Chapter 36

I blinked my eyes as my vision returned to me. It felt like I was coming back from a dream. Looking around, I saw everyone else returning to normal as well. Joey and Serenity embraced ad did Mokuba and Kaiba. Are you alright? I asked Marik.

I'm fine, said Marik. You?

I'm good.

"Well, it looks to me like everything's back to normal around here," said Duke. "That must mean Yugi won the duel."

"What?" said Kaiba. "What duel?"

"Your duel," said Tea. "Yugi took over when you and mMuba were turned to stone. Then he combined your deck with his deck. And he beat Noah!"

Kaiba stared at his empty duel disk. "My deck! He dueled using my cards?"

"So what?" I said. "Aren't you glad you're back to normal?"

Jerk, said Marik.

"You've been defeated, Noah," Yami said as the stone platforms lowered to the ground, "not just by me but by all of us, for it was only with the support of my friends that I was able to win this duel. And the more you tried to destroy that friendship, the stronger it grew."

Noah fell to his knees, moaning. "This isn't how it was supposed to happen at all."

Yami walked up to him. "Listen to me, Noah. You've been all alone in this virtual world for years, and it's distorted your mind."

Noah fell silent as he thought, his emotions spinning out of control. After awhile, he sat back on his knees. "It's not fair! I deserve to be the president of Kaiba Corp. And I would be if Seto hadn't robbed me of my life. I want it back." Anger overtook him. "And I'll start by escaping to the real world in your body." He got up and ran into Yami. "From now on, I'm you." I felt powerful magic from the Millennium Puzzle repel him. He stumbled back in shock.

My friends and I ran to them. "Yugi!" Tea said. "Are you okay?"

"Try touching me," Joey said angrily to Noah.

"Stop it, Joey!" said Serenity. "Violence isn't gonna get us out of here."

"You have failed, Noah," said Yami. "So, it's time to set us all free."

"And give me my real body back, pronto!" said robot monkey Tristan.

"So, you want your body back?" said Noah. He laughed in a sinister manner. "Your real body's exactly where it's been since you arrived."

"What does that mean?" said Duke.

"Enough with the games, Noah!" said Tea.

"Don't you get it?" said Noah. "There are no real bodies in my world. Everything here's virtual. That means all of you, too."

"I don't get it," said Joey.

"I do," said Yami. "We're not just trapped in a virtual world. We're all a part of it, too."

They didn't understand this? I said to Marik. I thought it was obvious.

Some people are slow, said Marik.

"Exactly," said Noah. "Your real bodies are strapped into cyber-pods that are hard-wired to my virtual simulator. So, everything you've experienced here has only happened in your minds."

"So, that's why it seems so real here," said Tea. "Our minds are being tricked into feeling things that aren't really there."

"Of course," said Kaiba. "When the floor opened up, we didn't fall into a virtual vortex. We were knocked unconscious And locked in your cyber-simulation pods."

"Now what?" said Duke.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a voice from the sky said, "You have failed me for the last time, Noah."

"That voice, it can't be!" Noah cried. "Father, no! Give me another chance!"

"Too late for that!"

"What's going on?" said Joey just as a face appeared in the clouds.

"Gozaburo!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Wait!" Noah said, feeling panicked. "Not yet. Father, I need time."

"More time?" said Gozaburo. "You've had more than enough time to prove yourself. It's time for me to finish things off now. And that's why I digitized my own mind when Seto disgraced me by taking over my company. I wanted revenge. Now the time has come."

"So, you've been behind this the whole time," said Kaiba.

"Yes, he has, right, father?" said Noah with some anxiety seeping through. "And he's going to give Kaiba Corp to me."

"You had your chance, Noah..." said Gozaburo.

"Huh?"

"And you failed, son!"

"Look, pops, you had your chance also," said Kaiba, "and you failed when you lost Kaiba Corp to someone more fit for the job."

"You? I taught you everything you know. Seto... you fool. You thought you could outsmart me? It's about time you learned the truth about why I adopted you. After you beat me at chess, I thought you'd be the perfect person to motivate my real son, Noah, who was quite a slacker."

"So, you just used him?" said Duke. "That's not cool."

"How mean," said Tea.

"Very cruel," I agreed. I could sense no remorse, affection, or any other emotion from the man.

"Noah needed to work more on his studies," said Gozaburo. "I thought Seto could give him the push he needed to some day take over Kaiba Corp. But then Noah had his little accident, and his body was rendered useless. I tried to preserve his mind in cyberspace, but I soon realized he would always be the same spoiled brat, unworthy of inheriting my company. So, I turned my attention to you, Seto. I thought maybe you could be the heir to my fortune. So, I pushed you to your limits."

"You gave up on your own son, and you trapped me all alone in cyberspace," Noah said with bitterness.

"Poor guy," said Mokuba.

"Not at first," said Gozaburo. "Initially, I thought I could still use Seto to help you."

"Use me?" said Kaiba. "And what was it you planned to do with me, Gozaburo? Force me to play chess against your virtual son to increase his intellect?"

"No. Not quite, Seto."

"Then what?"

"I had something much more interesting planned."

"Enough. Will you spit it out?"

"Very well. Even if Noah could learn how to run a multi-billion dollar corporation, he still lacked one major thing - a body. And that's where you came in, Seto."

"Uh!" said Tea. "That's sick."

"You were gonna transfer Noah's mind to Kaiba?" said Yami. Everyone felt disgusted, and I had to agree. I even felt Marik's distaste.

"Relax," said Gozaburo. "That plan only lasted a short time. Noah's mind. Ha ha! Why would I give you Noah's mind when yours was perfectly fine? So, I concentrated on training you, Seto, so you could inherit my empire. But then you stole it. So, using the same technology I used to download Noah's mind into my computer network, I digitized my own mind, retreating to cyberspace to plot my revenge. Then I built this place for my final plan - to take over your body myself."

"Father!" Noah cried. "So, you used me to trap them here."

This guy makes Kaiba look like a saint, said Marik.

"That's the only thing you did right," said Gozaburo. "But I'll take it from here. The fun and games are over."

"You snake," said Kaiba.

Gozaburo felt angry. "I can't believe that you had the nerve to call me a snake. I was the most powerful human being on the entire planet before you came along and stole that power away from me, Seto. Don't you realize that I treated you even better than I treated my own son?"

"Thanks... For nothing. And I'll make sure you never regain your power."

"You're too late." A view-screen opens up in the sky, showing a satellite.

"What's that?" said Yami.

"Ha ha! Just look. It's part of my newest plan. This is one of the many satellites Kaiba Corp put into orbit when I was still in charge."

"And what are you gonna do with that?" said Joey.

"Ha ha! These satellites can beam signals to every computer system on earth and connect them back to the underwater base that holds my supercomputer. No one on earth will escape me. I'll have access to every home on the planet. Ha ha!"

"Please," said Noah. "That has to be the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard."

"I'm surprised you feel that way, Noah. After all, the idea came from you. Don't you remember, my son?"

Noah grew silent for a moment. Then horror overtook him. "No!"

"And so, Seto, as you can see, I'm no longer interested in taking control of your body in order to regain Kaiba Corp. I've set my sights on bigger things."

"Lunatic," said Kaiba.

"You can believe whatever you want about me, Seto, because once my plan works, I'll be the most powerful being on the planet once again. And no one on earth will be able to stop me this time."

"Oh, yeah?" said Duke.

"Seto, Noah, this is about so much more than just acquiring one company, for when I'm finished... Everyone on earth will become virtual. I plan to digitize the entire world. And I will reign as the cyber ruler of a new planet earth!" Gozaburo laughed in a sinister manner.

He's nuts, said Marik.

He's not that far off from how you sounded not too long ago.

Hmm...

The image of Gozaburo disappeared. "Get back here now!" Kaiba shouted to the sky.

"My father's gone for now," said Noah. "But you have to escape quickly. And I know the way out, so, follow me." He started moving.

"And why should we believe you, Noah?" said Joey.

"What choice do we have?" said Duke. With that, the rest of us followed Noah through tunnels in the hills.

"There it is!" Noah said, pointing to a control panel in a cavern. "A possible exit." He started fiddling with the panel. "Never mind. This is one of several remote network stations built by my father. It can give us access to all of the program's emergency exits. But it seems that my father has locked the system and closed off every exit to stop us from escaping." His emotions turned sad. "When he showed up again after years, he promised to help me, but he was lying. My father was using me."

"Noah, are you okay?" Mokuba asked with concern.

"It's alright," I said to Noah. "You don't need to be bound by him anymore. You get to choose what you want for yourself."

"For myself?" Noah repeated.

"Noah?" said Joey. "Are you sure there are no other exits around here?"

"Yeah, maybe there's a way out of here you're not thinking of," said robot monkey Tristan. "I've had enough of this monkey business. I want to wake up in my own body. Boo-hoo!"

"We got to stop his old man from digitizing the world."

"And we can't do that from in here," said Tea.

"Very perceptive," said Kaiba. "Every virtual reality program has more than one emergency exit system. So, why don't you try thinking harder, Noah?"

I felt strange emotions from Noah. "What's wrong, Seto?" he said. "Don't you want to stay awhile? We won't be alone in this virtual world for very much longer." He laughed crazily. His eyes grew dark, and his body moved like a puppet. "My father said he's bringing the whole world in here. And that means I'll never have to be alone again. We'll be one big happy family." He laughed again. I touched him to try to settle his emotions, but it did not seem to do any good.

Mokuba ran to Noah and began shaking him by the shoulders. "Noah, stop! You got to get a hold of yourself. You're in danger, too. And we all have to work together now."

"Mokie, you're right," Noah said, calming down. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah! Seto?" Mokuba jumped back, shaking his head.

Noah chuckled softly. "Calm down, Mokuba. It's me."

"I can see that, Noah!"

"Wait a second. Something has just occurred to me. There is one more escape route here."

"Where is it?" said Kaiba. "Tell me!"

"It's a doorway that I created, and it leads directly to the real world. I'm quite sure my father has no idea that it exists. You can escape and warn the world of his plan."

"Then what are we waiting around here for?" said Duke. "Let's go!"

"Very well. Just follow me." Noah began to lead us through the virtual world again. He held his emotions tightly to himself, so I could not discern anything. "It's not too far from here."

"Kaiba, something's not right," Yami said in a low voice.

"Hmm," said Kaiba.

"I think Noah's lying to us. He's not to be trusted."

"Why don't you try telling me something I don't already know, Yugi?"

I felt Yami's surprise. "If you're so sure this is a trick, then why are you following him?"

"I was always taught to keep my enemies close by."

Maybe Kaiba's wrong, Yugi said, opening his mind to both Yami and me. Maybe Noah is trying to help us now.

But why? said Yami.

His dad betrayed him again. So Noah must want to stop him as much as we do.

Perhaps. Samia?

I can't tell much from his emotions, I admitted. I do think he will probably be a lot more receptive to our attempts to help him now. We should ease up a bit.

Right, said Yugi. Come to think of it, Noah and Kaiba really have a lot in common. They were both mistreated by Gozaburo and they need our help to defeat him.

You're right, said Yami. We're all on the same team now. So why don't you take it from here?

Sure. I felt Yami relinquish control to Yugi.

"All right, where is this exit already?" said Joey.

"There," said Noah, pointing to a wide door between the walls of a canyon.

"Ah!"

"Your freedom lies beyond this door. Once you walk through, you'll wake up in the real world."

"I don't know about this, guys," said Duke.

"The real world is just beyond these doors."

I ran through the doors along with my friends. There was a bright light, and then my mind went fuzzy.

I stood on the streets of Domino with Marik, Joey, and Tea. "Thanks a lot," Joey was saying to Marik. "How do you know Samia?"

"He means to say we haven't introduced ourselves," Tea said with a smile. "I'm Tea, and this is Joey."

"I'm Namu," Marik said. "I'm an old friend of Samia's from Egypt. We happened to run into each other."

Joey turned to me. "Is Yugi alright?"

His piercing gaze seemed to cut right through me. "He's fine. We got separated because I couldn't take the intensity of his last duel, but I did see that he won."

Joey nodded. "Good. If I see him first, I'll let him know you're safe."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks." Something suddenly occurred to me. "Hey, didn't we do this already?"

Joey gave me a quizzical look. "What are you talking about, Samia?"

"You're right," said Marik, eyes narrowed. "This is wrong."

"We're not supposed to be here," I said. "None of this is real."

Suddenly, the world around me faded. Then I found myself in the Domino plaza surround by my friends. Tristan was a robot monkey. Right, we were trapped in Noah's virtual world. Had we not managed to escape?

Doesn't seem like it, said Marik, in my mind once again.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?" said Tea.

"I don't know," said Duke.

"I do!" said Yugi. "Noah must have tricked us."

"Let's find that punk right now," Joey said angrily.

"Where is he anyway?" said Tristan.

"Hey, Kaiba's gone, too," said Serenity.

"And Mokuba!" said Yugi.

"Oh no," I said. "You don't think Noah is trying to steal one of their bodies, do you?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," said Duke.

"That scrawny little twerp double crossed us again!" Joey said. "I knew we shouldn't 'a trusted him! Now he's toast!"

"Wait, Joey," said Yugi. "We have to come up with a plan that makes sense."

"Yeah! And I already came up with a plan. We shake Noah upside down 'til he tells us the way out!"

"I'm gonna have to agree with Joey on this one, guys," said Duke. "Only Noah knows where the exit is!"

"And we're running out of time!" said Tea. "Cause pretty soon the whole world will be trapped."

"But threatening Noah won't do any good," I said. "We can't really hurt him here. None of this is real. And he has control over this world, anyway. Our best bet is to convince him to help us."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" said Duke.

"I don't know, but we have to try. It's the only way we'll get out of here."

I guess I shouldn't have trusted Noah, Yugi said to Yami and me. This is all my fault.

I trusted him too, I said. I should have tried harder to sense his intentions.

Not true, said Yami. You both believe there's still good inside of Noah, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Well, no one else does, said Yugi.

Give them time. After everything he's done, it's hard to believe he could change. Noah's acts of rage are fueled by an anger deep inside. But we can help him see the light.

I hope so. And soon.

I'll do what I can to help, I said.

"Alright," Yugi said out loud. "Let's go find Noah and figure out how to get out of here so we can stop Gozaburo's plan!"

"But how?" said Tea.

"Once we're free from cyberspace, we can warn people in the real world that Gozaburo's planning to digitize the planet!"

Like that will work, said Marik. Not that I have a better idea.

"I hope..." Tristan said before breaking into chattering. "Stop that..." There were more monkey noises. "Too late!"

"Tristan," said Duke, "I couldn't understand a thing you just said! You're almost all chimp now!" All of a sudden, a duel monster appeared before us.

"It's Skull Knight!" said Yugi.

"There's a whole bunch of 'em!" cried Tea. Sure enough, the same duel monster kept appearing everywhere.

"Joey!" Duke shouted. "Behind you!"

"Where are these monsters coming from?"

"We gotta do something!" said Joey.

"Last I checked, running away was something!" said Duke.

"But we're surrounded!" said Tea. "There's no way out!"

"Serenity!" Joey shouted when one of the monsters made a threatening move towards her. "Stop!" He jumped in front of her to block the attack.

"Joey!" said Yugi. "No!" He pulled a card from his deck and placed it on his duel disk. "This better work. It's our only hope. Come forth, Curse of Dragon! Dragon Flame Attack!" The dragon appeared and attacked the monster, destroying it.

Joey grinned. "Alright, Yugi! It's my turn now. I play... my Axe Raider!" He and Yugi continued to fight until the monsters were all gone.

"Are those monsters coming back?" Serenity said fearfully.

"Don't worry, Serenity. It seems like we're safe for now." Suddenly, more monsters appeared. "Huh? Or maybe not! Run!" We ran for an alley.

"Looks like our work's not done!" said Yugi.

"Alright!" said Joey. "Let's do our thing, Yugi."

The two of them continued to fight off monsters while the rest of us hid in the alley. My heart rate increased as I watch them. This had to be Gozaburo's doing. Would he ever leave us alone? Would the monsters never end? How would we ever find Noah and get out of here?

"Attention!" said Noah's voice from above. "Can all of you hear me? This is extremely important!"

"Alright!" said Joey, glaring at the sky. "Get down here, ya little twerp!"

"This is a warning to all of you! Look. The virtual world that you're all in is about to be destroyed!"

"Oh no!" said Serenity.

"Say what?!" Tristan exclaimed. "I knew we couldn't trust him, but I never thought he'd destroy this place! "

"That punk!" said Joey. "I'll give him the virtual butt-kickin' of a lifetime!"

"You better let us outta here, Noah!" said Tea.

"I'm so sorry for the way I treated you all!" said Noah. "But now a satellite is set to destroy the main computer system. When that computer shuts down, the virtual world will collapse! You must escape, or your minds will be lost forever! You must escape!"

"Did you hear that, guys?" said Yugi.

"Yeah," said Duke. "This virtual world's about to go bye-bye! And when it's destroyed, it's taking our minds with it."

"Listen to me!" said Noah. "I can help! The only exit is in the Domino arcade. Hurry! Time is running out!"

"Can we trust him?" said Tea.

"Well, Joey?" said Duke.

"Trust Noah?" said Joey. "Forget about it."

"I do," I said tentatively. "Even without him being physically here, I can sense that his emotions are sincere. That's more than I could pick up last time."

"I trust him too," said Yugi.

"I don't know..." said Joey.

"We - hoo-hoo - have no choice, Joey," said robot monkey Tristan.

"Hmm... You're right," said Duke. "We have nothing to lose. Let's go!"

"Yeah!" said Yugi.

"All right," said Joey. "But I'm warning you, you better not pull any of your dirty tricks, Noah!" We took off for the Domino arcade. Soon enough, we were all panting. At least we knew the town well. "The Domino arcade is only two blocks away."

"And the exit should be inside!" said Yugi. A growling noise caught his attention. "Hmm? Oh, no! Behind us!" I looked around and gasped. More duel monsters!

"There's no way we'll outrun Gozaburo's monsters," said Duke.

"All right..." said Joey. "Then you guys go, and we'll stay and fight!"

"No!" shouted Serenity. "I'm not gonna go without you, Joey."

"Just go, sis. Tea, help my sister find that exit."

"You too, Samia," said Yugi.

I hesitated. But-"

"We'll be fine. Trust me."

I nodded. "Alright."

"Let's get going," said Tea, gently turning Serenity away.

"We'll meet you over there soon," said Duke.

"Please be careful," said Serenity.

"Don't worry, Serenity," said Joey. "This won't take too long."

"Yeah!" said Tristan. "We'll smash 'em-" Serenity picked him up. "Huh?"

"Tristan, let's go!" said Serenity.

"You're better off with us!" said Tea. Tristan sighed in frustration. Soon, we neared the building. "There it is!" We ran into the arcade and were met with multiple machines.

"But the exit could be anywhere in there."

"Listen closely," said Noah's voice. "You must proceed to the stage In the back of the arcade in order to escape."

"All right, guys," said Tea, "let's go!"

"Let's do this!" said Tristan. We found a stage for some sort of dance game.

"Stand on the red and blue platforms, and I'll upload you back to the real world," said Noah. We all did as we were told. Suddenly, a saw a flash of white and then blanked out. The next thing I knew, I was sitting up in a strange room.

"Where am I?" said Serenity.

I looked around. "We're in that undersea fortress." I spotted Mokuba at a computer with a headset. No... that was Noah.

"We really have been here all along," said Tea.

"It looks like we all made it back without any problems," said Serenity. Monkey chatter caught her attention. "Hmm?"

"Yeah?" said Tristan. "Speak for yourselves."

"Tristan, you're fine! You don't look like a robot monkey anymore!"

Tristan made a monkey scream. "I mean, that's great!"

"I got to say, he doesn't look that different to me," said Tea.

Tristan growled. "I'm fine!" The rest of us laughed.

"Excellent!" said Mokuba - er, Noah. "The others are ready. It seems everyone's made it to the arcade."

"That's good."

"Proceed to the stage immediately." He seemed to be speaking into the virtual world through the headset. "Yugi, wait! I have a favor to ask."

"Upload successful," the computer said a moment later. Two pods opened up, and Joey and Duke got out.

"It's great to be back in the real world," said Joey.

"Joey!" Serenity cried.

"Serenity!" The two of them ran to each other in a hug that made me smile. "I told you everything would be okay."

"So, let me get this straight," Tristan said, strolling over to Noah. "If you're Noah, then where's Mokuba?"

"There," Noah said, pointing to the computer. "Inside the virtual world with Yugi and Seto. That's why I needed Yugi to stay back."

"What?!" Joey exclaimed. "That's why he stayed back - 'cause Kaiba didn't have enough brains to find the exit on his own?"

Noah ignored him and spoke into the headset. "Seto is trapped in a duel with Gozaburo. You have to find him." He paused, listening. "I'll use the central computer to create a virtual shortcut so you can reach him. He's in Kaiba Corp headquarters." Another pause. "Go through that door, and you'll find Seto!"

"So, I have a question," said Tea. "Why are you trying to rescue Kaiba? Last I checked, you hated him."

"I was wrong, Tea." I felt sadness and remorse from Noah. "I shouldn't have treated you guys the way that I did. I was jealous and angry. I'm sorry."

"Uh... I'm sorry, too," Joey said. "You know, for everything I said about you."

"I deserved it."

"Four minutes to satellite attack!" the computer announced. "Evacuate now."

"Huh?" everyone said.

"Time is running out," said Noah. "Everyone should return to the blimp immediately. It's not safe here now."

"Noah's right!" said Duke. "Come on, you guys!"

"Noah, you're the only one who can get those guys out of there now," said Joey. "It's all up to you."

"I know!" said Noah.

"Samia, aren't you coming?" Tea said.

I shook my head. "No, I'm staying here."

"You should really go," said Noah.

For once, you should listen to him, said Marik.

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not leaving here without Yugi. I can help... somewhat."

Noah looked at me skeptically. "What do you think you can?" I approached him and put my hand on him, passing along encouraging emotions. His eyes widened in surprise. "What are you?"

I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "It works better with Yugi." I glanced at Yugi's pod. "I can't physically touch him with that glass, but it might do something."

"Fine. You can stay."

"Make sure they make it to the blimp," Joey said before following the others out.

I nodded. "Right." I moved to Yugi's pod and placed my hands on the glass. I tried my best to transfer energy to him, unsure if it did anything or not. Still, I thought I felt some sort of connection. After a minute, I looked over at Noah. "You're not escaping with us, are you?"

"No," Noah said sadly. "I must return Mokuba's body and make sure my father doesn't escape."

"Of course." I paused. "If your dad were a normal human being, he would be proud of you for doing the right thing. Digital or not, you have proved that you are still human, and your life has been meaningful."

Noah smiled slightly. "Thanks, Samia." He returned his attention to the computer and frowned. "Those two better escape soon!" I focused on my connection with Yami and Yugi. Eventually, they made it back with Kaiba. "It is time for me to leave. Thank you for everything, Samia, and good luck in the future."

I swallowed hard. "Thanks. You too. Goodbye, Noah." I watched get into Mokuba's pod. Was there really nothing I could do to help?

You have done all you could, said Marik. It is time to move forward.

I jumped out of the way when Yugi's pod opened. "You're back!" I said in relief.

"Samia?" said Yugi. "Where's everyone else?"

"Back on the blimp. We have to go there now!"

"Wait," said Kaiba, who had also returned, "what about Mokuba? He's still back there!"

I glanced at Mokuba's pod to see him still inside. "He's probably talking to Noah. He'll be here any second..."

Kaiba rushed over to the pod and opened it. "Mokuba!"

Several moments later, Mokuba sat up. "Seto, Noah's still inside!"

"There's nothing we can do," I said regretfully. "We have to leave now."

"She's right," Yugi said. We all took off running through the halls of the fortress while the computer issued a warning to evacuate immediately. Soon, the airship was in sight, but it was already taking off!

"Hurry up, guys!" Duke shouted from the ship. "Let's go!"

"You can make it!" said Tea.

"Pick up the pace, you guys!" said Joey. "You're almost here! We gotcha!"

"Let's go!" said Tristan. "Grab on! Hurry!"

"I'm not gonna make it!" said Mokuba.

"Guess again!" said Kaiba. "Catch!" He picked up Mokuba and tossed him onto the ship on top of Duke before climbing on himself.

"Samia, I'll get you!" said Tristan. I jumped up and he grabbed my arms, pulling me up.

"Yugi!" Joey cried.

"Joey!" said Yugi. He grabbed hold of Joey, who pulled him into the ship.

"He's in! Now let's get out of here!"

A huge explosion rattled the ship, and I found myself thrown across the room while everyone screamed. Kaiba ran to take control, turning the blimp into a jet plane and steering as clear of the destruction below. I sighed in relief. We all stood around, exchanging uneasy glances. Then we looked outside the ship at the smoldering ruins of the fortress.

"Noah may have been a spoiled brat when we met him, but he turned out to be all right," said Joey.

"He never had a chance to learn to be better," I said. "We gave him that chance."

"Do you think his mind was deleted when the computer was destroyed?" said Tea.

"Knowing him, he saved his mind on a back-up file," said Yugi.

"Yeah, I bet he'll be back," said Joey.

"Me, too," said Mokuba. He leaned out the window and waved. "See you around, Noah!"

"All right!" said Kaiba. "That little detour was a complete waste of my time and effort. So, let's move on and pretend that nonsense never happened. It's time for us to continue the Battle City finals. Set us back on course... To Kaiba Corp Island."

Still a jerk, said Marik.

Yes, but at least the others have learned something, I said.

And what is that?

People can change. People like you.