This story was inspired by the scene in Yu Gi Oh! GX, when all the names on the building lists vanished, leaving behind just one name: Seto Kaiba. This occurs at the height of the Trueman siege, when nearly the entire of Domino, Duel Academy, and the world have been taken to the World of Darkness.
Also, I have taken a few creative liberties with the cards; some may exist, some not; others, are treated as having slightly different effects. There are no Tuner or Synchro monsters; any Tuner monsters are treated as Effect Monsters.
Happy reading!
"Look, I don't really care. No matter how well SchroederCorp products are selling, it's nowhere near the assets and reputation that KaibaCorp has amassed over the years. Do you here me? Hello?" Abruptly, silence. "Hello?" Still no answer but static. Did his agent really just hang up on him? Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes to high heaven and turned the phone off. No matter how hard that idiot Zigfried Schroeder might try, he would never be able to make his company as powerful or as influential as Kaiba had made his. Already, his company's power extended far beyond the sport of dueling and reached into virtually every investment in the world. Hence his current headache.
Currently, Kaiba was trying his best to organize a new tournament that was to be held soon, but he kept being interrupted with other pointless activities. He glanced fondly at the dueldisk and deck that he kept in his office at all times; they were a reminder of the wonders of life. Dueling had always been his first love – but he hadn't dueled for months now. As CEO of KaibaCorp, he was literally the most well-known face in the entire world. Well, besides Yugi, of course – but that was nothing new.
Sometimes, he found himself longing for the days that he had once had, ten years ago, with the mystic energies of Egypt and the might of the Orichalkos wrecking havoc in his life. Then, he had known he had been doing something; now, he was just a puppet master, reduced to manipulating others in order to get things done.
Then, from beneath him, a roar sounded, and the floor vibrated slightly. Kaiba rolled his eyes. There was a special dueling room in the building; why did the staff persist in using rooms beneath his office to conduct their battles? He had thought that he had hammered that point home by now. Ah, well. Maybe it was time for a reeducation class.
"Roland?" Kaiba called. Roland's office was right outside Kaiba's. Over the years, his dogged loyalty and steadfast prescence and helping hands had led Kaiba to place more and more responsibility in him. Next to Kaiba himself, Roland now had the most authority in the KaibaCorp building.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, sir?" Despite Kaiba's frequent requests that he drop that title, Roland persisted in that formality.
"Sounds like the staff are dueling in the conference rooms again. Mind setting them straight?" With Roland, his longtime bodyguard and friend, Kaiba was slightly less abrupt than he might be with others.
"Yes, sir." He heard Roland walk down the stairs, and continued his work.
Not five minutes later, another colossal explosion shook the office. Kaiba let out a hiss of exasperation; Roland rarely failed. He should probably demote the culprit and make an example out of him; the staff needed to be taught that the rules were to be obeyed.
But honestly, how hard was it to just use the arena for dueling? Kaiba had thought he had hired intelligent personnel. Apparently not.
With a world-weary sigh, Kaiba got out of his chair. But before he could go three steps, the door exploded off its hinges. He shielded his face as splinters of wood flew everywhere.
"Seto Kaiba. You have become an obstacle to be removed." Standing in the doorway was a tall man with yellowish white skin, deep lines around the mouth, and wearing a thick black suit, complete with orange lining and spikes protruding from the shoulders.
"Who are you – and what the heck are you doing in my office?" Kaiba growled. It would take ages to return the office to its pristine state, and, quite frankly, he didn't have ages.
"I am Trueman. Duel me, Seto Kaiba," the man said, a sneer curling along the ridges of his face.
"I don't know what you hope to gain, but if it's a duel you want, I'm all too willing to oblige." Kaiba reached over to his desk and slid his dueldisk onto his arm. The device hummed with energy, and Kaiba stood a little taller. He felt powerful again. It had been far too long.
"Before we start, what did you do with my workers?" Kaiba asked. "This is an important business, you know – I can't afford to give them any time off." Beneath his sarcastic and scathing tones, Kaiba hid a tinge of worry. He had never seen anyone like this man, and doubted that the staff would just let them waltz up to his office. They would've tried to stop him. Kaiba recalled the explosions from earlier, and a sickening sense of dread grew in his stomach.
"I have sent them to the World of Darkness. You will join them soon." Trueman brought his arm up, and with a dry crackling noise, darkness pooled around his arm to form a dueldisk. "I'll start – with the Dark Archetype, in Attack Mode!" With a roar, a deformed and patchwork beast reared up, its squat, ugly body filling the room. A pile of reports on Kaiba's desk spiraled to the ground from the mere force of its prescence.
Kaiba frowned in annoyance. "It took my managers days to compile those reports. And, if they're in the Shadowrealm like you said, I'll have to do them all myself. That's a week, minimum, of sorting papers. Congratulations, Trueman. You have officially become a royal pain in the neck."
"Not the Shadowrealm; I am not ruled by Zorc. I speak of the World of Darkness, ruled by Nightshroud. But don't listen to me; you will experience it soon enough. I play two cards face down. Your move, Seto Kaiba." This man couldn't be an expert. Otherwise, he would've realized who and what he was up against, and wouldn't play a monster with 1400 attack in attack mode. Only fools would play that against Seto Kaiba.
"Draw!" Perfect. Kaiba inspected his hand. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Future Fusion!" Light flared around the office, colored patterns flickering through the room. "This card allows me to send cards listed on a Fusion monster to the grave. I choose the Five-Headed Dragon, and send one Totem Dragon, one Blue Eyes White Dragon, and three White Stones of Legend to the grave. Then, in two turns, my Five-Headed Dragon will emerge." The five dragons appeared in midair, and gradually were pulled into the center of the swirling vortex. Kaiba watched them, a slight smile curling the side of his mouth.
"Next, I activate the power of my White Stones of Legend from the grave. When one is sent to the graveyard, I can add one 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' from my deck to my hand. And since I sent three, I get three Blue Eyes – two, since I just sent one to the grave with my Fusion. " Kaiba reached into his deck and pulled out two cards, savoring the power and warmth he felt from them, inanimate as they were in their current state. "Now, I activate the Spell Card, Ancient Rules!" A scroll materialized from the air, opening to reveal papyrus covered in ancient hieroglyphs. Predominately featured was a white dragon. "I can use this card to Special Summon a Normal monster from my hand. The one I choose is the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
With its unmistakable roar, the dragon materialized in the room. Although similar in size to the Dark Archetype, its every particle radiated raw power, from the streamlined ridges of its smooth scales to the jagged points of its teeth. Kaiba laughed in exhilaration, and the Blue Eyes White Dragon roared its challenge to the black-clothed figure in the room.
"Enough for now. I play two cards face down. You're up, Trueman." Trueman frowned in bemusement, and Kaiba smirked. He had faced down his share of psycho maniacs in his time, and he had learned a simple fact: they want you to attack and destroy whatever abomination they have out at the time. Kaiba was perfectly willing to take his time and wait and see what Trueman did next. After all, he was well prepared.
"I call out the Yomi Ship, in Attack Mode." A canoe like boat sprang into the air, four tiny oars milling in the air around it. It had 800 Attack, and 1200 Defense. Kaiba raised his eyebrow.
"Next, I'll have my Dark Archetype attack. Go, my beast!" The misshapen fiend leapt for the dragon, and the dragon sent a burst of white lightning to meet it. Trueman smiled.
"Go, facedown card; Forbidden Chalice!" Trueman's smile abruptly disappeared, while Kaiba's smirk grew larger. "It increases a monster's attack by 400 points – then negates its effect until the End Phase. So – attacking, were you?"
Trueman snarled in rage, and the Blue Eyes unleashed a devastating blast of blue energy that caught the monster in midair. Dark Archetype was gone, as if it had never been, and the blast of lightning shot towards Trueman…
"Go, Spirit Barrier!" A shimmering barrier of light shot out of the Trap Card to encircle Trueman, and the lightning detonated harmlessly. "This Continuous Trap Card permits me to ignore all Battle Damage dealt to me while I have a monster on the field. Next, I activate my facedown card: Stronghold, the Moving Fortress!" The floor split, and an immense mechanical humanoid's torso towered up behind Trueman. Its head brushed the ceiling, while everything below its chest disappeared underneath the floor. "This Continuous Trap Card allows me to summon my monster in Defense Position, and with 2000 Defense, it will be difficult to destroy."
"You do realize that my Blue Eyes has 3000 Attack Points, right?" asked Kaiba skeptically. This man just was not making sense.
Trueman ignored him. "Especially once I activate my Yomi Ship's effect. When a monster destroys it by battle, I can destroy the monster that destroyed my ship. In addition, thanks to my Spirit Barrier, I do not take any Battle Damage, thanks to my Stronghold's prescence on the field. Go, Yomi Ship, and take the Blue Eyes down!" The ship's oars rowed frantically, and the ship rammed full into the Blue Eyes. The dragon sent a blast of lightning to meet it, and the resulting explosion threw Kaiba off his feet. When he turned to look, both monsters were gone.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Double Summon. This allows me to conduct an additional summon this turn, and I choose the Summoner Monk!" A squat, bearded dwarf knelt in Defense Mode, with a measly 1600 points to protect itself. "When this card is on the field, I can discard a Spell Card in order to call out a level four or lower monster from my deck – like the Wall of Illusion, in Attack mode!" A dark purple and red mass of hair and thread appeared, similar to a tapestry. But tapestries did not have blood-smeared faces or dead eyes like this one. "Your move, Seto Kaiba. And with three monsters on my field, none on yours, and my Spirit Barrier still in play, you won't last long," Trueman declared.
Kaiba sighed. "You have no facedowns, no cards in your hand, and no firepower to back up your threats. I left myself with plenty of resources – and an infinitely more powerful deck than yours. But don't take my word for it – let me show you. I draw, and I now hold four cards, Trueman – four more than you. I have a Five-Headed dragon emerging next turn that will crush you like a fly – if you survive till then. I also have one facedown, which one more than you have. I also have one Totem Dragon in my grave – which I now resurrect! Come forth!" The tiny dragon emerged, hissing at Trueman with all the menace its 400 Attack points could muster. "I can bring this monster back to the field if I have only Dragon-Type monsters in my graveyard. Next, I sacrifice it – and it counts for two Tributes for the summoning of a Dragon-Type Monster, such as…say… the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The tiny green dragon dissolved into golden dust, which abruptly swirled and reformed into the Blue Eyes, which roared its fury at Trueman.
He shrugged. "I defeated that beast once. Why should now be any different?
"Because last time, there was only one to deal with," Kaiba answered. "How will you deal with two? I reveal my facedown card, Birthright! It allows me to resurrect a Normal monster in my grave – like the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A second shining white dragon reared up next to the first, roaring its fury at Trueman for its defeat. "Next, I activate the Swing of Memories Spell card – which, like Birthright, allows me to return a Normal Monster from my graveyard – like the Blue Eyes I sent there with my Future Fusion!" The third and final Blue Eyes emerged, and Trueman's pale face went a little paler.
"I see the fear in your eyes, Trueman, and I have something to tell you – this is only the beginning. Now, I activate the Spell Card, Burst Stream of Destruction! I can only activate this card when I have a Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field – and it destroys all monsters you control, regardless of position, Type, name, race, gender… it isn't picky. Go, Burst Stream of Destruction!" The Blue Eyes gathered up its energies and released a ball of lightning that struck the Summoner Monk full in the face. He disappeared, along with the other two monsters, in the explosion of light. Merciless, Kaiba continued.
"With no monsters left, your Spirit Barrier is useless. Now, I activate my final Spell Card – Polymerization! I use this card to fuse all three of my dragons to form the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" With a roar that shattered every window in the office, the three-headed beast emerged. Six blue eyes fixed upon Trueman; six nostrils breathed in his smoky odor. 4500 Attack points, staring at him straight in the face. Kaiba didn't waste his time.
"Go, my ultimate beast! Destroy him!" The dragon's mouths opened, and three beams of energy lanced down, cutting through the thick black suit and blasting Trueman through the wall. His body dissolved into a wave of black cards, flowing in a cloud of darkness – but even that was obliterated under the power of Kaiba's beast, leaving nothing but the faintest of shadows behind. Kaiba's desk was blown backwards, computer monitor shattering on the wall; every picture on the wall fell, and the bookcase fell over, spilling hundreds of volumes across the floor. Kaiba's trench coat billowed around him, and, for a moment, he felt alive again. He knew he was doing good again.
He walked through the ruined door, into the devastated hallway. Evidence of dueling was everywhere; from the looks of it, Trueman had taken them all down, one at a time. He could see the damage on every surface; wall, ceiling, floor… everywhere. Not one of his workers was anywhere to be seen. Not even… what was his name? His bodyguard, his friend… but somehow, the memory escaped him.
Strange. Looking around, Kaiba could see every cubicle in the entire floor – but he could not recall the name of a single person who worked on this floor. He had conducted the interviews and done the hiring himself… but not a single name came to mind. Not a face, not a name, not an idea… nothing but a vague shadow. He glanced at the name plaque on one cubicle; it was blank.
Just who was Trueman?
Crossing over to the window, Kaiba looked down at the city of Domino. It was deserted. Not a single person walked its streets; not a single car made its way along the road. The signs were still lit, the doors to shops still open – but there was nobody to be found. There was just him.