Author's note: Hey, everyone, this is my very first story. Basically, I've had a lot of ideas kicking around in my head for a LONG time, but never had the get-up-and-go to actually do anything with them. So basically, this is my way of kicking down the door in my head and making a go of it.
Basically, this will be an alteration to established Yugioh canon, with one character-possibly more-being added. Who is he? Why is he there? Read on, and find out! Reviews are appreciated!
Joey's stomach growled again as they turned yet another corner in the seemingly endless maze of passageways beneath the island, still following the Millennium Ring's guidance. 'Following a mysterious artifact, possessed by a blood-hungry spirit that once tried to kill us.' Not for the first time, he wondered if he'd lost his mind and was simply dreaming all of this.
It was that moment that they came to a fork in the road, and the Ring stopped working. "Ummmm…Bakura? Why isn't it doing anything?" "I…er…I'm not sure." Stammered the Brit as he looked over his amulet. "Well, do something! We can't just stand here!" Growled Tristan. Bakura shot him a look. "It's not as if it came with an instruction manual, y'know!" "Ssssh!" Said Yugi suddenly. "Do you guys hear that?" They all listened intently-and, sure enough, from the right fork, they heard the gentle lapping of water. "A way out!" Cried Joey, dashing off at once. "Joey, WAIT!" Shrieked Tea as they followed him. "We don't know…what's…out there."
After that, she and the others simply stood and stared in shock at what they saw-a band of perhaps ten men, all dressed very simply, packing and loading crates onto a submarine.
"Sweet baby dragons." Muttered Joey in awe.
It was at this moment that he felt an intense pain in the back of his head, and as he blacked out, he thought he heard someone shriek.
When the group came to, the first thing they heard was a voice, speaking in a distinct American accent. "Hello, there. I do hope they didn't hurt you too badly." They opened their eyes.
Standing before them was a tall, well-built man, immaculately dressed. He was tall, with red hair, and sunglasses over his eyes. His wore clever dress pants and a bespoke suit and suit vest, all in black, with a crisp white shirt and red tie. On his head was a fedora-a Stetson, to be precise, though they wouldn't know that. Folded over one arm was a cashmere-lined jacket. In the hand of that arm was a cigarillo, smoking gently, and in the other hand was a Colt 1911 pistol, held with his finger on the trigger guard.
Yugi tried to move, and immediately regretted it, his head protesting loudly. "Ooooohh." He groaned. The man reacted, placing the gun on a crate and tossing him an ice pack. "My apologies for the rough treatment, but my associates were perturbed that this location was not as secure as they had believed."
Now this was a problem that the group had never come up against-a group of annoyed, likely angry men-probably drug dealers-whose hideout they had just stumbled upon. "This isn't Pegasus' doing, by the way." Added the man. "In fact, I'd guess he has no idea that his little place exists." He gave a sigh as he looked around, almost wistful. "I'll really miss this place now that we'll have to move out."
One of the other men, a short, stocky Japanese, started speaking angrily in his native tongue, but the American responded-to the surprise of the group, in equally fluent Japanese. He gave a small grin at their reaction. "I spent some years studying in Japan. Now then, I-" He stopped, then lowered his glasses, squinting at Yugi, then slowly grinned. "You're Yugi Muto, aren't you? The one who defeated Kaiba?" Yugi nodded. "Yes, and if you let us go, we won't tell anyone-" The man waved him off. "Oh, not to worry. I would have had to abandon it soon anyway. I never let an operation stay in one place for too long. This was always going to be a temporary arrangement."
"What's in these, anyway?" Asked Joey, then slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing that it probably wasn't a good idea to ask the probably-drug dealer what was in his crates. Seeing his expression, the man threw back his head and gave a short laugh. "Not drugs-well, not the ones you're thinking of, anyway." Taking up a crowbar and setting his cigar down, he pried open the top of one, revealing…medicine. Aspirin, IV bags, scalpels, surgical tools, band-aids, even vitamin pills. "A bit dull, I know." Said the man, sounding almost apologetic as he tossed the crowbar to his helper. "But it makes money. These will go to hospitals who can't afford market prices, rebel groups, criminals who don't want to go to doctors, etcetera." He grabbed one of the pill bottles and tossed it to Tea. "Each of you take two, then tell me exactly how you came to be here. Nothing less than the complete story will suffice. Oh, and by the way…"
He removed his Fedora and gave a small bow. "The name is Thomas Edison Kane. Pleased to meet you."
They went around and introduced themselves, then Yugi said "Well...this might seem hard to believe."
Thomas waved his hand. "The best stories generally are. Please go on."
And so the story was told-how Pegasus dueled Yugi through a TV set and stole his grandfather's soul, how they journeyed to Duelist Kingdom, both to save his Grandfather and Joey's sister's eyesight, and of the trials and tribulations they'd encountered along the way. The entire time, Edison kept his hands steepled in front of him, never once showing shock or disbelief, despite some of the truly outlandish claims they made.
At the end, he paused a moment, then said "That is a very difficult situation, and one I will be happy to help you resolve." With that, he sprang to his feet like a dancer and began shouting orders, while taking off his jacket and unbuttoning his vest, heading for a nearby tent.
None of them knew what was going on, but things started happening very fast-the workers sped up their loading, hurriedly packing bags onto the submarine, and, in a few minutes, Edison reeappeared.
His suit and jacket had been exchanged for a simple white tank top and leather jacket, with his pants changd out for a pair of dark jeans, and his elegant shoes swapped with combat boots. He now wore a belt with his pistol in it, along with a long knife, and a backpack. He had kept the sunglasses, but exchanged the fedora for a beige bandana.
He looked at them as though surprised to find them still standing, then said "Well, get up, get up! The castle won't storm itself, you know."
And that was how the group met one of their most interesting, eccentric, and loyal friends.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, tell me how I did! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.