A/N: After this chapter, the stuff should start happening. Yush! I have so many ideas but I'm not sure what will work and what won't. It'll depend on where the characters go and what they decide to do.

FYI: BOLO literally means "Be On the Look Out"

In other news, Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes. ...wow... What a sad game.

Chapter 7 summary: In which plans are made and Kaiba tries to deal with Mokuba's loss.

Plans and Attempting to Cope

"So let me get this straight," Diggle said. "Your brother," he said facing Kaiba, "fell from a balcony after a bomb hit it and instead of hitting the ground like gravity dictates, he vanished into thin air."

"With Helios," Oliver added.

"With an ancient Greek Titan," Diggle said. "And not only that, but he apparently fell into another dimension."

"Reality," Wonder Woman corrected. "A dimension is like a page in a book, connected but separate from the current world or reality. Another reality is entirely different book."

"Oh, well that just makes it all peachy," the part-time vigilante said exasperated. "You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds?"

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. He had quickly changed out of his Arrow outfit and made an appearance at the bomb site as Oliver Queen long enough to be seen gawking at the destruction and speaking to Kaiba. Now he sat on the sectional in Kaiba's hotel room with Ishizu, Shaadi, Wonder Woman, J'onn, and Diggle discussing matters. Green Lantern had stayed behind to deal with the media frenzy and help the police with their investigation.

"We're aware," he said softly, glancing at Kaiba who was standing on the small Juliet balcony shirtless and brooding. The fresh bandages on the Regent's bullet wound were beginning to show specks of blood through the white. "But while it may seem fantastical," Oliver continued, turning to meet his best friend's eyes firmly, "it does mean Mokuba's alive. We just have to find him."

"It won't be easy," Shaadi said. "I am no astrophysicist, but even I am aware of the theory of multiverses."

"It's not a theory anymore," Wonder Woman said. "Trust me," she added, holding a hand up to stop questions. "Long story but I've seen it. It's not a theory."

"Fact then," Diggle said. "But that still leaves in question how in hell you intend to get there, not to mention get back. And if there are multiverses out there, then how will you even know which one Mokuba is in?"

"He could not have gone far," J'onn said calmly. "I highly doubt the furthest realities would be so easily accessed by him or us. Mokuba would most likely have to be in a reality somewhat close to ours."

"Why?" Diggle asked.

J'onn tilted his head contemplatively. "Because he must pass the realities closest to our own in order to reach those farther away."

"Like walking through a neighborhood, you mean?" Oliver said. "Traveling between realities is probably like walking on the sidewalk; you have to pass the houses closest to the point of origin, in this case our reality, in order to reach the one furthest from you."

"Only we do not know the address per say," Shaadi said.

Ishizu nodded. "We would be looking for a distinguishing characteristic unique to that specific house such as a colorful flag. In this case we would be looking for Mokuba's Shadows."

"They look like roots," Oliver said. "Big tree roots. You can't miss them."

"So you're going to go poking through the infinite number of alternate realities looking for huge tree roots," Diggle said. "That sounds absolutely insane."

Everyone shifted awkwardly.

"If it was Oliver," Kaiba said, speaking for the first time since returning to the hotel, "would you not do the same?"

Diggle sighed and shook his head in defeat. "I would. I definitely would," he said softly. "I'm not trying to discourage you. I just... I just want you to think before you act, that's all."

"I have," Kaiba said, turning around to face the people in his common room. Roland haf joined Fuguta in shadowing Kaiba wherever he went. They watched him closely, never letting him out of their sight, waiting for a command. Kaiba was grateful for their comforting presence.

"Mokuba is my little brother and I won't leave him behind," he said, blue eyes glittering dangerously in the dimly lit room. "No one takes what's mine and gets away with it."

Diana crossed her legs comfortably. "What about Helios?" she asked.

"He should be with Mokuba," Oliver said to her. "He grabbed him when they fell."

"He's under my protection and therefore he's mine," Kaiba said sternly. "I'll find his sorry white ass and drag him back here kicking and screaming if I have to."

"What if they were separated?" Ishizu asked carefully. "We have to consider that possibility."

"Then I'll find them both," the Regent insisted.

"How?" Shaadi asked. "We can track the Keeper's Shadows but we have no way to track Helios."

"We'll deal with that if and when we come to it," Kaiba said dismissively.

"He is right, though," Wonder Woman said, eyeing the Regent. "If they are separated and you know you have no definitive way of finding him-"

"He's mine!" Kaiba snapped. "I will find him. If anything, so I can give him a firm talking to for slipping my watch."

Ishizu politely covered her mouth to hide her smile. "Yes," she purred. "We all know how possessive you are of your belongings."

Kaiba glared at her but she merely smiled, removing her hand from her mouth and gazing back at him calmly. After a moment, Kaiba huffed a laugh. Oliver shook his head in soft amusement and even Shaadi's eyes softened.

"About the sniper," J'onn said hesitantly. "He escaped."

"I figured as much. How?" Kaiba demanded. "Did you get a good look at him?"

The Manhunter nodded. "He wore a mask so I did not see his face but he is tall, blonde, and wore robes of some sort. It reminded me of you," he said to the Regent.

Kaiba faced J'onn fully with interest. "Really? The description doesn't sound like anyone I know." He thought for a moment. "How tall was he?"

"Perhaps slightly taller than you," J'onn said. "He was also left handed."

"That'll hopefully narrow it down a bit," Diggle said with interest. "How did he get away?"

"He was riding a vehicle similar to one of your motorcycles but it was larger and unlike any motorcycle I have ever seen before," J'onn said.

"What color was it?" Diggle asked, pulling out his phone. "I'll call in a tip to the police and have them put out a BOLO."

"White," J'onn replied. "One wheel in the front, two in the back."

"A Trike then?"

The Martian shook his head. "No. The rear wheels were in line with each other. The body was slender with a pointed front like an arrow. I have never seen any vehicle like it before."

"How could someone snipe Kaiba from a high location on a motorcycle like that?" Wonder Woman demanded.

"How did he get the bike up there to begin with?" Oliver added.

"More importantly," Shaadi said, "how did he escape?"

"He vanished," J'onn answered simply.

Kaiba blinked and straightened his posture in surprise. "Vanished?" His eyes narrowed. "How do you mean?"

"He saw me coming, shouldered his rifle, and drove away," J'onn said. His yellow eyes blinked slowly in confusion. "He drove towards a wall and vanished in some sort of portal that formed there."

"Teleportation perhaps?" Shaadi asked. "Did the world around the portal ripple?"

The Martian shook his head. "No. It was steady except for the portal."

"Not teleportation then," Ishizu murmured.

"Was it like a flash?" Kaiba asked.

J'onn met the Regent's eyes evenly. "Yes, it was."

Oliver sat up in surprise but it was Kaiba who spoke. "So he too is from an alternate reality."

"Another one?" Diana gasped.

"So it would seem," J'onn said, nodding solemnly. "Will you hunt him down as well?" he asked the Regent.

Kaiba hesitated before shaking his head. "If we meet, then yes. Otherwise, no."

"Then who will be going?" the Martian asked.

"Me and Kaiba definitely," Oliver spoke up quickly. Kaiba's eyes darted to him warningly but Oliver crossed his arms and met the Regent's gaze defiantly. "I was there when Mokuba vanished. It's partially my fault he's gone. I'm going."

"You're the Starling City vigilante," Kaiba said. "You belong here."

"Then I guess it's good I have a part-time vigilante as my best friend and the Justice League as my comrades-at-arms," Oliver argued.

"Thanks for volunteering me," Diggle said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Oliver said grinning unrepentantly. Diggle shook his head, unable to stay annoyed for long.

"I will go as well," Shaadi said. "You may have need of my teleportation ability."

Ishizu sat quietly before speaking. "I will not be going," she said, lowering her eyes. "I can't leave Marik alone."

Kaiba nodded in understanding but Shaadi looked distressed. "Ishizu," he asked softly, "are you certain?"

The Priestess met his strange eyes with a gentle smile. "I am. I will be needed here. I can use my ability to help warn you of any impending dangers through Court sessions as best I can," she said to both Shadi and Kaiba. "If Oliver can see Mokuba's Shadows and you," she looked to Kaiba, "know your brother's Shadows like no other, than you will not need me there with you. However," she added seriously, "Mai will go with you and I believe it would be wise to take J'onn with you as well."

"Is that so?" Kaiba asked. When Ishizu nodded Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Is this something you saw?"

Ishizu paused, considering her words carefully before speaking. "Nothing exactly," she admitted. "Call it intuition."

Kaiba nodded. "I trust your intuition. I'll call Mai after I update the Pharaoh and Yugi."

"She is with Raphael and Amelda at Lake Tahoe," Ishizu said. "She has grown fond of the area. I heard it's lovely there. The group was trying to pool their money together to buy a cabin in the area."

Kaiba glanced at his Priestess suspiciously. "How would you know?"

She just smiled benignly and Kaiba visibly leaned back. "If she thinks she can strong-arm me into going-" he began threateningly.

"She won't have to," Ishizu said sweetly. "She knows your weakness."

Kaiba flinched, crossing his arms and nervously tapping his fingers on his arms. "It had better have wifi," he muttered. Ishizu hummed noncommittally and Kaiba winced running a hand over his face. "I was really hoping she'd forgotten about that."

"It's Mai," Shaadi said sympathetically. "She doesn't forget debts owed."

Oliver snickered. "You really should have paid for your own coffee," he said. Kaiba rolled his eyes and Oliver sobered. "So," the vigilante said, "we wait for Mai. How long should that take?"

"If she's still in Lake Tahoe," Diggle said thoughtfully, "then about nine to ten hours if she drives nonstop starting now."

"I could pick her up if that is what you wish," Shaadi offered to his Regent. "It is not far so it would not tire me overmuch."

"That may be necessary. Go ahead. Have her call me when you arrive; it'll save me a call." Kaiba said. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'll be in my room," he said. He walked off with the device held close to his ear. He paused to whisper something to Roland and Fuguta before stepping into his room and closing the door behind him.

Oliver shook his head. "Well," he said, "this is going to be fun. Who's telling the rest of the League?"

"I will," Wonder Woman said. "Superman and Batman will listen to me. I can field any questions they may have. If I tell them Helios is involved, they won't think much of it."

"Because he is one of your gods," J'onn said.

Diana nodded. "Superman may not be happy with you leaving but he'll deal with it. He's been busy with Metropolis. Batman shouldn't mind too much, though."

J'onn shifted. "If I may," he said to Oliver, "I would like to come with you when you go."

Oliver stood and turned to the Martian curiously. "Why?"

J'onn tilted his head. "I... am curious," he said. "I find the Shadows to be fascinating and I feel partially responsible for allowing the sniper to escape."

Ishizu nodded. "As I said before, it would be wise if you went. Kaiba trusts my judgement. He will take you with him."

"Yugi," Kaiba said into the phone.

"Kaiba!" the young duelist answered. "How did the ground breaking go?"

"It didn't."

"What? Why not? Kaiba," Yugi said, his enthusiasm fading. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"No," the Regent answered sitting slumped on his bed. "No, I'm not alright."

"What's wrong?"

Kaiba did not answer immediately. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his aching shoulder. The Solemn Wishes Spell had helped heal the worst of the wound, but he could only cast the Spell on himself once every so often. It drained his strength to excelerate the healing of the wound and the pain of the process was intense.

"I lost Mokuba," he said simply.

"You lost... Who took him? Is he alright?" Yugi demanded.

Kaiba shook his head before remembering Yugi could not see the action. "I don't know. It was my fault."

"I doubt that," Yami said softly. "What happened?"

Kaiba eased himself back to the mattress and was surprised to feel knees beneath his head and hands in his hair. He looked up and saw Seth leaning over him and running his hands through Kaiba's hair.

"There was a bomb at the party before the event," the Regent said, relaxing in Seth's lap. "It broke the balcony Mokuba was on and... He... I caught him but... I got shot and dropped him. He fell."

"Shot!?" Yugi exclaimed. "Where? Is it serious? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It was just my shoulder." He heaved a sigh. "It's healing. It's Mokuba I'm worried about."

"Who took him?" Yami said, voice dark and furious.

"I don't know if he was taken or what happened exactly," he said. "But I do know vaguely where he went. Helios is with him. He grabbed him when Mokuba fell but couldn't stop the fall."

"At least Mokuba's not alone then," Yugi said. "Where do you think they were taken? Where do you want to meet us?"

Kaiba blinked in surprise. It was still difficult getting used to having friends who willingly went out of their way to help him without expecting anything in return. Seth smiled above him and brushed stray strands from Kaiba's forehead.

"I'm going to call Formal Court," the Regent said. "But I won't be there."

"You...what?" Yugi asked, confusion filling his voice.

"Mokuba was taken to another world," Seth said, after pressing the speaker button on Kaiba's phone. "Another reality. We're going after him."

"Which means you two have to stay," Kaiba finished. "I'll be taking Mai, Shaadi, kohai, and the Manhunter with me. That means my Priestess will be here alone with the Justice League. Hopefully, Raphael and Amelda will stay here with her, but I would prefer it if another Courtier were here with her."

"Marik will probably come anyway," Yami said, thinking through the options. "Which means Bakura and Ryou won't be far behind."

"That would be fine," Kaiba said. "Although it might be best if a Light showed up to keep things at least somewhat under control."

"I'll look into it," Yugi said. "Where should we meet you?"

"I'll text you the hotel and room number and have Ishizu stay here and wait for you." Kaiba closed his eyes and covered his eyes with his free hand. "I'm not sure this will work," he admitted. "That's why I want this to be a Formal Court."

"So you can have the Gods' help," Yami guessed. "We'll do what we can. Text us when you're ready. We'll contact the others so they'll be aware."

"We're going to rest while we can" Seth said. "This may drain us and we want to be ready in case things...do not work out."

"Understood," Yami said. "We're ready to help however we can."

Kaiba grunted and hung up dropping the phone on the bed and covering his face with his hands. Mokuba. He needed Mokuba. Mokuba was his Keeper in more ways than one. His little brother was what kept him grounded and balanced, not only Shadow-wise but sanity-wise as well. Kaiba became single-mindedly driven when Mokuba was involved.

Mokuba was Kaiba's life, his reason for living.

Mokuba was the key to Kaiba's sanity.

Mokuba was Kaiba's weakness.

He had to get him back.

He had to.