Seto Kaiba took a deep breath as the curtain rose. It was the unveiling of his latest and greatest creation. Not that his other inventions hadn't been breakthroughs in their own right, but this one would easily top them all.

Just a couple years ago his company had come out with DUELNET, a completely interactive online system for duelists. He'd played with the idea years ago, created a complete online world, but there were too many bugs in the Virtual World system. The big five had used it against he and his brother, sucking them both into the world he created and manipulating things to their wishes. He'd had to count on Yugi and his friends to get them out of that one. A debt he'd been very loathe to repay. He worked on the Virtual World system for years afterward, reworking the code, making sure there were no holes in it, no way anyone would ever get a chance to hack into his prize project.

Once it had taken a large coffin-like container just for the duelist to experience the virtual world. Three years ago he'd released DUELNET to the public with the brand new line of full body suits, much easier and more portable than the aforementioned coffins. Every standard arcade now came equipped with at least a couple full body suits and all a duelist had to do was hook into the system and a completely new online world opened up for them. You could see it, hear it, touch it. His portable dueling disks in years past had been a marvel at the time, with their realistic looking monsters, but the new system blew everything else away. With the DUELNET suit and helmet, they could manipulate not just the duel monsters, but the duelists as well. Duelists would line up for hours just to take a turn. Kaiba Corporation branches spread across the globe and the income had never been higher.

But of course, Kaiba was also not one to ever be content with his latest achievement. No real businessman was. So he'd continued working on the virtual world. Adding more and more sensory input, making the design sleeker and smaller. Finally he'd come up against a wall, found he'd gone as far as he could go... and was pleased with the result.

Kaiba held a tiny chip between his thumb and forefinger. It attached painlessly behind the right ear, sinking its tiny wires under the skin and rooting in at the nerve endings that led to the brain. As far as the brain was concerned, what happened in the virtual world wasn't just an illusion, it was as real as they believed it was. There were, undoubtedly, some precautions that had to be taken. The sensors for pain had to have limiters. He wasn't about to be responsible for some weak duelist getting in over their head.

His own personal chip was special though. No limits. Nothing to hold him back. He wanted to experience the full impact, the full reality that came with dueling. It was a thrill, a rush like nothing else had ever brought him. Kaiba shook his head as applause thundered around him, welcoming him to the exhibition for his new toy. He tucked the chip behind his ear and walked out on stage in his white pressed business suit.

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to Kaiba Corporation's DUELNET Celebration." Kaiba made a grand gesture and two duelists walked out onto the stage wearing the standard duelist suit and helmet. There was an enormous screen behind them, showing the audience just what the duelists were seeing. It was a large empty field, standard for DUELNET players. The field could easily be altered, terrain changed, backgrounds shifted, but for now the default would do.

"I'd like to present you all with Kaiba Corporation's newest DUELNET creation, the K-Chip." Kaiba directed the audience's attention back to the two duelists, who stripped off their suits and helmets, wearing ordinary clothing beneath. The projected image of what the duelists were experiencing, however, never wavered. The default field was still there as the pair began dueling, summoning monsters so real that the audience recoiled in surprise.

"As you can see, with the K-Chip, duelists can experience all the same realities that before only the KC suits and helmets could provide. Where before the suits could only simulate the duels, the K-Chip actually manipulates sensors in the brain. The excitement, the thrill of battle is all as real as it can possibly become." The second duelist summoned the Celtic Guardian to counter the first duelist's monster. As the Celtic Guardian swung his heavy sword, a flurry of blood and gore splattered across the virtual arena. There was excited whispering in the audience. Kaiba smirked with pride as he gauged their reaction. Things were going quite well.

Kaiba let the duelists continue with their demonstration as he walked offstage and found his table amid the audience members. His brother, Mokuba, was strangely absent. It'd been several months since their last fight and afterwards Seto had seen a marked difference in his brother. It was almost like old times again. He still didn't get to spend as much time with his little brother, but at least he knew Moki wasn't out binge drinking and going on late night parties anymore. He was back on the right track and had been a key developer in the new K-Chip technology. That he wouldn't show up for the unveiling of the project... it didn't sit well. Kaiba drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. Where was Mokuba? He'd said he'd be here. He was always here for Kaiba's latests unveilings and it felt rather strange to go through the motions without his brother. Especially since Mokuba had played such an important part in this latest creation. Just when Seto thought the tech had gone as far as it was going to go, around the same time as their arguement, Mokuba had just shown up, wanting to help. Sometimes it was as simple as having a new point of view, a new way to tackle the same old problem that opened up new ideas and new options. If not for Mokuba, the K-Chip would be nowhere near completion. It was only right for his brother to share in the spotlight.

The curtain closed on the night's activities and Seto felt a little heavy of heart as he shook hands with investors and faked smiles to the exiting guests. He turned off the last of the stage lights himself, long after the cleaning staff had gone home. He locked the large presentation hall with a quick entry of his passcode before leaving for the night.

It was only a short drive back to his home. He submitted to the usual thumbprint scan at the large golden gates to his mansion of a house and pulled up the driveway. The moment he entered the house, he knew something was wrong. The entire place was in disarray. Broken glass littered the halls, furniture was tipped on its side, and spraypaint covered the walls in several colors of illegible writing. It didn't take long for the gears to turn in Seto's mind. The meaningless destruction of property, Mokuba missing...

He raced up to his bedroom, the mess and property damage becoming worse and worse as he walked down the long hallway. Seto swallowed hard as he pushed open the door to his bedroom. The room appeared untouched, save for the white paper sitting on his empty dresser and the dark stains on the clean white sheets of his bed. He addressed the stains first, inspecting them closely enough to determine it was blood. His heart was pounding in his head. Who's blood? Who?! He had a nasty feeling that he already knew. His analytical mind was already trying to calm him, telling him the blood left here was not near enough to have killed someone. His hands shook as he picked up the white paper on his dresser:

Dear Mr. Seto Kaiba,

Pity your brother couldn't make it to your latest party, I'm sure he would have loved it. If you want him to be around long enough to attend your next big event, you'll bring-

Kaiba threw the note down. He felt sick, hurt, but most of all, he felt anger. He would destroy them. There was no maybe about it. No one threatened the Kaiba family and got away with it.