Chapter two begins as a flashback that was initiated in chapter one. Like it or not, Joey is going to have to be the spear-bearer for a little while. (That just means things will get explained to him so that both he and the readers understand what is happening)
I probably don't have to disclaim again, but to be safe, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or pretty much anything in this story, aside from a few characters.
Joey leaned against the railing aboard the giant KaibaCorp airship. A steady breeze blew past his face, a chilly reminder that he was still a very uncomfortable distance from the city below. He turned back towards the main deck, the sight of the city from higher up than he had ever been before was overwhelming to say the least. He took a few steps toward his friends, then stopped and observed them a moment. In the middle of their huddle stood Yugi, not the strange, imposing spirit of the puzzle he wore around his neck but the short, somewhat meek young man, looking proud as a peacock at the moment. He was eagerly showing off the three greatest duel monsters cards to ever be created which were now his prized possessions. He looked positively ecstatic, and with good reason. He had just claimed the title of champion of Battle City and, as Joey understood it, prevented some dark magic from ancient Egypt from destroying everything.
Joey walked towards the group, joining them in their celebration. Yugi looked up and grabbed him in an excited hug, a rather awkward situation given their height difference.
"Joey, I couldn't have made it without you! Your Red Eyes Black Dragon came through for me, just like you said it would!"
"Nah Yuug, this victory belongs to you, man. I'm sure you coulda found some other way to win without my card. You had to win it from that Rare Hunter in the first place, remember?
Mai clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Now Joey, how rude of you. Your best friend is trying to share the best moment of his life with you and you act like a great big dork in front of him. I say give credit where credit is due, hun."
Tea chimed in from the back row. "Mai's right Joey, you deserve some thanks in this too. In fact, I think we all deserve a little pat on the back, wouldn't you say?"
Yugi nodded. "I definitely couldn't have made it without all you guys! Thank you all so much!" He fanned out his three Egyptian God cards for Joey to see.
Joey observed them intently for a moment. "It's hard to believe so much trouble, so much pain and worry was created by those three small cards. Such insignificant looking things, giving the worthy holders the power to control the Gods. It is unbelievable."
Everyone stared for a moment, either contemplating the ramifications of controlling the Gods with three slips of ink on paper, or wondering how those philosophical words came from the mouth of Joey Wheeler. Their thoughts were broken by the sound of a deep rumbling from somewhere nearby. Joey placed a hand over his stomach.
"Well, sounds to me like it's time for a victory feast! Come on guys!"
Tristan spoke up from behind Joey. "Man, you already ate nearly everything on this blimp. How do you expect us to have a feast when all we have left are a handful of crackers?"
Joey nonchalantly glanced over his shoulder. "Ah come on, I left more than that. There's plenty to get us home with full stomachs!"
"I doubt that. From your performance last time, it looked to me like only one of us had time to get a full stomach."
"Hey, I'm a growing boy ya know! That means I need my energy and that means I need plenty to eat! Now keep your mouth shut or I'll shut it for ya!"
"Bring it on, tough guy!"
Joey and Tristan began their little wrestling match when Seto Kaiba, who had been sitting alone in the shadows, spoke up. "Both of you stop that right now or I'll have you both thrown off the aircraft! Believe me when I say at this altitude you would live just long enough to regret invoking my wrath." Joey and Tristan froze in place and stared. "That's better. Now if I could take a moment from your little celebration, Ishizu and that stowaway have something to talk about." He cast a cold glance at Shadi. "You're lucky I don't toss you off with these two nincompoops for sneaking aboard my ship." Kaiba stomped off back towards the shadow he was leaving under and crossed his arms.
Tristan and Joey stood up. "What's his problem?" Tristan asked, dusting himself off. "I dunno. Sore loser, I guess." Joey replied, straightening out his shirt.
"Thank you all." Ishizu spoke. "What I have to say concerns you most of all, Yugi Moto and Bakura Ryou. Aboard this ship at this very moment are all seven Millennium Items, as well as all three God cards. We must soon invoke a spell to..." Joey stopped listening. Whenever talk of those Millennium items and magic powers began, Joey could never keep his focus anyway.
Joey looked over to where Kaiba was standing, shaking his head and mumbling about magic being nonsense. Near him, but far away enough they did not engage in a fight of their own, Marik sat on the deck, staring despondently at the floor panels. They both had a similar look on their faces.
"Hm, come to think of it, those two have had a rough day." Joey thought. "They both just suffered some heavy defeats and lost their God cards to Yugi. I would feel worse about it if those stinking rats didn't deserve every minute of their little pity parties. Serves 'em right." Joey nodded, resolved that he would never feel bad for either of those two for even a minute.
Just then, a yell from behind him turned the collective attention of the three. Joey turned around to see Bakura grasping his Millennium Ring firmly in his hands.
"You fools! Do you really think I would give up my Millennium item's power so willingly? I would sooner die!"
"You fool!" Shadi shouted back. "Return that item immediately or the spell we cast will have unforseeable results!"
"Never! I will not have the magic of any of the Millennium items dispelled, least of all my Millennium Ring! I will banish every one of you to the Shadow Realm!" With that, his Ring began to glow with a sinister amber and washed light over all those present. Joey watched in horror as the airship, the sky, the city itself began to darken and vanish from sight, shrouded by a fog that seemed to penetrate his body and chill his soul. The six gathered Millennium items started to glow white hot, the air around them blistering with heat. Bakura's Ring apparently did the same as he dropped it and clutched his hands in pain, the Ring rolled towards the other items and fell with a thud. The golden treasures started to vibrate violently. Their energy rebounding off one another, forcing them in different directions, the oscillating noise they began generating pierced Joey's ears and he fell to the ground. The sweltering heat and the noise was unbearable.
Somehow, over all this, Shadi's voice echoed from a distance loud and clear. "I am sorry my friends. I did not expect the spirit of the Millennium Ring to respond like this. I do not know what will be come of you, but Ishizu and I will do what we can to stop this and rescue you all."
"Patience, friends. Stay your courage and be strong! We will not abandon you. Marik! You must follow us as well, for you bear the ancient scriptures of the Pharaoh."
Despite what was happening, Marik managed to act like a spoiled brat and begrudgingly sauntered over to his sister's side. With that, the three disappeared into the shadows. One by one, Joey watched as his friends began disappearing too. Mai and Tristan vanished simultaneously, then Kaiba and Bakura. Yugi desperately threw himself on top of his hot, screaming Millennium puzzle before both vanished. Serenity ran towards Joey, her mouth screaming his name but her voice drowned by the chaos surrounding them, then vanished. Joey suddenly felt his body being lifted by an unseen force, then all of the pain and noise faded from his consciousness, and his vision turned white.
Suddenly Joey was dropped onto the hard, dusty ground. He stood up and recognized the city before him as Domino, albeit run-down and more sophisticated.
"Excuse me, Joey? Are you okay?"
Joey shook his head. He looked about, disoriented. He was in what appeared to be an apartment room, badly maintained at that, and a poor looking man was holding his shoulders looking very worried. He gave his head another quick shake to clear it and he regained his wits.
"That's it." Joey said aloud. "That's how I got here. It was that creepy spirit in Bakura's Millennium Ring. It was those Millennium items! Oh man, I knew I should have paid more attention to what they were doing over there!"
"Mister Wheeler, exactly what are you talking about?"
"You... How do you know my name? I never told it to you."
"Uhm, that's a good question. You... you said it during that duel you had!"
"True, but I'm thinking you know more than you're letting on, even now. I can see it in your eyes." Joey moved closer and stared the man in the eyes. "I know you, don't I?"
The man leapt back, startled. "No! No not at all! I don't know you at all, and you're talking nonsense! Milennium puzzles, dark magic, all of it! Pure and utter fairytales!"
"That's funny, I didn't mention any puzzles, or dark magic. I also know one bull-headed duelist who used to call them fairytales as well, and you look an awful lot like him. In fact, I could swear you're related." Joey took a step closer, and the man pulled back, apprehensively grasping what looked like a locket shaped like a duel monsters card. "Kaiba?"
The man sighed and turned his eyes downward. "Close, but not the Kaiba you're thinking of."
"Mokuba?"
"That's right. Big shock, I know."
"Man, am I glad to see a familiar face around here! Well, your face isn't all that familiar, but you know what I mean. Come on man, tell me, what's going on around here? This looks like Domino city but everything is different!"
Mokuba sighed and removed his ragged overcoat. His clothing beneath it was the outfit Seto Kaiba wore during the Duelist Kingdom tournament, though a bit ragged. "The question isn't where you are, Joey, it is when. We're about 25 years from the end of the Battle City tournament, when all you guys vanished before our eyes." Tears threatened to spill forth, but he held them back. "I was in the control room at the time, watching through the cameras. One minute you guys were all there, talking about those Millennium items. Then suddenly that Bakura guy went nuts, he grabbed that ring he always has and a weird fog appeared. A minute later it was gone, and so were all of you, including my brother. I haven't seen anyone since then. Until you came." Mokuba fell to his knees, quietly sobbing.
"I just want my brother back. Everything has gone all wrong since then. I was the only heir to the Kaiba Corporation, and even though I was just a little kid I was stuck behind a desk and given a crash course in running the company. It wasn't long before I made enough wrong moves that a bunch of suits that used to work for Seto showed up and started running things their own way. Before long, everything was a division of KaibaCorp, even the government was practically run from a desk in the main complex. There was a coup d'etat of sorts, and suddenly KaibaCorp was the dominant company of Japan, there was even plans going on to spread into Europe and North America. The duel monsters game became very much a way of life for everyone. Everything became a game because it's easier to reinforce rules and punish those who broke them. These days people have to duel for everything. From petty street squabbles to passing new laws, everything is nothing but duel monsters. Weaker players become poor and destitute and strong duelists become wealthy beyond their dreams, as long as they mindlessly follow the orders of the KaibaCorp penpushers. If my brother was here... I know he would defeat those guys and take back his company." Mokuba fell silent and continued weeping, clutching his picture of Seto Kaiba that he always wore around his neck.
Joey kneeled down put his hands on Mokuba's shoulders. "Listen to me, man. I know things are lookin' really bad for you right now, but ya know what?" Mokuba looked up, eyes clouded in tears. "Look at me, man, here I am! I was in that weird magic thing, same as your brother. I made it out okay, I'm sure he made it through just fine too. No magic in the world could get through his arrogance. Believe me." Joey clenched his fist for a moment and release Mokuba's shoulders.
"You know, you're right! If you're here, then maybe that means Seto is here as well!"
"You betcha. Everyone else is probably here too, we just gotta find them is all." Joey jumped to his feet and thrust a fist into the air. "Awright! Joey Wheeler is ready for action! I can't do it alone, Mokuba. I'm gonna need your help on this one."
Mokuba rose to his feet. "What can I do to help? I'm not a very good duelist, as you no doubt remember.
"Yeah, no kiddin'." Joey scanned the apartment, shaking his head at the disrepair of the room. "Man, this place is more trashed than my room. And that's sayin' a lot, if you'd ever seen my room you'd agree."
Mokuba laughed. "Well, give me a little more credit than that, mister Wheeler. I may not be the best duelist around, but I'm still a Kaiba, and you know what that means?"
Joey tilted his head. "You run around telling people you're the best and actin' like you're the greatest thing to walk the earth?"
Mokuba stared a moment, confused. "Uh, no. I mean I'm always well informed of a situation and prepared for anything that may come my way."
"Same thing. You just made it sound better."
"ANYWAY, I didn't leave KaibaCorp empty-handed. Come over here." Mokuba lead Joey to a particularly ill-kept corner of the apartment. He lifted an empty picture frame off the wall to reveal a small numeric keypad. Mokuba tapped a few numbers and the wall next to slid away to reveal a large room. They entered the room and the door closed swiftly behind them. There was a single light in the room, Joey couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was shining on a single metal desk with a small chair and a small laptop computer.
"Remember I said I'm one of the best duel monsters researchers around? It's quite true. From this computer I can access information on every card out there, new and old. I have the decks of noted duelists listed, and good card shop locations. I get a wireless feed from KaibaCorp. Only a few people know how to even access the mainframe, myself being one, so they don't monitor it. I can get all the information I want and they're none the wiser."
"Aw man, that's awesome! Can you get play-by-plays of duels and stuff like that?"
"Sure. Here, I'll bring up the battle between you and Mephisto."
"Mephisto? Is that the name of that weirdo I dueled?" Sure enough, the screen displayed a photo of the very man he defeated. There was a partial list of his cards, and his Vampire Lord was prominently displayed. Joey shuddered as he remembered the monster's bite. "Man, what was up with that guy?"
"Mephisto is one of three major duelists, the others are Diablo and Baal. I doubt that's their real names, but that's how they're known. Some obsession with evil gods or something. Anyway, those three are pretty good duelists. They're second only to the Judgemasters themselves."
"Hey yeah, what's up with that? Sounds like these guys are bad news."
"Well, yes and no. They're like the police of this time, they monitor duels from the main complex and if anyone breaks a rule or anything like that, the Judgemasters send the offender to jail. When you go to jail, you're there for good. Luckily the Judgemasters are on nobody's side. Even if the KaibaCorp's president broke a rule, he would be sent to jail. The Judgemasters have to defeat you in a duel first before sending you to jail, but that's pretty much redundant since they never lose."
"Man, everything here is run by dueling! This is like some bizarre dream that a fanatic would come up with!" Joey removed his deck from his pocket and flipped through his cards. "I beat that jerk, sure, but not by much. He had probably never seen half the cards I played, much less came up with a strategy to stop 'em. If I didn't have the element of surprise, I would have been toast. I need a plan."
Mokuba was surprised. "Joey Wheeler is actually thinking through something and coming up with a plan? I don't know what happened to you while you were gone, but you should make a habit of visiting it more often."
Joey laughed and gave Mokuba a small punch in the arm. "I guess sarcasm runs in the family, your brother would be proud."
"You know Joey, if you're serious about that whole plan thing, I know a card dealer that has the best selection in the country. The place is a bit rough, if you know what I mean. Hotheads, punks, right up your alley I'd say." Joey shook a fist at that remark. "It's not easy to get a look at the best cards, but I think I could get you in there."
"You know who runs the place, then?"
"Well, no. Actually I have no idea who runs the place. However, I think I could get us in there and get free pickings of the best cards."
"How do ya figure?"
"Those cards you have are quite old, and their value is extremely high. Your Red Eyes Black Dragon alone could buy you your own card shop and stock it for a month or so."
"No kiddin'?" Joey checked his pockets until his fingers found what they were looking for. Yugi had returned Joey's Red Eyes before the accident on top of the airship. "I couldn't part with this, though. This little baby has gotten me and Yugi out of more jams than I can remember."
"That's no problem, you could probably fetch a decent purse with any number of cards. We'd better get a move on though. They're pretty good at hiding themselves but if anyone at KaibaCorp discovers them, they have to change locations and we may not find them again for a long time, if ever. Dealers are prohibited from having rare cards for sale and violators get ransacked by the Rare Hunters."
Joey shook his head. "Man, this is definitely one crazy future. I can't believe all this happened just because Kaiba disappeared. I guess that nut-job was more important than I figured. He's still a first-rate creep, though."
"All right, all right, enough bad-mouthing my brother for a little while, okay?
Joey shrugged. "Sorry man, I just call 'em as they come. Your brother is a world-class moron and I'm gonna tell it to his face next time I see him."
Mokuba stepped up to Joey and looked him in the eyes. "Joey Wheeler. I want you to be completely honest with me. Do you really think we'll see my brother again?"
Joey looked at his Red Eyes again. He thought about Yugi, and then his sister Serenity, then Tristan and Mai and all his other friends. He slipped the card into his deck, where it belonged. "Man, you know I won't let ya down. I'm in this for my friends too. We've all gotta stick together, including that jerk Kaiba. Once we've found everyone else, I know things will be okay."
Mokuba nodded. "Thank you."
"No worries man."
As they stepped out the door into the dark hallways of the building a strange, hollow growling noise echoed through the corridor. Mokuba froze in place. "Joey, what was that?" He whispered, terrified to move in case some wild animal was ready to attack.
"Oh yeah! I haven't had a bite to eat for 25 years! I'm starved! Do you think we could grab something to munch on before we go? Or we could get something on the way, like pizza or cheeseburgers or ramen or..."
Joey has found and old friend (sort of) and now he's gone off to get his deck souped up and ready for battle! After some much needed refreshments, of course. Next chapter, Joey has to barter for the cards he wants, and he must duel the shopkeeper to close the deal! Will he and Mokuba find a missing friend somewhere along the way? Review please!
