Many Years Ago…

"And… done," Adrian said with a smile as he lifted his hands away from the accounting books he had been going over, staring at his work with utter pride. He knew there were people who didn't understand accounting, who saw it as a boring, thankless job, but he absolutely loved it. Nothing was better than being able to end his day staring at the completed books, each page filled with numbers that all added up to what they should. Sometimes they were positive and sometime negative. That frustrated upper management but they didn't understand that in the end that didn't matter. All the mattered was that the books were balanced. You have them in disorder and that led to chaos.

Closing the book he gently ran his hand along the cover before picking it up and taking over to the walk in safe that was to the side of his office. Spinning the dial first to the right and then the left he felt great pleasure at the subtle 'click click click' that came from the dial before he turned the heavy handle and opened the safe to reveal the many different accounting books within. Placing the one he was currently working on inside he looked over things carefully, making sure everything was right where it was supposed to be, before shutting the door and spinning the dial.

That handled, Adrian walked over to his desk and gathered up the remains of his lunch, wadding everything up in the paper bag he'd brought them all in. While he didn't have to eat in his office, and many times chose to go down to the cafeteria so he could eat with the other employees, there were days where he wanted to peace and quiet that came from his office. Do a crossword, munch on his sandwich and carrot sticks, and then return to work whenever he was ready. But he didn't like throwing any of his food away in his office, as that risked ants. As such when he did eat he-

The door to his little office opened and Adrian blinked in surprise at the three figured that marched in. The first was Mr. Matling, the owner of Matling Consolidated. The other two were men Adrian had never seen before. One was a dark skinned man, thin build but not weak looking. No, he just made sure there was no excess fat or muscle on his frame. Kept himself utterly trim. The other man though… he was built more like a football player, with a broad chest and a thick neck. He had a well trimmed mustache and slicked back hair and his eyes… his eyes seemed to take in everything at once in the office, including Adrian himself, catalog it, and put it away for further study.

Adrian decided at once he liked the muscular man very much.

"Crump," Mr. Matling stated, "could you please tell these gentlemen that we are late on the accounting books but will have them shortly?"

"But we aren't late," Adrian stated. "They are completed. As they are every day."

Mr. Matling laughed at that; a high, tittering sound that cut off far too quickly. "You… you are clearly mistaken. I sent you that letter about the numbers for the last three fiscal years needing to be looked over again. I asked you to include the numbers for the Weatherby account?"

"I got that letter," Adrian said.

"Very good."

"I assumed it was a joke. Very amusing." He smiled openly at Mr. Matling but his boss wasn't smiling at all, which Adrian found odd. "I mean… it had to be a joke. Only someone engaging in criminal activity would ask for those changes." He turned from Mr. Matling and began to go through the notes he kept in his file cabinet. "I went to get the Weatherby Account, as you asked, but none of it made sense. Far too much gains that don't reflect any of the actual data. And it was shoddily put together… I assumed it was a joke; a fake Account. If I put in those numbers it would make Matling Consolidated look like it was making double the profit it actually was."

"Is that so," one of the two strangers asked.

"Yes," Adrian said. "And what is really ridiculous is that if you wanted to create numbers like that there are far easier and legal ways to do so."

"Do tell," the other stranger said and Adrian saw it was the muscular man.

"Well, there is the Ramstool Program the government is currently running. I've suggested several times we join up with that. Yes, it does mean opening ourselves up for oversight but if you aren't doing anything illegal the options it would give you for tax breaks would be quite wonderful. Within 10 years you would make triple what that 'Weatherby Account' would bring in… and that would be REAL money. Nothing fake about it."

"Is that so?" the muscular man said before turning to Mr. Matling. "Is that so?"

"I… I assure you, Mr. Kaiba-"

"Leichter? Please see Mr. Matling out, would you? I wish to talk to this fine man here."

"Of course," the thin man, Leichter, said, and he grabbed onto Mr. Matling's arm, Adrian's boss sputtering and whimpering as he was pulled out of the room.

"I hope he's not going to get in trouble for a harmless prank. I thought it was rather funny myself."

"Not at all," Mr. Kaiba said. "Though what you said here did confirm a few other things that Mr. Matling had failed to mention to me. But I don't care about that… I am far more interested in YOU."

"Me, sir?" Adrian said, surprised.

"Indeed… that was rather impressive. You obviously have been holding onto those ideas for a while and after Mr. Matling showed himself as a man with little vision you decided not to waste his time any more, instead holding onto them until opportunity struck. And when it did… you seized it."

Adrian didn't think that was what he had done, to be honest. He'd just been truthful about the Ramstool Program. But sometimes businessmen like Mr. Matling or, clearly, Mr. Kaiba, looked to make things a bit more complicated than they needed to be. It was silly but it happened. Adrian had learned to just let them believe what they wanted to believe because when he tried to correct them they saw it as another game in and of itself.

"And you also did it in a way that protected you… allowed you to claim that you were merely sharing information. I liked that. It didn't come off as you trying to suck up to me. Too many people do that… see me and try and play to my vanity or try and impress me. You though? You were as cool as a long island ice tea on a summer day."

Adrian would have to take his word for it; he didn't like to drink.

"Tell me, Mr. Crump… how would you best make your money, as they say, work for you?"

"You mean what would I invest in?" Crump stated. He scratched his chin, considering the question carefully. "I have found that there are four things you can rely upon when it comes to people: their desire for pleasure, for entertainment, for food…" he paused.

"And? What's the fourth?"

"To get those things without having to pay for them."

"Through violence."

"Yes."

"And what are your thoughts on that?"

"I would never do such things… but I understand that I'm not the norm."

Mr. Kaiba smiled at that. "yes… of course. I understand completely what you are saying. I… also deal with things in a completely legal manner. That's the best way, after all. Getting your own hands dirty is so… tiresome. You agree, right?"

"Yes, that's what I just said," Adrian stated, wondering if Mr. Kaiba was suffering from some memory loss.

"I think you and I can work well together."

"I… already have a job-"

"Yes, here. But considering I am purchasing Matling Consolidated that makes me… your new boss. And I think you and I will be working quite well together…"

~Present Day~

Adrian smiled as he looked over the field. Vencent had proven himself rather well in the duel so far, able to go toe to toe with Mai. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that she was rather deluded and dangerous he would be quite entertained. 'It is a fun duel! One where no one side has a clear line of victory. I know I'm supposed to be rooting for Vencent but honestly at this point I'm just glad I got to watch these two go at it!'

He knew that Master Noah was expecting him to take out Mai and he had no problem doing so either. She was a cheat and a fraud and worst had developed a god complex… quite literally! The world would be better off with her removed from it and him taking her place.

'Hopefully, with time she can heal in here,' he thought. He had already talked with Vencent and he had agreed to work with Mai, to try and get her to understand why all that had happened had happened. Adrian would do his best to live her life without making too many radical changes so that, if she was able to overcome her psychosis, she could return to her own body. He planned, while out in the Real World, to seek out those that were brain dead, in hopes of convincing their families that the best way to honor their loved ones would be to donate their bodies to science. 'After all, one donates lungs and hearts… why not the entire body? Allow their loved ones to make the greatest gift to another and give a crippled child a chance to walk? Someone who is paralyzed from the neck down a chance to dance at her daughter's wedding?'

But that was all later. First he had to win the duel.

"Now then, I believe it is my turn," Mai said, drawing her next card. "Hmmm… yes, I believe this will do quite nicely. I can't quite claim that you will face utter destruction but this will help me set the stage for your defeat."

"Such confidence," Vencent said in his controlled, measured way. "You are so quick to boast of your victory but I have personally found that whenever one does that they tend to be putting the cart before the horse."

"And I have found personally that digital avatars can't find anything personal because they aren't people."

Adrian shook his head. "Vencent here is as real as anyone else. Just because he is made up of ones and zeroes doesn't mean he isn't living. He passes all the tests for self awareness… it is cruel to call him anything but self aware."

"He's just a copy of the real man," Mai argued.

"Technically we are all copies," Adrian pointed out. "We're just the mixes of our parents' genetics." He waved his hand. "But you aren't here for that kind of discussion. You want a duel so let us have one. Its your move, after all."

"Yes and I'll start by summoning my Harpie Dancer." On the field a bubbly, joyful Harpie appeared on the field, bouncing in place as she grooved to music only she could hear. "And when there is a Harpie on my side of the field I can summon from my hand my Harpie's Pet Dragon- Fearsome Fire Blast!"

Adrian's eyes widened as the monster appeared. The dragon had a muscular body but a thin neck, at least when compared to the rest of it. A beautiful gilded headpiece sat just above its eyes and a collar with a chain, encrusted with gems and precious metals, adorned its neck. It let out a roar before settling into defense mode next to the Dancer.

"And now," Mai said as she tapped her duel disc, "I will use Dancer's effect to return it to my hand."

'Now why would she do that?' Adrian thought to himself. 'That leaves her with only a single monster to protect her lifepoints. And while now it wouldn't be a game ender removing an advantage is dangerous. Except… did she really remove an advantage? Or is that card needed in her hand for something else? It wasn't very strong but it did allow her to bring out the Harpie's Pet Dragon…' Adrian glanced over at Vencent and saw his champion mulling over what Mai had done. 'He doesn't seem too concerned… but he also isn't gloating about her move either. He's not for sure what she's planning either…'

"I will now set this card and end my turn."

Vencent drew and a slow smile began to form upon his lips. "That was rather clever, using Feather Storm to negate my monster's effect. But just to be clear… negate and 'permanently remove' are two vastly different thing. But we'll get to that in a moment. First I will use my Deck Master's special ability to resurrect my White Sunfish!" The flat white fish appeared once more on the field. "And I will then Normal Summon my White Sardine, so I might perform another Syncro Summon!"

"Trying to create a pod of whales?" Mai asked. "I suppose that is one way to do things… not a good way but a way."

"There is a variety of life in the sea," Vencent reminded her, "so why would I limit myself to just on time? I summon forth my White Aura Dolphin." The ivory skinned dolphin appeared with a splash, playfully swimming around the White Aura Whale before finally settling on the field.

'The White Aura Dolphin can reduce a monster's attack by half! And with its ability to return to the field that means that Vencent can easily keep flooding his field with monsters! Heheh… he is truly on a roll now!'

"Now, I will attack your Haprie's Pet Dragon – Fearsome Fire Blast with my White Aura Whale… and I suppose this would be a good time to point out to you that my White Aura Whale's effect has returned… including the Pierce Effect that I had never mentioned!"

"Yes!" Crump cheered as the whale slammed into Mai's monster, destroying it. He noticed, very briefly, that the Dragon's destruction had allowed Mai to send one card from her deck to the graveyard but didn't think much of it. "And his White Aura Whale can attack twice per turn! Meaning that you are about to lose this duel!"

"Am I?" Mai said, running her finger along her chin. "It seems to me your champion isn't so sure, Crump. In fact… he looks like he is bracing for something. (Mai-4200)

Indeed, when Crump glanced at Vencent he saw the large duelist was frowning, brow furrowed in thought as he considered just what Mai had on her field…

Crump swallowed when he remembered the card she had set at the end of her turn.

"Ah, you finally remembered this," she said with a soft chuckle. "Wonderful… wonderful. Its so nice sometimes when people are quick on the uptake. I activate Hysteric Party!" The trap card flipped up and in the air Crump could hear the many shrieking cries of the Harpies. "This card allows me to discard one Harpie in order to summon from my graveyard as many other Harpie Ladies as possible."

"That's why you returned Dancer to your hand!"

"It was. And now allow me to introduce, or perhaps better put reintroduce, my harpies. My Harpie Channeler, my Harpie Queen, and my Harpie Lady #1 first in defense mode." The three harpies appeared, striking dramatic poses before falling into defense mode. "My Harpie Lady #1 allows me to increase the attacks of all Harpie Ladies on the field by 300, while my Channeler's summoning allows me to add one Harpie card from my deck to my hand." Her duel disc spat out a card. "And in attack mode I will summon my Cyber Slash Harpie Lady, her attack now 2900!"

'Because of that attack boost Vencent will have to burn an attack destroying the Harpie Lady #1,' Crump thought and his champion did just that. 'Of course that allows her to use her Mirror Split to summon yet another Harpie.' This time one playing a harp appeared on the field. 'White Aura Whale can now destroy the Cyber Slash Harpie Lady but I would have preferred using its piercing damage against a much weaker monster. Still it is gone…' As he thought that the White Aura Whale slammed its great bulk into the Cyber Slash Harpie Lady, shattering it completely, '…but thanks to her Deck Master she just regained what she lost, putting her still at 4200.'

Crump couldn't help but shake his head at that.

"You truly are a skilled duelist, Miss Valentine!" he called out. "One of the best I've ever seen."

"I do agree," Vencent stated. "You are still going to lose in the end but you are quite skilled."

"You are wrong on two points," Mai said. "You aren't dealing with merely Mai Valentine… but Selene. Please don't make me remind you of that again." Crump swore for just a moment the woman's eyes flashed… but then it was gone and he shook his head, berating himself for being so silly. "And second… I have no plan to lose this duel. In fact… you have already lost, Vencent. You just don't realize it yet."

"What are you talking about?" Vencent asked. "While its true that your side of the field is filled with Harpies I still have my White Aura Whale and White Aura Dolphin. Two strong monsters vs. Three weaker monsters. A wall right now against me attacking next turn and I suppose you might be able to summon more with your Mirror Split… but that is about all you can do."

"No… not at all. In fact there is something VERY special I can do." Mai held out her hand. "Xyz summon!"

"Xyz?" Adrian said, confused. "What is that?"

Vencent though was the one that spoke. "That is a type of summoning from the extra deck where a player uses their monsters to bring out a larger one but the monsters used aren't fully gone. Rather their spirits remain, aiding the newly summoned monster in all sorts of different ways."

"And my Harpies are going to aid what is about to come forth. The monster that is going to end this duel. I select my Harpie Queen, Harpie Harpist, and my Harpie Channeler in order to summon forth my Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon!"

The monster that appeared resembled the Harpie's Pet Dragon that Mai had summoned only a turn ago. Same body type. Same fierce gaze and barely contained aggression. But Adrian quickly noticed that the beast appeared far different from the first one in a key difference: the makeup of its body.

'Its like its some kind of ghost!' Adrian thought as he stared at the Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon. 'It keeps flickering in and out of view. Different pieces of it being solid only to then become translucent!'

"I see that Phantasmal isn't merely an 'edgy' name for the monster," Vencent stated.

"That's right," Mai stated. "And you are about to learn why this monster will be your end. You see, so long as my monster has a Harpie Monster attached to it-" and as she said those words the ghostly forms of her three Harpie Ladies appeared on the field, each one holding a chain that connected to the collar the dragon wore, "you can't target it for attacks."

"So your lifepoints are safe," Vencent commented. "But its too weak to take out either of our monsters… and I have been watching you, Mai. You have drawn more cards than me from you deck. If you are attempting to set up a deck out situation then you will only be ending the duel in terms of your defeat."

"Oh no… I don't plan to stall. It will only take three turns for me to defeat you. Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon, attack!"

Vencent, deciding not to risk it, tapped his duel disc. "White Aura Dolphin reduces its attack to 1000. I suppose that with the number of lifepoints you have you can afford such a messy strike but-"

The flames the Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon unleashed, glittering and shimmering in color, washed over Vencent's monsters, doing nothing… but his monsters also made no move to counterattack. Indeed, they just continued to swim in the air, letting the flames pass by them… and strike Vencent, causing him to cry out and clutch his chest.

"What!?" Adrian declared in shock. (Vencent-1500)

"Because my dragon is a Phantasm she is able to attack you directly, bypassing your monsters. All I must do it detach one Harpie Lady from her each turn." The Harpie Queen disappeared.

"…we can't win," Adrian whispered. "Each turn she can strike for 1000 points of damage. And we can't attack back. Her lifepoints increase by 200 every turn. And even with Dolphin reducing its attack to 1000 each turn… by the time we can attack it will be too late. You'll have lost all your lifepoints!"

"There is always a chance," Vencent said firmly. "I refuse to give up." He drew a card… but was unable to do anything.

"There is no shame in defeat, my friend," Adrian said gently, even as Mai commanded her monster to attack again. (Vencent-500)

"I know… but when life deals you a hand… you play it out. You don't surrender just because you don't like what you got. Instead you stand tall and see how the cards fall."

Vencent drew.

Vencent… ended his turn.

"You fought well," Mai said with a smirk. "But 'well' was never going to defeat me." She didn't even bother to watch as her Phantasmal Dragon fired off a final attack, ending the duel. (Vencent-0000)

Adrian Crump… bowed his head and smiled. "You did well. And maybe… maybe you'll remember what happened here and use it to change. To be better. Life is a gift and while I would like to return to the physical world I won't go back on what I promised. Good luck to you, Mai Valentine."

The last thing he heard before he faded from the battlefield with Vencent was Mai declare "My name is Selene!"

Adrian hoped she got some medical help for her delusions as well.

~MC~MC~MC~

Tea frowned as she looked across at Johnson. "I'd ask about refreshments but we all know that don't do us any good in this world."

"Very true," the lawyer stated. "A failure on the part of the designs that we can not simulate taste. Something I look forward to enjoying once I return to the real world."

"You know," Tristan said, "you wouldn't have to return to the real world… wouldn't have to hide here… if you had just not gotten greedy and decided to go after Kaiba."

"You act as if Seto Kaiba is some innocent little flower," Johnson stated with a shake of his head. "Let us be clear… Seto Kaiba is a vicious young man who has done many underhanded things. Hurt many people. Causing a lot of pain and suffering. I believe your friend's grandfather would attest to that." He sighed, waving his hand about. "If Crump were here he'd give you the speech… he's kept track of all of Seto Kaiba's mistakes. But that isn't the point. The point is that Seto Kaiba needed to be removed from KaibaCorp."

"So you could be in charge?"

"So that someone that actually cared about the company would lead. He betrayed all of us the first chance he got. We had agreements with him, promises about what he would and wouldn't do when it came to his company… and he broke every single one. Do you realize how many people ended up out of work because rather than go with the slow restructuring of KaibaCorp he agreed to he decided, with the sweep of his hand, to completely change all we do?"

Tristan blinked at that. "He decided to just… change everything?"

"In a year. It was supposed to be 20. I have the entire mission statement and vision statement proposal if you wish to see it. We laid out how, by the time he was 30, we would be out of weapons and not a single person would be out of a job. But Seto Kaiba decided he didn't need to stick to the plan and agreements were for other people to keep. Just one of many ways he decided to go it alone once he decided we weren't needed.

"But," Johnson said, continuing on, "we aren't here to discuss that. We are here to discuss the two of you and the situation you have found yourselves in. And, might I add, how you can hope to remove yourself from it with as little loss as possible."

Tea frowned at that. "Easily. You let us all go and put this madness behind you."

"And I remain trapped here?" He shook his head, it clear that he was disappointed in her and her answer. "Do you know what we are doing right now?"

"Talking?" Tristan said and Tea could tell from his tone he knew that was a dumb answer but there was no other one to give. At least from their point of view.

Johnson must have sensed that Tristan was less than pleased with his answer and didn't admonish him for it. "We are negotiating. We have different views on how this must end and we are trying to determine how far either will give so that, hopefully, a solution must be found." He leaned forward, his glasses shining in the light of the little conference room they were in. "And let me provide you with this tip: when you are in a negotiation it never works to state that your radical hardline position is the only way things are going to go. You instantly cause the other party to lock down and refuse to talk. You make them decide that their radical hardline position is the only one that will come about. And no one wins with that. Even if you get everything you want... you still waste time and energy. And you can do so much more with those two."

Tea narrowed her eyes. "Our hardline position of not wanting you to steal our bodies?"

Johnson tsked. "That isn't what you said."

"That's exactly what we said. You want to steal our bodies and we don't want you to."

"Ah... you refuse to open your mind and truly understand the situation. An annoyance, yes, but one I suppose that is coming about because of your youth. Yes... I can forgive that." Before Tea could ask him just what the hell he was getting on the Big 5 member stated, "I desire a new body. As do my associates. And you do not want to lose your bodies and to be trapped here. I think we both can agree that each has a valid desire."

"A valid-" Tea began only for Tristan to grab her arm and give it a squeeze. "Tristan!"

"No... he's right there, Tea," Tristan said. "If things were reversed we would be doing everything we could to return to the real world. Heck, if this... guy..." it was clear he wanted to say something else, using a different term for Johnson, "...does manage to steal our bodies how do we know we wouldn't be desperate enough to do what he's doing now?"

"We would never do that!" Tea protested.

"You don't know that," Johnson commented softly. "I never thought I would be in this position, after all. One can't predict how life will go. Until you have felt the weight of hundreds of years without true tactile stimulation... you can't say what you would and wouldn't do." He nodded to Tristan. "And I admit that if I were in your position and a stranger-"

"Not a stranger," Tea said, cutting in. "We know about you."

Johnson silently conceded that point. "Someone that I only had negative interactions with came to me and told me that I had to surrender my body to them and be trapped in this virtual world... yes. Yes, I believe I would be rather upset. View them as a villain." He gave a firm crisp nod. "I do believe we have a baseline to begin. We understand the other's point of view."

Tea didn't want to admit she understood ANYTHING about Johnson. 'He kidnapped all of us... and this isn't even the first time! He and the rest of the Big 5 were going to torture Kaiba. They tried to kill Joey and Mokuba and Mai. They left Edwin trapped in the virtual world. And before that they hired my father to kill Edwin and try and frame Kaiba for it! Because of them Pegasus stole Mr. Muto's soul because they wanted to motivate Yugi to come to Duelist Kingdom. And their need for Kaiba to be the absolute best is why he was obsessed with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and put Mr. Muto in the hospital in order to get it.' She forced herself to not leap over the table and throttle the man. 'Everything that has happened to us since the day Kaiba came to the game shop can be traced back to them! Even this tournament... maybe Kaiba did it because he wanted the God Cards but the Big 5 still have driven it into Kaiba's head that he must be the best no matter way!'

She wanted to say all of that. But instead Tea kept her mouth shut. Johnson was being far more talkative that she had expected and she was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, he would let something slip that would help her and her friends out.

"So now comes the negotiations, where we try to find a middle ground."

"What? Like we let you timeshare our bodies?" Tristan asked. "I know Yugi and the Pharaoh do that all the time but I'm not sure I want you floating around my gray matter while I'm trying to hook up with people."

Johnson didn't smile at that but he didn't grimace either. He... didn't do much of anything. Honestly Tea had noticed the man seemed rather lacking in emotions. Not cold but... it was like talking to an actual computer program, rather than a person. "No, that isn't what I'm suggesting. But it comes back to the point I made: you did not say that your hardline was "your body won't be taken". You said "ALL OF US"."

Tea processed that before her eyes went wide. "You want us to betray our friends!?"

"Friends?" Johnson asked, staring at her with a steady, piercing gaze. "Are they... truly your friends? Everyone on that blimp? You have invited them for dinner and gone away on trips with one another and you know them so very well? Would they call you a friend?" He shook his head as he let out a soft sigh. "No... you might want to see them as your friends but they aren't. Not all of them. Joey Wheeler, Yugi Muto. They are your friends. Good ones. And I understand you wanteing to protect them. In fact-" He reached down to the floor and pulled out of... somewhere... a briefcase, cracking it open and after a moment of rummaging around began to pull out photos. Herself and Tristan first. Then Yugi and Joey. "You wish to protect these four."

"Do you actually need to do that?" Tristan asked. "Get the briefcase? This is the virtual world... can't you just wave your hand and make that all appear."

Johnson's lip quirked ever so slightly. "I do. Master Noah is the one that can just summon things from thin air. To be perfectly honest I am rather pleased that I can't do that... I think that doing so would cause me to lose touch with reality."

'More than you have already?' Tea thought; she nearly whispered the words out loud but then caught herself. 'I have no idea if Johnson would be able to hear that... after all, this is the virtual world so he might have given himself superior hearing.' Just as that thought entered her head another, darker thought occurred to the young woman. 'Wait... this is the virtual world. And Noah has made clear that he controls everything here. And I'm... not actually here. I'm playing in some kind of pod and my brain is being fed all this. That's how they're going to take my body, by overwriting my mind with one of their's. But does that mean that Noah can read my thoughts? Am I truly thinking to myself or are all of them just hearing what I am thinking, no different than if I was saying it outloud?'

Tea paused.

'HELLO!' she mentally screamed, trying to make her thoughts as 'loud' as she could. 'Hey! Hello!' She ran her tongue along the inside of her upper lip. 'Last April Fool's Day I spent 5 hours straight pleasuring myself to avoid the filler arc!'

Johnson didn't react.

'Okay, I think I am safe.'

"Now then," Johnson said out loud (or... did he? Technically Tea wasn't 'hearing' him at all and this entire thing was giving her a headache!) "You wish to save your friends. Noble. Save yourself. Understandable. Self preservation." He began to pull out more photos. "And there are others. Your sister, Miss Gardner, I assume should be added to this pile." He placed a photo of Yuri alongside the ones of Tea and her friends. She actually took a second to study the photos and saw they were rather bland. Just them all staring straight forward... and with their eyes closed. She figured they were taken when Noah had knocked them all out. At the bottom of each one, written in crisp straight letters, were their names. "So let us remove these five from the table, for now."

He didn't actually remove the photos. Instead he just gathered them together, Tristan's on top but their names just visible the way they were stacked. The five were set to the side and he began to lay out more photos.

Serenity. Seto. Pegasus. Duke.

Everyone who had been on the blimp.

"There are six of us that need bodies," Johnson stated. "And there are, if you remove you 5, eleven people we can choose from."

"And you want us to... pick which ones you take?"

Johnson nodded. "Somewhat. Obviously you won't be holding them down as we copy our minds over. Think of it more that we are going to select just who you wish for us to not take. Who you find utterly unacceptable to be targeted."

"Ev-" Tea began to say only for Tristan to once again grab her arm and speak over her.

"I assume you also have people that you won't budge on? People you want no matter what?"

Johnson once more gave his barely there smile at Tristan's comment. "Yes, Mr. Taylor. Yes indeed." He paused. "I must say… I've done some research about you. Just what your father is preparing you for in terms of your life. And I must say it is a grave shame that we had to meet like this and not on the same side of the table." He gave a helpless little shrug. "Though, who knows what positions we will find ourselves in eventually. Perhaps one day we will be on the same side.

"Now, then, as to your question: Yes. There are a few." He selected Seto and Pegasus' photos. "I'm afraid Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus can not be saved from this. At least by you two. So that leaves us with only a few choices left."

"Edwin too," Tea found herself saying. "Edwin is off limits."

"That… acceptable, though I do warn that Leitcher wants to deal with him. But he won't have his body taken. We can agree to that. I assume Miss Valentine would be a package deal?"

"And Renard Volpe," Tea said. "And Mr. Muto."

"Serenity too," Tristan said.

Tea watched as Johnson began to remove photos… but also swallowed as she saw the ones that remained.

"Now… isn't this better?" Johnson asked. "Isn't this more organized and fair?"

'Maybe,' Tea thought. 'But if it is… why do I feel sick?'

~MC~MC~MC~

OMAKE

Part Two of the Omake by The Patient One focusing on the Chaos of Earth-73604: Darius the awakened 'Spiriter.'

In one of the hollowed trees that formed the living space of the mining village of Azha, another group of overworked men lay in critical condition. Burns covered their body from heat and cold alike. They were the backbone of the Government's prosperity. And their reward was pocket change as they continued to suffer and die.

One man in particular looked over them as they lay there. So many of his friends so close to death. He stepped outside and spat on the ground.

"Bein, they'll be all right."

The tension in his expression melted away as he turned to the speaker, a woman who had watched over him since childhood.

"Almarde, you shouldn't say things you can't support," the miner sighed.

She flinched but shook her head. "I'm serious, though. The Empire has finally sent some proper medical supplies. It's…It's not an ideal amount, but it's enough that they all should be on their feet again within a month."

Bein raised an incredulous brow. Even if the reasons were purely pragmatic, he'd come to expect cruelty beyond reason from the Empire. He wasn't exactly grateful, but he was absolutely relieved that someone had finally realized that it was important to keep them alive.

"And they just came today?"

"Yes, a young man brought them by this morning. I think he's at the shop right now."

"Just got back, actually."

Bein looked up to see a purple-haired man walking in, a handful of new Magnus in hand, and stood up immediately.

"I appreciate it. We needed every bit of it; the work here never gets any easier."

"I know."

Bein looked at him, but the other man was focused on his cards. Something felt wrong here.

"If you're willing to listen, I'd like to give a better picture of what we could use around here, just for a baseline," Bein continued.

"I'd be glad to talk. But I need you to answer one question for me first: would you do anything, even to the point of self-sacrifice, if it meant helping this village?" he asked.

"…why are you asking that?"

The young man raised his head, and Bein looked into his eyes. There was a dark purpose there. Something haunted…something like what he had seen in the past.

For several long moments, they just kept staring.

"Yes. I would do anything," Bein answered.

"Then listen carefully," the man said, stepping uncomfortably close and lowering his voice. "You and I, and my little brother, had a similar nightmare when we were boys. Something that gave us every reason to hate the Emperor and the Empire as a whole."

Bein's eyes widened, and Almarde stood up.

"Sealed within your heart is a tortured soul poisoned by dark power. My brother learned to heal and purify his spirit, and he showed me how to do it, too. I can do it now for you. It will free you from your trauma and give you the power to make a difference. But you must be willing to separate your resentment for what happened to you from your resentment for who did it to you. Keep your hatred pointed in the right direction. But make it a sword you wield, not chains that weigh you down."

He stepped back and looked at Almarde.

"It helps to have someone you love beside you as an anchor, to keep you focused on what matters most. We can take care of it right here, right now. But it will only work if you are willing; I cannot force you."

"What are you talking about?" Almarde asked. Neither man answered her; Bein's eyes were closed, and his mind flashed through what little he could remember from that time. He still woke up screaming now and then.

But he had always known he wasn't the only one screaming like that in those dreams.

'Heal the spirit…damn it all. They hurt twice as many people as I thought.'

"I'll do it," Bein said firmly.

"Bein?!" Almarde demanded.

"This has needed to be addressed for a long time," the other man said. "If you want to help him, take his hand, and don't stop reassuring him."

Bein's eyes passed to Almarde, who was frowning in clear concern even as she took his hand.

"Now, close your eyes and hold still," he said, placing both of his hands over Bein's heart and closing his own eyes. Immediately, holy and dark magic began to clash, and Almarde's eyes widened as Bein's face contorted in agony.

"Bein, you can get through this! Don't give up! Bein!"

…

Five minutes. It felt like an eternity, but it was only five minutes before the last of the darkness turned to light, and Bein was practically shining as the other man fell to his knees. Bein opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, his expression awestruck…and at peace. Almarde's eyes widened at a calmness that she'd never seen since the boy wandered into the village years ago.

"Bein?" she whispered.

The glow slowly subsided as he looked back at her, smiling.

"I'm still me. But I'm basically a Spiriter now. It's a long story," he said.

"And on that note, I'll be leaving," the purple-haired man said. "I'll keep getting what supplies I can."

"And I'll see how much more I can do now," Bein affirmed, clenching his fists as the other man reached the exit. "Thanks, you two."

The man grinned back. "See you soon, Bein. And Ladra."