DRAGON HEIST

An hour after Solomon's conversation with Kaiba, the two of them were joined by Yugi, Joey and Tristan in the same dining room. Only Solomon was seated, while the other four were standing around the table. Kaiba was fixing Yugi with a smoldering glare that his rival was pointedly ignoring.

"So lemme get this straight," began Joey. "You're saying that you've been playing around with Diva's rip-off Millennium Puzzle and it's somehow taken control of your brother?"

"I don't know that for sure," growled Kaiba, "but I don't think I need to explain to you that it would be completely out of character for Mokuba to turn on me to the point where I'm being hunted by law enforcement in the streets at his behest."

"Yeah, he's always been pretty loyal to you," mused Tristan. "Not that I ever understood why…" he finished with a quip, scratching his chin in an exaggerated manner.

"Watch it, pencil-head," snapped Kaiba. He then turned to Yugi while pointing a finger at the transgressor accusingly. "Why is he here? Wheeler I can understand, albeit grudgingly, but we don't need the supporting cast."

"Gee, thanks for the gracious acknowledgment," put in Joey before Tristan could protest at being labeled the way he was. "As for Tristan… Going by what Yuge told me, we're going to need to fight our way through some of your guards to make it through to your jet. If that's the situation, the more hands on deck the better, capisce?"

"Yeah, and if this is related to Egypt again, I want to see this through too," put in Tristan heatedly. "I've always had Yugi and Joey's backs and I'm not about to stop now! If Tea was here, she'd want to come too."

"Thank God that's not the case," snorted Kaiba. "If I had to hear one more friendship related speech from her I'd probably go back to the psych ward myself."

"Enough," snapped Yugi heatedly. "All four of us are going, and that's final. Kaiba, did Roland say exactly how many guards we're going to be dealing with?"

"He didn't have specifics, but that airfield is normally manned by six men at all times. It's four security guards and a couple maintenance guys on call. There are usually more if I'm scheduled to fly out of there, up to ten I'd say. It's probably a good bet that Mokuba has stationed at least those many men there in case I made an attempt on the Jet. Thankfully only a couple will be from Security Police and therefore armed."

"Armed?" groused Joey. "You mean like, with guns?"

"No, with pea shooters," sneered Kaiba. "Of course with guns. Do you have any idea how much that Jet is worth? You think I'd leave my property completely undefended?"

"Well, great foresight Kaiba because how's it going out for you now-…"

"I have a suggestion," interrupted Solomon calmly, having been silent the entire time before.

Everyone turned to look down at him.

"I'm not too happy with the idea of my grandson, or honestly, any of you boys getting into a brawl with armed police."

"Well, my Jet is the only way we're going to make it to Pegasus' Island, and that is who Mokuba is going to have guarding it. So I don't see an alternative," grumbled Kaiba.

"All that time playing Duel Monsters, the ultimate game of strategy, and you can't come up with a better plan?" Solomon tutted.

"Can you?" retorted the CEO.

The old man's eyes twinkled. "Yes. Yes, as a matter of fact, I can…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Working for Kaiba Corp as security was a mixed bag. The pay was excellent; the benefits were even better. The issue was that the CEO and founder Seto Kaiba had pissed a lot of people off through his life, and therefore attracted a number of enemies.

The head of security at Kaiba Corp's Domino airfield was a man named Ishikawa. He had worked for the company for over five years now, starting out as night security at their Tokyo office. Since then, he had worked at Battle City, the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship in the United States, and had recently been at the exhibition duel at Kaiba Land Domino. Between these three places he'd seen a number of bizarre things he had no idea how to explain. The company had given all employees working these events substantial bonuses after they took place in an attempt to keep them quiet. This helped Ishikawa shove his questions to the back of his mind. He told himself that the paranormal and the dangerous was just a part of the job description of working for Seto Kaiba.

He wasn't anymore now though, was he? Information had been passed down the company grapevine that now Mokuba Kaiba was in charge. This wasn't official, but then Ishikawa had received official instructions from HQ that Seto Kaiba was no longer the boss, was in violation of the law and was to be arrested on sight if he came to the airfield.

It was all rather difficult for Ishikawa to grasp, but he was a company man who toed the company line. He wanted to put in his twenty years and retire with a pension. He had never actually even spoken to Seto Kaiba and therefore had no great loyalty to him as an individual. Truthfully, working at this airfield made him slightly resent the man and his wealth. Ishikawa earned just under a million yen a year doing honest labor, and Kaiba blew billions on a plane designed as a Duel Monsters card? What was up with that?

Four extra men were sent over, to compliment the other three he was already managing in addition to the two full-time Security Police officers Kaiba Corp paid the government to station at the airfield. He guessed Kaiba really loved that Jet.

The communication from HQ, however, didn't say if Kaiba was actually likely to arrive at the airfield, just that he was to be arrested if he did. So while the men there had spent a few minutes discussing the supposed ousting of their boss, they were all working stiffs at the end of the day and as working stiffs didn't really put much extra effort into their duties, which basically consisted of half-hearted patrols of the perimeters in little golf-cart like vehicles and watching an array of security cameras.

It was coming up on noon, and the mid-day sun was bearing down hard, bringing the day's peak heat with it. Ishikawa took mercy on his subordinates and right now only had two of them stationed outdoors. The rest were kicking back in the breakroom and taking turns watching the cameras.

Ishikawa himself was in his office, feet on the desk, lighting up a cigarette. It was proving to be an uneventful day, and he was counting down the hours until he could leave for home. He put his lighter away, leaned back, closed his eyes, and inhaled from the cigarette. The nicotine hit him and provided some small respite from the dreariness of the day.

He was interrupted from his reverie by a knock on his door. He pulled his feet off the desk and asserted, "Come in."

One of his inferiors opened the door.

"Sir, according to the cameras we have this old man at the main entrance who is demanding to be let in and making a scene. He says he has a "bone to pick" with Seto Kaiba."

Ishikawa raised his eyebrows and followed the man back over to the surveillance room.

He was right. The main entrance to the airfield was a locked gate with a guard booth by its side that was currently empty, because the one who was supposed to be manning it had stepped out and was trying to confront a rather diminutive old man who was standing outside the gate. He was waving his fist at the camera and mouthing obscenities. He was dressed in a brown shirt and green overalls, with a spiky gray beard and hair.

Ishikawa narrowed his eyes. The man looked familiar…

His mind darted back through the years, first to the time when Kaiba Corp made its breakthrough with holograms, then to time he spent at Battle City, and then the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship in the United States.

"I don't know exactly who he is but he's dueled with Mr Kaiba before, and been at a couple of tournaments. I don't recall the specifics but I think there is bad blood between them."

"Well, whatever the case is, he's been out there for ten minutes and is refusing to leave," muttered the other man.

Ishikawa groaned internally. This was going to be a hassle.

"Fine… I'll go out and handle this."

He left the building, and used one of the golf carts to make his way to the entrance. The guard there seemed to be very glad to relinquish control of the situation to him.

Ishikawa regarded the old man in front of him, who was breathing heavily.

"Sir, who are you and what is your business here?"

"I am Solomon Muto and I have come to seek revenge on your honorless master!" came the dramatic reply.

Ishikawa's eyes widened. "Muto...!"

He now knew who this was. This was the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City Champion Yugi Moto's grandfather. He had dueled Kaiba during Ishikawa's early days working for the company and it had ended with Kaiba ripping the man's prized card in half. Ishikawa himself did not duel but his children did, and he knew how emotionally attached some people were about their cards. He had no idea, however, as to what had driven the old man to come and make a scene about it years later.

"Mr Muto, whatever your quarrel may be with Mr Kaiba, this is not the place to settle it. He is not here, and besides-…"

"I'm not here for him!" cried out Solomon. He produced a screwdriver from a pocket in his overalls. "I'm here to deface his Blue-Eyes, like he did with mine!"

"Is this guy for real?" thought Ishikawa incredulously.

"Mr Muto, get real. I'm not allowing you in to vandalize company property."

"Then you are just as evil as the heathen you work for!" roared the old man in reply. He was gripping his screwdriver so tightly his hand was shaking.

"I'm just doing my job, sir. I'm going to ask you to leave once again, and if you don't I'll have to-…"

"I don't care what you do! I have nothing to lose! The scar of Kaiba's actions against me has festered for years, and I have finally come to show him the same measure of pain he inflicted upon me!"

Ishikawa noticed sweat dripping down Solomon's forehead. His proclamations were being made with such intensity that his voice was shaking.

"Mr Muto, I think you should calm down."

"DON'T tell me to calm down! You don't know what I've been through! You don't-…"

With that, Solomon dropped the screwdriver and grabbed at his chest. He let out a small groan and dropped to his knees, and then fell to his side.

Ishikawa reacted with alarm.

"Good God, open the gate and get help! Call an ambulance!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaiba checked his watch, and then peered into a pair of binoculars that they had picked up from a hardware store on their way over to the airfield. He was currently on an elevated rocky ridge outside the fenced-off boundary of the airfield, along with Yugi, Joey and Tristan. They were invisible to anyone from inside, obscured by some high vegetation.

Through the distance, he could make out a single golf-cart that was in the process of looping around the airfield interrupt its pattern and make a straight bee-line back to the entrance.

"Looks like your grandfather timed it exactly like he said he would," he grunted.

Yugi chuckled. "Yeah, that's Grandpa for you. When you've played as much poker as he has, you tend to become one hell of an actor along the way."

"I guess that's our cue," put in Joey, turning to Tristan, who produced a wire cutter from his trench coat.

"Who would have ever thought rich-boy here would benefit from the times our misspent youth almost got us sent to juvey?" he snickered, turning to Kaiba.

Kaiba growled, but held his tongue. He was too focused on what was ahead of them to get into another verbal sparring match.

The four slowly crept their way down the ridge to the barrier, which was made out of crisscross wire and also had a black sheet over it. The two former delinquents got to work. Quickly, they managed to cut out a square-shaped hole in the wire near the base of the fence tall enough even for Kaiba, the tallest of the four, to duck through.

At the same time, they could now hear the wail of an ambulance siren from the other side of the airfield.

"I bet Gramps is having a blast," Joey snorted.

"He'll probably hope he can stay at the hospital long enough at least to get some dessert," chortled Yugi. "He said it was the one good thing that came out of his time there after the whole Pegasus incident."

"Can we just go?" snapped Kaiba.

"Keep it cool, rich-boy, we're almost at the end zone-…" Joey trailed off as he ducked under the opening and then stood up on the other end. The others heard him mumble, "Whoa."

Yugi followed, and then saw what had silenced Joey. It was the Blue-Eyes White Jet. He had never seen it up close before. It was definitely an impressive sight.

Tristan whistled. "I gotta say, Kaiba, I thought this would be tacky, but it seems like you actually do have good taste."

"Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is… cool," muttered Joey. "You get your company back I'm going to want you to get me a Red-Eyes Black Jet as a thank-you for helping."

"You can admire it later, we have to go," came Kaiba's voice from beside him. "And to your second point – money aside, your Red-Eyes is just far too ugly a beast to deserve this kind of investment."

Joey rolled his eyes, and the four of them walked over to the head of the dragon, which served as the cockpit.

"Wait – there are no stairs," realized Yugi. "Also, do you have keys or something?"

"I'll need one of you to give me a boost onto the wing," replied Kaiba, gesturing to Joey and Tristan. "And please. Keys? You're joking right? There's a biometric scanner on the outside of the cockpit that is coded to my retina, and mine alone."

Joey put his hands up. "Tristan, you're gonna have to do the honors. All that teasin' when we were kids about being taller: looks like it's gonna pay off."

"Yeah, fine," came the response as a grunt. They walked over to the wing, and he knelt, cupping his hands below. Kaiba stepped into it, and then Tristan stood up, allowing Kaiba to grab onto the side of the wing with his feet on the other man's shoulders.

"Jeez, Kaiba, maybe spend less time at the gym if you're going to be in a situation like this again," groaned Tristan, his knees buckling under the CEO's weight. Kaiba ignored him, and finished clambering onto the wing, before darting on the body of the Jet towards the cockpit.

"HEY! STOP!" came a loud exclamation from the distance.

The four froze and then turned to see what was going on. It was a single guard standing about halfway between them and the main building, looking thoroughly confused.

Tristan reacted the fastest. He grabbed Yugi by the waist, lifted him up, and then bounced off his knees, practically throwing him up towards the wing. With Yugi being on the more compact side, he was actually able to get enough power going for his friend to grab onto the wing with one hand despite his surprise. He gave him another shove which was enough to put him over the edge.

He then took off towards the guard, who was fishing into his pocket for a walkie-talkie. He got there just in time, wrapping his arms around the guy and pinning them to his side, ensuring he wouldn't be able to call for help just yet.

"GO!" he roared.

Yugi and Joey glanced helplessly at him, but then Yugi anchored himself to one of the ridges on the wing, half hanging off and managing to grasp a leaping Joey's hand. This almost pulled him off the wing entirely as well, but he managed to brace long enough for Joey to grasp on as well.

Meanwhile, the guard has shaken off Tristan and they were fighting over his handheld radio.

"We have to go, now," came a roar from Kaiba, who had opened the cockpit and had settled into the pilot's seat.

Yugi glanced back once more at his friend and cursed. "JUST LEAVE, NOW!" he yelled out at Tristan, before him and Joey ran across the now vibrating body of the Jet as Kaiba began to power it up. They made it to the cockpit to find only one seat behind Kaiba.

"What the-…" began Joey.

"Save it, just get in or go join pencil-head," snapped Kaiba without turning around, headseat on, going through pre-flight checklists.

"How were you planning on all four of us fitting in here?" groused Joey.

"You and Taylor were going to go in the cargo," replied the CEO nastily.

Thankfully, it was a wide seat and Yugi was a small guy so the two were able to squeeze themselves into it and share the single seatbelt. Kaiba closed the cockpit hatch over them. The plane was vibrating in earnest now

Yugi twisted around in his seat to see that Tristan had managed to knock the other guy out and was running back in their direction.

"Kaiba, there's still time-…"

There wasn't. It seemed the sound of the scuffle as well as the activation of the plane had brought other members of the airfield's security out of the main building. From the distance, Yugi could make out that two of them were armed.

Tristan seemed to make the smart call and headed right for the hole in the fence that he himself had created, disappearing through it before any of the new arrivals could get close enough to make out who he was.

Kaiba finished flicking the last switches he needed to, flipping the engine thrusters on the wings ninety degrees so that they were now facing the ground, enabling a vertical takeoff. He jammed the thrust lever forward, and with a jerk that incited a yelp from Yugi and a curse from Joey, they were airborne.

They kept ascending vertically until they were high enough that their would-be pursuers were visible as no bigger than ants, and then with another couple of switches flicked, set off west.

Yugi breathed out.

"Duelist Kingdom, here we come," muttered Joey.

From the inside, riding the Blue-Eyes White Jet was not too different than a normal plane ride, except for the fact that the engines were a fair bit louder. This meant there was little to no conversation as none of the three wanted to strain their voices to be heard over the roar.

They flew on at hundreds of miles an hour. It was only about twenty minutes before Kaiba announced loudly they were beginning their descent.

"Duelist Kingdom, this is the Blue-Eyes White Jet. Requesting permission to land," he voiced into his headset. Yugi found the idea of Kaiba requesting permission about anything from anyone to be hilarious, but he kept that opinion to himself.

Evidently, Kaiba had received a response in the affirmative, and soon the Jet ducked below the surrounding cloud cover, so that Yugi and Joey could not see a speck of green and brown in the distance that was rapidly increasing in size as they got closer and lower. Duelist Kingdom: the place that was, in many ways, the beginning of all their adventures over the years.

They got even lower, and Yugi was able to make out their likely landing spot. It was a large concrete slab a few hundred feet from Pegasus' main castle… and speaking of the Devil himself, he could faintly make out Pegasus himself standing close by as they continued to descend. His long, silver hair and foppish attire was always unmistakable. Standing next to him was a man in a black suit with a handlebar moustache, whom Yugi remembered as Croquet.

Kaiba flicked a switch that would flip the engines back downward, and then gently set the Jet down on the designated landing zone.

A couple of lackeys approached, pushing a set of aircraft steps on wheels that lined up perfectly with the cockpit they were inhabiting. Kaiba popped the hatch, and the hot Pacific mid-day sun immediately hit them.

"Yugi-boy, Kaiba-boy, Mr Wheeler," came the crooning voice of Maximillion Pegasus.

Kaiba closed his eyes for a brief second, as if thinking, "Here we go again…" before standing up and descending down the stairs.

"Pegasus," he grunted in acknowledgment as he reached the bottom.

"Kaiba-boy, I've been expecting you… Oh, I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances!"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You mean you've heard about what's been going on with my company?"

"Company? Oh no, I cancelled my subscription to the Wall Street Journal a while ago, I'm afraid," came the airy reply.

"Wait, why is it you think we're here then, Pegasus?" put in Yugi, who now, along with Joey, had joined the others on the ground.

"We have much to talk about indeed, but perhaps let's wait until we're in my office and out of the heat? Plus, there's someone else there whom I think needs to be privy to this conversation, and I don't doubt that neither of us cares to repeat themselves," added Pegasus, when Kaiba was about to interject that he wanted to get to business now.

"What I want to talk about is important, Pegasus," snapped the CEO. "I don't know which of your strange friends is around, or that you even had friends, but this circle needs to be kept small."

"Oh, believe me, this person is most certainly will have valuable input," chuckled the older man as he set off back towards the castle.

"Who is it?"

"It's a surprise, Kaiba-boy. I can't tell you, where would be the fun in that?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, they were all in Pegasus' office. The ocean facing windows were almost ceiling to floor, providing them with a sumptuous view of the sparking blue water of the Pacific. Pegasus sat in an armchair, with Yugi and Joey on a couch opposite them. Kaiba stood sulking in the corner. Croquet had brought a cart of refreshments and left, from which Pegasus had poured himself a glass of wine.

"Excellent, now that we're all comfortable. Kaiba-boy, must you be a sulk and insist on standing in the corner instead of enjoying my wonderfully upholstered furniture? Yes? Oh well, some things never change. We are just about ready to begin; just have to wait for… Oh, here we go!"

The door opened once again. Upon seeing who walked through, Yugi and Joey's jaws simultaneously dropped. Even Kaiba looked a little surprised.

"MAI?!" gaped Joey.

Indeed, the attractive blonde duelist was the one who had walked through the entrance to Pegasus's study. She was dressed in her usual sleeveless purple vest and skirt over a white tube top. The cadence of her steps suggested a measure of nervousness on her part as she entered the room.

"Hey, Joey," she muttered apprehensively, refusing to meet his eye. She nodded to the other two visitors. "Yugi, Kaiba…"

"Now, now, Miss Valentine… didn't we talk about this? You need to show some vigor-…"

"Give it a rest, Pegasus," she cut him off, glaring.

"Mai, what are you doing here? We haven't seen you in years," interjected Yugi, since Joey was still too stunned to speak after his initial exclamation.

She took a seat next to Pegasus, perching herself on the end of the chair and leaning against one of the handles. She continued to ensure her gaze averted theirs. All her body language resembled that of someone who would rather be somewhere else but was forcing herself to remain.

"Well, I guess it's been over a year since… you know, the whole thing with Dartz. I… took some time away from dueling, decided to travel for a while. I met Vivian Wong in China when I was running low on money and she convinced me to start tag-dueling with her. It was kind of hit or miss; we won some and lost some but I was clearly dragging her down. We split, and then Pegasus reached out to me."

She jerked her head in the obliviously smiling man's direction before continuing, "Since then, he's been helping me work through some… things, and in return I've been working for him, mainly in the R&D division for Duel Monsters. I test new cards and stuff like that… and honestly just any other random things he wants me to do."

Even as she finished, her eyes remained bowed.

Yugi and Joey in particular clearly had a million questions but Kaiba did not really have the patience to continue this conversation.

"Look, you three can catch up later," he growled, before turning to face Pegasus. "I won't ask again. How did you find out what has happened at my company?"

Mai retreated into her seat, glad that the conversation had shifted. Joey fixed her with a stare that seemed to indicate they would continue this later.

"I already told you, Kaiba-boy, I have no idea what you're talking about. I was expecting you and Yugi-boy to come here at some point soon but it doesn't have anything to do with your company," Pegasus purred in reply. "Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me on the matter?"

Kaiba shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "No. You go first. Why did you think Yugi and I would come to your godforsaken island?"

Pegasus poured himself another glass of wine, before beginning, "Ah well. I'm afraid there's been some degree of a misunderstanding… Not to worry, we can clear this up."

"Yugi-boy," he turned his head to eye the champion duelist. "How long did you hold the Millennium Puzzle for?"

"The Puzzle?" replied Yugi, a bit startled at the question. "A little over three years, why?"

Pegasus nodded. "Of course. Not very long I suppose. Not nearly long enough for the Puzzle to affect you in the ways my Millennium Eye affected me. Did you know I possessed the Eye for eleven years?"

No one responded to this, and he took it as a cue to continue.

"Yes, not only was I a holder of the Item for over a decade, but out of all the holders, I was the only one who was never separated from that Item for even one second. I think the reasoning for that is obvious."

He curled his lips into a tight smile, before pulling the hair that fell over the left side of his face back to reveal a gold eye patch. Yugi was a little startled by this, as he had never really seen what that side of Pegasus' face looked like after Bakura, Yami Bakura, had taken the Millennium Eye from him.

"Get on with it, Pegasus," growled Kaiba.

"All these years running a giant corporation and you never learned basic patience, Kaiba-boy? Such a shame. In any case, having that powerful magical Item be literally a part of my body for so many years on end led to it having some unusual effects on me… even after it was removed. Anyone care to guess what the most notable one of these is? Ten points to whoever gets it right first time!"

No one seemed in the mood for Pegasus' childishness, so the room remained silent. He pouted, before going on, "You people are no fun. The Eye granted me numerous abilities. The obvious one is the capacity to read minds, as I'm sure you all remember. It enabled me to create Shadow Games and enforce Penalty Games, like most of the other Items. It allowed me to capture people's souls, which I used, uh, in misguided ways. There was one ability, however, that I never actually actively used in front of any of you, and this is the one that has somehow remained with me even after losing the Eye all those years ago, possibly because it's more of a passive one."

Yugi and Joey perked up at this, interested. Kaiba and Mai simply continued to listen.

"Shadow magic is a form of energy, and it normally follows the first law of conservation of energy. This law states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Shadow magic in our plane of existence usually exists at an equilibrium level that is only disrupted if the first law of energy is broken: and it can do this, of course, because it's magic! The introduction of new surges of shadow magic into this equilibrium is something that the Eye gave me the ability to sense, and it's something I can still sense."

Yugi sensed where this was going. "Wait a minute-…"

"Let me finish," Pegasus pressed on. "The first major disruption I sensed once I acquired the Eye, believe it or not, was when you completed the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi-boy, and brought the Pharaoh Atem into our world. That's why I targeted you all those years ago, the surge told me that the Puzzle had been completed. I sensed the emergence of the Pharaoh after five thousand years of dormancy. I sensed the surge of shadow magic when the deviant dark side of Marik Ishtar emerged from the Millennium Rod, and then felt it vanish when he was trapped in the Shadow Realm once again after you beat him. Six months ago: I sensed a huge amount of pressure trying to break into this realm that ultimately did not succeed."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, that was probably when we were in the world of the Pharaoh's memories, inside the Millennium Puzzle. We were fighting against Zorc, who was basically Bakura's true form. He was so powerful he almost broke through into our dimension before the Pharaoh defeated him."

"Of course," Pegasus nodded. "After that, the equilibrium was again disrupted a few days later when the Pharaoh departed. Since then, I sensed two more sizable surges. One was last week, which I presume was the incident at your new Duel Disk exhibition I heard about, Kaiba-boy."

Kaiba only grunted in affirmation, and allowed Yugi to explain, "Yeah… we had to deal with this guy called Diva, someone from Shadi's past. He had this magical item called the Quantum Cube, which allowed him to travel in between dimensions. He somehow came across the Millennium Ring in one of those dimensions and it corrupted him with shadow magic. That's probably what you felt. Actually Pegasus, the Cube is what we came to talk to you about-…"

"The very last surge I sensed yesterday… and it dwarfed all the other disruptions I've ever felt combined," Pegasus interrupted.

Yugi stopped short at that.

"Wait, what?"

"I know what I sensed, Yugi-boy. I'm not as sensitive to these as I used to be when I held the Millennium Eye, and I imagine that sensitivity could fade even further with time, but this one was so massive it gave me a headache. That is what I imagined you came here to discuss with me, because let's face it… any time something like this happens you and Kaiba-boy are bound to be involved."

"That doesn't make any sense," protested Joey. "It sounds like every time you've felt shadow magic go off someone has used a Millennium Item… and they're all gone now! Yuge told me the Puzzle disappeared after he beat Diva."

"It did," Yugi nodded. "The exception, of course, is the Quantum Cube, and no one has used that to open a portal either. Unless…"

He turned to Kaiba, who had a scowl on his face. "Well… it looks like we finally arrive at the point."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Kaiba… what did you do? You didn't tell me used it. You just said you were researching it."

"Well, I did," snapped Kaiba. "I tried to, anyway. It didn't work."

"What did you try to do?"

"It doesn't matter," growled the CEO in response.

"It does, Kaiba-boy," interjected Pegasus smoothly. "You haven't told me why you came here yet but I have a feeling both our stories are going to end up linked."

"Fine," came the snarling response. "I used it in conjunction with my space elevator to try and open a portal to whatever dimension the Pharaoh is currently residing in. Considering I'm here and not there with him right now, it clearly didn't work."

Yugi's jaw dropped.

"Jesus, Kaiba," mumbled Joey. "A rivalry is one thing, but are you telling me you hacked into the afterlife so you could duel him again."

"I tried to, but like I said, it obviously didn't work."

Yugi still didn't react, and Joey noticed Mai's eyebrows were raised, but she didn't say anything.

Pegasus pressed his fingers together while resting his elbows on the sides of his armchair, carefully regarding his former enemy.

"Continue with your story, Kaiba-boy. We need all the details."

Kaiba's hand curled into a fist by his side. He seemed aware that he was being judged for what he had just said, and seemed angry at that fact. Yet, he went on.

"I blacked out during the experiment. The space elevators had safety measures in place, so I survived with no real harm done. I woke up some time later in a psychiatric ward of a Tokyo hospital. The doctor told me Mokuba had had me declared insane and had taken over as CEO of Kaiba Corp. I know he'd never do that in his right mind, so I realized it had to be the Quantum Cube affecting him somehow. I'm capable of talking my brother down but to get face to face with him and not get arrested again I need resources backing me up Pegasus… that's why I came here. You've invested billions into Kaiba Corp and I know you can't afford for the entire company to capsize because Mokuba does something insane while he's under the influence of that Cube."

Yugi, Joey and Mai continued to watch the conversation silently, no doubt all kinds of opinions going unsaid.

"That's quite a story, Kaiba-boy," murmured Pegasus, while tickling his chin thoughtfully, looking upward as he did.

Kaiba didn't respond. Pegasus set his wine glass down and then met the CEO's eyes.

"I am wondering if you considered something."

"What?"

"Perhaps your little experiment did work."

"Well then, like I said, I wouldn't be here, would I," came the irritated response.

"Oh, I misspoke. Perhaps it did work… just not the way you intended."

Yugi finally spoke. "What are you saying, Pegasus?"

"I'm just going by the way the timeline lines up here, Yugi-boy. I felt that gargantuan energy surge about thirty-six hours ago, roughly the same time Kaiba-boy tried what he tried. I think the likely course of events was that he did manage to open a portal. The only thing is that he wasn't able to pass through… but it seems like something came out."

The room fell silent at that.

Kaiba finally broke it with a neutral voice. "That's baseless."

Pegasus shrugged. "Not really. Like I said, the timing of it is awfully convenient. You tried to use this new magical item to open up a portal to the afterlife at approximately the same time I felt the largest ever surge of shadow magic I ever have."

"I'm not making judgments based on the feelings of a man so crazy he-…"

"It's not just that, Kaiba-boy. From what I gather, the Quantum Cube functions very similarly to the Millennium Items. The Items don't just have a mind of their own. They need to be used. The Cube wouldn't just decide to control your brother's mind in and of itself. Something, or rather someone, had to utilize it to do so. A lot of circumstances point towards it being whatever or whomever was released from that portal you opened."

Kaiba didn't respond again.

"We haven't seen any evidence that the Cube can be used to control people's minds though," put in Yugi. "Only the Millennium Rod has that unique ability. The Cube's main use is to open portals."

"Well, that leaves the other alternative."

"Which is?"

"It's honestly the more likely one given the magnitude of shadow magic I felt. The being that escaped into this dimension was able to possess little Mokuba on its own, without any need to use the Quantum Cube."

Every one turned back to look at Kaiba with that. He was beginning to go a bit pale.

"Why?" he rasped. "Let's say for a second I believe you, why Mokuba? And why then would this thing, whoever or whatever it is, be using him to go after me in the way it has?"

"Well, the first question is simple enough to answer," replied Pegasus. "If it escaped in spiritual form, it could have latched onto the nearest available body, which happened to be your brother. You were likely another option but you were racing away in your elevator back towards the Earth. As for the second, I believe we should probably hear it from the horse's mouth."

Yugi stood up, alarmed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's call little Mokuba and let Kaiba-boy have a chat with him," mused Pegasus, mimicking Yugi's motion.

Kaiba still didn't say anything. Joey got to his feet and joined them.

"Wait, wait, wait… aren't the cops after Kaiba? If we call Kaiba Corp now they'll know he's here! We just went through a lot of effort to get him out of Domino safely!"

"That's not something we need to worry about."

Yugi, Joey and Kaiba all looked in surprise to see that Mai had spoken up, finally.

"This island is a sovereign country, and Pegasus is technically the head of state. He's signed a defense treaty with the United States. Duelist Kingdom is under American protection: Japanese law enforcement can't come here in official capacity without basically declaring war on America."

"And we know how well that went for Japan last time, don't we?" added Pegasus cheerily.

Joey stared at Mai. "How do you know all this….?!"

She shrugged, going a bit red. "I've been here a while."

Joey looked like he had a million questions for her again but figured it would keep.

"Fine," came a monotonic voice from the corner. It was Kaiba. "Let's call Mokuba and find out what the hell is going on."

Yugi noted that Kaiba was still referring to his brother by name. He knew that Pegasus' theory was still just a theory, but if it was proven correct the CEO would have a hell of a time coming to grips with it. It was really his own actions that likely caused this. Yugi had no idea how he felt about Kaiba literally trying to access the afterlife to get his rematch with Atem. It was likely something he'd have to spend a lot of time thinking about to form a real opinion on.

These thoughts washed through his mind as they shuffled out of the room and down the hall to a conference room. There was a huge TV screen on one end with a semi-circular table facing it. Kaiba sat himself in the middle, so he was facing the screen directly, The others sat across to the sides, out of the view of the screen so that Kaiba could begin the conversation alone. Yugi figured he'd jump in if it came to it.

Pegasus was the last to enter the room, and had seemingly had words with Croquet, who had been waiting outside. They waited in silence for a couple of minutes before a technician darted in and worked on a desktop near the front of the room.

"Sir, it's done," he called. "Croquet already called Kaiba Corp and asked for you to be connected with the CEO. Just turn the screen on when you're ready."

He had a weird look on his face as he said this and was trying not to stare at Kaiba. He handed a remote control over to Pegasus, and left.

Pegasus walked over and placed the controller in front of Kaiba, before backing back off to the side. "Whenever you're ready, Kaiba-boy."

Kaiba stared at the remote for a minute, maintaining a stony face. Finally, he reached over, and clicked it.

The pitch black screen flared on.

"Mokuba," he uttered.

Indeed, the screen depicted his little brother. He was sitting at Kaiba's own desk in his office at Kaiba Corp's Domino HQ, dressed in an expensive black suit. His chin was lifted high in a very arrogant, un-Mokuba-like way. His body language reminded Kaiba of his own from his younger days.

When he spoke, it was with Mokuba's voice, only it wasn't. It was exactly like Roland had described his own experience of being in the room with him… as if there was a third party present as well.

"Hello, Pharaoh. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, I apologize, it's been longer than I thought.

Honestly haven't gotten much writing done due to a lack of motivation since the interest in this story isn't as high as I thought it would be. There are 12 people who have it on alerts and only 3 reviews, so I hope you guys can give me some more feedback because as a writer it's what drives me to put more stuff out there. I deeply appreciate the people who ARE reviewing though and I'm going to do my best to keep updates to every two weeks going forward.

ChroniclerDL: Honestly, Kaiba sees Yugi as an equal at this point. He doesn't like the idea of asking ANYONE for help but if it does have to happen, Yugi is the one he'd be ok with approaching. Like I said, a Goku-Vegeta relationship. Joey on the other hand…..

JamesBirdsong: Thank you! Hope you keep following along!

Reaver72: Honestly that was a great scene for me to right. I really want this story to wrap up every hanging thread from DM and I think the Kaiba-Solomon thing was very important and should have been addressed. I was talking to a friend who read this before and he thought that Kaiba would not be affected by Solomon's words. I disagree, I think by DSoD you can tell Kaiba is a different person morally and will find opportunities to make amends in the future.