Author's Note: I really need to stop promising you guys updates 'soon'. I've gone back and forth about how to write and pace this part of the story and somehow this wound up becoming a beast of chapter. I also had to put off updating for a while due to finishing my senior thesis and studying for the praxis exam (it's an exam that teachers need to pass to get their teaching license). A great deal of thought was put into this chapter, so I hope that you guys like it.
Warning: I named a character Honda to honor the original Japanese version of the series, but this Honda person is NOT Tristan Taylor. Hopefully that's clear, but I wanted to say something just in case.
Recap: After a kidnapping, a rescue, and several shadow games Aiko's soul has been taken and Yugi is fighting the shadows that are threatening to corrupt him. Visions of the past have revealed the origin of the millennium items and the Pharaoh tapped into the power of the necklace to warn Ishizu that time is running out. They are finally about to go Egypt to confront Bakura because it is where the items and Atem are the strongest.
Thanks to all of my readers, especially lalalei and angiembabe whose reviews are always encouraging and helpful. I'm impressed with the patience and maturity of all of my readers!
Thanks,
TheEagerScribbler
Ghosts
"We leave tonight." Yugi said with a glance at his calendar. Call him old fashioned, but he still liked the paper kind that he could cross off days on. Looking at all of the crossed of days made their impending journey seem more real.
"How can you be thinking about that when we have to worry about leaving the house in half an hour? You're not even dressed yet!" Yugi saw Tea looking at him through the mirror as she ran a brush through her hair.
At times like this Yugi looked at Tea and wondered how he had been lucky enough to find someone who was so tolerant of all of the weird things that suddenly happened around them. Of course Tea was frightened, all of them were, but she had a certain resilience that held them together when things got rough. Even now that Yugi himself was becoming increasingly unstable and the others were on edge she handled it with an impressive coolness. It was so like his wife to them grounded to reality so that they could focus on daily life. "Sorry, I just keep thinking-"
"You should be thinking about what suit you're wearing Duel Academy Today. You know that Seto will be there and he'll be dressed to the nines."
"What?" Yugi grabbed his phone off the nightstand and began scrolling through his email. It was waiting in his spam box. It was a good thing that he had apparently sent one to Tea too.
With all of their other worries he had completely forgotten that he and Seto still needed to announce the latest tournament. Everything had happened so fast that he only vaguely remembered the conversations surrounding this most recent incarnation of the battle city tournament. This time he slowly planned to issue a series of announcements over the span of a year in order build tension and today's speech would be the first of many. Yugi had agreed to come and and answer question from the students.
"Um, Tea, I think you're trying a little too hard. We'll be fine." Once she finished putting the finishing touches on her hair she immediately began to rummage through Yugi's wardrobe to find something suitable.
Tea sighed "Honestly Yugi, you can't just show up in your pajamas!" She found a navy suit and white shirt. He raised an eyebrow. It reminded him of a grown up version of his old school uniform. It was an old suit that he hadn't worn in ages for just that reason. When he told her so she merely laughed. "That's the point. You have an image, and I love you enough to not let you leave the house with all that leather. You're a grown man, not some teenager trying to seem tough!" Yugi nearly pointed out that he would be fine dressing the way that he had for past tournaments that he had made an appearance at, but he decided against it. Now was not the time to nitpick.
She threw the suit into his arms and began to look for matching shoes. "I know you have a nice pair in here somewhere."
"They should be at the end of the row of my shoes in the closet." He didn't have that many pairs, so it shouldn't have been that hard to find. By the time he had finished buttoning up his shirt he heard his wife exclaim "Found them!" He put them and stood in front of a mirror.
"I'm capable of dressing myself you know."
"Of course you are. It's just that I wanted to speed things along a little so that we're not late. Seto will have our heads if we're not there at 9:00 on the dot!" He shrugged on the jacket and stepped into the shoes, looking at himself in the mirror.
"I look official," was all Yugi could think to say.
A sparkle lit Tea's eye as she moved to stand next to him. "You look like the King of Games."
"I'm not the King of Games anymore." That title had been passed on to Jaden Yuki a few years ago.
"Once a king always a king. Let's not forget that even if you're not number one you're still one of the strongest in the world. I'm not entirely convinced that you didn't let the boy win because you had some romantic notion of passing the torch."
Seto called at 8:45. As usual his was brief and would have seemed rude coming from someone else."If you're not here in 14 minutes I'm leaving without you." He hung up the phone before they got a word in edgewise.
"I get why he needs you there. But why does he want me there too? I'm not a duelist, and I'm not even involved in the running of the tournament!"
"Maybe he thinks that you can keep me in check if I start to become unbalanced."
Something in Tea's eyes told him that she wanted to argue, but one glance at the clock told them that they were going to be late if they didn't leave."Well, I guess none of that matters unless we get there soon. Seto might just throw us off the plane if we're late."
They were each greeted with a nod when they made to the jet at 8:59 in the morning."Thanks for the ride Seto! Wow, I swear, this place looks more impressive everytime I see it!"
Seto scoffed. "I am the head of a company that specializes technology. It would look bad if it didn't."
"You just like playing with your dragons!" Yugi chuckled a bit at Teas' accusation against Seto.
Their old friend scowled. "Any sort of public transportation is a security risk from humans and monsters. If we have to travel it has to be this, and I am not delaying any more business because of this mess." There it was. He was waiting for the real reason why Seto would allow anyone inside of his prized jet.
He had them there in 45 minutes flat. "It sure beats taking that boat." Yugi mumbled. It wasn't that he got terribly boat sick, he just didn't like them that much. The last time he took a boat to Duel Academy he spent the entire ride wishing he were already there. "Tell me about it." Tea agreed just as they landed. Seto stepped out first. He was wearing a little microphone as he addressed the audience while the other two were still disembarking the plain.
He stood directly in front of the jet, and Yugi was at his right. Tea stood next to him, subtly squeezing his hand, looking for comfort."I have come to announce a tournament unlike any other, one to beat even the Battle City Tournament, which is still lauded as the most innovative tournament in the world! It will be hosted exactly one year from today and will be called The Second Battle City. But make no mistake, this is not the same tournament! The prizes will be bigger, the competition fiercer, the game itself will be more challenging, and new technology unlike anything you have seen before will be unveiled." Seto faced the audience with the ease of a practiced performer. Over the years he had perfected the art of working up a crowd. The audience of mostly school children held onto his every word as though he were a rockstar or an actor, which was quite an achievement if his own experience with child rearing were anything to go by. He paused for a moment, to give them a chance to react, and then continued. "The first Battle City was one of the largest gatherings of Duelists ever, but this tournament is something else entirely. It will introduce Kaiba Corporation's new Augmented Reality system. They look like a regular pair of classes, but you will find many surprises awaiting you. We will be releasing new details every two months so keep an eye out for the latest announcements! The last thing that we will be announcing today is that the winner will duel Yugi Mutou. Enter, Duelist Academy Students, and show the world what you are made of!"
Somehow Yugi still couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that Dueling him was considered a prize. Yet, looking out into the audience and hearing the sudden buzzing of murmurs from the audience told him that they were excited at the possibility of dueling him.
Seto continued. "Yugi and Tea Muto will both be here for at least the next two hours to answer any questions not related to the tournament. Now Yugi would like to say a few words." Yugi hadn't realized that Kaiba actually expected him to do more than answer questions, so he found himself speaking on the spot.
He handed Yugi the microphone with a glare that clearly told him not to mess up. Why couldn't Seto have confidence in him just this once? Sure he was nervous, but he had done a lot of things while nervous and he had managed just fine! Putting his annoyance aside, what should he talk to them about? Yugi looked to his wife, who only gave him an encouraging smile and motioned for him to move forward. He couldn't tell them anything else about the tournament, so what else could they possibly want to hear from him? He finally looked up at the were all so young. He remembered thinking that he was an adult at that age, but as he looked at them now he saw a sea of faces that had not managed to lose all of their baby fat yet. Some were already fidgeting, and they were still energetic and a tad immature, and possibly scared. For many this would be their first real chance to prove themselves.
"I was seventeen when I first stepped on that ship to Duelist Kingdom. It was my first tournament, and I was the only person with an invitation who had never competed formally. That was nearly 20 years ago, but I can still remember the fear and exhilaration. My grandfather was an excellent teacher, but I knew that I was going to have to face famous duelists like Bandit Keith and Weevil Underwood. I had watched both of them duel on television and knew how skilled they were. How on Earth was a kid like me supposed to win? I reminded myself that if you know your deck, use cards that compliment each other, and have faith in myself and my cards-something that my grandfather referred to as the heart of the cards-then I had a chance. I was no older than one you when I became the King of Games, and perhaps one of you has the ability to surpass some of the best duelists in the world. There's only one way to find out!" Yugi's lips unconsciously curled into a smirk. "I urge all of you to take the leap and try to qualify. You might even surprise yourself! I know I did, and duel monsters has changed my life in more ways than I can count. I've never regretted it." Yugi found that the only way he was ever successful at speaking off the cuff was to pour himself into it. Every word that came out of his mouth was the truth.
He handed the microphone off to one of the teachers. A boy with naturally messy hair like Yugi's at that age approached him. "Mr. Muto, can-" three other kids spoke up at the same time. There had to be a better way to organize all of his-right now he could not hear any individual voices over the babble of the crowd. If he could just find a staff member to take them to the auditorium or lecture hall that the Q and A section was supposed to be held in they could escape the crowd. It was more formal than he'd like, but they were running out of options to manage the crowd. Spotting a staff member should be easy-all he needed to do was look for another adult.
He looked to the children vying for his attention and said,"Excuse me for a moment." They cleared a path for him and he headed straight for a staff member in.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
The man gasped who had been trying to keep some semblance of order turned around to see Yugi and gasped. He looked equal parts frazzled and star struck. Yugi was baffled as to why people treated him like some sort of rock star even after all of these years."Of course Mr. Muto. We were only informed of Mr. Kaiba's arrival yesterday, so are a bit disorganized. There's an auditorium that we use for Dueling competitions. The Q and A session will be held there." He pulled another teacher to the side and explained what was going on. He made the announcement while the other teacher led Yugi there.
The teacher was a stocky man with hair that looked that was beginning to show the first signs of grey. Something about him and the impish sparkle in his eyes reminded Yugi of his grandfather. "Thank you for agreeing to come. The students have been looking forward to your arrival. They can be a bit over enthusiastic, but I am sure that they will be on their best behavior." He noticed that the teacher eyed a group of students standing nearby. "Isn't that right Mr. Takahashi? Ms. Andrews?"
Both of the students were red in the face. They looked up looked up at their teacher. "Sure thing! You know us, we're always on our best behavior!"
The teacher simply sighed and motioned for Yugi to come with him. "Yugi!"
He turned around and saw his wife jogging towards him. "These kids kind of remind me of you when you were at that age! They're all so full of enthusiasm! Although, now that I think about it, it seems like they take it more seriously than even you and Seto did, and that's saying a lot."
Suddenly it dawned on him that he had never introduced his wife or asked for the man's name. Such a lapse in manners at an occasion like this was embarrassing. "Oh, Mr…?"
"Honda."
"Mr. Honda, this is my wife. Tea."
"Hello Mrs. Muto."
"Hi! It's nice to meet you Mr. Honda. We appreciate you accommodating us on such short notice." She paused and then added, "You know, you kind of remind me of a friend of ours."
Mr. Honda shrugged. " I get that a lot. I've been told that I just have one of those faces."
Yugi had been to Duel Academy before so they were spared the usual tour. They did however, try to impress them with their school's accomplishments.
"Last year one of our Alums, Jaden Yuki, won the Championship for the fourth year in a row! I hear that he started off as a bit of an underdog, but we knew right from the start that he had the potential to achieve great things! We're proud of everything that he's accomplished."
Just smile and nod, he reminded himself. A small bubble of anger tried to nudge its way to surface. This was a waste of time. They could be on the way to Egypt right now. It was a small relief that Yugi still retained enough self control to shove those thoughts away. "Yes, Jaden Yuki has come a long way over the years. Hard work and passion can take a duelist far-he reminds me a bit of my old friend Joey." This conversation was turning awkward, and the school setting wasn't helping. When people desperately to impress him he felt like a fraud. As his daughter used to say, he wasn't a celebrity, he was just a normal dad that runs a game shop. He never quite figured out what to do with the attention except to smile awkwardly as someone shoved a picture for him to autograph in his face.
"That's because you've always sided with the underdog." Tea laughed, trying to ease the awkwardness a little bit. She was aware of how much Yugi hated the deference that some people treated him with because of his former title.
Mr. Honda nodded in agreement. "You are absolutely right. To help them with their goals we've implemented a mentorship program where our first year students are paired with an older, higher ranking student. You've always said that the secret to your success, Mr. Muto, was your good mentors. We've taken that advice to heart!"
Yugi nodded, feigning interest. "That sounds like a good idea. No one starts out an expert. We all need advice and mentoring to learn and grow and challenge us." Dispensing this kind of advice made feel older than he actually was. It was exactly the sort of thing his grandpa would say.
They made it to the room with only a bit more chatter and then he found himself standing in front of a podium with his wife sitting in a chair placed in the corner of the room at her request.
"Hello Duel Academy students! My name is Yugi Muto, but I've told that many of you already know that. I'm hear to answer any questions not related to the competition." The room buzzed with anticipation, but no one seemed to want to be the first to ask a question.
Finally someone raised their hand. "Yes?"
"How come you stopped playing Duel Monsters?" The question was asked by a round faced student dressed in Slifer red.
Yugi cleared his throat. He was somewhat relieved that the first question was an easy one. "I have been playing Duel Monsters for over twenty years. To give you an idea of how different the game was, I learned how to play before the first duel disk, so it was mostly played as a tabletop game outside enormous dueling Arenas. Over time it became increasingly intense, and after a while the competition and intensity of the game became exhausting. I decided to retire from the arena so that I could focus on my other commitments and begin to rediscover the joy of playing purely recreationally."
Another hand shot up. This time it was an obelisk girl with a card pendant around her neck.. "Mr. Muto. There's something that I've always wondered. How did you beat the creator at his own game?"
How could he answer this question without having to explain the millennium items? "To be honest, I still ask myself that question. Maximillian Pegasus is a very intelligent and creative individual and knows the game rules inside and out. I think it comes down to everything that I had learned from the people who helped me along the way, my belief in my own abilities, and luck." A little magic didn't hurt either.
"Did you come up with some special strategy to beat him?" A boy with thick glasses asked, his notebook at the ready and most of the students shifted forward slightly in their seats, eager to hear the answer too.
"I tweaked my deck a bit, but what really matters is that your deck works together and you maintain a flexible strategy. You don't want too many spell or trap cards that only work in one specific situation. I knew for a fact that Pegasus had been monitoring the competitions to analyse our strategies, and he had an infinite number of cards at his disposal, so I had to be ready for anything." The one possibility that he had struggled to find a way to deal with was his mind reading, but it wasn't as though he could explain that.
He scanned the room, trying to avoid answering too many question from the same section of the audience. He caught a girl with braids tentatively raising her hand. She was in the process of lowering it when Yugi asked her what her question was. "I have a question for Mrs. Muto, if that's okay."
Yugi motioned for Tea to come and take the microphone. Tea looked at the girl and then the stage in confusion before taking the microphone. "Hi! I'm going to be honest, I wasn't really expecting to get any questions. What did you want to know?"
"As far as I know you've never played competitively, but you've present at nearly every competition Mr. Muto has been in. Is there a reason that you've never competed?"
For a moment Yugi thought that Tea would be embarrassed, but she just scrunched up her face in thought and answered honestly like always. "Truthfully, I like to play for fun sometimes, but dancing is my true passion. I want to devote my time to dance and teaching it the same way that one of you might want to spend your time practicing dueling. With that being said, the reason that I've attended so many competitions over the years is to cheer my friends on. They've worked so hard to get to where they are now, and I want them to know that they will always have my support!" After that question she stepped aside but stood on the stage by his side.
The next question from a sullen looking girl that shook Yugi because of how closely she resembled Aiko. She had the same delicate facial structure and blue eyes. "Lately I've noticed that there's a movement to re-introduce more dragons and spell casters into the game, and I was wondering if you could explain how a modern deck might benefit from these types of cards? My cousin has always been a big fan of the Blue Eyes White Dragon in particular, but I have noticed that she seems determined to find a way to make some other 'classic' cards relevant again." Was it possible that she was a relative of Aiko's?
"That's a good question. You see-"
"Pardon the interruption Yugi boy, but I've come with spectacular news!" Pegasus exclaimed from the hallway. He seemed to enjoy his habit of startling Yugi by showing up without warning. This time he was wearing an almost normal looking suit, although the shade of blue was almost too electric to be traditional.
Yugi stepped to the side so that Pegasus would stand at the podium. "Good morning Ladies and gents, boys and girls, and everyone in between! My name is Maximillian Pegasus, and I am the creator of a little game called Duel Monsters. A little birdy told me that you might know something about that." The crowd chuckled a bit.
"One lucky winner will receive the opportunity to tour Industrial Illusions Headquarters and will receive a special prize . They will be able to pick a copy of any single card to use during the competition! Maybe one day one of you will grace our halls with your talents and unique abilities. Under your seats you shall find a little metal ball. Open it and see what's inside-if you have a green dot you're-"
The audience audibly gasped when the door flung open. "Sorry to interrupt, but this ridiculous game has gone on long enough." Bakura was so heavily cloaked by shadows that Yugi could barely see him standing in the doorway. This time there was something unnatural about him that told Yugi that somehow he had grown more powerful. He confidently strode towards the podium.
Shortly after Seto and his security team appeared at the door. He stood in front looking like someone had just ripped up his blue eyes right in front of him. The clicking of guns being cocked could be heard from where Yugi stood. They pointed the weapons at Bakura. "You're coming with us!" A balding man that stood in front of the rest of the team shouted.
"What happens if I don't?"
"We make you." A short, stocky man came to stand next to the one that had had threatened Bakura. You wouldn't want to force us to gun you down in front of all of the innocent children would you?" If only it were that easy. He'd love nothing more than to point a gun at Bakura and pull the trigger. Objectively he knew why he couldn't. If by some miracle he did manage to kill Bakura he'd also be killing Ryou. Ryou was his friend, of course he didn't want him dead, but if that's what it took he knew that he would understand...what was happening to him? He blinked and shook his head, taking a deep breath. Collateral damage was unacceptable. He would not let anyone die.
"Ah yes, we wouldn't dare take away the innocence of adolescence. Never mind the fact that's been the way of the world for far longer than it has not. By my people's standards they're practically grown adults! However much fun dealing with you lot would be I have more important things to worry about." He created a wall of shadows around the room to keep the guards out but Kaiba,Yugi, Tea, and the students in.
Seto marched up to where Yugi and Tea were standing and made an announcement to the students. "Everyone get down but keep your cards at hand. This man is dangerous but he's still only human." His warning must have sounded odd to the students, but they still did as he said.
Bakura silenced Seto. "That's enough from you Kaiba. You've been promised entertainment and I fully intend to provide it!"
"You mean he's not some sort of creepy ghost or something?" A high pitched feminine voice from near the front asked the boy sitting next to her.
In response he whispered, "I thought he was a demon. Did you see that creepy stuff he did where it got really dark? It still hasn't gone away, and now the security guards can hardly get past the doorway? I don't know what that is, but it's not a magic trick."
"You think that you can walk into my school and threaten the students in front of me? You've got some nerve Bakura! I don't care if you Bakura, a spirit, or the devil himself! You will get out of my school or I will forcibly remove you!" He looked down at the millennium rod. "This hunk of metal has to be good for something!"
Without anymore banter he ordered diabound to attack. For a man quickly approaching 40 Seto was still very fit, especially considering that he had a desk job.
"Shoot him guards!" They raised and then lowered their guns. If they couldn't get into the room then how could a bullet? Seto turned around and raised his rod.
"Shoot Bakura!" The guard raised his gun with blank eyes and pulled the trigger. Somehow the gun made it through the barrier and struck grinning madman. Blood ran down the arm where he had been shot.
Seto smirked. "Like I said, he's only human."
Bakura cackled. "You're wrong! Take a look at my arm now!" He raised it for all to see. The wound was rapidly healing. "Zorc is a part of me. I haven't been completely human in a very long time!"
Even the guards cried out in horror. "What do we do Mr. Kaiba?"
"Evacuate the rest of the school! Keep anyone else from entering. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Mr. Kaiba." Two of them stayed just in case, but Seto's personal body guards stayed.
He smirked at the terrified crowd. He then turned his attention turned back to Pegasus."Enough distractions! I pondered for quite a while about where to stage our game Pegasus, and then I caught wind of this little lottery game and I thought this was absolutely perfect that your last moments should resemble the first time we met." Yugi understood what Bakura really meant by the speech and his theatrics. It was a show of power, reminding them that he was in the position to control where they met in battle. For Yugi and the others this was very bad. Bakura's presence put all of these students in danger and he could not allow that. His mind raced as he tried to find a way to mitigate the damage.
"I can't let you do that Bakura, not here. Let them go! We are at a dueling arena, duel me instead! The winner walks away. Let this be a true game Bakura." Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Unless you're too scared to take on the original king of games." This had to work. A large portion of the school was in attendance and Bakura was blocking the exit. Suddenly he was filled with the overwhelming desire to crush him.
Bakura laughed. "Tempting, but I'm no fool. I have a different game and a different opponent in mind." He turned towards Pegasus. "I'll even give you a sporting chance Pegasus, since I'm feeling rather generous today.
The shadows grew and engulfed the floor of the arena. Someone screamed. "It's simple. We'll duel just like in the old days, only I won't even make you use your own Ka if you don't want to. Pick any two monsters you want and I'll pick just one for mine. They'll act as our champions. If yours win you'll go on to the next round, and if you lose your soul is mine. This should be easy for you Pegasus. You are the creator of Duel Monsters. You must know every monster in existence." Yugi stared at Pegasus, hoping that somehow he could subliminally get a message across. Yugi could think of a few monsters that were incredibly strong but he hoped that Pegasus would have the strength not to summon. What would happen if he tried to summon an Egyptian God or Exodia the Forbidden one? There was a reason that only one copy was made of those cards!
Bakura summoned Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. An ancient looking tablet appeared and the monster stepped out of it. Tea looked at Yugi in question and he cringed in response. It was powerful. It had 2700 attack in the game, so it was not a weak monster. Still, these days 2700 was no as unbeatable as it might have once seemed.
Without a hint of fear Pegasus stared at the monster with narrowed eyes. The wheels were spinning in his head. He had a plan. "I summon Mystical Elf." A beautiful blue elf emerged from a tablet of her own. What was Pegasus doing? "Next I summon Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" A second tablet appeared and a fairly small, cartoonish dragon stumbled a little as it moved to stand directly in front of Pegasus. Smugness seemed to ooze from the ancient spirit when he heard Pegasus' choices.
"I remember that card. That's Blue Eyes Toon Dragon. It's so cute...how can it stand any chance against that?"
Yugi leaned over to whisper to his wife, "It has the same attack as a regular Blue Eyes." Even though she was not a duelist she had witnessed enough duels with Kaiba to understand the significance of that.
"But why summon Mystical Elf? Is it because of its defense? Didn't you used to use it as some sort of shield?"
"I think that Pegasus is counting on Bakura playing dirty. He says that he wants a traditional Egyptian style duel, but this is the spirit of the millennium ring that we're talking about." Yugi snorted "I wouldn't put it past him to take what aspects of the modern game he likes and not inform Pegasus until after the fact. I think he's realized this and is approaching this like a modern duel. Don't forget, even if Pegasus didn't have the eye he still knows Duel Monsters like the back of his hand. He designed the game, after all. I've heard that even though he's not directly involved in character design as frequently as he was in the beginning, he still approves every card."
She furrowed her brows. "I still don't see his plan."
"You'll know it when you see it."
"Since I'm feeling generous today I'll let you go first, although how you'll win with those two is a mystery to me." He laughed in an unsettling way. Yugi wanted to punch him, and this time it might not have been the shadows talking. That sort of smugness always got on Yugi's nerves. That was the same laugh his childhood tormentors won.
"Mystical elf, attack Bakura's person directly!"
"Can you do that?" Tea whispered.
Honestly, he wasn't sure. "If it was treated like an actual battle...maybe. We only saw bits and pieces of the Pharaoh's memory. Who knows how many of the intricate details we missed?"
The monster was smaller than it's regular counterpart but it was fast. I dodged Bakura's monster and hit him directly.
"Now that wasn't very sporting of you!"
Pegasus pov
Bakura still knew how to play by relatively modern rules, and he had no doubt that he would use them to twist this game. He might have tried fool him, but Pegasus was aware that Bakura was not content to play by the old rules when the new ones would be to his advantage. That's why he attacked with Mystical Elf. Truthfully it was the first low attack monster that came to mind. It was one of his original cards and he drafted it on a canvas himself. He had a theory to test. "Mystical Elf, attack Bakura's person directly!"
"Defend me!" Bakura's monster jumped to his defense but the elf dodged him and cast a spell directly at him. The force of the attack knocked Bakura back a bit, but he steadied himself.
"My turn! Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, attack him directly!"
Both of Pegasus' monsters stood directly in front of him and successfully shielded him.
Now he Turned his Blue Eyes Toon Dragon on Bakura. He had chosen this monster for his own personal attachment to toon monsters. It crushed Gorz the Emissary of Darkness easily. Too easily, in fact. It had occurred to him that Pegasus might might him to win this round so that he could put on a spectacle for the second in order to showcase his power.
"Now now, that's unsporsporting of you. You're much more fun than Yugi. You don't disappoint do you Pegasus? Let's see how you fare on the next round."
The shadows became thicker and he heard it. Her voice was like a melody always playing in his head. How could he ever forget it? When he let his mind be still he could hear it. There was something so purely beautiful about the person that you love, even with all of their imperfections because as time and distance had taught him, the small things didn't matter. It didn't matter that she liked to casually drum her fingers on the table when the room was quiet, or that she piled her desk and the floor on her side of the bed so full of books that she insisted on climbing across him at night just to go to sleep. Well, that might have just been an excuse to kiss him, but she really didn't need to go through all of those theatrics just for that. Isn't that what he was doing? He thought to himself. He was just playing this ridiculous charade knowing that he was about to die because some phantom that looked just like his wife was watching. How pathetic.
There was something off about her voice anyway. It had an air of coldness that she didn't possess, like an angel on their throne of righteousness sitting above the world watching it burn.
He looked up at her in question and she smiled, "This is it Max," she said in a voice that cut straight through his heart. Tears burned at his eyes but he wanted to giggle like a child. She sounded so much like her, his darling Cecilia. He should have known since the goddess had a face that very much resembled hers, but he had thought nothing of it. Of course a goddess would have her face. It was only natural. There had always been something divine about the love they had shared so that was the most believable part of the whole shadow game business. "This is your judgement day. Here the wicked will meet their reward, whether it is the fiery pits of hell or the waiting jaws of amat. You have piled sin upon sin on your soul." More quietly she said, "Let us see if you have redeemed yourself." Even as spoke the words that might damn him he found himself drinking in every last word like a man dying of thirst.
Pegasus bowed with real reverence. "What task do you wish for me to perform?"
"The task is simple. You will find out if your heart is light enough to safely cross the bridge." He took a breath and resigned himself to the loss of his soul. He had done too much harm in his youth, and he was still a businessman. He had lied, murdered, cheated, and dared to covet that which no living man was meant to obtain. Still, he had the boyish impulse to impress the beautiful woman gazing down on him so he decided that if he was going to lose his soul he would do it with grace.
He squared his shoulders and strode across the bridge to his destiny. With his head held high he made his way across the rickety bridge two planks at a time. No amount of tip toeing would save him now, but old habits died hard. Despite the awesome power granted by a certain artifact he was still only human. It creaked and shook with each step, but somehow he made it across. How on Earth was his soul light enough to cross? He had lied, kidnapped, stolen, and allowed greed and desperation to rule him. He coveted something that he had no right to. If there was any logic to this game of Bakura's he should have already lost his soul.
On the other side of the bridge was a crowded city The smell of car exhaust and sound of delivery trucks coming to a screeching halt all seemed more real than anything Industrial Illusions or Kaiba Corporation would ever be able to create. Of course they had their virtual reality consoles, but even the best virtual reality never quite had the ring of truth. Bakura dealt in arcane and dangerous magic that Pegasus would not touch even in the height of his madness. If he closed his eyes he could sense the difference. On the surface these were normal shadow games, however there was something more lurking underneath. His shadow messengers and ability to travel with the shadows were beyond the scope of the magic of the seven millennium items . So was creating this kind of false reality. According to Yugi the last time the shadow games were released the arena was covered in shadows or limbs or body parts would be made to disappear, but no illusion was ever so complete. The sheer power behind the illusion was extraordinary.
The Cecelia look alike walked into the road and faced him. "This is your true task, my darling. Choose-wisely."
Two children crossed the street without looking. From the distance he could see one of his own monsters approaching. It was heading straight for the girls and Cecelia. Suddenly everything became clear. Bakura was using the darkness in their own hearts against them. It was a brilliant plan, because if it ever came down to Cecelia and someone else, even himself, he would choose her every time. Intellectually he knew that this woman was only conjured up from his memory, but his instinct screamed for him to save her. So that is what he did. He grabbed her arm and threw them both to the side at the expense of the children.
A wave of hysteria bubbled up and he found himself laughing. No matter how many times he tried to change, no matter how many times he tried to move on, he made the same mistake over and over again. He took in the sight of his beloved one last time and closed his eyes. The image of her would have to sustain him in his own personal hell until all of this was over. Yugi was far stronger than he ever was-he would do what was right whatever the cost. They would win, and their victory would free him and the girl. "I suppose that this is it my dear."
Without warning her beautiful face morphed into Bakura's. "You've chosen wrong."
"I'll be taking that!" Bakura violently tore the millennium eye from his socket and he was engulfed in pain. He was unable to hold back the screams that erupted from his chest because it was simply too great. They did not stop until he found himself unable to scream because he was too far gone in his own living nightmare. The shadows forced him to watch his wife die over and over again a thousand different ways. Sometimes it was the sickness, but other times it was Zork or one of his own monsters. With every new death he swore that he could hear her-or rather Bakura's- words echoing"Here the sinner will meet their reward." For that is what he was, a sinner, and he could not decide if he was sorry or not.
Yugi pov:
Tea gripped his hand so hard that he was starting lose feeling in it. Neither of them dared to voice their doubts about the outcome. They couldn't see what was going on inside the bubble created for Bakura's illusion, but they strained their ears in hopes that the would be able to hear something.
His stomach dropped when he realized that when the shadows faded only Bakura was left standing. "Really that was just too easy! He was even easier than the girl! For a moment I wasn't sure that she would give in. Pegasus on the other hand, for one of the so called 'good guys' his heart was filled with shadows. All I had to do was resurrect his dead wife and he gave in just like that."
"You monster! Who do you think you are?" Tea yelled.
"I'm the viper. I can do whatever I want because you don't have the power to stop me from striking! I will bring about a new new era, and if the likes of Pegasus are all you've got I might as well stop bothering with you all together!" He ran out the door, shadows disappearing behind him, and the students screamed. With no way out the students were forced to stay near their seats. Some sat there in wide eyed shock, some were clinging to each other, and a few of the more clearheaded students were beginning to make their down the arena floor.
A student with a red uniform approached them. He wouldn't meet their eyes, but he still asked his question. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but we've gotta know...what happened? Is that guy gonna come back?"
It was Seto who responded first. "No child, he will not return to this place. Now leave so that I might have a word with these two." He waved the child off.
Tea looked at him oddly. "Are you okay Seto? There's something different about you."
"I assure you that I am fine."
"That's good to hear sir. Are you certain that you do not need to accompany me and Mr. Pegasus to the hospital? You do seem to be acting a bit odd."
"Who are you to question my word? Go take that foolish man to be healed. I will take care of everything else."
"We should leave now so that we can get ready to go."
They quickly walked to the plane with seto two steps in front of them. He paused in the doorway.
"Seto?"
"I can't let you leave. If you do will lead the entire world to ruin. After all that has happened I cannot allow that to happen. If you will not yield to my wisdom I will force you. Of course I would rather not use force with my cousin's vessel and a lady, but we all must make sacrifices."
A twinge of irritation ran through him. "Priest Seto! You can't do this. I'm running out of time!" Yugi pleaded.
A loud pop sounded and Seto collapsed. Mokuba appeared the pilot's chair in the cockpit From a distance it was hard to tell, but it looked as though he was holding a stun gun. He had only ever seen them in movies, so he could have been wrong. "I was afraid that something like this might happen. Roland notified me about Bakura and then when I arrived he briefed me further on the situation and described my brother's odd behavior. Priest Seto has threatened him before, so it wasn't a huge leap to realize what was happening. He showed them the stun gun."That's exactly why I always keep this on at hand. It's just a stun gun, so he'll be fine, if a bit grouchy when he wakes up. When he made me test it on him the first time he said it made him feel hungover."
Tea stared at him in surprise. "He let you test a stun gun on him? Isn't that...you know, dangerous?"
"Well yeah, how else were we supposed to make sure that it worked on him? You can't really trust something that you haven't designed yourself without testing it first." Now that he thought about it that is exactly something that he would expect Seto to do. He looked at where his brother was lying on the ground. "Now come on you guys! Yugi, help me drag him on board. We'll have to handcuff him to a seat."
Neither man was particularly tall or strong, so Yugi took hold of his legs and Mokuba grabbed his upper back and together they carried him like a large piece of luggage. When Mokuba produced the handcuffs Tea's eyed them doubtfully. "Are you sure he'd be okay with this."
"These are his orders. He told me to handcuff him if he ever becomes a danger. If Priest Seto is still there when he's awake I'll try to reason with him, but considering he's so much like my brother…"
"We should probably just hope that Seto wakes up." Tea asked with a worried voice.
"If not he'll have to stay handcuffed until we get there." The younger man shrugged casually, but he could tell by the way he straightened his back and the hard glint in his eye that he swallowing his feelings about this. Even though Mokuba was a grown adult he was still as devoted to his older brother as ever. "Now come let's go. I'll give you an hour to pack and say goodbye to Akari. I'll pick you up and drop her at my house so that my wife can keep an eye on her. My wife is one of the only people I know who is as fierce as formidable as my brother. She'll be okay while we're gone."
"Are you sure we won't be able to convince Joey, Mai, and Tristan to stay?"
Tea snorted. "You do realize who you're talking about, right? They'd find a way to get there without us, and the last thing we need is those two boneheads doing something stupid. I'm not sure that even Mai is a match for them combined." Those two were now mostly responsible adults, but they were still loyal to the point of stupidity and neither had grown out of their tendency to jump head fast into complicated situations when their friends needed them. Most of the time it was endearing, but now he really wanted those two to stay. They didn't have items, and he would much rather know with absolute certainty that his friends would be safe and would be there to look out for Akari and Mokuba's son in case something went wrong. Still, they were grown men, and if they were intent on going with Yugi and the rest nothing would stand in their way.
Yugi took Tea's hand. "It's going to be okay. We'll only be gone for a few days and then we can tell her all about it when we get back."
Author's Note: Hi guys! This was a pretty short shadow game but it's one of my longer chapters (between 17 and 18 pages). This was probably the second shadow game that I wrote, but I shelved it because the time wasn't right. I was going to completely re-write it, but in the end I I liked it. Of course I've edited and written another draft, but the bones of it came from a piece of an earlier chapter that I had rejected. I always knew that Bakura would use Cecelia to torture Pegasus, but other parts of this chapter were a surprise even to me. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. Next chapter we should get to hear from someone that we haven't heard anything from in a while. It should be interesting. Things should really start picking up from here. I'm not certain exactly how many chapters we'll have left, but if I had to ballpark it I'd say about six chapters not counting the epilogue? It might be slightly more or less, so don't hold me to that.
Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!
-TheEagerScribbler
