Next chapter is up. A bit of a heads up, but in case the next chapter ends up being way longer than my usual ones (I already have the events planned in my head.), then it might take a couple of weeks rather than the usual one week. But we'll see how things go. ^^
Chapter 53
Some more time passed, and now it was the middle of April. As it was a sunny, beautiful spring afternoon, Kaiba thought it would be a good idea to take Alex out to the park for their weekly date. Along with the couple, Mokuba and Roland tagged along, as Kaiba thought that Mokuba would enjoy going out with them, too, and taking advantage of the weather. Thus, Alex and Kaiba were walking arm-in-arm through Domino Park. Alex's head gently rested against Kaiba's shoulder, while Mokuba and Roland followed them, a few steps behind. As Kaiba had ensured that there wouldn't be any unwanted intruders to ruin their date, there was no danger of any reporters spying on them or such.
Alex smiled in contentment and commented, "This is the perfect day for a date."
Kaiba replied, "It is, and it's a simple one, just like you prefer."
Alex looked at Kaiba and teasingly replied, "Minus the presence of onlookers."
Kaiba replied, "That's to make sure we won't get spied upon. I know you aren't ready for us to make our relationship public."
As Mokuba could hear the couple, he asked, "Is that why you asked me and Roland to tag along?"
Kaiba turned towards Mokuba and replied, "It's a minor reason, but I thought you'd enjoy going to the park and being with me and Alex like this."
Mokuba grinned and replied, "I'm not complaining, and Alex is right. This is the perfect day."
Kaiba nodded, and then looking at Alex, he said,
"So I thought we'd spend some time here and then we can all have dinner afterwards. How does that sound?"
Alex smiled softly and replied, "That sounds wonderful."
Mokuba added, "Alex is part of the family. All Seto has to do is pop the question."
Alex blushed and replied, "Mokuba, you know it's way too soon for that. We are still in school, after all."
Kaiba smirked and replied, "But we won't be in school forever. We'll be done with that, and then you never know."
Alex replied, "True, but if you do ask me, I would like it to be a surprise. It would be rare to catch me off guard, although you have done a good job with that."
Kaiba replied, "I'll remember that."
The couple continued to talk happily and remained close to each other, while Mokuba would occasionally enter the conversation. Roland watched on, making sure to keep looking out for Mokuba.
Suddenly, though, there was a nearby explosion a little distance away, towards downtown. Mokuba hurried towards Alex and Kaiba and asked,
"What's going on?"
Alex looked worried as well and replied, "I have no idea, but we should check it out."
Immediately, Kaiba shook his head and replied, "No, it's too dangerous for you or Mokuba. You two are staying with Roland."
Alex looked annoyed and replied, "I can take care of myself. I don't need protecting."
Kaiba replied, "Alex, just trust me, ok? You've trusted me this far, and I'm asking you to do so now."
Alex was about to protest again when she saw the slightly pleading look that Kaiba gave her. She sighed and said,
"You make it difficult for me to stand my ground when you're being like this. But fine."
Kaiba nodded, and then turning to Mokuba, he said, "I want you to stay with Alex and Roland, and don't argue with me on this, either. I want you two to be safe. I'll handle this."
Mokuba frowned and replied, "Fine. I know better than to argue with you."
Kaiba smiled a bit and then he addressed Roland, ordering him not to let Alex or Mokuba out of his sight. Finally, he turned back to Alex and said,
"I want you to be safe, so I hope you understand."
Alex replied, "I know, but you're going to be putting yourself in danger. You know I can help."
Kaiba replied, "I know, but if anything were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself. So please stay with Mokuba and Roland, and be safe."
Before Alex could reply, Kaiba leaned in to give Alex a passionate kiss on the lips, which Alex returned. She didn't want Kaiba to go, but she knew that there was no stopping him. However, that didn't mean she would do exactly as he wanted.
The kiss lasted for a few more precious moments, and after it was over, Kaiba let go of Alex and said,
"I'll be back."
Kaiba then ran off towards the source of the disturbance.
Meanwhile, Yugi and Joey were hanging out in downtown Domino City when they noticed the explosion. Nearby bystanders ran away in a panic, wanting to get as far away as possible. Joey ran towards the source of the explosion, with Yugi following him. Yugi called out,
"What are you doing, Joey? We should be running in the other direction."
Joey replied, "Don't ya want to see what's going on?"
Yugi sighed and thought to himself,
Not really, but I don't want to abandon Joey.
The two of them made it towards the source of the explosion, and although there were, thankfully, no one injured or worse, there was a lone man in a hooded cloak hovering nearby, watching the scene in satisfaction. He was executing the last parts of his plan, and he knew that explosion would call the attention of certain people. Yugi and Joey saw him, and immediately, Joey called out,
"Who's dat?"
The hooded figure turned towards Yugi and Joey and replied, "Oh, you two are here. It looks like my little demonstration got your attention. But I see that you're missing someone."
Yugi furrowed his eyebrows, unable to help worrying. Yami called out to him,
He may be the one causing all this trouble, the one Alex and Alexa have seen.
Yugi replied,
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It looks like we may not have a choice.
Yugi was soon cut off from his communication with Yami when he heard hurried footsteps towards the group. He turned towards the source and saw that Kaiba had arrived. Once Kaiba was close enough to talk, he asked,
"What happened?"
Yugi jerked his head towards the hooded figure and replied, "He happened."
Kaiba looked at the figure, who only smirked in satisfaction, seeing that Kaiba had finally made it. Yugi quietly asked,
"Where's Alex? I know this is when you two usually have dates."
Kaiba replied, "She's with Mokuba and Roland. She wanted to come, but I insisted that she stay away. I don't want her anywhere near this danger."
Yugi nodded and replied, "That's probably for the best."
Before Kaiba could reply, the hooded figure said, "Now that all the players are here, let's duel, shall we?"
Joey yelled, "And why should we agree to that?"
The figure shrugged and calmly replied, "If you refuse, I'll destroy your precious city and everyone in it. Call me a villain, if you will."
Joey replied, "Fine! We'll duel you."
Kaiba looked annoyed and replied, "You don't speak for me, Wheeler."
The hooded figure looked at Kaiba and replied, "So you refuse? I understand. You're afraid that I'll defeat you and rightly so."
Kaiba gritted his teeth in irritation, and Yugi replied, "Why do you want to duel us?"
The figure looked at Yugi and replied, "It's simple. I defeat the three of you and take you as my prisoners. You win, and I'll be banished, gone without a trace. Either way, your city will be safe. But refuse to duel me altogether and I promise I won't hold back on unleashing total destruction."
Yugi frowned, realizing that there wasn't much of a choice. He then switched places with Yami, and Yami called out,
"If Kaiba agrees, we'll agree to duel you."
He looked at Kaiba and nodding, Kaiba added, "Fine. If it's to protect Domino and the people in it."
As Kaiba didn't want Alex or Mokuba to be harmed, he felt like there was no choice but to agree.
The hooded figure smiled and replied, "Excellent. Then let's begin."
Alex and Mokuba were running towards the source of the explosion as well, with Roland closely following them. Despite Kaiba's instructions, neither Alex nor Mokuba were going to obey them, knowing that their help may be needed. As the group ran, Mokuba asked,
"So he's finally here?"
Alex nodded and replied, "Yeah, that's my guess. I hope our help won't be needed, but we have to be nearby, just in case."
Mokuba replied, "Yeah, and I don't want anything to happen to Seto."
Roland called out, "Are we not supposed to be away from this? Those were Mr. Kaiba's orders."
Alex looked at Roland and replied, "Technically, all Seto said was for you to not let us out of your sight, and you can see us."
Mokuba added, "Alex is right."
Roland replied, "Yes, but-"
Alex interrupted, "Besides, would you want anything bad to happen to Seto? We won't intervene unless we have to."
Roland replied, "Fine. I think this is a bad idea, though."
Mokuba replied, "We'll be ok, Roland."
The group made it to an alley, which was close to the explosion's source. Alex and Mokuba could see Kaiba, Yugi, and Joey facing off in a duel against the hooded figure. Roland stood nearby although he, too, watched the scene in surprise. Alex was surprised but recognized the hooded figure. Turning to Mokuba, she quietly replied,
"It's him."
Mokuba was surprised, too, and replied, "He's the one you've been seeing? And that woman has seen him, too?"
Alex nodded and replied, "That's right."
She looked on, watching the duel, and added, "I really hope Seto and the others can defeat him."
Inwardly, though, Alex knew that if history was any factor, the hooded figure would be able to take them down.
Mokuba commented, "If it's him, shouldn't Max be here?"
Almost as if immediately on cue, a teleportation portal appeared nearby and from it, Max got out. Once the portal disappeared, Max grinned at Alex and Mokuba and said,
"I didn't expect to see a welcoming committee here."
Alex shook her head and commented, "Normally, I'd welcome your jokes, but you're cutting it awfully close."
Max looked confused and replied, "What do you mean?"
Mokuba replied, "Seto and the others are dueling that man over there."
He pointed towards the direction of the duel, and Max looked on, surprised. He then turned to look at Alex and said,
"Sorry. Cas was only just able to get me here. I got the item from Yusaku and he gave me something else as well, but…"
As Max trailed off, Alex couldn't help feeling worried and replied, "What is it? Did something happen to Yusaku?"
Max nodded and then he told Alex and Mokuba what he had heard and witnessed after Yusaku ran off to enter the virtual world. After Max was finished, Alex took a breath to calm herself and replied,
"Damn it. I wanted to hope that he wouldn't have gone after Yusaku or the others."
She turned to Mokuba and said, "It looks like we might have our work cut out for us. This is the last time I'll ask, but are you sure you're up to this?"
Mokuba nodded, with a determined look on his face, and replied, "I am. You and Max taught me well, and I won't let him hurt Seto or anyone else."
Alex nodded, and before anyone could say anything else, Alex's bracelet glowed, momentarily blinding the group. Once their vision cleared, they could see Alexa along with Yubel, Astral, and the Crimson Dragon. Also, as Max had the flash drive that Yusaku gave him, a projection of Ai appeared. Alexa commented,
"It looks like we barely just made it. What's happening?"
Alex replied, "Seto, Yugi, and Joey are dueling against that guy we've seen, but they're barely hanging on."
As the group watched the duel, they noticed that Joey's life points was about to run out. Kaiba and Yami weren't faring much better. Astral then spoke up,
"Yuma's with him, isn't he?"
Alexa replied, "Yes, that's correct. We'll free him and everyone else, but we're going to have to come up with a plan."
Alex nodded and replied, "Agreed. Mokuba, Max, and I may have to duel him, and we've learned each other's strategies and know the others' cards well enough that we stand a good chance."
Max replied, "True, but I did change up one major thing. You need to know this before we might have to duel."
Alex looked questioningly at Max, which made Max smile a bit. He then told Alex and Mokuba the changes he made in his deck, which surprised both Alex and Mokuba. Alex replied,
"I'm surprised you finally listened to me, but I suspect that I'm not the reason you changed things up. But we can go into details later."
Yubel then asked, "What do you need from us, exactly?"
Yubel looked at Alexa and Alexa replied, "With you, Astral, the Crimson Dragon, and Ai, the four of you can combine your powers to create the ultimate card."
Alex asked, "You mean, like super polymerization?"
Alexa nodded and replied, "Yes, but with their powers, they can create an even more powerful card. I know how strong a duelist you are, and Max and Mokuba are strong as well. But you three will need every help available."
Alex replied, "I won't argue with you there."
She then continued, "Ok, we need to come up with a plan quickly, both for how to approach this opponent and the possible duel itself."
The others nodded in agreement, and together, they all quickly discussed their upcoming actions.
During the duel, Joey had been defeated earlier, and he was encased in that bubble, just like what happened with the other duelists. Now, it was just Kaiba and Yami left, but their life points were almost down to zero as well. However, the two of them continued to stay in the duel. They both understood what was at stake, and Kaiba especially didn't want any harm to come to Alex or Mokuba.
It was the hooded figure's turn, and he drew his card. He smirked in satisfaction, and turning to Kaiba and Yami, he said,
"It looks like I'm going to kill two birds with one stone."
He then quickly made his play, and despite that both Kaiba and Yami tried to activate their face down trap cards, the hooded figure was able to negate their effects. Thus, the duel ended, with the figure being the victor. As Kaiba and Yami were encased in the same bubbles, they were about to be unconscious. Kaiba tried to stay awake, but unable to do so, his last thought was,
At least, they're safe.
Afterwards, the man in the black cloak appeared beside the hooded figure and said,
"Now you've gotten all of them. Your plan will not fail, Master."
The figure nodded and replied, "Indeed, and as an added bonus, I put away that woman."
The man in the black cloak smiled and replied, "Yes. She was getting to be quite the nuisance."
The figure replied, "I should have had you to help me from the beginning, but better late than never."
The figure then tried to put the final steps of his plan in action, which was, in short, to encase the world and every world in every time in darkness. However, as hard as he tried, he couldn't do it. The figure angrily said,
"What's going on? I thought you said I got all of them."
He looked at the man in the black cloak, and the man replied, "You did, sir. I'm certain you didn't miss any important duelists."
He looked to be deep in thought for a few moments and then said, "There's only one possible explanation. With the exception of us, there may be a major time anomaly, and that time anomaly is the reason you can't go through with your plan."
The figure replied, "Time anomaly? That definitely would interfere with my plans."
He looked at Kaiba, Yugi, and Joey, all three of them unconscious. With the snap of his fingers, he willed them awake although they were still trapped in those bubbles. He turned to them and asked,
"I'll only ask this once, but which one of you knows about the time anomaly?"
Joey angrily replied, "What are ya yappin on about?"
Kaiba and Yugi looked at each other, getting a bad feeling that they knew the answer to the hooded figure's question. The figure saw their look and said,
"Now you will tell me of this time anomaly."
Kaiba looked annoyed and replied, "And why should we? It's not like we know anything- Ahhhh!"
The figure snapped his finger and electric bolts shot from the sides of the bubble, attacking Kaiba. They weren't enough to kill him but enough for him to feel the pain from the shock. The figure then angrily said,
"I said I'd only ask once, but I'll be generous and give you another chance to answer my question."
Kaiba replied, "Then you're wasting your breath."
The figure replied, "Have it your way."
As the figure was about to send more electric shocks at Kaiba, Alex suddenly emerged out of the alley she was in and said,
"Pathetic."
