Pegasus walked through the office without a care. His plan was already in motion. In mere minutes, the Duel Monsters would begin invading Domino and then Japan and so on and so forth (it was all very dull really) until they controlled everything. Zorc would have what he wanted, and would reward Pegasus thusly. And he could not wait.

It seemed fitting to end it here. The grand skyscraper that housed KaibaCorp was a striking image, representing both progress and the group of "heroes" he had come to despise. He barely held back a laugh. Heroes. "More like a barely functioning group of riffraff," he scoffed, "and not one of them has a lick of fashion sense. Why, I-" Pegasus would have gone on, but was rather shocked when he opened a door to find none other than Ryou Bakura sitting in Kaiba's large office chair. He looked up with a bright smile.

"Oh, hello!" A light, lilting voice met his ear. Pegasus chuckled at the sight, then smirked. He leaned against the doorway.

"Oh, please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Ryou smiled sheepishly.

"Actually, the others sent me here to threaten you." The older man snorted. That had to be the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He'd seen kittens more intimidating than Ryou. "Tea?" the boy asked, gesturing to the full-blown tea set that adorned the oversized desk. Pegasus raised an eyebrow.

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, I told you. I'm threatening!" he insisted, "No tea? Are you certain? I am going to have some," he chirped. Pegasus rolled his eyes. Why was he so happy?

"The Duel Monsters are coming. Nothing can change that. What do I have to fear?"

"The Avengers," Ryou answered, not looking up from his tea. Pegasus crossed his arms.

"What was that, Ryou-boy?"

"It's what we call ourselves. Sort of like a team, I suppose. You know, 'Earth's Mightiest Duelists' sort of thing." Pegasus laughed.

"Oh, yes. I've met them." Ryou spooned some sugar into his cup then began stirring.

"Then you know what you're up against. Let's do a headcount. The King of Games, a reincarnated Pharaoh, a teenage CEO and his brilliant little brother, a sadistic thief, a couple of tomb keepers who are all too familiar with torture, a dancer who is definitely flexible enough to kick you in the face, a former gang members, and a dice master. And you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"Really? I'm to be intimidated by a dice master?"

"Clearly you've never been hit by one of the dice before," Ryou muttered into his tea. Then he spoke up.

"When they come-oh, and they'll come-They'll be coming for you."

"I have an army straight out of the Shadow Realm, Ryou-boy." Pegasus was done with this foolishness. He stared the teen down. Ryou met his glare with level eyes. He did not back away.

"We have Yami Marik," was his calm retort. Pegasus snickered.

"Oh really? I thought the dear beast wandered off?" Ryou stared into him. Not at him, into. Gone was any form of hospitality, any form of merriment. The brown eyes, usually so wide and innocent, were dark.

"You're missing the point. There is no version of this where you come out on top." He stood, fire in his eyes. Some part of Pegasus, a part he would swear never existed, quivered.

"Maybe your army comes," Ryou admitted, "and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it." His face was now inches from Pegasus's own, chin out in defiance. Suddenly, a grand idea struck him. With a volatile smile, he gripped Ryou's cheeks with one hand, and lifted his curtain of hair with the other. The Millennium Eye was in full view now, and Pegasus refused to let the youth look away.

"How will your friends have anytime for me," he cooed with a mock pout, "when they're so busy fighting you?" The Eye flashed. Ryou gasped as his face illuminated with gold. His head drooped, bangs covering his eyes. Pegasus stepped back and cackled. "Poor, poor Ryou-boy."

A gold light flashed beneath Ryou's shirt. Wind ripped around the boy, tousling his hair. It was now spiked in ridiculous proportions. The wind seemed to stretch him as well. He was now a good few inches taller. Sharp, red-brown eyes looked up and locked on Pegasus.

"Oh Pegasus," a deep voice asked with a malicious chuckle, "Did you really think I would leave my hikari unattended?"