Uploading this at nearly 1am since I'll be leaving for the weekend again on a road trip in a few hours and I won't be able to upload any chapters until I get home to my computer. Kinda sucks that I can't upload anything from my phone, really wish the site would allow that... oh well. Until Monday then!
Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis.
I do not claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I only own Jessica and Malekos.
A rumbling in the ship was what jostled Jessica out of a peaceful sleep. She had already felt Yugi leap out of bed and she groggily forced herself up. "W-what's going on?" She asked, having a difficult time untangling herself from the blankets.
"I don't know but I'm going to go find out!" Yugi got dressed quickly and Jessica was instantly awake, throwing herself off the bed.
"I'm coming too!"
They left the room and met up with their friends in the hallway, all looking shaken. They agreed to go ask about it and ran to the control room, where they found Kaiba already there and Mokuba in a command chair.
"What's going on?" Jessica asked for the second time.
"Yeah, what's with da turbulence?" Joey asked.
"Some of us sleep past five," Tristan added, to which Jessica rolled her eyes. Sleeping in was not on her list of priorities at the moment.
Kaiba turned to them, but before he could say anything the ship started to rumble again as it shifted its course. Jessica wobbled and almost fell over if it hadn't been for Yugi catching her in his arms, holding her close. She gave him a grateful smile, to which he returned with his own. She watched as Kaiba argued with his employees about the autopilot not responding. An image displayed on a big screen of a tall tower on an island full of rubble.
"Is that the final dueling site?" Yugi asked, staring at it.
"It is." Kaiba stared at the screen and Jessica honestly couldn't tell if he was glaring at it or if that's just the usual scowl he always wore. She listened as he explained what he built it upon, and Mokuba explained the beginnings of KaibaCorb under the ruling of the former CEO, their step-father. Kaiba quickly shut him up with a stern tone, obviously sore about the topic.
A gasp resounded through the group as one of the employees figured out what was happening. Someone was controlling the system from outside, something that clearly wasn't prepared for. And just as suddenly, the blimp took a dive towards the water and everyone fell to the ground as it skid across the surface before lifting up again. Jessica hissed through her teeth as she rubbed her head, feeling Yugi's hands on her shoulders to keep her steady. She glanced at him and they shared a moment to silently make sure they were both alright, giving tiny smiles when they were.
The screen showcasing the KaibaCorb Island became static before showing a new face, who was smirking. And honestly, Jessica thought she was looking at a younger Kaiba. Besides the hair and eye color being different, they had that same arrogant demeanor about them. Except this boy looked absolutely spoiled. "Greetings, duelists. There's nothing wrong with your television set," he told them. "I'm in control now."
"Identify yourself!" Kaiba demanded.
"Always barking orders, aren't you? I've been observing you and it's time I put you in your place, Seto. So from now on, I'll be calling the shots around here and my first order of business is to put an end to your little card game."
Jessica stood up and clutched Yugi's jacket as they all stared up at the screen. She listened as the two Kaiba's and the newcomer bickered before he introduced himself.
"The name is Noah. You and I go back quite a long way, Seto."
Another small bicker and the screen changed to a view of the water's surface. A large ship began to emerge, creating waves and spraying water everywhere until it floated like a submarine. As Joey mentioned, it did honestly look like some sort of underwater fortress made of metal. They could only watch as a landing bay opened up and they descended into it until they landed inside. The blimp was locked in and lights suddenly flashed on, spotlighting it.
"Thanks for dropping in, Seto. Time for you and your friends to exit the ship," Noah said as he appeared on the screen again.
Jessica frowned, she didn't like it. Not one bit. Especially not when at least fifty stun phasers appeared along the walls and aimed directly at the blimp. She growled and clung to Yugi's side, who hugged her protectively in response. All they could do at that point was comply with Noah's demands. But when Kaiba started to walk off by himself, claiming that everyone stayed on the ship while he fixed the issue himself, she spoke up.
"Excuse me, but didn't you hear him? He said 'you and your friends'." She cut Kaiba off before he could protest. "And I know you don't think you have any friends, but I do believe he means us." She gestured to herself, Yugi, and their group of friends. "I don't want to take any risks with those phasers of his, stun or not."
"Very perceptive, Jessica Wilkes." She bristled at the use of her last name and she whipped around toward the screen to glare at a smug-looking Noah. "I did say all of you. Now I'd suggest doing as I say, or else."
They all exchanged a glance before walking out of the room as a group. Jessica stuck close to Yugi's side and she could hear Serenity clinging to Joey behind them. They exited the blimp and paused to bicker until a door opened to a long hallway ahead of them, with Noah urging them in. But when Kaiba's employees tried to step foot outside, a few stun phaser blasts aimed around the ramp caused them to stagger backwards.
"You two goons can wait on the blimp. This invitation is for duelists only." Noah's voice echoed from a megaphone somewhere inside the landing bay.
Jessica furrowed her brows but tightened her grip on Yugi's jacket, and he tightened his arm around her waist in response. They both knew she wasn't a duelist, as well as some of the members of their group, but they both chose to stay silent for fear of something bad happening. Kaiba walked into the hall and they all followed after a small bicker between Joey and Serenity.
After walking for a bit in silence, Yugi decided to speak up. "What is it you want from us, Noah?"
"Everything will be made clear soon enough. Just continue to the end of the hallway where my associates will greet you. They're especially excited to see you, Mister Kaiba."
Something about the way Noah enunciated 'associates' made Jessica furrow her brows, but she stayed silent. The door at the end of the hallway opened up in front of them and they walked into a dark room. The door closed behind them and they all glanced around the room. It wasn't until laughter echoed through the room that the lights suddenly turned on, blinding them briefly. A group of five men she didn't recognize stood at the center of the room, illuminated by the bright light. Well, she didn't recognize them but Kaiba sure did.
"Surprised to see us again, Kaiba?" One asked.
Jessica listened as the rest of the group talked amongst themselves before Mokuba explained it to them. "These are the five creeps that tried to get rid of Seto and take over KaibaCorp! Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Lector, also known as the Big Five."
"That's right," Joey exclaimed in realization. "They trapped Kaiba in cyberland until we saved 'im!"
"Almost right," Kaiba spoke up, silencing the group. "They were hired by my step-father to serve as KaibaCorp's board of directors. But that wasn't enough power for them, so they tried to destroy me using my own virtual technology and take over my company."
"When those corporate creepazoids lost, they were imprisoned in the virtual world instead of Seto," Mokuba chimed in.
Jessica whistled softly. "Sounds like you guys had all the adventures before I showed up," she said, glancing at Yugi. He gave her a sheepish shrug in response.
"That's right. But did you honestly think you'd seen the last of us? We wandered through cyberspace for what seemed like an eternity, thinking of one question over and over. How could we get revenge for our suffering?" One of the men began to explain, and another chimed in to continue.
"We finally found our answer the day that Noah hacked into KaibaCorp's mainframe."
"Once we discovered we all share a common enemy in Seto Kaiba, naturally Noah uploaded our minds to his system," a third man explained.
"I defeated you once, and I can easily do it again," Kaiba told them with a clenched fist.
"We plan to give you every opportunity to do so, mister Kaiba, for we've devised a new game with Noah's help."
"What kind of a game are we talking about, you snake?" Kaiba scowled.
"Oh, it's a game you're quite familiar with. It's a Duel Monsters tournament. A virtual Duel Monsters tournament. And you're all invited to participate."
Jessica narrowed her eyes as she listened. I don't like the sound of this… I'm getting a bad feeling about this.
"But why do you guys wanna duel us?" Yugi asked, finally speaking up. And Jessica held her breath as she listened to the Big Five's next words.
"Our minds have been trapped in this virtual prison for so long we've lost our bodies."
"But if we defeat you in Noah's virtual arena, we'll return to the real world in your bodies."
Jessica bristled, I knew there was a catch! She didn't want to lose her body. She already had to share it with a demon, and she didn't want to give it up to anyone else. Joey shared her same thoughts, and she knew he was thinking of Marik.
"It's time to take you to our special dueling world," the Big Five announced. "I'm sure you'll find this world unlike anything you've ever seen!"
Lights flashed and blinded them all, and Jessica couldn't tell if she was dizzy or if the world around her was truly spinning. The only thing she could think to do was cling to Yugi until everything passed, and they all found themselves in a jungle of trees, lying down in an open clearing. She pushed herself onto her hands and knees as everyone else began to pick themselves up at the same time. She found herself wishing Malekos was there and she frowned, hoping he would recover soon. She could hear them start to bicker amongst themselves about the jungle as Yugi helped her to her feet. She brushed herself off instinctually and glanced around, hearing the cries of a bird-like monster somewhere above.
Jessica found herself staring up at the pterodactyl that flew over their heads across the sky before the ground started to shake with large footsteps that grew closer. She looked around for the source until the head of a t-rex appeared above the treeline. It's red eyes found them and began to walk towards them. She could hear the group start to run away but she saw Kaiba face it head-on. She felt Yugi's hands grasp her hand and try to pull her along with him, but she pulled back, successfully making him pause in his steps.
"Jess, what-"
"Yugi, look! Kaiba isn't running away," she told him as she watched Kaiba stay exactly where he was, not even flinching as the t-rex raised a claw to strike him.
"Run, Kaiba!" Yugi called out, along with Mokuba at his side.
They watched as the claw passed right through Kaiba like a hologram, making the dinosaur growl before continuing on its way. Kaiba smirked, "That brat Noah can't intimidate me with cheap virtual illusions like this. I wrote better virtual reality programs back when this kid was still wearing diapers. This stuff's amateur."
A noise caught Jessica's attention and she turned her head to see Téa examining some pink flowers. Her hand had passed right through them, causing her to gasp in realization at the lack of touch. And another Kaiba appeared from the bushes in front of her, causing confusion among the group. She freaked out and backpedaled, looking between the virtual Kaiba and the real Kaiba.
"Relax, it's a cheap copy," Kaiba scowled, staring at his virtual twin. "I used to create virtual clones all the time to duel against."
"Why duel yourself?" Tristan asked, confused.
"Who better?" Kaiba sounded smug as he answered, facing off against his clone.
When a monster appeared behind the group, the Big Five's voice echoed around them as they explained a demonstration was about to take place. They had created new rules for their 'tournament' and they had to watch. It was called the Deck Master System. The duelist would choose a Deck Master among the monsters in their deck and they could use it's special abilities whenever they pleased. But once the Deck Master was destroyed, the duelist would suffer an immediate loss regardless of the amount of life points they had. And a loss for a duelist with a body meant they would lose their body to one of the Big Five.
Jessica gulped as Kaiba shouted at them, only to have the holographic world disappear and reveal that they hadn't even left the room. She tightened her grip on Yugi's hand as she stared at the five holographic men across the room. She really didn't like this.
"You kids aren't going anywhere for a long while. You're trapped and the only way to escape is to defeat each of us in a virtual duel." One of the men told them.
Jessica listened as the group told each other that they would win and that they had each other's backs. It honestly relieved her and her tense muscles relaxed as she let herself smile. She felt Yugi's hand tighten around hers gently and they exchanged a glance. He nodded and she felt her heart flutter at the confidence in his gaze that definitely wasn't Yami. It was Yugi. "And I'll always have your back," she told him, and then turned her head to tell the rest of the group. "And yours." They each gave her their own smiles and grins and it warmed her heart.
"Hold on, you guys!" Téa piped up, ruining their moment. "They never said which of us will actually have to duel."
"Good question, kid. Just to make sure that you'll all suffer equally, we'll be dueling against every one of you brats!" One of the men explained, and it made Jessica bristle again.
"I knew it!" She muttered, biting her lip. She didn't know how to duel! Watching it was one thing, but actually dueling was another. She felt Yugi wrap an arm around her waist protectively but she otherwise didn't acknowledge it.
"Remember, we need to take over five bodies. So the first five of you to lose will have the honor of gaining our minds while yours stay trapped here!"
Jessica clicked her tongue in contempt as she muttered, "Some honor…" She watched as their bodies distorted slightly by growing taller and larger above the waist as if to tower over them, laughing at their fates.
And here is where I leave you off for the weekend. But worry not, Monday will be a double chapter update! Have a great weekend~