Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: The Judgement of the World

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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He wasn't fully grown yet.

He was taller than expected, easily meeting Yusei eye to eye, with neatly brushed black hair that was kept neatly trimmed. He was pale with amazingly vivid blue eyes, an azure shade that brought to mind the intense gaze of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Ryu's business suit was tailor made to his build, a clean sharp white suit with a midnight blue formal tie. He was calm, dignified and beyond all of any expectation that Yusei could ever have had on the Vice President.

Simply because 22 years ago Yugi disappeared along with Kaiba, Seto. Meaning that Mokuba had been roughly around the age of the twins. Meaning that Mokuba needed time to grow up into adulthood, find a suitable partner and settle down. Meaning that he was staring at someone who was younger that Yusei himself while simultaneously older than the twins. Someone that was as tall as himself, though granted he was no where near Jack's height.

Yusei couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of the 'man' that had been conversing with Aki was actually a 'child' younger than either of them.

"Vice President, Kaiba Ryu, I see you acclimated yourself to my father rather spectacularly. Though please refrain from similar stunts in the future, Kinoshita has served the company faithfully since my uncles' time. We'd greatly appreciate keeping her for longer."

Kid talked like a grown man though, 'what type of childhood could he have to be able to have this level of professional stoicism?' Yusei pondered, almost amusingly oblivious to how he himself behaved and spoke.

"I honestly expected someone older," Yusei confessed while he leaned back, earning a small direct looking from Ryu.

"I suppose I could appear that way yes, though father had held this position when he was 10," Ryu remarked formally. His gaze drifting towards Crow who was dishearteningly patting away on his pockets. "Matsumoto, has called down below so your two friends are being escorted up here, if you would step this way."

"Jack! Oh man I forgot that he and Carly was even here!" Crow groaned as he smacked himself in the forehead. He sank against the wall behind him, in his hands there were scraps of paper that he had found in his pockets. He had frantically checked every pocket repeatedly, the loud static hiss from the tv was indistinguishable from the sheets of torn papers. Each shade of white was scrutinized repeatedly as Crow desperately sought the card 'Yugi' had given him.

'How is that video possible? How'd we get mass fooled this hard?' Crow wondered feeling horrible. He was supposed to help look after the kids and that meant being properly observant. Only he had wound up just as childish, and a distraction to Yusei, as the twins.

"Oh its fine, rather that large ball of whatever the two of them had is quite the curious sight. I don't suppose any of you would be willing to share exactly 'what' is being brought up to the top of the building," Ryu blithely replied.

"Would you believe its the figurines that started all this mess?" Yusei answered.

Instantly Ryu sighed, "Twins, my office, now."

The second his voice shifted to a take charge tone, it was then that Yusei realized the subtle change that the Vice President had on the room. Mokuba had not spoken since his son arrived, yet whatever anger he might have still maintained seemed to dissipate in the presence of his child. Ryu moved with expedience and professionally as he walked up to the twins and assisted getting Ruka to her feet. His presence created an almost cleansing air about him, dispelling the tension that was created the moment the twins and Crow blindly stumbled into Kaiba's office.

Yusei glanced at Mokuba, taking note of the man one last time. Now that he wasn't worrying over the rest of his friends, Yusei could scrutinize the CEO a little better. Mokuba, now with his son around, looked less closed off. He wasn't emoting the warmest of emotions, true, however; whatever outrage he might have had before, it was simmering down. Despite his gaze not being on his child and instead on the television that held the frozen image of the group in the elevator.

But Yusei fell into step, following the attending secretary as she guided them to Ryus' own office.

An office that was almost as serious and sterile as Mokubas', though there was a few models of Duel Disks resting on a side table along with one that had gone on sale the month prior. Perhaps it was because the twins went to school with the Vice President, or maybe because they had been told to enter 'this' office. Unlike when they barged into the other one, Rua had no problem bursting into straight out tears.

Pulling out a sucker from his pocket, Ryu yanked off the wrapper and stuffed it into Rua's mouth without preamble. Missing not a beat as he walked to his desk, though he didn't go to the seat and instead turned and leaned against it to face the group. Arms crossed, with a posture that was simultaneously at ease and expectant, creating an incredible mixed message for Yusei.

'He's a KID' was being screamed in the back of Yusei's mind, as instincts said to accept that this was a person of authority. At least the twins had an easy time accepting this, since they were the only ones younger than Ryu by default.

"Honestly I didn't think you were suicidal, but walking directly into my fathers' office without an appointment? Concretes shoes are still in fashion for some, you should know." Ryu casually pointed out, earning an audible slurp followed by wail from Rua.

"But we saw him..." Ruka whimpered as she studied the weave of the carpet in Ryu's office.

Ryu took his steady gaze from Yusei's and settled it on Ruka's with an expression of passing sympathy. He pushed himself from his desk and walked around it, thoughtlessly tossing away the wrapper in his hand before making himself comfortable in his high back chair.

"How... did you even know to study the sound.. I... We're not like this! Really this..." Crow couldn't get a thought out of his brain and to his mouth in any manner. He stumbled over his words, hands weakly flailing like some disheartened bird.

Ryu faintly shrugged when there was a small knock at his door. He leaned over to press a button on his phone. Giving a polite acknowledgment that the 'rest of them' could enter. Because there was no way in hell he was letting those two into the office with his father. The tall, loud mouthed, former Turbo Duel King had a fondness for white and over egotistical grandstanding, and bless her heart but that reporters' outfit.

No. Way. In. HELL.

Jack could think that he could stand on the same stage as uncle Kaiba all he wanted, but the second he attempted airs on the CEO? Ryu wasn't going to say his father would get 'angry'. But there was a reason he had escape plans set up for the employees of KaibaCorp, and siphoned money into slush funds for just such an occasion.

Jack strode in as though this was 'his' office, Carly labored under that large ball of tape and whatever that apparently held the figurines. So seeing a 14 year old sitting behind the desk, clearly gave Jack a moment to think he was being tricked on some level.

"A kid? Where's the Vice President? We were told," Jack began, with his natural boom of a voice.

"Uh, Jack that is," Carly began, despite having to speak around the large globe of tape she held, but at least Crow thought to help her as he took the orb into his own arms.

"Kaiba, Ryu, Vice President of KaibaCorp, son of current CEO and President Kaiba Mokuba, and nephew to Kaiba Seto. With full authority rendered unto myself that if I so choose. I can have your dueling record expunged, revoke your duel disks, and your legal ability to turbo duel. More over ban you from tournaments and ensure that you can not even gather up the discarded wrappers of cards out of a trash bin next to a shop. If I am so inclined."

So cheerfully spoken, pleasantly calm, totally in control, spoken by a 14 year old, and yet somehow. Some. How. Those words were carried on the squealing, hissing expulsion of a popped balloon that had been shot with a metaphorical harpoon. Rest in peace Jack's Pride. Never shall it have had the chance to impress 'this' kid.

Granted it saved Yusei the effort of reeling in Jacks' ego, but it didn't stop his brain from repeatedly noting that this was a 'kid'.

Struck mute in disbelief and shock, the very picture of a blond haired big mouth bass that had been caught. His shoulders slowly began to droop as whatever words he was going to say silently crawled back down his throat. This kid was actually pretty scary Jack decided, he had never met a kid who dressed like an adult. Acted like an adult or spoke like one, he even 'looked' like an adult, not in the sense of aged lines or dour personality. Rather it was experience...

"You're used to bluster..." Jack finally managed to actually say, lacking all his normal bravado and sounding almost like when he was a kid. Before he decided he would be king one day.

"You'll find that here in KaibaCorp, my uncles' temper is legendary and yes, I'm very used to arrogant bravado. When you're as young as I, people often assume that you're stupid and start by speaking down to you. Also its not as though your behavior with our staff on the ground floor wasn't noted when I was alerted to your presence."

"Yeah, how 'did' you get up here before us?" Carly asked, her eyebrows dipping down behind her glasses as she scrutinized first Yusei, then Crow.

It was the quiet choking sound from the twins that pulled her attention away from Yusei's stoic expression. Leaving her growing baffled as the twins looked like they were crying, now that she wasn't laboring under her figurines... just what 'had' happened? Yusei was silent, Crows' expression was downcast, the twins were miserable. Leaving only the Vice Presidents' patient, almost sympathetic expression to go on. Which that he looked 'sympathetic' didn't sit right with Carly's experience of reporting.

"We don't know, the twins followed someone onto the elevator, Crow tried to stop them and I tried to help. I..." Yusei shrugged in almost bitter frustration as he failed to find the words necessary to explain what happened next.

For which Ryu decided that someone might as well help the teen, "they were seemingly lured into taking the private elevator that is exclusive to my family."

"Lured?" Carly asked, startled while raising Jacks' worry over his group of friends.

"The private elevator is haunted, oh sure father will not say such a thing," Ryu began with a faint hand wave towards where his fathers' office rested. "He's tried to have it 'fixed' for decades, but every so often, the elevator activates as though there's a passenger, rides up to this floor, arrives, then nothing. If it was on this floor to start with and left, it stays on this floor, but there are other times when it rides down to R&D and stays there until called back up or down." Ryu explained his voice calm and practiced.

"There's never anyone on it, and it was only by researching my uncles' old work habits through Kinoshita that I learned that the elevator does this during business hours. Or as long as my esteemed Uncle would work on some nights. Its random, upsets my father immensely when it happens and you lot are the first to ride the elevator under such circumstances and live." Ryu continued watching as everyone in the room who had used that elevator blanched.

"Whaaaa...?!" Crow squawked out in disbelief, his words punctuated by the loud slurp from Rua's attempt to keep his sucker in his mouth.

The room suddenly felt so incredibly cold, while calmly Ryu stated there had been deaths, and that the group had safely gone up it.

"Well... here, I'll show you." Ryu sat up and began playing with his keyboard, and like his father activated a hidden wall panel to bring out another larger monitor. "Its not as though Nagisa can ever report this..."

The screen came to life easily revealing a static image that existed as nothing more than a electronic blackboard waiting for information to be dragged from Ryu's desktop screen to there.

"Just so you understand what you're seeing," Ryu explained filling the mounting silence from his previous comments. The mouse moved with practiced ease, pulling images off of one screen onto the larger one to share. Darker images of the elevator, both in black and white others in full color. Walls splattered with blood, pools of it sitting on the floor, some pictures marred by smears of blood. There were so many pictures, so much carnage that it felt impossible to fixate on any one image.

Then as perhaps a mercy, Ryu removed all but two of those horrible colored images.

One. Several men, some nimble some heavy, all hung from the ceiling of the elevator. A forest of hanging bodies, their legs all that was visible as they were strung up so high...

"They were found on the floor by the morning staff. Autopsy's show that they had been hung by their necks for long hours. They were all strangled to death, and that's actually pretty important 'because' they were hung. A proper hanging should have snapped their necks killing them instantly, instead they were found on the floor with chain mark bruises around their throats. Cause of death listed as 'asphyxiation' necks were broken over time. Their fingers and necks also showed signs that they had clawed at whatever held them in place until unconsciousness. Once they passed out from lack of oxygen the weight of their bodies slowly severed their bodies from their heads."

Two. Pieces. There was no way to discern what had been in the elevator prior, it was mashed up like paste, a random arm here. A head with the face rolled up for viewing there...

"They were also found by the morning staff, therapy bills are a thing now. We send them off for an extended vacation when stuff like this happens. Five men, munched. Literally, it was liken to biting into steak, as though someone had stuffed those men into their mouths, chewed them up loosely then spat them back out into the elevator."

"The only thing all those people had in common was corporate espionage. Gozoboro created this company as a military arms manufacturer. Some of his designs were too dangerous and while my Uncle got rid of them, there are still those who believe there's a cache of such stuff here. Stuff like what you're seeing though? Can happen at any time, even right now." Ryu explained, taking in all the white faces and the swaying reporter near the door.

"That... could have been us...?"

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"Duck and weave, duck and weave," Witch of the Black Rose sung to herself as she flew through the sky, the ditty stuck there from her efforts to avoid Blue Eyes. She carried the card Yusei entrusted to her in her hands with her wand tucked under one arm. Heading towards a rather formidable volcano, large as expected, it looked outwardly the same as it had for ages. Yet her relationship to nature blessed her with a natural awareness that took humans the use of machines. An awareness that explained she wasn't surprised to see the occasional human wandering the area.

This volcano was waking up.

There were teams doing researching and setting up to record the events leading up to the volcano's awakening. Making travel all the harder for the gang, which had been expected to 'help' Aki deter Asuka's near blind determination to find her brother. The portals that had lead them to this particular region had been modest in comparison. All forests save that one beach, keeping true to the Panther Warriors' words. Witch still couldn't figure out what grabbed Asuka's focus so hard and pull her along...

Well, saying it was 'Asukas' doing was a bit of a fib, if Witch was going to be perfectly honest. While it was true that they were moving forward 'because' of Asuka, it wasn't exactly because of her brother. Rather because she suddenly heard someone crying for help.

"Can't you guys hear it? Its faint but I swear...!" Asuka commented as she ran into the thick woods surrounding them. Leaving everyone with this mutually baffled expression on their faces before they charged off after her..

Yet as they ran, the others began to hear a voice calling for help too. In fact it had been Ryo who noted that he faintly recalled that voice. It wasn't Fubukis' clearly since he couldn't put his finger on it, but soon the guys all agreed that they heard someone in distress and ran to help the man.

Well everyone could hear it save Witch, Aki and every Duel Spirit following them.