Chapter Seventeen
Mokuba was both panicking and angry as he desperately searched for the way out of the mysterious warehouse. It was indeed like one of Noa's traps; there seemed to be no way out as long as the Big Five willed it so. The windows, when he ran to look out of them, seemed to lead to nowhere. And any attempt at breaking them with crates or splintered wood went nowhere.
"What am I gonna do?!" he wailed to himself. "I have to get out of here! Seto needs me! And if I know the Big Five, they're gonna try to use me against him again!" He kicked the wall in utter frustration and despair.
Marik caught up to him then. "Mokuba, running off isn't going to help," he gently chided. "We need to stay together. There's no telling what the Big Five are going to do next!"
"Maybe not, but I'm sure they're planning to use me against Seto somehow," Mokuba said. "I get so sick of it." He plopped down on the nearest crate and leaned forward, gripping at the knees of his pants. "Seto tries so hard to make sure I have a normal life, and all these creeps who hate him make him feel horrible by making sure I don't have a normal life!"
Marik sighed and knelt down in front of his friend. He couldn't deny it. Worse, he had been one of those people in the past. Even though he hadn't had anything against Seto, he had used Mokuba against him in an effort to get Obelisk.
"If I could just find a way out of here, Seto wouldn't have to worry so much," Mokuba continued.
"You escaped the Rare Hunters during Battle City," Marik said kindly. "And you did all you could to escape Pegasus before that."
"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba sighed. "I got caught again by Pegasus, but I steered clear of the Rare Hunters and got back to Seto. I guess I can be grateful about that."
"Of course you can." Marik laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "And maybe there is a way out of this mess. It's part of a game. A twisted game, but a game nevertheless. We both played through your brother's original version. Can you think of what this warehouse could be a corrupted version of?"
Mokuba frowned, pausing to think. "Well . . . there is that level in Seto's game where you and your Duel Monster have to go undercover to catch crooks. Seto designed some warehouses for that."
"Good!" Marik perked up. "Then let's approach this mess as though we're in one of those warehouses. Maybe we'll find the solution."
Mokuba started to look hopeful too. "But . . . we only have Revival Jam," he worried. "Maybe he won't be able to help us get out of here. Seto designed the different locations so that different Duel Monsters would be good for each of them. I think this place was supposed to be more for Fire monsters, not Water ones."
"We'll do what we can," Marik said firmly. "Revival Jam has been good to us so far. Let's trust in him some more."
Mokuba finally smiled. "Okay." He got down from the crate. "What do you think, Revival Jam? Can you find a way out?"
The plasma monster wobbled, jumped out of Marik's arms, and hopped off down the aisle. Marik and Mokuba hurried after him.
Duke and David followed farther behind. "I don't know," David worried. "Since the Big Five took the Magicians away and left us with Revival Jam, they must have thought the Magicians could have helped us and Revival Jam can't."
"I know," Duke frowned, "but we have to trust in him, like Marik said. Right now, we don't have much other choice."
"I'm really not crazy about leaving our fate in the hands of a blob," David said.
Duke didn't laugh. "Let's just hope he surprises us."
xxxx
Téa was surprised when two Dark Magicians and a Wingweaver suddenly appeared in front of Mai's car. "Whoa!"
Alister slammed on the brakes. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"Hello," the Dark Magician greeted. "We're looking for our friends."
"Duke and David?" Téa sighed. "So are we. And everyone else who isn't here with us."
Solomon rolled down the window of the bikers' car. "Well, you know," he called, "we might try checking KaibaCorp."
"KaibaCorp?" Téa twisted around in the seat to look at him. "Why is that, Mr. Muto?"
"KaibaCorp was where I was being held prisoner!" Bakura exclaimed. "I think it's where the Big Five are running all of this madness. They took Kaiba, Joey, and Mai. I might venture to say they're preparing for some sort of duel and want to go up against those three. Probably Yugi too!"
Solomon nodded. "Bakura was telling us all about it. It sounds logical to me!"
"Oh, to me too," Téa moaned.
"Joey . . . !" Serenity's eyes filled with even more worry for her missing brother.
Valon looked over at her. "Hey, don't worry," he soothed. "Your brother can really hold his own in a duel. He'll be fine."
Serenity tried to smile. "I know he doesn't lose very often, but no one wins all the time." She looked down. "And these guys are so awful. . . ."
"We're going to find them," Alister promised. "I'll head for KaibaCorp."
"And the two of you may ride with us," Ishizu said to the Magicians, leaning out the window of the Ishtar van.
"Thank you," the Dark Magician smiled. He hauled the door open and he and Dark Magician Girl stepped onboard.
"You may come as well, unless you would rather fly," Ishizu said to the Wingweaver.
"I'll fly," she smiled. "I can help look out for more danger. I hope."
Soon the vehicles were all moving again. Bakura slumped back in the sedan's seat. "Oh, I wonder where Yami and the others are," he fretted. "Would the Big Five want them for the duel too?"
"I don't know," Solomon frowned. "If not, they were probably left high and dry like us. They could be anywhere in the city."
"On the other hand, maybe they all got the idea to rendezvous at KaibaCorp," Raphael grunted. "They might all be heading there right now."
"Let's hope so," Solomon said. "We need to find them all."
Bakura nodded sorrowfully and looked away. "Yami," he whispered. "What's happening to you? Are you feeling any better at all? Do you still think I'm dead?"
And then another alarming thought pricked him. When he finally did find Yami Bakura, how would he convince his friend that he was real and not just another Big Five trick? Yami Bakura would no doubt have a difficult time believing in reality after the cruel pranks Johnson had pulled. And it wasn't even the first time someone had done such a thing to him. Yami Marik had made him see all kinds of horrific illusions after abducting him. It had taken Bakura several hair-raising experiences to convince that poor, tortured soul that he was real after that.
"We'll find Yami Bakura and he'll be alright," Solomon said, breaking into Bakura's thoughts.
The boy started. "Oh. . . ." He gave a weak smile. "I hope so. But . . ." He hesitated, then finally continued, "When we do find him, he probably won't be able to realize I'm real. . . . Not at first, anyway. . . ."
"You'll find the way to show him," Solomon promised.
"Right now I can't even think how," Bakura said softly. "It will hurt him so deeply to think that they're playing tricks on him again. . . ."
"And it will brighten his life so immensely to find out that they're not," Solomon countered.
Bakura had to smile. "Yes. . . ." Picturing their reunion was comforting and left him all warm inside. He hoped it would be like that.
Solomon leaned back in the seat. "You know, when I met him briefly at the hospital during Battle City, I couldn't imagine who he was. I knew he wasn't you. And leaving me knocked out on the floor didn't leave me with a very good impression of him. I thought he was stealing my soul at first. Waking up on the floor some time later was quite a relief!"
"I can imagine," Bakura said. "I'm so sorry that happened."
"Eh, that was a long time ago," Solomon said. "But one thing I never have understood is why he allowed you to be hurt then."
Bakura sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the car. "I didn't either. Oh, I knew it was some scheme of Marik's to get close to Joey and Téa, and Yami went along with it because Marik had promised him the Millennium Rod and other Items. . . . But even so, I don't think Yami ever meant to actually hurt me. He intended that he would continue to stay in control so I wouldn't feel the pain. He told me later that I was never aware of it until the duel with Atem. He was pretending to be me when Marik met Joey and Téa."
"Oh?" Solomon blinked. "I was there too. I remember him . . . you . . . saying that it all happened so fast, you didn't see what happened."
"And if that had been me, I wouldn't have even known that anything happened," Bakura mused. "I would have simply woke up with my arm already wounded. Yami was making up a story to make it sound like I was in control." He shook his head. "I know it still all sounds very twisted, but Yami was being poisoned by Zorc back then. And even at that, he found ways to protect me. He never wanted me to suffer. He kept me asleep so I wouldn't know what they were doing. And he stayed in control so I wouldn't feel pain. When he briefly released me during the duel on Marik's orders and saw just how badly the wound was affecting me, he took control again." He smiled. "And now he's free of Zorc and doesn't do twisted things anymore. His love is pure and untainted."
"But he certainly likes to tease Joey and Tristan," Solomon remarked. "Oh, not that I can fully blame him. Their reactions to things can be hilarious."
"I know." Bakura chuckled a bit, but looked like he felt guilty for doing so.
Solomon folded his arms. "It's interesting how many of our group started out antagonistic towards us, starting with Seto Kaiba. Hmm." He frowned. "Although Kaiba really doesn't seem like he wants to be part of our group. But he always seems to end up with us anyway."
"I wonder if he likes it deep down," Bakura mused. "Except for when villains use them, of course."
"I couldn't say," Solomon said. "But he's sure come far from the disrespectful boy who went to all sorts of lengths to get my Blue Eyes White Dragon away from me."
"Yugi told me about that," Bakura frowned. "And how he only wanted to make sure it couldn't be used against him. But he could have given it to his brother or simply locked it away. Ripping it up right in front of you . . . ! That was so needlessly cruel!"
"I've forgiven him for that," Solomon said. "And at least by him doing that, I was able to get it back. He didn't care what happened to it after that." He took it out of his pocket. "The tape is still holding fine." He smiled. "It's one of my most cherished possessions, since my dear friend gave it to me."
"That would make it special," Bakura said, taking a moment to admire it. Despite having been ripped in half, it was still majestic. And the love and heart of it was obvious in every piece of tape.
Solomon nodded. "In the end, I don't really blame Kaiba so much for what happened as I do Gozaburo. Yugi told me all about what was learned of him in Noa's virtual reality world. That man warped and twisted Seto's soul starting from the age of ten. He heaped countless psychological pressure and damage on an innocent boy until he had become almost as heartless as Gozaburo himself. But what is extremely special is that Kaiba finally rose above it. He has become a strong person in heart and mind. I know he will help any of us out of danger if he's able. And I like to believe that one day he will finally reach out to Yugi and the others in friendship. They have certainly extended it to him, and whether all of them see it or not, it has worked on him."
"I believe it has," Bakura mused. "He's definitely different than he was in the past."
"But sometimes I even wonder about Gozaburo," Solomon said. "I remember news stories about him and Noa. I always had the feeling that Gozaburo truly loved that boy and doted on him. When Noa had his accident, I wouldn't doubt that that twisted Gozaburo's humanity right out of him."
"Yugi said that when he realized Noa would always be spoiled, even in the virtual world, he turned his attention to Seto," Bakura said. "I wonder if his approach with Seto was completely opposite because of how Noa turned out."
"Most likely," Solomon said. "But as to whether he ever truly cared about Seto, I couldn't say. The man became so twisted that he eventually wanted to blow up the world with a missile and escape virtual reality in Seto's body." He shook his head. "What a waste. He had a brilliant mind, but he misused it and everyone around him. Thinking on Gozaburo's outcome makes it even more powerful that Seto is turning out different."
"I agree," Bakura smiled.
"Actually, I think that all of those who were once our enemies have become stronger people for what they used to be and what they have become," Solomon said.
"I'd like to think so," Raphael interjected.
"Actually, Kaiba wasn't even the first," Solomon said. "Joey and Tristan used to be quite the bullies until Yugi's kindness worked on them."
"I remember hearing about that," Bakura said. "It's hard to picture it. They really have changed."
"That's one of the great things about life—the opportunity to learn and change and grow from it," Solomon said. "Everyone has, even those who weren't once fighting against us. Yugi has become such a strong young man. And so have you, Bakura."
"Me?" Bakura blinked, turning a bit red in embarrassment at the praise. "Well, I suppose I have changed, but largely because of Yami's influence. He taught me to stand up for myself."
Solomon nodded. "You helped him and he helped you. It's the same with any meaningful relationship; it's never just one way."
"No," Bakura agreed, staring off into the distance. "It couldn't be."
"And we're almost at KaibaCorp now," Solomon said, pleased. "If everyone else is there, we'll see them very soon."
Bakura prayed for that under his breath.
I'm coming, Yami, he said silently, even though he knew their mental bond no longer worked. I'll be back with you soon. Please don't lose hope!
xxxx
Tristan and Yami Bakura were still watching the rooftop duel via the big screens. The Big Five were trying to assemble five monsters of different attributes so that they could summon their Five-Headed Dragon to the field, but when they were up against five strong Duelists, keeping hold of five such monsters at the same time was proving impossible. Someone always had a stronger monster to attack, or a Card Destruction card, or some type of monster-destroying trap card. The Big Five were growing angry and Yugi and the rest were triumphant and pleased.
"Alright!" Joey grinned. "Take that, you creepy suits!"
Mai smirked. "Face it, you are not getting your dragon on the field this game."
"Oh really?" Gansley looked to Nesbitt and gave a barely perceptible nod. "Maybe we can't get our Five-Headed Dragon into the game as we wish, but that is hardly the only way to have it defeat you."
"What do you mean?" Seto glowered in suspicion and anger.
Gansley walked to the edge of the roof and pointed. "Do you see that building down there?"
Seto narrowed his eyes. "It's been vacant for months. What about it?"
"Oh, it's not vacant right now," Gansley crowed. "There's something very precious to you inside it."
"Fire Dragon Head, attack that building!" Nesbitt ordered before Seto could process that information.
The dragon roared and obeyed. The building erupted in fire as soon as the blast hit.
Seto's heart nearly stopped. "MOKUBA!" he screamed in realization.
"Nesbitt!" Now Atem was enraged. "Is Mokuba truly in there, or are you just trying to torment Kaiba with a cruel lie?!"
"Oh, he's really in there," Nesbitt sneered. "And all of you are locked in this duel with us. If any of you try to break free and get downstairs, our dragon will destroy all of you at once!"
Every dragon head opened its mouth in readiness. It was not a bluff.
Yugi gripped his cards, his hand shaking. "This is outrageous!" he shouted. "Big Five, you are going down!"
"The fire department will have to be called," Mai said, badly shaken herself and trying to comfort Seto. "They'll put it out in time. . . ."
But Seto just kept staring in horror at the blaze. "Can they even put out a magical fire?" he rasped.
No one commented on Seto actually acknowledging the supernatural. They were all wondering the same thing. Desperate prayers for Mokuba's safety immediately began in all their hearts.
Down below, Tristan was also in horror. "Mokuba's in that thing?!" He moved to run across the street. "Then we have to get him out! Come on!"
"Tristan!" Yami Bakura snapped. "We need a plan! We can't go running in there without some idea of what to do! We'll only be lost in that inferno as well!"
"Well, what do you suggest?" Tristan shot back.
"Try to find a Water Duel Monster," Yami Bakura instructed. "The Infinity Ring will serve as a compass to Mokuba, if he is truly inside." And if it will cooperate and not malfunction, he silently added. "Dark Necrofear and I will go in and look for him."
Tristan growled in frustration, but he had to concede to the logic of finding a Water Duel Monster that might be able to put out the flames. "Okay," he said. "But you'd better find him!" He took off down the street with Electric Lizard in tow.
Yami Bakura looked down at the Infinity Ring. "Alright, Ring," he growled. "Find Mokuba."
The Ring wobbled, then glowed. The beam of light circled the sky and settled on the building.
"So. He is in there." Yami Bakura glared at the blaze. "Then let us venture into the fires of Hell, shall we?" Seeing Dark Necrofear's worried look, he added, "I won't be destroyed. After all, what devil can be incinerated in Hell?"
He started forward.
xxxx
Inside the warehouse, everyone was startled out of their wits when everything shook and the building burst into flames.
"What the heck?!" Duke cried. "Something just set this place on fire!"
Mokuba stopped short in both horror and outrage. "It's the Big Five!" he knew. "They're trying to kill us on purpose!"
A flaming beam crashed down near him and he jumped back with a yelp. Revival Jam threw himself on the fire to quench it, then swiftly reformed.
"Well, what do you know?" David mused. "They may have left us with exactly the right monster to get out of here."
"He will certainly help," Marik said. "But most likely, they planned to give us a little bit of hope so it would be that much worse when it was taken away." He grabbed Mokuba and pulled him close as another beam crashed.
"We have to get out of here!" Mokuba exclaimed. "They're probably making Seto watch everything! And . . . I don't want all of you guys to die . . . especially because of me. . . ."
"We're not going to die," Marik vowed. ". . . Although I'm not sure how we're going to live," he muttered. He took Mokuba's hand and ran down the aisle, Duke and David chasing after them.
Revival Jam did what he could, putting out fire in their path and then regenerating, but it soon seemed hopeless. It had been hard enough trying to find an exit when the building was normal. Now it was completely disorienting. Dead end after dead end, with the smoke becoming more and more stifling. Even magically-induced fire produced debilitating smoke.
"We're getting nowhere," Duke finally gasped. "The building's falling apart around us and there's no way out! The Big Five probably made it that way!"
"I'm not going to lay down and die!" Marik snapped.
"Well, me either, but I don't know what's left for us to try!" Duke shot back. He doubled over in a coughing fit.
A white sliver of light pierced the raging red and orange blaze. "There's more of you here?!" Yami Bakura's gravelly voice was unmistakable.
Marik looked to him in surprise as he approached. "How did you get in?!"
"I walked," Yami Bakura grunted. "Come; the Ring will point the way back out!"
"For once, I am really glad to see you!" David exclaimed.
The group followed the former thief through the maze of the building, while it continued to collapse around them. Revival Jam's services were needed more than once. Dark Necrofear helped too, by swinging her axe when she could and taking out assorted falling beams before they could hit.
"Have you seen my brother?!" Mokuba called over the flames.
"Yes," Yami Bakura said. "From a distance. Of course he's worried sick, but the Big Five will not release him to come for you."
"Those big jerks!" Mokuba spat, and started coughing as well.
They were about halfway to the entrance Yami Bakura had found when the Ring stopped projecting its light.
"Oh great," Duke gasped. "Now what?!"
"That path must be blocked off now," Yami Bakura realized. "Well, don't just sit here!" he yelled at the Ring. "Find another path!"
The object blinked, glowed, and a beam of light spun around like the hands of a broken clock. Then, finally, it pointed to the right.
"Good," Yami Bakura told it. "Now come on!"
The others swiftly followed, praying that this way out would not also disappear. Even holding their clothes over their noses and mouths, the smoke was becoming too strong. None of them would last much longer.
Yami Bakura blinked, squinting through the blaze. His eyes were watering. Was this anything like what it had been like in Kul Elna? No, it couldn't be. In Kul Elna there had been boiling gold. This couldn't compare with what his loved ones had suffered, being thrown into that pit as living sacrifices. But it was miserable all the same. He wasn't sure how long he would last either.
"You can do it, big brother!"
He jumped a mile. "Amunet?" he whispered, shaking.
Through the fire he thought he caught sight of a small figure with long whitish-lavender hair—his beloved younger sister. She smiled at him, ran ahead, then stopped and beckoned for him to keep coming.
He struggled forward, blinking back the bleariness in his eyes. "Amunet?!" He coughed.
"Amunet?!" Duke echoed. "Oh great, is he hallucinating?!" He looked at Yami Bakura in concern.
Yami Bakura stopped in front of a window and looked over at it. "She led me here," he whispered. "She . . . and the Ring. . . ."
"That's no good," David objected. "We tried to get out through multiple windows and the glass never shattered!"
"Well, perhaps the Ring has some ideas of its own about that," Yami Bakura replied. "Ring, shatter this glass and open the way for our escape!"
The Ring glowed brightly and blasted the window. The glass flew outward, leaving a big enough space for all of them to get through.
"Alright." Yami Bakura stepped to the side. "All of you go out first."
Marik immediately lifted Mokuba up and out the window, amid the boy's protests. "You'd know I wouldn't go out ahead of you, my friend," Marik said, and smiled.
Mokuba bit his lip. "Yeah, I know. . . . But you've gotta come now, Marik! It looks really bad out here! The building's almost completely caved in!"
"Go on," Duke encouraged. "We'll be right behind you."
Marik nodded and climbed out with Revival Jam. Duke and David, although each not wanting to go ahead of the other, didn't want to waste time arguing about it either. David swiftly pushed Duke to the window and Duke clenched his teeth, climbing out. David then chased after him.
"Now you," Yami Bakura ordered Dark Necrofear.
Reluctantly she went, only to obey her master.
"Come on," David called to Yami Bakura.
"I'm coming." Yami Bakura was just making his way to the window when another falling beam clipped him in the head as it went past. He snarled, holding a hand to the offending spot as he stumbled back. Stars had exploded in front of his eyes. But as they cleared, he could see that the beam had fallen on the windowsill and engulfed it in flames. He could no longer get out that way, and the fire was too thick for Revival Jam to put it out by falling on it from outside.
"Ring, I need another exit," he ordered.
But this time the Ring stayed silent. There was no other way out.
He laughed to himself, a dark and ironic laugh. "Well," he said, "perhaps this is one devil who won't survive the flames of Hell after all." He took a step forward and dizziness swept over him from the blow to his head and the smoke. He crashed to the floor with a groan.
"Big brother. . . ." Through darkening eyes he could see Amunet again, standing over him, her sweet eyes filled with tears. "You're not a devil. But even when you acted like one because of Zorc, I still loved you."
She threw herself over his body as the rest of the building came down in flames.
