Notes: And so, this story revives after over a decade, thanks to Crescent Blue's longing for it to continue and my continual desperate thinking on how to do it and our various brainstorming sessions on what to do with it. The story is hence dedicated to Crescent Blue. I've incorporated the story into my current Pendulum Swings timeline, which has Yami Bakura survive Zorc's destruction and return to Bakura. I find it very hard to get past Pegasus's superficial behavior and into his mind, which is in fact why the story stalled for so many years. Hopefully what I finally came up with will be satisfying for those who like Pegasus! I really tried.
Part Two: Pegasus
"Our landing is cleared. Duelist Kingdom's airstrip is in sight. Prepare for descent."
Duke Devlin's expression was impassive as the private plane came down in front of the castle belonging to Maximillion Pegasus. He hadn't been here that often; only twice before, in fact—once to meet Pegasus and once to close their business arrangement. Any other time he had seen Pegasus, it had been at his office.
Duke hadn't been here at all since learning the truth about Pegasus and his misdeeds. He, not Yugi, had been the cheater in their duel. And worse, he had endangered so many lives, stealing souls whenever it suited him. He had admitted to all of it when Duke had confronted him, but had insisted he wouldn't be doing anything more of the kind now that the Millennium Eye was gone. And he had hoped it wouldn't put a crimp in his business relationship with Duke.
Duke hadn't been sure what to think of any of that. He was no stranger to falling down a dark path after witnessing his father's madness, and he was certainly willing to forgive Pegasus, but it troubled him that Pegasus didn't seem sorry for what he had done. Duke tried not to associate with him more than he had to for business purposes—although he had been grateful for the man's help some time back, during the disaster that had left his store manager David dead.
David had told him more than once that he wished Duke would terminate the business partnership. Despite his love of money, he was very protective of Duke and he worried that Pegasus wasn't trustworthy. "If he would steal the soul of a 10-year-old kid, he would steal your soul," he warned. David was leery the same way about Yami Bakura.
Duke wasn't sure what to make of either one of them. Neither had done anything wrong in quite some time, but Yami Bakura had admitted his faults and that he knew he had done wrong. Pegasus never had, instead always acting as though nothing cruel had ever happened. Both had been their allies at various times, but Yami Bakura was always around while they rarely saw Pegasus. All things considered, if Duke had to choose, it seemed easier to extend trust to Yami Bakura. Still, he wanted to give Pegasus the benefit of a doubt. Even though his idolization of the man had mostly faded, there was still a part of him that clung to the memory of those old times and wished for the days when he had thought Pegasus was so great. Having grown up with an unstable and hateful father, he had grasped at anything that seemed normal or worth admiring, and Pegasus and Duel Monsters had seemed to be in that category. Now he knew better.
Childhood innocence being spoiled was never fun.
"Devlin-Boy!" Pegasus greeted with outstretched arms, startling Duke back to the present. Somehow he had climbed to the castle entrance without really thinking about it. "It's so good to see you again!"
Duke put on a smile. "Hey, Mr. Pegasus. So, what was so pressing you needed to see me?"
"Why, I just thought it was time we had a little visit," Pegasus replied. "We have a business partnership, but we hardly ever see each other!"
"I guess there hasn't been much reason to," Duke said.
"Well, we should change that," Pegasus pouted. "I don't often see any of my other old friends either. Yugi-Boy and Kaiba-Boy never call or drop in."
Did you really think they would? Duke couldn't help thinking.
Pegasus led Duke inside. "So, how are things in Domino City?"
"Fine," Duke said.
"Really? A little birdie told me the Rare Hunters caused a great deal of chaos recently," Pegasus said.
"Yeah, but that's all over now," Duke said. He frowned. "What 'little birdie'? You're keeping tabs on us?"
"Oh, now don't put it like that," Pegasus said. "I just like to check up on all my old friends, make sure they're all doing well, you know?"
Duke really didn't know why Pegasus would want to do that with everyone from Domino. There were no longer any Millennium Items, so there was nothing he would want from them . . . unless now he hoped to go after the Infinity Items. He stiffened. Was that possible?
"I also hear the spirit of the Ring was actually helpful," Pegasus said.
"Yeah," Duke said slowly. "Why?"
"Oh . . . I just wondered if he's trustworthy," Pegasus said. "And if you trust him."
What a weird question. "It seems like he has our backs," Duke said guardedly.
"Oh good," said Pegasus.
"Again, why?" Duke twirled a piece of hair around his finger.
"Well, he was the one who . . . relieved me of my Millennium Eye, shall we say?" Pegasus said. He brought Duke into an expansive drawing room and gestured for him to sit down, which they both did.
"Which is what you would have done to Yugi if you'd won against him," Duke said. "Not to mention taken his soul."
"True, true," Pegasus said glibly. "I suppose I'm just surprised at how well the Ring spirit has been integrating into Yugi-Boy's little group."
"Honestly, he hasn't been," Duke said. "Some of us don't really trust him. What happened recently went a long way in helping those feelings, but it hasn't completely cured them for some of us, including me. If you want to talk about someone who's integrated well, we should talk about Marik Ishtar."
"Ah yes, Marik-Boy," Pegasus nodded. "He truly has become one of the team, hasn't he? I wonder what the difference is with his case."
"I would say because he's tried so hard to make amends for all the garbage he put us through," Duke said, "and we can see he means it." He hesitated. "He isn't grouchy like Yami Bakura and he doesn't pretend nothing happened . . . like you."
He wasn't sure what kind of a reaction he had been expecting, but Pegasus's non-reaction of a simple nod wasn't it. "I see."
"Don't get me wrong," Duke said. "You really helped out that time when things went nuts in the Kaiba Dome. At least according to Mr. Muto and Téa and Mokuba. But they and the others have also said that any time you've talked to any of them, you act like we should all let bygones be bygones and that there's no reason for any of them to be upset. You don't apologize or even act like you did anything wrong. That really bothers them. Especially considering how you tortured a kid and set up a death plot for a teenager. Yugi doesn't feel so great about you stealing his grandfather's soul, either." He looked Pegasus in the eyes. "That's what they think is the difference between you and Marik and Yami Bakura. It's not so much what you guys did; it's your attitudes about it after the fact."
Pegasus looked unfazed. "Well, it's certainly an enlightening conversation topic. I knew I could count on you to be frank with me, Devlin-Boy."
Duke frowned in confusion. "Do you want to be part of the group?" he blinked. "I mean, I figured you've got your own life to live and everything."
"Quite true," Pegasus nodded. "No, I don't particularly have a desire to be a part of Yugi-Boy's little entourage. I was just curious as to how they felt about me versus some of their other adversaries. I suppose I feel a little responsible for them, considering our connection with the Millennium Items and all."
Duke sighed. "I'm sorry if the news wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear."
"It was just about exactly what I thought I'd hear," Pegasus said.
Duke hesitated. "If you don't mind my asking . . . why do you act the way you do? I mean . . . would it really be so hard to tell everyone you're sorry?" He looked away. "I did. I know Marik did. Even Yami Bakura did."
Pegasus fell silent. "I'm sure Yugi-Boy told you all about the reasons why I did the things I did to them."
"Yes, he told me," Duke said. "And I know what it's like to not be able to accept a loved one's death and to feel like you have to find a way to bring them back. Believe me, I know." He looked up again.
"How ironic, that of the two of us, you were the one to find that way," Pegasus said quietly. Now he finally sounded serious.
". . . I wondered if you'd try it yourself, after I managed to get David back," Duke said. "But the tomb with the amethyst is gone now. I'm sorry."
Pegasus gave a heavy sigh. "Yes. I will admit that once my memories were restored and I realized you had actually revived your lost friend, I wanted more than anything to follow you down that path to save Cecelia. I went to Egypt and to the ruined tomb. I tried to find the amethyst, even though I doubted its wish-giving properties would work without the chamber still in existence."
"Actually . . ." Duke paused, debating how to properly word what he wanted to say. "I almost lost another friend the night the tomb came down, but he was healed. He said that he heard a voice telling him that that was being allowed in order to testify that the amethyst couldn't bring anyone back in the first place if it wasn't God's will. I guess . . . I never needed the amethyst to begin with." He frowned. "Although I can't even count the number of times I prayed for David to come back like Lazarus. And he never did, until I went to that chamber."
"God moves in mysterious ways, eh?" Pegasus looked weary. "Then I suppose I just have to accept that it was His will for Cecelia to die. Nothing I've tried has ever restored her to me for more than a brief moment."
"Maybe it was her time," Duke said quietly. "I don't know God's mind, that's for sure. And I'm sorry that you didn't get your wish when I got mine . . . although I'm not sorry I got mine." He paused. "At least, though, the way I got David back didn't hurt any innocent people. I only hurt myself."
"Also true," Pegasus said. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything other than failure, considering the methods I used. How could I really be rewarded with a spirit so tender and gentle when I didn't care who I plowed down in my wake?" He looked away. "I was ashamed to even face Cecelia after what I'd done. I know she would have been disappointed in me. And yet . . . I believe she would forgive me."
"I think she would too," Duke said. "But . . . if you were really so ashamed . . . why the act?"
"That's a good question," Pegasus said. "A fair question. But I'm afraid I don't have the answers. Maybe I'm simply trying to pretend that everything is alright in order to fool myself into believing that as well. Maybe that was always the reason for my attitude."
"I guess that makes sense." Duke hesitated. He needed to voice his suspicions now, although he dreaded it. He had to know. ". . . You're not thinking of trying the Infinity Items, are you? They turn against anyone who tries to misuse them, and it's not pretty."
"Oh, I know," Pegasus said. "The truth is . . . I've kept in touch with Shadi and he's the one telling me all the gossip from Domino. He's warned me against going after these new Items."
"And you're going to listen?" Duke still wasn't sure he was convinced.
"Frankly, I'm burned out on magic items," Pegasus said. "And when this new Ring incinerated the poor Ring spirit after he apparently hadn't even done anything wrong, it's quite apparent that these Items are bound and determined to keep anyone from even thinking of misusing them."
Duke hesitated. That wasn't exactly what had happened, but had Shadi led him to believe it was? Maybe Shadi had felt it was the only way to dissuade Pegasus from going after the Infinity Items. And if that was the case, should Duke really correct the misperception?
"Is that why you were asking if he was trustworthy?" he said at last.
"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Pegasus agreed. "I wondered just how unfair the Infinity Ring was being."
"Well . . ." Duke rubbed the back of his neck. Honestly, he didn't like misleading Pegasus. He wasn't typically a liar. If anything, usually he was overly truthful. "Actually, the Ring didn't torch him," he said at last. "It torched the Shadow Leech that was controlling him against his will. An old enemy of ours stuck it in him the night before, after he won a Shadow Game against the creep."
"Oh really?" Pegasus definitely perked up. "So he's alright then?"
"Yeah, he's fine," Duke said. "But the Items really don't take kindly to anyone misusing them. Bakura told me what happened to the serial killer the White Death. He really did get torched by his Item."
"I see." Pegasus looked troubled.
"And I'm guessing that trying to bring back the dead wouldn't sit well with them either," Duke said quietly. Except for the Infinity Ankh, but Shadi said there have to be certain conditions met before it will work. He really did wonder if Shadi had kept knowledge of that Item's power from Pegasus, and thought it prudent not to mention anything about it unless outright asked. Even if Pegasus wouldn't go on some other quest, it could give him false hope, and Duke didn't want to be so cruel.
"Probably not," Pegasus said.
A cloud passed through his eye and he stiffened, holding a hand to his heart as he turned and stared into the world outside his window.
"What is it?" Duke asked in concern.
"I'm not sure," Pegasus said. "A whisper . . . a taunt . . . a voice I don't recognize. Well, nevermind." He stood. "Dinner is ready. Let's go into the dining room, shall we?"
"Okay," Duke said slowly. He got up as well. Though he wanted to know what Pegasus had really heard, he didn't dare ask more.
xxxx
Pegasus remained deep in thought for the rest of the evening. When Duke finally went to bed, he stayed up, gazing out the balcony in his bedroom. A cool night breeze blew the curtains about, but he barely noticed.
"Maximillion Pegasus . . . it's time you pay for your crimes."
Pegasus stiffened. "Who's there?"
Only the breeze answered him.
A little rattled, Pegasus turned and walked back inside, shutting and locking the doors as he went. That was the same voice he had heard when he had been with Duke. And just as before, there was no one to make it. But it had spoke with a definite knowing tone. Its owner knew what he had done.
His crimes. . . .
Yes, he would have to pay, he supposed. Just having his Millennium Eye taken away wouldn't be good enough punishment for what he had done. He also knew that both Marik and Yami Bakura were resigned to the fact that they had caused chaos and heartache and had to pay for it. He was not different from them.
And when he thought of it, not all of his madness had even resolved by his deliberate actions. He had only agreed to free three souls, which he had. He hadn't freed anyone else he had locked away. But his defeat at the hands of Yami Bakura had freed everyone else, including all the cult members in the castle dungeon who had been sent to the Shadow Realm during their Shadow Games. If it hadn't been for that, would he have freed them at all? Or would he have left them there and tried to start his plans over?
Had he ever regretted his actions at all? Really, truly? And if he had, had he regretted them because they had been horrible and he had hurt innocent people? Or had he only regretted being caught . . . and maybe knowing that Cecelia wouldn't have wanted him to do such things?
If he even had to ask, didn't that mean he didn't regret anything for a decent reason?
He slumped against the opposite wall and stared off at the ceiling. He had suffered so much from Cecelia's death. She had been there for so many years—his childhood friend, his only romantic love, his beautiful bride. Those scant few times when they had shared this room together after their marriage had been heavenly paradise. But then she had been so cruelly struck down by a terminal illness, taken away when she still had so many years left to live, and when he still had so many years worth of love to share with her.
He had never been the same after that. Everyone grieved over lost loved ones, of course, but most were able to eventually deal with their feelings and get on with their lives. But Cecelia had been his life. He hadn't been able to move on without her. And after receiving the Millennium Eye and reuniting with her for one brief moment, it had only fueled the obsession to find a way to bring her back.
He had learned much later that the Millennium Eye carried a darker essence than some of the Items, and that some of his horrid behavior might have been in part because of being corrupted by it. He wasn't sure how much had been the Eye and how much had been his own grief-stricken feelings, and worse, he wasn't sure he cared. Everything had been for Cecelia. She had been all that mattered, no matter what he had to do to get her back. Stealing souls of all ages, arranging "accidents" for teenagers, tormenting other teenagers. . . . No one could understand his pain or why he had to do what he had done. Sometimes he had even felt that no one's pain could be as heavy as his. And because everyone was in the way of his goal of restoring Cecelia, they didn't matter and they could be cast aside like nothing.
After Yami Bakura had defeated him and he had lain in the hospital, trying to recover from the loss of the Millennium Eye, he had found himself cursing the spirit and wishing he had been killed. Then he could have joined Cecelia. With his last hope stripped away, living was meaningless. But . . . after what he had done, would he have even been allowed to join her upon death?
Would he now?
He had known she would want him to keep living, so he struggled to do just that. He had gone into reclusion after leaving the hospital, although he had still designed new Duel Monsters cards and approved other company artists' cards before they went into production. He had decided against continuing his retirement of late, instead preferring to once again take a more active role in Industrial Illusions' operations. It had been good for him, but had he used his work as a way of masking the pain? Sometimes he thought so, especially on nights where it came all the more to the forefront.
He was never alone; Kemo and Croquet and all his other servants and security guards were always around, and tonight Duke was across the hall in a guest-room, but without Cecelia he still felt alone. He had lost his best friend, his confidant, his only love. He tried to believe he sensed her with him, but without his connection to the supernatural plane he only felt empty and blank. If she was there, he could not tell.
"Cecelia," he whispered aloud.
He talked to her sometimes, when he was alone. He told her about his day or asked about hers. Sometimes he talked of new projects he was planning and pictured her encouragement. Sometimes he broke and told her how much he missed her and loved her and how everything had been such a nightmare without her. At first he had believed her illness and death was a bad dream he would wake up from, because it just couldn't be true. But it hadn't been long and he had had to accept it as fact. Even then, he had prayed for miracles, for God to raise her from the dead as He was capable of doing, but it had never happened. His miracle had come with Shadi and the Millennium Eye, and then everything had become a nightmare of a different sort as he had descended into cruelty and desperation.
He had never apologized, just as Duke had pointed out. And oddly enough, the spirit of the Ring had. He had regretted the pain he had brought to innocent people while under Zorc's influence.
But Pegasus couldn't answer the question as to whether he did.
The door just to his side creaked and he jumped a mile. "Who's there?!" he demanded.
A knife gleamed in the night. "Your executioner," was the hissed reply. It was the same voice he had been hearing on the air.
Pegasus took a step back. "How did you get in?! I have guards everywhere!"
"Your guards mean nothing to me." The knife swung at him and he leaped aside.
"And what about why you want to kill me?!" Pegasus continued, raising his voice in the hopes of awakening some of the guards. "What did I ever do to you?!"
"You exist. I'm out to destroy all evil people in the business world."
"Oh, and I suppose you're pure and righteous," Pegasus said. He reached and snatched the man's wrist before the knife could be lowered.
"It's my sacred trust to eliminate all the businessmen deserving of death."
"Some people would say that's every businessman," Pegasus said dryly.
"Well, it's not. Only the ones like you." The man kicked Pegasus in the stomach, sending him flying backwards onto the bed with a cry. Then he was rushing forward, knife bared.
"Hey, what's going on in here?!" It was Duke, coming to the doorway in disbelief.
"Devlin-Boy!" Pegasus exclaimed. "Quick, go call for help!"
Duke moved to do so, but paused when he caught sight of the intruder raising his hand with the knife. "Mr. Pegasus! Watch out!" He ran into the room, tackling the guy to the floor.
Pegasus slowly raised up, staring as the duo rolled desperately across the carpet. First Duke had the upper hand, then the madman, then Duke again. . . . The stranger kicked Duke away, then leaped up and slashed at Pegasus. The knife cut through his sleeve and into his flesh. Blood dripped down his arm. Pegasus hissed, gripping the wound.
"That's only the beginning," the attacker vowed.
Now Duke was up again, jumping him from behind. "I don't think so." He dragged the intruder back to the floor.
Again Pegasus stared as they scrapped across the floor. Where are those guards?! he cried in his mind. He stumbled up, watching the fight in frustration. There was a trapdoor in the floor, but they weren't rolling near it. And even if they did and Pegasus opened it, Duke would fall as well and be hurt.
The madman struck out with the knife, hitting Pegasus in the leg. He cried out, falling back on the bed.
Duke grabbed the attacker's wrist, holding the knife hand in the air. "Put it down," he said through clenched teeth.
"I will." The intruder stabbed downward at Duke and there was a sickening cry.
That snapped Pegasus out of his daze. "Devlin-Boy!" He grabbed a lamp off the nightstand.
A harsh thump and silence. The attacker had kicked Duke hard against the stone wall. Now the boy was still. Not stopping to admire his work, the madman turned and moved to slam Pegasus into another wall.
Pegasus brought the lamp down on his head. "Take that!"
The intruder hissed, falling forward to the floor.
Footsteps in the hall. Croquet ran to the doorway, staring at the scene in disbelief. "Mr. Pegasus!"
Pegasus looked up at him with gritted teeth. "Where were you, Croquet?! If you had gotten here sooner, all of this wouldn't have happened! Oh, nevermind! Have this man taken away!"
"Y-Yes, Sir," Croquet stammered.
Duke still hadn't moved. Pegasus limped around the unconscious stranger and over to where the teenager was lying near the wall. "Devlin-Boy?" He knelt on his uninjured leg, grasping Duke's shoulder. No response. "Oh no. . . ."
He vaguely heard Croquet speaking into his walkie-talkie in the background. "Send two security guards up here and call for an emergency aircraft. Mr. Pegasus and Mr. Devlin are both hurt."
Hurt. . . . Yes, Duke was only hurt . . . wasn't he?
In any case, Pegasus realized in horror, this wouldn't have happened if not for him. It was because of him that Duke had come there, and Pegasus had only sent for him on a silly whim. Duke had saved his life, and now he was paying for it.
xxxx
The plane arrived shortly and Pegasus and Duke were loaded into the medical wing before it took off for the mainland. Pegasus hadn't been hurt that badly, or at least, he didn't think so. But as the flight wore on, he slipped out of full awareness and into a state of delusions.
"Maximillion?"
He looked up through bleary eyes. Cecelia was hovering above him and descending gently into the chair next to the bed. She had to be a hallucination, didn't she? He hadn't seen her since losing the Millennium Eye. But hallucination or not, it was more than he had had for a long time. He reached for her with a shaking hand. "Cecelia. . . ."
She smiled at him. "Are you going to be alright, Maximillion?"
"Cecelia . . . don't you know?" he asked in confusion. If she was possibly real, she would know by now. . . .
"Physically, you're not badly hurt," she agreed. "But your mind and heart . . . only you know their state."
Pegasus looked away. "The doctor doesn't act very hopeful about Duke," he said sorrowfully. There were no silly nicknames now, only his worry and the truth. "He was stabbed worse than I was. But the most concerning thing seems to be that he hit his head when that madman kicked him into the stone wall. People have died from less." He stared at the white wall of the medical wing. "He was only here because I foolishly decided I wanted to see him and talk to him."
"You couldn't have known this would happen," Cecelia told him.
"But even when I did know people were going to be hurt, it didn't stop me," Pegasus said. "I hurt so many because of my selfishness . . . because I thought there was a way to bring you back to me . . . and I didn't care."
"Do you care now?"
"I can't even say." Pegasus turned back to look at her. "How can you even stand to be here with me, knowing everything I did?!"
She smiled at him. She had always had a sweet, ethereal smile. Maybe . . . someone so pure had never been meant for such a cold world for very long.
"I still see the man I love," she said. "Underneath all the pain and anger and callousness, there is still a man who deeply cares, both about me and about what he has done to others. You wouldn't worry about it so much if you didn't care."
"Maybe I only fear that I will never be allowed to be with you again because of it," Pegasus said. "Maybe I don't really care about all the lives I hurt."
"The Maximillion I know is a gentle soul who does care."
Pegasus sighed, sadly. "That was only one part of me. Deep down, there was always this darker me stirring. Losing you let him out. Cecelia . . . without you, that kinder me is dead."
"Not dead," she insisted. "Only sleeping. Let him out again."
"How?" Pegasus whispered.
Before she could answer, the scene changed. It was the basement of his castle, where his cult had met to play Shadow Games. The torches were lit, their flames dancing across the darkened walls. The ominous chanting filled his ears, the same words over and over, as the members invoked the dark powers of the Shadow Realm. Then he was standing, a stone slab beside him, as another man stood across from him with a stone tablet of his own. The slabs spun, faced each other, and his crumbled.
"You lose," came a mocking voice from the other figure.
It was himself.
Blackness surrounded him, tendrils weaving around his body, as the shadows took him. He screamed, terrified, but it made no difference. The other him was still there, laughing, relishing his torment. Then everything was gone and there was only the darkness.
He sank to his knees, digging his hands into his hair in horror. He had done this to so many people in his sick games. They had faced that mocking him just as he had now. And he had triumphed in their loss, their pain, thinking only of growing more powerful as he condemned more and more souls to the Shadow Realm. Now it was his turn to feel what they had felt.
"No!" he screamed. "No!"
He flew upright in bed, his heart pounding. There were no shadows, no chanting. No Cecelia. He was alone, save for the doctor looking at him in concern. "Are you alright, Mr. Pegasus?"
He drew a shaking breath. "Yes," he said. "I'm not the one you should be worried about. What about Duke?"
The doctor stiffened, clearly uncomfortable with being put on the spot. "Well, um . . ." He adjusted his glasses and looked down at his clipboard.
"What's wrong with him?!" Pegasus boomed.
The physician jumped a mile. "It's too soon to tell," he stammered. "Maybe he'll be fine. But he did take quite a blow from that wall, and . . . he's in a coma."
Pegasus's shoulders slumped and he covered his face with his hands. "Oh no. . . ."
"People can come out of comas without warning," the doctor said helplessly. "He could be awake by the time we land. . . ."
Pegasus got up and limped across the room to the other bed. Duke was so still, so quiet. . . . If he wasn't alright when they landed, his friend David would have to be called. David was the closest thing he had to family.
"Sir, you really shouldn't be out of bed," the doctor protested.
"I'm going to sit here for a while," Pegasus insisted, sinking into the chair next to the bed. "I have a perfect right."
"Of . . . of course, Sir," the doctor nodded, backing off.
Pegasus stared at the boy when they were alone. He looked young and helpless. . . . Close to the same age Pegasus had been when his beloved Cecelia had passed on and his life had become meaningless. And despite Duke's age, he too had been through so much.
"You were always wise beyond your years," Pegasus said quietly. "Yet in your naivete, you idolized me. I found it charming, but I used you, just like I used everyone around me. I thought your Dungeon Dice game sounded brilliant and I felt it would be useful to the company, so I cheated when I played it with you. Of course, you didn't know and you thought I was extraordinarily good at it. I never played a single game of Duel Monsters without cheating, until I lost the Millennium Eye and couldn't read minds any longer. And I never cared who was hurt as long as I got what I wanted. Not that some of your other adversaries didn't feel the same, if not all of them, but the ones who are trying to make good feel differently now. Do I?"
Duke was silent. There were no answers to be found from him, at least not now.
"You only came out here because I sent for you," Pegasus continued sadly. "I didn't really need to talk to you. Just on a whim, I decided I wanted to. I was using you again. And now you're hurt because you were saving my miserable life."
He slumped back, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, that's right, Pegasus. I was just one of your little pawns, like everyone else."
Pegasus jumped a mile. Duke was still lying unconscious in the bed. Yet at the same time, he was standing in front of Pegasus, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.
"Oh no," Pegasus gasped. He reached over, feeling Duke's neck for a pulse.
"I'm still alive." Duke flipped his hair. "But I can't very well talk to you the way my body is right now, so I decided to solve that problem by leaving it."
Pegasus rubbed his eye. He could be hallucinating again. Part of him really wanted to believe that. But the other part honestly wasn't sure. Duke had been frank with him that evening but hadn't seemed angry. Still, maybe now that he had been hurt, he was. And, Pegasus was starting to realize, he had really liked that Duke had continued their business deal and had even forgiven him after learning the truth. Despite the age difference, Duke was the only one he really considered any kind of a friend.
"I never meant for anything like this to happen," Pegasus said sorrowfully. "I had no idea some madman would show up trying to kill me."
"Are you sure?" Duke jeered. "For all I know, maybe that's why you invited me out here—you hoped I'd take the heat off you! You knew some nutcase was stalking you and you figured what better way to get rid of him then by sending for good old Duke to hopefully get killed instead of you!"
"No!" Pegasus cried. He leaped out of the chair, but his wounded leg forced him back down.
"Too bad I didn't just die, huh?" Duke said. "Or even better, too bad you don't still have the Millennium Eye so you could send both me and your stalker to the Shadow Realm." He leaned down with a sneer. "We'd increase your power. After all, that's all anyone was good for to you, isn't it?"
Pegasus trembled and slumped forward, both hands over his face. He couldn't deny it.
Duke straightened again. "So tell me, Pegasus, is that what you planned to do with me from the very beginning, when I naively brought you my Dungeon Dice Monsters game?"
"No," Pegasus said weakly. "I really was interested in forming a business deal with you."
"And you must have thought it was so amusing that I actually thought you were a great guy. Or did a lot of people idolize you? Maybe a lot of people still do. After all, it's not like it's public knowledge that you stole people's souls and toyed with their loved ones' minds. Everyone would think you were crazy if you even tried to make a public confession about any of that." Duke's eyes bored into his. "Do you ever feel like people like you under false pretenses? Do you even care? And what about your love of cartoons? Isn't it weird how you act like you never grew up while you're doing the most adult things possible, like ripping souls out of bodies?"
Pegasus's shoulders slumped. "I have no defense for myself," he said wearily. "I can only say that I honestly wasn't trying to use you now, Duke. But I suppose you never will believe me."
"You're darn right I won't," Duke snorted. "And it's too late to try to make amends. I really did hit my head too hard."
His spectral form vanished at the same moment the heart monitor flatlined.
Pegasus jumped to his feet in horror, again forgetting about his leg. "Doctor!" he yelled. "Doctor, get over here quickly!"
The physician ran over at breakneck speed. But although he immediately set about trying to revive Duke, nothing worked.
Pegasus fell back. "It's my fault," he whispered. "It's all my fault."
He couldn't begin to imagine what he was going to tell David.
xxxx
As it turned out, David had already been alerted that Duke had been injured. He was waiting at the airport when the plane touched down. But when Pegasus was the only one who emerged, staring blankly at the ground as he limped down the stairs, David knew something worse had happened than he had been told. He ran forward and over to the stairs before Pegasus had finished descending. "Well? Where's Duke?" he demanded.
Pegasus looked at him with a deadened eye. "I'm so sorry, David," he said. "Duke is dead."
David stiffened. "What?!"
"I had no idea anything like this would happen," Pegasus said, and even though it was the truth, it even sounded hollow to him.
"Like heck you didn't." Without warning David hauled off and punched Pegasus hard in the face. The older man cried out, falling backwards onto the stairs.
"Mr. Pegasus!" Croquet gasped. He started to draw his gun.
"Don't bother, Croquet," Pegasus cut in. "He has a perfect right to be angry." He stumbled to his feet. "I'm the one the killer really wanted, and I've only been superficially wounded. I will recover. But Duke, a completely innocent party, was caught up in the madness and perished because he was trying to save me. I can never make up for this."
"Why did you even want Duke to come here in the first place?!" David demanded.
"I . . ." Pegasus looked down. He had been asking himself that question for hours, and finally, when it was too late, he knew the answer. "I was lonely. I wanted to talk to a friend."
"I'll never forgive you for this," David snapped.
"Neither will I," Pegasus said sadly. Suddenly he felt very dizzy. He held a hand to his head as he slumped back against Croquet.
"Mr. Pegasus?!" Croquet exclaimed in concern.
"Mr. Pegasus?!"
How strange, that now it sounded like Duke's voice echoing all around them, concerned over Pegasus's fate.
"Duke?" Pegasus looked up, his vision blurred. "Are you here? Did you come back?"
"Mr. Pegasus, are you alright?!"
His vision cleared. He was laying on his bed, in his room. Duke was standing over him, his left arm bandaged and an ice-pack held against his head. Croquet was standing to the side in concern.
Pegasus just stared in disbelief. "Duke . . . you're alive," he gasped.
"Barely," Duke winced.
"But . . . how?" Pegasus demanded. "You died on the airplane. Now we're not on an airplane at all, but back home. . . ."
"We never got on an airplane," Duke blinked. "Croquet didn't think we should move you. Your private doctor's coming out here."
"Oh. . . ." Pegasus slowly brought a hand to his head. It hurt. "Then . . . it was all a dream? A nightmare?"
"I guess so," Duke said. "After I went down for the count, that nutball turned his attention back to you. You guys clobbered each other just as Croquet showed up to take him prisoner. Well, that's what Croquet told me later, anyway. Ow." He flinched as the sore spot on his head throbbed again.
Pegasus really looked at him. Duke certainly could have died. And if he had, Pegasus definitely would have blamed himself—because he honestly cared about Duke and didn't want him hurt. But it hadn't been real. Pegasus still had a chance to make things right.
"Duke . . . I am so sorry," he said. "If it hadn't been for my foolishness, you wouldn't have been here at all. There was no reason for me to send for you."
"It's okay," Duke said quietly. "Everybody needs a friend now and then. David taught me that. Yugi too. It took me a while, but I finally wanted to listen to them. I'll teach you, if you want."
"Yes," Pegasus said in awed amazement. "I would like that. But . . . you knew that's why I sent for you?"
"Not at first," Duke said. "But then the possibility came to me and it seemed like it could be true. So I took the chance that it was."
"Thank you," Pegasus said softly, awed.
"And I think . . . that even with all your facades of acting like nothing is wrong, deep down you do care," Duke said.
"Yes." Pegasus hesitated. "When you go back to Domino City, I would like to go with you. I . . . should really tell certain people I'm sorry for what I put them through. Whether or not they believe it."
Duke regarded him in surprise. "I think that would be a great idea. They need to hear you say it."
Pegasus nodded. "It's taken me a while, but I've had time to sort out my feelings. I know now that I am sorry, and maybe . . . just maybe, for the right reasons. Maybe deep down I felt that they should know what it felt like to lose someone they loved. Now I feel sickened that I tried to demonstrate my pain in that way. They didn't deserve to go through what I've gone through over losing Cecelia."
"No, they didn't," Duke said. "I don't know what happened to you while you were unconscious, but it looks like it's helped you for the better."
"Yes . . . I think so," Pegasus said. "I hope so."
Croquet was on his communicator. Now he hung up, distress written across his features. "Mr. Pegasus?" He swallowed hard. "The man who tried to kill you. . . . He got away."
Pegasus looked to him with a start. "How?"
"We're not sure, Sir," Croquet admitted. "He was locked in the dungeon with an armed guard right outside. But now the guard's unconscious and the cell is empty, with no indication that the door was ever even opened."
Duke flinched. "That sounds like something supernatural's going on, as much as I hate to admit it."
"It does, doesn't it," Pegasus frowned.
"And I heard on the news that Siegfried von Schroider was attacked yesterday by some nut who stabbed him in the chest," Duke said. "That could have been the same guy!"
The man's words about going after businessmen flashed through Pegasus's mind. "Yes," he mused. "It could have been. And he may have other targets in mind as well."
"Who?!" Duke exclaimed.
"I don't know. But perhaps we should put the word out for our partners and competitors to be cautious," Pegasus said.
"It couldn't hurt," Duke said.
