Chapter Thirty-Eight
I woke up without even realizing I'd fallen asleep. The pillow was wet so I supposed I had started crying in my sleep after all. In my sleep. I guess it's easier to let go when you're relaxed. I was in my pajamas - a pair of very short, dark green shorts and a tight white tank top. I sat up, slowly, and looked around the dark room. Something didn't seem right.
"Are you okay?" I heard Marik ask me in my mind.
I frowned. "Something just...doesn't feel right..." I whispered. "How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours," Marik answered.
"When did I get in my pajamas?" I asked.
"I helped," he said, sounding unsure of whether he should be smug or embarrassed.
I was about to respond when the intercom crackled to life.
"Our destination is in sight," it was Roland, the man who'd been acting as referee throughout the duration of the finals. "Standby for descent and the conclusion of the Battle City Finals."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," I said, still feeling a little bit uneasy.
The door slid open and Yugi walked inside.
"Hey," I said, patting the end of the bed. He walked over and sat down, looking troubled. "You're up early. Is everything alright?"
"I could ask you the same thing," said Yugi. "You had a rough night..." he began.
"I'm fine, Yugi," I said. "I don't want to...I can't talk about it right now. I'm sorry."
"I understand, Olive. When you're ready to talk, I'll be here. We'll all be here for you," he said, offering me a smile and a pat on the back that I assumed was supposed to be consoling. "I couldn't sleep at all last night," he admitted. "After everything that happened last night, it's pretty obvious that Marik will stop at nothing to get his hands on the power of the Pharaoh and he'll crush anyone who stands in his way."
"It looks like it," I said, with a sigh. "This is crazy, Yugi. Just think, almost a year ago, when I moved in, we were normal kids."
Yugi managed a small smile.
"Sorry," I said. "Just wanted to...not worry for a minute."
"We have to worry though," he said. "I'm glad I have someone here with me who can really understand."
"Of course," I said, nodding. I reached out and brushed his millennium puzzle with the tips of my fingers. Inside my mind, Marik seemed to be holding his breath, almost like he couldn't believe what I was doing. "I'm an ancient person too," I whispered, thoughtfully. I laughed a little.
Yugi looked like he might laugh too, but then he frowned again. "I don't know what to do," he said. "Bakura was only one of Marik's victims and the list is growing fast. First, Odion took the fall when Marik angered the Egyptian Gods. Then, Marik trapped Mai's mind in the shadow realm. There's no telling who he'll target next."
"Us, if he has the opportunity," I suggested.
"I'm not just going to sit around and find out," Yugi declared, almost as if he hadn't heard me. "Marik's gotta be stopped before..."
The blimp shook, like there was bad turbulence, and I was almost knocked off the bed. Yugi gasped and jumped to his feet. I was on my feet and right behind him within seconds. We walked out into the hall, trying to keep our balance as the blimp shook again. We were met by a freaked out looking Serenity and Tea, a very grumpy looking Joey, who was muttering to himself and rubbing his head, and a very tired looking Tristan and Duke.
"Hey, Reynolds," said Duke, raising his eyebrows and looking me up and down.
"Hey, yourself," I couldn't resist saying. Then I turned away from him. "What's going on?" I asked.
Tea shrugged. "We were woken up by the blimp shaking like crazy," she said.
"Well, let's go find out what's happening," said Tristan.
We entered the control room at the front of the blimp where Kaiba and Mokuba were talking to two of the men who were helping to man the controls of the blimp.
"Hey, what's up with the turbulence?" Joey demanded.
"Yea," said Tristan, "some of us sleep past five."
I shrugged. "I don't know what their problem is. I like waking up to a near-concussion, actually," I said, sarcastically.
"Glad to see you're feeling better," Kaiba said, rolling his eyes.
I heard dark-Marik's laugh echo through my head and I cringed and squeezed my eyes shut. "It appears someone else intends to bring chaos upon these fools as well," I heard him think. "What an amusing turn of events."
"That was weird," Marik commented.
The blimp turned suddenly to the left and everyone fought to stay standing. I caught hold of Serenity's arm to steady myself.
"The auto-pilot isn't responding!" one of the suits said.
"Then make it respond!" Kaiba demanded.
"It's rejecting every one one of my commands," he said, typing and pushing buttons frantically. "What should I do?"
"I pay you good money!" Kaiba snapped. "Now do whatever it takes to get us back on course to Kaiba Corp Island."
Out of the front window we saw a small island, mostly made of metal, with a tall metal tower rising out of the center. I had to squint to look at it because the sun was rising behind it.
"That pile of junk?" asked Tristan.
"Hey!" Mokuba interjected. "Watch what you're calling junk! That's where our company started."
"Is that the final dueling site?" asked Yugi.
"It is," said Kaiba, fiddling with the clasp of the duel monsters card shaped necklace he wore. It was something I knew he did when he was nervous. I was also one of the few people who knew it was actually a locket with a picture of Mokuba inside. Mokuba had an identical necklace with a picture of Seto inside. Two halves of the same picture, actually, from when they were little. "I built Kaiba Corp from the ruin of my step father's empire. It symbolizes the triumph of new over old."
"Kaiba Corp wasn't always a game company. The corporation was originally set up by our step dad to construct high tech vehicles for war," Mokuba explained. It was a story I'd been told once before, but I listened anyway. "But then Seto took over and changed all that. That island out there used to be the company's central headquarters until my brother tore down all the military factories. Then he built that duel tower on top of the rubble as a symbol of the new Kaiba Corp." Mokuba finish his explanation with pride in his voice.
But Kaiba glared at him and snapped, "That's enough, Mokuba."
"I think we hit a sore spot," Joey commented.
"What happened between me and my step father is family business," Kaiba thought, looking back out the front window. "Besides, that's all ancient history. Now I command an empire that dwarfs his and once I'm crowned the world's greatest duelist on top of that tower, I'll be free from my step father's shadow forever."
I watched Kaiba thoughtfully, while Marik complained over the invasion of other people's thoughts in my mind.
"What are you staring at, Olive?" Kaiba demanded.
"No one special," I said, with a smirk.
"Hey, get over it," I thought at Marik. "You've been invading my mind with your thoughts for weeks. Not to mention now you're literally invading my mind. So get used to it."
Marik grumbled, but fell silent.
After jabbing a few more keys on the keyboard, the suit said, "Our navigation controls are taking commands from outside the ship. Someone's hacked into the mainframe and changed our destination coordinates."
"There's no way that's true!" Mokuba argued. "The security system on this ship is state of the art."
The blimp quickly began to descend and the man shouted, "Our situation is worsening! We're losing altitude rapidly!"
"You think?" I demanded, as everyone seemed to stumble and lose their footing. I steadied myself and managed to keep my footing, but then stumbled forward and grabbed Kaiba's arm. He gave me a funny look, but didn't say anything.
"Everybody hold on!" the man said.
Without thinking, Kaiba took my arm and held onto the desk Mokuba was sitting at to keep us steady. Everyone else crashed to the ground.
"Everyone alright?" asked Mokuba.
"You mean besides the whiplash an d the sprained ankle?" asked Tristan.
"Can you say lawsuit?" Joey grumbled.
"Shut up, Joey," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Try the emergency override system," Mokuba suggested.
"It's no use," said the man. "I've been completely locked out."
The front window shimmered and changed into a computer or television screen. For a second, it was fuzzy, and then the face of a boy appeared on it. He looked a few years younger than all of us, but older than Mokuba. Probably around Serenity's age. He had blue-ish green hair and a very familiar look of arrogance in his features.
"Greetings, duelists," he said. "There's nothing wrong with your television set. I'm in control now."
"Identify yourself!" Kaiba demanded, tightening his grip on my arm in anger. Painfully so.
I gasped and tried to pull my arm away.
"Always barking orders, aren't you?" the boy asked, smugly. "I've been observing you and it's time I put you in your place, Seto. From now on, I'll be calling the shots around here and my first order of business is to put an end to your little card game."
"You'll never get away with this, you creep," said Mokuba.
"It's a little late for that, Mokuba," I commented, avoiding Kaiba's glare.
"Listen to your little friend," said the boy. "I already have gotten away with this."
"Look, kid, I demand to know your name," Kaiba insisted.
"There you go again," the boy sneered. "Well fine. The name is Noah and you and I go back quite a long way, Seto."
"Enough of your foolish games," Kaiba scoffed.
"I'm afraid my games have only just begun, you fool," said Noah. The screen flashed and his image disappeared, turning back into a window.
There was a huge metal...something emerging from the waves below us. It looked like an island or some underwater fortress and we were heading straight for it.
"I've got bad news, Mister Kaiba," said the man at the controls.
"What is it?" asked Kaiba.
"Well, sir, it appearing that floating fortress is using a tractor beam to pull our aircraft towards it," the man explained.
"Let us go!" Mokuba cried out, angrily.
The landing functions were activated and we docked. The dock opened and we were lowered to an indoor landing area.
"Are we safe?" asked Serenity.
"Of course," Joey lied, confidently.
The blimp landed and the TV screen flashed back to life.
"Thanks for dropping in, Seto. Time for you and your friends to exit the ship," said the boy, Noah.
"And what if we don't?" Kaiba demanded.
Noah laughed. "I'm afraid at this point, refusal is not an option," he said. There was the sound of moving metal outside and guns emerged from the walls around us.
"Do what he says," said Tristan.
"This kid's nuts," said Joey.
"You all stay here," Kaiba said, walking towards the door.
"Kaiba, don't," said Yugi.
"Look, this is my battle, Yugi. Don't do me any favors," Kaiba snapped.
"You are still such an ass," I commented.
"Mokuba, you are not to leave this ship," Kaiba said. He looked at the TV screen. "Noah, I'll be coming out to you alone. Any questions?"
The guns went off. Instinctively, we ducked, covering our heads.
"Care to reconsider your decision?" Noah asked, as bullets pelted the sides of the blimp. "Now let's try this again, shall we, Seto? Please exit the ship. With your friends."
Silently, we all exited.
As Kaiba descended the stairs, he said, "Let me handle this."
"Look," said Joey, "I don't know what this kid's beef is with you, but now it's our problem too, so just get over yourself."
A door in the wall slid open, revealing a hallway, and Noah's voice echoed around the metal room from some speakers. "Now, if you'll all continue ahead, we can continue this party," he said.
"What's going on?" Marik asked me.
I shrugged. "I have no idea," I whispered aloud.
"Remember when you said something didn't feel right?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, attracting a weird look from both Serenity and Duke for talking to myself. Everyone else was probably used to my random bouts of crazy behaviour by now.
"I think I'm going to start trusting your instincts more," Marik thought.
"Serenity, I want you to stay here where you're safe, okay?" Joey said to his sister.
"Joey, we're a team," Serenity responded.
"She's safer with us anyway," Tristan pointed out. "That creep, Marik, is back there."
"Funny story," I thought, smiling to myself as we all walked forward and down the hallway.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Yugi.
"Just continue to the end of the hallway where my associate's will greet you," said Noah. "They're especially excited to see you, Mister Kaiba."
Another door opened and we entered a large metal room.
"What is this place?" asked Mokuba.
"Is there anybody out there?" called Tea.
The far wall lit up with a blinding white light and we all covered out eyes.
"Show yourselves!" Kaiba demanded.
There were several laughs.
"With pleasure," said one man.
"Wait," said Kaiba, in shock, lowering his arm as the light dimmed slightly and our eyes grew accustomed to it. "It can't be..."
There were five men standing in front of us and I Was sure I'd recognized them. The five of them used to work for Kaiba Corp. I'd met them on several occasions when Kaiba and I had been dating.
"You should have known we'd be back, Seto Kaiba," said the man in the front. "For revenge. Surprised to see us again?"
"You know these five suits, man?" asked Tristan. "What's going on here?"
"Suddenly, I feel really underdressed," Duke commented, trying to lighten the mood.
"Me too," I muttered. I was still only in my shorts and tank top. I caught Duke's eye and he winked at me. I casually flipped him off.
"I can't put my finger on it, but something about these guys seems really familiar to me," said Yugi.
"These are the five creeps that tried to get rid of Seto and take over Kaiba Corp," said Mokuba. "Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbit, and Lector. Also known as the big five."
"That's right!" Joey exclaimed. "They trapped Kaiba in cyber land until we saved him."
"I think I'm missing something..." I said.
"You were in Egypt," said Tea. "This was last summer."
"They were hired by my step father to serve as Kaiba Corps board of directors, but that wasn't enough power for them," Kaiba said. I wasn't sure if he was explaining for my benefit or if he just wanted to talk. "So they trapped me and tried to destroy me using my own virtual technology and take over my company. The five of them were trapped here when they were defeated din a duel against Yugi and me."
"I see," I said.
"When those corporate freaks lost, they were imprisoned in the virtual world instead of Seto," said Mokuba.
"You do remember us, don't you, Miss Olive?" asked Johnson. "We'd be so insulted if you didn't. Your sweet little face just lit up the office building. We met you when you were still dating Mister Kaiba."
"That's right," said the man in the front. I think it was Crump. "Did you honestly believe you'd seen the last of us? We wandered through cyberspace for what seemed like an eternity thinking of one question over and over - how could we get revenge for our suffering?"
"We finally found our answer the day that Noah hacked into Kaiba Corps mainframe," said Gansley.
"Once we discovered that we all shared a common enemy in Seto Kaiba, naturally Noah uploaded our minds to his system," said Nesbit.
"So you guys are virtual?" asked Tea.
"I defeated you once and I can easily do it again," Kaiba threatened.
"We plan to give you every opportunity to do so, Kaiba, for we've devised a new game with Noah's help," said Crump. "It's a game you're quite familiar with. It's a duel monsters tournament - a virtual duel monsters tournament, that is. You're all invited to participate."
"Great," I muttered. "Just great."
"But why do you want to duel us?" Yugi asked.
"Our minds have been trapped in this virtual prison for so long that we've lost our bodies," said Gansley.
"But," said Nesbit, "if we defeat you in Noah's virtual arena, then we'll return to the real world in your bodies."
I laughed a little, without thinking first and received several looks of shock and some glares.
"Now, it's time to pay a visit to our special dueling world," said Gansley. "I'm sure you'll find this world unlike anything you've ever seen."
The entire room lit up and then seemed to turn blue, like a computer screen, and form a tunnel that we seemed to fall through. I heard Tea scream. When we opened our eyes, we were laying on the grass, surrounded by a jungle.
"What is this place?" asked Tea.
"Looks like a jungle," said Joey.
"Weren't you geeks listening?" asked Kaiba, helping me to my feet. The earth spun and felt like it was tilting. Dizzily, I stumbled sideways and then sunk back to the ground. The feeling of something being wrong flooded my mind again.
"Olive, are you okay?" asked Marik.
"Something bad is going to happen," I thought.
"Something bad is already happening," Marik responded. "We're in some weird...world..." he commented, glancing around through my eyes.
"You don't understand," I responded. "Marik, something weird is happening inside my head...I can't explain it, but I feel like..."
I looked up and saw a virtual Kaiba standing across from some duel monster. The big five, their voices coming out of nowhere, explained that each duelist would have to choose a deck master and then battle one another. They said each deck monster had a special ability and if they deck master was destroyed, the battle was lost. Regardless of life points, you automatically lost and one of the big five would take over a body.
The world began to flash and shake and we were back in the same room we were in before.
"You're trapped," said Lector, "all of you. And your only chance of escape is to defeat each of us in a duel."
"There's no way you're gonna get away with this," said Mokuba.
"If we stick together, they won't stand a chance!" said Yugi.
"Don't worry," said Duke. "I got your back, man."
"Me too," Tristan agreed.
"Pass the jam," said Joey. "Cuz these guys are toast."
"Hold on, guys," said Tea. "They never said which of us would actually have to duel."
One of the big five laughed. "Just to be sure that you all suffer equally, we'll be dueling against every one of you brats," he said. I think it was Gansley.
I frowned, thoughts running frantically through my mind.
"I can't duel!" I thought, panicked. "I've never dueled before! I don't even think I know how."
"I can help you, Olive," Marik thought back. "It's the least I can do."
My nerves were not soothed.
"Remember, we need five bodies," said Lector. "So the first five of you we defeat will have the privilege of having our minds uploaded to your bodies while your minds are trapped here."
"In your dreams," Kaiba sneered.
"Ever since you trapped us here, all we have are our dreams," said Johnson.
They laughed.
"You crooks haven't changed a bit," Kaiba commented bitterly.
"Let's start this party! You five stiffs are going down!" Joey declared.
"Who's going down?" they asked.
The floor beneath Joey's feet opened up into a hole and he fell through. It closed quickly behind him.
"Joey!" Serenity cried out.
"As you can see, before the dueling begins, we plan to separate all of you," said Johnson.
Tea was falling through a hole before anyone knew what was happening. Before the hole had even closed up behind her, Serenity was gone as well. Tristan and Duke disappeared next. Mokuba ran for his brother and the two of them fell through a hole.
I looked at Yugi. We were standing too far apart to make it to each other.
I smiled a little and raised my hand in farewell, a flash of the future assaulting me before I fell.
"Don't let me forget..." I called out to Yugi.
"What?" he asked, looking confused.
But I was already gone. There was pain, everywhere, and worse than ever before. I felt like I was being flattened and stretched out thin, like a piece of play dough. I felt like I was being drowned and burnt alive at the same time. Inside my mind, I could hear...someone shouting. It seemed to drag on for hours, images and lights flashing before my eyes, while my head pounded. Finally, darkness settled in.
I opened my eyes slowly and sat up. I looked around, confused. Everything seemed enhanced. I could hear better, see better, smell better. I could feel every muscle in my body when I turned my head, every heartbeat pulsing through my body, and every breath.
"What happened?" I whispered.
"Olive?" demanded the voice inside my mind. "Olive, are you okay?"
I stood up. My body felt surreal, as if I were both in it but also out of it, watching myself, at the same time. I turned in a circle, observing my surroundings, and looking up to observe the sky as well. The pounding my head finally died down and I asked, out loud, "Who's Olive?"