THE PAST

Throughout high school, Yugi Muto had always been a relatively early riser, and it was a habit that remained with him even after he graduated. The school day usually began at eight thirty a.m. His alma mater was close enough to wake a half hour prior and walk over (which his best friend Joey did a lot) but Yugi would typically wake at about six. He preferred to finish homework fresh in the morning rather than toiling late into the night like most kids his age did.

It had, of course, now been a week since graduation, so homework was no longer on Yugi's agenda. It would make a comeback when he began classes at Domino University in the fall, but as of right now he was using the extra time in the morning to help his grandfather set up the shop for the business day as well as call Tea in New York two or three times a week.

If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know what he was hoping to achieve with the calls. She was obviously extremely homesick at this point while dealing with massive culture shock, so he expected her to be reaching out and desperately clinging on to parts of her old life. That wouldn't last, however. He was sure once she settled in and immersed herself in classes, contact would begin to fade until it was no more than fleeting.

It would be painful, but no more painful than the truth Yugi had already accepted that his feelings for her were unrequited, at least, in a manner of speaking. She was infatuated with him… the other him. It had been a difficult pill to swallow, but one Yugi had managed to make peace with a long time ago. Atem was strong, confident and at times, fierce. Yugi had always been withdrawn, shy and quiet. How couldshe not prefer the other him?

A part of him was actually hoping her new life would take priority sooner rather than later, and it would force him to move on as well, as opposed to hanging around like the forlorn puppy he currently was.

She hadn't been available to talk this morning, something about practice for a recital. So Yugi had gotten dressed, walked downstairs, and was currently sitting on a stool in front of the front counter of the shop, while Solomon Muto, his grandfather, busied himself looking over the previous' days' receipts. Their supplier was supposed to send in some new booster packs to restock later in the morning, and Yugi would help the aging proprietor shelve them.

"I'm glad we're going to have this time to spend together before you go off to university, Yugi," hummed Solomon, without looking up from the papers he was attending to.

"I'm going to Domino University, Grandpa; it's right here in town. I'll still be living here," protested the young King of Games.

"Yes, but it's only going to be for one year while you decide what you want to study, is it not? After that, who knows, you could transfer to a school in Tokyo, Europe or America! Let me tell you, when you're my age, one year goes by in the blink of an eye!"

Yugi forced a smile and continued to half-listen to his grandfather's enthusiastic ramblings. He more or less sank back into his own thoughts when the old man exclaimed, "Yugi! Didn't you hear the door?"

He hadn't, in fact. He flushed, slid off the stool, and darted over to the entrance, wondering who came to a game shop an hour and a half before opening. It couldn't be their supplier, that guy was never on time, let alone early…

He swung the door open, and a look of genuine shock crossed his face.

"Kaiba?"

Indeed, it was the six-foot-tall CEO who framed their doorway. He was wearing a purple trench coat rather than his usual gray, and he There was no entourage around him, no helicopter in the street. The guy had physically shown up at their door, seemingly alone, like a mere mortal. He couldn't believe it.

Kaiba grimaced. "We need to talk. Can I come in?"

Yugi was still stunned, but shifted backward, allowing him to step into the store and close the door behind him.

Solomon saw who it was, and he looked quite shocked too. Seto Kaiba had not stepped foot in his humble establishment in years; not since he had challenged him to a duel over the Blue Eyes White Dragon Arthur Hawkins had gifted him. That whole affair hadn't been a pleasant experience, but he knew the Kaiba boy had changed for the better since then, to the point where he supposedly had been a great ally to his grandson and his friends on multiple occasions.

"I don't-… what's going on?" mumbled Yugi.

"It's… complicated," growled the CEO, sparing a glance over at Solomon.

Yugi followed his gaze and back. "You can tell me whatever it is in front of Grandpa, he-…"

"No, no, of course, it's fine," Solomon interrupted, shaking his head. "Yugi, why don't you take your, uh, friend here up to the living room and talk? I'm going to keep going through these receipts, and I need to be here when the supplier comes in."

"Ok, gramps. Just let me know if you need anything," agreed Yugi. He nodded at Kaiba as an instruction to follow, and then headed for the staircase at the back of the store that led up to their modest accommodations.

One hundred and twenty seconds later, they were seated on opposing chairs in the dining room of the Muto residence. Kaiba had his elbows resting on the armrests with his fingertips pressed together in the middle. He looked very out of place in a middle class setting.

Yugi stared at his erstwhile adversary. It was really hard to put a label on their relationship at this point. Kaiba's actions before and during Duelist Kingdom had been long forgiven, so it was really water under the bridge, especially by the end of Battle City. Rival didn't quite cut it anymore either, because for one, it seemed that Kaiba took that much more seriously with Atem, and second, during their last parting their seemed to be a new ease that could almost be described as… warmth? Yugi was very hesitant to use the word friend, because he wasn't sure Kaiba did friends. He supposed comrade, or ally would probably be the closest they'd ever get.

Kaiba breathed out.

"I need your help."

That was another shocker. Kaiba never asked for help directly. They had teamed up plenty of times but it was always as equals. Kaiba never showed any vulnerability to anyone but his brother.

"Uh, of course, Kaiba. I imagine it must be important for you to come out here like this-…"

"It's Mokuba."

Yugi's face softened. He should have suspected as much. Kaiba's biggest weakness was his younger brother. If anything could drive him to swallow his pride and seek assistance, it would be something regarding the teenager.

"He's… I think there's something wrong with him."

"Wrong?" queried Yugi. "What-…"

"He's taken over my company and had me locked in a psychiatric ward."

Yugi wasn't expecting that. "Are you serious?"

Kaiba closed his eyes again, as if the conversation was painful to have, which Yugi could imagine it was, if what he was hearing was true.

"Unfortunately, I am. Roland literally broke me out of that place a few hours ago. He's convinced the entire board that I'm a danger to myself as well as others, and has used power of attorney to take control of my Kaiba Corp stock, and therefore, the company."

"Kaiba… I'm… sorry," muttered Yugi. "That's completely awful. I can't believe he'd do that, he's always been so loyal-..."

"He wouldn't, and that's why I know there's something wrong with him," replied Kaiba. "It's also why I need your help."

"Kaiba, look, I'm happy to provide an ear whenever you need one, but I don't think I'd be much use for anything besides that… This sounds like something you need a really expensive legal team for, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly rolling in it-…"

"It's the Quantum Cube."

Yugi stopped again upon being interrupted. "What are you-…"

"You know I took it after we dueled Diva and he vanished right?"

"Yeah, I remember…"

"Well, we've been working on it at Kaiba Corp. I can't say I'm a hundred percent sure, but I think it's affecting him somehow."

"That doesn't make sense," frowned the shorter man. "The Quantum Cube isn't like the other Millennium Items; it doesn't have mind control properties. It's mainly used to open portals for the wielder to travel through or send others through. Also, it wouldn't just act on its own, it needs someone to actually use it."

"I don't understand all the details," snapped Kaiba in response. "But look – you know Mokuba. You know what our relationship is like. If I asked you if you've seen anything from him to suggest that he'd ever betray me like this, I already know your answer would be a resounding no."

Yugi shook his head. "Yeah, of course, I get it. Look, why don't we back up a bit… he held you in a psychiatric ward?"

"Yes, and I got out a few hours ago," came the response in the form of a growl. "The details aren't fun to recount, nor are they relevant. What is relevant is that you know these Items have a history of messing with people's minds. The Ring, for example, we saw what it could do just last week. If my brother has been spending some time in the vicinity of a similar magical object, and suddenly he's acting like an evil caricature of himself, it stands to reason that magical object is the cause of it."

Yugi placed a thumb to his cheek, considering what he was hearing. "Yeah, I can see where you're coming from…"

"Believe me, Yugi, I took no pleasure in having to come out here and interrupt your now normal life to ask for your… help with this. But when it comes to… magic, I unfortunately have learned the hard way that I can't do this alone, as much as it pains me to admit."

"I'll bet," thought Yugi. "Who would have thought that Kaiba would ever get to the point where he not only admits that magic is real, but also that he needs help from others to deal with it. This has got to be extremely difficult for him to accept, let alone acknowledge."

He nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I'll help in any way I can… If it is the Cube, then the chapter we thought we closed last week still isn't over with. Do you have a way to get to it?"

"Not at the moment," grunted Kaiba. "Roland told me Mokuba has the board pretty much wrapped around his finger. If that's the case, the entire company will follow suit. If I walk in there, security will arrest me on first sight and send me back to the dump I just broke out off, except this time they'll triple lock the door."

"Aren't any of the other employees going to be loyal to you? Surely they know this is all a fairy tale…"

"For one… unfortunately Mokuba has managed to make his accusations sound credible." Yugi was halfway certain he saw Kaiba wince while saying that, before continuing, "Two, even if they weren't, Kaiba Corp has a strict command structure. The majority shareholder holds all the power. It doesn't matter who it is. It's the reason I was able to snatch the company away from my stepfather even as a teenager. My authority became final once I held fifty-one percent of the shares, and the same applies to Mokuba now that he does. The only way for me to wrest control back of his company is void his power of attorney. That could normally be done through a simple written declaration, but as long as the courts think I'm insane, that declaration won't hold weight. It'd take a legal battle to prove my sanity, but Mokuba has an army of lawyers to fight me on that."

"Could you hire your own?"

"No, because I don't have access to any of the resources I normally would!" Kaiba's frustration boiled over and he pounded the dining table with his fist.

He bent over the table and rested his forehead against his fist, his body trembling.

"Kaiba, calm down. We'll figure this out," reassured Yugi firmly.

Kaiba slowly sat back up and took his fist off the table, an ugly grimace fixed on his face. "The other issue is going to court would take way too long anyway. I need to fix whatever the Cube is doing to him as soon as possible, otherwise we don't know what he could do with it, or the company."

Yugi sat back and closed his eyes momentarily, allowing his brain to work, before leaning forward again once an idea came to him.

"Look, even if you're not going to go the legal route to deal with this, you're up against someone who controls a gigantic corporation. He has all kinds of weapons to use against you by virtue of that. No matter what, if you're planning on somehow getting the Cube back, you need to level the playing field."

"Sure, that sounds easy. Unfortunately I don't happen to have another billion dollar company lying around.," came the sarcastic retort.

"No," replied Yugi calmly. "It means we're going to have to go to someone who does."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and looked at the other man. "Who are you talking about-…"

Upon realization, he shot up out of his chair again and slammed his hands onto the table.

"No, no, no," he snarled. "I'm not going to him for help."

"Like it or not, Kaiba, Pegasus is our only option here," Yugi shrugged. "The only way we were able to take down Diva while he had the Quantum Cube was because of the manpower and technology you provided. Right now, both of those things are serving the Cube if it is actually controlling Mokuba somehow. We're outmatched. Pegasus has all the legal and financial know-how you need here, and then some, along with some serious experience in the magic department."

"That weasel kidnapped my brother and took his soul, and you're saying I should go beg for his help now?"

"You and I both know he's changed, Kaiba. He was under the influence of the Millennium Eye at the time. He helped us against Dartz and Paradias. Need I remind you he also took my grandfather's soul?" admonished the young King of Games.

That gave Kaiba pause. He remained standing, allowing one hand to curl into a fist.

"If you're really locked out of your company and personal resources, and Mokuba, or whatever is doing this to him, is going to be using them against you, we need Pegasus, Kaiba," remarked Yugi firmly.

Kaiba turned around and faced the wall.

"Damn it," he growled.

Yugi waited patiently.

Finally, Kaiba turned back around, a sour look on his face.

"Fine, you're right. Having Industrial Illusions backing me on this would be useful. But I can't reach out to him directly, Kaiba Corp can scan most rudimentary communications in Domino for chatter, and I'm going to guess you don't have access to a secure line here."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Your company knows what other people are saying over the phone or on text?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Governments all over the world do it. We don't actually listen to what's being said, we just mine the data and use it to for commercial purposes. Unfortunately, in the wrong hands it can be used for more nefarious purposes. I can't guarantee Mokuba is doing this but if he is really that desperate to have me out of the way, I have to assume he is."

"How do you want to go about this then?"

"Roland has an encrypted phone. I'll be able to contact him without anyone listening in, and have him pass a message on to Duelist Kingdom to expect us."

"Wait, we're going there? How?"

"Of course we're going there," snapped Kaiba. "This thing isn't something you can explain over a phone call. As for how, I take it you remember my Blue-Eyes White Jet."

"Yeah…"

"Well, fortunately, that's one piece of property I own that Mokuba nor anyone else at Kaiba Corp can interfere with. It sits in a permanently fueled state in an airfield north of Domino and only I can even get into it via biometric scanner."

Yugi nodded. "All right, go ahead and call Roland." He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it over to Kaiba.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Solomon Muto had to admit he was curious what the Kaiba boy so urgently needed to discuss with his grandson. Just a few years ago he'd have been loath to even imagine the CEO's presence in his own home, but the more he learned about Kaiba's past from Yugi, the more Solomon's opinion of him softened.

Losing one's parents at a young age and being forced to play guardian to his younger brother while still being a child himself was as tragic as it came. Solomon himself had lost his father at a young age, and his mother fell into a deep depression as a result that led to a marked lack of her involvement in his life as a child. Thankfully, she was still his legal guardian officially and he never experienced the harsh reality of growing up in an orphanage like the Kaiba brothers had.

Solomon was a gentle man who didn't have it in him to hold grudges. The fact was, Seto Kaiba had been by his grandson's side in dangerous situations again and again. That was good enough for the old man to put the past to rest.

He had left the closed sign up on the storefront, and was now back in his residence above. Yugi and himself had eaten their usual breakfast of rice and miso soup, but Kaiba looked like he hadn't slept the whole night prior and Solomon doubted he had eaten anything lately. He decided to heat up a few leftovers, piled them onto a tray, and then knocked on the dining room door.

"Yeah, Grandpa, come in," called Yugi.

Solomon entered with a bright smile, and set the tray on the table.

Kaiba seemed to be finishing up a phone call. He disconnected and handed the phone to Yugi with a sour look on his face.

"He's going to pass the message on to Pegasus' lackey Croquet, apparently they're familiar with each other."

"Maybe they both attend some kind of Duel Monsters tournament official support group," joked Yugi, which Kaiba seemed to ignore.

"Unfortunately, he confirmed my suspicious and then some. He received a board only email saying that I was on the run and law enforcement had been notified. They're watching all airports and train stations, not that you can fly commercial to Pegasus's island anyway… but he's also pretty sure they've beefed up security around the airfield my Jet is parked at."

"Now what?"

"Now nothing," shrugged Kaiba. "The Blue-Eyes White Jet is the only way to get there. We're still going to have to make it through the security there, no matter how serious it is. We'll fight our way through if I have to."

Yugi rubbed his chin. "I know my limits. Unfortunately, if things are going to get physical, I won't be much use. We could use some extra muscle in that case."

Kaiba looked at him suspiciously. "Who are you-…"

He threw his hands up in frustration again. "No, no, no, again!"

Yugi groaned. "Do we have to do this again, Kaiba? If you've come to me for help, and now we're going to Pegasus, is having Joey with us really where you want to draw the line? It's not as if the three of us didn't face down the Great Leviathan together. He can fight, provide a distraction, and is just generally experienced enough in these situations."

"It's… it's different," spluttered Kaiba.

"How?"

"It's Wheeler…. He… he's the mutt!"

Yugi shook his head, and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair while standing up.

"If that's all you have to say, then I know that deep down you know it's a good idea. We do need all the help we can get here… and like I said, it's always been the three of us together when things get really bad."

Kaiba just growled, but didn't say anything.

"Joey has been sleeping in a lot since school's been out and a jet engine wouldn't wake him up, let alone his phone. Just wait here, I'm going to go get him."

Yugi was already halfway to the door when he turned back to the table, where Kaiba was still sitting, nervous, frustrated energy coming off him, and his grandfather was standing with a bemused smile.

"Don't worry grandpa, I'll be back with Joey soon, then the three of us will be out of your hair for the day!"

He walked out, leaving Solomon and Kaiba alone in the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Close to a thousand miles away, on a remote private island in the Pacific Ocean, Croquet had just gotten off the phone in his office, and was proceeding to traverse the winding corridors of his masters' castle to inform him of what he had just gleaned.

He arrived at the ornate door of Maximillion Pegasus' suite and knocked.

"Come i-in," sounded the traditional sing-song voice of his employer.

Croquet entered to see Pegasus seated on an armchair on the balcony that had its back to the door, while looking over a magnificent view of the forest, beach and ocean below, enhanced by the early morning sun. He was wearing a bathrobe and was nursing a light sherry. Croquet had learned a long time ago that evidently it was never too early for Pegasus to enjoy a drink.

"Master Pegasus... I just received word that Seto Kaiba should be arriving on here on your island sometime today."

"Kaiba? Oh yes, I suppose he will be," mused Pegasus, without turning around to face his butler.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" Croquet was used to his boss's eccentricities.

"Let me see… Ah, yes. Regarding our new little employee… Given the hour, she's most likely blowing off some steam at the gymnasium. Give her a couple of hours, but make sure she's ready to join me in greeting our guests when they arrive."

Croquet bowed his head. "Yes, sir."

With that, he exited the room and closed the door behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugi's exit had left a void that Kaiba was already perceiving as rather awkward.

Solomon, for some reason, did not seem to share that view.

"Come. I had the feeling you hadn't eaten anything in a while so I warmed up some leftovers for you. Help yourself," he encouraged brightly, gesturing towards the rice and soup on the table in front of them.

Kaiba remained sitting, his cheeks going slightly red.

"What's the matter, Kaiba? If you prefer noodles to rice I could boil some up, it won't take a-…"

"Look, old ma-… Mr Muto," muttered Kaiba. "You don't… You don't need to do this."

"What are you talking about? It's only leftovers. As a guest in my home it's the least I can offer you."

Kaiba looked almost as if he wanted to drill a hole into the floor and disappear into the bowels of the Earth as he managed, "Are you seriously going to pretend there isn't a rather sordid history between us?"

Solomon smiled ruefully and seated himself on a chair on the opposite side of the table.

"Kaiba… That was a long time ago."

The younger man did not respond to this.

"Even these old eyes of mine can see, as everyone else can, that you're not the same person you were back then," continued Solomon. "In fact, given whatever I've heard about your life, a part of me thinks the good inside you was always there."

"What are you talking about?" muttered Kaiba.

"I've met your brother, son," answered Solomon gently. "He came to Yugi for help when your board members trapped you in that virtual reality game, remember?"

The sides of Kaiba's lips tightened at the mention of Mokuba, but he said nothing.

"I saw how much you meant to him. Later, I found out you practically raised him. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you're perfect by any means," he chuckled at this, before going on, "but I don't think someone who was the apple of such a good-hearted, innocent child's eye could be all that bad."

Again, Kaiba didn't reply.

Solomon stood and began walking toward the door. Along the way, he patted Kaiba's shoulder briefly.

"The past is the past, Kaiba. It seems a part of you has trouble reconciling that. I hope the fact that I have can help you in that endeavor. I have a delivery coming in, so I'll be down in the store. Yugi should be back soon."

He closed the door gently behind him, leaving Kaiba alone, in silence, with his thoughts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Apologies for the delay. I haven't gotten much writing done since the last chapter but I do still have a chunk in reserve, and I intend to make serious progress in the next week and a half.

ChronicerDL: Yeah, I always found Roland to be an amusing character and decided to give him a bigger role in my writing. He is genuinely loyal to Kaiba as you can see from the scene during the Orichalcos arc when he refused to leave even after Kaiba effectively lost control of the company. Also I appreciate the reassurance: I'm still finding my feet and am a lot more self-critical of my own writing than I was a decade ago. Though the feedback so far seems to be good so maybe I'm heading in the right direction.

Reaver72: So your suspicions might be on the right track but it's not going to be the way you think. It will all make sense by the end, especially in the context of my old works. Is Roland a double agent? Who knows! Keep reading haha! And yes, Kaiba working with Yugi and co. is always funny but honestly I think by this point the relationship is different and more evolved as you can see from this chapter. Some of the dialogue in DSoD really reflected that. I really do believe the dynamic between Yugi and Kaiba is closer to that of DB Super Goku and Vegeta at this point than ever before.

Yung Warrior: Oh man what a trip down memory lane! Welcome back. I was honestly a literal kid when I started writing Advent and I really cringe at some of what I wrote back then but I'm glad most of ya'll still enjoyed it. I think my prose didn't really get to a decent level until halfway through Nightrise but the plotting still left a lot to be desired. That will not be the case in this story, I assure you. This will have a large scale but it will be more contained and focused. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

That's about all. I really appreciate the reviews, all three of you. Feedback really does serve as motivation for us writers so please, lurkers, give me your thoughts, good, bad and ugly!