Part Five
The Duelist Kingdom Party Tournament was nearly over, and the final, largest feast of them all was taking place in the inner courtyard. All the prizes had been found and won, and every single duel was completed and decided. About six hours before, the monitoring computers had been shut off so no one would know who won the main money prize. No one really cared about that, knowing it had to be one of three people. The duelists enjoyed themselves this last time, while they all waited in enormous amusement to find out who was the Heir. At three that afternoon, Pegasus would make his last speech and announce who was his Heir. Still no one had figured it out, not even Mokuba Kaiba, who had been brave enough to learn about how the inner courtyard contained a dueling arena. Everyone thought the Heir must have had a really low IQ if he hadn't been able to figure it out for himself. Pegasus had definitely not picked out the Heir at random from among the duelists. There was some kind of major familial, financial or friendship related connection between the Heir and Maximillian Pegasus .
The inner courtyard was beautiful, and there was a different arrangement of lights and decorations. There was more of everything in the inner courtyard: fancier food, chattier duelists, highly complex lights that danced about the room and roof, and live music. There was also an increase of the good-will-towards-your-neighbors-spirit, with Christmas so entirely near. Each duelist was receiving a present from Maximillian Pegasus, and they were loaded around the pool and away from the guests. A few duelists had not received any prizes, so Pegasus was trying to make up for this by making sure every person left with something new in his suitcase.
Mai sat at a collective table with Mokuba, Kaiba, Joey and Yugi. Seto Kaiba sat in a frozen position, his eyes on the Christmas tree most of the time. He was dressed in clothing similar to what he usually wore, except that his pants were dark red. A silk, red shirt with long sleeves went up to his neck and was lined with small gold buttons. His brother had forced him to sit with Yugi and Joey on the bribe that Seto could use the Silver Millennium Time Dragon when he wanted. Mokuba, in a blue sweater and jeans, sat beside his brother and winked at the other table guests. Out of nowhere a Santa Clause hat appeared on Kaiba's head, and Mokuba quickly took a picture of Seto Kaiba right before his brother yanked it off angrily. Seto Kaiba turned pink, realizing the other duelists were trying to swallow their laughter, and plopped the hat on top of Mokuba. Mokuba had expected this and grinned widely, not minding it like his brother who acted so dignity-bound.
Just about then, Pegasus walked on to the stand. He too wore a Santa Clause hat on his head, though his long white hair poked out defiantly. Pegasus didn't pass very well as the magical toy delivery guy. A sprig of holly was attached to his dark vest, and Pegasus twisted it around until the music shut off and the duelists went quiet. One of the guards walked up to him, dressed in bright green instead of black, and handed Pegasus an envelope. Pegasus cleared his throat, even getting Seto Kaiba's attention, and then he began speaking. The man was actually kind of nervous, as he was announcing the Heir in just a few minutes. He secretly kept his eyes on the purple eyed beauty of May, in a black gown, hair pinned away from her face, and her angel pin glittering under the lights. Mai looked perfectly calm and drunk some eggnog.
"I have the winner of the Duel Party here!" Pegasus announced, and he opened the envelope and read it. It wasn't either of the people he had expected! The billionaire nearly fell over, as it was a large surprise. He barely even knew the name on the card, "Cartis Mayhem won the tournament."
Cartis Mayhem was the third name on the list the last time I checked, Mai looked at both Yugi and Kaiba. Both of them seemed perfectly calm and unmoved by being ousted as winners. Mayhem must have won more duels than either of them, which meant he had been trying really hard to get that money. Of course, Kaiba didn't need the money and Yugi didn't really care about the grand prize. If anyone was contented with his or her life, Yugi Motto qualified. Both of them clapped like the rest of the audience for the young, bitter chocolate haired duelist who was nearly bounding up the stage. Pegasus shook his hand and gave him the prize, and then Cartis practically flied back down and to his table. Winning the Duel Party had turned Cartis Mayhem into a sprite. Mai couldn't help giggling at his ecstatic behavior.
Once again, one of the green suited guards walked up, but this time handed a drink to Pegasus. Pegasus briefly examined the beautiful glass with both eyes, watching it reflect the colored lights from the tree behind him. The liquid in it was a pale pink lemonade, and three ice cubes clinked lightly against the glass as he swirled it around. He took a sip and placed it down, but his hand still griped it tightly. He just noticed that everything had gone very still, which only made his anxiousness worse. The duelists cared more about knowing who the Heir was than about the prize money! True, rumors had been brewing for three long days, but it was humorous. This was the kind of thing soap operas were made of, not Duel Monsters tournaments. Pegasus clipped off a smile and got himself under control for the next segment.
"Now the moment we've all been waiting for," Pegasus stated the truth with ill humor, but many in the audience smiled in reply. Pegasus turned his gaze towards the area where Cecilia's niece was sitting. With Mai's hair and clothing like that, she looked something like his wife when she had been a teenager. The similarity, which he had failed to see before, hit him a little. Mai actually looked more like Cecilia's rebellious younger sister Sophia, but Pegasus hadn't seen Mai's mother since she began college. It was because of Sophie Mai really did not have any idea of her family and heritage, but Pegasus didn't exactly like Cecilia's stiff family either, "This entire tournament was in honor of my Heir. Now I finally get to announce his-or rather her- identity. The Heir of Maximillian Pegasus, me, is Mai Valentine."
The scene couldn't have been stranger. First no one registered the name, as it seemed so anti-climatic compared to the anticipation that had built up to this moment. Most people knew of Mai Valentine, and all eyes turned on her table. The residents of Mai's table all stared at her, but Mai was actually the last one to absorb it. Mai then started to laugh right out loud, a laughter that echoed throughout the inner courtyard as a disbelieving bell. Pegasus stood and did not move, for he had guessed she would have this sort of reaction.
Tears were streaming down from Mai's eyes, but her laughter died enough for her to speak. She was clutching her middle, red faced and shaking. She looked at Pegasus and managed to force out, "You are kidding, right? Me? Me!"
"She has a point," Kaiba pointed out to Pegasus, in equal disbelief. Mai shook her head, and boldly walked around the pond and to Pegasus, who was waiting for her. It was time for an explanation, and that included spelling out just who her relations were. Mai had not yet made the connection between them, but she would soon. Mai still laughing, Pegasus silently led her through a door and they went outside. They walked to his tower. He pressed a red button, and the brick moved, revealing a golden elevator which carried them both to his private sanctuary. Mai tried to speak to him, but Pegasus told her to wait because he wanted to show her what he meant. If she saw the evidence, then Mai would be more likely to accept the truth before she left for Domino City that evening.
With her high heels clicking against the floor, Mai and Pegasus stepped into the tower. Like the rest of the island, this room had recently been redesigned. They were still inside four simple brick walls, but the curtains, desk and furniture had been changed. A picture of Cecilia hung on the wall still, matching the larger version in his formal dining room. Mai looked at the picture in true recognition. Pegasus flopped into his turning chair and picked up a small family portrait sitting on his desk. In the picture were Cecilia, Cecilia's parents, that idiot Sophia had married, and Sophia holding a two-week-old Mai. Mai looked extremely irate, more than any baby Pegasus had ever seen. Mai had really loved to sleep as a baby, and when woken up just glared at everyone but Sophia. He had dug the picture out after deciding to make Mai his Heir, trying to remember as much about her as he could.
Mai walked over to him. Her eyes widened and Pegasus asked, "What do you see when you look at that picture on the wall?"
Mai stared at Cecilia's portrait for a moment, and she turned back to him, "I see a rather pretty lady that looks familiar. I have a feeling I've seen her before; I got the same feeling when I looked at the same picture in the dining room last year. Who is she?"
"My wife," Pegasus looked at the picture, feeling really sad right then. He looked at the two, Cecilia and Mai. There was something of a family resemblance there. She was probably wondering why she hadn't seen his wife around anywhere, "but she was also your aunt, and your mother's sister."
"Aunt Cecilia?" Mai warped around and stared at the picture with large eyes again. Memory began to dawn on her, and she examined the picture very carefully. It was really her dead aunt. Cecilia had died when Mai was about three or so, so Mai barely knew her face, let alone remembered her. She absorbed this, and put the idea through her mind. If Cecilia was her aunt, than Pegasus was sort of her uncle, at least an uncle she had never heard of before. Mai crossed her arms over her chest, and breathed in deeply, trying to ground her mind. There were a lot of uncomfortable thoughts going through her head.
Pegasus is my uncle. I'm his chosen heir for Industrial Illusions. I could some day own Industrial Illusions. My dead aunt was Pegasus's wife, Mai then was hit by the reality of what was going on. Her mother had really loved Cecilia, but there had been conflict between Sophia and her parents. After Cecilia had died, most of those relationships had been cut. It was no wonder Mai had not known about Pegasus. Up to this day, things remained along those lines. How would her mother feel about Mai becoming the heir to Pegasus?
"I've all ready spoke to your mother. She understands," Pegasus answered, knowing exactly what she as thinking. He ran his finger along the gold frame, "You don't have to become the Heir, you know. It's your choice, and you have until you're done with college to decide."
Mai stared at him, and she was completely silent. This was a an enormous decision to make, but she was comforted by the fact she had quite a few years to decide. Pegasus drummed his fingers on the table and turned to open his desk. He had documents in her name, which represented the stock she owned, whether or not she accepted the position. He got up and handed them to Mai, who looked down at them and took them from his hand. Right now she seemed something like the irate baby in the picture, which Pegasus thought might mean Mai was suddenly tired, or wanted time for contemplation. He certainly couldn't blame her, and he also handed her a Christmas present, as all the other duelists were getting their own by now. Hers hadn't been in the piles because it was more expensive than a dueling deck carrying case, or a Duelist Kingdom sun visor and water bottle. It was small and impersonal, wrapped in silver ribbon and metallic purple paper.
"Merry Christmas Mai," he told her quietly, escorting her to the elevator, "Have a good trip home."
"Merry Christmas," Mai replied with a weak smile, and she disappeared behind the golden door. Pegasus only saw his reflection in the bent surface, and then the door disappeared to be replaced by an empty hole in the wall. Mai looked at her own reflection all the way down in odd spirits, and was met by Joey and Yugi at the bottom. She knew she would be seeing Maximillian Pegasus again, likely very soon. The Duelist Kingdom Party Tournament had turned out to be much more than she planned. Mai had won several prizes and earned a new relative, as well as a possible corporate position. Mai looked at Joey and bit her tongue, having a funny feeling she had also found something else, though Mai wasn't quite ready to admit what that was. Joey placed one arm around Mai and one around Yugi, which made for rather awkward walking. Mai almost told him to knock it off, but he probably just had consumed too much eggnog and too much of the joyful holiday spirit that was swamping Duelist Kingdom. Mai stared at Joey and sighed, thinking that she could use some use of that happy attitude at the moment. Then again, wasn't it right there, for both her and Pegasus? They just had took look around for it.
End Notes: The duelists returned to Domino City safely, and Mai returned home to her mother. Over the next year, Mai and Sophia became acquainted with Maximillian Pegasus, and Mai learned to accept Pegasus as her uncle. Pegasus's life, though far from perfect, was improved upon gaining a close relationship with his young niece. He spent his time working on Industrial Illusions and Duel Monsters cards, and slowly introduced Mai to the corporate world. Mai and Joey eventually formed a relationship, and while Mai had not yet even chosen to become the Heir, she began to make suggestions to help out her uncle.
Elsewhere, Mokuba sharpened his dueling skills, and Seto Kaiba learned what a useless task it was to try and control the Time Dragon. When testing the card out, the Time Dragon indignantly flamed one of Seto Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons and sent his life points down the well, after Kaiba tried to force the Silver Millennium Dragon to attack one of the computer's monsters. Kaiba also ignorantly set a magical force loose in the world when he gave a British artifact to his brother Mokuba. It a pristine silver torc that looked so new, no scientist would ever believe the torc was nearly three and a half millennia old.
A number of the Silver Millennium Items were finding owners around that time, and Shaadi had known that Mokuba would be the owner of the Silver Millennium Torc. The Silver Millennium Items were cousins to Millennium Items, each one silver and its shape usually symbolizing its powers by cultural or scientific aspects. While Silver Millennium Items had no power to call upon the Shadow Realm, being inside the Shadow Realm offered interesting magical opportunities. One was a technique that invoked Gray Separation, the realm in which Silver Millennium Items thrived in. Yugi Motto's second cousin, Kayssandra, moved to Domino City and became friends with Mokuba soon after. She also received a Silver Millennium Item, and it was Kayssandra and Mokuba who discovered the Torc's dangerous power: traveling through time.
Mai decided to become Pegasus' Heir in her first year of college. Having enjoyed the Duelist Kingdom Party Tournament, she insisted that Pegasus hold a similar one. Mai helped plan the "Duelist Kingdom Party Tournament Unlimited," and invited duelists that included those who had never even participated in any Duelist Kingdom events before. This time, the Silver Millennium Sun Dragon was one of the grand prizes. It was won by Kayssandra, whose item was the Silver Millennium Sun. Mokuba and Kayssandra all ready often competed together in team duels, and because of this, Pegasus' dream was fulfilled. He got to see both of the Silver Millennium Dragons on the field together.
(finished January 26, 2003)
