Chapter 2
Heartless Doodlebug
Jounouchi pounded down the high street
after his rival. Neither of them slowed down, but not for the same
reason. Rex didn't want be hurt, and that's just what Jounouchi
wanted to do.
"You'll regret ever trying to perv on Anzu
kid!" Roared Jounouchi, chasing after Ryuzaki, who threw himself
down an alleyway by Kame Game. The tall blonde student leapt towards
Ryuzaki, missed him, hit the floor at a speed, and came to rest at
the feet of a sullen man.
Before the two duelists stood a
sombre looking male, draped in a black toga, revealing a muscular
tanned build beneath. Blonde hair draped from around the Stars and
stripes bandana that adorned his head.
"It can't be!"
"Bandit Keith?"
Ryuzaki and Jounouchi leapt up, now
wary of the famous American duelist. The man above them was looking
fierce, holding out a battered duel disk, as if it had burnt, thrown
into sea waters, every trial the elements could throw at a duelist.
There's something different about him...
Ryuzaki had now
drawn his own duel disk. Jounouchi sighed. Kids just can't hold in
violent urges...
"Mr. Katsuya..." Came a blunt voice
from behind. Jounouchi turned to see another familiar face. This
duelist was also draped in a black toga, allowing his muscular tanned
build to be shown. His face was worn away by tough sea weather and
his hair was a mess of midnight blue spikes.
"Mako!"
Gasped Jounouchi, recoiling as Mako approached him.
"We're
here to take you to Lord Victor, king of the NightDuel syndicate."
They both snapped. Mako now drew a duel disk as he stepped beside
Keith. Jounouchi couldn't see Ryuzaki lose to these two. He pulled
out his own duel disk.
Mokuba Kaiba was bored of his first
year at Domino High. He already knew more than most of his teachers,
thanks to his brother being so great. He laid back next to the tree
Seto was leaning on, and he giggled.
"The grass tickles."
"That's your mobile Mokuba."
"Oh, right."
The bright eyed youth pulled the phone, shaped like a Bean
Soldier, from his pocket. He flicked open the front cover and checked
the number.
REBECCA HAWKINS- US JUNIOR SENSATION
Mokuba liked
to know why his friends were so great.
"Hello?"
He
winced at the loud pop music playing on the car stereo over the
phone.
"Hey there Moky. I just found out there are some
duelist punks going to Domino. They're an American syndicate that
uses strange abilities."
"Why are they here?"
"Probably for that grand prix. That's why I'm coming over.
We just reached Tokyo."
"Hope to see you soon Bex."
The phone hung up as Mokuba looked at his sombre brother.
Something's up...
Bakura also thought something was up.
But it didn't have anything to do with Seto, Rebecca or NightDuel and
Victor. It was for the purpose of his own emotions. He felt his cell
phone ring and pulled it out, reading who was calling.
MOKUBA
KAIBA
He pressed the accept button.
"Hello Mokuba."
"Hey Bakura. Is something up?"
"No, why do you
ask?" Groaned Bakura as he slumped up the last few stairs to his
apartment.
"It sounds it. Why don't you tell me about it?"
Bakura thought about it.
What could a mere KID do?
"Ok
then. It's well... About my love life." Sighed Bakura as he
opened the azure door and crept inside.
"What about it? The
girl you fancy turn you down?"
"No."
"Have
a secret crush?"
"Sorta."
"Is it on
Anzu?"
Bakura tried to hold back his disgust at the comment.
"No, it's not. It's on..."
He bit his lip. Should
he? Hell, what could Mokuba do...
"Honda."
There
was a short silence. Mokuba said 'oh' very quietly.
"What do
you think?" Asked Bakura, worried.
"Hmm... Do you want
to meet him and tell him?"
Bakura thought about it again.
"Sure, why not."
Mokuba scribbled something down on
a notepad. Bakura balanced the phone on the bed as he pulled his
shirt off.
"Ok then. I'll need around 50."
Bakura
forgot Kaiba Corporation used dollars.
"I don't have that
amount at the moment..."
"Oh well, don't sweat. Just
pay me back after the tournament. When you do, we'll get round to
business."
Bakura thought that Mokuba was being surpringly
calm about the whole matter. Must be living around Seto... That must
harden you up. Or maybe it was being kept around Pegasus for so long.
Everyone knew Pegasus 'wasn't linear,' as Mai had put it.
"Ok...
thanks."
For someone he'd tried to possess, he was being
awfully flexible.
Back in the alleyway, the duel began.
"This shall be individual lifepoints." Stated Keith in
a dull drone. Everyone else nodded as they drew their opening hands.
"My move first." Croaked Ryuzaki. "I summon
sinister serpent in attack mode."
A tiny green reptile
emerged from the card.
"Now I activate ultra evolution pill,
to transform it into Black Tyranno. I then set 1 card and end."
A looming black dinosaur stomped into the duel field. A brown
oblong for a set spell appeared.
My magic jammer will protect
us...
"My move." Stated Bandit Keith.
"I
summon cannon soldier in attack mode and set two cards. I end."
A deep violet machine formed on the field, along with two more
oblongs.
"Now my move." Stated Jounouchi, drawing in a
grand gesture.
"I'll activate polymerisation on baby dragon
and alligator sword to summon baby dragon swordsman." Announced
Jounouchi, showing the three cards. Alligator sword and Baby Dragon
appeared, one riding the other.
"Now I activate de-fusion,
seperating my two monsters."
The two monsters leapt off each
other and formed into their individual cards.
"Now I can
tribute them both for Red Eyes Black Dragon." Announced
Jounouchi. The two creatures faded away to allow a deep black lizard
to form, glaring red eyes that glowed among the black armour.
That's
my card...
Ryuzaki glared at Jounouchi as he smiled and ended.
"So you both managed to summon big black beasts, huh?"
Grinned Mako.
"Now, I'll summon penguin nightmare in defence
and end after setting one card." Announced Mako. The tuxedo-clad
bird flapped onto the field, and an oblong appeared behind it.
"Back
to me, huh?" Grinned Ryuzaki. Sinister Serpent returned to his
hand.
"Now I'll activate gilasaurus's special ability to
special summon two of them." Announced Ryuzaki, throwing two
small dinosaurs onto the field.
"And thanks to it's
secondary effect. We each reborn one card in our cemeteries for all
the gilasaurus he summons." Stated Jounouchi, summoning Baby
Dragon and alligator sword. Keith and Mako glared. They had no
monsters in their cemeteries...
"Now I'll activate raise
body heat on both of my gilsaurus to raise their attacks to 2100."
The two small reptiles grew until they were almost as big as
black tyranno.
"Now, my gilasaurus can destroy your
nightmare penguin and cannon soldier."
The two dinosaurs
threw themselves at the nightmare penguin and cannon soldier. The
penguin shattered, but a swarm of female priestesses leapt in the way
of the second.
"Not so fast." Grinned Bandit Keith,
holding up Waboku.
"No matter, I'll set one monster and
end." Announced Ryuzaki. He now had no hand.
"Time to
heat things up a bit." Grinned Keith. Drawing another card, a
gigantic throne appeared behind him. Jounouchi recoiled back, as did
Ryuzaki, to find their way blocked by a series of diamonds protruding
from the ground.
"Prepare to meet Victor, fools!"
Two large violet urns
formed from the ground, groaning with the bubbling acid inside. Two
mechanical chasers fell into the pots, burning away with an acidic
hiss.
"This will allow me to summon my Zera the Mant!"
Roared Keith, throwing down his monster. The acid spilled over, and
began to form into a solid being of cobalt blue.
The ultimate
ritual demon.
"Now Zera, destroy Ryuzaki's pitiful Tyranno!"
Announced Keith, pointing in the direction of the tyrannic beast.
With a enormous swipe, the dinosaur faded away.
Rex: 3800
Jounouchi: 4000
Mako: 4000
Keith: 4000
"Now my
cannon soldier will attack Baby Dragon!"
Keith whisked round
to see his machine destroy the child reptile.
Jounouchi: 3800
"I
set one monster, and then flip my second face down!" Announced
the toga-clad American, throwing his arm up after pressing the
button. Two men were holding jars to the sky as coins rained down.
"My 'gifts of heaven' spell card allows us to draw until all
of our hands have six cards in."
Each person drew until
their hands were fully replenished.
Victor, the boss of
NightDuel, was drumming his fingers on the metal throne. Around him,
young women worked to figure out how to build pefect decks through
online forums. On a tier above them, more young people, this time
men, were reporting on duel status for members of the syndicate.
Victor turned to see one of these men rush in across the gangway to
the open-air lounge Victor occupied.
"Yes No. 321?"
"Bandit Keith and Mako Tsunami are winning sir. Keith's
field is currently Zera the Mant and Cannon soldier with six cards in
hand. Mako has one card set and six cards in hand. Their opponents,
Jounouchi Katsuya and Ryuzaki have a Red eyes black dragon and wyvern
warrior along with two gilasaurus equipped with raise body heat
respectively. Both or their lp totals are 3800, while Keith and Mako
have 4000 a piece."
Victor nodded and beckoned for No. 321
to leave, which he did promptly. Victor sighed and turned back to the
main monitor. A little phone symbol had now appeared in the left
corner. Pressing the phone shaped icon on the left arm of his seat, a
blurry picture appeared. The picture was of a middle aged man,
dressed in a burgundy pin-stripe business suit with frill cuffs, and
with long straightened grey locks with made him look older than he
really was.
"Hello Mr. Crawford."
"Good
morning Victor!" Cooed Pegasus.
"Please get to the
point sir..." Groaned Victor.
"Oh c'mon, aren't you
feeling peachy and perky this morning? Where's the l-"
"JUST
TELL ME WHY YOU'RE CONTACTING ME!" Roared the now tense man at
the image on the screen. Pegasus looked taken aback, brushed back his
curtain of hair that hid his eyepatch, and began.
"Apparently,
Seto Kaiba is holding a tournament around Domino, which will reach a
climax when the 8 first players to succeed getting 7 strange cards
will manage to catch an zeppelin at the blue eyes dome."
"That's some interesting information to add to the Kaiba
Corporation Grand Prix database... and what exactly are these 7
cards?"
Pegasus shuffled round off camera and picked up
seven clear tablets of plastic, roughly the dimensions of a duel
monster card. Each one had a single golden image imprinted on it,
which differed on each, and that picture was of...
"A sennen
item?" Gasped Victor.
"Indeed. Seto has decided to use
the sennen items as the designs for his cards. They're basically
thick card sleeves with a symbol on. When you win a card through the
ante it is put into the card you win as part of the duel."
Victor grinned.
"Any more information?"
"Indeed
there is Victor boy!"
Pegasus shuffled off screen to gather
something up, and then sat down again at the phone's camera end.
"I
have recently received deck lists from him as a bribe to be able to
use the duel monster cards I created. Obviously, I'd love to send you
the deck lists but..."
"But what?" Snapped Victor,
now tense.
"What good would they be to you? Do you know how
to PLAY duel monsters?"
"I run a duelling society. I
wouldn't be a leader without the knowledge of the game." Spat
Victor in a mixture of his ego and anger.
"Very well. I'll
fax the deck lists. I hope your members will be participating Victor
boy?"
Victor nodded and disconnected before Pegasus could
crack a joke.
Victor looked around him at his society. His idea.
His plan.
Perfect...
Jounouchi drew his seventh card.
Time to end this...
"I tribute my wyvern warrior for my
cyber tech alligator!"
Mako sniggered.
"Activate
face down, torrential tribute!"
There was a surge of water,
and all the monsters on the field disappeared in a torrent of liquid.
"I set two face downs and end..." Groaned Jounouchi.
"I draw." Announced Mako, smiling.
"I activate
terraforming to bring out A legendary ocean!"
There was an
earth shattering roar, and the field burst open, revealing gigantic
structures emerging from the earth. A watery layer rushed over
everyone, and the diamond rim of the arena, kept the water in.
"Now
I set 2 cards and summon giga gagagigo."
A gigantic aquatic
beast rose from the depths with an attack of 2650.
"How did
you summon a 5 star monster without a tribute?" Gasped
Jounouchi, recoiling.
"The effect of A legendary ocean not
only boosts my beast's attack, but lowers it's level by one."
Lectured Mako, and then he pointed at Jounouchi.
"Now my
leviathan, attack him directly"
Jounouchi roared as he was
thrown back against the diamond rim with a thud.
Jounouchi: 1150
lp
"I end."
Ryuzaki drew.
"I activate
reptilian roar!" Announced Ryuzaki. An image of a dinosaur
roaring at a kuriboh appeared and then shattered.
"For the
cost of one reptile from my hand, I can move one monster into defence
mode with a lower attack."
Ryuzaki threw a card into his
graveyard and saw the machine covered lizard change position.
"Now
I activate my monster reborn and chain with my own serial spell."
Announced Ryuzaki with a wry grin.
"Now I can revive two
monsters from my cemetery, and my gogiga gagagigo I just discarded
AND my black tyranno will work well."
The black dinosaur and
a mechanical lizard with glowing crimson eyes emerged on the field.
"Thanks to your field card, my own reptile gains a power
boost," grinned Ryuzaki as the attack increased, "But I
won't be allowing you to keep it, using Mystical Spac Typhoon to kill
it!"
A vortex wrapped around the underwater metropolis,
making it crumble to the ground in an avalanche of rubble and water.
"Activate my two face downs!" Announced Mako. Two rings
appeared, one strapping round the lizard's neck and the other
attaching round the dinosaur's leg.
"My destruction ring
will first of all kill your Black Tyranno, doing 1000 damage to us
all."
The black dinosaur gasped, but before any more emotion
could be let through, it blew up, everyone's lp dropping.
Jounouchi:
150
Ryuzaki: 2800
Mako: 3000
Keith: 3000
"Now,
my second card, Ring of Destruction, attaches to your gogiga, and
with a base attack of 2950, You're going to lose!" Grinned Mako.
Ryuzaki and the now badly shaken Jounouchi backed away from the
centre of the arena where the reptile had now shuffled over to, and
with a roaring explosion, all four of them were thrown against the
crystal walls, and with a shattering blast, Jounouchi and Ryuzaki
collapsed as the other two managed to stand up.
Jounouchi: 0
Ryuzaki: 0
Mako: 50
Keith: 50
"This love has
taken its toll on me..."
Otogi strummed his fingers on the
steering wheel as he drove down the highway. Rebecca and Prof.
Hawkins were tired of hearing him try and sing...
"Maybe we
should have the radio off..." Groaned Prof. Hawkins, running a
gnarles hand through his hair. Otogi took the hint and switched it
off.
"When will we be getting there?" Asked Rebecca,
flicking through her deck. She gazed at the beauty of her monsters.
"In about two hours." Chuckled Otogi.
Around
half an hour ahead of them, Mai Valentine was escorting Amelda,
Varon, Raphael to Domino. The three musketeers were crammed together
in the back.
"How long now..." Groaned Amelda, as
Raphael's muscular form pushed against him.
"About an hour."
Snapped Mai, fed up of their whining. Varon chuckled and turned back
to look at the ocean ahead. Being free of the Orichalcos was such a
great feeling...
Yugi, Honda and Anzu were all walking home
after waiting for Haga to wake up from the duel.
"Where's
Shizuka been recently?" Asked Yugi, looking to Honda, who he
suspected would know. As usual, at the mention of the girl's name, he
blushed.
"She's gone to Domino Hospital for a check-up.
She'll be at the plaza this evening."
Anzu was looking at
something in her hands. Yugi peered over to see her deck.
"Anzu..."
Anzu shrieked and almost dropped her cards.
"Why are you
looking at your deck?" Asked Yugi. Anzu looked at Honda.
"Both
of us also got invites to the grand prix when you left to duel Haga."
Yugi had received his invite from Kaiba a little later, and was
surprised to see two of his friends had been invited to.
"So,
what decks exactly are you running?"
Anzu and Honda smiled.
"You'll find out when we get there." They both said.
Mokuba kicked the soda can onto the curb, where a large truck
crushed it beneath the heavy wheels. Bakura looked at the vast dark
juggernaut with a look of awe.
"How do you know you fancy
Honda?" Asked Mokuba, slightly unnerved by the prospect. Before
Bakura could answer, Mokuba turned back to him.
"And why did
you tell me, of all people?"
"I don't really know why I
fancy Honda... It just sort of... happened... when we were in Egypt.
When I possessed him to duel Yugi... That was when I truly felt
whole."
Mokuba looked at Bakura, who's eyes had glazed over.
"You're a really soppy preteen." He said, covering his
mouth after realising what he said. Bakura giggled.
"I don't
know why. When I first met Isis, I talked to Malik and he said when I
felt then was love. Then I felt in control. But around Honda, I just
sort of, melt. You and Honda know me the best, after all, when we
first met each time, we've connected through our spirits, as if our
very personas were linked. The three of us have a link no one else
has. We are the three who are connected through the sennen ring."
Mokuba thought about this. Now that Bakura mentioned it, they
were the only people to have been there when Bakura tried to use
Mokuba as a new vessel. When he had tried, part of their spirits had
been connected, like when Bakura had sealed a bit of himself into the
puzzle before being removed...
"Maybe we should talk about
this out of the public eye." Mentioned Mokuba, beckoning towards
an alleyway at the side. The two wondered down.
"I should be
able to help set up something... if you get to the final 8."
Bakura smiled and thanked his friend. He stumbled on something
heavy, and fell over. He looked up at Mokuba, who was pale with
horror.
"Don't worry, I just fell over. I'm not that
weak..."
But then he realised Mokuba didn't mean him falling
over. It was what he had fallen over that worried him. For their was
the unconscious form of Jounouchi Katsuya and Ryuzaki...
Victor
saw the two duelists he heard about. They had recently just been
defeated by Keith and Mako. As he looked round the edge of the wall,
he saw two boys looking over the bodies. One was pale, and was
checking for pulses, while the other, with long black hair, was
frantically searching for something.
That's Mokuba Kaiba...
He
turned into the alley and saw the other person who was looking. Ryou
Bakura... He knew exactly what to do.
"What are you two
looking for?" Asked Victor, intruding on their two man rescue.
"The person who did this!" Announded Bakura.
"Say,
aren't you that Ryou Bakura kid?" Asked Victor, trying to sound
amazed.
"Yes, how did you know?" Asked Ryou, looking up
at the man.
"Oh, EVERYONE knows who was on battle ship at
Battle City. It was a big thing. Have you been invited to the new
tournament?"
"Yes, so what if I have?" Snapped
Bakura.
"You may need this..." Grinned Victor, and he
pulled something out of his coat. Bakura gasped as he gazed at it.
"That's right... the sennen ring."
Victor had to
hold in the laughter as Bakura held his mesmeric gaze on the ring. In
fact, it wasn't the real ring. No one could get into the temple where
it was held. But for the purpose of what he needed, this would act
nicely, especially when he put it on.
"Here, take it."
Victor said, passing the pendant to Bakura. Snapping it up, the pale
boy placed it around his neck. As he was about to finish placing it
on, there was a electric shock sound as Bakura cried out. The ring
was now glowing with an electric energy, some of the needles digging
into the boy's chest. He threw the ring off, gasping for air.
Help
me...
Bakura collapsed in a storm of red and black vision.
Mokuba looked at the unconscious form of Bakura.
"What
did you do to him?"
"I merely put a little device into
this fake sennen ring of mine." Sniggered Victor, holding up the
now bloody fake ring, smashing it with his foot on the ground below.
"Why are you doing this?" Cried Mokuba, seeing the
three bodies on the floor and going a little bit green.
"Because
I have plans... plans for your brother's tournament. Now tell me,
where are the god cards?"
"You'll have to duel me to
find anything out!" Snapped the child, pulling out his duel disk
and entering his deck into the slot. Victor shot a sour grin at the
adolescent, grabbing his own deck and placing it into the duel disk.
Seto always liked to have a walk after a stressful day. His
brother Mokuba had been crabby all day, and he'd found out everyone
was coming for the tournament announcement that night. The main
street may seem busy, but for him, it was peaceful.
Until he
heard a scream that was remarkably like his brother's.
Running to
the nearest alleyway, he saw a tall, tanned, bald man walking away
from the bloody form of Mokuba.
"What did you do to my
brother?"
Kaiba grabbed the man's shoulder, and he wheeled
round, grinning at Seto.
"Your brother tried to meddle in my
plans."
"But why did you hurt him like that?"
"My
demons need blood to keep then satiated..." Sniggered Victor,
walking off down the road.
Victor was particularly happy. He had just managed to get hold of four new decks...
Kaiba saw
the seperate bodies lying on the floor.
Katsuya...
Kaiba
pulled out his cell phone and selected the number.
MUUTO YUGI-
DUELIST KING
Honda and Anzu watched as Yugi finished talking.
"That was Kaiba on the phone... He's found Jounouchi and
Ryuzaki."
The two of them smiled.
"But they were
with Bakura and Mokuba... all of them bloodied up."
Their
looks of ecstasy faded to the exact opposite.
The sound of two
cars screeching to a halt beside them woke them out of their solemn
trance. Haga had now began to get up, and slowly back away from the
others. Mai, Raphael, Varon, Amelda, Rebecca, Otogi, Shizuka and
Prof. Hawkins stepped out of the cars.
"Hey guys, what are
you doing here?" Sighed Yugi, trying to hold in his grief.
"We
came for the tournament briefing at the Domino Plaza. It's happening
in about three hours." Explained Otogi, trying to work his way
over to Shizuka, who promptly moved over to Mai, who gave a cold
glare in the direction of Otogi.
"Is something wrong
Yugi?" Asked Rebecca.
Please don't say he's lost his soul...
"Jounouchi, Bakura, Mokuba and Ryuzaki were found -deckless-
in an alleyway off the main high street." Sighed Honda.
"Isn't
that in the direction of the plaza? We can check up on them on the
way." Stated Varon. Yugi nodded, now slightly reassured, and
they wondered off towards the plaza.
