A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this! I honestly meant to update this last month but my Warmth fic has literally taken over my life. I took a couple days' break to work on this chapter for y'all. I promise to pick this back up. I'm not done after all. There's Book 3 still to come. Gotta deal with Mr. Bakura, after all.

That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter summary: In which some answers are time-locked and Kaiba has a weakness for technology, Mokuba, and certain blue-eyed someones.

53: Sleep Deficit

The stranger in Yugi's body narrowed his eyes and said in the same fierce voice Yusei remembered hearing during his duel with Paradox, "I said, explain!"

Yusei hesitated, unsure whether to look away from Yugi or follow Yugi's gaze to where Motou and the Pharaoh still stood. Thankfully, he didn't have to make that decision because, not a moment later, Pegasus returned. The tent flapped open to reveal a very satisfied Industrial Illusions CEO.

"Well," Pegasus said, his voice an unexpected balm to the tense situation. "That was most revealing. Who recorded this?"

Yusei heard a sigh from behind him followed by a morose, "Mai," in Motou's voice.

"Kujaku Mai?" Pegasus asked, mildly surprised. "Our friendly, neighborhood harpy duelist?"

"Is that her name here?" Motou asked curiously, stepping past Yusei to face Pegasus directly. "We call her Mai Valentine."

Yusei blinked and, this time, did turn to stare at Motou incredulously. He caught both Judai and Yugi giving the King similar looks. Pegasus, however, was much less elegant in his response. The obnoxious CEO snorted, quickly covering his mouth with a hand to hide his impolite laughter.

"That's certainly an…unusual name, shall we say," Pegasus said.

Motou smiled, not at all embarrassed. "She's aware," he chirped happily. "She's heard all the jokes and even makes some herself. Although," he added with a wince, "I think it would be a good idea not to make one of those jokes in her vicinity."

"Oh?" Pegasus asked easily.

"She'll destroy you," Motou answered with a playful smile. "She answers to Kaiba, er… My Kaiba, that is. She's his Sorceress."

"His… Mai is a-?" Yugi gasped, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"She is indeed," the Pharaoh replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a proud smile. "Very powerful one, too. Although," he added with a snicker, "I think her title came from the fact she has the ability to bully Kaiba."

"Well, to be fair, the Priestess can do that too," the King said, glancing at the Pharaoh who chuckled.

"Yes," the Pharaoh agreed. "She most certainly can. I think Mai and the Priestess are the big sisters the Regent never had. They essentially walk all over him."

"Only because he lets them," Motou said.

"That's what Kaiba claims, anyway," the Pharaoh said, shrugging. "We'll let him go on believing that."

Both the King and the Pharaoh smiled. Then Motou giggled and the Pharaoh's eyes grew huge, staring at his near identical partner in awe and adoration. The expression seemed almost worshipful to Yusei. Although he still didn't fully understand this whole situation, for some reason, when the Pharaoh aimed that look at Motou, it felt…right.

Even the expression on the face of the Nameless Pharaoh hidden within Yugi courtesy of the gleaming reverse pyramid dangling from Yugi's neck eased to something more gentle at the display. Yusei shook his head, trying to clear it of whatever influence seemed to be infiltrating his mind. What was this? Mind control?

Suddenly, the King's face filled Yusei's vision and the Turbo Duelist stiffened, his eyes widening. Something deep within him was struggling to reach out to the young King, craving something that smelled like…home. Yusei blinked, stunned by the realization.

"You can touch me?" the King asked Yusei in honest surprise, a bright smile filling his face.

"Wha?" Jounouchi gasped, turning his wide eyes to Yusei. "Seriously? Wit'out any practice? Sheesh!" he muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets in a blatant sulk. "Not fair, man."

Motou chuckled fondly at his friend's reaction but his gentle, violet eyes never left Yusei's. "You said you're from the future," he said to the Turbo Duelist.

Yusei nodded, swallowing nervous, still trying to make sense of the odd emotions and sensations he was experiencing. "Oh, uh, yes," he replied aloud.

The King hummed thoughtfully. "About how far, would you say?" he asked curiously.

"U…" Yusei paused to calculate a rough estimate, biting his lip thoughtfully as he did so. "About a hundred years or so, give or take," he said finally.

Both Judai and this world's Yugi gasped. "One hundred years?" Judai repeated, dumbstruck.

"Time travel, hmm?" Pegasus murmured, smiling in interest.

The King, however, just smiled wider. "Neat! Where do you live right now? Or," he corrected himself, "in the future. Where do you live in the future?"

"New Domino City," Yusei answered, sincerely confused by the young King's words. "W-why do you want to know?" he asked. "It doesn't really matter."

But Motou merely grinned and tossed a pleading look to the Pharaoh. Confused, Yusie followed the King's gaze only to see the Pharaoh blink, then smile and give his partner a tolerant shrug. "If you wish," he said. "We'll need to, anyway." Wine red eyes glanced at Judai who tensed despite the smile the Pharaoh tossed his way. Or perhaps he tensed because of the smile. "You said you study at Kaiba's Duelist Academy, yes?" the Pharaoh asked.

"I did, yeah," Judai hedged.

"Are you there still?" the Pharaoh pressed. "Or were you there before you arrived here?"

"Why are you asking that?" Judai demanded, thoroughly disconcerted.

"Just answer the question, dear boy," Pegasus said, dropping a hand on Judai's shoulder. "I think you'll find there's a reason for it."

"I…I don't understand," this world's Yugi murmured, uncertain of what to make of all this.

Judai hesitated a moment longer before sighing. "No. I was in Venice, Italy," he said reluctantly. "I never actually graduated from the Academy. It… It wasn't for me."

The Pharaoh nodded sagely. "I'm not surprised," he said. "You seem more suited to learning on your own rather than in a controlled setting. I know several people like you," he said, glancing significantly at Jounouchi.

The blonde duelist glowered. "I c'n feel ya judgin' me from all the way ova here, ya know," Jounouchi muttered.

"Not judging," the Pharaoh corrected. "Just teasing."

Jounouchi sulked.

"And how far in the future are you from, Judai?" the King asked the youngest duelist.

"You guys are freaking weird," Judai grumbled. "I'm from about ten years in the future."

"Is anyone going to explain what is going on?" this world's Yugi demanded in growing exasperation.

"Nothing," the King said in a sing-song tone that both the Pharaoh and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle of this world recognized as a prelude to mischief. "Just planning a vacation or two," he finished.

Jounouchi blinked and sighed loudly. "I'm so sick 'n tired of this godforsaken nonsense," he groaned.

For some reason, both the King and the Pharaoh chuckled. "In that case, we'll be going," the Pharaoh said easily.

"What?"

The cry rang from all of the duelists of this world with the sole exception of Pegasus. The Industrial Illusions CEO merely huffed. "Going so soon?" he drawled. "But we only just started to get to know each other."

"All the more reason for us to leave," the Pharaoh said. "We don't belong here. We did what we came here to do. We'll come back when we're needed, but otherwise," he and the King turned their gazes to this world's Yugi, "it would be best if we left. If time truly doesn't flow at the same rate in this world as it does ours, then there's no telling how our presence here could affect things."

The King nodded, his eyes sympathetic. "I'm sorry we can't stay to explain right now," he said. "We will some day, but it would be best if we waited a little longer. Just until things reached a certain…point in the future."

Yusei blinked. Clearly, he was missing something important. But judging from the identical expressions of confusion and frustration on both Judai's and this world's Yugi's faces, Yusei wasn't alone. He glanced at Jounouchi who looked just as confused before his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Holy shit!" Jounouchi cried. "That's right! Yug' hasn'-"

"Jounouchi!" Motou said, stopping the blonde duelist from continuing. "Pegasus," he turned to the creator of Duel Monsters. His gaze was dark and not entirely friendly despite the smile on his face. "Take care," he said simply.

Jounouchi snorted and gripped the young King's shoulder, giving the group a friendly thumbs up. "See ya on th' other side," he chirped.

Without another word, the Pharaoh vanished and both Jounouchi and the King vanished in a whirl of Shadows. It wasn't anywhere near as dramatic as Kaiba's departure, but it was just as impressive and disturbing. It also left an ache in Yusei's heart. It felt like his home had just left him, again. The sensation left him reeling.

"What…the hell?" Judai said. "What the hell?" he said again, louder. "As if this day couldn't get any weirder. You!" he said, whirling on Pegasus who had begun chuckling. "Explain!"

"Yes," the Yugi of this world agreed. "I think we all deserve an explanation."

Yusei nodded, unable to form proper words at the moment.

Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters and clearly the one person left in the tent who had some inkling of what just occurred, hummed and rubbed his chin in consideration. Then he shrugged.

"No."

"What?" Yugi gasped.

"Why the heck not?" Judai demanded.

"Yeah," Yusei agreed, finally finding his voice. "We were nearly killed back there. We deserve to have at least some sort of-"

"Deserve?" Pegasus interrupted, lifting a perfectly plucked eyebrow mildly. "Some things just don't get explained, dear boy. Just except that as a fact of life. You'll sleep better at night. But, then again, I think you'll get your explanations sooner than you think. Well," he amended, "you and Judai will. You, little Yugi-boy, will have to wait a bit longer, I think. But then," he smirked, "all good things come to those who wait. Isn't that how the saying goes?"

Tossing his hair over his shoulder, Pegasus turned on his heel and strolled out of the tent without a care in the world.

Or he wouldn't have had a care in the world, if he didn't see Kaiba Seto kneeling by the crumbled remains of what looked like a motorcycle. Although, if it was a motorcycle, or had been, it certainly wasn't like any motorcycle Pegasus had ever seen before. It really shouldn't be much of a surprise to see Kaiba obsessing over a new piece of technology, especially technology that was not from this time or place. Heaving a very heavy sigh, Pegasus tucked a hand in his pocket and walked over to the Regent.

"And what are you doing, Kaiba-boy?" he called, alerting the Regent to his presence. "I thought you'd already left." He smiled, the vicious glare Kaiba sent his way bouncing off him like water off a duck's back. "You might want to leave quickly if you don't want to find yourself on the butt-end of an interrogation," he added.

As if on cue, a trio of voices rang out from behind him. Whatever the annoyed Regent had been about to say withered away before he had a chance to say it. Pegasus turned to watch little Yugi-boy, Yusei, and Judai come running out of the tent towards them.

"You know," Pegasus said, waving his free hand, "if you don't do something, they'll catch up. If you want to make a quick getaway with your new toy," he eyed the crumbled bike remains by Kaiba's feet, "then I suggest you do something."

Kaiba grimaced but said nothing. For a moment, a fleeting moment, the Regent looked utterly exhausted. It was gone before Pegasus could fully process the realization. Before Pegasus could comment on the unusual show of vulnerability, Kaiba tsked and got to his feet.

"Honestly, do I have to do all your work for you?" the Regent grumbled.

He held up his hand, palm out towards the approaching duelists, and said something in a language Pegasus didn't recognize. The result, however, was something Pegasus knew very well. A few feet from Kaiba's hand, giant swords blazed down from the heavens and slammed, blade-first into the ground stopping Yugi, Yusei, and Judai in their tracks. The swords kept falling until they formed a complete circle around the duelists, trapping them inside.

"Goodness," Pegasus said, studying the newly erected Swords of Revealing Light Spell in wonder. "Most impressive. Any more tricks up your sleeve, Kaiba-boy?" he teased, turning to the Regent.

He expected a sharp retort. What he got, however, was anything but. As it was, Kaiba barely managed to shoot a glare in Pegasus' direction which was definitely cause for concern.

"Are you quite alright?" Pegasus asked, frowning in concern.

"Shut up Pegasus," Kaiba muttered.

Sakes alive, did Kaiba Seto just stagger?

"Kaiba, what- Hm?" A dull thudding from the Swords of Revealing Light barrier distracted him from his lecture. Pegasus turned his gaze to the duelists trapped on the other side of the barrier. "Can they hear us, do you think?" he asked. He tapped the barrier, snickering at the frankly quite offended glare he received from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

"No, they can't," Kaiba replied, kneeling by the destroyed vehicle again. "And we can't hear them."

"In that case," Pegasus focused his one-eyed gaze on the Regent and said in a blunt tone, "you look like death."

Kaiba flinched, narrowing his eyes. "Like you care," he growled.

"Don't confuse me with your Pegasus. We may have the same face, but we're not the same person," Pegasus said sharply.

"You share the same soul," Kaiba hissed, "and you still hurt Mokuba in this world. That's enough reason for me to hate you."

Pegasus sighed dramatically. "Well, be that as it may, that still doesn't change the fact that you look like death and your little Yugi-boy King and his pet Pharaoh have returned to your world. So why are you still here? Don't tell me you stayed for this broken pile of scrap metal."

"This 'broken pile of scrap metal' as you so elegantly call it," the Regent said, pushing himself up to his feet once more, "managed to not only travel through time, space, and realities in one piece, but it could also be used to support a duel."

Of course. "So predictable," Pegasus said with a sigh. He glanced back at the trapped duelists with a bored gaze. "I'm guessing this Spell of yours won't last more than three minutes, give or take. Correct?"

"What do you think, idiot?" Kaiba groused.

"A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have worked perfectly, you know," Pegasus said, rolling his eye. "Anyway, if that is the case, then I suggest you leave while you can. It's already been over two minutes since you cast it."

When he received no response, Pegasus looked back at Kaiba. There was definitely something wrong with the boy. Pegasus watched warily as Kaiba leaned against the crumpled, white metal and closed his eyes, muttering something in the same language he'd used earlier to cast Swords of Revealing Light. This time, Pegasus something in the Shadow Realm shift when Kaiba vanished.

Something about Kaiba's manner still bothered Pegasus, however. The Millennium Eye may have been taken from him, but Pegasus' connection to the Shadow Realm was still strong. The power Pegasus now understood to be the Balance was weaker than it should be. I bothered him. He would have to keep a sharper eye on the dynamics of the Shadow Realm than usual.

The glow from the Regent's Spell faded not ten seconds later, preventing Pegasus from dwelling on his darker thoughts. Right now, he had a convention to run and three, very upset duelists to deal with. His work was never done.

"Nii-sama!"

Kaiba forced his eyes open and looked up. As long as he was able, he would always respond to those words in that voice. He couldn't not. It was too ingrained in who he was.

He saw a mop of messy black hair fill his vision moments before he found his arms full of Mokuba. Small arms clamped around his larger body like a vice, binding him in place. Kaiba had no complaints, returning the gesture with as much strength as he could muster.

"You came back," Mokuba said, shaking in Kaiba's embrace. "I knew you'd come back."

He rested his head in his brother's shoulder and focused on opening his eyes after every blink. The sheer effort it took to do something so basic was humiliating. It shouldn't be this difficult to stay awake, but it was. He felt completely drained. Seth stirred in the back of his mind, tugging his consciousness down into the depths of his soul room. He needed to sleep.

No, he thought fiercely. Not yet.

"Are you alright, Mokie?" Kaiba asked, focusing all of his energy and concentration on listening for his little brother's answer.

"Yeah," Mokuba said, burying his face in his big brother's shirt. "I'm okay. We're all okay. Yugi, Yami, Jounouchi, Helios, Arawn, Pwyll, everybody. We're all okay."

Thank Obelisk.

Kaiba sighed in relief and closed his eyes to blinked. When he opened his eyes once more, he was in his soul room. The futon beneath him was comfortable and enticing. All he had to do was close his eyes here and he could finally rest and rejuvenate his thoroughly drained soul. But what about-

"Be still, my Ka," a voice whispered above him.

It took him a second or two to look up at the speaker through the corner of his eyes. "Seth?" he breathed.

"I'm here," Seth said, tucking a strand of dark brown hair behind the Regent's ear. "Rest. All is well now."

But what about-

Seth slipped onto the futon next to his Ka and pressed himself close to Kaiba's soul projection. Kaiba struggled to keep his eyes open. There was so much he still had to do. He couldn't afford to sleep now. He was too vulnerable. Too-

"Sleep."

That voice…

"My precious boys."

It couldn't be… He wished… He could dream is was her. If he could just open his eyes again. When did he close his eyes?

Cool lips pressed against his ear softly, tenderly.

"I'll be here when you wake."

He didn't want to sleep. He wanted to…see…

"Kisara," he murmured.

"Sleep Seto."

He would always listen to her.