Part 2: Enter Maximillion Pegasus (yes, the American name, because Pegasus J. Crawford makes him sound like a pansy), the creative genius and brilliant artist behind the wonderful game Duel Monsters . . . .
Seto: You've got to be kidding me . . . .Can we just get on with it?
A short while later, in a significantly more elegantly decorated room of the castle, Maximillion Pegasus sat at a long wooden table, his trademark glass in hand.
"Mr. Pegasus, your daughter seems to have, um, disappeared," said his right hand man Croquet. Had he not been wearing the sunglasses, the fear in his eyes would have been evident. Pegasus rested his left elbow on the table, holding his head with his hand as if he had a headache.
"Surely there is someone I can trick into working for me that won't constantly bother me with details that I am already aware of," he complained. "Considering your complete incompetence, I would have been severely disappointed if she hadn't."
"Well, that's not all . . ." the man continued.
"What?" Pegasus sat up and slammed his glass on the table.
"Um, well . . ."
"Croquet? What is it?"
"She took Seto Kaiba with her." Pegasus grasped his glass so tightly that it broke and the pieces fell to the ground. If only I still had my Millennium eye. Croquet and the other man wisely chose to leave. Pegasus slowly relaxed and leaned back in his chair.
"I could still use this for my advantage," Pegasus said out loud to the empty room. So, Kaiba-boy, you've met my troublesome daughter. It's a shame for you, though - you don't realize that she is simply after your Blue Eyes White Dragons . . .
- - - - - - - -
"We're almost there," Kirandra said as she and Kaiba finally neared the cell where his younger brother was being held.
"How do you know where he is, anyway?" Kaiba asked her. A strange look came over her face as she paused, as if she was having difficulty deciding what to tell him.
"I was being kept here before they moved me this morning," she responded simply, then led him to a dark cell hidden in the corner.
"Hey, Kira!" exclaimed a short figure standing near the bars of the cell. "You got out?"
"Mokuba! Are you okay?" Kaiba asked urgently, ignoring the fact that his brother hadn't even acknowledged his presence.
"Well, it's about time you got here, Seto," Mokuba said with a tired smile. Kaiba had to admit that he did look fairly well, especially considering the last time he had found Mokuba locked up in Pegasus' Dungeon, Pegasus had somehow, well, taken the spirit right out of him. The teenager was not yet ready to admit that there was, in actuality, real magic involved, but when those men had brought in Mokuba to duel in Pegasus's place, it was not his brother standing in front of him. "I wish Pegasus would leave us alone," the boy complained.
"Don't worry, Mokuba. I'll make sure he can't do anything to us ever again," Kaiba said, clapping an open hand over his fist. He headed for the nearby stairway.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kirandra asked.
"Thanks to your father, I've been here enough times that I know the way out," he said disgustedly as he walked down the stairs. "Come on, Mokuba. Let's get out of here."
"Not so fast, Kaiba." Kaiba, not even turning to acknowledge her, wasn't yet aware that his younger brother was not right behind him.
"You've got to be kidding." Seto laughed. "You didn't really think that I would help you find your stupid cards."
"No, I didn't." Kira replied.
"Seto!" came a weak cry. Kaiba turned to look and saw her standing at the top of a winding stairway, holding Mokuba and pointing a gun at his head.
"I didn't expect you to keep your part of the agreement. You have a reputation for using people, Kaiba."
"My big brother isn't a liar!" insisted Mokuba. Kaiba frowned.
"Fine. But we do it my way," he replied quickly, anxious to get Mokuba out of this new danger.
"Which is?" asked Kirandra, clearly not convinced.
"First, we get out of here," he replied. Kira raised her eyebrows, as if waiting for him to finish so that she could go on with her own plans. "I take Mokuba back to Domino. Then we can come up with a reliable plan to get your deck, if that's what I have to do."
"I suppose I can compromise. But you will come back with me."
"Whatever." Just as Kirandra released Mokuba to return to his brother, Seto saw a young man in a black suit and sunglasses coming up behind her through the shadows. "Let's go, Mokuba!" Before they could turn to leave, the suit was there. The Industrial Illusions employee put his hands on Kira's shoulders as she jumped in surprise. He bent down and picked up the gun that she had dropped on the floor.
"Didn't your father tell you not to play with guns?" He asked, waving the gun in the air. Instantly, a look of relief came over Kirandra's face and she laughed.
"I don't believe he ever said anything about guns that aren't loaded, Duke," she responded, looking pointedly at Kaiba. "But you shouldn't surprise someone you know has a gun anyway."
"Good point." At this point, Seto was completely lost. Mokuba voiced his confusion from his hiding place looking out from behind Seto's coat
"Duke? What are you doing here?" All his older brother cared about was the fact that he and Mokuba could have been back at Kaiba Corp long before if Kira hadn't ruined things demanding they find her Duel Monsters deck first.
"I see you've already met Duke Devlin." Kira commented.
"Yeah, we've met," responded Duke, looking at Seto with disgust.
"Duke, why are you dressed like one of those evil people that works for Pegasus?" Mokuba asked. Devlin shrugged.
"Part of the show."
"My father decided to incorporate his Dungeon Dice Monsters game into production at Industrial Illusions." Kira explained. "He gets paid to work for my father, but he really works for me."
"Dungeon Dice Monsters." Seto shook his head in mock disgust. "Wait – didn't you make Wheeler wear the dog suit?"
"Yeah, well . . ." Duke mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. Kaiba noted that he seemed slightly ashamed of this revelation.
"What? You feel bad about that or something?" Kaiba smirked. "Wheeler's a loser." Then he muttered, "Wish I'd thought of that."
"Uh, right." Duke handed Kirandra back the gun. He was a little stunned that he was actually having a somewhat a normal conversation with Kaiba. "So, are we on?" Kira looked at Kaiba.
"Change of plans. We're making a slight detour to Kaiba mansion," she replied.
"And how are we going to get there?" Kaiba was already on his cell phone.
"Have a copter here in ten minutes, or you, and everyone under you, will lose your jobs. Or worse than that - depending on how late you are." He snapped the phone shut and put it back into his pocket.
End of Chapter 2: Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism and flames welcomed!