Author's Notes: First of all, thanks all for sticking with me to the final story of my rewrite! Two things - even-numbered chapters (up to the end) will focus on Kaiba & Co attempting to rescue everyone because as fun as splitting these two stories would be...there's not enough for me to work in a side adventure so they will be sharing the spotlight. Also, these will be almost complete rewrites of the Noah Arc and the Millennium World Arc because I can and I enjoy looking up stuff about computers and virtual reality while also looking up stuff about Ancient Egypt. I'm weird like that.
Anyway, thank you again, and enjoy the rest of the story!
When they said (they said)/Repent(repent)/Repent(repent!)/I wonder what they meant
- The Future, Leonard Cohen
They manage to get out of the plane as something like a dust storm briefly kicks up, and the group is momentarily blinded before the whole thing clears. Kaiba blinks as he sees the griffin sitting on a pile of discarded technology and weapons, its tail waving as if in invitation as its wings lay folded on his back, the eagle head and beak looking at them as they walk out. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, though, and Kaiba frowned as he looked around the ruins of Alcatraz, trying to figure out where the group would have gone and what secrets had been buried even before he demolished the place. The idea that his actions indirectly or directly lead to Mokuba and Katsuye being attacked, to the security guards being endangered…
And if you had to choose between that horrible orphanage or Gozaburo again, you know you'd pick the Kaiba name every time. No matter what else happens, you always pick that devil and his evils.
Kaiba steeled himself from such thoughts - his focus had to be Mokuba and Katsuye. He trusted Hinagata and Rin and the others to fix things at KaibaCorp, and he knew that, whatever the oddness with the Shadows, Yami and Yugi would deal with it as needed. He had to let go of the hold Gozaburo had over his company, and he had to allow it to grow on it's own. After what happened with the Big Five, and the work they had to do to keep the company upright during all the changes and the tournament that officially marked the turn from selling weapons to selling games and theme parks, Kaiba has to trust them to do their jobs.
"Here," Varon said, getting the group to look over as he checked something on the ground, "I got 'em now."
"Who are they?" Mai asked as Varon stood, shifting a bit, as if upset by the question and their pause that was taking up valuable time.
"We can ask that when we catch up to them," Kaiba said, getting Varon to relax for only a moment before he continued, "I would like to know how former colleagues of yours found my island, and what they meant by 'true' KaibaCorp."
Shizuka looked worried for Varon but also seemed to steel herself before the group continued, picking up the pace eas things start to get dark with more and more of the remains of the weapons and shops starting to come into play. The long shadows and darker areas gave the group they were following more places to hide, and it played on Kaiba's nerves, already frayed from the time spent Dueling and the dark Shadows that Marik had called during the final game.
A sudden, jarring scream that sounded far too familiar made the group run faster, reaching the end of the odd, half-hidden path before Varon let out a gasp. Kaiba paused as he looked over at the two, one of them looking at Kaiba with a cold disdain, his hair short and red, with dark eyes that seemed laser-locked on Kaiba. Next to him was a serious looking man with blond hair that was spiked up, curving around as a stylized sideburns that ended in points on his cheeks, but the man standing in front of them, a smirk on his face as he sees Kaiba, his grip tightening on Katsuye's throat as she struggled against his arm around her throat, was the one who drew Kaiba's attention quickly. The man had a hard face, his hair cut so it was long on the top and buzzed underneath, and he wore an odd necklace, like white circuits, that stood out against his dark shirt. A brief glance at the other two showed a similar black shirt and white necklace that appeared to be like a circuit of some sort, but the other two are also wearing dark coats that billow behind them, covering most of the rocks and area they are sitting on and hiding whatever they, too, are holding.
"Is this the guy you gave me up for, Katsuye?" the other man asked, his eyes cold and emotionless and his smirk now more of a leer as he leaned in to speak to her. "I doubt he could satisfy you the way I would've, if you'd just stayed by my side."
Kaiba glared as the red-haired one moved enough to show his hold on the unconscious Mokuba, Kaiba's hate and attention divided as he heard Varon start to speak behind him.
"Alistair, Raphael, what are you two doing?"
The one holding Katsuye glanced briefly at Varon, not looking away as he said, "Oh? He an old friend of yours too?"
"Not all of us are connected to the half-breed bitch you like so much," the red-haired man said with some disdain as he looked over Varon and said, "and we're doing what we're supposed to do. We're not about to turn traitor for some tawny-eyed savage and the first blond-haired bimbo we see."
"Say that to my face," Mai growled out, Kaiba watching as Katsuye stilled, glancing over between him and the half-hidden Shizuka as Hirutani let out a laugh.
"Oh, this is too perfect. Boss will really enjoy this."
"Enough, both of you," the blond man said, his voice deep and enough to make everyone freeze, as he stood, showing himself to be taller than Kaiba by a few inches. The movement allows Kaiba to see Mokuba is being held by the blond man, his body limp as the red-haired man held up a thin pad, the screen coming on to show the KaibaCorp board room, or what looked like the board room, and five familiar figures seated. Kaiba frowned as he watched and glanced over at the group, a look from Katsuye and to the projections as he spoke. "You five should know when to stay dead."
"As cheerful as ever, Kaiba-kun," Kogoro says, his disdain finally shining through as he looked at Kaiba, "I wonder how long that attitude of yours will last."
Katsuye moved at that point, throwing her head backwards and hitting Hirutani hard enough to cause him to stagger, his hold on her loosening enough that she managed to duck out of it and turn, moving to try and get away or even get to Mokuba.
"That's not how this works," a new voice, this one almost childish but carrying an undertone that Kaiba didn't like, spoke up from the pad that the red-haired man had started to drop. "You're doing this all wrong."
Kaiba didn't stop to argue, the two groups going for each other, when the ground suddenly opened up beneath them and they were falling.
Kogoro flinched as he saw the screen go black, looking back over to chair with it's back to them, the room once more changing from KaibaCorp offices to the digitized realm they'd first entered after being put into the machine. They had done what they could to stop Kaiba Seto when he'd first reawoke from that coma and especially after the events concerning Pegasus. Now, they had more bodies, someone who knew the Shadows and who'd been saved from them by the true Kaiba heir, not to mention disgruntled ex-soldiers from Paradis who wanted to take revenge on their friend. They hadn't imagined that they'd get the added bonus of Kaiba Seto's new girlfriend and his brother.
What they hadn't expected was the sudden disappearance of them into the facility, prompting the other four to look uneasily at him before he finally asked, "Is this wise, Kaiba-sama? To bring them into this place so soon?"
The chair slowly turned, the occupant looking at them all with annoyance as linked his fingers together. Kogoro felt himself sweating again, like he had years before when he'd only just started at KaibaCorp. It made him feel foolish, and he tried his best to recover as the others subtly shifted in their own chairs, some of them more nervous than the others.
"I made this choice because we know that we can separate the group and deal with Seto while the others are occupied by the ones you scavenged out of hiding. I have big plans for those three."
Kogoro frowned as Soichiro muttered, "Three? But there are only two of those adopted brats."
"You were saying something? Or do you think I miscalculated something?"
"N-no, sir. I…that is…"
"You said 'three'," Kogoro told him, wondering if throwing Soichiro to the wolf like this was fair, but finding himself unable to really care. It was his own fault for opening his mouth. "We were under the impression you only wanted to deal with the one who usurped your rightful place as head of KaibaCorp. We're not sure who the final person you're talking about is, and want to make sure we act according to any plan you have."
The heir slowly looked at them all, his eyes glinting with a strange, green color as it settled on Soichiro and then flicked to Kogoro. It was unnerving, waiting to see what the man would say, and it only served to show the difference between the heir and Seto, as well as how badly things had gotten if Seto was the one in control, not the actual heir.
"My plans are my own, and who they involve is no concern to you. Your job is deal with the one trying to undo Hinagata's work, and to direct those three that we do have so they do their job and get rid of the others. After that, we can make our comeback and start things the way they're supposed to be."
"Of course," Kogoro said, nodding with the rest before Nesbitt stuttered out his apology. There was a quiet moment, more a pregnant pause than a peaceful, quiet moment, before the heir said, "Get going. I expect them to be dealt with in a timely manner."
The group nodded as they got up, heading out with Kogoro going last before he shut the door. It wasn't until they were further away from the conference room that Konosuke spoke up, growling out to Soichiro, "Idiot, think before you speak!"
"I didn't...I was just…"
"Enough, Konosuke," Kogoro said, getting their attention, "we have enough to do without this petty arguing. We've been given an assignment and we will finish it. He's right, we have no reason to question him, and we're not going to question him. We have this chance to regain KaibaCorp and our old power. We have our orders. I'm not going to go against him just because he has his own agenda we don't know about."
The group finally nodded, turning back to head to the various doors that lead them to the respective lands they ruled over in this odd world, and Kogoro paused at his, wondering. Would his end of the deal be held up, and they would return in better bodies? Kogoro relished and hoped for the day of walking back out in a better body, a younger body that would allow him even more years to hone his skills and gain more power. He had all that time to get whatever he wanted, and he would get all of it from the heir, and their return to KaibaCorp and the arms industry will only lead him to greater power and money.
"You had your chance, Seto-kun. It's time for you to see the true path this company is always meant to be, and what it will always be."
"Oni-san!" Ren's voice brought him back with a gasp, his head pounding as he tried to focus. What had happened? What was that ringing in his ears?
Ren's voice was too quiet, and his eyes focused enough that he found himself shaking as he let her go, the younger woman falling to the floor as he did, the blank and dark area in his memory making him shake in fear. What had he done? What made him do this?
So father sent you here for me? This should be fun. All the others didn't realize anything…but you already figured it out, didn't you?
"what…what did…" Hinagata's voice felt hoarse, as if he'd been screaming or something, and he was shaking, as if vibrating in place, as Ren slowly started to get up, the blood running down her face as bruises formed along the side as well. He knows he did that. Something happened, and he started all this, and she tried to stop him and…and…
"Oni-san, it's ok."
Do as I say!
"What did they do to me? What did Gozaburo plan?"
