Chapter 2: An Unusual Request
Over the course of the next week, Yugi and Joey dueled against each other numerous times, tweaking their decks to prepare themselves for the upcoming tournament. Joey had managed to retrieve his own package, picking up medallion for the tournament along the way. Yugi couldn't help but be reminded of Duelist Kingdom, when they both started out with a single Star Chip apiece and worked their way up to the finals. Back then, though, they had something to fight for. Now it was just a regular tournament.
Once the allotted time passed, Yugi, Joey, and the others all arrived at the pier, standing just at the edge of a large crowd of people.
"Man, dere sure are a lot of duelists around," Joey said as he marveled at the crowd. "I never woulda thought we'd see dis many people!"
"I'm surprised we haven't already run into someone we know," Tristan pointed out.
"Knowing our luck, we probably will too," Yugi added.
"Are you sure about this?"
Yugi looked up to find the ethereal body of his friend, Yami the Nameless Pharaoh. His arms were crossed as they usually were.
"I know this is a lot to ask for, Pharaoh," Yugi said, "but I can't help but wonder what Matt wants with the God Cards."
"Yugi, the Egyptian Gods are too vital to retrieving my memories to just take to someone we hardly know," Yami pointed out. It was true though; the Egyptian Gods cards, aside from being the most powerful monsters ever created, were also the only link to the Pharaoh's lost memories. Without them, they might never be recovered. We shouldn't have put them in such danger."
Yugi lowered his head. "I know that," he said, knowing that Yami would never let the keys to his memories slip away so easily. After all, it wasn't just Matt they would need to worry about; there were probably thousands of duelists out there who would love to get their hands on the Egyptian Gods.
Yami watched Yugi before letting out a small sigh. He reached over and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I understand your curiosity, but we can't afford for them to fall into the wrong hands. I want your word that the Gods will play no part in the tournament."
Yugi looked up at Yami and nodded. "I promise."
With a firm nod back, Yami faded away back into Yugi's memory.
"Attention duelists," a speaker voice announced, "the ships headed for the Battle of the Titans tournament will be departing shortly. Please present your medallions to our personnel as you board to make sure things run smoothly for the ride."
"I guess that means things are finally starting," Yugi said.
"You bet," Joey said. "Let's give it our all, Yug!"
The two headed towards the nearest boat and revealed their medallions to the others. Tea and Tristan attempted to follow them on board but were stopped by the security.
"Sorry, only those with medallions are allowed on board," one of the guards stated.
"Uh, yeah, well, we're with those guys over there," Tristan said, "so, uh, if you wouldn't mind-"
"It's alright, guys. I'm sure a couple more people couldn't hurt the buffet tables."
From behind Tea and Tristan appeared a young duelist with shaggy brown hair and a scrawny bit of chin hair wearing a brown jacket. The security guard seemed to acknowledge this particular individual, nodding towards him as he stepped aside. The young man walked forward, signaling for Tea and Tristan to follow him over to Yugi and Joey.
"Thanks for helping us out back there," Tea said, bowing a little.
"No prob, really," the man said. "It's the least I can do for Yugi's friends."
"You seemed to be familiar with those guards over there," Yugi noted.
"I guess so," the man said, reaching behind his head as though to scratch an itch, "but that's just cause I know how to work a guard, ya know?"
Joey eyed the man for a moment before holding out his hand and saying, "Well, it's good to meet ya anyway..."
"Andrew," he said, shaking Joey's hand. "I'm just another duelist same as you guys."
"Is that so?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah," Andrew replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get me some grub! Catch ya later!"
And with that he headed off down the side of the ship.
"What an interesting fellow," Tristan noted.
"I dunno," Joey said. "Something about him seems kinda fishy."
"Don't be ridiculous," Tea said.
"I just got a weird vibe from him, dat's all," Joey replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But den again, he does have da right idea. Let's go grab some food!"
"Can't duel on an empty stomach, can you?" Tristan asked jokingly.
"Last one dere's a rotten egg!" Joey yelped, and he took off in the direction Andrew had gone only a few minutes earlier. Meanwhile, the speakers came on once again saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time. We sail for the Battle of the Titans tournament!
"...you sure about this? After all, you're asking a lot out of him...I understand, yeah, it's just...I'm not sure if he'll be willing to go along with it...yeah, even with the security...why do you want them anyway? I mean, he'd probably just win them back anyway...alright, fine, I'll just keep an eye on things..."
The buffet tables were loaded with plenty of food for the group to sink their teeth into. Joey and Tristan in particular loaded up their plates with all kinds of food. Tea had to pretend she wasn't embarrassed to be near these two rabid wolves in men's clothing. As the group moved over towards one of the tables, they caught sight of Andrew again, who waved over to them to have a seat.
"I see you've taken to the food already," he laughed as Joey and Tristan set their food piles down.
"Better get fueled up before dueling!" Joey remarked. "There ain't nothing like getting some chow down before ya throw down!"
Tea only sighed as Yugi took a seat next to her. "Are you ready for the tournament, Andrew?" he asked curiously.
"I sure hope so," Andrew replied. "I'll admit, this is the first time I'm actually participating in a tournament."
"Really? You've never been to a tournament before?"
"Nope. It always looked like fun though. I remember seeing you guys participate in Battle City and the KC Grand Prix, which is nice and all, but it's not the same as actually being there, ya know? Course I can imagine this'll be a breeze without any world-ending threat on the line!"
"I suppose so." Yugi couldn't help but feel partially relieved that it wasn't like any tournament he'd been to in that regard - no soul stealing, no Shadow Games, no business rival hacking into stuff. For once, he really hoped Andrew was right.
"Still, I made sure to check up on the rules beforehand," Andrew interjected. "For the most part, everything should be pretty standard. The first round's going to focus more on eliminating the majority before the real tournament bracket starts."
"Eh? You mean dere's a tournament for da tournament?" Joey asked amidst a scarfed bit of beef.
"Well, yes and no." Andrew held up his medallion. "These things aren't just to board the boats - they're supposed to be what we fight over. We only need 5 in total, shouldn't be too hard to collect, but we'll only have a limited amount of time to get the required amount needed. After that, they're closing the gates to everyone beyond a certain number. Only about 64 people will be able to participate in the second round."
"Second round?" Yugi asked.
"Yep, and then it goes back to a regular tournament structure...well, sort of. They'll have extra rules that go into effect, depending on certain matchups, but universally we're dealing with way more LP than a regular duel."
"How much we talkin'?"
"Last I heard, 8000."
"8000?!"
"Like I said, that's for the later part of the tournament. The host will likely talk about the majority of those rules in more detail when it comes up."
"Man, we'll be dueling all day and night at dis point! Dis'll be great!" Joey laughed as he and Tristan toasted to that.
"Oh yeah, I think it'll be tons of fun!" Andrew exclaimed, raising his own glass to the matter. "So let's eat our fill and have a good time!"
The group continued talking about all kinds of topics until eventually Andrew felt ready to head off to bed. He ushered them a good night and good luck before his departure, and the rest of the group prepared themselves for their arrival. After all, with so much dueling in their future, Yugi and Joey were going to have to rest up before they had to deal with everything going forward.
One good night's sleep later, and the boats had arrived at a new island. It was very beautiful with lots of tropical plants growing all around. One could practically breathe in the nature surrounding them. A sort of calmness and tranquility radiated from the island as the duelists all departed from the boat. Yugi and Joey had just begun to depart from the boat when they were stopped by security.
"Yugi Muto?" one of the guards asked.
"Yeah, that's me," Yugi replied.
"Come with us," the guard said. "Mr. Zero has requested your presence immediately. Your friends may come as well."
Yugi looked back at the others. Joey simply shrugged, and the three followed Yugi and the guards down a path towards one very large tower of stone.
Inside, the group walked through an extravagant lobby that seemed made for royalty over to an elevator summoned for them. The group rode all the way up to the top floor, with Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan looking out through the glass to see the island beneath them become more and more splendorous the higher they rose. Finally, the elevator doors opened up, and the party headed towards the giant double doors straight in front of them.
Beyond the doors was an elegant and spacious office with a very wide window overlooking the other side of the island. Behind the mahogany desk sat none other than Matt Zero, working away at his computer.
"Mr. Zero, Mr. Muto and his friends are here," one of the guards said, bowing a little.
Matt looked up from the computer for a moment, then closed it and waved his hand, saying, "Thank you, that will be all."
The guards then left the room, leaving only Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Matt inside.
"Don't be shy," Matt said with a brief smile. "Please have a seat, all of you. Would you like anything to drink?"
As they all sat, a waiter appeared for each of them, offering them a variety of drinks and snacks. Joey and Tristan took after the snacks quickly, while Tea simply drank a little water. Yugi simply looked back at Matt, holding onto the golden box where he kept the Egyptian God cards. Taking a sip of a glass of milk placed on his desk, Matt noticed Yugi's look.
"I suppose you're wondering now why I've brought you here," he addressed. "In that case, I'll be brief: with your exclusive permission, I wish to offer the Egyptian Gods as part of the prize for winning the tournament."
A loud spit echoed in the room, and a spray of chewed-up peanuts littered the carpet. Quickly, a helper cleaned the mess rather readily while the others turned to Joey.
"You what?!" Joey yelped. "Whaddya mean by dat?! Ya just want to offer da most powerful cards as some cheap prize for a tournament?!"
"That's not exactly what I said," Matt remarked. He took a look over at Yugi specifically as he continued, "I know what I ask is so trivial and hardly worth the effort. But I hardly have anything else without it. Money is so...wasteful, and I don't have very many rare cards either. So you see, I have very little to offer for a prize."
"But then why organize the tournament at all?" Yugi asked.
"To find the best of the best," Matt replied. He stood up from the table and turned towards the window, overlooking the small island. "I've long admired the strength of duelists, but I myself haven't had the courage to step up to their level. It's not like you can just walk up to someone on the street and ask them what makes a duelist great though - there's so much more to dueling than raw power. So I want to find the strongest group of duelists out there and learn to be like them myself, learn their ways, how they think, how they feel in the midst of the battle. And what better way of doing that than a tournament?"
"I guess that makes sense," Yugi replied, "but then why do you need the God cards?"
Matt turned to look back at Yugi. "What greater glory is there to aspire to than to hold the most powerful cards in the game?"
"Hang on," Joey interjected. "Are you saying you're going to just give da winner da God cards?!"
"Not exactly," Matt answered. "You see, the prize for the tournament would be that the winner would get the chance to hold onto the God cards for a single day. Think of it as their fifteen minutes of fame, a personal spotlight for them. And then once the day has passed, they would be required to relinquish the cards and return them to you."
Yugi looked at the puzzle box. "I don't know," he said. "If they were to fall into the wrong hands, they might not come back at all."
"Don't worry," Matt said, approaching the desk and taking a seat on its edge. The group was able to get a better look at his unusually ragged clothes that looked more appropriate coming out of the laundry hamper than to be worn for respectable company. "I have constructed this tournament in a full-proof environment. There is no way the cards will fall into the wrong hands."
"How can ya guarantee something like dat?" Joey asked.
"There are many regulations put into place to prevent cheaters from winning the tournament," Matt replied. "The security personnel hired are expertly trained to catch any sleight of hand tricks, and the Duel Disks themselves come with a tracking device and registration number that we can use to keep tabs on every single duel on the island. Anyone who does get caught cheating will be immediately escorted off the island. In addition, the winner of the tournament cannot leave the island with the God cards in their possession, meaning they can only use them here on the island."
Matt then moved over towards the wall, pulling open a painting that revealed a secret vault. "In the meanwhile, with everything going on here throughout the tournament, the God cards would be sealed away in this special vault that can only be opened with this key-" He held up the very key in question in his hand, showing it to the group. "-which I will hold onto and give only to the winner of the tournament. This means that only I will have access to the vault, and without them being on your person, you'll be safe as well. The Gods will be sealed up tight until the end of the tournament."
"I don't know," Yugi said, continuing to look at the resting place of the Gods.
Matt looked at Yugi and then walked right up to him. "I know I'm asking a lot from you, Yugi," he spoke calmly. "I want to help you understand that I've gone through a lot of procedures to ensure the safety of the Gods. If you were to refuse my aid now, I cannot guarantee their safety out there in the open."
Yugi stared down at the golden box. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Matt shrugged. "To be honest, you can't. But I think it's easier to trust one person with a key than it is to trust a hundred others clawing for it."
"...well..."
Yugi continued looking at the box for a while longer. A strange feeling came over him, one that made him want him to give the cards inside to Matt. At first, he resisted, but the feeling only grew stronger until finally he lifted the lid and removed the cards: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra. And then he handed them to Matt.
"Okay," Yugi said, "but just keep them safe."
Matt smiled back, reassuringly. "Of course."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Hanging in there? I should hope so. We're getting there, and soon enough the duels will begin! When the duels do begin, I'll be tossing info on the new cards as well as the key cards down here in this section. So keep an eye out down here!
What will happen in the meantime? Why would Yugi just give the Egyptian God cards away? What is that strange feeling that came over him? Is there some kind of power Matt has? What questions dance around and remain unanswered? Perhaps the answer will be discovered in the next chapter!
