To the Victor Go the Spoils

And, here is Part II of Chapter Four…continuing right where it left off!

Plot: Seto is obsessed with beating the King of Games, no matter what the cost. However, he doesn't stop to think just what that cost might be.

Timeline: A few months to a year after the end of the series. Yugi and Yami are fully separated following the Ceremonial Duel, which Yugi wins, but Yami chooses to stay and remain separate, rather than continue to the afterlife. I'm calling him Yami instead of Atem…just for my own preference.

Rating: T for dark themes: insanity, violence, language.

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, Yami would've worn a tutu at least once. ^_~

Italics indicate thoughts or emphasis.

Mokuba yawned as he got ready for bed. It had been a long day, though Yami's game had cheered him up considerably. It was much more complex than the original Capsule Monsters game, he'd discovered, which made it all the more fun to learn. And Seto would like it, too…it's not just a kids' game, he thought, I'll have to tell him about it tomorrow; he's sure to want to try it. And…he paused. Maybe it'll get his mind off of beating Yami for a while.

Speaking of Seto, where was he? Mokuba hadn't heard him go to bed. He peeked out his door. The door to Seto's room, just across the hall, lay ajar, which meant his brother was not there. Odd, he thought, It's after midnight. Curious as to what could be keeping his brother up late on a Friday night, he crept out of his room and made his way downstairs.

As he entered the hallway that led to Seto's office, he heard a strange sound. Creeping to a shadowed area near the door, he listened.

His brother was laughing. Laughing! That in and of itself was an incredibly strange phenomenon; his brother never laughed. But it sounded…wrong. It was high-pitched and almost hysterical, like a crazy person in a bad movie.

Finally, it stopped. Mokuba strained to listen, but the doors were made of thick wood and blocked out most of the sound within. Suddenly, he heard movement, and thinking his brother was going to come out, he ran softly down the hallway and ducked into an empty room that was sometimes used as a party room. He crouched by the door, looking towards his brother's office, and waited.

Nothing happened for a good few minutes. Then, just as Mokuba was starting to nod off, the doors opened. Seto stepped out, but instead of heading towards the staircase, he turned and went to a door in the opposite hall. Opening it, he went down a flight of stairs and disappeared from view.

Mokuba was perplexed. What could Seto want in the basement? he thought. His secret computer lab is still down there, but he hasn't used it in years…he hasn't needed to; his office's computer is so powerful, and no one's trying to kill him anymore. When his brother didn't immediately emerge, his curiosity got the better of him. Softly, expecting his brother to emerge any minute and yell at him for sneaking out of bed, he snuck to the door that led to the lower levels.

All quiet. He crept slowly down the stairs, taking care to tread softly so as not to cause any creaking. Nothing seemed to be happening on the first level…what could possibly be on the lowest level of the basement that was so important? There were old closets that stored things for their stepfather, when he lived, some of which had high security locks. But that was all. He turned, creeping down the next staircase…and stopped.

There were lights on in the hallway down there. And muffled sounds. He crept down further, slowly, stopping halfway down. Seto wasn't in the hallway, but a door about halfway down stood open. Mokuba frowned at the small monitor and keypad lock on the wall, puzzled.

Then a cry startled him, making him nearly lose his balance. He was too far away to see what was going on in there, but he had a feeling that it wasn't good. A thump, another cry. Muffled voices. He recognized his brother's, but couldn't make out words. The walls must be pretty thick down here, he supposed.

He ached to know what was going on. He inched down another step. More thumping. More voices, louder this time. Seto was demanding something. Then…

"YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE SHIT," his brother thundered. Mokuba had to cover his mouth with his hand to stifle the gasp of shock that would have given him away. Since when did his brother speak like that? And gods, to whom? "DO YOU THINK I'M PLAYING GAMES HERE? DO YOU?!" A heart-wrenching scream pierced the darkness.

Oh gods, no, Mokuba thought, comprehension dawning. He felt sick with horror. Oh no, oh gods…he's torturing someone. Oh gods, Big Brother, why?

He wanted to run and hide. He wanted to run into that room and shake his brother and demand to know what was going on. He wanted to vomit; the screams had gotten worse. But he stayed where he was. He had to know…he had to know who was in that room with Seto.

"ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION," his older brother screamed. "WHAT'S HIS WEAKNESS? HOW DO YOU BEAT THAT FUCKING BASTARD?"

And Mokuba heard a very familiar voice scream in reply. "HE'S THE KING OF GAMES. YOU'LL NEVER BEAT HIIM, KAIBA. NEVER! NEVER!"

Seto roared in frustration and rage and there was a sickening thud. Mokuba had heard enough. Hyperventilating, half crying, he turned and fled, running up the stairs as fast as he could. Terror blinded him; he could barely see where he was going, and he imagined that his brother was on his tail, chasing him, wanting to throw him into that little room for sneaking up on him…

He flew into his room and shut the door. Shaking, shivering violently in horror, he locked the door and slid down to the floor, gasping for breath and listening, listening…

It was quiet. He hadn't been discovered. Mokuba began to cry, terrified sobs that shook his entire body.

Yugi. Yugi was down there, Yugi was being held prisoner and Seto…oh gods, Seto was hurting him, torturing him, trying to find out how to beat his other half.

And he'd left him there. With Seto. He felt sick. His brother was insane. He HAD to be insane. He'd become so obsessed with beating Yami that he'd lost his mind.

Yami. Oh gods in heaven, Yami didn't know. Yugi was trapped in his basement and no one knew but him. And Seto. Oh gods.

He had to do something. Now. Where was his cell phone? He crawled over to his bed, standing shakily, frantically searching his pockets for his phone. There! He yanked it out of his jeans' pocket, flipping it open and dialing the Game Shop with trembling hands.

It rang once. Come on, Yami, pick up, Mokuba thought desperately. It rang again. You've gotta pick up, you've just GOT to pick up!

A third ring. Then a click. "H…hello?"

"Yami, i-it's Mokuba, i-is that you?" It was hard keeping his voice steady. He had to stop crying. Come on, Mokuba, calm down, he told himself.

"…Yes, it's me. What do you want?" He didn't sound happy. Mokuba's breath caught in his throat and he let out a choked sob before he could stop himself. "Mokuba?" His voice changed; he sounded concerned. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"S-seto. Oh gods, h-he…" Mokuba drew in a shuddering breath. "Y-yami, he, he's got Yugi, d-down in the b-basement and, and he's hurting him, I'm so sorry I g-got so s-scared, I couldn't d-do anything, he--."

Yami cut him off. "Mokuba, calm down. Please." Calm down?! Calm DOWN? Didn't he—"Start at the beginning. Keep breathing, okay? It's going to be all right."

Mokuba took a deep breath. He reached up to his night table, grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. Then he told Yami everything, from when he saw Seto leave his office up until he'd fled to his room. "I…I'm so sorry, Yami, I should've done something, but he…Yami, you should've heard him, I've never heard him speak that way…he's lost his mind, he's insane…" he trailed off, hoping Yami would forgive him.

Yami sighed. "Mokuba, from what you've just described, I think your brother would have hurt you had you tried to help Yugi. It…" his voice broke a bit. "It's probably better that you didn't. Anyway…I already know that he's holding Yugi prisoner."

Mokuba was shocked. "You…you do?"

"Yes. Kaiba…well, he told me himself."

"WHAT? He did? But…" He wants information from Yugi…why would he tell Yami when Yugi hasn't done what he asked?

"He wants me to come to your place tomorrow at 4. He hasn't told me what he wants, just that we'd 'discuss' it and that 'maybe' he'd release Yugi. Depending on what I said." Yami sounded sad and angry.

"He w-wants to b-beat you," Mokuba stammered. "He…he's obsessed with it. But…but Yugi wasn't telling him anything…maybe he expects Yugi to…to b-break down before you get there?" He wouldn't think about what his brother might do to someone who refused to give him what he wanted. He couldn't.

Yami was quiet on the other end. "Dear Ra," he finally whispered. "Why does he always get hurt on my account?"

Mokuba wasn't quite sure what he'd heard. "Y-Yami?"

Yami's breath caught. "I…thank you, Mokuba…thank you for telling me about this." He paused. "Is there…any way for you to help Yugi? Any way at all?"

Mokuba swallowed. "The door only opens with a passcode. The only person who knows those codes is Seto…I can try to sneak onto his computer and see if they're there…"

"Please…only if you know you won't get caught. If you can…try to care for him? Until I get there?" He'd never heard Yami sound so upset or unsure; it was heartbreaking.

"I'll do my best. I promise."

"Thank you." He paused. "Mokuba, can you do something else for me?"

He felt so bad for the former spirit. "Anything."

"Stay out of the house tomorrow. I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't want you to get hurt, too."

"Okay…" He wasn't going to argue. He wanted to be as far away from his brother as possible. "Yami? Um…be careful, okay? Seto's…dangerous."

"I will do whatever it takes to get my hikari back safe and sound, Mokuba. If that involves putting myself in harm's way, so be it. He has suffered too much already." The old determination was back, along with the anger. "Good night."

"…Night." Mokuba got up and placed his phone on his nightstand. Once he heard his brother go to bed, he'd sneak into his office and search for the code for the keypad. He couldn't leave Yugi down there without doing his best to help.

He sat on his bed and waited. He just hoped Yugi would be okay.

Note: The underground computer is in Season One, when Seto helps Yami win against the very, very strange "evil ghost/version" of himself. To quote the illustrious Abridged Series, "I'm the goddamn Kaibaman." ^_~

(I'm putting in anything I reference that's in the manga or show just for an FYI; apologies if you're all like, "Um DUH KATYA, WE KNOW.")

Next chapter…the confrontation! DUN DUN DUNNNNN.

Reviews are much appreciated. I'm having a lot of fun writing this, but it's really different than what I normally write…so comments on how I'm doing are really helpful. :)