Author's Note:

Hello dear reader, chapter 33 has arrived! This fanfiction isn't dead yet!

Sorry everyone for the delay. Not much to say here, a regular writer's block plus the nice and warm weather outside. It's been hard to find the motivation to stay inside and type.

This chapter basically reveals all the remaining secrets and mysteries. Unfortunately, for those who are huge Aki x Yusei fans, this chapter still doesn't have much but please hang in there. I've teased some lemon promises and I'm still planning to write that in the upcoming chapter. And more Yusei and Aki conversations, overall. Just have to like…get through all this plot first.

As always, huge huge thanks to Jade546 and Guest for their dedicated reviews! Also Lola Hernandez, Steam Igans, Min Suga Swag, and howruyo for taking the time to review as well! You all make me so happy.

Thank you all so much!

NineInchNailed.

"The two brothers shook hands. And the world is still here... But it has been forever changed."

~Ken Follett.

"Yugi," Seto Kaiba said, holding Obelisk the Tormentor in his hand. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Uh, hi!" Yugi stepped back. "It's been a long time…Kaiba-kun. Come in?"

Seto Kaiba scowled at that old, familiar greeting and walked in. Mokuba followed him, obediently.

Professor Mutou gasped, recognizing him. "Mokuba-kun! Is it really you?"

The younger Kaiba brother lighted with a smile Yusei never thought he was capable of. It was apparent that he was watching a reunion of two people who used to be on very good terms. "Hi, Yugi."

"You look so different, oh my goodness. How have you been?"

"Enough of this," Seto Kaiba said impatiently, surveying the room. "I don't have time for these pleasantries from years past. Move on."

"You never change, Kaiba-kun," Yugi sighed and Mokuba shrugged, still smiling at Yugi, as if saying "see what I have to deal with?"

Seto Kaiba fixed his harsh eyes on Yusei, finally noticing that there was somebody else present here. "Who is this?"

Mokuba glanced in his direction and his smile evaporated. "I see," he muttered, irritably. "You're here too for some reason, Fudo."

Yusei stood up to acknowledge both brothers, as politely as possible, but purposefully avoiding using proper honorifics to them. "My name is Fudo Yusei. It's nice to meet you, Kaiba Seto and…good to see you again, Mokuba." That last part was a lie of course but this wasn't an appropriate time for the truth.

"Why should I care about who you are?" the head of Kaiba Corporation demanded.

"He's the current King of Games at Domino City," Mokuba spoke up. "Do you remember?"

Seto locked his stare back on Yusei.

While Kaiba took his time assessing him, Yusei forced himself to maintain calm eye contact with this intimidating man for as long as it would take. The CEO was very imposing in person. His stare was icy-cold. He was extremely tall, almost two metres, still somehow a head taller than Mokuba and he seemed to take up the whole room with his presence, like a storm cloud that's come in and hung its shadow over everyone. You did not envy the team of executives working under a man like this. Professor Mutou's office was suddenly quite small. And Yusei supposed he himself never made the best of first impressions: not since getting branded with a criminal mark and especially not since that additional red gash appeared on the other side of his face.

"Hmph," was all Kaiba finally said after that silent interrogation and then looked at Yugi, waiting.

"Well! Now that we're all properly introduced," Yugi ran to pick up chairs that were leaning against the wall and pulled them to his desk. "Sit, sit! Can I get anyone something, some water?"

"Can you give me my time back?" Seto asked.

"Water it is!" Yugi called out happily, pouring some for everyone and bringing it over.

Mokuba sat down. Seto Kaiba pointedly remained standing, the Egyptian god card still in hand. Yusei decided to stand also, as far back as he could from all of them because it felt like he was the one intruding on this; that he was the one who didn't belong.

Professor Mutou finally took a seat at the table. "So! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Why was Obelisk the Tormentor in my mail yesterday?" Seto cut straight to the point.

"Yesterday…?"

"And the note, Yugi," Mokuba pitched in. "You had a note there too, for Seto. You told him to come find you when he receives this. You told him where to find you."

"Oh boy," Yugi rubbed his head. "I've got more explaining to do, again."

"So you were living in this hole the whole time?" the CEO interrupted. "I had expected better of you, Yugi. It didn't occur to me you'd be hiding here of all the places; changing your name too."

"Who was hiding?" Yugi asked, genuinely puzzled. "I wasn't hiding. And this is no hole, it's a beautiful place full of rich history. I work here a few months of the year. I teach and do research at the university."

"Threw away the title of King of Games to become an underpaid teacher in some third world country instead," Seto commented rudely and smirked. "Figures."

But Yugi, being as happy-go-lucky as he was, didn't blink an eye to the businessman's manners. It either spoke volumes of how Kaiba talked to everyone or of Yugi's good-natured attitude.

The former King of Games laughed, openly: "You gotta do what you gotta do, we've all got our own calling in life."

"Hilarious," Seto said dryly. "Now, were you getting to the point somewhere?"

"Yes. So, back to the letter. Indeed, I've sent it and the card too. But that was over two years ago. Looks like it also reached you quite late, Kaiba-kun."

"What kind of prehistoric mail did you use?" Seto asked.

"The normal kind," Yugi smiled. "But I guess they were all held back somewhere, for some reason. Until the time was right. And when it was, these letters arrived when they were supposed to."

Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Always with your mystical explanations, Yugi."

"What can I do if they're the truth?"

"Enough," the CEO waved him away. "Move on." This was what a typical board of directors meeting probably went like at Kaiba Corporation, with the president telling everyone to hurry it up and get straight to the point. But going by the company's continuous success, this strategy appeared to be successful.

"As I was telling Yusei earlier, something happened two years ago which prompted action on my part." Then he re-told the story of Ra disappearing and Atem telling him what to do with Obelisk and Osiris cards.

"He. The other Yugi," Seto spoke up when he finally finished. "If he came to you. Is he still alive?"

"I'm afraid not, Kaiba-kun," Yugi shook his head. "No, that hasn't changed. We have all said goodbye to him on that day in the Valley of Kings."

"So what you're saying is that you've had another one of your mystical hallucinations?" the businessman taunted.

"Could be," Yugi also resumed showing zero distraught. "Nonetheless that's what happened. And this brought all three of you here, today. Atem said that the three Egyptian cards will return when the time is right."

"You want Obelisk back after you've personally handed it to me?" Seto asked, astonished. Card still in hand.

Yugi shrugged.

"Yugi, so we're here," Mokuba jumped into the discussion. "Is that it? Do you have anything else that the other Yugi has said? After all these years, Seto has found you, you've given him Obelisk the Tormentor, and now what?"

Yugi lowered his eyes and managed, somewhat embarrassingly: "I'm afraid that's all I have up my sleeve for you. Mou hitori no boku seemed to have wanted us to gather together after all this time, but I don't know why. I had a lot more that I had to say to Yusei."

"This has been a waste of my time, is what you're saying," Seto summarized.

"What did you have to say to him?" Mokuba suddenly insisted, a little dryly, and nodded in silent Yusei's direction. Seto, in the meantime, turned attention to his phone and began going through millions of emails.

"Not sure how relevant you'd find it for your purposes, Mokuba-kun," Yugi answered. "For example, Yusei had encountered Ra in his battles which he brought back to me today. Osiris also."

"Surprised you wanted to part with that card after all, Fudo," Mokuba quipped.

"I wanted to return it to its rightful owner," Yusei spoke up. "And to keep it out of your hands."

Seto Kaiba slowly looked up and studied them both. "What's this?" he finally addressed his sibling.

"Don't bother with this, Seto," Mokuba said quickly. "Not significant."

"Your brother was adamant to take the Sky Dragon of Osiris from me," Yusei replied, instead. "Back during his visits to Neo Domino."

"Is that true, Mokuba? Why?"

"I knew it belonged to Yugi," Mokuba explained, speaking hastily. "I thought we could use it to find him. I wanted to help you, nii-sama."

"Find me?" Yugi piped-in, still confused about this. "You were looking for me, Kaiba-kun?"

"He also wanted to make sure that my friends and I would pay for not giving up the card," Yusei added, unable to hold back anymore. Now that he was face-to-face with the man responsible, the dormant bitterness awoke powerfully.

Mokuba's head snapped back to look. "What the hell are you talking about, Fudo?"

Seto Kaiba's icy glare transferred to him also.

"You've destroyed half a block. It's a miracle no one was seriously injured. My friends and I had to relocate, as did many others."

Mokuba's mouth fell open. "Are you kidding?"

"Did you just have the nerve to accuse my brother of arson?" Seto Kaiba asked darkly, facial expression a blank mask. He was a frightening man, when he wanted to be. "Without so much as an ounce of proof? You who has a criminal marker on his face? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Yusei refused to let himself be intimidated and pushed around by these two. He's had more than enough experience dealing with people who'd wanted to squash him. "How could I think otherwise? Very convenient, then. It all happened an hour after your departure, Mokuba. After you've threatened Aki at gunpoint and still failed to take the card. You didn't seem awfully happy with that outcome."

Yugi Mutou continued observing the conversation without a word.

"What is this, a joke?" Seto glanced at his younger brother.

"Look, Fudo. Not sure what you're on," Mokuba began, although his face was red. "All I did after our argument was call some of my contacts in Public Security. I've asked them to dig up some dirt on you, people. Something that would be worth my time and Kaiba Corporation resources. None of it was. So I packed up and left that night. That's it. And what – you deduced that some fires in the city were my fault? Are you out of your mind?"

"Apologize to my brother for your false allegations," Seto Kaiba intervened and there was a clear order in his tone; as well as a threat. "Now."

"I'm willing to admit mistakes when I've made them," Yusei said. "However, I find it hard to believe that my allegations are completely fault-free. Public Security in Neo Domino has been paid off. We have been facing a powerful enemy with connections in the City Hall. We have seen, first-hand, Public Security work against those they're supposed to defend. How well do you know your contacts?"

Mokuba snorted. "So what you're implying is that after I made those calls, that somebody in Public Security listened-in on them and then ordered to blow up some buildings? Seto, you see the ridiculousness I had to deal with? These Japanese teens just get dumber and dumber each year."

Yugi Mutou, who remained quiet throughout this whole scary exchange, cleared his throat and gently intervened: "Hey, if I may say something here. I know that everyone is feeling very angry and mistrustful right now. But I think it's all displaced. We're all on the same side here. Besides, I'm certain that Yusei speaks truthfully regarding the political turmoil in Neo Domino. I can't presume to know the details of everything that's been happening… But with those deadly sacrificial duels, the dueling ban, the Public Security inconsistencies and now those fires – all these events could be connected to one source. They're like puzzle pieces, you see? We just need to put them together to find out the full story, free of misunderstandings."

There was a moment of silence after his diplomatic attempt. Then Mokuba turned to his brother and addressed him only: "This is all nonsense, nii-sama. The only thing you need to know is that Fudo Yusei had Yugi's god card in his possession. I figured that he must know something about Yugi's whereabouts. At the very least, I thought if we had the card we could figure something out on our end. However, I had failed to obtain it and decided it wasn't worth our time anymore. That's it."

"That's right, Mokuba," Seto Kaiba finally offered his opinion. "It is nonsense. Everything I've heard just now. And you should never have bothered with such stupid nonsense. Especially since Obelisk the Tormentor arrived in my hands with explicit directions. Instead of going around, wasting company resources and threatening some teenagers, you should have focused on running the Corporation just as I'd asked you."

"I-I did! And I didn't know that Obelisk-"

"With the dueling ban you've supported before leaving? Kaiba Corporation stock in Japan dropped 5 points that day; still hasn't recovered."

Eyes wide from shock and betrayal, Mokuba looked away. He had been scolded by someone who was always supposed to take his side.

Yusei opened his mouth and couldn't believe the words that were coming out: "Not sure if you're aware of details of what's been happening in Neo Domino, Kaiba Seto – but the dueling ban made sense at a time when duels had been responsible for the deaths of many." He was actually coming to Mokuba's defense, even though he and all the other duelists loathed this dueling ban…and he loathed this guy, albeit a little less now. "The quarantine was a responsible choice."

"Responsibility must not come at the gigantic cost the company suffers whenever there is negative publicity like this," Kaiba rebutted immediately. "Of course it had reached my ears also, how ignorant do you think I am? It doesn't change the fact that media and competition are jumping like vultures at this opportunity."

Yusei frowned, but said nothing. He maintained composed eye contact while the CEO was staring him down.

"You know what kind of stories they're planning to run in Neo Domino next week?" Seto Kaiba challenged. He hadn't moved from the spot where he was standing, as stoic as a statue. "My Brand Comms team worked overtime on this. Some reporters came up with vague anecdotal accounts that the Solid Vision technology that I made and that I tested, is dangerous. That combined with Momentum it fucks up people's heads, emits high levels of radiation and creates mutations. And they've had the balls to reach out and ask me for my statement on this. I can't believe the nonsense and sheep mentality that happens in that city."

"Nii-sama-" Mokuba attempted.

"Was I done?" Kaiba interrupted while keeping his intimidating glare locked on Yusei; barely blinking. "You know that competition is always at our feet, Mokuba. They're thirsty to see our invention fall. And this ridiculous opportunity is exactly when some of them will come out with their own bullshit tech. Now, Fudo Yusei, are you going to try telling me again what's good and what's bad for my business?"

"Oh that's right!" Yugi Mutou randomly jumped into the conversation. "There is one invention due to come out, right Yusei? Freedom Forward?"

Pause. Then Seto Kaiba demanded: "What did you just say?"

"Haven't you heard yet?" Yusei asked the CEO, still presenting himself in a calm manner even though the two siblings had been readying to lynch him not even five minutes ago. "It happened exactly as you thought it would. The new technology known as Freedom Forward is officially rolling out this Monday."

"Mokuba?" the businessman ordered and finally transferred his gaze elsewhere, landing it on his poor brother.

"What the hell, Fudo?" Mokuba hurried up to get this sorted out. "That's not true! How come we haven't heard of this?" However, despite his words, he didn't seem too…distrustful.

"They've been keeping it under wraps. Maybe a name could mean something to you, of the headliner. Higuchi Tetsuo."

At that, the CEO frowned. "Hmm."

Mokuba saw his brother's reaction and pulled up a portable device in his hand. He quickly began searching for the name in the database. "I should be able to find out everything in…just…a few…seconds. Okay here it is." He projected the crystal-clear high definition image on the wall and expanded it until it was as big as a massive TV screen.

The picture showed the gray-haired man Yusei saw at Free Duelists Association and who gave that false, overblown presentation. "That's him."

"Higuchi Tetsuo, 63 years old. Senator of the Free Federation party for five years," Mokuba began reading out loud. "As of last year the party holds ten seats in the government. Justice, fairness and national security are their main goals. They're criticized for their somewhat fundamental and nationalistic views. He is a cabinet member. Before this, he studied software and technology at Yale in 2022. Worked for some start-up companies for seven years." Mokuba skipped further down, to the later years. "Blah blah blah. Switched to a job with the city as a consultant in 2029. Became a counsellor in 2034."

"Ah yes, now I remember," Seto Kaiba interjected. "Hold it there, Mokuba. Scroll back up."

The youngest Kaiba sibling did as he was told.

"It was a sales pitch," Seto recalled. "Many years ago. Before he switched into politics. That company he worked for, he was running that project. He was urging an alternative energy source to enhance the dueling experience. The fool didn't realize that the scientists were completing work on Momentum already. He was many years late already."

"What did you tell him, Seto?"

"What do you think I told him? I told him to fuck off and stop wasting my time."

"Looks like he's never forgotten that as he's launching the new energy source in full gear this coming Monday. Took all the advantages that came his way," Yusei commented. Or, rather, worked hard to make those advantages happen.

Kaiba's jaw set sternly. "He won't get a chance. Mokuba and I will be heading to Japan to crash this before it starts."

Mokuba moved on. "So he was elected senator five years ago. He's still serving. That's his career snippet. Personal life and family, hmm. Wife, Ayumi. Married when they were both twenty-seven. Oh, she's deceased. 19 years ago. Zero Reverse."

Yusei winced, feeling as if a bucket of ice was dunked on him.

"They had two kids. Sho and Kenjiro."

Their photographs flashed and it was all even worse now.

Sho was the guy Yusei met when Aki and him were riding around together and looking for those illegal duel rings that Ushio and Mikage told them about. It was a chance of fate that they've stumbled upon him. After Yusei won the riding duel, Sho courteously took them to FDA and showed them everything there. Was all this planned? Did he have an ulterior motive after all? And did he also know that Professor Fudo was the one behind Momentum – the invention that squashed his father's dream and killed his mother?

"Higuchi Sho, twenty years old," Mokuba read out. "High school drop-out, twelfth grade. When he was sixteen he was arrested for theft. Didn't serve time – I bet daddy's influence – but came out with a criminal marker on the right side of his face." He had a very brief biography so Mokuba skipped to the next of kin.

And Higuchi Kenjiro, Sho's brother, was…Mahdi.

"You made me and my brother feel hopeless," Misty, as a Dark Signer, accused Aki in the middle of their duel at the Arcadia Headquarters.

"I don't know him!" Aki insisted.

"That's true, my brother means nothing to you. You killed him!"

The accusation broke something inside her. She paled, feeling frightened; lost. "What?"

"He went to see you duel at Daimon Area and died."

"I don't know," she insisted, desperately. No…no it can't be! IT CAN'T BE. "I don't know him. I never met a young boy at that duel arena!" And yet, all the times I've gone there, all the times I've fought, all the times I wreaked havoc (and enjoyed it)? Could this truly be something that's improbable?

"That boy admired you. He was just a child. You have a power. You're superior to others. You could have used that power to save people."

"I don't have the power to save people!" Aki shouted, losing her composure. Accusation of murdering someone and now this? How could Misty say such terrible lies to her? "I only have a cursed power that keeps hurting me."

"You're a fool," the Dark Signer smirked. "You're a stupid girl that only uses the power for herself. If you never existed…he would still be…"

Alive, Aki thought. Toby would still be alive. I will learn his name soon. But Misty was right... If I never existed, so many things would be better. I wouldn't have made mistakes. I wouldn't have hurt the ones I love. I wouldn't have destroyed Yusei…

…Meanwhile, at the top floor of the Free Duelists Association, senator Higuchi was raging while nearly foaming at the mouth. "What the hell is the meaning of this?"

Sho, his son, was cowering nearby and looking embarrassed.

"Keep it down," Jack Atlas responded to him. "She said she needs to rest."

Dark Aki was lying on a couch, deep asleep. There was an IV drip hooked to her arm with a clear bag of fluid attached. Another IV was morphine, an hourly dose of which a nurse had just administered. Afterwards she rapidly departed without a word.

"Really? I don't give a fuck. We're on a tight deadline here," Higuchi barked. He approached the red-haired girl and shook her. "Wake up, damn it."

Jack Atlas scowled but didn't move a muscle from the comfortable armchair he was lounging on. Rua was sitting nearby, also unresponsive; he was shuffling his deck of cards, over and over again, black eyes lost in thought.

"Dad, please stop," Sho begged timidly, attempting to calm his father's increasingly insane behaviour.

"Be quiet," Higuchi growled at him, and gave Dark Aki another shake. With that, dazed eyes opened and a confused gaze met him.

"What…" I was dueling Misty…she told me I knew her brother, Toby. I don't (I do) remember him. And I was about to win (no, I was about to watch Divine fall to his death). Where am I now?

Nowhere, Mahdi's annoyed voice answered her and she felt herself grow fainter, smaller, insignificant. Go away and go back to sleep, once and for all. You don't exist. You don't want to exist. You're an anomaly. A memory flash. Go away. There is nothing here for you. Nobody is waiting for you. And she dived back into the world of the Unconscious, resuming her duel against Misty inside her memories while Mahdi had taken reigns and focused their stare upon the impatient, sweaty face of their ally – the Senator.

"Up now? Good. You've been very sluggish lately," the politician remarked.

Dark Aki sat up and rubbed her forehead. Vision was swaying and a soft fuzzy fog floated over each millimetre of skin. The pain was numbed marginally by the drugs, a dull butter knife poking into the crevices of the suffering brain. "Yes, well, been feeling under the weather. What do you want, Higuchi?"

"You told me to come here today so we can go over Freedom Forward and ensure it's all ready for launch on Monday," Higuchi fumed. "Then you were going to begin the sacrificial duels again over the weekend. Have you forgotten?"

"Right," she nodded, slowly getting up to her feet. "All good. Watch your mouth though. You sound testy. Have you forgotten who you're dealing with?"

Higuchi's lips pressed into a thin line.

"I know I look different but it's still me," she insisted and chuckled. She ripped an IV needle from her arm and ignored the blood beginning to escape. "This body is still a better pick over your sickly, useless son's. I'm surprised that body didn't drop dead sooner."

"Shut up!" Sho Higuchi suddenly cried out, balling his hands into fists. "Don't talk about him that way!"

Dark Aki slowly looked at him.

Senator Higuchi turned and slapped his remaining son across the face, hard. The young guy recoiled from the pain and pressed his hand against the bright red mark, glancing away.

"Good parenting 101," Dark Aki began laughing. "Alright, let's go."

Her and the small Higuchi family took the elevators to the lowest sub-levels of the building. Underneath there was hiding the massive Freedom Forward technology. It emitted blood-red energy particles and a low, persistent noise that seemed beyond discernible frequency and which summoned mild feelings of nausea. Dark Aki acknowledged it as Momentum copied, reborn and corrupted; it was sinister and it was splendid. If anyone bothered to look close enough, you could see the screaming transparent faces of all those who've bled into this from the sacrificial duels. Ah yes, their deaths weren't in vain.

A couple of scientists in white coats were fussing around the structure, measuring and monitoring its figures. A head researcher approached them and handed a clipboard to Senator Higuchi.

"Looks good," Higuchi confirmed, after studying the report. "Some instability in the core of the reactor but shouldn't cause too much trouble. Worst case scenario: if it heats up, the gamma rays will cause Solid Vision to completely solidify for a seconds."

That's not the worst case scenario, Dark Aki made a small smile, studying the spinning red particles in the reactor as they pulsed and the shrieking, trapped souls inside that only she could see. An explosion this city hasn't seen. Zero Reverse, times one hundred. Instead, she said: "All thanks to Arcadia research. Let's just hope nobody's getting attacked when that happens. Lots more potential deaths on your hands, Senator."

"Insignificant number compared to the millions of people who will play the game," Higuchi answered. "Millions who will know my name and love my invention. Oh Ayumi…if only you were here to witness this. You'd have been so proud."

Sho was watching his father quietly, a horrified look on his face.

"You're insane," Dark Aki complimented him. "That's why we got along so well."

"Well enough to get me where I've always wanted to be," the politician agreed. "However, you've still promised me. Are you restarting the body counts again?"

"Yes, I'll start tomorrow," she sighed, tiredly.

"You better. I can't risk people forgetting the danger of Kaiba's Solid Vision. They must be afraid of using it ever again. They can pay with their lives to learn this lesson once and for all. And to accept my technology as the only alternative."

Yes, continue thinking like everything I'm doing is to help your cause, Dark Aki thought. This doesn't belong to you. It's all mine, made to serve my ultimate goal. "Whatever you say."

"Oh and another thing. Can you ensure nobody intervenes? I'm taking care of police, media and Public Security. However, I know you've been too kind with those meddling duelists: Professor Fudo's criminal son and his friends. They're still poking their noses where they shouldn't be. Stop playing around with them."

Fuck off, she thought in fury. You can't tell me what to do. I did what I wanted. I had my own mission with Osiris, the kind that your little human mind could never comprehend. "Sure," she forced a smile. "Okay. But maybe we wouldn't have had this problem if you didn't have them on the guest list. Oh and had your son give them a nice, private tour of this place. He killed your brother too, you know Sho-chan?" she mocked. "He would still have been alive if not for Fudo Yusei's intervention."

"I made a mistake," Sho spoke up for himself in a small voice. "I didn't know that Fudo Yusei's father was the one responsible for…mom. He's the King of Games. I didn't know he'd cause Kenjiro's death! I didn't think-"

"That somebody so evil could be King?" his dad interrupted. "Yes, you didn't think. You didn't inherit Kenjiro's brains after all."

"Yet you were the one to permit him to come here," Dark Aki mused, summoning a look of anger from the senator. "Lay off junior, a little bit. Poor Sho-chan is not the only one at fault, Higuchi. Besides, you could have killed them all when you had a chance and what did you do? Oh, you just blew up some houses when they were away. Genius."

"Public Security's tip was too basic," Tetsuo Higuchi managed from behind tightly clenched teeth. "They were becoming close to Mokuba Kaiba. They were all talking. I wanted to scare them a little, make it inconvenient for them, throw them off track. I didn't want anyone at the Kaiba Corporation getting suspicious."

"I hope you're happy with the outcome," Dark Aki yawned. Already so little energy left. Fuck. "At least it doesn't look like the Kaiba brothers have any clue as to what's happening here. At least in that regard you've been successful."

"Yes," the politician nodded. "They will never find out until it's too late."

Yusei studied the picture Mokuba was projecting on the wall, of the guy who had started this all. Or, rather, the original carrier of that psychopathic Egyptian deity.

Even in the original picture Kenjiro was on a thin side but nothing quite like the scrawny man he'd become towards the end. His hair was ghost-white in the picture too, probably bleached. There was "deceased" below his name, dating to a week ago.

"Higuchi Kenjiro. Twenty two years of age, died a week ago due to explosion at Shinjuku East warehouse," Mokuba read out. "He was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia when he was 5 months old. Received regular blood transfusions all his life. Attended University of Neo Domino and studied psychology and neuroscience. Dropped out of school two years ago, records say it was due to health issues. Not much else about him, aside from a pathologist's report."

"He was the one who'd originally been possessed by Set," Yusei spoke up, talking primarily to Yugi Mutou who knew and understood the whole story by now. "He called himself Mahdi, whatever that alias means. And after his death, Set had found…another body." Body. Not a person. Not Aki. Like she was just a disembodied object. Like she was no longer there but an empty shell. He fought between correcting his words versus revealing too much vulnerability in front of those who didn't need to know.

"Mahdi, huh?" Yugi hurried up to answer him. "Hmm. My Arabic is limited, but Mahdi means the "prophesized one." In Islamic theology, he's the one that will rule and redeem the world for some years before the Day of Judgment."

Set continues with his streak of narcissism, Yusei thought bitterly. "What happens after the Day of Judgment?"

Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes at this supernatural discussion and pulled out his phone again. But Mokuba was listening, politely.

"According to the myth, the new world order," Yugi answered.

"Is this where everything is leading to, is this Set's end goal?" Yusei ventured. If so, then this was another piece of bad news on top of everything else.

"It's possible," Yugi offered.

"Okay. Mokuba, is this all on that Higuchi scumbag?" Seto Kaiba disrupted their brainstorming session and redirected topic to what was relevant to him.

"All that I can see," Mokuba confirmed. "What are we doing about this, Seto? Is it true that we're going to Japan?"

"Yes, to put a stop to that bullshit and get Kaiba Corporation back on track," the CEO said, getting up. "When nobody is doing their job, you've got to do it yourself. I had hoped not to come back to that city anymore. That fucking place never seizes to have problems."

A thought entered Yusei's head then. He suddenly remembered that urban legend circulating among all the Neo Domino residents. 'A city to devour in its pain,' was what Seto Kaiba had supposedly said once, preceding the Zero Reverse disaster. Hearing how he spoke about Neo Domino now, it's no wonder that myth came out. This man probably not only said that but believed it, fully.

Neo Domino and Satellite…the cities, a home, that had built itself inside Yusei's heart.

The axis mundi as Yugi said, the place that attracts calamities and those looking to rescue it.

Those who had once lived there, defended it and left it for other generations to come.

And now it was the turn of Team 5D's to defend it one more time.

"If you're going to put a stop to this," Yusei addressed the Kaiba brothers. "Allow our intervention also. My friends and I have a mission to finish: to rescue people dear to us."

"No," Seto Kaiba said, shortly. "Time is money. The fastest we close this, the sooner the Corporation will get back on track."

"If you give us two days, it will be enough," Yusei insisted. "I will tell you exactly where Senator Higuchi has been hiding the technology. You won't have to search and spend time and resources. But you have to give me two days. Until Sunday, midnight." He refused to say 'please' but he supposed he could attempt it if his proposal were rejected again.

Seto again turned and studied him. Yusei stared back, refusing to back down. This guy probably did this a lot when he talked to others and it was one of the ways to maintain equal footing and to try for a semblance of his respect.

"Hmph, whatever," was what the CEO had finally decided.

"Deal?" Yusei insisted and held out his hand.

Seto Kaiba thought for a few seconds, then reached and shook it; firmly and quickly. It was a powerful but brisk handshake from a man who clearly did not like physical touch. "Deal."

Yusei kept his part of the bargain. "It's called Free Duelists Association. You can find it on the edge of Neo Domino. Large closed-roof stadium. Closest intersection is Tomigaya and Inokashira Dori, Shibuya."

"That's it?" Mokuba commented. "We could have figured it out ourselves."

"Whatever," Seto Kaiba said, irritated. "You have your two days, Fudo. Now, we're going Mokuba." He began to walk out of the Egyptology office.

"Kaiba-kun, Mokuba-kun, is this all?" Professor Mutou asked.

"Coming here wasn't a complete waste of my time," Seto admitted, pausing his stride. "I've also found out that I never need to bother with you, Yugi, again. Enjoy your crappy teaching career."

And at yet another round of Seto's insults, Yugi only laughed wholeheartedly.

That was when the president of Kaiba Corporation suddenly said (or rather demanded): "We are leaving. Unless you want to duel?"

"I've put all of that behind me now, Kaiba-kun. I'm so out of practice. Besides, why don't you ask to duel Yusei instead? He's the King now."

"Now that would be a waste of my time," Kaiba answered and looked away. And Yusei recognized that he had only wanted to duel Yugi and no one else. "Let's get out of here, Mokuba."

"Yes, big brother," Mokuba echoed.

Just before they've departed, Seto Kaiba offhandedly tossed Obelisk the Tormentor on Yugi's desk. Then the Kaiba brothers were gone, without another additional word.

"Are you going to leave also, Yusei?" Yugi Mutou asked, adding the blue card next to the other two God cards with a smile. All three were back in his possession, just as Atem had predicted two years ago.

"Yes, it's time," Yusei said. "My friends are waiting for me."

"I hope you had found the answers you sought."

"I did, more than I thought. Thank you…for everything, Mutou Yugi-san. I hope we can meet again, one day."

"I'm sure we will," Yugi said. "But if you have but a half hour to spare, would you venture a duel with a former King of Games?"

Yusei looked at him, surprised.

"I meant what I said to Seto Kaiba: I am rusty at this. I don't have my duel disk anymore. My cards are old. It'll be in a boring, traditional way; cards and field on the table. Interested?"

Yusei smiled.

At 6:00am Neo Domino time, Yusei had arrived at the airport. He had departed from Cairo at 3:00pm local time and arrived eight hours later. Due to time differences, he had already lost seven hours from the time he had asked from Seto Kaiba.

He had a sleepless night and took a cab to Poppo Time, tired ache settling into the muscles of his body.

He arrived at the familiar residence to see all the lights turned on. Ruka greeted him at the door and jumped to embrace him, forgetting herself. A second later, she released him with a furiously red face and mumbled that everyone was happy he was back.

He found Bruno and Crow in the kitchen, chatting over coffee and sandwiches. They acknowledged him excitedly. And seated at the table there were also Sherry…and Kyosuke Kiryu.

The silver-haired Team Satisfaction member got up and smiled warmly. His hazel eyes had a dreamy quality to them, the glint they've permanently obtained since his resurrection and soul-finding journey at Satisfaction Town.

They shook hands.

"Yusei, it's been a long time," his old friend said.

"It has," Yusei beamed. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled like this, with his heart nearly filling to the brink (since the day Aki left - never). "Thank you for coming here, Kiryu. I trust that you've heard what's been happening around here."

"Your lady-friend clued me in," Kiryu said. "Anything I can do to help bring our brother Jack back home."

"Team Satisfaction, back again," Crow grinned. "Well, almost. Matter of time."

Yusei nodded and took a seat the table. Ruka joined them also, talking a seat by his side. "I had obtained answers from Cairo. I know what to do. And we have until Sunday, end of day, to win this war."

I'm keeping the outcome of Yusei's and Yugi's duel a secret, it's up to your interpretation. Let's assume it was a draw…

So I hope you enjoyed this plot-heavy chapter. I'm hoping to return to our Signers and more Yusei and Aki stuff in the next chapters. But I really wanted to tie all the loose ends as much as possible as we are in the ending stretch (of Part II). I'm still planning for Part III but that one will be very short.

I've also given a bunch of background on my made-up evil characters, to flesh them out a little and to help explain this huge, twisted plot. Long story short: they're evil and our Team 5D's has to fight them to save their friends.

Also Mokuba isn't as bad as I made him out to be in the earlier chapters, but this was just a recent decision on my part. I think he's better like this.

Finally, I wanted to thank Guest for throwing a bunch of cool ideas my way. Honestly, I think I'm actually going to use some, they're really good! You'll see when I use one of them in the upcoming chapters as that's directly from you

Anyway, long after-chapter rant. Thank you all again! Stay tuned! We're getting there.