Disclaimer: I own nothing, save the plot.

Chapter 17 was Yusuke's first duel, as well as Yami's face-off against Yami Bakura. Kaiba is also caught in a massive bomb strike, whose source is probably linked directly to Hiei.

This chapter will feature the first of the Messengers of Chaos, the Messenger of Creation, as well as Yami's weak Chaos monster. Hiei also sends Kaiba his regards, as the strike against him is explained, while the role of Michael Seebach is explored. In all of this madness, Yami and Yami Bakura square off for the first time since Battle City.

Let's do this!

Chapter 18: Chaos Web and Dark Devices

Yami vs. Y. Bakura

"I'll make the first move, tomb robber! I place two cards face down, then I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards from my deck!" The two new cards he drew were just the ones he needed. "Next, I will summon Skilled Dark Magician in Attack mode!" From a stream of electric pulses that shook the ground, a tall, mysterious mage with a silver stave leapt onto the field, steel helm and armor pulsing with magical energies normally used only by the Dark Magician. "That will end my turn."

"Very well." With a grim smile upon his face, Dark Bakura drew his next card. Mouto seems to think that his pathetic monster can withstand the might of any monster I summon, but what he is about to realize is that every move he makes works right into my plan...

"First, I'll play the Magic card, Dark Designator, which allows me to name any monster in your deck, then add it to your hand; in this case, I select your Dark Magician!" Yami proceeded to add his favorite card into his hand, while a magic counter was added to the Skilled Dark Magician. "Next, I will play Dark Core! This powerful Magic allows me to remove one monster on the field from play. All I have to do is discard one card from my hand, and I know just which one to destroy." As Yami Bakura sent one card to the Graveyard, the powerful mage was being torn to shreds by the nearly infinite gravity causing it to collapse onto itself. "But that's not all. I'll also play the Magic card, Premature Burial! In exchange for 800 life points, I can resurrect any monster from my graveyard. And I select the dreaded beast known as Despair from the Dark!" As if from the depths of hell, a titanic zombie emerged from the earth, towering over each duelist as it's unholy energies assimilated. The creature itself did not take on any solid from; it was a conglomeration of dark energies from the abyss, forming into the vague shape of a horned ogre. (2800/3000) "And let me assure you, Pharaoh, my Despair from the Dark is the least of your worries. Soon I will give you a true taste of despair! Now behold as I sacrifice this mighty creature to summon something even more terrifying! You see, Yugi, this creature may be a powerful zombie, but when fused with another in tribute, it is completely indestructible! Behold, the all-powerful Great Demon Gazetto!"

The hideous undead goliath began to quake in horror as it's very essence was dragged into the earth from which it was spawned, and even through the asphalt its ungodly screams echoed as something else took it's place. At the same time, a huge pit had burst open, shooting dark flames as it did so. As if from the will of darkness, a massive silhouette was placed against the fires of the pit, and a long, hooked claw dragged this abomination of nature to the surface. Brimming with hatred, the demon's essence was sheathed beneath plate-like armor, and it's deadly fangs were dripping with the Despair's energy. (5600/0)

"You seem somewhat aghast, Atemu. Perhaps I should give a more in-depth explanation of it's ancient might. My demon is a Soul Devourer, but a very unique one. When I sacrificed my Despair from the Darkness just now, my beast not only gained the tribute's attack strength, but doubled it! Now my demon, finish this pathetic duelist with one swipe of your great claw!" But just before the demon's strike fell, a wall of glowing energy began to burn away the creature, whose grisly yelps did not help the situation.

"You fell right for my trap, tomb robber. I activated my face down card, Mirror Force. By attacking, you triggered the effect of wiping out all attack mode monsters on your side of the field. But that's not all! I also activate the Jar of Greed Trap card, allowing me to draw one card from my deck!"

"Very well then. I will end my turn."

Yami drew the turn-starting card... and it was just the one he needed.

"First off, I'll play the Magic card, Card Destruction, allowing me to force both duelists to discard their entire hands to draw a fresh one. Next, I will play the magic card, Grave Sacrifice, allowing me to remove any number of monsters from both my graveyard and your own to summon a high level monster!" The essences of Despair from the Dark and Kuribo were absorbed into the magic card. These energies fused into a solidified form, which became...

"Behold, the Chaos Black Magician!"

From the depths of the magic card emerged an intimidating mage with a solid black steel stave with a bright green jewel set into it. Clothed in an outfit of purest black, with shadowy hair and a blue complexion, it was exactly like the Magician of Black Chaos, only much more powerful. (2800/2100)

"Thanks to my latest monster's special ability, I am allowed to add one magic card from my graveyard into my hand. And once again, I will use Grave Sacrifice, allowing me to remove another monster from my graveyard to summon another monster!" The spirit of the Skilled White Magician became that of the Vampire Lord that he had recently won from Beck. "Now my creatures, attack the thieves life points directly and finish this!"

"Nice try, Pharaoh. Reveal the trap card, Dark Wall of Air!" A vast sheet of black steam stood between Yugi's monster's and Yami Bakura's lifepoints. "This trap card prevents any damage done to me during the turn in which it is activated!"

"Impressive. I will play one card face down and end my turn."

You are indeed a liar and a fool, Yami. Thanks to the new cards Hiei placed into my deck, your monsters are absolutely powerless.

"It's my move, Pharaoh." Yami Bakura drew his most powerful trap.

Perfect. Even Yami won't be able to recuperate from this trap, or should I say, virus...

Ruins of the Coffee House

"Somebody, get a hose link, quick!"

Pandemonium, in every sense of the word, could not begin to describe the atmosphere of the detonated cafe in the aftermath of the explosion. People were running about, screaming like banshees as the normal calm of New Paradigm was shattered like glass, while the small fire department that was in the area swarmed about the conflagrated building like moths to a flame, struggling to keep the hideous flames in check. However, thanks in part to the complacency of the New Father's Council, no solid civil protection network had been established. Yet the worst aspect was the people surrounding it; these fools, who had been so long living in a utopian society, were sent into madness as the flames licked away at the few survivors, causing a nearly uncontrollable chaos that sent the entire block into a state of insanity.

But if New Paradigm had any useful public service that functioned, it was the paramedic system.

Seto Kaiba, singed but alive, could not help but feel a level of shock at the outright audacity of this deadly bombing. Despite this shock, the question remained as to who would make such a drastic attempt on his life; while he certainly had multiple enemies that would want to see him dead, very few of them would go so far as to bomb an entire building simply to destroy one person. While Kaiba knew for a fact that Hiei would kill tens of thousands for the sake of one victory, it was highly unlikely that he would perform an act this flashy and notable.

"You don't know me that well, do you, Kaiba? If you did, then you should probably know that even if a strategy is outlandish or dangerous, it is still a plan. and should be executed with the utmost prejudice."

The very demon that Kaiba had been contemplating was standing right in front of him.

"Hiei! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Don't bother calling for help, Kaiba. What you see standing before you has the sensory significance of a mirage. If you attempt to tell anyone, they will simply perceive that the blast has driven you insane."

The sadistic monarch turned towards the explosion site with a degree of cruel pity for the people running about near the area. "Poor simpletons. They had absolutely no idea that this was about to happen to their utopian city, but it is my thought that the dimwitted buffoons require a slap of reality every now and then, to remind them that the real world still remembers and abhors them..."

"So, Hiei, what exactly is it that you want from me? You said yourself that my Millennium Rod was useless to you, and I severely doubt that you're after my company. The functions of Kaiba Corp are too complex for you to understand anyway. Besides, I know for a fact that your servants can't outduel me."

"Believe me, I am after none of your earthly possessions, or any shred of power that you pathetically grasp onto. What I am after is not so much the company you run, but the company you keep..."

Realization, like a strip of lightning raining down upon the heads of the foolish, came upon Kaiba. "You're after Botan, aren't you? Well, let me make this perfectly clear: I agreed to this tournament for the sole purpose of defeating you, so I will not betray my allies to the person that I desire to destroy!"

"Kaiba, you know as well as I do that her kind is a vile and parasitic race that feeds off of the dregs of idealism! By allowing usurpers like her to walk the earth, you are putting the heads of nearly everyone else on the chopping block! I could care a hell of a lot less about your pathetic existence here, but realize this. By the time you realize the enormous error you have just made, it will be far too late to do anything about it."

As the spectral figure vanished, it uttered a final warning: "Deliver the girl to me within 48 hours, or I will take her by force!"

The horrified civilians who had survived the explosion were screaming as they, in madness, hurled themselves into the streets below. Sirens from fire engines screamed their message as the fire department, which had become so complacent that it had taken thirty minutes for them to even leave the station, finally arrived onto the scene, unable to do anything save attempt to control the unstoppable conflagration and gather the smoldering cadavers into the few body bags available. Even the citizens who had not been involved in the catastrophe were in a state of chaos; to them, this was a certain harbinger of Armageddon. And in all of this anarchy stood Seto Kaiba, deaf to the atrocity, blind to the unholy calamity that surrounded him. The only thing he saw was the face of the twisted madman that had been the cause of all of this. Yet deep within him, a small coal of compassion, kindled by the events of the day, was beginning to glow.

Kaiba, with cool resolve that was the polar opposite of the bedlam around him, slipped his deck into the Duel Gauntlet, and stepped out into the city.

I'm coming for you, Hiei.

Small hotel room, New Paradigm Resort District

Truth. It is the thin, fibrous yarn that binds us, as humans, to the events of a past era. Even in the darkest of years, humanity has struggled to find this common thread, in an attempt to hold steadfast to the values we hold so close to our hearts. And yet, when we finally discover this "common reality", it is finally revealed to us that, despite the horrific events that divert our gaze, there will always be more than one unifying truth...

Schwarzvald was not a particular advocate of technology in the modern sense, with the rather large exception of his megadeuce, the Big Duo. Yet even he, who had struggled to remove himself from the "corruptions" of the present world, had to admit that the word processor program on his computer was far superior to the Messenger typewriter that had served him for almost 30 years. Despite this, he still kept the old device in his travel case, as a reminder of what once was a great civilization.

Saving the document, the former Michael Seebach began to thumb through his old dueling deck, the cards beginning to show wear from the deck's constant use in this tournament. Each one was a greater component of the whole, one combination working for the advancement of the other. It was for this reason that the deck had served him so well. This deck is the closest thing I have to a family in this plane of living; everyone else has either died or left the city. I didn't even know that this game existed until a small fragment of my past slipped into the present. The only memory I have ever had prior to the Event, the only memory even worth reviewing, was that of me finally constructing the perfect deck.

The maniacal reporter stared at the cards, and slipped them into his deck. Soon, Yugi, I will finally be able to reveal the truth, and this card in particular will help me.

Unseen by any, Schwarzvald slipped the Messenger of Creation, the Chaos Soldier, into the deck.

Kind of a short chapter, but it sets the stage for the next. Sorry for the late update, my crap computer won't let me access the site.

Next time, we will finally see what Yusuke's deck is like, and the mystery figure of last chapter is finally revealed. Kaiba, meanwhile, will attempt to find Botan, but will soon realize that Hiei is indeed a man of his word...

And if you think that Kaiba is the only duelist in the tourney with Crush Card, think again. Can Yami survive a second clash with the dreaded Trap? We also find that the Chaos Black Magician is much more significant than Yami realizes.

Review soon!