Chapter Nineteen

Yami Bakura was still reeling as they headed for Kaiba Land. Tristan had opted to drive, knowing Yami Bakura likely wouldn't feel up to it and wanting to give him a chance to further reunite with Bakura. Both Bakuras were grateful.

"Yami, you can't imagine how worried I was when I saw you laying so still," Bakura said softly as they sat on the middle row. "And I know I can't imagine how horrible it was for you, thinking I was dead. . . ."

Yami Bakura grunted. "I haven't had such a treacherous day since the night of the Kul Elna massacre," he admitted. "Although the days when that fiend tortured me come close."

"I'm so sorry," Bakura whispered.

"And speaking of Kul Elna . . ." Yami Bakura stared off into the distance. "I saw Amunet tonight. . . ."

Bakura sat up like a shot. "You saw her, Yami?!" He stared, his eyes wide.

"Yes. . . . I thought I was hallucinating at first. But she helped lead me right to the spot where I was able to get the others out. Then, after I was hit on the head by that blasted beam, she came back and threw herself over me. Now that I'm aware enough to think about it, I know she must have kept me from being killed when the building came down."

Bakura smiled. "I'm sure of it." He laid a hand over Yami Bakura's. "Death never stops the love of family."

Yami Bakura looked down at that hand. So gentle, and yet so strong. . . .

"No," he said. "It wouldn't. I've never actually seen her since Kul Elna. I've sensed her presence at times, but to actually see her . . . no. Not until tonight."

"That's such an incredible gift," Bakura whispered. "I wish I could see Amane, even just once. . . ." He trailed off. "Did she say anything to you, Yami?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura said slowly. "She told me I could succeed in getting everyone safely out. Later, she . . . said she had always loved me, even when I acted like a devil because of Zorc."

"And something else too, I think," Bakura said, peering at him.

Yami Bakura grunted and looked away. "She said I wasn't a devil. I was calling myself one."

"And you're not!" Bakura firmly exclaimed. "Oh Yami, you're not! What will it take to convince you?"

"I doubt anyone's words can ever convince me," Yami Bakura said. "I have to come to the conclusion on my own. It's been such a roller-coaster of emotions throughout this wretched day. But if I can't ever regret attacking Johnson, or my other dark thoughts regarding the Big Five, I will never be considered 'good' in some circles. How can I regret going after people who need to be stopped?"

"Maybe you never can," Bakura said. "Maybe you shouldn't. You've said yourself that everyone has their own ideas of good. Don't you even consider yourself good by your own standards?"

A shrug. "That's part of the problem, Bakura. By this point I don't even know what is good anymore, even by my standards. My entire way of thinking has been altered and I am still trying to sort it out." His eyes narrowed. "But I do know that I cannot consider attacking the Big Five 'bad.'"

"And I can't either," Bakura said softly.

"Amunet kept talking to me after I fell unconscious," Yami Bakura said. "I heard her vaguely. She said everything was going to be alright and I wasn't going to be seriously hurt."

"You haven't been," Bakura said. "But when this is over, you should still be examined at the infirmary anyway. Everyone who was in that fire should be."

Yami Bakura didn't acknowledge that. "She also said it was strange to see me looking so different, but she still recognized me from my face and hair, and even my eyes, despite them being a different color."

Bakura smiled a bit. "Yes, that was how I recognized you when you came into my room that night in your form from mortality." He gave the other a thoughtful look. "But you're sort of coming to prefer this other form now, aren't you?"

A shrug. "At least I don't feel three millennia old when I use it. I feel more like your contemporary, and I like that. But there is that pesky problem of so little muscle."

"Oh Yami," Bakura chuckled.

"Although I know I'm attractive regardless," Yami Bakura continued with a smirk.

Bakura laughed. "I guess you always will be rather vain about your physical appearance," he said. "At least that's one area where you're not berating yourself."

". . . There was something else good that happened while you were gone," Yami Bakura said as he sobered. "Several of the group actually said they wanted to be friends. Heh. Can you imagine that?" He leaned back in the seat.

Now Bakura gently squeezed his hand. "Of course I can," he said. "They're all coming to see what I already saw."

"Not Tristan, naturally, but Joey actually showed such an interest. That's almost as surprising." Yami Bakura stared off into the distance.

Bakura sneaked a look at Tristan, visible in the rear-view mirror. He could hear the conversation, of course, and the guilt flashing through his eyes was unmistakable.

"By now, I'm sure even Seto Kaiba likes you," Bakura said. "How could he not?"

"Perhaps he does," Yami Bakura mused. "Not that I was trying to get him to."

"You would never do that." Bakura smiled. "But he has plenty of reason to now."

Yami Bakura grunted, but he couldn't deny it. Instead he frowned, giving Bakura a searching look. "When I thought you were dead, I found fragments of your clothing," he remembered. "But you're wearing your clothes. What happened? Was what I saw an illusion?"

Bakura looked caught. "Well . . . no . . . not exactly. . . ."

"What, exactly?!" Yami Bakura demanded. He sat up straight, staring his descendant down with protective eyes.

Bakura sighed. He would never be able to get around this. He hated to make Yami Bakura worry more, or grow angry again, but . . . what was, was. It would have to be told eventually. He leaned forward, sweeping his hair around his shoulder. "My clothes are torn. . . ."

Yami Bakura leaned forward to look. The skin visible through the tears was red and sore. "You've been burned," he said in outrage.

"It's really not bad, Yami," Bakura protested. He straightened, letting his hair fall back into place. "It hurt at first, but it doesn't now. . . . Not so much. . . ."

Yami Bakura snarled. "They will still pay," he vowed. "It wasn't enough to play pranks on me and make me think you were dead when you weren't. They had to harm you for real!" His eyes flashed. "They won't get away with this."

"Oh Yami. . . ." Bakura gave him a worried look and took the clenched fist between his hands. "Please be careful. You couldn't handle losing me. I know I couldn't handle losing you."

The fist stiffened, then slowly loosened. Yami Bakura looked to the boy he had longed so desperately to see again, into the soft eyes filled with fear and love.

"You won't lose me, Bakura," he said. "I won't leave you."

Bakura smiled. He believed it.

xxxx

Seto had chosen to ride in the Ishtars' van again. Mokuba was sitting next to him, silent. Although he was clearly happy about being back with Seto and knowing Bakura and Yami Bakura were alright, it was obvious that something was still bothering him.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto finally asked. "What's wrong?"

Mokuba stared at the floor. "Well . . . I just have to wonder why all of this had to go so wrong," he said bitterly. "You had this really awesome game, and then the Big Five had to go wreck it and cause all this trouble and heartache for everyone. People have almost died, Seto!"

Seto's eyes narrowed. "I know. And I don't know why it had to happen either, except that life has always been like that for us. The trick is not to give in to despair. We have to rise above it."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it gets so that's not so easy anymore." Mokuba stared at the floor. "What good is it to keep bringing out all these awesome products when someone's just ready and waiting to misuse them?"

"Hey, we've brought a lot of happiness to people with our products. Don't forget that." Seto watched his brother in concern. "The nutcases are a very small portion of our customers."

Mokuba sighed. "Do you really feel like that, Seto?" He looked up with worried eyes. "I'm afraid that one of these days, you'll get so discouraged that you'll give up too."

"As long as I have something worth fighting for, I'll never give up," Seto vowed. "And our happiness is worth that, don't you think?"

"Yeah . . ." Mokuba said slowly.

Seto sighed. "Is this really all that's bothering you?"

Mokuba looked away. "Sure it is."

"It must get hard when our enemies keep trying to use you to get at me," Seto said.

Mokuba's shoulders slumped. "Okay, yeah, that's really hard. I don't want to be the reason you're in a lot of pain, Seto!" He looked up sorrowfully. "You're probably always having to worry about me. How can you relax or have any enjoyment out of life at all?"

"Because we're in this together," Seto said firmly. "As long as you're here, kid, I can be happy. But I don't want you to keep getting used by our enemies either. I wish I knew how to make it stop." He hesitated. "I doubt it would help at this point, but if it would, would you want to give up KaibaCorp?"

Mokuba froze, staring at Seto in disbelief. Up front, the Ishtars were also stunned.

"But Seto, KaibaCorp is your whole life," he protested.

"Because you're my whole life," Seto countered. "KaibaCorp would be meaningless without you, Mokuba! I took over KaibaCorp so we'd have a better future. But sometimes I wonder if it's really worked."

Mokuba bit his lip and looked down. "Sometimes I wonder too," he confessed. "But I'd hate to still be living in the orphanage." He looked up again. "I started to lose you for a while, Seto, when Gozaburo corrupted you and then later when you got obsessed with Yugi and started getting caught up in your hate. But you've changed since then! I have you back again. And to have you back . . . the bad stuff is worth it."

Seto's expression softened. ". . . I never did tell you why I made that scene of accusing you of telling Gozaburo about the plan to take over KaibaCorp."

"I never asked." Mokuba looked stunned again. "I thought you really believed I'd done that. . . . Then in Noa's world, Lector said it was all an act to make Gozaburo think he was going to win. And he said . . . he said you were the one who really got the information out to Gozaburo. I didn't want to believe it. And after that awful experience with Noa brainwashing me, I wanted to just put it all behind me and think about the future, like you always do."

"I should have told you the truth long ago," Seto said. "Lector was right, but not entirely. He acted like my plan was selfish and would only benefit me. But I did it for us, Mokuba! You were the only one I trusted, but I wasn't sure you would be able to act convincingly enough to fool Gozaburo. So I didn't tell you about my plan to trick him. I knew the scene had to be real or he would never buy it and let us keep gaining stock in KaibaCorp."

Mokuba looked away. "It really hurt," he said softly. "It was the worst day of my life. But I still trusted you, Seto. I wasn't going to side with Gozaburo against you."

"I knew you wouldn't," Seto said. "But I'm sorry I did that to you. If I could have thought of any other way that would have worked just as well, I would have done that instead."

Mokuba smiled. "I know. What I told Noa was true—you would never hurt me on purpose. Not unless there was a reason behind it like that. You've always looked out for me."

"We've always looked out for each other," Seto said. "What I told you during the duel with Noa was true too—you saved me. But not just when you drew me a Blue Eyes White Dragon to give me hope; you save me every single day. You always gave me hope when Gozaburo was around—hope that things would one day be better for us and a reason to keep striving for that. And you give me hope now. You keep me human."

Mokuba snuggled close to Seto. "I'm glad. You always give me hope too, Seto. I want to be as strong as you someday."

Seto drew an arm around him. "You're already stronger than I am," he said quietly.

Mokuba stared. "Huh? But Seto, I'm nothing like you!"

"That's why you're stronger," Seto said. "You didn't handle our situations the same way I did. You have a different mindset, and you're better off for it."

"Because you were always there for me," Mokuba said. "I couldn't have done it alone. I wish you wouldn't always think you have to."

Seto hesitated. "We're a team, Mokuba. But I don't want to burden you with my problems. I want you to stay as innocent as you are for as long as you can. Coming into a realization of the darkness of the real world is harsh and cold."

"I already know a lot about that," Mokuba said softly. "But I worry about you all the time, big brother. I want to know what's upsetting you so I can share your pain and make it easier for you."

"It's easier for me when you don't know all of it," Seto said. Another hesitation, and then, "But I've ended up telling you the main things that are bothering me now."

"I'm sure it also hurts a lot that the Big Five are wrecking your game," Mokuba said.

"I'm going to put it back to normal," Seto said. "I won't let them beat me!"

Mokuba smiled. "You're the best, Seto."

"We're coming up on Kaiba Land now," Marik suddenly spoke up from the front. He sounded tense. "And they're not going to make it easy to get in."

Indeed, another army of enemy Duel Monsters was waiting at the front gate. Several Dragons roared, while Spellcasters aimed their staffs and Warriors readied their weapons.

"You know what's worse?" Mokuba gasped. "Most of these monsters are cards Seto's used! Or cards that have been used against him!"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I expected something like this." He started to open the van door. "Battle Ox, attack!"

"Seto, why are you getting out?!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"I'm going to try something," Seto said. "It worked for the Pharaoh; maybe it will work for me too. Come forth, Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He raised his hand to the sky.

Mokuba and the Ishtars watched in amazement. In a moment there came an answering roar and the mighty beast flew down near Seto.

"It worked," Mokuba said softly. "The dragon came to Seto. . . ."

"They have been bound since ancient Egypt," Ishizu said. She was not as surprised as Mokuba.

"Only the Seto of ancient Egypt really wasn't Seto Kaiba after all," Marik said. "Atem said he saw him in the afterlife. Apparently he was Kaiba's ancestor."

"Then the dragon has been bound to the family line," Ishizu said without skipping a beat.

Soon everyone was joining in the fight with their Duel Monsters as well.

"You know," Joey remarked, "it's kind of weird that we haven't fallen into any traps. . . ."

A Kunai with Chain promptly wrapped around him.

Mai facepalmed. "You were saying?" She pulled out a large feather she had found nearby. "Harpie's Feather Duster!"

The chain broke. Joey looked to her in relief. "Hey, thanks, Mai."

"Just be more careful in the future," Mai replied.

The fight raged through the front gate and onto the Kaiba Land grounds. Seto's Blue Eyes, catching sight of the Blue Eyes statue in front of the main building, roared in greeting and waited for a response. Upon not receiving one, he tilted his head, puzzled, and then had to turn his attention to an attacking Shinato.

"Blue Eyes! Dive out of the way!" Seto yelled.

The dragon did, and roared in approval as he discovered a Dragon Treasure. But since that only put him at the same attack strength as Shinato, he didn't try attacking himself. Instead, he focused on a Dark Magician.

As the battle continued, and as they drew ever closer to the central computer, Seto continued to turn over the possibilities in his mind of what would happen when they arrived and he tried to shut down the game. Gansley had said it would be erased, but the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. The game was how the Big Five had their solid forms. They wouldn't want to risk losing those. But naturally there would be some kind of consequence for Seto trying to shut down the game. Maybe it wouldn't have anything to do with the game at all.

His eyes glinted. That was it.

Quickly he glanced over at Mokuba. The boy was standing near Marik and they were fighting enemy Duel Monsters. Hopefully Mokuba wouldn't see what he was about to do. He couldn't risk telling the boy and having the Big Five eavesdrop, but he didn't want Mokuba to be traumatized by the sight.

The pathway was open to the building now. He ran ahead before more monsters could interfere. Yes, they would want to make it difficult, just enough so that he wouldn't suspect the truth, but easy enough that he would most assuredly make it through the obstacle course and inside. They wanted him to try to shut the game down. They wanted it because they knew it would backfire so seriously on him.

He ran over to the computer and started to type. "Override!" he ordered. "End simulation, now!"

"Please identify yourself," the computer responded in its matter-of-fact, emotionless tone.

"Seto Kaiba," Seto said.

The camera on top of the monitor came on, scanning first his face and then going in for a close-up retina scan of his eyes. "Subject identified as Seto Kaiba. Ending simulation."

Without warning the keyboard came alive with electricity. Seto screamed and fell backwards, then collapsed to the floor.

Just arriving in the doorway, Téa screamed too. "Kaiba!"

Atem ran up beside her. "Oh no!"

The Big Five's cruel laughter echoed all around them as they materialized in the room.

"So, the final part of our plan worked perfectly," Gansley jeered.

"What did you do?!" Atem snarled.

"Just a little reprogramming and rewiring," Nesbitt laughed. "Naturally we wouldn't really risk the game being stopped. We need it to sustain our solid forms. When Mr. Kaiba tried to stop it, he triggered the real fail-safe."

"You killed him," Téa whispered in sickened horror.

"And now we're free to take over KaibaCorp and this city as we choose," Gansley said.

"You're wrong." Atem's eyes flashed with fury. "You will never claim either one. In Kaiba's memory, and for the future of all the rest of us, I will stop you!"

"And so will I." Yami Bakura came up next to him. "All of you must pay for what you did to Bakura. I won't show mercy."

"But first . . ." Another voice joined in, one that shocked everyone in the room to their cores. "I'm stripping all of you of your solid, holographic bodies." Seto stood up, the remote control in his hands. "I just told the computer that the five of you are viruses that must be removed from the system."

"Kaiba?!" Atem and Téa cried.

"What?! How?! Who . . . ?!" Crump was having a panic attack, and all the rest of the Big Five looked equally shaken and stunned.

"You were pretending all the time?!" Téa's eyes flashed. For some reason, that made her upset.

"I figured out your real plan was to get rid of me," Seto said. "I made sure to play along and get you to think I'd been electrocuted so you'd come out. Now, you're out of my game for good." He pressed the button on his remote.

"No!" Gansley exclaimed.

"Please, we must be able to talk about this!" Johnson begged.

But sparks sizzled and crackled around their holographic bodies. The men screamed in pain. Then they were transparent, left as the wandering spirits they had been before. The game had rejected them.

Atem looked to Yami Bakura. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," Yami Bakura sneered.

"Then together we banish you all to the Shadow Realm!" Atem cried. "You will torment us and our loved ones no longer!"

Both the Puzzle and the Ring glowed brightly. Shadow Realm fog closed in around the Big Five despite their protests. When it faded, they were gone.

Atem sighed. "It's over."

"For the time being," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Big brother!" Mokuba reached the doorway and tore past everyone to get to Seto.

Seto pulled him close. "It's okay now, kid. They're gone. They won't bother us any more."

Mokuba hugged him. "I'm so glad you're safe, Seto. . . ."

"And you are too," Seto said in relief. "We all are."

And the game world was fading. The monsters remained, but the world outside the building looked more and more like the Domino City they all knew and loved every moment.

"So . . . what happens now?" Joey wondered.

"The game is over," the Dark Magician Girl said. "The portal will close. We'll all have to go through it before it does."

"Would it be so terrible if some of you got stuck over here?" Joey retorted.

"I'd love to stay and explore, and go back to that shop," the Dark Magician Girl smiled, "but we should get back. We have family over there."

"What about the monsters we've become close to?" Marik asked. "The ones who have sought us out?" He looked down at Revival Jam, who was rocking back and forth near his leg.

"Don't you know?" Dark Magician Girl smiled at him. "They're always with you. They've been yours ever since you came into possession of their cards, and they're there every time you play them."

"Then . . ." Marik picked up the affectionate Duel Monster. "This is really my Revival Jam, the one I've had all along?"

"And that's really my Red Eyes?!" Joey stared at the dragon.

"Yes," Dark Magician Girl smiled.

Yami Bakura turned to look at Dark Necrofear, who had come up beside him. "It is you," he whispered. "You've known me all this time, and you're still loyal after everything. . . ."

She looked back at him. Of course, Master.

"Hold on a minute," Mai interrupted. "I don't have a Baby Dragon card."

"No, but Joey does," Dark Magician Girl replied.

The Baby Dragon chirped in agreement.

"You're Joey's?" Mai stared at him.

"Awesome!" Joey exclaimed.

Téa beamed. "Then a part of Joey's deck has been with you ever since you came back, Mai."

"It figures that would happen," Mai said. She started to smile. "I should have known."

"You had all better say your farewells," the Dark Magician said. "We need to leave. Just remember, they will never be far away."

Everyone agreed. It was a bittersweet scene as they all said Goodbye to their new-old friends. And some of the Duel Monsters really didn't seem to want to go. Revival Jam hugged Marik and just stayed in his arms, making no move to leave. Shining Friendship perched on Téa's shoulder. Red Eyes and Blue Eyes nuzzled Joey and Seto, respectively.

Dark Necrofear embraced Yami Bakura before pulling back. I know I'm leaving you in the best of hands, Master. And I am always with you.

Yami Bakura slowly nodded, hearing her words though she did not speak. "Thank you," he said quietly.

As Dark Necrofear walked towards the portal, Revival Jam finally jumped down from Marik's arms and followed her.

"Goodbye," Marik softly called.

Revival Jam turned and waved.

Téa brushed aside a tear as Shining Friendship flew to join them. "It's going to be lonely without them physically here," she said. "I was really getting attached."

"I think he was too," Tristan said. "But it's better for them to be in their own dimension. Somehow I don't think the world's ready for Duel Monsters for real. I'm not sure Duel Monsters are ready for the world, either."

"Yeah," Téa sighed. "You're probably right."

Marik took out his deck and shuffled through it until he found Revival Jam. "I know it's not the same, but they are still with us," he said. "Maybe when we play the game, the holograms are infused with their spirits."

"That's a nice thought," Bakura smiled. "Who knows; maybe that's true."

"I'm still wondering how the Big Five managed to tear open this rift in the first place," Seto said.

"Pegasus managed to tear one open just by creating the game with monster characters that already existed," Atem said. "Perhaps when the Big Five made your game real, that also opened the portal."

"That's kind of scary if just creating the game is what did it," Téa said. "I mean, we're just lucky that most Duel Monsters are nice. What if someone created some other kind of game and opened a rift to where most of the characters are not good guys?"

Yugi shuddered. "That . . . would be a problem." He smiled. "But we'd solve it by sticking together, like we always do."

No one disagreed with that.