Chapter 2

Kaiba spent the next few days feverishly preparing for his duel against Yugi. He holed up in his room and did not speak to anyone, even his brother. The desk lamp in his room and his computer screen were the only sources of light he saw during that time. The floor was strewn with briefcases filled with cards while his desk was covered with his new Duel Disks. He would use them on Saturday to crush Yugi and prove once and for all his strength and his scientific ingenuity would defeat Yugi and his inherited magical legacy.

He did not sleep. Every time he tried to, he was plagued with endless, horrible nightmares. Nightmares of when he was young and Gozaburo could still hurt him. Nightmares of people dying, of war, of violence. He did not sleep. He could not sleep.

It was better like this. He had no time for rest.

Kaiba used up all his time researching strategies; strategies to increase his own strength and Yugi's strategies in order to find new ways to dismantle his strength. He filled his deck with anti-Dark Magician Cards and magic counter cards. Battling Yugi was a lot like battling a Magician; Yugi always seemed to have another monster up his sleeve stronger than whatever Kaiba had. Sometimes Yugi was even worse than the Pharaoh when it came to using Magic and Trap cards, and Kaiba resented him for it, like all other instances where Yugi was different from the Pharaoh. He would slay Yugi's magical beasts, break Yugi's Magnet Warriors, destroy his fortresses, and bury Dark Magician alive. All the while Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons would be lying in wait for their master to bring them forth and lay waste to Yugi Muto.

His office door opened and Kaiba started. He looked at the clock. It was 3am. Who was visiting him at this hour?

The door closed and the visitor walked towards Kaiba until his desk lamp illuminated his features.

"Jounouchi." Kaiba said.

"Mokuba called me today. He's worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"He says you haven't been sleeping."

"Whether or not I've been sleeping is none of your business."

"This again? You're always hot and cold." Jounouchi sat down in a chair backwards and scooted closer.

"It's been months since you've called or texted me. Did you try to ghost me?" Jounouchi asked.

"I'm busy. I don't have time for you." Kaiba looked at his computer screen, but suddenly the words wouldn't focus.

"You're such a piece of work. I thought you were doing better too." Jounouchi mumbled.

"Better? In what way?"

"I thought you were starting to move on. I thought you were letting go." Jounouchi replied.

"Because I was with you. Because I let you sleep with me a few times? Don't be deluded, Jounouchi. I was using you. You're just a distraction on the path to my main goal. Nothing is more important than that."

"Kaiba, you bastard!" Finally, Jounouchi lost his temper. Kaiba smiled just a little.

"Are you offended? I never asked you to butt into my life. What makes you think my life is your business?"

"Your brother is worried about you! Yugi is worried about you! We're all worried about you! You're not eating, you're not sleeping! You're not even taking care of yourself!" Jounouchi hissed angrily.

Kaiba saved his work and closed his laptop screen. He stood up and towered over Jounouchi with a smile.

"I can't take care of myself? What are you going to do about it?" Kaiba asked.

Jounouchi growled in frustration and pulled Seto into a painful kiss before pushing him down onto the office couch. Kaiba smiled as Jounouchi tore at his clothes.

Jounouchi wasn't the smartest, but he had his uses. He was passionate, acceptably attractive, and most importantly, fit and athletic. In other words, Jounouchi had stamina. All Kaiba had to do was lay back and let Jounouchi get him to his peak. He always slept well after one of their rendezvous.

That night, Kaiba fell asleep, and his sleep was once again invaded with nightmares and unsettling dreams.

He dreamt of darkness, of towering walls with carvings. He dreamt of torch fire, and the ominous shadows that danced along the carvings, bringing them to life.

He was lying down on his side, with his head in someone's lap. Someone was gently stroking his head and crying.

Then the dream changed, and he was lying on a hard stone surface, hands and feet bound by chains. He couldn't see anything, but he knew Yugi was next to him, bound on another tablet.

There was the sound of Yugi's screams, the sounds of maniacal laughter, and the feeling of fire consuming his body. It seared his flesh and ate away at his bones. Kaiba had no strength left to scream or fight. All he could do was lie there while he was slowly burned alive.

Aigami and Sera stood in another dimension on a floating rock, their faces bathed in the swirling colors of the sky's perpetual sunsets. Aigami stared at the dance between scarlet and violet on the clouds. He said nothing.

Sera, his sister, sat down next to him. She also said nothing.

"You shouldn't have stopped me from killing the vessel of the Pharaoh."

"You've gone too far Diva!" She pleaded. "To kill another person just so we can reach our destined paradise, that is wrong! Yugi Muto did nothing wrong."

"I would do anything to reach that land, to the dimension where there is no pain and suffering, where no one is every unhappy. Even if I have to kill Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba. There are not blameless. All of the people involved with the Millennium Items have bathed their hands in blood."

"Especially the one that killed Master Shadi."

"Brother, you must not pursue vengeance. You will lose yourself to the hate and the obsession! You need to let things go and move on! Master would want you to be at peace."

"I will not know peace until I defeat all of them myself. Bakura, Kaiba, Yugi." Aigami swore. "The Millennium Items were created through evil, and their powers are too great without causing damage and destruction in its wake. We cannot let the items awaken once more. We cannot let the Pharaoh resurrect."

Aigami stood and pulled Sera into a hug. "I'll protect the Plana, don't worry. I'll protect all our dreams. When I've dealt with them, we will finally know peace and happiness."

Anzu touched Yugi on the shoulder and Yugi looked up from his deck. He put them back into the case and nodded. The four of them exited the limousine Kaiba and sent to fetch Yugi and set off in the direction of Kaibaland's arena. At the entrance, Mokuba was pensively waiting for them.

"Yugi," he said. Yugi reached over and gently ruffled Mokuba's hair.

"Don't worry Mokuba-kun, I'll bring your brother back."

"And I'll knock some sense into him if he needs it," Jounouchi added. Anzu put an arm around Mokuba's shoulders and Mokuba followed them in.

Yugi stared across the length of the arena to see Kaiba already in position on the other side. On his arm was a much smaller duel disk and on his ear was a headpiece. It was blue and black, and welded into his jacket and onto his arm. It made Kaiba look like a cyborg.

Kaiba looked up when Yugi appeared.

"You have the Millennium Puzzle?"

"Yes," Yugi answered.

Kaiba threw him a duel disk and Yugi caught it. It had the same rounded design, but it was white and purple where Kaiba's duel disk was blue and black. Yugi pushed a button and the play area board popped out. From what Yugi had seen before, Kaiba's play area and cards were all virtual holograms.

"You made this?" Yugi asked.

"Don't get excited. It's not for you." Kaiba scoffed. Yugi felt that ugly feeling in his chest again, the same one that appeared every time someone called him "vessel of the Pharaoh" or Kaiba treated him like crap. Isono helped him with the earpiece. Once he put it on, the duel disk lit up in purple while Kaiba's duel disk was lit up in his signature blue.

"Thank you," Yugi said. He took off his old duel disk and carefully slotted his deck into the duel disk and secured the headpiece to his ear.

"Two minutes, Kaiba-sama." An employee popped in to announce.

Kaiba glanced at Yugi once and began walking towards the long hallway. Yugi sighed and followed him. They walked together through the darkness. Up ahead the arena lights streamed in, fighting against the darkness like ocean tides.

"Did you reassemble the puzzle?" Kaiba asked.

"No…but I did check the pieces. It looks we are missing at least one piece." Yugi answered.

Kaiba thought for a moment. "That Aigami guy. His name is also Diva. He must have taken it." Kaiba stepped into an opening on one side, where there was an X prominently displayed on the ground.

"Aigami wants to stop Atem from resurrecting. I'm sure he will show himself today." Yugi said. Then he also took his position on another X. Across from him was a screen with a countdown.

Five! Four! Three! Two! One!

Yugi clenched his core as the stage moved. He and Kaiba simultaneously shot up from under the arena to above. The sky opened up to the screaming, cheering crowds, the birds crying overhead, and the sun. Ra's light were searing through Yugi's clothes and heating his skin. It felt like fire.

Yugi waited as Kaiba addressed the crowd and gave his grand speech about his new technology and the future of the world as he envisioned.

"Yugi, today I'm going to beat you, and when I do, I'll take back the Millennium Puzzle and reassemble it. I'll bring back the Pharaoh with or without you, and then I'll build the technological future I have been dreaming of." Kaiba announced.

"Kaiba, I understand you, I really do, but you need to let Atem go! Fulfill your dreams, chase the future, but don't cling to the past!" Yugi shouted.

"No, you don't understand!" Kaiba screamed. "I have to do this! Until I do, I will never know any peace. I'm not going to let anyone stand in my way! Not you, not my brother, not the Pharaoh!"

Yugi readied himself for battle. Then reality shifted, and a blue haired youth appeared in the center of the arena.

"Sorry," Aigami said. "I must defeat both of you. Seto Kaiba, I'm going to erase you so I can stop you from resurrecting the Pharaoh and Yugi Muto, I must erase you as the vessel of the Pharaoh." "Why should I care anything about you?" Kaiba asked.

Aigami smirked. "You can ignore me if you want, but I have something each of you want. From his pocket he pulled out two pieces of the Millennium Puzzle.

"Aigami-kun! I don't want to fight you, and I don't want to resurrect Atem!" Yugi shouted. "If you give me the pieces, I can bury them again and no one has to fight. Or else, let Kaiba go, and I will fight you! If your grief is with the Pharaoh, let me take the brunt of it!"

Aigami paused for a moment. "More and more, I respect you, Yugi Muto. You are a kind soul, and one who has gone through a lot of hardship and pain like me. You have seen the ugliness of the world, and yet you endure in your kindness and optimism. I…am not as strong as you." Aigami confessed.

"You don't have to be strong alone!" Yugi insisted. "I promise I won't reassemble the puzzle, I won't try to bring back Atem, let's just put the Puzzle away and move on!"

Aigami sighed and shook his head. "No Yugi, I'm sorry. I cannot allow you to live. It's too much of a risk."

"Just because you want to fight doesn't mean I will," Yugi warned. "I can refuse."

"You will fight Yugi Muto, vessel of the Pharaoh. Because you are a kind and noble soul that always fights for his friends, isn't that right? It just so happens that I have a friend of yours, right here, in need of saving." Aigami said darkly.

The stadium was flooded with red light, and the ghostly images of children sporting glowing eyes surrounded the three duelists. Aigami smiled as a child appeared next to him with another person. The person slumped forward, unconscious. All over his body and on his back were wounds. His striped shirt was slashed, and his white hair had blood stains in it.

"Bakura-kun!" Yugi yelled in alarm.

"This man is the one that killed my Master." Aigami spat.

"No, that was Yami Bakura, that wasn't me! I'm sorry but it wasn't me! Please let me go!" Ryou begged.

"Now you want to fight me, Muto Yugi?"

"Yes."

"Good!" Aigami crowed. "Today, I will defeat both of you. So who wants to go first?"

"I will." Yugi answered.

"Yugi…" Kaiba warned.

"He touched my friend. He dared to hurt my friend. Don't get in my way, Kaiba!"

"Aigami-kun, I sympathized with you, but that doesn't excuse your actions! Regardless of why you want to do this, I won't let you hurt anyone ever again!" Yugi shouted.

"Duel Start!"

"Aigami-kun, why are you doing this?"

"This world is terrible Yugi! We of the Plana are all children that have been tortured and abused by the world for so many years! Master Shadi gave us these powers so that we can protect ourselves, find each other, and together ascend to a new world and a new dimension, one with no pain and no suffering. We will create a world where no one can hurt us anymore, where no one can make us feel small and powerless. It is for this reason I fight." Aigami confessed.

"I'm sorry you went through all that Aigami, but why haven't you gone until now?" Yugi asked.

Aigami's hands started shaking. Why hasn't he ever gone before? "I - because my work is done! Because I have to find all the suffering children, all the people that went through what I did, and go to the new world together! Because I have to avenge the death of Master Shadi!"

"Aigami-kun, Kaiba-kun and I have both suffered. We are both people who suffered terrible childhoods, that grew up in the midst of pain and suffering. Do you think attacking Kaiba-kun and I is the right way to live? The right path? Is this not going against the world you want to create?" Yugi argued. "Aren't you just spreading the pain and perpetuating the cycle?"

Aigami sighed. "You…you I can sympathize with Yugi Muto. Maybe you can imagine that this world that we live in now change into a world of peace, kindness, and love. A world without hatred. Because you are someone who is kind, and full of peace and love. Your soul glows with an undimming light. This is why only you could have awoken the Pharaoh and pulled him from that unending darkness. Only you could have saved him."

"I know about you, Yugi Muto, and I know about your past. I know that from you were an innocent child, people would hurt you and abuse you. Even the people you call friends now. Even the people you love and trust. The person you love and trust above all, even he left you behind."

"Other Me…" For a moment, Yugi's heart wavered.

"Yugi Muto…join me, and we can create a new world without hatred. If you do, I will trust you and not kill you."

"Why do you ask me to join you but not Kaiba? Kaiba-kun has suffered too. We all have suffered. If he was still a child, maybe you would also have tried to rescue him."

"Seto Kaiba is selfish. He is only obsessed with power, with revenge. There's no point trying to save him."

"That's not true Aigami-kun, just like how I believe you can be saved too. Aigami-kun, don't you see? Aren't you obsessed with power, with revenge, just like Kaiba-kun? You attacked Bakura-kun even though the real murderer isn't here anymore."

"I'm not! I'm different!" Aigami yelled.

"Aigami-kun, I won't join you. You want to build a new world without hate, without pain and suffering, but all you've done is focus on hate! If you let it go you could have gone to a new world already! Instead, you stay here, blinded by your own hate and obsession! Your feelings are holding you back!"

"I'll show you Aigami! I'll show you how your actions are perpetuating this endless cycle!" Yugi drew his card and began laying down the trap that would finish Aigami. An endless loop. It would be a fitting end to Aigami's dreams and ambitions.

The dust cleared and Yugi sighed. Aigami was nowhere to be seen. Yugi walked over and picked up two pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. He slipped them into his pocket. Aigami's pieces. He turned back around.

"Yugi, today I'm finally going to have my revenge on you," Kaiba announced, his voice amplified by his headpiece and broadcasted through the arena speakers.

"Why do you want revenge Kaiba-kun?" Yugi asked.

Kaiba held up two fingers casually. "You've killed Atem twice now. First when you destroyed my AI and then when you somehow beat him in a duel."

Yugi frowned, and his face was blown up on the giant arena screens. "The other me has been dead for thousands of years, Kaiba-kun. I only did what I needed to do."

"I refuse to believe that the vessel could beat the true duelist," Kaiba retorted.

"Are you saying I cheated against Atem?" Yugi asked in disbelief.

"There's no way you could have defeated him!" Kaiba insisted.

Down in the sands, Yugi's friends watched quietly. "I'm getting a sense of déjà vu from this conversation," Honda commented. The others nodded.

"I'm sorry you weren't there Kaiba-kun," Yugi said. "But it's true. I defeated him and he departed to the afterlife. If we had time, I would have made sure you two had a chance to say goodbye."

"How could you have defeated the three Egyptian god cards? It's preposterous."

"Whether or not you believe it doesn't change that its fact, Kaiba-kun. I defeated his god cards, and then I defeated him." Yugi straightened up. "I'm just as good of a duelist as he is."

Kaiba growled. "When I defeat you, I'll expose you and your lies for good. Duel!"

"Duel!" Yugi shouted. They drew their cards.

"I will go first. I play these cards facedown and end my turn."

"I play Vengeful Sea Dragon in attack mode." With a few deft motions, Kaiba activated his card and his dragon burst forth in a rainbow holographic shower. "Attack!" Yugi's life points went down by 1200.

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew from his deck and studied his hand. Then he placed two cards in the spell and trap zone.

"I end my turn."

"No monsters? Then I'll get to attack directly again. But first I summon Deep Eyes Dragon and activate a magic card Saint Dragon Maiden, which allows me to special summon a dragon from my hand, so I choose Blue eyes chaos dragon." Kaiba's dragons took the field and stared down at Yugi.

Yugi activated a magic card. "I activate Emergency Peace Treaty. Because you special summoned a monster, I can call off your attack phase by giving up 1000 life points."

Kaiba smirked. "Either way your life points are decreasing. Next turn I'll summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon and then you'll be finished."

Yugi shook his head. "There will be no next turn. That was your last turn."

Everyone gasped. "You're bluffing," Kaiba shouted.

"I don't bluff," Yugi replied calmly. "It's clear now that you've made a grave error, Kaiba-kun."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Yugi sighed. "You designed your deck around summoning your Blue Eyes White Dragon and to counter the Egyptian God Cards; to cripple your opponent's strength while increasing your own. That strategy might work against the other me, but I am not Atem. My deck doesn't have the God Cards."

"What? You don't have the Three Egyptian God Cards?" Kaiba blurted out.

Yugi shook his head. "Kaiba, you prepared against an imaginary opponent. Now you're woefully unprepared against me."

"And I… am a much different duelist then Other Me," Yugi finished. "I do not rely on strong monsters to finish the job. My turn! Draw!"

"Prepare yourself, Kaiba-kun, because I was not blind to who my opponent was!" Yugi shouted. "I play Name of the Enemy! By giving up half my life points I can banish a certain monster from your deck and remove it from play, and I choose your Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

The holograms sprang into life, and an army surged forward at Kaiba before dragging out his beloved dragons from his deck. The dragons cried out in agony before fading from view.

"Now I activate another magic card, Last Rites!" Lightning came down from the sky and blasted every single one of Kaiba's magic/trap cards off the field.

"By discarding a card from my hand for every card on your field, I can destroy them! Now your field is empty!" Yugi announced.

"Such underhanded tricks…" Kaiba growled. "You may have banished my dragons, but I'll get them back."

Yugi fixed him with a steady gaze. "It's strategy, Kaiba-kun. Brute force is not always the right method." He played another card.

"I also play Gift of Friendship," Yugi announced and Kaiba groaned. "We each exchange one card from our hand. And since I have only one card…"

Like salt on his wound, Yugi gleefully handed Kaiba a Kuriboh card before pulling one from Kaiba's hands. Kaiba gritted his teeth when Yugi grabbed his magic card.

Yugi returned to his spot and looked at the card he had gotten from Kaiba. "I had my own card for this, but I suppose I can use yours…"

"But first I need some more life points. By banishing four of my own monsters from my deck, I can restore my life points by 2000 points, which I will use to activate your card, Dimensional Travel! Your Blue Eyes White Dragon Cards are now in my hand!"

"And finally…" Yugi activated the last magic card on his field. The holographic card raised itself up until the card was plainly visible for all to see.

"I use Fusion on the three Blue Eyes in my hand! Go Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon – attack!"

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared into being, its incredible presence filling the stadium with its oppressive aura. Kaiba stared back at his own monster in shock, and rage. Each of the three heads raised up and one by one, blasts of destructive light poured forth and hit Kaiba full-on. Defenseless, he could only raise up his arms and endure the onslaught.

The dust cleared. Kaiba's life points dropped to below Yugi's. In the stands Yugi's friends waited with baited breath.

"You bastard, how dare you use my own monster against me? You're not half the duelist Atem was!" Kaiba shouted.

"Kaiba-kun…" Yugi muttered lowly.

"I refuse to accept such cowardly tactics!" Kaiba continued. "I won't accept defeat from the likes of you!"

"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried out.

"Kaiba, you've lost your mind!" Jounouchi shouted too.

"Kaiba-kun, today you are not dueling at your best. Your mind is clouded and it makes you weak!" Yugi argued. "As you are now, you cannot go toe to toe with me! Kaiba-kun! Stop clinging to Atem's ghost! Release your doubts and move away from the past! Otherwise, you will never escape your darkness!"

"Shut up! Shut up! You're just the vessel! I won't recognize anyone as my rival except for Atem!"

Yugi closed his eyes. "You want Atem so bad? Of course, you do, you even made an AI of him. But nothing will ever come close to the real thing." For a moment, Yugi thought about his little backpack, and inside was his gold sarcophagus deck box. It usually held his deck but today it contained inside of it the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. Scattered, but tempting. So tempting.

"Kaiba…even if you reassemble the puzzle, Atem won't return. He's not in the puzzle anymore."

"You're lying."

"I'm not! Sometimes, things aren't up to us. Even if you want it or I want it, it doesn't mean it will happen."

"I don't believe you, Yugi. Reassemble the puzzle and then I'll believe you." Kaiba challenged.

Yugi opened the gold sarcophagus box and poured all the pieces on the ground. He knelt down and began assembling the pieces. Everyone watched with bated breath.

Click. Click. More and more pieces locked together, more and more the shape of the pyramid appeared. The lights of the duel monsters holograms reflected off its gold surface, giving it an almost oily gleam.

Finally, Yugi slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the last two pieces. Yugi clicked in the last piece. Silence. Yugi waited a few more seconds, but nothing happened.

"I'm sorry Kaiba, but Atem isn't returning." Yugi lifted the Millennium Puzzle up for Kaiba to see, his expression a resigned, helpless smile.

"No….no, no!"

"Kaiba-kun."

"No, this can't be! It has to work! Nothing else works!"

"Kaiba-kun, the dead can't return!"

"No, it has to work! I bet you're lying! I bet you're hiding him away inside, trying to trick me. Or he's too scared to face me! You won't trick me! It won't work! The Pharaoh will return! He has to!" Kaiba yelled.

"Kaiba-kun! You're so desperate but it won't work!" Yugi shouted but Kaiba kept his mad ramblings and ravings. A knot stuck in his throat as Yugi realized Kaiba was ignoring him. Yugi's patience was frayed.

"Fine, Kaiba. You get your wish." Yugi growled.

The air in the arena changed. When Yugi opened his eyes, Kaiba could see Atem staring back.

"Kaiba! You do not know what forces you are meddling with. It's time I taught you a lesson, once and for all!" Yugi said with Atem's voice. Everyone in the arena felt a cold shiver down their spine. Kaiba's body turned to ice.

"Shadow game!" Yugi shouted. Without warning, the holograms surrounding them changed, and then arena was plunged into darkness. Kaiba took two steps back as Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared and took to the air. Its body glowed and split into three dragons, before all three disappeared in columns of light.

"I sacrifice your Blue Eyes White Dragons to summon my Dark Magician!" Yugi raised an empty hand to the sky and the sky opened up. The familiar purple clad magician appeared in a flourish, expression as murderous as his master.

Aigami trudged through the empty realm. The duel had taken too much out of him and he could not sustain his existence in Yugi's reality. Instead, he ended up here. All around him the alternate dimension was slowly disintegrating. The secret was that the cube was only as powerful as its wielder. It could take you anywhere in any dimension, but it was still limited by the human consciousness. Diva was defeated. Diva was no more. The Pharaoh would resurrect or he wouldn't, but regardless, Diva was done. His dreams were gone. He was a nobody now.

Who would remember the blue-haired youth that had fallen in battle, trying to save children? Trying to save his comrades, his friends? Who would remember Diva the young boy who suffered so much and sacrificed so much, only to gain nothing in the end? In a world that cared not for the innocent, for children, for the weak and poor, who would remember Diva?

Maybe Sera would remember him. He spared a moment of guilt and longing for his sister, but it hurt too much to think about her. She alone would not be able to pull him back. He walked the sandy desert and watched the sky disappear into the void above his head. The last sight he would ever see.

Then his foot hit something and he stopped. He looked down. At his feet were a gleam of gold. As he gently pulled it from the sand, a ring came out, followed by a gold triangle in the middle. The Millennium Ring. He looked up, and saw the pillars of the Plana, the only space he considered his sanctuary for so many years.

The Pillars. The Millennium Items. Diva did not know if this was real, he doubted it. The cube required so much power to affect reality using only your imagination. It was why Diva had spent so much time searching for children, for fellow lost souls to join him. They needed more power. Now, it was only a figment of Diva's imagination. An illusion, a delusion of his mind trying to comfort himself in his final moments.

But there they were. All seven Millennium Items. Cursed in its creation, each centimeter of gold soaked in the blood of those that were sacrificed in order for the Pharaoh and his court to gain this immense power. Thousands of years had passed, but the items had never escaped their blood-soaked history. Some items like the Millennium Ring and Millennium Eye became entangled in even more violence and bloodshed than the other items.

Diva felt a pang of sorrow for the people of Kul Elna that died for the Millennium Items. Died, sacrificed, discarded, used! Like they were animals or nonliving things. Like wood to be burned in a fire. Throughout human history, humans continued to use each other and hurt each other, and people like Diva were too powerless to stop them. He and the children of Plana were no different from all the other victims of history. They were used for their bodies, their lives. Expendable.

The Millennium Ring contained the spirit of the sole survivor of Kul Elna, the Thief King Bakura. It was the abhorrent man that killed Master Shadi, but in that moment, Diva sympathized with him. When all the world was against you, when all the world had chewed you up and spit you out like trash? Thief King Bakura was evil, but he was free. Free to fight for revenge, free to hurt the people that hurt him back. The thought was exhilarating.

Diva clutched the Millennium Ring to his chest. Slowly the cube appeared for him. Diva would not give up. He refused to die here, nameless and unknown, in this desolate dimension. He would return. He would borrow the spirit, the memory of the Thief King Bakura! He would return to that world and finish what he started! If he had to die, let him die standing! Let him die fighting!

Let all those who hurt him, let all those in the world, bear witness to the transgressions that people had done to Diva, and let them bear witness to his wrath.

Yugi summoned the Dark Magician. Yugi summoned the Dark Magician Girl. Yugi summons the Apple Magician Girl, the Lemon Magical girl, and when Kaiba takes his Blue Eyes White Dragons back, he summons Metamorphortress and Gandora-X. It was an onslaught, like crawling through an icy snowstorm as it sliced at your cheeks and bombarded you with the cold. Dueling the Pharaoh was like fighting a volcano but dueling Yugi was…cold.

When Yugi had enough, he banished all the monsters from the graveyard and special summoned the Dark Magician again. Kaiba's hand was empty and his field was empty. There was nothing to save him now. Kaiba stood in shock, eyes staring at the tip of the Dark Magician's staff.

"It's over Kaiba. I've won." Yugi said. "Dark Magic Attack!" A flash of light. Kaiba's life points dropped to zero.

Kaiba dropped to his knees, numb. All the holograms disappeared. Yugi stood on the other side facing him, breathing heavily, with his hands on his knees. His shoulders shook like leaves in the wind. Something wet hit the arena floor underneath his feet. One drop. Two drops. Three drops. Four drops.

In an instant, the atmosphere changed. Gone was the sunlight. Instead black, angry clouds rolled in and covered the entire sky. With a crack of lightning, the sky opened up and rain poured from the heaven. It lashed their bodies, it struck the ground angrily, all the while lightning and thunder fought in the clouds, clanging noisily. Yugi and Kaiba were still in their spots on the arena. Kaiba was on his knees, face tilted towards the sky. The water ran down his face. Yugi was hunched over, hands clamped tightly around his knees, facing downwards. The rain poured and poured like grief.

Yugi unfolded his knees and winced. "Kaiba, you lost. I'm going to get rid of the Millennium Puzzle." Slowly, Yugi lifted the Millennium Puzzle and presented it to Kaiba to see. Yugi had attached a chain to the top like before. The Millennium Puzzle slowly rotated until the Eye was facing Kaiba.

"Do you want to say anything? It's time to say goodbye, Kaiba." Yugi said quietly.

Kaiba shook his head.

"Kaiba-kun…if you ever want to talk, I'm here." He said. "Kaiba?" Yugi shook him gently but Kaiba didn't react.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba ran to the center of the arena and knelt down next to Kaiba.

"Kaiba-kun, you can't shut people out! I know it hurts, I know you had your bond with Atem and you miss him, but you have to move forward. I know you and Atem…shared a wavelength, and maybe you feel like he's the only person who understands you, but that's not true! Kaiba-kun!" Yugi shook him again.

"What a touching scene," Diva drawled and they all turned. The sky went black.

Yugi gasped in horror. It was Aigami's voice, but it was no longer Aigami's body. Instead there was a vaguely humanoid nightmare of a person standing in front of them, skin and flesh twisted beyond recognition, his eyes staring creepily out of two cubes jutting out of his face. Worst of all, Yugi could see the Millennium Ring embedded in his chest and the Millennium Eye embedded in one of the cubes.

"The Millennium Items are supposed to be gone now! Powerless! What happened to you?" Yugi jumped up.

"Yes Yugi Muto, you are correct. Their powers disappeared along with the Pharaoh. But the memories…the memories of what they were and the events they were involved in…those remain. Don't you remember, Yugi? Don't you remember what these items did?" Diva asked, his soft voice spine-tingling against the terrifying visage of his face.

"Yugi Muto…shall I tell you…how my cube works?" Diva asked. "The cube can influence reality, but what is reality? Isn't reality just a lot of shared understandings, things we experience through our minds? With that understanding, one could argue reality is not real, only our shared consciousness is real. You, standing there, in reality. Me, standing here before you. Am I in the reality plane? Or are you with me, in another dimension? How can you know?"

"After you defeated me, Yugi Muto, I was banished to an alternate dimension, one that I did not recognize. I couldn't go anywhere else. I had no more powers left. I was going to die. But just then! I found the Millennium Items. Maybe I summoned them to me, maybe I imagined them into being, but either way, there they were. And I remembered the history of the Millennium Items, of Kul Elna, of Thief King Bakura. The sole survivor of a massacre, only a child at that time. He grew from a powerless child to a powerful thief king, strong enough to almost topple your Pharaoh and his dynasty. He carved his name into the world with blood and made sure no one in reality would forget him."

"I thought of Thief King Bakura and wondered, how must he have felt? What was he like? What kind of a person could retain his memories and his vengeance for thousands of years and endure until the moment he could strike? What motivated him to keep going? It must have been hate yes, hate like you said Yugi. The kind of hate that fuels you for thousands of years, the kind of hate where all you want is to watch the world burn. The world hurt you, and all you want to do is hurt them back! Make them all see! Make them all suffer!" Diva laughed maniacally.

"Aigami-kun…" Yugi murmured.

Diva paused. "Aigami…yes, that name. It was that name and my face that I implanted into all of your minds when I arrived in Domino City. I influenced your minds, your memories, your consciousness, and in doing so I existed. Through your minds I created myself as an existence in your reality. Such is the power of the cube."

"But the cube is limited…by power, by people, and by our imaginations. One person's consciousness can only extend so far, but with many people, hundreds, or even thousands of people, you can create a stronger and stronger reality. One that is strong instead of fragile."

"This is why I recruited children like me," Diva explained. "Children have the strongest imaginations and the least number of limitations, and if I find children like me, children who have been through unspeakable things, they will also want to escape this world, this reality, and find a new world that we can live in. Only with the proper motivation can this new world be formed."

Diva raised one gnarled finger and pointed at Yugi, almost tenderly. "Master Shadi told me that I could be your equal, that I was as powerful as you. But I know now that's far, far from the truth. Yugi Muto…the vessel of the Pharaoh…your power is unmatched by anyone in this reality plane except for the Pharaoh himself, and he's gone. It's just you now."

Diva opened his arms again. "Join me, Yugi, join me and we can go to another world. With your power, you can do it. You can create this paradise for us and let us leave this place behind. Yugi, please help us."

Kaiba stood up. "What is this maniac talking about? Yugi, don't listen to him."

"Why should Yugi choose your side? You only want him as a means to an end, to get to the Pharaoh, you don't care about Yugi at all. I heard you call him a nobody so many times." Diva pointed out.

"You were right Yugi, Seto Kaiba and I are alike." Diva smiled. "We both want revenge; we both will do whatever it takes or sacrifice anything to achieve our goals. We are obsessed, we are full of hate and pain and suffering, we are ugly and twisted and irredeemable."

"But you Yugi, you are not. You are better than us. You are a kind soul, always willing to help the less fortunate. Yugi, please help us. Please help the children of Plana." Diva pleaded again.

"Can you leave already? Crawl back into the gutters from whence you came." Kaiba spat.

"I told you Diva, I won't join you." Yugi said sadly. "I promised you I would return the Millennium Puzzle in pieces to Atem's tomb, and that's what I will do. But Diva…now you have fused with the Millennium Ring and Millennium Eye. What are you going to do?"
Diva smiled. "Don't worry about me Yugi, I can take care of this. If you refuse to join me however, I will have no choice but to kill you. After all, I can't leave such a big risk around. Afterwards, I will transform this reality with the power of the Millennium Items."

"If you want to leave to some alternate dimension, that's fine, but no one gave you permission to touch our reality." Kaiba snarled.

"Aigami-kun, I promised Sera I would try to save you, so I will! I won't let you destroy our reality, and I won't let you kill us! If you have a problem with the Pharaoh, then you can fight me but leave Kaiba alone!" Yugi demanded.

"You would protect him? You would protect Seto Kaiba? The one who has hurt you time and time again? The one that has hurt your friends, your family? The one who, for his own selfishness, tried to resurrect a person that should not return, hurting you further?" Diva snarled. "Why do you take his side?!"

"Kaiba has been hurt too, just like you Aigami-kun. If I try to save you, then it wouldn't be fair if I didn't try to save him." Yugi answered.

Diva laughed in shock. "What a martyr. What a fool. Die then. Die saving the people who don't deserve it, die opposing the people who do deserve it. I'll be happy to deal the blow."

"Think you can duel with me, Kaiba?" Yugi asked.

"Of course," Kaiba replied arrogantly. "Just make sure you can match my strength."

Yugi smiled. "Let's duel!"

Dimension summoning was terrifying, and horrifically draining. After exerting so much mental and physical stress in the last two duels, Yugi was running out of energy fast. On top of that, dimension summoning required your spirit, your willpower. Every monster summoning felt like it was taking years off his life.

But Diva kept fighting, and his monsters kept coming back. Kaiba and Yugi worked well as a team, but Yugi could see Kaiba was drained too. They couldn't keep this up for much longer. They had to finish this.

When Kaiba and Yugi were again blasted off their feet, Diva tried persuasion again.

"Yugi…aren't you tired? After two duels, you shouldn't even be standing! But I can't say I'm surprised. You are the vessel of the Pharaoh. The chosen one."

Yugi struggled to his feet, swaying. Kaiba glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"Yugi…haven't you done enough? Aren't you tired? Would death be that bad? You would be reunited with your beloved Pharaoh, after all. A happy ending. Even you, Seto Kaiba. Wouldn't you be happy?"

"Hmm, I'm not interested in dying. I'll drag him kicking and screaming back here myself if I have to." Kaiba retorted.

"Aigami-kun, let's stop this duel! I don't want to fight anymore!" Yugi said.

"Then surrender. Why won't you just give in?" Diva shouted.

"Aigami-kun, I'm not going to surrender, nor am I going to accept you killing me." Yugi groaned.

"Why not? Why are you fighting so hard?" Diva was getting annoyed. "You don't want my idea, you don't want Seto Kaiba's idea, what do you want? What do you want Yugi Muto?"

Yugi smiled painfully. "You…really don't understand huh?"

"No, I don't. I don't understand what your motivation is." Diva said.

Yugi sighed. "The truth is, I understand both of you. Of course, I would love to bring back Atem. Of course, I would love to go to a world that doesn't have any pain or suffering. But I can't."

"I can't go with you Aigami-kun, because there are people here relying on me. But more than that, I don't have the luxury. I don't have the privilege. I would love to give in. I miss him too, every day, so much it hurts. But I don't have the privilege of living in the past or holding onto ghosts. I don't have the privilege of indulging in fantasies of escaping this world to go to a better world. I must stay in this one, and fight."

Yugi raised his head, and everyone could see the tears in his eyes. "Like everyone keeps reminding me, I'm the King of Games. I'm the vessel of the Pharaoh. The other me…Atem…he could only move on because I proved that was strong enough to be without him. So I have to be strong. I have to fight every day and carry on his legacy. I have to be strong, so Atem can rest. I'm doing this for Atem too."

"Yugi…" Kaiba whispered.

"Every day, I have to stay strong, because otherwise…what was the point of him leaving?" Yugi sniffed.

"Fine…Yugi Muto…if you insist on being stubborn, then let me put you to rest." Diva said in a low voice. They returned to the duel, and Yugi tried to rally his spirits, but he was struggling. His energy was fading, his strength was weakening. He wasn't going to last much longer.

Then Kaiba took an attack meant for him. He played Krystal Avatar, redirecting Diva's attack to himself, and Yugi could only watch in frozen horror as Kaiba sinks to his knees for the second time that day. It felt wrong, to see such a proud man on his knees.

"Kaiba-kun, why did you redirect that attack?" Yugi asked.

"I did it…for him."

"Kaiba-kun!"

"Yugi…" Kaiba whispers hoarsely. His hand was wrapped tightly around the Millennium Puzzle, trapping Yugi's hand underneath his own. He lifted his hands slowly and Yugi's hands followed, until the Millennium Puzzle had slipped over his head and was now hanging from his neck. It was such a familiar weight, anchoring Yugi down, and yet Yugi felt like flying.

"Do it Yugi…summon the Pharaoh…call him back…I know you can do it…" Kaiba collapsed in a shower of dark purple particles and it was silent. Yugi stood up and looked around. Everyone was down too, disintegrated away or in the process of disappearing. There was no one left. It was only Yugi.

Seto sat at the study table. His legs dangled from the chair, his feet swinging helplessly because the chair was too high. Without his adoptive father's permission, he couldn't get down on his own. The table itself was covered in homework and study materials as well as thick textbooks. Seto nervously fidgeted with his pencil and looked up. On the wall, right at eyesight, was a long set of rules, as well as punishments should Seto fail to obey.

Extra chess practice.

Extra violin practice.

Five lashes. Ten lashes. Twenty-five lashes.

Skipping breakfast. Skipping lunch. Skipping dinner. One meal a day. No meals a day.

Kneeling on the cold marble floor for an hour. Kneeling for two hours.

On and on the punishments went, each more ludicrous and torturous than the last. Next to the rules were the transgressions that could earn each punishment, but Seto never bothered to look at those. Gozaburo never followed the list anyway. He administered whatever punishments he liked, and however he saw fit. Sometimes he was lazy and hit Seto less. Sometimes he was in a mood and hit him more.

Sometimes Gozaburo would wait until he was sure Mokuba was in the room right next door before hitting Seto. Seto would bite down on his own lip until it bled in order to keep from making a sound. No matter how terrible Gozaburo was, at least he provided the brothers with a home and food. He treated Mokuba fairly overall, and let Mokuba attend school every day. All Seto had to do was keep Gozaburo in a good mood as much as possible.

It was hell but one day, Seto swore, one day he would be stronger than Gozaburo. One day he would surpass him, and succeed, and become strong. Stronger than anyone, even Gozaburo, and from that day onwards, he would never have to be afraid of his adoptive father again.

"Yugi…You're really alone now. No Pharaoh, no friends, no family. If you fall now, no one will be around to blame you." Diva said softly.

"There's no reason to keep fighting, is there?" Diva asked.

"Atem…the other me…taught me to always keep fighting…" Yugi gasped. His legs were shaking, and he was swaying on his feet. He kept blinking, trying to clear the dark spots in his vision.

"I will…fight to the end…my turn…draw…" But Yugi's legs suddenly lost strength, and he felt himself bend, and he felt himself fall.

I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry, Other Me.

The darkness was suddenly dispelled by a beam of golden light, like a sword cutting through its enemies. Yugi felt his chest burning, just like when Kaiba summoned Obelisk, but soon his entire body was burning, glowing, with the power of the sun. Of the Gods.

He could hear chanting in his head. He Who Sees Clearly, Beloved Emissary of the Gods, Savior and Uniter of the Two Lands, Son of Ra, King of Upper and of Lower Egypt, Living Image of Atem, Amun is Satisfied, Divine Lord of Justice and Righteousness.

Yugi felt the strength return to his legs and felt himself stand up. Body thrumming with power, he drew from his deck. Another golden flash of light, and Palladium Oracle Mahad was summoned. The battle was still going, but Yugi's monster gave a tremendous attack. With a horrid scream, Diva was blown away.

Yugi hadn't felt so peaceful in months. He wasn't afraid, or anxious anymore. He didn't feel any exhaustion. He stood easily, as if he was light as a feather. His body thrummed with power.

Yugi felt his hands touch the Millennium Puzzle, and reality shifted. Then he found himself facing a mirror image of himself, except it wasn't him. The other Yugi faced him instead, trademark outfit and smile, with his trademark jacket slung over his shoulders like a cape. On his neck hung the Millennium Puzzle.

"Other Me…" Yugi whispered.

"Aibou…" Yugi heard. At the sound of his voice, Yugi's heartbeat quickened. The peace was broken.

"Other Me…it's been so long…there are so many words I want to say to you…how much I want to thank you…how much you mean to me…" Yugi felt the words, rather than hear himself say it.

"It's ok, Aibou. I know your sentiments. Between us, there's no need for words." Yugi heard Atem again. Atem kept smiling, and the sight comforted him.

"Are you…well Other Me? Are you happy? Are you finally at rest?" Yugi asked.

"Yes Aibou, thanks to you. Are all our friends well?"

"Yes! We're about to graduate high school soon. I wish you could be there."

"I will be with you in your heart, Aibou, as I always have been."

"That's good…I can't believe Kaiba was right. I can't believe I was able to call to you."

"You never needed the Millennium Puzzle. I can always hear the sound of your voice."

"Really?"

"Yes. When you miss me, call for me, and I will listen."

"Oh," Yugi smiled. "That's good. It almost makes…the loneliness go away a little."

"I'm sorry to cause you sorrow, Aibou."

"No, it's okay! I'm glad to know you. Even if I'm sad for a lifetime, I would never trade away the years I had with you. Those are my most precious memories."

"Aibou, I feel the same way. You have grown so much and carried your burdens well. I am proud of you."

"It is time for me to go." Yugi watched as Atem put his hand on the puzzle, but just for a moment, his hand hovered and hesitated. Yugi felt another knot in his throat.

"Goodbye Aibou. Until next time."

"Goodbye Other me. Until next time."

In the dark of night Kaiba was feverishly working once more. He still hadn't slept, and he knew it was destroying his body. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered more than this.

He was happy for Yugi. Yugi had found his own way to seeing the Pharaoh again. Now it was up for Kaiba to find his own way. He wasn't going to give up. He needed to see the Pharaoh again.

He finished his final checks at the computer and stood up. Behind him was a very worried Mokuba, who kept looking at Kaiba with sad eyes and typing rapidly on his cell phone. But Kaiba didn't pay attention. He kept going.

It had taken a few weeks, but it was done. Kaiba had completely changed all the coding and moved his supercomputers into his space station. He had also taken a VR pod from another research project and completely tore out the insides before replacing it with brand new equipment.

It had to be perfect because it was risky. It was damn risky what he was doing, but Kaiba needed to know. He had to try. He told himself he would rest after, and that he was pursuing science and innovation and growth. He told himself it wasn't for any other reasons.

He avoided thinking about Yugi too much. It made him feel guilty, just like when he thought of Mokuba. He definitely avoided thinking about Jounouchi.

"Mokuba, take care of things here. Start the engine!" Kaiba ordered. He felt the engines roar to life all around him, in time with the blood rushing in his ears.

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

The safety latches disengaged. For a moment, the shuttle and Kaiba floated in space serenely. Then the shuttle shot down the gutted elevator shaft, careening wildly down to the surface of the earth.

For a moment, Kaiba remembered he could die. Then the cube started glowing, and his duel disk started glowing. Kaiba closed his eyes and waited for the afterlife.

When Yugi finally arrived with Mokuba and the gang in tow, Kaiba and the shuttle had already been safely retrieved from the ocean and brought back to KaibaCorp. The shuttle was unharmed and so was Kaiba's body.

But his soul was gone.