The Seventh Element
Chapter 12
Welcome to Duelist Kingdom!
Tea groaned and shifted in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes. Then she remembered what Yami had done before the shuttle took off. She sat up and looked around. The so-called 'Seventh Element' was gone. Tea looked at the open hatch and climbed out into the ship's corridor. It was mostly empty, except for a few stray passengers that had slept in. Tea cursed and headed for the exit.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Welcome!" A large group of dancers and singers greeted the passengers as the massive gates to Duelist Kingdom opened. The orbiting space station was the most popular resort in the galaxy, owned and operated by Maxie Rhod himself. The dancers and singers threw confetti in the air and cheered the passengers' arrival. But on passenger in particular wasn't paying any attention to the fawning women. Yami took a quick look around the Main Hall, and slipped into a side hallway.
"Excuse me, coming through." Tea grunted, pushing through the crowd. She stepped into the middle of the Main Hall and looked around for a familiar clump of tri-colored hair. Tea growled. Nothing. She looked back at the doors and sighed as they closed shut. Yami was gone.
"Excuse me Miss." A young woman said. Tea turned. "Can I see your ticket?" Tea reached into her pocket and fished it out. "Alright then." The woman said, swiping it through her scanner. "Tea Gardner, right? Right this way to your room Miss Gardner."
- - - - - - - - - -
"She's coming, get your act together!" Mako hissed. Miho nodded as the two guards prepared themselves. A six-man convoy turned the corner, each carrying a suitcase. Behind them came two more men- one in a lavender tuxedo, the other in a simple vest and short ensemble- carrying a large case between them. The case was gilded gold, locked with a sophisticated 6-digit lock, and shone a golden Eye emblem on the top. Right behind them came a tall woman, wearing a long, light blue veil that hung over her entire body, only her feet visible as she walked. Mako gulped and flung open the doors.
"Miss Laguna, it is an honor to have you here at Duelist Kingdom." Mako said shakily as the Diva's servants carried her luggage into the room. Plava Laguna nodded and snapped her head up to stare at the corridor ahead. The two men set down their golden case and looked at her curiously.
"My Diva? What is wrong?" The man in the tuxedo asked. Plava Laguna smiled.
"There is nothing wrong Zigfried." She assured him. She looked down at the boy at her feet. "Leon…" She whispered, kneeling down. She whispered something in Leon's ear before standing and walking into her suite. Leon jogged down the hall and turned a corner. Yami jumped back and growled at the boy.
"The Diva says she has the Millennium Items." Leon said. "You can come to her suite and collect them after the concert." Yami glared, but nodded.
- - - - - - - - - -
"We have 7 pools, located on decks 2, 3, and 5. Deck 3 has 3 pools, two of them heated." The attendant recited, leading Tea into her room. "We have 5 bars, located in the Main Hall, and on decks 3 and 4. Tanning beds are found on deck 2. The dining hall is located on deck 4, but has an upper balcony accessible by deck 5. The opera house main floor is located on deck 1, and has balconies accessible on decks 2 and 3."
"Do you know if there are any tickets left to the opera?" Tea asked, looking around. "I really want to see the Diva, I'm a big fan." The attendant nodded and held out a ticket.
"Here, it comes free with your contest. Row A, seat 43, right next to Ma-xie Rhod!" The attendant sang out the name, prompting Tea to look up from her ticket. "God, I just love him. He's so sexy don't you think? Anyway, I have to go now, but feel free to cruise the ship as you like, except for the back of deck 1, and the front of deck 5; the Engine Room and the Control Room. If you need anything, feel free to call room service, as the bill is prepaid as part of your winnings." Tea smiled.
"Thanks. Is there some sort of…dress rental on board, I kinda forgot to pack." The attendant pressed a button next to Tea's door, and an entire section of wall retracted to showcase an entire rack of lavish dresses.
"Feel free to wear what you wish, but we ask that you attempt to not damage them, and return them to the rack every night." The attendant explained. "On behalf of Maxie Rhod and the staff of Duelist Kingdom, enjoy your stay MS. Gardner." Tea nodded.
"Thank you." Attendant nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Tea walked over to the dresses and picked out one made of soft, emerald-green silk. Next to it hung a dress of the same design and fabric, but they were sky blue and ruby red.
"I'm starting to see why this place is so popular." Tea muttered. A speaker in the corner of the room beeped.
"Sorry to disturb you Miss Gardner, but you have a call on the line. Shall I patch them through?" The operator asked. Tea shrugged and placed the dress back on the rack.
"Sure." She replied. The speaker beeped again.
"You selfish bitch. I should have been an only child." Tea groaned.
"For God's sake Rebecca."
"Don't give me that shit. This is so typical of you, I ask you to do something out of the goodness of your heart, and you say no. But what can I expect from you? Mom's pulling her hair out here, was it really too much to care about someone besides you for once?" Tea rolled her eyes and shook her head.
- - - - - - - - - -
Captain Valentino checked the ship systems once more and nodded.
"Alright, it checks out, time to get off." He said. Co-pilot Falk nodded, when Valentino held up his hand. "Hold it. I'm getting an air vent blockage on Wing E, check it out." Falk nodded and hopped out of his chair and jogged down the ship to the elevator. He took it to Wing E and radioed Valentino.
"Okay, where is it?" He asked.
"Right in front of you, above." Valentino replied. Falk nodded and pressed in a code on the security panel, the grate above swinging open.
"Ahhh!" Malik dropped the floor, and stopped a few inches before impact, his foot caught in a tangle of cables. Falk jumped back and stared. Malik craned his head up and smiled.
"Have we arrived at Duelist Kingdom?" He asked. Falk nodded. "Oh good." Malik sighed. "Could you get me down, the blood is rushing to my head."
-Later that night-
"Is it starting soon?" Kaiba asked, sitting down. Joey nodded.
"Yes, the radio is tuned to Maxie Rhod's broadcast, it'll start any minute." As if on cue, the announcer beeped on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now 7 o'clock, and we're about to join Maxie Rhod, accompanied by Tea Gardner, the lucky winner of the Duelist Kingdom contest. Now, these two are here to play caster on the opera of Plava Laguna, here on Duelist."
- - - - - - - - -
"KINGDOM!" Pegasus sang, walking to the opera house. "Maxie Rhod, along with the lovely T-Girl herself, Tea Gardner, to bring you 3 hours of lovely singing, courtesy of the Diva, Plava Laguna!" Tea joined Pegasus, and the two walked into the opera house. "And here ladies and gentlemen, the cream of the crop is gathered here for the wonderful singing that will take place in just a few minutes!" Pegasus laughed and pointed to a handsome red-haired man as he walked past his aisle.
"On my right, the great human model there is today, the talented Kurama Youko! Of course I dunno why he's here, when he should be busy screwin' some week-old girlfriend back on Earth or somthin'." Kurama looked up from his gaggle of female admirers and flipped Pegasus the finger. "And on my left, the Prince of the Sengoku system, Inuyasha Taisho and his lovely wife Kagome. Rumors say that recently, those two lovebirds have been trying to get onto the acting scene!" Pegasus covered the mike and leaned next to Tea.
"And thanks to a pal of mine in security, I have video tapes of their stunning performances. Uh huh, oh yeah, uh huh. And now…" Pegasus cut off his moaning and ignored Tea's look of shock. "T-Girl and I get front row center seats for this concert. This is the life isn't it T-Girl? Famous companions, good food, good entertainment, and friends." The two reached their seats, and Pegasus spun around with a grin on his face. "So c'mon T-Girl, you happy to be here?" He asked, sticking the mike in Tea's face. Tea glared at him.
"I'm thrilled." She growled, sitting down. Pegasus shook and gritted his teeth.
"And now…commercial, before the concert." Pegasus grabbed a scotch from a passing waiter. "And when intermission comes, I want another of these, ya here?" Pegasus ordered. The waiter rolled his eyes and walked away. "And now…showtime!"
- - - - - - - - - -
The waiter entered the servant's quarters and turned to face the crowd of Mangalores behind him. The waiter cracked his neck and shifted into his Mangalore face. That done, Darek snickered.
"Showtime. Get to it." A dozen Mangalores nodded and rushed off to the Diva suite.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Captain Valentino." Falk alerted the hotel captain. "We have a damaged vessel approaching the hotel, requesting permission to land and repair itself." Valentino frowned.
"Fine. Alert security, inform the ship they half a half hour."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Clearance granted, for 30 minutes." Bakura smiled.
"More than we need." He whispered. He looked up from the controls of his personal ship and looked behind him. Drake sat there, staring at his new hand. With his old one is a zillion pieces, Bakura has issued him a cybernetic one in its place, made of titanium and gilded gold. Drake flexed his golden fingers (1) and looked up at Bakura.
"When we land, you'll go and get the Millennium Items from Plava Laguna's suite." Bakura ordered. Drake nodded and grabbed his RB-96A as the ship flew into the docking zone. Drake cracked his metal knuckles and loaded a clip into his gun.
"Showtime."
1: A reference to the Battle City Revisited saga, namely, Drake's Millennium Glove.