What a stupid bastard.

He'd warned him to get out, but upstairs Blain had gone nonetheless. Carter was disappointed, but not surprised, he knew all about Blain's frequent "vendettas". Whenever he had someone in his crosshairs, he wouldn't stop for anything until he'd taken that person out. But now it had probably gotten him killed.

And it was a shame. Not only would he miss Blain, they'd been partners and casual friends for twelve years, but this also meant there would be no way he could keep up his weekly visits. Ever since he and Blain had been appointed as Higuchi's "snatchers", the two had been dividing each group that they'd brought in between them. Now that one of those bitches had ratted out Blain, Higuchi would up the security, and probably suspect Carter himself, making his chances at having fun with any of the boys quite slim from now on.

He knew there wasn't a chance of Blain getting out of there alive, not with his destination being on the same floor as Higuchi, but he really hoped Blain managed to kill whichever of the three that had squealed first. Some justice had to come out of the situation.

He left the lounge, moving across the front hall towards the front door of the mansion. He reasoned he might as well wait in the van while the situation played out. At least there he might be spared hearing any gunshots.

The gravel crunched loudly underneath his boots as he made his way across the front driveway, with the thought that he might even be relieved of his job entirely entering his mind. Would Higuchi trust him at all now, enough to give him a replacement partner and continue working away? Or would he be stuck back at guard duty again, like he'd spent four years doing before his promotion? And he'd really been enjoying messing about with this latest group, too. Fucking snitches.

Reaching the van, he unlocked it and climbed wearily into the driver's seat. He reached under the seat and pulled out his gun. Given the circumstances, he reckoned he might be better off keeping it on him for a while.

A sudden rumble made him start slightly, and he looked out the window at the distant front entrance to the mansion's grounds. The gates had opened, which they only did automatically for vehicles Higuchi owned. Sure enough, he recognized the van driving quite quickly up towards the mansion. However, he knew something was not right.

The van was one of many that Higuchi's other lackeys used to get around, but this one belonged to the pair that were supposed to be down at the warehouse, keeping watch on Seto Kaiba. Under no circumstances would they abandon their post without sending word ahead, and it wasn't like they wouldn't have had time, it was several hours drive at least.

The van flew past Carter's own, and ground to a halt in front of the mansion's double doors. He'd seen the driver, and as brief as the glance had been, he'd recognized him. Security really was a big problem in Higuchi's whole business, it seemed, for Seto Kaiba was now parked in front of Higuchi's house, looking quite murderous.

Carter drew his handgun out of his pocket, keeping a close watch on the van's door. Maybe he'd be able to stay in Higuchi's good books after all.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A myriad of thoughts were flying through Kaiba's mind. Up until now, he'd had only one single thing on his mind, saving Mokuba. But now, here he sat, in the driver's seat of the stolen van, stopped on the road beside the gates to the mansion. He was certain this was the place, it was the only piece of civilization marked on the map for some distance around, and the only building he'd seen in the last thirty minutes. He was here.

Looking at the impressive four story house, perched at the end of a long lane beyond the gates, surrounded by vibrant gardens, he felt quite uneasy. This was where'd the others had been brought, he was sure of that. But while he had been unable to stop himself imagining what disgusting and vile things they might have done to his brother on the way here, seeing the place in person seemed to make it all go beyond imagination, it seemed real.

He felt his blood slowly beginning to boil, as he glared up at the magnificently maintained mansion. It was a mockery of what they'd done, what these people stood for. They were depraved, cruel creatures, and they ought to live in reflection of that, living in wilderness and filth like the beasts they were. Instead they resided in a grand, opulent manor, as though they were civilised gentlemen. He could nearly feel the house glowering back down at him, ridiculing the situation it's occupants had placed him and his brother in.

He tried to shake away the feeling of the house's scorn, and remember why he was here. This was not the time to get distracted by how unfair the circumstances were. He'd not rested a second before now since his escape, and he couldn't afford to hesitate now. Mokuba was counting on him.

And not just Mokuba, he realised, but everyone. He'd gotten lucky, and had been presented an opportunity to escape, but he doubted any of the others had been given such a chance. They were relying on him. Up until now he hadn't really given much thought to the others, he had been entirely focused on his little brother, but the ominous sight of the manor seemed to throw the entire gravity of the situation upon him. All of them were victims, it didn't matter if he had a dislike for several of them, they still deserved better than this.

They'd all been abducted, imprisoned and abused, and he needed to get them out of this place, all of them. He would never again have a clear conscience until each of them had been freed, and this organization destroyed utterly. He would not let these people ruin their or anyone else's lives, no matter the cost to himself.

With a renewed determination, he started the van up once more, and drove towards the closed gates. His heart was pumping wildly, and he could nearly hear a ringing in his ears, from sheer anticipation. Were the gates locked? If so, were they sufficiently strong as to resist any ramming long enough to alert everyone inside?

The gates answered his question for him as he reached them; they opened automatically for him. There was no time to waste, and he drove quickly down the lane, reaching the house within seconds. He screeched to a halt in front of the entrance, and turned the key in the ignition, ceasing the engine's rumbling.

How was he going to do this? Despite his resolve, and the angry blood rushing through his veins, he knew he couldn't just run in there, firing the gun everywhere. He couldn't waste this chance, this only chance, he had to get them out of there now, without messing up.

He supposed he could attempt to sneak in, and get them out without more than a few noticing. The mansion looked big enough to be able to slip through undetected. Though he didn't know where they were in there, he'd have to look everywhere. He'd not given it enough thought on his way here, he'd been blinded by sheer determination, but now that he was here, he realised this was not going to turn out well. He was one person, with one gun, and no idea what the inside of this place looked like, trying to get eight people out undetected. It would never work.

Regardless, he had to try.

He seized the gun on the seat beside him, and threw open the door. He winced as he got out of the van; his side was still painful, though it had stopped bleeding some time ago. Clutching the gun tightly in his hand, he slowly made his way towards the door. He wished they did not have gravel, he couldn't hear anything over the crunching beneath his feet and the blood pounding in his ears.

The front doors both had small windows, which he gazed through briefly. There seemed to be no one inside the sizable entrance hall. This was a good sign, as long as he could get inside the house without anyone knowing, he might be able to dodge in and out of rooms and up stairs, and avoid anyone inside. He reached down and turned the handle, his silent prayers that the doors were unlocked answered, as the right door swung outwards swiftly. He stepped cautiously inside, feeling sweat beginning to drip down his face. So far so go-

"That's far enough, Kaiba"

His heart nearly stopped, as he felt a cold gun barrel pushed into the back of his head.

"Drop the gun, now"

Having no other choice, he let it fall from his fingers, watching it hit the ground with a heavy thud. How could he have not noticed this man sneaking up behind him, on gravel of all things? He had been so focused on the house in front of him, he hadn't been paying enough attention to noises around him.

"You probably don't remember me, you were a bit busy passing out, but we met before, about a month ago? Little get together in a kitchen? Fun evening, I'm sure you can recall that one"

The mocking tone the man behind him had could not have been more insulting, and infuriating. If it wasn't for the gun at his head, he would have gladly smashed this thug's face in. He was one of the people who had abducted them, it seemed. This person, along with whoever had ordered all this in the first place, were the ones at the top of Kaiba's personal hit list. He didn't just want to get the others out of here; he wanted revenge for what these bastards had done to them. They deserved only the worst punishment, and he would give it to them, regardless of what it would do to his soul. He needed to do it for Mokuba, to avenge what they'd put him through.

"I'm curious, how exactly in fuck's name did you get here? Hmm? I don't think they let you go off with their van somehow"

Kaiba said nothing. He'd already screwed up, and barely a foot through the front door. So much for the great head of Kaiba Corp.

"Well? We're not going anywhere until you tell me how you got out of there. Then we might find you a room upstairs, with your buddies"

His buddies? Then the group were upstairs. He had assumed they'd been somewhere they could be easily kept from escaping, and the best options for that were either a basement, or the top floor. At least now he could rule out a basement, though it appeared his search had been ended prematurely already, so it didn't seem to matter.

He could feel all the pulsing anger and resolve fading away, replaced by a numb sense of disbelief, and a pathetic feeling of worthlessness. He'd had one chance to help the others, and he'd blown it completely, straight away. What kind of a brother was he? What kind of a friend, or a rescuer, rival, whatever he was supposed to be to the others here?

"I'm gonna ask you one more time and then I'm gonna beat an answer out of you. How did you get out of there?"

"I broke the guard's neck, and knocked out the other one. I stole the gun and the van, and followed the map here"

Kaiba's voice was hollow, devoid of any emotion. What was the point of resisting, at this point? He'd lost; he might as well give up, and just hope he'd be allowed to see Mokuba here. He could try to comfort him, at least.

"Huh? You're quite a dangerous one, Kaiba, I think we underestimated you. In any case, you rightly fucked up now, so let's head upstairs without any-"

A sudden bang from above them silenced the man. Though it was muffled, both of them could recognize what it was immediately, a gunshot. It had come from the top floor, judging from the distance, but why would they need to fire a gun? His heart began to pound once again, surely they wouldn't have done anything to the others? They couldn't have-

"Oh don't worry about that, it's just my partner's brains getting sprayed everywhere. Shame, that, but he couldn't help himself"

Couldn't help himself? What did that mean? Did the people in charge just execute one of their own? That thought didn't help his state of mind, confirming these people would use deadly force on individuals who crossed them. Though if that person had been the man's partner, then surely he was also one of the people who had abducted them a month ago? He didn't feel much sympathy for him in that case, that was one person off his hit list.

"He liked to mess about with some of the groups, same as me. He's been screwing the Arab kid in your group every time he's been here. One of your friends ratted on him, so he's just gotten himself killed by the boss"

Arab kid? That was Malik, and it confirmed his worst fears, these bastards had been abusing them sexually. Mokuba...

"Anyway, let's go, move forward"

The gun was removed from his head, but he still felt his trained on his back. Still feeling numb from his failure, and the knowledge that the others had faced the worst kind of abuse, he stepped forward. They moved through the doorway, and across the entrance hallway, towards the huge staircase on the opposite side.

Suddenly, what the man had said registered fully in Kaiba's mind.

"The same as you?"

"What?"

"Mess about with some of the group, the same as you?"

"Ah yeah, of course I was at them too, you think I was going to pass up all those boys over the years? Fuck no. Though I gotta say something about your group"

Something about the others, this man...

"Your little brother was the best fuck I've had in years. That's a compliment, now. Mokuba, right? Ha, he was something else, that's for sure, though I'm thinking I'll gag him if I get a next time, he screeches like a baby every time"

Kaiba stopped walking.

This man...standing just behind him, had done it. He'd taken away Mokuba's innocence, scarred him forever. Sweet, beautiful Mokuba, the single best person Kaiba had, and would ever, know. This scumbag, standing there casually, had raped his brother. Raped him.

The numbness was disappearing, he felt it draining out of him, replaced by an unimaginable anger. This last month had pushed him already, pushed him behind his breaking point, but this...this was it. Such rage as he had never felt before was quickly filling his entire being. This bastard had touched Mokuba, had pinned him down, and defiled him.

"What the fuck are you doing, I said go!"

He'd failed his brother. He was supposed to protect him, keep him safe. Instead his brother was somewhere upstairs, awaiting the next visit from this filth, resigned to a life of abuse. He had failed to protect him, but he felt a new resolve entering him. He had failed to protect Mokuba from this, but he would be damned if he'd let his brother, his wonderful, caring brother, be subjected to another second of this disgusting torture.

"What's the matter with you!? Move it alre-"

He spun around rapidly, his left hand seizing the gun pointed at his upper back, his right clenching into a tight fist, and flying directly into the man's face. Caught by complete surprise, the man stumbled back, his left hand clapped to his nose, while Kaiba twisted the gun around, attempting to get it out of the thug's grip. He brought his fist crashing down on the man's wrist, managing to break his grasp. By now the man had recovered from the punch, and sent his free hand at Kaiba's head, balled into a fist of his own.

Kaiba ducked down, avoiding, the heavy blow, and retaliated with a strike of his own, hitting the man in the side of the head with the now freed gun. The thug staggered back again, stunned from the blow, as Kaiba straightened up and stepped backwards, raising the gun up to chest height. He did not hesitate. This was for Mokuba.

He pulled the trigger, and the thug's chest burst open in a spray of crimson. Kaiba did not stop there. He pulled it again, and again, and again. Four bullets in all tore into the man's torso, following by seemingly endless spurts of blood, pouring down his clothes, beginning to pool on the floor. He swayed on the spot, and stumbled backwards once again, before his feet gave way, and he dropped down to the ground. He lay motionless on his back, feet from Kaiba. He was dead.

Kaiba felt no remorse this time. This man deserved to die. The men here all deserved to die for what they'd done to Mokuba, and the others. And no doubt countless more over the years.

His heart pumping wildly, he turned around. Everyone else in the mansion would be coming soon. He had to be ready.

He had failed them until now, but he wouldn't do it again. He would take revenge, and save them all. He had to, who else would do it?

He flew forwards, running across the hall, and down a side corridor. He had revenge, and justice on his mind, but he might as well try to avoid as many people as he could until the others were safe. After that, these people would pay, he would make sure of that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yami stopped for a moment and listened. It was silent now. He'd heard nothing since he'd left the room. Who had fired those gunshots downstairs? And what's more, why was the house so quiet now?

For a short while, he'd hoped it might be the police, having finally been alerted to this mansion's true purpose. But he knew that couldn't be the case, otherwise there wouldn't silence surrounding him.

He'd been out of the room for no more than five minutes, but already he was nervous that he'd been gone too long, and the men would have returned to the room to find him missing. He had to find a way out, fast, then get back up there and get everyone out. He'd crept down the third floor corridor that he had seen so much of in the last month, and passed the main staircase by. That would be foolishly risky. Instead he'd gone down to the end of the hall, past Higuchi's bedroom, and found a narrow stairwell, seeming to lead to all four floors.

A part of his mind was still saying he should have freed the others, and brought all seven of them with him, but he rantionalised that it would be too risky. This people had shown they would use lethal force, and if a whole group of them were caught sneaking out, one of them could be killed. He had to make sure there was a safe way out for all of them first, he wouldn't allow them to be hurt.

He was now on the first floor, peering down a long hallway not unlike the one two floors above. However, he could see that this hall branched off in several places; clearly the other floors had a more complex design than the top floor. As with the second floor, this one seemed to be deserted. Higuchi had sent five others to look for Blain, that meant there were at least six people to watch out for. It seemed strange that he'd come across no one so far, but he reminded himself that they were probably on the ground floor, dealing with whatever had caused the gun shots.

If they were all on the ground floor, then it was a very bad idea to join them, but he had no choice, he couldn't exactly jump out a window to escape. There had to be a few lesser used back doors in a place like this, if he could find one, they had a chance.

Despite the risk, he moved back inside the stairwell, heading down to the ground floor. The others were counting on him to find a way out, to save them.

Reaching the bottom floor, he peered out of the doorway, seeing what appeared to be another side corridor, lined with doors like all the others. He guessed it was somewhere behind the large main hall the central staircase he'd passed led down to.

Just as he began to creep forward, he heard a sudden flurry of footsteps coming closer from down around a corner. Thinking fast, he dived over and seized the handle of the nearest door, wrenching it open and launching himself inside. The small room seemed to be just for storage, as it was filled with piles of boxes. He slipped behind the nearest stack, just as the footsteps stopped, not far from the room. As he turned around, his heart skipped a beat; in his haste to move into the room and hide himself, he'd not pushed the door behind him with enough force, and it had simply bounced off the frame without latching. It now stood almost a full foot ajar, and though he was concealed behind the boxes, the open door was bound to arouse suspicion if noticed.

Through the opening, he could see a man fumbling with keys, standing in front of a door diagonally across from one Yami was currently hidden in. The man seemed in a great rush, and Yami hoped this would mean his attention stayed focused away from the open door. The thug seemed to find the key he was looking for, and unlocked the door quickly. It opened inwards, and he disappeared in, giving Yami a clear view of what was inside. To his shock, he saw that it contained several racks filled with guns. Mostly handguns, but there were several rifles as well, and he could guess the boxes on the floor contained copious amounts of ammunition.

He was glad Blain must not have had any key to that room, or he, Yuugi and Malik would have been killed for certain.

The man re-emerged from the gun room, now clutching one in his hand, ad turned around to lock the room once again. He ran off, down the corridor, his footsteps fading away. Was there an intruder? Was that who fired the gun several times earlier, and who they were after now? He couldn't imagine many other likely explanations for their behaviour.

He left the box room, thinking he'd better hurry up, there wasn't a big chance this disturbance would last much longer, and Higuchi would then realise he'd left the door open behind him. That was, if he hadn't already, and sent someone up to check.

Shaking the thought away, he focused on what he was supposed to be doing, finding a safe route out of this place. He moved down the corridor, turning a corner to find yet another one. However, this one had windows at the end, and through them he could see the courtyard behind the mansion. He had found the back of the house, now he just needed the door. He approached the window, finding it was locked, and turned to the right, deciding he had no time to waste, and ought to just try every door he could.

The first door seemed to be nothing more than a broom closet of some kind, but the second turned out to be a large utility room. It was filled with various equipment, both for inside and outside the house, meaning...

Holding that thought, he moved across the room, and as he'd suspected, spotted a small door at the far side, nearly hidden by the equipment. It was padlocked, but hanging on a hook beside the door was a small, rusty key. He seized it and opened the lock, before pulling the door open with a crunch.

Fresh air.

For a brief moment he savoured the cool breeze hitting him, the sense of freedom flowing around him. Some part of his instinct told him to run out now, and get away from this place, but he ignored it, and shut the door again. He turned and flew across the room, out back into the narrow hall. The distraction must have been nearly taken care of by Higuchi's men by now, he had to move as quickly as possible.

As he rounded the corner towards the stairwell, he heard another echoing gunshot sound off above him, quickly following by two more. He couldn't stop for anything, even death, so he did not hesitate for a moment in running up the stairs, towards the third floor.

He could hear other footsteps pounding through the corridors, as he moved past the floors. It seemed they'd found the intruder, and were chasing them. He hoped they could hold out long enough. Jounouchi, Mokuba, Otogi, Ryou and Bakura were still locked their rooms, he didn't know how long it would take him to get them out, every second counted now.

He rounded the last turn in the stairs, and reached the top floor. But as he burst out into the hallway, he screeched to a halt, unable to quite believe what he saw.

"Kaiba?"

"Yami?"

Sure enough, Seto Kaiba stood before him, having likewise ground to a halt. He was emaciated, wild-eyed, and with several light splatters of blood on his shirt. He was also holding a gun in his hand, which looked like it was empty.

"How-"

"Where are the others!? We have to move fast, they're right be-"

A shot rang out, and a round ripped through Kaiba's right thigh, eliciting a spurt of blood, and a screech of pain. He collapsed to the ground, revealing Higuchi and one other guard behind him, standing some distance past Kaiba. Higuchi lowered his gun (it looked to be the smaller gun Yami had seen the thug fetch earlier, not the huge one he'd killed Blain with), and looked in astonishment at Yami. He seemed to catch on quickly, and spun around to the other guard.

"I left the fucking door open, go check on the others, quickly!"

He turned back around, and nodded in Yami's direction. Yami was slightly confused by this for an instant, but he realised the nod was to someone behind him. Before he could turn, something heavy crashed into the back of his head, sending him face down on the floor. His vision blurred, and he quickly sank into darkness, unable to resist.

He'd failed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the late update, I was too busy to put it up in the morning as normal.

I hope that ending didn't seem too abrupt, that was the sort of effect I was going for, that the reader would be caught off guard along with Yami before blacking out, but apologies if you found it jarring.

As you can see, we're really coming to the conclusion now, there's only a few chapters left to do. Next one is likely to catch up with the outside world again, though I'm not sure whether that will be the only thing, just yet.

I've more free time this week, so expect next chapter to be on time.

As always, feel free to concrit and tell me how you're finding the story's direction, and thanks for reading.