It was two times now that Kaiba had promised he'd never come back to that snake, Pegasus. And two times circumstances drew him back to that psychopath's clutches. Here's to making it the last time, he thought.

As Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Jet descended onto Pegasus's island estate, Seto's mind began to drift. He remembered the last time he was here, years ago, working on a hunch that if Pegasus created the God Cards, then he must've created a way to beat them.

Now, however, Kaiba was here on Pegasus's terms, and Seto did not like that, not at all. Like in all things in life, he wanted to define the rules of engagement. If it wasn't for that dirty threat Pegasus made, Kaiba would've never come here.

He'd figure out a way to prevent Pegasus from doing that again later— for now, he'd humor the clown.

With a dramatic flourish, Kaiba leapt from the cockpit of his jet, the still running engines blowing his silver coat wildly as he strode forward. And without a word, he entered Pegasus's abode.

Following the natural paths the building provided, Kaiba arrived at his destination.

A set of doors stood before him at the end of a hall, their gaudy golden paint contrasting with the rather muted beige walls. And on top of it all sat a bright pink sticky note, obviously left by the man himself.

Let yourself in, Kaiba-boy~

"Freak," Kaiba grumbled, ripping the sticky note from the doors and crumpling it up. Without another moment's pause, Kaiba gripped the handles and tore the door open, letting himself in. "You better have a good reason for calling me here, Pegasus!"

Yet, as Kaiba strode into what was obviously a conference room, he didn't find the man in question, just rows of empty chairs and some nonsense playing on a projector at the back of the room. It was then that Kaiba noticed the seat at the very end was turned away from him, and the nonsense on the projector was, in fact, some children's cartoon.

And then, Kaiba recognized it.

"Oh, Funny Bunny, how you tickle my soul~!" The undeniable voice of Pegasus rang out from the seat as it turned, revealing the man laughing to himself with a glass of wine in hand. "You should really try watching a cartoon one of these days, Kaiba-Boy. It might help you relive that childhood you never had!"

"Did you invite me here to waste my time?" Kaiba asked, raising a fist as he took a step forward. "Or perhaps just to annoy me!"

Realizing his fun time was over, Pegasus rolled his eye, his smile turning to a pout as he shut off the projector behind him.

"Oh, relax Kaiba-boy. I know you value your time in its weight in gold," he said then, taking a sip of his wine before setting the glass aside. "I'm bringing you a business opportunity, from one old friend to another!"

Kaiba gritted his teeth as he took another step forward.

"Save me the pleasantries, Pegasus," he spat. "We've never been friends, so don't start acting like it."

"Harsh, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus replied, reaching under the table and pulling out something— An envelope. "Perhaps this will mellow your mood?"

With a flick, Pegasus launched the envelope across the table until it came to a stop in front of Kaiba.

"This better be good," Kaiba grumbled as he picked the envelope up, tearing the end open and pulling out its contents: A Duel Monsters card. "A card? What's your game, Pega—"

Kaiba froze as he turned the card in question around. It wasn't one he recognized, it wasn't even a kind of card he recognized. It wasn't a Normal Monster, an Effect Monster, a Fusion Monster, or even a Ritual. It had a clean white border and in its art, a dragon standing proudly.

Kaiba's dragon.

"What is this, Pegasus!" Kaiba demanded, flicking the card around to the man in question. With a smirk, Pegasus leaned back, extending his arms out.

"Behold, the next stage of Duel Monsters History!" he declared. "Synchro Monsters!"

"I'm retiring, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus began, hiding a smile behind his wine glass as he watched Kaiba finally take a seat across from him. "And I needed to send myself off, make one last mark on history before my name disappears from it forever."

"You created the most popular game to ever exist and will ever exist," Kaiba said with a grumble as he crossed his arms. "Your name will be known longer than most countries."

"Oh, how you flatter me, Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus replied, a haughty laugh following it. When Kaiba growled in turn, Pegasus continued on. "So, I took a trip, off to the exotic lands of Peru, looking for inspiration. And whilst I was there, I discovered something truly amazing!"

Pegasus turned with his seat, turning on the projector again with a quick press of the remote. All at once, a slideshow came up, presenting picture after picture in quick succession— A jungle path, a mossy temple, some paintings of nonsense, before finally: stone monsters.

"An entire trove of Duel Monsters, just like the ones from the sands of Egypt," Pegasus said then, turning back to the thoroughly unimpressed Kaiba. "A whole culture who took part in the Shadow Games in which Duel Monsters was based! I, of course, began right away creating new cards, with whole new possibilities opening up. Then, something quite peculiar happened."

"If this starts or ends with magic, I'm going to vomit," Kaiba said, only half under his breath. He wanted to make sure Pegasus knew that he made him sick to his stomach.

That only drew a giggle from the man, however.

"Quite an astute observation," he said, drawing a groan from Kaiba. "Your company invented the holographic systems that Duel Monsters operates on, Kaiba-boy, but Industrial Illusions supplies the database for each and every card in print. Have you ever noticed anything peculiar about it?"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed as suspicion grew in his mind. Where was this going?

"You don't provide us a database, you provide us a headache," he grumbled. "We can't just look up a card. We have to enter every detail of the card itself and the system has to solve for whether it's a legitimate card or not, like an equation."

"And why do you think I do that, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus pushed. "Besides the joy I get in pushing your buttons, that is."

"Pushing your luck, more like it," Kaiba snapped, as a moment of silence followed. He groaned. "No, Pegasus, I don't know why you hide the Duel Monster's database behind some ridiculous system."

"It's because I'm not hiding anything, Kaiba-boy. That system is the database," Pegasus revealed, as Kaiba cocked a brow. "The game of Duel Monsters is based on ancient magical showdowns. The monsters in it are real; they live on in the world as Duel Monsters spirits. I can't make up one of them as much as I can't make up a person and expect the world to play along."

There was a part of Kaiba that wanted to stand up and shout, call this entire debacle absurd. Magical spirits, real monsters— There was a foundational part of Kaiba's soul that told him to shut it all out.

He learned a long time ago to ignore that part of himself.

"Go on." Kaiba's expression did not falter as he motioned for Pegasus to continue.

"So quite simply, when we make a card, it has to do what the spirit or magic it's based on does. It has to match what's really there," Pegasus explained. "And that's what the system is for. Given the details of a card, it determines if that card matches a real Duel Monsters Spirit."

Pegasus paused then, taking a long sip of his wine as he left Kaiba in a moment of suspense.

"That was until, we started making some of the cards we found in that jungle temple," he continued. "Nothing would come close to being valid. Not a Fusion, not a Ritual, not a Normal monster, nor an Effect. And thus, a new type of monster was needed— And that's where we find ourselves today, on the eve of a new age for Duel Monsters. Synchro Summoning."

"And where do I factor into all of this?" Kaiba asked then, finally unfolding his arms and picking up the card Pegasus had given him. Its name stuck out at him: Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon.

"Hmph, well, I couldn't just release them like any old new set of cards," Pegasus continued, turning and standing up. "We need some fanfare! And that's where you come in."

A panel in the table in front of Kaiba suddenly came open, a platform rising to reveal a velvet stand and on it, another card. Before Kaiba could pick it up, Pegasus had arrived at his side and swiped it.

"I want you and your company to host a tournament," he began, revealing the card in question: a blank Synchro Monster. "It will have the best players in the entire world. The old champions, the modern pros, even the up and coming rising stars. All for the chance to become the first duelist in the world to wield the power of Synchro Summoning, months before the wide scale release!"

"And what do I get in return, Pegasus?" Kaiba demanded to know, not at all bedazzled by Pegasus's starry-eyed proposal.

Leaning against the table, Pegasus shook his head.

"One day you'll learn to have fun, Kaiba-boy," he muttered, strolling back to his seat across from Kaiba. "Well for one, that card you're holding. You won't be able to use it in the tournament, but I'm sure you'll take great pride in showing it off to the world as you introduce them to Synchro Summoning."

"I can buy a lot of cards, Pegasus. One more doesn't sway me," Kaiba pushed, hiding the slight tremor in his hand as he began to think about the card in question. "And besides… I'm retired. I don't duel anymore."

That pause put a curious look in Pegasus's eyes as he turned with his seat.

"I can personally guarantee for a fact that little Yugi-boy will be competing," he said then, pulling Kaiba's gaze into a tight focus. "And one last time, you will have a shot at reclaiming your title as King of Games!"

That point made Kaiba tense up, as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. A tournament for the entire world to see, him at center stage, his face on every screen and his power on every mind.

And not a single one of those things mattered.

Because at that moment, Kaiba's hand was trembling, not with nervousness or fear, but with adrenaline bursting to be set free. Adrenaline that came to the forefront of Kaiba's mind months ago, when he dueled against some punk kid from Duel Academy.

A duel that made Kaiba feel more alive than he had in almost ten years.

Taking a deep breath, Kaiba calmed the tremor in his hand, turning and looking up at Pegasus. His look was too mean to call a smile, but was pleased nonetheless. He leaned back, bringing his hands together and tenting his fingers.

"Alright Pegasus," he said, closing his eyes. "I'll accept your offer— on one last condition."

Smiling behind his wine glass, Pegasus nodded.

"What will it be, Kaiba-boy?" he said, putting the glass down.

Flicking the Synchro Monster around, Kaiba gave it one last look before presenting it back to Pegasus.

"Show me how they work."

End of Chapter 6