Kaiba nearly drops it in shock. That voice---that face. It's his stepbrother, no doubt about it. But how.

Okay. He actually knew how, sort of. He'd gotten the impression from Zahra that they had saved Noa from his fate somehow, and his stepbrother was along for the wild ride, but he's surprised to see him manifest. Kaiba doesn't usually have the 'spiritual inclination' for this sort of thing.

He takes up the pole and slots it into place. "Surprisingly well, considering the degree to which my plans have been upended."

There's a swirl of emotion in his chest that he's not ready to examine too closely. They had battled fiercely, there was deep hurt and regret...yet in the end they'd been on the same team, in a sense. And now they were again.

"I did ask to talk...I just didn't think you could do it this way."