Chapter 9

"Okay so here's the plan. Lancashire is a three hour walk from here. It's like 9 in the morning right now. We can get to Lancashire by noon, find whomever's in charge, duel them, spend some time around town if we have it, and rent a room for the night. Does that sound like a plan?"

"I guess so, but what if you go Berserk again?" Yugi asked. We had deemed my latest development Berserker Mode due to my behavior during that time.

"It's unlikely. If it was a frequently occurring thing, it would have surely happened before, right?" I reasoned.

"Maybe..." Yugi murmured. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Look, no matter what mode I'm in, I'd never hurt you." I said. "Besides, I remember distinctively being pissed off during my blackout."

"Okay, so it's only when you're mad." Yugi said.

"Not just mad. All three incidents concerned you."

"Three? I thought there was only one incident."

"Not exactly. Before you joined me at Tewksbury, I had a similar incident with the Yorkist forces there. Jou and I were discussing how the good Duelists of the town, which included your parents, had been imprisoned to repress rebellion. And then at Exeter, when Bones had captured your mother, I felt incredible anger surging through me."

"Okay, so this is a recurring thing that's concerning me. But why me?"

"I think its because of my mentality. Since you're my only friend, my subconscious may compel me to protect you at all costs, and when I lose you, I enter Berserker Mode."

"That actually makes sense, considering your background. Your mother abused you, and probably kept you from making friends, much less bringing them home, right?"

I nodded. "Exactly. Even if I had somehow made a friend, there was no way I could bring them home."

"Okay. So in that environment, you couldn't function socially. You were forced to keep your distance from anyone, lest they be hurt by the toxic environment at home. But here, out of your mother's reach, you can finally have the social contact you require to survive. You've made a friend of me, and because of that, you want to protect me from any and all harm that may befall me."

I went silent for a minute, because he just explained my entire psyche. "Yugi, do you want to be a psychologist when you grow up?"

"No, why?" He said.

"Because you would make an awesome one." I said.

We talked for another two hours afterwards, and reached Lancashire at noon.

"Well here we are. Lancashire. You want some lunch? I can't duel on an empty stomach." I said. He nodded. I got out the last of the bread and cut in half, putting a slice of cabbage and the last piece of cheese between it. I handed it to Yugi, and took the two last carrots and ate them.

"We definitely need to resupply after this duel." I said. We were halfway down our last head of cabbage. I took that out and started to eat that as well.

"Where do you think the one in charge of Lancashire is?" Yugi asked.

"Probably the person in that castle in the middle of town." I said, pointing to said castle. "We should go check it out."

We reached the castle and I opened the door with a loud creak.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I said. My voice echoed off the walls. We walked inside, and the doors shut behind us. That was more like it. I gripped Yugi's hand and pressed forward.

We came to an open room with a staircase on either side. The chandelier above us lit up. In the middle was a duel table, and sitting on the far end was none other than Pegasus. Oh dear.

"Wow! So you're the famed Rose Duelist?" He asked. His voice sounded just as camp as I remembered it.

"Yeah that's me." I said.

"I am Pegasus Crawford, champion of the northlands, the Nobelist of the Yorkists, and master of the Rose Crusaders! I am also known as Thomas Stanely or Lord Stanely to my friends."

I gave Yugi a quick side glance, as if to say, "Can you believe this guy?"

"Seto has told me all about you, dear Duelist...he's taught me a thing or two about dueling. So come on! Let's duel!"

"Here we go again, I guess." I said, taking a seat. Fortunately, I had anticipated a tough fight and retweaked my deck a little in hopes of having a slight advantage. So let's see what I draw... Spirit of the Harp, Slate Warrior, Fencing Fire Ferret, Reese the Ice Mistress, and Fallen Angel of Roses. As for the field, my side had some grass, some sea, and what looked like two drawbridges of normal field going into a mess of Toon field.

Reese would be useful, she could only be destroyed by battle with a level 3 or lower monster. I set her on the drawbridge. If I didn't pull anything useful next turn, I could set down SotH next to Alector to protect him, or on the other drawbridge to block a path.

Pegasus didn't summon a monster this turn, but he did deal 1000 damage to me with a magic card. I drew. Agujero Oscuro. Dark Hole in English. This could come in handy later. I decided to put SotH on the drawbridge, move Reese in and end my turn.

Pegasus put down a card and ended his turn. I drew. Bait Doll. Another card that would come in handy later. I sent Fencing Fire Ferret around with Reese in case things went awry.

Pegasus fusioned something and ended his turn. That was not a good sign. I drew. Trap Hole. I set that down so I could activate it later. I set Slate Warrior down and ended my turn.

Pegasus fiddled with his cards a little, nothing major. I drew. Gorz the Emissiary of Darkness. What would be a good strategy for going about this? What had that guy I was watching at home said about this battle? I racked my brain for the answers.

"Regardless of the field disadvantage, the best way to go about this is to storm in, guns blazing."

Alright, Scope, if that's what you recommend.

"My name's not Scope."

Well yeah, I know. But since I don't know your real name, I have nothing else to call you by. I moved the attack row forward, preparing to fan out.

Pegasus put down a card and activated the Magic Neutralizing Force Field. Good thing my magic cards were still in my hand, they might have been toast. I drew. Labyrinth Wall. I set it next to Alector to defend him. I advanced my monsters and ended my turn.

Pegasus laid down a monster and went to attack Reese. Tough shit man, you attacked with Manga Ryu Ran.

"What? Why didn't it work?!" He exclaimed.

"Reese the Ice Mistress can only be destroyed by battle with a level three or lower monster. It seems we have reached an impasse concerning her and Ryu Ran." Pegasus grit his teeth.

I drew. Mystical Space Typhoon. Yet another card that would come in handy later. I put down Dark Hole, Trap Hole, and Typhoon down, and selected Bait Doll for activation.

"I activate the spell card Bait Doll. Force the activation of one face down trap card. If the timing of the card is incorrect, negate and destroy it. Once this card is used it is shuffled back into the deck."

Mesmeric Control flipped up and destroyed itself. I shuffled the deck, advanced my monsters, and ended my turn. Pegasus summoned something and ended his turn.

I drew. Maldicion de Dragon. Let's send that around with the others. I advanced my monsters and ended the turn. Pegasus fiddled with his cards and summoned something.

I drew. Mirage Dragon. That's nice. My game here was to just swamp him and hope for the best. So far I think it was working. I advanced my monsters and ended the turn.

...

Goddamn this battle lasted forever. It took time, effort, and a lot of bodies, but I had finally backed Pegasus into a corner with Dreadroot.

"Wicked Dreadroot, attack!" I said. -2700 for Pegasus, end game. Victor: Lucy Miyako. I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding, and fell back into the chair, exhausted. Holy shit, how long had this taken? We had started at one, now it was... 3 PM?! That duel lasted two frickin hours! I took out a lollipop and shoved it in my cheek because I needed a frickin sugar shot after that.

"You must be joking! Me, lose? Never!" He said. "You might just be more than a match for Seto. I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot from you. You've done wonders for my game."

I gave him a haggard thumbs up.

"Oh by the way, I don't have any Rose Cards. Sorry."

"Dude, I don't even care anymore." I said, getting up. "I'm leaving. Come on, Yugi. "

I went to walk away and fell. My legs were asleep!

"Lucy! Are you okay?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. My legs are just asleep." I said, getting up shakily and stomping my feet on the ground.

Once my legs were sorted out, we went to the market. For twelve shillings we bought two cabbages, a loaf of bread, more cheese, and five carrots.

"There we go." I said. "Good as new."

"Where's our next stop?" Yugi asked.

"If I remember correctly, Isle of Man."

"Isle of Man? But that's an island. How are we going to get there?"

"Hmm. Maybe there's a ferry or something." I said. Either way, we have plenty of food, let's just take it slow for now." I said. Yugi nodded.

And slow did we take it. But it only took us two hours to get to a young Liverpool.

"Damn, there's no ferry. Maybe we can take a rowboat?" I said.

"It would be unwise. The waters of these parts are notorious for being choppy. We wouldn't survive."

"Okay, maybe we can stow away on a ship?" I suggested.

"That won't be nessecary." A voice behind me said. I turned around to see a familiar woman in a familiar cream cape dress.

"Ishizu? Is that you?" I asked.

"I go by Ishtar, actually. But my first name is Ishizu."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was told to battle you, Rose Duelist." She said, pointing to the White Rose Badge that fastened the cape part of her dress together.

"Ishizu! You're a White Rose Crusader?! Since when?!" I joked.

"I don't appreciate the jokes. But I will say I'm amazed that you got to the point where you could challenge me. Too bad that it all has to end here."

"You wish! I didn't come this far to be vanquished here!" I smirked. We drew our hands. Right off the bat I got Wicked Dreadroot, along with XYZ Reception, Slate Warrior, Fencing Fire Ferret, and Mirage Dragon.

The field was a strange one. Not much water, mostly Crush Card field and a little bit of wasteland. Crush Card field was bad. I couldn't put any monster over 1500 on that field, lest it be destroyed. Looks like I was taking the long route around. I set Mirage Dragon down and started sending it eastward.

Ishizu set a card in defense position and ended her turn. I drew. Fallen Angel Of Roses. Not enough Star Counters to summon this round. I set my magic card down and ended my turn.

Ishizu fusioned something and ended her turn. I drew. Agujero Oscuro. Dark Hole. That could come in handy later. I set it next to Alector. I summoned Fencing Fire Ferret and moved him westward.

Ishizu set a card and ended her turn. I drew. Mystical Space Typhoon. I set that and sent Slate Warrior in facedown defense position. I sent it with Mirage Dragon.

Ishizu set a card and ended her turn. This battle was a slow one. But I've seen her work. I couldn't afford to underestimate her. I drew. Trap Hole. I sent that around with Ferret.

Ishizu fusioned something and attacked Slate Warrior. He got his power boost from his flip effect. Her monster destroyed itself. Huh. I didn't take her for a fool. She attacked Fire Ferret, and destroyed it. But it's effect activated. The monster destroyed itself and Ishizu took 500 damage. I drew. Labyrinth Wall. I could summon this to protect Alector, but I could also summon Dreadroot. Hmmm... I decided to play it safe and summoned the wall.

Ishizu summoned something and ended her turn. I drew. Maldicion De Dragon. I was trying to save up Star counters, so I wasn't going to summon anything this turn. I moved my monsters and ended the turn.

Nothing happened on Ishizu's side of the field. I drew. Reese the Ice mistress. Since she was low on attack, I could have her cut across and own the field. I set her on a Crush Card square, moved everyone, and ended my turn.

Ishizu activated the spell Aqua Chorus. It raised the power of all water monsters by 500. Unfortunately for her, it ended up powering up Reese and destroying her Bolt Escargot because it was on a Crush Card square. I drew. Marshmallon. I had waited long enough. I summoned Wicked Dreadroot and sent it westward. I sent Slate Warrior to attack one of her monsters. Mirror Wall flipped up, but didn't activate.

"What?! Why didn't it work?!" She cried.

"With Mirage Dragon on the field, Traps are unable to be activated during the battle phase. And now that I know it's there, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to remove it from the field." Mirror Wall disappeared, leaving Ishizu speechless.

I drew. Vampire Vamp. I advanced my monsters and attacked with them. -4000 for Ishizu, end game. Victor: Lucy Miyako.

"Woohoo!" I cried, raising double fists in the air. Ishizu handed me her White Rose Card.

"I'm not surprised, you know. I knew I was destined for defeat. I can live with that." She said.

"Do you know what day it is?" I asked. I had the feeling today was important for some reason.

"Yes. It is the first of August." She replied. My face twisted into an expression of horror.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Yugi asked.

"Today's the day I was supposed to meet the King! But even with a cairrage, we'll never make it in time!"

I sunk to my knees and punched a hand to the docks. "DAMNIT!" I shouted. I felt tears running down my face. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Lucy, what about the whistle?!" Yugi asked.

"What?" I sniffed.

"The whistle that the cairrage driver gave you! Didn't he say a miracle would occur if you used it?"

My eyes widened. I dug around in my pockets and found the whistle.

"Blow as hard as you can!" Yugi shouted. There would be time for Double Entendres later. I took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. A shrill noise erupted from the device. My deck began to glow. Two beams of yellow light erupted from it, and took the forms of Splendid Venus and Alector.

"Whaaaa?" I gaped. Alector grabbed me under the arms, and Splendid Venus did the same to Yugi.

"Wait, what are you-AAAAAAAAAAAH!" I shrieked.

The two ascended into the air and headed south, towards Bosworth Field. I didn't completely understand what was happening, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

About a half an hour later, we started to descend to the field. A familiar group was entering the clearing, a familiar leather clad king leading them.

"My King!" I shouted from above. He looked up, a little shocked with our entrance. Once we touched down, my monsters turned into light and returned to my deck.

"Thanks you guys." I said. I turned to Yami and bowed.

"My King." I said. "I am ready for my next assignment. Alas, we could only obtain seven Rose Cards."

"That is fine. The eighth is in the hands of Richard 3. May I ask what you mean by 'we'?"

"My King, I was not alone in my quest. I have acquired a companion." I motioned to Yugi, who was standing next to me, too dumbfounded to speak.

"My King, this is Yugi. Keeper of my sanity, ruler of my emotions, and my eternal companion." I stood and looked at Yugi. He was still dumbfounded, but he was blushing. Could it be...?

I gave Yugi a light nudge in the back, prompting him to speak.

"I-I'm not really as special as she makes me out to be." He stammered, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I find that hard to believe." Yami smiled, and took Yugi's free hand. With one swift motion, he kissed the top of it, making Yugi go even redder than he already was. Oh my god, my OTP was playing out like I had always dreamed it would!

But back to the point at hand. "So where is old Richie 3?" I asked, looking out onto the field.

"He's in a castle nearby. You should go and duel him before the battle starts."

"Right. Let's go Yugi!" I said. Yugi nodded, and we started for the castle. There was that moment of hesitation where it was kind of an awkward silence, but I broke it.

"So. You and Yami, huh? I teased.

Yugi blushed hard. "What? No, it's not like that!" He stammered.

"Look, we may be two archers that aim at the same target, but I know when to cut my losses."

"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked.

"You like the King."

"What? No! I mean... I would if it wasn't a sin."

"A sin? Since when is love a sin?"

"Not love in general, but me loving a guy. I don't know what it was like in your time, but here it's a sin for a man to love another man."

I paused for a moment. "You're right. It is different here. But think about this. God is supposed to love all his children unconditionally right?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Yami are his children right? So shouldn't he love you regardless of your sexuality?"

"Umm..."

"That's what I believe he wants us to believe. And if it's not what God intends us to believe, he or she can stick it." I said defiantly. Yugi's jaw dropped. I spotted the castle in the distance.

"Come on, tight pants. Rose Card isn't gonna win itself." I said, dragging him by the hand.