Disclaimers: I do not own any of the rights to the characters of Yugioh. Hell, I don't even own the computer I'm using, the desk it sets on, or... Damn I am poor as hell and happy as a yaoi girl could be...

They say absence makes the heart grow; are you feeling it. Thanks for the attention and I hope it's worth the wait. Set back and enjoy a latte on me . . . . . . Apologies to those who hate Peg Haha. He's all over himself…

What started out as a trip to the Egyptian art exhibition turned into a nightmare for Kaiba, Joey, and Mokuba? An earthquake nearly took two lives and shattered dreams for the trio, yet they survived and two new characters became entangled in the spiders' web; Maxi and Ryou. Just when Joey's and Kaiba's life appeared to be on track another disaster disrupted their lives and they are again struggling at hells gate. Join them has they face yet another road block in living.

Recap: "I know Joey means something to you, you've loved him for a long time. Is that how you want to end it?"Ryou screamed and ran to the glass wall. He started to beat on the wall until his hands started to bleed. The blood splattered and Mokuba back away, even though it was bullet proof.

"Please Mokuba don't let him die!"

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Chapter 28: Reality

Ryou backed away from the glass wall but not before he caught a glimpse of the person hiding in the darkness. It was only a shadow more like a feeling but it confirmed to his frighten mind someone was there. Were these really friends of his most beloved mate and if that was true he had to find a way out of this prison and run faster that the hounds of hell at his heels. These people in Domino were insane. The temperate started to rise and once again Ryou focused his complete attention on Joey, at least he'd stop shivering and his breathe though shallow showed signs of improvement. The devoted nurse hid that fact from the face behind the mirror and continued to panic in hopes of gaining sympathy; with tender care Ryou studied the other's facial features.

'Mmm . . . . Rapid eye movement, slight smile but tension on his lower lip, and extended veins on his neck. He's in distress, somewhere in Kaiba land,' he thought. Whenever Joey's heart ached with thoughts of Kaiba he'd fall into this blackness and deny himself comfort. Sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night streaming Kaiba's name. It was a place lovers reserved to heal wounds and reaffirm their love for one another. Ryou brushed a stray hair from Joey's eyelash that had fallen out of place; next he leaned closer to his face and kissed his lips.

"Can you hear me, luv. I'm going to get you out of here and please Kaiba protect this angel while he sleeps. What the hell am I suppose to do?" Reluctantly Ryou left Joey's side and walked around the room. Nothing but darkness, steel beams, and a full length two way glass mirror.

"Damn it NOTHING," he stole another glance at his buddy.

He didn't know much about holograms and dueling but he understood mind games from his past crazed lovers. It couldn't have been much different dealing with rich sick bastards as opposed to some of the trash he'd met before his imaginative love affair with Joey. Ryou moved his sensitive hands along the wall unaware the glass started to shake ever so slightly if he'd stayed a minute longer, he would have shit his pants. Their situation was about to go to hell and Ryou didn't even have a bucket to piss in.

Joey started to fret; his nightmare became intense and carried him away deep inside his mind. Ryou held the artist down he felt a convulsion coming on . . . .

"MOKUBA GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE! YOU LITTLE SEX SLUT. All you rich sons of bitches think you can control people's lives, but you treat us like shit," tears gathered in Ryou's eyes. The convulsions stopped; his body relaxed and he grabbed Ryou's shirt sleeve.

"Joey . . . please," his hand relaxed and fell to the side; Joey returned to his dreams, he wanted to flip open his story book that contain fantasies about Kaiba instead he wondered into hell.

'I've been here before but the light felt softer on his eyes and the clouds were lighter under my feet. It was a place of pure peace; this makes my skin crawl,' he thought.

Now solid earth lay beneath his feet and darkness surround him; a small light peaked from underneath a door at the end of the road which stood suspended in mid air. Drawn to the light with the hope his grandmother would be on the other side, Joey moved forward. Although he tried with all his might the door wouldn't open.

"Grandma I don't know what to do . . . ." he started to tremble.

"Well if this is hell, I'm not going down without a fight." Joey grabs the door knob again and pulled with all his might. The door denigrated leaving a brass door knob in his hand and he walked on air into a room without walls. The air was thick with electric energy that traveled right down to his soul. He clutches his heart as pain gripped the delicate muscle and brought the artist to his knees.

"Ah . . . . . Seto help me," Joey cried out. "I can't breathe."

"Sorry can't do that . . . why it would be breaking the rules and that wouldn't be fair, Goldie-locks." The voice chimed out the words. It had a familiar and deadly ring which only made Joey more hesitating. Lights started to flash lifting the darkness.

"Where is this and why am I here?"

"Why you should know that answer and it appears you've brought us all here to determine your faith, how generous of you, Goldie –locks."

"Don't call me that . . . I recognize your voice and I'd never ask you for help ever again."

"Ah ha . . . . That's so mean," he pouted. "Kaiba-boy, he's not very nice, didn't you feed him puppy treats."

"Noooo. . . . !" Joey screamed he had to be in hell. I just gotta wake up. His mind knew this but his body wouldn't response. The air grew chilly. He was sharing a nightmare with Pegasus and living a nightmare with Mokuba driving a knife through his heart. How in God's name could he give up his lover to satisfy a younger brother whom he loved like his own?

"Now let the games of faith begin," The toon master hollow out.

The darkness was lifted and Joey stood under a spot light. To his right near the top of a beamed ceiling a chair hovered. Pegasus was seated in the chair like a god He wore his lilac floor length hair to one side. It elegantly displaced the beauty of his flawless skin and hazel eye. He wore a bright red double breasted suit with gold buttons in prefect rows down his chest. He crossed his legs arrogantly and held wooden gravel in his left hand. To the right of this freak Mokuba set in a smaller chair; he appeared to be very restless and anxious. Mokuba's passion lit up the room; he was in love with love.

"Joey you belong with me," Mokuba called out. "I promise to make you so happy."

"Now . . . now Kaiba-kitten, no cheating," Pegasus purred. "No talking to the prize."

"Sick bastard," Joey rose from the cold floor and turned to the left he felt the tension coming from the other side of the room. Invisible strings pulled him forward, captivating his heart like a web he long to have this man weave around his body. Joey locked eyes with the man he called his master, his lover, his soul mate, his protector . . . .

"Kaiba," the words barely a whisper floated on the stale wind. Kaiba leaned over the chair; he refused tocooperate and smirked at Max. Boredom his tactical pretense, yet inside his heart flutter like the wings of a hummingbird, not knowing he rules he wanted to break something big; like Pegasus's neck for starters. It was a mistake to let him live months ago.

"And now we have Kaiba-boy, such a nasty boy I don't think he wants to play. I wonder does that mean he won't fight for you 'sweet cakes'. You see 'lover-boy' we all make choices, but it appears you can't decide on your own who to share your miserable live with. So in you're mind you've created this shadow game but as we all know the shadows are real. Look over there!"

Max pointed to a cage suspended from the ceiling in a darken corner of the room. Inside the cage Joey saw his double in chains, unconscious, lying on a bottomless floor. "Somebody's not doing so well in the real world," he laughed.

Kaiba snapped and walked away from the platform but the moment he stepped down into thin air the Joey in the cage doubled over and screamed in pain.

"AH . . .Haha . . . . Kaiba-boy didn't I tell you this is real. If you leave the shadow you kill the puppy. No one walks away until his faith is settled." Max winked.

"I swear you're so dead . . . evil scum bag from hell. Is this the best you can do?"

"I'm just the messenger . . . . Can't keep your lover at home, it's not good to let pets wonder around without a collar; he's so cute, Kaiba-boy."

"He's not his lover," Mokuba screamed out. "Joey I've always been there for you remember."

"Yes, Joey remembers," Max pointed to a revolving scene behind Mokuba's head it looked like a slide show of their lives but these events never happen.

"Behold a snap-shot of what might be if you choose a life with Mokuba or likewise with Kaiba. So let's begin. First I choose life with MOKUBA!"

Mokuba and Joey were setting in matching chairs at a private beach drinking chilled glasses of lemonade each in thoughts hidden from each other. Joey was exhausted, they'd just completed another art show displaying his older works which ended in success and his status as a famous artist continue to dominate the artistic world. Number one was a lousy place without someone to love. It pained him greatly to see Kaiba at the show seated in one of the Kaiba brother's private booths with some random blond-boy, he worship the handsome CEO with puppy eyes. Joey wanted to cry. Rumors were just starting to die down about the torrid affair Kaiba had with Ryou. It ended over a year ago and Kaiba was a free bachelor spreading his honey all over the continent. The breakup was still fresh in Joey's mind and it haunted him every time he closed his eyes, misery lived in his heart. You see Ryou and Kaiba were sleeping together and sharing love letters or at least that what Joey believe and Mokuba his best friend confirmed the affair to be true. The evidence was rock solid and the gossip columns drove all the nails in. Months later and unable to take the reticule Ryou left Domino in shame. Mokuba snatched the role of nurse and became Joey's comfort zone. He shared everything but his bed. Max was in jail for child molestation, he'd gone wild after Kaiba refused his final offer. Mokuba smiled at his prize, unaware he drained the life out of the other every day.

"See Joey we can be so happy," Mokuba shot his brother a smirk. Kaiba eyes stayed focus on the other in the cage, he started to cry. Only his eyes could see the mirror that shadow Ryou downward spiral into hell. He was all alone and Joey promised to always care for him.

"Don't give up baby," Kaiba spoke hoping his feeling reached his lover. It shamed his name to realize Mokuba only saw his own victory.

"So sweet Mokuba appears to have a happy future and everybody wins. Oh in case anyone wants to know I get out of jail in three years . . . good behavior. So watch out Kaiba-boy."

"Argggggggggggg . . . ." Kaiba cringed. 'Joey wouldn't last in this hell to much longer.'

"Next, let's see I personally like this one. Life without the Kaiba boys!" Max howled and pointed to a screen above his head.

Downtown in the business district two limo's pulled up in front of high-rise buildings, no super sized buildings one much taller than the other was being outfitted with a new sign on the fifth floor which housed a penthouse on the one-hundred floor. The sign trimmed in gold read MK, Mokuba Kaiba.Mokuba left his beloved brother and turned to Max would help him rise to the top and take his inheritance with him.

Kaiba grieving over his lost love lost interest in living and making money. Instead drinking pacified his physical urges; dulling his mind. Within a year KC Corp. was merely a shadow in the wake of MK Corp. He really didn't give a shit. As Kaiba left his old limo and entered his business he took the stairs because his private elevator needed repair. Sakura waited upstairs for her boss with his customary cup of coffee, she would never leave him. There wasn't much to do so he added a bit of rum to the coffee and thought about Joey. Joey had moved to the states with Ryou at his side. He worked at an advertising studio doing editing which was boring as hell. Ryou worked part time at a local art gallery doing restoration work; at least they paid the bills. Within a year Joey's medical bills and bouts of depression drove Ryou to the streets and he started whoring.

"Seto there has to be another way, I'd rather die than hurt my friends," he moved toward his lover and the shock waves rock the double in the cage his leg vibrated in mid air.

"Don't move baby," Kaiba hissed and remain stationary in his chair.

"Oh you're not listening and look what happened . . . . Guess who takes Ryou off the streets, although we don't have the clips," Max howled.

"MEEEEEEEEEEE."

He loved the shock on Kaiba's face and the horror on the blond puppy. Mokuba goaded like a stuff teddy bear. He'd won; surely Joey would see the light. It was obvious who the better man would be in the future.

"I won, Joey is mine," he shouted, completely ignorant to the events surrounding the shadows of Joey mind. The artist was cracking and at this rate there would be nothing for Mokuba to love.

"Ah puppy needs a treat . . . . . And now I show you life with Kaiba-boy."

"Please I've seen enough just let me go." Joey pleaded for his sanity and a chance to make the right choices. He left the spot light and staggered to the invisible door screaming as his other self withered in increasing pain. Kaiba felt the shock and the same waves coursed through his body after all they were soul mates. He forced his legs to move while he struggled to get to his puppy and lifted him up but the pain drove them both to the ground.

"You've got to wake up and get out of the shadows before you go mad," those were the last words Joey heard as he gave in to the darkness of his troubled soul. The scent of roses covered the room; Seto knew Kisara was near she would guide him out. Joey disappeared into thin air along with the obscenities of the game. The room returned to the darkness and Joey felt a small hand touch his cheek.

"You've suffered enough, let's go home."

Mean while on the other side of town . . . .

Kaiba left the geek squad and ordered his driver to take him home. In the back of his estate isolated in a grove of large Sakura trees he unearths a huge chain and inters an underground carven. The steps led him almost fifty feet underground into a large state of the art computer room. Not just any computer but Sakura's in her prime. He used his eye scan and opened the system. Sakura's voice spoke with the air of authority equal to Kaiba's.

"Geez it's about time, you got off your sorry ass and took control."

"Excuse me, but I'm the boss," Kaiba answered. "I have a job for you."
"What, I'm not one of your employees, Mister."

"Damn it Sakura, I need your help," Kaiba stared at the blank screen. "Light up my world as only you can"

"Now that's my man," she blinks him a big nude picture of Joey in the raw for inspiration. Kaiba when commando. His eyes popped and the blood rushed to his head giving him energy.

"Lay it on me and don't hold back," Kaiba hissed his mind alert.

"Mokuba is running amuck . . . . Your newly broken house pet is out there in trouble, and Max is trying to take over your company with Mokuba I never trusted that slim ball. Can I go do a little hacking in his main frame? I've made a few friends with his dead beat terminals and I'm good to go, just say the word and I'll crash that son of a bitch."

"I need my brother; can you find Mokuba I think he's holding Joey hostage."

"Are you sick; what the hell did you design me for. I'm really pissed," she sparked.

"Enough already just find them . . . ."

"I'm already on it; just give me a few . . . . . there!"

"Ha . . ."

"You know that old meat factory outside of town. He's got some of my babies wired up and one of them is having trouble about to blow."

"Damn it, can you control it from here," Kaiba ask.

"Don't insult my intellect . . . . Now move those tight buns and go play the hero. I've got some terminals to repair. Hey can I bring that white ass freak to his knee, fry his ass."

"Later . . . ." Kaiba hit the road at fifty miles per hour and didn't let up until he reached ninety. Within the hour he found the factory and moved like a spy as he passed Mokuba's bike hidden in the bushes.

"Damn it. . . . . why Mokie . . . . Why must I choose?"

Wow: I pushed the dead line on this so don't kill the beta. But I hope you enjoy. Hell I had a blast writing it for you . . . . If you're down here I praise you for reading this chapter and thanks for a review if you like it.

Remember you write the story:

Joey/Kaiba/Ryou

Kaiba/Ryou is it true

Mokuba/Joey

Kaiba/Peg

Peg in jail, Kaiba kicks his ass again, but punches out the other eye gives it to Mokuba as a present

Kaiba sends Mokuba away to student to work

Love you