Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Gin no Umi o Wataru ❯ Chapter 15

Nkosi watched his other self as he manipulated this so called 'interweb'. Such a beautiful child, like him and yet not, this other one had a fragile beauty hidden under so hard a shell... like a lotus under glass. Smiling, he stood and walked over to Noa, hands outstretched. "Are you ready, my other self?"

"Almost, Nkosi. The reporter is already investigating the new wave of comas. And in a few minutes, I am going to build our world so that we may... invite our family." Noa turned around, one hand brushing against Nkosi's tanned skin. A light flashed off to the right. "Another candidate."

Nkosi leaned forward brushing his lips against Noa's. "You have to finish this. I will go."

"Very well... call for me and I'll bring you back."

Nkosi tilted his head back as sparkling pixels swirled around him. A rosy glow shone and there stood 'Adena'. "How sweet our dear... brother is."

"Call me, when you are done, and I'll come for you."

Nkosi nodded and passed his hand through the red light. Falling back, he called out, "As always."

* * *

Tuesday the 27th
5:47 a.m.

Ryou squirmed closer into the warmth. It was times like this he was really happy with his Yami. The mornings when Bakura would just hold him and let him feel his warmth. Warm breath on his neck, slim agile fingers stroking his stomach. He could turn around and Bakura would pull him close. He loved those rare moments. Turning over, he pressed his face into the cool warmth, fingers playing with the wiry hair... jerking back, he opened his eyes to see caramel eyes looking at him.

"Hey."

"Tristan... where's Bakura?" Ryou moved back, feeling warmth at his back. Arms tightened around his waist.

"Bakura is where Bakura should be. You don't think I'd allow him into our bed unless I was here do you?"

Ryou rolled his eyes, and murmured submissively, "Of course not, Bakare. Although I wasn't sure if you'd had killed each other and this but a dream."

"Hmmmph, as if he could kill me. Besides unlike with you, he fought a bit before he accepted his place." Bakura raised one hand to trace the newly forming scars of the cuts he made on Tristan last night. "He did however earn his place."

Tristan wormed under the fingers tracing the reminders and gasped as one pressed a little too hard. He could feel the blood popping to the surface. "Yes, Bakare. Ryou, I'm gonna go home and pack some stuff for the week." He flashed an arched eyebrow at the bat-winged ruler of the household, "If our prince Bakare doesn't mind."

Ryou laughed, burying his face in the pillow. Moving closer to the brunette, he cast a look back at his yami before kissing his new lover. "Ok, I need to take a shower before school. Come home with me tonight?"

"If Bakura doesn't mind."

"Hmm, you'd better. At least until Noa is captured, don't forget to take a couple of the bodyguards." Bakura rolled off the bed and stood up, stretching, making sure both of the boys in the bed got a good glimpse of his naked body. A quick slap to his backside startled Ryou. "Ryou, go shower. Tristan, get dressed and get going. Don't forget to take two of the guards. We'll see you tonight."

Ryou nodded and kissed Tristan quickly before getting out of bed. He walked over to Bakura, his long shirt swishing against his legs and faced his yami. Leaning in, he kissed him softly. "Thank you."

"Hmph. Hurry up. Sooner I get you to school, sooner I can go check out the new Kaiba Corp VR game." Bakura watched his lover walk into the bathroom.

Tristan fell back against the bed, one leg already in his pants, the other tangled in the cloth. Untangling himself, he finally got his pants on and started buttoning his shirt. "You mean he finished it? Legendary Heroes? I can't believe it. After being trapped in that game, he still finished it. Tell me what it's like, k?"

"Trapped in the game?" Bakura raised one silver eyebrow. Walking over to the door, he opened it. "Never mind, explain to me later. Get."

Tristan slid over on socked feet and leaned against the doorframe, "Don't I even get a kiss?"

Bakura leaned forward and wrapped one hand around Tristan's upper arm. He smiled and whispered, "No."

Tristan fought as Bakura used his grip to push him out the room. Frowning, he wondered if he had misjudged the knife-wielding psycho and then it hit him. Turning around, he got on his knees and looked up at Bakura, "May I please have a kiss?"

"You do learn well, don't you? Tonight, after we put Ryou to bed, I'll meet you in the library. Don't wear a shirt." Bakura ran a finger over the soft lips and pulled Tristan to stand in front of him. He dragged a nail across a forming scab, tearing it. Pressing his nail against the seeping blood, he smiled as Tristan winced. A quick kiss was pressed to twisted lips and then the naked tomb robber slammed the door shut.

Tristan laughed and ran down the stairs. At the foot, a guard stood, holding a bowl of soup and an egg sandwich.

"If we hurry, we should be able to get to your house and school in time, young master Taylor." The guard bowed and opened the door.

* * *

6:00 a.m.
Kaiba Mansion

Seto nodded to the two guards sitting right outside Joey's door and headed down the hall. Joey followed slowly. Hiroyasu jumped up and shook his head at his boss' attitude. "Master Joey, careful, you just got up yesterday. I'll take you down to breakfast. Young Master Mokuba already went down to eat. The move has been going well and your rooms at Kaiba Corp. headquarters should be ready in less than an hour. You're physical therapist will meet you there. Your assignments have been collected everyday while you were absent and your history assignment has been extended for you. As Mr. Yiyashi, has also agreed to skip the next three bi-weekly meetings for you and for Master Kaiba while he's out of school." Hiro wrapped one arm around the back of Joey's shoulders, supporting him carefully.

"Ummm wow, thanks. Hey, what do I call ya anyways?" Joey turned, looking at Yuki, behind him.

"Well, our family name is Kubo; he is Hiroyasu, I am Yuki. We have four other siblings. They are part of your detail. Kimiko, Yuusuke, Tomoyo, and Tenchi. Though for now, to not overwhelm you, Yuki and I will be your main guards. The others will be around securing you and watching you while you sleep. We've decided to get three of our guards to stay with your father once he's out of the... hospital. Master Kaiba believes he will fall back into his previous abusive patterns." Yuki said, kneeling and checking under the bed. Pulling a dark blue book bag from under the bed, he straightened up. "Ahhh, here we go. I knew I should have put this stuff up rather than Tomoyo. Anyway, you are now stuck with us. And now it is time for breakfast." Yuki walked over and opened the door, "Ready?"

Joey smiled and let them help him down the steps. Hiroyasu guided him through the hall and into the dining room. Mokuba sat in a chair, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, legs swinging, "Hey Joey, Hiro, Yuki. How is he?"

"He'll be fine, Moku-chan." Hiro lowered Joey into the seat that Yuki was holding back. Turning to Joey, he pointed at the servant bringing in a plate of food. "If he eats properly, does his physical therapy, and rests."

Joey laughed and waited for the plate to be put down before him. He looked at the plate. Everything was cut up into small bite-sized pieces. "Hey."

Hiro pulled another chair next to Joey and held out a wooden fork and spoon. "You were in a coma, it is not uncommon for your body to be out of sync for a while. Better safe than sorry, if you can eat well enough with these, for lunch I'll give you metal utensils. Just eat, Master Joey."

Yuki stepped closer to his brother and whispered something in his ear.

"Yeah, tell them to give him a private room for his game. Or bring him to Kaiba Corp. and we'll give him a pod here." Hiro laughed and hung up. "Your friend Yami Bakura can't wait to try the new VR pods. Sano Hitomi, one of their guards, is giving him a private preview. I doubt that we want a twin of someone who is supposed to be in school to be lurking at the arcade."

* * *

6:20 a.m.

Tristan unlocked the door and stepped back as one of the guards stepped in. He checked the room and tapped the door. Tristan shook off the other guard's hands and walked in. Hearing his sister in the kitchen, he called out to her. "Hey Sis, Mom home?"

Tristan's sister, Ariko, poked her head out and did a double take. "Ahhh, yeah, Tris, who are these guys?"

The first one stepped forward, "I am Kazuske Ishii, and my companion is Kiyoshi Kida. We are guards assigned to your brother. He is helping Master Kaiba with a job and therefore must spend sometime at the company, though it should not interfere with his schooling. However, after the attack on Master Kaiba and the Younger Kaiba, he has decided to assign guards to those helping him in this job."

Ariko laughed. "Yeah, right! My brother hates Kaiba. Really hates him and you expect me to believe he's working for him? Who are you?!"

"Exactly who he says he is. Hello 'Zu." A new voice came from the other side of the room. "So you're a guard with KC now?"

"Yes, Cousin 'Mi." Kazuske replied.

"Cousin?" Tristan looked at his sister and they both looked at their mother.

"We are distant cousins who both worked for Kaiba Corp. Old man Kaiba found out our relationship and tried his best to get us to work together or even just be friends. After all, we were family, if distant. We found we liked each other and became good friends. I've known Zu since he was about three years old. After the take over, I was angry. Zu's father tried to calm me. We yelled, and I said some awful things about old man Kaiba. He stopped talking to me. So how is your family? Does he know you're guarding my son?" Miaka smiled and walked over, hugging the guard. "Now, tell me why you're guarding him."

"I did, Mi. He's helping Kaiba with his new VR game. Your son has inherited all your skills with computers and code. In fact, he's become well known in certain circles."

"Really... Tristan, care to explain."

"No... not really?" Tristan replied, trying to escape.

Kazuske grabbed his arm. "Gatcha! Remember we can't guard you unless we are with you. Let's get you packed up."

"Gat... packed up? Why?" Miaka jumped in front of them. "Tristan?"

"Really, mom, its because of the attacks. They're putting me in with Ryou, you remember me mentioning him. We're working on the huge history project together. We got England 1000 to 1400 A.D." Tristan smiled at her and tried to walk past, Kazuske following him.

Kiyoshi stepped up. "Mrs. Taylor. Believe me, his safety means everything to us. That is why we decided to move him in with Ryou Bakura. That gives us eight guards on th- two subjects. I promise you, on our honor, on our names, we will take care of your son."

Tristan shook his head and led Kazuske into his room; he grabbed a duffel bag from his closet and started to pack. Taking neatly folded uniforms from his dresser, he ignored his guard. Kazuske walked around the room, stopping before a door. "This door was sealed once, you unsealed it? What do you use it for?"

"Yeah. If you can't guess, no, Mom didn't know it was there. And it's not a room, it's a stairway. It was rickety but I fixed it. My computer and everything is up there. I need to check it, make sure the program I left isn't still running. Then I'll copy everything and give it to Kaiba. Happy?" Tristan threw a pair of shoes on top of everything.

"Tristan, despite what you think, I don't disapprove of what you did. I disapprove of why and how. Especially if there was a chance that any information got out. We are still looking for information on project Golem. Think for a minute, that if what you said is true... (not sure about this ƒis. What was he going to say? It really doesn't flow with what he does say) then could not the Golem access even your computer? Could it not steal from you as it did from Kaiba? You have placed them in danger and that is unacceptable. I'll pack your bag, you go retrieve the information."

"Yeah." Tristan spun around and headed up the stairs. Entering the small alcove, he spun a chair around and sat down. Striking 'F7-/-/->-JNH', he brought up his screen. Frowning, he explored his drive. One file seemed to be slightly out of synch with the other. Biting his lip, he drummed the table with his fingers. Nodding, he grabbed a pack of new high density CDs and started copying everything on his drive. Slipping a second CD into a second burner, he started copying everything on Project Golem. Ten minutes later, he switch both CDs out and inserted two more to keep copying. As he started to label them, he noticed a faint whirring sound. Frowning, he got up and knelt next to the computer. Moving slowly, he tracked down the sound. A modem, but not one he used. It was never used since he used his mother's design. He built one, she gave him the other, and so he never needed the factory standard model.

Looking down at the disc he held, one word popped out at him, GOLEM. Grabbing the Ethernet card, he ripped it out of the plug and play slot. "NOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Feet thundered up the stairs as Kazuske and Kiyoshi burst into the room, guns drawn. Miaka and Ariko followed behind them. Kazuske lowered his gun as he stared at the fuming Tristan. "What is wrong?"

"Someone was accessing my computer through an Ethernet modem I don't use. It's not even supposed to be activated."

Miaka stared at her son, "You mean the one that came standard, but you do use it don't you?"

"No. I built a modem off your specs, remember? It's untraceable unlike commercial ones, then my thirteenth birthday you gave me another one. With two of them, I didn't need the Ethernet. I… I needed them mom. I… Gatchaman needed them. Now, because of me, Noa… Golem may have all he needs to destroy Kaiba and Kaiba Corp. Mom, Ariko… I'm sorry." Tristan hung his head and sighed. "I don't even know what he has."

"Then we assume he has everything, Tristan. We'll work from there. Is the copy of your files almost complete?" Kiyoshi shrugged and

"Yeah. Almost. And I made a complete copy of all the Golem files. Mom, I made this mess, I gotta fix it. Call me in sick today?" Tristan asked as he started to disassemble his system, "We're gonna take in the whole system. Maybe he left traces."

"Yes, I will but Tristan… why?"

"He hurt you, Mom. He hurt Joey. You never did anything wrong and he fired you. He fired Joey's dad and now Joey lives in a hellhole. If he hadn't wanted to flex his power and show that he was in charge, none of this would have happened. That's why." Tristan kept his eyes down, afraid to look his mother in the eye.

She reached out, catching his chin and turned him to face her. "When you get home, we need to talk but right now, you fix what you messed up. I never taught any of my children to let others clean up behind them. Kazuske, take good care of him." Taking Ariko's arm, she led her daughter downstairs.

Kazuske stared after her before taking a deep bow, "Let's get this all to Master Kaiba."

* * *

6:45 a.m.

Bakura smiled as he moved closer to his other self. One hand slid down the navy jacket, nails scraping along the way. "Hmmm, remember, no kissy face with Tristan at school today. I have plans for both of you tonight. Got it?'

Ryou blushed, his ears turning a red to rival a strawberry. Bakura laughed and leaned in to lick his cheek. "Pretty." Turning to the quartet of guards standing nearby, he smirked. "Isn't he pretty...?"

They looked at each other and one stepped forward, pushing his honey brown streaked hair back from his ear, he nodded. Eyes flickered up and down Ryou appraisingly. "Hitomi, Sano Hitomi. If you go in for the pale ones. Though, I have to admit that I'd like to see what he looks like with a tan."

Bakura's eyes snapped to him and walked over to the guard, raising one hand, he rested it on the Hitomi's neck. "Then you would have loved me in Egypt. My skin all burnished gold, my hair even more pale than it is now. Eyes lined in kohl with lapis on my hands in feet. You would have loved to see me dance, wouldn't you?"

Hitomi swallowed noisily and stepped back. "Ahhh, I'm sure you were very beautiful but I think..."

"That you will not be guarding Ryou today, I agree. A slut like you won't get anywhere near my Ryou." Bakura twisted his wrist and a knife appeared in his hand. "So the rest of you can go, make sure Ryou gets to school on time. Meanwhile, I'm going to go down to the arcade, see if I can't get in a couple of rounds of Kaiba's new game."

Hitomi looked at the knife, nervously. "Neat trick, it will make protecting you easier if I know that you can defend yourself. In any case, have you thought about the trouble that two people whom look exactly alike being in two different places is going to cause? I understand that you have no need for school but most people, including the police, wouldn't know that. However, if we go to one of Mr. Kaiba's arcades, we can arrange for a private room. Let me check with Hiro, we may even be able to give you a pod at Kaiba Corp."

Ryou shook his head and slipped one hand into Bakura's, pulling him aside. "You don't have to put on a show for them, I'm sure Kaiba already told them. Besides, do you think Kaiba would ever employ anyone who would ask the wrong questions?" Wrapping his free hand around Bakura's waist, he kissed his lover. "I have P.E. last period, I can get out of it, if you want. Just tell me... later."

Giving his lover one last kiss, he turned back and headed to the door, a little roll in his walk. Two of the guards peeled off and walked Ryou out the door. Bakura leaned against the wall and stared at the two remaining. "Aren't you supposed to be with Ryou?"

"No, sir." Hitomi stood quietly, "Two guards for each of you during the day, three guards for Ryou and yourself at night, and two for Tristan at night. It helps that you are all in the same house. As well, Master Kaiba is offering all relatives of our principals a chance to spend time in an alternate venue during this crisis."

"Hmmm. Well, are we going?" Bakura stood up and headed for the door.

"Yes," Hitomi stood back and opened the door. The other guard went through and Hitomi bowed, "After you, oh fair and most beautiful pale one."

Bakura cackled and walked out, one hand flipping the knife.

* * *

6:37 a.m.
Kaiba Corp. Headquarters

Kisigawa stretched backwards and thumped his chair on the ground. Stomach growling, he reached for his coffee. Cold sludge slopped over the rim and splashed on his hand. Crying out, he opened his hand and let the cup fall. "DAMN!!!! How the fuck would they get the key?"

"Sir?" One of the lab tech frowned. "They couldn't get the key. To get the key they'd have to have a key to our systems."

"Impossible, none of KaibaCorp.'s doors last long enough to make a copy of a key that will keep working. Even our computers have trouble." The other lab tech scoffed. "The only way they could get in is a back door, those would be stable. Except we revamped everything a few years ago, when Seto took over. After Miaka Taylor was fired, they kept her system only long enough to replace it... sir?" The other lab tech looked at his boss. "Sir?"

"Miaka Taylor... Gatchaman was using Miaka Taylor's backdoors to breach our system. Master Kaiba told me so. I thought the backdoors were in our firewalls or protections but they aren't. They can't be... what if the backdoors are in the KC's core programming. What if the backdoor was... physical in a way? Such as the main computer is programmed to let in anyone who accesses from a special phone number or with a particular modem signal... We used KC's main computer to create the key. Then we locked it in there... we were sure only a Kaiba could get to it. YOU!!! Saitoh! Check and see if Miaka Taylor ever worked on the core computer. I think we are in deep shit."

Saitoh grabbed his friend and headed to the one place he could trust to have accurate information, the personnel vaults. They had to get their hands on the actual hardcopy.

* * *

7:00 a.m

Seto Kaiba opened the door and entered the room. Eyes traveling over the man tied to the bed. "Michael Wheeler."

The blonde man tilted his head back and focused on the young man standing to his side. A frown deepened on his face. "Kaiba... what do you want? To kill me as you killed my son?"

"I haven't killed Joey. In fact, I just left him. We had a good night together. He's a nice armful... and mine. That doesn't concern you. What does concern you is the terms for your release."

"Release?" Wheeler's eyes lit up.

"Yes, release. You will have a curfew, I will provide you with a job, you will get a better apartment, you will not do drugs or drink, you will not touch my lover, and he will only be home for three days out of the entire week. Also, you will not fight me, otherwise I will point out how well I took care of him while you were in...here." Seto stepped closer and leaned down. His whispered softly, "And don't worry, I'll make sure Iwata knows where to find you. I'm sure you wouldn't mind using two of your free days for dating, would you? If you disagree, I'm sure we can leave you here for a lot longer. Are we agreed?"

Wheeler cut his eyes towards the door, "What about him? Three days?"

"Yes, he wanted me to give you to him permanently. I'll keep him from you except for those three days. The two weeknights that Joey isn't with you, one day on the weekend as a family day. And we don't want him to know about this, now do we?"

Wheeler nodded. "Deal."

Kaiba nodded and walked away. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him. Iwata stood beside the door. Frowning, Kaiba beckoned him and started down the hallway. Stopping in front of an open inventory closet, he pushed his flunky in.

"He's leaving, Iwata."

"NO!"

Seto looked at him, one eyebrow rising slowly. "No?"

"Please, Mr. Kaiba, I can't let go of him, he's my angel. I need him, haven't I served you faithfully?" Iwata fell to his need, eyes wide behind the idiosyncratic wire frames. "Please, Kaiba-sama, I do not need the money, just my angel. I'll do anything you want, just leave me my angel."

"I have to release him, Iwata. He is my lover's father. He would not understand my giving him to you, but I have negotiated a... chance for you. Wheeler knows that he is not to upset his son. I have arranged a deal with him. You can 'date' him three times a week. The two weeknights, he doesn't have Joey, and once on the weekend. A family day during which you will charm Joey to the point that he has no objection of his dad's new lover. Be nice to my Joey. He is my angel as Michael is yours.

"And in a few months, at most a year, when it's not so strange... we'll move Michael into your house. After all, it's better if he has someone around to help him through the rough times. So, be patient! And get off your knees." Seto turned, yanked open the door and left the kneeling man in the dark. Eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you... for my beautiful angel." Smiling Noritaka Iwata stepped out into the hallway and headed for his angel's room. His angel's hard day was over and he could do with a nap and perhaps a little exploration tonight.

* * *

"Please, Lady Knight Eiri, we are so close!" Adena cried and grabbed for hand. "Please, my land needs you, don't give up!"

"I won't, Adena, promise. Though this maze is kicking my as... patootie. Left or right?" Eiri Sukiyabashi, attired in medieval armor, frowned and nodded to the left. "Come on."

She headed toward the left fork, her steel shoes clattering against the stone. She didn't feel a small stone sink beneath her weight. A rumble reverberated through her metal second skin. Glancing back, she saw Adena smirking.

"Adena... what's wrong?"

Adena's eyes flickered up, Eiri's eyes following. A stone slab rumbled on its way down. Eiri spun, her feet slipping, as it lowered. The last thing she heard was Adena's cruel laughter.

Adena stroked her small hands through her hair as the slab cut off Eiri's cries. "Noa!"

A globe of iridescent blue floated through the air gently and enveloped 'Adena'. 'She' relaxed as the bubble collapse in on itself and transported 'her' to 'her' other self. In midair a shimmer rippled through the bubble and it disappeared, letting the princess fall through the air. 'Her' breath whooshed out as strong arms caught her.

"My savior! You will help me rescue my land, won't you?" Adena asked, her deep blue eyes wide. Slim hands clutching her savior's shirt.

"Nkosi," Noa shook his head and pulled him closer.

"I know not this Nkosi. Oh, please brave warrior, won't you help me?" 'Adena' declared.

Noa rolled his eyes and walked over towards a shining panel. Twisting one hand to hold onto his... ancient friend and tapped a small patch of light. Sighing, he looked at him and said, "Fair lady, I would be honored to help thee if you but reward me with one boon, my princess."

"And what boon may a poor lady, such as myself give to thee?"

"A kiss, a mere kiss to warm my heart and keep me in joy for many days to come."

'Adena's' face softened and 'she' leaned closer. Closing her eyes she brushed her lips against Noa's. Eyes fluttering open, 'she' pulled back and smiled. "Was that fair enough, my... prince."

"Yes, to be true it was fair but it could be fairer." Noa swung the 'princess' to stand.

"And how so?" 'Adena' ran her hand through her hair, turning it a blue green color. 'Her' beautiful rich blue eyes fell to scales revealing green eyes full of fear.

"Ahhh, most simply by my Princess becoming his very own self."

'Adena' ran 'her' hands down 'her' body, the dress disappearing. Nkosi stood before Noa, dressed in a simple kilt of white linen with gold designs sown on the edges. Slowly, his hands rose, the loose bracelets of designed gold clinking. Dark hands cupped Noa's pale face gently, "Should we do this? Noa..."

"I... I... I don't know. I've never felt like this." Noa leaned in, lips pressing against Nkosi. A moan crawled out of his throat as he felt Nkosi's arms rise up around him and tightened. He felt those hands dig into his hair. He felt fingers twisting in his hair and pulling his head back.

"Noa... Noa, wait." The ancient Egyptian pushed the young man back. "I forgot, your father placed you in that false world before you had time to grow up much. We mustn't do this. I don't mean ever, just not now."

The younger man lowered his eyes and stepped back, out of the once welcoming arms. He turned around and brought up another panel, stared at the glowing buttons. Arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Lips grazed his neck. "Not now, Noa... I have felt this before; it is care and perhaps honor and respect. It is trust and gentleness but if we take this to its destined conclusion then at the final battle I will be more concerned with your state than winning. And we must win. For both of us to live, we must win. Once we live again, I will show you wonder and the fine details of sharing our bodies and lives together. I swear it. By the sun, Ra, and the earth, Geb, I swear it."

Noa nodded as his friend's hand caressed his chest. "Promise."

"Oh, by the gods, I do." He turned Noa's head towards himself and kissed him slowly, tongue flickering out to caress the lips. "I swear it."

* * *

7:25 a.m.

Seto groaned silently as he settled back into his seat. The leather of the car seat gave slightly, cradling him. Surprised, he realized that he didn't really want to be going to the office right now, if he had a choice, he'd be with Mokie and Joey packing to come here. A loud beep interrupted his reflection.

Frustrated, Kaiba flicked on his speakerphone. "Yes!"

Kisigawa yelped and, Seto could hear him sitting up, "Uhhh, I'm sorry to interrupt you, Master Kaiba but security has just informed me of a reporter who is asking to speak with you concerning a problem with our new VR systems."

"What problem?"

"People slipping into comas, sir. Much like what happened with the Big Five and yourself. We have a list provided to us by the reporter, I have him 'waiting' pending verification. Unnecessary, since we have confirmed that each one is in a coma. I will send a message to your PDA. This means there's a definite problem, sir! Someone has hacked the VR source code, which I would have believed to be impossible. I have already called in our medical teams..."

"Dr. Hara?"

"He brought up many points, points we didn't consider because we simply didn't realize how different teenage brain chemistry and interaction is. I think we should keep him on staff or at least on call. "

"Fine. Bring him in on this fully. Give him a consultant's fee." Seto nodded, mind thinking furiously.

"Yes, sir."

"I have found someone... who may help you. Have you heard of a hacker that goes by the pseudonym of 'Gatchaman'?" Seto picked up a stylus and flipped open a PDA. Find the list, he reviewed the names and recognized none of them. "I have discovered his true identity and, this afternoon, he will be assigned to your team and put on the payroll. In return, he has agreed to help us improve our system and work for KaibaCorp. At the moment, he's supposedly using the backdoor of a former head of the department. Find it and close it."

"Yes, sir." Kisigawa swallowed audibly, "I'll keep the reporter here, sir. Thank you."

Seto nodded and disconnected the call. Already, he thought of who could be doing this. Noa could, as an android, perhaps he had better skills with computers... if they could ever understand one another, they'd work on a project or two. Lips curling at the direction of his thoughts, he closed his eyes and waited for his driver to navigate through traffic.

* * *

A knock of the dividing window brought Kaiba back to himself. Looking out the window, he realized they were less than 2 miles from Kaiba Corp., but the traffic would make it a fifteen-minute ride.

"Yes, Kei?"

"Master Kaiba, The Taylor team reports that their principal is headed here. Apparently, there has been a break-in. They are bringing the information now. The reporter being held is named Naota Kanzi; it appears that Kanzi is threatening to reveal information about several young people who have been hospitalized after interacting with our products. Do you wish to do something about him, sir?"

Seto frowned, "Yes, invite him to meet me for an exclusive in two hours. Then keep him isolated until further notice."

"Very well, sir. Also, I have instructed the team that is guarding Yami Bakura to pull him from the game as soon as possible. Considering what I know about the incident with the Big Five, we have considered that it may be another attempt on your or the principals."

"Very well. After school, I want everyone here. Check in with me in an hour." Seto leaned back, "I know it's you, Noa... and that fiend Nkosi. One way or another I will destroy you. No matter what Yami wishes."

* * *

7:30 a.m.

Bakura turned around and nodded. The skill in building a whole new world was amazing, he had to admit that arrogant twit actually could do something right. Shrugging, he looked at the gear he had chosen and nodded, a thief was the perfect character for him, not to mention all the weapons that were available for choice. However, he was sure he could put another long knife on himself; the computer had refused him a tenth weapon. Making sure nothing was showing or rattling, he looked down the hill towards the town. Realizing this was the beginning of the game, he knew that he'd actually have to start exploring before anything would happen. As he walked down the hill, he saw a flash of red cloth. A young girl was peering through the trees. Smirking, he pulled his hat low on his head, ducked his face and headed to the town.

* * *

A red globe popped out of the air above them and Noa sighed. "Another one, shall you take or I?"

"I will, Meryt . I know little about this web of captured lightning. Besides, you like to see me in the dress... don't you?" Nkosi smiled, eyes flirting.

Noa licked his lips and stepped up close. "I like you anyways you want to be, including naked."

Nkosi placed a soft kiss on Noa's half-open lips, pulling away as his counterpart started to whine, "I'll be back."

"Fiend... hurry!"

Nkosi bowed low and turned around as the 'Adena' skin settled around him. Curtseying with proper skill, 'she' opened a hole and stepped through.

* * *

'Adena' landed gracefully, her brown calfskin boots made very little sound as they sank into the virtual dirt. She brushed down her skirt, the pale blue mirroring her eyes. A tightly laced red bodice held a white shirt close to her body. It provided a little definition, hinting at the figure, 'Adena' would have when she was a little older. Noa and Nkosi had often wondered about Seto's state of mind when he programmed this. Laughing silently, she tucked her hair under a small white cap, letting several graceful and tempting curls to escape. Crouching down, she took some dirt and rubbed it gently on her face. Looking around, she heard some trickling water. Splashing it on her face to simulate tear tracks, she shrugged one shoulder down slightly and picked up her skirts. Laughing she ran through the woods and waited for 'her' hero to come.

* * *

Bakura noticed the young woman shadowing him, slowing down; he allowed her catch up to him. Spinning around, he grabbed her. "Hello."

"Oh please sir, do not hurt me. I was just watching you, I... I need your help. My... my father and I were taken captive and I escaped. I need to get to the castle. Please help me. Please!" Her large indigo eyes teared up.

"Sure thing... my lady. So who are you?"

"My name... is Adena. And you, sir, what may I call you?"

Bakura pushed his hat up and stared at her eyes. "You may call me Kare."

"Thank you, Kare." She took his hand and looked up at him. "Thank you so much. We have to hurry. They were following me. I don't want them to catch up to me. We can get to the city faster and easier if we go through the old city. You can't see it from the top of the hill, but the road winds outward and around the old city. It means almost a half-day more of walking. And we only have three days to reach the castle before they do."

"Fine... then we should hurry to the city. You need pants." Bakura said as he headed down the hill.

"Breeches? But Kare, I am a young lady of some standing, I must not wear breeches." She looked shocked.

"In this case you will." Bakura grabbed her by the shoulder, "now which way."

"This way, fair Bakare." Adena replied, her voice flattening a bit.

Bakura's eyes narrowed but he followed her anyways. The tight clothing, the simple lines, if nothing else Seto would have a career in clothes. Of course such a blatant tempting version of Mokuba made Bakura wonder about Seto. He followed her as she semi slid down the slope. In a hollow, lay the entrance to the Old City. Something about her tickled his memories. He pushed her towards the entrance while he searched for any followers. As he entered the city, he thought about what she had called him...

"This way, fair Bakare."

Slipping a knife from the sheath on his forearm, he grabbed her from behind and slipped the knife over her throat. "Well, Nkosi, this is a surprise, I never expected to see you in a dress."

She froze, "Kare? What's wrong, let me go!"

"You called me 'Bakare', 'Adena'. I didn't even know that name until recently. So Nkosi, tell me, just what are you up to?" Bakura leaned close, whispering in the tiny shell of an ear.

"I... oh, Kare!" She twisted, her voice becoming harsher. She threw her head back and slammed into Bakura's nose. "Bakare, do you like this world. You can stay here!" Laughing maniacally, 'Adena' scuttled away. A knife appeared in her hand. A bronze knife. A triangular blade with deep furrows on each side, it was hilted with a triangular haft turned thirty degrees off of true. Together they made a six-pointed star. The base of the haft was a stylized globe, an eye. The Millennium Eye.

Bakura flinched as a furiously red globe appeared behind 'Adena'. It grew and she stepped through. Bakura flinched as a piercing pain penetrated his leg. Looking down he saw the eye of her blade staring up at him. Refusing to scream, he stared where 'Adena' had fled with absolute hate in his eyes.

* * *

7:55 a.m.
KC Arcade, Private Room

Hitomi stared at the display. It seemed cheesy for such a high tech system but since the game really was inside the person's head, no one would really mind the pixilated graphics. He watched as Bakare Bakura wandered the virtual world, and picked up weapons. He saw as his principal met the princess and she led him to the old city. He watched as Bakura got separated and trapped in the old city's maze. Sitting back, he waved for his partner to settle down and watch the game proceed.

Sano kept one eye on the sensors; making sure they didn't get anywhere near the crisis point. Glancing at the clock, he realized it had only been twenty minutes since Bakare had hooked up. If he continued at this pace then he could be finished as early as thirty minutes from now. Glancing at the clock, he wondered if it was too early to check in with home office.

* * *

8:00 a.m.
Kaiba Corp.
Main Computer Room

Saitoh huffed as he dropped the files on the desk, "Tano, maybe we are looking at this the wrong way."

"You mean that we have a grievous problem with our security? You mean that it's wrong to think we... we royally screwed up and that Kaiba-sama is gonna fire us, blacklist us, and make us and our families suffer endlessly?"

"Ummm... no. I mean, we're trying to close Miaka Taylor's back door, and that it's possibly a physical one that we can't close without destroying the computer. So maybe the solution isn't ripping the computer to shreds but rather... destroying Gatchaman's credibility and his physical link. If he can't rebuild it and can't spread the information..." Saitoh raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, but...

"But?"

"But it'd just be easier if we got in touch with Taylor and ask her about it?"

"And you think she'd tell the truth to us? To Kaiba? If I were Gatchaman, I'd use her holes to make my own spaces. That's beside the point, thing is, I want to make sure Gatchaman is out of business. It would make our lives a bit easier. Especially if he's spreading our info out there."

"Very true, but you want to hear something interesting? I heard that perhaps we may be working with Gatchaman soon." Tano raised one eyebrow. "Now let's get some work done."

"Sure thing." Saitoh started flipping pages. A few minutes later a knock interrupted them and Kisigawa stuck his head in. "Mr. Kaiba will be here in less than a half hour, we have an emergency meeting with him at noon, if it doesn't get pushed back. Get your data together and get ready." Having delivered his message, Kisigawa walked on.

Tano stared at his friend and back at the piles of paper. "We're screwed."

* * *

8:27 a.m.

Tristan lugged the tower of his computer up the steps, a guard at the door moved to stop him until one of his own waved them away. The guard opened the door and Tristan let himself be led to an elevator. One pushed the button, while Tristan leaned against the cool metal of the elevator. "So when do I get to talk to Kaiba?"

His guard looked at him, "Not now, apparently there is more than just your hacked computer going on. Before we tell him that you were hacked, we need to find out what was hacked and what it means to us. You never go to Master Kaiba without details and a plan to prevent it from happening again. So right now, we're gonna go to Kisigawa, he's out main guy. He's the one who realized you were hacking us and he's working on preventing it again."

"Okay, then let's hurry up, we don't know what he has or how he's gonna use it but we know it's gonna be trouble for us!"

"Hai."

* * *

10:15 a.m.

Mudaro stared at the reporter through the one-way glass. A very normal sort of man. The reporter was pacing back and forth, arms crossed. His hair was normal Japanese black and cut short on top. It fell to just above his shoulders making it a bit longer than professional. He was dressed in a light cream three-piece suit with a tan tie. Dark shoes click across the floor. The Frustrated reporter growled low in his throat. Wiping every expression from his face, Mudaro opened a well-camouflaged door and entered the room.

"Naota Kanzi, I am Mudaro, head of Kaiba Corp. Security. Before you may see my master, I need to know what about. You claim it has to do with the new VR game and wisely gave no details to those who could not help you but unless you tell me all you know, I shall not escort you into Master Kaiba.

"Are you trying to give your master time to hide what he's done?" Kanzi stared at the large man.

"No, Master Kaiba has done nothing wrong, and therefore has no reason to hide." Mudaro sat down and arranged several items on the table before him. Slipping a tape to an inbuilt recorder, he switched it on.

"Mudaro, interviewing Reporter Naota Kanzi, on supposed concerns of the new release of the video game. Mr. Kanzi, what evidence you have to accuse our Master of wrong doing."

"Very well." Naota Kanzi sat down and pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket. "I'll assume you won't mind me taping as well. I am here today with records of five separate cases of young men and women falling into comas upon using Kaiba's new game. Here are copies of the records I requested. The first I found was André Broussard, age 16, hospitalized at Sté. Reoun in St. Gilles, France. He was reported to have gotten into the game and suddenly when they tied to disconnect him, they were unable to wake him. Less than three absolute hours later, the second one, Gunter Shank, age 21 was hospitalized at Comme Hospital in Nordhausen, Germany. Again, he was found in the pod of the new game. Dan Anderton, age 19, and his friend Milo Lawton, age 18, were hospitalized at St. Francis in Westhaven, British Columbia, Canada. Again both of them were unable to be awoken. Are you seeing a pattern here? Most recently was Leo Hernandez, age 17, now hospitalized at San Angelo Hospital in Puerta del Sol, Puerto Rico. Explanation?

"I have none, of course I'll ask you to wait while I confirm these cases but it may merely be that the young men in question inadvisably did drugs prior to the use of the pods. We do not recommend people use drugs and especially not prior to use of the pods. The pods equipment reads brain waves, drugs disrupt that. It maybe that simple if it has happened, and they may have woke up since. In either case, I ask you to wait, just for a while, so that I may confirm. Once I have confirmed it, if it is so, then I will inform Master Kaiba and he may decide to see you. It should take no more than an hour or so. Please excuse me." Mudaro stood up and headed to the door, as he opened it, he pulled out a phone. Stepping through, he closed and locked the door. He turned to watch Kanzi in the room. Suddenly he could hear Hitomi answer.

"Hitomi, Mudaro. Noa has breached the new VR system. Pull Bakare out, he would be a fine catch. I'll wait until you've told me he's awake."

Mudaro heard the team leader ordering the system shut down and the raised voices. As Hitomi came back, he knew it was too late.

"Hitomi, I'm ordering a portable power source to be delivered to your location, let no one in except team 12, they'll be carrying it. We'll move him, still inside the pod to the lab. I will inform Master Kaiba about my failure." Mudaro turned off the phone and leaned his head against the window. Sighing, he quickly sent messages to the other teams and ordered them all to bring their principals to Kaiba Corp. at lunch. Head down, he dialed 1.

"Master Kaiba, it's Mudaro. Principal Bakare Bakura was using the VR system earlier today and it appears as if Noa has trapped him in VR. I have failed."

* * *

11:35 a.m.

Ohmuna checked the sheet of paper before placing it back into the manila folder and nodded. "Good job, Kawagari. Pop the trunk, we may have to put some stuff in."

"Hai." Kawagari sat still as his partner got out and headed for the apartment building.

Ohmuna walked up the steps and headed for the elevator. As it rose, he straightened up tie and opened the file folder. He scanned the folder. He noted that the doctor had attended Master Joey. That alone made Ohmuna smile, for they had all notice how attentive Master Kaiba was to other young man. Despite the fact that it was a young man, they were happy that Master Kaiba did love someone other than his brother. This time they didn't have near as many vicious rumors to squash. Stepping out of the elevator, he headed down the hall. He stopped before apartment 1045 and knocked. An intercom crackled to life and a sweet voice came from a speaker, "Yes?"

"Mrs. Yuzuriha Hara?" He pressed the large white button and leaned down to speak into the speaker.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I am Kappei Ohmuna, from Kaiba Corp. May I please speak to Dr. Hara."

"One moment."

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to face her husband. "Toru?"

"I... I'm not sure. I did take care of that young man who was in a coma, he is Kaiba's friend. I'm to check on him later, let him in, maybe something wrong. Let me grab my bag."

She nodded and opened the door, "Please come in Mr. Ohmuna."

"Thank you, you may simply call me Ohmuna. Dr. Hara?"

"Getting his bag, is the young man okay?"

"Master Joey is fine, but your husband is skilled in the teenage brain and it's various complexities. It is those skills we need." He replied, standing still."

"Oh... well would you like to sit down, perhaps some tea?" She bit her bottom lip, the man was so... imposing just standing there.

"No thank you, madam, we have to leave immediately. Though I wish we did have time." Ohmuna bowed slightly.

Hara entered the room to hear the last few words. "We have to leave."

"Yes, Doctor. While Joey is fine, there have been some problems that we believe you may be able to fix for us. The lives of six young people depend on it.

"Let's go. I'll call you Yuzuriha." Hara opened the door and Ohmuna followed.

* * *

Kawagari held the door open as the doctor entered. Nodding to Ohmuna he walked behind the car, slamming the trunk door closed. Getting into the driver's seat, he started back to Kaiba Corp.

* * *

12:27 p.m.

I... hate... this... man... he... is... not... a... man... he... is... a... de... mon... in... human... form!!! Joey fell back on the mat and closed his eyes.

"Come on, you're almost done, Joey. You're bouncing back like a trooper." The young man looked at Joey.

"You are evil. Leave me alone. I want to sleep!"

"Hmmm really? Does that mean you don't want to have sex with Kaiba anytime during the rest of the year, from the way you looked at him this morning..."

"HEY! THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS." Joey jerked up, his back spasming as he sat up. "OW!"

"Hey now... no sudden movement, you just woke up a couple days ago. But you still need to do three more leg lifts. Then we'll pop you into the whirlpool and let you soak all your troubles away.

"I hate you."

"That's ok, you're not paying me!" Kei, Kaiba Corps. best physical therapist laughed and knelt beside Joey's legs and smiled at him. Slowly lifting Joey's leg and straightening it out, "Okay, eight."

* * *

Seto stared at Joey, hair still trimmed short, skin pale but flush at the cheeks and the back of his neck. Lines of pain surrounded his eyes and mouth. And all because of him, of a hatred born so many years ago. In ancient Egypt and in his own past. The first by madness, the second by the madness of another. Joey and Mokuba had suffered for him. Now Yami Bakura. One way or another he would find a way to defeat Noa and Nkosi, he would not let them harm his family anymore. Looking at the folders from his research department, he knew, he'd kill this brother before he allowed him to kill any others!

Turning around, he stared at the person coming down the hall. "Mokuba."

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba ran over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Joey's barking at the physical therapist."

"Nii-sama! He's not that bad. Tatsuhiko told me they are pulling everyone in at lunch. What happened?" Mokuba took his brother's hand to make sure he wasn't going to walk off.

Seto stared at him, "Very well, might as well tell you both at the same time. Come on."

Mokuba nodded and refused to let Seto's hand go as they entered the gym. Joey was gone from the mat but Seto remembered what Kei had said and headed towards the whirlpools in the back. Mokuba smiled as Joey noticed them.

"I'd get up but Kei tortured me." Joey leaned back, caramel eyes staring at Seto. He raised one hand and waited.

"Hey, Joey. Kei's not that bad. He wasn't with me." Mokuba dropped his brother's hand and sat down beside Joey, taking off his shoes so he could dangle his feet in the warm water.

Seto sat beside Joey. One hand wrapped around Joey's. "Keep it in the water, you will stiffen up. We have a problem; five young men have fallen into comas while using the virtual reality pods. All outside of Japan. Today we had our first attacks inside Japan a young woman named Eiri Sukiyabashi and another. It's... the one you call Yami Bakura. He was having a private game and when they tried to get him out, they couldn't. Mudaro had them transport him to my labs. I have called in Dr. Hara. He told me he specializes in teenage brains. I haven't told Ryou yet, and... I can't believe I'm asking about this! Do you know how long Yami Bakura can exist outside of Ryou?"

"Bakura, then that means... Damn! Noa got him. Seto..." Joey closed his eyes, "No, I don't know how long. Yami can't exist outside Yugi but Bakura can be outside of Ryou. We think it's because Yugi is just Yami's reincarnation, while Bakura was 'eaten' by the Ring, so he can still reform a body."

"So possibly he doesn't have to return the ring, good." Seto turned to face his brother, "Forget about school work, you can make it up later, we have to figure out how Noa is doing this. Tristan is on his way here, said something about his being hacked possibly by Noa. And one more fact, one I plan to share with no one but us. I had someone background on each of them and their families. Naturally, we search for everything that could cause brain anomalies, anything medical. Each one of them is a result of fertility programs. I'm assembling more information on their families as we speak."

Joey looked from brother to brother. "Great, he isn't picking them at random, he's killing his brothers!"

* * *

12:49 p.m.

Tristan held open the door to the meeting room. For some reason Kaiba insisted on him waiting until almost 1 p.m. Didn't he know that they couldn't afford to waste the time? He and Joey could neck later! Tristan nodded and noticed everyone who was there. Yami, not Yugi. Ryou but not Bakura, Duke, Joey's doctor, and that Kisigawa guy he was working with. Isis sat next to Rashid who had his arm around Malik. Shadi sat across from them, his eerie eyes closed. Frowning, he sat down beside Ryou, taking his hand under the table and smiling at him. Ryou squeezed his hand and placed in on his lap. A door opened behind him and a silvery haired man entered, as he sat beside Duke, he pulled his hair from his face. A silvery gray eye patch covered his left eye, light scattering off a shimmering surface. As Tristan focused, he realized it was the shape of Funny Bunny in tiny little pearls. A door opened and Seto came in, pushing Joey in a wheelchair, with Mokuba walking beside him. Mokuba headed to the right hand side of the table and sat down. Joey took over for Seto and wheeled the chair into the left hand spot. Seto stood behind his chair at the head of the table and looked around at all of them. The lights dimmed and a spot of light outlined Seto.

"Ok, a little background for all those who are confused. While it seems impossible to believe, I unfortunately have been subjected to such things that there can be no other excuse but what it is. 5000 years ago, there was a pharaoh with several siblings. They died; some were killed by their sibling named Nkosi. Supposedly the high priest killed Nkosi after Nkosi had killed the high priest's husband. Why Nkosi felt the need to kill his siblings is still unknown though it may have been guided by some form of mental illness. Those siblings have been reincarnated now. Each sibling so far reincarnated is a possessor of the so-called 'Millennium Items'.

"Now let's jump to about eighteen years ago. Gozabarou Kaiba, wanting a pool of 'intelligent' people to use in his company, started a fertility clinic. He chose women who fit his standards of intelligence and other criteria and deliberately made sure they could not conceive. Many of these women worked in Kaiba Corp. or its subsidiaries; therefore, we believe it was in an additive that was slipped into their environment. Those women were all suggested to a particular clinic, the 'Goodkind Clinic'. He replaced their selected donor or husband's DNA with his own. He cuckolded many men into raising his children. Then his own 'acknowledged' child was in an accident. Noa Kaiba was in a body that could not function anymore. And that's when Kaiba got the idea to make 'Project Golem'."

Tristan blinked as a spotlight focused on him. Coughing, he stood up, his hand brushing Ryou's shoulder as it did. "Yes, well... as you know, I'm Gatchaman. I hacked into Kaiba Corp.'s main computer and found out about Project Golem. Kaiba copied his son's brain patterns into a virtual world and left him there though he gave him anything else he wanted. Noa, it appears, has made progress in achieving an access point to the World Wide Web. He then apparently made his way into the web and away from Kaiba Corp. How he got out of the country to enter again as the young head of North Oceanics Aviation, we don't know.

"Today, I went home to get some clothes and discovered that Noa has hacked me. How he did it, isn't really important, what is important is that he has everything I have on Kaiba Corp. Which means almost everything that was in your main computer."

"No... everything, but... you must have really hated us, Tristan." Mokuba shook his head. "So Noa doesn't need to hack Kaiba Corp., he just had to hack you. Your security isn't as strong as Kaiba Corporation's, so it was easier. Since he lives on the Web, he could track 'Gatchaman' down easily."

Ryou frowned, "If your security is so strong, how did Tristan break in?"

Kisigawa turned to look at him, "Bakura-san, it wasn't exactly a fault in our security as much as a backdoor written by the programmer that is hardwired into the computer. There is a line, one that cannot be tapped, technically doesn't exist but it also cannot be disengaged from the computer, it has one and only one terminal and it will open to that terminal only if it gets the proper code. Taylor-san has that code. It was built into his computer modem. Noa couldn't duplicate it, so he let 'Gatchaman' do the theft, and he stole from 'Gatchaman'.

"And now it's my turn for bad news, I found on Tristan's machine, the complete and unscrambled key. That's how he got into the VR worlds, he has the key and we are going to change it. We could do it by updating systems but it's been decided that we will actually take each pod off line and attach it to a portable and isolated source, and then we will update the key. I've already dispatched every team in every city, it will take them three hours, but until then, everyone who links in is in danger." Kisigawa leaned back. "As for my other recommendations, 'Gatchaman' must die. If you want to hire him, Master Kaiba fine, but one way or another, Tristan Taylor must not ever use that computer, or that modem again. I've ordered the information to be copied and the modem removed, the system to be destroyed!"

Tristan stared at the older man before lunging at him; his bodyguards leapt forward and stopped him before he could wrap his hand around Kisigawa's neck.

"Fine, Sio. I'll replace his system. See about hiring Miaka Taylor again." Seto frowned. "Sit down and shut up, Taylor. Considering how compromised your system was, it's no great loss. As I said I'll replace it. As for 'Gatchaman' he must and will die. You have no idea what you have done, it is a great a crime as Joey's father."

Mokuba nodded and pressed a button, suddenly behind Seto, a screen lowered and five pictures took up the screen three on one row, two on another, with a two blank rectangles at the end. "These five young men have all been trapped in the VR world. Noa apparently told a reporter, quite anonymously, about them. Each one was playing Legendary Heroes; each one is now in a coma. It was impossible for this to happen without the key, except he now has it, thanks to you, Tristan."

Tristan dropped back into his seat, taking Ryou's hand and staring the screen.

"Worse, we don't know if we can get them back. That's why we asked you here, Dr. Hara. Right now, we are leaking a news story that a 'group of madmen, angered at Kaiba Corp. is physically tampering with certain machines. They are lacing them with psychotropic drugs that once absorb into the skin affect the brain wave patterns. Since our pods rely on brain wave patterns, this causes a temporary but completely reversible coma.' You told my brother, that teenage brains are different. Help us."

Hara stood and bowed. "I don't know whether you are deranged in believing this is the result of somebody who is the reincarnation of some Ancient Egyptian royalty, and frankly I don't care. I do know that we must save these children. Allow me to call my hospital and tell them that I won't be coming in."

Seto nodded, "Already did. Now the five of them were each outside of Japan, today we had our first attack. One we didn't have to learn about from the press. Eiri Sukiyabashi. A young woman," Seto clicked a button and the sixth picture popped into view, a young woman with dark blue eyes stared out at them. "Then came another attack, one more significant to all of us here." Again he click and the seventh hole filled in. Bakare Bakura was staring out at them.

Tristan dropped back into his seat, tears popping to his eyes, he turned to look at Ryou, who was trying to contact his other half. Suddenly the full impact of what his vengeful attack on Kaiba has cost them hammered into him. "Bakare."