Mai was sitting and she pushed herself against Kaiba. He caught her and noticed how bad she was shaking.
Dust was also flying everywhere and Kaiba was glad it was dead of night for he felt that if it was midday, many people would be dead.
He doesn't know how long he sat there . . . listening to Mai try and breath in and out, but when he heard the sound of fire trucks and police sirens, he decided to get out. Pushing the top open was harder than he expected, because of the beam that was on it, but he eventually pushed it open.
He crawled out and saw dust and debris everywhere. Faint flames and sprouts of water were going off in the distance.
He heard Mai trying to push herself up and he pulled her out. She looked rather unstable and the strangest feeling occurred within him.
He knew she was bad, deceitful, horrible, bitchy . . . and yet he felt a small amount of pity for her. He didn't want her to die.
He didn't know why . . . he just didn't.
"You look lovely." he said jokingly and Mai tried to laugh as she knew he wasn't usually a joking type . . . but after an incident as bad as that was . . . everyone needed to laugh.
"Wow Kaiba you really . . . " she started to say but only coughed instead and swayed.
He led her against the dumpster and she didn't care that she had to sit on dirt and beams. He tore off the sleeve of his jacket and wrapped it around her leg . . . hoping that a huge amount of dirt didn't get into the wound.
He then picked her up and walked toward what used to be his building.
"Guys . . . did you . . . did you watch that?" Tea asked. Her face was stained with tears and she had a death grip at Yugi and Tristan . . . who happened to be sitting beside her.
They were a few streets over and out of harms way . . . except for the dirt that seemed to descend upon the whole city. The air looked unbreathable and Tea didn't want to leave the building without something securing their face.
Serenity hadn't spoken a word since she was saved, but her face was also stained from her tears. Mokuba, on the other hand, hastily wiped his tears away . . . for he was somewhat ashamed they were there in the first place.
"What do we do now?" Duke asked. Everyone looked at him like he had just said something unbelievable horrible. It was the unasked question that hung in the air and he just happened to have said it.
"We've got to find my brother." Mokuba said. He was obviously free and remotely upset. His hair was more unruly than usual and it seemed like he didn't shower for days. He looked around at everyone and only gloomy faces met his hopeful one.
"Mokuba . . . we don't know if your brother is . . . " Tea started to say as gently as she could, but she couldn't finish her sentence due to the tears that were falling from her eyes. She wasn't particularly fond of Kaiba . . . she didn't really think any of them were, except Mokuba and maybe Yugi . . . but she didn't wish death upon him.
Mokuba stomped his foot and glanced outside.
"I thought you guys were always about bravery and friendship and hope . . . I mean, isn't that what Tea carries on about every five seconds?" Mokuba screamed.
"Now, I know you're upset, but yelling at Tea isn't the answer!" Tristan said as calmly as he could muster.
"No . . . I think Mokuba is right." Yugi replied. Mokuba sent him a tiny smile.
"Guys, I know this sounds crazy . . . but I know he's alive, I just . . . I just would have felt it . . . I just would have known if something was wrong." Mokuba explained. His voice was finally calm and he was proud of himself for not crying . . . he knew Kaiba didn't like when he cried.
Tea glanced at Yugi as if he was supposed to say something, but he remained speechless.
"I get what you mean, I do . . . but you were out of it when we saved you. You can't really tell what happened up there and your brother seemed really sure he wanted to stay." Joey said.
Everyone turned to him. Throughout their hiding, Joey, much like his sister, hadn't spoken a word. He didn't even mutter. He was completely and utterly silent. Mokuba shook his head, and dirt seemed to fly out of his hair.
Mokuba felt dirty . . . and gross. He wanted to jump into a hot bath even though he despised baths. He wanted to run outside and feel the cool breeze against his face and he wanted to watch his brother duel . . . he didn't want to be how he is now . . . helpless.
"He wouldn't leave me now. He wouldn't." Mokuba added. A sullen silence spread throughout the room and nobody knew exactly what to say to assure the youngest Kaiba. Instead they cast pitiful and confused glances at each other.
"Mokuba . . . we're tired . . . and we need to get you checked out at a hospital." Tristan said after sometime. Mokuba instead threw a chair across the room that they were in. Abby gasped at the sudden move. She had spent the whole time sulking and then trying to get Serenity to speak.
"Kaiba never gave up on me. I won't give up on him . . . and Yugi, you've never given up on anybody . . . don't start now." Mokuba said. His tears were running freely and Yugi stood there flabbergasted.
"Okay . . . Abby, Tea and Duke . . . take Serenity to the hospital. We'll catch up with you later. Joey, do you want to go with them?" Yugi asked.
Joey looked at his sister. She seemed to be okay, other than emotionally distraught.
"Go with them Joey. I'll be safe, I promise." Serenity said faintly. Joey numbly nodded.
"Okay, so me, Joey, Tristan and Mokuba are going though the wreckage." Yugi added.
"Mokuba . . . we can't promise you anything." Tristan said to him. Mokuba just bit his lip and nodded.
Distant sounding buzzing came to her ears as she snapped out of whatever daze she was in. She felt uneven patches of hard brick against her back. She could also hear low voices, but she didn't know where they were coming from.
"I'm so sorry for this Mr. Kaiba . . . we would have known sooner . . . we will catch whoever is responsible for this." a voice said.
The voice continued, " We do have one of the culprits. We've been tracking him since your assistant sent us information on what happened to you . . . all of your funds will be given back to you . . . again the police force is strongly behind you and . . . "
Mai couldn't hear the rest of the words. Instead other words were running through her head.
"It's all about choices."
''I just can't follow wether you want to kill them or help them. It's quite amusing watching you all bicker."
"Are you sure you can do this?"
"Mai, it's dangerous. You can't keep doing these things by yourself. You won't admit it, but you need help."
"Evil has a taste?"
"You need more friends Mai."
"So does this mean we're friends now Mai?"
"I'm gorgeous, I'm such a great duelist . . . I love me! How's that?"
"Winnings about more than cards and life points."
"No, I can't . . . I won't. Look Mai, I'm not gonna lose you again. We gotta stop this duel now!"
"I'm gonna find a way to save us both."
"Even if you did get married, you'd drive your husband crazy."
"You're about to play your Phoenix Formation, right? So what are you waiting for?"
"If you don't want to lose anymore memories, I'd advise you not to summon weak monsters."
"I brought down my own downfall."
Suddenly the sounds shifted from what people have told her to promises of ultimate power and complete detestation. Mai can swear she felt sand raining down on her at the moment, but concluded it was the dirt from the explosion. The voices were getting farther away, but changing into her own.
"You looked your demons in the eye and dealt with them."
"It sounded like one big soap opera . . . "
"Time to show Mr. Hollywood Ninja Boy I'm not a prize to be won."
"I'm a wanderer and the open road is calling."
"I play the magic card: Elegant Egotist! And now Elegant Egotist shall turn my one Harpy into three! Let's give a big Battle City hello to the Harpy Lady Sisters!"
"Don't be a backseat duelist. I can handle this by myself."
"The powerful Harpy cards I kept in my deck were the closest things I had to friends . . . But as cool and powerful as my Harpies were, deep down inside, I knew they weren't real . . . "
"I told you the Mai you knew is gone. I traded her soul for power. The old Mai was too lonely and pathetic. The girl was just holding me back. So I did what I had to, I sent her packing! Now, my weak side is gone for good!"
"No! I can't lose . . . can't lose . . . won't go back there . . . have to win . . . "
"I've had it with your ridiculous world domination mumbo jumbo, and I want out!"
"It's all my fault."
"Valon, I'm ready."
"This power and this rage . . . I can't do it Joey . . . I tried, I'm not strong enough. There isn't time to save me."
"I'll help you."
"I'd be down in Mexico with a bunch of hot guys and money and you would be up here with no money and a dead brother . . . hell you'd probably be dead too."
"Kaiba, haven't you learned by now that to get through to a person you have to use their weaknesses. Unfortunately for Valon, I know his weakness."
"Maybe, they aren't trying to help me."
"But finally, after all this time, I know me."
"Take me instead."
It was if she was watching her life flash before her eyes in one extremely fast motion . . . like she was watching somebody else's life . . . and she was just a spectator.
All the pain and misery she caused . . . all the pain she felt . . . seemed to rush to her all at once and she laughed of the thought of her life being a best-selling movie.
The distance was becoming fuzzy and hazy. Shapes blurred together, but she understood now. She knew what she had to do . . .
Using whatever strength she still possessed she tried to push herself up, but stopped at the sight of Kaiba who was staring at her as if she was a mental patient.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he watched her struggle to stand. She looked as if she was getting worse.
"Getting up." was her stubborn reply.
"Let me at least help." he said rather kindly, for the way she was acting was even too pitiful for him to stand.
"No . . . I have to do this alone." she said, trying to shoo him away, but missing horribly. She wasn't quite sure what she hit or even if she hit anything at all.
"What do you have to do?" Kaiba asked, and just before Mai could answer, a man in a police uniform came over to them.
"Mr. Kaiba . . . our hostage had given us another name . . . he said that he was working for and with a James . . . but I couldn't get a last name. He also said that the person in charge was a woman named Mai Valentine." the man said in the most official voice he could muster.
Kaiba looked toward Mai and back at the officer.
Mai looked like she was about to speak, but closed her mouth inside. The taste of blood seemed like a permanent fixture and she was wondering where she could puke without it looking extremely unladylike.
Kaiba knew that he should have turned Mai in at that moment. She was the cause of his most recent problems and the beginning of his great empire laid at his feet in flames because of her.
Yet the sound of her voice . . . pleading Valon to take her instead of Mokuba lingered in his ears. He hated himself at that point for even considering not reported the woman who made his life Hell.
He knew that he won't be able to get the raw sound of her voice out of his ears or the look of complete despair from her eyes out of his mind.
Kaiba knew he shouldn't believe her when she said she didn't want Mokuba involved. Mai was a professional liar and she was very believable. Keeping a 'poker face' as Kaiba had heard it called, during dueling is a great skill every master needs to muster.
Kaiba believed Joey never had that skill.
He gazed at the officer . . . who looked scared. He was shaking and for some reason Kaiba wanted to slap him. What did that man have to be afraid of . . . except his dastardly uniform color. He didn't see the things Kaiba had or felt the pain Kaiba did.
"Ok . . . that's a start." was all that Kaiba could mutter. He was surprised to see the sadness from Mai's expression.
"Wait . . . officer . . ." she started to say to the man because he was starting to leave . . . but Kaiba cut her off.
"She's delusional." Kaiba added, " A stretcher would be nice though . . . or is that too much of a hassle for you?" His voice was full of sarcasm and the officer ran toward the ambulance.
Mai looked at Kaiba, awe stricken.
"What . . . why . . . I deserve to be . . . locked up forever not . . . " she started to say, but due to the pain she was feeling, she stopped.
"If you live through tonight . . . I will deal with it . . . and you can say whatever the Hell it is that you feel you have to say . . . but right now . . . I can't see you saying anything that sounds remotely reasonable and I'm not sure I want to hear it." Kaiba said finally.
He knew, by the type of person Mai was, that she would want to retort . . . but the paramedics came toward them with a stretcher and she was placed on it without another word.
She seemed to collapse on it and she was terrified.
Mai didn't know what was going to happen . . . and she wished she had something solid to put her faith in. It makes her regret going to church with her aunt the five times she asked.
Kaiba, on the other hand, was more concerned at the present moment with finding his brother. He knew, deep down he was safe . . . and that is what mattered most.
It was, as Mokuba had worded, the best feeling ever when they came face to face. Yugi, Joey and Mokuba had taken an hour to get to the site of the building. Kaiba, although he wanted to look for his brother, had stayed behind and watched the flames diefromthe streams of water that shot up from the fire trucks.
Smoke filled the air, and dirt was everywhere, but Kaiba spotted his brother right away. Mokuba ran over to him as fast as he could and grabbed onto him so tight that Kaiba was sure he wasn't letting go.
Kaiba patted his brother's back. Unshed tears threatened to make their way out his eyes, but he blinked them back with much effort. Kaiba didn't want to cry . . . he knew that heros didn't cry. And according to Mokuba, Kaiba was his hero.
Yugi and Joey worked their way over to the two Kaiba brothers and overlooked the damage.
"This is horrible Kaiba." Yugi said. Kaiba nodded and stared at his brother.
"We'll rebuild, won't we Seto . . . and it'll be even better." Mokuba replied hopefully. Kaiba looked into his brother's eyes and gave a small smile at the sparkle that seemed to be permanently glued in them.
"Yes, we will . . . but, that's not the most important thing." Kaiba said with a shrug. Mokuba smiled and grabbed onto him once again.
Kaiba did intend to plan again, he had figures and blueprints in his mind . . . but first he wanted to go away on vacation with Mokuba. He had enough of Domino for a while.
Kaiba turned to see Yugi and Joey in somewhat deep discussion about something or another. Joey was kicking his foot in the dirt looking rather sullen.
"I'm not sure why I'm telling you this . . . but they took Valentine to the hospital a while ago. She was . . . well she was in horrible condition. She'll probably make it through though, being unconscious must be like a daily activity for her." Kaiba told Joey and Yugi. His voice sounded cool and collected, and his face resembled that.
"What do you think will happen to her now Yug?" Joey asked. Yugi shrugged.
"Well, the officer told me . . . everything Valon told him. She'll be charge with theft, assisted suicide, fraud and she had some checks that bounced." Kaiba said in a very board manner.
"What about her whole taking over your corporation thing, I'm no lawyer . . . but that can't be covered plainly under theft can it?" Joey asked.
Kaiba shrugged and looked over the horizon. He didn't know what action he was taking, or what he was doing . . . but he knew getting back into the safety of his home was a good start.
The darkness of the night had changed into a semi- dark day where the sky was light gray.
"What's going to happen now?" Mokuba asked, his voice sounded concerned and rough from lack of sleep. Kaiba glanced over at everything around him and sighed.
"I think, Mokuba, it is going to rain."