Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, nor do I claim rights to any of the affiliated characters.
Warnings/Notes: The warnings in chapters 1-3 will continue to apply, thank you again for the lovely reviews and discussions of "Unraveled." Everyone's insight was amazing and I appreciate the feedback more than words can properly express. I apologize for the short chapter, but it was necessary.
Yoko Sakura: To answer your question(s), no one shared a shower. Mattea is a variant of the male name Mateo (Spanish and Croatian form of Matthew, which means gift of God.) There is no set point at which the story will become 'M' rated, it may never happen, it may happen next chapter. It all depends on how the story develops.
Enjoy chapter five.
Chapter Five: Trump Cards
It took a month of strict routine to make considerable impact on their resolves. Frustrating as it had been to come to terms with, Pegasus realized that, at least in the beginning, a good night's sleep was all it took to restore their kindred spirits. They faced him with greater persistence afterwards, which he did not acknowledge with more than the usual mockery. But eventually, even as soon as a week later, they began to relent.
They would still argue, and occasionally refuse to eat if they were feeling especially bold, but resistance was not as fierce as a whole. Their thoughts between time with him gradually became hardened, and more importantly, curious. Joey's hatred bred in anger was festering into disgust at being forcefully drug along like a lapdog, sitting when he was told, sleeping when he was told. The first layer of his anger forged in hurt was beginning to give way to grudges at being systematically broken and dominated.
There was a thin line between curiosity and contempt, however. Pegasus Crawford knew this better than anyone. And so, captives weakened by monotony and hindered by growing to expect routine, he plotted deviation carefully. They were fed up with the situation, but still felt comfortable that he would not maim or kill them, which gave way to secretive, late-night marathons of trying to figure out why.
From that moment on, he delighted that there would be no going back.
He made his way into the castle distractedly, mind racing with events that would alight the evening, "Don't seat them at the table." He called as he hurried into the formal dining room, eye brightened by the exercise of ascending the stairs. "Take their chairs into the great room and arrange them in a semi-circle."
He was met with stern nods as he led the less-than-talkative bunch to their new destination, "I'm sure dinner is the last thing on your little minds." He cooed over his shoulder as his guards began to file in, captives in toe, and spread out the seats. Pegasus hummed in observance, "Not too close together." He reminded them, dragging a chair to the center of the formation and helping himself to it.
"Just look at you." He flashed a cheshire grin, "You're shaking with anticipation. Well I can't say I blame you, you must be positively bursting with questions. Why has he brought us here? What is he thinking?" He made a dramatic wave around the semi-circle, "It's been five weeks, my little trinkets, and I tire of keeping it from you." His voice had darkened, causing the group to send one another sideways glances.
With a strong body at each of their backs, standing six-foot-something and weighing twice as much as any of them, there was little hope of using the close proximity to windows to their advantage.
"Just get on with it." Kaiba snapped irritably.
"Ah, ah, ah." Pegasus wagged a finger at the young CEO, "You're not in a position to be giving orders, remember?" He set his sight on Mokuba, who sat stoically next to Seto.
He felt the elder Kaiba squirming without having to envision it. In an instant, if he so much as lifted a finger, the boy would be lunging over his brother and clinging to him for dear life. His body would become a barricade against any tortures the host could think to inflict on the youngest in the room.
"Silly Kaiba." He taunted, stretching his long legs comfortably while the children sat straight up, as far away from the backs of the chairs as they could manage, "You've gone and changed my mind." The room oozed tension, bodies growing rigid, redness rising in faces and ears as the livid group battled with their outbursts, "How they must hate you." He laughed uproariously into the silence, drinking in the power of omniscience over their thoughts and actions, savoring every ounce of power over them.
"We're not going to beg." It was Joey who spoke to back Kaiba once he had quelled the majority of his rage.
"I should hope not Joseph; it would make this a lot less fun." He replied with a smile that made the boy visibly shudder. With a shift in persona still a long way off, the thing he loved most about where he stood right now was always being ten steps ahead of them.
"You clearly underestimate me, even now." He shook his head, pouting in hyperbolic disappointment, "I'm hurt. You know I could've picked anyone for this." For what? They spat at the eye. "I picked the seven of you because I wanted a challenge. You were all too perfect to pass up for someone easier to control, or even someone willing. Believe it or not, there are people who would kill to be where you are, under complete control of a successful CEO, wrapped around his finger, hanging on his every word."
"We get it. You planned this." Tristan cut in, annoyance flooding him, "You pay millions of dollars to create a tournament luring people to the island. You pay thousands more to a hundred people willing to subdue the ones you like. It's a pretty simple concept."
Pegasus was in front of him in two strides, his hand moved reflexively to block the other's from stroking his face, but a grunt of warning from the guard was all it took to stop him. Breath caught in his throat, he waited for the devastating blow that never came, "Oh keep going sweetheart." Crawford prompted, chuckling as his hands absorbed every tremor, "Your keen perception is too much for me to bear, how will I ever go on if you continue? I pay people to do a job and it gets done – imagine that?" Pegasus's sarcasm suggested his own annoyance now, but it never did more than scratch the surface, he kept painfully collected.
"You say you get it, Tris-tan, but let's face it, that's a joke." He gave a fake, hearty chuckle, tossing his head back momentarily before meeting the other's eyes again, "If you knew anything at all you wouldn't be sitting here prisoner, entirely at my mercy. Here's a little secret kiddo." The hand drifted from his cheek to his ear, pinching hard, "It takes more than money to ensure that."
He stood to full height, smoothing wrinkles on his lavish suit, a laugh still dancing on his lips, "See this whole thing is about choices." He began, turning to face them, "And everything you do affects mine." He withdrew a large piece of paper from his pocket, neatly folded, gleaming white and black in the muted sunlight. "Solomon Motou's body is currently in Al Minya, Egypt, his soul is safe in this castle. What happens to the two parts depends entirely on you."
Yugi growled lowly, bowing his head to hide the shame swelling inside him. Grandpa had nothing to do with this, it wasn't fair for him to be used as a bargaining chip – especially when Pegasus wouldn't tell them what he wanted.
"Don't hurt my grandpa." He whispered, "He's innocent it all of this, he's done nothing to pose a threat to you or your company –"
"Dearest Yugi." Pegasus interrupted, "That statement couldn't be further from the truth. Do you really think a man of my prowess targeted you, a novice at my game less than a year ago, on some personal vendetta? No, no, no, that doesn't even make sense." He rolled his eyes, as if having to explain was physically exhausting.
"Your grandfather is a third wheel. He's in the way – and if you love him – you'll do exactly as I say from this moment on. Now don't go assuring me of anything before I've even made the request. That's terrible, terrible business. Ask Kaiba, he'll tell you."
Yugi shook violently, and beside him Joey threw himself out of his chair, knocking it backward onto the guard behind him, "God damn it!" He lunged for Pegasus as hands grabbed for him, trying to hold him back. They clamped onto his jacket hard, but he struggled free of the vice grip and advanced to face the man head on, he would show him. Acting like their plight was some sort of fucking game – he swung violently, but missed, in front of him Pegasus raised a hand to call off his dogs, and he swung again, fist caught by the elder. He kicked violently, landing a blow to Pegasus's shins, knocking him off balance. As the elder went down, he twisted Joey's arm behind his back so roughly he thought it might be torn from the socket.
He struggled limply under the man's weight as he pressed his knee to his back, "Fucking creep!" He seethed, using his free arm to push himself forward as much as he could manage, "Get off –" Pegasus jerked his arm violently, a silent threat to break it unless the blond calmed considerably.
"And then we have you, and you sweet little sister." He didn't bother to continue, merely let the boy lay beneath him helpless, panting hard and cursing the failed adrenaline rush.
"What about her?" He moaned, blinking back tears.
"Shh." He crooned, "You can come collect him now." He told the man who had set Joey's chair upright, "I have something to show him."
Limp from exertion, Joey did little to fight being shoved back into the chair, but refused to meet Pegasus's eyes even as he bent to retrieve the paper he had dropped in their struggle. "Since Joseph insists on pitching a fit." He extended the scrap to Yugi, "I want you to read this, slowly."
He remembered Pegasus's ultimatum about grandpa. As much as he wanted to spit on him for exploiting them like this, he had no other choice but to do as he was told. He unfolded the paper carefully; it was a newspaper article dated November 5….
Swallowing his anxiety, he opened his mouth to read the headline, "Tropical storm halts tournament, Crawford extends generous offer to family." Even those fragmented words commanded total silence from the room, but he pressed on, "Pegasus Crawford, creator of Duel Monsters and CEO of Industrial Illusions, continues to shock the world with his generosity. Shortly after a deadly tropical storm halted the proceedings of Duelist Kingdom, he made an unprecedented offer to the tournament's determined finalist Yugi Motou, whose best friend's sister is battling blindness. While weather prevents his guests from leaving the island for a period of time yet unknown, Crawford has made arrangements for thirteen year old Serenity Wheeler to undergo photocoagulation at the hands of his own, five star medical staff, at no cost to the family…"
Joey felt sick.
"And so you see." Pegasus continued, "We're back to choices. Given the opportunity, I'm a very negotiable man. If you cooperate, little Serenity will have her sight back in half the time it would take the top ophthalmologist of Domino, she can have perfect vision despite the damage waiting to perform surgery has done to her retinal tissue. But if you continue to give me trouble," he stalked closer to Yugi, fingers clutching the newspaper article that Joey could now see showed an old school photo of Serenity, the one he kept in his wallet. "I want you to truly understand how easily something can…go wrong." He lit a match against Joey's chair as he sat in stunned silence, and set the article ablaze in front of his eyes.
"She's just a kid." He choked, battling with the lump in his throat and sinking weight in his stomach.
"So are you." Pegasus crooned, flames crawled slowly up the paper, charring its edges and eating through Serenity's face from the left side.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to make a choice, Joseph." He drawled, letting the ash fall onto the carpet before stomping out the flames, "All or nothing." He continued, stepping back to face everyone, "Can you do that?"
Their heads inclined forward unconsciously in a nod, Kaiba was especially shocked at the will of his body outweighing that of his mind. Doing this was completely insane, but somewhere inside of him a voice was relaying just how easily that girl's photo could become Mokuba's. He clutched the locket against his chest, holding it tight on the chain.
"One more time if you're sure." Pegasus sang out, and again they nodded.
"Just tell us what we have to do." Little Mokuba had found his courage in the flicker of fear darting through Seto's eyes, and clutched his own locket against his pant leg.
"We'll start simple, sweetheart." Anxiety fluttered in Mokuba's stomach as Pegasus lifted him in a familiar position against his chest and shoulder, turning to very clearly address everyone in the room.
"I want you to call me Daddy."
The next update will take a while longer than these have been, try to be patient. The fun starts in chapter six.
