This is Halloween: A Jedi League of Duelists Story
Welcome, readers, to a story that is set in "The Jedi League of Duelists" version of the Yugi-verse. Originally, I was going to type this in the story but since the story is slowly being published, I decided to make this a stand-alone story. For those of you who have read "The Jedi League of Duelists," you'll know that by this point in the timeline, Seto Kaiba is married to Lisa Angela Hammond of Kirkland, Washington, a young doctor who works in Domino Children's Hospital. For more information on her, feel free to check out "Jedi League!"
Anyway, I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or its characters, and I don't own "Nightmare Before Christmas," and I certainly don't own anything having to do with Star Wars. I do, however, own Lisa…sort of.
Warning: Fluffy! And this story takes place in the dub-verse and that means it takes place in the US. Furthermore, this story mentions the Yugi-verse as seen in Jedi League. Thank you!
It was a beautiful October in Domino City, California in the year 2003. Many things had changed in the town in the past four months. Since June of that year, a boy named Yugi Muto had risen to prominence and unseated the champion of the card game, Duel Monsters, Seto Kaiba. Yugi had also discovered that he had a half-sister he'd never even known of, Mai Valentine. One of Yugi's friends, Joey Wheeler, had also had a change in his life. He was the runner-up at Duelist Kingdom, had been brutally beaten and nearly killed by his father, who later took his own life in front of Domino Children's Hospital when a young doctor stopped him. This led to Joey's mother and sister returning to his life. For Seto Kaiba and his little brother, Mokuba, their change had begun with hiring a young doctor by the name of Lisa Hammond. She was 15 years old and had somehow done the impossible; she had captured the teen CEO's heart. Consequently, on October 11th, Seto and Lisa had married, much to the joy of little Mokuba. But a huge change for Seto, Yugi and all of their friends was discovering that they had powers like those of the fictional Jedi. They each had the ability to levitate objects, communicate telepathically, read emotions and block attacks with their own set of energy shields. The entire group had bonded and become friends.
It was now a couple of days to Halloween and the gang was at the Kaiba mansion after school. Mai Valentine sank into a soft chair, putting her stocking feet up on an ottoman. "Oh, what a day! I swear, that American Literature teacher is a sadist!" she groaned, her violet eyes showing some frustration. She had been glad to come to the high school to have the experience of being a normal teenager, and so was now complaining like her peers.
"Yeah, Mai…I understand what you're talkin' about," Joey Wheeler sighed, sitting next to her, putting an arm around her and running a hand through his blonde hair. "I can't understand some of the stuff in my math class! I can't figure out the proofs in geometry! It's a pain in the butt!"
Everyone who had been at high school on this day talked about their teachers and the pain of certain classes. "I read when I know the material," Seto said, holding up his favorite philosophy book, "Thus Spake Zarathustra," by Friedrich Nietzsche.
"Is there anything you don't know, rich boy?" Joey teased. He and Seto had once had a very bitter rivalry, driven by jealousy on both sides, but then thanks to incidents that had forced Seto to bare his soul and revealed that Joey had hidden a great deal about his life behind a happy smile and being tough, they had become friends. "I mean, dang it! You're so smart, it ain't funny! You don't even need to go to high school with us, but you do!"
"True, but Seto needs the socialization and the market research," Lisa Hammond, now Lisa Kaiba said with a smile as she and Mokuba came into the room. Lisa was a young woman with blonde-brown hair and big blue eyes. She was the Jedi girl that had introduced the Domino teens and little boy to powers that they hadn't known they had. "Hey, guys? I had a fun idea for Friday night, since it's Halloween. Why don't we go out trick-or-treating?" she suggested, still smiling.
"Trick-or-treating?" Teá Gardner, a girl with chin-length brown hair and blue eyes, repeated. "All of us?"
"Yeah. This is the first year Seto and Mokuba have been able to go together since…before, well without it being a publicity stunt," she started, trailing off. Seto and Mokuba hadn't gone trick-or-treating for fun since before their father had died, and after their mother had died having Mokuba. And the boys' adoptive father, Gozaburo, didn't think it a good use of time to take the boys out for "childish things," but did it because it was cheap publicity.
"What was the last thing you guys went as?" Tristan Taylor asked curiously.
Seto sighed… Do I have to tell? he mentally asked his wife with a long-suffering expression.
Honey, it couldn't have been that bad, she sent.
Seto sighed. "Mokuba went as a teddy bear and I went as…I hated that costume…He made me go as…" He shuddered with disgust at his adoptive father's idea of humor… "He made me go as Alan Greenspan, when what I wanted to go as was Optimus Prime."
"Who's Alan Greenspan?" Joey asked.
"He's the Secretary of the Treasury, big brother," Serenity explained. "You know, the older gentleman with the big glasses?"
"Oh yeah…Dang, Seto…I'm sorry, man," Joey said, genuinely sorry. Seto shrugged.
"It's what happened; besides, this year, we get to choose what we're going to be," the teen CEO said.
"So," Lisa asked brightly, "what does everyone want to be for Halloween?"
Yugi, stretched out on the floor of the mansion's media room, looked up and grinned, giving a joyful light to his big violet eyes and strangely, his tricolored black, burgundy and blonde hair. "Well, I was thinking I'd go as the Dark Magician. Teá, would you…um…maybe go as the Dark Magician Girl?" he asked, pulling the card from the deck and showing her the picture of a mage with blonde hair, green eyes, an infectious smile and a blue and pink outfit.
She looked at it and grinned. "Yugi, I think I'll take you up on that. Mai, what do you want to go as?"
Mai looked thoughtful. "I've never been trick-or-treating. Apparently, it was beneath a Valentine to go out and 'beg' for treats. They never let me do any really normal things. I was just their display piece." She still had some anger toward her abusive mother and the man that she once called father, not knowing that Yugi Muto's father and her biological father were one and the same. "Anyway…what I'd like to be is…a princess. But I'd like a prince to go with me," she said, looking at Joey meaningfully. He nodded at her, already thinking of what he'd go as.
Duke Devlin looked thoughtfully at Lisa. "What have you gone as for Halloween, Lisa?"
"Well," the genius doctor answered, "I've been a witch, a clown, a princess, a Vulcan, a Bajoran and a Trill. I wanted to be a Klingon but Mom and Dad wouldn't spring for it so I went as a doctor on Star Trek instead."
The gang each discussed their Halloween costumes from past years, and then Bakura Ryou piped up, "Shouldn't we watch a movie or something that evening? It is a Friday evening, after all." Bakura wasn't yet training to be a Jedi because when Lisa had checked him for abilities, something had troubled her about him. Nevertheless, he was still with the gang. "I'd suggest a slasher film, but considering Mokuba's age, that probably wouldn't be wise."
Everyone agreed with that and looked at Mokuba. "Um…I want to watch 'Nightmare Before Christmas!' It's my favorite movie." Lisa looked at Seto and they silently communicated. Mokuba was going to get a big surprise for this Halloween…
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Friday evening came quickly for the gang of Jedi teens and little boy. Everyone in the group arrived at the Kaiba mansion in costume, each at a different time. Yugi and Teá arrived first, dressed as Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, respectively. The maid, Tzipporah, a woman with raven hair pulled back in a ponytail and with dark blue eyes, greeted them at the door. "Good evening, Yugi and Teá. How are you this evening?"
"Good, Tzipporah, thank you," Teá said. "I'm looking forward to this…"
"So am I," Yugi added as the maid walked them to the foyer near the grand staircase. Chairs were set up so the two mages could sit down. Two minutes later, Tristan, Duke and Bakura arrived. Duke was dressed as the Thirteenth Grave, a skulled monster that carried a red sword. Tristan was dressed as the Cyber Commander, a monster that wore battle fatigue pants, a bandolier, a large gun slung over his back and a face shield over the lower half of his face. Bakura was dressed as the character on a spell card, the Change of Heart, which looked like the combination of an angel and a demon. He wore a robe of pure white on the right and gray on the left. He also had an angel's wing on the right side and a demon's wing on the left and a heart in the center of the chest of his robes.
"I hope I look all right," Bakura said nervously, his emotions evident to the Jedi teens, even without their ability to read emotions.
"You look awesome, Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed happily. "Did you make that?"
"Why, yes," the white-blonde boy answered, blushing slightly. "My mum taught me how to make my own costumes and my dad helped with this one when he got back from Afghanistan on Wednesday night."
"That's awesome, Bakura," Tristan said, removing his face shield. "I think I'll wait to put this on."
Duke, meanwhile, removed the huge paper mache skull mask from his head. "Urgh! I can't breathe in this thing!"
And then the last guests to arrive were Joey, Mai and Serenity. Serenity had chosen to dress as a fairy, wearing a long green silk gown and fairy wings on her back, as well as a golden tiara on her head. "Hey, everybody," the fourteen-year-old girl said as she glided across the floor. "I thought I'd go as a fairy this evening. Do I look all right?" she asked shyly.
Tristan stood up and moved over to her, helping her to her seat like a gentleman. "You look great, Serenity," he said, smiling genuinely.
And then Joey and Mai followed. Mai was on Joey's arm, clad in a royal purple gown. It was strapless and had a full flowing silk skirt. She was also wearing a faux diamond and amethyst necklace around her long neck and an amethyst and diamond-studded tiara on her head. Her hair was free flowing and she looked every inch the fairy-tale princess. And Joey looked every inch a prince. Though his hair remained as much an unruly mop as ever, he was clad in a black tuxedo with a red bow tie and garnet cufflinks. Joey also wore a golden crown on his head which was studded with faux onyx and garnet stones.
"Hey, guys," Joey greeted, walking Mai in and helping her to her seat.
"Mai…big sister, you look incredible!" Yugi said. "Grandpa's going to love seeing you like this!"
"You really think so, Yugi? I want to look good as the Princess of Games," Mai grinned, and her brother nodded happily.
"Yeah, sis. I'm serious. You look great!" he grinned back.
"Yeah, Yuge," Joey agreed.
"So who are you, Joey?" Yugi asked.
"I'm the Red Eyes Black Dragon Prince," the blonde teen boy grinned, "and I'm escortin' the Princess of Games on Halloween Night. And I'm escortin' the Emerald Fairy as well," he added, smiling at his sister.
"Aren't the Kaibas ready yet?" Mai asked, looking at her brother.
"They should be soon," he answered. And then the maid came to the grand staircase.
Tzipporah called out, "Presenting Master Mokuba Richard Kaiba, the Blue Eyes White Dragon Prince," and Mokuba emerged at the top of the stairs. He was wearing a very pale blue suit with a white dress shirt and a medallion with a Blue Eyes White Dragon on it.
The small boy gracefully descended the stairs with a smile. "Hey, guys! Happy Halloween!" They greeted him back and he looked up at the stairs. "They're almost…"
And then Tzipporah announced, "Presenting the Blue Eyes King and Queen, Seto James Kaiba and Lisa Angela Kaiba." Seto and Lisa emerged at the top of the staircase and descended. He was wearing his white business suit with a blue business shirt and tie, along with the same medallion Mokuba was wearing, plus a sapphire blue cape and a silver crown set with faux sapphires at the tips. Lisa was wearing a pale blue gown with a long sapphire cape and the dragon medallion, along with a silver, sapphire and diamond tiara in her shining hair.
"Happy Halloween, everybody," Lisa greeted when the couple reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Happy Halloween, guys. Is everyone ready?" Seto asked. Everyone nodded.
"Yugi, you are so darling in that Dark Magician costume," Lisa smiled at the diminutive teen. His golden bangs stuck out over his forehead and the rest of his hair was hidden beneath the pointed purple Dark Magician's hat.
"Thanks, Lisa," he answered, blushing. Mokuba then handed out blue velvet trick-or-treat bags which Lisa had made and hand-embroidered the gang's names on.
And so for the first time in over two years, the Kaiba brothers went trick-or-treating and this time, they were trick-or-treating with their friends and trick-or-treating in costumes that they wanted to be in. A small part of Seto felt a little silly in costume, but he had to admit he also was having fun. Lisa, for her part, hadn't trick or treated since she was nine years old thanks to her work schedule in Seattle and then when she'd moved to Domino. She'd forgotten how fun trick-or-treating was, and how fun it was to be in costume. Mokuba was just plain delighted, and everyone in the group caught his enthusiasm.
"Hey, guys? Do we have our trick stuff?" Mai asked an hour and a half into the trick-or-treating. They were nearing the house of Domino High's head cheerleader, Trixy Takenawa. She had long raven hair and big blue eyes and a curvy figure, but she also had a terrible attitude problem. She had called Yugi and Teá such names as "King and Queen of Nerds," "Cheerleader Friendship Freaks," and "the Starfish Fan Club;" those were just the names that were fit to state. Mai had thought about joining the cheer squad, but then she'd seen how the head cheerleader treated her friend and her little brother, and ended up not joining. And tonight, she had planned a little vigilante justice.
"Guys…this is a prank…not a good use of our powers," Lisa said, sighing. But then she smiled a little. "However, I think Trixy needs to know that her behavior is unacceptable and it has consequences. We're going to levitate the toilet paper and the eggs from a safe distance and hit our target. So let's move into position." They moved to an alleyway near the cheerleader's home, a very nice two-story house painted in white. They opened their cartons of eggs and unwrapped the toilet paper. And then the group levitated the toilet paper and draped it around the trees and shrubs in Trixy's yard, including a very tall oak tree that could normally only be reached using a tall ladder.
"Okay… now for the eggs…Where do we aim?" Seto wondered.
Joey grinned wickedly. "I've done this before…aim for the door, then the windows and then we run!" Everyone nodded, also grinning wickedly. They levitated the eggs and hit the windows and the door with eggs and then ran all the way to Solomon Muto's for cookies shaped like Duel Monsters.
"Are you kids having fun?" the old man asked with a knowing grin.
"Yes, Grandpa," Yugi and Mai said together, smiling mysteriously. Solomon wisely decided he was better off not knowing. The group of teens and little kid enjoyed the home-baked cookies and then headed out again. They stopped at a few more houses and then went to the Wheelers' house for Elizabeth's handmade chocolate-caramel-dipped apples. Finally, they returned to the mansion for pizza and a movie.
"Hey, aren't we goin' to the media room?" Joey asked as they headed down the first floor hallway.
"Yeah," Seto answered, "and it's been reconfigured tonight." The group soon found out how it had been reconfigured. The media room had been transformed into a small movie theater, complete with a selection of movie theater treats, including popcorn, Junior Mints and Milk Duds. Everyone ate some pizza, and then grabbed sodas and popcorn and sat down in the movie theater-style chairs.
And then Lisa stood up and stepped in front of the screen. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said, "before we play Tim Burton's 'Nightmare Before Christmas,' I am playing a new version of the opening of the film in which Duel Monsters replace the familiar monsters. You will see a few Vampire Lords, Dark Magician Girl, Witch of the Black Forest, Dark Witch and Pumpking…"
"Aren't those a little bit…cheerful for Tim Burton?" Duke asked curiously.
Lisa grinned back and answered, "Duke, aren't I a little cheerful for Tim Burton?"
Duke sighed and laughed a little. "Point taken, Master Jedi." And then everyone settled in and watched the special intro and then the movie. Everyone loved the special introduction and the actual movie, and after it was over, they dumped out their candy from trick-or-treating on the floor.
"Whoa," Mai said, impressed, "so you can get piles of candy while trick-or-treating!"
"Yeah," Yugi answered his sister, "Mai, I don't think I've ever seen this much!" The pile of candy was ankle-deep and then they sorted it by kind. Mokuba might have started gorging himself on candy once it was all sorted, but Lisa and Seto allowed him to have five pieces since they didn't want him waking up in the night with a major tummy ache. Everyone got the candy that they wanted and finally at 11:30 PM, Seto pulled the limo around and sent the group home and then Seto and Lisa carried a tired raven-haired little boy up to bed.
"That was the best Halloween ever," Mokuba said sleepily as the couple set him down on his big warm bed.
"Glad you enjoyed it, little brother," Seto said gently as he tugged his brother's shoes and socks off. Lisa went and grabbed Mokuba's pajamas, smiling at how the little boy was trying valiantly to stay awake. "Let's get you into some pajamas," Seto said, taking the pair of Mokie Mokie pajamas once he had the small boy undressed.
"But I'm not sleepy," Mokuba muttered, eyes already closing. Together, the couple got the little boy dressed in his pajamas and then tucked into bed. As they thought, he was asleep in seconds.
"He's never had a Halloween like this," Seto whispered, smiling as they tiptoed out of Mokuba's now-darkened bedroom. "I never really did, either. I've never gone in a group to trick-or-treat."
"I always went with my brother and my parents," she whispered back as they headed down the hall to their room. "Anyway, I loved tonight," she concluded a bit more loudly as he helped her out of her dress. "It was fun."
"Yeah," Seto answered. "I'm glad we could do this together. It's hard being a kid genius sometimes," he said. Once they were in their night clothes, he drew her to him in a gentle hug.
"I'm glad my husband understands," she said, smiling.
"It's nice to be understood," he agreed as they climbed into bed and fell asleep. And so ended a great Halloween.
THE END
And so concludes my Jedi League Halloween tale. I'm sorry it's a little late, appearing on All Saints' Day, but I hope you all like it anyway! Thank you very much and please read and review!