Michael=Gaia the Fierce Knight (sorry Gaia fans!). Chihiro, Sapphire, and Haku=Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragons. Brendan=Flame Swordsman. Black Jade=Red Eyes Black Dragon. Aoibheann (pronounced EE-vahn or something to that effect)=Mystical Elf. Amaguri=Kuriboh.Celestina=Change of Heart (who, I note, is a MAGIC card).
And in response to lily22's query, yeah, I watched Spirited Away in Japanese class. Two of the names, Chihiro and Haku, appealed to me, so I used them. *mild SA spoiler here!* The original Haku (Kohaku something actually- something so long it's no wonder he forgot it) was a dragon, but he wasn't quite as obnoxious as the Blue Eyes who has his name- gomen to Haku fans! *spoiler end*
WARNING: This fic has less-than-flattering opinions about the duelists we all know and love (at least some of us do).
Part Two: We who are about to die salute
you
Chapter Five: The Beginning
of the Journey
15 August
Three Blue Eyes White Dragons; now if only he had reached Mr. Motou before Kaiba had he would have four. Of course having all four in a deck was against the rules, but so was making your own cards to fit your various tight situations. Being King of Games gave him certain… privileges, after all.
But he would have to make do with three.
And when Yugi-boy had finished off the rest of the competition, including Mr. Joseph Wheeler, he would have to deal with three Blue Eyes once again- without Exodia. Then again, he'd still have that Kuriboh, and Multiply, not to mention Living Arrow and Mammoth Graveyard, but what were the chances…
"Sir? We caught this crazy kid dressed as a card. Should we-"
Pegasus turned to see two guards. "Was there another?"
"Yes, sir, but that one jumped out the large window near the guest rooms with the… younger Kaiba."
"The guest rooms? Tell me, did a certain Yugi Motou take any notice of all this commotion?"
"Yes, sir. We sent him away."
"Oh. I do hope you were polite about it."
"Um, yes, sir."
"And this other intruder jumped out the window with the younger Kaiba boy?"
"Yes, sir."
"All right then. Please send someone to clean up the blood. I hate mess."
The guards turned and looked at each other at the exact same time; they looked like twins. Pegasus pulled out a Funny Bunny camera and snapped a picture, which turned their attention back to him. "Um, sir… it's not our job to send people."
"Croquet was recently dismissed. It's the job of one of you now."
The guards pointed at each other and said at the same time, "He's perfect for the job."
"Oh my. I suppose I'll have to assign both of you to his vacated position." Pegasus ignored their horrified expressions and continued. "Now, bring in the intruder you did catch."
He was brought in with a large retinue of guards, standing so close to him (presumably for fear that he might pull a gun or something) that at first Pegasus couldn't see him at all. "Move," he snapped, and they did, quite promptly.
This "kid" (no, not a kid in the same category as Yugi Motou or Mokuba Kaiba, more like a kid in the sense that Joseph Wheeler was one) was not so much dressed as the picture on the card or the hologram than looked just like the picture on the card or the hologram. The same fair hair, which had become considerably disheveled during the battle Pegasus had neglected to watch. The same long, pointed ears that would, if folded, go straight across his face. Even the exact same color cloak. Pegasus's right eyebrow raised just a little bit when he noticed the absence of the sword, but it went back down when he saw one of the guards holding it with eyes so big it implied this particular sword, considering the owner, might bite.
Unless the eyes of Maximilian Pegasus were deceiving him big time, this was, to all appearances, the Celtic Guardian.
He had been forced into a kneeling position by two of the guards, who also held his arms behind his back. He was looking straight at Pegasus with those light brown eyes narrowed in hostility just like on the card; Pegasus found himself thinking of the wolves at Domino Zoo.
"Um, sir?"
"Ah yes. Take him someplace where I can watch him."
"Would the… recently vacated one do, sir?"
"Yes, that will do quite well. Just bring in some more chains, and it will be quite satisfactory." Pegasus turned away from the accusations in those eyes. "And then get yourselves all to bed and do not, I repeat, DO NOT disturb me until morning."
***
"Excuse
me?"
Gabriel
turned to face his young charge. "Yes, what do you have to say?" It came
out unintentionally harsh; Gabriel winced.
Tears
shone in those big dark blue eyes and made them look like… jewels. He looked
away. "Sorry."
"No,
it is all right. I think we have gone far enough for tonight." As if on
cue, Gabriel suddenly felt all the actions he had performed since Ailill
had persuaded him into this piling on top of him, forcing him down. He
twisted around on his side to look once more at the castle, now a considerable
distance away.
His view
was abruptly blocked by the child, who was speaking again. "Please, sir,"
he said, obviously trying to be as polite and detached as possible (but
Gabriel could see the earnest eyes), "could we please go back and get my
brother? He went there for me and that's why he's there and I ought to
go get him, because he came for me."
Gabriel
opened his mouth to reply, but then he was being dragged down to the ground
again. He wasn't certain what he would say, at any rate.
"Please!"
The pretension of aloofness was gone, and now the child had clambered on
top of him, had begun to shout. "My brother's back there! We've got to
go back and get him, we have got to!"
Before
he could even think of a reply, let alone speak one, Gabriel had shut his
eyes and faded into the dark.
***
(Well
hello to all!)
Michael
had just gotten nicely begun on the point of his rant, and was therefore
… somewhat miffed.
(Excuse
me, Black Jade, but some of us are speaking here!)
(Hey,
Mikey, lighten up already! Some of us know da meanin' of fun!)
(Do not
call me Mikey!)
(Sure
thing, Mikey)
Morgan
smiled in her mind, and her smile translated itself across the kything
lines- (It be nice seeing you, Jade)
(Sure
thing, Morgan. Hey, Sweet Chestnut!)
Amaguri
squeaked right back- (Hey!)
(And
hi, Miss Evie!)
(Well…
hello, Black Jade)
(Aw,
c'mon, just Jade is fine wi' me! And Lill shoulda said somethin' by now,
shouldn't he've?)
Aoibheann
hadn't finished- (I see no reason for an abbreviation. Why is it that you,
Black Jade, have picked up your Master's grammar and Brendan has not?)
('Cause
Dan's a stick in da mud even if he's Master's favorite. Hey, c'mon,
speak up, Lill, I know you're there!)
Morgan
sensed that neither Aoibheann, Amaguri, or Michael was about to tell Jade
(whose heart, she knew, was in the right place even if their only common
bridge was Ailill) why his "best pal in two decks," as he put it, was silent,
so she took it upon herself to inform him-
(Ailill
and Gabriel have gone for to see our Masters. They cannot kythe to us)
-and
got the expected reaction.
(What
the-? Lill's gone off? Good for him! But Gabe? Isn't Gabe kinda not the
kind of person who'd just skip on outa the deck?)
(He left
because he was casting the spell, Black Jade. He never would have done
so otherwise)
It was
obvious that Aoibheann was trying more to convince herself than convince
Jade.
(Oh,
ya think that's why Master's not duelin' the Eye Guy after all?)
For a
moment the only thing on the kything lines was startled silence. Then Michael
shattered it.
(Our
Masters are not dueling? Inconceivable!)
(Oh no,
Mikey, it's real conceivable. He was talkin' to Dan, see, an' Dan
heard him-)
Morgan
interrupted, knowing he wouldn't care- (Wait, Jade, but how could Dan hear
your Master? Not even Gabriel can… not even Gabriel could hear ours)
(Maybe
he didn't talk to ya or somethin'. And maybe it's 'cause he listens
to Dan, not just talks like yours, Morgan. So Dan heard, an' he told me,
it bein' pretty big news an' all)
(Pretty
big news? Pretty big news? Is this all this is to your frivolous
little dragon mind? PRETTY BIG NEWS?)
(Hey,
if ya don't mind, Mikey- no, wait, whether ya mind or not, I could tell
you some things 'bout frivolous little knight minds. I still can't
figure how they decided to make ya the Dragon Champion of all things. Ain't
a Dragon Champion supposed ta have at least a little bit a' tolerance
for dragons?)
(it wasn't
like he had any tolerance for Jewel)
It was
a private thought; Michael hadn't heard it, but still she rebuked herself.
She'd tried so hard to forget Jewel, tried not out of disrespect for him,
but because if the kything line was continually filled with grief for Jewel,
everyone would eventually go insane from the emotion.
Michael
hadn't any tolerance for Jewel. He was so spiteful sometimes that Gabriel
would take it upon himself as Master's second-favorite to give Michael
a mild reprimand- Gabriel never had sharp words.
She guessed
that Michael had behaved like that because Jewel was the pride and joy
of the Master before the current one of this deck, the favorite (though
a fat lot of good that had done him), the rarest one by a long, long shot.
Not even Gabriel could hold a candle to the precious object that was what
Jewel was labeled as.
But of
course Jewel was much more than a precious object.
He almost
never dueled; for the first time Morgan had met someone that shared her
thirst to duel, to show their masters what they could do. But Morgan was
too weak and common; Jewel was too powerful and rare. The irony.
And of
course their Masters could go on about their comfortable little philosophy
about the heart of the cards (Morgan doubted they sincerely believed in
the existence of her and her compatriots; it just made a handy little thing
to lecture the opposition about), but still they admired the best kind
of cards. And having numbers lower than Gabriel, Michael was left behind.
But since
Jewel had gone, since the deck which had all her friends had changed Masters,
things had changed. Things had changed a lot.