MY GOODNESS! I forgot! This is the last chapter of the fic! I became so involved that I COMPLETELY FORGOT that the story was about to end! I knew this was going to be a fairly short fic, but still . . . !
Here are the reviewers, for the last time!
Flaming Tigress Mage: I know this doesn't constitute as "soon," but it's an update! And I don't think I could get rid of Menardi if I tried . . . .
Menardi: That's right, author. You're stuck with me for life, which will not be long if you don't update more often.
Vyctori: *gulps*
Shurimon: You're just going to have to find out, aren't you? MWAHAHA!
Myotismon13: Yeah, when I went back and reviewed an episode summary for the duel (didn't manage to capture the eppies on tape, darn it), at first I thought it would be difficult for Pegasus to win sans Millennium Eye, but as I read on, I realized Kaiba didn't exactly duel brilliantly, did he? And as for the cliffhanger, you're going to find out what's going on in this chapter!
Yoshimi Takahashi: Aw, that's sweet, Yoshimi! Thanks!
Yes, good ol' Kaiba. Gotta love him . . . . ¬_¬; And you can be really silly sometimes, Yoshimi, you know that? ^_~
******
*laughs* I must have made you lot nervous or something—I received three reviews almost immediately after posting this! Even Yoshimi reviewed somewhat promptly! ^_~ Thanks a lot!
Anyway, here it is! The last chapter in this fic! O_O Hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to look at the next "chapter" for special thanks, future plans, and so on.
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The next day, though it was the day of the final matches of my tournament, I could barely keep any attention on the proceedings. My darling Helena knew there was something wrong, but I simply could not voice a single one of my suspicions. This frustrated her--she tried everything to ferret out my secret, even tugging on my hair in an effort to tell. All she got from me was a handful of silver strands.
Fortunately for me, the first duel of the day began shortly afterwards, a battle between Yugi Motou and Mai Kujaku. Helena soon became absorbed in the drama on the field, leaving me to my worries. If my grip on her as she sat in my lap was a little tight, my Flower didn't say anything. Most likely, it was because of her absorption in the match, but I think she also could sense my mood. I was grateful for this.
After an extremely close match, Yugi defeated Mai in the duel. Next up was Joseph Wheeler versus Keith Howard. I managed to banish all my worries during this particular fight. After all, it was my best friend playing against a newcomer to the game. Both Helena and I were exceedingly surprised when Joey actually managed to defeat Keith's powerful machine monsters.
"Awww . . . !" Helena pouted when Keith's Life Points registered zero.
Keith seemed unhappy and fairly embarrassed, but all the same, he managed a smile and a wink for Helena, and a thumbs-up for me. I returned his gesture with a calm wave, which made him laugh for some reason. I shrugged. Ah well.
The last match of the day was Yugi against Joey.
Now this is interesting, I thought with a frown. From what I've seen of the two, they are the best of friends. I'm sure they often duelled each other to practice for this tournament--so why do they both seem so upset?
Knowing it was rude, I decided that a quick mind-read would solve this particular puzzle. Perusing Yugi's mind at first, it seemed relatively simple. He hadn't entered the tournament for the cash prize or the prestige, but simply for the joy of a game he loved.
More confused than before, I moved on to Joey's thoughts . . . and was almost overwhelmed by the image of a pretty brown-haired girl whom he thought of as Serenity. Apparently, Joey had sneaked into the tournament to win the three million dollars to pay for an optical operation for his younger sister. If she did not receive the surgery soon, she would become blind for the rest of her life.
So that's what drives him . . . that's why Joey had no duelling glove and one starchip, I realized. Yugi gave him his extra so that he could enter the tournament. I shook my head. Such devotion between those two . . . and all needless, because . . . .
"Daddy!" Helena squeaked. From her insistent tone of voice, it seemed it wasn't the first time she had called me.
I blinked. I must have been mind-scanning longer than I had thought. "Yes, Flower?" I asked soothingly.
"I said, wasn't that a great play Joey made?" Helena repeated.
"I'm sorry, I must have missed it," I apologized.
She gave me a gentle smack with Weebo. "Silly Daddy! It was really good too!"
"Well, I won't miss the rest of the duel--I promise." I hugged her and then focused on the match, which had progressed quite far during the time I had been, well, absent.
I could tell that the duel was paining the two of them almost beyond belief. But one of them had to triumph, and did. Yugi finally defeated his best friend in an incredibly sad defeat. However, Joey took what he thought of as the destruction of his hopes very well.
I picked up Helena in my arms and rose from where I had been sitting. "Joseph, Yugi, what a wonderful duel! You both did admirably."
"Yeah . . . ." Joey mumbled, still numb from his loss.
"Recently, however, it has come to my attention that you, Joseph, entered this duel for a most worthy cause--an operation for your sister." Very recently, I thought, trying not to grin. "I see no reason why you both can't have the three million dollars, so I . . . ."
"Please, Maximillion," Yugi interrupted politely, "but I was going to give the money to Joey myself. I don't need that much money. You shouldn't have to give so much to someone you've just met."
"But I want to," I explained. "I've way more money than I could spend in my entire lifetime--I should be doing more than hosting tournaments with it."
"I'd still rather you award the prize money to Joey," Yugi insisted firmly. "I entered this tournament just to have fun. Being rich would . . . complicate things. My life wouldn't ever be the same."
I stared at him. Yugi was so wise for one so young and seemingly naïve. He had a good, carefree life, and he knew it. Being rich isolated a person from the rest of humanity and caused endless problems. While money could look after some things, it could never purchase others.
"Very well, then. Congratulations, Joseph, on being the proud owner of three million dollars!" I smiled at him.
Joey's friends whooped and cheered, congratulating themselves. Helena wiggled in my arms until I set her down. Then she performed a happy little dance around Joey, squealing joyfully all the while.
"Well, then!" I exclaimed, still smiling. "All that remains is for our battle to be finished, Yugi, and then that's that! I think a brief, half-hour break is in order, so you can relax from your most difficult duel with Joseph. All right?"
"Okay." Yugi nodded. "Thanks, Maximillion."
After the time was up, Yugi and I moved into position. Helena was disappointed that, once again, she wasn't allowed to stand next to me while I duelled, but Keith, who had been observing the other duels, managed to distract her. I gave him a grateful smile and mentally vowed to do something for him later.
"This is the final match between Mr Maximillion Pegasus and Yugi Motou!" Croquet announced officiously. "The competitors will now shuffle each other's decks."
Two of the people working for me carried our decks across the field. Yugi gave my deck a quick shuffle, but I, trusting the boy, decided against performing the same service on his.
Once the decks were returned to their respective owners, Croquet announced, "And let the duel begin!"
Drawing my hand, I concentrated carefully. Yugi had proven himself to be quite the duellist, and I wasn't going to let myself become overconfident. While it was true I was almost unbeaten in Duel Monsters, the same could be said for Yugi.
At first, the duel seemed as though it was going to be disappointingly simple. I managed to pick up Toon World and place it on the field relatively early on. I had thought since my battle with Kaiba that it was rather unfair to use a card with almost no weaknesses, but I knew that no card was invincible. Yugi would just have to find its weak spot on his own.
Imagine my surprise when, after a tense first half of the duel, Yugi managed to pierce my defences and destroy Toon World. After that, the fight tottered between my advantage and his. We each put out our sneakiest, most complicated moves. As soon as I was able, I performed the necessary actions to summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict. I was feeling confident--no one had ever beaten me when I used that particular card. But then Yugi, in a stunningly creative move, used a combination of Kuriboh and Multiply yet again, as well as the Magician of Black Chaos, to destroy my Thousand-Eyes Restrict, as well as the remainder of my Life Points. I had lost by a margin of only one hundred Life Points.
I smiled and shrugged. "Ah well. Congratulations, Yugi! You're an excellent duellist, well worth the title of King of Games."
Yugi glowed. "Thank you, Maximillion!"
"Now, Croquet, if you'll hand Yugi the special surprise I made . . . ." I turned to Croquet expectantly.
"Sir, you have the surprise," Croquet corrected me.
"Don't be ridiculous--I gave it to you." I folded my arms.
"Uhh . . . I don't think so."
"Well, it looks like the excitement of the tournament knocked all thoughts of the prize out of my head! I won't be a moment!" I turned and speed-walked out of the room.
"Daddy!" Helena called. "I want to come!"
"I'll only be a few minutes, 'Lena," I assured her. "It wouldn't be worth the bother."
"All right." Helena's content voice was just barely audible as my long legs covered the distance to the northwest tower. It was my private study, and where I had concealed the check for three million dollars and the bonus I had planned on giving to Yugi.
Finally arriving, I quickly found the envelope and bonus and turned to head back down the numerous stairs. However, my way was blocked by a medium-sized figure. Its face was in the shadows, but it wore a large ring of gold around its neck.
I sucked in my breath, recognizing the necklace from the previous night. "You! You were in my room last night! And--and you're the one who caused such an adverse reaction with my Millennium Item! Show your face--who are you?"
"How perceptive of you, Pegasus." The person walked forward until I could see them.
"But you're the not-Bakura from the Shadow Realm!" I gasped. "You were banished! How are you able to be here?"
The person who was but was not Bakura gave me a twisted smirk. "I am the darkness, so I am never able to be swallowed by it. You have something I want, Pegasus." The Millennium Ring around his neck glimmered malevolently.
"Well, you're not getting it," I informed him defiantly. "You've left me with a sour taste ever since I met you. The past has shown me that anyone who actively collects Millennium Items is never up to any good."
He favoured me with a condescending look. "My, my. We certainly have done our homework, haven't we? If you are so well-informed, I think you know what's coming next."
"A Shadow Game," I whispered.
"Of course, this won't be easy for you, Pegasus. After all, I've had thousands of years to perfect my technique. And you? Barely a fraction of a lifetime."
"You--you've lived for thousands of years? How is this possible?" I stared at him, shocked.
"Oh dear, obviously you're not as well informed as you led me to believe, Pegasus." He seemed to be enjoying himself. "Certain of the Millennium Items contain spirits within them. The Millennium Ring, for one. Or the Millennium Puzzle." His glance slanted sideways at me to check my reaction.
Since he was so looking forward to proving my ignorance, I kept my face blank, though inwardly, my thoughts were whirring. No wonder Yugi seemed to be so different--there must be another person inhabiting his body when he duels, I realized. And no wonder his memory seems to be so--scattered.
"Let's just do this!" I tried to sound brave, although I was sweating. The winner of a Shadow Game could claim anything as a reward, even the loser's soul. There was no way out of this situation--I had to be victorious.
"As you wish!" A ray of blue light shot from the eye engraved on the central part of the ring, and the dangling points lifted themselves away from the spirit's body.
I was taken unaware and was nearly beaten before the battle began, but recovered enough to send a beam of crimson brilliance to match and meet the spirit's power. At first, I was able to push forwards, and it seemed as though I would win. However, inexorably, I began to lose ground. Sweat trickled down my face as I poured all my energy into the duel. Yet I knew I was going to lose . . . .
Without warning, a wide ray of gold light joined me in my battle. I couldn't look away from the spirit to see my saviour. But, with the person's aid, the two of us managed to bear down on not-Bakura so that he lost, flying across the room to slam into the stone wall. He was instantly knocked out.
I turned my head, and to my surprise, discovered the older version of Yugi was the one who came to my aid.
"Thank you!" I declared fervently. "But how did you know to help me?"
"A warning from my puzzle told me I had better follow you, and so I did," the spirit of the puzzle explained in his deep voice. "It seems as though it was a good thing, too."
"That's for sure!" I exclaimed with feeling.
"What should we do with Bakura?" the young man queried.
I considered things carefully. By rights, as the victor of the match, I could claim Bakura's Millennium Ring. However, I wasn't sure I wanted what came with it—the evil spirit. What I really wanted to do was rid the world of that monster. What if . . . .
"Um, whoever you are, I was wondering if you could help me once more," I requested, feeling foolish for not having a name to stick to him.
"My name is Yami, and so long as your demand is reasonable, then my answer is yes." Yami sounded amused.
"Thank you, Yami. During my travels in Egypt, and when I was learning how to use my Millennium Eye, I discovered a spell that would allow me to transfer souls to inanimate objects . . . ."
A wide smile lit Yami's face. "I see. And do you have any inanimate object in mind? Something that you wouldn't mind being, well, haunted?"
"Well, I've never been overly fond of that chair over there." I shared his mirth. "So, on the count of three?"
Yami nodded.
"Then--one, two, three!" Just as the spirit of the puzzle was recovering, our two spells hit it, and before he could throw up a defence, his soul was transferred to a rather ugly, heavy chair that was sitting in the corner.
"Excellent." I held out my hand and Yami shook it. "Congratulations on a job well done!"
"Thank you." Yami nodded gravely, although there was a sparkle in one of his deep violet eyes. "You did a fine job yourself."
"Yugi!" Téa's voice cried.
Our heads turned and we watched all of Yugi's friends, his grandfather, Mai, Keith, and Helena last of all spill into the room. As they entered, Bakura emitted a low moan, drawing their attention to him.
"Yugi, what didja do ta him?" Joey asked, staring at the stirring Bakura.
"It's a long story . . . ." Yami smiled and began to tell the tale . . . .
* * *
"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" I inquired wistfully.
"Yeah, I don't want you to go home!" Helena pouted.
Yugi smiled down at her--although not too far down. "Yes, I'm afraid so. We've all missed a lot of school, Grandpa needs to relieve Mum from running the Game Shop, and Joey wants to bring the prize money back home to his sister, Serenity, so she can have her operation as soon as possible."
It was a week after the tournament's most unexpected conclusion. Helena and I were standing on the wharf, seeing off Yugi and his friends in my yacht. Both Flower and I had known that the time would come when they had to leave, but we had been hoping it wouldn't be so soon.
"If any of your teachers complain about you being absent for so long, just send them to me," I told them. "I'd be happy to straighten them out for you."
"All righ'!" Joey grinned. It seemed he had been worried about what was going to happen to him when he returned to school.
"That's the last of the bags," one of my security guards informed me. "Everything's packed."
"Thank you, Jen." I looked at my new friends solemnly. "Well, I supposed this is goodbye, then."
"Just for a while." Bakura smiled. The lump on his head that he had received via his inadvertent participation in the Shadow Game was healing quite nicely, and he bore no hard feelings. On the contrary, he was so cheerful at the loss of the spirit that had burdened him for so long that it was almost annoying.
"I'll miss you . . . ." Helena wiped her eyes with the hand that wasn't holding onto Weebo.
Téa crouched so that she could look Helena in the eyes. "We'll come back to visit. You'll see us again soon."
"You mean it?" Helena gave her an irresistible look.
"I do." Téa nodded seriously and gave Helena a hug. Then, standing, she announced, "Well, let's be off! We don't want to wear out our welcome, here!"
Joey sighed exaggeratedly. "Yeah, Téa!"
They boarded the boat. Then the yacht sailed away from the pier. Yugi and his friends stood out on the deck and waved. Helena and I returned the gesture as the mid-morning sun glittered off the so very blue ocean.
As I waved, I glanced down at the top of Helena's blond head. How blessed I was, I mused, to have such great new friends, and a perfect daughter. Though I missed Cecelia every day, having her daughter by my side was an incredible comfort.
"Come on, Flower! We're missing the first part of Funny Bunny!" I called out as I caught sight of my watch.
"Oh no! Daddy, let's go!" Helena took off running as fast as she could, and, laughing, I came behind her. Life could never be bad, so long as Helena and I were together.
~Fin.
~ * * * ~
Vyctori: And that's it! But don't forget to read my special thanks to all those who reviewed consistently--you get an honourable mention.
Menardi: And my lazy author will reveal her plans for the future . . . for anyone who cares.
Vyctori: Menardi! *sighs*