The Falsebound Kingdom
by Matt Morwell

Disclaimer: The characters and materials based herein are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, whom we should all proclaim a genius. The following scenarios, however, are based on the video game "Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Falsebound Kingdom", developed by Konami. I have not asked permission to use them to my own creative advantage. Shame on me.

–

August 8, 5:42 a.m.
Kame Game Shop
Domino, Japan

–

Mutou Yuugi was walking through a maze.

He'd become accustomed to making his way through any number of mazes by now. He loved puzzles, especially the ones on the backs of any number of cereal boxes. He tended to find his way out of them within about half a minute... but they were still fun, and a welcome distraction from thinking about what trouble he'd find in school today.

This maze was different, though. For all the times he'd been through it, the exit seemed to be in a different place each time. It was dark, dank, chilly, full of doors and stairs that led nowhere and everywhere at once...

He was treading the incomprehensible pathways of the Nameless Pharaoh's mind.

At first, the Pharaoh had discouraged such forays into his thoughts. He had discouraged it for a long while; but none of his naysaying had convinced Yuugi to stay out. Besides which, Yuugi frequently found himself in the maze without even trying to enter... and the Pharaoh had the capability of keeping Yuugi out if he so wished, despite Yuugi's mental meandering. Therefore, Yuugi could only assume that his objections were to be noted, but not enforced.

And, Yuugi thought wryly, given what adventures we've been through so far, the Pharaoh's mind is likely the least dangerous place to wander.

Images flashed across Yuugi's eyes, giving him teasing glimpses into the Pharaoh's thoughts and dreams. His Egyptian elder was dreaming, as well, but not delving into Yuugi's mind... rather, his subconscious was carrying him through his own.

Anxiety... as the soul thief bound the souls of his friends to Duel Monsters cards.

Despair... as Yuugi lay still in the caverns of their linked minds.

Frustration... as Marik forced a duel to the death.

Horror... as Dartz declared his intentions for world destruction.

Fury... as Alexander left his disciples defenseless in his bid to obtain ultimate power.

Jealousy... as...

Yuugi blinked, and felt himself turning red. "Oh my," he said aloud, as he realized he'd just seen a thought clearly not meant for him to know.

"Yuugi?"

He let out a sigh, and steadied himself against a wall. "I'm sorry, Pharaoh," he muttered. "I was just dreaming..."

"As was I, aibou... but there are times I truly wish you would heed my warnings and search for the exit when you find yourself here. I sense that is not what you were doing this time."

"Not really," Yuugi mumbled. He perked up a little, though, and changed the subject. "Have you found anything?"

"Yes. Specters of fire... pain... destruction."

"... Oh. Well... that's..."

"Not encouraging."

Yuugi sighed. "But it's in the past, Pharaoh. And the world's still intact... so whatever happened to you back then wasn't threatening enough to destroy the world, or was, and you stopped it. Either way... we're here."

"You do have a way of putting positive spins on even the bleakest of situations, Yuugi."

"Just trying to help."

"Your efforts are appreciated. But–"

The disembodied voice was cut off as another flash blinded Yuugi. As he flinched and tried to turn away, he sensed similar discomfort from his partner, but neither could find any respite from the glow. It surrounded him, penetrated him, permeated him...

Loss... such terrible, terrible loss... ruin and destruction all around, bodies fallen everywhere, a kingdom literally dying before his eyes... a booming voice echoing across the black sky, laughing, laughing...

–

Yuugi sat upright in bed, gasping for breath. Cold beads of perspiration dripped down his forehead and into his violet eyes, stinging his vision. He groaned and brought a fist up to rub at his eyes.

Dreams like that one had happened before. At first, he and the Pharaoh had tried to chalk it up to random nightmares... but they were happening more frequently now. What they saw was little more than a tease of a memory – chaotic flashes, distorted visions and muffled or explicit sounds, multitudes of smells and tastes, crawling skin... all rushing together at paces faster than either of them could keep up with.

"It has to stop," Yuugi muttered. "I can't even get a good night's sleep anymore..."

"I'm sorry, aibou. I wish I could control it." The ghostly outline of the Pharaoh made its way to Yuugi's bedside and seated itself there.

"It's okay," Yuugi replied automatically. "You can't help it."

"That does not stop me from wishing I could. I do not wish for you to be tormented by my nightmares."

Yuugi pursed his lips and looked at his partner's hazy image. "There's a reason you're having them, though. You've got to start reclaiming your memories or these nightmares are going to drive you mad. And possibly me, too."

"You are correct on that account, Yuugi. We must get into contact with the Ishtars soon; certainly Isis and Malik will be able to assist us."

Yuugi nodded. "Let's give them a call by the end of this week. We'll start making travel arrangements over the weekend."

"Travel arrangements, Yuugi?"

"To go to Egypt, Pharaoh. It's where you're from, and it's where the Ishtars are now. Seems more convenient to go to them instead of bringing them here, don't you think?"

The Pharaoh chuckled. "Very cute, Yuugi... but why the delay? Why not call right now? Should it not be evening for them now? I imagine Isis would still be awake, if not Malik."

Yuugi adopted a more sober look. "Well... there's no huge rush or anything..."

The Pharaoh's shoulders heaved, and Yuugi could hear in his mind the ethereal rush of air that usually accompanied a sigh from his friend. "Yuugi... I realize you are not eager for another harrowing adventure, but I cannot stay in this world forever. You know I do not belong here. If I did, I would have a body and a life of my own – I would not be dependent on you for these things. You should be able to have your body and life to yourself. Once I have reclaimed my memories, you will have that freedom."

Yuugi shook his head. "We've only known each other a couple years... but now it's hard for me to imagine living without you in my head. You've been a part of me for all the weird and terrible things my friends and I have had to go through... Pegasus, Marik, Dartz, Alexander... can you really begrudge me a couple days more of it?"

"Yuugi," the Pharaoh said, somewhat reproachful of the question – but he couldn't blame his other for asking it.

"The end of the week," Yuugi said again. "No later than that. But give me these last few days, all right?"

"... Very well, Yuugi. I doubt I could convince you otherwise even if I truly wanted to."

"I'll bet you couldn't." Yuugi offered the Pharaoh a cheeky grin. Then his mouth stretched widely into a yawn, and he smiled embarrassedly around it. "But maybe I should get a couple more hours of sleep before we think of anything serious anyway, huh?"

"Likely that is a good idea, Yuugi. Sleep, and I will watch over you."

"You need the sleep too."

"Not nearly as much. I would remind you I slept for thousands of years. I will not suffer from deprivation if I choose to remain alert."

Yuugi yawned again and looked through squinted eyes through his skylight. He sighed. "Speaking of alert... sun's already on the rise. That won't help much."

"Just close your eyes, aibou. I will make it night for you."

The teen emitted a small chuckle even as he got comfortable under his covers. "And you'll give me the stars and the moon, too?"

"You have but to ask."

Yuugi smiled and closed his eyes... and was not surprised in the least when he realized no light was being permitted past his eyelids, courtesy of a little Shadow magic conjured at the Pharaoh's will. It was effectively nighttime for him again – and it was time to sleep for a while longer.

–

August 8, 12:12 p.m.
Kame Game Shop
Domino, Japan

–

Yuugi descended the stairs, still dressed in his favorite blue pajamas, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Good morning, Jiichan," he said cheerfully, once his yawn was complete.

Mutou Sugoroku glanced up at Yuugi from the business counter with a look of admonition. "It isn't morning anymore, my boy," he said. "Get something to eat, then get dressed, would you? It's afternoon."

"It's when I'm getting out of bed. Morning," Yuugi insisted playfully, and he trailed into the kitchen to seek out appropriate food. "And it's breakfast time. Do we have any eggs?"

"Not if Joey's had breakfast here within the past week," Sugoroku grumbled, as he pushed a heavy box along the tile floor. "Hurry along, I'm going to need your help when the rush comes."

"It's still summer, Jiichan. What sort of rush can there be during summer?"

"Some people still work during the summer, Yuugi," Sugoroku answered. "And we got a new shipment of Duel Monsters cards yesterday evening. You know people look forward to Tuesdays because of the new shipments."

"I look forward to Mondays because I get dibs on them," Yuugi chuckled. Yesterday had been no different; he'd torn into about a dozen packs of brand new Duel Monsters cards, eager to find out what the greats of the new series would be. And no matter how insignificant a card might have seemed, Yuugi understood the strategies behind every single one of them – not only understood them, but was even able to conjure strategies worthy of top-ranked duelists involving these and others. In this, the Pharaoh remained constantly amazed by the young man's resourcefulness. Of the two, Yuugi understood the mechanics of dueling much more than the Pharaoh; but the Pharaoh understood the psychology of the game much more than Yuugi. Given that, it was little wonder they complemented each other so well.

Yuugi poured himself a bowl of cereal, then splashed the milk across it evenly. He'd put up with being told all his life this was a particularly odd method of introducing milk to food, but his personal preference was to have each chunk of cereal wet down. He looked up through the doorway. "You sound a little annoyed, Jiichan. It's not just because I woke up late, is it?"

The elder Mutou heaved a sigh. "No... but I've been spending all morning trying to make sense of the documents your stock broker sent. I'm an archaeologist, not a chaos theoretician."

"They're Industrial Illusions stocks, Jiichan. They're not likely to lose their value any time soon." Yuugi munched a mouthful of cereal. "Don't worry about it so much."

"I'm just worried about your welfare, Yuugi. I want to make sure you're not losing money to this man."

"He's being paid for what he does – he's taking my money one way or another," was Yuugi's response. "And I'm not worried about it. With those stocks, I have so much of it that I'm set for life maybe seventeen times over. Pegasus was, too, and look at the lavish life he led."

"Yes, well, he was vain. I should hope you're wiser with your money than he was, even if you do have enough to buy Madagascar."

"I learned my modesty from you, Jiichan," Yuugi responded. "Don't worry."

"Easier said than done, my boy. I worry about you constantly. Take this piece of mail, for example..." Sugoroku held up an envelope. "It came in with the post today. Official-looking piece."

Yuugi blinked. "From whom?"

Sugoroku shrugged. "Return address reads 'SIC'. The piece itself is postmarked from Tokyo, but the lettering is Roman, so I'm assuming this is an American company."

"Bring it in here, please?"

"Long as I get to look at it with you. If it's spam, I don't want you wasting your time on it." Sugoroku made his way into the kitchen and laid the letter down on the table.

"We've already turned down most credit card companies on this planet," Yuugi answered wryly. "I think I know what to do with those by now." He picked up the envelope and began to open it from a narrow end. "Doesn't feel like it's got any credit cards in it, though, so I guess that's a good sign."

"Not necessarily," Sugoroku remarked.

Yuugi slipped a single piece of paper out of the envelope and unfolded it, now intrigued. He could feel his grandfather hover over one shoulder; over the other was the surreptitious presence of the Pharaoh. The letter had been written in Japanese characters, which both surprised and pleased Yuugi – though he knew English almost as well as his native-English friends, it was much more convenient to see it in his own native tongue.

Mr. Mutou Yuugi:

Greetings. My name is Scott Irvine, and I am the president and owner of SIC, better known as Spectre Industrial Corporation. If you are unfamiliar with this business, we were up until recently a subsidiary of Industrial Illusions, responsible for the perfection of holographic modeling in the well-known game of Duel Monsters, as well as the spinoff game Dungeon Dice Monsters. Rapid business expansion has given us the resources we needed to become an independent company.

SIC is currently performing final development on a roleplaying game that includes Duel Monsters, known as "Kingdom". This game features perfected neural interfacing, allowing a player's thoughts to become reality within the world created for Kingdom. It also features a fractal decision-making system, allowing for virtually unlimited possibilities – simply put, a player can play almost any way he can conceive, and arrive at a different ending every time he plays, creating unprecedented repeatability for this class of game. Finally, this game allows for multiple players... and the more players there are involved, the more possibilities there are available.

And while these features may sound incredible to you, I'm sure you're wondering what all this has to do with you. Well, Mr. Mutou, this is where you come in. We need beta testers for this game. I've sent this letter as a personal invitation to you and any friends and family who might wish to join you to come to our Tokyo headquarters for a day of gameplay.

The reason I'm extending you this invitation, Mr. Mutou, is we at Spectre have kept up with your public profile, and are quick to note you are extremely quick to learn the nuances of games you play. We believe you would be able to appreciate the intricacies of Kingdom; also, once finished, your feedback would be invaluable to our designers. Your efforts, of course, would be handsomely rewarded. Also, after the experience, should you choose to offer us your endorsement, such an action would also be invaluable and well-rewarded.

Below is a phone number that has been designated specifically to receive your response – at the writing of this letter, our secretarial staff has been notified to expect your call. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Scott Irvine

CEO, Spectre Industrial Corporation

Yuugi sat back and blinked several times before finding it within himself to come up with some sort of coherent response. "Wow," was all he could manage.

"Well, I'm no expert, Yuugi, but I'd say you're famous," Sugoroku remarked. A joke, of course – there was virtually no game player on Earth who didn't know the name of Mutou Yuugi.

The teen looked wryly at his grandfather. "Thanks for that penetrating analysis," he said, and he looked back at the letter.

"He did an excellent job of, as you say, 'beating around the bush'," the Pharaoh opined. "Clearly what he desires is for you to love it, then go out and tell others that you love it."

Clearly, Yuugi thought, but that doesn't mean I should dismiss it out of hand.

"I am not suggesting you dismiss it at all, aibou. Merely that you regard it with caution."

Mou hitori no boku, you'd advise caution if I were to pick up a skipping stone.

"You would not wish to inadvertently strike a bystander with a skipping stone."

Sugoroku looked at his grandson and noted the pensive expression on the boy's face. "Yuugi?"

The teen looked up at Sugoroku and let out a sigh. "Sounds almost too good to be true," he said. "Probably means there's some giant, world-saving catch behind it, right?"

"Now, what makes you say that?"

"The fact that there's always been one since Duelist Kingdom," Yuugi replied, and he huffed and crossed his arms atop the kitchen table.

"Duelist Kingdom, you attended because you didn't have any other choice," said Sugoroku.

"Battle City?"

"Same thing."

"Not quite, Jiichan... I had a choice, I just chose to be part of it."

Sugoroku shook his head. "Not so sure about that, Yuugi, but if you say so."

Yuugi perched his chin on the heel of his palm and looked dispassionately up at his grandfather. "Jiichan, I hope you have a point coming soon, here..."

"My point, Yuugi, is that I think you should give this game of theirs a shot. You've played roleplaying games before and had fun."

"It depends on your definition of 'fun'," Yuugi remarked, recalling the fateful duel between the Pharaoh and the soul thief which revolved around Bakura Ryou's favorite roleplaying game, Monster World. "Tromping around as a lead figurine doesn't qualify for me. Besides, this letter mentions neural interfacing... sounds a lot like the virtual world Kaiba developed. You should be able to understand why I'm not eager to throw myself back into a place like that."

"You weren't given a choice there, either," Sugoroku reminded his grandson. He gave the boy an encouraging smile. "Obviously they want you to take them up on their offer, but they've left it open to you. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Yuugi blinked at his elder. "Honestly, Jiichan, I was expecting you to be encouraging me into this thing a little more strongly than that."

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint," the archaeologist chuckled, "but I'm merely pointing out the option is available, should you choose to exercise it. Still... it would seem awfully out of place for you to deny yourself the opportunity to play a game. I know that look in your eye – you're at least curious about it. Plus it includes Duel Monsters... so how bad could it be?"

Yuugi flinched. "Jiichan, don't ever ask questions like that."

Sugoroku shrugged. "Fine. But if I were you, I'd ask my friends what they think about it before making any decisions. The invitation was extended to more than just you, after all."

–

August 8, 2:03 p.m.
Kame Game Shop
Domino, Japan

–

"You kiddin', Yuge? Of course you should go for it!"

Yuugi rolled his eyes, but smiled in spite of himself. "Thanks for the subtle encouragement, Joey."

Joseph Wheeler, self-proclaimed duelist extraordinaire and others-proclaimed indulgent hack, wore an oblivious smirk and carried a twinkle in his brandy-brown eyes. "No prob'. But seriously, what's to think about? This is your thing, man."

"That's what Jiichan said."

"You don't sound so sure about it," said Joey.

Téa Gardner, Yuugi's best (female) friend – and bar none his most attractive one – was seated on the living room sofa and looking almost as pensive as Yuugi felt. He found some reassurance in that; he didn't want to be the only one with reservations about charging headlong into another adventure... controlled though it might be by computers. They'd all had experience with adventures similar to this before. Her sapphire gaze bore a certain... sadness about it. Yuugi blinked. "What's wrong?"

"I'll bet I know why you're holding back on it," she said. "You're worried we're going to get caught up in some sort of scheme to destroy or dominate the world, as usual."

"Not 'as usual'," Joey retorted. "We've only done it four times so far."

"Three," Yuugi corrected. "Marik, Dartz, Alexander. And yes, I'm concerned about that. No, Joey, I'm not so sure it's the right thing to do."

"Aw, c'mon," Joey protested. "Those other times, it was pretty clear what the danger was. There's no real-life danger in this thing, they make it pretty clear it's only a game, and they're just inviting you to play it."

"Sounds like a great opportunity to me. Get yourself a little spending money instead of having it all invested in Industrial Illusions stocks and bonds where even your Dark Magician can't remove it." Tristan Taylor was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed. He offered Yuugi a small smile of encouragement. Yuugi thought it ironic to receive such wise advice from one of the same men who only spent breath to hurt the feelings of others just a couple years ago.

"I guess that's a good point," Yuugi conceded. "And the letter did point out it's all strictly voluntary..."

"Yeah, so what's stoppin' ya?" Joey asked jovially.

"What Téa said. I don't want to get mixed up into some kind of trouble like what always happens to us when we appear in public, whether it's intentional or accidental," was the shorter teen's reply.

Tristan shifted his stance and crossed his legs. "What's happened all those times?" he asked reasonably. "Things turned out all right. You got your grandpa's soul back, you saved the world three times in a row..."

"What if Yuugi doesn't want the stress of saving the world a fourth time?" Téa chimed in. "I mean, that's got to be what this game is about. Some sort of conflict that needs heroes to resolve it. With all this experimental technology, it might end up becoming the real thing and we'd never know."

"This isn't Final Destination. We can't just sit on our hands all day because we're afraid of what might happen if we poke our heads out the door." Tristan huffed. "But Yuugi doesn't have to take the challenge if he doesn't want to. They're not forcing him to play. What're they dangling in front of him? Money and publicity? Yuugi, I think you couldn't care less about those things... but you do like games. So do we."

"Yeah, Yuge," Joey said. "Even for us, sometimes a game is just a game. If there's a world to save in it, then we'll have fun doing it."

Yuugi looked up uncertainly at his friends. "Well... I guess it's worth a shot... but I don't want to go by myself."

"Think we'd let ya?" Joey grinned. "You know I'm with ya to the end, buddy."

"Me too," Tristan immediately supplemented, offering another smile.

Téa chewed her lip. Yuugi looked to her hopefully. "How about you? Want to come along with us?"

"Well..."

"Please?"

She found his gaze – and although her reservations were all over her face, the moment she saw his eyes she knew she'd be going. The worry in her expression melted away at his look and she smiled. "Of course. Count me in."

"And me."

All four heads twisted around – Sugoroku was standing on the other side of the doorway, a twinkle in his eyes not unlike the one in Joey's. Yuugi frowned. "Are you sure, Jiichan?"

"Absolutely!" the elder Mutou declared. "It's good for me to know what games kids might play in lieu of what I sell."

Joey also gave Sugoroku an odd look. "You didn't think that way about Dungeon Dice Monsters when it came out. Didn't you forbid all of us to go to Black Crown?"

Téa spoke up again. "And what about your heart? When we fought Alexander, you weren't doing too well..."

"Hogwash," Sugoroku sniffed. "I missed a very good opportunity with Dungeon Dice Monsters, and I didn't get to be there for some of your greatest excitements. I certainly don't intend to miss this." He grinned and winked. "Besides, someone has to drive you young whippersnappers to Tokyo."

At that point, there was silent – albeit unanimous – concession from the teens. Yuugi brightened a little. "Hey, speaking of Dungeon Dice Monsters, maybe we should invite Otogi."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Him? He'd only come along if Serenity was there, too."

"If I have my way, she's not goin' near either of you," Joey grunted. "She's not in Japan anyway, she's back in the States with her mom." There was a tone of bitterness to his voice, and a slight crease split his brow. He shook his head to clear it. "So I guess she won't be able to come."

"Too bad," Yuugi mused, "otherwise I'd have invited her, too."

"That would make it seem a little too familiar," Téa muttered. "Want me to go over to Black Crown and invite Otogi, then?"

"Yes, please," said Yuugi, much to Tristan's consternation. He chuckled at his friend as Téa rose to do as requested. "We're not going to have to separate you two, are we?"

"Quite possibly," Tristan muttered.

"Anyone else we should invite?" Joey asked.

"Well, you know, Rebecca is in Kyoto," Sugoroku mused. "I bet she'd be thrilled to hear about this game of theirs."

"You must be joking," Joey muttered.

"Hardly. She came to Japan for a Duel Monsters tournament, and it's on its last leg today."

"Nah, I think it's a good idea," said Tristan. "The more, the merrier, right? Plus the hero always has a love interest or two." He winked conspiratorially at Yuugi.

Yuugi blushed. "We're not dating!"

"Yet," Tristan returned, smirking. "But I'd say she's in love with you."

"She's too young to fall in love," said Sugoroku. "She has a crush."

"Big one."

"Yes, well..." The older man chuckled. "Then it's settled. Tristan, could you see to it she's invited? She should be staying, I believe, at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto."

"Will do," said the teen, and he strayed into the kitchen to make good use of the telephone.

Joey huffed. "Okay, anyone else?"

Yuugi shrugged. "What about Ryou? If this 'Kingdom' is a roleplaying game, he'd fit right in."

"Oh my," said Sugoroku, unable to suppress a shudder. "Are you sure that's such a good idea, Yuugi?"

Joey supplemented, "Yeah, man... I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the guy, but..."

"But what?" Yuugi asked, sounding reasonable. "The troubles he had were all because of the Millennium Ring, and he doesn't have it anymore – I do. It hasn't gone anywhere since Battle City. Trust me, I check every day. So let's give him a chance, huh? He's our friend. And I don't like the thought of blowing him off... I know what that's like."

At that, Joey and Sugoroku both looked down in shame... they knew the feeling too.

"All right," said Joey. "I'll drop by his place this afternoon and invite him along."

"Good man," said Yuugi.

The shadow of the Pharaoh appeared and seated itself on the armrest of the couch. "Yuugi, I feel I must concur with Joey and your grandfather – while I personally have no problem with Ryou, I am concerned with the person he becomes during even the most innocent of exchanges."

You shouldn't, Pharaoh. You know we still have the Ring. It might not like us but we earned it fairly, and the soul thief can't come out unless he has both the Ring and Ryou.

"I wish I shared your convictions on the matter, Yuugi, but I do not believe it to be quite that simple."

Why?

"Tristan claims to have thrown the Ring deep into the jungle of Duelist Kingdom. Ryou never left our sight long enough to permit him to find it between our duel with Pegasus and the time we left. Perhaps he does not need to find the Ring in order for the Ring to find him."

... That sounds pretty ominous, Pharaoh.

"It is my nature to consider the worst-case scenario so that I may be prepared for its implementation."

In that case, I don't want to know about the worst-case scenario for this game we're about to play.

"I do not believe there is a measure for just how badly things could turn for this game we are about to play, aibou."

–

August 8, 4:45 p.m.
Kaiba Corporation World Headquarters
Domino, Japan

–

"It's almost time to go home, 'niisama."

Kaiba Seto looked at his desk clock. "An hour and fifteen minutes, Mokuba. When are you going to stop doing that?"

"When you start listening to me and not that stupid clock." Kaiba Mokuba harrumphed and blew a stray lock of black hair out of his eyes – one stray lock out of hopelessly many. "C'mon, Seto, you need to go home early sometime. Spend a little more time with your family and a little less time on work."

"I have a business to run, Mokuba," the older Kaiba replied dispassionately. "KaibaCorp needs a head so that the body doesn't die."

"And heads need rest just as much as bodies do," Mokuba answered, crossing his arms. "Take a sabbatical."

"Not this close to the end of a normal work day," Seto replied. His blue eyes flickered up to his younger brother, and a small smile reserved only for his little brother appeared. "It's not nearly as much fun as having a whole day off."

"'Fun'?" Mokuba beamed. "Seto, you haven't used that word in a long time."

"Don't expect to hear it for just as long, either. Nevertheless, there you have it."

The younger Kaiba cocked his head in curiosity. "There I have what, 'niisama?"

"This." Seto slid a folded piece of paper across the desk, clearly meaning for Mokuba to take it. "How it got through the screened mail, I couldn't say. I only know that it did."

Mokuba picked up the paper and read through it. He blinked in fascination. "Wow." He looked up at Seto. "Spectre has technology contracts with us, doesn't it?"

"Quite a few," Seto acknowledged. "They experimented with miniaturized Duel Monsters holography first. Good thing I patented it. They moved on to neural interfacing... some for the military, mind control of remote spyplanes and such. The rest, I suppose, was for this."

"Reminds me a lot of the virtual world we faced the Big 5 and Noa in," Mokuba mused.

And Gozaburo. Seto didn't say it aloud; he preferred not to acknowledge the battles he'd had to fight and the life he'd had to relive in that place. "They're pretty much gambling their entire future on Kingdom. If it flops, it's the death of the company."

"And if we endorse it, they pull in funds to make Industrial Illusions drool?"

"Not quite that much, I don't think. But it'll be enough to sustain them for quite a while. And every time Industrial Illusions comes out with new Duel Monsters cards, KaibaCorp produces corresponding holograms, and Spectre will update Kingdom to expand their own database. Everyone wins... based on I2's exports."

"Think they'll become a decent competitor?"

"Hardly a competitor, never mind decent," Seto sniffed. "But it's a chance to take a look at what they're creating based on our research and genius."

Mokuba grinned. "So we're going?"

"Of course we are. I've already called them. We're scheduled to begin the game Thursday morning."

"Awesome!" The younger Kaiba was immediately pumped. "Finally, a day to ourselves!"

Another one of those rare smiles graced Seto's features. While he might not have passion for much, one of his passions was seeing to it that his younger brother was happy – and if he had to get involved... well, that was simply a bonus.

–

August 9, 7:30 a.m.
Spectre Industrial Corporation Headquarters
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

–

"Mr. Irvine?"

"Yes?"

"We've now received correspondence from everyone. They've all expressed interest enough to attend the test."

"Very good, Nancy. The plane?"

"Ready to go at your convenience, sir."

"All right, then. Have the car here in an hour, and let the pilot know we'll be leaving in two."

"Sir, have you been home at all since the invitations were sent out?"

A chuckle. "You've caught me, Nancy. But I'll get some sleep on the plane. Make sure there are two suits waiting for me onboard."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Let me know if there's anything I should know... don't if there isn't."

"Yes, sir."

He sat back and steepled his fingers. This would be interesting.

Indeed, it would.