Small Note

Sakura: Time to see if Yami can rescue Mokuba's family, plus I have a ending no one will see coming for the Hunters. Thank you everyone for the reviews last chapter and I'm so glad this story has finally reached over a hundred reviews.

Chapter Nineteen

Battle Born

They will never win

When Yami, Yuugi, and Mokuba returned to the palace, Yami put Yuugi in charge of going to get Joey, Seto, and Isis. Yami was not quite ready to inform his other council members of what was going on, but Isis was needed to look over Mokuba. It took no time at all for all of them to meet up in the medical wing. Isis went to work quickly looking over Mokuba for injuries other than the visual ones. While she did that, Mokuba retold his story to Joey and Seto who were just as furious as Yami if not more. Mokuba was safe, but Joey's little sister and the children were still in the hands of Pegasus's men. There was also no way to know if the Kaiba family had been the only target or were more portal holders missing.

"What are we going to do?" Joey questioned Yami from his place beside Mokuba on the hospital bed.

Before Yami could say anything, Seto interrupted, "We are going to save them. I'm not leaving Serenity and their children in the hands on those men." He turned to Yami, "I don't care if vampires can't leave the city we have to do something."

"I understand, but you cannot leave the city. It would only give the hunters more reason to come after us. I want you and Joey to stay with Mokuba. I'll handle this…" Yami informed him, before grabbing Yuugi's hand and pulling him out of the room.

Yuugi followed behind as best he could while being dragged. "Yami, I can walk you know…" He successful pulled his hand out of his husband's hand and kept up with the fast pace his partner continued to walk. "What are you going to do?"

Yami did not say a word until the two had made it to their bed room. He shut the door behind them before he hurried over to their closet. "I'm about to do something really stupid, but I can't sit by and watch a family be held hostage because of something that should only concern vampires." He explained while stripping himself of his shirt and putting on a leather sleeveless top instead.

"And the wardrobe change?" Yuugi asked as Yami changed his blue jeans for leather pants and then put on leather fingerless gloves. He looked like he was ready to go out clubbing or something.

Yami then moved to Yuugi's side of the closet and grabbed the same style of clothes he had just put on. He tossed them to Yuugi, before moving over to his dresser and shifting his soaks around looking for something. "Bakura and Marik made these for me after the attempt on my life. The material is strong enough to withstand a hit from a bullet and cannot be torn easy by a blade. They are working on getting this type of stuff made for all of their officers after all that has happened. It was never thought of being needed before because the city has been peaceful and I do not allow my citizens to carry guns or any other weapon in their homes. It is not mass produce at the moment due to it is hard to make so only few officers have it including myself and you. It's mostly for vampires weak against silver."

Yuugi carefully changed into the clothes while watching Yami pull a case out of the bottom of his sock drawer. He opened the case and pulled out two daggers with their holsters. Yami went back to the closet briefly to grab a belt and loop it through the holster for one of the daggers and then put the belt around his waist. He then grabbed one of Yuugi's belts and did the same with the other dagger, before passing Yuugi the belt after the younger finished lacing up his boots.

"What exactly are you planning?" Yuugi asked as he grabbed Yami's arm to get his attention. "I can tell by the way you are making me dress that you want me to join you."

"I know once I tell you what I'm going to do you will want to go with me. I'll need your help anyway," Yami told him before he looked Yuugi in the eye letting him know he was serious. "We are going to Domino to rescue Serenity and the children."

If Yuugi had not seen the seriousness in Yami's eyes, he would have thought Yami lost his mind. "But we can't leave the city…"

"Do you have your necklace?"

"Yeah," Yuugi pulled it out from under his shirt to show the proof, "Why?"

Yami wrapped an arm around Yuugi's shoulder, while grabbing Yuugi's necklace in his other hand. "Close your eyes and hold on to me." His tone left no room for argument so Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami and closed his eyes. There was a brief moment when nothing happened, but then Yuugi felt this pull and when he reopened his eyes, both he and Yami were in this dark room that looked like a vault.

The King went straight for the handle that was attached to the door and turned it. The large door opened up for him and he checked his surroundings before having Yuugi follow him out. Yuugi walked out not sure where they were until he realized what room he was standing in. There were many of times Yuugi stood in that office years ago to have the memory of it permanent in his memories. He raced for the window and could not believe his eyes.

Downtown Domino was the same as Yuugi remembered it when he lived their years ago. In the years he had been away, nothing had changed about the city and he watched as humans walked the streets going about their lives not knowing that two vampires had just arrived. The younger ruler turned to look at his lover he was almost at a loss for words and could only asked, "How?"

"I think the how is pretty obvious…" Yami stated with a smirk. He walked over to Yuugi's side and looked out the window. "So this is where you grew up… Pretty interesting looking city…"

Yuugi growled and slapped Yami's arms. "Don't you dare change the subject… I understand the travel how, but I want to know how we, two vampires, are here in this city. Vampires are not supposed to be able to leave vampire city."

"Well that is what vampires, such as you, are lead to believe. In truth I'm the link between the outside world and our city. The portals I created do keep vampires inside the city, but what you do not know is that I can change who can go through the portals. If I wanted to I could keep the humans locked in our city and let the vampires come and go as they pleased…" The King looked down at Yuugi as he said, "However I never did let the vampires leave for fear that they would be killed on the spot. Inside my city vampires outnumber the humans, but here in the place you used to call home, well the humans outweigh the vampires and the hunters back then wanted my people dead such as they do now."

Yuugi looked out at the city in front of him and placed his hand over the glass. "If only all humans gave vampires a chance. It would be nice to visit my grandfather's grave or his game shop."

Yami hated the sad look in Yuugi's eyes, but they were on a mission. "I wish that were possible too, but I'm already breaking the number one rule, so we must hurry and save Mokuba's family, before my council realizes we are missing." He reached down and grabbed Yuugi's hand. "Now do you know the way out of here?"

Yuugi looked around the office, "Well the door would be obvious, but I don't want to set off the alarms." He looked back toward Yami, "Do you think you can create a portal that links into the manor?"

"I can if I knew what it looked like. The only reason I bought us here is because a portal had already been linked here. In order to make a new temporary link I would need to know where we are going."

The younger wasted no time in checking Mokuba's desk and found a framed photo of Yuugi with Seto, Joey and Mokuba standing in front of the lake that was in a park about a mile from the Kaiba mansion. They all looked so much younger since it had been taken before Yuugi went off to college and Yuugi would have loved to remember those days, but he stopped himself and passed the picture over to Yami. "This lake is the best we got for now. It is about a mile from the manor or at least I hope it still is."

Yami studied the picture carefully, before he wrapped an arm back around Yuugi. This time Yuugi did not need to be told again as he closed his eyes and held onto Yami as he felt the same pull from earlier.

Light drifted to the front lawn from inside the Kaiba Mansion, but the only sign of life however came from the guards standing post at the front door. Yuugi and Yami crouched down on the lower branches of a large tree that was but a few feet away from the tall brick walls that surrounded the estate. Thankfully the two guards were too busy talking to each other that they did not notice the vampires when they jumped the wall and hide in the tree.

Yuugi could only hope that Mokuba had kept the place the same as when he had last been there. "Now when it had just been Mokuba and Seto the only people who lived in the house had been their chef, butler, and two maids, but that was before Joey moved in. Once Joey moved in he took over the cooking so Seto let the chef go. I'm not sure if Mokuba still has his maids, but compared to his story the butler was still working for them or he got a new one."

"However judging by Mokuba's story the butler had been shot so we do not know if he is alive or not," Yami reminded him as he looked to see if they could get in through a window.

Yuugi really hated dead bodies, so he hoped that maybe the butler was still alive. "Well for now let us pretend he is alive and just hurt at the moment. I'm pretty sure if there are any maids they probably went home for the day, so if it's not guarded we may be able to get in through the service entrance." He hopped out of the tree on the other side so he wouldn't be seen and waited for Yami to join him, before he carefully showed his partner the way while staying in the shadows.

There were no problems as they made their way to the back of the house and the service entrance was not lit up so they were able to stay in the dark as Yuugi typed in the code on the door. The light on the handle lit up green, so Yuugi carefully opened the door and checked the room they entered but no one was around. "When I lived in Domino Joey showed me all the tricks to getting into the manor if I wanted to drop in and they were not home. I did come here a few times back in high school when my grandfather would go on some trips since I hated to be alone, but normally Joey was around to let me in. This is the first time I've ever used this code so I'm surprised I remembered it."

The room they were in was dark, but through vampire eyes they could see everything from the table in the middle of the room to the door on the other side. It was a simple break room for the maids to eat and take their breaks when tired. The two by passed everything and Yami opened the door on the other side keeping Yuugi back. The first thing the King saw was the empty kitchen, but with how quiet the house was he could hear voices drifted to them from somewhere else in the house.

"Do you know if there are cameras in the house?" The King asked his partner not wanting to step into the kitchen and their cover being blown.

Yuugi shrugged his shoulders. "I know there are not any in the bedrooms and bathrooms for privacy, but the rest of the house I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure Mokuba wouldn't have taken those out to protect his family."

"Well we can't be seen yet, so I want you to concentrate on the light switch as if you are trying to turn it off. The shadows should to the rest…" Yami urged him, so Yuugi did not question him and did what he said.

At first it seemed silly staring at the light switch picturing himself turning it off, but then out of nowhere the lights went off. Yami opened the door more and the two stepped out. It was so dark in the room that if Yuugi did not have his vampire sight he would have certainly ran into something.

"Which door leads where?" Yami asked given there was a choice between two doors.

Yuugi pointed to the door to their right, "That leads to the hallway and the other leads to the dining room." He was then dragged to the door he had pointed at as Yami opened it slightly to see out. The view he had was of the front door where he saw no one, but he saw the light on and a shadow move in the room across from the dining room.

"Alright stay close and don't let anyone surprise you. We need to make this quick so that no one else can get hurt." Yami said as he turned to Yuugi and gave him a quick kiss. "Be careful okay?"

Yuugi nodded and smiled up at Yami. "You be careful also…"

No more words were said between the two as they carefully made their way over to the doorway to what Yuugi knew was the living room. Yami checked behind them at the stairwell and could see that no one was hiding behind them or across the hall in the dining room. He peaked in the living room and saw four rather muscle guys in suits with sunglasses along with one other guy who was smaller and was talking on a cell phone. Serenity and her children were sitting on the couch. Her oldest child was holding the new born, while Serenity was holding a cloth to the butler's shoulder who was sitting on the floor in front of her. He looked to be in pain, but he was alive.

"They don't have any weapons out, but still be careful. Let's make quick work of this…" Yami whispered to Yuugi, before he took a deep breath. It was risky, but they needed to do this quickly.

Yuugi knew if his heart had still been beating it would be racing at the moment. The last fight he had been in he had been hurt and he did not want to go through that pain again. He only hoped these men did not have weapons that could hurt vampires. He took a quick breath, before he watched as Yami raced inside shocking everyone in the room and quickly making work of the guy closest to him. The guy was down and out before anyone could do anything.

"Get him!" The smaller male in the room shouted as he hung up his phone. By his command the other three guards went after Yami. Two tried to grab at the King, but Yami was much smaller and a lot faster. The third was going to go up behind Yami, but Yuugi made his presences known as he jumped on the guy's back and put him in a headlock. He used his own weight against him and forced him to the ground, then gave him a swift kick in the head knocking him out.

By the time Yuugi looked back up, Yami had already knocked out both the guards. The only one left standing was the smaller guard who was taller than them, but he appeared not as stupid as he had his gun drawn.

"D-Do n-not c-c-come any c-closer…" He shuddered not at all confident as the gun in his hands shook.

Yami smirked at him as Yuugi quickly went over to Serenity to make sure her and the children were alright. "I don't plan on coming any closer, but I do have a message for your boss. The next time he wants to come after my friends he'll have to get through me. This fight is between me and him, so if he wants to settle this once and for all he knows how to contact me." He kept his eye on the guy as he back up toward Yuugi and the others. While keeping watch he opened a portal allowing Yuugi to help Serenity, the children, and the butler through it, before he walked through it himself and then closed it behind him.

When Yami looked back up, he found Serenity and the children were over by Mokuba's side. All of them in tears, but happy to be together again. Seto and Joey were in shock that they seemed to appear out of nowhere, but Yami could tell they were relieved that Serenity and the children were safe. The butler was already being checked over my Isis, who gave a stern look to her King letting him know they would talk about this later.

Yami simply nodded his head and walked over to Yuugi's side. He wrapped his arms around Yuugi who looked up at him. "Do you really think they will contact you?" The younger asked.

"I'm sure they will and if not we may have to go on a few more rescue missions to make sure your other friends are safe." Yami told him and he would continue to leave the city and save those who were not involved with the hunters if he had to. This was his fight and no one else deserved to be hurt. There was a plan already forming in his head if the ones behind all this contacted him. It was time to end all this mess once and for all.

The next day around noon Yami was headed toward the throne room with a very worried Yuugi beside him. He kept trying to grab Yami's arm and stop him from moving. "Yami, please stop and rethink this…" Yuugi begged. "We have no idea what they will have planned and you could be putting everyone at risk."

Yami paused and turned to Yuugi with his arms crossed. "This has to end Yuugi and I can't let them continue what they are doing. My citizens are already at risk with the hunters here and even though we have Mokuba and his family, the leaders have the other portal holders. I have thought this through Yuugi and I will be fine."

Yuugi sighed as he knew he wouldn't be able to change Yami's mind. He had been trying all night since Yami received that phone call. A meeting was going to take place in the throne room between the ones responsible and Yami, plus his council. Yami was going to open up a portal long enough for the leaders plus their hostages to come in before he would close it until everything was sorted out. Yuugi's gut was telling him something bad was going to happen or something would go wrong and his lover would get hurt. Yami knew who the ones responsible were after the phone call, but Yuugi couldn't understand why Yami couldn't just go after them. By bringing them into the city it could mean trouble for everyone.

Yami reached out and placed his hands on either side of Yuugi's face. "Honey, I have a plan and no one is going to get hurt. This is going to end today and then we can have our lives back to normal." He did not give Yuugi a chance to say anything else as he kissed him. They stayed like that for a good minute, before Yami let him go. He wrapped an arm around Yuugi's shoulders and continued their walk to the throne room.

By the time they arrived the council was already there standing on one side of the throne room while Yami's three most trusted guards stood on the other side. Even the spouses of the council were in the room along with the oldest of Yuugi and Yami's children and Mokuba. Serenity was watching her little ones along with Chan and Kotaro until all this was over with.

Yami went straight for the throne and took his place upon it with Yuugi taking a seat on the arm of the chair. Yuugi looked out over the huge room and that was when he noticed guards hidden in the shadows. A human probably would have missed it if they walked straight through the door, but from where Yuugi was sitting he could see all. The younger ruler looked down at his husband who only looked up at him with a wink.

The King then turned to his council. "Seto any word?"

Seto stepped up and nodded. "Yes, we received word just before you arrived. The portal may be opened when you are ready…"

"Well then I guess its show time," Yami said as he stretched his left arm out. Before everyone's eyes a portal reappeared out of thin air. Everyone waited in silence before slowly but surely a large group of people started to make their way through the portal and into the throne room.

It was no surprise to Yami that Mr. Wong, Pegasus, and Dartz were at the head of the group. He had a feeling they were behind everything and this only confirmed it. Behind them their goons had the other portal holders bind with rope, along with Ishizu's husband Shadi and her brother Rishid. Judging by appearance it appeared the men put up a fight, but Ishizu, Amane, and Rebecca looked to be unharmed.

"You bastards let my sister go!" Malik yelled, but was quickly held back by Marik and Ryou so he wouldn't do something stupid.

"Malik calm down…" Yami ordered him as he looked at the struggling vampire who did calm down when Yami spoke. The King then turned to look at their visitors, "I believe it's time we finish this once and for all don't you think?"

The question however went unanswered as Yami snapped his fingers and the situation changed dramatically. The hostages were set free as the hidden guards came out of nowhere and took down all the hunters in one go. Each and every one of them was tied down with rope while the three leaders were put in shackles so there was no way they could get away.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dartz shouted as he tried to break out of his shackles.

Yami chuckled, "Did you really think I bought you here to strike up a deal? After all the pain you have caused this city, it was time to end this and the perfect way was to lure you three out of hiding."

"You can't do this!" Mr. Wong shouted, "We do not belong to your city therefore you cannot punish us for doing what was right."

"The killing of innocent people was far from the right thing to do. Your loved ones were killed in a war that may have been started by vampires, both those responsible have been punished long ago. We were at a time of peace until you ruined it for your senseless revenge." Yami glared at each one of them causing them to flinch back. "You are in my city now which means you are under my laws now. However until I can think of a proper punishment you will be held down in the dungeons."

The King waved his hand for his guards to take them away. As they did the three leaders kept shouting at the King to let them go and that he would one day pay for his crimes. Yami simply rolled his eyes and lean back in his chair.

"Do you really think it will be over now?" Yuugi asked as he watched friends reunite with each other. Malik wouldn't let go of Ishizu as he cried about how much he missed her. Ryou and Amane were pretty much the same way minus the crying.

"I don't know Yuugi we still have the remaining hunters in this city to deal with. Even though we have their leaders it will take time to capture the rest." Yami looked up at Yuugi with a smile. "This has to be done if this was ever going to end, but at least now I know the main threat is gone."

Yuugi smiled back at him and hugged him. "I wish it didn't have to end like this, but at least we now know who we can trust with the portals."

Yami couldn't agree more as Yuugi released him from his hug and the King stood up. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before he began to speak. "I'm sorry that some of you had been stripped away from your families. I would have tried to prevent it if I knew it was going to happen. When you are ready I will send you back home where you belong, but let me also thank you for being loyal to this city. If any of you wish to stop being a protector to the portals I will understand."

All the portal holders seemed to look at each other, before Ishizu spoke up, "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we made this choice and even though those three abused their power, we would like to continue our jobs as guardians."

Yami liked the sound of that and some part of him knew he could trust the remaining portal holders. He turned to his council and summoned Isis. "Please check over our guest and make sure they get the best care."

Isis nodded to her King, before she led the rather large group of portal holders and their families out of the room. Once they were gone Yami turned to his remaining council, "This was a choice that I had to personal make in order to put a stop to all this madness. I do not regret my decision and later today we will discuss how to process from here and deal with the remaining hunters."

As Yami predicted the council had no objections to what had happen, since he had filled them in on the plan all along. Everyone was ready for this ordeal to be over with and Yami ended it with no more bloodshed. The group disbanded with a bow to their King before they left the room. Since the two Kings were in no danger, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos left with them, leaving Yuugi and Yami by themselves.

"So what punishment will you give them?" Yuugi asked causing Yami to turn to look at him.

Yami shrugged, "I thought about letting them rot in the dungeons for the rest of their lives. However I'll throw some ideas around with my council. We will probably have to keep them alive until all the hunters are captured. I want my city to be safe before I reopen the portals."

Yuugi stood and embraced Yami while leaning up to give him a kiss. "You're a great King and maybe one day we will be able to leave this city. It would be nice to show you around my hometown without worry about getting in trouble."

"I look forward to that day. It may take time, but I think we have a bright future ahead of us," Yami said with a smirk before he pulled his husband up for another kiss.

A lot of damage control would be taking place to get the city running like it should again with no fears or worries. As long as the city held it together and vampires and humans continued to get along, the future would look bright for everyone. Vampire City is and always will be a place for humans and vampires to live together in peace.

Sakura: Normally I can type a chapter out in a day or two, but this one took forever to type. I made it a little bit longer also since next chapter is the last chapter. I'm sorry there wasn't a big fight at the end, but I could see Yami wanting to end it peacefully with no more bloodshed.

Yumi: Review!