I'm... not sure what to say. This chapter has been a ridiculously long time coming, and I do apologise for taking such a long time with it. I know it's far from perfect but I think I at least got the feel of it down okay and really do want to complete this... It'll be nice to have something completed for a change.

Chapter Eighteen.

Yami Bakura reaches outwards, and the darkness spreads, intermingling with itself, like two armies fighting against opposing targets for the same goal.

Beneath the known plane of human awareness, lies the Shadow realm. An intricate series of pathways and connections spreading darkness throughout the world. It's as unstoppable as the earth's rotation, and as much a part of the world as anything else. Here and there, it crosses over, our world coming into contact with its borders and allowing some of that darkness to seep through.

However, there was no saying that such exchanges could not work the other say. That is what happens now. Under a somewhat reluctant Dark spirit's guidance, the human world is being pushed back into the darkness beneath. Radio signals, satellite signals, and bursts of electricity are being carried through the Shadow Realm itself, hitchhiking on the back of the powerful dark signals crossing the globe. The darkness eating into the heart of the world is also being used against itself, as Yami Bakura sends trails of energy flickering and burning throughout the telecommunications systems of the planet.

It starts with a single mobile phone in the south of Japan, then spreads outwards as effectively as a virus, moving from one system to the next, from one computer to another, and then from one country to the globe. The entire world is slowly blossoming into a complicated system of darkness powered machinery. Duke Devlin talks his way into Kaiba Corp with nothing but his nerve and the evidence of a mobile phone glowing like a dark light. And then Yami Bakura goes to work once more.

He won't pretend to understand such things as computers, but then he doesn't have to. His magic does it all for him. He works, sending his dark magic deep into the computer systems of Kaiba Corporation, just as he would send such power reeling throughout a living body, to manipulate and control them as he saw fit. His dark magic burst through all of Kaiba corps firewalls and security programs as if they weren't there (no technology could truly interfere with such dark power as his, he thought smugly) and began their systematic takeover of the entire planet's computer systems.

This was the signal that Rebecca Hawkins, sitting in her trailer in North America, has been waiting for. Knowing that there is no way an idea such as this would be accepted by any government bodies, she bypasses asking permission entirely and begins to hack the United Nations central computer systems. Messages are sent back and forth in a hurried rush as Companies create joint ventures and link ups where none have ever been created before. Schrodinger Corp comes to life in the darkness, forging digital connections across the globe. And, in a move which will later shock business dealers the world over (provided that anyone in the world still exists in order to be amazed) I2 lowers its software walls to allow access to Kaiba Corp's mainframe. Decades of company secrets pour between them in the process, but this is unimportant. What is important is that they combine and pool their resources as no digital systems ever have before, nor ever will again. The world begins to use the darkness as its means of regaining communication.

Yam Bakura is not exactly certain how they are going to get the darkness back out again, but oh well. One dilemma at a time. He still has that puny Other Half of his to think about…

'Alright, littler Ryou, let's see what you do with this.'

The Danube River, Epicentre. 5:01 am

A quick glimpse at his (amazingly still-working) watch told Yugi that it was almost morning. At this time of year, the sun should have been rising, a glistening orange over the Danube, turning the grey-green waters gold. On their first day in Vienna, they had gone to the river just to watch that sunrise, trying to enjoy the moment even though they had already sensed the danger that was approaching.

'You're sure it worked?' Téa asks for the umpteenth time, still unconvinced that they can trust Yami Bakura to deliver their message, much less play his part in full.

'Oh, he took my message alright,' Ryou mutters, sounding confident. His tone immediately changed to uncertainty, however. 'Whether or not the plan overall will succeed anyway is another matter. We're putting an awful lot of weight on the Other Self's abilities… and upon Rebecca.'

His doubt is understandable. This plan is effectively held together with chewing gum and raw human nerve. Yami squeezes Yugi's shoulder lightly. 'If this works, then they should be able to contact us soon. That is if Yami Bakura is trust worthy and will allow it.'

'I think he is,' Bakura says, calmly. Tristan and Joey look at him as if he has a screw loose, but they can't deny that Bakura's hope is the only thing holding them together right now. Téa bites her lip and rubs the back of her palm where the imprint of a permanent marker used to be so very long ago.

Yugi thinks of Pegasus (Item Holder, bereaved, tried to kill them once), Schrodinger (bitter and enraged and maybe they can't trust him entirely, not yet, but there's still his brother; surely they can rely on Leon?), Devlin (trustworthy, friend now, If anyone can make this work it's him), and Rebecca (who loves him, as he loves her, easily the most trustworthy of them all and so smart). He imagines them interacting, connecting, working together via the very shadows that had previously held them back, as Yami Bakura opens the dark pathways. He imagines them all working together to tie into the satellite systems in every country on the globe, sees them joining with Marik, signals becoming messages becoming stories.

Because that's what this is, really, isn't it? Right now their lives all depend upon a story. And a name. They all stand together silently in the shadows, hanging onto one another for comfort, praying this works. Slowly, Kaiba raises his phone to his face and dials a number…

Before them the shield of darkness pulses with veins of familiar, ugly energy. The pavement shudders. Yugi clutches his phone tightly in one hand, and Yami's hand even tighter in the other, and prays that this will work. 'Come on guys… you can do this.'

They continue to wait.

11:35 am, Kaiba Corporation Main Headquarters, Domino City, Tokyo, Japan.

'What... is he doing?' Serenity whispers. Duke wishes he had an answer for her, but he can't think of one which won't send her reeling in a panic. They watch as Yami Bakura sits in the central chair of Kaiba's office (he'd enjoyed getting in here far too much), his body glowing with a strange dark energy that reminds Duke all too much of the darkness on board the Kaiba Corporation blimp, during Battle City. All that fury and pain and all those shadows growing from within... he's typing, but Duke thinks that must be for show. No way does Yami Bakura actually honestly know what he's doing.

He remembers this, and thinks he must be crazy for allowing Yami Bakura to do what he is doing.

'What he has to, I think. And the best thing we can do is stay right here and make sure he doesn't try any funny business. I certainly don't want to have to explain to Kaiba when he gets back that we let a crazed maniac run rampant with his company's computers, do you? ' Duke says eventually. Behind them stand the security guards of Kaiba Corp, looking bewildered and confused, but fortunately none of them seem to be making a move to stop whatever Yami Bakura is doing... They are watching Duke warily anyway, trailing their weapons back and forth between him and Yami Bakura.

Duke is still amazed by the fact that they got in here in the first place, but a coded message from Seto Kaiba, including his own secret passwords and code words all spoken in the correct order and language had been difficult to deny. Duke would be worried about Kaiba Corp's security issues if it weren't for those guns they have pointed straight at him... Kaiba may have given them permission for this, but that doens't mean they're going to let they guard down for one moment.

Still, that doesn't mean they have to be comfortable about the strange faced man sitting in their employer's Big Chair and spitting dark energy in to the computer console before him.

'You know, you can stop trailing your guns on us any time now, boys,' Yami Bakura chuckles. 'Believe me, if I wanted to do anything to you, your pathetic little bullets wouldn't do you a great deal of good.

'Bakura trusts his other self,' Serenity says faintly. 'Do you think he's right to?'

'Well, nobody knows him like Bakura does,' Duke swallowed. 'I don't see what else we can do. Yami Bakura ins't usually dishonest, Serenity. Therein lies the danger.'

'Then... what he said to us before,' Serenity continues, still seeming unconvinced. 'About Yami Yugi letting the darkness into the world by refusing to die. Do you think it's true?'

'I... don't know. Maybe.' Duke says, knowing this will not satisfy Serenity, but at least the conversation is distracting her from the guns that are currently being pointed at their backs. 'Ishizu said that the ceremony was necessary to close the gap between this world and the Shadow Realm... Yugi won the duel against the Pharaoh, so for a few moments he became the most powerful being in the world.'

'And he used that power to give Yami his life instead of to take it away, yes, I know. My brother told me,' Serenity says. 'But what he didn't explain was what the consequences of that would be... without the Pharaoh... the gateways remained open didn't they? All of this could've been the result of that'

''Ren, don't,' Duke says softly, squeezing her hand in his. 'It might not work like that. How're we supposed to know how the Shadows work? There's no sense in getting upset about this now. We can't change the results of the Ceremonial Duel and we can't undo what's happened here.'

'I know, I know, it's just... My brother is out there right now. He's fighting, Duke, just like they all are and... and we're just stood here, watching some crazy guy mess around with a computer,' she clenches her hands into tight fists. 'I feel so useless. And if all of this has something to do with Yugi, if it's somehow all his fault... Well, what are we supposed to do with that information, Duke? What're we supposed to say?'

'Serenity...' Duke's stammered reply is interrupted by a sudden whopping screech from Yami Bakura. Duke feels the temperature in the room dragging by several degrees. 'What...? Yami Bakura, what did you do!'

'What I was asked to do, you foolish mortal,' Yami Bakura laughs. Almost cackles, in fact. Duke can feel Serenity fighting against her urge to shudder in alarm as the room temperature seems to drop several degrees. Duke can hear rifles cocking behind him but doesn't move an inch as Yami Bakura gets to his feet, hands still outstretched to touch the screen of the computer, laughing. 'So much energy, so much darkness... and all of it manipulated by yours truly.' He glimpses at Serenity, smiling. 'Take a good look, Mouse. This is the extent of the Shadow Realm's power.'

12:08 pm, Nevada Desert.

'Testing, testing one, two, this is Hawkins Base Nevada calling Ishizu Ishtar, Ishtar come in, over.'

For a moment there is no response. Rebecca tries to ignore the static and strangeness tingling in her fingers as she twists the knobs and dials of her computer, trying to tune into the Ishtar's signal. It doesn't seem to be working. There's just not enough power left in her systems, not with the Shadow Realm messing up her energy sources. But slowly, Rebecca realises, this disadvantage is being undone. The power signals her computers are giving off are increasing minute by minute, second by second. Something is powering up her computer...

An Ishizu still isn't responding.

She sighs. 'Damn. Maybe they just haven't gotten the computers online yet.'

Grandpa coughs. 'Maybe so... Ah, and dear, not that I doubt your abilities, but are you quite certain the telecommunications system should be glowing like that?'

'Don't worry about it, Grandpa. I know what I'm doing.' Rebecca nods. Though in truth, glowing does not seem the correct word for it. Glowing implies light, and there's no light in this cabin except for what comes from the lamps. What was coming from their machines right now was the exact opposite of light. A sort of anti-light. Which make absolutely no sense whatsoever but hell, what about the Shadow Realm ever does? Rebecca is trying very hard not to think about exactly what is powering their computers right now. She grits her teeth, speaking into the microphone again. If things get desperate, she thinks, she can probably use Morse code, but that will be slow, and she's not even sure any members of the Ishtar family know it.

'Repeat testing, this is Rebecca Hawkins, running a call through the weirdest, dark magic powered telecommunication system ever utilised, please respond Ishtar.'

Rebecca twists the dial again. The static trembling down the line is mixed with a strange, almost guttural moaning sound, as if the machines around her are crying in pain. Rebecca shudders, trying to ignore the darkness running in trails up and down her spine.

'Testing... oh, darn it, I sound like a trucker or something, Ishizu, are you guys there or not!'

The third time, it seems, is the charm. Amidst the staticy-moaning sound another voice comes into being. '...Re...ecca? Rebecca Hawkins, is that you?'

Rebecca beams. 'Yes! Yes, I've got you, Ishizu, coming in loud and... And not so clear. Just let me try and boost your signal!' She twists a few more knobs but only succeeds in making the computer scream at her. 'Damn! Sorry, this is as good as I can get it. How are things where you are? Is the link up in progress?'

'From w...t I can ascertain, then yes. But I won't pre...tend to understand a...y of this, Miss Hawkins. How are we even able to comm...icate? The Dark Energy of the Shadow Realm is blocking every satellite sig...al in the world.'

'Well, according to Devlin's email, that's all Yami Bakura's doing, believe it or not,' Rebecca explains bluntly. 'Dunno how he did it, but somehow he's using his own dark powers to influence the telecommunications systems. He's breaking through the dark energy blocking our communications by overpowering it with his own darkness. Or some weird magic stuff like that. Don't know if we can really trust him, but right now, he's the only hope we have.'

'Ah. Then we are attem...ing to fight fire with fire. Interesting. I'll deal with the magic, Miss Ha...kins. You deal with the comp...ter wizardry. My brothers seem to know what they are d...ing.'

'Great, the former, evil wannabe-dictator knows his way around a film studio. I probably shouldn't be surprised,' Rebecca licks her lips nervously. While still talking to Ishizu, she begins to transmit a message to Kaiba Corporation in Japan, watching uneasily as the terribly slow email makes its way across the globe. So much for the information superhighway. 'I'm informing Duke of the link up now. In a matter of minutes we should have Kaiba Corporation, I2 and Schrodinger Corp central mainframe computers online and working in cahoots. From there it should be a pretty simple deal for me to hack the military and then the worldwide cable network... That's when you should start seeing something happening where you are. With any luck.'

Simple, she called it, but secretly Rebecca is shaking in her boots. They are, after all, in the middle of attempting to link together several major computer systems (in companies which normally serve the gaming industry of all things –why do they have some of the most powerful systems in the world anyway, Rebecca would love to know?) Then she has to access the military computers and add their power to the link up (without the CIA coming down on her within twenty five seconds), then she has to use all of that power to create a single television and radio signal to be broadcasted simultaneously around the entire globe.

And all of this had to be monitored, processed, and coordinated by a fifteen year old girl, sitting in a tiny computer shack in the middle of the Nevada desert. Oh, and some of the countries who's military unit she has to take over? Have nuclear missiles. Swell. No pressure.

'And then?'

'And then you'll just have to hope I'm the genius I say I am. If this has all worked the way we anticipated, then the only problem should be keeping my terminal from exploding due to the sudden power influx...' Rebecca replies. 'Now... what to say when we make the link up? How do I tell everyone we're ready?'

'As I understand it Re...ecca,' Ishizu's broken voice comes back after a moment. 'Then the message is simple. They have already been informed on what is taking place here and wh..t they need to do, they are simply waiting. The only message that you have to send, is "Now".'

New York, 9th Avenue Television Centre". 4:16 am

Marik is standing in front of a huge bank of dark computer terminals in the middle of the 9th Avenue Centre. There are red lights flickering beneath each screen as they slowly warm up. They had activated the power alone, and thus far nobody seems to be paying heed to the fact that the Television centre is lightning up like a Christmas tree in the middle of the night. New York seems more preoccupied with the disaster unfurling on their doorsteps than with people breaking into the television studio, and Ishizu hopes it stays that way.

Still, she can't help wondering why no other guards have come to try and stop them… why the only Guard they've met so far was a half dead mutation.

'When you get down to it, sister, human electrical systems and Shadow magic aren't so different.' Marik says, evenly, gazing intently at the computer screens before him. 'I have a good command of the latter, let's see if I can utilize it as well as Yami Bakura is right now.'

'I don't believe you can Mind Crush a computer terminal, Master Marik,' Odion says, dryly.

Marik chuckles. 'Nope. But in all my travels while searching for the seven millennium items, do you think I never learned to find my way around a computer?' He presses several buttons, the meaning of which Ishizu doesn't understand. Then Marik steps away from the console as the bank of screens before them blossom into light. The entire room begins glowing as the computer terminals of every machine in the building are activated. But there is something strange about it… something not quite normal. The computers moan rather than hum and whisper rather than click or screech. Ishizu reaches out a hand towards the nearest terminal, and feels her skin crackling with a very familiar energy.

Shadow Magic, Ishizu realizes in awe and surprise. The computers are all being powered by Shadow Magic.

'Yami Bakura,' Odion says, faintly. 'He did it. The connection has been realized.'

'Fire with fire,' Ishizu realizes with slow amazement. 'He's utilizing the very same power that was blocking worldwide communications to reactivate those connections. The entire world is running on Shadow power. He must have accessed the government mainframes… I have to admit, it's impressive.'

'Testing... oh, d...rn it, I sound like a trucker or so...thing, Ishizu, are you guys th...e or not!'

The three Ishtar's exchange a look of disbelief. Then Ishizu lunges for the computer and the nearest microphone. 'Rebecca? Rebecca Hawkins, is that you?'

10:35 pm, Miami, Schrodinger Corp Main Tech.

Leon can hardly believe what he is seeing. Honestly, this blows any fairytale he's ever read clean out of the water. His technicians and employees buzz around the main computer terminals of the central lab, clearly struggling to believe what they're seeing, as the signals between Kaiba Corporation and Schrodinger steadily open up to one another. Unable to quite take in that two such massive rivals are pooling their resources in such a way.

Or maybe they're more disturbed by the fact that the computers all seem to be crackling with a strange black-white energy.

Only half as many as there should be. The workers h still has all seem to be developing nervous twitches, wringing their hands tugging their hair, biting their lips. Whatever is happening is spreading across the whole world like a bad dream. Leon can feel it tugging at his heart and tickling furiously in the back of his brain. He takes a deep breath and tries his hardest to pretend that everything about this is totally normal.

And as Leon watches, the mainframes of Kaiba Corporation, I2 and Schrodinger are beginning to come together as one. Years of company secrets and advancements are pouring into the gaps between their systems, but Leon doesn't care. He simply starts to bark out orders like a man three times his age, doing just as Pegasus had advised him. 'Alright, Maxwell, send a message to the following address: rhawkins dot shiningfriend at nevada central dot com forward slash urgent. Then… ' Leon takes a deep breath. 'Then hand over control of our main computer system to Kaiba Corporation. '

I…' The man at the main terminal hesitates, staring at Leon as if his superior has gone insane. Leon doesn't blame him. Just thinking about doing something like this a day earlier would have probably cost the man his job. 'But… Mister Schrödinger, sir, don't you think we should wait for your brother? The company policy states that—'

'I already told you, he's the one who gave permission for this,' Leon says quickly, lying blatantly. He'd even gone so far as to fake his brother's signature, even though technically, only two members out of their circle of leaders need to be in agreement. All he knows right now is that there are more important thing at stake than the Schrödinger's fortune. That the world is turning upside down and that this might be their only hope… His brother will be mad, but right now, Leon is willing to accept that.

He isn't sure whether to thank Rebecca for opening him up to these things, to a world of real fairytale nightmares beyond the safe solidity of digital reality and storybooks, or to curse her.

'Look, even as we speak I2 is doing exactly the same thing as we are, opening up their information and linking out systems together along with KC. When the connection starts to happen don't fight it, don't reject anything you're seeing. Just let our mainframes come together. Kaiba corp. will do all the work from there.'

'S- sir, really, even if that were acceptable, there's no way our systems are set up for such a combination! Our technology is incompatible! And these readings… a few hours ago our systems were barely functioning at all, thanks to whatever's happening out there, and yet now the power in our systems is going off the charts! Frankly, this isn't normal; if the power ratings increase any more than the entire mainframe will go into total shut down! Shouldn't we close down the power and call for help?'

'No. Pegasus said to expect something like this,' Leon mutters uneasily. 'I wouldn't bother calling the energy company, they have absolutely no control over what's happening to our systems right now,' Leon shudders, struggling to keep his cool. After all, if this all turned out to be some kind of elaborate trick, then he might've just flushed Schrodinger corps business down the pan. 'The merger will happen, Maxwell. I'm certain of it.'

'But sir, that's… '

'Impossible? Yesterday I would've agreed with you but as you can probably tell from the weird energy emanating from your terminal, Maxwell, we're no longer working to the rules of yesterday.'

'…I don't understand, sir,' Maxwell frowns intently. 'Even if this is possible, then what on earth are we going to do with all of that power?'

'Use the satellites, of course,' Leon smiles faintly. 'We're interconnecting everything.'

A few seconds later, every computer in the room seems to moan in unison; a strange, unnatural sound not at all like any computer Leon has ever heard before. The technicians and white coats all around him tense and jump away in horror. As Leon watches, a bead of sweat runs slowly down his forehead. Damn it, Siegfried, I really hope you're not gonna get mad at me for this…

'This is it. It's starting.'

The Danube River, Shadow Realm Nexus Point. 5:20 am

Their connection to Rebecca is thin and fragile, maintained by only the faintest of links with the shadows. All the power they have is being directed elsewhere. So she explains quickly, as best she can, in a language only Kaiba really understands.

'Not sure, really. But wh...ever info gets lost in the transfer between companies is gon...a be your problem Kaiba, not mine. At least wh...ever info they get is going to be sent back in retu... And the Shadow Magic which is effectively running the entire sy...em right now is just ignoring your firewalls and blo...ades anyway. We're talking an al... open system here, Kaiba. It's the only way this is gonna work.'

' Urgh. Alright, fair enough, if that's the best you can do,' Seto sounds rather pained, and Yugi half doens't blame him. They are talking about exposing his entire empire to his enemies here. 'Make sure you isolate the National Defence Grids and make sure nobody gets the impression that we're aiming to blow them to kingdom come. The last thing we want is everyone assuming we're trying to instigate World War Three.'

'Duh? You don't think I alr...y thought of that?' Rebecca's angry voice comes back down the line, and Yugi almost laughs because it's just so good to hear her voice, loud and proud and still ready to shout down a castle, even in the middle of the apocalypse. 'Anyway, we're attaching to the news broadcasting systems and bypassing the ...st of them, we won't be any...re near the special defence grids.'

'We will be when you start hacking the satellites.'

'Oh, I already planned that far ah...d, trust me, Kaiba, I'm an expert.' Rebecca sounds tetchy, and Yugi would've smiled if not for the air of anxiety under her proclamation. Téa reaches out and sneaks her arm around Tristan's for comfort. Joey intertwines his fingers with Mai's. Everyone is silent, listening in on Kaiba's conversation with Rebecca, hoping to god that they know what they're doing and this whole plan isn't about to come falling down on their heads like so much radioactive fallout.

'Fine.' Kaiba says. 'Just don't let any of those imbeciles in on the company's reserved folders.' He pauses for a second before adding, rather grudgingly. 'I have to admit, you're a good kid, Rebecca Hawkins.'

'Heh. Com...ng from you, Kaiba, I suppose I should probably faint. If anything's going to happen then... well, you should be se...ng it in about five minutes, if not...' she trails off, uneasily. 'Is Yugi there?'

'He's right next to me.'

'Can you put him on the line for me? Just for a m...nt?'

Seto passes the phone to Yugi, who takes it in a hand which, to his credit, is barely shaking at all. 'Hey there, 'Becca.'

'Don't you "Hey th...e, 'Becca" me!' Rebecca snaps at him, so loudly that her anger almost breaks their brittle connection. Her voice blurs and hisses for a few moments, and Yugi rubs his ear in pain, before Rebecca's voice. 'I know what's go...g on here, Mutou, and I don't like it!'

Yugi wavers, not quite certain how to respond. 'Rebecca, I—'

'Do you know how long I was out here before any of you even got ar...nd to contacting me?' Rebecca interrupts angrily. 'I've been out here for days, Yugi! Days, stuck in a ca...per van in the middle of a desert! Wondering why everyone is being so cr...zy on TV, and why you didn't think to even t...ll me about it! And the first thing I hear about it is that you're go...g to throw yourself into a d...th-trap! And that I have to help you do it?'

Yugi swallows. He has no idea how to respond, no idea how to make it all make sense.

When they had first met, Rebecca had been an angry, frustrated little girl. She hadn't fit in with other kids her age because she was much too bright for them; she had scared them, and scared the teachers who were worried they wouldn't be able to handle her without ruining her, all that brain in such a small body... And yet for all her intelligence, Rebecca had still been just eight year old child, who needed her teddy bear. Its eight years later, and Rebecca isn't that person anymore. Yugi can't fix all this with a few kind words, a thrown bet and a gifted card.

So now here he is, a young man standing in the middle of a deserted, death filled city, besides a wall of destruction which could tear apart the whole planet, with his friends at his side and a terrified little girl trying to talk to him down the telephone. Thus is Yugi's life.

'So... you g...t what this all could mean for you... ight?' Rebecca says. 'Don't tell me that you don't. I know you.'

'I know. But It'll all be okay, Rebecca, believe me, you know there's no other way to do this—'

'What ga...bage! I'm not a li...le kid anymore, don't treat me like I don't understand, My grandfather discovered how powerful duel cards are in the first place, Yugi... and he told all of that stuff to me. I know what you using all this pow...r means. If it goes wrong or... or even if everything goes perfectly... it could still kill you, c...n't it?'

'I'm sorry,' Yugi sighs. He moves away from the rest of the group, trying to ignore their anxious and suspicious stares; especially the glare of Yami who is hearing this whole conversation in his head. 'Rebecca... do you trust me?'

'...'

'Because I trust you, you know. With everything. Even with Yami. You know that, Rebecca. Now I'm asking you for the same trust back in return.'

'Shut up! Idiot, I... I don't know.' She sounds close to tears, as if only raw nerves and sinew are holding her together. 'You don't always tell me the truth. Neither of you do. And now... you expect me to do this for you and... and I do...'t know what it all means! Yugi—'

'Rebecca,' Yugi repeats, cutting off her rant before it can begin. 'It's okay.'

There is a moment of silence, except for a sound like sniffling down the line. 'Y-Yugi?'

'Yeah?'

'Um. Connections w...ing. Gotta hang up now. Work to do.'

Yugi nods slowly, even though she can't see it. He wishes he could reach out and hug her. He wishes he could explain exactly what is about to happen. He wishes he was smart enough to speak to her on her terms, in her language. He wishes he could tell his friends what it's like, to be here at the centre of their expectations. He wishes he could tell them all how much they mean to him and make it obvious. But he can't do any of those things, so instead he opens his mouth.

'Okay. Seeya later... 'He says, and then he pauses. 'And Rebecca? You've never been just some little kid. Yugi out.'

12:12 pm, Nevada Desert. Point Zero.

Rebecca Hawkins reaches her hand into the drawer in her desk and pulls out her duelling deck.

The card on top is the same one it's always been, ever since she was eight years old. She's never used it; always takes it out of her deck before starting (after all, most duels play for an ante these days and with it being a one of a kind, it pretty much counts as the rarest thing her family's ever owned: even rarer than her grandpa's torn Blue Eyes White Dragon). She doesn't want to risk losing it to someone who doesn't understand. Even to this day, she has no idea what it would actually do if she laid it on the field.

She can feel her grandpa staring at her from behind and leans back into him when he reaches out to touch her shoulder, hanging onto him for stability and courage.

'I... grandpa?'

'So then,' Grandpa says, warmly. 'Ready to take on the world again, are we? Just like your mother before you. Just like your grandfather. I admit neither I nor your mother know a great deal about these machines of yours, but—

He cuts off when Rebecca lunges around and buries her face into his jacket, feeling five years old again, a little kid in need of comfort. A part of her curses her own immaturity. This is absolutely not the way for somebody to react when they're about to hack into a delicate and highly classified government agency to try and save the world before it blows up in their faces. She cries a bit anyway. "Grandpa" means that's okay.

Rebecca mumbles something into his jacket, speaking mostly to herself. 'What's that, Rebecca?'

'...Love h'm.'

'I know, sweetheart. I've always known. And now, I know you'll make me proud, and do what it is you have to do.'

Rebecca sniffs, wiping her eyes on grandpa's shirt, and takes one last look at the card in her hand. The Ties of Friendship stares back at her with an almost accusing brightness, As if it's asking her what she's thinking... If she can really do what she's about to do.

'Idiot.' She hisses at it through her teeth, angrily wiping away the tears before then can even start to think about falling. 'Of course I trust him.'

Then she puts the card back into the drawer, forces her trembling hands to still, types a single word into the communications system, and presses "send".

The connections open within a matter of minutes. At first, the UN isn't even aware of the hacker racing through their government files, digging out the source codes she needs to take complete control of the entire system. At the same time hackers are at work in I2's main headquarters, and Leon too is racing through codes at lightning speed in the basement of Schrodinger corps main technological department. The UN technicians find themselves locked out of every system, their satellites control being diverted to a completely different location. At the same time, the missile silos and attack barracks of every country, war machine and submarine known to man are blocked off, cutting off the possibility of any military leaders getting the wrong idea and launching an attack on whichever enemy country sprung to mind when they thought about launching an attack. Three hackers work as one to connect and link entirely disparate systems; systems which under normal circumstances, would not even have been compatible.

But there is nothing more powerful than Shadow magic, especially not when it's under the control of an intelligent human mind. Shadow magic does not work as human computers do. It isn't blocked by incompatible systems or different brand names or antivirus software. It isn't held back by distance or signal or connectivity. Carrying out so many tasks at once is almost nothing with Yami Bakura's distant guidance. Slowly but surely (at least by computer standards), a fifteen year old girl is coordinating every satellite on the planet, and sending a message to the 9th Avenue television studio: begin countdown.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

12:13 pm, Las Vegas Police Station.

The shift of the day workers at the Las Vegas Police Station was ending just in time for the nightmare to begin for the night workers, crammed into staffrooms and laboratories and offices, confronted with the increasing rash of disturbances and attacks and general confusion filtering in from the streets.

Marianna Decker, acting Sergeant for the night department, did not like what she was seeing at all. First there had been that chaos with the virtual monsters all over America a few years ago, then the flood almost wiping out downtown New York, and now what seemed like some kind of country wide turf war was in action. Cells were filled to bursting with people dragged in from the street, half of them screaming... half of them begging for something, she wasn't sure what, with strange, white tears in their eyes.

Decker was too acclimatized to the bizarre by now to dismiss these things as a simple turf war, but it wasn't until the final cell (not exactly where she'd want them putting; these people were terrified, not criminals, but what else could they do?) was filled with a screaming woman, eyes wide and bugging from her face, mouth open in a constant wail, hair torn from her head, that she honestly began to worry. Began to think about taking extra precautions, calling in back up from the other shifts. It didn't help that half of her staff seemed distracted, confused or were absent altogether, and those who were focussed enough to do their job were being endlessly held back and sidetracked by the people who weren't. Just a few minutes ago she'd had to send her second in command home, because the poor man had been sitting in the corner shaking himself into uselessness. He'd never made it. Right now he was sitting in the corridor outside her office sobbing, ignoring every attempt from co workers and on site Doctor's to tell him what was wrong. And the longer they spoke to him, the more they seemed like they wanted to tear out their hair themselves.

Madness. The whole thing. Absolute madness. So when the report came in about the Luxor on the main strip being consumed in a fire and that people were filling the streets with a tide of violence and confusion, Decker wasn't so much surprised as vaguely, painfully resigned. The world, it seemed, was coming down around her ears, and there was no sign of an encroaching morning to scare away the shadows. Maybe there never would be again.

These were silly thoughts, of course, Decker told herself firmly. Silly and unrealistic. The world would still be here tomorrow. The world always was still there tomorrow, no matter what she saw on the streets the night before. No matter how many ugly examples of human contempt and cruelty she had to put up with at night, she could still go home in the morning to her family. These were the things that Sergeant Decker clung to as the world went to hell all around her.

Wrapped up in the chaos around her, in the crying children huddled on benches in the waiting room and the desperate requests for aid from her staff, it took Decker a few moments to notice that somebody had switched on the television which she had explicitly asked to be turned off, since the news reports weren't getting through anyway and the black and white glare of the screen had been hurting her eyes. Now the eyes of half the people in the waiting room were fixed quite firmly on that screen, trying to bite down their fear enough for them to make out what was happening.

But there is no black and white static now. Instead, she is staring at an actual transmitted image of a large white room, and a nervous looking figure slipping uneasily into view.

'H...hello there? Can you hear me?'

11:35 am, The Turtle Game Store.

Grandpa had done exactly as Miss Wheeler had advised him to do as soon as she got off the phone with him: he'd locked the door. It was just as well he had, because from the looks of it, the streets of Tokyo were beginning to riot.

It had happened quickly. Like a damn bursting and releasing a tide of darkness across the world. The tension had been simmering all day; in fact, now that Solomon thought about it, it had been simmering for much longer than that. Over a week, at least. There had been a strange, tickling sensation in the air of something just being not quite right. The very cosmic order had been quaking underneath their feet, and now, Solomon could feel it all the more, tugging at his heart and aching in his chest. Like drowning in sand... He tried to shake such thoughts from his head as nonsense by shuffling the deck of cards in his hand, trying to guess the identity of each card before it appeared.

People were always the same, Solomon thought to himself sadly. For every one of them with the nerve and courage to hold together in spite of everything, for every Joey Wheeler or Téa Gardner or Mai Valentine, there were another ten who insisted on going crazy; and those ten rubbed off on all those around them until a few anxious frowns became a worried chorus, and a worried chorus became a tide of panic as thousands took their frustrated confusion to the streets. It would be almost impossible to tell how much of what was going on outside was genuinely an effect of the Shadow Realms influence, and how much of it was just people panicking other people.

Serenity had called him again a few moments ago, and when Solomon placed the phone down, his hand had tingled with dark energy. It was Yugi, Solomon guessed in the end, or something to do with the fact that they had all had such exposure to Shadow Magic previously. That could be the only reason none of them had gone as crazy as the rest of the world seemed to be going yet. He had no idea how long it would take for the influx of Shadow Magic to get to him too, but he planned to be right here when it happened, waiting for his Grandson with his very last breath.

Yes, old age was definitely making him fatalistic.

He didn't know that the same thing was happening thousands of miles away on the streets of New York, or in the suburbs of Australia, or on the dunes of Cairo. He didn't know that a nervous Australian named Valon had talked his way into the Australian Canberra broadcasting department and was proceeding to convince them to open up on certain frequencies using nothing more than his charm and a few convincing words from the head of Kaiba Corporation. He didn't know of the massive merger of power and technology taking place amongst the three dominating games companies of the world. He didn't know that a terrified teenage girl in Nevada was struggling to bring all of those insane factors together in her little trailer, and praying she didn't inadvertently instigate nuclear war in the process. He didn't know that every machine in the world was currently being filtered through layers upon layers of shadow magic, operating according to strange, dark rules that humanity has never anticipated.

In fact, until his television flickered unexpectedly to life without him so much as touching it, Solomon knew almost nothing at all about what was going on out there. He knew only that things were about to go very horrifically pear shaped, and that his grandsons (their friends bless them because there was no way in heaven or hell that the gods would) were right in the middle of it all.

And then he turned to see the television, staring in surprise as a picture flickered into white life amidst the shadows.

'H...hello there? Can you all hear me?'

Solomon Mutou stares at the screen in alarm for a long moment; then he began to smile.