This always happened when Motou's gang showed-up.

Striding out onto the top deck of his corporation, duel attire on, disc ready, deck loaded, his eyes immediately locked onto the unconscious body of his brother. Judging by the way he was breathing evenly and his face was calm, he just seemed to be knocked-out, but that didn't mean that Kaiba was going to let Ryou go any easier. He just had to stall the kid long-enough for security to show-up and arrest him, hopefully the kid was good-enough to last more than two turns against him.

He was a finalist in his own tournament, so he must have some skill, but then so was Katsuya, so who knew anymore.

"I've been waiting for you." Bakura said, a smile on his lips as a dark, thick purple mist began to rise from around his ankles. Kaiba's lip curled while Bakura started licking his own, looking for all the world like the sick freak Kaiba knew he was.

This was supposed to be a normal evening. Kaiba, working on tweaking whatever kind of issues the holograms had in the finals of Battle City, the things that launched him back in time (no, showed him Egyptian nonsense with all of that crap that the Ishtars and Motou's gang started spewing) and making sure that never happened-again. But, of course, the power cut-out, making him lose all of his progress, and then that Ryou kid in his class, the one who always seemed to have fits in the middle of school, suddenly showed up on his screen with his brother in his hands, demanding that Kaiba have a duel with him in order to get his brother back.

Well, if it was a duel he wanted, then it was a duel he was going to get.

"Too much like those visions I've know you've been having, since the last duel you've had with the Pharaoh, Kaiba? Don't look so shocked, you used to play this game three-thousand years ago." Bakura said, that mad grin on his face that made Kaiba scoff.

"A three-thousand-year-old game? Don't even bother—I look to the future. If you want such meaningless trash, go find Yuugi." His face twitched with the mention of those visions, though. The ones that would strike Kaiba at three in the morning when he was exhausted from sleep, showing him random snapshots of some kind of life he'd never lead. They were only sleep-exhaustion, he knew that. Nothing like this crap. Definitely not like some lunatic from his class who attacked his kid brother.

"That's exactly right." Bakura said, placing his hand on his hip with a smile. "Yuugi used to play these games too." He drew, and then flipped his hand over. "I begin with Polymerization, fusing my Headless Knight with my Earl of Demise to create my Duke of Demise." The shadows, thick and creeping at Bakura's ankles, suddenly seemed to shiver with excitement, shining in an odd way that completely lacked light altogether as they lapped eagerly at his knees, and then they curled like black snakes up his arms until they lunged from the darkness of his trench coat to coalesce. From them, a rotting corpse emerged from the swirling darkness staggering forward with an open jaw and rolling eyes that turned to focus on Kaiba.

It looked like Solid Vision enough, Kaiba thought, but the way that it formed seemed to be something like...it was real. It was nonsense, and he immediately banished the thought from his mind, but the way that the rotting flesh oozed from his muscles and stuck to the ground seemed far too real to be a hologram.

Tearing his eyes away from the zombie, Kaiba shook his head and drew his card, a smirk on his lips. "It'll take more than a rotting carcass with a sword to scare me. I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode. Then I play my magic card Shrink to cut your zombie's attack in half. Now, attack!"

When he'd played his cards, he'd been certain that everything he'd seen previously was a trick. They'd appeared in bursts of solid light just as he'd thought, flickering into existence with the holograms he'd given them. But, when Vorse Raider attacked, it's holographic sword seemed to get stuck in the rotting corpse, and the beast grunted with effort as its muscles struggled to push through. Eventually, it managed to cut the entire thing in two, and the top of the corpse tumbled to the ground, dissolving into black goo.

Immediately, however, it reformed, black muscles and sinew forming together. "Hmph, nice try, but you have to do more than that to destroy me. I pay five-hundred life points to activate my Duke's effect, then I sacrifice him to summon Diabound Colonel!"

Immediately, the corpse promptly exploded, sending a black mass of organs and bones everywhere. Kaiba raised his arm as if to shield his face from the disgusting mess, but he was instead surprised to find Vorse Raider shielding him instead, the warrior hissing as its body was promptly coated with the corpse's remains. From the Duke's body emerged a being that resembled a naga, with the upper body of a man and the tail of a snake, and wings that spread as its gaze promptly locked onto Seto's.

The Kaa of the King of Thieves.

The thought burst into his head completely without warning, and Kaiba pressed his palm to his forehead, eyes widening with surprise. He could feel that tingling in the back of his head, and he knew that he was going to start going into a fit, but he couldn't, not now! He still had to keep Bakura dueling so that security would get here in time, he had to protect—protect the pharaoh

—no, Mokuba!

"Having some déjà vu?" Bakura taunted, a wider smile on his lips. "That's only natural. I play Spirit Illusion, so I can duplicate my Diabound!"

"So, now you have two useless monsters." Seto sneered, voice rough as he struggled back to his full height.

"We'll see. I activate my Diabound's special ability, reducing Vorse Raider's attack by my doppelganger's! Now, attack, Diabound!"

Vorse Raider turned to it's master, and for a second Kaiba almost saw something like an apology on its face, though it was impossible—it was only a hologram. Diabound surged forward and attacked, wrapping its pale tail around the warrior's body, and squeezing it slowly, strangling it until its lifeless body dropped to the floor, and Vorse Raider melted from its body into the same ooze that Duke of Demise became when it died.

When it was destroyed.

"Now, I play a face-down card and I end my turn."

Seto's lips pressed into a thin line. Maybe he should play this a little slower, but he decided that he still wasn't going to lose.

"I summon Lord of Dragons. As long as he is on the field, any dragons I play are safe from magic or trap cards. Then I play Flute of Summoning Dragon. I could play two dragons with this, but I only need one—my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

The entire roof seemed to shake underneath the weight of his statement, and through the thick darkness that had surrounded them when the mists of purple and black had shrouded both players, a column of light pierced them, shining up from Kaiba's side of the field. There was a thick pressure in the air, and he could hear the holographic projectors going into complete overdrive, wheezing while they turned, gears clicking to set their light as bright as possible. The pressure and light intensified, growing heavier and brighter, and he could feel the wings of the dragon beating before it emerged from the light, roaring triumphantly as it descended down from the sky, mightier than any god that he had ever seen—mightier even than the Egyptian God that he had held.

The dragon seemed to give off its own light in the glittering scales, pearlescent through the choking dark, and Kaiba could feel his heart thrumming with pride, beaming as the dragon wrapped its protective tail around his legs, wings spreading wide-enough to completely wrap the field if it really wanted.

But, when he turned his gaze back to Bakura, he found that the insane brat was grinning too.

"Kisara, how nice to see you again."

That was when Kaiba's brain split-open.

His head was suddenly filled with images of her, the girl with the white hair and the blue eyes that he had seen when he dueled Isis, the one he saw before the stone tablet with the Blue Eyes White Dragon in it. A million snapshots of her, snapshots of her smile, her body, her blood, her with the dragon above her—

And he was brought to one knee from the pain in his head and the onslaught of visions, with Bakura still grinning even as he felt the dragon's tail wrap even tighter around him, her wings looking like she was trying to protect him from the world.

"Are you feeling alright, Kaiba?" Bakura taunted.

"Never felt better." Kaiba spit back, taking a quick glance to where Mokuba lay. Just a little longer. "Blue Eyes, attack!"

"Not so fast, I activate my trap card, Spirit Shield, protecting me as long as I release one card from my grave yard! Now your attacks are useless."

"Not for much longer." Kaiba snarled back, playing a trap card and ending his turn.

"We'll see. I play Pot of Greed, and draw two cards. Now I play Grief Tablet, sealing one of your monsters. You'll take five-hundred points of damage when you free it." Bakura grins, and Kaiba watched as his monster was drawn back into the tablet—his Kaa was sealed—imprisoning it in stone.

These intrusive thoughts were really, really starting to piss him off.

"Now, my doppelganger cuts your Blue Eyes White Dragon's attack, so Diabound can attack!" Bakura laughed.

"Not so fast. I play Attack Guidance Armor, redirecting it to my Lord of Dragons!" Kaiba snapped, and as his monster was destroyed, he flinched when the damage was taken.

Bakura seemed disappointed, though, and glared while he set down two more cards.

Nobody will get away with hurting Mokuba while he's around.

"I play Card of Demise, and I draw five cards."

"Did you forget? Your attacks are useless."

"Not for long. I play Soul Release, so your Spirit Shield is no more." Kaiba replied with a smirk. "Now, I play Silent Doom, so I resurrect my Vorse Raider, then sacrifice him so I can bring forth my Blue Eyes with full power!"

And again, when she was reborn, the light seemed even brighter than before, and Kaiba couldn't tell if it was his relief that he was going to win and send this lunatic to a mental ward where he belonged, or whether it was seeing her safe and strong again.

"Now, attack Diabound with full power!"

The dragon's mouth opened, and white light developed in its massive jaw, and when Burst Stream of Destruction shot from its gaping maw, the snake was burned to a crisp, dissolving into dust and sand and something about that—something about that was so satisfying that he couldn't help but grin.

Bakura recovered, wiping his face with a smile. "Good, but not good-enough. I play Mirror Tablet and Mirror Tablet. Rebirth Tablet brings Diabound back, and Mirror Tablet takes half of your dragon's attack. Now, attack Blue Eyes, Diabound!"

The snake obliged, and Kaiba had the immense urge to scream out for his dragon, but he only stood stoically by while Blue Eyes was destroyed. His eyes narrowed as his life points continued to drop, but he locked his jaw and continued.

"I play Monster Reborn. Blue Eyes rises again, and you're finished, Bakura!" Kaiba snapped. Just as his Blue Eyes was inches from being reborn, the sun suddenly broke through the horizon. For one moment, Kaiba thought it was only his Blue Eyes coming back, but then Bakura smirked.

"We're done here."

"What? You're leaving in the middle of a duel?" Security still hasn't come—where are they?

"Yes, but we'll finish it later. In the meantime—" Bakura reached back behind his jacket, and removed that tacky, golden stick that Malik carried-around during Battle City. He tossed it, and Kaiba caught it on reflex, staring down at the eye looking back at him.

"This is Malik's Millennium Rod." Kaiba said flatly. "Didn't he give it to Yuugi?"

"It's not the Pharaoh's, it's someone else's. Come to Egypt, and you'll see."

"I'm not interested. I have a company to run."

"Haven't you ever wondered why you're so close to your dragon?"

"She's the most powerful card in the game. Isn't it obvious?"

"Then why did you just call your dragon a girl?"

Seto paused. He hadn't noticed that. "Why does it matter?"

"Come to Egypt, and you'll see." The deranged student then turned, and simply leapt off the side of the building. Kaiba's eyes widened in shock, and he sprinted to the edge—

-only to see nothing but the city street below, leaving Kaiba, the Rod, and Blue Eyes, still engaged in attack mode and ready to duel.

Mokuba woke up only an hour later after Kaiba's all-nighter, and when asked by security (all of whom Kaiba threatened with their jobs if they didn't get the cameras and his panic button working again, solving the mystery of how Bakura got in and wasn't arrested) he said he didn't remember a thing.

He did, however, notice Kaiba's sudden new accessory and the rings around his eyes.

Kaiba answered with a curt summary of his night, which caused Mokuba to panic and call Yuugi, seemingly terrified that some new threat was going to arise, which Kaiba wasn't too surprised about, all things considered. However, all he got in turn was Yuugi's voice mail. When he called the Game Shop after that, he only got Mr. Motou explaining that his grandson was on his way to Cairo to visit the Ishtars, and that he was going to give Yuugi a lecture when he got home for not explaining things to Mokuba first.

Well, Kaiba thought that was a relief, since he could only handle so much insanity for one day. He had an entire night of progress to catch-up on, a new Duel Disc to design, and a tournament to plan to premier it. He didn't have time for this.

The entire morning, he simply stored the Millennium Rod in his drawer, keeping it locked shut. Occasionally, he would find his fingers pausing seemingly without his command, and himself staring down at the drawer where he knew it was.

It was a tacky piece of gold, and it probably wasn't even real. The stupid thing was licked multiple times by that psycho Malik, and who knew how many diseases the freak had on him? Not to mention the fact that the thing had a knife in it.

How did he know that?

Lip curling in distaste, he drew it open, and grabbed it, glaring down at the eye as if he could demand answers from it. Of course, it only stared silently back at him, and Kaiba was sure that the damn thing was mocking him for finally giving into Yuugi's delusions.

Then it started to glow.

Kaiba's eyes only narrowed. This was another trick of the light. The midday sun was behind him, of course it was going to glow. He put it down on his desk, but he kept his hand on it, and the glow only intensified, brighter and brighter, until it was completely blinding, swallowing everything in the room, and burning his retinas.

At least, that must have been what happened when he suddenly found himself weakened, his breath caught as his entire body went cold and pain ripped through him, and he tossed his head back as he cried-out in shock and terror. He was thrown like a ragdoll into the dark, into some kind of warping dimension, just like the kind that he had seen in Battle City with Yuugi, just like when the Gods had attacked each other, just like when he had seen—

A pillar of golden light descended from the sky, and he could see everything right in front of him, he could see the beautiful city, the sand around him, and he could see the crowds of people who cheered when a figure started to walk inside. He could see the pyramids, so many less than he remembered, and he could see the castle closer, closer, and he was coming up onto a person wearing blue and carrying the—

He stood there, in silence. Blinking. His hand twitching when his vision came back into focus. It took several minutes for the tears to clear from his eyes, and when they did, he saw a room that was completely covered in gold, he saw people who looked like they had just stepped out of a costume shop in Ancient Egyptian wear, and most of all, on the throne sitting three feet in front of him, wearing that same gaudy necklace and that same ridiculous hair, he saw—

"Kaiba" Yuugi asked him, eyes wide with shock.

"Yuugi?" He asked in reply.

A/N:

Canon Divergent Notes:

- Kaiba is sent back because his soul isn't split like Yuugi's and Ryou's. He's a whole soul, so he gets to be his past self.
- Yami Bakura stole the Rod because he's a thief, and he gave it to Seto since Seto doesn't know what he's doing in the past, thus giving him an advantage.
- Of course I gave Kaiba a reason to duel instead of just calling the police.