It was 6 am. The gang now stood outside a modest size house, with black shutters and a white picket fence. Aria could feel the exhaustion creep up behind her eyelids but she forced her eyes to stay alert. She needed to finish this now. With the USB stick handed off, then she would be done with Kaiba Corp for good. Done with Kaiba.

A lump formed in her throat at the thought of never seeing Seto again, but Aria knew it was for the best. If he didn't trust her now, then he never would.

"Are you sure about this Aria?" Joey asked. "I mean, doesn't this guy like, hate your guts?"

"I'm with Joey on this one Ari," Téa said, "How do you know he's not just going to slam the door in your face?"

"I don't," Aria said with a shrug. "But he is the one person who knows of my innocence. Langley knowingly lied to Kaiba about my alibi. He knows that I was with him when the virus first invaded the system."

"Uh, isn't that all the more reason not to go to this guy?" Tristan asked skeptically.

Aria knew it was a huge gamble going to Hubert Langley with Pegasus's files, but he had proven himself to be loyal to Kaiba, even if he did lie to him about Aria's alibi. The point was that she trusted Langley enough to get these files to Kaiba and that was all that mattered.

"Wish me luck," was all Aria said then started up the front path towards the door. She assumed Langley would be up at this hour but then again, it probably didn't matter as Riku might now be aware that his invaluable files were no longer in his possession.

Stepping up onto the porch, Aria approached the door and gave three firm knocks. Just in case he was still asleep. Aria started to fidget as she waited for Langley to answer the door. Now that she had to face her old supervisor again, she started to feel nervous at how he would receive her. But she didn't end up having time to reflect as she could hear the door being unlocked.

Aria inwardly braced herself, ready to make Langley listen before he could slam the door back in her face.

But it wasn't Langley who opened the door. A woman in a black pantsuit with pale blonde hair stood in the entryway. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked with a small smile.

Aria blinked a few times, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. She wasn't expecting anyone else to be here. Langley couldn't be married, could he? Did sexist men have wives? Apparently so.

"Hi," Aria began when she had finally found her voice, "My name is Aria Ito, I...work for Mr. Langley at Kaiba Corp. Sorry for bothering you so early, but is Mr. Langley available? I need to discuss with him an important work matter."

The woman's smile slightly faltered and gave Aria a quizzical look. Aria fidgeted under her gaze. She was sure her appearance was slightly more than disheveled. After getting just a few hours sleep on Téa's shoulder at the cafe, Aria had attempted to tidy herself in the restroom with little success.

"I'll just check to see if he's available," the woman said, closing the door, leaving Aria standing awkwardly on the front porch. Her nerves came back tenfold at the thought that Langley might refuse to come to the door. Who could she possibly go to next? Who could she trust? As far as she knew, Tenzin was still at Kaiba Corp. He needed to be caught before he disappeared for good.

Lost in her thoughts, Aria was startled when the front door was flung open more forcefully, revealing a harried looking Hubert Langley. Aria was caught off guard by Mr. Langley's attire. Gone was the crisp white shirt and gray slacks. Instead he wore a pale green bathrobe that was tied at the waist, and half-slippers to match.

"I didn't believe my wife when she told me who was at the door," Langley said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You're not here to try and get your job back are you?"

Aria's spine stiffened at his tone. She leveled her gaze back at him. "I'm here because Kaiba Corp's project is still in jeopardy. There's still a rat nested there and you of all people know that it wasn't me to begin with."

Langley's jaw twitched. At his silence, Aria continued.

"I have evidence that reveals the true culprit behind the virus attack." Aria raised the USB key that held her stepfather's stolen files.

Langley suddenly straightened, interest marking his face as he eyed the data stick, but wariness still remained. Before he could respond, his wife walked up behind him, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm off to work, see you tonight." She gave a small smile to Aria as she descended the front steps and walked to an awaiting car in the driveway.

Langley watched and waited as his wife started the car and drove out of the driveway. When the car was out of sight he looked back to Aria. Letting out a bothered sigh, he stepped aside, holding the door open. "You might as well come in then."

Aria stepped inside, grateful that she had at least made it this far. She paused in the small foyer and slipped off her shoes onto a small mat. Langley turned and walked down a short hallway. Aria could only follow.

Slipping through an open door, Aria found herself in an immaculate but homey kitchen. Langley stood by the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He held out the pot towards her.

"Coffee?"

Aria was exhausted from the events of the last few days and a cup of coffee would definitely help get her through this meeting with Langley. "Please," she said.

As Langley poured another cup, the strangeness of the situation wasn't lost on Aria. Here she was in Langley's home about to share a cup of joe with him. After everything that had transpired between them, it was the normalcy of it all that she found unsettling.

After handing her the cup, Langley braced his hands on the counter and stared at her. Not darkly, but as if he was trying to sort out a puzzle. "Why come to me with this 'evidence'? Why not go straight to Mr. Kaiba?" he finally asked.

Aria took a tentative sip of her coffee. She almost sighed at how good it tasted. Much better than the stuff at the Cyber Cafe. She rested her mug on the counter, both hands wrapped around it. Staring into the dark coffee, she answered, "You are the only one who knows I'm truly innocent. To be honest, I doubt Kaiba would even agree to see me."

Glancing up at Langley she saw that he had averted his gaze. "Why did you lie to Kaiba that night?" Aria asked softly. "Didn't you know it would leave the company vulnerable with the real hacker still out there?"

Langley sighed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I was still angry with you from our conversation in the hallway." He paused to take a long drink of coffee then continued. "But I also wanted you gone from Kaiba Corp. I didn't think you deserved to be there."

"Why? Because I was a girl?"

Langley shook his head. "Because I thought you were just some greenhorn high school student."

"How can you say that?" Aria asked angrily. "All the people who work for you are men! There's not one single female programmer on the 10th floor, maybe even the whole building."

Langley gave a small chuckle. "You may not have noticed Miss Ito, but computer programming is a male dominated field. That will probably change in the next few years, but for now, the best programmers we have found just happened to have been men."

Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing. The whole time her gender ended up having nothing to do with the way Langley perceived her. Yes, he was wrong to judge her before knowing her computer skills, but she had wrongly judged him as well. Her face reddened in embarrassment upon realizing that her attitude towards him probably had not helped matters.

"What about Kaiba's opinion?" she asked suddenly. "Did you not trust his judgment when he decided I was good enough to be put on the team?"

"I thought Mr. Kaiba had put you there for...other reasons."

A flush now crept up Aria's neck. As hard as she tried, her feelings for Kaiba had been no secret. Hadn't she wondered herself if it was her programming abilities that got her on the team? "And what do you believe now?" she asked almost flippantly.

Langley finally looked up at her. "After you had been dismissed, I looked over your work for the holographic programming. And it was good. Really good. It was then that I realized I had let my personal feelings affect the project. I thought we could catch the hacker on our own."

Aria was speechless. She never thought she would hear repentance coming out of Langley's mouth, much less praise.

"But that's not why you are here," Langley said, straightening. "Let's go see what's on that USB stick."

Aria followed Langley out the back of the kitchen that led into a study with two desks and two computers. Langley sat down at one and opened up his hand towards Aria. Aria handed him the USB. Peering more closely at it, Langley let out a disgruntled grunt. "It is unlike any USB drive I've ever seen. You never did say how you acquired this," Langley said with a raised brow.

"I stole it from my stepfather. Apparently he has been in cahoots with Maxamillion Pegasus in trying to steal Kaiba's new project."

"Of Industrial Illusions?" Langley asked incredulously. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," Aria answered with a shrug.

Langley shook his head and plugged the drive into the computer.

Aria looked over Langley's shoulder, eager to see what other files the drive held. Langley's computer looked more than capable of reading them.

Once the window for the USB popped up, Langley began clicking through files until finally pulling one up that contained lines and lines of code.

"Fascinating," Langley whispered as he scrolled through the script.

"What is?" Aria asked. The lines of code were moving too fast for her to decipher.

Langley stopped and leaned back in his chair, pointing at the screen he said, "What we have here is Industrial Illusions trying to take the concept of Duel Monsters Online and applying it to their own technology. It appears they are trying to develop a type of helmet or headset that allows the duelers to connect."

"We figured as much. Pegasus doesn't have access to Kaiba's holographic technology so he had to create his own way of bringing the duelers together." Aria straightened and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The question is, why now?"

"What I think..." Langley said, pausing thoughtfully, "Is that Pegasus has no partnership with Kaiba Corp for Duel Monsters Online like he did with the holographic stadiums. Maybe he fears Kaiba taking over the world of Duel Monsters."

"And as its creator, Pegasus can't have that," Aria said coolly.

Langley swiveled around in his office chair and faced Aria. "Are you sure you want me to take this to Mr. Kaiba? You really should be the one to do it."

Aria shook her head. "I need to cut all ties with Kaiba and Kaiba Corp. I don't need my name cleared, just a fresh start."

Langley sighed but nodded solemnly.

"Just one other thing," Aria said. "I would have Kaiba look deeper into Tenzin Cray from the team. I can't be 100% sure, but I am pretty certain that he is the rat at Kaiba Corp."

Langley nodded. "I'll be sure to let him know."

Aria put out her hand which Langley took to shake. "Thank you Mr. Langley. I'm sorry that our time together at Kaiba Corp had to be so...confrontational."

Langley gave a small smile. "As am I Miss Ito. I am glad, however, that we could clear the air between us." Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, "Where do you plan on going from here then?"

"Wherever will take me the farthest away."

+++

Kaiba paced back and forth in his office. Unfinished work sat untouched on his desk. Papers that needed signing, reports that had to be reviewed. But for once, work was the farthest thing from Kaiba's mind.

As Kaiba walked from one end of his office to the other, he contemplated what to do about Aria. She was innocent, always had been. But what did he do about it now? Did he dare think that she could forgive him after the way he had treated her? Or was it best to let her go and let her move on with her life?

Gah! Kaiba flung himself down on the couch, cradling his head in his hands. This woman has caused me way too much headache he growled at himself. But that was the point wasn't it? He had allowed Aria to cause him stress and strain, when normally he would have flung the person aside who dared annoy him. And it was there that he knew he had his answer.

A knock at the door brought Kaiba's attention back to the forefront. Before he could shout that he didn't want to be disturbed, Hubert Langley walked in. Kaiba found it odd to see Langley enter his office on his own accord and unannounced. Kaiba always approached Langley, it was never the other way around.

"What do you want Langley?" Kaiba asked, standing up and walking over to his desk. "I'm busy." It was a gross understatement but fortunately Langley didn't know that.

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Kaiba," Langley said bowing low. "But there are a few urgent matters that I need to discuss with you."

Interest piqued, Kaiba sat down behind his desk, his stoic mask put firmly in place.

Taking his silence as a cue to continue Langley said, "The first matter concerns Miss Ito."

Now Langley had Kaiba's full attention. "What about her?" Kaiba asked, not allowing any emotion to enter into his voice.

"I'm afraid I wasn't entirely truthful about her alibi..." Langley trailed off as sweat began to bead on his forehead. "I did encounter her in the hallway when the virus was first discovered. I apologize profusely sir for the deception. I had let my personal feelings get in the way."

Kaiba continued to stare at Langley, making him perspire even more. "Tell me why I shouldn't fire you right now Langley for lying to me. Not only did you falsely incriminate Miss Ito, but you also put this company in further risk of being compromised."

Langley swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing amply. "I can't give you a reason Mr. Kaiba for not dismissing me. My actions were reprehensible and I understand if you decide to terminate my employment."

Kaiba was slightly taken aback by Langley's response. He can't remember the last time the man acted so...humble. "What was the other urgent matter that you needed to speak to me about?" Kaiba said, deciding to ignore his response for now.

Letting out a small breath, Langley reached into his shirt pocket as he approached Kaiba's desk. Kaiba watched silently as he placed a USB key directly in front of him.

"What's this?" Kaiba asked, picking up the key. But he already had some idea, for the same type of key sat in his desk drawer, the one Aria had been caught with that held the stolen files. But what was Langley doing with another one?

"On that USB drive you will find files that outline a technology that is being created to be used in conjunction with Duel Monsters Online," Langley explained.

Kaiba looked up sharply at Langley. He couldn't mean...

"And," Langley continued, "You will find that it has the fingerprints of Industrial Illusions all over it."

Kaiba went still. His mind reeling from all the information he just received. "You may go now Langley, we'll talk later about your infidelity to this company."

Langley's eyes fell but he nodded solemnly. "There was one other piece of information that I was given sir, that I think you'll find useful. There is...speculation that Tenzin Cray of the special assignment team may be the informant that you are looking for." With that he gave a small bow and headed back towards the door.

"Wait," Kaiba said, making Langley stop. Kaiba held up the USB key. "You didn't say how this came to be in your possession."

Langley turned around and looked Kaiba straight in the eye. "I was asked to turn it in anonymously. I'm sure you'll understand sir."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he detected a hidden message in Langley's tone. "Very well," was all Kaiba said. Langley gave one last nod then exited the office.

Kaiba plugged in the USB to his computer, eager to see what Pegasus had been plotting. Now that he finally knew the mastermind behind the attacks on his company, Kaiba could finally act. His fingers paused however over the keyboard. There was something else he had to do first. Something more important. He needed to see the person responsible for saving his company.

+++

"Ugh!" Aria exclaimed as she typed away on her laptop. It was the day after visiting Langley, and after a long overdue rest and hot shower, Aria was ready to plan her next steps. She was done wallowing in self-pity and regret. She needed to start moving forward.

"What's wrong?" Téa asked, walking into the living room.

"Who knew flights out of Japan were so expensive! With these rates I'll have nothing to live off once I get to...wherever it is that I'm going."

Téa chuckled softly, sitting down beside Aria. "Maybe you should stay in Domino City for a while then and save up. You know that you'll always have a place to stay here."

Aria gave her friend a sad smile. She knew the gang wasn't crazy about her leaving the country but Aria knew she needed a fresh start. "As much as I love sleeping on your couch, you know I have to leave Téa. I keep expecting Riku to come pounding down on the door." Aria shook her head. "No, it's better that I leave now and not prolong it."

Even though Aria had blocked Riku's number she couldn't help but wonder what would happen to him and Fenrir Inc. She doubted Pegasus was a man that forgave easily.

Téa sighed but didn't push the issue further. "Since you are so set on leaving then, I have one last favor to ask you."

Aria quirked a brow. "And that would be?" she asked.

Téa took a deep breath. "Prom."

"Prom? Like a high school prom?" Aria asked, confused.

"Not just a high school prom, but our high school prom!"

"Isn't that supposed to take place at the end of the school year?" Aria asked. "There's only two weeks of summer left."

Téa rolled her eyes. "Because we go to some high class preppy school, they do it at the end of summer. Don't you pay attention to these things?"

Aria laughed. "This summer has been kind of crazy for me in case you haven't noticed."

Téa's shoulders slumped. "Which I think is exactly why you need to go with us. Not only because you're leaving, but to go out and have a night of fun where you can just act your age. No blackmail or secret informants, just Aria."

Aria smiled. "Alright Téa, I'll do it for you, but I doubt I'll feel up for much dancing."

"No dancing required," Téa said with a wave of her hand, "I just want you there."

Aria leaned over and gave Téa a one-armed hug. "So when is this anyway?"

Téa bit her lower lip. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Aria exclaimed. "But I have nothing to wear!"

"That's why I came and told you now. I'm going to drag you out to all the thrift stores till we find the perfect dress."

"Well at least you're helping me be frugal about it," Aria said laughing. "But wait a minute, do you have a date for tomorrow night?"

Téa went a little pink in the face.

"You do!" Aria yelled. She gasped and covered her mouth. "Is it Yugi?" she whispered through her hand. Then Aria's eyes widened. "No, it's Pharaoh! Or is it both?"

Téa's blush deepened. "To be honest...I'm not too sure exactly."

Aria clutched her stomach as she laughed out loud. "Oh Téa," Aria said, as tears gathered in her eyes. "And I thought my life was complicated!"