Chapter 21: An Unwelcome Visitor
"WHAT?!"
Yugi was overcome with concern. Slifer the Sky Dragon was one of the three Egyptian God Cards, and without it, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle would be unable to tap into his ancient memories. Yami appeared and was already greatly concerned, but they weren't the only ones. Joey, Tristan, and Tea also knew what was at stake in terms of the Egyptian God Cards, but even Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon were alarmed by the revelation that Matt had disappeared with the God Card. Andrew was enraged, a clenched fist crumpling the note explaining his brother's disappearance:
"To whomever claims these cards,
I am sorry to have deceived you, but I have only needed the one God Card. With it, I may be able to keep myself prepared for what lies ahead of me. It is my solemn vow to Yugi that I keep the card safe, and I will remain as good as my word on that. But for now, I need to wield its power in aid of another quest of mine.
You see, I have been followed for the past few months by an evil man who wants to take over the modern world. He already has a monopoly over several industries alone, and he won't stop until he has taken control over every global industry there is. I have committed several questionably legal, moral, and ethical crimes against him in an attempt to weaken his power, but he continues to grow stronger each day. He has now even grown strong enough to come after me himself. He is not the only one I am concerned with though, but the other man is more than just my enemy.
He is an entity unlike any you have ever encountered, and he threatens a secret organization of people that I have looked into for the past three years. There is a legend long ago that speaks of a mighty power that rose up in the Middle East in the time of Babylon to stand against the laws that would limit man's freedom, and in their power were the great elemental dragon spirits. This entity I speak of has threatened this group of people since their existence, and I seek to find not only the truth in the legend but perhaps the only way of ridding the world of this evil as well.
This tournament had two purposes: one was to find the strongest duelists in the world, and I believe that that goal has been achieved. To Yugi and Andrew, I congratulate you and truly thank you for showing your prowess. You have each proven your worth, and you are the finest duelists I've had the pleasure of knowing. But the second purpose of this tournament was to take Slifer the Sky Dragon so that I may wield its power in my efforts to not only escape my enemies but also defeat them. And that is where I must ask your help.
I cannot do this alone. My absence at the time you may be reading this only serves to prove the danger I am in the moment we land the island. The base has already been surrounded by his forces, and I would be captured upon arrival. Sadly, this is not the only thing that will happen. My top Admins - Creighton, Izzy, Shannon - will all be taken into custody by this man, for conspiracy and obstruction of authority. My brother Andrew, as well as the remaining duelists and Admins on the island, will be sent away freely without any harm, as they have for the most part been uninvolved with my affairs.
And so I ask this of you: help me to find the Spirit Dragons and unlock the potential of my destiny. My brother knows of this task, and he will be the greatest help. As for the others, you are free to refuse and return safely to Domino City, in which case I cannot guarantee when you will see Slifer the Sky Dragon again. Fate had destined you to wield it, and I'm more than certain that it would return to you unharmed whether I am successful or not. If you accept, though, know that your assistance will be greatly appreciated and greatly rewarded.
I would have asked in person, but time is of the essence, and I found that the opportune moment could not occur when I had originally desired. I will have since fled the island, that I may escape from my enemies before I am caught. I can only hope you will accept the task I have asked of you, but I understand if you wish to walk away.
Deepest regards,
Matt Zero"
The other note was a much smaller slip of paper that only read one thing: "The secret lies with the Black Pearl."
A long silence pervaded with the group in the office. No one had suspected that Matt had planned this from the beginning, nor did they suspect that he would take the God Card without warning.
"To think, he was going to ask this after the tournament," Andrew muttered. "That fool..."
"What kind of person could force someone to take such drastic measures?" Yugi wondered aloud. "The note said you would have some idea of what he's referring to."
"We all do," Andrew said, looking up at the group. "Crieghton, Izzy, and Shannon are all personal friends of my brother and myself. We all knew about his obsession."
The other three looked down at the ground in shame. The others though remained confused. "What obsession was dat?" Joey asked.
Addressing this group, Andrew said, "The legend he speaks of in the note is in regards to what would be known as the Trinity, a secret organization that has supposedly existed for thousands of years. My brother learned about this organization of people and wanted to find them. It became his one and only thought..."
"Yay, I win again!"
Two younger teenagers were seated playing Duel Monsters, with one celebrating their victory over the other.
"You've really gotta change the cards in your deck, Matt," the victor said. "You'll never beat me if I know your strategies inside and out!"
The younger Matt smiled. "I was just waiting for the right time to invoke my strategy," he said. "It just didn't come around this time."
"You always say that when I win!" the other teen said. "Come on, if your strategy is so great, how come I never see you win with it?"
"It's all in good time," Matt replied. "Don't worry, Andrew, someday my strategy will reveal itself to you."
He patted his brother's head and got up to leave the room. Young Andrew watched on and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I've got to do more research," Matt answered, standing in the doorway.
"That's another thing, you're always researching too. What's so interesting about what you're looking into?" Andrew asked.
Matt merely gave him a small smile. "I think that's because someday it'll save the world," Matt replied, and he left the room leaving his brother to watch on.
"He almost never stopped thinking about that legend, but that's all it's ever proven to be," Andrew said. "Nothing more has come of it..."
He looked down at the smaller note and remarked, "...and that piece of paper has been the only clue that's driven him to searching all this time."
Andrew then stood up and walked up to Yugi. "Yugi," he said, "I know my brother made a request of you, but now I have one as well."
Yugi looked up expectantly. He had a strong feeling he knew what Andrew's request was going to be.
"Yugi," Andrew said, "I wish to borrow one of the two remaining Egyptian God cards."
Everyone else was surprised. "Wait just one minute!" Joey yelled out. "You can't just ask for da God Cards like dat!"
Andrew looked over sternly at Joey. "I understand that my request is steep," he said, "but with my brother out there wielding a God of his own, I need to have the power of one by my side if I'm going to take it back from him. It's my responsibility that he's gone so far in order to achieve his goal, and the God Cards are my responsibility at this time as well."
Joey looked at Andrew for a moment, a look as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. He backed down from his challenge as Andrew turned back to Yugi and said, "I know what I ask is a great deal, but please understand."
Yugi nodded and said, "I think you should talk to Yami about this."
"Yami?" Andrew asked curiously, but then Yugi swapped spirits, and the ancient spirit of the Pharaoh appeared.
"You're Yami?!" Andrew said startled. He recognized him from watching Leila and Yugi's duel, when he and Joey had been in the security booth.
"I am," Yami replied, "and I understand you wish to borrow an Egyptian God card."
Andrew stood straight again, a more respectful air about him. Yami noted this and continued on, "There are only a chosen few who possess the ability to wield an Egyptian God Card. You may not be able to handle its power."
"I'll have to take my chances," Andrew replied. "I need a God that surpasses Matt's Slifer, that way I can take it back."
Yami nodded. "There's only one God that will do that," he said. "Are you sure you will be able to wield it?"
"We'll find out soon enough," Andrew said. Yami then reached for The Winged Dragon of Ra and handed it over to Andrew who accepted it graciously.
"I promise to you that I will return this God Card along with Slifer the Sky Dragon," Andrew said, but then suddenly The Winged Dragon of Ra card began to glow. Its light flashed greatly and brightly, nearly blinding everyone in the room.
"What's happening?!" Andrew yelled out, but the others could do nothing but watch as the light seemed to keep them in place. And then just as quickly as it appeared, the light disappeared. Andrew opened his eyes and looked back down at the card.
"What's this?" he asked. "The card art changed?"
Yami looked down at the card and saw that The Winged Dragon of Ra had reverted into its Sphere Form. He took hold of the card and closed his eyes for a moment. Andrew watched as he did this. Then Yami opened his eyes and said, "I'm afraid that Ra has deemed you unworthy at this time of wielding his power."
"What?!" Andrew was surprised. "But I defeated you in a duel! Surely that means something!"
"That's not the only thing Ra said," Yami interrupted. "As I've relayed, it has deemed you unworthy at this time, but he knows of our current dilemma. Ra has chosen not to fight for now, but he will allow you to wield his power when the time comes."
"When the time comes..." Andrew looked down at the card in his hand. To think it was powerful enough to have a will all on its own. He had never encountered such a card in his life, but he had come to terms with such unusual instances after being familiarized with them by his brother.
"Very well then," Andrew said, and he stowed the card away in a deck box in his jacket pocket. "I think it's best that you hang onto the third Egyptian God Card. I don't want to ask for it and take all of them away from you at least."
"That's fair," Yami said, and so he swapped souls with Yugi once again, bringing the young boy back.
At that moment, a loud rumble was heard, and a thud shook the entire company. "What da heck was dat?!" Joey yelped.
"Matt must have programmed the Autopilot before he left to take us back to the island core," Andrew said.
"Affirmative," Izzy said while operating a side monitor. "An analysis of the computer's functions indicates that the Autopilot had been set to take us back here to the island."
"And right into his hands..."
A notable disdain came from Andrew's remark. Yugi looked over at Andrew curiously, but Andrew continued on towards the door.
"Alright then," he said, "let's get a move on. We're going to need to get the others off of this island as well."
He led the group out of Matt's office and into the elevator. There, they journeyed down to the base of the tower and left through the lobby area where several of the duelists that had made it to the final rounds were. They were all looking around, wondering what the impact itself was. Andrew raised his hands over his head to get the attention of those in the lobby.
"Everyone stay calm," Andrew called out, "and head out to the docks through that door. We've already prepared several ships to take you back home to Domino City. Please follow the personnel onto these ships, and everything will go smoothly."
The duelists all looked around at each other and began murmuring some things to each other, most of which were in concern to where their host had disappeared to. Eventually they migrated through the doorway, clearing the path for Andrew and the others, who then exited the tower themselves.
Outside the tower was a large patrol of uniformed individuals, but they were not in the Admin uniforms for the tournament. As opposed to the Admins' dark blue uniforms, these people were dressed in white uniforms with grey trimmings along their outer rims. They had similar pins to the white dragons the Admins wore, but theirs were of a black and curvy M. These new patrolmen immediately assisted the oncoming duelist flood with boarding the surrounding vessels, a good number of them in sight.
"I wonder why they brought out so many ships?" one duelist asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" another replied. "They have to pick us up along with the losers from the preliminary rounds."
These sorts of conversations took place across the duelist crowd, and an unspoken established reasoning for the multitude of vessels seemed to keep the crowd in check. Nobody really cared why there were so many vessels once the rain began to pour from the grey clouds floating above.
"So the man looking for your brother is supposed to be with these guys?" Yugi asked Andrew.
"Supposedly," Andrew replied. "I just hope he wasn't referring to who I think he's referring to."
"My my, Andrew, it's been too long."
A thud and splash of boots in one of the puddles that had begun to form on the ground not far from the group. The party turned to looked at a single man accompanied by four others who were each carrying a thin metal pole that held up a large tarp that covered the area above the man's head. The man himself was decorated unlike any of the rest of the uniformed persons such that he would easily be picked out from a group among them as the one and only leader.
The man was dressed as though he were ready to jump back in time to the eighteenth century and live there forever. He wore a purple jacket over a red vest, each one trimmed with gold. The gold was well-polished, even the buttons glowed in what little light had penetrated through the clouds. He wore a dark pair of pants that merged with his old-fashioned boots, ideal for walking in the rain. A sash was draped across his body, where a sheathed sword remained at his left hip. An elaborate and pristine white silk cravat was tied around his neck, going almost identically with his graying goatee, mustache, and shoulder-length hair. An eyepatch covered his left eye, and a sly smile was upon his face.
"Surely it has been almost a year since I had last seen you," the man said, tapping the walking cane he brandished into the rough and somewhat muddy ground. "Why I'd be willing to believe you've grown since our last encounter."
Andrew grimaced a little as the man addressed him. "I should have known it would be you," he said.
"Wait a sec," Joey interrupted, "you two know each other?"
"Oh, Andrew and I go way back, young man," the man answered. "You might say we've dealt in the realms of business before. Of course, I've dealt far more with his insolent older brother than I have with him, and I'm sure you realize that he's the one I'm looking for."
Several of the other uniformed officials came over to the group and began handcuffing Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon.
"I've no qualm with Andrew or his little friends," the man continued, "but as for these three, they owe me an explanation for his brother's activities. And believe me, I have a long list of very illegal activities he's been apart of."
"And what are you bringing up on my brother then?" Andrew asked defiantly.
The man chuckled. "He probably hasn't told you, but there have been a number of crimes he's committed against me," the man answered. "Off the top of my head, I know of larceny, arson, kidnapping, burglary, piracy, and in general being a disruptive force throughout my worldwide company, not to mention such trivial matters as impersonating workers or as particularly high-ranking individuals."
The man looked over at Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon. "And as for those three," he continued on, "they're going to be taken in on the grounds of conspiring to set free a man convicted of such crimes, and if they don't comply it will be an obstruction of authority as well."
The man turned back to Andrew and held out an old looking piece of parchment rolled up nicely. Andrew took it and opened it up, the rain coming down upon the fresh ink of the pages. Andrew's eyes then suddenly grew wide, giving the man a reason to smirk.
"I think you understand the gravity under which I've made clear my terms of arrest," the man said, taking back the paper from Andrew.
"Whaddya mean by that!" Creighton called out. Andrew turned, a grave look on his face as he faced the three.
"You've been charged with conspiracy and possible obstruction of authority," Andrew said, "but because of the nature on which the conspiracy is based on, you may be charged on several felonies, resulting in a life-time sentence or even death."
A grim silence pervaded the group as the rain poured down. Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon stood there looking at Andrew, unable to comprehend what he had just stated. The man sighed a moment and then commanded, "Take them away now."
And with a great deal of struggling from Creighton, the uniformed suits took the three away onto one of the ships. Andrew and the others could do nothing but watch on and listen to Creighton's cries as they were taken away. Andrew turned back to the man standing before them who had begun to turn away back to his own ships.
"I trust that you'll abide by helping to bring your brother to my judgment," the man said as the men that accompanied him with the tarp carried it once again to cover him. The rest of the men turned back, and one by one the ships began to leave the island, Andrew, Yugi, and the others. Andrew turned back to the tower and headed inside.
"Wait for us!" Joey said, with Yugi and the others all running after Andrew into the tower. Upon getting inside, they found him standing in the center of the lobby, his fists clenched.
"Who was that creep?" Tea asked, concerned.
"That man...was none other than Montalban, head of the Montalban International Alliance of Corporations," Andrew said. "I'm acquainted with him, but only because he wanted to procure Matt's own personal company, something Montalban does often. He targets small businesses and either buys them out or else forces them into bankruptcy with his other companies. Seems that Matt's gotten into more than just trouble with business negotiations if what Montalban says is true."
The friends looked at each other in bewilderment. What kind of person was Matt to be involved with someone so powerful? And what's more to have also taken Slifer the Sky Dragon in order to somehow alleviate this debt or another? It was beginning to appear that Matt was not the man they had known in those few days of the tournament. Andrew turned to look at them, a desperate look on his face as he walked up to Yugi.
"Yugi," he said, putting his hand on Yugi's shoulder, "I know this is all a lot to take in, and it's far more than you would have bargained for initially, but now I have to make another request for you. Get out while you still can. There's no sense in endangering your lives for this, even for an Egyptian God Card. It's become my responsibility to right the wrong my brother has committed against you and your friends, and I should be the only one to take care of this. I'll commend a ship and crew to take you back-"
At that moment, Yugi put his own hand on top of Andrew's on his shoulder and interrupted, "It's all right. You don't have to protect us."
"He's right," Joey said. "We've dealt with lotsa crazy-bad people in da past, and we're not about ta just sit around while another goes after your brother!"
Andrew looked up surprised. "After all he's put you through...after everything you've just witnessed, and after everything my brother warned you about in that note, you would offer to help even now?" he asked.
Yugi simply nodded his head. "After all, Slifer the Sky Dragon's my responsibility more so than yours," he continued. "I know that Yami wouldn't rest easy until he knew it was safe."
Andrew looked down again sullenly. "I understand that, but-"
"No buts," Joey said. "We're going with ya, and dat's dat!"
"And you can't forget about us," Tristan said.
"We'll help out in any way we can," Tea added.
Andrew looked around at this small group of people that were now providing support. He closed his eyes and smiled again.
"Thank you all," he said, looking up at the others again, "but there's nothing that can really be done with so large a group. However, I will take you up on your offer at some point. For now, we'll have to play things by ear to ensure that everything goes the way we want it to."
He then walked past the group and said, "Come along! There's much business to attend to!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well, we don't have any cards this time, so I'll take this opportunity to talk more about how this story came to be!
As I said in the beginning, this story originated as an idea from my brother, who came up with the idea for the Spirit Dragons. As was the case between us, we liked making up cards for the game, and my brother's favorite Type was the Dragons. Throughout our playtimes, we did a lot of dueling with each other, and one day he came to me with the idea of the Spirit Dragons and the Trinity. He had even set-up a powerpoint presentation over it! Over the years, the storyline hasn't changed much, but we did revisit it every now and again. Sometimes we even started it all over again. And it was always a joy working on the story and tweaking all sorts of elements. Eventually, we split off to go to different colleges in different states, which dampened our ability to hang out and do stuff together, and in memoriam to the plotline we had worked on and off for years, I decided to start writing it down.
Next time: the origin of the Ancient Heroes!