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I Know You're Out There Somewhere	By : Firewing Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3536 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7 House of Cards

A/N: The title of this chapter has nothing to do with Duel Monsters. This is where things start to get interesting�.
Disclaimer: All I own is an overactive imagination.
And a big thank you to all my reviewers!
��.
Joey left the White Tiger in a rage. He circled around the city park once trying to cool down before he went to the Turtle Game Shop to pick up Yugi. At least he didn�t have to worry about cutting his time with his friend short tomorrow since he no longer had a job to go to.
Yugi met him at the front of the shop, cheerful as always, though he had to stifle a yawn. Joey couldn�t help but grin. �Hey, I�m not keeping you from your beauty sleep now am I?� he teased.
� �Course not.� Yugi grabbed the extra helmet Jou held out to him and pulled it on. He quickly adjusted the straps of his backpack and got on the bike behind Joey.
When they arrived at the Sennen Elephant Apartments both boys failed to notice the blood red Mercedes parked down the side street as they entered the building. Joey led the way to his apartment and unlocked the door.
They had time to step across the threshold, register the familiar sounds of dishes being returned to their places in the cupboard and Jonathan Wheeler�s low singing voice before a sudden whoosh sucked the air out of their lungs. Everything went black as glass exploded outwards from the window frames. The apartment building trembled as if it were a house of cards caught in a gentle breeze and a roaring, deafening blast shut out all other sensations.
��.
Out on the dark street, Seto was sulking, lost in thought. Maybe it was better to leave well enough alone when it came to the mutt. He had really wanted to put the animosity between them aside tonight before the situation got any worse. It was a small step, but a crucial one.

KABOOM!

Kaiba looked at the apartment building in horror as glass flew in all directions and the doors to the entrance were blown out into the parking lot. Immediately hungry flames followed.
He found his cell phone deep in the pocket of his trench coat. He punched in 911 without looking, snapped the address and the nature of the emergency at the answering dispatcher, pocketed the phone and got out of his car in a few fluidly efficient movements.
The first floor of the building was almost entirely engulfed in flame. There was no way to enter from ground level. Kaiba reached for his cell phone again.
�Kaiba Corp.� A clipped voice responded.
�This is Kaiba. If you value your job will have two helicopters at 1700 Willow St. in under three minutes.� He disconnected before his employee could reply.
Kaiba moved in long graceful strides to the parking lot. If the fire weren�t contained quickly the parked cars would also catch fire creating the possibility of many smaller explosions to follow. With that in mind, Kaiba went to the emerald green Harley, held in the clutch and rolled it back to his Mercedes. When Joey got out of this at least he would still have his bike, small comfort though it might be. Rescue vehicles were starting to arrive on the scene accompanied by flashing lights and sirens. Curious bystanders and a news crew had already gathered at the scene. Kaiba had vainly hoped his presence here would go unnoticed. Regardless, he wasn�t leaving until his puppy was out of that inferno.

��..
�Dad!� Joey screamed. He had been knocked flat by the blast and had fallen on top of Yugi, squashing the smaller boy. Jou rolled and gathered his friend up.
�Joey, I�m okay. Is Yugi?� His dad asked as he came crawling out of the murky darkness toward the two boys.
�Yug?� Jou�s eyes were watering and stinging from smoke.
�Uh�what happened?� questioned the dazed boy.
�I�m not sure, but we gotta get out of here, okay?� Jou answered him and helped him to his feet.
A scream echoed through the darkness followed by confused and frightened voices overlapping each other.
�No! No!�

�I can�t see!�

�How are we going to get out?�

�This can�t be happening!�

�Was it a bomb?�

�Mama, I�m scared.�

�We can�t go down. The first floor is on fire!�
�Come on.� Jonathan said to the boys and made his way to the frantic voices.
A small boy clung to his mother�s nightgown, sucking his thumb and clutching a battered puppy plushie in the crook of his arm. The woman held an even younger girl sobbing in her arms. Jon scooped the little boy up and handed him to Joey. �We�ll go to the roof.� Jon said calmly. �There will be firefighters and paramedics here any minute. They�ll get us to safety.�
No one argued with the reassurance Jonathan Wheeler offered them. �Jou, I want you and Yugi to lead them out of here. I�m going to make sure no one gets left behind. I�ll be right behind you.� Jon squeezed his son�s shoulder gently.
��Okay�Dad, be careful.�
Jon smiled and nodded as he went to round everyone up, but Joey had a terrible gut feeling that he would never see his father again.
��
In his soul room, Yami was in a near panic. He felt and saw everything Yugi did; Yugi�s memories of being trapped in another fire unable to free the Millennium Puzzle increased his anxiety. Yugi ended up facing a mind controlled Bandit Keith alone, separated from his Yami. The old shed caught fire when Bandit Keith struggled against Marik�s power. Yugi�s terror at the possibility of losing Yami then reflected the pharaoh�s fears of losing his light now.
He was frustrated by his inability to act. During his entire existence, Yami had been trapped in one way or another. Trapped as the ruler of Egypt in life unable to do as he pleased and trapped in the Millennium Puzzle as a spirit without a means of interacting in the physical world on his own.
Many of his memories had been restored, but for some things one still had to rely on instinct. Yami�s instincts told him to get Yugi safely out of the building immediately. The danger was obvious, and yet Yami sensed it was greater than what those around him believed it to be. Yugi had to survive this Yami did not. He�d already been dead for five thousand years, but his hikari was young and had so much good to give the world. Yet Yami felt helpless, trapped in his stupid golden cage.
��..
Tristan and Tea sat on the steps in front of her house talking. They had gone to a burger joint earlier in the evening and then to a school dance. Tristan seldom hung out just with Tea. The last time had been on the cruise ship to Duelist Kingdom as stowaways. He was still heartbroken over Serenity. Yugi was keeping the game shop open until 9 p.m. and Joey was working at the restaurant. So he asked Tea if she wanted spend some time with him tonight. It had been her idea to go to the dance.
Tea was a good listener and she was definitely easier to talk to about Serenity than Joey was. It was kind of nice to get a girl�s perspective on the situation. He hadn�t expected to still on Tea�s porch steps at going on 1 a.m.
�Holy crap�!� Tristan exclaimed scaring poor Tea with the sudden outburst. �Sorry, Tea. I didn�t realize how late it was. I gotta go. My parents are gonna kill me!�
�Okay, Tristan. Hey, it is really late, isn�t it? I really enjoyed tonight. If you ever need to talk�� A thunderous explosion in the distance cut off her words. The two teens stared at each other wide-eyed.
�That sounded like it came from��
�Over where Joey lives.� Tea finished Tristan�s spoken thought.
�Come on, let�s check it out!� Tristan ran for his bike with Tea on his heels.
A few minutes later they came upon a scene neither would have imagined in their worst nightmares. Amid the chaos of flashing lights and blaring sirens, Joey�s apartment building was going up in flames.
�Joey!� Tristan screamed and started to and shoulders his way through the growing crowd.
�Where do you think you�re going?� Tristan was jerked around hard by a vice-like grip on his shoulder.
�Damn you, Kaiba. Joey lives here.�
�I know, but you�re not going to help him by getting in the way.� As if that settled the matter the CEO strode away.
�Why you�!�
�You know, he�s probably right.� Tea said with a gentle hand on Tristan�s arm. Her face was tear streaked. Tristan pulled her into a tight embrace as much to comfort her as himself.
��
Seto finally found what he was looking for. A dark-skinned, gray-haired man who was tall enough to loom over Seto barked orders, a WT (walkie-talkie) in one hand and a megaphone in the other. Seto tapped him on the shoulder. The nameplate on the man�s chest identified him as Sgt. James Patterson. He looked at the cerulean-eyed boy with an annoyance that bordered on a barely restrained urge to kill.
�I�m Seto Kaiba. I have two helicopters on the way. They are on radio frequency 144.6. Tell my pilots what you need them to do.�
Sgt. Patterson smiled gratefully at the young CEO. Saying this fire was a disaster was like saying it was warm in hell. The local rescue helicopter was out of service and being repaired. The soonest one could get here from Tokyo was 20 minutes-way too late. The only way they could rescue anybody from that building was from the roof. Sgt. Patterson and the fire chief had conferred and were certain they had a maximum of 10 minutes before the building collapsed.
The helicopters could be heard overhead now. Sgt. Patterson turned to the young woman next to him. �Chani, get two crews of rescue workers ready to go. I want one team on each chopper.�
�Yes, sir.�
A helicopter hovered in mid-air over Seto Kaiba�s head. A rope ladder was thrown down. Seto grabbed it and began to climb. The young blond woman who organized the two rescue teams and four firefighter/paramedics prepared to follow the young CEO.
Sgt. Patterson yelled up at Seto. �You�ll have to get the survivors from the roof. There�s no way to access the building from the ground.�
Seto nodded. He didn�t like the word �survivors�. It implied the likelihood of fatalities. It implied the possibility Jou could die tonight. Seto took the copilot�s seat, grabbed a headset and started issuing orders.
��.
He was running again. The fiery stone path under his feet wound away into the darkness, sweat was soaking his favorite crimson suit, and his beautiful silver locks hung in lifeless dull strings. He was out of breath and utterly exhausted, but he didn�t dare stop. If only he could reach her in time�
The dream sequence abruptly changed as a sharp turn ended up in a chamber of Castle Pegasus that had been sealed for seventeen years. A beautiful room full of hope and promise with freshly painted sunshine yellow walls, white woodwork accented at the upper joins with charmingly carved rubber ducks, the high ceiling painted sky blue with white fluffy clouds, a beautiful heirloom cradle, and a portrait newly hung of a proud father and his newborn son. The nursery.
Cecelia stood in the center of the room swaying to the lovely lullaby she sang to the small bundle cradled in her arms.
Pegasus stared helplessly at the vision before him. This was the past, a memory of a time of blissful peace and love that etched a perfect portrait of how he believed his life would always be. But life was arbitrary and he could never reclaim what he had lost.
The scene changed again. Smoke and flame filled the nursery trapping his wife and son in a merciless ring of fire. Her lovely azure eyes gazed into his as she stretched a slender hand out. �Maximillion, find our son��
Pegasus heard his echoed screams even as he woke from the dream. Cecelia�s musical voice followed him into the present. Not a dream�a vision. Cecelia�s body might be imprisoned in the grave, but her soul was very much alive. She was reaching out him from the Shadow Realm, his psychic abilities allowing them a fragile connection quickly broken.

The Shadow Realm? Why would Cecelia�s soul be in the Shadow Realm? It was a most perplexing riddle that he simply could not comprehend and then it was lost in the urgent and overwhelming desire to find his child.
��.
They made it to the third floor of the apartment building. The air was slightly better up here. The door to the stairwell leading up to the roof was at the end of the hallway. The main staircase wound its way up through the center of the building. They didn�t have far to go, but it was dark and hard to breathe.
A woman�s voice called out to them from the roof�s stairwell. �There�s a Kaiba Corp helicopter here to rescue us!�
The tense and fearful mood of the residents lessened considerably. They moved in a slow awkward shuffle to the stairs leading to the roof.
Joey handed the little boy he was carrying to Yugi. � Yug, you go on with the others. I�m gonna wait for Dad. Okay?�
�No, Joey, it�s not okay!� Yugi protested.
The little boy�s mother reclaimed her older child, apparently having gotten someone else to look after her daughter.
�Thank you for your help.� She whispered and disappeared into the smoke.
//Do what he says, little light. I have a bad feeling about this.// Yami said through their mental link.
/No. I�m not going without Jou!/ Yugi shot back defiantly.
�Joey�your dad�is still on the second floor.� Sobbed an elderly woman clutching at her chest as she finally reached the blond.
�Mrs. Winters? Where?�
�I couldn�t�get out of my�apartment.� She said brokenly as tears streaked through soot on the woman�s wrinkled face. �I called out for help�Jonathan was there�just like an angel�He helped me to the stairs�something crashed�he kept telling me to go�� Mrs. Winters collapsed into Joey�s arms. He quickly pushed her to Yugi.
�Get her out of here!�
�But, Joey��
Joey was already gone, desperation and adrenaline renewing his strength as he took the stairs two and three at a time.
��.
The firefighters reached Yugi and pulled Mrs. Winters off of him. �Kid, are you all right? Is this you grandmother?� Yugi shook his head no. �Come on, we�ve got to go. This building is going to collapse any minute��
�No! There�s still people in here!�
�There are? Where?�
�On the second floor, my friend and his dad.�
The firefighters exchanged dismal looks.
�You�ve got to get them out of here!� Yugi shouted.
�No, kid. We�ve got to get you out of here.�
In his golden prison, Yami felt something in Yugi�s spirit die. They weren�t going to try to save Jou and his dad. Frustration and rage built to hurricane force within the ancient pharaoh�s soul room. The Millennium Puzzle became an awesome source of light in the smoky darkness. The third eye appeared on Yugi�s forehead.
The firefighters each took hold of one of Yugi�s arms, prepared to physically haul him from the blazing building, but Yugi�s only awareness was of the electrifying power growing in strength as it usually did when Yami took control of Yugi�s body and he willingly surrendered to it. They won�t be able to stand up to the wrath of my Yami! He thought. But then the current changed-multiplying and dividing at the same time. The effect was dizzying and Yugi momentarily blacked out.
��
Joey made it to Mrs. Winters� apartment. It was the first one on the east side of the stairs. The metal door to her apartment had come free of its frame and partially concealed a hole where the floor had collapsed.
�Dad! Dad! Can you hear me?� He didn�t want to look at that hole. He didn�t want to look down it. He was afraid of what he might see; yet he had to know. He grabbed the metal with his bare hands and attempted to expose the dreaded hole. He forced the door to move a few inches before the nerve centers in his brain registered that the door was hotter than any oven he�d been near. He looked down and thought he could make out a twisted form at the bottom of a deep well of smoke and soot.
�Dad! Dad, where are you?� Jou�s voice was raspy and tight, a combination of smoke inhalation and tears threatened to overwhelm him as his mind refused to accept what his eyes told him. The fire was everywhere now, fiery red tongues hungrily lapping up everything in their path.
Jou slid down the wall. �Dad? Daddy, where are you?� he whispered in a small child�s voice. It�s just a bad dream. I�ll go to sleep and when I wake up, I�ll be in my own bed in my own room and Dad will be snoring in his room across the hall� He closed his eyes and started to drift away.
��
�Joseph! Joseph! Wake up!� Joey opened his eyes with great reluctance. A beautiful woman with long golden tresses and eyes the color of a clear blue sky knelt beside him. He�d seen her before, but couldn�t remember where or when. Some part of his brain registered her strangeness. He could see through her into Mrs. Winters� apartment as if she were no more than a gossamer veil.
�Joseph, you have to get up. You have to get out of here.� Beautiful and soft looking though she was her voice was quite stern.
�Nope.� Joey said stubbornly. �You�re a dream. Go away.�
She shook her golden head. �Son, you�re not going to die here.�
�Uh huh.� Joey nodded.
�I�m not a dream. I�m a spirit.� Cecelia tried again.
Joey smiled warmly. �Then you probably know my friend Yami�� And then he passed out.
��
The rescue worker in front of Yugi stepped back from the blinding light radiating from the boy. The boy�s body jerked and went limp as strong hands caught him by the shoulders.
�Hey, where did you come from?� The other stunned firefighter asked.
Yugi returned as if from a great height to awareness and found himself staring into fuchsia eyes.
�Aibou, I�ll get them.� Yami passed Yugi to the firefighter. �Get him out of here!�
He turned and sprinted for the stairwell, amazed by the physical manifestation of his body. Limited and temporary, his magical energies would maintain it for only a few minutes before exhausting themselves, but it would be enough-it had to be.
��
�Charlie some idiot kid went down to the second floor!�
Charlie had just emerged from a vacated apartment. He signaled to two other firefighters. �We�ll go after him. Everyone on this floor is out. Mac, go with Ted and get this boy to the roof.�
�But, Charlie.� Ted whined as he hoisted Yugi into the classic fireman�s carry. � We have orders not to go to the lower floors. It�s too dangerous.�
�Yeah?� Charlie retorted. �What good are we if we can�t deal with a little danger?� Charlie spun on his heel motioning for the remaining firefighter to follow.
��..
�Joey! Mr. Wheeler! Can you hear me?� Yami called out.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs on the murky second floor of the fast disintegrating building in his own lean, tightly muscled body. It felt good to act on his own, in his own physical form, and the magic he learned in the stress of the moment was not that different from switching consciousnesses with Yugi. He had just focused the energy differently to come up with physical mass.
The smoke in the hall made his eyes tear and his throat constrict. He couldn�t see more than a few feet in front of him. No mortal could survive than a few moments of this. Yami�s magical body would simply disintegrate and his soul would return to the Puzzle, but Joey and his father would not be so fortunate.
�Joey! Joey! By the gods, answer me!� The ancient pharaoh commanded in the dark.
He took a few tentative steps going west of the staircase when he felt a cool change in air temperature. He sensed the presence of�another spirit? He turned and caught a glimpse of blue silk and honey blond hair.
He ran after the apparition. She stopped and faced him with pleading blue eyes. �Take care of my son.� She whispered and vanished.
And there, curled in a heap of leather jacket and blue jeans was Joey.
�Joey! Wake up!� Yami slapped his face and was rewarded as the tawny chocolate eyes opened halfway. �Come on, Joey. Yugi�s waiting for us. We�ve got to get out of here!�
Yami pulled the blond boy up, draping one limp arm over his shoulders and attempted to pull Joey to his feet. It proved to be a difficult task. Joey was both heavier and taller than Yami, but Yami was no weakling. He half-drug, half-walked Joey toward the staircase that now seemed to be an impossible distance away. Yami felt the floor begin to give way under his feet. He rolled backward, pulling Jou back and down with him as a section of flooring dropped to the fiery chasm below.

Now what? Yami thought. He would survive because he was already dead, as contradictory as that seemed. But Joey�
�Hey, kid, are you down here? Can you answer me?� A voice penetrated the smoke as the particle-dispersed glow of a flashlight beam caught Yami�s stinging eyes.
�Here! There�s a hole in front of me. My friend is unconscious.�
�Okay, son. We�re going to get you both out of here.�
Yami could see the shadows of two forms come closer, flashlight beams scanning the floor ahead to avoid pitfalls and debris.
When Charlie and his partner, Bruce, were standing as close to the hole as they could, they reached out. �Okay. Pass your friend over to us.�
Yami struggled with Jou�s limp form and then the blond was on the other side of the chasm. One firefighter retreated into the dark. As the other one turned back to help Yami, the spirit of the pharaoh let his magical body disintegrate and his awareness returned to the now comforting chambers of the Millennium Puzzle.
�Huh?� Bruce grunted. The kid vanished right before his eyes!
�Bruce, what�s the hold up?�
�Uh�coming, Charlie.�
��.
Seto jumped the six-foot drop from his hovering chopper to the roof of the building; the choppers couldn�t risk landing on the roof because the building was far too unstable. He watched the rescue crews go to work helping shell-shocked victims of the fire onto the helicopter. When the first chopper was filled and on its way to Domino Hospital the second took its place. Seto had seen nothing of either Jou or Yugi and was becoming irate. Over the radio, he�d heard there was precious little time to get the residents out before the building collapsed.
�Sir�? Mr. Kaiba? You need to get on the helicopter. It�s too dangerous�� Chani trailed off. She noticed that while the heat of the fire was rising all around them, the temperature around Kaiba dropped to negative digits.
Two firefighters emerged from the building and one carried a limp Yugi over his shoulder.
�Yugi Motou!� Seto said sharply. Yugi�s eyes opened slowly as he was lowered to the ground. �Where�s Wheeler?� The CEO demanded harshly.
Yugi�s tears flowed freely as he faced his archrival. Another rooftop, another duel, and this time it was Joey�s life on the line. �He went to find his dad��
�Damn mutt!� Kaiba stormed off to the staircase.
�Where do you think you�re going?� Two burly firefighters blocked Kaiba�s path.
�Get out of my way!� the CEO ordered.
Yugi watched the scene as if from a great distance. He felt disconnected from everything around him. He was empty inside and didn�t know why, didn�t want to know why.
��
On the ground Tristan and Tea had identical looks of horror plastered on their faces.
Tea spoke first, � We can�t do anything to help him here. Maybe we should go to the hospital and wait. I�m sure that�s where they�re taking everyone.� She wiped tears off her face with the back of her hand.
�Good idea, Tea.� As they headed for Tristan�s bike, he noticed a familiar green Harley parked behind the blood red Mercedes.
�Kaiba is here because of Joey? What�s up with that?� Tristan thought in confusion.
��
A knockdown, drag-out fistfight was on the verge of breaking out on the roof. A fight, had Seto been thinking clearly, he would have realized he could not win. The firefighters were decked out in at least 50 pounds of fire protective gear each. Any blow Kaiba tried to land would hurt him worse than them.
�Move it, guys! Let us out!� Charlie yelled. He held the body of a blond boy who looked more dead than alive.
Seto snatched Jou away from the firefighter with his own personal brand of tender roughness.
Chani bent over Joey, �He�s not breathing. No pulse. Move it people!�
They made a dash for the chopper. Everyone made it inside, except for Charlie who was three rungs from the top of the ladder when the building went. He almost fell as thunderous waves of air and sound engulfed him, but a vice-like grip stabilized him. Charlie looked up into twin chips of blue ice and felt himself being pulled inside even as the chopper itself swayed and steadied, forcing itself to reach a higher altitude under the guidance of an unknown, but talented pilot.
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I Know You're Out There Somewhere