Summary – A midnight run for ice cream, a defiant gesture against the responsibilities and constraints in his life that prevent him from enjoying his teenage years in a normal way, serves as the springboard for Seto's Grand Rebellion.
Disclaimer – Yu-Gi-Oh!, the characters, situations, and concepts are the brainchild and property of Mr. Kazuki Takahashi. I am not trying in any way whatsoever to declare or imply any claim to his work. This story is meant to be an amusing diversion for readers set in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, featuring some of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters.
Many thanks to FrenziedPanda17, Lucidscreamer, and Tex-chan for beta reading this story and encouraging me to post it.
High Score
It had been a rough day. Nothing dreadful happened, like his little brother getting hurt or kidnapped, or the ghost of his gone but not forgotten stepfather rearing his ugly head with some misbegotten, previously undiscovered legacy at the company, but still – the day had been rough. Not bad, but rough.
He placed his suit jacket on a hanger and set it on the proper bar in his closet so that the maid would take it to be laundered before he wore it again. He smiled grimly that his school uniform, which also required cleaning, had been kicked to the proper place on the floor of his capacious closet earlier. He recalled being pissed off when he changed from his school clothes to his work clothes earlier in the afternoon. Why...? Oh, yes. Wheeler.
Wheeler's voice got on Seto's last nerve at the best of times and it became completely intolerable when the idiot was crowing over some mundane accomplishment. What had it been? Not that Seto was interested in Wheeler's mediocre life; it was merely an exercise in recall, testing his memory. Oh, yes. Wheeler was rubbing a triumph in Taylor's face. Some game, somewhere – Wheeler had crushed Taylor's high score. Rolling his eyes at the idiocy of it all, Seto unbuttoned his shirt and whipped it off, unwilling to bear the stiffness of the fabric any longer. A familiar strangling feeling warned him that he'd done it again – tried to take off his shirt before taking off his tie.
He snarled as he undid the knot of his tie, then hurled the odious thing into the discard bin as soon as he unwound it from its stranglehold around his neck. The wretched thing probably wouldn't be discarded, most likely it would be donated to some charity, but it would be gone from Seto's house. He'd never have to wear that particular torturous necktie again.
He reached toward his robe, but stayed his hand.
It had been a rough day. He glanced at the time. Mokuba was already in bed, most likely fast asleep, but it was still early. At least, what Seto deemed early. He was worn out emotionally and mentally from his day, but not yet ready to try to sleep himself. He didn't want to read; he didn't want to turn on his computer and play anything, or program anything, but he wanted – something. Some challenge. Something new. Something – frivolous and rebellious. That it was his decision to hem himself in by running Kaiba Corporation directly, instead of through a board or assigned trustee didn't mean that he didn't sometimes chafe at how it restricted his life. He was seventeen – he should be able to toss off all concerns about hostile take-overs, ISO reports, standards and practices, all the various legal pitfalls and such that came with running a company – no, a corporation, and...
He wanted to run away. He wanted to forget his name, well this one anyway, the one that had so much responsibility attached to it, and...
Have fun, dammit. He wanted to have fun. He wanted to do something idiotic and irresponsible and not worry about the consequences – he wanted to act, for once, like the headstrong teenager he was, and not the 'preternaturally skilled young CEO of an established and successful corporation' he forced himself to become.
But... All his rebellious desires slammed back to harsh reality again. He was the young CEO of an established and successful corporation. Gozaburo might have all but beaten the propriety into him, but Seto easily recognized the necessity for it, now. He couldn't just do whatever he wanted and hope to maintain his control over his company. And, if he lost that, he lost the right to forge his own future. If he lost that, he could well lose the right to help direct Mokuba's future, and that was something Seto would never, ever jeopardize.
Maybe, just an ice cream? A mirthless laugh sounded hollowly in Seto's closet as he reached for a rarely used pair of jeans and rummaged about for a casual shirt. He was rich beyond just about any teen's wildest fantasies, and powerful, actually running his company, not simply a figurehead, and intelligent, crafting many of their products with his own mind and ingenuity, and all he could come up with for a grand rebellion, to try to take back some of his own fleeting childhood, was a midnight run for ice cream?
"I'm going out," Seto announced to Roland in the security control center fifteen minutes later.
Though he didn't wear sunglasses in the mansion, the bodyguard still managed to shade his gaze. Seto couldn't read how his announcement affected Roland.
"Should I bring the limousine around, sir?"
"No, I'm taking the car."
"The Ferrari is in the shop, sir."
"Not that car. The other car."
A flicker of surprise across Roland's face made Seto smirk. His bodyguard pushed his chair back from his console and started to rise. "I will be ready in just a..."
"I'm going out – alone."
Now the surprise was tinged with annoyance. "Sir, I really must..."
"I'm not going anywhere dangerous. I just need to clear my head. I don't want a huge fuss over this."
Seto showed not the slightest trace of backing down, as Roland regarded him with a cool, unreadable gaze for a long moment. "As you wish." Roland walked across the room, submitted his hand and eye to the proper scanners, and opened the key vault. He retrieved the proper key and offered it to Seto. "As with all your vehicles, it is up-to-date on maintenance, fully fueled, and ready to go. Despite its mundane appearance, the car is as fully shielded and bulletproof as the limousine."
"I doubt I will need such exotic protection. My errand is as mundane as the vehicle. Banal, even." Seto took the key and exited through the corridor leading to the garage. Roland followed. Seto shot a sidelong glance at his bodyguard. "I said I was going alone."
"Understood, sir. I will merely secure the door after you leave."
Seto nodded, and peered into the darkened auto bay. A moment later it was flooded with light as Roland snapped on the overhead lighting. Seto walked past the limousine, and the empty space where his Ferrari was usually parked, into the furthest corner of the garage. The light was weaker here, as this vehicle was rarely ever used. It was kept on hand inside the Kaiba garage as something of an emergency back up for the limousine, or a reliable vehicle for Roland, or whoever was on duty as the head of security, if an emergency, specifically one involving Mokuba, were to occur. Seto didn't want his little brother to be troubled by any delay, so having a nondescript, but reliable back up vehicle had made sense.
Nondescript it was. Black, not quite boxy but not sleek and sporty, it was a four-door sedan a mid-level executive who'd reached his full potential would drive. There wasn't an ounce of styling to the thing anywhere. The license plate was standard, boring, and forgettable, too. If Mokuba ever had to be spirited away from the mansion, this was the vehicle that would do it. Regarding it for the first time since he bought it a year or so ago, Seto realized it was still perfect for this purpose. It would lose itself amid the sea of its equally nondescript brethren if there was ever a need.
And, it suited his purposes tonight perfectly, too.
The server/clerk at the ice cream shop was too wrapped up in a phone conversation with a friend about her 'low-down, good-for-nothing, idiot boyfriend' to pay the least extra attention to Seto after dishing up his scoop of coffee ice cream and taking his money. He nodded toward the tip jar when she offered the change, not that she deserved a tip for her 'customer service', but he didn't want to have change jangling in his pocket the rest of the night.
A few minutes later he stared morosely at the empty paper cup and the melted ice cream dripping brown streaks down the sides and reflected that his 'grand rebellion' felt just as empty. The jangle of the bell on the door abruptly sent his thoughts in a different direction as he left the ice cream shop. It reminded him of – something.
He drove around for a bit, trying to tease the sensory impression into the full-fledged memory he knew lurked in his mind. Something... The jangle of the bell made him think of something...
He nearly drove past the place before his memory yielded. Neon lights advertized the latest additions, as well as informed the passerby that this establishment was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A video arcade.
Seto had only been to a video arcade once, to take a scrutinizingly close look at a video game that had caught Mokuba's attention. Mokuba had begged Seto to allow him to go to a video arcade without his bodyguards, as their presence 'weirded everyone out, big brother', but Seto refused. Mokuba didn't actually have a sign across his forehead that read 'please, kidnap me' but he might as well have, given how often he'd been snatched. Mokuba remarked sadly that he would never get a chance to play his favorite game to perfection, as the bodyguards made him too self-conscious.
So, Seto had done what any good big brother would have, and tried to buy the game for Mokuba. Except that the jerk wouldn't sell it – except for an insanely inflated fee as it was "Seto Kaiba" who wanted it. Money wasn't the object. It never was. Of course he could afford it, but caving to the greedy man's unreasonable request grated on Seto's nerves. He opted to examine the game closely instead, played it a few times himself, then programmed a similar, though significantly better, game for his brother to play in the home video game den.
Maybe there's something in here to give me a challenge – though I doubt it, Seto thought after he parked the car and entered the chaotically bright and noisy establishment. A few people looked up as he entered, then returned their gaze to a fast and furious competition at a Dance Dance Revolution game. A few others battled against each other at an air hockey table, but the video games themselves seemed to be deserted.
Not inclined to be social at the best of times, and still out of sorts, Seto opted to walk up and down the rows of the video games looking for one that might offer some sort of a challenge worthy of his attention. Shooters, driving games, matching games, puzzle games – nothing caught his eye.
"Young dragonrider! Are you worthy of pair-bonding with the Supreme Dragon and saving his land from total ruination?"
That caught Seto's attention. An RPG? Here? And a dragon-themed one at that. It's probably lame.
"Advance, if you dare, work together with a common dragon soldier, take up your simple lance and strive to impress the Supreme Dragon as you challenge levels of increasing difficulty and hardship."
"Graphics are okay – for a video game," Seto muttered, stepping a bit closer to the machine. Nothing like my holograms, of course, but they did a decent job on the dragons themselves.
"Earn fame and unlock skills, learn to wield more advanced weapons, thus, impressing the dragons. If you are worthy, more advanced dragons will seek you out, young dragonrider! Prove yourself exceptionally worthy, and the Supreme Dragon himself will consent to pair-bond with you."
Okay, that teaser scene is pretty cool. Maybe one game...
"I implore you, young dragonrider! Join the ranks of our hallowed heroes, and save our land of Draconica!"
That is an awesome visual! Seto smiled as the scene pulled back, revealing that the deep, impressive voice belonged to the Supreme Dragon, who was seated on his throne. The view panned around, in a half-way decent three dimensional rendering, showing a great hall filled with dragons, who were all staring up regarding the 'Wall of Heroes'. The view swooped around the Supreme Dragon's shoulder, and focused in on the high scores. 'JAW' topped the high score list. Oh, hell, no! Seto felt his jaw open as he realized who this had to be. That has to be Wheeler. There is NO WAY I'm going to let that stand!
It took him about an hour, and only a few dollars, to discern the nuances of the game. He enjoyed speeding through the twenty ranks from Novice Dragonrider up to Supreme Dragonrider as fast as possible, trading the somewhat irritating squeaky voice of the starter dragon up to the deep and impressive voice of the Supreme Dragon and all the cool and nifty things he could do with the various weapons and skills he earned along the way. The way the game blended intense action fighting with role playing elements intrigued him.
"That's how it should be!" Seto said firmly as he added the last letter and locked the entry in the first high score position. Some impulse made him turn around.
Roland stood behind him, with what appeared to be a tiny smile playing around his lips.
"What?" Seto demanded crossly.
"Nothing, sir."
"I thought I told you I wanted to go out alone, tonight."
"Indeed you did, sir. But, you wouldn't permit me to heed that command from Mokuba. What sort of bodyguard would I be if I heeded that command from you?" Roland asked reasonably enough. "I did give you privacy and space, sir. I only entered the arcade because you've been out of my direct sight for an hour."
Seto glared at him. Yeah, the bodyguard was right. He shouldn't wander around alone. And, yeah, he hadn't known he was being tailed, so that was nearly as good as being by himself. Still...
"I must admit, what you've managed in that hour is quite impressive," Roland noted as the game wheeled the view around and over the Supreme Dragon's shoulder to show the Hall of Heroes high scorers. 'KAI' was in every one of the ten positions.
Seto grinned. Roland was right, he shouldn't be out and about alone any more than Mokuba should. But, his bodyguard had given him enough space to have some unstructured time, and some, some...
"Have you had fun, sir?"
Yeah. Some fun. What would make tonight even sweeter would be if he were able to confirm that it was Wheeler he'd bumped from the high scores on that game.
"When I figure out who it is, I'm gonna cream 'em!" Wheeler ranted to Taylor a few days later. Seto glared at Wheeler in his usual way for his irritating voice and manner before the words registered.
"Really? Someone beat your high score in Draconica?" Taylor asked.
Seto wanted to grin. 'JAW' had been Wheeler, after all!
"Yeah, but just on that one machine. I still top on all the other ones in the city!" Wheeler bragged.
We'll see about that, Seto thought firmly to himself.
It took him three weeks (ably and unobtrusively shadowed by Roland) to find and conquer Wheeler's high scores on the Draconica machines around Domino. He was honestly not sure what was more satisfying, earning the Supreme Dragon's respect and adding his 'KAI' to each high score slot on each machine, or listening to Wheeler's empty threats and increasing agitation with each machine conquered. It amused him no end to hear how Wheeler and Taylor tried to figure out who's initials would spell out 'K A I'. Taylor suggested that it could be a kid attending a different school entirely. Wheeler was all for getting a hold of yearbooks and trying to figure out who this 'KAI' guy was (which was pretty smart thinking for Wheeler, Seto had to admit) but Taylor talked him out of it.
"Yeah, you're right. At least I've got the one machine I can never be beat on," Wheeler said.
Seto's attention focused like a laser beam at that, even though he pretended to be engrossed in the book open on his desk.
"The one at the liquor store near your house, right?" Taylor asked.
"Shh! Come on, that's my ace in the hole!"
"I think you are too worked up about this, man," Taylor replied. "It's just a game."
"Just a game? Just the best video game, ever! The only thing better is Duel Monsters." Wheeler said.
"What about DDR?" Gardner asked as she walked up.
"That's a game for sissies," Wheeler scoffed.
"You only say that 'cause you have two left feet," Taylor observed.
"Yeah, yeah. So says the guy who can't get past Journeyman Dragonrider," Wheeler noted.
Seto's relief when the bell rang and the teacher entered the room was tempered by his impatience to find the last Draconica game and take his rightful place at the top of the high scores.
It's been kind of boring since I beat Wheeler's high score on that last machine, Seto thought. He didn't want to go out tonight. He'd perused the other games at the arcades, but nothing caught his attention as Draconica had. Maybe I should try to work on a new VR RPG myself. But, not tonight.
Seto wandered down to the video game den in his house. It held every console game system, and any game that he or Mokuba could conceivably want to play. Truth be told, Mokuba used it more than he did, as Seto much preferred to descend via the spiral staircase to the Duel Monsters holo-suite below, but tonight even Duel Monsters couldn't entice his interest.
It wasn't until he found himself staring at a blank corner and becoming inexplicably irritated at it that he realized he wanted to fill it. He even grinned at he accessed the computer in the game room and found just the website he needed with his usual speed. He was just about to finalize his purchase when the most wicked and fun idea crossed his mind. Why not? It will be the gift that keeps on giving – to me. He doubled his order, and hit the confirm button.
Just over a week later, Joey returned home from school to find a package waiting for him. He wasn't expecting anything, certainly not anything taller than he was. The two delivery people were wearing white overalls with no logos. They were polite, but refused to discuss what was in the box, or who had sent it. Joey considered refusing this mysterious delivery, but his curiosity and impulsive nature won out in the end. Still, he wasn't completely foolhardy, so he made a few phone calls and waited impatiently for the cavalry to arrive.
"What's up?" Tristan asked laconically when Joey answered the door to his knock.
"I dunno. This." Joey pointed to the mysterious box.
"Why don't you go ahead and open it?"
"Waitin' for Yugi. Maybe he knows what it is."
"You're worried aren't you? Are you chicken?"
"Hell, no! Just, I don't know who sent it, or what it is..."
"Sounds chicken to me, man."
"Shut up! What do you know?"
"I know my best bud's a chicken."
While Joey pondered the merits and downsides of wiping the smirk off Tristan's face with his fist, someone knocked on the front door. "That'll be Yugi."
Yugi's eyebrows furrowed when Joey explained the mystery. He crawled around the box on his hands and knees, having noticed a bit of tiny writing, the only markings on the box, on one corner.
"That code looks familiar," Yugi said internally. "I don't recall why, but it's really familiar somehow."
"If it helps any, Aibou, I'm not sensing anything dangerous from the box or its contents," Yami assured in the same, silent communication.
"I think it might be – a video game." Yugi realized.
"It's a huge box for a video game," Yami noted.
"No, not for a console system, a stand-alone video game, like at an arcade."
"Who would be sending Joey an arcade video game? Aren't they quite expensive?"
Yugi hid his sudden grin, but knew the mirth translated perfectly to Yami. Joey had been going on for weeks about how some 'punk kid' with the initials 'K A I' had been systematically bumping his high scores off every Draconica machine in Domino.
"What has you so amused, Yugi?"
"Oh, you'll see." Yugi looked up at Joey. "I'm pretty certain I know what's in the box, Joey. Yami assures me that there's nothing dangerous about it, so why don't you open it?"
"If you know, why don't you tell me?" Joey demanded as he reached a hand down to help Yugi scramble to his feet.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure. If I'm right, you're gonna love it and hate it all at the same time."
Joey glared sourly at his cryptic friend for a long minute, willing Yugi to just give in and tell him. Yugi's blissful grin told him in a clear and certain way that Yugi wouldn't budge.
"Let's get this thing open," Joey finally decided.
It took the three boys about three minutes to dismantle the packing box and clear the masking tape from all the panels to reveal a brand new Draconica stand-alone video game – just like the ones found in arcades.
"Why do you I think I'd hate this, Yug'? My very own Draconica game, one that idiot KAI kid can't get his grubby mitts on!"
"Maybe you should plug it in and turn it on," Yugi suggested. He spied a bit of white poking out of the coin slot.
"Young dragonrider! Are you worthy of pair-bonding with the Supreme Dragon and saving his land from total ruination?"
"This is so cool!" Entranced, Joey watched the opening sequence, listening to the rousing challenge presented by the voice of the Supreme Dragon until...
"WHAT?" Joey screeched. "How in the hell did this KAI kid get a hold of a brand-new Draconica machine before it was even delivered to me to take all the high score spots with his stupid initials?"
"Uhm, Joey...?" Yugi ventured.
What?" Joey wheeled so fast that Yugi fell back a step.
"There's something in the coin slot."
Joey nearly jammed the piece of paper in fully in his haste to grab it, but finally pulled it free.
It was moderately amusing stalking your high scores around Domino, but you didn't offer enough of a challenge. Maybe, if you practice, you might become skilled and worthy enough to challenge my high score. The Supreme Dragon knows you can't touch me in Duel Monsters. -KAI
"Dude!" Tristan clutched his sides and laughed. "It wasn't just some kid using his initials, it was Kaiba trashing your high scores! This is epic!"
Joey clenched his fist around the note and glared at his friend. "Y'know what else is 'epic'? What I'm gonna do to your face if you don't stop laughin' at me!"
"At least Kaiba was nice enough to unlock the free game function for you, Joey." Yugi grinned. "Come on. This is kinda fun. You have a chance to beat Kaiba. He's even daring you to."
"I suppose. But just knowin' that he's smirking 'cause he's got the high score on all the Draconica games in Domino..." Joey gritted his teeth. "Not for long! Joseph Albert Wheeler doesn't back down from a challenge!"
Seto wandered into the game den after dinner a few nights later. Wheeler hadn't said anything openly at school, but the glares told him clearly enough that the challenge had been accepted. Seto still wasn't sure if he wanted Wheeler to beat any of the high scores he had played on the machine he'd sent to him. Against just that eventuality, he made it a point to play his Draconica every few days to keep his skills up.
Mokuba was already in the game room, but he wasn't playing anything. He was curled up on the couch reading a book. Reasoning that it must be homework, and his little brother would get in a game or two of whatever he was playing after his assignment, before heading off to bed, Seto fired up the Draconica game.
Wait.
Something caught his eye. There was some anomaly on the high score list. He waited patiently for the Supreme Dragon to go through his spiel again, and stared intently at the screen.
'KAI2' was the entry in the top position. Seto wheeled sharply on his brother, who grinned sheepishly and did his level best to merge into the couch.
"Mokuba, did you touch my game?" Seto asked in a deceptively mild tone of voice.
"Uhm... Yes, big brother."
"I see." Seto fought to keep his expression grim and menacing, when all he really wanted to do was grin from ear to ear. "And did you have the unmitigated audacity to best my high score?"
"Uhm... Would it get me out of trouble if I said I didn't know what 'unmitigated' or 'audacity' meant?"
Seto found it harder to keep the grin from his face. "No."
"Uhm, well, yeah. It was an accident! I just wanted to play it, after hearing the intro so many times and..." Mokuba broke off and looked up at Seto with a thoroughly stricken expression. "I only played it once! I didn't mean to beat your high score, big brother! It just happened!"
Seto stalked slowly and purposefully toward his little brother. "There's a penalty for beating my high score, you know."
"It was an accident!" Mokuba wailed and tried to sink deeper into the couch.
"It doesn't matter. You're still gonna get – a noogie!"
Mokuba grinned. Taking note of the uncomplicated delight of the expression, Seto realized it had been a while since he'd interacted with his brother on such a silly and basic level. He knew that his brother had to realize he wasn't truly upset that he'd beaten his high score. Mokuba playfully eluded him for several minutes before 'tripping' which allowed Seto snag him and tousle his already wild hair.
"Seriously, though," Seto said after releasing him. "You managed to beat my high score in only one game?"
"Uhm, yeah. Is that bad?"
Seto snorted. "Hardly." He looked down on his little brother fondly and tousled his hair again. "Just promise me one thing: if 'JAW' ever beats my score on the Draconica machines around Domino, you'll go and beat him for me."
"Sure thing, big brother! I've got your back. KAI or KAI2 will always be the best Supreme Dragonriders in Domino!" Mokuba's eyes sparkled as he grinned up at his brother.
"That's how it should be," Seto noted gravely, before giving Mokuba a wide grin of his own.
Epilogue – The Master of Dragons
Still waters run deep.
To explore the realm within, you must still the external clamor.
It is the only way to discern the truth.
Wonder what that means? Seto thought. Before his dreaming mind's eye, he noticed a strange substance. In the way of dreams, as he focused his attention on the view, the light increased. After a moment, he realized it was water, or more correctly the surface of water, perhaps contained in a shallow pan. The way gentle ripples formed and flowed across the surface fascinated his gaze. Gradually, he realized that someone else was present, and that person was the one disturbing the surface of the water by blowing across it. He looked up and in the concealing shadows, met vaguely familiar, teasing eyes.
His gaze was drawn to the surface of the water again. The Supreme Dragon formed and roared a soundless challenge at him. After a moment the surface shattered into thousands of tiny shards, as if the force of the dragon's roar had struck the surface from the other side. Seto felt a sense of loss as the image of the Supreme Dragon broke apart. It disturbed him, somehow.
His dream fell apart at that, permitting him to slide into a deeper sleep.
Seto recalled the dream with oddly perfect clarity the next day. It didn't trouble him, as a nightmare would have, and it didn't intrude upon his thoughts as long as he was concentrating, but as soon as his attention was not focused on something serious, the strangely urgent sense of the dream brushed the margins of his mind.
He had to do something. He played the images in his memory again. What if the roar hadn't broken the surface of the water? What if the water had bowed outward, like a bubble? Seto felt a strange sense of peace as the image continued to evolve in his mind's eye. The bubble filled first with the dragon's roar, then with the dragon himself, and broke, but not into a million shards, instead, it became a door, which permitted the dragon to step through, unharmed, to his side.
"You?" Seto exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"You brought me here. You reverse engineered my game."
"What?"
"Draconica – I created it."
"Impossible!"
"Oh, really? I have many talents."
"Video game design isn't one of them."
"Not within the game of Duel Monsters, that is correct. A discipline completely unknown to me? Untrue."
Seto's world threatened to crash around him. He had followed the pathway of his dream, wanting to see the Supreme Dragon rendered in three dimensions instead of constrained in two. He hadn't been able to track down any information as to the company that had produced the Draconica game. In fact, the one he bought for himself, and the one he'd purchased to torture Wheeler with, had been the last two in stock. More curious, as he delved deeper, he couldn't find who had developed it, or manufactured it, and it appeared as though only Domino had received any of the Draconica games.
Ideally, he'd have his legal team get in touch with the legal team who represented the intellectual rights for Draconica, and gain permission to do what he'd done. Perhaps he could have worked out development and distribution rights for a three dimensional version of the game, but even his legal team ran into a brick wall trying to find the game's origin, designer, or owner.
Reasoning that he'd done his best to respect the legal rights of all involved, and assured by his legal team that there appeared to be no patents in place regarding Draconica, Seto hadn't felt any trepidation as he'd opened his console and downloaded the program to his computer. He was able to decompile it, and figure out what made it tick. He wanted to reprogram it to play properly on his hologram emitting system instead. It had taken him a few days to render the visuals into three dimensions, a few more days programming the movements to his liking, but all-in-all not difficult. The game play he left alone finding no way to enhance or balance it beyond the work that had been done by the original programmer for the arcade console version.
His shock, when Dark Magician materialized next to the Supreme Dragon, had been complete. He wondered if it was some sort of bleed-over code from the holo-emitters, or if some piece of programming for Draconica so closely resembled the program that rendered Duel Monsters that the holo-computer, in trying to play the new game, had cross-linked it with the Duel Monsters files. He argued with the impossible spellcaster.
"I find it hard to believe you know how to program – well, anything." Seto snorted in disbelief.
Dark Magician smirked. "Spirit sorcery can be crudely compared to reading the 'program' of a human soul. Believe me, reading and manipulating the program of a computer, no matter how complex, is child's play in comparison."
Seto gaped. "Why would you bother?"
"I was bored. The Blue-Eyes White Dragons said I couldn't do it, and it amused me to accept their dare." Dark Magician shrugged his shoulders.
"The Blue-Eyes...? What?"
"They challenged me to create a dragon-themed video game, that had nothing to do with them, that could captivate your interest. I believe," Dark Magician turned his head to regard the patient Supreme Dragon sharing the dais with him. "that I succeeded beyond even their expectations."
Seto dropped his face into his hands. Impossible! There is no way this is happening! "You're lying!"
"Am I?" Dark Magician said.
"Am I really?" The Supreme Dragon echoed.
Seto's head snapped up. Hearing the two voices one after the other, he realized something he'd never had reason to note before: the Supreme Dragon's voice was Dark Magician's voice, somehow altered into a lower register.
"Oh!" Seto exclaimed in dismay, the truth of it inescapable.
"Come on, now," Dark Magician's voice, in his normal pitch, took on a softened tone. "Is it so bad? This game has given you many hours of challenge and fun."
"But, but... You!"
"Yes. Me. I created it as the way to win a bet with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. What of it? I have no intention of telling anyone – not even Yami and Yugi."
"But, I know!" Seto realized he was in the same situation he'd put Wheeler into by creaming his high scores, and by sending him a console pre-loaded with his own hard-to-beat high scores on it – knowing something he was powerless to unknow, or otherwise do anything about.
There was only a trace of a smirk in Dark Magician's smile. "True. And I am petty enough to be pleased by that. But still, consider that I crafted the game for you, Seto. To appeal to you, and entice you into playing something for no other purpose than enjoyment."
"Wheeler found it before me."
"True, Joey does like the game too, nearly as much as you do. Interesting, is it not? That the game I designed for you would hold such appeal for him?"
"Don't go there, magician."
Dark Magician's smile evolved into a fully-rendered smirk. "It's been amusing talking with you, Seto, and watching you reluctantly accept the truth, but my work here is done."
Seto's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Come now. You've reshaped my game to play in a three dimensional environment. How could I not take this opportunity to change the game flow and program a new adventure? Welcome, Seto Kaiba, to Draconica 2!" Dark Magician disappeared as did the hall of dragons and the Supreme Dragon himself.
A moment later Seto felt the wind whip his hair back, felt the supple fabric of thin gloves encase his hands to protect them from the riding reins he found in his grip, and gasped as he realized he was a-dragonback and further, the dragon was diving toward a foe on the ground.
Dark Magician's laugh sounded around him. "Draconica needs its greatest hero again as a new foe threatens the peace. Rise to the challenge once more, young dragonrider!" The voice morphed slowly from Dark Magician's normal tones to the deeper one he used for the Supreme Dragon.
Seto grimaced ruefully. Okay, Dark Magician had created the game. Unbelievable, but true. And, Seto had really liked the game – liked it enough to want to see it in three dimensions. But this? A new story, and from such an immediate, first person point of view? There was no way even his holo-computer could render this level of verisimilitude!
But, the danger he and the Supreme Dragon were closing in on forced Seto to push such thoughts from his mind. Time for musing about Yugi's favorite duel monster, and the magician's surprising revelations, later. Time for trying to figure out how in the world his computer was able to keep up with rendering such a complex and huge three dimensional environment with nary a flicker, later. In the back of his mind Seto suspected he'd been pulled into a Shadow Game, or something pretty much near, but he also somehow realized, much to his chagrin, that he trusted Dark Magician that he wouldn't be hurt, not really, in this game. After all, Dark Magician was the game master. He didn't want to hurt his one player, did he?
Somehow, despite the full-out dive, the Supreme Dragon managed to turn his massive head, regarded Seto with a solemn, yet mirthful blue eye, and wink at him. The brassy roar that sounded as the Supreme Dragon turned his attention back to the foe on the ground told Seto in no uncertain terms that one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons had stepped into the persona of the Supreme Dragon. He grinned. Dark Magician might have made the game, but there was no way Seto, along with one of his Blue-Eyes, wouldn't be able to conquer it.
After all, he was the Supreme Dragonrider. He relished the idea of wiping the smirk off Dark Magician's face by proving it.
He laughed aloud.
Author's note –
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to watch Season Zero, and haven't yet collected enough of the manga (there are so many, in different series, and the ones with Dark Magician on the cover always capture my interest – and my pocketbook – first) to have read about Mokuba's video game exploits for myself. My beta readers alerted me to the fact that Mokuba is the one who had the video game skills in Yu-Gi-Oh, and that everyone merely assumed that 'KAI' was actually Seto. Well, darn. Hopefully the story was still a fun read, despite being somewhat at odds with canon.
I realized once I started editing the story that there was a serious, glaring flaw in it – the complete absence of Seto Torture! I would have had to turn in my Dark Magician Ultimate Fangirl badge if I didn't remedy the situation, thus the epilogue.