Disclaimer: We still don't own any of the characters or cards from the show, or real life. We still wish that we did.
Warning: This fic will (eventually) contain scenes of violence and some strong language. You have been warned
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!
Last time: Brian and Joey's duel ended, with Joey as the victor and Brian escaping the fate the loser had been promised. As Joey and Serenity go home with a new friend however, Brian seems to have just gotten started! He arrives outside of Kaiba Corp. to find the place seems to be on fire, and he seems to know who's behind it…
Chapter 3
12:00
Brian stared up at the smoking window of Kaiba Corp. and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Of all the times to pull this…" He started to mutter as he checked his watch.
It read 12:45 p.m.
Looking up, Brian saw a figure dive out the window! Thinking fast, he lifted one arm and caught the falling figure in a blanket of shadows. The dark safety net quickly swooped down, pulling Brian and his catch away from the scene.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
45 minutes earlier…
It was hot outside, but no one in the Kaiba Corporation felt it. Their building was air conditioned to the point that some employees joked and called it the world's largest refrigerator.
The secretary in the front office was bored and went from filing papers to filing her nails.
It was about twelve o'clock when a teenager entered the building.
He was skinny, with spiky red hair and blue eyes. He wore black kaki pants, a red t-shirt, and silver manacle with a beautiful red gem in it around his left wrist.
The youth went right up to the secretary and smiled.
"Hi," he greeted her, "I'm here to see Mr. Kaiba. I'm his twelve o'clock meeting."
She looked up at him then checked the schedule.
"You're Mr. Hokage? Timothy Hokage?" She asked.
"Last time I checked." He said.
"I'm sorry," she told him, "Mr. Kaiba is a very busy man and doesn't have time to talk with kids."
Tim seemed very insulted by this remark.
He stayed somewhat calm however.
"You are aware your employer isn't much older than I am aren't you? My name is on that list, I have an appointment, let me talk to Mr. Kaiba." Tim asked
The secretary now just wanted to see the young man loose his temper.
"No way." She said with a smirk, "Now leave or I'll call security."
The building suddenly became very warm. The employees running about began to ask if the air conditioner was working and started opening windows.
"Pity," said Tim, "I didn't really want to do this by force but you have left me with little choice."
Just then he extended his arm and fire shot from it!
A pile of flaming rubble now was all that remained of the secretary's desk. The secretary herself ran outside, screaming for help.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up in his office Seto Kaiba, the brown-haired business man and owner of Kaiba Corp, was busy finishing his lunch as he typed some plans into his computer.
"Here we go." Kaiba thought, actually smiling a little as he admired his handy work on the screen, "The plans for the new Kaiba Land attractions are just about complete."
Seto quickly saved his progress as he looked over the screen.
Nearly a whole year without dueling in any major tournaments (or throwing any) had managed to help the young CEO stay on top of his company. After the whole "Dartz scare" and the incident at his Grand Championship Tournament, Kaiba had been more than happy to get back to running his company and leave the dueling to Yugi and his friends.
That's not to say he didn't want to beat Yugi any more, but he had managed to become less obsessed about it.
As he started adjusting the plans on his computer for some finishing touches (and straightened out his deep purple business suit) though, a voice crackled from the speaker on his desk.
"Mister Kaiba!" The voice shouted, "We have a situation!"
Kaiba frowned as he pressed the button on the device.
"What kind of 'situation?'" He asked.
"There's someone here to see you, and he won't leave! And he's throwing fire everywhere!" The guard shouted.
Kaiba winced as he heard the guard scream and a hiss of static filled the room.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The guard stepped back, staring at what had once been a speaker box, and what was now a smoldering puddle of plastic and circuits.
Tim smiled as he held up another fireball.
The guard screamed again and ran for his life out the front door, followed by multiple employees!
Tim turned his attention toward the elevator. He pushed a button to bring it down to the first floor.
When it stopped he realized it was empty, slowly he extended both hands and fired a destructive sphere of flame directly into it!
Outside, a plume of fire could be seen rocketing out from the top of the building where the elevator went to the roof.
Tim smiled and turned to the panicked employees.
"In case of fire, please take stairs. In case of me, run for your life." He advised.
With that, he dashed into a nearby doorway marked "STAIRS."
The fire starter began to run upstairs, leaving a trail of melted stairs behind him. Security began to pour onto the stairwell, armed with pepper spray and rubber bullets, but every guard that got in Tim's way was quickly dealt with: he melted the stairs they were standing on and jumped the gap!
While running, he sang a familiar song to taunt the guards.
"Burrrrn baby, burn! Disco Inferno! Burrrrn baby, burn!"
When he finally reached the top floor, a group of five guards was waiting for him.
Tim just smiled and held out his hands toward them.
The guards quickly found themselves running down the hall, trying to escape a gigantic fire ball!
They ran through a door at the end of the hall labeled, "Storage" and shut it behind them. It provided good protection from the moving inferno, but it melted the door completely shut!
Tim went to the other side of the hall, to a door labeled, "CEO Kaiba." The young man blew the wooden barrier clean off its hinges with one great blast of flame from his hand!
"Mr. Kaiba, your twelve o'clock has arrived." Tim announced.
Seto stood and walked in front of his desk a familiar look glinting in his cold blue eyes, one that had foreshadowed the imminent doom of many opponents.
"Why did you just turn my building into a bon fire!" Seto asked, his hand clenched into a fist ready to smash his 'appointment.'
"Calm down Mr. Kaiba, I just wanted to challenge you to a game of Duel Monsters." Tim laughed.
The look in Kaiba's eyes grew darker as he stepped back behind his desk and unlocked it.
"You threaten my employees and do severe damage to my building just for a duel!" He yelled as he pulled out his duel disk and slid in his deck.
Tim just smiled and a blast of fire wrapped around his arm! It cleared away, leaving a regular duel disk, and Tim pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and placed it in the proper tray.
Kaiba glared menacingly at the red haired teen standing across the room from him.
"Just what do you think gives you the right to plow your way up here and challenge me?" The CEO asked as his duel disk beeped, signaling it was ready to begin.
Kaiba LP: 8000
Tim LP: 8000
"Come on Kaiba, don't be like that," Tim answered with a fiendish grin, "I just want to play a little game, that's all."
Kaiba laughed.
"Well I hope you enjoy this game because with all the community service that the cops will have you do, you won't get to play any more for a very long time. Now I'll open with my Spear Dragon (1900/0) and lay one card face down. Let's see what you've got." Kaiba challenged.
A blue dragon with a long, spear like nose materialized in front of Seto, followed by a facedown card.
Tim chuckled a bit.
"If that's all you got Kaiba, you're in for a thrashing. I'll play Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) and place two cards face down. End of turn." Tim declared.
Now a huge, flaming, wooden robot stood across the room from Kaiba's dragon with two unidentifiable cards behind it.
The millionaire burst into laughter!
"You thought my move was pathetic, this duel won't last more than three turns at this rate! Go my mighty Spear Dragon, destroy that pathetic pile of kindling!" Kaiba ordered.
The dragon leapt into the air and prepared to fire its signature weapon, a devastating tornado, at its target!
"You've activated my trap mister Kaiba." Tim stated as he flipped over one of his face down cards, "The Mask of Weakness will decrease the attack of your monster by 700 points! Blazing Inpachi, counter attack and destroy his Spear Dragon (1200/0) now!"
In one smooth motion, a hideous mask attached to Kaiba's Dragon and the Blazing Inpachi pulled back a wooden fist to clobber it!
"Not bad but I can top that, behold the Dragon's Bead!" Kaiba declared as his facedown card turned over and he slid a card into his graveyard, "It negates any trap that targets one of my dragons at the cost of one card from my hand."
A bright green glow issued from Spear Dragon's forehead as the mask shattered as its attack returned to normal (1900/0)! The dragon swooped underneath the blazing giant's fist and sliced through it with its mighty beak! Now seemingly exhausted by its efforts, Spear Dragon landed in front of Kaiba and drew its wings up around its body.
"My monster is now forced into defense position but next turn it'll be ready to attack again! Now let's see if your second move is as pathetic as your first." Kaiba scoffed.
Kaiba LP: 8000
Tim LP: 7950
Tim casually wiped a little sweat from his brow and drew his next card.
"Whew! Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Tim joked, "I'll play Flame Ruler (1500/1600) and equip it with a Fairy Meteor Crush, allowing it to damage you even if your monster is in defense mode! Sorry Kaiba, but your tactics are outdated. Flame Ruler, destroy that dragon with Flame Ruling Fist!"
A young man with spiky blue hair and wearing a red vest jumped forward and slammed a burning hot fist right into the dragon which burst into pixels, along with a fair chunk of Kaiba's LP as a blast of virtual fire shot past the dragon!
Kaiba LP: 6500
Tim LP: 7950
"Move if you want Kaiba, it's your turn." Tim challenged.
Kaiba just started glaring at the duelist again.
"This guy shows up out of nowhere, challenges me to a duel, and dares to call my moves out dated! Who does he think he's dealing with! And more importantly, who is he?" Kaiba wondered.
To Be Continued…
Kaiba has no idea what he's up against, this duel is just heating up! Next time, you'll find out just who it was Brian caught (if you didn't already guess) and see how this duel ends! Stay tuned for the next chapter titled:
Stirring the Ashes
Read and Review!
A/N: It's a little short, I know. Really sorry about that but it's tough dividing up the duels so they fit the way we need them! One of those "it looked better on paper" scenarios. Next one will be longer, don't worry.