Note: Hi! Here's yet another finished chapter of the Great Duel Monster Caper, where once again, my OCs in the rock band Shining Nova take part as the guest stars!
Slifer Inferno: Sweet! We get to be in another fic!
Nautilus Tide: I suppose this is where I get to show of another kind of singing talent. After all, I usually do rock.
Coral Mist: And this is also our chance to display pieces of our ballroom skill! But I guess I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
Emeraude Saber: You know, we get to play the part of the residential rock band. I wonder why?
Obelisk Prime: It's obvious isn't it? We're an awesome rock band even outside this fic! My only complaint is the background info that we got in this fic. It's not our real info.
Slifer: Obelisk, the authoress does that so we can fit into some of her fics. But don't worry, she puts in some clear constants about us, like the information about my mom for example.
Nautilus: And the fact that my birth family was killed, leaving me an orphan and the last of my line.
Emeraude: And lets not forget our roles in the band!
Obelisk: Dude... I guess you got a point there. This is an AU fanfic after all.
Can I get on with introducing the fic now?
Slifer: Whoops, sorry! Carry on!
Thank you. Anyway, our heroes arrive at Motel Joy. There will be a couple of songs in this fic, one of which is not part of the movie and two whose lyrics are rearranged to fit the plotline in this version of the story. The main song in this chapter is a minor parody done to the tune of Buzzcock's "What Do I Get", which I do not own (Glad I got that disclaimer out of the way). And if you look very carefully there's also a little reference tune to the Happiness Hotel song done in the actual movie, done as part of a humorous improv game. Well, that's all for the explanation! Enjoy the story!
Chapter 2: New Friends in Motel Joy
Later that day, far outside a certain city, Mahaad and Mana were sitting on a hill overlooking the scenery. "Wow!" Mana gasped in amazement, "Who'd have thought New York City was such a big place!"
"I'm sure our heroes will agree with you." Mahaad replied.
"So how are they going to get here, Master?" Mana asked. "What's going to happen next?"
The Dark Magician chuckled. "You'll see. They're in that bus right over there!"
With Hawkins' help, the four young reporters were able to take a bus, along with the airplane stowaways Haga and Ryuzaki. The latter grumbled at the fact that in exchange for being helped out of the lake, they had to handle the luggage of the former. It wasn't long before they all caught sight of their intended destination.
"Here we are everyone!" Atem announced, "New York City!"
"Yeah! We made it!" Yugi cheered. The twins and their friends wasted no time doing some sightseeing. Even Haga and Ryuzaki joined in, their burden momentarily forgotten.
"Hey! That's the Statue of Liberty, isn't it?" Jonouchi stated, pointing to said Statue.
"Whoa! It looks huge!" Honda gasped, "I bet it's even bigger up close!"
"Are there any fountains here?" Haga asked.
"I don't know." Atem admitted. "Why do you ask?"
"I need a bath to wash off the smell of the lake."
"I don't think the people of this city would let ya." Ryuzaki noted.
As the bus made an entrance to Manhattan, they all took a closer look at the surrounding area. "Hey Big Brother!" Yugi gasped excitedly, "I can see Bryant Park from here!"
"Whoa! That's the place to go for New York City Fashion Week!" Ryuzaki noted, all the while drooling at the thought of seeing the models.
"Hey! What do you call this place?" Jonouchi asked, pointing in the direction of a statue depicting a man holding a wire globe.
"According to the GPS on my I-Phone, this must be the world famous Rockefeller Center." Atem explained. "It's especially popular in wintertime. Of course, it's early summer right now."
"Yeah, it's too bad." Jonouchi noted, "I'd like to see that ice rink they got there."
"I don't care." Honda replied, taking out the old paparazzi camera. "It's very impressive as it is! I'm gonna take a photo just for the fun of it." The old bulb flashed as the camera took its picture, much to the photographer's relief.
"Hey!" Ryuzaki piped up, "I think you got my elbow in the shot!"
"Oh, so I did!" Honda stated, sweatdropping as he stared at the camera, "I guess it's not such a bad photo; it's not enough to cover the subject, and it actually adds human interest."
Ryuzaki blinked. "You got a good point."
Right at that moment the bus driver called out behind him. "Is there anyone off to Motel Joy?"
"Hey! That's us!" Yugi stated to his friends.
"Wow! Now that was fast! Let get on it!" Jonouchi added.
""Yes, we're going to Motel Joy!" Atem replied to the bus driver.
"Oh no!" Haga complained, "Here we go again!"
"Back to work!" Ryuzaki mumbled likewise as he and the bug boy lifted the luggage in their arms.
Upon arriving at a street somewhere near the Manhattan slums, the bus ground to a halt, opening the door to let out the four reporters. "You guys will be a big help for the Helping Hands Foundation." The bus driver stated happily, "That's the charity organization that makes up the staff of this place."
"Arigato." Atem replied as he stepped out, "Thank you."
"We'll do our best." Yugi added, following his brother. Jonouchi and Honda left not long after. Just as Haga and Ryuzaki waddled to the door, their hands full of luggage, it slammed shut right on them!
"Wha-?" they both exclaimed before the bus started moving again.
"HEY!" Haga blurted, "WHAT ABOUT US?"
"YEAH!" Ryuzaki protested, "WE STILL GOT THEIR LUGGAGE!"
At that, the bus door opened again… but tossed the two boys out with the suitcases! "YAAAAAAAAAH!" they screamed as they flew unceremoniously to the ground. And the four young reporter were watching the whole thing, wincing.
"Oy… I'm glad I'm not those guys." Jonouchi muttered.
"That makes four of us." Honda agreed. Nevertheless the four of them gathered up their suitcases.
"Thanks guys. We'll take it from here." Yugi stated. And they continued their way, leaving the obnoxious pair lying on the ground, swirls in their eyes.
"Great." Ryuzaki mumbled, "Ever since we met up with those guys, it's one crash landing after another."
Haga chuckled even in his dazed state. "Yeah… but it's worth it!" Then they both chuckled as the thoughts of beautiful, scantily clad women filled their heads.
Meanwhile, the twins and their friends were standing in front of an old building. It appeared to be undergoing some renovations on a few parts of the wall, but the deteriorating age of the bricks and wood was clearly obvious. Nearby was a sign stating the name of the place. "So this is Motel Joy." Atem mused.
"Whoa. Hawkins wasn't kidding when he said it looked shabby." Yugi noted, "But he never said it looked that shabby!"
"For a hotel that's called Motel Joy, it looks awfully sad." Honda stated.
"Well, we won't know until we go inside." Jonouchi replied, and the foursome approached the doors. Atem knocked once, then pushed the doors open. The inside was no less shabby than the outside. In fact, it was a bit of a mess. There were crumbling walls, broken electronics and even the furniture was in need of repairs. "Looks like this place has seen better days." Jonouchi noted.
"At least some work is being done to fix it." Yugi replied, pointing to the many places where there was work in progress. But the surroundings became less of a focus as they saw two men in the lobby. One was a slim androgynous figure, turquoise eyes and short magenta red hair. He wore a light violet tank top, a pair of blue jeans and black biker boots. He sat behind the desk.
The second man was more statuesque, whose short golden hair seemed to be swept back by the wind. The sideburns stood on end upon his cheeks. He donned a gray tank top, baggy pants and thick boots, giving the young reporters an impression that he was an army man. He was busy stacking a large box upon the top shelf. When that was done, the man wiped the sweat off his brow, his blue-gray eyes expressing satisfaction. "Whew! That takes care of that load." It was then he took notice of the heroes. "Hey, Amelda!" he stated to his androgynous companion, "Looks like we got some new visitors!"
"Really?" Amelda replied, "Oh! Thanks Raphael." He straightened himself up on his desk, facing the visitors in question. "Hello, and welcome to Motel Joy. Is there anything we can do to help you?"
"Yes," Atem answered, "We'd like to have a room."
Amelda and the military man, Raphael, stared at the four friends in astonishment. "Seriously?" Raphael asked.
"Of course. We like to check in." Atem replied, making his intention clear.
After what seemed to be an eternity of surprise, the two men were smiling. "That's great!" Raphael exclaimed in excitement.
Amelda went about ringing the bell. "Hey everyone!" At the sound, some hotel workers came to the scene, along with a great number of residents.
"What's going on?"
"Someone new is checking in!" Amelda announced.
The people's eyes lit up at the news.
"Really?"
"Awesome!"
"We've got no time to waste!"
"Let's tidy up!"
Right before the eyes of the four young reporters, everyone in the Motel was getting ready to welcome them in, all filled with genuine enthusiasm.
"Whoa!" Honda gasped, "In spite of the surroundings they've all got a positive attitude!" He and his friends proceeded to put down their luggage.
"That's how the Helping Hands Foundation does its work." Raphael explained, "This branch in particular provides food and shelter to the homeless and a sense of comfort to any guest that stays over, thereby bringing hope to the hopeless. Anyway, how would you like to set the payment?"
"Um, I don't know." Atem admitted, "What are the choices?"
"Well, we take cash, checks and credit cards." Amelda answered, "But no matter the method, half the overall total goes to the Helping Hands charity fund."
"…Yes, about that." Atem stated, taking the yen out of his wallet, "We're from Japan, and we forgot to convert our yen into dollars, so we're broke. That's why we came here in the first place."
"Oh, is that so?" Amelda replied, "Well, fortunately for you, there's always a fourth option."
"And that would be…?" Yugi asked.
"Sneaking out in the middle of the night." Raphael replied, "It's a very popular choice for the desperately poor."
"In that case, err uh… we'll take that fourth option." Jonouchi stated.
"All right then," Amelda noted, "Your room is on the second floor. Just set down your luggage and the bellhops will take care of the rest."
"Kuri-kuri!" a tiny voice echoed in the lobby.
"Ah, here they come now!" Raphael stated, and as the four heroes looked on, five small balls of fur bounced toward them, each with four stubby green legs and wide eyes. Each wore on top of their 'heads' the iconic red cylindrical caps worn by bellhops. The four heroes blinked in bewilderment.
"Um, no offense," Yugi stated, "but your bellhops look a lot like Kuribohs."
"Cute little buggers, aren't they?" Raphael replied, "And if that doesn't get you, wait until you meet the chambermaids!" The five Kuribohs in question proceeded to lift the suitcases and carry them like ants toward the stairs.
"Forgive us for having you climb the stairs like this, but our elevator isn't exactly in working condition." Explained Amelda.
"No, it's fine." Honda answered. "Thanks for letting us stay."
"No problem."
The four young reporters proceeded to follow the Kuriboh bellhops up the stairs. And the twins in particular had to admit, very sight of these little creatures trying to carry their heavy suitcases over such an obstacle was very comical.
Once on the second floor, they were traveling down the hall when suddenly they heard voices coming from behind one of the doors.
"Listen guys!" Yugi stated. And listen they did.
"Okay, the lobby's looking shabby and it's got the wrong address!
And the whole damn thing has been condemned by… American Express!"
There was much laughter that followed.
"Hey! I'm not done yet!"
"Whoever's back there sure is having fun." Jonouchi noted. Atem decided to make his approach and open the door. Inside, they found five individuals, three male and two female.
One of the men had crimson red eyes and hair that was straight on the front and spiky on the back, the length of which reached the shoulders. The color of the hair was rather interesting. On the front, it was red on the right and black on the left, but on the back it was the other way around. He wore a black T-shirt with a red leather vest, dark gray pants and black studded boots, giving him the look of a punk rocker. Apparently, he was the one entertaining his buddies by singing a humorous verse.
"Still the management is cheerful, though the whole joint's gone to hell!
Well, welcome home to Happiness Hotel!"
The others laughed and applauded. A stocky man patted the punk roughly on the back. He had violet eyes and short blonde hair with an extreme cowlick, and a strip of hair that made up the goatee on his chin. He wore a yellow T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, along with gold colored sneakers. "Ha ha ha! That's a good one Slifer!" the man laughed.
"Hello there!" Atem called out, grabbing the attention of the punk, Slifer, and the rest of his companions.
"Hey! We got some new faces!" exclaimed one of the women excitedly. She had long dark green hair, and green eyes, and she wore a brown tube top with a black leather vest, along with a short plaid skirt, black and green striped stockings and gray jungle boots.
The third young man stepped forward. He had dark tan skin, with handsome features that hinted that he was of a mixed racial heritage… namely, an Afro-Asian. His long blue hair reached his hips, while sky blue eyes danced with a serene light. He wore a white tank top and a light blue cotton jacket with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He also had blue jeans, but he wore a pair of thick-soled sandals that showed off his elegant toes. "Hey, what's up!" he greeted in a captivating voice, reaching out a hand, "Nice to meet you! I'm Nautilus."
"Pleasure to meet you too Nautilus!" Atem replied, shaking Nautilus' hand, "My name is Atem Mutou." He then pointed to his own friends. "This is my twin brother Yugi, and our friends Jonouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto. We're staying here as guests in Motel Joy."
"That's excellent!" Nautilus stated, "It's always nice to see fresh faces once in a while. Come in and make yourselves at home!"
Yugi looked around the room where the other group was staying. "Hey, do you guys live here?"
"Yeah," Slifer replied, "When times got hard, this place really helped us out. We used to live out in the alley around the slums."
"Really?" Honda gasped.
"It's definitely not a good place to live." Added the girl in green, Emeraude by name, "I mean, it's where you usually find garbage, dangerous street gangs and worst of all… drug dealers. In fact, Slifer's mom used to be a drug addict."
"But Nautilus in particular had it especially rough." Stated the stocky man, Obelisk. "And that was long before we even met him!"
"Is that true?" Jonouchi asked.
Nautilus sadly nodded. "I grew up alone in the projects; my whole family was killed in the midst of a gangster turf war when I was a small child, and I ran away from foster care after spending just three days there in living hell. It was a very dangerous life I had to live, but I had nowhere to go, and I had no one to turn to." The smile that returned on his face was that of gratitude. "If it weren't for the Helping Hands Foundation and Motel Joy, I wouldn't even be standing here today. Here at last is a place where I can live my life and pursue my dreams without constant fear!"
"And the same is for the rest of us!" added the second girl, Coral, stepping by Nautilus' side and giving him a hug. She was an African American with deep blue eyes and long wavy turquoise hair, wearing a white cotton shirt that exposed her shoulders, blue jeans and a pair of platform shoes. "In each other, we found kindred spirits, and from the moment we met we have formed a very strong bond."
Atem gasped, "Now I see how Motel Joy got its name! It's more than just a shelter, it's a sanctuary that truly does restore lost hope!"
Nautilus chuckled. "Nowadays we do our best to help out the Helping Hands, and that includes doing some volunteer work. In between that, we raise funds in another way that also lets us follow our dreams. Having musical backgrounds, my friends and I formed a rock band, and on the side I do some contemporary R&B with Coral Chan."
"He's a very talented singer." Coral stated with a wink.
"Hey, Slifer can sing too!" Emeraude shouted as she picked up an electric bass, "He just prefers to rock it out on his electric guitar!"
Slifer lifted up said electric guitar and began tuning it. "I'm not that much of a talented singer Emeraude! The ones I'm good at are from punk rock, and we are a mixed metal band. That's why Nautilus is our front man when he's not doing R&B."
Obelisk proceeded to do some experimental taps on his drum set.
"Cool!" Yugi replied, "Can you show us a sample of your talent?"
"Sure Dude!" Obelisk answered with a smile and turned toward his punk friend. "What song do you wanna do?"
Slifer strummed his V guitar. "Hmm, I don't know. How about… this!" And he shredded a few notes. Figuring it out, Emeraude and Obelisk joined in, and Slifer began his song.
"If I don't have a lover unlike any other
What will I get?
If I don't have a friend who will love to the end
What will I get?
"What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
"Without a caress when I'm in distress
What will I get?
And without a break when I'm not on the make
What will I get?
"What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
"I'll only get sleepless nights
Alone out there in my concrete bed!
And things would never turn out right;
My dream would only crumble into dust instead!
"What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?"
When Slifer started on his guitar solo, the new guests couldn't help but be impressed with his skill. Then the guitarist went on to his refrain.
"I'll only get sleepless nights
Alone out there in my concrete bed!
And things would never turn out right;
My dream would only crumble into dust instead!
"What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
"If I don't have a lover unlike any other
What will I get?
If I don't have friend who will love to the end
What will I get?
"What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
What will I get?
Who-o-oa what will I get?
"Well let me tell you now!"
As the song got down to the wire, Emeraude and Obelisk joined in with the vocals.
(What will I get?)
(What will I get?)
(What will I get?)
"No love!"
(What will I get?)
"No sleep at night!"
(What will I get?)
"Nothing that's right!"
(What will I get?)
"Nothing at all,
At all, at all, at all,
At all, at all, at all,
If I don't have you!"
The four reporters applauded wildly. "That was great you guys!" Honda cheered.
"Yeah you rock!" Jonouchi complimented.
"So what brings you here to Motel Joy?" Nautilus asked the elder Mutou twin.
"Oh! We may not look it, but we're investigative reporters from Japan. We came all the way to New York City to interview a certain fashion designer for our newspaper and blog." Atem explained.
"Sweet!" Slifer stated, "What for?"
"You've heard about what's happened to Mystique, haven't you?"
There was a look of shock on the faces of the band. "Oh… you mean the robbery and murder?" Obelisk asked.
Nautilus sighed as he did the sign of the cross. "God rest her soul!"
"Well that's why we came here." Yugi explained, "We're hoping to get some information from a colleague of hers that will help stop that murderous thief before he or she strikes again."
"You really have a strong sense of justice." Emeraude mused, "We could use more heroes like you."
"True you may be a bit cleaner than the other guests," Coral added, "But I'm sure you'll be right at home here helping out the Helping Hands."
The Afro-Asian vocalist smiled, "Actually, they already fit right in!" He turned to face Atem and Yugi. "I have high hopes that you'll put an end to that mystery thief's rampage with your article. Either way… welcome to Motel Joy!"
"Thank you." Atem replied.
"I'm sure we'll be great friends!" Yugi added.
"I'd say we take a photo as a commemoration!" Honda suggested, taking out his camera.
"That'll be great!" Slifer piped up. Soon the Mutou twins and Jonouchi gathered together with their new friends for a group shot.
"All right! Now this paparazzi camera's very old so I need to make sure it still works okay? Smile!" The bulb on the camera flashed—too brightly.
"AUUUGH!" screamed the subjects of the photo, all rubbing their eyes.
"Yup! It still works!" Honda exclaimed.
"HONDA!" the Mutou brothers roared.
The photographer sweatdropped, realizing what just happened with the flash bulb. "Whoops! My bad!"
Later that night, after recovering from the flash bulb fiasco, the four young reporters made it to their room. The Kuriboh bellhops placed most of the suitcases onto one of two beds, which were still comfortable in spite of the years. "Thank you. You sure are a big help." Atem replied to the bellhops.
"Wow!" Yugi stated, "This room looks very nice! I owe it to the Helping Hands Foundation; if it were any other hotel, we wouldn't be able to afford something like this!"
Jonouchi opened up his suitcase, taking out some pajama shorts and a T-shirt with a picture of a Red Eyes Black Dragon printed on the front. "I'm getting hungry."
"You can always call room service." Honda suggested.
"Um, there's just one problem." Yugi stated, "There's no hotel phone to call room service with."
A little brown Kuriboh handed a small note to the elder twin before departing. "Apparently, there's no food either." Atem stated, "They've just ran out this evening and they're going to restock tomorrow morning."
"Aw man!" Jonouchi moaned in dismay.
"Look, let's just get ready for bed." Atem noted, "We need to get up early so we can meet up with Lady Valentine and set up the interview."
"Sure." Honda agreed, "I could use some shuteye after the long trip we had today." As he and the others prepared for the night, Atem once again made a call to his cousin.
"Hey Kaiba."
"Oh, hi Cousin." Kaiba greeted bluntly, "I see you made it to America in one piece." His lips curled into a rather sadistic smirk. "So… how were the flight accommodations I set up for you? Heh heh heh."
Atem glared at the face in his I-phone, not very impressed. "Very funny. Anyway, do you know where Lady Valentine usually works?"
"Of course." Kaiba answered, "She just set up a new workplace in Greenwich Village, located near Parsons. I'm actually planning on going there myself tomorrow."
"Probably for reasons tied to your own business. That doesn't surprise me. You're the richest man in nearly half the globe, and you attend the same high school Yugi and I go to."
"It has NOTHING to do with business Atem! True, I've contributed to the funding of this year's New York City Fashion Week, but I'm going there for a personal reason! You see, even though I've never seen Lady Valentine in person, I happen to know one of her models. Her name is Kisara, and she and I go way back…"—Kaiba blushed at the thought—"Look, my point is…I'm going to ask her out on a date."
Atem's eyes widened in surprise. "…Why you lucky son of a bitch! To think you'd finally found yourself a girlfriend!"
Kaiba stuttered, "A-anyway, I'll pick you up and take you to Valentine Fashions where you can get your interview planned out. Where are you staying?"
"Motel Joy." Atem replied.
"What? That dump in the slums?" Kaiba gasped in shock, "How the hell did you get to a place like that?"
"It's not a 'dump' Kaiba! It's run by a charity organization! As to how my friends and I got here, well… we forgot to convert our yen into dollars."
At this moment Kaiba burst out laughing, much to the chagrin of the elder Mutou twin. "Now that's a moment I'll savor! You're even dumber that your friend the Mutt!"
"I RESENT THAT REMARK!" Jonouchi barked in the background, putting on his Red Eyes Black Dragon T-shirt.
"That's not funny Kaiba!" Atem yelled, "At least one good thing came out of that mistake, and that's the fact that we just made some new friends here in this hotel! So when you get here, you owe Motel Joy some large donations!"
"Okay, okay!" Kaiba snickered, "I'll see you tomorrow." Furiously, Atem disconnected the call.
"Yeah Kaiba," he growled as he took out his light blue pajama pants. "You owe this place, big time!" Yugi was already in his own light blue pajamas as his brother went over to change clothes.
"I agree, Big Brother." he stated, "And we'd better see to that!"
Honda and Jonouchi were already in their nightclothes as well, having finished brushing their teeth. "Since there's two beds in this room," Honda noted, "I guess we'll each have to share a bed."
"All right." Stated the younger Mutou twin, "I'll sleep with my brother."
"Good. I'm gonna put a pillow between me and Honda so this whole thing wouldn't feel so uncomfortable." Jonouchi replied. Atem came out shirtless with his light blue pajama pants at that moment.
"Relax, Jonouchi." The elder twin reassured, "A least you're not naked when you're sleeping together."
"You've got a point. But that still doesn't make it any easier on us." Honda muttered.
"Oy," Jonouchi moaned, flopping into a soft bed. "It's moments like this that makes me wish I can get a midnight snack."
"Yeah, me too!" Honda piped up.
"Hey don't worry about eating." Yugi stated as he climbed into the other bed, "We'll have breakfast in the morning. Right now, just be glad we're here."
"You're right!" Honda stated with a smile, "We should be glad about that!" With that, he flopped on the other side of the bed to join Jonouchi. Suddenly, with a warning, that very bed snapped!
"GYAAAAAA!" screamed Jonouchi and Honda, and the bed sprang up and slammed the two of them right into the wall on the opposite side of the twins!
"Ouch…" Jonouchi groaned.
"I'm glad we didn't take that bed!" Yugi muttered. Atem joined his brother immediately.
"Can someone turn off the lights?" he asked. As if on cue, the light bulb in question fell out of its lamp on the ceiling and crashed to the ground. "Uh… thank you. Well, good night!"
"Good night…" Honda managed to reply with strain. And thus the heroes fell into a rather uneventful sleep.
Note: In the next chapter, the identity of Lady Valentine is revealed. After all, our heroes get to meet her! It's just that the meeting gets a little... complicated. If you've watched "The Great Muppet Caper", then you'll be in for a big surprise as to what happens and how!
Shining Nova band members: Until Next Time!
Hey, that's my line!