Thank you for these characters and their stories, Kazuki Takahashi. Requiescat in pace.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Dria

"Hands off the merchandise, man! If you think robot monkeys can't barf, you're wrong!"

Poor Tristan. Joey was currently shaking him upside-down, claiming it might reveal the answer to how we could escape from this world. While Joey might not be wrong, surely there was a better way than 'torturing' monkey Tristan. I rubbed my temples again as the others tormented the small robot. I couldn't remember what happened after the duel. I could remember coming down from the plateau and Leichter saying something about playing fair, but after that it was dark. The Pharaoh said my eyes had turned red and some kind of force field had protected us from their ambush, but I was relatively confident that I hadn't conjured it. Normally I remembered casting spells, even when my temper ran wild. I was tired of dealing with these short circuits in my magical abilities.

"Initiating primate emergency escape sequence."

Tristan somehow projected a new door that led us out from the middle of nowhere to Kaiba Land. But how was that possible? Seto had said once that construction on the first full theme park wasn't scheduled to begin for a few more years. I had seen some plans for the park about a year or two back, but this layout was significantly different from even those. Was this the first of Seto's design plans? How did Noah get them?

"Remind me to never waste my money here."

I smiled lightly at Joey, "When it's actually built, Joey, it will be one of the largest in the world. So, you'll spend some money here at least once just to see it."

He rolled his eyes and messed up my hair. At least we had moved beyond his earlier anger towards me. We ran inside the open warehouse, after Joey knocked some sense back into Tristan, who had pointed a pair of guns towards us and began shouting, "Intruder alert!"

Clearly, we weren't supposed to have made it this far into this world. Otherwise, why would Noah care about us exploring? As we explored the warehouse, we found a room with a single projector. Suddenly, familiar voices echoed in the small room.

"How can this have happened?"

"If I'm going to save him, we have to act quickly."

It was Gozaburo and his wife at Noah's funeral. My father's condolences to Gozaburo flooded back into my memory as we watched the Kaiba family mourn their son.

"It sounds to me like Noah was in some sort of accident."

"It was a car accident," the others turned to look at me as I spoke, "Noah was returning to the Kaiba mansion one rainy evening and his driver swerved to avoid something that had fallen in the road because of the storm. Neither of them survived the crash."

Yugi gently touched my shoulder after I fell silent, "Dria, how do you know that?"

Continuing to stare at the screen in front of me, I replied, "I didn't know Noah personally, but being in the business world with Pegasus, I knew of him because he was the sole heir to the Kaiba fortune. My father paid Gozaburo a personal visit to offer his condolences after the funeral. I just now remembered."

Yugi took my hand in his and led me back out into the main part of the warehouse. I had tried to block out my experiences with Gozaburo because of how cruel he had been not only towards Mokuba and Seto, but also even towards me because he had attempted to blackmail my father into a marriage between he and I after his wife left. I shivered a little as I recalled that unhappy memory.

"Check it out! Train tracks!"

Next thing I knew, we were flying down the tracks on a handcar. We probably should have thought through this plan a little more logically.

"You do know where the brakes are, right?"

"This looks like a brake."

The ensuing crashing noise suggested that if it was the brake, it was in dire need of replacement. I gripped tightly to the center of the car beneath Joey as we began speeding out of control on the tracks, but I couldn't help but laugh as the others screamed and panicked at our situation. Though it wasn't the hot winds of Egypt or the speed of a chariot, it still felt nice to feel the wind on my face once more. Some of the others, those who dared to look away from the path before us towards me, thought I had lost it.

Another passageway soon opened up and we fell off the tracks into a land nearly covered in lava. With as much grace as I could muster, I jumped off the cart before it could crash onto the ground below us. However, my body was still weak from these 'withdrawals' I was experiencing, so instead of landing on my feet as planned, my knees buckled as I hit the ground and I rolled right into Yugi, who had landed on top of Duke and Tristan. The Pharaoh quickly appeared at my side, placing a ghostly hand on my shoulder. I placed mine over his and flashed a smile to show that I wasn't hurt.

"Kaiba versus Noah?"

I wanted to smack my forehead when Noah exposed Seto's Crush card. He always seemed to default to the combination of Giant Germ and Crush. It wasn't necessarily a bad strategy, but it was one of his signature moves alongside summoning Blue Eyes, so it was predictable.

Something about this duel seemed off to me as we settled in to watch. Seto had chosen Kaiser Seahorse as his Deck Master, but I didn't see any monster beside Noah acting as his Deck Master. Was he breaking his own rules and not playing with a Deck Master? That couldn't be it. It wouldn't 'show his power over Seto' if he were playing by different rules.

"Reveal the Mighty Earthshaker!"

Yugi quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me down to the ground, protectively placing his body over mine as the earth shook, forcing Seto to choose one of his monsters to destroy to stop the disaster. The lava below us threatened to overflow our small island, but thankfully Seto chose his Vampire Lord without much hesitation.

Don't place yourself in danger on my account, Yugi.

He smiled widely at me as we stood up together.

You and the Pharaoh still have to kiss and make up. I'm not letting you get out of that one.

I blushed at his statement and quickly looked away. As badly as I wanted that to happen, I didn't want either man to feel obligated to make it happen if it wasn't what the Pharaoh wanted.

Noah enjoyed using powerful natural disasters to get his way. First a giant earthquake, then a tidal wave to wash away Seto's monsters. I began to pity the young boy because he had spent nearly half his life inside this virtual prison and it had warped his sense of reality, not to mention inflated his already large ego. He clearly thought he was some kind of a god because he could control this world and the events within it. If only he knew how little that ego would aid him in the real world.

"Meet my Deck Master, Shinato's Ark."

"What kind of a freak picks a giant boat as his Deck Master?"

Noah didn't seem concerned that he had no monsters on the field to defend himself from a direct attack. Seto managed to draw Spear Dragon and began an attack, but Vampire Lord appeared to serve as a shield against the dragon's attack. While Noah still lost Life Points, it wasn't as devastating a loss as a direct attack would have been. This didn't bode well for Seto. Noah could access any monster that was sent to the graveyard and use it against him.

"What do you think, Miss Alexandria? Isn't my power impressive?"

The floodwaters around us soon receded and lush plants began to grow all around us. Noah was changing the battlefield to satisfy his need to display some kind of power over his world. He had absolutely no control over what had happened to him, a wound that was clearly eating away at his very soul. I could only stare in silence as the thin threads of his so-called power began to show their weaknesses.

"It seemed my brain was beginning to grow more powerful. I was able to access vast amounts of information through the databanks of my father's computer network. I became superhuman, infused with knowledge beyond that of anyone on Earth."

I sighed as Noah continued his speech. I couldn't argue that he had access to incredible amounts of information because of his condition, but all that wisdom had no effect on his personality. He had twisted and corrupted that knowledge to fit into his understanding of himself, rather than allowing it to transform him into a better version of himself. While he claimed some kind of superhuman status, he had fallen into a simple mortal trap: pride.

Thankfully, Seto had noticed this as well and began to poke at this shortcoming of Noah's. He had never matured beyond being the spoiled brat he once was.

"So you think I'm insane for wanting to claim what is rightfully mine?"

"No, I think you're insane for trapping me in a virtual computer program and forcing me to duel you."

At least Seto's sarcasm hadn't been lost in this experience. But as Noah began to share more of his story, the signs of his loneliness and neglect became extremely clear. He had tried to impress his father both as a normal boy and as a virtual boy, but the expectations set by Gozaburo were too high for him to attain. It seemed that if it didn't come easily to Noah, he was unwilling to attempt the task altogether. Perhaps that was an unfair judgment on my part. Parents could often set unattainable expectations for their children, and the constant failures always had negative side effects. I had seen, however, more than my fair share of talented people keep themselves from attempting difficult tasks in fear of failure.

Seto was down to 700 Life Points in comparison to Noah's 1400. I had to hand it to Noah. He was quite the capable duelist, though that didn't necessarily translate over to his abilities at running a company. If only he weren't consumed by this need to defeat Seto and prove himself, he would have been a rather amusing opponent. Seto was set up for victory. Then, all the rules changed.

"If you want to attack Noah, you'll have to go through me."

Noah was using Mokuba as a human shield. Seto wouldn't dare attack with Mokuba anywhere near Noah, but his pride also wouldn't allow him to forfeit the duel, not with his life's work on the line.

"So, what's it going to be? Mokuba or Kaiba Corp?"

Seto

"Release Mokuba now! He has nothing to do with this."

Noah would pay for putting Mokuba into this kind of danger. No one treated my little brother like a shield. The older boys at the orphanage had learned the hard way not to mess with him. Noah was no different; he was just a bully who needed to learn his place.

"This is a no brainer. Kaiba has to attack. If he lets Noah win, then we all lose."

I could barely resist the urge to give one of Yugi's pathetic friends the worst glare I could muster. What happened to them was of little consequence to me where Mokuba was concerned. Even Dria mattered less to me than Mokuba, but I knew she of all people would understand my decision.

"I'll end my turn."

His ridiculous Deck Master restored his Life Points, giving him 6,400 in total. This was a bad situation. I had only 700 points left with my body, my company, and my brother on the line. Maybe I had been too hard on Mokuba. He had always been there for me, even when I accused him of betrayal, and what had I done in response?

"Kaiba! Listen to me! I can help you. The answer may be in your deck."

Yugi's words actually made sense for once. Something in my deck to get through to my brother. I knew exactly which card I needed. I wouldn't risk attacking, but I needed to find ways to buy myself some time. Noah was slowly chipping away bits of my Life Points.

"How does it feel to lose your only friend, Seto?"

I continued to scowl at Noah. I had to free Mokuba from his control somehow. Even if I lost everything else, I had to protect my brother.

"Snap out of it, Mokuba. I need you in order to beat him."

"Come on, Kaiba! Squash this kid!"

Incredibly helpful as always, Wheeler. What did it look like I was trying to do? I wasn't done yet because it would take more than that to defeat me.

"You should know that it's best to stay down sometimes."

Yugi and his friends began calling to Mokuba, trying to help shake him out of the trance Noah had put him under. The only voice I didn't hear was Dria's, but I knew she was doing something. She adored my brother as if he were her own and wouldn't let him be hurt if she could do something to prevent it. I began to call out to my brother as well, "There's something I never told you, Mokuba. You once saved me, when we were kids. I was exhausted and ready to give up, until you inspired me, Mokuba."

Suddenly, Dria appeared at my side and gently placed her hand on my arm. She had always been there at my side, helping Mokuba and I as we navigated through our lives. I continued, "I swore that day to become someone worthy of possessing a real Blue Eyes! You and I can do this together."

The time had finally come.

"Behold the incredible power of my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Dria stepped forward as my dragon materialized, "Mokuba, there was a reason I told you I didn't have a Blue Eyes for you to give to Seto that day. My card wouldn't have been able to help Seto succeed. Only the one you drew for him could have sustained him through Gozaburo's training."

Finally, Mokuba broke through Noah's hold over him and got himself out of the way. Now I could attack with no concerns about my little brother.

Dria

I ran to meet Mokuba and wrapped him in a hug. I had been so worried about him, though admittedly, nowhere near the amount Seto had been concerned.

"Are you alright, Mokuba?"

"Yeah sis, I'm fine now. Seto just needs to beat this phony so we can go home."

I nearly sighed in relief. Despite all the lies Noah had probably said to him and the memories he had otherwise pushed away, Mokuba still loved Seto above all else. I kissed the top of his head and rested my arm around his shoulders.

"It's time to find out which of us is superior. Reveal the trap card Last Turn."

This was a risky move because it all depended on who chose first. The winner of this one-on-one combat would be the winner of the duel, despite how many Life Points Noah currently had. It was an obvious choice for Seto to select Blue Eyes. But what would Noah choose? Surely not his boat.

"You've just unleashed a power like nothing you've ever seen. When you destroyed Shinato's Ark, you released Shinato, King of a Higher Plane."

My eyes widened at the sudden revelation. Why hadn't I thought about it sooner? Blue Eyes, as powerful as she was, didn't stand a chance.

"Mokuba, go to Seto now. Quickly, go."

I shoved Mokuba in the direction of his brother, hoping that he would make it to Seto's side in time. He needed to get further away from Noah.

"Seto, I've finally done it. Did you see that, Father? I defeated Seto."

I laughed loudly, wanting to distract Noah for just enough time.

"You've done nothing but prove to Gozaburo that you're a spineless coward. Seto had the duel won, but you had the nerve to use Mokuba as a shield to prevent him from claiming his victory. Even Gozaburo wouldn't have done something that low, Noah. While he shouldn't have left you alone in this virtual prison, he was correct in assuming you couldn't handle his empire."

He quickly turned his gaze on me as he began to merge with his Deck Master. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Mokuba was almost to Seto, so I needed to buy him just a few more moments. He pointed a gray finger towards me, preparing to strike me.

"Hey! Seto!"

I felt electric shocks running through the ground underneath me, but what horrified me more was what Noah would do to Seto and Mokuba. Huge lightning bolts encircled me and I yelled out from the pain of the shock.

"Dria!"

Feeling my feet leave the ground, my body was flung back towards Seto and Mokuba, who seconds later were struck with a green light and became stone.

"They're so close, and yet they'll never reach one another."

Then, my world went black once more.