Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis. Bold is Malekos' speech.
"Hey, Yuge. They're both down to their last chunk of life points," Joey noticed.
"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "Let's just hope Kaiba can wipe out Noah's first."
Kaiba played another interesting move by creating a hidden trap for Noah. He had wanted him to call forth monsters to protect his life points. He had played a card that allowed his dragons to cause piercing damage when destroying monsters in defense position. And he had already destroyed one of the monsters.
Cheering behind her caused Jessica to glance over her shoulder. Joey and Yugi were bumping arms when suddenly Joey's excitement caused him to snag Yugi around the neck, ultimately squishing him. Yugi's surprised and squished face made her smile and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, and she saw his face heat up in response. She covered her mouth and turned away, though her shoulders still bounced slightly from laughing quietly. Calming down, she focused on the duel again. And she gasped.
Mokuba appeared suddenly and stood in front of Noah. One look at his eyes suggested the effects of brainwash, and she growled. What did Noah do to him? Her suspicions were confirmed when Mokuba acted like he didn't even know who Kaiba was, and held his arms out to protect Noah while claiming that he was his brother.
Noah laughed, "That's right, Mokuba! Protect me from him! He's the stranger that's trying to break you and I apart!"
"Stranger," Mokuba echoed, dropping his arms.
Jessica growled and called out, "Mokuba! He's lying to you!" She felt someone grasp her hand and she turned to see Yugi beside her. She bit her lip and turned to look back at the duel, staying quiet. She knew there was nothing they could do besides watch.
Noah made the unfair threat of Kaiba either forfeiting the duel and stepping down as president of KaibaCorp, or attacking Noah and risking harming Mokuba in the process.
Yugi gripped her hand tighter. "If Kaiba attacks Noah now, he'll be attacking Mokuba also."
Jessica growled as she glared at Noah, "That's playing dirty!"
Malekos surfaced in her mind as Mokuba told Kaiba to give up the company. His growl made her tense, narrowing her eyes as she tried to see Mokuba's. There was something about him that wasn't right, besides the brainwashing. Look there. A strange glow in his eyes when Noah gives him an order. He's being controlled.
She saw it. The red glow that appeared in Mokuba's eyes, just as Malekos had said. She scoffed and clenched her free fist. How can we get him to snap out of it?
I don't think we can do anything, little one. Allow the brothers to figure it out. Let's see if this Seto can find a way to bring his brother back to him.
She groaned quietly. She hated not being able to do anything. Sitting and waiting was not something she enjoyed. It made her feel antsy and restless. She could only watch as Kaiba ended his turn.
"I thought so," Yugi whispered, staring at the duel with concern. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.
They watched as Noah activated another of his deck master's special abilities. He sacrificed the monsters that he trapped on the ship in order to gain life points, and it was much higher now than before the duel even started.
"One more attack and Kaiba's a goner!"
"You're right, Joey," Yugi agreed. "And if Noah wins this duel, he'll take over Kaiba's body and escape to the real world to run KaibaCorp, leaving the rest of us trapped here."
"That virtual jerk!"
Jessica growled, "I agree."
Noah's next move was to destroy all monsters on the field for Shinato's Ark to absorb. Now he had more monsters to either call upon for protection or for life points. Kaiba tried to reason with Mokuba, but it wasn't working.
Yugi called out to him, "Kaiba, listen to me!"
"No thanks."
"But I can help you, Kaiba, because I've been through this before! Remember when Joey was brainwashed by Marik and he turned against me? Maybe you can get through to Mokuba the same way I got through to Joey! The answer may be in your deck!"
Marik. That was the one thing Jessica had forgotten throughout this virtual adventure. They still had another threat awaiting their return once they got their bodies back.
She watched as Kaiba grew determined. He turned back to Noah and claimed that he would win the duel and win back his brother. "Good, he's focused again," she said, and leaned into Yugi slightly.
"Yeah. Let's just hope Kaiba can pull it off." He squeezed her hand, leaning into her slightly as well.
Nodding, she focused back on the duel. The scenery began to change once more. The ice age warmed up and green grass spread out around them, with flowers popping up. In the distance, a city formed and they could see the KaibaCorp building standing tall amongst the others.
"Hey, what's that?" Serenity asked.
"It's KaibaCorp," Joey told her.
"Explain yourself now!" Kaiba scowled.
"Well, since it's your company," Noah started before grinning. "I thought you'd like to see it one last time. You see, once you lose and I take over KaibaCorp, I'll change it back to the way it was. And if you don't remember, this should refresh your memory!" He played a card that looked like a jet. "Just like so many of the high tech battle vehicles that were produced by the original KaibaCorp, my Gradius Flyer can cause an enormous amount of damage."
A jet took off into the sky from the top of the building and disappeared. It suddenly shot out of the card Noah played and hovered above the duel field. Noah boosted its power with a laser gun, and a continuous increase in attack points each time it attacks. It also causes piercing damage on defense monsters.
All Kaiba could do was call his dimensional dragon back to the field, draw a card, and end his turn. Noah played a card that duplicated his jet and they both attacked Kaiba, destroying his dragon twice and knocking him off his feet. Losing so many life points must really be getting to him. But he got back to his feet anyway.
Yugi couldn't handle it anymore. "Mokuba, I know you're in there! Noah is hypnotizing you with lies!" He called out, hoping to get through to the younger Kaiba. "Seto is your brother, not Noah! And he's never let you down!"
Jessica gasped as she saw Mokuba grimace and grab his head. It was working. "Yugi, it's working!"
"Look inside your heart and you'll remember him!"
"Seto?" Mokuba opened his eyes, looking like the strain was doing a number on him.
"Mokuba, listen to me!" Kaiba called out. "Don't let Noah poison your mind! We're family and no one can ever change that. You and I have always been there to support one another and we always will be!" He stood up taller. "There's something I never told you. You once saved me, when we were kids! When Gozaburo Kaiba adopted us, he was merciless. Forcing me to work for hours with no rest! I was exhausted and ready to give up, until you inspired me, Mokuba. By making that card for me, you encouraged me not to give up. You gave me something to strive for! I swore that day to become a person worthy of possessing a real Blue-Eyes!"
A tear fell down Mokuba's cheek. "I remember." He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. Jessica and Yugi squeezed each other's hand in anticipation.
"That's right, Mokuba. I know you can't forget about me! You're strong, and I know you can break through his mind games! Never give up!" Mokuba began to clutch his head in pain as Kaiba kept speaking. "And never let anyone control you!"
"Can't...give...up…"
"Fight him off! We can do this! You and I, together!" Kaiba drew a card and held it up for a moment before looking at it. "Excellent. This duel is over, Noah!" He activated his deck master's special ability and sacrificed his dragon to summon his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It roared into the sky as lightning crackled above.
Mokuba stared up at the dragon in surprise. "There it is!" He blinked and Jessica saw his eyes return to normal. "I remember!"
"Mokuba!"
"Seto! You're my brother!"
Jessica smiled in relief. "Mokuba!"
"Later, you phoney!" Mokuba leaped off of Noah's outcropping.
"Now's your chance, Kaiba!" Yugi called.
Kaiba didn't need to be told twice. He commanded his dragon to attack, and the first jet was destroyed, causing the second one to explode as well. But it was too soon to celebrate. Noah sacrificed the five monsters on Shinato's Ark to be converted into his life points, and now he was even stronger than before. But Kaiba had a plan. He played a trap card that surrounded the area in a wall of wind and dust. They both had to choose one monster to keep on the field while the rest in their decks go straight to the graveyard.
"The winner of this one battle will determine who wins the entire duel no matter how many life points he has left," Yugi explained.
It was a no-brainer for Kaiba to choose his Blue-Eyes, and Noah chose his deck master. They all watched as his dragon attacked the large ship, and it exploded into splinters of wood. Everyone began to cheer but Malekos' presence in her mind kept Jessica quiet. She narrowed her eyes, waiting for the secret to be revealed.
"Look again!" Noah's voice caused everyone to falter. "You've just unleashed a power like nothing you've ever seen!" The last of the wood fell away and the silhouette of a monster could be seen in the bright light that threatened to blind them all. "It's my real deck master!" It was a giant monster with three pairs of feathered wings. "You released Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!"
Shinato attacked and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke, knocking him to the ground. Everyone exclaimed in horror. And they could only watch as Noah floated up and merged with his Shinato to deliver the final blow. Mokuba ran towards Kaiba and climbed onto his outcropping, and Kaiba outstretched his arm to his brother. But Shinato zapped them before they could even touch one another. When the light cleared, they had been turned to stone, hands still outreached towards each other.
"No!"
The gang immediately climbed down off their outcropping and ran towards the brothers together, calling their names. Jessica climbed up onto the outcropping with the brothers easily and clenched her fists, growling as she saw the stone figures of the Kaiba brothers, so close to reuniting but not close enough. A tear fell from Mokuba's eye before drying.
"This is cruel," she growled, gritting her teeth. She gasped as she felt the familiar pulse of power beside her, and she turned to see Yugi switch places with Yami.
Yami looked up at Shinato. "Noah! You think this proves you're the best? I think it shows your father that you're a coward!"
"What are you talking about, Yugi? I defeated Seto in this duel, fair and square!"
"Turning them into statues was cruel!" Jessica shouted, glaring up at the large monster Noah has fused with.
"You think kidnapping Mokuba and using him as a shield is fair?!" Yami growled, his crimson eyes glaring.
"You think I cheated?!"
"I think you're guilty of the same foul play you once scolded the Big Five for! Something you said your father would never allow!" Jessica stared at Yami as he continued. "Kaiba could have easily defeated you, but he chose the safety of his little brother over his victory. And that makes Kaiba a stronger person than you will ever be! All you've proven here today is that you're a weak little boy who needs to cheat to get his way. And as far as I'm concerned you didn't win this duel." He knelt down and gathered the cards that had dropped out of Kaiba's duel disk. "But I have a proposition for you. Kaiba has 400 life points left. Let me take his place so we can finish this duel fair and square!"
Jessica gasped, green eyes round in shock. He can't! Shinato is too powerful and with only 400 life points left, he'll be destroyed!
"That could be the most foolish challenge I've ever heard!" Noah told him.
"Does that mean you accept or are you afraid I'll defeat you and prove once and for all that you are weak?" Yami shuffled the deck and then stared at Shinato for an answer.
"I'd be crazy not to accept!"
Yami started walking off the outcropping and Jessica stepped forward. "Y-Yugi! Please reconsider-" But she cut herself off as she realized he wasn't stopping, not even as Joey and Tristan added their own words.
"Once I defeat you, Yugi, I'll turn every one of you into stone!" An aura of power appeared around Shinato, and Jessica bit her lip. The ground began to shake and cut a circle around Yami and Kaiba's former deck master. It then lifted off the ground and floated several feet up, out of reach of everyone else. "I'll turn all but one of you into stone! After all, I need a body to escape in."
Yami activated his duel disk and placed Kaiba's deck in its place. "And if you lose, you set us all free. So in the name of Kaiba and Mokuba, let's duel now!"
"With pleasure, Yugi. And may the best duelist win!"
"You're on!"
"And when I do, you and your friends will be prisoners of my world forever!"
And this is where I leave you off for the day! Until tomorrow~