"I swear to Ra, I will embed that dagger deep in his arrogant head for this!" Malik seethed. He didn't even have the energy to get out of bed at the moment, so instead he sat in the middle of it with the sheets in disarray around him. The Egyptian growled and lowered himself back into a laying position carefully. He kicked the wadded sheets out from under him and glared back at the ceiling. Kaiba had this planned all along, he just knew it! Setting up the tournament so he could steal the god cards and Rod from him. And here Malik had just come to destroy the Pharaoh. Now he was involved in a much more twisted plot with more players than he would of thought possible. It was all Isis' fault, he was sure of it. His sister had gone and tried to `save' him yet again. He got some satisfaction from the fact it didn't quite turn out how she had wanted, Kaiba turned on her in the end. Or so Malik assumed, he didn't really know what had made Kaiba vie for the power the items held but just assumed his sister had planted something in his head that Kaiba twisted out of proportion.
Malik could have kicked himself, because in the beginning of this all he actually had sided with Seto.
"Fat lot of good it did me," he snarled. The bleach blonde grunted before he called for a servant. Everyone had been avoiding him as of late, he had a habit of making them share his pain. Those that didn't wind up with broken ribs or arms at least had nasty bruises. Eventually they got smart and started making his more unique servants aid him. Malik didn't just collect rare cards, he had his eye on the small number of monsters that had actually escaped the Pharaoh's magic so long ago. Up until recently he had three of them, but since his first, Lilith, was bound to the Rod he lost her when it was taken from him. He was left only with the Feline of the Magicians who somewhere along the line earned the name Rae and... the other one whose name escaped him at the moment. He wasn't fond of that one, that's why he went to great lengths to forget what it even was. Rae was the one to walk in now, she was not happy in the least. The feline walked like a human, even spoke as well. She was an anthro by definition and able to do anything a human could as well as extra.
The spellcaster suppressed a look of disgust before she bowed slightly. "How may I serve you, master Malik?" she said in a forced, even tone. The Halloweenish witch hat she wore tilted about then and Rae took it off, letting a mane of brown hair fall to her shoulders. Her bangs were tipped in a brilliant blue which looked out of place compared to her overall brown and white colors, but yet complimented her nicely at the same time. Her whole outfit had that sort of childish Halloween costume feel to it, a direct conflict to the level of power she held.
"You can start by fixing the mess this room is in," he snapped. When he had trouble sitting back up, he glared hard at the feline until she helped him. "Then once that is taken care of you can find Rishid for me. See if he has completed his task of getting what we need for the finals. I flat out refuse to sit by and do nothing, I will come back on Kaiba when he least expects it!"
Rae tuned him out after he finished giving orders, she couldn't wait until someone shut him up. At least Lilith had been taken, the other monster was a jealous mess and always thought Rae was trying to come onto Malik. She couldn't be more wrong, Rae hated him with ever fiber of her being and yearned to be free once again.
"Are you even listening?" Malik growled at the magician.
"Yes sir," Rae replied with a slight bow.
"Then why are you still standing there. Get to work!" he boomed before shouldering his hooded robe. "I swear, all of you are incompetent. At least Lilith pulled her weight, even if it was in hopes I'd take her in my bed."
Again Rae made a face, she didn't care if he saw her or not this time. It was no secrete that she and Lilith didn't get along. Come to think of it, Lilith didn't seem to get along with other women at all. She thought they all were out to steal her master from her. Malik left the room and Rae let out an audible sigh. "Freak," she growled out once he was out of earshot. The feline wasted no time, she began to straighten his room like he had asked. If she spent enough time making everything perfect, the other servants would have to tend to Malik. They knew that once one was involved in a task they weren't to be pulled from it unless Malik had asked for them. And someone had better be ready to pick up the slack or he would take it out on all of them. Rae rolled her eyes, what was his problem anyway? "Hi, my name is Malik! I lived under a rock and now I'm mad!" she said in a mocking tone. "Ra, I want to get out of here so bad," she told herself. It was hell, she didn't want to be a trophy. Well, she may have been one but he didn't treat her as such. She wondered now if imprisonment in the other realm was really that bad. At least she could have escaped the torment now. She promised herself that she wouldn't let any of the other free monsters share her problem. There were only two others she knew of, so it would be easier. Rae shook her head, she needn't be thinking of such things yet. He had lost interest in claiming other free monsters for the time being, he just wanted revenge on Seto and the spirit of the Pharaoh. Her eyes drifted to the clock, it was some time after nine pm. With luck she would be allowed to rest soon. But not before she went out and found Rishid to check on his progress. Her shoulders slumped and she paused in her work for a moment. It was just one thing after another. If she finished this quickly she may be able to escape further task assignments. After all, Malik did lose his means of contacting anyone from anywhere at any time. And for that Rae was grateful.
Mai stifled a yawn as she stumbled down the hall and into the kitchen. She could tell it was going to be a long morning, being groggy was always a sure sign of that. Cloey was still asleep she assumed, the apartment was quiet anyway. The blonde set about making herself something to drink, coffee made her turn her nose up so they didn't even have a pot for it. She shrugged and settled for orange juice, it was in front of everything else anyway. She poured herself a glass and slid a chair out before taking a seat. Her brow furrowed and her eyes settled on the salt and pepper shakers in the middle of the table. After a while she looked right past them as her mind wandered.
Things sure have changed recently, she thought to herself. Who would have guessed that Kaiba Seto would turn out to be such an oddball. At first... I didn't want to believe that the tacky golden trinkets so many people had were anything special. I've seen too much to not believe now. Real monsters, real magic. And Cloey and I are so close to the heart of this. Yuugi, Ryou, that weirdo Malik and the other mysterious woman. And now Seto, all touched by this thing more than anyone else. Cloey, she's had contact with Seto. I need to keep her away from him, we may have our differences but she's still my sister. Maybe... Main sighed. Maybe I need to go back and see how Yuugi's doing. After all he and the others have done for me it feels wrong to just try and ignore them now.
"What, no breakfast?" Cloey asked suddenly.
Mai jumped as if she had been shot and knocked her half full cup of orange juice over. "Cloey!" she sputtered while getting something to clean her mess.
"Yes! Me!" her sister replied with a raised brow. "If you're that tired, just go back to bed," she mumbled after a yawn. "You were like, zoned out or something when I came in."
"Just thinking," she shrugged while moping up the juice.
"About last night? Please, I think we said all that needed to be said once you came home," Cloey said sourly.
"Not that," Mai shook her head. She rubbed her cheek with the back of her right hand and sighed. "About everything else. Yuugi, Seto... this underground secrete mission deal the tournament is a cover-up for. That."
"Oh yeah. That. At least you haven't had a run in with that freaky bird woman and batwing head."
"Who?" Mai questioned, utterly confused.
"Um, the person possessing Ryou and his purple pet thing. If Seto hadn't of been there, I don't know what I would have done." Actually, it was because of Seto the other two were even around that day. Cloey had just gotten mixed up in the whole thing and now thought Seto was the greatest person in the world for saving her hide, even if she mouthed off at the time about being able to handle herself.
"Cloey, how come you never told me about this? I don't want you going off alone, it's too dangerous!" Mai insisted.
"I. Am. Fine," Cloey stated firmly. "I don't see the big deal, everyone's just flipping out over glorified holograms and hideous golden thingies!"
"Are you really that dense?" Mai asked in disbelief.
"No, I'm not. As far as I can tell just the weird people are involved. Split personalities, some messed up woman in a winged costume and a desire for said gaudy gold things plus three measly little cards. They're all nuts but whatever, you know. So long as they aren't mugging people or holding someone hostage let them play their game," she shrugged.
Mai barked out a laugh and ran her hand through her hair. "What I would give to be as naive as you again," she sighed.
"Naive, please," Cloey snorted. "I'm the one with reason. And once you get past the weird game being played, Seto's not that bad of a guy," she shrugged.
"I don't want you near him, Cloey. I mean it."
"You're my sister, not my mother. I can make my own damned decisions," the younger of the duo growled out.
"Yes, you can. But I'm telling you that you're missing the big picture! This isn't a game anymore, it's serious and I'm worried about you!"
"Like you're worried about your friends? Judging by how you seem to have cut ties with them one would think you've turned your back."
"Enough of this," Mai blurted out. She sighed and put her hands over her face before sliding them down. "Fine, do as you will. Just know I don't like you spending time with Seto, I know more than you realize about the situation but I don't know it all. So excuse me for being cautious," Mai said. She walked quickly past Cloey and back into her room where she slammed the door.
"Yeah, good morning to you too," Cloey muttered under her breath.
Jounouchi slid into the seat across from Tyldak, he gave a short glare to his monster but said nothing else.
Tyldak rolled his eyes and rest part of one wing on the table while the other rubbed between his eyes with the thumb joint. "Ok, I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear?" the bat said at length.
"Sorry about what?" Jou prompted.
"For being so rude to Yugo the other day," he replied quietly.
"What was that?"
"I said I'm sorry I was snappy at you and Yugo," Tyldak spoke up.
"Thank you. Now was that so hard to do?" the blonde asked.
"Yes actually. You won't believe who put me up to it."
"Who?" Jou asked.
"Seraph Reaver. She gave me a kick in the nether regions to emphasis her point. Ok so the kick was for something else, but she was right."
"Her, right about something? Oh this is a first. So what did Bakura's little whore have to say?"
"You speak so harshly of her," Tyldak blinked. "She said you were still you and it didn't matter your orientation."
"I am still me. For once she did have something good an' useful to say. I suppose now everyone's full of surprises," he scowled. Jou was infuriated with Kaiba, Yuugi would hardly speak to anyone now and it was all his fault. How many sides where there? Malik had been exposed before he could even cause harm to others, there was the demented spirit of the Ring and now Kaiba. All seemed to be after their own goals, none were working together from what he could tell.
"Yugo's still here by the way..." Jou said to break the silence that had set in.
"I know," Tyldak said as he tapped the side of his nose. "That and my ears are much better than a human's. You two ever vanish in the apartment again and I'm going to pull a disappearing act myself."
"Yeah, you do that," Jou snorted.
"Look, I don't like it but I'm not going to stop it, ok? Just like I can't change your mind you can't change mine. We're even, ok?"
"You seriously need to get laid, man."
Tyl's muzzle scrunched up in a look of disgust.
"By a woman, damn Tyl. You think I only see the world one way now? You're hopeless," he sighed.
"Yes well, the one I have my eye on is taken and there's no hopes of getting her so I'm not interested," the bat replied while folding his wings before him.
"So help me, if you mean that purple, horned freak of Bakura's... she's the only one I know you associate with."
"Needn't dignify that with a response," he said flatly.
"I don't really care either way," Jou shrugged. "And I'm going to drop this now, before Yugo wakes up to yelling. I'm fixing breakfast for he and I, want anything?"
"No, I think I'll go snag something from the park. News said they had a rodent problem, I'll go help them with it. Fresh meat is always best."
"Just don't eat someone's pet this time. If it has a collar, tags or not, it belongs to someone."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tyl snorted before he rose to his feet.
"You're late, we were supposed to meet thirty minuets ago," Naki said with the wave of her finger once Cloey arrived.
"Mai was being a drag, sorry," she shrugged. The blonde checked her looks once more in her compact before she closed it and slipped it back into the small purse she carried. "So, where to first? A store or just chill for a bit?"
"I'm up for a walk downtown, see what catches our eye," the red head replied.
"Fine with me. Bus's free today anyway, some ploy to make more people take it and other public transit rather than driving."
"With neither of us driving anyway, it's not like we have a choice," Naki laughed.
"Yeah I know, right? Mai wouldn't trust me with her car anyway."
The sun was still fairly low in the sky yet already the streets were alive with duels. Those trying to get to work were once again forced to take alternate routes or be blocked by throngs of by-standers gawking at the holographic battles. The tournament was slated to have ended by now, but Seto's little side venture had made him allow more time for duelists to gather what they needed. In the extended time, some became bored and even though they qualified for the finals they returned to dueling others. No one could pass up the chance to better their decks apparently. That would be their down fall, late entrants had snuck in and some that had been disqualified before found a way to worm back in. Seto didn't care really, he had most of what he wanted already. Though it did irk him a small amount that things could get so out of hand, he had taken the time to track down all who had been previously eliminated and claim all their locator cards. Any that were taken from legal entrants were returned, those who were eliminated in a duel with a previously eliminated person were reinstated. Seto couldn't get their cards back however, he had no idea if someone was lying about the rare card they lost or not.
The CEO still thought it funny that some figured they only needed to win about five duels to complete the map that lead to the finals. Who was to say they wouldn't end up dueling someone that held a locator they already possessed themselves? As a rule no one was to allowed to examine the other's locators before a duel. Just present them so both knew they weren't lying about how many they had. It wasn't until the duel was over could the winner see the locators and take the amount he had right fully won. Seto himself had gotten many a duplicate, but he didn't care. If these duelists were foolish enough to challenge him in the first round he was more than happy to eliminate them from further rounds. There were only so many of the final card, eight to be exact. So that was the hardest to find. In fact there was an order to it, the first was the most common and the ones to follow became rarer. Of course none were as rare as the final. Those who were lucky enough to have received the final as their entry one already had a huge advantage. It was just a test to see if they could hold onto it. And since Kaiba now held one of those eight, apparently someone couldn't keep it. Since he had decided to duel before the finals, the participants would now be even. He had originally planned for nine. He was already assured a spot then eight more would work their way in, making someone duel an extra time before they could progress was just his way of spicing things up a bit.
Seto frowned slightly, he was certain Yuugi had qualified but wasn't sure if the other would make the finals. That was too bad, he would have loved a rematch. Yuugi would have given his all to reclaim his Puzzle, but it looked that his spirit was too easily broken. It was disappointing to say the least. Still, Kaiba did look forward to a fight from Malik and Bakura. If either thought they could surprise him they were sorely mistaken. There was also the issue of Isis, Seto was positive she was displeased with what he had done and would be back to fix her mistake. That would put all but the final three items in his reach, Seto still believed Pegasus had the Eye and was oblivious to Bakura's ownership instead. He would worry about the Eye once he had what Isis held, that Tauk would make everything so much easier.
"Hmph," Seto said to himself. "Nothing much of interest happening at this point." He had nothing to do now that he thought of it, the command center would notify him of any illegal duels and Mokuba was most likely back with Vince by now. There may be tasks the company needed handled, but the most simple ones he entrusted to underlings. Seto didn't tell them, but each night he reviewed their work to make sure it was up to par. For the most part it was, little needed to be changed or tweaked. With a slight shrug he turned to leave, the duel he was overlooking wasn't anything special anyway.
And there's yet another original character introduced. Rae is going to kill me, she hates Malik ;D
I still don't have a direction for this, I'm just trying to get everyone introed and settled now. I realized I seem to write in twos. Characters are either alone or with just one other for the most part. I also don't know if I want to bring Yuugi and the peanut gallery in or not. I kinda tend to not like dealing with them, I'm so bad.
I fear for the moment I try to bring a big group together. Gah, everyone needs more development first though.
See that last little bit there with Seto? I thought it was amazing as hell how in the series everyone magically didn't get any duplicates on locator cards. I mean come on, what are the chances that on each duel they were in they would get a new card each time? You know as well as I do that Seto went into this with only a set number of one card, that way only eight people could make it. So whatever, I'm still baffled on the luck everyone had.