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Fanfic Chapter 41: Rebecca's Rage Pt 2: The Ties That Bind
Episode Basis: The Ties of Friendship
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi was finally reunited with his Grandfather. But before they could even enter the front door of their house, they were approached by a girl named Rebecca who demanded that Yugi's Grandpa returned HER Blue-Eyes White Dragon (the same one that Kaiba ripped up after his duel with Yugi's Grandpa). Rebecca was rude, annoying, selfish, and wouldn't back down until she either got the card or an opponent to duel for the card. Seeing how weak his Grandpa was from his "Out-Of-Body Experience", Yugi volunteered to duel in his Grandfather's place. At first, it seemed like Rebecca was a novice, but then she revealed that her childish façade was a fake and that she really was the dueling dynamo from America. Solomon realized that Rebecca's cards and strategies were the same that his friend Professor Arthur Hopkins used when he duel Solomon. When Solomon confronted Rebecca, she revealed herself as the granddaughter of Arthur Hawkins, the man who Solomon betrayed by stealing his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Is Yugi's Grandpa really a thief or is Rebecca's skirt on too tight?
"Now listen carefully, Rebecca, because I'm only going to say this one more time… my Grandpa didn't steal your Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"You're lying! He did, he did, he DID! It was my Grandpa's favorite and your Grandpa took it away from him!"
"No, you're the one who's lying!" Harold argued causing Rebecca to take a small step backwards. "Yugi's Grandpa is an honorable man and he would never steal anything from anyone even if they deserved to have it stolen. I don't know what drug-induced hallucinogenic state you were in when you came up with this wacky idea but you're obviously wrong."
"I'm not wrong, I can't be wrong! That old man did steal my Grandpa's Blue-Eyes White Dragon! He's a thief, they're all thieves!"
"Rebecca," Solomon said calmly. Joey, Tea, and Tristan all had bewildered looks on their faces.
"Now what is it, Thief?"
Solomon ignored the verbal jab. "There's a story you need to hear, it's about how I met your Grandfather, Arthur Hopkins, and of the danger we faced together!"
Rebecca thumbed her nose at him. "In other words, more of your lies."
"No, it's most definitely the truth, and it was one of the most frightening experiences I ever had in my entire life."
"I'm so sure," Rebecca said rolling her eyes.
"It happened years ago, but it's an adventure I would never forget…"
Years ago, I was feeling rambunctious and decided to go on an adventure. My travels took me to Egypt where I volunteered to participate in an archaeological dig. The head of the dig was named Doctor Adam Hunter; he was the one who discovered an Ancient Egyptian Archives dedicated to an unknown Pharaoh.
It was horrible there, the desert was much dryer than I had originally imagined and my canteen quickly ran dry. I was afraid I was going to have to spend the rest of the dig parched, so it was very fortunate that I made a new friend.
"You look like you could use some water, my good man."
"Oh, bless you, thank you." I guzzled the water down a little too quickly, but the man just seemed amused. "Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Solomon Moto, from Japan."
"I'm Arthur Hawkins, from America."
In that moment, we became fast friends.
"Arthur Hawkins was a very brilliant and kind man," Solomon told the children. "But in the world of archaeology, he was viewed as a radical thinker; some would even go so far as to say his views were insane."
"What do you mean, Mister Moto?" Tea asked.
"His theories, he believed that Duel Monsters played an ancient part in Egyptian history." Solomon looked directly at Rebecca. "Am I right, Rebecca?" Rebecca just cuddled her teddy bear and looked away.
"I don't get it, Grandpa," Yugi said.
"One of Arthur's talents was his ability to translate Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics without the aid of translation books. And in his translation of the hieroglyphics in the archives, two words kept appearing over and over again. One word was game, and the other… was duel!"
"Duel?"
"But why?"
Rebecca just humphed.
"It was a mystery," Solomon said.
In the security center, Mokuba Kaiba wondered what happened. It seemed like the duel stopped. But according to the systems check, everything was working fine. Mokuba hoped everything was fine with Yugi and his opponent.
Solomon continued his story, Using those two words, 'duel' and 'game' as a basis, Arthur and I began interpreting the hieroglyphs differently than the other translators and archaeologists who have been assembled in our team. And in the process, we discovered something remarkable.
"Look at this, Solomon; it says 'The battle has been won and the darkness has been vanquished. The Pharaoh summoned a stronger beast and by the grace of Osiris, he won.' These contests were played in the same way."
"Same way as what?"
"Have you heard of a game called Duel Monsters?"
"Of course I have."
"Well according this, the Egyptians played a game with rules and styles similar to Duel Monsters."
"How can you tell?"
Arthur reached into his pocket and took out a deck of Duel Monster cards. He showed the top one to me: Giant Soldier of Stone. "Take a look at the drawing on the wall."
The image was exactly similar to the Giant Soldier of Stone card.
"If this is true, then it could be the find of the century!"
"We shall see."
Arthur took his finding to Dr. Hunter. But Dr. Hunter, I'm afraid, wasn't as open-minded as I was.
"Arthur, do you realize that this theory is borderline heresy?"
"I do."
"If you announce this theory, you would not only disgrace yourself, but me as well. Arthur, I'm afraid that the scientific community won't accept it no matter how much evidence is available to back it up. So just forget this theory about ancient magical games and just work on translating the archives."
"Most of Arthur's other colleagues felt the same way, but their words were harsher. They even fought to remove his archaeology license. But Arthur persevered. He kept his beliefs quiet and told only me about it. I agreed not to tell anyone and we dove into the Ancient Egyptian relationship of the Duel Monsters card game. In time, we discovered a link between the game and the Millennium Items."
"A link?" Yugi asked. He could feel Yami's interest pique.
I still don't know what it means, but I can tell you what Arthur and I found in the Archives. The Archives told of a place where the monsters were flesh and blood, unlike in our world where they would only appear as illusions. This was a place of darkness, a Shadow Realm. This game that was similar to Duel Monsters was played in this Shadow Realm.
Arthur told me, "Solomon, listen to this, apparently the people at the time worshipped three gods, but these weren't Osiris, Isis, and Horus, like we originally believed, but god monsters with tremendous power."
"God monsters?"
"Yes, unfortunately the hieroglyphs have deteriorated over time so I can't really get a handle on any information. The only words I can make out are 'Torment', 'Sky,' and 'Wing.' On the outside, it could be a prayer to some sky god asking it not to torment others, in short, a prayer for protection. But if we take the relationship between those dark games and the Duel Monster card game, it's actually saying that these god monsters were the cause of torment."
"That's horrible!"
"Look at this: if I'm reading these scriptures right, these games weren't played for fun like how we play Duel Monsters now, but it was played for the tremendous power of something called Millennium Items."
"How odd."
"Indeed, but apparently all the competitors in these Shadow Games has had some sort of connection with these items."
"I wonder, could it be…"
"Did you say something, Solomon?"
"Nothing, Arthur, it's nothing… at least I think it's nothing."
"So everything I heard from Pegasus, Shadi, and the Millennium Ring Spirit was true," Yugi realized looking down at his puzzle.
"So was this Professor Hawkins the guy who gave you the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Harold asked.
"That's right, Harold."
"Lies!" Rebecca protested. It was the first time she said anything since Solomon started his story. "You were never his friend! My Grandpa would never have given away his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. You stole it, I know it; I just know it!'
"No, Rebecca, I didn't!" Solomon said. In a softer tone, he said, "I couldn't have because at that moment, the Archives caved in around us."
Yugi and the others gasped. Rebecca's look softened. "It… caved in?"
"Yes, it caved in and we were trapped, I was afraid it would be forever."
"Solomon? Solomon, can you hear me?"
"I'm over here, Arthur! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but I'm afraid that the entrance caved in, we can't get out… wait a second I found the lamp." Lighting the lamp confirmed my worse fears; rubble had caved in the only way in or out of the tomb. Over time, we feared that the others might have abandoned us, or worse, didn't care about us. We ate what little food we had and our canteen only had enough water for one person.
"Solomon, I have an idea."
"What is it, Arthur?"
"What would you say to a duel?"
"Here, now?"
"It will keep our spirits up and give us something to think about besides being trapped here. You have to admit, it's better than waiting around for the Grim Reaper to come and claim our souls."
"Point taken."
One of the surviving structures inside the Archives was a stone platform and chairs. That served as our dueling platform.
"Arthur, I have an idea now."
"I'm listening."
"We have only a small amount of water left, there's not enough left for two people so I propose that the last amount of water should go to the winner of this duel. Do you agree?"
His smile never left his face. "Sadly, I do."
In his first move, Arthur played the Witch of the Black Forest, then when I destroyed her, he summoned Sangan, and when he was destroyed, Arthur brought out the Millennium Shield. Sound familiar?
"That's the same strategy she used on me," Yugi realized.
"Correct. It was your Grandfather who taught you to duel, wasn't it, Rebecca?"
Rebecca was taken aback.
"Never mind that, get on with the story," Tea urged.
"Yeah, I can't wait to hear how you got out," Tristan agreed.
"Well, you see…"
"NO MORE LIES!" Rebecca yelled. "Why should I believe you, you could be making this whole story up!"
"Mister Moto doesn't lie," Tea declared.
"Yeah, well, I think it's time to finish this duel and humiliate your Grandson!"
"Ah zip it, you little inch worm," Harold said. "I'd rather hear this than your useless bantering."
"BANTERING?"
"Let the duel continue," Solomon said. He locked eyes with Yugi and they both nodded. "I think its Yugi's turn."
"We know that. Why don't you butt out, Old Man so we can settle this."
"As you wish."
"Man, I'm just about ready to spank her upside her… uh… I mean… kick her butt," Harold said trying to not appear too vulgar.
"Rebecca may have learned dueling from Arthur, but she hasn't inherited any of his manners."
Yugi looked at the card he drew. "Maybe this will teach her some: I play Catapult Turtle in attack mode! Catapult Turtle lets me sacrifice any monster on my field; I can then deduct half of my sacrificed monster's attack power directly from my opponent's life points!"
"What a joke, that won't help."
"It will when I combine it with my Brain Control card!"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Rebecca said repeatedly.
"With Brain Control I can seize any monster from my opponent and control it for one turn! Millennium Shield, come to me!" The Millennium Shield appeared on Catapult Turtle. "Next, I'll sacrifice your Millennium Shield!" The shield was launched up into the air and disappeared. "But that's not all, Summoned Skull, attack Cannon Soldier!" The machine was destroyed.
(Y: 1000)
(R: 200)
"Looks like the duel's restarting again," Mokuba said to himself. "Good thing too, I was afraid I was going to have to intervene, maybe even call in Seto."
"About time something good happened here," Harold said watching Rebecca throw a tantrum.
"I'm still going to beat you, Yugi, I'll beat you and your thieving Grandfather!" Yugi's a little bit better Duelist than I thought; it's easy to see how he was able to win the Duelist Kingdom tournament, but he's never been up against a genius before. Rebecca looked through her hand. Looks like everything's going according to plan, right now I have six monsters in my graveyard, not enough though. Rebecca drew a card and cheered. "Great, fantastic, look at what card we drew, Teddy! 'Bravo, bravo, Rebecca.'"
"Okay, I think she lost it," Harold said.
"I'll play a magic card called Final Destiny!"
"Final Destiny, what does that do?"
"Simple, I discard five cards from my hand and in return, I get to obliterate every monster on the field!" A huge explosion engulfed the Summoned Skull. "Now, I'll summon my favorite monster!" A green nightmarish creature with beady red eyes all along his body appeared. "Up from the depths comes the creepy and oh so loveable Shadow Ghoul in attack mode! And for each of the monsters in my graveyard, he gets an extra 100 attack points!"
"Uh… I lost count, anyone know how many monsters she sacrificed?" Harold asked.
"Eleven, I think," Tristan replied.
Joey started feebly counting by hundreds on his fingers.
"Eleven Hundred," Tea told him in a disgusted tone.
"That's right; Shadow Ghoul is now 1100 points stronger."
(SG: 1600-2700)
"You mean you sacrificed eleven monsters just so you could power up your Shadow Ghoul?" Yugi asked incredulously.
"You're just now catching on to my strategy? You'll have to think faster than that."
"I can't believe you would disgrace your monsters like that, don't you have any respect for your cards?"
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? Dueling has nothing to do with respecting your monsters; everyone knows the only thing that matters is winning. Besides, what would a family of thieves know about respect?"
"A lot more than a family of liars!" Harold argued.
"You're just lucky that I'm on this platform otherwise I would come over there and fix you so you never have children!"
"Go ahead and try, Pipi Longstocking!"
Solomon placed an arm out. "Harold, that's enough."
"But Mister Moto!"
"Her jabs do not upset me."
"This is pointless, Duel Monsters are just ink on paper, there's nothing to respect."
"That's not what Arthur thought."
Rebecca may understand strategy and tactics, Yugi thought. But she never really found the Heart of the Cards.
If anyone can teach Rebecca the lessons she needs to learn, it's my grandson, Solomon thought. Once again, grandpa and grandchild locked eyes and they both nodded.
"You're keeping me waiting, Yugi, I didn't come here to take a nap; I came here to duel!"
"All right then," Yugi said drawing a card. "I set a monster in defense mode!"
Rebecca started her turn and smirked at the card she just drew. "Well, what I lack in respect I make up for in talent. I drew a magic card: Stop Defense!"
The Dark Magician was forced to appear in attack mode.
"Now, Shadow Ghoul, attack! Green Vapor Shroud!" The Shadow Ghoul fired green energy from all of its eyes which destroyed Yugi's favorite monster. "Bye-bye, that stupid Dark Magician, not even he can stand up to my Shadow Ghoul!"
(Y: 800)
(R: 200)
"Mister Moto, Yugi's getting creamed," Tristan said. "This couldn't be how your duel with Professor Hawkins went!"
"Actually, it went exactly like this. Card for card, strategy for strategy, everything was the same except for one thing: Arthur knew how to respect his cards."
"So who won?" Harold flat-out asked.
"The outcome may yet surprise you."
"Oh man, Yugi's getting his butt kicked," Mokuba commented. "Who is this kid and how can she stand up to Yugi Moto?" He turned to one of the technicians. "Analyze the photo of the girl Duelist in field 4 and bring up a profile."
"Yes, sir," the technician said. On a side monitor, the profile appeared.
"Rebecca Hawkins," Mokuba read. "Age 8, Nationality: American. Hmm, no wonder she's so reckless."
A/N: Hey, I'm an American and if I want to make fun of myself, I can do that.
"Whoa, she's the American Duel Monsters Champ, no wonder she's so good." Mokuba recalled his Big Brother mentioning an American Duel Monster child prodigy (and mentioning that he won't discriminate, he'll beat everyone regardless of age, gender, or Nationality). "No wonder Yugi's been having a tough time with her, she's younger than me yet she's as good as Yugi, maybe even as good as Seto. But I have a feeling Yugi won't give up yet." Then Mokuba got an idea. He picked up the phone and began placing some calls.
"I play Swords of Revealing Light!" Yugi shouted as three golden energy swords came down in front of Shadow Ghoul. "That'll keep your Shadow Ghoul attacking for three turns, Rebecca."
"Well that's really irritating," Rebecca said scowling. She then shrugged, "Okay, then, if that's the case, I pass this turn."
"It didn't even faze her," Joey commented.
"I play Monster Reborn to resurrect the Dark Magician."
"He's trying to reassemble his forces, Teddy," Rebecca said stroking the bear. "While I'm kept from attacking for three turns, but that won't save him. I'll play my next card in defense mode and I'll tell him what it is because there's no way he can beat my genius brain. I summon another Cannon Soldier in defense mode!"
Smart move, Yugi thought. She wants me to attack. But I can't let that Cannon Soldier get off a shot. "You wanted an attack, Rebecca, well here it comes! Dark Magician, attack Cannon Soldier!" With a blast of energy from his staff, the Dark Magician vanquished Cannon Soldier.
"What's Yugi doing?" Mokuba asked. "He's only helping her out."
"Thank you, Yugi, you just raised Shadow Ghoul's attack power by another 100 points."
(SG: 2700-2800)
"No matter what card Yugi draws next, that Shadow Ghoul's just too powerful," Tristan said. "Her strategy seems to be foolproof, maybe she is a genius."
"If she's a genius, I'm Seto Kaiba," Harold said sarcastically.
"Don't count Yugi out yet, he learned from the master," Joey assured them.
"Oh, I understand now, you're using the Swords of Revealing Light to stall for time, hoping for some special card to come along, but that isn't going to help him at all, is it, Teddy? Not when Shadow Ghoul can attack again. I'll pass this turn too, but next time when my ghoul's free to attack, I'll wipe you out!"
The Shadow Ghoul roared.
"So, Solomon, on my next turn I'll be free to attack. I'm going to pass this turn."
"If that's really what you want to do, Arthur."
"What card are you waiting for, Solomon?"
"That's my secret."
Yugi drew a card. "What's the matter, Yugi?" Rebecca asked teasingly. "Didn't you get the card you need?"
"So, Solomon, did you… get… the card… you need?"
"Hmmm…"
"Come on now… don't keep… me… uuuhhhh."
"I surrender, Arthur, you win."
Yugi placed the card he drew back on top of his deck and laid his hand over it. "I surrender, Rebecca."
The bystanders, except for Solomon, were shocked beyond all belief. Yugi was giving up!
"Yugi, don't give in to that thumb-sucking toddler!" Harold cheered.
But everyone could see Yugi's mind was made up.
The monsters disappeared and the duel platforms were retracted to the edge where the Duelists disembarked.
"What, the duel just ended," Mokuba realized shocked. He checked the readouts. "But neither of their life point counters reached 0. Someone must've forfeited, but whom?" A phone on the control panel rung and Mokuba picked it up. "Mokuba Kaiba here… yes… okay, I'll be right out." Mokuba left the control room.
Rebecca was cheering happily while Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Harold stared at Yugi concerned.
"Yugi, you okay, pal, what happened up there?" Harold asked.
"He realized that he was dealing with a superior Duelist," Rebecca said. "Now, I won so hand me my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Solomon reached into his pocket and took out the card in question.
Rebecca gasped; the card has been ripped unevenly down the middle and had been mended with scotch tape. "You tore it! How could you! You destroyed my Grandpa's favorite card!"
"No, Rebecca, it wasn't me, it was…"
"First you steal it, then you lie, and now you ruin it!"
"I treasured that card; I would never do anything to damage it!"
"Lies, ALL LIES! HOW COULD YOU, HOW COULD YOU!"
I've had enough, Harold decided. He didn't care who she was or who she was related to, he was ready to bash her from here to Duelist Kingdom when…
"Rebecca, behave your self," a new voice said as two new people came into the room. One was Mokuba Kaiba, the other was an elderly gentleman dressed in a beige suit and bow tie. His silver hair was combed neatly as was the small moustache he wore. He was a complete opposite from Solomon Moto.
"Grandpa?"
"Arthur? Arthur, is it really you?"
"It's been a long time, Solomon."
"Far too long, my dear, old, friend."
"I do hope my precocious granddaughter hasn't caused you too much trouble." He gestured to Mokuba. "This young man was kind enough to inform me of where you were. I should've expected it. I was in town on business and happened to mention the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and next thing I knew, she was taking off on her own. Please forgive her."
"For what?" Rebecca asked.
Arthur Hawkins just walked around to Yugi's side of the field. "Rebecca, did you know that Yugi was actually the winner of this duel?"
"No, Grandpa, I won!" Rebecca whined.
Arthur went up to Yugi. "Yugi, you're just like your Grandfather. You're a generous young man and a fine Duelist. When I saw the article that you won the Duelist Kingdom tournament, I must say I wasn't surprised."
"Thank you, sir."
Arthur went up to Yugi's deck, which Yugi hadn't collected yet. He took the top card from the deck, the card that Yugi was holding only a minute earlier. "Just as I thought," he said. "Rebecca, come take a look at this card." Rebecca looked at the magic card that Arthur was holding. It had a picture of a woman covered in blue looking upward. "It's called Soul Release." Rebecca gawked at it. "If Yugi had played this card in the final turn, you would've been defeated for certain." Arthur, Solomon, and Yugi were the only ones not confused. "Soul Release can remove five monster cards from either player's graveyard. Do you realize what that means? Yugi would've used it to remove five monsters from your graveyard lowering Shadow Ghoul's attack power to 2300. Since Yugi's Dark Magician has attack strength of 2500, he would've been able to obliterate Shadow Ghoul and the rest of your life points."
"You mean… he didn't have to surrender?" Rebecca asked confused. She turned to Yugi and scowled at him. "But why…"
Yugi just looked away and blushed.
"To teach you a lesson, Rebecca, Yugi wanted to show you that there's more to Duel Monsters than winning or losing. He wanted to show you respect and honor, not just for your cards but for your opponent as well."
"What…?"
Arthur turned to Solomon. "You never did tell them the rest of the story, did you, Solomon?"
"Afraid not."
"You see, children, in our duel, Solomon also forfeited a victory… to save my life!"
That received a gasp from the younger audience.
We were in the same position you kids were. Solomon was ready to finish off the attack. Suddenly the heat and lack of fresh air began to get to me. I felt weak.
"So, Solomon, did you… get… the card… you need?"
"Hmmm…"
"Come on now… don't keep… me… uuuhhhh." I collapsed, feeling weak and sick.
"Arthur, I… forfeit."
"Solomon, please… don't forfeit on my account."
"You need the water a lot more than I do. Here, drink."
"You didn't have to surrender."
"What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't watch out for my friend?"
Soon after that, the lantern went out but then a new source of light appeared: natural daylight, as a hole opened up above us. It was Dr. Hunter and the other members.
"Arthur, Solomon, are you two all right?"
"Hurry and get a stretcher down here, Arthur is very weak."
Dr. Hunter nodded and turned to one of the younger workers. "Miss Ishtar, get a stretcher for Professor Hopkins."
"Yes, sir."
"I'm glad you two are okay," Dr. Hunter said as he lowered himself on a rope. "As wild as your theories are, Arthur, I would never want to lose a valuable asset to the team."
"Solomon saved my life that day, but there's more. While it was true that I sent any number of my monsters to the graveyard to bring the Shadow Ghoul up to its ultimate potential, I never failed to honor those monsters for their sacrifice. In their own way, they were just as valuable as the Shadow Ghoul itself. You see, Rebecca, a Duelist must always respect his or her opponent."
"That's true," Mokuba agreed. "Seto often tells me that if you don't respect your opponent, then there's really no fun in beating him."
"That's one way of putting it. In this case, I respected him so much, that I gave him my Blue-Eyes White Dragon as a token of my thanks."
"Yeah, and he showed his respect and thanks by ripping it up!" Rebecca accused.
Solomon lowered his head. "It was damaged, Arthur, there wasn't anything I could do to stop it, I'm sorry."
"That doesn't matter, Solomon, what matter is that you kept it as a token of our friendship." Arthur turned to Rebecca. "Now, do you see, Rebecca, great duels can form the basis of great and lasting friendships, because it's all about heart."
"My heart?"
"The heart of every Duelist; that is what the Heart of the Cards is, respecting and honoring your cards as much as you do your friendships."
Rebecca turned to Yugi, "Oh, Yugi, I… I'm sorry."
"It's okay Rebecca."
For the first time since they first met, Rebecca let out a genuine smile. "You really mean it?"
"Of course I do, as a matter of fact, take this card." He handed her The Ties of Friendship.
"The Ties of Friendship?"
"Yeah, I want you to have it, Rebecca."
"Oh, thanks, Yugi," Rebecca said giving Yugi a fierce hug.
Even Harold had to admit that he was glad that they weren't fighting any more.
Arthur turned to Solomon. "Say, Solomon, it's been ages since you and I dueled."
"Oh brother," Mokuba groaned.
"Is that a challenge I hear, Arthur?" Solomon asked mischievously.
"This I gotta see," Joey said excitedly. "Dueling Grandpas!"
"Mister Moto, remember, you just got out of the hospital."
"Yes, but I could still out-duel any of you young tykes even if I was still in a coma." Everyone laughed.
The End
