A/N: Wow, this one is a loooooooooong one! And it's updated earlier then expected! Okay, so the night before isn't that much earlier, but… I'm out shopping tomorrow, and I have two projects and an Essay to do, and I want to watch some of Live 8, so…
Confessions time. Okay, so I DID write like, seven pages of a blow-by-blow account of the duel, but it was really boring. Really, really boring. So I deleted it all in a fit of artistic fury. (Sweatdrop) Instead, we have much less duelling and much more talking. It's probably not as good as it could be, but it's better then it was. I'm not all that happy with the dialogue, to be honest, but… Just see what you think.
Review Responses:
Erosgirl: Well, it seems EVERYBODY loves the 'kicking itold school' convo. I know I did! XD I just needed an excuse for Mokuba to play the duel and... Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Actually, that was come up with in the middle of a shopping centre, much like the rest of the fic. But whatever. It was fun! Leonard Nimoy, hey? Well, whatever. I'm not a Star Wars fan, at all. But the song rocks.
Lily of the Shadow: I love flukes. Winging it, improvising, whatever, will get you through anything! Thanks for the stuff 'bout Amane, btw. I had heard the car crash thing before, but I didn't know his mom was dead to. And I've heard an even wierder story before... Someone swears blind that she was taken away by aliens and Ryou went to rescue her, but Bakura sent her mind to the shadow relm and she died from it. Interesting theory, but somehow, I don't think it's true...
Dreamer of Dragons: I'm loving writing this fic! I shall be sad to see it end in the next two chapters...Sorry, I've tried desperatly to think of something to make this response longer, but I can't. Thanks for reading anyway!
GohanHugger: Another one that liked the whole 'Kick it old school' thing! Wow! AndI'm glad you like Mokuba, because in the anime youdon't seem to have much of a charecterto go on. I wasworried about getting it 'wrong'. But at least I know now that someone likes it!
Dragonlady222: Sorry, I can't claim to be much of a Star Treck fan. In fact, I don't like it much at all... The song however, 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins', rocks. Put it in on an audio search or something- I love it! Please continue R&Ring, you've been most most constant reviewer yet and I'd hate to lose you for the last three chapters!
Disclaimer: I'm getting really bored of these.
Here's Chapter 19!
Nineteen: Walk the Walk
Mokuba frowned. When he'd been challenged to a duel, that's what he had been expecting. Not this… farce. The cards Selbek was using weren't even real Duel Monsters cards, just some lousy rip-off. The cards were mere shadows of what they once were, almost an insult to the memory of the game that had once practically ruled his world.
Not that Selbek was much better himself. He seemed to barely know what he was doing. Sure, he knew the new cards and rules, but in a match against the old greats, he would never had stood a chance. The man had to be seriously delusional if he thought that he could have beaten Seto. It wasn't even a challenge. So far, it had just been one-turn moves; each turn concluded itself with no follow on strategy. All Mokuba had on the field were Alpha and Beta the Magnet Warriors. Gamma was in his hand, waiting to be played, along with a few other cards including Monster Reborn. These monsters were by no means powerful, but Selbek still couldn't get past them!
The only thing reserving Selbek's 6000 life points was a trap card. One that Peguas would never have dreamt of making, saying that only monsters with more then 3000 ATK could attack at all, on the condition that Mokuba got to draw an extra card every time Selbek decided to keep it in play. The card was called Hadrian's Wall, and thus far was the only card Mokuba hadn't been able to connect with a film.
And by far the most irritating thing about Selbek was the way he loved the sound of his own voice.
"You know," He said conversationally as he drew a card in order to begin his turn. "You play this game very differently to your brother…"
"Are you keeping the Wall in play or not?" Mokuba demanded, drumming the top of his deck.
"I think I better had." Selbek replied mildly. "Draw your card, so I may continue my turn!"
Mokuba did, quickly suppressing an annoyed growl as Tip the Balance came up. A useful card, no doubt, it had seen him through plenty, but it was no use now, and he wanted to take this guy down ASAP.
"As I was saying," Selbek continued. "I've watched all the recordings of your brother playing. I've studied his gaming style very carefully. I was all revved up to be playing him."
"Maybe you should have spent less time studying the way Seto played and more time working out how to play yourself." Mokuba shrugged daringly. "Because you're duelling me now, and it's not my problem if you're ready or not!"
"But it's not just that that makes you different." Selbek persevered. "He's ruthless, isn't he, your brother? He'd do anything. But you…"
Mokuba tried to shut him out, tried to drive what he was saying away from him, but it was no good. He could still hear.
"You wouldn't do that, would you? You're weaker then that."
Mokuba looked at the floor. He wasn't 'weak'. No way.
Or was he?
Selbek smiled to himself. "And you have more morals. More scruples."
"Oh, leave off!" Azreal yelled from the side-lines. "Just get on with your turn!"
"How much do you actually know about what your brother does?" Selbek continued regardless. "How much can you trust him?"
"Mokuba…" Seto growled. "Don't listen to him." But his brother did not answer, looking at the floor.
"Now you're getting it." Selbek smiled. "You can't. You came all this way to save him, but do you really know what you're saving? You can't be so blind that you haven't seen how ruthless he is. Can you really believe that he didn't announce his tournament on that day purposely, just to beat me to it? Are you so stubborn, so blind that you can't see what's right in front of you? On the other hand, are you so weak that you won't stand by your beliefs?"
"Say something!" Azreal hissed at Seto, but he shook his head.
"No. Mokuba has to figure this one out on his own…"
The teen in question was still looking at the floor, but now licked his lips, preparing to answer.
"I…"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Somewhere in Las Vegas:-
Duke smirked, only his dignity suppressing a full-out snort.
He'd found it at last.
What he'd been turning his various houses and offices upside down looking for.
There was no way he would have lost it. He couldn't have, it was one of his most treasured possessions.
And now, at last, here it was.
The Photograph of Joey in a dog suit.
Duke smiled in reminisce. He had been so mean to them all to start off with, and yet it was them who he'd ended up being friends with. It was strange how you became friends with people, really…
The phone rang, interrupting his 'work'. Duke picked it up.
"Yes?" He asked, still glancing at the photo and fighting back a laugh.
"There's two calls for you, sir…" His secretary said. "At the same time…"
"Who?" Duke asked, not really given to conversation.
"One's the Gaming Council. Again." She sounded almost hopeful. Like he might actually talk to them. Then, as she made no response. "The other is someone who just says… ahem… that you 'better talk to me now, because this call is long-distance!'."
"I'd better take that one then." Duke replied easily, swinging his legs up onto the desk. "Tell the Gaming Council that I'm in…" His eyes flicked up to the map of his empire on the wall. "London. How about London this week?"
His secretary gave a sigh of exasperation. "You'll have to face them sometime…"
"But it's more fun to muck then about!" Duke grinned. "And if they're going to try to contact me in London, remind them that England has different Gaming laws and that as they hold no power over there, any attempt to so much as talk to me against my will could be regarded as a racist act. Now, which line is this other person on…?"
"Two." She replied tiredly. As immature as Duke was, he was legally minded. There wasn't anything wrong with his games and Casinos anyway… She patched him through to the mystery caller.
"Talk."
"At last!" Mai's voice echoed, sounding irritated, down the line. "Do you know how much it costs to phone America from France!"
"Mai, hey…" Duke replied. "Oh, I'm not in America, I'm in… 'London'."
She sighed in exasperation. "Are you still mucking about with the Gaming Council? Duke, they want to give you a prize, not shut you down!"
"No, you're wrong." Duke replied lazily. "They don't want to give me the prize. They don't like me."
"Is it any surprise?"
Duke laughed. "Not really. But they know I'm the obvious winner… I just want to get under their skin even more!"
"You must be really bored." Mai hit the nail on the head.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Duke conceded. "So, what's the reason for you to blow all your money on a long distance call?"
"I just had to tell someone!" Mai said, suddenly sounding happy and excited again. "Remember I said about that big deal?"
Duke sat up straighter. "You got it?" He asked.
"Yes!" Mai screamed. "I got it!" She had been trying for months to convince an elite clothes label to let her design for them. And now, it seemed, she'd finally managed it. "And do you know what the best part is?"
"What?" Duke asked. "Besides the fact you'll be doing a job you love with a huge amount of money?"
"I can work in Domino!" Mai told him happily. "I'm going home!"
Duke didn't answer for a moment. Then he answered: "You've really changed, you know. You're not so… materialistic anymore."
"Well…" Mai said doggedly. "I know there's more important things. Slightly more important." She amended. "Why don't you go back to, Duke? Joey's going back as soon as he has the money, I'm going back… Even Ryou went back to his home. Why don't you?"
"…" Duke considered for a moment. "I can't."
"Don't give me that." Mai sniffed. "You're like, what, the 5th richest person in the world? You could chuck it in now and still have enough money to last the rest of your life."
"Yeah, but what would I do then?" Duke asked. "I'd get too bored. Staying in one place, doing the same thing every day with the same people… I'd be bored out of my skull."
"Even more then you are now?" Mai asked, smiling at the other end.
"Yup." Duke agreed. "Besides, my company is huge. If I shut it down, thousands of people will lose jobs across the world."
There was a silence for a moment, then Mai spoke again.
"You know, you've changed to."
"How so?"
"You've got a heart."
Duke groaned uncomfortably, quickly changing the subject. "So… Why did you phone me?"
"Because it's slightly cheaper to phone America then it is to phone Japan, and I really wanted to tell someone!" Mai laughed at herself.
"Great. What, do you suddenly not like France?"
"I love it…" Mai said contemplatively. "But it's full of chickens."
"I thought it was full of goats."
"That's what I thought, but there are chickens EVERYWHERE!"
And so, the conversation continued in this fashion, oblivious to the drama unfolding on the other side of the planet.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"I…" Mokuba said uncertainly, but then he looked up, conviction back on his face. "I don't know what my brother does all the time, but I still trust him, because I always have, and it's always paid off! And… it doesn't matter how he plays the game, because at least he played with the cards. You try to play with people's minds, don't you Selbek? Well, I'm not so 'weak' that I let my views be swayed by a Batman-wannabe! And one more thing…" He smiled. "Dude, you really suck at this game."
"Well!" Selbek replied. "This is a turn up for the books! You're as stubborn as your brother!"
His words were like water off a duck's back. Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Will you please just get on with it?" He asked.
"Why are you so impatient?" Selbek asked, peeved that his tricks didn't work. Ever since this kid got involved, things had slipped further and further out of his control. One of his best workers was dead. There were so many of them! Victory seemed to becoming more and more elusive…
"Why am I impatient?" Mokuba echoed. "I'll tell ya… I'm impatient because as soon as it's my turn, I'll win this game and teach you that if you can't play properly, don't play at all!"
o-o-o-o-o( A/N: I know this is a really bad time to interrupt, but I thought I'd just share this with y'all- This is the ONE HUNDRETH PAGE, not including A/Ns! 100 pages of this fic… woah… Anyhoo, back to Mokie...)-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Defeat me?" Selbek echoed, snorting. "Yeah, right. How are you planning to do 6000 damage in one turn?"
"Why don't you end yours and find out?" Mokuba smirked, sounding creepily like Seto, again.
Selbek stared at him, trying to work out if he was bluffing. Mokuba stared back, equally calm, never flickering.
Selbek laughed. "Nice try. I don't believe you. It's not possible. And just to show you just how sure I am, I'll end my turn without even playing any monsters."
"Clever." Mokuba smiled. "But not as clever as this. Now, it's time for one of the most annoying combos in the game! And it features these two, who you seem to have forgotten about…" He gestured at Alpha and Beta.
Selbek snorted. "I knew it. You'll never defeat me with such weak monsters! Thanks to my Hadrian's Wall, they can't even attack!"
"They're not powerful enough now…" Mokuba corrected. "But when I sacrifice them, along with this guy-" He held up Gamma "You'll be surprised how powerful they can get…"
The three Magnet warriors disappeared to the Graveyard, instantly summoning the ultimate machine, the best Magnet warrior- Valkyrion.
"What is that?" Selbek asked, not sounding impressed at the robot before him.
"Allow me to introduce Valkyrion, the Magnet Warrior." Mokuba said. "And with 3500 ATK…"
"He can attack me directly! My wall won't work!" Selbek gasped.
"He could…" Mokuba agreed "If I wasn't about to bring his second effect into play. By sacrificing Valkyrion, I can automatically get back Alpha, Beta and Gamma!"
"But…" Selbek couldn't believe it, couldn't figure it out. He had never seen a move so… complicated. "But why? What's the point in all this sacrificing and bringing back?"
"Do you really want to know?" Mokuba grinned wickedly. "Because it's going to kill ya."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
At last, the skyline of Domino was in sight. Serenity's thoughts turned away from her own predicament and back to the original concept- What was happening to Yugi and, quite possibly, the Kaiba brothers.
It seemed the others had experienced this as well, because they had finally stopped arguing.
"So." Tristan said. "We're nearly there. What's the plan?"
"At last…" Joey groaned. "I guess we just take a look around."
"What are we looking for?" Tristan asked.
"Anything unusual." Joey shrugged. "But maybe we should call round at the Game Shop first. I promised Yugi's Grandpa I'd come and he's probably wondering where I've got to…"
"Okay then." Tristan agreed. "Let's do that."
Suddenly, a dim 'boom' sound reached them, and, far off in the city's skyline they saw a large mushroom shaped cloud of dust and smoke rise.
"Or we could head towards the big explosion." Téa suggested, recovering.
"Yeah, on second thoughts, I think we'd better do that."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"First, I'll sacrifice Alpha, Beta and Gamma again in order to bring out another Valkyrion from my deck!" Mokuba yelled.
"A second Valkyrion?" Azreal asked. "I thought he only had one…"
"So did I…" Seto said, sounding slightly irked. "Where did he get the second one from?"
Yugi continued to look forward, trying to look innocent. No, it hadn't been him who had given Mokuba the card. He hadn't been secretly helping Mokuba modify his deck. Certainly not. What an… absurd… suggestion. Ahem.
Selbek gave a growl of frustration as another of the fearsome robots appeared, different to the other only in slight tonal colour differences. "But it doesn't matter!" He howled. "You still only have one! What's the point!"
"You've forgotten one of the most basic but important cards in the game." Mokuba sighed. "You are not fit to call yourself a duellist, really. I'll play Monster Reborn. And I'll just bet that you know what I'm going to revive, Selbek!"
The first Valkyrion reappeared, looking about as smug as a Robot can get.
"You wanted a robot army?" Mokuba said, hidden somewhere behind the massive wall of metal and robot. "Well, how do you like mine? Because they can both attack directly, and that, as I'm sure you've worked out, will do more then six thousand damage! So, now, Valkyrions, attack his life points directly!"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
They were celebrating even before the life point counter reached Zero.
"That was awesome!" Azreal cheered. "Mokuba, you rocked!"
"Well…" Mokuba began.
"No 'Wells' or 'ifs' or 'buts'!" Jenna interrupted. "You were way better then me! That was skill, not fluke nor luck!"
"I haven't seen a combo like that in a while." Yugi smiled.
"Me either." Ryou said, also grinning.
"There's just one thing I don't get…" Jenna added. "I'm no expert, but I thought you could only… summon… once per turn."
"That's true." Ryou nodded. "But you can have as many special summons as you want, and Mokuba took advantage of that."
"'Special Summons'?" Jenna echoed in confusion. "On second thoughts, no, don't even try to explain. Let's just all agree that Mokuba kicked butt, okay?"
"Fine by me." Seto agreed. Mokuba smiled happily. Seto had never been one for praising openly, but that was pretty close.
Close enough, anyway.
Unfortunately, they had all forgotten about Selbek. He was still there, and he still had one, final trick up his sleeve…
"Congratulations." He said coolly, pulling the centre of attention back to himself. "Well done. Now I suggest you all get out of here."
"What have you done?" Seto growled. "You promised you'd let us all go safely, Selbek."
"And I will honour that promise." The man in question shrugged. "You have three minutes from now. Then, the building will explode."
They looked at him in horror.
"Well, now it's obvious that there's no way I can compete, no way for me to get my 'fifteen minutes of fame' I've been working for all this time. So I might as well go out with a bit of a bang, no? The device was set to my disk. When my life points reached zero, all over the building the bombs began their countdowns."
"What?" Azreal demanded. "You can't do this! You're insane! You're blowing up the building and we only have three minutes to find our way out!"
"I suggest you run." Selbek said mildly, settling down into his armchair on the left-hand side of the room. "It's two minutes now."
As one, the six began to run out the room.
"Come with us." Azreal asked simply.
"No." He replied equally simply.
"Then there goes another one…" She muttered, resuming her sprint as the others yelled at her to come on.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Mokuba was leading the way. Why? Well, apart from the fact he was one of the quickest, he also had the best memory of the blueprint and the best sense of direction. So when they let him take the lead, it was a good decision, albeit a strange one.
He himself had no idea where he was going. He was running on pure instinct, letting his feet do the thinking- they seemed to know where they were going better then his head, which was slowly being consumed by panic. How long had they been running? Thirty seconds? A minute?
More?
And yet, Anna and Jenna seemed to find it a good time to have a conversation.
"So," Jenna gasped, breathless as they raced along yet another, identical corridor. "I hear you're going out with Kaiba. How's that working out for you?"
"We've been together since we were fifteen." Azreal informed her, by way of explanation.
"Really?" Jenna blinked in surprise. "But he's such a jerk…"
"Ah, He's nice once you get to know him." Azreal defended.
"Really?"
"No."
"Oh."
"So, what about you and Ryou, huh?"
"We're not going out! Why does everyone think that!"
"You're not? Chick, you totally should be!"
Seto and Ryou exchanged an uncomfortable glance before propelling their respective protesting companions along in an attempt to make them go faster.
"Now's not the time, ladies!" Ryou said, sheepishly.
"I think I see a way out!" Mokuba cried in relief. His feet hadn't steered him wrong after all. Far away, at the end of the corridor, he could see what was obviously daylight streaming in around the edge of the double-doors he and Ryou had broken in through almost three days ago now. But could they reach it in time…?
Yes.
They scrambled through the door and out, into daylight and fresh air, overwhelmed, and yet, they continued to stumble on, still in the blast zone.
They were half way down the hill when it happened. The whole building disappeared into a ball of noise and smoke and flame, even the hologram projectors malfunctioning. They threw themselves down, and stayed there for some time as shrapnel fell like rain up on top of the hill.
They were far enough away that the heat and after shocks dissipated reasonably quickly. Mokuba rolled onto his back, spitting out the mouth full of mud and grass he'd acquired whilst diving face down to the floor.
But now he did not look at the ground. He looked at the sky. It seemed insane. At the top of the hill, it was black and full of smoke and dust, slowly rolling forward. But directly above them, the sky was blue without a cloud in sight. And as the sun's rays beat down on him and warmed him, he felt very sleepy indeed.
He looked along the row of the people with him. His brother, Anna, Yugi, Ryou and Jenna, already all unconscious. Seto with his broken nose. Anna with a hair-band bandage round her swelling wrist. Yugi, covered in sand and dirt and dust from their various adventures in the holes. Ryou, even paler then usual, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and his hands chapped and sore. Jenna, battered and beaten and exhausted.
And then there was him. Lying at the end of the row, his hands burnt and red-raw from the metal panel, His knuckles white from clenching them too hard throughout.
I should really phone an ambulance or the firs service or something… Mokuba thought drowsily. No, it can wait. He decided. After sleep…
We must look an odd sight, he considered as he began to give into the blackness gnawing at the edges of his eyes. Six people unconscious on a hill in front of a burning building…
And he finally let the black wash over him, floating away from the reality of the last few days.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
This was how Joey, Tristan, Téa and Serenity found them some time later.
They were a little surprised, to say the least.
And more then a little irritated that, after everything they'd been through to get here…
They hadn't been needed after all-
The six had done just fine on their own.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: I AM A LEMON SQUERED ON A COCKTAIL STICK!
Heh. Got your attention, didn't I? What I wanted to tell you was this: It's not the end yet. There's still some lose ends to tie up, and therefore there will be one further chapter and an epilogue, both to come somewhere next weekend. As I have Fri-Mon off due to Teacher training, I may as well make the most of it. So look out for the ending of IMM next week!
And one more thing: Willowwind, do you understand now who Valkyrion is…?
Till next week, smile!