Vulsor's luck held out… to a point; she wasn't bitten, but she was arrested, along with Travencore and the rest of her henchmen. There were, of course, a great number of innocent workers who hadn't known a thing as to what had been going on. They were being questioned as Yugi and the others followed the Kaiba brothers back to Vulsor's office. Seto had been searching for Vulsor's cell phone, which he had cast aside during the fight. He finally found it, the only thing on it being a new, taunting message from Gozaburo.

"This is only round one, 'Son,' so don't build up that confidence of yours any more; that's the last thing you need. I'll take my leave of this network, but don't worry; I have plans for a 'family reunion' very soon."

With a growl of frustration, Seto threw the phone at the wall.

"That coward knows he can't defeat me, so he lurks in the digital shadows pulling stunts like this!" he snarled.

"Well, does this makes things any better?" asked Mokuba, pointing to the filing cabinet that he had just opened. The remaining boxes of their missing computer chips were all inside.

"Well, I suppose we could pretend that the last few days never happened," said Seto, obviously pleased at retrieving them. He saw no reason to dwell on Vulsor or the mysterious voices, whoever they were. "A few all-nighters should put Kaiba Corporation back on schedule."

"Of course he'd want to forget this entire fiasco… not that I blame him," Téa thought. But she was slightly disappointed that her show of care and concern had apparently meant nothing to him.

After realizing that it was nearly two in the morning, the group decided to leave, each of them helping to carry some of the chips to Seto's limo. Mai offered to take anyone who needed it a ride to the Kame Game Store. Joey declined, deciding that he best head home, as his father would probably be asleep and would therefore not be able to ask him about arriving so late. Tristan and Bakura also declined, since it was out of their way, but Duke, who was heading for his game shop across the street, along with Yugi and Téa (who knew that her parents would still be there, worried sick) all agreed. And for some reason, Delphi decided to tag along with Téa.

Mai said her goodbyes at the door and drove off, and Duke also decided that the Gardners might prefer to be left alone. But as Yugi and Téa entered the shop, they were both stunned to see Madame Mystíca consoling the Gardners and Solomon. Delphi chattered happily and returned to her shoulder.

"Téa!" gasped Mrs. Gardner, hugging her. "Téa, where have you been!? What on earth happened!?"

"Why didn't you call us!?" asked Mr. Gardner, slightly annoyed as well as relieved.

"Oh, don't be so harsh with the poor girl," said Mystíca, as Yugi greeted his grandfather. "She has had a trying day, is that not so?"

"Thank you," Téa whispered, referring to the anti-venom. Mystíca replied her with a knowing smile.

"Téa, are you sure you're alright?" asked Mrs. Gardner, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Goodness knows how much I've worried…"

"I just got a little lost in the cellars, but I'm fine now, Mom," Téa promised. "I would've called, but my cell phone broke."

"Another broken phone…?" Mr. Gardner asked, slightly exasperated, recalling how she had somehow broken her phone back when she had been at the Battle City tournament years ago. But he cast the thought aside; his daughter was back, and that was all he really cared about. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Break all the phones you like, as long as you're alright."

Téa smiled, grateful to have both of her parents to understand her and to ensure that she would be alright. And that made her think of Seto Kaiba; he alone took on all responsibilities for himself, his company, and his brother. But who was there for him when he needed someone?

"Maybe that's why he keeps up that aloof façade," she thought to herself. "He doesn't have anyone, so he makes it clear that he doesn't need anyone…"

Mrs. Gardner was now thanking Yugi.

"Really, it's OK," said Yugi, somewhat sheepishly. "It's wasn't just me; I just helped out a little bit. The real credit goes to…" He trailed off; he wasn't sure if mentioning that Téa's life had needed saving was a good idea, let alone that the famously cold and aloof Seto Kaiba had been the one to save her.

"Well it doesn't matter," said Mrs. Gardner, giving him a hug. "Thanks for being such a good friend to our daughter."

"Téa, it's getting late; you need to go home and sleep, young lady," said Mr. Gardner, as he realized the time. "Can you wait outside the shop until your mother and I bring the car around?"

"Sure," she said, and said her goodbyes to Yugi and Solomon as her parents went to get the family car.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Téa," said Yugi. "I felt so terrible when I knew that you were in trouble, but couldn't do a thing to help you. If only Atem had been here, we probably would've gotten you out--"

"Yugi, when you were talking to Vulsor, you had no idea how much you seemed like Atem," she said, giving her best friend a hug as well. "It's obvious that he's taught you much, Yugi."

Yugi nodded; yes, Atem had taught him plenty of lessons during his stay, and he knew that those were lessons that he would carry with him for a long time… and then some.

"Well, I'd better go; I don't want to keep them waiting," she said. "See you soon!"

She stepped outside into the night air. A car was waiting for her, but she was astounded to see that it was a limousine.

"Kaiba?" she asked, incredulously.

As if to confirm her query, Seto himself got out of the limo and walked over to her.

"I thought you left already…" she said.

"Yes, but I neglected to mention that your dance student did eventually find her way home," he said, clearly not used to this sort of conversation. "And I suppose that it also dawned on me that I should thank you for all of your help, even though I didn't ask for it."

"Of course you didn't ask for it," she said, relieved that Sara was alright. "Friends don't have to ask for help; it's given that they'll receive it. Just like how you helped me, too."

Seto eyebrows arched slightly.

"And you helped me again, when Vulsor threatened me that second time in her office… even though you said you wouldn't grant me any more favors," she recalled. "So why did you help?"

"I can't be expected to honor every word I say," he said, with a casual shrug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return."

"Take care," said Téa, noticing her parents' car pulling up out of the corner of her eye. Seto replied with a curt nod and returned to his limo as she got into the car.

"Who was that, Téa?" asked Mrs. Gardner. "Is he another friend of yours?"

"Well…" she began, but then she recalled how he had saved her, and the vigil she had held until the moment he had revived. And then she thought of the conversation that they had just had, moments ago.

"Téa?" asked Mrs. Gardner.

"Yes, Mom," the dancer said, at last. "He's another friend."

Author's note: Wow, it's finally finished! Writing this story has been a wonderful experience, and I do have ideas for more. A big thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and an extra-special thanks to LuckyLadybug, who more than helped to inspire this story; I dedicate the completed story to her. And I must credit my zoology/histology professor for the info on the funnel web spiders and for giving me the idea to use spiders in a story in the first place.