Brothers in Arms Part III

Kaiba ground his teeth as he stared across the battlefield. He was glad that Shauna had warned him beforehand. It was hard enough looking at Mokuba's blank face as it was, was he stood in front of Noah with his arms spread out protectively. If he hadn't known the prick had hypnotised his brother beforehand, it would be so much worse.

Right now, he could assure himself that Mokuba had been put into a trace. He was percieving the situation differently from how it actually was. His peripheral awareness was reduced and he was very susceptible to suggestion right now. And Kaiba was going to make Noah pay for putting his brother in such a state.

Kaiba wasn't sure how to break hypnotism. He'd never had much interest, but it might be an idea to look into it. However, there was somebody available who could get the information now. 'Shauna,' he whispered. 'How do you break hypnotism?'

'Hang on.' Her voice came from above. 'Give me two shakes and I'll tell you.'

'He didn't hear that?' Kaiba asked.

'Nope. I can actually control how far sound travels here,' Shauna said. 'I was experimenting with it before. Only you and I can hear this conversation.'

That explained why he'd heard part of the Dork Patrol's conversation, despite how far away they were.

In the meantime… 'Noah, I'm only gonna say this one. Release Mokuba now! This is our fight. Is that clear? He has nothing to do with this!'

Noah gave a nasty smirk. 'There you go, disrespecting Mokuba again. Acting like his opinion means nothing. Tell him, Mokie!'

Kaiba ground his teeth.

'Give back KaibaCorp now.' Mokuba said in a monotone voice.

Sharee's voice reached him from behind, blocking out the rest of that horrible sound. 'He maybe dead, but I wanna kick that kid in the teeth.'

'What's wrong with him?' Wheeler's sister asked.

'He's hypnotised Mokuba,' Sharee said.

Téa paused a moment. 'What does that…mean exactly? What happens when you're hypnotised?'

'Your perception narrows,' Sharee said. 'You're susceptible to suggestion. Basically, what Mokuba's percieving is different to what's really going on.'

Shauna's voice came down again, blocking out the first part of Noah's grandstanding. 'And the good news is that it doesn't last long. Hypnosis wears off fairly quickly. Within an hour usually. Turns out human brains have evolved to snap us out of it, especially if there's something going on around us.'

'…Now, are you going to attack me or not?' Noah asked. 'If you do, just remember you'll be striking Mokuba.'

'You punk!' Kaiba snapped angrilly.

YGO

Sharee's hands were clenched so tight, her muscles were beginning to hurt.

'Hey, that's not fair!' Joey protested.

Noah either didn't hear him or ignored him. 'Well, Seto, attack and you'll win the duel. But at what cost?'

'This is a no-brainer!' Duke insisted. 'Kaiba has to attack him and win this duel! If he lets Noah win then we all lose.'

Sharee let out a breath and forced herself to relax. 'Be that as it may, there's no way Kaiba will risk hurting his brother.' She wasn't overly surprised when, after a tense moment, Kaiba passed up the opportunity to attack.

'All right, kid. I'll end my turn.'

'I thought so,' Yugi murmured, looking more worried than ever.

As Noah sniggered and bragged about how weak Kaiba was, Sharee folded her arms and remarked, 'Well, regardless, if that's the way Noah's going to try and beat him, then Kaiba's already won.'

'Huh?' Their friends all looked at her in confusion.

'Oh, I get it,' Yugi said. 'The Kaiba brothers are actually too close for this to work long-term. For years, Kaiba's done everything to protect Mokuba and Mokuba, in turn, looks up to him.'

'Yeah,' Téa said. 'Mokuba's belief in Kaiba in unbelievable. Noah won't be able to hold this control over him for very long.'

'Exactly,' Sharee said. 'Looks like he's only hypnotised anyhow. Kaiba has to either only wake him up or wait for him to wake up.'

Why don't I give him a bit of a nudge?

Sharee glanced over a Mayet next to her. What are you thinking?

With a smirk, Mayet stepped away. Unlike the Pharaoh, who was bound to the Millennium Puzzle when he didn't have a body, Mayet could travel a certain distance from the Bandanna. Mayet's power was limited in this state, but the fact remained that she could cross the distance, unseen and unnoticed. Honestly, given that she'd been with Sharee for two years, it was strange to suddenly be alone in her head again.

But…one day, Mayet would leave for good.

Sharee figured she better get used to that.

YGO

Mayet crossed the field, passing Kaiba and stepping up onto Noah's little platform. Mokuba was already standing by Noah's side when she arrived. No one saw her. No one but Sharee would unless she wanted them too. Noah was busy rubbing this whole situation in Kaiba's face.

Mayet leaned down and whispered in Mokuba's ear.

'Isn't there something strange here?'

The smirk fell off of Mokuba's face.

Noah didn't notice.

But Kaiba's eyes flicked to his brother's face.

YGO

Kaiba had noticed the shift in Mokuba's expression. He could only hope that meant that the hypnosis was wearing off. He was sure once Mokuba woke up, he'd move out of the way and then Kaiba could finish this duel. In the meantime, he had to work out how to block Noah's attacks. The damn kid had power here, and he had no concept of hard work or failure. Kaiba was going to give him a hard lesson in that department.

Noah drew. 'It's time for you to experience another of my Deck Master's special skills.'

'And what's that, kid?' Kaiba demanded.

Noah gave a nasty grin. 'Observe as I unleash Shinato's Ark's greatest power: Restoration of life!'

Over Noah's heard, the Ark began to glow. Then the previously defeated Duel Monsters began to appear around it.

'Remember, every monster in the card graveyard is now aboard my ship, giving it a grand total of twelve passengers,' Noah declared. 'And now I choose to remove every one of them!' The monsters surrounding the ship vanished. The energy from the monsters floated down and surrounded Noah in a glow. 'As you can see, every monster that I obliterate transfers its power to my life points, making me unstoppable. And since I get a 500 point boost from each monster, I receive 6000 more life points. Now I'm even stronger than I was when we began.'

His life points flew up to 6400.

Not good. Kaiba ground his teeth and quickly cycled through all the strategies he could use to bring those life points down. And he had to do it fast. He only had 700 life points. Losing more would be trouble. And he still had Mokuba to worry about. None of those hits would be able to be direct attacks while his little brother was over there.

Come on, Mokuba, he thought, wake up.

YGO

'One more attack and Kaiba's a goner!' Joey looked worried, even though he did have a special kind of hate for Kaiba.

'You're right, Joey,' Yugi said. 'And if Noah wins this duel, he'll take over Kaiba's body and escape to the real world to run KaibaCorp, leaving the rest of us trapped here.'

'Run it into the ground, you mean,' Sharee muttered. 'And that is if no one staged a takeover – and not necessarily a hostile one.'

'What do you mean?' Serenity asked.

'Let's be honest,' Sharee said. 'Noah wouldn't last a day in the real world. He's too used to living in a world where he can just change things on a whim.'

Duke nodded. 'He'll think he can just continue in the Real World the way he does here. He has no concept of cause and effect, or real-world consequences. They'd eat him alive out there.'

YGO

'Get a load of this card.' Noah pulled the card from his hand and set it. 'I play Dark Hole!' The hole appeared on the field and its effect was instantaneous. 'This magic card destroys all monsters in play! And you know what happens to them after that – they become passengers above Shinato's Ark.'

The vortex sucked in all the monsters. Kaiba threw an arm up against the light. The vortex appeared overhead and the freshly-destroyed monsters were spat out into the boat. Kaiba ground his teeth again, and glanced at his glassy-eyed brother again. Grinding his teeth, he tried to think.

There had to be some way to stop Noah from using the Ark's special abilities.

'I think that's enough for one turn,' Noah declared arrogantly. 'Your move, Seto.'

Kaiba stood there, staring Noah down. Kaiba glanced to the side. The words next to him looked like a scientific study, and the words seemed transparent. As they filed over, Kaiba found himself reading a paper on the human brain and hypnotism. Seemed there was something about primitive man being hypnotised by fire and snapping out of it for threats. Strange noises…

Noises…

Kaiba looked back at his brother, a plan forming in his mind.

Noah smirked and laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. Kaiba did not miss the shudder that ran through his brother's frame.

Noah obviously did. 'Mokuba's my brother now! He doesn't even remember you.'

'Kaiba!' Yugi suddenly called. 'Listen to me!'

With a growl, Kaiba turned. 'No, thanks.'

Even as he said it, he hoped this wasn't Yugi's attempt at a pep talk but…over his association with Yugi, he'd learned that if he wanted to say something, he would say it. Sharee was the one who would remain blissfully quiet. She had a far better sense of keeping her opinions to herself, especially when she knew he wouldn't agree with them.

Then again, as he learned through her sister, she had been raised to respect other cultures – even ones that had ridiculous beliefs.

'But I can help you, Kaiba!' Yugi insisted. Next to him, Sharee dropped her head in exasperation and muttered something. But, of course, Yugi didn't listen to her. 'Because I've been through this before! Remember when Joey was brainwashed by Marik and he turned against me? Maybe you can get through to Mokuba the same way I got through to Joey! The answer may be in your deck!'

As an idea, it wasn't too bad, Kaiba would admit. He had actually seen Yugi break through whatever Marik had done to Wheeler with that Red Eyes Black Dragon. As far as he understood, it had…sentimental value to Wheeler. But, of course, Kaiba couldn't let Yugi know what his idea had just inspired.

'Let's go! You have a duel to lose!' Noah boasted.

'Guess again, kid,' Kaiba retorted. 'Not only am I planning to win this duel, I'll also win back my brother. So watch this!' He drew. It wasn't exactly what he'd hoped for.

'Disappointed?' Noah gloated.

'I still have this card, Different Dimension Dragon!' The monster emerged from a portal and came onto the field. 'So I'll switch it into the defence mode and end my turn.' Kaiba turned the card. 'Let's see if you can get past this, Noah!'

'Of course I can!' Noah reached down for his deck. 'But, first, it's time for a change.' The scenery around them melted away and a replica of Domino City appeared in its place. KaibaCorp tower could very easily be seen from where they stood. 'I think I'll warm things up a bit and put an end to the Ice Age. After all, this is my virtual world and I control everything here. As you know, the fall of the Ice Age opened the way for the rise of mankind. Eventually, cities grew and large corporations controlled the world.'

'Contested!' Sharee called out.

Noah sneered, as if he knew better.

'Hey, what's that?' Wheeler's sister called out.

'It's KaibaCorp!' Wheeler told her.

'Explain yourself now,' Kaiba demanded.

'Well,' Noah's voice dripped in mocking, 'since that's your company, I thought maybe…you'd like to see it one final time! You see, once you lose and I take over KaibaCorp, I'll change it back to the way it was.' He drew. 'And if you don't remember, this should refresh your memory.' He slapped a card down. The card Gradius appeared on the field. 'Just like so many of the high-tech battle vehicles that were produced by the original KaibaCorp, my Gradius flyer can cause an enormous amount of damage!'

The flyer in question took off from the top of the KaibaCorp building and shot into the sky. Then, it suddenly emerged from the card on the field. Kaiba cried out in alarm.

Noah set another card. 'Then I'll add this to boost its power!' With a bright flash, the flyer was equipped with… 'The magic card, Cyclon Laser!'

Gladius's attack points flew up to 1500.

'And to make my jet even stronger, I'll add one more card!' Noah set his next card. 'The Matter Leveller Magic Card!' His laser became physically reinforced. 'It increases the overall attack strength of my Gradius flyer by 100 points every time it blasts you, Seto. And thanks to my Laser, you lose Life Points even though your monster's in defence mode.' Noah barked out the order. 'Gradius, attack his Dragon with Cyclon Blast Attack!'

The Laser hummed, and then fired out a blast. His Dragon was struck and Kaiba was forced to throw an arm up against the dust that was sent flying around him. He grunted and squinted against the bright light shrouding his monster. Kaiba's Life Point dropped down to 600. He just hoped his next card would be the one he needed.

'And since your Dragon returns to the field every time it's destroyed, I can keep attacking it,' Noah bragged. The Dragon returned to the field. 'What was once your monster's advantage is now your downfall.'

Kaiba ground his teeth.

YGO

'He does have a point there, Yug,' Joey remarked.

'Yeah, I know,' Yugi said, 'but if Kaiba draws a powerful monster, he can still turn this duel around!'

Sharee just kept an eye on Mayet as she crouched down and whispered in Mokuba's ear again.

YGO

Kaiba drew. He ground his teeth and added the card to his hand. 'I'll leave my Dragon in defence mode and end my turn now.'

'That's the move of a man who's given up!' Noah declared.

That's the brag of an arrogant child.

'I knew you were no match for my superior mind!' Noah stated. 'And once I defeat you, everyone else will know as well! Then I'll finally be able to run KaibaCorp as I was always meant to.'

Dumb kid wouldn't last one day. 'You may control this little fantasy land, but there's no way you'll make it in the real world, Noah.'

That smirk finally broke in favour of a glare. Kaiba wondered if some part of him knew the truth in that. He knew he wouldn't survive, but he wanted out. And he was, at the end of the day, a spoilt brat born with a silver spoon in his mouth. One who had died tragically, but still the kind of entitled brat that thought he should have everything he wanted and was unused to hearing the word "no".

'We'll see!' Noah snapped. 'I'm aware of what it's like in the real world!'

Sharee suddenly made a sound. It was like she was trying not to laugh but the sound was escaping through her nose anyhow. Noah turned his glare towards her.

'What's so funny?' he demanded.

As soon as Sharee opened her mouth, she burst into full-blown laughter. Kaiba couldn't even be annoyed. Not only did it distract Noah, but it gave him time to think. Also, there was a fair reason for her to be laughing. She waved a hand as she struggled to compose herself. The rest of the dorks looked at her in confusion.

'Sorry, sorry,' she wheezed. 'Just…he dies at age eight or so, he was one of the richest kids in the country, and then he says he knows how the real world works.' She burst into a fresh fit of laughter, even slapping her knee.

That Devlin kid seemed to see the funny side too, if that smirk was anything to go by.

Noah growled. 'After running this virtual universe, I have no doubt that running KaibaCorp will be a simple task!'

Sharee just laughed harder.

If anything, that seemed to make him angrier. 'And one that I was raised to do for my entire life!' He glared at Kaiba. 'That is until you came into my home and took everything away from me!' Noah smirked again. 'Well, now it's my turn to take everything from you. First I took your brother and next I'll take your identity.'

That cut Sharee's laughter off.

'Now let's get back to this duel.' Noah drew. 'I play the magic card, Gradius's Option!' He slapped the card down and the physical manifestation of the effect appeared on the field. 'Since I already have one Gradius Fighter Jet on the field, this card creates a second one. Behold, the power of two unstoppable aircraft!'

The object on the field transformed. It floated up and took form next to the first one.

'Now, Cyclon Laser, fire!' Noah ordered.

Kaiba covered his face as the blast hit his Dragon again. This time, the force was greater and he was blown back a bit. His life points dropped to 500. I can't keep this up much longer.

Noah barked out a laugh and looked at Mokuba. 'Our enemy will soon be gone. I hope you're enjoying the show.'

Mokuba didn't respond.

'Mokuba,' Kaiba called.

YGO

'Where's your brother, Mokuba? Is that him beside you? Doesn't look quite right, does he?'

Mokuba's head spun.

'Mokuba!' That was Seto's voice. It sounded…distant though.

A grating voice was much closer. He couldn't quite hear the words, but he knew that voice…it wasn't…It was his brother's…No…No, too high-pitched. The tone…the tone was all wrong. And…and it was going on for too long. Seto didn't talk for very long…this voice was going on for…But…But…

Mokuba was sure that was what was happening. He was sure he was standing next to Seto while he battled some rat who'd taken KaibaCorp out from under them. He was sure that his brother was winning, because he always did. That was what he remembered happening…Didn't he? Yes, it was…

Who?

A bright light suddenly got his attention. Mokuba saw it shoot from their side of the field and fire down. His eyes saw a shadowy figure fall. The voice whispered in his ear again. It had been whispering in his ear for several minutes. Mokuba tried to ignore it, but all it did was ask questions…Questions Mokuba couldn't find the answers to.

'What did you just see? Who was just knocked down? Who was just hurt? Listen.'

Voices cried out in alarm.

'This isn't over yet!' Seto?

'Look at the mighty Seto Kaiba now!' What?

'Snap out of it, Mokuba!'

Snap out of what, Seto? What was going on?

'I need you in order to beat him!'

'Can you hear him? Can you hear your brother calling? Wake up, Mokuba Kaiba. Wake up.'

What?

YGO

'What's the matter, Seto?' Noah was in full mock mode. 'Feeling down?'

Mayet looked over as Kaiba struggled to push himself to his feet. That landing had been particularly hard. Kaiba was physically stronger than most of this time period, but fatigue even took its toll on him. It didn't help having the emotional weight of his brother "turned against him".

'You're one attack away from total annihilation!' Noah bragged.

'I'm…not done!' Kaiba declared.

'Come on, Kaiba!' Joey called. 'Squash this kid!'

Kaiba ignored him, because of course he did. He stood up straight. 'It will take more than a few attacks to keep me down.' He shook slightly but maintained his footing. 'And it's my move now.'

It would also take more than a few whispered words in Mokuba's ear to wake him up.

'What a shame,' Noah sneered. 'You should know that sometimes it's best to stay down.'

Yes, but this isn't one of those times.

'The sooner you give into my power, the less suffering you'll have to do, Seto.' Noah looked at Mokuba. 'Mokuba realised that fact.'

'Mokuba!' Yugi called out. 'I know you're in there! Noah is hypnotising you with lies! Seto is your brother, not Noah, and he's never let you down!'

Mayet reached over and laid a hand over Mokuba's heart. Yugi had no idea that he was even using the power of the Millennium Puzzle. He didn't realise the Pharaoh inside was pushing his own power out. With the help she needed, Mayet located the memories from Duellist Kingdom, when Mokuba was waiting for his brother to come and save him because his brother always came after him.

'Look inside your heart and you'll remember him!' Yugi called out.

Mokuba blinked. For a moment, his eyes almost cleared. But they glazed over again.

'Seto…?'

'They're just trying to break us apart, Mokuba,' Noah said.

'Mokuba, listen to me!' Kaiba called out. 'Don't let Noah poison your mind! We're family and no one can ever change that. You and I have always been there to support one another and we always will be! There's something I've never told you, Mokuba. You once saved me!'

It was working. Kaiba's words were getting through to his little brother. Mayet knew how hard it was for a personality like Kaiba's to admit something like that. The teenagers observing the duel had the good sense to keep their mouths shut, even if a few of them were smiling about it. But the Gods save them if Kaiba happened to turn around.

Noah opened his mouth. Mayet narrowed her eyes. Over 5,000 years in a tomb and sometimes she had been required to shut people up in order to get rid of all of them. Having no physical body of her own meant she had to get creative. And she employed once such trick right now.

No sound came out of Noah's mouth.

He looked shocked.

But the moment between the two Kaiba brothers continued.

'When we were kids,' Kaiba told Mokuba, 'when Gozaboro Kaiba adopted us, he was merciless – forcing me to work for hours with no rest. I was exhausted and ready to give up! Until you inspired me, Mokuba!'

Mayet scowled. She was from Ancient Egypt, and her memories of her life was quite foggy but…she knew even they had not treated children so harshly. What Kaiba was saying now completely meshed with what Sharee had known of the man. Gozaboro Kaiba had shown no quarter even towards children. No wonder Seto Kaiba had grown up to be so hardened and jaded.

Kaiba gave a gentle smile, the kind of thing he'd give only to Mokuba. 'By making that card for me, you encouraged me not to give up. You gave me something to strive for! I swore that day to become a person worthy of possessing a real Blue Eyes!'

A tear streamed down Mokuba's cheek. 'I…remember…' He jammed his eyes shut.

That's it! Almost there…almost there…

'That's right, Mokuba. I know you can't forget about me! You're strong, and I know you can break through his mind games! Never give up! And never let anyone control you!'

Mokuba's hands clamped to his head. 'Can't…give…up!'

'Fight him off! We can do this! You and I, together!' Kaiba drew his next card.

Mayet let the shell-shocked Noah have his voice back.

Kaiba looked with trepidation and seemed to get what he needed. 'This duel is over Noah.' He set the card. 'First I'll activate the special ability of my Deck Master.' The Deck Master behind him glowed. 'Now, I only need to sacrifice one monster.' His Different Dimension Dragon digitised. 'So that I can play this! Behold, the incredible power of my Blue Eyes White Dragon!'

The sky grew dark, whether the effect of the card or if Shauna had decided to make a little power-play on Kaiba's behind, Mayet didn't know. With a crack of lightning, the Blue Eyes appeared on the field with a mighty roar. Mokuba looked up and, like a switch had been flicked, the hypnosis over him shattered.

'There it is!'

With a grin, Mayet flung herself back.

She crossed the distance and returned to her place in Sharee's head.

What did you do? Sharee asked.

Very little.

YGO

Kaiba saw his brother's eyes clear. 'I remember!'

Yes! 'Mokuba!'

'Seto! You're my brother!'

Noah ground his teeth. 'He's our enemy, Mokuba!'

'Too late!' Wheeler called across. 'Mokuba's with us!'

'And once he steps away, Kaiba can blast Noah!' Taylor cheered.

After hearing that, it didn't take Mokuba long to move. 'Later, you phoney!' He jumped off of the patch of land where Noah had been keeping him.

Kaiba smirked.

YGO

'Aaaand they lived happily ever after,' Sharee quipped as she watched Mokuba run around to be closer to Kaiba, but still out of the way.

Yugi cracked a grin. 'Now's your chance Kaiba!' he called.

Kaiba was likely so happy to have his brother back, he didn't retort. 'Here goes! Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack his Gradius!'

With a roar, the Blue Eyes let a stream of White Lightning explode out of its mouth. The blast crossed the field. Sharee was perfectly aware that military manoeuvres dictated that it was a bad idea to sit on top of each other. And that was proven true here. The first Gradius was destroyed by the White Lightning, and the second was quickly ignited by the first explosion.

Noah's life points dropped down to 4900.

'All right!' Téa cheered. 'Noah's out of monsters now.'

'Kaiba knew that destroying one of Noah's jets would automatically destroy the other one too,' Yugi stated.

Sharee had to say, Noah recovered quickly. 'Don't celebrate just yet. There's still my Deck Master.' He pointed upwards. 'Shinato's Ark! And there are five monsters on board to increase my Life Points!'

'Oh, no!' Yugi frowned. 'That gives him 2500 more Life Points.'

Noah's Life Points shot up to 7400.

'Aw, man,' Joey muttered.

'He'll never go down to zero,' Tristan complained.

'Now it's time to finish you off.' Noah reached for his deck. 'My move.' He drew.

'Hold on, Noah.'

Noah looked up in surprise. 'What now?'

Kaiba was smirking again. He even laughed. 'I have you right where I want you. It's time to find out which one of us is superior.'

'What?' Noah demanded.

'There's one turn left,' Kaiba said. 'So brace yourself. Reveal the trap card, Last Turn!' The card in front of him flipped up. It glowed brightly as it activated. 'It all comes down to this!'

Suddenly, a massive dust storm started up.

'What's going on?' Téa demanded.

Sharee quickly covered her head.

Your brain is weird, Mayet felt the need to tell her.

Aware of it.

YGO

'Watch this, Mokuba,' Kaiba said, drawing his brother's attention. 'Here's now it's gonna work. Each of us will pick a monster to keep on the field and all others will go directly to the Graveyard. Then the two monsters will face each other in a one-on-one battle to the finish. When the fight is over, only one of our monsters will remain standing.'

Yugi watched this, his mind racing. 'The winner of this one battle will determine the winner of the entire duel, no matter how many Life Points he has left.'

'May the strongest Duellist win!' Kaiba declared. 'I chose my Blue Eyes!' The Blue Eyes White Dragon roared.

'All right! I chose my Deck Master, the all-powerful Shinato's Ark!' The Ark moved onto the field.

'It's time for me to sink your ship now, and finish you off!' Kaiba declared. 'Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack his deck master with White Lightning attack!'

With a roar, the Blue Eyes let the blast rip out. The White Lightning flew across the battlefield and smashed into Shinato's Ark. The Ark exploded in an inferno. Sharee pressed her eyelids shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose. He wondered what was up with her, but his attention quickly went back to the duel.

The Ark fell to pieces.

The rest of them cheered.

'Better abandon ship!' Joey called out.

Noah had covered his face.

'Kaiba won!' Yugi declared.

'Wrong!' Noah suddenly lifted his head, a nasty smirk across his face. 'Look again. You've just unleashed a power like nothing you've ever seen!'

Yugi stared up in disbelief. There was something in the falling debris of the Ark, and it was glowing brightly. Yugi squinted at it.

'What is that?' Kaiba demanded.

'It's my real Deck Master!' Noah crowed.

'No way!' Yugi insisted.

Noah laughed triumphantly. 'You've just sealed your own doom, Seto! For when you destroyed Shinato's Ark, you released Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!'

The glow died down enough for them to see the monster.

'Oh, that God Complex,' Sharee muttered. 'First it's Hebrew, then it's Indian.'

Yugi had to agree, staring up at the monster. It was six-winged and human-shaped. It reminded him of one of those Hindu Gods. And he wasn't eager to find out what kind of power it had. Had it also been affected by all the monsters the Ark had absorbed. And was Kaiba in deep trouble?

The answer was probably yes.

'Now prepare to experience the power of my real Deck Master!' Noah crowed. Shinato lifted its hands together and a bright beam of light appeared. 'Shinato, attack!'

A beam shot out and fired across the field. Yugi's eyes were glued to the bright light as it slammed into the Blue Eyes White Dragon. A massive explosion ripped through the air and Yugi felt the heat of the destroyed monster even from where he stood. It must've been even worse from where Kaiba stood.

'Seto!' Mokuba called out.

'Oh, no!' Téa cried.

Noah threw his head back and laughed. 'Seto, I've finally done it. I've proven that I'm superior to you! Did you see that, Father? I defeated Seto! Now I can finally take over KaibaCorp like I was always meant to! For I am the most powerful being in the world!'

Yugi expected Sharee to make a crack, like she normally did – especially given the nonsense of what Noah just said. When he looked over at her, her expression was pinched. He presumed she must be thinking. He just hoped she came up with something fast. He had nothing.

Noah suddenly lifted into the air. 'Now, to perform one final task before I exit this place!' They watched him float up.

'What's that freak doing?' Joey demanded.

'Ready?' He sank into Shinato. 'I'll now merge together with my Deck Master to deliver the last blow of this duel.' His voice then echoed out of Shinto. 'You see I've decided not to escape to the real world in your body, Seto, since I have so many others to choose from. Besides, that's no fun. I've got bigger plans. Shinato and I want to turn you into a permanent fixture in this virtual world.'

Yugi looked down at Kaiba in worry.

They had to get over there.

YGO

'Seto!'

Kaiba looked up. Mokuba was running to him. He had no idea what was about to happen, what Noah had planned, but there was one thing he wanted. 'Mokuba.' He ignored Noah and reached out for his little brother. That was all he cared about. It was all he had ever cared about.

Kaiba reached out for his brother.

Suddenly, the Kaiba brothers were turned to stone.

YGO

'No!' Yugi cried as the beam his Kaiba and Mokuba.

The light cleared.

'My job is now complete,' Noah bragged.

Kaiba and Mokuba were still there…but they were stone. They had been petrified medusa-style in place. The brothers had been mere inches away from each other, trapped forever reaching out for each other. They would never touch again. Yugi jumped down and led everyone across to where the Kaiba brother's had been frozen.

'Kaiba!' Yugi called out as they ran. 'Mokuba!'

'What'd he do to them?' Téa demanded.

'I always thought they were hard-headed,' Noah quipped as they all climbed up and moved around the Kaiba brothers. 'So I've turned them into a living sculpture. They're so close, yet they'll never reach one another. How tragic!' There was glee in his voice.

Sharee glared up at him.

'Aw, man,' Joey remarked as a tear seemed to leak from Mokuba's eye.

'They're statues!' Yugi looked between them in alarm. 'It can't be!'

'And it wasn't fair-play,' Sharee said in a tight voice. 'Kaiba would have won if Noah hadn't used Mokuba as a human shield. He planned that, and he's actually proud of himself for it.'

Yugi growled. She was right. It was underhanded and it was cheating.

'Damn kid's way too used to doing whatever he likes,' Duke growled.

Sharee scowled. 'Well, it's high time we do something about that.'

Yugi looked at Sharee. It was clear that she was thinking exactly what he was thinking. Already, in his mind, the Pharaoh was stepping out of his Chamber of the Mind. Yugi could sense his rage. He had full intention to come out and teach this kid a harsh lesson. And Yugi was fully willing to do that.

Yugi stepped back and relinquished control of his body over to the Pharaoh.

YGO

Mayet was amused as she took control of the body and Sharee instantly dived into her own Chamber of the Mind. She'd had one impressive migraine building up. This, at least, would give her time to recover. Mayet just had to stay in control of the body until such a time as Sharee was ready to come back out.

'Noah, you think this proves you're the best?' the Pharaoh demanded. 'I think it shows your father that you're a coward.'

'What are you talking about, Yugi?' Noah demanded. 'I defeated Seto in this duel, fair and square.'

'You used his little brother, the only person he cares openly about, as a human shield,' Mayet said in a bland tone. 'You did it exactly when he was about to attack you and beat you. That isn't fair and square; it's cowardice.'

Around them, their friends nodded in agreement.

The Pharaoh nodded. 'Do you really think kidnapping Mokuba and using him as a shield is fair?'

'You think I cheated?' Noah demanded.

'I think you're guilty of the same foul play you once scolded the Big 5 for!' the Pharaoh snapped. 'Something you said your father would never allow! Kaiba could have easily defeated you, Noah, but he chose the safety of his little brother over his victory! And that makes Kaiba a stronger person than you will ever be. All you've proven here today is that you're a weak little boy who needs to cheat to get his way. And as far as I'm concerned, you didn't win this duel.'

He looked down at the cards Kaiba had dropped on the ground.

Knowing where he was going with this, Mayet knelt down and picked up the cards. She shuffled them as he continued.

'But I have a proposition for you. Kaiba has 400 Life Points left. Let me take his place so we can finish this duel, fair and square!'

Joey looked at him in alarm. 'Huh?'

'That could be the most foolish challenge I've ever heard!' Noah sneered.

Mayet bit back the point that he hadn't heard many challenges, given how long he'd been stuck in here. She just handed the cards to the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh shuffled Kaiba's cards into his own deck, which had appeared in his hand. 'Does that mean you accept, or are you afraid I'll defeat you and prove that, once and for all,' he looked up at Noah/Shinato, 'that you are weak?'

'I'd be crazy not to accept,' Noah said.

The Pharaoh stepped down and approached and Kaiba's Deck Master followed him.

'Yugi!' Joey called. 'Don't be a doofus! He's got over 7000 Life Points to your measly 400.'

'Careful!' Tristan called. 'Joey's right, for a change!'

Noah decided to brag. 'Once I defeat you, Yugi. I'll turn every one of you into stone!' Shinato began to glow.

Mayet smirked.

'Just try it!' Joey barked.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the modern day humans cried out in alarm. The ground around the Pharaoh's feet cracked and a patch of earth was torn free, lifting him into the air. Mayet jerked for a moment, but she quickly pushed her reaction down. Noah was isolated, so he was trying to isolate them too. He'd tried it with Kaiba and now he would try it with the Pharaoh.

'I think we need a little privacy, don't you?' Noah quipped.

Mayet smirked again. Good luck with that.

'As I was saying,' Noah said, 'I'll turn all but one of you into stone. After all, I need a body to escape in.'

The Pharaoh wordlessly activated his duel disk. He slid the deck into place. 'And if you lose, you'll set us all free. So, in the name of Kaiba and Mokuba, let's duel now!'

'With pleasure, Yugi, and may the best duellist win!'

'You're on!'

'And when I do, you and your friends will be prisoners of my world forever!'