Chapter Five:

Behind the Mask

The Opera Populaire was holding their annual Christmas Masquerade Ball. All around, the guests were dressed up as different Duel Monsters, chatting and dancing with old acquaintances.

Pegasus, dressed as the Witty Phantom and accompanied by his Mystical-Elf-disguised wife Cecilia, was talking in the corner to Kaiba, who was dressed as the Lord of Dragons and accompanied by his Trap-Master-disguised little brother, Mokuba.

"Kaiba-boy, what a splendid party!" laughed Pegasus as he poured himself some wine, "The prologue to a bright new year!"

"Quite a night," agreed Cecilia, "I'm impressed."

"Well, one does one's best," Kaiba replied sardonically, as he got himself some wine.

"Here's to us!" Pegasus and Kaiba clinked glasses.

"The best in all the city!" Pegasus said.

"What a pity that the Phantom can't be here!" smirked Kaiba.

Yugi entered the ballroom, dressed as a Maha Vailo, to the sound of bright and cheerful music.

"Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade,
Masquerade!
Hide your face so the world will never find you!

Masquerade!
Every face a different shade,
Masquerade!
Look around: there's another mask behind you!"

Joey, dressed as the Flame Swordsman, waved at Yugi from the food bar. Yugi rushed over and greeted his friend.

"You look awesome, Yugi," Joey told him with a broad grin.

Yugi smiled sheepishly. "If you say so…"

Joey looked at the dancers, before looking back at Yugi. "Want to dance? Just for fun."

Yugi shrugged. "I suppose."

Joey took his friend's hand and lead him to the dance floor. With a little difficulty Joey put his arm around Yugi's waist, and the two danced around the ballroom with the best of the dancers.

"Masquerade!
Grinning yellows, spinning reds…
Masquerade!
Take your fill: let the spectacle astound you!

Masquerade!
Burning glances, turning heads…
Masquerade!
Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!

Joey leaned closer to Yugi, and the smaller boy saw a look in his friend's eyes he'd never seen before: a hazy, almost vacant look.

"Joey…?"

"Masquerade!
Seething shadows, breathing lies…"

"Yugi, I've been meaning to tell you…" Joey whispered, "Yugi…I…"

"Masquerade!
You can fool any friend who ever knew you!"

He couldn't seem to find the words, so he stopped speaking and, to Yugi's shock, kissed him full on the lips.

"Masquerade!
Leering satyrs, peering eyes…
Masquerade!
Run and hide: but a face will still-"

The lights went out, the music stopped and Joey pulled apart from Yugi, all at once. Another guest had entered the ballroom, but from jumping off a high balcony instead from the door.

The guest was dressed as the Magician of Black Chaos, and he straightened up slowly, most of him still hiding in the darkness, but Yugi saw him smirk at the silent directors.

"Why so silent, good monsieurs?
Did you think that I had left you for good?"

Yugi's eyes widened at the sound of that familiar voice. It was the Phantom.

The Phantom came more into the light, walking slowly toward the crowd.

"Have you missed me, good messieurs?
I have written you an opera!"
he sang, before holding up a black-bound manuscript.

Yugi felt his mind race as something the Phantom had said to him echoed through his mind:


"I am not yet finished with it…but I shall say that it is an Opera…"


"It's the Opera with dueling he mentioned," Yugi thought to himself, "The Opera for us…it must be…"

"Here I bring the finished score," the Phantom sang, throwing the manuscript at Kaiba's feet,
"'Night Seductive!'"

There was a silence, and then the Phantom sang again.

"Fondest greetings to you all.
A few instructions just before rehearsal starts:
Young Tea must learn to duel,
Not flirt with all our audience monsieurs."

Tea, dressed as the Dancing Fairy, blushed in fury, and looked ready to jump on him, but Marik, dressed as a Magical Ghost, shot her a warning look.

"Who plays Don Juan should be good:
Don't insult my play with your amateurs.
And my managers must learn
that their place is in an office, not the arts."

Kaiba looked ready to speak, but his nerve failed him when the Phantom turned to look at Yugi.

"As for young Yugi Mutou…
No doubt he'll do his best: he has much talent, yes."

Although Yugi could not see the Phantom's eyes through his mask, he could tell that he was paying attention to nothing else but him.

"He knows, though, should he wish to excel
He has much still to learn…
If pride will let him return to me, his teacher…
His teacher…"

Yugi stared at his Phantom, and before he knew it, the Phantom had seized his wrist and holding it above his head, whispering furious words in his ear,

"Your mind is still mine;
You belong to me!"

With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke. Where he stood was a large trapdoor.

Joey had snapped. He jumped down the trapdoor after the Phantom, before it shut behind him.

"JOEY!" Yugi screamed, slamming his fist on the floor where the trapdoor had been, "JOEY! NO!"

Joey looked around, to be faced with mirrors. Then he saw the Phantom; yet when he tried to hit him, the Phantom vanished and appeared somewhere else. A noose appeared out of nowhere while Joey still tried to hit the Opera Ghost, until someone pulled him out of the room of trickery.

Joey found himself being pulled into a hallway and up some stairs before he saw the candle-lighted face of Ishizu Ishtar.

"Mademoiselle Ishtar, how-"

"Please, monsieur, I know no more than anyone else," Ishizu interrupted swiftly.

"That's a lie!" snapped Joey, "You knew his trick! You knew where I'd gone! You know more than anyone!"

"Please don't ask me, monsieur…"

Joey stepped in front of her and made her stop walking. "Mademoiselle Ishtar, the Phantom has made Yugi his target, and he might hurt her because of my foolish love for him! Please…for Yugi's sake…"

Ishizu looked at Joey carefully for a moment, before whispering, "Very well…"

Ishizu led him into a particular room, closing the door firmly behind her and locking it.

Joey sat down in a chair, before noticing a bureau with a collection of photographs and other types of memoriam on it.

Ishizu picked up a certain picture on it, looking at it broodingly.

"It was ten years ago today…I was very young, about six or seven, and had just joined the dancers at the Opera Populaire. There was a traveling fair in the city led by Gypsies…all sorts of entertainment were there; fire-breathers, conjurors, tumblers…and one certain 'enfant du Satan.'"

"'Devil's Child?'" asked Joey.

Ishizu nodded. "I went into his tent with a few of my fellow students. In the tent was a steel cage, and in the steel cage was a little boy. He had a cloth sack over his head, and he seemed to be holding a single Duel Monster card close to his chest. But barely anyone noticed when the attraction owner went into the cage, picked him up and started whipping him…all to the other girls' laughter and amusement. I, however, looked at this enfant du Satan with nothing but pity and fear, particularly when I saw what was under that cloth bag…"

She shivered a little, before regaining herself. "The attraction owner collected his payments, while the little boy pulled the sack over his head and the other girls left. I, however, stayed a little longer, looking at the poor child and wishing I could help. But knowing I could not, I started to leave. But I was stopped by a scream to end a life, and when I turned around, the attraction owner had a rope around his neck and had wide eyes of death. I stared at the little boy, who took his beloved Duel Monster card from the dead man before looking through a hole in his cloth sack at me. Hearing voices, I grabbed the keys off the attraction owner. I helped him escape, and hid him in the underground passages of the Opera Populaire…it was his playground, and now it's his artistic domain. He's an architect, an inventor, a composer, a singer, a duelist…he's a genius, monsieur…"

"Clearly, Mademoiselle Ishtar," Joey said quietly, "But it seems that genius is leaning toward madness."

Ishizu closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Is it madness, monsieur, or is confused love?"