3. The Meeting
A little before ten, showered and changed, the four men headed towards Pegasus's suite on the twelfth floor. The suite was on the corner down the hall from the elevators, the door propped open with Croquet standing just outside to make sure only invited guests gained admittance. As they approached the door, Mai, whose room was also on the twelfth floor, appeared around the corner from the opposite direction. She and Joey both stopped when they saw each other. Joey's heart twisted at the startled expression on her face.
"Joey! What are you doing here? I… I thought you were leaving." There was a note of hope in her voice, making him feel like the world's biggest heel. I knew I shouldn't have come.
"We'll meet you inside," Yugi said quickly as he, Tristan, and Duke beat a hasty retreat.
"I am leaving," Joey confirmed with regret. "I just… I guess all of us were invited, not just the top four duelists, so I thought I should see what's up before I go."
"Oh," Mai said dully.
"Listen, I didn't mean to make it harder. I really wasn't planning on coming, but Yugi talked me into it."
"Okay," she nodded. He didn't know what else to say at the moment, so they stood across from each other in awkward silence until she finally broke it by saying, "Well, then, I guess we should go in."
"Yeah, I guess we should."
Before he could turn toward the door, he heard a voice call out with an odd forced quality, "Hey Joey!" He turned to see Téa and Serenity approaching from behind him. His eyes met Serenity's and she glared at him while Téa nudged her forward and muttered, "Go talk to him."
Serenity said nothing, however; she just glared at Joey and marched past him, pointedly ignoring him. "Hello Mai," she said as she breezed between them, Téa on her heels.
"Oh that's real mature!" he shouted after Serenity.
"I'll keep working on her," Téa whispered as she went past.
"Whatever," Joey growled. He then saw Mai giving him a wry look.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"Let's just say she doesn't agree with my decision to stay in Domino." Mai raised her eyebrow at him and she looked amused. "You think it's funny?" he grumbled.
"No," she said, screwing on a serious expression.
"You try having Serenity scream at you for half an hour. You think I've got a temper…."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
He considered this. "That depends on whose side you're on."
She paused, thinking. "Good point. I'll just stay out of it."
They finally went into the suite. Besides Yugi, Tristan, Duke, Téa, and Serenity, Kaiba and Mokuba were there as well. Kaiba was standing off to the side, his arms crossed and an impatient scowl on his face. The rest of them were gathered around two buffet tables opposite the door. As Duke had predicted, it was an elaborate spread of food including scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, sausage, bacon, roasted potatoes, smoked salmon, a cheese platter, several varieties of fruit, and even a man in a puffy chef's hat manning a waffle and omelet bar. Joey, however, found himself with no appetite, so instead of heading for the buffet, he went toward the sofa and chairs that were arranged in a semicircle around a large plasma screen television in the living area of the suite.
"Joey? You're not getting breakfast?" Mai asked.
"Not hungry," he said.
"Wow," she said, taken aback. "You should eat something, though. You've got a long flight."
"Why do you think I'm not hungry?"
A small commotion at the door interrupted them. Joey turned to see Rebecca there with her grandfather and, surprisingly, Yugi's grandfather. It was the latter who was causing the disturbance.
"I'm sorry, sir, only invited guests allowed," Croquet was explaining as he blocked Yugi's grandpa from entering.
"You're letting him in!" Grandpa protested, indicating Professor Hawkins.
"He's the legal guardian of the minor Rebecca Hawkins and an invited guest," Croquet insisted.
"Grandpa?" Yugi asked, approaching the door with a plate full of eggs, sausage, and potatoes. "What are you doing here?"
"I know Pegasus may have changed his stripes over the last few years, but if my grandson is going to be taking a job with him, I want to hear all the details first."
"I'm not a kid anymore, Grandpa!" Yugi objected.
"It's all right, Croquet, let Dr. Mutou join us," a silky voice cooed. They looked to see that Pegasus had entered from a side door. "He has a vested interest in what is happening as well."
Grandpa shot Croquet a smug look of victory as he followed Rebecca and Professor Hawkins into the suite. He came up to Yugi and Joey and put his arms around both of them. "No way I'm letting my boys sign some contract without hearing what they're getting themselves into first."
Joey found himself pleased to be included as one of Grandpa's "boys." Swallowing hard, he said, "Thanks, Gramps, but you can't get rid of me that easily. I'm gonna stay at the Kame Game Shop if it's okay with you."
Grandpa gave him a surprised look. "You know you're always welcome at the shop—and in our home, Joey."
"Please, everyone, help yourselves to some breakfast. I'd like to get started in about fifteen minutes," Pegasus announced.
"Good. I don't want to waste any more of my time," Kaiba complained.
Everyone but Kaiba and Joey enjoyed the buffet, although Joey noticed that Mai wasn't eating much and he wondered if it was for the same reason he wasn't hungry.
After about fifteen minutes, the waffle and omelet chef was excused and Pegasus called for the meeting to begin. They all settled onto the sofas or chairs in the living room. Yugi's grandfather sat between Yugi and Joey and Mai sat down on Joey's other side. Téa sat beside Yugi, then Tristan, Serenity, Duke, Professor Hawkins, Rebecca, and Mokuba. Behind Mokuba, across from Mai, Kaiba remained standing. Pegasus stood in front of the television set so that he was the focal point.
"Now before we begin, for the benefit of the good Doctors Hawkins and Mutou, do we need to do a recap of the events of the previous week?"
Joey leaned back and shot Yugi a look behind Grandpa's back. How much had Yugi told him? Yugi didn't seem too concerned, however. Either he'd already filled in his grandfather or he didn't mind if he knew the truth.
"If you're asking if we know about the real reason behind the ship's sabotage, then yes, my granddaughter and Yugi have filled us in," Professor Hawkins answered for the both of them.
"That's right," Grandpa agreed. "We heard about this Ramesses fellow and how he wants to reopen the Shadow Realm," thereby answering Joey's question about whether or not he knew.
"And that he had quite a supply of Orichalcos stones," Professor Hawkins added.
"Good," Pegasus said brusquely, "then we'll move right ahead. First, a report on the follow-up from our little side trip into the Shadow Realm. You of course have all heard the official version of what happened? Evan Haines was an obsessed psychotic maniac who acted alone. Through threats and intimidation and apparently an impressive store of explosives, he coerced us into a tournament of his own concoction in order to crown himself the champion duelist. He was defeated and threatened to blow up the entire island but was subdued by the combined efforts of those here in this room. Somehow in the melee, he suffered some sort of trauma and is now in an irreversible coma. You will note that with the exception of the references to explosives on the island and the determination that Mr. Haines acted alone, the story is fairly accurate… from a certain point of view."
"Another Ben Kenobi wannabe," Joey muttered.
"As for matters not on the official version of events, you also may have guessed that you succeeded not just in defeating Ramesses and his vizier, but in closing the Shadow Realm again. In addition, even as we speak, a demolition team personally commissioned by myself is hard at work destroying the Chamber of Wedju and particularly the Orichalcos stones therein. But don't deceive yourselves into thinking the task is finished. The crucial opening battle is won, but the war is far from over. The vizier is gone, but the pharaoh is still out there somewhere and I am much mistaken if he doesn't have backup plans for his backup plans. Until we discover who he is and stop him once and for all, we can safely assume he will gain access to more Orichalcos stones. He will open the Shadow Realm again. It's a question not of if, but when and how. And most importantly, when he does, how do we stop him?
"I think it's safe to say you all understand by now that there is much more to this Industrial Illusions professional dueling team than just promoting Duel Monsters, although that is a big part of it. I am a businessman, after all."
"And so am I, so why don't I save us both some time, Pegasus," Kaiba interjected. "I'm not interested."
Pegasus chuckled merrily. "Kaiba-boy, do you take me for a fool? On second thought, don't answer that. But seriously, you didn't think I actually imagined you would take the position, did you? That's why I invited Miss Hawkins. As the duelist who finished in fifth place, she is next in line to replace you."
Wonder who's gonna replace me? Joey thought. Officially, Zigfried von Schroeder would be sixth place, but he couldn't imagine that priss would be any more excited about the offer than Kaiba was, and certainly Joey wouldn't wish working with him on Yugi, Mai, and Rebecca. Ziggy's brother Leon placed seventh; he wouldn't be so bad. Jacques Rousseau was eighth and that was out of the question.
"Then why am I here?" Kaiba demanded.
"For the same reason the others who will not be dueling for me professionally are here," Pegasus replied. "Because we all have a stake in this, and as someone whose business depends heavily upon licensing agreements with Industrial Illusions—"
"I've heard this song before, Pegasus. Skip to the grand finale."
"Patience, Kaiba-boy, all in due time," Pegasus sighed. "Back to what I was saying. As I explained in our meeting on the island the day we first landed, this entire tournament was a test to create new warriors to fight a new kind of war. And given what happened down in that cave, I think we all can agree you have passed with flying colors. Five duelists in this room made the cut. Five duelists battled Evan and myself and our friends Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood while we were, shall we say, under the influence. As Kaiba-boy has already indicated he is not interested in my offer, I would like at this time to officially extend the invitation to join the first ever Industrial Illusions Professional Dueling Team to Yugi Mutou, Joseph Wheeler, Mai Valentine, and Rebecca Hawkins."
Joey gave himself a moment to bask in the sense of accomplishment he felt at getting this offer. He'd done it all on his own, too, no help from Yugi this time. Third place in the world, with only the two Untouchables, Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba, besting him. Pretty damn good for a punk kid who five years ago couldn't tell a trap from a spell card. Then with deep regret, he opened his mouth to decline the offer, but before he could get a word out, Pegasus went on.
"The start date will be September 1st, although your accommodations will all be ready in early August so that those of you who are students and need to return at the end of August for the fall term can do so. I will of course arrange for all the appropriate work and student visas for Yugi-boy and Joseph. As for Miss Hawkins, because she is a minor, I will need consent of her guardian, but as a high school graduate, she is not subject to other child labor restrictions.
"Now, before we get to any more boring details, I would like to remind you that you four, along with Kaiba-boy—refusal of the position notwithstanding—will be front line warriors. You will be the ones who take the battle into the Shadow Realm when Ramesses resurfaces."
"Excuse me," Professor Hawkins interrupted, "but it sounds quite dangerous."
"Of course it is," Pegasus confirmed, looking a little puzzled as if he couldn't quite understand why the professor would point out the obvious.
"Naturally I'm concerned about my granddaughter's safety," Professor Hawkins said by way of explanation.
"Grandpa! I can take care of myself!" Rebecca protested.
"More to the point," Pegasus said, "refusing the position won't keep her—or any of you—out of danger. Each of our previous experiences with the Shadow Realm, and apparently the Orichalcos, have made us all targets for Ramesses whether or not we continue to go after him."
Professor Hawkins nodded thoughtfully and Pegasus went on.
"Now where was I? Oh yes, the four duelists. Besides your dueling skill, which is the explicit reason for your employment, each of you brings unique talents to the table that is implicit in your position. Yugi Mutou is a student of Egyptology and has excellent leadership skills. I expect him to be the head of our little team. Joseph Wheeler has a physical presence that will help in security matters—and by that I mean your street fighting skills might come in handy, Joseph," he clarified and Joey scowled at the implication that he wouldn't have understood otherwise. "In addition to that," Pegasus continued, "you work quite well with Yugi-boy as an effective second-in-command."
Joey started at this. Me? he thought with amazement, looking across Grandpa at Yugi. His friend nodded at him with a small smile.
"Mai Valentine is skilled with, well, shall we say, subterfuge and… alternative methods for accomplishing her goals." Joey cocked an eyebrow at her and she snorted. Pegasus continued, "And if I'm not mistaken from the reports I've seen from your time working with Dartz, you're not bad in a physical fight, either."
Mai shrugged. "I learned some kick-boxing and some trick motorcycle riding. Nothing too fancy."
Now it was Joey's turn to snort. "Seemed pretty fancy to me."
"I encourage you to hone those skills when you're in my employ," Pegasus said. "They may also come in handy."
He turned to Rebecca. "And of course, young Rebecca Hawkins brings her considerable intellect and technical skills to the table.
"However, as you all discovered personally and I'm sure Corporal Taylor can attest after two years in the armed forces, front line soldiers cannot operate in a vacuum. A successful campaign depends not just on warriors, but on an infrastructure to support the warriors. Or to put it in terms of Duel Monsters, you can't win a duel with powerful monsters alone. You need traps and spells. You need special effect monsters. You need a cohesive team.
"It occurs to me that on both the overt and covert levels of the professional dueling team, a good deal of support and backup will be needed if we are to succeed. Now of course there are the good brothers Kaiba. who if I'm not mistaken will be remaining in San Francisco for the foreseeable future."
"Your point, Pegasus?" Kaiba asked, which Pegasus took as confirmation.
"As partners with Industrial Illusions in the game of Duel Monsters, I expect Kaiba Corp to work with my duelists, grant them access to new breakthroughs in Duel Disk technology. You will, I assume, continue to compete in various tournaments."
"Depends on my schedule and I don't see where it concerns you."
"Well, whether you compete or not is of no importance, but as the CEO of Kaiba Corp, I expect you to take a very personal role in the use of Duel Disk technology in tournament play—you and your heir apparent both—and be available to my dueling team for whatever might arise."
"Last I checked, I don't work for you," Kaiba sniffed.
"No, but there are those licenses…"
"Let's get one thing straight. You cannot hold those licenses over my head like they're liver snaps and I'm a dog waiting to do tricks for them. The current state of Duel Monsters is as dependent on Duel Disk technology—and promotional tie-ins from things like Kaiba Land—as Duel Disks and Kaiba Land are dependent on your licenses. We're a cooperative venture, Pegasus, which makes us equals."
"Then as an equal, may I assume you understand the stakes here? And I'm not talking about business."
"I understand that whoever this Ramesses is, he's a psychotic sociopath whom you're completely incapable of dealing with. And I hardly expect the geek squad you assembled to do much better on its own, either. So if your question is will I be around to help bring him down, the answer is yes. But not because you're holding Duel Monsters licenses over my head and not because of any saccharine concept of team spirit. I'll bring him down because he messed with me and he messed with my company, but most of all, he messed with my brother. And no one gets away with messing with my brother."
"Well, whatever your reasons—explicit or implicit—so long as you learn to work well and play nicely with others, then I'm satisfied."
Pegasus turned away from Kaiba and rested his gaze on Duke. "Duke Devlin also is someone with which I have current business dealings. I expect your work with Dungeon Dice Monsters to continue and for you to accompany the Industrial Illusions duelists to tournaments to promote the product. I also think that, like Joseph, you're a cunning street fighter."
He steepled his fingers under his chin before going on. "Now of course, all of these street fighters and kick-boxers are no substitute for real security, and I demand the best for my duelists. That is why I plan to hire a security expert with a military background. Someone, who for instance, has trained with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force in the Military Police."
Joey's eyes widened and he saw Tristan sit up straight as Pegasus pretended to muse, "Hmmm, if only I knew someone with those qualifications. Oh wait! Corporal Taylor, you're a member of the Military Police with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. I couldn't by any chance interest you in the position, could I?"
Tristan looked stunned. "Me? I still have a year left on my tour of duty."
"Oh my, now that is a problem, isn't it," Pegasus cooed, and Joey knew instantly he had already worked something out. He certainly had enough money and connections. "I don't suppose it would help convince you if I told you that, should you agree to come and work for me, I have already arranged to have you moved from active duty to reserve status and for you to complete your training requirements for reserve status in cooperation with the United States Army by providing Japanese cultural and language training at the Army Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California one weekend a month. You will either do your yearly two-week training requirement at Fort Irwin in eastern California or back in Japan, at the discretion of the Japanese GSDF."
"You can do that?" Tristan gaped.
Pegasus gave him a silky smile. "Of course I can, along with the appropriate visas, naturally. Now, don't answer now. I don't expect anyone to make such a big career decision on the spot, and I want to talk about some other positions I have available. Miss Gardner?"
Now it was Téa's turn to start. "Me?"
"Of course, you. I find myself in need of an administrative assistant to work directly with the duelists, someone who is well versed in gaming and tournament culture in general and Duel Monsters in specific, but I don't want someone who is him- or herself a competitive duelist because then he or she will be wanting to compete rather than handle the details. Despite my rather large staff, I'd prefer to go with someone who already works well with the four duelists in question—you know how temperamental duelists can be. Again, work and student visas will be provided, yadda yadda ya, if you're interested in the position. No no no, don't answer now," he added when she opened her mouth to say something.
About two seconds before Pegasus moved on, Joey saw where this was going. There was only one person left in the room, with the exception of the two grandfathers, that had not yet been connected to Pegasus's plan yet. Serenity realized it, too, because he saw her leaning forward looking at Pegasus with keen interest.
"And that, of course, leaves me with one more position to fill. I need a medic, someone with some basic emergency medical training to travel with my duelists."
Mai nudged Joey and he looked at her, not sure what to think.
"I know," Pegasus was saying, "you wouldn't think a medical technician would be necessary for a group of card players, but ever since the advent of hologram technology for dueling, the game has gotten so physical. Miss Wheeler, I am hoping that you will consider taking the position. I don't know about you, but I would very much like to know more about your ability to sense when someone is in the Shadow Realm and your ability to bring people out of it."
"I would, too," Serenity nodded eagerly.
"We will arrange for you to have more EMT training, which you can complete over the summer in Japan if you wish…."
Joey shook his head as Pegasus went on. "Wait a minute," he interrupted, and Serenity shot him a withering look. "Now just hold on, Serenity, before you get all excited about this. You're not gonna quit college for this, are you? 'Cause I don't know how you're gonna afford college at a California school as an international student. Do you have any idea how expensive tuition is?"
"Oh, silly me," Pegasus cut in. "Did I forget to mention that every position I described comes with a full ride scholarship to the San Francisco bay area university of choice?"
Joey's jaw went slack. "Full ride?"
"Full ride," Pegasus confirmed. "And despite the lateness of the year, I can arrange admittance to the fall term of any university in the area for which you qualify. That goes for all of you. But, like I said, I don't expect any of you to answer now. Take some time to talk it over amongst yourselves." He indicated a folder lying on the coffee table in the middle of the room. "All of the contracts are there if you wish to read them or have a lawyer look them over. Professor Hawkins, I'm sure you have access to legal counsel who can help in that regard. Details about pay, benefits, housing accommodations, all that, can also be found in the folders. Oh, and if anyone who is scheduled to fly out today and would like to make new arrangements so you can have a few days to think over your decision, Industrial Illusions will be happy to take care of that for you as well.
"So. Think it over, Shadow Duelists, and let me know what you decide. In the meantime, please help yourselves to more food." Then without waiting for anyone else to say anything more to him, Pegasus left the room through the same side door from which he'd entered, Croquet on his heels.