Chapter 33

"Well, Seto..." came Noah's voice from the sky.

"Well what?" said Kaiba.

"Ha ha ha! You may have won your duel, but you've lost something more important: your brother!"

Kaiba's anger rose. "Where is he?!"

"Here's a hint. Just look down." The road appeared in front of Kaiba, and a tunnel formed across from him.

"The road's back!"

"Proceed ahead, and you may find him."

Kaiba ran for the tunnel. "Mokuba! I'm on my way!"

"Kaiba, come back!" Yugi called after him. "That may be a trap!"

Kaiba looked back at him in annoyance. "Just stay out of this, Yugi!"

"What?"

"Who do you think you are?" said Joey.

He's a fool is what he is, said Marik.

He does need to learn to accept help from others, I agreed. No one ever accomplishes anything alone.

I think he would beg to differ.

"This doesn't concern you, Wheeler!" said Kaiba. "It's family business!"

Joey crossed his arms. "Okay, fine! Lose your body for all we care, ya stuck-up jerk! Who needs him? We're better off without him anyway right, Yugi?" Kaiba disappeared through the tunnel.

"Goodbye and good riddance, Kaiba!" said Duke.

"Hold on, guys," Yugi said. "We should help him save Mokuba!"

"I agree," I said. "We shouldn't let Mokuba be punished because his brother is stubborn."

"Yeah!" said the robot monkey. "And if he finds Noah, then he might find my body!"

"He's right!" said Serenity, who held the monkey in her arms. "Following Kaiba may be the only way to save Tristan!"

"Halleluiah! Did you hear that?! Thank you, Serenity!" The monkey buried his face in her chest. "I knew you'd believe it's really me trapped in here! I can always count on you!"

Duke picked up the monkey from his tail and frowned at him. "For all we know, you're Noah's pet baboon!"

"We can't let Kaiba go alone," said Yugi. "I'm going to go after him!" Then he ran for the tunnel.

"Hey Yugi, wait!" said Tea. "I'm going too!"

"So am I!" I said, running after them.

Well, it's better than waiting around for more trouble to strike, said Marik.

I caught up with Yugi and Tea, and we walked until we reached a fork in the road. "Great," said Yugi. "Wanna flip a coin?"

"Nope!" said Tea. She pointed to the left. "He went this way!" Then she ran off.

"Tea! You sure about that?"

"I have absolutely no idea!"

"That makes two of us." Yugi glanced at me as I ran beside him. "How about you?"

"My magic isn't usually that great at tracking," I said. I paused as I focused on my senses. "But with so few real people around and Kaiba's strong emotions... Yeah, I think we're going the right way."

Yugi smiled. "Great." He looked ahead and frowned when he saw Tea so far away. "Slow down, Tea! Your legs are longer than mine, remember?"

Tea did slow a little. "Hey, check it out, guys!"

"Yeah! There's a light ahead!"

"I hope that means we chose the right path!"

"Well, we're about to find out!"

We reached the end of the tunnel and found ourselves outside in a wooded area. Before us loomed a giant house. "Wow," I breathed.

"It's some kind of an old mansion or something," said Tea.

"Really old," said Yugi. He tried the gate, but it was locked.

"Be careful, Yugi! Whatever this place is, someone doesn't want us going in there!"

Then why is it here? said Marik.

"But I wonder why?" said Yugi. "Hey, do you hear what I hear?"

"It sounds like crying," I said. "And it's coming from inside."

"I hear it too," said Tea. "It's a baby!"

"Maybe that's some kind of virtual nursery," said Yugi.

"Or, what if... That baby's all alone!" Tea's eyes widened in shock and concern.

"We gotta get in there and find out!"

But it can't be a real baby, said Marik.

You don't know that for sure.

We managed to enter the mansion. It was huge with many hallways and doors. "I still hear it, but there's not a baby in sight!" Yugi said. "And it's getting louder!"

"Let's go that way!" Tea said, moving to the right. "It's gotta be coming from one of these rooms!"

I followed her into the room. "No babies in here," I said. We tried another room.

"Another empty room!" said Yugi.

"This place seems to be deserted!" said Tea.

"Weird," I said. What was the point of this place?

"Hey, I found something!" Yugi shouted from the next room over. Tea and I raced to meet him. "It's a rattle!"

"I'd be crying too if I were stuck In a creepy old house with no rattle," said Tea.

"You know what? I don't think there's really a baby in this place at all."

"Then who's crying?" Tea appeared thoughtful. "Unless it's just a digital sound file that's part of Noah's freaky virtual universe."

"Could be," I agreed.

"Exactly! Huh?" Yugi picked up something from an end table. "Check it out, guys! It looks like a picture of someone. This might tell us where we are!"

Tea and I leaned in closer to him. "So, who's in the snapshot, Yugi?" said Tea.

Yugi gasped. "This is weird." The picture appeared to be a photo of Noah and a man!

"Do you think Noah wanted us to find this?" I asked.

"I don't know, but let's keep it for now and go look for Kaiba."

"He's probably down the hallway," said Tea. So, we headed that way. Soon, we saw two people in a room with a projection screen. "It's Noah and Kaiba! But what's going on?"

"Does this thing mean anything to you, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, handing him the photo.

I felt Kaiba's surprise. "It's a trick," he said. "This is a picture of my step-father."

"Your step-dad? With Noah?!"

"Pay attention to the show, Seto!" said Noah. "I think it will clear things up for you!"

"Show?" I said. I looked up at the projection screen to see a movie playing. On the screen, Gozaburo handed Noah a picture of Kaiba.

"Who's this kid?" said the Noah on screen.

"He's my latest acquisition," said Gozaburo. "His name is Seto, and he and his brother will be coming to live with us. He's extremely intelligent. You could learn a lot from him! And that's my plan... Seto will be here to constantly challenge you. My hope is that having him around the house will motivate you to improve your studies. After all, if I'm going to hand Kaiba Corp over to you someday, Noah, you'll have to prove to me that you have the intellect it takes to run a company of this magnitude!"

"All right. You won't be disappointed, father!"

"What did he say?!" exclaimed the Kaiba beside me. I felt waves of shock roll off him.

"That's his dad!" said Yugi.

"Not quite what you were expecting, is it, Seto?" said Noah.

"You and I being step-brothers?" Kaiba said in disbelief.

"But it's all true! I am Gozaburo's one true son. And I was always supposed to inherit his empire! You were nothing but another one of my father's servants... Brought in to motivate me. That's the only reason my father let riff raff like you into his house. To train me! And that's the story of how an orphan with no class became the president of Kaiba Corp."

"Not true!"

"Oh, it's true! And now the time has finally arrived for me to reclaim my rightful position as the head of my father's empire! Sorry, I guess this means that you're out of a job!"

"Noah! Your story makes no sense! If you're really Gozaburo's son, how is it that I never met you before? Answer that, Noah!"

"Well, that's part two of my story!"

Good, I said to Marik. I am interested to see where this is going.

If what Noah says is true, it would explain why he would go to such great lengths to trap us here, said Marik.

"Alert!" said a computer voice. "Alert! Alert!"

Noah gasped. "Oh no! Sorry, but I have to cut this short. Don't move. I'll be back after I deal with them. You're staying here! Understand?" Then he disappeared.

"The rest of the gang's in trouble!" Yugi said, concerned.

"Then let's find them!" I said.

"Right!" said Tea. The four of us dashed out of the mansion and quickly found the road. Then we saw our friends near an overturned pickup truck. Noah stood off to the side, scolding the Big Five.

"Hey, guys!" Tea called.

"We found you!" said Yugi. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're all fine!" said Serenity.

Yugi grinned. "Awesome! That's the best news I've heard all day!" He enthusiastically hugged Joey.

"Those wimps never stood a chance!" said Joey, hugging him back.

"Did those guys try to take your bodies by force?" I asked.

"Yes," Duke said in anger.

"That's horrible!"

"I guess the action never stops!" said Yugi.

"You can say that again!" said Joey.

"This just doesn't add up!" Kaiba said. He stared at the photograph of Noah in frustration.

"Kaiba?" said Yugi. "Could Noah's story about you being your long lost step-brother actually be true?"

"Noah's story is nothing but one big lie designed to mess with my head, Yugi! The supposed conversation he had with Gozaburo would have happened over six years ago, which is when this was taken based on the imprinted date. But look closely. Noah looks the same as he does now!"

Tea gasped. "He hasn't aged in six years!"

"Well, couldn't the Noah we see just be a projection of how he looked back then?" I said. "This is a virtual world. He doesn't need to use his current body."

"Possibly..." said Yugi.

"But why go through all that trouble?" said Tea.

"Maybe Noah would tell us if we asked him," I suggested. But the boy appeared too busy chastising the Big Five to pay attention to us. So, we all started walking down an empty highway through the desert. "I do have a feeling he's telling the truth."

"That's none of your business!" Kaiba snapped.

It's our business because we've been pulled into this mess, Marik growled.

"But it does explain why Noah brought us all here!" said Yugi.

"Yeah," said Joey. "He wants to prove to Kaiba's step-dad that he's the better son!"

"Mm-hmm," Duke agreed. "So, to show his power, Noah teamed up with the Big Five to defeat us!"

"And he's holding Mokuba captive to weaken Kaiba!" said Yugi.

"It all makes sense to me," I said.

"I've heard enough!" said Kaiba. He turned away from us and started walking away.

"Stop right there!" Tea called after him. She stopped right in front of him, blocking his path.

"What's the problem?"

"Going somewhere? If so, then that's the problem! You got that, Kaiba?!"

"Just step aside. I already told you geeks, this is family business, and it doesn't concern you! So, move it!"

"That's where you're wrong, Kaiba!" Kaiba pushed past her, but she ran around him again.

"Just let him go, Tea!" said Duke. 'He's not worth it!"

"You may be too concerned with yourself to realize this, but because of your 'family business,' we're all trapped here! Don't you realize we can help you save Mokuba?" Kaiba turned his face away. "Look at me when I'm talking to you! Mokuba is our friend, and we wanna help him!"

Exactly, said Marik.

"Why don't you worry about him instead?" said Kaiba. We all spun around to see what he meant.

"Look, guys!" Yugi said, pointing to someone standing on a cliff. "Up there! Tristan!"

"That's not Tristan, remember?" said Joey.

"It's the techno geek of the Big Five, Nesbitt!" said Duke. "Even though we kicked his nerdy butt in that duel, he still took Tristan's body!"

Nesbitt laughed. "I'm not alone in here! Today's special is..."

"Five for one!" said another voice. "And the verdict..."

"Is in!" said a third. "Our combined force will destroy you!" Then five duel monsters appeared beside them on the cliff.

"They're all using Tristan's body!" said Duke.

"Give him back!" Serenity cried.

"Listen, Yugi!" said a fourth voice. "There's only one way we'll return your friend. But believe me, junior, the odds are in our favor!"

"Hey, that's crump!" said Tea. "Sicko!"

"All right, tell us what we have to do to get Tristan back from your control!" said Yugi.

"Why, duel us!" said A final, fifth voice. "Win, and he's yours."

During all the talk, I noticed Kaiba slipped away. I hesitated. If there was going to be a duel here, I may not be much use. You may be able to get something through to Kaiba if you follow him, Marik suggested.

Why do you think that?

You're the empath. You have a special effect on people.

Well, I can try. I focused on reaching out to Yami. I am going to follow Kaiba if that's alright.

It is better if he is not alone, agreed Yami. Just be careful.

Alright. I took a deep breath and ran after Kaiba. I said nothing as I fell in step beside him. He did not feel as annoyed as earlier, which I assumed was progress.

"What are you doing?" he said gruffly.

"They don't need me back there," I said.

"Neither do I."

"Then that means I can choose where I want to be, which is here." He had no reply to this, and his emotions did not seem threatening. I took another breath as I walked with him. Silence passed between us for a long time. What am I supposed to say?

Whatever comes natural, said Marik. You're the expert.

I held in a sigh. I'm no expert. By I had to try something. Kaiba's emotions were mostly hidden from me, so I focused on how I thought he should feel. "I am sorry about all this," I said. "It's a giant mess."

"Don't be," said Kaiba. "It's Noah's fault for dragging you into family business. You shouldn't be here."

"Right." I paused. "It must be difficult for you to face your past like this."

"I am not facing anything. The past is best left forgotten."

"I don't know about that. Sometimes there are things I want to forget, but that would mean I would have to get rid of the good too. I want to remember how hard my brother Raiden worked for us after our parents-"

Kaiba's emotions softened slightly. "Your brother did work hard, and you should be proud. He would tell you to focus on the future."

I shrugged. "Yeah, perhaps, but... I'm just saying, the past is important because it helped build who we were. Besides, if we spend so much time trying to forget it, that's just giving it power, right? I think it's best to just acknowledge it and move on." Kaiba did not respond to this, and his emotions gave me no clue as to what he was thinking. So much for being an expert.

I think you made some progress, said Marik.

If you say so. Silence fell again. This time, I decided to speak to the companion in my head. Hey, Marik?

Yes?

I'm sorry about everything that has happened to you. I am going to help you so you can have a better future. You know that, right?

Yes, you have mentioned it.

And I'm not just talking about getting your body back. I want to help you after that. You deserve to be happy too. I can't change what happened, but I'll help you create something better... the right way.

Marik did not respond at first. When he did, I felt his emotions leak through. Thank you, Samia. You are a great friend. I will do things right from now on. I smiled. This too was progress.

Kaiba and I walked up a hill on a long, stone stairway. "Mokuba!" Kaiba shouted as we neared the top. "I know you're out there! Can you hear me? Mokuba!"

"I doubt it's going to be that easy," I said. "If he can hear you, Noah won't let him respond."

Kaiba clenched his teeth in frustration. "This Noah kid is trying my patience. If he has some sort of grudge against me, he should have the guts to stand up to me face to face. But capturing my defenseless brother and hiding him in this virtual labyrinth only shows what a spineless coward Noah really is."

"Maybe. It is a pretty cheap shot." Then again, maybe the Big Five captured Mokuba without Noah's orders and Noah was just taking advantage of the situation. Finally, we reached the top of the hill. Before us stood a large building, and I felt Kaiba's shock. "What is it?

"It can't be! That building... It's... my design! But I've never shown those blueprints to anyone! How could Noah have recreated it? Who is this kid?!"

"This just gets weirder and weirder."

I wonder what he's up to, said Marik.

"This doesn't make any sense," Kaiba continued. "It's a virtual copy of the Duel Monsters Theme Park I designed! There's no way Noah could have known about this." He started walking around back, and I followed. "The blueprints for Kaiba Land are top-secret, and construction isn't scheduled to begin for another four years. But it's all right here, every detail. They even included my backstage security system."

"Security system?" I said. Kaiba appeared to be staring at a giant chess board. He made a move, and the back door swung open.

"Checkmate, checkmate," said a woman's voice. "Access to restricted area granted."

"That's pretty cool."

"Maybe I'll get some answers in here," Kaiba said. I followed him inside the building. It appeared empty, but then I noticed a door.

"I wonder what's in there."

"If I had to guess, I'd say it leads to more images from my past." We entered the room. It was empty except for a projector and screen. "What's this? A cheap old movie projector? Get with the times, Noah." He turned on the projector. An image of a young Noah being chased by Gozaburo appeared on the screen.

"I betcha can't catch me, Dad!" said Noah, giggling.

"It's Noah! Nice outfit, dork." The movie showed Noah and Gozaburo playing games, celebrating a birthday, and going on a fishing trip. "How sad. That little twerp is still trying to convince me that he's Gozaburo Kaiba's son. I'm afraid it'll take more than a few fake home movies to do that."

"What would be the point of convincing you of a lie?"

"I don't know. What's this?"

A grieving woman walked down the steps of a church, holding a portrait of Noah in her hands. "How can this have happened?" she said.

"Don't worry," said Gozaburo. "Noah can still be saved. I'll find a way."

"But how?"

"There's nothing I can't do."

"What is all this supposed to mean? That Noah was in some sort of an accident?"

"Looks like it," I said.

"If these images are real, then that would mean that something devastating happened to Noah right before Gozaburo adopted me and Mokuba. But why would Noah want me to know all of this information about his past? Unless someone else is behind all this." The movie ended, so we left the room.

"Maybe he just wants you to believe him."

"If he wants to take me down, it should not matter whether I believe him. He's clearly playing games."

Now that I would believe, said Marik.

Do you think he's really Kaiba's brother?

I see no reason for him to lie.

"In the end, it doesn't matter who he is," said Kaiba. "I will crush him just the same."

If I can learn to understand Noah, I wonder if I can convince him to stop.

With your powers, it is possible.

"Then let's find him."

We continued walking until we found a subway platform. "Noah may have tried his best to re-create my duel monsters theme park," said Kaiba, "but it's obvious that this is just a virtual rip-off."

A train whistled. "Blue Eyes White Train approaching the platform," said a man on the PA system. "Stand behind the white line, and please let all passengers off the vehicle before boarding. Welcome to Kaiba land. Please watch your step."

"At least he got this right."

"Step in and stand clear of the closing doors."

Are we really getting on board? said Marik.

I don't see how we have a choice, I said, climbing on after Kaiba.

"This train better lead me to Mokuba!" said Kaiba.

"May I have your attention please!" said a voice on the PA that sounded like Noah. "All passengers who have stolen family empires from their rightful owners, listen carefully!"

"Noah!"

"Prepare to exit at the next stop." The train exited Kaiba Land and headed onto an elevated track traveling over a stark landscape of volcanoes and molten lava. "Attention, you fool! We are now leaving Kaiba Land. Welcome to your final destination! For eternity! And don't mind the lava pits below. The molten rock is only two thousand degrees!"

The train stopped, and I saw Noah waiting outside on a small shelf of rock jutting out of the lava sea. "Ahhh, right on schedule, Seto," Noah said as we exited the train. "Please watch your step while exiting. I wouldn't want you to burn to smithereens before our duel!"

"Look!" said Kaiba. "I want my brother back right now, you cowardly little runt!"

"He's my brother."

"Noah! Watch what you say!"

"Mokuba hates you! He'll be much better off when I scatter your mind throughout cyberspace!"

"Not true!" I shouted.

Noah shot me a look. "Stay out of this!" He turned back to Kaiba. "The heat is on, Seto! Literally! And it's time for me to do what I've been waiting to do for years. Prove to myself, and prove to my father... That I am superior to you in every single way, Seto!"

"If you're so great, why am I the president of Kaiba Corp?"

"Because of an unfortunate twist of fate that never should have happened! But I'm about to correct that mistake. Gozaburo Kaiba is my father, not yours! And he always intended to pass his company on to me!"

"Keep dreaming kid."

"It's all true!"

"Who are you? I saw your home movies, and you owe me some answers!"

"I would like to know as well," I said.

"You want the truth, Seto?" said Noah. "Are you sure you can handle the truth! Well, you won't be here much longer anyway. So what's the harm? It's true! I haven't aged in years! In fact, this isn't really me! The real Noah is up there!" He pointed up to the sky where a metal sphere appeared. "Behold! Your true step-brother!"

Kaiba looked up in surprise. "Explain yourself!"

"That metal sphere above us is a shell... Which protects and nourishes my living brain!"

I gasped. "How is that possible?"

"Science!"

"Did you say your brain's up there?!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"That's right. It's hardwired to a computer that projects a virtual image of me! But things weren't always that way. I used to be a normal kid... A normal kid who had everything! As the only child of a multi-billionaire, I was afforded every luxury known to man. My father's servants waited on me hand and foot! I was groomed for success from the time I could walk. Mathematicians and scientists from around the globe lined up for the chance to teach me, the son of the world's most powerful man. Musicians... Champion athletes... They were all lured to our front door by my father, Gozaburo Kaiba... With the sole purpose of raising me into an educated, well-rounded, future president of Kaiba Corp!

"So you see, Seto, it was me who was destined to run my father's company, not you! And I would have, had it not been for a freak accident! What happened to me is of little importance. The point is, my body was rendered useless, but my mind was still sharp as ever. So, my father used his company's cutting edge technology to save me. He linked my mind to a central computer, transforming my brain waves into electromagnetic pulses. Every thought pattern, every memory, every bit of knowledge I had was digitized and downloaded into my father's mainframe computer. It was the end of my former life as a human and the beginning of my new life as a virtual being whose power is limitless!

"Soon after that, you came along. Originally, father adopted you to motivate and challenge me as part of my training to take over Kaiba Corp, but that was no longer possible. Although I was extremely powerful in cyberspace... With no body of my own, I couldn't serve as the future president of my father's company... until now! So you see, Seto, I'm not human anymore. I exist only as a digital file In a supercomputer built by my father! But as soon as I defeat you in a duel, proving once and for all that I should be running Kaiba Corp, I'll upload my mind into your body. Then I'll fulfill my father's wishes by taking over the company! Ha ha ha ha!"

That is actually quite impressive, said Marik.

But he's wrong, I said. "Noah!" I called out. "I'm sorry about what happened to you, but doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to prove anything to anyone."

Noah glared at me. "Silence! You don't know anything!"

I don't think he's going to listen to reason, said Marik.

There's got to be some way to help him without hurting others.

"You expect me to believe that?" said Kaiba. "Noah, please. The only thing more ridiculous than that story Is you out-dueling me!"

"Then let's go!" said Noah. "What better way to prove my power over you... Than by defeating you at your own pathetic game, Seto!"

"I've heard enough! Is that clear? I re-built Kaiba Corp from the ground up! On my own terms! With no help at all! That company is what it is because of me! No one else could run it! Especially not some kid!"

"Really? I'll show you real power... Let's go!"

I sighed. I guess we've got no choice but to watch.

I wonder if Noah is any better at dueling than the Big Five.

Probably, but Kaiba can still beat him. I looked around, noticing no on else in the area. I just hope my friends are alright.