Author's Note: Hello, just a quick note to let you know this is the second installment in this story, so please read the first so you're not very confused :D Happy reading!
Chapter One - Game On
"Mokuba, you look adorable," Alexa cooed.
The teen stood before her, his black hair tied back and contained under a purple wizards hat. His eyes shone in glee as he looked down at the medieval blue tunic he was wearing along with black tights and bright purple boots.
"Awesome," he breathed.
Then, his eyes turned to look at Alexa. His reaction was immediate as his eyes widened and his cheeks turned a faint tinge of pink.
"Nice outfit, Kage," Kaiba smirked, folding his arms as he gazed in her direction.
Alexa looked down at her outfit, a tuft of bright purple hair falling beyond her shoulders. She gasped as she realised she was wearing very little clothing compared to her usual attire. All she had to maintain her dignity was a red tank top that showed off her stomach and a short white skirt with a red belt. White boots completed her look (which Alexa would have admired if she hadn't been so mortified).
"Kaiba! Are you some sort of pervert? Couldn't you programme some decent clothes into this thing?" She yelped.
"This is your fault, Kage. I told you that you could pick a Duel Monster card to base your character off, but you should have reviewed it in the edit suite. Now you won't be able to change it until you level up," he explained, amused.
Alexa grumbled as she eyed up Kaiba, who had somehow skipped the cosplay and donned his usual attire of his signature white coat. When Makuba had suggested she trial a prototype game that lets you become a version of your favourite Duel Monster, or even create a new one, she had been ecstatic, but this was definitely not what she envisioned.
"So have you guessed who I based my character off, Alexa?" Mokuba asked, indicating his attire.
"Saggi the Dark Clown, right?" She guessed.
"You could have pretended to be clueless," he pouted.
"Sorry, but the hat kind of gives it away," she laughed. "My outfit, on the other hand, barely resembles the Dunames Dark Witch. I mean, where is her armour?"
"Plus, the wings are kind of small," Mokuba commented, glancing at her pair of wings that barely passed her shoulder blades.
"Everyone starts as a level one monster. When you level up, you gain a star and have the chance to equip your monster and power it up," Kaiba explained, annoyed.
"And what Monster Card are you based off, may I ask?" Alexa retorted.
"It's got to be Blue Eyes, right bro?" Mokuba chided.
"Come on," he ordered.
Kaiba stalked off across the grassy plains that surrounded them. With a shrug directed at each other, Alexa and Mokuba followed him. Coming over a mound, they caught up with Kaiba who was staring down at some insect monsters that Alexa recognised as Petite Moth (Atk 300/ Def 200) and Basic Insect (500/700).
"Alright, what do we have to do?" Mokuba questioned Kaiba.
Alexa shook her head and started running toward the group of monsters. As she gained momentum, her body started to glow with a bright golden light, her stats showing one star and Atk 450/ Def 300. She slashed at a Petite Moth, causing it to be destroyed in a rain of sparks. With a grin, she began hacking at the others. Kaiba watched her looking bored.
"Hey, my attacks won't work!" Mokuba complained, storming over to join Alexa and Kaiba.
"That's because you only have 200 attack points," Kaiba sighed.
"Then how am I supposed to…" Mokuba was cut off as he realised the insects had surrounded them.
Alexa backed up, as a Basic Insect began sizing her up, preparing to attack.
"Err, Kaiba, I don't suppose you could lend me hand?" She asked hopefully.
Alexa could see from his stats that he was already a four star monster with Atk 1500/ Def 1000. As Kaiba glared at her, she suspected she was on her own and decided to kick out at the insects head. Upon impact, she was thrown backwards, landing with a crash on the ground. Picking herself up, she wondered why she hadn't taken any damage.
"Do I not lose life points, or something?" Alexa asked, surprised.
"It will go against you later. You need to defend," Kaiba sneered.
"Oh, right," Alexa said, feeling stupid.
Alexa kneeled, shifting her hands to cross across her chest, and trying to replicate how her monster looked in defence position. As the insect attacked again, she braced, glad she wasn't thrown back this time. Mokuba followed her lead, the Petite Moth he was facing bursting into sparks.
"Couldn't you have designed this so we started off a bit stronger? We can barely take Basic Insects for goodness sake," she grumbled.
As they both defended, Mokuba began to emit waves of shadows, having taken on quite a few insects. As the Basic Insects closed in on him, the shadows erupted forming a column that exploded outward, taking the bugs with it. Mokuba emerged from the shadows, now donning a purple staff and a yellow star on his eye.
"Look guys, I levelled up!" Mokuba pointed out gleefully.
A shining star was added to his stats, which had increased from 200/600 to 600/1000. Using the power of his new accessories, he started targeting the Basic Insects, allowing Alexa to pick off the Petite Moths. Soon, Alexa began to feel a rush as she became empowered with a golden light which engulfed her as she levelled up.
Alexa watched as the game around her was paused and faded into the background. In front of her, she watched as a summary of her battles popped up. Her successful ones seemed to add to her score, but Kaiba had been right when he said that she would regret attacking a monster stronger than herself, since she lost points for it.
From there the real fun started, as Alexa could edit her character. Firstly, she changed her original outfit, opting for a red dress that ended in white ruffles at her knees. Relieved, she then looked through the power ups, each with their own benefits. In the end, she choose some red armour and upgraded her wings to up her stats to 900/550, leaving her with some points spare.
"Now this is what I'm talking about," she grinned, deciding to get revenge for her points lost on the now weak insects.
"Glad you finally decided to put some clothes on," Kaiba sneered.
"Just you wait. Soon I'll be a four star monster that can kick your but," she warned him.
"Bring it on, Kage," he taunted her.
Alexa raged, ready to take on Kaiba, regardless of his stats, when she was interrupted as a reminder popped up on the screen; 'Game Designer Pitch, 13:00'.
"Saved by the boardroom," Mokuba chuckled.
"Let's go," Kaiba commanded, disappearing from the game.
"Are you coming, Mokuba?" Alexa asked.
"No way. I want to level up so I can be as strong as Seto," Mokuba explained.
Alexa shook her head. It seemed this game was way too addictive because she was tempted to do the same, but, unfortunately, duty called.
"Ok, maybe you can find out what we're actually supposed to do in this game while you're at it. See ya!" She called out with a wave.
Pulling the virtual reality helmet off her head, Alexa had to blink to bring herself back into reality. She had to admit, Kaiba definitely knew how to design a game. Everything had felt so real. It was almost a shame to come back into reality. Sighing, Alexa stretched, soon setting off to the entrance of the building to greet Kaiba's one o'clock appointment.
XxX
Alexa waited at the entrance of the Kaiba Corporation building, glancing around, arms folded. Her face formed into a scowl as she wondered who on Earth she was supposed to be waiting for. 'You'll know when you see them,' Kaiba had barked at her. Soon, a familiar car pulled up and Alexa gave it a confused look as Joey Wheeler got out from the driver's seat.
"Hey dere, Alexa," he greeted her with a cheeky grin and a wave.
"Joey?" She exclaimed. "No way. You are not Kaiba's one o'clock. He, well he…"
"Hates me?" Joey interjected.
"Well, yeah," Alexa sighed.
"Don't worry. I'm jus' here for moral support, ya know?" He grinned.
"What are you…" Alexa started, interrupted by her own gasp.
Getting out at the passenger side of Joey's car was Yugi Mutou. As in the Yugi Mutou, King of Games. Alexa felt a flutter in her chest as she stood, awe struck at the legend before her.
"And here I was thinkin' you were my biggest fan, Alexa," Joey laughed at her reaction.
In response, Alexa gave him a playful slap on the arm and tried to calm herself down. Smoothing down her shirt, she walked up to Yugi and held out her hand.
"Mr Mutou, Alexa Kage. It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted him, her heart hammering in her chest in pure excitement.
"Nice to meet you too," he responded whilst shaking her hand.
"Kaiba is waiting for you in meeting room five. Is there anything I can do for you before you head up?" She asked politely.
"I don't suppose my friends could wait somewhere, could they?" He questioned her, looking towards the two people who had also emerged from Joey's car.
"I'm sure I could sneak them in. You've all got to be security checked beforehand though. Is that ok?"
"Got my ID right here for ya," Joey called out, waving an ID in her face.
Alexa snatched the ID from his hand, giving him a glare that Kaiba would have been proud of.
"Then, please, follow me," she invited them.
The group talked amongst themselves whilst Alexa scanned their IDs. Alexa had to laugh when she saw that Yugi's friends, which she now knew as Tristan Taylor and Teá Gardner, were on the no entry list.
"Is there a problem?" Tristan asked, giving her a curious glance.
"What on earth did you guys do to earn the privilege to end up on the no entry list?" She shook her head at them, laughing.
"Don't tell me we can't come in to support Yugi," Teá whined.
"Calm down, Princess. I can get you in," she grinned.
Teá blinked at her, evidently in shock, causing Alexa to smirk. Next, she entered some details into the computer and printed off the passes they would need to gain entry to the top floors. Handing them out, she guided their group onwards and upwards.
"So, what brings you here, Mr Mutou?" Alexa wondered, while they stood in the elevator.
"Please, call me Yugi. I'm trying to get Kaiba Corp to mass produce one of my game ideas. It's a virtual reality where you can become your favourite Duel Monster, or make your own. Apparently, Kaiba's developed the prototype, so I'm here to see if we can come to some arrangement," Yugi explained.
"You designed that game?" Alexa exclaimed. "Well, let me tell you, of the small bit I've played, it was amazing. Can't wait to see what it becomes."
"How did you like the character design?" Yugi asked her, intrigued.
"Brilliant. I choose the Dunames Dark Witch as my base and I've already began tailoring her with armour and upgraded wings," she gushed.
"Nice. Tried out any spell or trap cards yet?" He inquired.
"Must not have gotten that far yet. Fancy giving me some tips? Me and Mokuba are hoping to beat Kaiba's but at the thing," she laughed.
"You'll figure it out," he replied with a secretive smile.
As the group arrived at their floor, Alexa heard Joey whisper 'smooth' into her ear. In retaliation, she elbowed him in the stomach, walking out to guide the group to the lounge area. First, she dropped off Yugi's friends (once Joey had finally caught his breath). Next, Alexa escorted Yugi to the meeting room. Knocking on the door, she entered without hesitation.
"Kaiba, Mr Mutou is here," she announced to the boardroom.
Alexa smirked as Kaiba glared at her in response to calling Yugi 'Mr Mutou'.
"I can see that. Don't you have some work to do?" Kaiba growled.
"Good luck," she chirped as Yugi entered the room.
Looks like he was going to need it.