Selene was salivating over what she was seeing.

Ever since she had found her love again she had been searching within Edwin for her Endymion. Not in terms of looks, as she was well used to herself altering her form to suit herself. It didn't matter that Endymion had possessed first dark locks and then white hair caused not by age but his work with the deeper magics. That Edwin Chaos was blonde and had his beard and his glasses (something that Endymion would never have worn for it would have revealed him as weak) meant little to her. It was his actions that mattered.

Endymion had loyalty to those he cared for. He had loved his students, willing to give far more time than Selene would have ever considered to help them learn a new art or skill. Servants that proved themselves to him were given the world and more than one of the great houses of the modern world could trace their start back to a simple chamber maid or humble groomsman who had pleased Endymion.

'And of course our children,' she thought. While she had loved them Endymion had adored them, showering them with all he could and never once begrudging them for gaining far longer lives than his own. 'If they still held their memories in the new lives they live they would be doing all they could to help him.'

At some point she needed to address that with her love. She wondered how he would react to them being so close, even if like him they had no memories of their past lives…

Edwin was the same way. How he had made Tea Gardner the sister of his heart showed that. And his protective streak of Mokuba. It was why Selene had never considered using either of them as weapons against him to motivate him to embrace who he was. To attack them would be to attack him and she knew that Edwin Chaos would come at her with all his fury. And while of course she would win he would also be dreadfully cross with him that that was something she didn't desire.

His emotions had far better uses after all.

That was another thing: his passion. Yes, they were in different things but he still was as passionate about life as Endymion. Still desired to have all he could have and to embrace the big and the small. It was a trait mortals rarely had, she had found, which was odd because, with their short lifespans, the gods had always been amused they did not live their lives more fully.

But now, as Edwin hung in the sky upon burning wings, she saw something she hadn't seen since the Domino Mall, when he had put the corrupt police officers that had come after Yuri in their place: Her love REVELING in his power.

Oh, Ediwn was dramatic, just like Endymion, but he didn't seem to enjoy dominating others with his power like Endymion did. Had it been her love as she remembered him facing the Rare Hunters he wouldn't have merely burned them alive… he would have mocked them and tormented them, stringing along their deaths to seed fear into their fellows so that all they knew was the terror that soon their own lives would end. Froze them in place so that only their eyes could move and even then they wouldn't be able to blink as he forced them to watch as he slowly boiled the blood and charred the flesh of their fellows, letting each know just WHAT was going to be their fate, so that they were marinated in terror. Edwin… Edwin would never be able to bring himself to do that. He had too good of a heart. Too kind… too tender.

But as Selene saw him hovering in the air, making no move to confront Noah… merely letting him know that he was FREE… she saw her love again.

"You… you think that matters?" Noah asked, swallowing before gathering himself and plastering a sneer on his face. "I think you need another time out!" He held out his hand and screens began to appear before him. "Hmmm, what part of the virtual world should I send you to, Edwin? The deep depths of the sea, where creatures that have long forgotten what sunlight is dwell? Or perhaps deep in the earth so that the heat of the core is closer the heat of the sun? Or perhaps the sun itself… your little girlfriend here believes she is a moon goddess so I suppose it would be fitting to send you to the sun itself, forever separated!" He hands began to fly across the screen-

-and then every single one of them froze up.

'No…' Selene realized with growing delight, '…they are LOCKED.'

Noah began to rapidly press his fingers against the screens, trying to get them to work. At first he was just tapping them casually with an arrogant air of someone who wasn't worried at all and thought they could simply get through things with a shrug and smile. But as the screens refused to do what he said?

The desperation began to seep in.

His fingers a bit quicker and with a touch more force. Less tap tap tap and more smack smack smack… and then pound pound pound. He created new screens, hoping that perhaps those would work but they were just as useless as the ones before him, until he had a wall of screens in front of him that refused to obey his commands. And even then, because of how they were designed, Noah could still see Edwin hanging in the air, watching him. Making no move to descend.

Letting the fear marinade him.

'Hello love,' Selene thought to herself in delight.

Noah suddenly pushed forward, the screens shifting to allow him through, and he jabbed a finger at Edwin and shouted, "I don't know how you did that, or how you escaped my trap, but you need to remember who is in charge of this world! I am its god and its master and the Virtual World is MINE!"

Edwin… didn't move.

He just kept staring at him.

"…say something!" Noah roared.

Selene watched as Edwin's mouth slowly quirked into a smirk.

"Anyone who most yell "I am the king"… is no king."

And with that he began to slowly descend towards them.

Noah… disappeared.

In an instant he was gone, so quick that even his screens remained for a few seconds more before popping away.

~MC~MC~MC~

Marik snarled as he abandoned the keypad and just began to attack the door with the power of the Shadow Realm. Hefting his Millenium Rod he began to hurl dark magics at the sealed sliding doors, trying to rip them down and let himself at the prizes that were hidden in there. He knew it had to be good… weapons of some kind! Missiles! Maybe a nuke or two! At the very least there had to be some guns; while he never really used those kinds of weapons, preferring the dark powers that his Millennium Rod gave him, it would be fun to have such goodies to turn upon the Pharaoh and his friends.

'If only I could get through!' he mentally roared as he fired off another series of magical blasts.

But the doors held firm.

He would NEVER admit that his Millennium Item was inferior to any other. Ever. The Millennium Rod was the greatest of the Millennium Items; it was why the Pharaoh Set, the great enemy of the Nameless Pharaoh, had wielded it himself in their battle.

And yet, in that moment… he wished he had Edwin's Key.

'I could have opened this door in seconds!' he thought. 'Gone in and claimed everything that laid within. And then I could have found them all and used to Millennium Key to lock their limbs in place, leave them able to think but unable to move. Knowing the doom that was coming their way and not even being able to sob and beg for mercy!'

Except… he didn't have the Millennium Key. Not yet, anyway… it was on his mental list of things to do, items to claim, and lives to ruin. But he didn't have the Millennium Key yet. And he didn't have the weapons that lay just beyond the doors.

And that was frustrating him to no end.

'I am tired of others distracting the Pharaoh from the true threat!' he thought bitterly as he tried something new, focusing the Shadow Realm magic as finely as he could, so it blasted out of his Millennium Rod not like a geyser but as laser beam. Perhaps concentrating it would be the answer to his issues, allowing him to cut through the door like a water saw. 'Everyone else seems to believe they are the great enemy of the Pharaoh! Bakura or whatever creature was living in that Ring of his! This Noah Kaiba… jumping his apparent brother Seto to claim he is the foe the Pharaoh should be focused on! While she will deny it my own sister… she has gotten far more attention from the Pharaoh than I have!'

He snarled and lashed out with the Millennium Rod to send more magic at the door, trying to whip it into obeying.

Nothing happened.

It stood there, mocking him.

"I AM THE ONE DESTINED TO DEFEAT THE PHARAOH! ME! NO BOYS MADE OF ELECTRICITY OR SPIRITS WITH DELUSIONS OF GRANDUR OR GODS THAT DARE TO INTERFERE IN MY QUEST! ME, AND ME ALONE!"

The door continued to stand there and finally Marik snarled and turned away from it.

"Enough of this… keep whatever secrets might be hidden in there."

But he had only taken a few steps when he heard the tsk tsk tsk in his head.

'Giving up so soon? Why am I not surprised?'

"Father…" he hissed before whipping around and firing off a greater blast of magic. "I will show you what I can do, phantom! I will show you my might!"

He attacked the door with a greater fury.

He would get to whatever lay in there. He would defeat the Pharaoh. He would silence every voice that now saw him as a joke or a weakling or a nothing that didn't matter. He would show them all his strength and his might and they would spend what little time he allowed them to have pleading with him to stop, that they understood, they didn't need to see anymore.

'They will bow to me… all will bow to me!'

He lashed out at the door again and again and again…

…and began to smile as he saw the faint marks of damage finally beginning to show up on the metal surface.

~MC~MC~MC~

I landed upon the ground and with a thought caused the mystical wings I had formed to disappear. They weren't actually needed for me to fly now… the Key allowed me to escape the grasp of gravity, unlocking the chains it placed on me so I might move about free. But I also knew that sometimes it was all about making a good impression on people. That people needed a taste of the dramatic in order for them to stop and actually pay attention to you. And while a man flying like Superman was impressive, to be sure, adding in those wings only made things all the more amazing.

The moment I was on the ground though I found myself lifted up again, though that was because of Selene slamming into me, wrapping her arms around me and nuzzling me close.

"MMmm… now that was impressive," she said as she began to rub my body without any real thought or plan. Just the desire to get her hands on me and feel me up. She began to tug on my coat, mouth coming up to my ear. "If you are skittish you can send the boys away… but I don't mind if they watch us." She reached up and began to tug on my ear with her teeth.

"Everything's muted, Selene," I reminded her. "Won't be as enjoyable."

At once the goddess pulled away and pouted. "Another failure of this creation. Whoever made it should be ashamed and punished." She stared at me for a long moment before, lightning quick, she reached into my pants. But seeing that my only reaction was to jump slightly she finally sighed and removed her hand. "Disappointing… but I suppose it will make us escaping this place all the more sweeter." She leaned in and hissed, "I want to make that blimp be forced to land from how hard you fuck me."

I stared at her as she pulled away, purposely swaying her hips back and forth as she did so. "You know… I am kind of missing when every time I tried to curse I said 'fudge' and the censors wouldn't even allow to people to kiss." I shook my head at that before clapping my hands. "Alright, long story short! The Pharoah, Yugi, and I got sucked into another Multiverse Thing, its taken care of, I have total control over the Key and some neat glasses that don't do much here."

"How is Yug?" Joey asked.

"Not in the virtual world so better than we are," I said, "which is saying something when you remember that he has all those automated turrets. Anyway, no idea how long it will be before Noah comes back here trying something new so let's get going. Facts, details. I can't build bricks without clay. Let's go."

Koyo, bless him, was the first to speak up.

But not with what I expected.

"You're Loki?"

I blinked at that.

"Uh… no. I did fight Loki during the Multiverse thing…"

Joey chimed in though, "Selene told us that back in the past you were Loki."

I slowly turned to stare at the fucking minx that was also a moon goddess and kinda/sort of my girlfriend. "Explain."

Selene tittered at that. "Oh… just something from your life as Endymion. We decided to travel a bit after your… well, you don't remember it so you won't get upset for me saying the truth: your failure in Egypt. We ended up in what is now Western Europe and eventually encountered the Asgardians."

At once I put the pieces together. "Endymion used the name Loki while there."

"He did!" she said in delight.

Koyo suddenly gave me a queer look (as in strange… not as in gay even though he was gay and thus technically every look he gave was a queer look though I supposed I didn't give technically straight looks and my mind was rambling because I was fucking LOKI?!) before asking Selene, "So… that horse-"

"Oh fuck me!" I exclaimed.

"I want to," Selene admitted. "And the horse didn't. Thor wasn't pleased with some of your antics and thus as punishment certain stories had you inserted in, my love." She paused. "Other times they twisted things and such. You were briefly captured and forced to have a snake drip venom on you but as if I would stand there with a bowl instead of breaking your shackles and helping you escape."

"Ragnarok?" Koyo asked and I had to admit, considering the more I was learning about Endymion, that was a valid thing to ask. My past life could have easily seen me destroy the Asgardians-

"Hasn't happened," Selene said. "Last I heard Odin was claiming was coming "any time now" and "just be patient". I personally think he just had a nightmare brought on by eating a spicy meal and he doesn't want to admit it was his bowels rather than his sight that told him all that." She shrugged. "Though that is how most of his 'vision' tend to be, I found." She suddenly smiled. "You enjoyed very much mocking him for that, performing similar "tricks" where you would speak to spirits that weren't there, claiming they were telling you things when in reality-"

"Cold reading," I said.

"-they weren't there at all. Just you making proper guesses." Selene laughed again. "Oh, he always got angry about that. Probably why he began inserting our children into the predictions."

I started at that.

"Wait… Ed has kids?"

"Well, I think at this point half of our friends are his kids," Koyo pointed out… not wrongly, either.

"Well yes, he does," Selene stated. "And does not. It was my Endymion who did the deeds, after all."

Both my eyebrows jumped near to my hairline. "I'm sorry but are you saying I have some demi gods running around?" Because that gave me the horrible feeling that at any moment they might appear and begin helping Selene out with her whole "Make Edwin a God and fucking off so Zorc can destroy the world" plan. And I hadn't taken that into account at all in my plans to take down Selene and save Mai.

'Its bad enough there are other gods around that might muck things up,' I thought rapidly. 'And they aren't going to be happy when I enact my plan.' I wasn't for sure yet WHEN I would try it… the problem was I only had one chance and I had to catch Selene at the right moment, when there was no chance for her to wiggle away. She had to be backed in a corner, with no hope of escape, for the plan to work and that time hadn't come yet. 'And if she has back up…'

But then Selene said, "Oh no, there is no need to worry about that. Demi Gods live longer than mortals but they do eventually pass on. They are like you now, with no memories yet of their past lives."

She paused.

"But when we help them remember?" she said. "Well… I will be VERY interested in how dear Fenrir and Hela react."

Koyo's eyes widened. Joey, clearly having heard at least one of those names, took a step back.

"Selene," I said slowly, my voice low and dark, "do you know who they are?"

She smirked.

"Selene… who are they?"

~MC~MC~MC~

Renard and Yuri continued on through the halls, the Pharaoh and Troy just behind them.

"I don't like us leaving the Captain all by himself," Renard stated.

"It can't be helped," Yuri reasoned. "We have to find the others. See who else isn't in the virtual world and who else is still trapped in there. That means doing some leg work."

"And don't worry," Troy said with a grin from behind them, "I'm already making a map of this entire place so I can get us back real quick."

Renard though frowned at that. 'With how this place is I can't trust that Noah won't be able to do something to shift rooms about or make doorways disappear while opening up other ones.' He shook his head in annoyance; he hated these kind of games. While he was all for strategy and the like he preferred it when his foe wasn't some sort of all powerful god who could alter the playing field to their liking. 'Though I suppose, considering who I am with and who I deal with on a daily basis, I need to be careful now when talking about gods.'

"Do you think Edwin was the only one to be separated? Or does Noah have all our friends scattered all over the place?" Yuri asked.

"I got the sense from Edwin, when I talked with him before, that Noah was singling him out," the Pharaoh stated. "It is similar to how he placed Yugi and I away from everyone and refused to allow us into the Virtual World. The others though, I believe, are together. Perhaps Kaiba might have been separated as well… Pegasus is an option, if he was also taken."

Renard suddenly stopped, holding out a hand.

"What is it?" Yuri whispered, thankfully realizing from his body language alone that she needed to be as quiet as possible.

"People are coming… three of them from the sounds of the footfalls." He wanted to hope that it was their friends but one couldn't be sure…

Around a corner Brom, Rex, and Ishizu appeared.

"Hey, look who also wasn't invited to Noah's little party!" Rex said with a chuckle. "Now I don't feel so bad."

Ishizu at once was rushing past Renard, grabbing onto the Pharoah's hand. "My Pharaoh… it is good to see that you escaped from this horrid boy's grasp! I had worried greatly that you were taken."

The Pharaoh's jaw worked for a moment before he stated, "…thank you, Ishizu-" and Renard could tell he HATED saying those words, not that he blamed him, "-but I wasn't actually taken by Noah."

"…ah, of course," she said at once. "He saw you as too great of a threat. Better to keep you away lest you ruin all his plans. At least he honors you in that, seeing your strength and power. Come, we must get out of this place-"

Brom placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Our deal?"

Ishizu glowered but only for a moment. Then she nodded once, sharp and quick, and Brom removed his hand. "Yes… we will get the others too."

"Deal?" Yuri asked Rex.

"The psycho chick agreed to help us get everyone out of here and not try anything funny until the blimp was away. A truce."

"Clever," Yuri stated.

"And we'll be needing your help," the Pharaoh stated to Ishizu, who smirked at his comment.

"Of course you will. I have been telling you that I am here to serve you, to ensure that you meet your destiny fully."

The Pharaoh, looking more and more like he'd bitten into a bad lemon, said, "We all hope that our friends would not be taken by the Big 5… we can't be sure that Noah hasn't pulled some trick to do so, stealing their bodies from them."

Ishizu's smile fell at that. "I would be rather pleased to remove some of the more poisonous part of your life right now-" And both Yuri and Renard bristled as they knew the poisonous pieces she was referring to were their friends and family, "-yet these corporate raiders and this little boy are a far greater danger. Yugi's friends cloud your mind and take you upon paths that are very wrong… but they still do wish for you to achieve victory. Noah Kaiba and his associates do not desire that." Her eyes suddenly flared and her Millennium Ring glowed. "I will look into the past of each of us, to ensure that we are who we say we are."

"And do not think of lying, Ishizu," the Pharaoh warned. "Do not take this as an opportunity to spread false doubt."

"My Pharaoh-"

Brom stepped forward.

"…very well," Ishizu said, with the same put-upon tone a child might use when told to pick up their socks and they felt it was the greatest challenge ever. She looked first to Rex and after a moment nodded. But when it came to the Pharaoh, Renard, and Yuri, her focus on each of them was more intense and clearly displeased. Especially with the Pharaoh. Finally she huffed, "I can not see anything thanks to Endymion's meddling."

"Which is proof we are who we say we are," the Pharaoh stated. "The Big 5 would not have had their minds locked down."

"Perhaps," Ishizu said which Renard knew was really "You are right but I don't want to admit it". "But I do not like this, my Pharaoh. Allowing Endymion to meddle with your mind-"

"Is better than allowing Marik," the Pharaoh said, cutting her off. "Now come along, Ishizu, we must see if we can find the others."

"Smeagol is good, master," Yuri hissed to Renard with a smirk, causing him to chuckle as he watched Ishizu quickly trail after the Pharaoh, trying to keep in step with him.

'But,' Renard thought to himself as he followed, 'in the end… Smeagol lied.'

~MC~MC~MC~

Tea pushed away from the table and sighed. "I need a few moments, okay? All of this… I need a breather."

Johnson nodded, collecting the photos of Tea's friends… of the people she was discussing giving over to the wolves… and slipping them back into his briefcase. "I suppose now is a good of a time as any for us to take a break." He gestured and a door she hadn't noticed before, which might not have even been there until that moment, appeared. "You can rest in the garden, if you wish. Unfortunately it won't smell as sweet as it might in the real world but it will still give you something colorful to look at."

Tea merely nodded, not bothering to thank the man because the only reasons she was in the Virtual World was because of him. You didn't thank your kidnapper for giving you a glass of water after they had starved you for several days, after all. She also didn't bother to see if Tristan was following her… frankly, with how he had been so willing to listen to Johnson and his proposal, Tea wasn't for sure if she'd be able to talk with him without giving him the same kind of greeting she'd given Ishizu when she'd first seen her approaching the blimp.

'How can he just go along with this? How can he listen to Johnson as he weighs the pros and cons of our friends like they are used cars he's tried to purchase? Doesn't he care at all that these are people's lives?'

Stepping through the doorway Tea cursed herself for going out there in the first place, realizing that she could have very easily been walking into a trap. That felt like something the Big 5 would pull: capture her, torment her, offer her hope of a bit of rest, and then have her walk blindly into a trap. Yuri wouldn't be pleased when she heard what Tea had done and she knew that Edwin would lecture her on keeping a clear head.

'Even though he's been captured and kidnapped more than I have,' she thought to herself, a brief smile forming on her lips at that. But it quickly fell as she began to walk along the garden path. 'Edwin… Yuri… I hope you are okay. Yugi and Joey too. All of my friends.' She shut her eyes and fought the urge to scream. 'Except not all of you are safe, not if I take this deal that Johnson is offering! I am going to toss 6 people to the Big 5 and potentially have them take over their lives!' She lashed out, kicking at a shrub… but all it did was bounce back to how it had looked right before she'd taken her swing. Undamaged. Unchanged. Because it wasn't real at all, despite how much Tea might have wished it was if only for her to work out her anger and frustration on the poor little thing.

And that caused her to feel utter disgust in herself.

'What is happening to me?' she thought sadly, looking at the plant. 'I'm mad because I can't harm a real plant? That… that's isn't me.'

Tea knew her reputation. That she was the sweet fun girl who just wanted everyone to be happy and believed in the best of all those around her. Her friends always laughed at that because they knew that Tea was also fierce, and strong, and willing to fight for others. That she would scream and yell and rage and get right in the faces of those that thought they could talk down to her friends.

'But… I never lashed out at someone that didn't deserve it,' she thought as she looked at the plant. It didn't matter that it wasn't real… if it had been she would have hurt it and that was all that mattered. 'Its Johnson and the Big 5 and this… and this stupid negotiation!' she thought to herself darkly. 'They want me to give up others to protect my friends and they nearly had me thinking that that was the solution.' Tea suddenly stood up and squared her shoulders. 'When in reality the only solution is to march in there and tell Johnson he can take his proposal and shove it where the sun doesn't shine! We aren't going to sacrifice others just to give ourselves an easier time… and make us complicit in them taking over other people's bodies.'

That settled Tea marched towards the door only to pause when it opened again.

"Tristan," she said, "I know-"

It wasn't Tristan.

No, the man that stepped into the garden was… was… it took her several moments but Tea was finally able to place him as Martin, Kaiba's insurance lawyer. She had met him at the last Christmas party they'd had and he seemed like a nice enough guy, if a bit worn down from having to deal with all the insanity that KaibaCorp seemed to bring into his life. Tea wagered that if she had to try and figure out how to ensure the Battle City Tournament and giant Duel Blimps and the like she would be a bit tired as well.

He wasn't looking though like he had been at the party, however. While Tea understood that sometimes people dressed differently in one place compared to another (her own current style definitely was different from what she wore at school) she found it rather off putting to see Martin wearing a Hawaiian shirt over a white tank top, bright green swim trunks, flip flops, and sunglasses. He looked like he should have been on a beach somewhere looking at the waves, rather than walking around the virtual garden.

"Martin… it is Martin, right?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Aw, just doin' some work for Mr. Johnson buuuuuuudy," he said, drawing out the last word.

"…right," Tea said slowly. "Well, you can go get Mr. Johnson then and tell him that I've changed my mind. I'm not taking part in this deal of his and if he wants to try and take my body he can bring out his deck!"

"Well, him and Tristan will be pleased to hear that."

Tea frowned. "Him and Tristan?"

"Ya, brah," Martin drawled. "Them two talked while you were out here… they came to an agreement on their own. Sorry, Tea… but ya out." And with that Martin thrust out his hand and a duel disc appeared.

"Wh-what?" Tea stammered.

"You're out. Tristan and Mr. Johnson agreed that you were dithering too much and that it was better to remove you from the negotiation… and from those that should be protected. Which means you are now up for grabs. Sorry, brah, but that's the way it is."

Tea shook her head, staring at Martin, waiting for him to reveal that everything he had said was just so sick joke. "I… I don't believe you! Tristan wouldn't do that to me!"

"Don't believe if ya want, not gonna change things. Ya ain't got the big man's protection anymore and that means your body is up for grabs. And it is a bodacious one too! Everyone is gonna want it. So Mr. Johnson decided to snag it. Probably not for himself but he can cut a deal with it amongst him and the rest of the Big 5."

Tea stared at Martin in shock. 'No… no Tristan would never betray me like this!' But then her mind went to how quickly he'd agreed to hear Johnson out. How he'd shushed her when she'd tried to protest that what he was suggesting was wrong. How he had discussed so casually stepping aside and doing nothing to stop the Big 5 from taking innocent people's bodies. And her mind went to all the business classes Tristan's father had been making him take. The comments he'd dropped about how he would be taking over the entire Taylor Furniture Empire when he got out of high school. About how odd he had been acting, how he had always been the quietest member of their group. She thought about her own issues… her own anger getting the better of her. And she wondered if Tristan might have been changed too by their trip to the Virtual World. That perhaps his desperation to save as many as he could had led him to taking the worst option. The unthinkable option.

And… and…

"No," Tea said darkly, narrowing her eyes, "I don't believe you. Tristan is many things but he isn't a traitor. He would never toss me aside just to save his own skin."

"Brah, I don't care either way. Boss man said ta eliminate ya and I am gonna take ya down. Duel ya, make ya lose, earn him a free body ta do with whatever he wants. Everything else I just goin' with the flow, follow?"

"…oh, I follow," Tea said as she thrust out her arm, her duel disc appearing on it. "It doesn't matter what is going on. If Tristan really did sell me out or this is just some game you are playing. It doesn't matter either way: I was going to challenge your boss anyway and end this farce so you are just saving me time. So you better hope your deck is good because I am going to be coming at you with everything I have! I am taking you and Johnson down once and for all! So draw your cards, Martin, because its time to DUEL!"