Celebwen Telcontar: I've manipulated the timeline a bit. This is between the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City arcs. Isishu Ishtar and the Egyptian exhibit are not at the Domino Museum yet. Merik has not infiltrated the city with his Rare Hunters yet, either. I have done this for a reason, as I want Serenity to be a part of the Battle City Tournament.
Balrog: This should be good… now I've got to wait through a boring restaurant scene…
Celebwen Telcontar: Balrog! Be nice!
Balrog: I'm basalt, not gneiss!
Celebwen Telcontar: Great, a gneiss pun. I should be used to these by now… Please review, everyone!
Serenity tottered on the impossible heels in her kitchen. The dress was down to her ankles, and the scarf had somehow gotten itself tangled about her throat.
"Calm down, Serenity!" Mai coached, unwinding the offending garment and draping it gracefully across her shoulders. The older girl was eyeing her, making sure her makeup and hair were perfect. A fall of emeralds accented a gold kanzashi on the right side of her face, and her hair had been done in a graceful wave across her left shoulder. Mai had purchased Serenity a pair of earrings with golden swans on them, and a small gold Pegasus pendant on a gold chain. Her makeup had taken almost a full two hours to do, and Mai seemed to be proud of herself. When Yugi appeared, dressed in a three-piece black and white suit, Mai had run out and purchased him a handkerchief in the same shade of violet as his eyes, folded it, and tucked it into his jacket pocket as a fashion statement. Both Yugi and the Puzzle Spirit had decided to forego the Puzzle, mostly to keep it from Pegasus' hands, and Yugi wore a black and violet bolo tie instead, the ends amethysts and the centerpiece a violet oval gemstone.
"You two shape up really nicely!" Mai commented. "Now Yugi, you know to pull out her chair for her, and be polite, right?"
"This isn't a date, Mai!" Serenity snarled. "Will you lay off trying to set me up with Yugi?! He's dating Tea!"
"Alright, doll. Have a good time!"
"Mai!" There was the sound of a car. Joey came in the kitchen. "There's a limo outside. I think it's Pegasus'."
"Right on time," Serenity grumbled, grabbing her purse and shrugging her shawl slightly higher on her shoulders. Yugi opened the house door for her, and Croquet had the limo door open for them. Yugi got in first, followed by Serenity.
"What would you care for your listening pleasure, Miss Pegasus?" the driver asked.
"Uh… light jazz?"
"Very good, Miss Pegasus." A chord of saxophone and flute music came through the speakers as the car began to move.
"This is really nice," Yugi said, leaning back into the plush seats.
"Yeah, I agree." Within half of an hour, the limousine pulled up in front of the restaurant. Croquet opened the door for both of them, and as soon as they entered, a waiter led them to a private alcove, one of many that had tables seated on daises with curtains to provide privacy. The waiter bowed them in, opening the curtains for them. At one side of the table, sat Maximillion Pegasus. He was in his customary crimson and white suit, a glass of wine at his elbow.
"Sonja…" he whispered. "Ahem. Serenity... Welcome. Please take a seat. Welcome, Yugi-boy. You dress up very nicely."
"Thank you, Pegasus," Yugi replied, his voice sounding guarded. He pulled a chair out for Serenity, and took the one beside her across from Pegasus.
"You didn't bring young Joseph?" Pegasus asked Serenity.
"No, he would have embarrassed me and probably ruined the restaurant." Serenity's voice held a hint of slightly nervous laughter. Yugi was fiddling with a napkin, and discreetly scanning the massive menu. Serenity followed his example, and decided on roast duck with plum sauce.
"How are your eyes?" Pegasus asked.
"Very good, thank you. The surgery healed up very well, and I can see much better than I have my entire life."
"I'm very glad. My mother suffered from early blindness. I'm afraid it's hereditary."
"Did she have surgery?"
"No, she died when I was young. She had cancer." The conversation seemed to die for a moment, until Yugi got Pegasus talking about Duel Monsters, and Serenity had little to no control over the conversation from there until the waiter came to take their orders. Then, the table lapsed again into silence.
"Do you play Duel Monsters?" Pegasus asked.
"Joey was teaching me. I don't entirely get it. I understand the monsters, and that they each have a certain point value, but how does their destruction affect life points? And is there any way to win them back?"
"I based Duel Monsters on an ancient Egyptian game that was played for power. Each Duel Monster is also found in Egyptian hieroglyphics." Pegasus pulled a Duel Monsters deck from his coat pocket, and showed her a number of cards.
By the time the food had arrived, Pegasus and Serenity were comfortable with one another, and both Duelists had begun teaching Serenity the finesse of Dueling. Pegasus had even begun to show Yugi and Serenity some of his new cards that he was designing, including a magic card called Smothering Darkness that was flat matte black. It would cause every card on the field and in the player's hands and the first five cards on the tops of their decks to be removed from play. Not sent to the Graveyard, but removed completely from the game. The decks were then reshuffled, and new cards were drawn. Another card was called Warsbane, and had a young boy in Egyptian garb and an Egyptian hairstyle. The card would make every player to have the same lifepoint count as the highest dueler, and would remain as a Monster on the player's field. If Warsbane was destroyed or sacrificed, all players would have their lifepoints drop to the lowest, and the destruction of Warsbane would automatically invoke Wrath of the Gods which would cause every monster on the field to be destroyed, and the monster's lifepoints to directly affect their duelists' lifepoints.
"Sounds like a devastating card," Yugi put in.
"Smothering Darkness and Warsbane will be very rare cards." Pegasus handed the two cards to Serenity. "Those are yours. You can keep them."
"Thank you," Serenity said, looking at them.
"I got the idea from an Egyptologist who mentioned that the devastating wars between the Pharaoh and the Priesthood were started by the Priest's First Acolyte, his younger brother, being killed by a courtier. The Egyptologist said that if the Acolyte had lived, he most certainly would have averted the war, and Egypt would have become a much greater power. He believes it would have been able to annihilate Rome at its height."
"Wow," Serenity said. "I love history, especially how it keeps repeating itself! If the Acolyte had lived, would Egypt have been able to stop Alexander the Great?"
"Possibly. It certainly would have been able to repel the Hyksos Invasions later."
"Was this the Bronze Age war between Pharaoh Aten and the Priests of Amun, the one that inspired Pharaoh Akhenaton to create the Cult of Aten?"
"I believe so. You do know history."
"I love history. It's like a map to the future, in a way." Pegasus nodded. He leaned back, allowing the recently-arrived waiter to put his dinner down as Yugi and Serenity did the same. He topped of their drinks before leaving and shutting the curtains behind him. The three began eating, talking about history and Duel Monsters and how Egyptian history had inspired the game. When their dinner was finished, Serenity had given Pegasus her e-mail address and phone number, so he could contact her at any time. Pegasus had returned the favor, and given her a deck of very rare, very powerful cards. As a thank you for helping her, he gave Yugi a copy of Warsbane and Smothering Darkness.
When they returned to the Wheeler apartment, Pegasus gave Serenity a warm hug and a kiss on the forehead before promising to be in touch. Yugi waved goodbye to Serenity, trusting Pegasus to take him back to his house and not rope him into another Shadow Game.
"So, how'd it go?" Joey asked.
"Excellent. I'm very happy to have met him. Here, take a look at this!" She showed him her new deck.
"Holy Smokes! I've never seen some o'these cards! An' 'e gave ye Toon World?! An' Black Illusion Ritual, Relinquished, Thousand Eyes Idol, an' Thousand Eyes Restrict?! I never wanna duel you! Those monsta's were never put inta circulation! An' what's this?" He had come across Smothering Darkness and Warsbane. "Both o' these cards are good. 'Specially Warsbane. Smotherin' Darkness sounds nasty, but Warsbane sounds like an awesome card!" He goggled at the two before giving them back to her. "You'll be able to beat anyone, even Yugi!"
"You really think so, Joey?" she asked.
"Yeah, I really do, Seren."
"Good, because I'm going to train, hard."
"Oh, boy. I'm gonna get my ass handed ta me by my baby sista!"
"Yes, you are, Joey! Time to Duel!"
"Oh, shit!"
Celebwen Telcontar: What do you think?
Balrog: Why make her a history fanatic?
Celebwen Telcontar: Well, I felt it would be good to have someone who knows history to be on the sidelines in the Battle City Arc, instead of someone with a Millennium Item or an Egyptian God Card. Besides, I love history myself, and I gave her a lot of my views on history.
Balrog: How soon until Isishu Ishtar and the Egyptian God Cards arrive? And why did you call Atem Aten?
Celebwen Telcontar: I'll probably have the Battle City Arc start the next chapter. The reason I used Aten instead of Atem, even though Atem is Canon, is that there was a cult in acctual Ancient Egypt that worshipped an all-powerful single deity named Aten. That cult is most famous for being created by the Pharaoh Akhenaton, but there is evidence that it was around far earler. Every legend and myth has a seed of reality in it, and Ancient Egyptians considered their Pharaoh's to be Living Gods. I hope that cleared up any confusion. If anyone is confused, please feel free to PM me. Until then, people, please review!