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Fanfic Chapter 6: Oh Brother
Episode Basis: Everything's Relative.

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!: While searching for food, Yugi and the gang stumble upon Mako Tsunami, the champion ocean-base Duelist. Dueling for the prize money so he could buy a boat and go searching for his missing father, Mako and Yugi dueled by the ocean-side. Mako's sea monsters were dominating the match until Yugi turned the tide literally by destroying his moon card. Yugi won two star chips from Mako making the total number of star chips he earned to date 5.


The boy threw the rope he made by tying sheets together over the window then tied tone end to the bed. He then shimmied down. He didn't even get half-way down before he ran out of sheets. Before he could climb back up, however, the sheets came undone and he fell. Fortunately, he fall was softened somewhat by high shrubbery.


Croquet was Pegasus' right-hand man. He stood by his master's side like a fateful bloodhound and did what he was told. That didn't mean he liked it though. One of the tasks he hated was delivering food to the prisoner in the tower.

"All right, you little brat, here's your daily gruel," he said opening the door to the cell. He gasped when he saw the rope.


Pegasus' dining room had two paintings that were hung side-by-side. One was of a dark-skinned man in a turban and cloak. Around his neck was a strange ankh-shape necklace. The other picture was of a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes in a purple dress.

It was here that Pegasus normally went to relax, eating caviar, drinking champagne and reading his favorite manga. He was having the time of his life until Croquet entered.

"Master Pegasus, a thousand pardons, sir."

"Imported caviar, fine wine and my favorite comic book; times like these are more precious to me than any other, you do realize that, don't you?"

"But the prisoner has escaped?"

"Which one?" Pegasus asked as if it didn't really matter.

"The boy we imprisoned in the north tower. I have my men searching island but... we hadn't found him yet."

"I guess he didn't appreciate my hospitality. Well, no matter, I know where our little escapee is heading." He lowered a view screen. "He'll seek out Yugi. Computer, give me a status of the Duelist Kingdom Duel Monsters Tournament."

"Six hours have passed since the tournament began," the computer said as it showed various dueling matches. "Twelve of the participants have already been eliminated and are currently being deported off the island by boat."

"I see... and what of Yugi Moto?"

Yugi's profile came on the screen. "Yugi Moto had gained five star chips."

"How wonderful, I expected no less. He is determined to work his way up in the standings in order to gain entry to my castle, which is exactly what I want Little Yugi to do. We'll just keep our spy-cams trained on our little star Duelist. Eventually, the little run-away will confront Yugi for reasons of his own."

"Very wise, sir," Croquet complimented (though no sincerity was heard).

"Actually, the boy escaping fits perfectly into my plans. And I have such special plans in store for Yugi today. Plans I hope he finds as entertaining as I do." Pegasus erupted into another laugh, this one more sinister than the one he was displaying before.


"Wow, Yugi, I can't believe you already gained five star chips," Tea said looking at Yugi's glove.

"Yeah, you're half-way there," Harold added.

"Pretty soon, you'll have enough star chips to enter the castle and rescue your Grandfather," Tristan threw in.

"I wish I had more star chips."

"Don't worry, Joey, you're doing fine. You'll be able to help your sister out soon."

"I hope so," Joey said thinking of Serenity's last message to him.

Suddenly a loud scream penetrated the quietness of the forest. "Help me!" Someone cried. Yugi and the others rushed to the source and found a kid being strangle-held around the neck by a black-suited man with a piece sticking out.

"Let that kid go!" Tristan demanded winding up for a K-O punch and settled for a Judo throw. To everyone's surprise, the man landed on his feet and came back with a flying kick that dropped Tristan.

"Tristan!" The others shouted.

"Drop him, big hair, or I'll drop you," Joey said. "Come on, Harold, let's get this clown. You hold him down, I'll beat him up! Harold?" Harold looked frozen.

"I... I can't," he admitted.

"But that kid's in danger!" Joey protested.

"Joey, that's not your every day thug, that's one of Pegasus' guards!"

"That's right," the guard revealed. "The name's Kimo. Pegasus pays me to enforce the rules around here."

"What do you think you're doing to that little kid?" Yugi asked.

"That's none of your business," Kimo said but apparently decided to tell them anyway. This brat lost all of his star chips and now I'm kicking him off the island."

"But I didn't lose my star chips in a duel, they were stolen from me! My cards too!" The kid protested.

"I don't care what lame excuse you have, you need star chips to duel and you hadn't got any."

Harold was mentally torn. Part of him wanted to drop-kick the guy as hard as he did to Tristan. But if he did, then he too would be eliminated from the island then he wouldn't be able to help Yugi save his Grandfather or Joey get the money for his sister's operation. He would be useless just like always.


Yugi and the gang (after picking up Tristan) tracked Kimo to the docks where he just threw the kid onto the boat next to Weevil Underwood.

"Hey!" Yugi called. "What did the guy who stole your star chips look like?"

"I didn't see his face because he was really little and wearing a bandanna. He challenged me in a meadow."

"He challenged you to a Duel Monsters match?"

"Yeah, but the moment I put down my star chips and dueling deck, he snatched them up and ran off!"

"You shouldn't be sent off the island 'cause your star chips and deck had been stolen."

"A bandanna," Harold muttered. "Not much to go on but..." He approached Kimo. "As an official Duel Monster Watcher, I'm calling for a delay of the departure boat!"

"You have no authority," one guard who was standing with Kimo said.

"Oh yes I do. Page 21 of the Official Duelist Kingdom Tournament Rulebook says that in the event that a Watcher has discovered that star chips have been acquired through means other than dueling, he can ask for a Duelist to stay on the island while an investigation commences to discover the nature behind the crime. Look it up if you don't believe me. Give me and my friends a half hour and we'll find the star chips and deck and return them."

"Don't worry, we'll get your star chips back," Yugi assured him.

"Thank you," the kid said. "But... I don't even know who you are."

"Don't worry about it, kid, you have the brilliant mind of Joey Wheeler working for ya'." The others rolled their eyes.

"We're just people who get really ticked off when someone gets treated unfairly," Harold said. He turned to Kimo and said sternly, "Thirty minutes. That boat better be here in thirty minutes or so help me, I don't care who your boss is, I'll boot you off the island my own way!"

"Better get going, the clock's ticking."


"So, any ideas on how we should go about this?" Tea asked the boys as they left the dock.

"Why don't we ask Sherlock Hopeless over there," Tristan said pointing his thumb at Joey.

"Yeah, why don't ya ask me? I'll figure out how to solve this mystery in no time!"

"So, how are you going to find the person who stole the star chips?" Tea asked.

"Hold on, give me a minute." For a full minute, Joey was deep in thought. The others watched apprehensively. Finally, Joey scratched his head and said, "Beats me." The others face-faulted.

"Yugi, you're the smart one, can you figure it out?" Tea asked.

"Well... the first thing we should do is stake out the scene of the crime."

"We don't even know where the scene of the crime is," Tristan said.

"Well, we know it was a meadow field. Harold, look in the rulebook and try to see how many meadow fields there are. On an island like this, I doubt there are many."

"Okay." Harold flipped through the rulebook before saying, "I found something! Ther are three meadow fields. Field 39, where Joey dueled Mai, Field 98, which is near the castle, and Field 146. We should investigate each one and see what we can find."

"Brilliant! Glad I thought of it," Joey said.

The others remained quiet.


"Well, here it is," Yugi said. "Field 146."

"Considering how we got zip from the other two, this one better work out."

"Maybe the thief will return to the scene of the crime," Harold suggested as they started to look around.

"Yeah, right," Joey said. "What are the chances of that happening?"

"Ah-ha! I found you at last Yugi!" A little kid leaped out of the bushes. He face was obscured in a purple knit cap and blue bandana. He was wearing a red, orange, and white shirt.

"That must be the kid we've been looking for," Joey realized.

"Knew it," Harold called.

"I can handle him," Tristan volunteered.

"I should hope so, he's half your size," Tea commented.

"Just try it, you big dork," the kid said.

"Look, Rug-Rat, your breaking the Duelist Kingdom rules. So either hand them over willingly or we'll take 'em by force," Harold threatened.

"Wait a second," Yugi said. "I think I know what this kid wants, he wants to duel me. Is that right?"

"You better believe it." Yugi and the kid set up on the dueling field.

"Why is Yugi choosing to duel this kid when we can just take these star chips away from him?"

"You know, sometimes I don't think Yugi knows why he does half the stuff he does," Tristan said in answer to Joey's question.

"You think it has something to do with the Millennium Puzzle?" Joey asked.

The object in question started to glow as it filled Yugi with its power.

"Yeah, right, what kind of connection is there between an ancient Egyptian artifact and a card game?" Harold asked as he took his spot at a podium towards the center of one side of the dueling field.

"Now, how many star chips do you want to wager?" Yugi asked.

"To wipe you out, five!"

"Five it is, but only because I think I know why you're doing this."

"I don't care what you think, Yugi, I think you're going to lose."

Yugi stared intensely at his opponent. A small eye appeared in the center of his forehead.

"What does Yugi see that we don't?" Tea asked. "It's like he's staring into the other player's soul."

"Soul, shmoul, I can see here that the kid's going to get his butt kicked."

"He better do it quickly if he's going to get those star chips back to the boat on time."

"Don't worry, Tristan, he'll win the star chips and be back to the boat with time to spare," Tea assured him. "I know he will."

"This Duel Monsters match puts Yugi Moto against... uh..." Harold stared at the kid. "Whoever this kid is. Ten star chips are on the line. Let the duel begin!"

This is it, Yugi, now you're going to pay for what you did to my big brother!


(Yesterday.)

"Seto, you gotta leave now if you're going to make the boat to the big tournament at Duelist Kingdom." Mokuba came into his big brother's office where the older boy was shuffling cards like he was trying to figure something out.

"I'm not going, Mokuba."

"What?"

"There's no point."

"What do you mean no point?"

"Kid, I'm in no position to duel anyone."

"What are you talking about? You always said that cards are power and you have all the powerful cards!"

"Since I lost my duel with Yugi, I just don't know what I think any more. Everything's different; it feels as if I lost a part of myself that day."

"But Seto, you're the best, you're the champ!"

"Not since I was defeated by Yugi." Seto took out a card and tossed it to Mokuba. "Here, Mokuba, take it, it was always your favorite. I'll be going away for a while. I don't know how long."

"Why? Why are you going away?" For once, Seto had a look that Mokuba had never seen before: fear and confusion.

"I don't know who I am any more."

"Seto, don't go!"


You broke up my family, Yugi, and now I'm going to break you up!

(Y: 2000)
(?: 2000)

"My first card is the Man-Eating Plant (1)!"

"Now it's my turn," Yugi said. "I'll counter your plant with the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1!" Yugi's blue dragon appeared.

"Bad choice, Yugi, my Man-Eating Plant will eat your Dragon alive!"

"No it isn't," Harold muttered. "Winged Dragon's clearly the more powerful of the two monsters, how is this kid able to duel with such a sloppy opening move like that?"

"So now you're going to pay for what you did, Yugi. Man-Eating Plant, attack!"

"Fireball attack!" The dragon destroyed the plant instantly.

(Y: 2000)
(?: 1400)

"My plant lost?"

"You can't win a Duel with cards that don't rightfully belong to do," Yugi scolded. "How can your heart be in cards belonging to someone else?"

"Be quiet! I don't believe in that 'heart of the cards' stuff you keep preaching about. Cards are all about power."

"Whoa, deja'vu," Harold commented. "Didn't Seto Kaiba say something along those same lines?"

"Yes, I sensed a connection to Kaiba," Yugi mumbled, the eye appearing briefly on his forehead again. "You're his brother, you're Mokuba!"

The kid reacted in shock and removed his bandana. "How did you know? Oh well, it doesn't matter."

"Oh yeah, that's Kaiba's brother, all right," Joey confirmed. "Harold and I saw him when Yugi kicked Kaiba's butt!"

"That's right, Seto Kaiba is my brother and he's the best Duelist there ever was. But now, thanks to Yugi, he's gone, and now Pegasus is trying to take over Kaiba Corp."

"Pegasus wants Kaiba Corp.?" Yugi asked surprised.

"I don't know what you did to him when you dueled, Yugi, but ever since that defeat, he hasn't been the same. He ran away because of you! And without him, Pegasus moved right in. Some Kaiba-Corp. Board Executives invited him to some secret board meeting..."


(The same day as Kaiba's departure)

"Now gentlemen, let's see if I understand your proposition. Seto Kaiba has abandoned his corporate station and now you five want to seize control of Kaiba-Corp.," Pegasus said to the six suited figures bathed in darkness. "You then want to merge with my company and you want me to handle any messy details, is that correct?"

"Precisely, Mister Pegasus, with our money and your leadership, we'll easily take control of Kaiba-Corp."

"Do tell."

"For our plan to succeed, Kaiba must be taken out of the picture... permanently."

"However, there is a catch: as per the corporate bylaws, only a Kaiba heir can legally take control of Kaiba Corp."

"To that end, Pegasus, we recommend you kidnap Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba. He may control Kaiba-Corp. but we will control him."

"Do this for us, and we will lay all of Kaiba-Corp.'s technology at your feet."

"Agreed," Pegasus said. "The elder Kaiba will meet with an unfortunate accident and the younger one will be captured."

"Excellent, but we have one final condition: the brat who beat Kaiba has tarnished Kaiba-Corp.'s good name. We would like you to restore it."

"Well, how fortuitous," Pegasus said casting his good eye sideways. "Plans for me to duel Yugi are already under way."

Mokuba had been listening at the door. He quickly turned and leave but ran straight into Kimo.

"You see, gentlemen, this is how officially you can expect me to handle business. Young Kaiba is captured, Yugi will be defeated and Seto Kaiba will bother us no more!"


"This is your fault! Seto deserted me because of you!"

"You don't understand. Mokuba, your brother hasn't deserted you, he's searching for himself."

"Liar! Tell it to my monster." Mokuba summoned Corcodilius (2) and had himm attack. Again, the Winged Dragon destroyed the monster.

(Y: 2000)
(M: 1100)

"You know, for a Kaiba, this kid's duels like an amateur," Tristan complained.

"Dueling me won't bring your brother back," Yugi argued. "We want to stop Pegasus as much as you do. He has my Grandfather prisoner!"

"That's right," Joey confirmed. "Pegasus is the bad guy here, can't ya' see that, ya' twerpy little kid?"

"You're wrong. I have to protect my brother's company and Yugi's the one he has to beat in order to gain control of it."

"I get it," Tea said. "Mokuba is trying to save his brother's company by defeating Yugi in a duel so Pegasus won't get to face him at all!"

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

"What do you mean what do I mean?" Joey countered.

"I wasn't talking to you," Tristan snapped.

Joey smiled embarrassingly. "Sorry. What do you mean, Tea?" Tea moaned.

"I'll explain," Harold said. "The specifics of the contract that Pegasus made with the Kaiba Corp. guys are that they would only turn over Kaiba-Corp to him if he defeated Yugi in a duel. But if Yugi's defeated beforehand..."

"Pegasus won't get to face me and control will remain as it is," Yugi finished. "That must be it!" He looked to Mokuba for confirmation but he left the Dueling podium.

"If I can't beat you, Yugi," Mokuba said ascending onto Yugi's platform and grabbing some of his star chips. "I can have you disqualified like I did that other kid." He jumped down and started to run away. Joey, Tristan, and Tea gave chase.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Harold protested

"Mokuba, wait, you'll never save Kaiba-Corp. that way!" Mokuba paused, allowing Joey, Tea, and Tristan to surround him. "Your brother's just confused. After we dueled, I cleared his mind of evil. I removed from him all the dark influences that clouded his thoughts and actions."

Harold thought back to Yugi and Kaiba's duel. All Yugi did was hold out his hand and it was like Kaiba collapsed. Did Yugi really do all that with just a gesture? How does he have that sort of power?

"Free of that evil influence, Kaiba is struggling. Your brother realized that his way wasn't the right way and he's searching his heart for answers. And you know that in your heart, what you're doing isn't the right way either."

When Mokuba looked at Yugi, Yugi didn't see the hostile brother trying to get him disqualified. Yugi saw a scared little boy, searching for the right way. "But what can I do?" Mokuba asked.

"You can start by trusting in me and together, we'll stop Pegasus. I promise you, we can only bring Pegasus down if we stick together. We'll help you protect your brother, Mokuba, but you have to help us, okay? You have to go back and return those cards and star chips to the kid you stole them from."

"You're right, Yugi, we'll stop Pegasus together."

"We don't have much time," Harold said.

"Then let's get back to the boat," Tea decided.

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah."


It's no use, Seto Kaiba thought. He had gone to his mountain retreat to figure things out. I've gone over it a dozen times in my mind and I just can't seem to figure it out. How is it a kid who came out of nowhere able to beat a champion like me? I've run computer simulations, probability scenarios, and quantum analysis of our duel, but I still don't have the answer. I've been clearly dominating the match. My Blue-Eyes White Dragon ripped through his forces. I was on the verge of winning! But Yugi wouldn't give up. Against all odds, he had absolute faith in his Grandfather's deck. And somehow, he was able to draw the one card to ensure his victor. Exodia, he played Exodia. Ever since the game's creation, nobody had been able to summon Exodia. Even those who had all five pieces in their deck weren't able to play them all before the duel was done. And yet, this kid was. I always thought Duel Monsters was all about sheer power, but Yugi believes that the cards have a heart. It sounds crazy, but could Yugi be right? Is there really a heart of the cards that can affect the outcome of a duel?

Kaiba finished the plate-size disk with five slots. The only way I'll know for sure is to face Yugi again, and these new portable holo generators will enable me to challenge him no matter where I find him. If I can just get to...

Kaiba planning was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.

"Seto Kaiba! We know you're in there, open the door right now or we'll blow it open!" Kaiba was able to place the portable holo generators into his brief case before the two guards burst through the door and aimed guns at him. "Let's go, Kaiba."

"Mister Pegasus would like to have a few words with you."

"I bet he would," Kaiba mumbled standing up with the chair between him and them. "But it'll take more than you two goons to get me."

"This can go easy or we can just shoot and forget about the questions."

"You'll never take me alive!" Kaiba said and kicked the chair into them. One of the guns went off but the bullet bounced off of Kaiba's metal briefcase. He grabbed his brief case and dove through the window. By the time the guards were able to get to the window, all they could see was the cliff the house stood upon.

"He jumped," one goon said.

"Nobody could survive a fall like that. Looks like Kaiba did our dirty work for us. That only leaves us one more thing." The guard picked up the top card in Kaiba's deck. "Mister Pegasus was very clear; he wanted the deck with the deadly Blue-Eyes White Dragon..."


By the time Yugi and the others returned to the dock, the boat was already out to sea.

"No!" Mokuba cried. He ran up to Kimo. "Please, call the boat back! I have the star chips belonging to that kid!"

Kimo just smirked and knocked the star chips out of Mokuba's hand.

"Hey, some of those star chips were Yugi's!"

Kimo just smirked. "You should really keep an eye on your valuables, especially star chips."

"But we had a deal!" Harold protested.

"Rules are rules. And by the way, there's nothing in the rulebook about investigating missing star chips. And speaking of rules..." Kimo gripped Mokuba around his neck. "This young man is a guest of Mister Maxamillion Pegasus and he's been invited to a special dinner at the castle in his honor. Ain't that right, Mokuba?"

"Wait," Yugi called. He showed the three remaining star chips on his glove. "I still have three star chips remaining. I challenge you to a duel and if I win, Mokuba comes with us."

"I don't know why you want to risk your star chips on this punk, but if you want to lose your last remaining star chips, then meet me back by Field 146 in four hours."


Four hours later, the gang met Kimo at Field 146.

"Yugi, help!" Mokuba called. He was still being held roughly by Kimo.

"Put him down now!" Yugi commanded.

"I'll consider it if you win the Duel."

"Oh, I'll beat you all right."

"I never said I would duel you. Your opponent's right up there. He pointed to a person standing on the blue side of the field. "He's an old friend who's been dying to meet you. He met with an unfortunate accident earlier, but he's come back just to duel you."

Yugi and the others gasped. It was Kaiba, just as he was when Yugi last dueled him, right down to the school uniform.

"Kaiba!"

"Yes, Yugi," Kaiba said in a sinister voice. "It's me, Kaiba, and this time, you don't stand a ghost of a chance."

To Be Continued


Monster Glossary

(1)
Name: Man-Eating Plant
Level: 3
Type: Plant
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 800
DEF: 600

(2)
Name: Crocodilius
Level: 4
Type: Reptile
Attribute: Water
ATK: 1100
DEF: 900