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Fanfic Chapter 117: Yugi in Cyber Space Pt 2: Echoes of a Forgotten Past
Episode Basis: Isolated in Cyber Space: Yugi vs. Big-1 Pt 2
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Noah sent Gansley into battle against Yugi triggering the first duel of this Virtual Wars. Gansley had taken the form of a monster called Deepsea Warrior to serve as his Deck Master. Yugi was going to use his favorite monster (I don't need to tell you who that is) but there was an intervention… by Kuriboh? Gansley was clearly amused that this overgrown hairball that sounded like a Pokemon was the King of Games' Deck Master. But nevertheless, the duel began. Gansley was summoning monster after monster with special abilities and boasting about his business skills. He then activated his Deck Master's Ability: Reflector Hole. By sacrificing two monsters from his side of the field, Gansley could turn an attack by his opponent's monster against him. Yugi's friends weren't fairing any better, for Noah trapped them in various parts of his virtual universe. And Kaiba and Mokuba were being harassed by Noah personally as he showed them the orphanage where the Kaiba Brothers grew up. What the heck is that all about?
Yami-Yugi was still recovering from being attacked by his own monster. Kuriboh, his Deck Master, looked at him worriedly.
"I knew a rookie couldn't keep up with the new Deck Master System," Gansley said.
"I'm a fast learner and you haven't won yet."
"I can see that you're weakening. Whether in business or dueling, once you see a weakness in your opponent, you exploit it for all its worth and you don't stop until the opponent is either yours or annihilated."
"You talk a big game, but you've got no monsters on the field and are wide open for a direct attack. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack his life points directly!" His elfin swordsman leapt up and swung his sword across Gansley's mid-section.
(Y: 1900)
(G: 2600)
Despite the attack, Gansley smiled, "Thank you, that's exactly what I wanted you to do!"
"What?"
"Now I can summon Ruclomba the Spirit King (1)!" A skeleton-like monster appeared.
"But how could you have summoned a monster when it was still my turn?"
"Every time I lose a thousand or more life points, I can summon Ruclomba the Spirit King immediately to the field."
"It's not how many monsters you have its how you use them."
"I've been in business a long time and I've always had a large workforce to do what I please. If I wanted to fire them, I could, it wouldn't matter, there would always be someone to use as replacement. That's business."
"No, that's just sad."
Noah watched this duel from his control station with an amused expression on his face. "I'm glad I hired you to do my dirty work, Gansley, now, let's see how Yugi's little friends are doing." Noah switched to a screen which showed Tea being carried off like a sack of potatoes. "Ah, I see Tea had a little run in with my Hitotsu-Me Giants." He flicked past Serenity, Tristan, Harold, Joey, Duke and Amara. He settled on Kaiba and Mokuba who were standing horrified at the image of the Orphanage. "Looks like the Kaiba Brothers had a little run-in with their past."
Mokuba stuck close to Kaiba all the while saying, "I hoped that I would never have to see this place ever again."
"Relax, it's just a virtual illusion," Kaiba said.
"Maybe so, but it still brings back bad memories…"
I was too young to even remember our original last name. My earliest memory is of Seto and me arriving at the Orphanage. Even from the outside, it looked very foreboding. The big iron walls kept people out, but it also kept people in. Seto told me that all of our extended family were either too far away to come get us… or didn't care about us at all. It was just the two of us.
"Welcome, boys."
Mokuba paused as he heard something behind him. He and Kaiba turned to see two Orphanage officials escorting younger versions of the Kaiba Brothers.
"We hope you come to think of this place as your new home."
Kaiba's breath stopped. "Somehow Noah's able to tap into our very memories and cause project them as holograms."
How perceptive, fools, enjoy the trip down memory lane.
I knew the people there was trying to be nice, but I didn't feel safe there, I didn't feel like I belonged. Several families tried to adopt only Seto, saying he was a genius. But he refused to be adopted unless I came with him. So we were just left there. I couldn't stand to see Seto forced to live in that rat trap any more just because of me. One day, I just left the Orphanage. Of course, even back then, I couldn't fool Seto, he found me at the park, where we used to go before being sent to the Orphanage.
"Hey, Mokie."
He always called me Mokie back then, it was his pet name for me. He also smiled. His smile was reassuring and filled me with hope, like I could take on the world. "Cheer up, kiddo, we're here so we might as well make the best of it. Come on, let's go for a walk."
We went down by the beach, where we saw a boy playing with his younger sister. "Seto, I miss Mom and Dad, I wish they were here."
"Don't cry, Mokuba, there's only one way we're going to get through this and that's by being tough. Emotions will only get in the way of our survival. We can't expect anyone to help us ever again, we're on our own."
That entire scene was being played out in front of the present-day Kaiba Brothers. "I guess that was your idea of a pep talk, thanks a lot," Mokuba said dryly.
And that's only the beginning of my torture of you, Seto, so sit back and enjoy, Noah thought with a sinister smile.
A flash of light produced a new scene from Kaiba and Mokuba's past. This time, the two were playing chess inside a classroom.
I remember this scene too. It started like any other day. Me and Seto were playing chess.
"Checkmate again, Mokie."
"Wow, in only five moves this time, Seto, you're the best chess player in the world!"
"You can be too if you just concentrate enough."
Even back then, Seto was a wiz at playing games. Whether it was a complicated game like Chess or a simple game like Dodge Ball, nobody could beat him. It was on that day where our future first revealed his self in the form of Gozaburo Kaiba.
"He's done it again, folks," a television announcer was saying, "Gozaburo Kaiba has retained his title as the World's Chess Champion. But don't let his harsh playing style fool you, this business tycoon and head of the military contractor Kaiba Corporation has a heart of gold. He has already agreed to donate his winnings to support a local Orphanage."
That was the day that changed my life forever, present-day Kaiba thought. The day I met my step-father for the first time. A new scene played out.
I had planned what I was going to say for weeks when I met him. I knew just what was going to happen, I had planned everything down to the letter. As soon as he exited his limo, I would position myself so there was no way he could ignore me. I could hear him as he walked through the Orphanage along with the director.
"I don't want any of these brats touching me. Let's just take some pictures and leave."
"There's our ticket out of this dump," I told Mokuba. As soon as he approached our hiding spot, I grabbed Mokuba and ran out. "Mister Kaiba."
"What do you want, kid?"
"My name is Seto and I have a challenge for you."
"A challenge?"
"I've heard you're an avid Chess player who never passes up a challenge so I'm challenging you to a game. If I win, you adopt me and my brother Mokuba."
"You and me in a game of Chess?" He laughed harshly. "No one can beat me at Chess, what makes you think you even got a chance?"
"Because I never lose either."
He laughed again, "You have confidence kid, that'll get you far in life, but I'm a busy man and don't have time to play with children."
"Gee, that's too bad. I would hate to tell the newspapers how the great Gozaburo Kaiba was scared of a little kid."
That was his Achilles heel, and I exploited it for all it's worth. "Fine, one game, one chance only. Don't go crying to me when you lose."
"It was pretty impressive for a ten year old kid to be challenging the World Chess Champion," present Kaiba told Mokuba.
"What made you so sure you could win?" Mokuba asked.
"Simple, my desire to win was greater than his. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain."
"Pawn to E-3."
"That's my opening move, kid!"
He was clearly upset at having someone know his strategy. "I know, I've studied all your games and know every move you're going to make."
"Studying my moves and mastering them are two different things, runt. Pawn to C-5."
I started matching him move for move. He though he had me beat after five minutes of playing, but I had led him along for most of the game. Finally, I lured him into my trap and delivered the finishing move.
"Checkmate!"
Everyone was surprised, but none more so than he was. "What, how could a rug rat have beaten me?"
"I beat you fair and square, now you have to keep your promise to adopt my brother and me, or do you want everyone to know that you backed off from a promise made to a little kid. I don't think that would be good for business."
"That was the day I took control of my future."
"That was also the day you stopped calling me 'Mokie,'" Mokuba said, his voice getting more bitter as Noah's virtual world played out that fateful day in their lives.
"If it wasn't for me, we would've never escaped that rat hole. I turned our lives around that day!" Mokuba started running for the classroom door. "Mokuba, wait, come back!"
"I liked the way it was before, at least back then you actually smiled once in a while."
"Mokuba, get a grip, Noah's using these illusions to turn us against one another!"
Mokuba ignored Kaiba and opened the classroom door.
And almost fell in, for inside wasn't a classroom at all, but a long shaft with no visible bottom.
"Mokuba!"
"Now I summon Youi (2) in attack mode. Youi's effect prevents you from drawing a card on your next turn. Next I'll play Premature Burial to bring back Ipiria from the graveyard… for a small investment of 800 life points."
(Y: 1900)
(G: 1800)
I can't attack with Chimera again, Yami-Yugi thought. Gansley would just sacrifice two monsters to activate his reflector hole and then my life points would be wiped out. Even if I could get rid of his monsters, attacking him directly would just cause him to summon another Spirit King.
"What's the hold up, King of Games?" Gansley asked mocking Yami-Yugi's Duelist Kingdom title.
"A good strategy takes time."
"You're just stalling. I guess there's nothing you can do when your Deck Master is nothing but a weak and worthless ball of fluff!"
Kuriboh looked down ashamed.
"Don't worry, Kuriboh," Yami-Yugi assured it. "I still believe in you." But that encouragement did little to raise Kuriboh's spirits.
"Freedom!" Tristan cried as he smashed through the last layer of rock and brick creating a hole outside. He ran outside.
And almost fell a hundred feet.
"Looks like I spoke too soon," Tristan moaned. A female scream caught his ears. He looked down to see Serenity being chased by a strange dinosaur-rhino monster. "Serenity!" Without thinking, he leapt off the balcony he was on and landed on the monster's back, covering its eyes.
Harold heard the scream too and ran to see what the sound was. He realized that the monster was a Mad Sword Beast (3) Duel Monster. Serenity and Tristan are in trouble, I have to help them!
Tristan was about to lose his grip when a voice called out, "Tristan, jump off!" More on instinct than command, Tristan leapt off the Mad Sword Beast's back as a ring of strange symbols plowed into the Mad Sword Beast's side like a battering ram, sending it into a nearby lake.
And Tristan too.
But unlike the monster, Tristan could swim and he easily surfaced.
"Thank you, Harold," Serenity said hugging the guy the best she could. "You saved my life."
"Any time, Serenity."
The water was doing nothing to cool Tristan's temper. "Hello, what about me?" He called out.
"Tristan, I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Serenity said. "I was too busy running from the monster.
"Apparently here, Duel Monsters are as real as we are," Harold said. "Come on, we need to find the others."
"Right," Serenity agreed.
"Fine," Tristan said more harshly than he intended it to be.
"I draw…" Wait a second, I can't draw, Youi's effect prevents me from drawing a card on this turn.
"You're dealing with a master strategist," Gansley told Yami-Yugi. "And a superior businessman. I've realized my calling ever since I first stole that lemonade stand from a neighbor and used it to net my own profits. And my net profit from that lemonade business is what Seto Kaiba makes on a monthly business. You see, Yugi, even when you start small, your minions can grow into an unstoppable workforce!"
"Oh shut up," Yami-Yugi snapped. If I attack him with my Celtic Guardian again, he'll just activate his Reflector Hole again. But once he sacrifices two monsters, his defenses will be weakened. I have no choice, I have to attack. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack his Youi!"
"I activate my Deck Master's special ability by sacrificing Ipiria and Youi! Reflector Hole activate!" The Guardian disappeared into the portal and came out again, attack Yami-Yugi instead.
"YAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
(Y: 500)
(G: 1800)
The Hitotsu-Me Giants dropped Tea's body on a ledge (to them, it would be a shelf). Something fell on Tea's cheek and she opened her eyes. "What happened to me?" She wondered. She then gripped her shirt. "Why do I feel this stabbing pain in my heart? What's going on?"
"That's two direct hits. Three strikes and your out," Gansley joked as Yami-Yugi staggered to his feet, holding his shoulder. "Are you surprised at how real this duel feels? Virtual Wars is a little different than the duels you're used to."
"At least… I cut down on your monsters," Yami-Yugi said and then gasped, for his attack hadn't diminished his monster numbers at all. Ruclomba was still on the field and another monster had been summoned. "How…?"
"Simple, when you attacked, I sacrificed my Ruclomba to summon another monster. Plus when Ruclomba goes to the graveyard, I can summon another one to take its place. Now say hello to my newest acquisition, Wall of Illusion (4). Any monster that attacks it is immediately sent back to the player's hand."
With two monsters on the field, there's no way I can attack now!
"You gave it your best shot, King of Games, but in the end, Big Business always rises over small competition."
"You have a lot to learn about the game, Gansley," Yami-Yugi said. "As long as I still have hope, I'll never give up! I'll show you that the true power of Duel Monsters comes from the heart, not from 'Big Business.'"
But as to how he was going to do that, Yami-Yugi had no idea.
To Be Continued
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Ruclomba the Spirit King
Level: 4
Type: Zombie/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 900
DEF: 1000
(2)
Name: Youi
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1000
(3)
Name: Mad Sword Beast
Level: 4
Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1200
(4)
Name: Wall of Illusion
Level: 4
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1850
A/N: Obviously I'm taking a leap of faith when detailing the stats of some of Gansley's monsters. I apologize if I got something wrong.