And for those who read my recent update in Legend of Zelda: Expanding the Triforce and are now reading this one... I have lied, I'm sorry. But I guess lying isn't so bad when you get a new chapter update right?
Anyway hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 5
Band of Heroes and The Edge
6:30PM
Regan walked out of her room with Serenity wearing a navy halter crop top and a pair of white jeans and here hair done up in two pig tails. Kayama and Seto were sitting on the couch on opposite ends quietly, until they both saw the two come out. Seto was dressed in white t-shirt with a navy blue suit jacket and same colored baggy jeans. Kayama was still in the same black cargo pants and white and black boots with his white shirt and a black and white trench coat.
"Good evening, glad to see you're awake." Kayama greeted quickly looking over her attire. "See you already heard the news that the show will go on."
"Yea and here I was hoping to go home and see Phoenix, I miss my kitten." Regan said as she pretended to hug her cat. She turned to her brother. "How did the discussion go?"
"Like hell." Kayama and Seto answered at the same time. Regan only smirked as Yugi came out with Atem. Yugi was wearing white overalls and same color toque, somehow pushing his hair down, with a navy blue t-shirt. Atem wore a navy blue vest and jeans with a white long sleeve shirt.
"Yugi!" Yugi looked alarmed at her sudden squeal as she rushed over to him and gave him a huge hug. "You look great and I'm really glad you weren't too hurt from Lilith's attack."
"I'm glad you weren't either." Yugi said with a smile. "Are you ready for this?"
"I am… are you ready for it and then your match with Doyle?"
"Doyle…" Yugi paused for a moment and then his eyes widened in surprise. "Crap, I forgot!"
"Of course you did." Seto muttered and Regan turned a glare on him, but he ignored it.
"What game is it?" Serenity asked.
"I think it was an obstacle course." Atem said. "You better get a bag of clothing; I don't think you would be able to wear overalls in an obstacle course against someone like Doyle."
Yugi nodded. "Right."
Regan let him go back to his room and Joey and Mai came in from out in the hall. Both were dressed in military outfits, Mai was in the navy outfit while Joey was in an army one.
Joey looked around the room. "Who brought the Backstreet Boys into the room?"
"I would kill you Wheeler, but then I wouldn't get to enjoy your miserable failures." Seto replied as he continued back to what Regan figured was thinking.
"I would retaliate to that, but it just so happens that my sister is in the room and I wouldn't want to create a mess of you while she is present."
"More like you just don't want her to see you in a pulp in the corner of the room."
"Behave; no need to start throwing plastic balls from the ball pit at each other." Regan commented.
"You've grown up to be a very clever girl Regan." Kayama laughed while Seto and Joey were glaring at her and Mai was giggling silently behind him.
"Thanks, but now I think we should be going… is the performance still in the ballroom?"
"Ya, but I don't know how many are going to be attending… considering…" Joey sighed as he leaned against the wall. "Why is this tournament still going? On my little walk with Mai a few minutes ago, we heard Devin and those fancy game creators arguing over cancelling the tournament."
"It was three against one." Mai continued as Yugi joined the room beside Regan with a bag ready. "Pegasus was the loudest telling Devin that the tournament has caused too much damage and death. But Devin seemed to have ignored him and just said the tournament would continue."
"I dislike this tournament with each passing second." Seto stated as he got up from the couch. "I'm thinking about getting a different hotel at this rate. Mokuba are you ready yet?"
"Coming out bro." Mokuba called from the far room and came out with a briefcase.
"There are two days left of this thing, all we have to do is keep a low profile and-"
"Wait there is something that we forgot to tell you guys." Téa interrupted Seto coming out of the girls' room with wet hair. Regan didn't even realize she was in there. Then, Regan noticed a look on Téa's face and she didn't like it.
"What did you forget to tell us?" She asked her. Téa looked like she was biting her lip and her eyes were set on Atem. Regan turned to him who was looking at the ground. Regan started to feel a bit panicky as her heart started to beat faster. "Why won't you say it?"
"Well-" Joey started and Regan turned to him.
"Just spit it out!" Seto shouted towards the blond.
"Jade took my place as in the semifinals." Mai muttered softly looking at the floor.
Regan felt her heart skip a beat. "Pardon?" she asked politely as she thought she heard wrong.
"Jade is in the tournament." Atem answered behind her. "She took Mai's place after a coin toss to break the tie breaker. She was an uneven player who didn't have an opponent to battle."
Regan took a step back from him and then felt a rush of energy go through her. She turned to Joey. "Where did you say Pegasus was?"
"Wait, Regan," Joey started, but she was already rushing towards the door.
"He's probably at the ballroom." She muttered mostly to herself as she rushed out the door.
"Wait, Regan!" Yugi called behind her. She stopped and turned to him. "How about we go see him together, we are all heading down now."
She thought about it and sighed. "Fine,"
Everyone left together, but Regan wasn't paying much attention. She needed to know how Jade got into the tournament and why Pegasus didn't tell her. They reached the ballroom and the doormen opened the door. She was surprised that Atem, Téa, Mokuba, Serenity, Kayama and Seto joined her and Yugi to Pegasus's seat in the ballroom. She wished that they didn't, but she guessed they also wanted answers. They walked up to his table and he was sitting with the other two game creators in a red suit.
"Pegasus, chat now." Seto ordered him in a deadly tone.
"If you excuse me Rena, Adam, I apparently have some things to deal with." Pegasus told his two table members with flamboyancy.
Pegasus led them out through a side door and almost as soon as the door was closed, Seto pushed him against the wall and held onto the collar of his shirt. "Did you forget to tell us something?"
Regan placed her hand on Seto's arm. "This isn't the time for you to be threatening."
Seto continued to glare at Pegasus, but he let him go.
Pegasus adjusted his suit. "What are you going on about Kaiba-boy?"
"A woman named Jade is now part of this tournament." Atem growled.
"What are you talking about? There is no one named Jade or even remotely close to Jade's description that was part of this tournament." Pegasus stated.
Regan pulled out her phone and brought up the competitors to the semifinals. "She's right there."
Pegasus looked dumbfounded at the phone.
"She came from back stage when Mai tied her match against Jacob." Téa told him.
"I don't believe this." Pegasus muttered. "I know all the applicants; Jade was not one of them."
"Then where'd she come from?!" Regan asked raising her voice in anger. "How did she sneak in and what about the bounty hunter demons that have been running around?!"
"Demons?"
"What the hell did you think happened to the casino today? Yugi was almost killed several times; the only reason why he is standing right here is because Seto caught him after he went through the fucking balcony wall! And I played a fucking Shadow Game to take away his bounty from the hunter!" Pegasus looked shocked so Regan calmed down a little. "In your dream, did that dead woman look like Jade?"
"Perhaps, but I'm not a hundred percent sure." Pegasus looked back at the phone and handed it back to her. "What exactly are these demons bounty hunting for?"
"Well, they were trying to kill me, then Joey. Today they were after Mai and Yugi." Atem answered "These were only three of them; there is still one more in the tournament somewhere. They have probably eaten some of the competition: there was Stephan, Jacob and Lilith. Lilith just decided it would be fun to kill as many as she could."
"Did you just say Lilith?"
"Yes, that's her name." Yugi answered. "Do you recognize her?"
"The demon no, but the name yes. She was Adam's first wife."
"You mean Adam Sharp's wife?" Mokuba asked.
"No, not that Adam, the first man according to the Bible; his first wife was named Lilith."
"And what purpose does bringing up the Bible do for us? She's gone now." Seto rolled his eyes. "Do you know anything that is happening around this tournament?"
Pegasus glared. "I knew enough that it is way out of hand and even without this information many others think so as well."
"Than do something about it." Kayama growled in annoyance.
"I've tried and so have the other creators, but whatever Devin is trying to do it is obviously worth the lives that have been taken."
"Where the hell are the police?" Regan asked. "They should be investigating this whole thing."
"I asked that," Pegasus answered turning to her leaving his glare behind. "But Devin seems to have paid off the government and asked the police to stay out of it saying that he has an investigation going."
"The police probably bought the investigation, but I doubt the government did."
"That's why I said paid."
"Of course they would, any little money they can find." She huffed in annoyance and turned slightly to her group. "Let's go, we have to get ready for our performance."
"Regan-"
"Mr. Pegasus, please just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble."
She didn't wait for him to answer and left into the ballroom. She felt someone touch her shoulder and she turned to find Kayama there. She raised an eye brow in question.
"Why do you want Pegasus to watch her?" He asked.
"Because I still have things I wish to discuss with her and I don't need her to end up dying with the last words I said."
Kayama looked surprised at first and then smiled slightly. He turned and then headed to their assigned table which just happened to be the table that Joey, Mai, Tristan and Grandpa were sitting at. Somehow, they knew about the extra company and set up an extra chair. She narrowed her eyes at the set up. How did Devin know about it? Certainly none of them would have known that he was sticking around for the duration of the tournament, it only happened because of the grand entrance Lilith set up. She sat down with the rest of her friends and family and quietly ate her food that was waiting for her. There was a game being played up on the stage, but she could tell that they weren't into it. Not that she blamed them; people died only five hours ago or are dying.
'Nile, I think I'm going to give Ryou a call later. He needs an update and the news on the television probably won't suffice.'
"Good idea." Nile replied from somewhere in the puzzle.
One of the waitresses came up to the table and Yugi turned to her. "Is it our time?"
The waitress nodded and the four band members left the table to follow the woman. They went back stage again and Regan looked at each of them. "Are you ready for this?"
"Really, you need to stop asking that, of course we are ready to blow the competition away. There isn't much of a competition in the Rock Band groups left anyway. We are the only whole group." Seto answered and Devin called out their name. "Time to show them not to fuck with us anymore."
Atem smirked and Regan and Yugi nodded. They walked out and there was cheering to see them all up on stage. Regan was glad that there was still a crowd, sort of.
"Tonight, we have Yugi Muto on bass, Atem Muto on guitar, Seto Kaiba on vocals-" There was a sudden roar of cheering that stopped Devin in his speech and he laughed to calm everyone down. "And Regan on drums, good luck, have fun."
Devin left the stage and Seto turned to the audience. "Tonight, is a song for everyone who managed to make it out alive from that casino and for whoever is trying to mess up the rest of this tournament more. I've noticed a pattern over the last few days that there has been some targeting especially on a few of my band members." Seto stated in anger and Regan thought he did a good job warning any other threats. "So tonight, we are doing the cover of It's Not My Time by 3 Doors Down!"
There was a hush of silence as the music started up as Yugi played his guitar. Regan and Atem joined him as the music picked up. The music quieted down as Seto's first line came up.
Looking back at the beginning of this
And how life was
Just you and me and love and all of our friends
Living life like an ocean
Yugi played a little bit of single notes before the next verse appeared. Regan played the drums as she followed the pattern without missing a beat.
But now the current's only pulling me down
It's getting harder to breathe
It won't be too long and I'll be going under
Can you save me from this?
The music picked up again, but the drums stayed the same and Yugi and Atem joined Seto at vocals.
'Cause it's not my time, I'm not going
There's a fear in me and it's not showing
This could be the end of me
And everything I know, ooh, but I won't go
Yugi and Atem played the little solo.
I look ahead to all the plans that we made
And the dreams that we had
I'm in a world that tries to take them away
Oh, but I'm taking them back
The music was softer and Yugi played the note pattern.
'Cause all this time I've just been too blind to understand
What should matter to me
My friend, this life we live, it's not what we have
It's what we believe in
It's not my time, I'm not going
There's a fear in me, it's not showing
This could be the end of me
And everything I know
But it's not my time, I'm not going
There's a will in me and now I know that
This could be the end of me
And everything I know, ooh, but I won't go!
I won't go!
The instrument players played for a few seconds and Yugi and Atem started up the first line.
There might be more than you believe
Seto followed them.
(There might be more than you believe)
Then they came together.
And there might be more than you can see
But it's not my time, I'm not going
There's a fear in me, it's not showing
This could be the end of me
And everything I know
But it's not my time, I'm not going
There's a will in me and now it's gonna show
This could be the end of me
And everything I know
There might be more than you believe
(There might be more than you believe)
Yugi and Atem left and Seto had the vocals to himself.
And there might be more than you can see
But I won't go, oh no I won't go down, yeah
They stopped playing to end the song and there were many cheers throughout the ballroom and Regan got up from the drums and went up to the front of the stage. The four took a bow and then left just as Devin came onto the stage.
Regan went to her table and found the set food she did have was missing. Her eyes turned to Joey who had five plates stacked on top of each other. She glared as she marched over to him ignoring the compliments from Téa. "Joseph Wheeler! Where is my food?"
The blond suddenly became very pale as he slowly turned to her. "Your food?"
"Yes the food that I didn't finish yet and still waiting to meet my stomach."
"Mr. Wheeler, Ms. Valentine, you need to head up to the stage." The same waitress that sent her band up to the stage told them.
"You are a goddess." Joey sighed in relief and ran before Regan could grab him.
"Bastard," She mumbled and turned to the waitress. "Can I have the main course please, Gluttony ate it."
The waitress nodded and wrote it in her notebook. "Do you need anything else?"
"I also would like a main course." Yugi said and Regan noticed his plate was also missing. "Actually could you get Atem and Kaiba a main course too, their plates seem to be missing as well."
The waitress looked at the table and sighed with a smirk on her face. "Alright, I'll be back shortly."
Regan sat down and she could feel her own rage being fueled by her brother's. She turned to the few that were at the table before Seto decided to vent. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"We tried." Téa answered. "But he tricked us to look away and he just ate everything."
"Okay now what really happened?" Yugi asked not believing their story one bit. "There were six of you here besides Joey."
"He left the table for a moment and when he came back he told us Pegasus wanted to see us." Kayama sighed. "When we got back from our goose chase, he was finished devouring yours and was proceeding to get his hands on Dad's. I can't believe we believed him."
"Hm, the mutt does have a brain, who knew." Seto stated sounding almost impressed. "But if he thinks he is getting away with the stunt he is solely mistaken."
Their conversation was cut as Devin came up on stage again. "Brilliant performance, now let's here is for The Edge."
There was cheering, but Regan knew there wasn't much hope in their band standing until the end. There was one member left in the competition, Doyle, who she knew was going to be defeated by her boyfriend later in the evening. She guessed it was just for show.
"We have Doyle Foster on guitar, Mai Valentine on bass, Rose Phono on drums and Joey Wheeler on vocals!"
"Joey is singing a lead?" Tristan asked the table. "I didn't realize they would put him up to that task."
"I'm more curious about their outfits, all dress up for the military." Grandpa commented.
Regan nodded. She was curious too, not so curious to spare Joey's life, but curious. That was what Mai was there for. "I wonder what they are preforming."
"Joey is about to tell us." Atem answered.
"This is 21 guns original by Green Day." Joey stated into the mic.
Mai started up the tune with the bass in her solo and then Doyle picked up the beginning of the lyrics and Mai stopped her bass.
Do you know what's worth fighting for?
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?
Mai and Rose came into the song as it picked up.
Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside, you're in ruins
The music stopped except for the bass drum as it the beat hit several times before it came to a stop too just to start up again to start the chorus.
One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I ...
Doyle added himself to the background of the last line and it made a nice combination like it had in their last song Devour.
When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass and the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last, you're in ruins
Once again there was the beat of the drum and then the stop as the instruments came together again
One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I ...
This time Doyle didn't join him at the last line.
Did you try to live on your own?
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone
There was several solos all played together to create a melodic sound and then Mai played her silent solo.
When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died, you're in ruins
Nothing played for a few seconds and then the beat picked up again.
One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
One, 21 Guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 Guns
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I
Then the song ended and Regan was really impressed at the fact that they barely missed a beat, just one from Rose and another from Doyle. She was impressed with Joey's and Mai performance that she almost forgot that Joey ate her food, almost. The waitress came back with their food and she started to devour it like she hadn't eaten since that morning, and then she realized she hadn't.
When she was about a quarter done, she saw Mai practically dragging Joey back to the table. Regan smirked in delight as he was reminding her of a bad dog that knew they had done something wrong. Though, now that she had her food, she wasn't so mad at him. "Joey, I'm not angry at you anymore, just a reminder the next time you do take my food without my permission; I will not hesitate to practice my skills on you."
"What skills?" Joey asked cautiously.
"All my fighting ones, including aura target practice and my summoning abilities. Understand?"
Joey gulped as he sat down. "Yes ma'am."
"Good." She replied happily and went back to eating.
"Wheeler, you may have been left off easy by her, but not so much from me." Seto said so sternly, Regan almost forgot how to chew.
"What are you going to do Rich Boy?" Joey answered in a threatening manner. "Going to insult me?"
Regan looked up at Seto at has sudden aura change and saw him grinning like he had just lost his mind, unless his idea was so great that he did.
"You ever wondered what I have under my building, I've needed a lab rat to test out a few of my inventions and you look like the perfect rat."
"Seto, all he did was eat the food you didn't eat." Mokuba interrupted. "Just take him paintballing in your shooting range."
Regan looked away from Mokuba to Seto. "Can I come?"
"Hey!" Joey started, but Atem started to chuckle evilly.
"Sign me up; I'm curious on how many times I can get him for eating the best part of my meal."
"Phara-"
"I agree." Yugi nodded. "I'm pretty calm and easy going about these sorts of things, but today was way too much for me to let my food being eaten to slide. Kaiba, if there is room I wish to play as well."
"Yugi! Come on man."
"Sorry Joey, but I was almost killed one too many times today, and because of that, it cut the rope."
Joey turned to Serenity. "Come on sis, talk them out of this its four on one here, four against your big brother."
"Suck it up; you had it coming to you." Serenity stated crossing her arms. "You should have thought about the consequences before you committed your actions."
Joey turned to Tristan, "Buddy, you want to be on my team?"
"Nope, if anything I would be joining them if you ate my food as well and you know I don't miss." Tristan answered and then returned to his food.
"Mai-"
"Not a chance." Mai quickly answered.
"I'm doomed to never come out alive." Joey whined as he placed his head on the table.
"Oh you'll come out alive," Seto started. "But you won't come out unharmed."
Joey turned to Kayama. "You?"
Kayama smirked and shook his head.
Joey started to whimper and then Devin came on stage after the band that was on left.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to tell you in an hour and a half Yugi Muto and Doyle Foster will be competing against each other our night challenge in the stadium. It will consist of completely an obstacle course which consists of several puzzles and a run to the finish line to get the spot in the semifinals!"
The crowd cheered and then Devin left the stage as everyone returned to their food.
What could Devin be planning if anything at all? Well this is the second last chapter to the end of the volume so I hope you enjoyed :)
Review, follow, or favorite
All of the above... none of the above is okay too :) See you next update!