(A/N: Something tells me the Tvtropes page for this story is going to get affiliated under They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot/Character given what's about to go down over the next couple of chapters. I'd say more, but it'd give away the my plans. And, like a great magician, I don't reveal my secrets that easily. Let's get this show on the road.
This is probably a good time to remind you folks that the GX timeline has been…er…temporally delayed due to the crossover. (15 years instead of 8). Just read and you'll see why I bring it up).
After being blinded and gagged by the Rare Hunters, Teá Gardner was carried off inconspicuously to a location that, judging from the salty smell before she went indoors, was by the pier in Domino City. Now she was inside some sort of warehouse where the only light source was the sunlight from an open window so high up on the ceiling she'd have to be a giraffe to reach it.
At first, Teá had huddled up in a corner, feeling helpless and worried about both Joey and Yugi. What was going to happen to them? What was going to happen to her? Those questions ate away at her mind like a caterpillar on a crunchy leaf.
Of course, such questions and misery were only at first, because Teá eventually found herself with a new roommate: Mokuba Kaiba. The rowdy young boy had been thrown into the room and then pounded on the door when the Rare Hunters that brought him slammed the door and walked away. He'd been good company up until now, which, judging from her phone, was well over an hour. Unfortunately, it seemed, even if Yugi did call her to find out where she was, she didn't have cell reception in this dank, cold warehouse.
In front of her, Mokuba continued to flit about the warehouse, trying to find a way out of this mess. Teá remained on the cold stone ground, trying to conserve energy, knowing she'd soon be hungry. The sun would start to set soon, which was around the time dinner would be appropriate.
Yugi, Teá thought, the spikey haired youth the biggest thing on her mind right now.
However, before Teá could drift into her own thoughts, some of it possibly unrepeatable in front of Mokuba, the two heard the jangling of keys and the sliding of the heavy iron door that imprisoned them in this room. Standing in a dark cloak that was the signature uniform of the Rare Hunters stood none other than Celestia Ludenburg.
"Celeste!" Teá called her name with a sneer. It was her fault Teá ended up in this mess.
"Feeling a bit cozy, Teá?" Celeste asked.
"Who's she?" Mokuba asked. The Rare Hunters that nabbed him were all guys.
"She's a filthy cheater," Teá snapped. "She dueled Joey and then, after she lost, called for her hired muscle and kidnapped us."
"What can I say? I always look out for number one," Celeste said, glancing aside.
"So, what? Have you come here to rub it in?" Mokuba asked, getting riled up. "Don't think you can just taunt us! I might be have your size, but I'm no pushover."
Celeste ignored Mokuba's ranting. "You two want out of here?" she asked, still breaking eye contact.
"Of course we want out of here!" Teá exclaimed. "What kind of question is that?"
Suddenly a big bulky black thing was hurled at Teá and landed over her feet. Mokuba was thrown a similar item as well.
"Very well, put these on and let's go," Celeste said calmly.
"Huh?" Teá was confused.
"Quickly," Celeste said. "They'll realize what I'm up to any second."
"Awesome, you're busting us out of here?" Mokuba asked excitedly.
Celeste gave him an icy stare, urging him to be quiet. Mokuba then silently put on the cloak she'd given him.
"I don't understand," Teá said, "Why are you helping us escape?"
"I guess you could say I've had a change of heart," Celeste smiled sweetly.
"Like I'm gonna buy that," Teá frowned.
"Fine," Celeste said, glancing aside again. She then made eye contact with Teá, fist over her mouth. "Remember how I said before I was merely colluding with the Rare Hunters towards a certain goal? That's all it was, collusion. I have what I want from them, now I'm getting out. Marik probably doesn't even realize how much of a fool he's being played for. I never thought the leader of an organization could be so gullibly trusting after the execution of such a simple plan. Anyway, follow me and try not to talk. We need to move quickly or I can't get you two out of here."
"What about Joey?" Teá asked.
"Unfortunately, rescuing Joey Wheeler is an impossible task unless you would like to just get thrown back into this warehouse after I so kindly let you out. Fear not, for I plan to help in his rescue once I have safely seen you into Yugi's worried arms."
"You're…going to bring us to Yugi?" Teá asked.
"Naturally," Celeste said with a sweet smile. She scratched her cheek, "Kaiba too since I'm rescuing Mokuba as well. Now, are you going to follow me or not?"
Teá didn't like this. She still didn't trust Celeste. However, if her choices were stay here and be left to Marik's mercy or to be brought straight to Yugi and tell him what happened, well she didn't have to think twice about her decision.
Mokuba and Teá followed Celeste out of their cells and down a series of turning hallways. Was Marik hiding in a labyrinth of some kind? Teá wondered.
Only once did Celeste hold her palm out to urge her and Mokuba not to move as she peered down a corridor. Teá wondered why Celeste would possibly have to cease movement since she and Mokuba were cleverly disguised, but she did as she was told. The thought of being brought to Yugi kept her motivated to listen and obey the only form of rescue she had right now.
Celeste eventually got Teá and Mokuba outside, revealing the scene of Domino Pier. She then quickly urged them over to a specific street and urged them to follow her. Celeste then took off into a sprint and ditched her Rare Hunter cloak, prompting Teá and Mokuba to do the same.
"That's it?" Teá asked.
"I scoped out the perimeter earlier," Celeste said. "We should be clear at this point. Call Yugi and let him know to meet us at the fountain in Domino Square."
"He doesn't have a cell phone!" Teá exclaimed.
"That's preposterous, why doesn't he—"
"Long story," Teá said. "Friendless background aside from me."
"Don't worry," Mokuba said, pulling out a two-way radio. "I'll call my big bro. He and Yugi should still be travelling together looking for Joey so we should be able to get them to meet us at the fountain."
Kaiba and Yugi came to a halt to survey the area after making their way down from the building where they dueled Umbra and Lumis.
"Marik sure enjoys giving us the run around," Kaiba said. "Not only can we still not find Wheeler, but now Mokuba's missing too. When I find Marik, he'll be sorry!"
"Kaiba, I understand your angry, but if we don't act calmly we won't solve anything."
"Says the guy who was running around like a lunatic trying to find his loser friends earlier."
The Pharaoh had no retort for that. He had looked pretty silly in hindsight.
Suddenly, static came on through Kaiba's radio collar, alerting him and Yugi to the noise. "Seto! Big brother, are you there?"
"Mokuba!" Yugi exclaimed, surprised to hear his voice.
Kaiba immediately pressed the button on his collar. "Mokuba, are you okay? What has Marik done to you? Are you hurt?"
"Far from it. I just got rescued and Teá and I are on our way to the fountain in Domino Square. Meet us there."
"Teá's with you?" Yugi exclaimed. "Is she all right?"
"What about Wheeler?" Kaiba asked. He had no personal care for Joey, but he knew Yugi was going to ask sooner or later.
"Sorry, but Joey's still being held captive. We'll explain when we meet up with you guys."
"Got it," Kaiba said. "Yugi and I will head straight for Domino Square." Kaiba said and ended communications. "Looks like we're in luck."
"I wonder how they got rescued," Yugi said.
"That's the least of my concern right now as yours should be. Wheeler's still missing in action, not that I care, and either Marik has a mole or someone's in line for citizenship of the year award. Now let's go. I want to confirm that Mokuba is all right with my own eyes."
"As do I for Teá," Yugi said.
"Then there's not a moment to waste," Kaiba said and took off running with Yugi following close behind.
Halfway across the city, miles away, a duel was taking place between two average level duelists. Ordinarily this would be nothing of note, but it wasn't the duel that was important, it was the spectators…specifically two of them.
With a bunny hairpin on one side of her head and a bow on the other, Junko Enoshima stood with a bucket of KaibaCorp branded popcorn, watching the action with a completely bored expression on her face. This was her 17th duel…that she had observed. She too was a participant in the Battle City tournament, but despite it being this late in the tournament, she'd yet to participate in a single duel.
Why? Well, she was still uncertain of her skill. So, she was observing the talent of other duelists, if there was any talent to even be had, to properly gauge her own skill.
Standing next to her was her sister, Mukuro Ikusaba. Compared to the relaxed, bubbly blonde next to her, Mukuro was rigid, standing tall like a sentinel and occasionally having kernels from the bottom of the bucket pelted at her unceremoniously by Junko. Mukuro had a duel disk as well, having learned how to play from Junko.
And how did Junko learn to play?
Yawn, the fashionista thought, another dull duel it seems. She walked away before the third turn had even completed. Junko could already see the outcome based on the cards and the skill of each duelist. "Let's go, Mukuro," she said, "There's nothing to be gained from this one."
"Yes, sister," Mukuro said, following Junko away from the area.
The two walked around with Junko complaining to no one. She seemed to just like the sound of her own voice. "Seriously, all that time dueling Pegasus just so I could be a remotely good duelist and I still haven't found a single duel that gives me that isn't predictably boring as shit. We even watched that Mai Valentine chick duel and it was obvious right from the start her opponent stood no chance."
"I still do not understand why you didn't challenge her to a duel," Mukuro said. "Are we not competitors in the tournament? Would her loss have not spread despair?"
Junko turned around and tried to roundhouse kick Mukuro in the face, but her sister blocked it with her wrist. Junko put her leg down and began pelting popcorn at Mukuro…while also eating it. "I told you already, I ain't in this tournament for glory or shit like that. We gotta think of the bigger picture." She dunked the bucket and popcorn that remained, onto Mukuro's head. She turned around and folded her arms. "I still can't believe how easy it was to get into this tournament. Who would've guessed the big, scary Seto Kaiba is a sucker for heartthrob stories about dreams, even when they're coming from Pegasus, who he hates."
Mukuro recalled what Junko was talking about. Junko had interned at Industrial Illusions for the past several months. With Pegasus in recovery after being attacked by Bakura, but was being called post-tournament stress, Junko had taken to not only cooking him meals, but also helping with household chores and the like. You know, to get on Pegasus' good side.
She had also dressed as his dead lover on more than one occasion. And now Pegasus thought the world of Junko, like a niece he could spoil rotten. They'd bonded over episodes of Funny Bunny and, of course, Duel Monsters.
Once Junko officially expressed interest in the game, Pegasus decided to teach her how to play. And, like with anything Junko got involved in, her analytical abilities helped her master it quickly. She'd played at least 100 duels against Pegasus. She lost every one of them, but she got closer to victory every time.
"Oh but my dear Kaiba-boy, would you crush the hopes and dreams of two innocent young girls that just want to know what it feels like to be pro-duelists?" Junko asked the air, doing a spot on imitation of what Pegasus had said to Kaiba over the phone to get her and Mukuro into the tournament. "Like I always say," Junko said in her natural voice, "It's not always what you can do, it's who you know. I mean, I even got to keep my Dark Magician Girl cosplay." Oh the naughty, despair-inducing things she planned to do with that to ruin so many lives in the years and months to come.
As Junko began walking again, Mukuro, following close behind, asked, "Do you have any idea who's going to be in the finals?"
"What do you care?" Junko asked. "It's not like I plan for us to be in it. That's not our role this time."
"I-I know," Mukuro stuttered, "But I just…"
Junko sighed and groaned. She whirled around and pulled back on her index finger with her other hand. "Ain't it predictable as shit? It's gonna be Kaiba versus Yugi in the finals," she said irritably, "And if Joey Wheeler doesn't take the bronze, it'll probably be cause Mai Valentine or that Exodia kid I've been hearing about beat him to it." Junko turned around and put her arms up over her head, staring up at the sky, bored. "This whole tournament is meant to fuel Kaiba's ego anyway and I ain't exactly in his bracket yet." A wide smile broke out onto Junko's face. "But I will be soon and when I am, both he and Yugi Mutoh will feel despair. Puhuhuhu."
Mukuro said nothing. It was nice to see Junko happy. And at least she was finally taking up a non-violent hobby. Still, Mukuro did want to duel at least once in the tournament. Junko had taught her how to play and the game was quite fun. Even if she was defeated, she at least wanted to duel someone that wasn't her sister.
To Mukuro, Duel Monsters was just another battlefield. She was the commanding officer and the monsters were the soldiers. They followed her unquestionably and the objective was simple: destroy the enemy army. To the simple-minded Mukuro, the game was quite easy to grasp. She didn't understand why Junko constantly told her it was "too complicated for Mukuro to truly understand". Granted, she'd not won a single duel against Junko, but that was to be expected. The game still seemed pretty basic and easy.
Mukuro was so caught up in her thoughts, that she missed the fact that Junko had stopped walking to the point that Junko had to grab her shoulder. Mukuro glanced at the opposite side of the street where Junko was now pointing where a duel was about to commence. On one side of the battlefield stood a young looking kid with brown hair and one stubborn cowlick in a green hoodie. His opponent was not that much older than him. He was blond, wearing a school uniform, a badge indicating him as a Student Council President. However, his face was so ugly that it was like a troll and a nutcracker Eiffel towered a gremlin. It wasn't at all like the rather charming face on the brown-haired boy. There was something a bit cute about its simplicity.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this Makoto?" the blond said, his voice sounding like a crow had a brass instrument stuck in its throat. "You've never been able to beat me before and you never will. Every tournament you've won, you've only won because I wasn't there to crush you like the miserable insect you are."
"Crowler," Makoto said with a determinate look. "I might've been scared of you before, but I'm not gonna let you push me around anymore!" he declared while pointing at his opponent. "I managed to defeat Rex Raptor earlier today."
"Please, I'll show you why that was merely a fluke and not a show of skill, assuming it happened at all," Crowler said, putting his hand on his duel disk and hunching over slightly.
Mukuro glanced towards her right, Junko was already pulling out her laptop and pulling up the dueling profiles of both duelists.
"Makoto will show you!" Komaru exclaimed. "When he's beaten your sorry ass, you'll never bully him again!"
"We'll see about that," Crowler said, activating his duel disk. "Because I'll show your brother why he should keep his innocent, naïve nose out of big tournaments like these."
"Ah, so that's Vellian Crowler," Junko suddenly said.
"Vellian who?" Mukuro asked.
"Crowler," Junko said. "He's a reputable tournament winner. He competed in the regionals twice and made the top ten. He's also won several other smaller tournaments. Finally, another noteworthy duelist." With the exception of Mai, the other duelists had been boring.
"What about his opponent?" Mukuro asked.
"Makoto Naegi," Junko said, pulling up the profile. "Winner of only five local tournaments, but he's competed in a lot of others, nothing this big though, not like Crowler. Still, his records for this tournament are…" Junko trailed off as she suddenly broke out into a wide grin. "Well now."
"What? What is it?" Mukuro asked only to have Junko's laptop shoved into her chest.
"Hold that for me, would you?" Junko asked. "I think I might've just found the type of duel I've been looking for."
"Let's Duel!" Crowler and Makoto declared at the same time.
"I'll go first," Crowler said and drew the top card of his deck. "And I play Destroyer Golem in attack mode!" The mighty, knuckleduster wearing golem appeared with 1500 attack points. "My turn is over."
"My turn then," Makoto said and drew the top card of his deck. He showed the card to Crowler and played it in his Monster Zone. "I play Hunter Dragon!" A thin black dragon with a razor sharp jaw appeared. It had orange horns atop its head too and 1700 attack points.
"Hunter Dragon, attack!" Makoto declared, pointing at Destroyer Golem. "Wipe out Destroyer Golem!"
With a swipe of its claws, a ramming of its mouth and a strike of its pointed tail, Hunter Dragon turned Destroyer Golem to rubble, letting Makoto get first blood as he reduced Crowler's LP to 3800.
"My turn's over," Makoto said.
"A minor setback," Crowler said. "I draw." He looked at what he drew. "I play another Destroyer Golem in attack mode."
"You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results," Komaru said.
"Who said anything about the same thing?" Crowler asked. "I play Invigoration!" Crowler declared, putting the card in the card reader. "This raises my Golem's attack points by 400 points." Destroyer Golem's attack power became 1900.
"Uh oh," Makoto commented.
"Uh oh indeed," Crowler said with a smile, showing his front teeth, "Now, Destroyer Golem, attack, take out his Hunter Dragon!"
Destroyer Golem let loose a powerful punch and sent Hunter Dragon tumbling to the ground where the creature shattered upon impact with the pavement and Makoto lost life points, tying the game with Crowler at 3800 apiece.
"Ah, memories," Crowler said with a sigh and a smile. "This feels just like the time I beat you during our last duel."
"But last time we dueled, I only had dragons. This time," Makoto said, drawing the top card off his deck and playing a card from his hand, "I've got a new type of monster added to my deck. So say hello to Neo the Magic Swordsman."
The magic swordsman appeared. Its attack power the same as Hunter Dragon's 1700.
"And I'll combine it with Book of Secret Arts!" Makoto declared, activating the equip-spell. "This will raise Neo's attack power to 2000."
Crowler growled, realizing what was coming next.
"Neo!" Makoto declared. "Attack Destroyer Golem, Spell Sword Strike!"
Blade in hand, Neo struck forward, slashing Destroyer Golem twice before waving its hand around and carving a seal into the monster and then shattering it with one more sword slash.
Crowler's life points dropped only to 3700.
"I'm not the little kid you used to bully on the playground, Crowler. I'm a changed man," Makoto said.
"Hmph, you're still very much a boy, Makoto," Crowler said. "Let me show you." He drew the top card off his deck. "I place one monster face-down on the field and one other card face-down onto the field as well. My turn is over."
"Then now it's my turn," Makoto said. He drew the top card off of his deck and looked at his hand. "And I sacrifice Neo the Magic Swordsman to play Genesis Dragon." A scaly red dragon…well…more like a wyvern since it had no forelimbs, appeared. It had 2200 attack points. It growled as it emerged.
"And now, I have Genesis Dragon attack your face-down monster!"
"Not so fast," Crowler stated. "Reveal face-down card: A Feint Plan! This prevents you from attacking any face-down monsters this turn. Too bad, Makoto," Crowler jeered. "Better luck next time."
"It's okay Makoto," Komaru told him. "You've still got plenty of life points. It's anyone's game."
"Not for long he doesn't," Crowler chuckled. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to play Hieracosphinx!" A giant sphinx with a pheasant for a face appeared on the battlefield. It had 2400 attack points. "Hieracosphinx attacks! Destroy Genesis Dragon!"
The two monsters took to the air as they slammed into each other, but Hieracosphinx was bulkier and stronger and slammed Genesis Dragon into the ground, destroying it. Makoto's life points fell to 3600.
"Well, Makoto?" Crowler asked. "Are you about ready to give up? No monster you could play could hope to match the power of Hieracosphinx."
"Don't be so sure," Makoto said. "This duel is far from over. I draw! I place a monster face-down and end my turn," Makoto said.
"Where did all that bravado go?" Crowler asked. "Did you lose your nerve?"
Makoto said nothing.
"Well, whatever. It's my turn," Crowler said. He looked at his hand. Hmm, kid might be trying to lure me into a trap and I don't have anything in my hand that could prepare me for a sucker punch. I mean, sure, it's Makoto I'm dealing with. But I haven't beaten him time and again without using my head. "I place a monster face-down on the field as well," Crowler said. "And next, I attack with Hieracosphinx."
Crowler's monster charged forward and smashed Makoto's monster to bits: Golem Dragon.
Crowler laughed. "That's it? Just a puny Golem Dragon? Oh Makoto, the king of bluffs as always."
"It was worth it to see what you would do," Makoto said.
"Huh?" Crowler asked.
"Golem Dragon had 2000 defense points. Most monsters that can be summoned without a sacrifice can't destroy it. So, if I was lucky, I was hoping to shave off a few life points. However, since you didn't play a monster, I'm free to go and take down your Hieracosphinx."
"But…you can't!" Crowler exclaimed.
"I can, nothing in the rules says I can't. Now, watch this!" Makoto exclaimed, drawing the top card from his deck. "I'm calling out my favorite monster. Go, Alexandrite Dragon!"
Makoto's jewel-encrusted 2000 attack point behemoth appeared on the battlefield with a proud roar.
"You must be losing it," Crowler said with an ugly sneer and pointing to his right temple. "Alexandrite Dragon doesn't have enough attack points to fight Hieracosphinx."
"Maybe not," Makoto said and held up two cards. "But with these two magic cards, he's more than capable of shutting your monster down. I activate the equip-spell Dragon Treasure and the field spell Mountain!" Makoto declared.
"Oh no!" Crowler exclaimed, watching as a bunch of mountains appeared on Makoto's side of the field as Alexandrite Dragon flew atop it and roosted with its talons digging into the mountain top. A shiny green jewel also was then magically fused to its body. Its attack points were now 2500.
"Not a bad move," Junko said. "But it's not going to be enough."
"Why do you say that?" Mukuro asked her.
"Just watch."
"Alexandrite Dragon, swoop and attack!" Makoto declared.
From its perch, Alexandrite Dragon slammed into Hieracosphinx and shattered it into rubble. Crowler was blown back by the updraft created by the holograms and his life points fell to 3600.
"That's the end of my turn," Makoto declared resolutely.
"All right, Makoto!" Komaru declared. "You got him reeling. In your face, creep."
"I wouldn't be celebrating if I were you," Crowler said, pointing to his temple.
"I'm one step ahead," Junko said at the same time Crowler did, mimicking him. Why were one-liners so goddamn predictable?
Crowler drew the top card of his deck. "I reveal my face-down monster, Guardian Statue!" The rock monster emerged. It had 800 attack points. "And when Guardian Statue is switched from face-down defense position to face-up attack position, I get to send a monster from your side of the field back to your hand."
"My dragon," Makoto gasped.
"Too bad," Crowler said. "And now you're wide open to attack."
As Makoto's dragon returned to his hand. Guardian Statue picked up its spear and charged forward, hitting Makoto in the chest and knocking him down, causing his life points to fall to 2800.
"I suppose I'll end my turn," Crowler said. "Go ahead, Makoto. Give me your best shot."
"Oh, how devious," Junko said.
"I…do not understand," Mukuro said.
"Guardian Statue can be switched to defense mode once per turn, even the turn its flipped face-up. But Crowler didn't do that."
"Why would he…?"
"He wants Makoto to attack obviously and with Alexandrite Dragon no less," Junko said. "Why do I have to constantly explain these things to you. This is why you suck at Duel Monsters. You have no concept of strategy."
Mukuro just played with her fingers, blushing a little at the despair of Junko's verbal abuse.
"My turn," Makoto said and drew the top card of his deck. "I play Alexandrite Dragon!" He declared. "And though Dragon Treasure may be gone, he's still strong enough to destroy Guardian Statue. Now, attack!"
Alexandrite Dragon smashed into Guardian Statue and destroyed it, bringing Crowler's life points down to 2200, well below Makoto's own.
However, Crowler was practically laughing his balls off. "You fell for it. You did exactly as I thought you'd do."
"Huh?" Makoto asked, confused.
"My turn," Crowler said and drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the spell card Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards as long as I discard two." Crowler performed the stated actions. "And next, I'll take the seven rock monsters in my graveyard, the five you destroyed and the two I just discarded, in order to play the most powerful rock monster in all of duel monsters. Say hello to Megarock Dragon!"
A gigantic dragon-like monster that still counted as a rock-type monster emerged on the battlefield. It had no wings, but it was freaking huge. Its back was covered in spikes and its cranium looked like the spikey end of a Morningstar.
"And thanks to its special ability," Crowler said, balling a fist, "Megarock Dragon gets 700 attack and defense points for every monster I removed from my graveyard when I summoned it."
Makoto and Komaru watched in dismay as Megarock Dragon's attack power climbed up all the way to 4900.
Crowler cackled like mad. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to let me summon such a powerful monster. You walked right into it Makoto and now you'll pay the ultimate penalty, your life points. Megarock Dragon attack, Destroy Alexandrite Dragon. Rock Blast!"
Megarock Dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of boulders from deep inside its throat, annihilating Alexandrite Dragon with a powerful barrage and hitting Makoto as well, bringing his life points, in one attack all the way down to 100.
Crowler laughed like mad.
"This despair," Junko said, clenching her butt and pulling her fingers towards her palm. "It's the best. Look at that girl's face," she said, referring to Komaru. "She already realized how hopeless this is."
Mukuro then tapped Junko on the shoulder.
"What? What is it?" Junko demanded to know.
Mukuro pointed to Makoto. He'd already stopped gazing at Megarock Dragon with a hopeless expression.
"Well, that's unexpected. He hasn't given up yet. Still, the chance of him winning this are next to impossible. Sure, any number of cards could destroy that behemoth," Junko said. "But one slip up and he's done for. He's no Seto Kaiba and he's certainly no Yugi Mutoh. There's no way he'll pull this out from the jaws of defeat."
"What if he does?" Mukuro asked. There was always that chance.
The only answer Junko gave to Mukuro's question was a wide, toothy grin.
"It's my turn," Makoto said. "And I play Swords of Revealing Light!"
The lights shined down on Megarock Dragon.
"Predictable," Junko said in singsong. Come on, if Makoto was going to actually pull off the next to impossible, he'd have to be more interesting than that. Still, Junko didn't want to walk away from this duel. Makoto's defiance intrigued her, if only so she could see the despair on his face when such defiance was met with inevitable defeat.
"I also play a monster face-down," Makoto said as the hologram appeared. "My turn is over," Makoto said with a sigh.
"How boring," Crowler said.
"My sentiments exactly," Junko said.
"I play Catapult Zone. This Field Spell allows me to send a rock-type monster from my deck to the graveyard if a monster on my side of the field would be destroyed."
"And there's the kicker," Junko said.
"What? What's wrong?" Mukuro asked.
"Crowler's basically boxed Makoto in. Even if Makoto manages to destroy Megarock Dragon with a stronger monster, he can just send a monster to the graveyard to keep it in play and then wipe out Makoto again. Now all Crowler needs is a face-down card to protect Megarock Dragon from being destroyed once by say, a Mirror Force or a Widespread Ruin and it's basically game over."
"I end my turn," Crowler said.
Junko turned her head away, keeping only one eye on the duel. Oh this was painful to watch for how utterly dull it had become. The only reason she was sticking around was to see the pathetically despaired look on Makoto's face when he lost.
"My turn," Makoto said. "And I also play Graceful Charity!" he declared. He drew three cards from the top of his deck and then sent two to the graveyard. He loved this next play of his. "I activate Monster Reborn in order to summon Cosmo Queen from the graveyard!" Makoto declared, bringing the mighty sorceress to the field in defense position.
"Next, I also sacrifice my face-down monster to play Kabuki Dragon in defense mode." The red and yellow and green tufted, elongated dragon appeared.
"And with that," Makoto declared. "I also activate Stamping Destruction, allowing me to destroy your Catapult Zone."
Kabuki Dragon sprung to action and twisting and tearing straight through Crowler's spell card like a drill through solid steel. The residual shockwave caused Crowler to lose 500 life points, bringing his total down to 1700.
"And with that, my turn is over," Makoto said. My strategy is almost complete and I have just enough turns to pull it off, Makoto thought. He looked at the two cards in his hand: One-Shot Wand and Dragon's Mirror. If he was lucky, he'd have just enough time to turn this duel around.
"My turn," Crowler said and drew the top card of his deck. Hmm, I could play a face-down monster, but Makoto could just destroy it with one of his and I already gave up enough life points just to play my dragon. Best to play it safe for now, Crowler thought. I end my turn.
"My turn then," Makoto said and drew the top card from his deck: Koumori Dragon. Yes! Makoto declared. "I summon Koumori Dragon to the field, in attack mode."
Crowler covered his face, laughing so hard, he was starting to cry. "That thing? Against my Megarock Dragon?"
"No, it's just necessary to play so that I can play this," Makoto said, holding up Dragon's Mirror.
Junko was actually shocked for a moment. Cunning boy. If he has enough monsters…
"And now, using the Koumori Dragon on the field with my Serpent Night Dragon and Blackland Fire Dragon in the graveyard, I can summon a mighty dragon unlike anything you've seen before!"
"Hold on just a moment! When did either of those two monsters go to the graveyard?" Crowler demanded to know.
"Isn't it obvious?" Makoto asked. "I sent Serpent Night Dragon to the graveyard with Graceful Charity," he said raising his arm and then he extended it out to the side. "And then I also sent Blackland Fire Dragon to the graveyard when I played Kabuki Dragon."
Junko was now giggling with her hand over her face and her teeth showing from the wide grin she had on her face. The look of despair on Crowler's face was simply priceless.
"Now, I call upon the most powerful triple-fusion in all of Duel Monsters! I summon Blackland Void Dragon!"
An elongated, twisting dragon appeared, black as pitch and with molten orange eyes. Its mouth seemed to be glowing with an orange light. It roared with an unearthly cry as it emerged with 3100 attack points and 2900 defense points.
Crowler laughed nervously only for it to blow into a full-blown cackle. "Your monster might be powerful, but it's not powerful enough to destroy my Megarock Dragon."
"Perhaps not by default, but he has a special ability. For every monster in my graveyard or on the field that originated from my extra deck, Blackland Void Dragon gets 200 more attack points, including itself." The dragon's attack power raised up to 3300. "It also counts all monsters in my extra deck, giving it an extra 200 points for each one. And I have three." Blackland Void Dragon's attack power raised up all the way to 3900. "And thanks to Mountain, it gains another 200 attack points."
Blackland Void Dragon's attack power increased to 4100.
"S-so what? You're still 800 attack points short and last I checked you can't attack this turn anyway."
"That may be true," Makoto said, "But neither can you on your turn. And as an added bonus, as long as Blackland Void Dragon is on the field, neither of us can special summon a monster."
"Not bad," Junko said.
"What?" Mukuro asked.
"There are several ways out of this situation, most of which involving equip spells. Even if Makoto doesn't have the proper card in his hand, he's increased his chances of drawing for it. United We Stand, Mage Power, even a Rush Recklessly combined with another Dragon Treasure could do the job."
"Are you saying Makoto's won?" Mukuro asked.
"I'm saying that it all depends on what Crowler does this turn and what Makoto does next turn," Junko said. "Will he plummet into despair or will he snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Either way," Junko looked absolutely giddy, drooling a little. "The despair that's going to come from this duel is simply the best. Ooooh, I've got goosebumps!"
"It's…my turn," Crowler said, sweating a little. He did not like that heated look on Makoto's face. The teen had such vigor in his eyes that Crowler felt like anything he could play would be pointless. All he had in his hand right now were useless rock monsters. Should he switch Megarock Dragon to defense mode? Would it matter? No, he had to stick to his guns. He had to win. Makoto was nothing to him. Nothing!
"I," Crowler gulped, "I end my turn," he said, sweating.
"Then it's time for me to end this duel," Makoto said. "And I'm feeling pretty lucky today!" Makoto drew the top card off of his deck, revealing the card he'd been searching through his deck to find since he played Graceful Charity. "I sacrifice Cosmo Queen and Kabuki Dragon to play a monster you've likely never seen before. Say hello to Fog King!"
Junko clenched her nails to her palms. This was the best. This was the absolute best. The despair on Crowler's face was going to be priceless.
A thick wave of fog rolled in, revealing a monster in shiny metal armor and carrying a sword, but it was floating and it had an ethereal, blue foggy cape around its shoulders.
"Fog King is a special kind of monster," Makoto said. "His special ability gives him the combined attack points of the two monsters used to summon him. And since I used Kabuki Dragon and Cosmo Queen, that gives him 5200 attack points."
"This…can't be…my Megarock Dragon, out done by some freak in a suit of armor?"
"And I'm not done," Makoto stated. "I also activate the spell card One-Shot Wand, raising Fog King's attack power by 800 more points."
"6000 attack points?!" Crowler gasped.
"Go! Fog King!" Makoto declared, "Attack Megarock Dragon with Fog Sword Slash!"
A powerful white light consumed the battlefield as Fog King swung down and obliterated Crowler's dragon.
"No, my dragon!" Crowler declared as his dragon began crumbling into pieces around him.
"It's over! Blackland Void Dragon attack!" Makoto shouted. "Wipe out the rest of his life points! Void Gale Blast!"
Blackland Void Dragon reared back its head and unleashed its fury unto Crowler, letting loose a spiral-shaped black blast that consumed his whole body.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Crowler screamed as his life points hit zero.
"I think I came a little," Junko squeaked. Crowler's despair was the best. To have reduced his opponent's life points to 100 only to then lose the whole duel. That was in Junko's top 5 of best kinds of despair in Duel Monsters.
"This...this can't be," Crowler said, dropping to his knees and feeling disillusioned. "How? How could a weak rat like you end up defeating me? ME!" Crowler pointed straight at Makoto. "I've always been better than you! I am better than you!"
"Not anymore," Komaru said with gusto. "Now hand over your locator card and your rarest card!"
Crowler just left the cards there and ran away with his face in his sleeve, crying.
"Did you have to be so hard on him, Komaru? He's taking it pretty hard."
"What's wrong with telling a creep to get lost?" Komaru asked. "Besides, he bullied you a lot, didn't he?"
"He was just always proud of his skill. That doesn't mean I held a grudge. I was just feeling confident I could take him because I defeated Rex earlier."
Komaru sighed in frustration as Makoto walked over to the cards Crowler left behind. "Makoto, sometimes you're too nice for your own good. You gotta be a little sterner sometimes. Otherwise people are gonna walk all over you."
"You're not exactly one to talk," Makoto said, bending down to pick up his hard-earned rewards. "You give people second chances all the time."
"I give people second chances," Komaru said. "Not creepazoids, and especially not creepazoids that pick on my big brother."
Makoto laughed a little, feeling reassured to have such a supportive little sister.
Komaru brightened up in an instant. "Still, you're doing really well in this tournament," she said with a smile and upbeat tone. "Three duels and all of them people you could've never to have hoped to have beaten before."
"Hope's got nothing to do with it," Makoto said, pocketing Crowler's locator card and rare card, "I just didn't have the right deck." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "That and I think I'm just lucky."
"No way," Komaru said, disbelieving her brother's humility, "You've got a way better deck now. Trust me, you're gonna get to the finals, and Sayaka's going to love you and you two will get married and have three beautiful children."
Makoto sighed. Komaru read too many shoujo manga and she was still on this him getting together with Sayaka thing. Makoto liked her fine, but he really wished Komaru would stop pushing it. He wanted to make his own decisions about his love life.
"So, what do you—" Komaru was cut off by her and Makoto hearing loud, slow clapping.
"Bravo boy, bravo."
Komaru and Makoto turned their heads to see Junko standing much closer than she'd been spectating with Mukuro only so far away from her left shoulder.
"I saw the whole duel play out. Excellent work," Junko praised. "That was certainly one for the replay reel."
Makoto looked at Junko with confusion. "Aren't you…?"
"Oh my gosh!" Komaru exclaimed, her assertiveness beating Makoto to the punch. "You're Junko Enoshima, the famous fashion model! You're like, the trendsetter for young girls' fashion. I've read all of your articles. Can I get your autograph?"
"Oh why not?" Junko asked. "Mukuro, pen and paper."
Mukuro reached into her coat and handed Junko the appropriate items. Junko signed her name superfluously and in a big font. "Who am I making this out to?"
"My name's Komaru," Komaru said. "This is my brother Makoto by the way."
"Oh I knew that. I pulled up his dueling profile when he was dueling Crowler. I'll say it again, good show." She handed her autograph to Komaru, keeping the pen.
"I am so framing this when I get home," Komaru said.
Junko put the pen in her hair, capped. It was only then that Makoto noticed what was on her left arm. "Junko, you duel?" he asked.
"Oh, ahaha," Junko laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "It's kind of a brand new hobby," she said. She put her hands on her hips. "Gotta do what I can to keep up with all the trends. After all, didn't you like the Dark Magician Girl on the cover of Duel Informer last January?"
"That was you?" Makoto asked, shocked. The cover that month had been less a cover shot and more a pin-up. On top of that, the issue also contained an entire gallery, including a centerfold that left, very little to the imagination. After all…it was Dark Magician Girl. Makoto still had the centerfold hung up in his room. And, well…he felt a wave of shame coming over him now that he was staring the model in the face.
"Guilty as charged, love," Junko said, blowing a kiss at Makoto and winking. Well…at least that softened the blow.
"So, we know who you are and you know who we are," Komaru said. "But who's she?" Komaru asked, looking at Mukuro. "Your bodyguard?"
"Oh, no," Junko chuckled. "This is just my older twin sister Mukuro. Bodyguard. Ha! If I wanted a real bodyguard, I could do way better than this deviant."
"Nice to meet you," Mukuro said, trying to be polite. Junko liked keeping up appearances when it came to public interaction…for the most part. Mukuro did her best to play her part. After all, if suspicion was drawn towards Junko that would be bad.
"You two are sisters?" Makoto asked.
"We are. But forget about her," Junko said, pushing on Makoto's cheek with her hand and making her face her. She put her other hand on his opposite cheek. "And focus on me."
Makoto felt his heartbeat quicken.
"You've got three victories on that belt of yours, this tournament, huh?" she asked rhetorically. She smiled at Makoto. "Well you've got two participants right here looking for a first duel."
"First duel?" Komaru asked. It was awfully late in the tournament to only duel for the first time now.
"We got a late start," Junko lied, not that Komaru would know otherwise. She let go of Makoto's face and put her knuckles on her hips. "When you're as popular as me, love, business before pleasure." She slowly glanced back at Makoto. "And after that performance just now, Mukuro and I would like to duel you, Makoto."
"We…do?" Mukuro asked, confused. At no point did she think Junko was going to challenge Makoto up until a few sentences ago.
"We do," Junko said.
"Well, sure, I mean I know I just got finished with a duel, but I'm up for another one," Makoto said with a smile.
Mukuro's heartbeat quickened now. She'd never seen such a bright, innocent looking smile before. It was cute, really cute.
"Splendid," Junko said. "Mukuro, you go first?"
"M-me, sister?"
"Did I stutter?" Junko asked. "If Makoto can't beat you, there's no way I'll duel him," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "But first," Junko said, clapping her hands, "a change in venue. Who wants corn dogs?" Staying and dueling in the same location would've driven the easily bored Junko crazy, not to mention she still craved a bit of food.
"Oh that sounds awesome. Where did you see those for sale?"
"There's a hot dog stand not far from here," Junko said. "Shall we go together?"
"Sounds awesome," Komaru said. "I can't believe I get to hang out with two celebrities in one day."
"Then follow us," Junko said and walked away, Mukuro following close behind. She took a passing glance at Makoto before turning to face Junko's back. It was a silent indication for him not to get too close to her sister. Even if Junko dismissed her status as a bodyguard, Mukuro still stood resolutely behind her like one. But at the same time, she wanted to look at Makoto's face once more. The cute smile had long since faded, but that didn't mean he wasn't appealing to look at too. He was kind of her type too. He had the words "beta male" written all over him and he was shorter than her to boot.
No, best she not think about such unnecessary things. Instead, she briskly followed behind Junko, her attraction gone unnoticed by the highly perceptive Komaru.
"Junko are you sure about this?" Mukuro asked, keeping her voice down so that Makoto and Komaru couldn't hear. Fortunately they were lost in their own conversation. "What makes someone like him so special?"
"It's what doesn't make him special that makes him more interesting," Junko said. "He's completely unremarkable, an F-class stimulus when you consider his background and track record until today. And with my dueling prowess, I'm at least a B-class stimulus compared to S-classes like Yugi and Kaiba."
"So…what is the plan exactly?"
"He's an F-class person with remarkable luck and a penchant for strategy. If someone like that could win the tournament, could you imagine the despair that would result from that?"
"You mean to groom him?" Mukuro asked.
"Oh heavens no, I couldn't stand that," Junko said, grabbing a lock of her hair. "I can barely stand the sight of that dumb face of his."
…His face isn't dumb looking, Mukuro thought, glancing back towards Makoto briefly, is it? She got a good glance at Makoto's face. She had to turn her head away quickly before he noticed she was looking at him. She saw no evidence of this supposed dumbness that Junko saw.
"But, our cards are plenty powerful. So if we lose to him, we can power him up and see how far he goes."
"Ah, so you mean to gauge his ability to continue your algorithm for what you know about the game."
"Now you've got it," Junko said, pointing at Mukuro with her hand shaped like a gun, "Took you long enough."
"What if one of us wins?" Mukuro asked.
"Then I get to see that adorable look of despair on his face that I didn't get to see earlier. He's so proud and determinate when he duels. It's actually kind of cute if it weren't so disgusting."
Mukuro agreed with everything Junko just said…except the disgusting part. Ack! No! Why did she care so much about someone she just met?
"So, no matter what happens even an idiot like you can't screw this up," Junko said.
"I will perform to the best of my ability and use what you taught me to bring despair," Mukuro said like a soldier accepting commands.
"Exactly what I wanted to hear," Junko said. The two were now approaching the hot dog stand. First food, then despair. She walked up to the man behind the register and placed her order and gave him cash. I love it when a plan comes together. Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!
(A/N: The bitch doth cometh and return. I don't think I've said it yet, so I'll say it: I fucking HATE Junko. I hate Monokuma. I hate her attitude. I hate her despair fetish. And I hate that no matter what you do to her, even if she loses, she wins because of her stupid despair fetish.
And I'm one of those people that still ships Mukuro/Makoto. And if you don't appreciate Mukuro Ikusaba, even if you don't ship her with Makoto, you're dead to me as a Danganronpa fan. If you're a Yu-gi-oh fan that hasn't played the series and only knows it from word of mouth, I don't hold it against you.
Anyway, next chapter will be Makoto Vs Mukuro. Will he prevail and be able to defeat Junko and make it to the finals? You'll have to wait and see.
Also, did anyone see Celeste's "rescue" coming? Bet that confused a lot of you.
And, since I know I'm going to get questions about it, yes that was THE Doctor Vellian Crowler from Yu-gi-oh GX long before the Ancient Gear monsters became a thing. Like I said before, the changes in the timestream make Crowler younger during Battle City than he would be in canon. I originally had a different plan for Makoto to duel the girl that gave Nagito a cab ride, but, well…circumstances led to me changing my mind.
What Could Have Been: Kazusa, who is, in case it wasn't clear, a reincarnation of Fizdis from the two Yu-gi-oh games by which she appears, the character that was originally going to be the girl that got the Ultimate Lucky Student draft pick in Makoto Naegi's Worst Day Ever since the "certain high school girl" was never given a name. Later, after losing to Makoto and feeling disillusioned, Junko would later corrupt her and cause her to…well…I think I'll save the rest of that for when this arc is finished cause I'd be giving away another game changer on the level of "I just wrote Genocider Jill out of the plot".
Hope you liked the idea of Crowler dueling Makoto instead. And *pumps fist* YES! Got to get Fog King and Blackland Void Dragon out in the same duel. And now you all know why Makoto wanted Rex's Serpent Night Dragon. It's the third component to Blackland Void Dragon along with Koumori Dragon and Blackland Fire Dragon.
But anyway, next time we'll be able to see just what Mukuro is capable of as a duelist, possibly Junko too if Makoto's luck holds. Or maybe it's skill. Either way, until next time, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)