Drama Before the Rematch
Author's note: I had to make another correction to chapter 5 because of an error with Burst Stream of Destruction.
There was something else I realized. I'm not sure if the three Egyptian God cards were buried in the temple after Yugi and the Pharaoh had their ritual duel. For the sake of this story, I'm assuming that Yugi escaped the cavern with the three God cards.
Soon the submarine reached land, and they were all ready to head back to KaibaCorp Headquarters.
"So big brother, how do you plan to take down Yugi?" Mokuba asked as they were getting out of the submarine.
"Well, I still haven't yet figured out a way to counter his Egyptian Gods. But thanks to the new cards I have, I think I can throw some new strategies at him."
"You mean the Seal of Orichalcos, right?"
"That and the two I forced Rafael to give me."
"You…forced him to give them to you."
"Yes. You see, at first that fool didn't want to duel at the risk of losing his monsters. But then I forced him to duel by threatening to put him out of business. I purchased 51% of the company that makes the motorcycles he sells and then threatened to stop the production of the motorcycle parts."
Mokuba was surprised. He knew that Seto had dueled Rafael and had gotten two cards from that duel. What he did not know was that Rafael had not willingly agreed to such a duel.
SOMEWHERE IN THE DOMINO PARK
Meanwhile, Yugi and Joey were sitting on a bench in a park. They had just thrown the Frisbee around for a little while and were now taking a break. Yugi had a worried expression on his face. He was thinking about what Bakura had said at Burger World when they were discussing possible strategies that Yugi could use.
But Yugi should be careful. If he has Slifer on the field, Kaiba will probably use the same trick that Yugi used to make Slifer's special ability backfire.
Joey looked over at his friend Yugi and could tell something was wrong. "What's the matter, Yug?"
"I'm just wondering, what if Kaiba's right?"
"Right about what?"
"I mean what if he was right in saying that I could only beat him with the Pharaoh? Seto, on the other hand, never had anyone else guiding him through his duels. Maybe he is the better duelist."
"Nah, Yug. You can't talk like that. I mean sure he is a great duelist, but you're the one who figured out how to beat all three Egyptian Gods."
"True, but now Kaiba knows how to beat all three Egyptian Gods from witnessing that duel. Maybe I should just take Slifer out of my deck so he can't use the same trick I used."
"What? Are you crazy? You can't talk like that. I mean sure, Slifer has its weaknesses, but it's also one of the most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters. Besides, you're the best player I know. If he tries that same trick you used, then you can always find a way to counter it."
"You know, Joey? You're right. If he does try to make Slifer's special ability backfire, I can find a way to counter it. Thanks, buddy."
"Sure, no problem. It's like you always tell me. Every duelist shares a bond with the monsters he carries. Therefore you should respect each and every card you have. And you, my friend, have a powerful bond with this card," Joey said pointing to Yugi's Slifer card.
"You're right, Joey. I do have a bond with my Sky Dragon. Just like I have a bond with my Dark Magician and my Kuriboh. Therefore it's important for me to respect it just like I would any other monster by putting it in my deck."
"And don't forget about all those strategies we discussed at Burger World."
"Oh, you mean all those strategies that Rebecca came up with while you were busy stuffing yourself with French fries?" teased Yugi.
"Yeah, those strategies," Joey chuckled.
BACK AT KAIBACORP
When Mokuba went to bed that night he had a nightmare. In his nightmare he saw Seto and Yugi engaged in a duel. Both were at a full 4000 life points. On the field Yugi had Valkyrion the Magna Warrior while Seto had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. There were swords beaming bright lights scattered all around Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It was Seto's turn.
As Seto drew his next card he laughed out loud. "Your Magna Warrior may be more powerful than my Blue-Eyes White Dragon right now, but that's about to change. Now I play the Seal of Orichalcos."
As Seto activated the Seal the strength of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon rose to 3500, equaling the strength of Yugi's Magna Warrior.
"My Blue-Eyes may not be able to attack this turn because of your Swords of Revealing Light, but since this was the last turn they were in effect, he'll be free to annihilate your Magna Warrior on my next turn."
But then Yugi drew his next card and smirked. "You may have the power of the Orichalcos, but I have something even greater…the power of the Egyptian Gods."
Seto's eyes widened in fear. "Don't tell me…"
"That's right, Kaiba. The card I drew was the Winged Dragon of Ra."
Seto gulped. "That's the most powerful of the three Egyptian Gods."
"That's right, Kaiba. Now watch as I separate my Valkyrion into the three Magnet Warriors." Valkyrion then separated into Alpha the Magnet Warrior (ATK 1400, DEF 1700), Beta the Magnet Warrior (ATK 1700, DEF 1600), and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (ATK 1500, DEF 1800).
"Next I sacrifice Alpha, Beta, and Gamma to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra." As the three Magnet Warriors disappeared, a round golden ball appeared to be hovering in the sky. Then the ball opened up revealing a massive golden dragon with a blue jewel in its forehead.
"The attack points of my Winged Dragon of Ra are determined by the sum of the attack points of the monsters I sacrificed to summon it. So my Winged Dragon of Ra has 4600 attack points."
"But that makes it more powerful than my Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"Next, I can activate the special ability of my Egyptian God. By paying 1000 life points I can have it automatically destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field. And since you only have one monster I'll have it incinerate your Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Yugi's life points dropped to 3000 while the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was fried to a crisp.
"Now your life points are wide open. Winged Dragon of Ra, attack his life points directly." The Winged Dragon of Ra attacked Seto directly bringing him down to 0. The Seal then encircled Seto.
Mokuba then ran up to Seto, but he was lying lifelessly on the ground.
"Big brother…please…wake up." Mokuba shook Seto some more hoping he would wake up, but it was no use. "BIG BROTHER! WAKE UP!"
Suddenly Mokuba jerked upward, awaking from his bad dream. It was true that Mokuba hadn't initially been concerned about the powers of the Orichalcos card since the Great Leviathan was no more. But now that the rematch was coming up, he became more concerned. It was two days before the tournament. Mokuba decided that now was the time to raise his concern to Seto.
Mokuba approached Seto's office that morning to tell him why he was worried.
Hmm… What cards can I use that will counter the Egyptian Gods? I can use that Magnet Force trap card that Yugi used to make Slifer's special ability backfire. I just need to make sure I have a rock or machine-type monster on the field for it to work. My X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank should do the trick.
Then Seto heard a knock at his door.
"Big brother?" he heard Mokuba from outside.
"Yes, Mokuba. Come on in."
Mokuba came inside. "I wanted to ask you something about the Orichalcos card."
"Oh, you mean the card that will lead to Yugi's downfall because it gives my monsters a 500 point boost and doubles the number of monsters I'm allowed to have on the field?"
"Well yes, the Seal of Orichalcos is a rare and powerful card. But aren't you worried about that other thing it does?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, you know, its ability to capture souls. If you play it, aren't you worried that your soul or Yugi's might be sealed away for all eternity?"
Seto sighed. "Mokuba, you should know by now that I don't believe in the whole soul-being-taken-away crap. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"
"But how can you say that? After all the things we've been through. Remember when Pegasus captured both our souls with the Millennium Eye? And what about the time when Alister played the Seal of Orichalcos? Don't you remember I tried to come through, but the Seal created a wall that blocked me."
"So what? Those were just cheap tricks."
"But what about that time you played the Pyramid of Light trap card and that guy Anubis took over the duel for you? And what about that time Ishizu was able to read the cards in your hand with her Millennium Necklace."
Seto became extremely angry at Mokuba for not getting the point. "That's enough, Mokuba! I have to concentrate so I can figure out a way to take down Yugi's Egyptian Gods. You've wasted enough of my time already. Now get out! And don't mention anything to me about that hocus-pocus magic stuff ever again."
Mokuba left feeling a little hurt by his brother bluntly telling him to get out, but he was still determined to look out for his older brother.
I know that we defeated the Great Leviathan and that Seto doesn't believe in all that magical stuff. But I just can't help feeling that the card is somehow still dangerous. I have to contact Pegasus. Maybe if he hears it from someone else he'll listen.
Mokuba walked over to where Roland was.
"Roland?"
"Yes, Mokuba."
"I need to contact Industrial Illusions right away. It's an emergency."
Roland allowed Mokuba to use his web cam to contact Industrial Illusions. He saw the image of a woman on the computer. It was Pegasus's secretary.
"Yes, can I help you?" asked the woman.
"I need to speak to Pegasus right away. Tell him it's Mokuba."
"Okay I'm transferring you right now."
Meanwhile Seto was still sitting at his desk concentrating on ways to counter Yugi's Egyptian Gods.
But what if Yugi doesn't summon Slifer the Sky Dragon? What if he instead just summons Obelisk or Ra? I still have to figure out how I'm going to stop those other two Egyptian Gods. He could summon one or both of them without summoning Slifer which would make the Magnet Force card useless. I wonder if I should use my Lullaby of Obedience card to take one of the Egyptian Gods. No. I remember when I faced Yugi in Battle City and used that to take Slifer he had Card Exchange facedown. So if I do that, and he has Card Exchange facedown, I'd be playing right into his hands. So I won't use Lullaby of Obedience.
Now back in Roland's office Mokuba had just gotten in touch with Pegasus.
"Hello, Mokuba. What can I do for you today? Is it about your brother's upcoming rematch with Yugi Muto? I hope you're not trying to get any new cards from me at the last minute just to help your big brother trounce little Yugi."
"Well it is about the rematch. You see my brother is planning on using a certain card that I think could be dangerous."
"Well which card is it?" asked Pegasus.
"The Seal of Orichalcos."
Pegasus gasped. "The Seal of Orichalcos? But how is that possible? I thought all copies of that card were destroyed. Where did he get such a card?"
"Well you see we found it by going back to the place where Seto and the Pharaoh dueled against Dartz."
"What? But that makes no sense. That place is all the way at the bottom of the ocean."
"Well we took a submarine down to the temple. There was a section of the temple where the waters hadn't penetrated so Seto got out of the submarine and swum down there to get it."
"Oh, that Kaiba-boy. He'll do anything to get a really powerful card even if it means risking his own life."
"I'm just worried that someone will lose his soul. I mean I know the Great Leviathan is gone and all, but what if the card still has the power to capture someone's soul?"
"I suspect you might be right, Mokuba. I'm a little busy right now, but I'll try to contact your brother tomorrow for you."
"Thanks, Pegasus. I just hope he listens to you. See ya."
"Bye, Mokuba."
BACK AT GAMESHOP THAT SAME NIGHT
Yugi was sitting at his bed looking over his deck.
Great! I have my Dark Magician, my Dark Magician Girl, my Egyptian Gods, my Kubioh, and all the other monsters that have helped me out. With my monsters and the strategies we discussed at Burger World, I'll be able to prove that I can defeat Kaiba without the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. But what if Kaiba uses the same trap card I used to make Slifer's special ability backfire? No, I can't worry about that. I just have to listen to the advice Joey gave me in the park and trust in my deck as always.
NEXT NIGHT AT KAIBACORP
It was the evening before the big rematch. Kaiba had studied all night last night and all day today, but he was pretty sure he had come up with a way to deal with the three Egyptian Gods.
I may not be able to defeat them, but I do think I can prevent their summoning with certain magic and trap cards. Now I just need to figure out ways to counter his other monsters like his Kuriboh, his Dark Magician, and his Electromagnetic Turtle. What I should really focus on is figuring out how to counter his multiplying-Kuriboh strategy if he uses that. I remember that gave me problems back when I faced him in Duelist Kingdom. I can probably use a simple spell-canceling card like what Lumis and Umbra used. Boy, I really need to take a nap right now. I've been studying for twelve hours straight. So I need to rest first, and then I'll do a little more studying.
He was about to catch himself a nap. Just at that moment his secretary appeared on the web cam.
"Sir, there's someone who needs to speak to you. A Mr. Maximillion Pegasus."
Kaiba couldn't stand that man. "Oh, great! Put him through."
Kaiba looked into the web cam and saw Pegasus. "Yeah, whaddya want?"
"Kaiba-boy, I know you have the Seal of Orichalcos. You mustn't play that card. It could be extremely dangerous."
"What? But how did you know I even had that card?"
"It matters not. Just make sure you don't use it in tomorrow's duel, okay?"
"Who told you I had that card?" he demanded to know.
"That person wishes to remain anonymous."
I bet it was Mokuba.
"Look, Pegasus. I'm dueling the way I want to duel. And you'd better not contact Yugi to tell him what new cards I have, or I'll be really pissed off." Pegasus was about to say something, but then Seto turned off his web cam.
I need to have a talk with Mokuba right now. He needs to learn his lesson for leaking out my little secret.
"Mokuba Kaiba, get your ass in my office right now!" Seto yelled loudly.
Mokuba heard the loud call from Seto. When he came by, he saw Seto standing outside the door looking very pissed off.
"Ye…yes, big brother?" Mokuba said timidly.
"What did you tell Pegasus?" he demanded to know.
Mokuba merely looked down nervously. "I didn't tell him anything," he responded. However, Seto could clearly see he was lying.
"Then tell me this. How did Pegasus know that I have the Seal of Orichalcos magic card?"
"Beats me," he replied, still feeling nervous.
"When we got out of the submarine, the only people who knew that I had the card were you, me, and Roland. Somebody had to have leaked the information out to Pegasus. I know I didn't tell anybody, and I don't think it was Roland either. That leaves you. So stop lying to me right now."
"Well it's not like I did any harm by telling Pegasus," Mokuba said fighting back a little.
"Wrong!" Seto responded adamantly. "Thanks to your snitching, my entire strategy might be ruined. You told Pegasus, and that snake will probably tell Yugi what card I'm using."
"Well…it's just that I…I was worried about you using the card because of the danger it unleashed a few years ago."
"Mokuba, what does it take for me to penetrate that thick skull of yours? I'm not worried about any of that magic stuff. Plus it doesn't matter because we defeated the Great Leviathan so the Seal of Orichalcos isn't going to take away anyone's soul anyway."
"How do you know what's going to happen? No one's ever played that card since we beat the Great Leviathan."
"Look, Mokuba! I'm using this card. And that's final. You got that?"
Mokuba was fighting back some tears. Then Seto said something that really pushed Mokuba's berserker button. "Besides, if anyone's soul is on the line, it would be Yugi's soul, not mine."
As Seto said that last line it appeared that Mokuba was about to burst into tears. But instead Mokuba did something really unexpected.
"NOOOO!" yelled Mokuba at the top of his lungs. Mokuba furiously pushed over Seto's desk destroying his web cam. "YOU GODDAMN FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Mokuba was breathing heavily.
This action took Seto completely by surprise. "Mokuba, what do you think you're doing?"
"You know what? I'm tired of your attitude. All you care about is yourself and being number one."
"Excuse me? How dare you talk back to me after all I've done for you? I've always protected you."
"I don't care," said Mokuba. "You always do things to hurt others in order to be number one. You ripped up Grandpa Muto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. That card meant a lot to him. I rooted for you when Yugi dueled against you, but you were the one in the wrong. I don't like what you did to Rafael either. Threatening to put him out of business was really low."
Seto just stood there completely stunned.
"And how can you say something like you don't care if Yugi loses his soul after all he's done for us? He helped you rescue me from Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom. He helped us escape from the cyber world when the Big 5 trapped you in that virtual world. He helped you find me when Marik's Rare Hunters captured me. And don't forget the time he helped figure out how to get rid of that computer virus caused by the Gold Castle of Stromberg. Yugi and his friends have always been there to help us. And did you ever once thank them?"
Mokuba breathed deeply and then continued his rant.
"Tell me, big brother. When Tea was about to be killed by those Rare Hunters, did you rescue her because it was the right thing to do or because you felt obligated to?"
Seto responded with complete silence.
"If she hadn't saved me from those Rare Hunters, would you have rescued her anyway, or would you have let her die? Answer me!"
But Seto did not answer. He just stared at Mokuba with complete silence.
"And what about when we left the Battle City finals in the Blue-Eyes White chopper? Didn't you think about whether or not the others had any way of getting off the island safely?"
Seto did not answer Mokuba because he knew his little brother was right about everything. He didn't give a rat's ass about Yugi or any of his friends. If Tea hadn't saved Mokuba he would've never done anything to prevent Marik's Rare Hunters from killing her. And when he blew up the old KaibaCorp location, he was only concerned about whether he and Mokuba would make it safely off the island, no one else. He was not at all concerned about the safety of Yugi's gang or even his own faithful employees like Roland. When it came to Yugi's friends and his own employees, worrying over their safety was just a waste of his valuable time.
"You know what?" said Mokuba. "I'm gonna cheer for Yugi tomorrow. I want you to lose." Then Mokuba stormed out of Seto's office.
Mokuba's harsh words may not have caused Seto to shed a tear, but he felt something very painfully emotional that he had not experienced since the death of his biological parents.
Seto picked up the desk that Mokuba had pushed over and looked at the smashed-up web cam. He opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a picture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the one Mokuba had drawn for him when they were little kids. His face hardened when he looked at it. Seto gazed at it for a while and then tore it to shreds.
