Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi and Tetsuya Normua own the Yu-Gi-Oh! and Final Fantasy VII franchises. Not me. No copyright infringement is intended in the uploading of this work.
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Chapter Eight- Rematch With the Puppetmaster- Rebecca vs Sephiroth
Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, and Bakura had agreed to let Vincent and Mai go off on their own so they could catch up after spending years apart. It seemed fair to let them reconcile their differences completely, so that everyone else could go looking for their opponents.
"I wonder who we're going to run into next…" Bakura wondered aloud. "First you meet up with Rafael, Valon, and Alister, and then we run into Mai, so who else are we going to run into today?"
"Yugi!" a familiar, but slightly lower pitched voice than before called out, answering Bakura's question for him.
The group turned as one to find Rebecca Hawkins, who had been around twelve the last time they'd seen her, grown to the age of seventeen. She was about the same height as Serenity now, and she let her hair grow down to about mid-back. The same crescent-shaped glasses sat on her nose as last time, and she was wearing a professional-looking light blue business suit with a skirt that was just above her knees. And she was running right towards them. Specifically, right towards Yugi. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.
"G-good to see you too, Rebecca!" Yugi choked out, barely able to breathe. As much as I wish Tea was here right now, I don't think she'd appreciate this… She told me over the phone that she hated not being able to be here, but she couldn't take time off from her classes. Especially not after all the hard work she did to even get in to that dancing school… But, she did say she'd be following up on the results on TV or online, so she'll be here in spirit, at least.
"Oh Yugi, gracious, it's been ages and ages hasn't it?" Rebecca asked, finally relinqishing her grip on the man. "You've gotten so much taller now, I almost didn't recognize you!"
Yugi laughed. "I've had a lot of people tell me that."
"Oh, and your voice sounds lower too!" Rebecca noted with a squeal of delight. "Wow. The resemblance is really uncanny… You almost look and sound like the pharaoh now. Well, there's a few differences, of course, but wow. I guess he's already moved on, then?"
Yugi nodded, a vaguely wistful smile on his face. "Yeah. He's gone back to where he belongs… We all miss him, but it was high time he moved beyond this world."
Rebecca nodded solemnly. "I understand. Oh! I don't suppose you've heard about Gramps' new research, have you? He recently discovered-"
"Well, well, well. Miss Rebecca Hawkins. We meet again." a much deeper voice greeted from behind the group.
Rebecca glanced over the shoulders of her friends, and sighed. She'd know that silver hair anywhere. "Sephiroth. I suppose you're here for a rematch?"
Yugi looked where Rebecca's eyes were focusing, and found himself staring at Sephiroth. The man had silver hair longer than Rebecca's with two unruly spikes sticking up in front. His eyes were a sharp shade of jade green, and he wore a pair of black leather pants and a tight-fitting black tank top which had a triangular cut down to about mid-chest level, revealing quite an impressive glimpse at the man's pectoral muscles.
Joey shivered, and whispered to Tristan, "Man, dat dude gives me da freakin' creeps."
"You said it." Tristan hissed back.
Sephiroth smiled lightly. "Only if you weren't about to challenge any of the other finalists standing here. Our match in the US National Finals was a really close one. Too close, for my taste. So, I'd like another shot."
"Another shot for me to kick your butt, you mean." Rebecca retorted, activatng her duel disk.
"Let's duel!" both duelists shouted in unison, beginning the rematch.
"Since I got the first move at the finals, how about you go first this time, Sephiroth?" Rebecca asked.
"Fine by me." Sephiroth stated. "I play my Spirit Reaper in attack mode!"
A skull figure in a purple robe holding a scythe in its hand appeared before him. (ATK 300)
"Next, I play my magic card Kaiser Colosseum!" Sephiroth stated, and a massive Roman-style colosseum appeared, surrounding the battle field and those who were watching at the closest distance. "As long as this card remains on the field, you can't summon any more monsters than I have on my side of the field. Which restricts us each to one. I'll play one more card face down, and end my turn."
"All right then. My move!" Rebecca called. "First off, I'll activate my Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards! Next, I summon my Fire Princess, in attack mode!"
A red-robed spellcaster holding a gnarled rod appeared on Rebecca's side of the field. (ATK 1500)
"Now, Fire Princess, incinerate his Spirit Reaper!"
A blast of flames engulfed the creature, but did not consume it. Sephiroth's Life Points didn't take a hit either. A group of blue-robed women stood before the reaper, and swiftly shattered.
"What?" Rebecca asked, completely confused.
"Oh, that's right, you never saw this card when we dueled, did you? My Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed in battle. And you should know that Waboku reduces any battle damage I take to zero. So sorry." Sephiroth answered, smirking.
"Ergh. Fine. I end my turn." Rebecca conceded.
"All right then. My move." Sephiroth stated. "I activate Hammer Shot! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, and that would be your Fire Princess."
"No!" Rebecca cried out as a massive hammer fell from the sky, smushing and shattering her lone monster.
"Now I summon a card you will most definitely recognize, Miss Hawkins. My Yata-Garasu!" Sephiroth called, causing a raven-black bird to appear on his side of the field (ATK 200)
"Oh no. Not that card!" Rebecca shouted, worry appearing on her face.
"Yes. That card. When my Yata-Garasu attacks you directly, it prevents you from drawing any new cards. In conjunction with my Spirit Reaper, which forces you to discard a card from your hand, your options will be getting very limited very shortly, Miss Hawkins." Sephiroth stated. "Go, my beasts! Attack her Life Points directly!"
Scythe and claw raked across Rebecca's duel disk, and Rebecca discarded one card from her hand.
Rebecca LP: 3500
"And, on top of that, my Yata-Garasu returns to my hand at the end of my turn, so you're still restricted to summoning one monster per turn. I'll lay one card face down, and end my turn." Sephiroth added. "Your move."
"Okay, Sephiroth. You might have limited my options a bit, but I still have my Graceful Charity card, which lets me draw three cards and discard two!" Rebecca stated, drawing her next cards.
Yes! she cheered mentally. My Adamantine Sword Revival card! Now… let's discard my Luster Dragon and my Cure Mermaid. Now let's try this on for size!
"I activate my magic card Silent Doom! This lets me summon a monster in face-up defense position from my graveyard, as long as it's a normal monster!" Rebecca called out.
"Activate trap! Magic Drain! This card forces you to discard one magic card from your hand in order to keep your card's effect active. If you can't discard a magic card, your Silent Doom gets destroyed!" Sephiroth explained.
Rebecca grumbled, showing Sephiroth her Tribute to the Doomed magic card. "I was hoping I could kill your Spirit Reaper with this and leave your Life Points wide open, but no such luck. But now, my Luster Dragon comes to the field! But he won't stay long, because I now get to activate my Adamantine Sword Revival! This card can only be activated when a Dragon monster is Special Summoned from the graveyard. By sacrificing the revived monster, I get to summon my Diamond Head Dragon in attack mode! Since my Luster Dragon had 1900 attack points, my Diamond Head Dragon has 2900! Fortunately for you, he can't attack this turn."
"Not that it matters anyway." Sephiroth sneered. "Reveal trap! Raigeki Break! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy your Diamond Head Dragon!"
Rebecca made a noise somewhere between a cry and a gulp and her monster shattered into bits. She quickly recovered and countered, "So what? You only have one card in your hand now! It's your move. And there's not gonna be much you can do!"
"Oh yes there is." Sephiroth replied, smirking. "I return to the field my Yata-Garasu, and then activate the last card in my hand- Cold Wave. This card means until my next turn, neither of us can set or activate any magic or trap cards. Which means you're pretty well defenseless. Go, Spirit Reaper and Yata-Garasu! Attack her Life Points directly again!"
Rebecca tooks the hits from the monsters, and reluctantly discarded her Dragon's Rage card. Now she had only one card left.
Rebecca LP: 3000
"Yata-Garasu returns to my hand, and it's your move, Miss Hawkins. Let's see what you can do with only one option left in your hand." Sephiroth stated.
"Guys, dis ain't looking so good." Joey stated.
"You're certainly right on that one, Joey. Rebecca can't play any magic cards she might have had to defend against Sephiroth's powerful lock down combination, and even if she summons a monster, he'll likely just find some new way to destroy it…" Bakura noted.
"But that doesn't mean she's going to lose!" Serenity cut in determinedly. "She beat him before, and she can beat him again! You can do it, Rebecca!"
Rebecca smiled, encouraged by her friends to fight on. "All right, Becky, you can turn this thing around… Sephiroth! This duel isn't over yet! I summon my Ruby Dragon in attack mode! And I'll use him to attack your Spirit Reaper! It might not be destroyed, but I'm taking out some of your Life Points!"
The red dragon (ATK 1600) rushed for Sephiroth's Spirit Reaper, clawing it, but unable to destroy it.
Sephiroth LP: 2700
"Since you can't do anything else, it's my move!" Sephiroth stated, drawing his next card. "I have my own Pot of Greed as well. You should know what that does. And now- this duel is as good as done. I use the magic of Monster Reborn to revive your Luster Dragon! And I'll place one card face down. Now, Luster Dragon and Spirit Reaper! Attack her monster and her Life Points!"
Luster Dragon's sparkling flames destroyed Ruby Dragon, and Spirit Reaper's scythe hit into Rebecca's Life Points.
Rebecca LP: 2400
"You should be thanking me." Sephiroth noted. "I've let you have one last chance to save yourself before I wipe you out. So. Play your last card. Let's see if you can duel your way out of this."
Rebecca cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you doing the exact same thing that let me come back and beat you last time? Well, whatever. It's your own fault if your arrogance ends this duel in my favor again. I draw-!"
"No you don't." Sephiroth cut in. "Reveal trap card! Drop Off! This requires me to discard my Yata-Garasu, but it prevents you from drawing any new cards. I learn from my mistakes, Miss Hawkins. I'm not giving you a second chance to pull yourself out of this."
Rebecca swore under her breath. "Fine. Your move."
"All right then. I activate Card of Demise! This lets me draw five cards from my deck, but if I don't use them all at the end of five turns, I lose them. However, I don't think I'll even be using them for that long. I sacrifice my Spirit Reaper in order to summon Mobius, the Frost Monarch!"
Spirit Reaper shattered to reveal a pale blue-green skinned man clad in white garb. (ATK 2400)
"Ordinarily, this card would let me destroy two spell or trap cards, but in this case, it really doesn't matter. Now, go, Mobus, the Frost Monarch! Wipe out the rest of Miss Hawkins' Life Points with your White Winter Blast!" Sephiroth commanded.
The Monarch raised his hands, summoning a massive white ball of snow, which he sent flying directly towards Rebecca's Life Points. She drew her arms in around herself, shivering as though she was freezing as her Life Points dropped to zero.
"Whoa!" Tristan shouted. "I don't believe it! Rebecca lost!"
"Rebecca!" Yugi cried out, concerned.
"I'm fine, Yugi…" Rebecca replied, still shivering a bit. She ran to his side, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, her facial expression practically begging for a hug.
Yugi put his arms comfortingly around her. "It's okay, Rebecca. Really. You don't need to be sad."
"I'm not sad, I'm mad!" Rebecca retorted. "I just lost to someone I beat in the national finals on worldwide television! I'm so humiliated!"
"How do you think I felt?" Sephiroth asked, approaching his opponent. "I lost to a girl several years my inferior on national television. You want to talk about humiliation, that was both humiliating and emasculating. If I gave a damn about the opinions of others, I'd have been harassed by thousands of people for quite some time."
Yugi raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting a man who seemed so arrogant mere moments before to seem almost- sympathetic.
"Yeah, he has a point." Joey admitted. "Beck, you beat him on national TV. He basically got beat up by a girl in front of millions of people. Dat's pretty rough."
"And what're you saying, that girls can't be good duelists too? Huh?" Rebecca shouted, turning towards Joey.
"No, no, not dat!" Joey replied, waving his arms defensively. "I'm not sayin' women aren't awesome duelists. I mean, check out Mai! I'm just sayin' dat a lotta people would see dat as humiliatin'."
"At any rate, I'm sorry you feel humiliated. But I wasn't about to hold back because you're a woman. That would be an insult to you as a duelist. I did what any duelist of a certain caliber would've done, and used my best cards at the most opportune moments. I just happened to get a lot of my best cards near the start of the game. Had the deck been shuffled differently, the outcome might have been completely different." Sephiroth cut in, looking back at Rebecca, holding his hand out for a handshake.
"Right!" Rebecca replied, a smile coming onto her face. She took Sephiroth's hand firmly, and said, "Next time we meet, though, you're going down!"
Sephiroth ended the handshake, and shrugged. "If that's the way the cards fall. I'd stay to chat longer, but I have someone I need to speak with. Yugi, I'm looking forward to seeing you in the finals. We'll have more time to speak with one another then."
And he breezed right through the group, walking towards an unknown contact.
Rebecca shuddered as Sephiroth's hair accidentally brushed against her skin.
"What is it, Rebecca?" Yugi wondered.
"I don't know, Yugi…" Rebecca answered, sounding really worried and confused. "Something seems different about him. I mean, he was acting the same as last time- only he was much more… I don't know… Cold. More arrogant, too… I just hope nothing's wrong."
Yugi felt a chill of foreboding roll down his spine at Rebecca's words. "Yeah, Rebecca. Me too…"
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"Ah, Sephiroth, coming to pay me a visit, are you?" Rufus asked, his blue eyes strangely illuminated by the computer screen. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't be there for our little meeting, seeing as how I have a rather urgent meeting of my own with the Turks to arrange the destruction of the lab of one Professor Arthur Hawkins. We can't have all those Shin-Ra secrets spilling for all the world to see, now can we?"
He snapped shut his laptop as Kaiba and Pegasus entered the room. "And what is it that you two want?"
"Well, it seems clear to me that you have some big plan in the works." Pegasus stated in his usual lilting voice.
"A big plan with a big payoff. And we want in." Kaiba finished. "I wanna know what's going through that slimy head of yours, and what exactly it is you're trying to accomplish here. You have a lot of people here in this tournament that, from what I saw, are either being watched by Shin-Ra, or are on Shin-Ra payroll. What I want to know is what purpose they serve."
"I'm afraid I can't share that information with you." Rufus replied, turning his back to the two other CEOs. "It's highly classified, reserved only for the eyes of the Shin-Ra board of directors."
"Then how about a merger?" Kaiba asked. "Were our companies combined, we could learn the information you're trying to hide from us, correct?"
"Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus interrupted. "Are you certain you want to go through with this? I thought you'd rather see your company run to the ground before it fell into someone else's hands!"
Kaiba's lips hardened into a single line. "It might be the only way our companies survive this. I just ran the calculations again, and at the rate these duels are occurring, there won't be enough time to raise enough revenue to even reach the break-even point for holding this tournament."
Rufus smirked lightly. "What say you to a little wager? After the tournament's done, we can settle this in a manner you're accustomed to. We can duel over this. If you two win, I will give you enough money to keep your companies from falling apart. And if I win, all three of our companies merge, and you will have all the access to Shin-Ra secrets and stocks you care to have."
"That's quite an impressive gamble, Rufus-boy." Pegasus noted. "What if the money you use fronting us drives you into bankruptcy?"
"I highly doubt that." Rufus responded. "And, also, even if my company did get in trouble, the US government owes me too much to let me fall. I would get bailed out."
Kaiba looked to be considering the matter heavily. After a long moment, he replied, "All right. It's a wager."
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Next time: Yugi and friends meet up with a kind young woman named Aerith, and Tristan gets dragged into his first duel of the tournament! As the first day of competition comes to an end, will Tristan prove himself worthy of a slot in a worldwide tournament's finals? Or will this new opponent prove too strong to face?
