There's more to life than Duel Monsters Chapter 11: Plans Executed, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

There's more to life than Duel Monsters.

Ch11: Plans Executed.

Ne. This one is super long, so be warned. By the by, the self-imposed deadlines for these chapters are one per month, so feel free to hold me to it. : ) This one's a little late due to the start of uni.

The Dream of Ryou Bakura

This place was one he had visited many times; sometimes to see exactly the same things he had seen when he was last here, sometimes to see something new. This place had a claming effect on his always over stressed nerves.

The feeling was…home.

The sand here was endlessly tossed by the wind, the sun restlessly beat down on anything that moved across the shimmering golden expanse.

"So much gold…everywhere."

Those quiet words full of desire were his, but he didn't say them. He would never say anything like that…aloud. It was true that he had always wanted nice things, but it was equally true that they never willingly fell into his hands.

He moved out of the cave he had been standing in, to cross the expanse of dunes before him. His eyes eagerly watched for any movement that could be attributed to a person. It was a hard task to see anything in the heat shimmer rising from the sand, but he had had plenty of practice.

He was headed away from what in modern times was called the 'Valley of Kings'. He called it a waste of space though the gods knew this land had been blessed with too much space for its own good. They were planning to build luxurious tombs there for a very small amount of very rich, very dead demi-gods.

He moved quickly over the sand, dressed in sand coloured heavy hooded robes and a face mask. The pharaoh himself had decided that he and his predecessor and descendants deserved to be buried in style, so the project had attracted many a rich investor wanting to please their ruler. This made the building sites very lucrative.

It was hard to police a place so large, outside the cities, and as everyone in the business knew, one man's problem could become another man's living.

He spotted another cave, exposed by the most recent sandstorm and ducked in there to take a break and examine his haul. It was most of this shipment of gold ornaments for the old pharaoh's tomb. The only thing there he did not understand was the one thing he had taken that he could not possibly sell.

True, it was pure gold, but the more he looked at it hanging around his neck, under his robes, the more he was sure that it was something of a collectors' item. Collectors' items had the habit of being priceless – people would kill you to get it but nobody would pay a beggar's meal for it.

"You may very well have been the death of the old pharaoh, and you're a bit bulky for a necklace but we misfits have to stick together, so you look out for me and I'll look out for you."

He smirked and moved on – he had to get to town before dark and his camel was still quite a walk away. It was a dream he had had many times. He was going to see the lord he worked for, whose wife had recently and with a little help, 'passed away'.

He was feeling the familiar satisfaction at the end of a good day's work. In a while he would find out about the elite duel circuit, where you had to possess a Millennium item to play, and risked your life, mind and soul every time you played.

Perhaps this time I will join the circuit, not just sell the haul and set up on my own.

But he knew this would not happen. He would do what he supposed he always did – turn away and get back to what he was good at. These dreams would always tread the same safe path – one of sand, jobs, and gold. He had the feeling that there were pieces missing from this story, but the story was really the excuse to showcase the beauty of the emotions he felt here.

The land was hot and harsh, the cities cool and exquisite, the jobs excited and challenged him. It was an existence that seemed to make his real one pale in comparison. Best of all, there were no surprises that he had not planned for, not that he did any of the planning. It was like replaying the highlights of a successful career – there was always a good ending.

He sighed as he got onto his camel and asked it politely to get up – it had the habit of biting and spitting when testy. It took its time but time meant nothing out here in the desert. One day you could be looking at the sands and everything would seem brand new, then they shifted and everything looked the way it used to be hundreds of years ago.

The Dream of Ryou Bakura

Yugi Moto smiled at the inscrutable suits as he presented his duelling glove and starchip – he had given one to Jounochi. Malik had given a chip to Honda and Mai gave one to Anzu, so now everyone could duel in the tournament.

He knew his friends were probably sneaking aboard right now, in one of the many big crates that were being loaded onto the luxury cruiser. On the streetlamp-lit foggy docks of Domino it was hard just to recognise the people standing near you, so the security was laughable.

Yugi almost walked into Malik at the top of the gangplank.

"They're all safely aboard." Malik announced quietly, his gold jewellery, sparkly eyes and white teeth eerily bright in the gloom.

Yugi smiled. "Let's go inside so we're not in the way."

Malik grinned and extended his hand. "Follow me."

Yugi took the offered hand, which was warm despite their cold and damp surroundings, and was led into the pea-soup fog towards the vague looming shape of the main bulk of the ship.

Malik was wearing a hooded sleeveless cotton top, the hood of which was never meant to be used, an array of gold jewellery and jeans that looked torn, frayed and faded but were in fact the height of fashion. Yugi felt a little out of place in his usual leather on a normal day, but today was far from normal.

As they walked into the ship through a metal, round-windowed door, they were met with an astonishing sight. In every room along this hall, the light was on and the doors open. In every room kids of every age were practice duelling, working on their decks, trading, chatting about duel monsters or serving as an avid audience for all four.

Yugi had only gone halfway down the hall and already he'd spotted many familiar faces, often watched on televised tournaments on holidays and weekends. It all felt unreal.

And now I am one of them.

The thought was so amazing that Yugi didn't even protest as a hand snaked out and pulled him into a room he had been walking past.

Yugi looked up at Jounochi, off-white t-shirt and tattered jeans Jounochi, not because it was fashionable but because those were the clothes he had worn on and off for as long as Yugi had known him. Jounochi was grinning and judging from the pain in his arm, Yugi concluded that Jounochi was very real.

"It's all happening Yugi!" Said an excited Jounochi, echoing Yugi's thoughts.

"It's just a tournament." Came the familiar superior tone.

Jounochi moved aside to reveal the rest of the room, which the gang had commandeered. It was bathed in the golden glow of old-fashioned lamps and had pillows on the floor, some of which were occupied. Honda was technically wearing almost the same thing as Jounochi, but his jeans and white t-shirt were reasonably new and very clean. Adding to this his black jacket, he was dressy-casual, nothing at all like Jounochi.

Honda was currently duelling Mai, a look of absolute concentration on his face. Mai was wearing a white top, purple jacket and jeans. Mai smirked at Yugi, then looked back at the duel as Honda made his move.

"Are you alright Yugi?" Asked a concerned Anzu in a pink blouse and jeans, lying on Mai's lap, occasionally having her hair played with.

Yugi nodded, smiling, glad to see Anzu was really happy and being herself for the first time in a while.

Jounochi looked out into the corridor, then put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Hey Yugi, where's Malik?"

Surprised, Yugi looked behind him into the corridor, but the tanned blonde was nowhere in sight.

"I don't know." He answered finally, and Jounochi frowned and shut the door.

"I guess he's on his own then." Said the boy, going to join the others.

Honda outlined the situation as he frowned at the floor, where his monsters were in dire straits. "I spotted Weevil a while back, so we decided to hide out in here."

Mai looked up from the floor, confident, "These rooms are for everybody to hang out in. There's bedrooms downstairs, if anyone needs their rest or privacy. Bathrooms are on every floor. Plus anyone can walk around on deck if they feel really sick."

"Thanks for reminding me." Honda groaned, and got a few laughs, but it was obvious that the duel was taking most of his attention right now.

Anzu smiled up at Yugi as he sat down near Jounochi. "I'm up next to battle Honda We're taking turns to take his mind off…Jounochi wanted you to help him with his deck."

"I'll be up after you then, if nobody objects." said Yugi. He had rearranged his deck for this tournament and taken out Obelisk, so he was eager to test it.

Anzu nodded, and Jounochi shrugged, so he took that as a 'yes'.

Mai smiled at Yugi as she finished off what little remained of Honda's life points. "Once we get away from the shore, the sky should clear and we'll get some stars."

Anzu sat up as the cards were cleared away, and moved to sit in Mai's lap, taking her deck out. "We were thinking of checking out the view. There aren't many girls on board so we won't get a crowd to see the sunrise either."

"We'll look out for Malik." Mai finished.

"If you want to get some sleep, Yugi, it's probably a good idea." Anzu added as she examined the cards in her hand.

Mai looked at the cards over Anzu's shoulder, pointed at a couple as she whispered something, and then rested her hands around the girl's waist as she turned to Yugi to clarify.

"Everybody's going to be watching you tomorrow, Yugi. It won't look good if you're half asleep and yawning in the welcoming ceremony."

Yugi nodded, "I'll try" then he turned to Jounochi to ask something that he was curious about. "What was in those boxes?"

"Just bags of food in th'ones we were in." Jounochi wrinkled his nose.

That makes sense; we'll have to have food if we camp out on the island all week.

"You wanted my help Jounochi?" Yugi asked, and received a blank look.

"With your deck." He added.

Jounochi's face cleared. "Yeah! I got everythin' I want in, but there's some space left in th'deck an' I was wonderin'if I had anythin' that'd use it, ya know? Cards that'd be useful, not jus' filler."

Yugi smiled. "Let's take a look then."

Putting aside the way he acts, Jounochi has sure come a long way in a very short amount of time.

Seto Kaiba hid his boat in a cave at the base of the cliff that was too convenient to be natural. He glanced at his hands, and then away because the pain seemed to lessen if he did not look directly at the bleeding, salt water covered cuts.

Damn. I am going to have to stay here for a while.

This whole situation was something he had only vaguely planned for, as its probability was very slight. Or so he had thought.

He was berating himself now though. Seto thought he should have figured that Pegasus would not send someone to live in his house without a reason. Now, with Mokuba missing after Otogi flew off, it looked like Pegasus had planned a neat kidnapping.

The Big Five were behind this one. Seto had neatly escaped from the suits that used to be his security guards. It had taken a quick well practiced manoeuvre of jumping into the always ready boat, then pulling it into the cave. A little blood on the sharp rocks below the cliff should seal the deal.

There was only one point in this whole operation he was unhappy with.

They know about the secret passage in my control room now. Damn.

Seto looked at the open briefcase beside him which contained the first commercially made duelling disk and a walkie-talkie tuned to the agreed upon secure frequency. The idiots hadn't thought of changing it, but then it was the tiny details that seemed to escape the big thinkers of Seto's board of directors.

They haven't reported the passage, good. When I get back to the land of the living, I'll have to make sure they never do.

But that was a problem for later. Right now, Seto had no window of opportunity in which to take this boat down the coast to town. They didn't know he had a boat. They'd be coming down here to look for his body.

Seto pushed the boat near the cave wall and pressed a piece of cliff. A giant door made of natural rock swung closed and the cave was plunged into darkness. He navigated by keeping one hand on the wall, and steered the boat through the passage.

I'll have to land at the Domino docks. I can't do that until nightfall, when the fog rolls in – Pegasus has his ship there today taking duellists to his tournament. It's bound to have a team of suits around it.

Still, it wasn't like Seto could arrive at the island without a plan or finding out what Pegasus was really up to. He figured he'd have to make his way to the arcade – a taxi would do. The way was clear – all the reporters would be at his house to hear the tragic news that he was dead, and all the duellists would be either going to Pegasus's tournament or watching it at home. Ludo would put him up for a bit until he formed a plan.

Pegasus had wanted him to come play in the tournament. Why? Why the tournament? Why did he side with them – they were against his big break; the creation of Duel Monsters.

The Big Five had never actually supported the idea of launching a game, any game, and during the reign of Gozaburo Kaiba, the issue had come up only once. Pegasus had presented the idea to Gozaburo at home, for the two had known each other well enough for Pegasus to dine 'with the family' every once in a while.

Seto had always suspected that they had known each other better than either of them let on. But regardless of any personal connection, Gozaburo rejected the idea on the spot, making the small allowance of letting Pegasus propose the idea to his board. Naturally, it went nowhere.

Seto had liked the proposal as it was almost guaranteed to succeed for a myriad of reasons, not in the least because there had never before been a card game like it. So, after the death of Gozaburo Kaiba and the following police investigation, Seto had signed a deal with Pegasus and the latter had started Industrial Illusions. This was done, ignoring the protests of the Big Five – a policy Seto had adhered to from then on.

Now, they wanted Mokuba because he was too young, even though he inherited Seto's position as CEO to make any decisions about the company. Technically, so was Seto, and he had never let that stop him, but Mokuba was different. He was conscientious, responsible, he would step aside.

They had underestimated Seto, and thought it would be funny to let a kid CEO actually try to do the job his foster father left him – to take over the running of the company. They knew better now. Mokuba would be given the choice to rule the company the way they wanted, or… Well, it wouldn't be an issue.

But Mokuba would grow up eventually, so there had to be a plan to deal with that.

And I can't get rid of them until I turn eighteen.

Seto smirked. This should be interesting.

Ryou Bakura or rather, Bakura sat in the darkened room, the only light being that of the moon filtering in through the thick curtain over the porthole. There was a double bed behind him, but he lounged in the armchair, one of two and waited.

He was wearing Ryou's comfort clothes out of necessity, not because of any sympathy he might have felt towards his shy host who was having his first solo trip away from home. After all, the jumper was pure wool and itched like crazy wherever it made contact with bare skin.

Where is he?

This is the room I would choose if I were him; there isn't much furniture, but what's there is first class.

I wonder if he notices that he's a snob. I suppose it's not the time to point it out.

Bakura chuckled in the darkness. Marik was going to have a fit as it was.

Right on cue, as if this was a well rehearsed play, the door opened and closed, the warm light going as soon as it had appeared.

Where nobody else would have, Bakura heard the patter of bare feet on carpet, and the unmistakeable, barely audible whisper of gold.

Bakura felt, rather than saw someone move to sit in the armchair across from this one, both being half turned to the porthole. The dark shape was familiar.

He had easily been able to hear through the background of waves splashing against the hull, where others would have had to strain their ears, something rustling in the hands of the dark shape…

…Bakura got up, drew the curtain aside, then sat down to face the other boy. Brown paper wrapping, hanging off it, the Senn Rod was almost unidentifiable in the boy's hand.

I see Shadi decided that Malik needs his destiny on this trip.

Rashid had been a very useful source of information regarding the mysterious Guardian.

It never ceases to amaze me how soft the people surrounding Malik seem to be, every lifetime.

Bakura glanced at the Rod, and then at the boy as the rod vanished, disintegrating the brown paper.

Marik grinned, and then stretched. "Ah, it's good to be back."

Bakura grinned to match. "It's good to have you back."

At the moment but not for long I expect.

Bakura waited for the other to rifle through Malik's memory, and as he had anticipated, very quickly, Marik's face clouded over, anger plainly written across it, radiating out of his shimmering eyes.

The second grin came but it wasn't nearly as nice. "You could at least have the decency to look ashamed." Came out as a low growl.

Bakura shrugged. Isn't jealousy grand. "I'm not."

Marik's eyes widened, then the grin turned maniacal – a sure sign of great pain. "I take it a lot has changed since I left." He said lightly.

"Get out!" Marik barked out the order suddenly, startling Bakura. He showed no reaction, but his heart skipped a beat, and the room suddenly got a lot more tense.

They stood simultaneously and slowly, Marik was still grinning, and Bakura was getting his heart rate under control.

Wow. Marik must really care. I haven't seen him lose it like this, well, ever. He usually just runs away. The only comparison I can make is that memory I saw of Malik's dad's murder.

Bakura smirked, and stepped up to lay a hand on Marik's shoulder, eyes glittering. Bakura was hurt but he was still having wicked fun playing his advantage for an admission of some sort. "Relax, will you?"

Marik's grin was still fixed, but his eye started to twitch. "Don't worry." He said maliciously and sweetly. "I won't interfere. I just don't want to have to see you. Get. Out."

His hands were clenched in fists, and Bakura thought it wise to let go of the boy's shoulder as he was starting to shake with the effort of holding his expression in that fixed grin.

There was room for one more try. "Marik." Bakura said, in the tone of someone reasoning with a misbehaving child.

"Out!" Marik yelled, stamping his foot, pointing at the door. His expression was now, that of an angry child – his other hand was on his hip and he was actually glaring at Bakura.

Bakura stepped back and bowed to hide the smile he was fighting to control. So cute! "Your wish, my lord."

But as soon as he left, the seriousness of the situation finally got to him and he sighed.

It's always like this with him. He's so… he plays around so much you can't tell if he's being serious. No. He's always half serious, and that's the problem. The other half's a joke and much more fun to pay attention to, so by the time he's figured out he means it, it's out and there is no time, none, to signal to everybody else that this really is important. Ha! And he's the mind reader.

Still. Bakura smirked and started whistling as he walked away to the helicopter pad on the top of the ship, where Otogi had dropped him off, and was waiting to pick him up while Ryou says 'hi' to a friend. You can't call him boring.

Malik Ishtar grinned when he spotted his worried friends ahead of him as he walked from the ship onto the island in a stream of eager duellists, having just collected his allocated rations for the first couple of days.

As they were all herded in a long train towards the castle by implacable suits, he managed to weave his way through the crowd to the others.

"Hi guys!" He greeted them with a grin. They turned and all greeted him looking slightly relieved.

All, that is, except for Jounochi. The boy had been a bit startled by the fact that Malik had walked up right behind him. "Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack."

Malik cocked his head at Jounochi and smiled. "Don't worry about being spotted as stowaways. There are too many duellists, and lots of them are ones I don't know. They can't possibly keep track of who is and who isn't supposed to be here."

Honda smiled. "Look at you, Mr. Sunshine. We were worried that you'd fallen into the ocean or something."

Malik laughed and stretched. "Nah, I just went off to get some sleep."

Anzu smiled from beside Mai, the two girls walking hand in hand. "I suggested that – it's a good idea to get enough rest before a tournament but we were all too nervous to sleep."

Jounochi bridled at that comment. "Hah! I wasn't nervous at all."

Yugi shook his head and Honda grinned, replying, "Yeah? So how come you didn't get any sleep either?"

Jounochi thought about it for a second. "I was excited. Yeah, that was it."

"Riiight." Came Honda's mocking reply.

Just as Jounochi was about to object, the stream spilled out onto stairs leading to a courtyard in front of the stunning fairy-tale castle. Jounochi now turned his attention to grumbling about having to climb endless stairs, as everyone else admired what they could see of the castle's towers.

Malik tore his eyes away from the spectacle to glance at Anzu, whose frown had caught his attention. Anzu was not the type of person who frowned easily. She worried, but she didn't frown. However, right now she was indeed frowning, and as Malik followed the direction of her gaze, his heart skipped a beat.

I could have sworn I just saw a glimpse Ryou disappearing into a secret passage in the mountain beneath the castle!

Malik looked at Anzu, who was whispering something to Mai. Mai then looked over to where the vision of Ryou had been and then looked back at Anzu, shaking her head.

"I could have sworn…" Malik barely heard Anzu say.

Mai interrupted, putting her hand on Anzu's forehead for a couple of seconds. "Maybe you did. Anyway, it's a private island. It'd make sense if he was a guest."

Anzu thought for a moment and nodded, smiling. "That sounds reasonable."

Mai nodded, returning the smile. "Glad we got that sorted out."

They reached the top of the stairs and spilled out onto the courtyard, taking up good viewing positions in front of a conspicuous looking balcony above a pair of huge gates.

Mai turned to Anzu, continuing the conversation. "Now don't let anything distract you from enjoying this tournament. Remember the plan – we pick our battles. All you should be worrying your pretty little head about is kicking gullible male butt."

Anzu shook her head. "That's cruel, Mai."

Mai noticed Malik watching and winked at him. "That is an established strategy."

Anzu looked at Malik, who nodded. "Nice plan."

Mai smiled. "And you?"

Finally, room to practice. I think it's time to find out what this Senn Rod is supposed to do.

Malik grinned. "I've got something I want to try out. I'm going alone."

Mai nodded. "Mmm. For ours to work we'll have to separate from Yugi and the others too."

Just then a hush settled over the crowd as everyone looked up to see their host Maxemillion Pegasus resplendent in his red tuxedo give a small speech about there being many hidden duel arenas on the island and lots of surprises in store. He also said that you needed ten starchips to get to the castle to duel in the finals held on Halloween.

As an afterthought, he had added that the tournament would start as soon as the fireworks went off at midday. When he finished, people moved off to friendship groups (those who had them) to work out their strategies.

Yugi, Honda and Jounochi materialized out of the mass of moving people, to stand next to Malik, Anzu and Mai.

Anzu smiled. "Hi guys. So what's the plan?"

Yugi nodded to where Weevil Underwood was standing. "I want to duel him. Grandpa gave me Exodia."

Jounochi grinned. "Yeah. I'm with ya Yugi. Let's get some revenge."

Yugi shook his head, serious. "It's not that, or not just that. I'd like to see if I can win a tournament duel without depending on just one monster. Grandpa said that a true duellist believes in every card in his deck and every card should form an important part of two or more winning strategies."

Then he smiled. "And he always said that I shouldn't 'stand around lollygagging.'"

Malik grinned. "Here, here! We should get moving if we want to be in place before the tournament starts."

Honda looked over at Malik. "You're not sticking around?"

Malik shook his head and Mai nodded, hand on Anzu's shoulder. "We'll get more chips if we split up. We can meet up at the castle gates by sunset the day before Halloween."

Yugi smiled. "Alright."

Honda nodded. "We want to do this properly. Let's designate zones."

Malik smirked. "Sure, how'll we do that without a compass?"

Honda frowned but Mai smiled. "Well, I did a little digging and there are all different terrains on this island."

I see. Funny sort of island, there has to be a reason for it.

Malik smiled. "You pick the ones you want."

Honda nodded. "We'll want the area around the castle. It looks like Weevil's sticking around."

Mai shrugged. "Sure. That'll be grassland, and knowing Weevil, forest. D'you want the beach, Malik?"

Malik shook his head. "I'd rather just get the desert. Only serious duellist would go there."

Mai smiled. "Serious, huh? Head past the castle and keep going you can't miss it."

Malik nodded.

Mai turned to Yugi. "We'll take the beach then, and the mountains. If you hit them you know you've gone too far."

Yugi nodded.

Jounochi rolled his eyes. "Why do girls always go for beaches? What if I wanna go for a swim?"

Anzu smiled. "We're not saying you can't Jounochi. Just that we'll spend most of the time in our designated areas. That way we all get an equal chance at getting ten starchips."

Mai smirked. "Yeah, twit." And before he could reply, she turned to Malik. "The desert's right next to the wasteland, so you can have that too. I doubt anyone would go there if they didn't know what they were doing."

Malik grinned. "I can deal with that."

He glanced at the sky, then the shadows on the ground. "We should go if we expect to get there before noon."

Mai nodded, taking Anzu's hand. "Alright, then we'll see you at the castle, Yugi." As they walked off, Malik heard Mai ask Anzu if she'd like to just spend the day tanning.

He grinned, nodded to Honda and the fuming Jounochi. Said 'have fun' to Yugi, then set off for the desert at a relaxed jog.

Just because the tournament hasn't started yet doesn't mean I can't put my plan into action.

Yugi sighed with relief and a hint of sadness as he watched Maco Tsunami walk off dejectedly, with a suit in tow, having just lost all his starchips.

Honda put two of the starchips into a glove he had appropriated along the way, and Jounochi followed suit, putting the other two into the glove of Rex Raptor, that was acquired after the latter had lost his last starchip in their duel.

The boys had wagered all of their combined starchips on Honda's duel against Maco, which may or may not have been allowed, but was an opportunity too good to pass up for Maco. It had been Jounochi's idea, and Yugi wished he had thought of it earlier.

Yugi had unfortunately not been able to kick Weevil out of the tournament because in the duel he won, he had had only one starchip to wager to Weevil's two. But he was hopeful that somebody else would have that pleasure.

Well that duel was exciting. I didn't know Honda had it in him to beat such an amazing duellist. But then he had been practicing against all of us since the last tournament.

"Well that was excitin'!" echoed Jounochi, hitting Honda's back. "I didn't know you had it in ya!"

"Then why did you bet all your starchips, dumbass?" Asked Honda, laughing as Jounochi couldn't think of a comeback.

Before it could turn into a wrestling match, Yugi pointed out something that had been nagging him. "Guys, we have only four starchips each, and two days, at the end of which we have to meet up with the others at the castle. That's today and tomorrow to more than double the starchips we have."

"You sayin' we can't do it?" asked Jounochi defiantly.

Yugi shook his head. "No, we can I think. I beat Weevil and that strange boy that Mai sent."

Jounochi nodded sagely. "Freaky kid. Pervert probably."

Yugi continued. "You beat Rex Raptor again Jounochi and he is the Regional champion."

Jounochi grinned and Honda shrugged. "He doesn't have his Red-Eyes anymore."

Jounochi objected and Yugi pressed on before a fight could break out. "You beat that bizarre boy Bones that tried to steal your starchips and Maco Tsunami, Honda, and they were not pushovers."

Honda smirked. "It was pretty close though."

Jounochi frowned. "Then if you're sayin' we're this good, what's your point?"

Yugi smiled. "That we shouldn't be standing around talking."

Jounochi smirked. "Well, let's go then!"

Yugi and his two companions must still have been a little startled by the sudden way the hidden duelling arenas appeared, because they carefully avoided the place where the duel had happened, leaving the beach to go back to the forest.

They had walked a fair way away from the castle in a couple of days, and considering all the distractions and detours that they'd made, Yugi thought it was a good idea to start heading back. They had strayed to the beach, mainly because Jounochi had decided to show Mai that she couldn't get away with bossing people around.

It was nice of her to give us the zones closest to the castle. Both the girls and Malik will have to make extra time for the journey back.

Yugi tuned into the conversation as they left the beach and headed back through the forest.

"Kaiba's probably run away scared that Yugi'll beat him again."

"No, I'd say he's planning a comeback. He's still the highest ranking duellist, so there's no point for him to come to an exclusive tournament – there are no reporters."

"Yeah. He'd die if he wasn't on the cover of a magazine every fortnight."

Honda smiled. "Nah, are you sure we're still talking about Kaiba?"

"Hey!"

Jounochi threw a punch at Honda's head. It was blocked with ease, but Honda failed to notice the second one aimed at his stomach. As he doubled over, he managed to say that in a fair fight, you didn't hit people when they were distracted.

Jounochi pointed out that he had gotten what he deserved and that was as fair as it got, however Yugi looked in the direction Honda had been looking in when he was hit.

There was a little kid in blue sneakers, jeans, horizontally striped blue and white sweater, blue beanie, wearing a red bandana, running through the forest. Hot on his heels, were two suits. The kid looked over and spotted Yugi, and chanced direction, running straight for him.

The kid stopped and doubled over, panting. Yugi noted that the kid in the bandana had long black hair, as he stood right in front of their group. The hair really confused the situation – it could have been a girl or a boy.

"Yugi Moto, I challenge you to a duel." The kid managed to say, voice ragged from the sprint.

The suits stepped up behind the kid, one putting his hand on the kid's shoulder. "As a guest of Mr. Pegasus, you are not allowed to participate in the tournament. Please return to the castle before you are mistakenly taken off the island for having no starchips."

The kid shrugged the hand off, stating venomously, blue eyes glaring at Yugi. "I don't want to be in this stupid tournament. I just want my brother back."

Why does this kid hate me so much? How is duelling me going to bring someone back? From where?

Amongst all these questions, running through Yugi's head, one thought stood out the most.

I wouldn't mind a duel, I haven't had one all day.

"What happened to your brother?" Asked Yugi, taking his deck out of his pocket.

"Yeah, why'd you think Yugi had somethin' to do with it?" Asked Jounochi, stepping up beside Yugi.

The boy, for it turned out to be a boy, took off his bandana and beanie. He had tears in his eyes, but if anything, it made his glare worse. "I am Mokuba Kaiba. Because of you, Yugi, my brother is dead. You defeated him, and he retreated into himself. It's what he always does when he has something on his mind, but Kaiba Corp. directors saw it as a sign of weakness. They made their move, and now I am a prisoner and my brother is dead.

"You helped them, Yugi, how much did they pay you?" Before Yugi could reply, the boy shook his head, disregarding the comment. "Anyway, I want a rematch to do what he planned but no longer can and to show that the head of my brother's Kaiba Corp. is always the best at everything he does."

Yugi was chilled to the bone by the angry blue stare that reminded him so much of the cold blue one he was used to receiving at school. Seto Kaiba? Dead?

All three boys looked at the suits for some kind of confirmation of this mind blowing speech. One of the suits smiled at Mokuba, putting his hand once again on the boy's shoulder, and there was pain in Mokuba's eyes. "Now, now, Mr. Kaiba, you've had a trying day."

He turned to the gang. "You must excuse him; he is taking the disappearance of his brother very hard."

Then he pulled Mokuba back by the shoulder. "I am sorry Sir, but we have orders to take you back to the castle, a scene could be embarrassing for the company and that is the last thing it needs at this juncture. I am sure your brother will return, after what can only be a well deserved rest."

Mokuba tried to shrug off the hand, but this time it wouldn't budge. His eyes turned pleadingly to Jounochi, then Honda and finally stopped at Yugi. Yugi didn't know what to say or do, and he wanted to do something – it was almost physically painful to stand still. But both versions of the story sounded plausible, though Mokuba's was a little more far fetched. Mokuba looked at the suits and nodded dejectedly, letting them lead him away.

What should I do? Heart of the cards, don't fail me.

Yugi gripped his deck, heart pounding in his ears, as Jounochi and Honda exchanged meaningful glances. Jounochi signed that Mokuba was crazy but Honda shook his head.

Seto Kaiba wouldn't just up and leave, something must have happened. What if Mokuba's right? What if whatever hell he is going through is my fault?

"Wait!" Yugi called, having come to no decision whatsoever, feeling like an idiot, but at the same time knowing that if he let this pass, he'd feel like a man conned out of his last duel monsters card. "Mokuba said he wanted a duel as a rematch of his brother's. I accept his challenge."

Mokuba looked back, smiling for the first time since Yugi had seen him. The suit beside him, stopped. The other suit cocked his head at Yugi. "There is a person who is better qualified to duel for the image of Kaiba Corp. If you really want, I can arrange a duel with him."

Jounochi snorted.

"Better qualified?" Honda enquired.

The suit nodded, grinning a shade unpleasantly as his partner prepared to take Mokuba away. "For one thing, he has a deck, as for the other… you'll just have to come and see."

Yugi swallowed. It definitely sounded suspicious, but there was nothing for it if he wanted to prove to Mokuba that he wasn't one of the bad guys.

I did say I wanted a duel, and at the very least, it should be good practice.

Honda put a hand on Yugi's shoulder as the former was about to reply. "Yugi, don't forget the prizes."

Yugi looked up, and saw Jounochi, nodding in agreement, a strange light in his glittering blue eyes. "They're not nice guys Yugi. The kid's ok, he's just confused. Take 'em to the cleaners."

Yugi smiled, and then looked at the waiting suit. "If you win, you get the honour of Kaiba Corp. Wouldn't it be fair if I got something for winning too?"

The suit looked at Yugi condescendingly. "You? Win?" Then there was the sound of someone talking in his earpiece, and he pressed a hand to his ear to hear it better. He looked at Yugi. "Within reason, kid."

Yugi nodded. "If I win, Mokuba is free to go."

Mokuba's smile widened into a puzzled grin. The suit beside him, started to lead him away again.

The other suit nodded, pointing. "Meet us at ten in the morning. Behind the castle, over there, where the mountains meet the forest, there is a cave. Big cave, you can't miss it. There is a duelling arena inside."

Yugi nodded. "We'll be there."

Seto sat on the comfy couch in the empty, closed arcade, in front of the duelling screen which was tuned to the very small glimpses afforded to the press of the exclusive tournament. Mostly, the commentators just kept feeding the public information every once in a while about anyone important that was out of the tournament. There were also interviews with some of the lesser known duellists about what was happening.

The answer was the same. Nobody knew very much. Seto didn't care.

He sipped his coffee, and happily watched the press struggle with the slivers of information they were being fed at irregular intervals. That was one thing you were guaranteed when dealing with Pegasus, near absolute chaos.

After a little bit of digging, and Ludo's 'persuasiveness', Seto had found out that the Big Five had something big over Pegasus's head, and that the police could soon be reopening the Gozaburo Kaiba case. It was blackmail, pure and simple.

Pegasus would never take the fall for that fiasco. He must be planning something to deal with whatever evidence the Big Five have. And meanwhile I have to deal with the fallout.

And whether he was only pretending to go along with the plot or not, Pegasus never did things by halves. For instance, it was clear to Seto now, that the only way he could get Mokuba back and find out what the Big Five's backup plan was for when his brother came of age, was to go to the island.

He did invite me to the tournament. He must have known I was planning my own. He must have known I would say 'no' and end up in this situation, and then it would be a hint as to what should be done to make the Big Five fail in their plan that I would only learn about late enough so that Pegasus could counter their blackmail…

No. Stop right there.

The trouble with Pegasus was that everything he did could always be seen as having a hidden and sinister purpose. Seto maintained that even he himself couldn't statistically be that good every time, always have a plan in the works, always manage to push the exact right buttons – it wasn't humanly possible even for a genius.

No. He must have just wanted to invite me… because he is Pegasus.

Seto would humour that nut job just this once; it wasn't like their plans didn't coincide. Besides, he had his deck and if he came across Yugi Moto, it would be beneficial if he could have a practice rematch before he did it in front of millions of TV viewers. Seto Kaiba was never scared, just practical.

Seto smirked. I suppose it wasn't for nothing that I designed the security system on that island.

Wait. Pegasus couldn't have known back then…

"Damn." Seto thumped the off button on the remote with his right hand and downed the rest of the coffee in the cup held in his left. He nodded to Ludo, who was standing still in the corner staring into space like he could do it all day, and left for a helicopter he had ordered to the roof of the arcade, with a couple of parting thoughts.

One day, Pegasus, there'll be someone who will pin you down, someone you can't fool into thinking you're more than you really are. I have better things to do.

Ryou was sitting in his regular outfit on a stone altar in a small hidden indoor garden in the fairy-tale castle, feeling very much out of place. He had been sitting there for quite a bit now; it had become something of a habit, to retire here after Tea.

Tea was very much a ritual at Pegasus's, one that began at four o'clock. Those who had returned from it had found it to be reminiscent of tea with the Mad Hatter in 'Alice In Wonderland'. Pegasus's favourite cartoon character was in attendance on the ornate crockery, made especially for this ceremony, and everybody was forewarned that there would be no serious conversations at Tea.

Otogi strolled up, and in one movement, slumped down beside him.

"So that's where you disappear to." He said contentedly, lying down on the altar. "It's very pretty, I've never been to this part of the castle before."

Ryou smiled politely, although he was annoyed at the intrusion. Otogi had the tendency, he had noticed, of always making you very aware of his presence. Right now, he was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, with the word 'blood' written on it in drooping black, wet-looking letters, with black jeans.

The point was that even now he managed to clash with the soft blue lights by the stone walls and in the water features, not to mention, the lush green plants that gave meaning to the words 'fairy garden' written on the door.

Otogi interpreted the silence correctly. "If you want to blame anyone for giving away your little secret, blame Croquet."

Otogi sat up, wrapping his arms around one knee, and Ryou felt eyes staring at one side of his face. Ryou looked at his well worn jeans, and some of his hair fell, to block Otogi's view.

"I am sorry if I'm being rude, I just like to be alone every once in a while."

"Hm." Otogi sounded amused. "A while is the right word. It's almost ten; you've been here for five hours straight, unless that was you taking out the helicopter."

Ryou looked up and through locks of snow white hair saw Otogi's inquiring stare. He shook his head, eyes wide with surprise. "Five hours?"

It didn't feel like five hours.

"Mmm." Otogi nodded. "Right after Pegasus is very mysterious and locks you both in his study for a chat, you disappear, and somebody takes out the helicopter." Otogi said, with a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye.

I don't remember that. Why don't I remember that? But if I don't remember, then for all I know, I might have simply had a chat, and then went out here to recover from Tea. Pegasus is indeed very strange, it could have been nothing at all.

Ryou looked at his hands, clasped in his lap and forced them to relax. "I…" He began but Otogi interrupted, lying down again.

"Fine, be mysterious, I don't care." He said light heartedly, leaving Ryou unsure whether he really meant it or not. "Maybe you're right, you could have been here. After all, you should know, and that wasn't really why I came out to find you."

Ryou looked at the lounging Otogi, deciding that the boy was being honest. "Why did you come?"

Otogi shrugged. "Pegasus got bored. We missed you at dinner, and he asked me to go find you."

Ryou nodded and stood up. "Shall we go then?"

Otogi raised an eyebrow. "Go? Why? Did you get sick of the garden or something?"

Ryou answered with polite surprise. "But Pegasus asked for me, he is our host, and…"

Otogi raised a hand to forestall the completion of the sentence, smirking. "Pegasus always means exactly what he says. He said I should find you, and I've done that. Job well done if I do say so myself."

Ryou smiled a little worried smile. "Are you sure that is what he really meant?"

Otogi nodded, grinning. "Trust me." He said in the most sinister voice Ryou had ever heard.

Why does Pegasus take such an interest? I am just an acquaintance of Otogi's, but he always…

Ryou thought back to all the knowing little looks and smiles that Pegasus gave him. To be fair, Pegasus tended to give them to everybody, but with Croquet it was some long standing private joke about 'a princess in the tower', and with Otogi it was mainly about what the boy thought of the girls in his new neighbourhood and the antics of Seto Kaiba. It bothered Ryou that Pegasus never actually asked him about anything.

Apart from that 'chat' that I don't remember.

Suddenly, Ryou had a stunning flashback to the time he had woken up to find Malik in his shower. He quickly tried in vain to stop the image substitution of Malik for Pegasus.

Oh please anything but that!

"Ryou!" Otogi brought him out of his reverie. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." He said worriedly, sitting on the edge of the altar.

Ryou looked at Otogi, stunned.

I need to go outside. Fresh. Air. Have to breathe.

He managed to make himself speak, and walk, not run towards the door. "I think I just need some fresh air." Otogi smirked and lay back down.

As he picked up his pace, walking away from Otogi, he heard the boy call out. "Hey! You sure you don't want to tell me what's got you spooked? You never know, it might help!"

Ryou stopped, then decided to err on the side of caution and not go to the insane asylum. "I just need a walk, that's all." He called back, walking towards the door.

As the door closed, he could hear a very sarcastic. "Yeah, sure."

He made his way down to a secret door at the base of the castle via a very familiar route, nodding to servants and suits alike. The lower he got, the less people and the more security cameras there were, until in the lowest corridors, there were only the very quietly humming cameras.

When he got outside and shut the piece of cliff face behind him, Ryou sighed.

He looked around the moonlit forest and set off along the mountainside. Ryou didn't quite trust himself well enough to not get completely lost if he wandered too far from the castle. But he could feel the fresh air doing him some good and was soon completely lost to the world, debating whether or not he wanted to see Malik compete in the finals.

Ryou, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground, failed to notice the campfire until he was almost on top of it.

Startled out of his thoughts by the light, he looked up to see the faces of Yugi, Honda, Jounochi, Mai and Anzu looking up at him. He felt his heart speed up, while Anzu nudged Mai and threw her a meaningful look.

"Hello." Ryou said, bowing. "I am sorry to intrude." At the same time, he counted the number of sleeping bags on the ground. There were only two – one for each of the girls. He expected Malik to have one, and a pang of disappointment hit him when he saw no third.

It makes sense of course. Malik comes from Egypt, I expect he would be very cold sleeping outdoors, and with the type of clothes he prefers, not that I've seen him wearing much to be able to judge well, Ryou blushed slightly at the thought, it makes sense that he would have a sleeping bag.

Funny how all these reasons came to me only after I made the assumption though.

But his worrying thoughts were interrupted by the unrelenting flow of life.

"Don't worry about it." Said Yugi smiling. "Please sit down."

Ryou only knew Yugi and his friends from school and not very well at that. Yugi was reputedly very nice and smart and so was Anzu. The other two boys, though, Honda and… Jounochi, had the reputation of guys you don't want to cross, them being reformed bullies, though they had only ever really bullied Yugi. The blonde girl, he didn't know.

He smiled politely, and finally felt how cold the night really was, which quickly solved the dilemma of how to extricate himself – he wouldn't.

"Thankyou." Ryou said, sitting down near the fire, in the gap between Yugi and Anzu. He was a little uncomfortable but crossed his legs and looked at Yugi, politely smiling. "It is a very cold night."

Anzu voiced something she had clearly wanted to say for a while. "It was you I saw the day we arrived then."

Ryou turned to her and nodded. "It very well could have been, I arrived the day before."

"Whatcha doin' here?" Asked Jounochi, glaring suspiciously.

Ryou sweatdropped, smiling, feeling slightly scared of the two bigger boys looking at him over the fire. "I am a guest of Maxemillion Pegasus."

"Hm. Why does that sound familiar?" The blonde said sharply, but quickly softened the comment with a smile. "I'm Mai, by the way. I understand that you're Ryou."

Ryou nodded. "Yes. Ryou Bakura, pleased to meet you."

Mai grinned. "Polite, wow. We don't meet many like you nowadays."

Ryou, not knowing what she meant by the 'we' or who they regularly met, just smiled and took it as the compliment it was probably meant to be. "Thankyou."

Mai laughed – a clear and happy laugh. "You know, you're worse than Anzu. Maybe you can explain to her that being beaten by an Eliminator, doesn't disqualify you if someone goes and beats the sucker and gets your starchips back."

Ryou was suddenly glad for his own courtesy and the little run down of the tournament that Pegasus had decided to give them at dinner the day they arrived here, despite loud protests from a cranky and tired Otogi. If he had not listened, then at this moment, he would have been completely lost at sea.

Ryou looked at a clearly irritated Anzu, then back at Mai. "Well, technically, the tournament was designed to pick out the best duellists. If you lost, and had a chance to undo it, the right thing to do, morally would be to decline and let the tournament progress as it was meant to do."

"Where is Malik when you need him, he isn't one to go on about morals. Fine, have it your way." Mai shook her head in resignation, and a smiling Anzu mouthed 'thankyou'.

Ryou smiled, silently agreeing with Mai about Malik.

Jounochi must have been feeling left out because he decided to contribute. "If you don't need 'em, I'll take the starchips, Mai."

Mai stood up. "Ha. Not on your life, Jounochi. I'm going to hold onto these to make sure enough for both of us to get into the finals."

Anzu looked up, sadly. "Mai…"

But Mai shook her head and smiled at Anzu. "You can do whatever you want, don't take them or do – it's your choice. Let me make mine. You might still change your mind, there are still a couple of days to think about it."

As Anzu opened her mouth to argue, Mai put up her hand to forestall her. "If you want them back anytime, just say so. But that's it. We won't talk about it anymore. Agreed?"

Anzu smiled happily, and took Mai's offered hand to help her stand up. "Agreed."

"Where are you off to?" Honda spoke for the first time in a while, startling Ryou.

"Tomorrow, the two of us are going right back up this mountain. But tonight…" Mai surveyed the boys sitting around the fire. "You might not believe in hygiene, but we like to take a shower before bed." Then she turned around and walked to where the bags lay, to start setting things up.

Anzu smiled down at Ryou and Yugi. "I don't think she meant you two." Then she went off to help Mai.

Jounochi crossed his arms, annoyance etched into his face. "Who's she callin' dirty? I washed today as a matter of fact."

Honda nodded, with a look of deep philosophical understanding. "I see, yes, it is easy to mistake being doused by seawater for a shower if you just have one every two months."

"Hey! She meant you too!" Shouted Jounochi in lieu of a battle cry, before attacking Honda. He countered easily, pinning Jounochi; face on the ground, one hand in a painful position behind his back.

Yugi smiled, and sweatdropped. "Sorry about them, but they're a bit nervous about us not having enough starchips yet."

Ryou nodded politely, as Honda could be heard saying: "Sometimes, you really are an asshole. Yugi has a duel tomorrow with some tough guy in the freaky cave and all you can think about is what some girl you have a thing for, calls you."

Ryou looked at the barely visible cave, then at Yugi, as Jounochi exploded into vehement denial of liking Mai. "That cave entrance really doesn't look safe."

Yugi nodded, his reputation confirmed. "My thoughts exactly. The rocks above the entrance could cause a landslide easily and that would block the only way out. It wouldn't take much if someone wanted to lay a trap."

Ryou looked at the cave. "Are they likely to?"

Yugi smiled, his face lit by the firelight that danced also in his vermillion eyes. "I don't know. They might be if they lose – they were pretty confident."

Ryou nodded. That did make an ambush more likely – duelling seemed to him to be a very brutal game, especially when not televised.

There is a solution, this boy is Malik's friend, and he seems like a good person. Besides, it isn't a secret and it is only right that I should help any way I can…

He looked at Yugi. "Perhaps I could help. If there is a landslide, don't try to dig your way out, it will take too long, especially if you are short on starchips. Mr. Pegasus made a contingency for anyone who may be stuck in one of the couple of caves around this area.

"Follow the cave deeper. You should end up in a passage lit by the occasional torch, supposedly it goes right under the castle, and if you can get through, it should lead you, like any of the others I heard about, to an exit near the entrance to the castle."

Yugi coked his head in the firelight. "If we get through?"

Ryou nodded. "There are guards apparently, and a riddle. It is one of the secrets on this island, but the guards should have starchips from all the duellists to go down there. Not that I imagine many would, but it is preferable to digging through dirt and rock I think."

Yugi smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Do you duel?"

Ryou smiled politely. "A little, I'm not very good though."

Yugi shook his head. "I heard that you almost made the finals last tournament."

Malik. Ryou nodded, blushing from the implied fact that Malik talked about him to his friends.

Yugi smiled. "Then you should give yourself more credit. I would like a practice duel for tomorrow, and duelling somebody for the first time is always a learning curve."…

…Knowing that in the firelight Ryou's green eyes and his red looked brown, Bakura smiled politely. "If you insist. If I may ask, what is your favourite card?"

"The Dark Magician." Said Yugi, without giving it much thought. "What's yours?"

"Change of Heart." Said Bakura as Mai and Anzu returned, and Jounochi and Honda finally resolved their grievances

He turned to the others. "Yugi and I are going to duel. Would you like to make it interesting and add your most favourite cards to his deck? Just for fun."

Mai frowned, but the others agreed that it would be fun and she added her harpy lady along with the others.

Bakura smiled happily at her. This reminded him of his favourite line from a movie that Malik had brought over once for them to watch. Marik would have loved it.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Malik lay back on the sand beside a small campfire. Resting his head on his hands, cosy in his sleeping bag, he looked at the clear night sky.

Look at all those starchips in the sky.

Malik smiled. He had acquired eighteen starchips and it was almost time to leave for the castle – Halloween is the day after tomorrow.

The hard sand didn't bother him anymore and he had even gotten used to catching his own food and finding water. Malik was comfortable in the desert – it reminded him of home, only with the added luxury of space and freedom.

Malik had seen some duellists thrown off the island in the last couple of days – it turned out Pegasus had a 'you lose, you leave' policy. Many of them had lost to him.

He had a strategy which involved putting all but two starchips in his pocket before duelling. That way his opponent also bet two to eliminate his competition. Then, it was just a matter of three duels a day. And he never lost.

I suppose it's a little unfair having two god cards in my deck.

Malik's smile widened as he thought back to some of the stunts his opponents had pulled in order to win.

Then again, maybe not.

After all, he had not used his Senn Rod to aid him, which was extremely charitable on his part.

It had only taken all of the initial day to learn how to use the Senn Rod, which surprised Malik a great deal. Both the Rod and his body seemed to react to his wishes with a speed that only comes from a lot of practice. Practice that he, himself never remembered having.

Practice was the only explanation. Just being destined to wield the Rod did not mean he would automatically wield it well, and if he was not the one who had the practice, it had to be Namu.

Namu with the power to control thoughts and actions of dumb creatures by force, and no doubt humans as well to some degree.

Malik smirked. The thought was worrying at the very least.

He was sure, he did not know why, that the Rod could do much more than make any animal he chose walk into his campsite, lose all it's hair or feathers and die so that he may cook it.

Malik shrugged to get rid of the gnawing fear in his stomach.

It's not my problem. Shadi's the one who has to worry about the Millennium Items.

With that cleared up, he grinned up at the sky. He now knew how to summon the rod and vanish it, and a little mind control in a limited range. He hadn't tried anything major yet, but he'd be travelling to the castle tomorrow and could probably stop for a couple of tests on the way.

Those suits will do for targets; somehow I find it very hard to think they didn't deserve it.

And with that thought, he closed his eyes and sighed, feeling the cold air on his left offset the heat of the fire on his right beautifully…

…Marik drifted off to try to have his first decent night's sleep since he threw Bakura out of his room. Unfortunately, Malik's mind had other ideas and played out all of the madly whirling thoughts that Marik locked away in his head.