Notes: Wingweaver was chosen as a deliberate reference to an old friend. I doubt she's reading this, but I wanted to throw that in here anyway. Also, thank you for your input, anonymous reader! I did have a scene idea I scrapped where Tristan is nastier and Yami Bakura finally snaps, but I opted for several reasons not to do that (especially since they resolved their worst problems in the prior fic, An Eye for an Eye). However, I was inspired to try a similar yet different angle here thanks to your words.

Chapter Fourteen

"Mokuba?! Mokuba, are you alright?!"

"Huh?" The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking for the source of the voice that had suddenly interrupted his sleep. But all he could see was water swishing and wiggling in front of him.

Wiggling?

He woke up more. Revival Jam was weaving back and forth, definitely seeming worried. On his other side, Marik was bending over him, checking him for injuries.

"Marik!" Mokuba sat up straight. "What happened?! Where's Seto?!"

Marik rocked back, relieved that Mokuba was conscious but hating to bring ill news. "I don't know," he had to admit. "Unlike that first storm, this tornado separated everyone. We're the only ones here."

"Oh no. . . ." Mokuba pulled out his phone, but of course it still said No Signal. He scowled, shoving it back in his pocket. "We've gotta find Seto! Maybe separating everybody means the Big Five are gearing up for their big finale and they'll try to kill Seto!"

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything good," Marik agreed. "But we have to be careful. Especially since now that Lector has remodeled this section of Domino City, nothing looks the same. I know it must be Bakura's neighborhood, but I can barely recognize anything!"

Mokuba bit his lip. "Wow. . . . He's really made it look just like New Orleans. . . ." He got to his feet. "It looks like some kind of voodoo shop over there. I know Domino doesn't really have one of those. . . ."

"There are probably all kinds of surprises," Marik said. "Let's stick together. The last thing we need is for one of us to be wandering around alone. Hopefully everyone has at least one companion."

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba looked around in concern. "Even Duke's car went flying up into the tornado. A lot of the others might be really hurt!"

"I can help you find them."

Both boys jumped a mile. A beautiful Wingweaver was coming out from around a building, all six wings spread for flight.

Mokuba brightened. "Really?! It would be really amazing if you could! My brother's out there . . . and a lot of our friends. . . ."

"I'll fly above you and look around," Wingweaver told him. "If I see anyone, especially anyone hurt, I'll let you know."

"Oh thanks!" Mokuba beamed.

"Please also let us know if you see anyone acting suspicious," Marik said. "Particularly people in business suits."

"Alright." Wingweaver looked puzzled, but she didn't question it. She took flight, going several stories above them. A sky-blue feather fell from one wing, which was quickly picked up by Mokuba.

Marik sighed, running a hand through his hair as he and Mokuba followed her on the ground. Revival Jam hopped beside him. "You must know the Big Five fairly well," he said to his friend. "Is there any possibility that Lector will come after you as a way of getting to your brother?"

Mokuba frowned. "I'm not sure," he had to admit. "Nesbitt sure would. He did it before. But Lector . . . he actually acted upset about Seto using me in the past. Well, Seto didn't really, but that was how Lector saw it. I guess . . . I don't know, I'm really not sure Lector would try to go through me to get to Seto." He frowned more. "But on the other hand, he's the one who blocked Seto from getting to me when Nesbitt rode off with me. . . ."

"I doubt any of them are trustworthy," Marik said, his expression darkening. "And they're probably all in this together. Although coming to think of it, Johnson didn't want Lector stirring up that tornado while he was our prisoner. . . ."

"Yeah. . . . He might be pretty mad by now. Unless Lector was also using the tornado as a way of getting Johnson away from us," Mokuba suggested. "Then Johnson might be grateful. I mean, they can teleport around places. Maybe Lector would teleport him out instead of letting him get caught up in the tornado."

"I see someone!" Wingweaver called.

"Where are they?!" Marik demanded.

"There's a car laying on its side on the grass around the corner of the next block," Wingweaver said. "And two people are on the ground near it."

"Duke and David, maybe?" Mokuba suggested. "Or one of them and Yami Bakura? He was with them. . . ."

"I guess the Dark Magicians aren't there or Wingweaver would have mentioned them," Marik said. He scooped up Revival Jam and he and Mokuba picked up speed, running onto the next block and around the corner to a park that hadn't been there before.

Duke's car didn't look much the worse for wear. But Duke and David, both laying sprawled on the grass, might be another story. Marik ran over to David, gripping his shoulder as he tried to check for any signs of consciousness or injury.

"Is he okay?!" Mokuba demanded. He went over to Duke and knelt down, holding a hand in front of the older boy's face to feel for breath.

David groaned, stirring under Marik's grasp.

"He's alive," Marik said in relief.

"So's Duke," Mokuba said. He started checking for injuries. "I think they were both just knocked out."

Duke jerked, his eyes flying open. "David?! Yami Bakura?!"

"David's here, Duke," Mokuba told him. "He's okay; he's waking up now. But Yami Bakura isn't here. And none of the others either, except for Marik and me. . . ."

"Serenity. . . ." Duke pushed himself up, grimacing at the aches and pains. "Where is she?"

Mokuba looked down. "We just don't know, Duke. . . ."

David finally opened his eyes. "And to think some people pay to go on rides like that," he mumbled.

Marik moved back to give him some room. "Well, you sound like you're back to normal," he remarked.

David subconsciously reached to push up his glasses and then started, amazed that they were actually still there. "Is everyone okay? Duke?!" He looked around, relaxing as soon as he caught sight of his friend.

"I'm okay," Duke said in relief. "But we don't know where Serenity or any of the rest are. Even Yami Bakura, and he was with us!"

"That must have been some force," David said. "It ripped all of our seatbelts open and picked up the whole car!"

Duke started and looked to said car. "If it still works, maybe we can take it to go looking for everyone else," he said. He got up and limped over to it.

"I'd better drive," Marik said. "You look too shaken up to do it."

"I am kind of dizzy, I guess," Duke admitted, holding a hand to his head.

David went to him. "You might have a concussion," he worried.

"Or maybe I'm just not used to spinning around in tornados," Duke countered. "I'm surprised you're not dizzy!"

"I never said I wasn't," David retorted.

The four of them and Wingweaver managed to push the car upright. When Marik slid into the driver's seat to test it, the engine sputtered but then came to life.

"Alright!" Duke cheered. "Let's get in and go."

"There won't be any seatbelts," Marik warned.

"Well, drive slow," Duke said. "We need to find everyone else! I'll get the seatbelts repaired as soon as this is all over."

Mokuba and Revival Jam climbed into the front seat with Marik. Duke and David were content to sit in back. But just as Marik was about to drive off, the Dark Magicians suddenly teleported in front of the car.

"Is everyone alright?!" the Dark Magician asked.

"We're not too bad off," Duke said. "But where were you guys?! We thought you were missing along with everyone else!"

"We accidentally teleported ourselves out," the Dark Magician Girl admitted. "We thought we were bringing everyone in the car, but I guess our spells aren't that good yet. . . ." She averted her gaze guiltily.

Duke sighed. "Well, get in," he said. "I think we can all squeeze in if Revival Jam sits on Mokuba's lap. We were just going to go look for the others."

The Dark Magician got in back with him and David, while the Dark Magician Girl sat next to Mokuba. Wingweaver again took to the skies to look for more of the group. Praying for the best, Marik carefully drove off the grass and onto the street.

xxxx

Téa was tense as she and Seto walked down the fake Antarctica streets. Penguins were everywhere, playing on glaciers, sliding down them, waddling across front lawns and using children's swings. Ice Duel Monsters were also out and about, silently watching them but not speaking.

Seto was silent. Of course; what would he have to talk about? His worry about Mokuba? His fury at the Big Five? He wouldn't think any of it needed to be said, and it was true that it was written all over him without him saying a word.

Still, it always made Téa nervous when people were quiet. She liked conversation, to know what was going on in the other person's mind. To her, silence was loud and usually uncomfortable and undesirable.

But what on Earth would she even say to someone like Seto Kaiba? She had never liked him in the past. There had been times when she had been sure she was very close to hating him. But then there were always new layers to his personality, new reasons behind why he was what he was. And no matter how cold and harsh he was, his love for Mokuba kept him human.

That, and other things. He had saved her during Battle City. He had been outraged at the cruel duel between Yugi and mind-controlled Joey, but he had been helpless to stop it because he wouldn't risk Téa's life. He had only acted when he had finally found a way to do so that would free her from danger.

There had been things such as him continually insisting on striking out on his own during the mess in Noa's world. She had been so frustrated and even angry with him at the time. But he had known something he hadn't told any of them—that Noa had brainwashed Mokuba and turned him against Seto. Naturally Seto would feel that saving Mokuba was the most important thing, and she supposed it was logical that he would feel he was the only one who could do it, when he was the one closest to Mokuba.

Duke had bitterly said that Seto would never help any of them if they were in trouble. But Seto had helped her, and really, there had been times when he had saved all of them, or been part of it. He had fought against Dartz with Atem, Yugi, and Joey. And if it hadn't been for Seto protecting all of them and Tristan, Zorc might very well have won in that final battle. So Duke had been wrong; Seto would help. He wasn't very social and probably never would be, but he could be depended on in a crisis.

Finally Téa came back to the present. Seto wasn't likely to want to talk, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Kaiba?" Téa waited, but when there wasn't a reply she continued. "Um, if you'd like to talk about anything, I'm here. . . ."

"What would I talk about?" Seto returned. "How much I'd like to wring the Big Fives' necks?"

"If that's what you want to talk about," Téa said.

"I just talked about it," Seto said flatly.

Téa sighed, her shoulders slumping. ". . . I'm sure Mokuba's okay," she tried.

"I'm not," Seto retorted. "Do you know how many times my enemies have tried to use him against me? Pegasus, Marik, Noa, the Big Five, Yami Bakura . . . ! They've all done it!" His fists were clenched tightly at his sides. "I took over KaibaCorp because I thought we'd have a better life. I never stopped to think about all the nutcases who might hate me enough to try to get at me through my little brother!"

"Kaiba . . ." Téa just looked at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"Could you have any idea what that's like?" Seto blurted.

Téa looked down, pondering on her answer. "Not completely, no," she admitted. "But I understand a little. People always try to use Yugi's loved ones against him too. Joey and I got used that way by Marik! It was awful."

"And Yugi, or the Pharaoh, or whoever, got so fed-up with it that he wanted to handle everything himself to keep all of you out of danger," Seto said.

"Yeah, but we never let that happen," Téa said. "We didn't want either of them getting hurt any more than they wanted to see it happen to us! So we've always tried to help each other, no matter what comes our way! I think Yugi and Atem finally got that we want to be there for them, sharing in what happens to them, instead of staying safe on the sidelines and worrying."

"You've been the victim, but have you ever been in Yugi's place, seeing everyone get used because the villain wants you?" Seto said.

Téa's shoulders slumped. "No, I haven't," she had to admit.

"Then you can't really know what it's like," Seto said. "You don't feel that intense desperation to keep it from happening again or the horror when it does. You couldn't know what it's like to be so universally hated that no one cares about using a defenseless kid against you, since they know that's the best way to get to you. I wanted to give Mokuba a better life, and instead he always has to watch out wherever he goes because my enemies want him as a pawn or as bait!"

"I know what it's like to not want my loved ones hurt!" Téa exclaimed.

"Mokuba even said he liked it better before I took over KaibaCorp," Seto said bitterly.

Téa blinked, looking to him in surprise now. "Is that why?"

Seto frowned. ". . . No," he had to admit. "He's never even said anything about how he gets used by my enemies. He's one of the most selfless people I've ever met. What he cares about is my happiness. He thinks I was happier before I took over KaibaCorp."

"And is he right?" Téa quietly asked.

Seto fell silent. "In some ways," he said at last.

"Kaiba . . ." Téa hesitated, then plunged ahead. "I never would have thought it when we first met you, but honestly, you're a really selfless person too."

Now it was Seto looking to her in shock. He stopped walking, staring at the girl he had had conflicts with in the past. "What?!"

"You gave up so much just to try to give Mokuba a happier life," Téa insisted. "Mokuba told me once how you could have been adopted so many times, but you refused if they wouldn't take Mokuba too."

"That wasn't entirely unselfish," Seto said. "I didn't want to be without Mokuba any more than he wanted to be without me."

"And you pushed away all the pain you must have had when your parents died to try to stay happy for Mokuba," Téa continued. "You didn't want him to see you sad."

"There wouldn't have been any purpose in that," Seto said.

"Kaiba, you gave up your childhood and your innocence and your love of life, all to try to help Mokuba!" Téa cried. "All the torture Gozaburo put you through . . . the emotional and psychological damage. . . . You were willing to die for your brother more than once, including when you dueled Yugi at Pegasus's castle! None of us really knew what was at stake then, but when we found out . . . well, it hit hard. I still don't think what you did in that duel was right, but . . . it made so much sense when we found out why."

Seto didn't reply. He started walking again, staring ahead.

Téa chased after him. "Do you wish you'd never taken over KaibaCorp?" she quietly asked.

". . . I don't know," Seto had to admit. "I don't know that we would have been better off. We might still be stuck in the orphanage right now if I hadn't decided to take control of our lives. But when things like this keep happening, I have to wonder which life would really be worse." He glowered ahead. "Only it's pointless to mull over the 'What ifs.' That won't change anything. The only thing that's important is dealing with the present and the future."

"Maybe these are things you should talk with Mokuba about," Téa suggested. "I'm sure he'd be happy to talk with you about anything. Do you guys really get to have heart-to-hearts?"

"Sometimes," Seto said vaguely.

Téa was sure it wasn't very often. "I know it's hard for you to open up, Kaiba, but just look at what you've been saying to me! I think it might really help both you and Mokuba to talk."

"I have no idea why I've been saying all of these things to you," Seto said. "But with Mokuba . . . I have to always be strong. I can't display doubts or regrets; I can't show him any other side of me."

"Well, why not?!" Téa burst out. "Family does see all sides of each other! I know you've had to be Mom, Dad, and older brother for Mokuba, but I think he'd be really happy if you dropped all the walls at least sometimes."

Seto fell silent again. Téa had just about given up on a response when he said, "He probably would."

"I'm sure of it," Téa insisted.

By now they had walked all the way over to the museum. Several Penguin Knights lined up in a row in front of the steps perked up, eyeing the newcomers with warning eyes.

"Oh great," Téa groaned. "What's all this?!"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that Crump must be in there," Seto said.

"With Ishizu and Rishid!" Téa gasped. "Oh no! We have to do something!"

"We will," Seto said. "As soon as we get past this pathetic army. Battle Ox!" He gestured for his Duel Monster to charge ahead, which he did. Though the Penguin Knights put up a determined fight, they still lost in the end. Seto marched up the steps, his coat sweeping out around him.

Téa chased after him once again, praying that they weren't too late.

xxxx

Yami Bakura was tense as he and Tristan and their Duel Monsters made their way through the cemetery. The fog was growing thicker by the minute, and although it didn't look like Shadow Realm fog, it was still disturbing considering the Big Five were likely responsible. Lector wouldn't be doing this just for atmosphere. There had to be another reason, perhaps because it would be all too easy for them to get lost from each other. As it was, Yami Bakura could barely see the boy despite knowing he was there.

"Stay close to me," he told Tristan. "We don't know what's going to come at us next."

"Oh, and staying close to you will help?" Tristan retorted. "I'm the one who got us out of that last mess. Staying close to you would probably get me killed, just like it got Bakura killed."

Yami Bakura went stiff. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me," Tristan said coldly. "It's your fault Bakura's dead. You didn't protect him, you creep!"

Something in Yami Bakura just snapped. At the moment he didn't stop to wonder why Tristan was suddenly acting like this when he had seemed to regret his actions and had even apologized. The hurt building up from this horrible day had just boiled over and he couldn't take it anymore. He tackled Tristan to the ground, only belatedly realizing it was a foolish move when he couldn't see the ground through the fog. They had been right on top of one of the cemetery's many hills. Now they were tumbling over and over to the bottom, where they landed with Yami Bakura straddling Tristan on top of a grave.

"I tried to protect him!" he screamed, punching Tristan hard in the face. He received a punch in turn, which he mostly ignored. "I didn't let go of him in Gansley's underwater tornado! I fought that renegade Duel Monster trying to protect him! I tried. . . ." He punched again. "I tried!"

His words echoed eerily in the stillness, bringing him sharply back to himself. His shoulders slumped and he rocked back, breathing heavily as he stared down at the dazed boy. Something wasn't right. Tristan could speak in anger, but would he have really acted like that with Yami Bakura after apologizing to him? He had sounded like he meant it. Yami Bakura honestly believed he had.

"You're . . . not real, are you?" he rasped. "You're not Tristan. . . ."

Or what if the Tristan who had apologized wasn't real? Maybe that one had been the fake. Somehow that thought hurt deeply.

The Tristan on the ground started to laugh. "Okay, you're right." He morphed into a dark blue cartoon cat. "I'm not Tristan at all!"

"Doppelganger," Yami Bakura hissed in disbelief. He got to his feet, eyes flashing. "Be gone!"

Dark Necrofear appeared out of the fog, lunging at their enemy. One Doom Gaze and he was indeed gone.

Yami Bakura looked to her in surprised gratitude. "Where is Tristan?" he wondered.

"Right here." Tristan's voice was coming from the side. Slowly he stepped out of the fog, sobered and shaken. Electric Lizard waddled at his side. "I got lost in the fog. I followed your screaming to find you. I . . . I really am sorry." He clenched a fist. "And I'm sorry that thing used my bad behavior to try to make you think it was me. I would have liked to have punched it out myself." He looked down. "I'm even sorrier that that could have been me, not that long ago."

Yami Bakura shook his head with a weary sigh. "After all I did, how could I expect much else?"

"No. You can, and you should." Tristan got in front of him and laid his hands on Yami Bakura's shoulders, causing him to look up with a shocked start. "Whatever you did in the past shouldn't have any bearing on what happened today. You didn't deserve to have me accuse you of not protecting Bakura. I know you love him so much. You'd do all you could to save him. And you showed by finally snapping and attacking that double of me that what was said by both it and me really hurt you. I had no right to say that to you. Sometimes, rotten stuff happens that we can't prevent no matter how hard we try. I know that, but I was so upset suddenly hearing about Bakura and I needed someone to blame. Maybe I thought you should have been able to save him . . . especially since I wasn't there and couldn't do it. . . . And I let myself run off at the mouth."

Yami Bakura was silent. ". . . Yes, you hurt me," he finally admitted. "But that thing hurt me worse. Only . . ." He hesitated, folding his arms. "Would you have let yourself 'run off at the mouth' if it had been anyone else? Supposing it was Joey or Yugi. Would you demand to know why they hadn't protected Bakura?"

Tristan looked down. "No, I can't say I would have. And I'm ashamed."

A weary sigh. "It's still hard for you to get used to the idea that I am not the enemy," Yami Bakura said. "It's hard for me to get used to it."

"Well, you've got a right to speak out about being mistreated," Tristan said.

A dark laugh. "The question is, is it mistreatment when my past actions earned it?"

Something about that matter-of-fact question and weary tone stabbed Tristan's heart. "Of course it is!" he exclaimed. "Without Zorc you've changed, and I finally recognized you've changed! You saved my life, man! The stab wound you got from it is still healing; I saw it before you switched forms."

"Yes, that's true," Yami Bakura admitted.

"This shouldn't have happened," Tristan said sadly, "but I can't take it back any more than you can take back what you did to me in the past. I know I didn't a few weeks ago, but after what happened with the Neo-Orichalcos and the Rare Hunters, I trust you. I know you'll have my back. I'll have yours, too. But you probably can't believe I mean any of this now."

Yami Bakura wanted to believe very badly, but he was still wary. "It's not that so much as it is I wonder how I can believe you're the real Tristan this time," he said. "Maybe you're a second Doppelganger, trying to lull me into a false sense of security."

Tristan sighed. "I guess you'll just have to take a leap of faith."

"Faith." Yami Bakura scoffed. "Faith is for fools."

"Was Bakura a fool?" Tristan asked quietly. "He had a lot of faith . . . in you."

Yami Bakura looked away. He had often said Bakura was a fool for that very thing. But had he been?

"You're good, Yami," he could almost hear the boy assuring him once more. "You're good. I wish I could make you see yourself as I see you."

Could he? He had done many cruel things in the past, while Zorc had been poisoning him. He hated himself for those things. And he hated himself for targeting guiltless people in ancient Egypt. But the other things, the things he couldn't make himself feel sorry for, those were things such as going after anyone who had harmed Bakura, from Bonz to Johnson, and also targeting Ahknadin . . . although now he regretted the methods he had used. Zorc had no doubt orchestrated that. His vengeance on Ahknadin had mostly brought about chaos on the guiltless again, instead of focusing it where it belonged.

He was a wild soul, an angry and justice-driven soul. Strange that he had never once thought of it before, but he and Atem were alike when it came to seeking justice . . . albeit they were not usually alike in their methods.

"Hey . . . are you okay?" Tristan broke into his thoughts.

He looked to the boy. When Joey had asked him that question, he had said No. And he still wasn't okay where it came to being grief-stricken over Bakura, if the boy was truly dead. He never would be okay about that, just as he would never be okay about Kul Elna.

"No, I am not okay," he said at last. "Nor do I know the answer to your other question. But . . . at least I can say that I would like to believe that Bakura was not a fool regarding me. He always saw what others did not see, about me and others. I once thought he was a naive fool, but he wasn't. He was . . . a pure spirit."

"He still is, whether he's dead or not," Tristan said. "So how about we keep believing in him and go find everyone else?"

Yami Bakura considered that and nodded. "Yes. Let's." He paused. "Thank you, Tristan."

Tristan started to turn away. "Yeah," he said gruffly but not insincerely. ". . . And for what it's worth, it meant a lot to me that you realized that other guy was a fake. Why did you?"

"You had apologized and seemed genuinely regretful," Yami Bakura said. "I didn't believe you would go back on that. For a moment I was hurt and I didn't think, but I recognized the truth when I stopped to reflect."

"I wish I'd done that as soon as I hurt you," Tristan said. "I should have apologized right there. Instead I just stayed mad."

"You admitted you wished you had been able to help Bakura," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps you were angrier at yourself than you were at me?"

"Yeah," Tristan mused. "Maybe."

"Had the situation been reversed, I likely would have lost control of my emotions and screamed at you for not protecting Bakura," Yami Bakura said.

Tristan could picture that. "You know, you're actually a pretty understanding guy. More than I've been sometimes lately." He shoved his hands in his pockets in shame.

"About infractions such as this, yes, I'm understanding," Yami Bakura said. "About murdering Bakura, no, I am not."

Tristan shivered at the way his tone had darkened. But he couldn't blame the man. It was something Tristan could never understand either.

". . . I guess that's why I've had so much trouble with you," he said. "I could never understand how you could do all the garbage you did. Even after knowing Zorc poisoned you, it was hard to separate him from you."

"Even Bakura had trouble with that," Yami Bakura said with a resigned shrug.

"But he doesn't anymore," Tristan said. "I don't want to either."

Yami Bakura was silent for a long moment. "Some of the others expressed a desire to be friends," he said finally. "Even Joey. I never thought anything like that would ever come to pass. I wonder . . . had you been there, would you have wanted that too?"

Tristan rocked back, stunned. Of all things he could have been asked, he had never imagined that. Nor had he ever though he would be told such news. Joey had outright said he wanted to be friends with Yami Bakura? Tristan had accepted him as an ally, but . . . a friend?

A dark smirk. "I thought not."

Tristan shook himself back to the present as Yami Bakura walked off ahead. "Hey, wait a minute!" He ran and caught up with the mysterious Egyptian. "Let me turn that question back on you. Could you ever think of any of us as friends?"

Yami Bakura stared off into the fog. "I used to think not. I used to think I didn't even want it. I felt that the antagonistic feelings between us were only an irritation to me even though they made Bakura very sad. But . . . these last weeks, as things have started to improve . . . it's been nice."

"That doesn't answer the question," Tristan said.

"I have started to come to care about all of you," Yami Bakura said. "Yes, I believe that if things continue in this vein, I could think of you all as friends."

Tristan bowed his head. This was so much to take in. Now he really didn't have anything else to say.