SailorStar9: With Chapter 34 uploaded, I present Chapter 35 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Disclaimer: I own nothing expect the Safiastra and Ami's dueling deck.
Chapter 35: Big 5's Trap - Duel Monsters Quest
Some time later...
With Kaiba trapped inside the Virtual Reality world, Mokuba snatched his older brother's deck from the pod he was in and snuck out of Kaiba Corp via an air duct before making his way to Kame Game Shop in the midst of the heavy rain.
In Kame Game Shop...
"Here you go." Sugoroku brought out the cards Jonouchi ordered beforehand. "The new cards you ordered."
"Yuugi..." Mokuba stumbled into the game shop.
"Kaiba got trapped in the Adventure Game's world?" Yuugi echoed after Mokuba related what happened.
"So, you mean if he loses, he can't escape the game?" Anzu gaped. "That's no game at all."
"Yuugi, please save my big brother." Mokuba pleaded.
"But we're up against the top executives of Kaiba Corporation." Sugoroku reminded. "This is a serious matter."
"Big brother's true dream is to build Kaiba Land around the world so kids all over can enjoy themselves." Mokuba muttered. "It's because of that my big brother out his life on the line for Kaiba Corporation. No one realizes how much he put his heart into it."
'Relax, Mokuba." Jonouchi assured. "None of us are gonna just abandon him."
"We're fully aware of how strong the bond between you two is." Yuugi agreed.
"And besides," Ami winked. "Your brother and I haven't quite settled who's the better chess player yet. We're off, grandpa." she bade Sugoroku farewell and the teens ran off to the Kaiba Corp building.
"Kaiba Corporation has been taken over by the Big Five." Mokuba informed en route to the main building. "I believe the simulators at Kaiba Land have the same programming they used. He led the group to the control tower of Kaiba Land. "Here they are." he entered the virtual simulation room where three pods were laid out. "They're working." he ran over to the control panel. "We've got access."
"So only three people can go?" Jonouchi noted. "Me and Yuugi...?"
"I'm gonna go." Mokuba cut off all protestations.
"If you lose the game, you won't be able to come back, you know." Jonouchi reminded.
"There's no meaning for me in a world without my big brother." Mokuba snapped.
"Systems activate." Ami turned on the pods.
In the Adventure Game virtual world...
"I wonder if this world is related to Duel Monsters somehow." Yuugi wondered, looking at the Duel Disc attached to his arm. "What rules must we follow in this world? We still don't know yet. Be careful, everyone."
"This is..." Mokuba blinked, the trio reached a cliff overseeing a graveyard.
"Doesn't feel like your ordinary graveyard." Yuugi noted, the three traverse through the cemetery.
"I feel like I've seen this terrain before." Jonouchi tried to remember. "Something appeared." he gaped at the 'Armored Zombie' emerged from the ground.
'Dragon Zombie' and 'Clown Zombie', too jumped up from their graves.
"Duel Monsters, huh?" Jonouchi grinned.
"Go, 'Rude Kaiser'!" Mokuba drew his card.
"Come out, 'Dark Magician'!" Yuugi followed suit.
"Attack!" the two duelists ordered, 'Rude Kaiser' taking out 'Dragon Zombie' and 'Dark Magician' destroyed both 'Armored Zombie' and 'Clown Zombie'.
"They're persistent." Jonouchi growled when the three Zombie monsters re-materialized. "Go 'Flame Swordsman'! Burning Fighting Spirit Sword!"
"Oh no." Yuugi gaped when he saw the Zombie Monsters' attack power increase. "Stop your attack, Jonouchi."
"'Flame Swordsman' just..." Jonouchi blinked when the revived 'Dragon Zombie' took out his Monster with its breath attack.
"Their Attack Points increase whenever they revive." Yuugi reminded. "They're immortal. Jonouchi, think back to when you fought Kotsuzuka back in the Duelist Kingdom. You should be aware of what to do: the way to beat the Zombies."
"That's it." Jonouchi realized. "Zombies have 0 Defense Points. Activate, 'Shield & Sword'!" he swapped out the Attack and Defense Points of every Monster on the field.
"Go, 'Dark Magician'!" Yuugi instructed. "Black Magic!"
'Dark Magician' took out all three Zombie Monsters.
"Seems we got some gold." Mokuba noted, Yuugi picking up the '5 Gold Coins' card that was dropped.
"This appears to be this world's currency." Yuugi remarked.
"My Life Points didn't return." Jonouchi noticed his Life Points remained at 1820.
"So this is our..." Mokuba realized.
"A sprite?" Yuugi blinked, the trio approached the chubby fairy that was hiding before a gravestone.
"When sprites appear in a game, it's usually some kind of hint." Jonouchi supplied.
Said sprite then fluttered off, prompting the three follow it.
"What's wrong, Mokuba?" Yuugi asked, the sprite leading them out of the cemetery.
"It's a town." Jonouchi spotted the town below.
In the town...
"Guys, did you find anything?" Yuugi asked, the three reconvened in the town square after splitting off to find more information.
"Nothing at all." Jonouchi replied.
"I found out something good." Mokuba replied. "This morning, they saw someone they didn't recognize being carried up to the Cave of Death located in those mountains." he pointed to the mountain range across the desert. Seems the only way to get to the Cave of Death is to cross this desert."
"Mokuba." Yuugi called out, the younger Duelist ran out to the desert and he and Jonouchi was forced to follow him.
"You can't cross the desert like that." an aged town resident chuckled after the three were blown back by a sandstorm. "If ya plan on crossing the desert, ya need the 'Niwatori' card."
"You mean that card." Jonouchi exclaimed.
"So, if we don't get the 'Niwatori' card, we can't get out of this town?" Mokuba concluded.
"Let's focus on finding out how to get the 'Niwatori' card." Yuugi suggested. "There's got to be a way to get it."
In the real world...
"Haven't they been gone a while now?" Anzu wondered.
"Don't rush them." Honda chided. "Even if Yuugi's a gaming genius, there's no way he could clear it that fast."
"I suppose that's true, but..." Anzu frowned.
"Be quiet, the two of you." Ami hissed, her ears picking up footsteps outside.
"Seems like the enemy has infiltrated the base." Honda peered out of the door as Kemo led his team of thugs into the simulation room. "Anzu, let's make a barricade in front of the door."
"Got it." Anzu nodded.
In the Adventure Game virtual world...
"No good." Jonouchi sighed. "We came up with nothing."
"It took us so much effort to get to this town, too." Mokuba agreed.
"Maybe it's some kind of computer bug." Jonouchi suggested.
"Let's go look again." Yuugi suggested.
"What's wrong?" Jonouchi asked when Yuugi ran off.
"I found it." Yuugi declared.
"'Won't you challenge us for a shot at Champ?'" Mokuba read the challenge poster on the signboard. "'The current prize for victory is the 'Niwatori' card. So, your trial is waiting for you. - the Ruler of the Colosseum.'
In the Colosseum...
The masked Jonouchi faced down the Colosseum's champion in the ring.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.