Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis. Bold is Malekos' speech.
I do not claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I only own Jessica and Malekos.
As they kept walking through the mansion, they checked doors as they went. And it wasn't long before Jessica could hear voices. She got her friends' attention and held a finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet. She led them towards the voices and they pushed open a door and stepped inside, gasping when they spotted Noah and Kaiba in the room. Jessica grew tense at the sight of Noah.
Yugi immediately jogged over to Kaiba and held the picture frame up to him. "Does this thing mean anything to you, Kaiba?"
"This is a trick," Kaiba huffed in contempt as he glared at the picture. "This is a picture of my step-father."
"Your step-dad? With Noah?" Yugi's confused voice started to grow squeaky at the end, and Jessica found it cute but kept it to herself.
"Pay attention to the show, Seto!" Noah cut off whatever Kaiba was about to say, and they turned to see a scene of Noah and Gozaburo in an office. "I think it will clear things up for you."
Jessica narrowed her eyes as she glanced from the real Noah to the virtual one. The memory was talking about a young Seto being a challenge for Noah. The real shocker was when virtual Noah called Gozaburo his father. She stepped closer to Téa for some sort of protection when the real Noah stood up from the couch.
"Not quite what you were expecting, is it, Seto? You and I being step-brothers. But it's all true! I am Gozaburo's one true son and I was always supposed to inherit his empire. You were nothing but another one of my father's servants brought in to motivate me! That's the only reason my father let riffraff like you into his house. To train me!" Noah narrowed his eyes, glaring at Kaiba. "And that's the story of how an orphan with no class became the president of KaibaCorp."
"Not true," Kaiba growled.
"Oh, it's true. And now the time has finally arrived for me to reclaim my position in my father's empire." He had a sinister grin. "Sorry, I guess this means that you're out of a job." He didn't sound or look apologetic at all.
"Noah! Your story makes no sense," Kaiba shouted. "If you're really Gozaburo's son, how is it that I've never met you before? Answer that, Noah!"
"Well, that's part two of my story." Noah glanced off to the side, and Jessica spotted Mokuba's head of hair on the couch where he had been hidden by Noah earlier. Why wasn't he with Kaiba?
Suddenly an alarm screaming 'alert' many times went off as a screen appeared. On it was the truck with Joey, Duke, Serenity, and Tristan driving at top speed while being shot at from something above them. Gasps escaped Jessica, Téa, and Yugi.
"Sorry, but I have to cut this short. Don't move," Noah instructed. "I'll be back after I deal with them." Kaiba tried to call out to him, but Noah and the lit area with the couch and Mokuba disappeared, leaving them in the vast darkness.
Jessica looked around, trying to see if there was a doorway. But the only one she could see was the one they had come through earlier. It also was a black void, but hopefully it would lead them outside to the rest of the gang. "Let's try that door again!" She suggested and immediately ran for it before anyone could say anything.
"Jessica!" Yugi's voice called out behind her but she was already jumping through the doorway and stumbling on the other side. When she looked up, she saw a different scenery. She heard footsteps behind her and knew they had successfully been able to follow her. "Hey, look! Over there!" He pointed in a direction where there was an overturned truck and bolted for it.
They followed on his heels. "Hey, guys!" Téa called out as they got closer.
"We found you! Is everyone alright?" Yugi called.
"We're fine!" Joey called back as he jumped down from the truck.
"Awesome! That's the best news I've heard all day!" Yugi ran over and jumped into Joey's awaiting arms, who gave him a noogie as they laughed.
"Those guys never stood a chance!"
Jessica watched the reunion with a small smile, standing off to the side as she still didn't feel like she was part of the whole group yet. She watched Joey and Yugi's fond interaction and she felt her shoulders relaxing. She closed her eyes, letting the happy atmosphere calm her nerves as she breathed slowly. The conversation was lost on her ears until numbers started popping in. Something about Noah not aging in six years. How was that possible?
She wasn't even aware the group was moving until she felt something brush her shoulder. It was a warm presence, but not a physical touch. With a quick glance, she confirmed that it was Yami who had detached from Yugi to catch her attention.
"Our friends are leaving," he told her, jerking his head in their direction.
"Oh." Jessica saw the group start to take the road, and was trying to talk to Kaiba. Yugi glanced over his shoulder at her and inclined his head, making sure she was okay. She knew he could see Yami with her so he wasn't too worried. She gave him a smile to reassure him and started walking behind them, but kept her distance so she could talk to Yami. "Thanks."
He was walking beside her, yet his footsteps made no sound. At least he had the perfect advantage for sneaking if he needed it. "What's on your mind?" He wasn't looking at her, but instead was watching the group in front of them bicker with Kaiba.
She sighed, knowing what he was asking about. She knew he wouldn't drop the subject. He and Yugi both were good at seeing through her somehow. She stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket as she stared at the ground in front of her. "Noah." It came out as a growl, and it made Yami glance at her. "He got in my head and now I can't stop thinking about it…" She made sure to keep her voice low to not make the group aware she was potentially talking to herself.
He hummed in response. "What did he tell you?"
She bit her lip. "He said he's going to show you guys something later about me, but I don't have any idea what it could be…" She gripped her fists tightly inside her pocket. She noticed the group had stopped in front of them and she stopped a little ways away. She turned towards Yami and her green eyes were glossy with the beginnings of tears that didn't show. "A-And I'm scared."
He blinked in surprise, turning so that he was facing her directly. "Why?"
"What if what he shows you makes you guys stop being my friends?" Keeping her voice low and from wavering was quite difficult, and she was sure she was getting a bit squeaky. "Wh-what if you… What if Yugi doesn't want to b-be with me anymore?"
"Jessica…" Yami's eyebrows furrowed as he watched her tremble, hugging herself. She was really worked up about what they thought of her, especially Yugi. Although, that was an obvious answer as to why. She really cared for Yugi, and he cared for her. She didn't want to be left alone again. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly Kaiba was shouting.
"Why don't you worry about him instead?!"
Jessica flinched, startled at the sudden outburst that cut into their conversation, and glanced at Kaiba. She and the gang followed his gaze to an outcrop nearby, where Tristan's body was standing and smirking down at them. She was barely listening as the gang talked about it being Nesbitt, and she barely registered that Kaiba was walking away. She scrunched up her face when five deck master's appeared behind 'Tristan'. The Big Five were sharing his body.
"Give him back!" Yugi exclaimed with clenched fists.
"Listen, Yugi. There's only one way we'll return your friend! But believe me, junior, the odds are in our favor." The constant switch of voices was confusing to keep up with who was who.
"Alright! Tell us what we have to do to get Tristan back from your control!"
"Why, duel us! Win and he's yours." 'Tristan' made his way off the outcropping and stood a little ways away from them, brandishing a duel disk. "Now, let's duel!"
"You five are on!" Jessica saw Yami disappear and then Yugi switched places with him. Now Yami stood in place of Yugi, activating his duel disk.
"Let's do this. For Tristan!"
She watched as Joey stepped in to team up with Yami, who agreed. Yami glanced over his shoulder at her and she blinked. His eyes were full of concern and she realized for the first time that her cheek was wet. An 'o' formed on her lips and she quickly wiped her face with her hoodie before giving him a thumbs up and a weak smile to show that she was okay. She mouthed "go get 'em" and saw two head nods. One was Yami and one was from Yugi who had briefly detached to nod at her before combining again, and he turned to start the duel.
The Big Five's 'rule of fairness' was that they begin with 8000 life points and their win gets all their bodies. But if Joey and Yami win, Tristan gets his body back and they're free to go. They both start off with 4000 life points each. At least now they could tell which of the Big Five was dueling since they'd be rotating their deck masters depending on who is in control during their turn.
The start of the duel went off with a crash, literally. A field spell card created an ocean and the rest of the gang had to find higher ground so they weren't swept away. Jessica helped push Serenity up onto the outcropping before pulling herself up just in time for the wave to crash below her. She growled in annoyance and sat at the edge, using her arms to support herself as she looked down upon the field. She narrowed her eyes. You can do it, guys. I believe in you.
The switch of deck masters made it confusing for Jessica still, and their change of voices didn't help, but she tried her best to remember who had which deck master anyway. She knew the leader had the Deep Sea Warrior, that was the one she and Yami faced together. Nightmare Penguin was who Téa faced. Judge Man was who Joey faced. Jinzo was who Kaiba faced. And Android Robotic Knight was who Tristan, Duke, and Serenity faced together.
You'll give yourself a headache with all the thinking you're doing. Malekos' presence surfaced in her mind with a quiet growl. Something she grew to realize was just how he usually spoke, with a growl in his voice. It was how he growls that made all the difference in telling his emotions.
I can't tell if a headache from you or from my own thoughts are any better. She tried to joke in a sarcastic manner. She found herself smiling slightly at his low rumble of a chuckle.
As long as you're focused on your friends, that's all that matters.
She bit her lip, knowing what he meant. Right. She tried not to think about it. Yami had already tried talking to her about it, but she wasn't able to get his answer due to being interrupted by the Big Five. She hoped his answer would've been positive.
Focusing back on the field, she could see Joey and Yami were starting to make some good moves. Perhaps the Big Five were not as united as they should be. Their fight for control was costing their duel. She smiled softly. Yami and Joey are a really good team. She frowned slightly when Joey got too cocky with his turn and it brought back the ocean magic card.
"That's okay, Joey!" She called out, getting their attention. "You can still beat it! Don't give up!"
Both Joey and Yami gave her a thumbs up and she smiled, glad that she was able to help with encouragement. She was grinning when Yami's move made the ocean go away and they all had to draw a new hand, making 'Tristan' scowl.
"Nice move, Ya-Yugi!" She had to catch herself before she said Yami. Not everyone knows about his existence.
Normally I would add the second part of the duel, but the next chapter is very important so I'll wait to post it for tomorrow lol.
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