Chapter Text
Pouring over papers and expense lists was not an unfamiliar job for the youngest Kaiba brother- he had taken up the position of Seto's right-hand man years ago, after Death-T's failure and Seto's subsequent comatose episode. However, he had never dealt with it all on his own- they always worked as a team, Seto shouldering the heavier workload, claiming Mokuba was still too young to be working as much as Seto did. Even if Seto himself was only a young adult.
Now, here Mokuba was, in a chair far too big for him, with a desk of equal large dimensions. Upon it lay countless Blue-Eyes White Dragon merchandise, including some things Mokuba had hand-made himself, like a little business card holder. He stared at the items sadly, peeking around his giant stacks of papers that his exhausted brain was having trouble even turning into legible words anymore. With a groan he smacked his head off the desktop, making the little dragons all around him wiggle dangerously. His long black hair splayed around him like a halo of ink.
The office door slid open. Mokuba groaned. "...Young Master Mokuba?" A voice interrupted his moping, and he didn't bother even lifting his head to see which employee it was. It didn't matter.
"Yes?" His voice was scratchy and dry. He tasted stale coffee and wondered when the last time he had something actually hydrating was. Cup noodles spilled out of the white trashcan next to him, littering the floor. The employee had enough sense to not say anything pertaining to that.
"We're picking up signals of a dimensional disturbance," the man said hesitantly, and Mokuba felt his heart do a couple flips in his chest. His head shot up, hands balling into fists. "We believe Master Seto is attempting to return."
His misery forgotten in seconds, Mokuba bolted out from behind Seto's desk, his eyes just as wild as his hair. "Can you assist him?!"
The employee nodded. "The professors are doing all they can to help him cross back into our dimension... but he has not made any direct contact."
Mokuba swallowed the bile threatening to rise up out of his throat. Seto not making direct contact could mean nothing, but it could also mean everything. None of this had been tested prior to him using it, they had no way of knowing if a human could withstand the strain of both leaving and returning to this dimension. They don’t even know if he made it to the Pharaoh in the first place! What if he's dead? A little voice nagged in the back of Mokuba's head, and he hated that he couldn't immediately prove it wrong. It was Duelist Kingdom all over again. "I… I want to see my brother."
The man stepped aside and gestured for Mokuba to go ahead of him. "Yes, sir."
The chamber reserved for dimensional travel testing was in shambles. Hundreds of men and women running to and fro, pressing buttons and flicking switches, yelling over radios… off to the side, medics were already lined up and waiting, no doubt prepared for any dire situation. The quick reaction time was worthy of praise, but Mokuba couldn't bring himself to say anything positive right now. He was far too focused on the distortion surrounding their giant elevator into space, signaling a dimensional rift beginning to form. He could only see it through the brief moments of clarity the cameras had, otherwise being lost to messy static. Mokuba approached the control center.
“Young Master Mokuba,” the researcher leaning over the tech greeted him with a bow. He recognized her, she was one of the higher-ups in this section of KaibaCorp. No name came to mind, though. "He's starting to break through, and so are we. We're meeting him halfway, as he cannot return on his own."
"So it was a failure," Mokuba hissed, his teeth clenching as he slammed a fist on the cold metal. The information displayed on the monitors here was borderline unreadable for him, and he hated it. If he understood it, he could figure out if Seto was okay.
"There's nothing we can do about it now, except face it head on," the woman sighed. Mokuba suspected she was as displeased as him. Seto was the only one in favor of launching the project before it could reasonably be deemed safe. So much research gone to waste, as the pod would definitely be destroyed in the return trip.
"I understand. Please, do your best." He sighed and turned away, hands clasped behind his back. He felt her sad gaze burning into his back.
"Of course, Young Master Mokuba."
He scowled and broke into a sprint, tears stinging his eyes. He didn't need pity, what he needed was his damn brother back in one piece ! Alive would be pretty fucking sweet, too, but beggars can't be choosers!
"I'm going to lose it," Mokuba said breathlessly, burying his palms against his eyeballs hard enough for it to cause mild pain. Just thinking about Seto trying desperately to travel back home, only to get stuck between dimensions, had him stressed enough to develop gray hairs on the spot. When he was this upset about something, Seto was always there for him, but now… yeah. Who else do I know that is used to weird shit like this? Mokuba thought, his fingers tapping against his forearms as he crossed them. He did know someone, he realized- it just wasn't someone his brother was particularly fond of. Well, he can just deal with it, Mokuba huffed in his head angrily, it’s payback for leaving me alone for so long. Reaching into his pocket and digging out his phone, he navigated to the number given to him once long ago in case of emergency, but never actually used. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important, he thought as his finger pressed the call button with an outrageous amount of trembling.
Yuugi was in the middle of inching out a very delicate Jenga block, his friends all around the table holding their breath. His steady, surgeon-like hands were an advantage in this game, even with Jonouchi blowing on the tower to try and send it falling. He nearly had the damn piece out when his phone started to blare the most horrifying alarm noise known to man in his jean pocket. Tiny projectiles rained down all around them as Yuugi jerked and upset the balance, but everyone was too focused on the noise to care about that.
"W-What the hell is that?!" Jonouchi cried, jumping up from his kneeling position on the floor like there was a fire. It wasn't an unreasonable reaction, it was a pretty loud noise. His other friends began getting up too, looking around in fear. Yuugi held up his hands.
"It's my phone, it's okay!" He said quickly, reaching for his phone and unlocking the screen. Incoming call from ☆Baby Kaiba☆. Right… that's what he'd set Mokuba's name and ringtone as, so he'd know exactly who it was. Too bad he forgot anyways. Pressing his finger to his lips to motion for the group to be quiet, he swiped to answer. "Hello?"
" Hi, Yuugi-san, how fast can you get to Kaibacorp? " Mokuba sounded breathless, and it set Yuugi on edge instantly. Something wasn't right.
"...Give me fifteen," he answered at first, already trying to locate where he tossed his sneakers. He saw Jonouchi dangling his car keys with a positively devious smirk and a raised eyebrow. Seems his friends could hear the call in the silence of the room. "Actually, let's lower that to ten." Jonouchi pumped his fist and whispered a yes!
" Great, thanks-" Sudden white noise began to drown out Mokuba's young voice, and Yuugi listened in horror as he heard yelling, Mokuba screaming curses, and hellish otherworldly sounds that he couldn’t even describe. The connection fizzled out, and Yuugi was left with a dropped call lingering on his screen.
"Jonouchi-kun," Yuugi deadpanned.
"Yeah?"
"Drive as fast as you can without killing us."
"
Fuck
yes!"
Yuugi and the rest arrived at the KaibaCorp manor at record speeds. It was probably even less than ten minutes, if the frazzled appearance of the group as they all got out of the car was anything to go by.
“My head’s spinning,” Otogi whined, stumbling as he was pushed out so those behind him could exit too. “He’s worse than Mai-chan.”
“Jonouchi-kun is a force to be reckoned with on the roads,” Yuugi groaned, holding a hand on his stomach and trying not to puke. Jonouchi, smugly, left the vehicle with absolutely no problem. Yuugi blew his fringe out of his eyes, and stood up straight. “Alright- we need to go. How fast can you all run?”
At that, Anzu bent down and started removing her heeled boots. Ryou tightened the jacket tied around his waist, and Otogi pushed his bangs behind his ears. Yuugi grinned at them all, and they grinned back. He took off into the fastest sprint his tiny legs could muster up, shoes pounding on the pavement. Remembering Mokuba’s clear panic, and thinking of what could possibly be wrong, sent him running faster than he ever had in his whole life. Adrenaline was coursing through him like a drug, and he heard some shouts of encouragement as he outran even the athletic Jonouchi. The outer and inner doors of KaibaCorp were held wide open already, Mokuba probably alerted the guards to open them whenever they saw Yuugi arrive, and he shouted “Thank you!” as he passed by them.
As they tore down the pristine, twisting halls of the mansion, he glanced back to see Jonouchi now carrying Otogi and Honda carrying Ryou- they must not have been able to keep up, but Anzu was doing just fine. She is a dancer after all , Yuugi chuckled to himself. His own feet were starting to hurt because he’d thrown on the first shoes he could find, which were his leather studded ones that sucked when doing heavy movement. He had more than enough lasting blister scars from when he got stuck wearing them during Battle City.
Navigating this place was like trying to solve a maze, so his friends were no doubt relying entirely on him to lead the way, since he had the best memory. He only briefly glanced at signs and labels to figure out where he was going, the printed words nearly a blur. Mokuba had texted him prior to the call, showing which way to go once inside, and he’d studied it during the quick, bumpy car ride. It was kind of funny how Mokuba knew he would agree to come over.
“I think we’re almost there?!” He shouted so his friends could hear him. His chest hurt.
“You think ?!” Anzu sputtered angrily, clutching her boots to her chest. Yuugi nervously glanced around, trying to find... there! A blue arrow with the words RESEARCH LAB written beneath it, that’s what Mokuba told him to look for last. He confidently led his friends that way, and it didn’t take them very long to reach the large steel doors.
“ Mokuba !!” Yuugi yelled, pounding on the door only to immediately pull his fist back with an ouch! There were no handles on it, just a security lock that seemed to be a retina scan. They couldn’t get in with that.
“Move over, Yuugi-kun,” Jonouchi said and rolled up his sleeve, as if he were going to punch the solid steel. Yuugi reached to stop him. Instead he kicked it, making a loud clang and surely alerting someone inside that they had some guests. Everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What? Did you think I was gonna punch it? I’m not that stupid!”
Yuugi opted to ignore him, instead pressing his palms and ear against the door when a few moments passed and no one had come to open it. He could only hear the mechanical whirrs the circuitry inside of it was making, so it must be soundproof. Damn. Flustered and frustrated, Yuugi whipped out his phone, intent on calling Mokuba back.
"Guys…" Ryou spoke up, his voice shaking. Yuugi didn't hear him as he opened the keypad, only having time to see that there was no signal before something exploded , shaking the whole building and sending the previously sealed-tight doors flying. Jonouchi, Honda, and Otogi all dove on top of the group, shielding them from the rush of air pressure. Beneath the ringing in Yuugi’s ears, Anzu was screaming, and Jonouchi was swearing on top of where he was crushing Yuugi to the hard floor.
As soon as Yuugi felt his hair stop blowing, he forced Jonouchi off of him. He grabbed Anzu’s hand and pulled her out, too, steadying her as she coughed. They were all covered in a thin layer of white debris dust, as parts of the ceiling had fallen from the force of the quake, but otherwise unharmed. Yuugi rubbed some off his cheek, then, with a determined expression, stepped through the doorway.
Saying the scene inside was chaotic would be… an understatement. Medics were everywhere, and some scientists were trapped beneath machinery and other debris they weren’t quick enough to get away from. Alarms were blaring, and red lights flashed so much that it hurt his eyes. Yuugi turned to his side to see Jonouchi, and without words, they both nodded to one another. It was time to do some rescuing. Jonouchi and Honda split off into a pair to move some of the heavier stuff, while Ryou and Otogi went to assist those who were free of the rubble but still too injured to walk or crawl. Anzu stayed by Yuugi’s side, and he grabbed her hand again just so he wouldn’t lose her in the mob of people. His priority was finding Mokuba- the boy was young and small, Yuugi didn’t want to think of what injury he’d sustain if he got hit by something too.
“Mokuba!!” He cried, cupping a hand around his mouth. Anzu did the same.
“ Yuugi !” A voice distantly answered on his third shout. It sounded to be coming from the very center of the room, which was the most destroyed, so the explosion must have occurred there. That meant Mokuba was stuck in ground zero, and Yuugi shuddered. Anzu held a hand to her mouth.
“Anzu,” Yuugi grabbed his best friend by the shoulders, looking her dead in the eyes. She was shocked at the resolute confidence there, something she’d only seen in… “Stay here. It’s dangerous to be that close to the center, and you already aren’t wearing shoes.”
“Are you sure?” She fretted, grabbing one of his wrists when he went to leave her. “What if something happens? You would be in danger, too.”
“I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with death,” he sighed, remembering the countless Shadow Games that almost claimed his life. “Plus, I’ve got someone on the other side looking out for me already, don’t I?”
“Yuugi…” She frowned, but let go of his wrist.
“Thank you.”
The journey to the center was rough. He had to climb over plenty of piles of debris and sharp metal, scratching up his hands and legs, but he didn’t care. The shouts of what people were saying were also less muddled here, and he strained to hear all of them.
“Call an ambulance!”
“Get him out of there, break it open! Don’t worry about expenses!”
“Young Master Mokuba, what are your orders?!”
If Mokuba was alright enough to be giving orders, that eased the weight on Yuugi’s shoulders exponentially. He climbed over ceiling rubble and lept blindly over fallen structures, not knowing where he would land and if it would be stable enough to hold his weight. Sometimes he rocked dangerously, other times his feet were firmly on the ground. Overall, he was clumsy, and not as aware of his surroundings as he should be. On a section of the floor that had come loose and been pushed upwards, he misjudged just how far off the ground he was. He tried to slide down the steep angle, then realized far too late that he was several feet up, and that landing was going to hurt .
He did his very best to roll when he made contact with solid ground instead of trying to land on his feet, because that would just shatter his legs, but the impact was still harsh and he felt his skull take a pretty large portion of the force as it whacked off the floor. That… was not good, but he was still conscious, so he was fine for now. There were other things to worry about, like... “Mokuba!!”
“Yuugi!” The younger Kaiba’s voice was much closer now, and Yuugi dizzily stood up. The room intermittently flashing red aggravated his vertigo, and he struggled to stay upright. He weakly yelled for the child again, and seconds later, he felt small hands steadying him. He smiled. “Oh my god, what happened? Did you get hit by something? Are you okay?”
“I-I’m good,” Yuugi stuttered, despite the blood starting to run down the side of his face. His out-of-focus eyes created three Mokuba’s in front of him, all staring with eyes as wide as saucers. “Where’s… Where’s your brother?”
Mokuba grimaced, then pointed to their left. A large, futuristic pod was lying half-buried in the floor in the center of the room, with medics and other KaibaCorp employees surrounding it. The glass on top was shattered, and they were dragging something… no, someone out of the hole. Yuugi’s heart dropped out of his very body, and without thinking his legs started moving. Mokuba protested as Yuugi forced the other’s hands to let go of his shirt, but he didn’t care.
He pushed and shoved his way through the people, who, upon seeing his signature wild hair, parted as much as they could. They sensed something was going on, even if they didn’t entirely know what . His gait was wobbly and he almost fell over several times, but he couldn’t stop. A stretcher was already waiting by the pod’s side, so Yuugi made his way to that, and watched as the limp, nearly lifeless body of his rival was lowered down onto it. All the feeling left his limbs. His heart felt like it had stopped beating. He couldn’t look away as the medics strapped Kaiba in and ran off with him as soon as they knew he wouldn’t fall. He only got one close look at Kaiba, while they were securing an oxygen mask to his pale face. Boney, exhausted, and battered, he looked like he’d gone to hell and back.
Yuugi was very, very dizzy all of a sudden, and he reached for his head. His hand came away covered in blood, and it was also shaking. With a delirious grin, he wondered what Atem would do if he saw Yuugi like this- no doubt he’d be freaking out, asking if Yuugi was okay, offering to take over so Yuugi wouldn’t have to feel the pain. “Sorry,” He apologized softly, just in case his friend was watching right now, and then promptly collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll. His world turned black.