Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of its related characters nor do I own Beyblades or any of its mentioned characters in the following story (i.e. Mai's Idol).

River Rae

Collision Course

A Methane Fuelled Metropolis

The city was burning brighter than methane fuelled candles by the time that Mai Valentine and her camera crew had set up. People ran past screaming, trampling those in their way in their haste to flee the flaming metropolis. Adjusting her mass of freakishly bouncy blonde curls, the young newsreader checked her image in her personally signed 'Fab Mattel' compact, admiring the world-renowned signatory lipstick-covered kiss branded on the front. Mai drifted from her current assignment to the memory of her idol at the latest fashion cat-walk…

"You ready yet, Valentine?" asked the dude holding the massively-oversized news camera.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, roll camera…"

The camera guy grumbled an inaudible string of curses about where he would rather be while rolling camera.

"A-hem, welcome to Nine News Live Coverage Special. I am Mai Valentine, five times winner of Karaoke Klub Krash and two times winner of 'Fab Mattel' Golden Globe Idol. I am here live in the great capital ok Japan, Tokyo City, which is now reduced to a flaming metropolis from hell. The culprit of this city's demise is suspected to be Yugi Moto, a young man from…"

A flying cat collided with Mai's head and was immediately entangled in her trap of hairy peroxide. Mai screamed and batted her hair, trying to free it of the hysterical feline.

The camera guy thought that this was a great laugh until he turned the camera towards the heart of the city. His grin left his face faster than Mai to a peroxide clearance sale. Emerging from between the flaming buildings was the culprit of the disaster. A teen of about eighteen years slowly walked past the flaming wreckage of a former post office, as if sleepwalking although his eyes were partly open. His black hair, tipped with a purplish-red, stood on end and looked like it could easily take all of Japan's hair gel to keep it in place. His hair defied gravity in several ways, one being that it stood on end in five points, a further point just visible paste ach side of his face. Another offence being the three blonde streaks that stood out, each against one point of black point of hair. And to top it all off were the six blonde bangs that resembled bolts of lightning, which made up his fringe. Three bangs were placed to the left side of his face; one shooting off to the far left while the other two framed the side of his face. Two bangs shot off to the right of his face, which left the sixth bang that stood straight (as straight as a lightning bolt can be, anyway…) up in a last stand against the tyrannical ways gravity, although it was easily mistaken as another blonde streak. Compared to the people who had been running from the city the guy looked pretty tall, although it could have been that the people were hunched over to avoid the flying debris. The camera guy didn't fail to notice, either, that the tall guy was emitting visible auras of energy all round him. This was the main cause for the flames, explosions, burning buildings, people, cars, dogs, signposts, etc… Anything that came within five metres of the wandering human-bomb became instant molecularly-scrambled iota-sized sawdust. Anything within ten to fifteen metres spontaneously combusted, unless they were as light as a semitrailer, in which case they were blown anywhere from twenty to a hundred yards through the air. Needless to say, the cat caught up in Mai's mass of bleached twine was quite stressed enough without having to fight off the Nits of Death that had currently resided in Mai's Peroxide Paradise. Speaking of which, the camera guy decided he had better hit the road pretty soon. He didn't fancy a free flight back home…

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Seto Kaiba was in hysterical laughter in front of the LCD flat screen. From his many cameras placed around Tokyo city (that were not yet disintegrated or in flames) he could view and tape the destruction that was taking place as his long-sworn enemy, Yami (previously known as Atemu), hypnotically ant-marched around the soon-to-be-devastated city. He was still processing the idea in his brain of how brilliant his latest scheme had been. Kaiba had been mortally devastated when his father's IBM-Mac computer empire had gone under, even spending a short period of time in Tristan's Rehabilitation Centre for the Criminally Insane. However, Kaiba was determined to bounce back from his father's disgrace; becoming an entrepreneur in a series of chemically edited pills. The latest one was a 'Hypno-tide'. Seto's current test subject was currently disintegrating the largest city in Japan, on Seto's orders, without any idea of what he was doing. Of course the previous 594 tests were complete failures to say the least, especially in the case of Pegasus J Crawford. The hypnotic chemicals had been stored by a new Chinese employee who could not quite yet discern the difference between the words 'hot' and 'cold'. He had unknowingly stored the case of ills to be tested the next day in the store room that was set to room temperature. As this was well above the recommended storage temperature (-2 degrees Celsius) needless to say the subject noted out loud the next day that the pills tasted a little bit strange. Five minutes after being reassured that it was all perfectly normal Pegasus went into an epileptic state of fits followed by a paralysing state of shock. The first question that came from his mouth five hours later was: "Who am I?". His long time bodyguard, Croquet, had answered him thus: "You are Pegasus, sir?"

After that (and a series of failed flying attempts) Pegasus had to be constantly watched, lest he try to fly off the nearest and tallest building in an attempt to become the mythical horse he believed that he was. It wasn't until eight further attempts (and twenty further tantrums, on Seto's behalf) that the problem was solved.

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Seto Kaiba had been sitting up late behind his work desk filling out paperwork that needed to be done in order to send off a shipload of 'Hypno-tides' to Kaiba Corp.'s Test Subject Centre. Just as he was about to place the label on the last unmarked pack of pills Kaiba was humbled by an unexpected visit from his younger step-brother, Noah.

Oh God, what now? Kaiba asked himself as he beckoned his step-sibling to seat himself.

As the unwanted visitor had sat down, rambling on about how bad his life had been since their father's corporation had cascaded, the eldest Kaiba brother himself began to ramble on inside his head out of sheer boredom about the things he'd love to do to his younger step-brother. Like chucking him off high-rise building, or turning him into a midget 'yap-yap' dog (it's all he does anyway, yap yap yap yap…) and he could yap al he wanted. Or, better yet, (now Seto was getting really creative) he could turn Noah into a yap-yap and throw him a bone (or 8 yen) off a bridge over the highway at rush-hour…

"…and then he said: 'Well, it's not my fault if you don't have another job'!" Noah ended his tragedy.

"And you know what he did?" he continued.

Oh no, do go on… Kaiba thought sarcastically.

"He fired me! How unfair is that? What am I going to do now?"

SEto assumed that this was the end of his sad epic of the life he lived since he had woken up that morning and said, as usual: "And what do you want me to do about it? I'm not the owner of the world's largest computer corporation anymore!"

"But if you were able to restore me back to my original body then can't you find me a job somewhere around this place?" Noah referred to the large estate now used as a pill factory. He may have been Seto's step-brother, but that didn't mean that he was entitled to any of the earnings or estate. After all, as Kaiba had said, Noah was his step-brother. Therefore, even the family cat had more family rights to the property and all its earnings than Noah.

Seeing no other option open to him, Noah resorted to the classic 'puppy-dog eyes' that the youngest Kaiba brother, Mokuba, used to get their father to do whatever the boy wanted. Well, when their father was alive. That look didn't work on the sky when you asked it for your father back. But this was Noah we're talking about. Hardly the same effect as Mokuba's charm.

"Noah, I'm not the multimillionaire and influential tyrant our father was, nor do I have cash to spare. And stop doing that, you're making my stomach turn".

Noah ceased his imitation of a dog an hung his head with a sniffle.

Oh God…

Seto was beginning to feel uncomfortable and it was almost closing time for the Test Centre…

The Test Centre! Why didn't I think of that before?

"Oh, Noah. I can't stand to see you so sad," Seto made an attempt at sincerity.

What the hell? Noah was stunned. He stared at his hated brother, the favourite out of the family and the one whom their father had most loved. Did Seto just show emotion- no, sympathy?

"Uh…" Noah was at a loss for words.

"Really, I wish there was something I could do for you, but I'm up to my ears in paperwork, as you can see," he motioned around the desk. Indeed it was almost impossible to tell what shade the wood that the table was mad of was. Every square inch was covered in files and white paper. "It makes my heart ache to see you like this. All I can do if offer you a free sample of our new range of 'Inhale-O-Dorphins'". Seto smiled across the desk as he slid an unmarked pack of tablets to his younger step-brother over the forests-worth of paper.

Noah had eyed the packet suspiciously.

"Why has the label been removed?"

"I was just sending it off for labelling before I was honoured by your presence."

He was really loading the bull crud on now…

Kaiba attempted a sweet smile, which never failed to unnerve a victim. You could never tell whether it was a look that said either: "Do what I just said, or else" or "Guess what? I just hacked into your files and you don't need to tell me the answer to the question I just asked you because I know already, but I'm gonna screw with your head just for the fun of it". These days though, it usually meant something along the lines of: "Oh that's nice, keep laughing because when I get my empire back you're gonna be nothing but a grunt working under me" or even "I may not be a multimillionaire and influential tyrant anymore, but I can still kick your arse"

Currently that smile was none of the aforementioned, but because of his history everyone who came into contact with the eldest Kaiba were usually intimidated to say the least.

Noah took the packet into his hands and opened the end printed 'open other end' and poured out five small white pills into the palm of his hand. Each tablet was marked 'H-T', standing for 'Hypno-Tide'.

"Why does it say 'H-T'?" Noah sniffed the tablets.

"Simply Chinese characters for the letters 'I-D', meaning 'Inhal-O-Dorphin," Seto explained. Seeing the look of distrust on Noah's face he added: "Please don't tell me that you have cause to distrust me, brother?" Kaiba assumed a hurt tone.

Again, Noah was stunned. Since when had Seto called him 'brother'?

Without further delay, Noah swallowed both tablets (the other three had missed his mouth) in one gulp and grinned triumphantly in an attempt to please his older step-brother. Seto grinned as he watched Noah's eyes droop and eventually close.

"Noah," Kaiba said quietly.

Noah opened his eyes half-way and inclined his head to show that he was ready to do Kaiba's bidding.

"Bring me my mobile over on the bench there," Kaiba indicated the small black mobile phone on the table behind Noah.

Kaiba's grin broadened as his step-brother obediently brought the mobile to him. Kaiba's eyes drifted over the paperwork that had yet to be completed.

"Sort this out for me while I make a call," Seto instructed as he flipped open the metallic black mobile.

"Wheeler. Kaiba. Tell the team that we have a successful test subject. I want two cases of Hypno-Tides by tomorrow morning" Kaiba paused, listening. "How much do you think we need to take down the Pharaoh? Use your head," with that Kaiba had flipped the mobile closed.

Baka…

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That had been two weeks ago and even now Kaiba could not help but be amazed by how easily the legendary Pharaoh had been caught. Mind, Yami had taken out several of Kaiba's grunts in the process and required plenty of tranquiliser to sedate, but it had all been worth it in the end. To see Yami reduced to a mere pawn filled Kaiba with such a feeling of achievement that his employees were amazed when he declared a day off for everyone in staff, except Joey Wheeler and Noah. Seto had wished to watch his adversary disgrace himself alone.

Kaiba burst into another fit of hysterical laughter as another LCD screen went blank as Yami walked past the flaming signpost that it was attached to. Hearing his brother's fit of hysterics and fearing for Seto's state of mind, Mokuba was hesitant to disturb his older brother's viewing.

"Seto?" Mokuba called meekly through the gap between the door and the wall.

"Moku-chan! Come in here and watch our enemy humiliate himself!" Kaiba beckoned the smaller boy over without moving from his seat. More hysterical laughter as a truck collided with a camera, causing the screen to black out.

Mokuba entered the dark room, lit only by the glowing LCD screens. He looked at one screen that showed an entire row of houses disintegrate due to the force of the energy that was emitting from Yami.

Poor guy, Mokuba thought. He had never had reason to hold a grudge against Yami, Yugi and their friends as his brother had. So he felt sad for the lost Pharaoh.

"Uh, a number of clients have put their names down for the case of Hypno-Tides and wish to see you about bidding details," Mokuba suddenly remembered why he had come to see his brother.

"Send Wheeler to see to the clients and Noah to the bidding forms," the eldest brother said, never moving his eyes from the television screen.

His elder brother's plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Hypno-Tide tablets to terrorist organisations around the world left Mokuba a little uneasy. It wasn't just the fact that Yami was being portrayed to the world as a mad and brutal killer; it was more the thought of what terrorists such as the ones that his brother knew could do with a single case of hypnotic tablets. Seto had planned to sell a case of the prized produce to the highest bidder, and the way that the bids were going, it looked like 'Kaiba Corp' would be up and running in a matter of months. The Kaiba brothers would then be able to reclaim all of the riches they had to sell to run the Hypno-Tide Project (all but Noah, of course).

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