Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seto's Wish Alternate World Conclusion ❯ C22 Virtual World – Aftermath I ( Chapter 22 )

Mokuba A/N: The following was written by Clarity2199.

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C22 Virtual World - Aftermath I

 

In the blink of an eye, Kaiba was in an office room. But, for the first time, he didn't recognize the office. It wasn't his house, or Kaiba Corp. So, where was he?

 

Trying to get a bearings on his surroundings, he moved to the window and looked outside. His eyes then widened, quickly realizing what he was looking at outside. “That's Kaiba Land!” But, if that was the case.....why didn't he recognize his office?

 

That's when he noticed the various setups in Kaiba Land matched the blueprints he was making for another Kaiba Land. This wasn't the amusement park he built in Domino City.....he must have made this one somewhere else. But, where?

 

As these random thoughts went swirling through his head, sudden movement from behind him caught his attention. He turned, and to his surprise.....Noah was right behind him.

 

“Noah?” He asked, too surprised to say anything else. And he realized Noah wasn't really there. Like some worlds where he found himself......Noah seemed to be a floating holographic image.

 

Noah smiled, saying, “I'm sorry to disturb you, Seto. I was just curious what you were thinking about. Oh, by the way.....Mokuba's here.”

 

That instant, Mokuba came bounding in, saying happily, “Big brother, I'm back! Hi, Noah.”

 

“So, how was school?” Noah turned and asked.

 

“Boring, as usual. Will you help me with my English assignment? I have to do research on the Internet, and since Seto gave you complete access to the Internet last month, it'd be easier to just have you help me.”

 

“I don't know, Mokuba.....you'd better ask your brother. You know how he feels about me helping you with your homework.” Noah answered, glancing at Kaiba behind him.

 

Kaiba was still in shock from Noah being there. But now the two were talking two each other, like long lost friends. The very person who was hurting Mokuba in another universe, was now having a friendly conversation with him? Kaiba was trying to keep his anger in check and remind himself it was a different reality, but seeing Noah was causing him to fail miserably.

 

“Well, Seto......can he help me?”

 

“Are you insane??” Kaiba snapped back at him. “What is Noah even doing here??!”

 

“Are you okay, big brother?”

 

Noah, noticing Kaiba's obviously strange reaction, quickly did a security scan on him, and found something different. Noah glared up at Kaiba, and quickly stepping in front of Mokuba, snapping, “Who are you??”

 

“What are talking about, Noah.....its Seto!” Mokuba said.

 

“No....something's different, Mokuba. Though all his other life signs seem to be the same, his brain wave scan isn't correct.” Noah warned Mokuba. He then turned to Kaiba, demanding, “Now I'll ask you again, who are you?”

 

But Kaiba refused to answer Noah's demands. Alternate world or not, there was no way he would trust Noah. Kaiba simply crossed his arms and glared menacingly down at him.

 

“Are you my big brother?” Mokuba then asked. No matter Noah said, Mokuba knew the actions of his brother when he saw it.

 

Kaiba glanced over at Mokuba, his eyes softening for a moment. But they returned to a cold glare the instant he looked back at Noah, snapping, “There is no way I'm going to explain anything in front of HIM!” Obviously meaning Noah.

 

Mokuba seemed to understand. Despite what Noah said, he knew he could trust this Seto standing there before them. He was really no different from his own brother, after all. Mokuba approached, saying to him, “I understand, Seto. But, it's okay.....Noah's like part of the family, now. At least my big brother trusts him. Well, half of the time he does, anyway.”

 

“Less than that, depending on his mood that day.” Noah muttered, sourly.

 

“Please tell me, Seto. Are you my big brother?”

 

So with a sigh, Kaiba nodded, “Yes and no. I `am' Seto Kaiba, but I'm not exactly your brother...at least not the one you know. I'm traveling between dimensions, looking for a world I once ended up in. Don't ask me how, because I'm tired of explaining myself. But in that world, you are in danger...from him!”

 

Kaiba spat out the last word like it tasted bad, as he pointed an accusing finger at Noah, glaring down at him, once again.

 

“And just how exactly am I a danger to him? He gets trapped in the virtual world again?” Noah asked.

 

`Again?' Kaiba questioned himself. `I wonder what he meant by that.' Shaking off the question, he replied, “No. But, in my world you died. And in this other world....you didn't.”

 

“Really?” Noah asked, with a sudden excitement. “You mean in other realities I didn't die? Well, how many other realities did you end up in, besides this one? Did you meet me in those other realities, as well? Was I still alive in them??” Noah asked, very anxious about the answer.

 

“In one of them.....yes.” Kaiba admitted, but saying little else to him.

 

“Did you hear that, Mokuba? I'm still alive in other worlds!” Noah said, excitedly.

 

Mokuba beamed, thinking about the exciting adventure it must be to see other versions of their world. “That sounds so cool, big brother! I wish I could do that!”

 

“No, you don't.” Kaiba said sternly. “Believe me, this is not fun. A lot of these worlds have some very bad stories behind them...others are just too weird to mention.” Kaiba said, inwardly shuddering from some of the things he'd seen, so far.

 

“It still sounds like fun to travel and see what you did differently in each world.” Mokuba said.

 

“I told you my story, so let's hear yours.” Kaiba demanded of Noah, ignoring Mokuba's last comment. He really didn't want to talk about what he had seen any more than necessary.

 

“How is it Noah is here?” He asked Mokuba, looking back at his brother after deciding it would be better hearing it from his brother, instead.

 

“Well...” Mokuba started. “It all started about 6 months ago.”

 

(Flashback)

 

The plane had taken off from the Battle Tower, barely escaping the explosion of yet another place that was once ruled by Gozaburo Kaiba. Seto Kaiba looked down at his brother Mokuba for a moment, as he piloted the plane out of this area, heading to the United States, from Japan. Many things had happened to reach this moment. He had planned on permanently burying his past, but in doing so he had to practically re-live it again, first.

 

Somehow, his stepfather had returned from the dead to haunt him in this mysterious virtual world, where he learned he had a stepbrother known as Noah Kaiba. What Kaiba first saw as a spoiled brat, was infact another victim of his stepfather's cruelty. It seemed Noah was also used by his own father, and learned in the end that Gozaburo couldn't care less about his own son's existence.

 

In the end, Noah changed his ways.....sacrificing himself so that everyone else could escape. Then Battle City began, and Kaiba not only had to deal with losing to Yugi yet again, but also having to hand over a card to Yugi so he could defeat Marik. He didn't really do it from the goodness of his heart, he was guilted into it by Ishizu. But more than that, Mokuba had asked him to let go of the hate he had continued to have bottled up within him for his Rival Yugi, as well as his hate towards his stepfather. As difficult as it was for Kaiba to grant his little brother's request, he still did all in his power to let it go. Handing Yugi that card was a way of showing Mokuba that he would keep his promise.

 

But now, heading to the US, he still felt the pain of loss after coming in a measly third place, when he was hoping for first. He only hoped that Yugi would be wise enough to properly hang onto those Egyptian God Cards, and not let someone show up and steal them from him. Yugi's house was hardly qualified as a secure location for such rare and powerful items, after all.

 

But he had to let go of the past, and look ahead to his plans on creating the New Kaiba Land. As a person who never had a chance to have a real childhood and grew up far too quickly, this was perhaps a way for him to reclaim that childhood, by bringing happiness to children everywhere he made a Kaiba Land. Thanks to Yugi, he was no longer top Duelist, but he was still damn good at just about any game out there, whether it was duel monsters, board games, mind games, or any video game ever made. Kaiba had a knack for knowing what kids liked, and made it come true for them. And in this country.......he planned to do the same.

 

As he continued his flight, he noticed something strange suddenly happen to his console.......one of the communication stations suddenly came to life. So, Kaiba automatically began to do a diagnostic check on the system. That's when the screen began to form text words, saying, “Hello, Seto”.

 

“What in......?” he asked aloud, looking at the words.

 

Mokuba was in the back seat of the jet, at the time. When Seto spoke, he looked ahead to his brother, asking, “What's wrong, Seto?”

 

“I........I'm not sure.....” he said, equally confused. Computers weren't supposed to have a mind of their own, after all.

 

The text changed, saying, “Tell Mokuba I said Hello to him, too.”

 

“Can.......you understand me?” he asked aloud at it, not sure if there was something listen in to him, or not. “Who are you?”

 

The text came up again, saying, “In my position, I can't see or hear you....I can only hope you're getting this.” It then wiped clean, adding more text, saying, “If you are receiving this, then you probably wonder who I am. It's me.......Noah. I escaped the blast.”

 

Kaiba's eyes turned wide, saying, “Noah??” He wasn't entirely sure if this was a good thing, especially after what Noah had done. He had no idea what Noah might be expecting, or hoping for. Perhaps he had planned on taking over the ship to destroy them, or torture them once again.

 

“Seto....did you say Noah? What are you talking about?” Mokuba asked.

 

“I.....I don't think he died, Mokuba. From what I'm seeing on the main console, it looks like Noah may have invaded the jet's computers.”

 

“You mean.....Noah's in here with us??” Mokuba said excitedly. “He's alive!!”

 

The text then wiped clean again, saying, “Don't worry, my father is gone. He was trapped in the virtual reality computer....I made sure of it. I am stuck in here, and wont bother you further until we land.” With that, the text finally ended.

 

Despite what it said though, Kaiba continued to be concerned about it. He didn't trust Noah, and the safety of his brother came first.

 

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Once they landed and were settled in their expected location, they entered their newly bought office complex, where they were setting up. Kaiba made sure to find exactly where Noah's thoughts had dumped himself into and had that removed. He then placed it into a separate computer, where he also hooked up his own duel monster projection to. By hooking that up, he would be able to download Noah's memory and project himself as a hologram on a special pad made for him, so that they could better communicate to each other.

 

Mokuba had been hopping around him, anxiously awaiting to see his new stepbrother Noah, again. Once everything was attached, he turned it on. Kaiba then sat back, crossed his arms, and asked aloud, “Noah, can you hear me?”

 

The projector activated, and Noah's image appeared before him. “Thank you, Seto......thanks for freeing me from that machine. I wouldn't be able to do anything if it wasn't for your modifications. It's so good to be able to see you both again.”

 

Kaiba turned away, as Mokuba jumped over, saying, “Noah, I can't believe it's you! I was worried that you didn't survive!”

 

“I didn't think I'd make it, either. Father fought so hard against me to be freed of that world. Finally, as everything was disintegrating, I quickly jumped through my own back door that I also immediately closed up, and escaped into the ship's computer. He was so busy fighting me, he didn't take the time to find another possible escape route.” Noah said. He then sighed, “Well.......I suppose there's really nothing you can do for me, except maybe make another virtual reality world, like my father originally made for me.”

 

Mokuba looked over, saying, “Seto......is there anything else we can do for him?”

 

Kaiba clenched both hands together, placing them in front of his lips, in thought. “Well.......there is another possibility.........”

 

“What is it?” both Mokuba and Noah asked at the same time.

 

Kaiba looked over at Noah, stating, “Instead of bringing you further into the machine, we can expand the machine to draw you further into reality. But there is one minor problem in doing this.......”

 

“What is it?” Noah asked.

 

“If I did this, I would basically be trusting you with a great deal of control over the computers I expand you into. And to be perfectly honest, Noah.....I haven't found any reason to trust you enough in order to take such liberties.” Kaiba stated coldly.

 

 

 

“Seto!” Mokuba said, in protest.

 

Noah looked down, saying, “You're right, Seto. I have treated the both of you terribly. But you have to understand.......I never knew a real family. I-I didn't even know what a real life could be. I haven't been able to actually live in so long......I miss being able to be with people. All I had for company was my father, who I was constantly under the mercy of. I never had another side to show me what a horrible person my father was. I thought he was trying to help me........trying to save me. I was wrong.......about everything. Could you ever forgive me?”

 

“It's easy to forgive, Noah. But it's not so easy to trust.” Kaiba answered.

 

“Seto, please. We gotta help him!” Mokuba said. He placed a hand on Kaiba's sleeve, saying, “He's our family, and you said yourself.......family always sticks together.”

 

Kaiba turned to look at Noah, and stated, “He's not blood family. Our only affiliation is through legal paperwork, which also doesn't count when he's considered dead.” Kaiba then stood, and walked off.

 

“It's okay, Mokuba. You're brother has a good reason for hating me. I tried to separate you from him, I brainwashed you, I hurt you both. How could I expect any better from him?” Noah said.

 

Mokuba approached the hologram, saying, “Yeah.....he probably isn't very happy with you.” Mokuba then brightened, adding, “But, don't you worry, Noah. I wont give up on you. I promise you, my big brother will help you. And in time we'll be a family!”

 

“Why do you care about me so much, Mokuba?” Noah said.

 

Mokuba shrugged, saying, “Don't be so down on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes.......even Seto did some really bad things at one time. But he's not like that anymore, and neither are you. I'll be here to visit you every day, and let you know what's happening. Okay?”

 

“Thank you, Mokuba. I guess I'll see you later.” Noah said, looking sad. After all, Noah had heard these words before, from his own father. They see him for awhile, then get bored and eventually deal with their own world.....forgetting about him, once again.

 

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There was a knock at the door, as Kaiba bid whoever it was to enter. Mokuba came into the room that was strewn with computer equipment, as Kaiba was punching in all sorts of data to the new Kaiba Land. Mokuba approached his brother, and said, “Seto.......when will you start working on Noah?”

 

There was a pause, as he glanced at Mokuba. He knew his brother wouldn't accept a `no' for an answer, but he didn't trust Noah, either. “I'll see if next week I can get a crew to hook up an individual computer system, to place one of those projectors in every part of this complex. That way, Noah can jump around the different rooms freely to communicate with who he wants. Is that acceptable to you?”

 

Mokuba scuffed his feet, saying, “I have a feeling that you know a way to let him do more, Seto.”

 

“I do.......but I don't intend on using that idea.” Kaiba answered flatly.

 

Mokuba said, “But, Noah needs his freedom. Please Seto, you have to help him!”

 

“I'm sorry Mokuba, but I can't afford to trust him. From what I've seen, he's simply too dangerous.” Kaiba answered his brother.

 

“But he's changed, Seto! He's not like that, anymore. He wants to get to know us, and........he's also my brother.” Mokuba said.

 

“He's not your brother!” Seto snapped, not sure if it was distrust or perhaps even a bit of jealousy he felt, since Mokuba had been suddenly having this urge to `share' brotherly love with his stepbrother. “He's Gozaburo's little brat, and we both know how evil he was. How can you sit there and ask me to help him, after all he did to us? As much as it pains me to even think this.......if it wasn't for Yugi, we could still be there stuck in that virtual world, never being able to be with each other again. Doesn't that mean anything to you? I know it does for me. I'm not taking the chance of him putting you in danger again!”

 

Mokuba put his head down, saying, “He made a mistake, Seto. And........he's not the only one who's made mistakes in their lives. I once made a mistake being so mean to Yugi and his friends. You once made a mistake, too. It was during Death T, when you were willing to-”

 

“Enough!!” Kaiba snapped at Mokuba, his eyes twitched. There was a long pause of silence, both knowing where Mokuba was going with that. Kaiba finally replied to it, saying, “You promised we'd never bring that time up again.......”

 

“I know I did.” Mokuba said sadly. “But I couldn't think of any way of showing you that even family can sometimes do things that they don't mean to do. I know that deep in your heart you'd never want to hurt me, Seto. It wasn't you during that time.........Gozaburo corrupted us all, even Noah. Can't he also have a second chance? Please, Seto??”

 

Kaiba dropped down to his knees then, and hugged Mokuba. How could he deny his brother, after that? Deep inside, he knew he still owed his brother from that time.....a debt he would never truly be able to pay back, no matter what.

 

There was so much darkness consuming him back then, that it blinded him to the obvious. His whole life, his whole existence, the reason for taking over Kaiba Corp, was for the sake of his brother Mokuba......so that his brother could lead a normal and comfortable life. In one stupid moment in his life, he almost threw that all away. To this day, he never forgave himself for failing, and allowing Gozaburo to finally break him.

 

Noah was also making sure to rub his past into his face, in that virtual reality world. But one thing Kaiba didn't understand was why Noah didn't throw Death-T in his face, instead of a minor conflict they had when dealing with Gozaburo's stocks, in order to win the company? And Noah was right, too.......he was mean to Mokuba to win that battle. But Noah didn't understand that it was all part of the game.

 

Kaiba did that on purpose in order to deceive his stepfather, knowing that Mokuba would still be loyal to him in the end. His brother that would blindly trust him, no matter what he did to him. He probably shouldn't have taken advantage of him during that time, but then........Kaiba was desperate. He might have been mean to Mokuba, but in the end he knew that moment would also save Mokuba.

 

Because of that, he never regretted that decision he made, even now. But the other time, while he was obsessing over beating Yugi, it could have cost him his brother's life and he was more than willing to push the button in order to seal his brother's fate. He was so consumed with being the best of everything, only power mattered.......just like his stepfather. Yugi saved him from himself, unlocking his heart once again, removing the darkness that had blinded him.

 

As the giant amusement park/video game center was being built, Kaiba had designed these pods to be in just about every room in the Kaiba building. Noah was asked not to disturb employees if he could avoid it, and try and stick with talking to mostly just family, if he could.....or atleast what Mokuba considered family, since Kaiba was still refusing to accept him as such.

 

Within these pod areas, the holographic image of Noah could be placed in every or any space that had one in it. With it, it allowed him to use it like a simple camera and view an entire room, and also talk freely with whoever was in it. At his choice, he could also create his form, allowing someone to have someone to talk to, instead of simply a speaker. It didn't actually take much effort to get these plugged in, and the system was relatively safe. It was on a totally different computer from any of his other machines, which guaranteed Noah could do no harm. Noah's system was also on a special generator, so that no matter what happened, he would not be deactivated.

 

Even though a system shut-down couldn't actually kill Noah, he still hated being turned off. While Noah was off, there was absolutely nothing........like he really `was' dead. He hated that feeling. Noah was thrilled by the idea that Kaiba created. Instead of him living in a `pretend' world, he would be able to freely communicate to whoever he wanted. The problem was he was limited to the pods, he couldn't do any kind of computer research since he was locked from all other computers, and he didn't feel like he was in the real world like virtual reality gave to him.

 

Kaiba understood this, and said this would have to do atleast for now, until they could get their work on Kaiba Land closer to completion. After all, time was money, and the longer it took for this to open, the more money they were wasting over here. Noah understood and realized he'd have to be patient. As it was, he was shocked to hear that Mokuba had somehow convinced his brother to take the next step after this, though Mokuba refused to tell him how he did it, no matter how much Noah pried.

 

This next step was something that Kaiba had thought long and hard on. It had a real bad down side to it, if Noah betrayed them.......but if Noah could be trusted, it could infact have some very positive effects to this.

 

The next step would require hooking all of Kaiba's computers with Noah's system, then attaching sensory devices on the ceiling and floor of the entire building.........perhaps also the video game area of Kaiba Land, as well. These sensory devices could be the next incredible step for Kaiba's holographic monster images. If this worked, it would allow Noah to freely move around the entire building and video game center, interacting with whomever he spoke to, even play with......so long as it didn't require touching. This would also give Noah the ability of total control over Kaiba's computer systems.

 

But, on the down side, that also meant that if Noah betrayed him.....Kaiba Corp could be in serious danger. Yet, if Noah really bonded with them and accepted them as some kind of family, then he could use this control for the most incredible security ever, whether that be break-ins, burglary, pirating, computer viruses or worms. Whatever it was, Noah could witness it all and assist from his end. He could infact feel needed, having his own job. He could use the computers to research whatever he wanted, travel on the web, bypass through computer systems that no normal computer hacking device could ever normally do. It was almost endless the uses. Kaiba knew this, but he also had to balance that with the chances he was taking. That's why he would take this slowly, to make certain Noah could be trusted enough.

 

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As usual, Kaiba was in his office room, working on his project. As he continued his work, the holographic pad activated, and Noah's image appeared. He glanced over at the older brother, saying, “Hello, Seto.”

 

“Noah.” he answered flatly, without turning around.

 

Noah paused, looking around the office, as he considered what to say to him. “Um.......I have been checking out this new pad system of yours. I really like it........thank you.”

 

“Mmm-hmm.” Kaiba blankly said.

 

Again, a long moment passed, before Noah added, “I noticed I'm able to use the pads to not only have me appear in one place at a time, but multiple places. I'm presently talking to Mokuba too, down the hall. It's kind of strange being able to do so; but rather fun, really.”

 

Kaiba simply grunted a reply, barely acknowledging him.

 

Noah glanced over at Kaiba's project, and then said, “I recognize that.......it's your outline for Kaiba Land. How's it coming?”

 

“Fine.” Kaiba answered.

 

Noah gave a slight chuckle, saying, “I think I got more of a conversation out of you, during Battle City.”

 

“It's not wise to bring up old wounds.” Kaiba stated coldly, as he continued to work.

 

Noah lowered his head, saying, “Sorry.” He looked back over at the map, saying, “Can I help?”

 

“Help what?” Kaiba asked.

 

Noah answered, “Help with the amusement park project.”

 

“That's not possible.” Kaiba stated. “You're not hooked up to the same system.”

 

“That's okay.” Noah said. “I don't have to be, really. With your camera system, I can simply use it to get a zoom focus of your screen, make an internal image scan, and........now I have information of your map in my system.”