Zypher: Welcome all! Bet you all were on the edge of your seats for this chapter so no need to wait any longer! Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter!
Note to SeithrKairy: If you want to see the duel between Yami and Bakura, I'll probably add it in as a bonus chapter later on in the story. I didn't add it before I posted up the duel between Panik and Yami because two said they rather see Bakura, and Crimson, show up at a later point.
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Yami no Game: Dark Saga
Chapter 9
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At Pegasus' Castle, Croquet was explaining to Pegasus about Kaiba. "I see...you're sure this little report is accurate?" he asked and Croquet nodded. "Yes sir. We received word from the Kaiba household from one of the spies." Pegasus, with his back turned to Croquet, hummed silently. "So, Seto Kaiba has come out of his coma...and is now making his way to my island with Ruby Jewelstone..." he spoke softly before slapping his forehead. "Oh no! What a mess I've gotten into!" he exclaimed. Behind them stood a window where the Big 5 sat. "Mister Pegasus! If that is true then we may need to change this entire plan..." One of the Big 5 spoke. "No! We can't turn back now!" Another spoke up. "Curse him...why couldn't he just die?!" Pegasus took a glance at them. "Now, now...there's no need for alarm. The plan can still go on! The moment we defeat Yami, the deal is complete! Kaiba Corporation will belong to you gentlemen and me! I have it all under control...neither of them will reach Duelist Kingdom. I have it all taken care of!" Pegasus spoke. "Good...we'll take you word for it." One of the Big 5 said. "That's right! If they're both still alive, more than this deal would be in danger!"
"Have no fear..." Pegasus spoke as he walked out onto the balcony, looking out to the distance. "Poor Kaiba and Jewelstone...I'll send you back to the hell where you both belong..." he whispered
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On the helicopter, Kaiba was looking over his cards before sighing lightly and looked to one of his guards. "How long has it been since the Death-T tournament?" Kaiba asked. "...about six months, Kaiba-sama." The guard replied. "I see..." He sighed again. "It feels longer to me. It feels like it's been years since I've touched these cards..."
"We were all waiting for you, sir. Waiting and hoping you'd get better." The guard spoke again. Ruby snorted as he took out a manila envelope. "This report details everything that happened while Kaiba was in a coma and I was gone. Mokuba left it with the maid, the only person he could trust other than myself and Seto in the entire estate." Ruby stated. "Yes sir, I'm very worried myself. I hope Mokuba-sama is safe..." Kaiba was silent for a while before speaking. "So...Pegasus made a secret plot with traitors in my own home to gain control of KaibaCorp. and kidnapped my brother. And he was able to do all this without alerting Ruby in any way." He silently opened his briefcase which held two disks and a variety of cards. "Kaiba-sama, I mean no disrespect but please don't forget that there is another enemy on the island. The demon boy who started it all." The guard spoke up again. Kaiba was still silent. "If you beat him, sir, you can truly claim supremacy once more. You'll be No. 1 again." Kaiba sighed. "Revenge..." he whispered as flashbacks of the last duel he had with the other played in his mind. "He's the last thing I remembered. His fighting technique was unstoppable. I don't care if my emotions boil over in rage again. I want to battle him one more time..." he replied then looked outside. 'Hmm...something's wrong. The position of the moon from my window hasn't remained constant. It used to be on the other side...' He took a glance over to the guard who was silent now. 'Them too...'
The guard grinned, pulling out a pistol and held it up to Kaiba's head. "It seems you noticed now, Seto Kaiba." The guard whispered. He chuckled lightly. "So, you switched sides to Pegasus now, have you?" he stated. "That's right. You have to die, the both of you. What better way than to have you sink to the bottom of the sea. Are you ready to die?" he questioned mockingly, laughing. Kaiba shrugged and lifted up one card over his head. "Here, just let me get this out of the way. No need to stain my cards with blood." he murmured. "I see...truly the little lord of the cards, aren't you? So those are your last words...then die Kaiba and Jewelstone!" he thundered and pulled the trigger but he wasn't expecting Kaiba to move his arm, too quick for him to comprehend, and a card now rested between the gun and hammer. 'No! H-He blocked the hammer of the gun!' When he looked back to Kaiba, he flinched when he saw the murderous look in his eyes. "You worthless trash...you made me damage my card! A rare card to be exact!" he hissed he grabbed the gun before bending it back, causing a snap to be heard as the guard screamed.
"My finger!" he cried, his finger bent in the opposite direction. Kaiba tugged the gun from him and held it up, taking the card from its place. "If you want to kill me or Ruby, you have to kill my cards first and I won't let that happen! Open the door!" he snarled then looked at the pilot. "You too!" The pilot looked back to him. "But..." he started to protest. "Don't worry, we both know how to fly a helicopter. Even if I splatter your brains all over the cockpit, all I need to do is clean up and continue on. So do it! Jump!" he growled and they both climbed out, falling into the sea below with a shout. Kaiba laughed as he sat back, Ruby taking hold of the controls and started making their way towards Duelist Kingdom.
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Jounouchi gave a loud yawn as he laid back in his sleeping bag. "I can finally get some sleep..." he mumbled happily. "Good night, everyone." Ryou whispered as he lied in his sleeping bag. Yami and Yugi settled and laid down, Yugi snug within Yami's arms. 'It's so dark out in the open. I hate the dark. I hope I can fall asleep quickly so I can dream. Dream of bein' in a brighter place...' Jounouchi thought as he started to doze off. Everyone was doing the same but something fell down from the tree above Honda. He hazard a glance to see what fell and only saw the shadow of a...
"Snake!" he cried, jumping up and waking everyone else as well. "What?! Shut up, Honda!" Jounouchi sneered. Yugi looked over to the flailing brunet and picked up the supposed snake. "I hate snakes and reptiles and things with slippery skin!" he whined. "I feel highly offended for some reason..." Aqua protested. Yugi held up the vine. "Honda, is this the snake you're talking about?" Jounouchi looked over and groaned. "Ah man...it's just a vine from a tree!" he groaned as Honda looked up and over to Yugi who was still holding the vine. "Huh...a vine?" The smaller nodded and Jounouchi looked about ready to strangle him. "Ya wimp! Screamin' just because of a little vine!" he exclaimed as he went back into his sleeping bag. "I'm goin' back ta sleep!" Yugi threw the vine away before moving back to curl up beside Yami once more. Jounouchi was peacefully dozing off when another scream woke him and the others. "What now?!" he snapped, looking over to Ryou who held up the Sennen Ring. "What's wrong, Ryou?" Yugi asked sleepily. "L-Look at this..." he whispered, holding the Ring up, showing them the needle that was aimed towards Pegasus' Castle. Honda and Jounouchi jumped back in fear. "T-the Sennen Ring! Why'd you bring that here?!" They both shrieked. "D-Diamond and I wonder what this meant. Both of our items do this. I looked into my bag to check on the Ring because I was a little worried about it, that's all..." If he had his complete attention on the Ring, he would've heard the chuckle emitted from the spirit. "And when I took it out, it did this..." he explained. "One of the needles is pointing towards Pegasus' Castle." Yugi spoke. "And that wasn't the only time it did this. It happened the day I transferred to Domino High...when I saw your puzzle, Yugi."
"Maybe the Ring is like a dowsing rod...possibly to locate the Sennen items." Yugi contemplated. "I'm sure you're right. It must be pointing towards the castle because of Pegasus' Sennen item." Aqua observed. "I don't get it..." Honda mumbled. Jounouchi looked a little frightened by the info and crawled back to his sleeping bag. "I think that's all I wanna know 'bout tha' creepy item of yours, Ryou." he mumbled, zipping up the bag. Ryou looked down to the Ring with a sigh. 'I have to find out the mystery of the Sennen items. How were they created and where'd they come from? Could it possibly have a connection to Egypt since that's where my father got this and the Sennen Gem from?' Ryou thought before looking at Yugi, Aqua and Honda. "Yugi...Diamond and I came to the island to help Jounouchi and Yami...but we had another reason as well. Somewhere on this island could be clues to the mystery of the Sennen items. We both believe that Pegasus knows the secret. He has the Sennen Eye so he must know something about them." Ryou whispered and Yugi nodded. "Ok but remember, whatever you do, do not put on the Sennen Ring. You do that and Bakura won't think twice to take over and find any remaining duelists or some guards to satisfy him to get closer to gaining a body." Aqua warned. "Of course. After everything he did, I could never put this on and risk everyone's lives again." Ryou murmured as he placed the Ring back into his pack. Bakura growled as he felt the Ring placed back into its confinement. /I will convince you to let me be free once more, yadonushi. I will help you in your time of need and tell you that placing the Ring on will save you and your pathetic friends. You'll see.../ They soon went back to sleep, a few minutes passing before Jounouchi opened an eye, hearing something faint in the distance. The sound got louder and louder until he jumped up and out of his sleeping bag in anger.
"What? What?! What is it this time?!" he hollered, peeved he was getting a severe lack of sleep, as they looked up. "It's a helicopter!" Yugi replied. "Arrgh! I'm so gonna beat this guy up now! I have duels tomorrow!" Jounouchi hissed. "Hey! It's landing!" Kaiser motioned. "Makes you wonder who would come to the island in the middle of the night..." Aqua spoke, yawning. The girls, having left their tent, walked over to where they were, woken by the sound. Diamond rubbed her eyes as she looked to the fuming Jounouchi. "What's going on?" she asked. "Some dimwit flew a helicopter here to the island and landed here out of all places!" The helicopter blades slowly came to a stop as the door opened and someone stepped out. Yugi gasped when he saw who it was. 'It's Kaiba!' Kaiba took a glance over to them as Ruby stepped out as well. "Is that who I think it is?" Myrrh questioned. "Yeah! And he's out of his coma!" Honda added. "But why is he here of all places?" Jounouchi questioned, still angry. Yami stepped ahead of the group, looking to Kaiba. He watched him before smirking. "Yami..."
"Kaiba..." Yami whispered before digging into his pocket. The demon pulled out Kaiba's deck and handed it to him. "One of your so-called guards took this and gave them to some idiot who tried to defeat me. I got them back for you." Kaiba was silent but took them from him. "I'll say thank you for now but don't be mistaken. I'm not the kind of man who'll lose a fight and walks away. I'll defeat you sooner or later." he said before he started to walk off. "And one more thing...it will be me who defeats Pegasus. I'll protect Kaiba Corporation with my own hands!" he said before calling for Ruby to come with him. Ruby snorted and looked back to the group when he saw Kaiser. 'Now who is this golden beauty? I never saw him with them the last time we met. He must be new.' He smirked lightly. 'I may just get myself acquainted more with the group so I can talk to him one day. To be smitten so young. Oh well, at least I pose a better outcome than Seto does with having Jounouchi's affections returned.' he thought before following behind Kaiba. Jounouchi stepped in front of Yami and looked to Kaiba's back with a murderous glare. "Hold it right there, Kaiba! Don't tell me you forgot what ya caused at Death-T!" Jounouchi growled, moving in front of the older teen and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. "Jounouchi! Don't start anything now!" Yugi spoke from behind. Kaiba chuckled. "Ah yes, I certainly can't forget you. Hopefully you were grateful that I decided to spare your life."
"Why you..." he hissed and Kaiba laughed softly. "So, you're in this tournament as well. Hopefully your dueling skills have improved." he mused and Jounouchi growled, ready to punch the brunet if Yugi and Honda didn't hold him back. "Grr! I'll kick yer–!" Jounouchi snarled, struggling. "No! Jou-kun, don't start what you can't finish!" Yugi cried helplessly. He continued to struggle, glaring at the older Kaiba. "Let me go!" he growled. "Just let it go!" Honda snapped, trying to hold the enraged teen back. But Jounouchi didn't listen to a word he said. "C'mon, Kaiba! I'll fight ya here and now! Duelist style!" Kaiba looked to him skeptically. "Do you realize what you're saying?" He then smirked. "Very well then. I think I'll have some fun with this...maybe gain something from it." he hummed. "Don't do it, Jou-kun! Kaiba's way stronger than you right now! You don't have a chance to beat him!" Yugi whimpered as Jounouchi removed his arm from Honda's grip. "I can't back down! We're on!" Jounouchi barked and Yugi backed away from the other, seriously worried about the outcome of the duel. Jounouchi walked off before looking to Kaiba once more. "Come with me! There's a duel box over here!" Kaiba only huffed as he placed the metal briefcase down and opened it. "We'll fight here." he said as he pulled out a circular object and held it out to Jounouchi. "Put this on. It's a Duel Disk!" They were in awe at the item and Jounouchi took it, slipping the deck holder over his left hand to rest on his wrist. Kaiba watched him silently, a smirk on his face. 'That's how I'm going to beat Pegasus...my new card battle machine!' He thought. "This here is a new piece of hardware my company started developing around the same time as Death-T! It's still in the prototype stages but this is a good opportunity to try it out." He explained as he slipped another Duel Disk over his wrist. "The rules are mostly standard Duel Monsters but the concept of the field is a little different. Now put your deck into the Deck holder latched to your arm."
Jounouchi pulled his deck out of his pocket, giving it a quick shuffle, and placed it into the slot which lit up with the life point gauge at 2000. Kaiba did the same before looking back at him. "Before we start, we need at least five meters apart!" he spoke and they did so. "Are you ready?" Jounouchi nodded. "Then let's start! I'll go first!" Kaiba spoke as he drew his five cards. "It's simple. Draw your five cards, set them to battle mode in the Duel Disk...and throw the disk into the field!" he said, tossing the disk and it spun, a monster starting to appear from the spinning disk. "Hey! A monster's starting to appear!" Honda said as Battle Ox revealed itself. "The graphic data of the card is processed at high speed using the hyper 3D engine built into the Duel Disk! It creates a "Solid Vision" of the monster using the V2 Emulator!" Kaiba enlightened, smirking all the while. 'Wow...a life-sized hologram without the duel box! Kaiba brought the game even further than before!' Yugi thought. Jounouchi watched as Kaiba demonstrated the Duel Disk and nodded. "All right then! I'll play this card!" he called, placing Armored Lizard onto the Disk before throwing it out. "Don't let me down, Armored Lizard!" he said as the blue plated lizard appeared on the field. "I'll take ya on, Kaiba!" Jounouchi hissed. Kaiba's smirk widened. "You don't know what you're doing..." he whispered. 'This is my secret weapon that will defeat Pegasus! I've seen the way Pegasus duels. To counter his ability of reading the minds of his opponents across the table, there's only one way to win...to stay out of range and use this machine!'
"What do you know?! Get him, Armored Lizard!" Jounouchi called and the monster roared as he went to attack. "A lot more than, you of course. Battle Ox! Disembowel him with Axe Crusher!" Battle Ox gave a snort as he raised his axe and swung it down, hitting Armored Lizard directly in his neck but the blade was stuck in the armor plates. "He got hit but he isn't destroyed! Nothing can cut through his armor scales!" Jounouchi claimed with a grin. "Even so, that doesn't matter. Battle Ox has more attack points! Take him down!" Kaiba commanded and Battle Ox raised his axe again, lifting Jounouchi's monster along with it and slammed it down to the ground once more. Armored Lizard let out a choked roar as the blade dug through the armor plates enough to cleanly slice his head off, the monster fading in a wisp of smoke. Jounouchi groaned as his monster was destroyed and his life points decreased to 1800. As the monster was destroyed, his card was flicked out of the duel disk. Jounouchi saw this and ran after it. "M-My card..."
"Jounouchi! Pick it up later!" Jounouchi snorted before turning back to Kaiba. "If the monster loses and your card is lost, pull the wire of the Duel Disk towards you and bring the disk back." he explained. "Ya mean like this?" Jounouchi inquired, tugging the wire and the disk came back. 'I see now! This Duel Disk is like a yo-yo! And I'm good with 'em so usin' this is a cinch!'
"Now that it's your turn, set a new card and throw the disk like before."
"Ok! Here's my next card! The Flame Swordsman! That Battle Ox is going down!" Jounouchi said as he placed his card onto the disk and threw it out. "The Flame Swordsman...maybe that could win against that Battle Ox." Ryou murmured. "This match is mine! Toki Enzan Ken!" Flame Swordsman charged it and their weapons clashed. Yugi was silent before he let out a gasp. 'How could I forget?! Battle Ox has a resistance to fire so Flame Swordsman's attack will decrease by 300 points!' he thought as Battle Ox took down Flame Swordsman with a swipe of his mighty axe. 'No! Not even Flame Swordsman can stand a chance!' Jounouchi thought. "Don't give up, Jou-kun!" Diamond called. "But is there any way for him to defeat Kaiba? It looks hopeless now." Honda spoke. "Jou-kun..." Yugi whispered. "Hmm, this wasn't what I expected from you, Jounouchi. I thought you would've gotten better but I guess I was wrong. This is more like an exhibition match! I won't take your star chips so don't worry about that! But..." Kaiba's smirk darkened along with his features. "I will get something from you out of this if I win." Jounouchi glowered at him. "And what would that be?!" he snarled. "Probably a kiss or something. I still have my thoughts that he likes you, Jou-kun." Aqua claimed. Jounouchi shivered at the thought. "Let's hope not." Kaiba chuckled. "You never know. He may be right." he murmured as he drew his card. "Now, since it's getting boring, I'll play two new cards this turn!" The brunet spoke as he brought the disk back. He placed two cards onto the disk before sending it back out. "They're both known to be from Greek mythology, after all...so if I combine a Minotaur and a Centaur..." The monster appeared with a roar. "Then I'll get a Mino-Centaur fusion! Meet the Rabid Horseman!"
"Grr...Kaiba...think you're so smart..." Jounouchi hissed as he brought the disk back and placed Swamp Battleguard onto it. "I'll never forgive ya!" He sent the disk back out, the ogre monster appearing onto the field. "I won't forget about Death-T and I will never like ya!" he shouted, sending his monster to attack. "Go Rabid Horseman! Attack!" Kaiba commanded. Both monsters charged in for their attack but Swamp Battleguard was easily destroyed. Jounouchi growled as he brought back the disk. "Then how 'bout this!" The blonde placed another monster onto the field with little regard to the fact that Rabid Horseman held a 2000 attack point advantage over most of his monsters. "It won't work, Jounouchi! You have lost when you decided to challenge me!" The duel continued with each monster Jounouchi sent out being destroyed by Rabid Horseman. Jounouchi's life points were now at 500 and he started to see that there was possibly no way for him to beat Kaiba. "Just give up, Jounouchi. I admire your courage for challenging me but I'm just too strong for you." Kaiba spoke. 'He's right...I was a fool for challengin' him when he's already stronger than me...'
"Hang in there, Jounouchi!" Honda called. "You got this far!"
"Yeah! I know you can do something!"
"Aren't you ashamed? Stand up and fight! I don't want to see you down on your knees against this prick!" Mai shouted then covered her mouth in embarrassment. 'What am I saying...?!' she thought. Kaiba looked at her and glared. 'She better not have her eyes on him or else...' Jounouchi turned to her angrily. "Shut up! I don't wanna hear that from ya, Mai!" he snapped to her before turning back to Kaiba. "I'm not givin' up! The battle's not over!" He drew his card and looked to it before grinning. "My next card happens to be..." He brought back the disk and placed the card down before sending it back out again. "The super rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Jounouchi announced and Kaiba was surprised at seeing the dragon. 'The Black Dragon...a dragon that rivals the power of the Blue-Eyes. How was he able to get such a card?' he pondered. "Yeah! You can win now!" Yugi cheered. 'The Red-Eyes may fight with fire but even with the 300 attack point deduction because of Rabid Horseman's resistance, it can still beat him anyway!'
"Here I come! Attack Red-Eyes with Black Fire Bullet!" The Red-Eyes roared in agreement as a black and red fireball gathered in her jaws before the dragon let the molten attack careen towards the monster. Rabid Horseman gave a roar of defeat as the attack made contact and the monster soon faded from the field. "Yeah!" Jounouchi cheered along with the others. Kaiba's life points decreased to 1600 but he only chuckled. "Nothing but a little scratch but I do give you points for effort." he spoke as he drew his next card and smirked. "Now, why don't we see whose dragon is the strongest. Time to meet my dragon." Kaiba murmured as he drew back the disk and placed the card onto it before sending it out. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The dragon roared as he appeared onto the field and Red-Eyes roared back in challenge. The two dragons faced off, Red-Eyes glaring with anger and Blue-Eyes looking on in curiosity. Yami watched intensely before chuckling. Yugi looked up to him in wonder. /What're you laughing about?/ Yugi questioned. /Kaiba's Blue-Eyes has been smitten./ Yami spoke. Yugi looked confused. /What do you mean?/ he asked again. /Many duelists think that the cards don't have souls or minds of their own but they do. That can sometimes be easily seen through the duel but the controller of the cards doesn't see that. I can, however. As of now, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes has become smitten with Jou-kun's Red-Eyes. Of course, Red-Eyes doesn't share the same feelings because of Jou-kun's ire towards Kaiba./ Yami explained. /Oh, I see now. Do you think that Kaiba's Blue-Eyes will ever get the chance to meet and make amends?/ Yugi asked. /Maybe. Our cards can travel between decks in the monster realm where they thrive but since Jou-kun loathes Kaiba, it will be hard for even the strongest of Kaiba's monsters to get to where his deck monsters reside./ Yugi nodded in realization. /Too bad for the Blue-Eyes then but I do hope that he does find a way./
"You may have been able to send out your strongest monster, Jounouchi, but it ends now! Go Blue-Eyes! Burst Stream of Destruction!" Kaiba commanded. The Blue-Eyes hesitated and looked to the Red-Eyes in disappointment before unleashing his attack, destroying the dragon and the rest of Jounouchi's life points. At the force of the dragon's attack, Jounouchi flew back and landed on the ground, causing Honda, Myrrh and Yugi to run over to him. "Jou-kun! Jou-kun, are you alright?" Myrrh asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine." He whispered, glaring at Kaiba still. The Blue-Eyes curled protectively around Kaiba, still a gleam of grief in his eyes for destroying the other dragon as Kaiba spoke. "Now do you see, Yami? I'm the one who will defeat Pegasus!" Kaiba claimed, looking to the other. He then took a glance at his dragon. "Return, Blue-Eyes!" he called and the dragon returned back to his card as Kaiba pulled the disk back into his hands. Kaiba removed the disk from his arm before looking down to Jounouchi. Jounouchi growled as he removed the Duel Disk as well and tossed it towards Kaiba's feet.
"I must say, it's either with luck or with your friends' help that you won a few duels. But now, you lost against me so who knows if you'll win your duels tomorrow." Kaiba spoke as he walked over towards them. Myrrh hissed as she glared up towards him. "Who cares what you think! What do you know anyways? You don't know what Jou-kun is dueling for! You don't know what he's fighting so hard for! You don't know anything Kaiba so zip it with the insults!" Myrrh hissed. "Yeah! His sister's eyes are..." Ryou started. "Don't say anymore, Ryou! He doesn't need to know about my personal life." Jounouchi shouted and Ryou went silent. 'His sister's eyes...?' Mai thought. Kaiba raised an eyebrow at what Ryou started to say and would've prodded more if Ruby didn't nudge him, holding the other Duel Disk. "Come on. Let's get going before you cause more of a problem here." he murmured, handing him the disk. Kaiba snorted as he snatched the disk from him and went back to his briefcase to place it in along with the other. "I like you, Jounouchi, but you have far to go before you can become a duelist." he started, closing the briefcase and standing up with it in hand. "Your dueling skill is nothing but a minor compared to mine and it will take a lot of skill in order for you to defeat me." he said, ready to walk over to claim his prize but Ruby grabbed his coat. "No, Seto. You already done enough." he murmured, leaning in. "Keep this act up and any chances of you getting together will be long gone. He's already spiteful of what you've done before." Kaiba huffed before turning away and started walking off with Ruby behind him. Yugi stood from Jou's side and looked at him. "You...you're just the same as before! You say you have an interest in Jounouchi but you still insult and tease him! You haven't changed at all, have you?"
Kaiba turned back to him. "Yugi...do you expect me to just disperse the façade that has long been engraved into my very soul? Not even what Aqua has done to me will make me feel the urge to be any nicer to you or your friends. I like Jounouchi, I can admit that but it will take me a long while to show those emotions to him." He then sighs as he turns away. "Even with him not liking me with the lesser chance to have him love me back, I will wait til this earth is destroyed for him to accept me." Kaiba whispered as he looked towards Pegasus' Castle in the distance. "But for now, know this! That is where he waits! Maximillion Pegasus! A man with immeasurable powers. The creator of Duel Monsters. His mind created the rules, his hands created all the cards. On this island, duelists collect star chips, trying to reach that castle but they won't win. They're merely playing in the palm of the God of the Card Kingdom!" Kaiba spoke and Yugi sneered as he looked back to Yami and the duel glove that rested over his hand. "Yami, even with your skill, you can't beat Pegasus. I've seen him duel just once in the past." he said then thought about it. "No...that couldn't even be called a duel. He won without fighting." Ruby sighed as he looked to him then back to the others. "I'll go into the story before he makes a big deal of that day..."
/"Duel Monsters is a smash success in its home country of America. There are many tournaments, some with huge prizes, and the number of players is said to be in excess of 20 million. Among those players, there are prize hunters who are called Card Professors. America's No. 1 Card Professor was a man named Keith Howard! He always won the big prizes to the point people called him "Bandit Keith"! Keith himself issued a challenge to Pegasus! At first, Pegasus wasn't too interested..."/
"Oh! I have a good idea!" Pegasus spoke the day Keith issued the challenge to him.
/"But he accepted on two conditions. First, to make the prize a million dollars and second...to hold it in a stadium capable of holding 50,000 people to have it broadcast nationwide and to split the earnings with the sponsors and TV stations. We were both invited as guests. We got to sit in the front row and get a good view of the duel. Pegasus used the time before the duel to gather kids unfamiliar with card games. He eagerly explained to them how to play cards..."/
"Yes! I did it!...So, if he plays that card, put this card in attack mode!" A kid spoke. Pegasus smiled as the kid made his play and rubbed his head. "Splendid! Ah, my Wonder Boy! I can't believe you're just a beginner! What's your name, son?" Pegasus asked. "I'm Tom! This game is fun but it costs a lot of money to collect them. I don't get much allowance so I can't build a good deck..." he replied. "Oh my! Then these cards are my special gift to you! It's more than enough for you to be able to play!" Pegasus said, holding a deck of cards to the child. "No way! Thank you, Mr. Pegasus!" Tom exclaimed as he accepted the cards. Pegasus smiled before gathering the kids around him and looked to the camera. "All right, kids! Look at the camera and give them a big smile!" he said happily. Kaiba rolled his eyes and Ruby nudged him.
/"And so, the duel began..."/
"Heh heh...nice hair, you big hippie! So, you like little boys, huh? It's an honor to fight you...and the moment this duel is over, it'll be proven that I'm the best in the whole world!" Keith gloated as he shuffled his deck. "I shuffled the deck! Ready to start?" he questioned and drew his cards, smirking as he looked at his hand. "Heh heh, I drew some good cards..." he whispered as he looked to Pegasus and saw he didn't even make a move to pick up his five cards. "Hey! What're you doing?! The game started already!" Pegasus smirked as he looked at him, his hair parted slightly to reveal the Sennen Eye. 'Mind Scan...' The Eye glimmered, showing everything Keith had planned like an open book.
/"Then Pegasus started writing on a piece of paper...and the next moment, he did something unbelievable..."/
"Hey, Tom! Come here!" he called into the crowd. The boy came from the crowd and down to the playing field, standing next to Pegasus as he stood. "What is it, Mr. Pegasus?" he asked. "Tom! C'mon, sit at the table...!" he said, ushering the boy into his seat. "You are going to duel in my place!"
"What? You're joking, right?!" Tom exclaimed in surprise. "W-What?! Stop messin' around, Pegasus!" Keith spoke in anger. Pegasus took the sheet of paper he had and handed it to Tom. "Don't worry! If you do exactly what it says on this paper, you'll win!" he reassured before standing back up and walked towards the other seats in the front row. "B-But Mr. Pegasus..." Tom stuttered and Keith glared at his retreating back. "Come back here!" Keith yelled. Pegasus didn't acknowledge him and took the empty seat beside Kaiba. "Hello Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus greeted. Kaiba didn't say a word but Pegasus turned to him. "Oh, by the way I took a look at the proposal Card Battle Simulation Boxes. What a great idea! I would love my company and Kaiba Corp. to develop it together! Let's make it a reality!" Kaiba raised a brow at hearing him take to the idea so quickly but recomposed himself and went back to watching the duel.
'Running away rather than lose to me...! Fine, at least now the prize is mine!' Keith thought. "Hurry up, kid! Here's my card!" he said, placing the monster onto the table. "Um...ok...when you play that card...I'll put Flying Elephant in attack mode. Now the Fissure Attack you were going for is nullified and I win. T-This is all...written on this paper..." Tom recited as he placed the card down onto the field. 'No! That can't be!' Keith thought in shock. "Wow...your cards...your strategy...every move you made...it's all on this paper! And it even says how to beat you!" Keith stood up angrily. "That's crazy!" he snarled. "Lemme see that!" Keith snatched the paper from Tom and looked over it. His eyes widened as he read it. 'It's true!' he thought then cried out in agony as he realized his career as the No. 1 American Card Professor was sullied on TV nationwide. "Wow! Tom wins!" Pegasus gestured in mock surprise while both Ruby and Kaiba looked on, completely stunned. Pegasus stood and looked back to Kaiba. "Well then, Kaiba-boy! We'll talk more about that in detail later~!" he said as he walked over to Tom. "Hey, Tom! Come with me to the front of the TV camera!" Pegasus said gleefully as he brought the boy in front of the camera. "Hey all you out there in TV land! This is the world's greatest card game—where any beginner can beat a strong champion! It's Duel Monsters! Available at a hobby shop near you!" Pegasus announced. Kaiba rubbed his temples to get rid of the rising headache and Ruby let out a sigh. "Next time, let's never come to any more gatherings dealing with Pegasus. Seeing about the simulation boxes is the last thing I will ever deal with when it comes to this guy..." Ruby spoke, looking to Kaiba. He nodded in agreement and they left...
"Pegasus turned the whole tournament into a commercial for Duel Monsters." Ruby finished and left everyone quiet at the story. 'Mind Scan...So Pegasus did have the power to read his opponent's mind.' Yami thought, eyes narrowed. 'I can't believe it! If what Ruby said is true, Pegasus' powers are beyond human!' Jounouchi thought. "I don't know what kind of trick he used across the table to predict Keith's strategy flawlessly but there's a possibility to win if I challenge him with this Duel Disk!" Kaiba spoke as he turned to Yami. "I'm going to Pegasus' Castle, Yami! To defeat him and take back what we almost lost!" he said before he walked off. "Kaiba!" Yami finally spoke and he turned back to him. "Just like you—we too have precious things we can't lose. And we will protect them! I'm going to beat Pegasus and tear him apart with my claws if I have to so I can regain what I foolishly lost!" Yami snarled. Kaiba watched him before turning back and continued walking towards the castle. "Then let me put it this way. We're going into Pegasus' Castle before you! Come on, Ruby!" he said as he disappeared into the dark forest. Ruby sighed again, took another glance to Kaiser before leaving off into the forest behind Kaiba.
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Zypher: And that the end for this chapter! Now time for another wonderful story in the book of Duel Monsters. Enjoy.
-Shadow Realm: Kaiba's deck-
Yikido sighed as he paced through the dragons' den. Torone and Aoi watched him before Aoi stepped in front of him /"Alright, Yikido. What's wrong with you? Although you're angry most of the time, what makes you this blue, pun completely unintentional..."/ Aoi probed. Yikido snarled in anger and pushed the other dragon out of his path. /"It's none of your business, Aoi! Leave me alone!"/ he hissed as he continued to pace around. Torone watched him before snorting. /"Just leave him be, Aoi. I know what he's all upset about but all I can say is that Jounouchi-kun's Red-Eyes would never go for a pompous, self-centered dragon like him. She's better off with you...or better yet, me."/ Torone spoke. Yikido heard this and curled his lips as he faced the lounging dragon. /"And what makes you think you're good for her, huh?!"/ he hissed. /"And more likely, how do you even know about the Red-Eyes? I was the only one to go up against her and I surely didn't say anything about the duel!"/
/"We asked Roquen when he came back from the graveyard and he told us about the new monster that was the clear opposite of us but not as strong. It was just sheer luck that you were picked to go up against her."/ Torone spoke. Yikido snorted in anger. 'Damn that horseman.' he thought with a hiss as he glared at Torone. /"Well let me tell you this...by any means is that Red-Eyes ever going to love you. I saw her first and I was the one smitten by such a creature! I won't let any of you come near her once I figure out the location of Jounouchi's deck!"/ Yikido snapped, glaring hotly at the two dragons. Torone growled as he stood. /"No need to get selfish, Yikido! Besides, what makes you think you can get through the barrier around Jounouchi-kun's deck to reach his monsters? That barrier definitely won't allow you through since you are one of Kaiba-sama's monsters and he already despises him. There's no hope for you."/ Torone hissed. /"I'll find a way! I'll tell you that! I will find a way!"/ he roared as sapphire eyes gave an icy glare to Torone. /"You won't find a way, Yikido! It's impossible unless you gain help from Master Yami or Master Aqua. Even Master Yugi could try and help but the possibilities are quite narrow for no one has visited the Shadow Realm and doesn't seem to plan to anytime soon. Especially bringing Master Yugi with them when he clearly can't survive in these conditions!"/ Torone snapped. Yikido snarled against before lunging towards the inattentive dragon and devolved into a fight, biting, slashing and clawing at one another. Aoi was quick to react and tried to split apart the two fighting dragons but he couldn't reach any of them. Tails and wings lashing out made it even harder to reach them. Aoi growled before gathering energy in his jaws and shot it a close inch to the fighting dragons causing both to stop, looking up to the third.
/"Enough, from the both of you! Jounouchi's Red-Eyes will make the decision on her own if she will even accept either of you! As of now, she only knows of the hatred Jounouchi has for Kaiba-sama which means she could be angry at any of the monsters of Kaiba-sama's deck! Yikido, you of all should know that you couldn't possibly have a chance unless there was a way that you can go through the barrier and you'll have to get some sort of confirmation from Master Yami or Master Aqua! Not only that but Jounouchi has to accept you to be freely wandering through his deck as well!"/ Aoi explained angrily as he paced away from the dragon with an angry snort. /"For all I know, he will think one of us roaming through his deck is a trick placed by Kaiba-sama so one of us could somehow relay the cards he has in his deck to him. Being with Master Yami this long leaves him open to believe in the unknown like us."/ he finished as he glanced at the fuming dragon. Yikido snarled angrily and Aoi sent an even colder glare to him. /"Get it through your thick skull, Yikido. The chances of you ever meeting that Red-Eyes is null. You can search through the entire realm and probably can't find a way to her. The only way you could have any chance of meeting is to beg to Master Yami or Master Aqua to let Jounouchi grant you entrance into his deck's territory."/ Aoi said before looking to Torone.
/"And you should know to never agitate him. He's already temperamental and pushing the wrong buttons will get you hurt. I'm not willing to go out of my way to find Gyakutenno if you two injure yourselves as it isn't my problem after that."/ he stated before leaving them alone. Yikido grunted as he went to his bed and lied down with a huff. Torone watched Aoi leave before looking to Yikido. /"I still say that Jounouchi-kun's Red-Eyes will be perfectly fine with a more mature dragon like me. We may work together in this deck, Yikido, but for the heart of a majestic dragon like the Red-Eyes, only one can gain her heart. It can only be one of us as the stark contrast of the light to her dark."/ he whispered as he left out before the other could try to attack him again but paused, back to the other dragon.
/"And I warn you now, Yikido...get in my way and Kaiba-sama will be short one useful Blue-Eyes."/ he hissed before flying off and Yikido snarled. 'We'll see about that, Torone. We'll see.' he thought before he fell into a restless sleep.
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Zypher: Alright, totally unexpected but we needed some action in these duel stories. We all love the Mahaado/Celtic fluff, I agree, but now it's time for something new so here you are. A battle between two competitive Blue-Eyes White Dragons for Akai. I will warn you, Yikido may be a pissy dragon who's ready to bite someone's head off but he isn't too evil, just has a spark of anger raging within 24/7.
So I'll leave it up to you readers to who get Akai's heart, either Yikido or Torone. Aoi's just there to split up fights between the two and is the more reasonable one but isn't too interested in getting together with Akai. Anyways, I hope this satisfied any little sparks of action-y moments in the Duel Monsters stories and I'll see you later with another chapter.
Note: All fusion monsters are considered separate monsters just so you'll know that in future Duel Monsters stories.
Quick translation - Roquen: Horseman