As they walked along, Yugi and the others kept shooting sideways glances at Edison. It wasn't more than a few minutes ago that they'd told him that Yugi had a split personality that only came out when he dueled, that his grandfather's soul had been sealed away by a maniacal millionaire with a magical eye, and that they also had to rescue Seto Kaiba's little brother from his clutches.
He seemed entirely at ease, whistling as they walked, as though he didn't have a care in the world.
Finally, Joey couldn't take it any more. He whirled on the man, saying "Alright, I can't stand it. Why are you helping us!?"
Edison raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought that, considering the situation, that you'd be happy to accept any help when offered, but since you asked, it's because I don't particularly fancy the thought of a maniac with a magic eye running around. And beyond that, it seems like the decent thing to do."
Now it was Tristan's turn-"Decent? Aren't you a smuggler? People like you aren't exactly known for their generousity."
Edison nodded with a smile. "A fair point, but most teenagers don't wander around with mystical items around their necks either, and don't have split personalities that only come out when they play card games." Yugi flushed at that, but then spoke "And that's another thing-why did you believe us so quickly? Most people would have questions."
Edison shrugged. "I examined what you told me, and asked myself what possible reason you could have for lying. I could think of none, so that left two options. One-you all went collectively insane, and yet had the same version of insanity that made you all have the exact same hallucinations, thus you all thought this story was true. The second-that you were telling the truth, and there is even more danger in this world than I had thought."
He spread his hands. "And a sure mark of a fool is to ignore things that don't fit within their preconceived idea of the world. New information must be evaluated."
As he said that, Yugi had a sudden realization about what he meant-Edison might be somewhat interested in helping them, but not necessarily to be a good person.
From what he'd seen, Edison was a criminal, that much was clear, but he also seemed intelligent, or at least smart enough to know when he was being lied to. He could tell that they weren't lying-which meant that magic, something out of a fairy tale, was a real thing.
More importantly, it was something he didn't know about. A threat had been revealed to him that he had no knowledge of, but Yugi and his friends had a way into the fortress, literally. If he tagged along, he could scout out the enemy and begin to gather information.
Hesitating slightly, he said "So you're using us to get inside the fortress and investigate the new enemy?"
Edison turned, smiling slowly. "You're smarter than you think, Yugi Moto. Yes, that's part of it. But aside from all that..." He spread his hands wide. "I was getting damned bored just running a smuggling operation! Helping save your grandfather from a maniacal magician seems like a perfect way to brighten up my boredom. And speaking of brighten up..." He pointed ahead. "It would seem we're coming to the end of this painfully long tunnel..."
Author's Note: How is it so far? Do leave a review! Next up: The Labyrinth duel. The later chapters will have more happening and be longer, right now I'm just getting used to writing for all these characters, and figuring out what works and what doesn't.
ADDITIONAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: Because I'm stupid, I acidentally uploaded the first chapter again. Apologies for the confusion!