Epilogue

Without further ado, I present to you, my fellow readers, the final chapter to the conclusion of this epic saga. Enjoy the read!

Sunday. January 1, 2017. New Years Day. It had been a week since Neo Domino City was saved by its mysterious protector, the Batman. The extraordinary sacrifice made by the city's hero was not lost on citizens and by large, the rest of the world. Hence explains why that past week was full of reconstruction done by the people, for the people. Mourning sessions were also regularly sanctioned throughout the seven days, especially on this (inter)national holiday. And even though the tainted legacy of the late District Attorney, Marik Ishtar, had already been revealed in prior months, recaptured criminals still found themselves in the reinforced Detention Center. This was to honor the dark knight's other sacrifice that he made nearly a decade ago. As such, the city was able to rebuild itself anew without the threat of crime-ridden streets. The utopia was now one in name and in deed.

In the morning that day, in the expansive backyard of the Kaiba Mansion behind the courtyard, a small, private funeral was held for the late Seto Kaiba. To the world at large, the playboy billionaire was killed during the terrorist occupation of Neo Domino. This was the established cover story made by the people closest to him to hide the fact that he and Batman were one and the same. Because Seto's body was never found, his family skipped many of the ceremony's more mundane requirements.

Those attending the funeral were Seto's closest friends, his remaining family, and people that learned/knew his secret. The guests had included: Mokuba Kaiba, Hobson Daimon, Roland Nezbitt, Yugi Mutou and his family (Yusei, Rebecca, and Rebecca II) and Shuzo Otaki (Adrian Rudolph Crump III in the English dub). All had worn mostly black and dark clothing and adhered to other rites as per Japanese funeral tradition.

The commissioner was in the midst of finishing his eulogy.

"[I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life: peaceful, useful, prosperous, and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done. It is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.]"

Mutou promptly folded and crossed his hands beneath his waist, as he closed the book, A Tale of Two Cities, from which he paraphrased aloud the final words, for the end of his eulogy.

At the end of the funeral, each attendant took his or her turn to place some flowers on the ground before the obelisk gravestone of Seto Kaiba. The type of flowers offered by each guest reflected his or her tormented feelings regarding the deceased. Mokuba, Hobson, Roland, and Yugi placed white chrysanthemums (which symbolize death, grief, and lamentation). Mutou's family all set down white lilies (for purity, death, and innocence). Shuzo, the man who feigned amnesia over knowing Batman's identity after Kaiba rescued his life, offered a white lotus flower (representing enlightenment, spiritual perfection and mental purity).

With this final act of respect, the funeral was officially complete. Mutou and his family, Otaki, and Nezbitt each bowed to Mokuba and Hobson before taking their leave. Mokuba left his surrogate father alone so that he could have a private moment with the deceased. The younger Kaiba brother decided to see the guests out.

Once Daimon found himself alone, he let out his grief and sorrow over his precious treasure. The fresh gravestone was marked:

Kaiba Seto

Born: October 25, 1979. Died: December 25, 2016.

Master of his own fate.

The elderly manservant was heavily sobbing, as he spoke to his dead son. "Makoto ni moushiwake gozaimasen (I deeply apologize), Seto-sama! I've failed you! You... were as precious to me as you were to your own okasama and otosama (mother and father), and I swore to them that I would protect you. Yet, I failed you!"

And Hobson wept on.

Meanwhile, at the palatial estate's front yard, Mokuba exchanged farewells to each of the departing guests. Before the police commissioner and his family vacated the estate by car, Yugi questioned to the raven-haired Kaiba, "Well, Mokuba-kun? I don't suppose that I may convince you to stay with the police force?"

Mutou offered his free, right hand to the younger Kaiba, despite knowing the inevitable response.

The ex-police detective shook his head 'no,' as his senior withdrew the gesture. He then replied, "I remember that day when the truth about Ishtar Marik was revealed. I've had a lot of time thinking about what you told me. About the structures. How truth and justice can't work together and wound up as shackles. Well, Commissioner, you were right. And I cannot take being limited by the law anymore."

Mokuba promptly glanced at the morning sun, as a tear started welling up in his left eye. "Especially when... the world at large doesn't know the man who saved an entire city."

"Don't worry, because they know, son." lightly retorted Yugi Mutou, as the young man regained his attention. "It was the Batman. Sayonara (Goodbye) and take care."

With that, the commissioner and his family finally departed from the Kaiba Mansion and headed to City Hall.

'Sayonara and take care, too.' whispered Mokuba.

Around approximately noon that same day in Neo Domino's City Hall, Yugi Mutou and his family attended the city's public funeral to its dead hero. Even though the family had already paid their respects to the man behind the bat earlier, they felt compelled to join this veneration; they were dying on the inside, given that their grief is much greater compared to most of the other attendants. Fortunately, the service was ending soon.

The acting mayor announced, "We gather here today, in remembrance of an extraordinary man, who, at great personal cost to himself, has saved this city one final time, one week ago, on Christmas day, no less! Had it not been for his brave sacrifice, we would not be here right now. And so, without further ado, I present to you, the people of Neo Domino, this tribute to our hero, our dark knight!"

True to his word, the man pulled down a blue tarp covering off said tribute. The tribute in question was a larger-than-life, twelve-feet tall, black obsidian stone statue of the Batman, assuming a vigilant pose, with the cape covering his body. Camera flashes and applause followed this unveiling. Mutou and his family joined the celebratory gestures, although the commissioner did so very slowly, as he too stricken with grief.

The following day in KaibaCorp Tower's boardroom, the last will and testament of the late Seto Kaiba was in commencement. The billionaire's testator was none other than Shuzo Otaki, who attended the deceased's funeral yesterday. During the start of the reading, Mokuba Kaiba entered the room and joined the others listed in the statement.

Otaki declared, "The will of my late client, Kaiba Seto, was not amended to reflect his more modest estate when he was bankrupted. However, given the rise of certain evidence that proved fraudulent futures trading that took place during the terrorist group's raid in the city's stock market, as well as Kujaku Mai's sudden disappearance, this can be disregarded. [Ownership of the mansion and my company's shares are to transfer to my old friend, Daimon Hobson, and to my brother, Kaiba..."

Mokuba found himself not surprised by his late brother. Of course, he was going to inherit the mansion and Seto's company shares, alongside Hobson.

"...who will keep one copy of my four Duel Monster cards, Blue-Eyes White Dragon." continued the personality-matured lawyer, "While other three copies will be sold off and the resulting profit is to be used for only one purpose in the Thomas and Martha Kaiba Foundation: for the housing and care for the city's Youths At Risk orphaned children.]"

That revelation took the younger Kaiba brother by surprise, as he almost fell out of his seat. A smile formed on Mokuba's boyish face when he regained himself. The profit for each sold card alone would be worth several billion yen (A/N: millions of U.S. dollars).

Shuzo Otaki then informed the people in the room, "And that is all. My clerk beside me can help any of the correspondents here mentioned in the will with further instructions and other possessions to be bequeathed."

The raven-haired Kaiba was the last person on the list to receive his bequeathed items. Shizuka Kawai, the clerk (also secretary to KaibaCorp CEO Roland Nezbitt), asked him, as she didn't know what the other Kaiba looked like. "Name, please?"

"Kaiba Mokuba." replied the young man.

Shizuka looked at the list, and was struck with realization. "Oh, I see!" The fair-skinned, auburn-haired young woman handed the billionaire a duffel bag. "You should use your full legal name, sir. I like it, Kaiba Robin-Mokuba."

"Domo arigato (Thank you very much)." sheepishly appreciated the boyish-looking Kaiba, wondering about the bag's contents. He politely bowed to Otaki and Kawai before he left.

From what Robin-Mokuba Kaiba was told by Hobson years ago, his American grandmother on his father's side was also a Robin. Therefore, in her memory, he too, had Robin as part of his first given name. Of course, he opted for just Mokuba, considering that Robin is usually, but not always, a feminine name. Then again, he did take after his Japanese mother's looks...

When Robin withdrew from the boardroom, the lawyer went over to the clerk. He inquired, "Any news on the missing item, ojou-san (young lady)?"

"Nothing yet, sir." answered Shizuka, still examining her notes.

Shuzo, retreated away as he remarked, "We'll leave no stone unturned, then. For the string of Kaiba Martha's pearls on the manifests is lost..."

That same day, in the sub-basement underneath KaibaCorp Tower, Applied Sciences...

Nezbitt and his top intern, Yusei, found themselves engaged in a discussion about The Bat's supposed auto piloting flaw. The son of Police Commissioner Yugi Mutou had been interning at the company for the past two years; hence, the reason the teen genius had access to the equipment to build his own D-Wheel for riding duels.

"Sir, I do not understand why you are concerned with this machine's stabilization software." maintained Yusei, scratching his spiky hair in the opened cockpit of The Bat's duplicate. "The autopilot system is virtually obsolete."

The aging tech wizard asserted, "Please, Yusei-kun. I just need to know what I could have possibly done to fix the issue." In truth, the Batman's armorer felt guilty, because had he worked out the problem, Seto Kaiba wouldn't had to manually send himself on that suicidal sacrifice.

The young man's retort, however, astonished the omni disciplinary scientist. "But, Nezbitt-sama... the autopilot feature has already been resolved. Software patch was established six months ago."

Roland Nezbitt approached the teen prodigy and inquired, "Check the ID on that patch, will you, Yusei-kun?"

"Sure thing, Nezbitt-sama." Yusei Mutou promptly checked the internalized computer of The Bat, who then had a startled reaction. "It's... Kaiba Seto."

Both the senior and junior pair of geniuses stared at each other upon this revelation and the implication it brings for them...

During the evening later that day, Police Commissioner Yugi Mutou stood alone atop of Neo Domino's Police Major Crimes building. The veteran cop was busy sifting through his notes, always preparing himself for the war on crime. That was until something immediately caught his attention. What?

Mutou approached the familiar floodlight that used to illuminate the night skies ten years ago, the bat-signal. However, this one was noticeably different than the one before. As Yugi inspected the device in question, he lightly swept his right hand across the perfectly restored, or perhaps new, bat-shaped insignia.

Yugi Mutou smiled, as he looked around himself and to the evening sky, curious as to exactly whom was responsible for this token of appreciation.

Saturday morning. March 11, 2017. In the ninth arrondissement of Paris, France, Hobson Daimon, loyal butler to the Kaiba family, found himself in the Café de la Paix. Legend has it that the famous cafe is known for reuniting old friends together due to its popularity.

Hobson was on his annual vacation here, on the very same day that his master, Seto-sama first left Domino and was gone for seven years. The elderly manservant was fully aware of the cafe's reputation, but did not allow himself the pleasure to enjoy such a luxury.

A male waiter greeted Daimon and showed him to his seat. The gentleman's gentleman promptly took his assigned seating arrangement. Soon after he began reading a French newspaper, his waiter returned, offered and set down a glass of water on the table. Hobson thanked the steward, "Merci."

"Il n'y a pas de quoi (You're welcome)," replied the man, retreating. The elderly servant proceeded to drink a sip from his glass.

As soon as Hobson put down the glass, however, his contact lenses-covered eyes welcomed a pleasant sight a few tables away. The aged family butler nodded in the direction of someone across from his person.

That certain someone was none other than Seto Kaiba himself, alive and well, who returned the nod to his old friend. The retired Batman had faked his own death, having ejected from The Bat after setting it on autopilot; the deed was done right before the aerial machine left the coastline.

But what made Hobson further proud was that Seto wasn't alone at his table. No, the man was accompanied by two lovely young women: one with long bluish-white hair, the other with curvy blonde locks. They were of course, Kisara Shiroi (seen wearing a familiar string of white pearls) and Mai Kujaku, the latter of which preferred Talia Head as her new name. The amiable trio were seen talking, laughing, and eating together during their meal. Hobson Daimon promptly left his seat to join their table.

Monday afternoon. January 2, 2017. Neo Domino, Japan.

In his car outside his family's company, Robin-Mokuba Kaiba had opened the bag in which his older brother bequeathed to him in the will. The contents puzzled the young man. They were a pair of specific coordinates listed on a piece of paper (with instructions), a GPS gadget, a powerful hand-held lantern, and some climbing and spelunking gear...

He drove his vehicle to within the area of the designated location. A secluded forest somewhere on the grounds of his palatial estate. Robin parked and exited the car with the bag in tow, and headed to the exact spot.

It was a waterfall. A waterfall situated not that far behind and beneath the Kaiba Mansion's foundations. Mokuba opened the bag and prepared himself...

Within five minutes, the young man swung himself from the gap between the cliff and the waterfall. He burst through the cascade and safely landed himself atop of a shallow bed of rocks and an overflowing stream of water. The raven-haired Kaiba was now "baptized" (although he would use the word, drenched, or soaked in water) by his thrilling entrance of the cavern underneath his family's home... Mokuba stood up and observed his surroundings, fascinated by what he sees. It was all too familiar. Wait a minute...

Robin gathered up his courage and proceeded further into the cavern in which he himself had set foot in once before. He picked up his hand-sized lantern and illuminated the subterranean lair of his "late" brother. The powerful light, however, attracted the attention of the cavern's colony of bats, which then flew in Mokuba's direction. He was momentarily startled by the bats' abrupt "greeting."

Like his brother before him, Robin-Mokuba eventually gathered the courage to embrace the dark, yet misunderstood creatures flying around his person. After the swarm ended, he immediately approached the elevator up ahead, which was across this overflowing body of water. As the younger Kaiba began walking, he found himself rising above the underground pond! What the?!

Fortunately, it wasn't long until the metal platforms stopped their automated elevation. What stood before Robin inside a raised plexiglass cage, however, had sent an awe-inspiring chill down his spine.

It was a sleek, dark suit of armor, tailored to fit his size. It was similar to his brother's own costume, yet noticeably different at the same time. The suit in question was mostly black in color scheme, but had a modestly large, dark blue bat symbol etched on the flexible (and durable) chest plates. The bladed gauntlets were virtually the same, although they appeared to double as additional utility pouches which contained a small arsenal in each. Last but not least, the cape and cowl remained the same.

Around the suit's neck was a duel monster's card locket. Mokuba took off said pendant and flicked open the locket, which contained a folded letter. He read:

"[To my dear little brother, Kaiba Robin-Mokuba,

I trust that you've found your way into my little secret home away from home since you're reading this. Do not worry, I am very much alive and well. And I do not mean in your heart, either. Hopefully, you understand my reasons for leaving you with the task I entrust to you now. I am sure Hobson will also come to reason as well. I am proud of you, little brother. I am sure that you will make me proud as well. Do not take this life lightly, for it comes at a price, as you will soon realize. But I am sure you will temper the balance. After all, you were always better than me in that skill.

From your loving brother, Kaiba Seto.]"

Robin-Mokuba Kaiba folded the letter back into the locket and beheld the incredible suit once again. He stifled a tear, then recomposed himself. He had a lot of work ahead of him, all things considered. For he now took up his brother's mantle of Batman. And so the adventure continues, as a new dark knight rises.

Never The End

Thank you for reading and to those who reviewed. Constructive comments will also be appreciated.

kilnorc: Well, if you thought the ending of the penultimate chapter was full of epic-sauce, I'm sure that since you've read Epilogue, this tops it.

Autistic-Grizzly: Sometimes, one word is all someone can convey after experiencing greatness. And yes, I agree that Bane is a monster.

Dracula X: My reason for drastically changing Talia was because she was far too unsympathetic in Nolan's interpretation. Also, I needed a way to further distinguish my take on the character, and the rest is history. I'm pleased that you liked how I changed Bane's death, because like the people you know, I too, was dissatisfied on the way he was killed (however, justifiable, considering that in the words from TVtropes, he was pretty much nigh-unstoppable until that point).