Happy Halloween, dear readers!

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Chapter 9

"This is Bridgett Tremaine with this evening's troubling dueling news. The search is over, ladies and gentlemen. After days of relentless searching, Vyctoria Hign was found by the Domino Pier. According to an initial examination, she appeared to have been poisoned, but authorities are waiting for an official autopsy result to be done tomorrow. We recall that two other duelists had disappeared around the same time – Clyde McDowell and Scott Jenkins. Unfortunately, they have also turned up at the Pier. These two, however were found with their Duel Disks on, but their decks were missing with both of their necks slashed. Police are assuming at the moment that the deaths of McDowell and Jenkins are unrelated to Hign and the others.

"Along with the bodies at the Pier, a letter was found with Hign. Police have not yet disclosed the contents, but there are rumors it involves another duelist disappearance. On the positive, there have not been any more reports of missing Pro League duelists in the past three days, but one can definitely see a change in the world of dueling. Since Maxwell Simmons' disappearance, security at the Kaiba Dome alone has tripled, and extra precautions are taken during any duel. Aside from security checkpoints at the entrances to the building and the arena itself, there are now guards circling the edge of the dueling field itself. Most of these provisions had been placed for the safety of the duelists, especially with the upcoming anniversary of the Dome next week. Many are speculating that the disappearances are not yet over and that those responsible are waiting until the big event Saturday to make their next move…"

Seto Kaiba turned off the office television, and using a pair of tweezers, placed a small screw onto an equally small microchip. He didn't look up when Mokuba walked in and placed several files on his desk. "What are you working on, Seto?"

Seto put down the tweezers and sighed, "A request for someone." He looked over at the folder. "What have you dug up?"

"We went back and looked at the dueling records of everyone who had died so far. Apart from McDowell and Jenkins, all of the others had at least one run-in with Thorn Turama, and from the news a week or so ago, he had escaped from prison along with a bunch of other dueling criminals. They haven't been caught yet, but there is a pattern."

Seto drummed his fingers against the desk, "Well?"

"The duelists are being murdered based on Thorn Turama's losing streak – in reverse. First was Katie since she dueled last, and before her was Maxwell Simmons. There were a few others between Maxwell Simmons and Vyctoria Hign, but those guys retired from the Leagues a few years ago. I guess if Turama is behind this, he's only interested in the ones that are still dueling."

"So, based on that assumption, who is going to be the next victim? It's been days since someone disappeared, and that's odd considering someone usually vanishes the same time someone else turns up."

Mokuba frowned, "If we follow the reverse-losing streak pattern, crossing out duelists who are no longer in the Leagues, then the next victim would be Priscilla Iwukasa. However, she's practically on her way out of the Leagues after her tenth record loss. Plus, her victory over Turama wasn't as big of a gap compared to Maxwell Simmons, who obliterated Turama in less than six turns. If we skip over her, then the only one left is Aster Phoenix."

Seto looked up, "Phoenix? He's been in the city for weeks now. Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't he have disappeared by now if he's next?"

Mokuba shrugged, "It doesn't make sense to me either, as it breaks the pattern. But, on the other hand, Aster Phoenix hasn't been making a lot of appearances since his last return from Duel Academy. If anything, they could be waiting for the big turnout on Saturday. Or he's not a target at all."

"Doubtful," Seto leaned back in his chair, "They set off explosives at his house. Not strong enough to do extreme damage, but it was enough to make it a threat and a warning."

Mokuba sighed, leaning against the desk, "So what now? We've already beefed up security at the Dome, what more is there to do?"

"I'm positive Phoenix is aware of the threat against him, and he was here to see me two days ago. We're taking the necessary precautions."

"I hope it's enough," said Mokuba, "By the way, isn't that the "KC" emblem that was on your trench coat? Why'd you take it off?"

"Just tinkering with it, Mokuba, but I have a new task for you. You did a good job on digging up on Turama, so here. I want you to run a complete background check on these people," he handed his brother a list of names, "These men are going to be Phoenix's bodyguards the instant he enters the Kaiba Dome Saturday. If there's even a shred of indecency in any of them, I want them yanked and replaced with someone else."

Mokuba smiled, "No problem, Seto, I'll have this done real soon!" He jumped up and hurried out of the office.

Seto picked up the tweezers again and screwed the back plate onto the device. Pushing the button on the front of the "KC" chip, he watched as a program opened up with a map of the city. A red dot appeared over the image of Kaiba Corp headquarters and began to blink at the same rate as the device in his hand. He pressed the device again and the blinking stopped, both on the screen, and in his hand. Seto placed the finished chip in his desk, and pinned his own, identical communicator to the front of his tie. Swiveling around in his chair, he gazed out, surveying the city below from his bird's eye view. Glancing quickly back to the drawer, he spun around and pushed the button on his phone for his secretary.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Schedule an appointment with Aster Phoenix for a duel disk inspection before Saturday. I don't want anything malfunctioning during the Dome's 10th Anniversary."

"I, uh, hope I'm not inconveniencing you by stopping by like this," said Aster, feeling very out-of-place.

"It's no problem at all. You said Kaiba sent you, hm? He wouldn't send anyone here unless it was important, and I can tell you're troubled about something, so come on in."

Aster hesitantly took a step inside and looked around. He was led into a cozy living room with a large TV in the corner, replaying one of the infamous duels of the Battle City tournament. On the shelf above was a duel disk from Battle City.

"Sorry," said the man, pausing the DVD, "Just watching some old memories. I had no idea that these duels were recorded. Kaiba must have had cameras set up all over the city."

"I remember The D had me watch the Battle City series to help me train for my first pro duel," said Aster, glancing at the screen. It had paused as Yugi stared up at Slifer the Sky Dragon, while inside Nightmare Steel Cage. "You guys were legends back then."

He gestured Aster to sit down, "As Pegasus told me at a party a few years ago, we still are. Duel Monsters didn't officially take off until the Duelist Kingdom tournament. And soon after that, Kaiba started the Battle City tournament. The rest is history…." He remained relatively short; his large violet eyes seemed unchanged throughout the last ten years. With age his voice had deepened slightly, never matching up to the extent of the Pharaoh when he had taken control. "You know," he began, "I almost didn't answer the door just now. You aren't the first professional duelist to come to my door. Then again, practically all of them were demanding duels, and I left that spotlight years ago."

"Why?" Aster leaned forward from his spot on the couch, "It can't be age, plenty of the Pros today are a lot older than the both of us. You didn't need to retire from dueling."

Yugi gestured to the screen, "I was dueling for a purpose those years ago. And I fulfilled that purpose. In fact, when it was all over, I did continue for a little bit, but I'll admit, it just wasn't the same. When the Leagues started up, Kaiba did ask if I wanted to participate. Mokuba even invited Joey Wheeler after I refused, hoping that if he accepted, I would reconsider. But we both declined. I'd rather live a much quieter life than in my high-school days. I still read up on what's going on in the dueling world every now and then, and believe me; I see how the top-rated duelists are stalked constantly by the media, and not to mention the fans. I would never be able to put up with that. Besides, look at yourself now. You're filling the shoes of your former guardian as the Circuit Champion. You're mobbed for autographs and interviews all the time. After what I've witnessed over the years, I wouldn't be able to deal with the constant attention. Here, it's just me, my grandfather, my friends, and the card shop." He sat on the opposite couch, directly across from Aster, "But you didn't come here for that. You say you need some advice, and I'm all ears. I've been through some pretty weird stuff, so what's on your mind? Kaiba doesn't send just anyone to see me, you know."

Aster reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter, "You said you've been following up on what's been going on, so you must know about the missing pro duelists."

Yugi nodded, "Most unfortunate. To think a duelist can be so corrupt that he must enact his revenge in such a way."

Aster passed the letter across the table, "This arrived for me two days ago. It was in my mailbox at my mansion. Someone knew I had been spending time there, even though I'm technically not supposed to start living there again until repairs are done, to leave this there with no postage or return address."

Yugi unfolded and read the letter, "This implies that you're the next target. Is that what you're worried over?"

"Not as much as I am something else." Aster sighed, "Last year, due to my manager Sartorius's request, I enrolled at Duel Academy and dueled Jaden Yuki, one of the school's top students. He used me to test Jaden's strength, all for his personal gain. Turned out Sartorius was being brainwashed by this crazy alien called the Light of Destruction, and it allowed him to vividly predict the future. When he got hold of some guy's satellite, he tried to take over the world with it. But somehow the goodness in him managed to win over for a short time, and gave the keys to the satellite to both myself and Jaden, and told us to protect them from him." He glanced up, "You must think I'm nuts, talking about aliens and stuff."

Yugi quickly shook his head, "No, I'm no stranger to mind-control. In fact, I've seen it in action far too many times. Please, continue."

Aster sighed, "I knew there was still good in Sartorius, and I tried to duel him, to break him free of whatever control the Light had on him. In order to duel him, I had to wager my satellite key, and in the end, the Light was too strong, and I lost the duel." He clenched his fists tightly against his knees, "In order for Jaden to hand over his key, Sartorius kidnapped and used me as a bargaining chip. If it hadn't been for Jaden…." He looked away.

"This alien, is it still around?" Yugi placed the warning letter back on the table.

"It shouldn't be, since Jaden defeated it at the end of last term. But I've began to notice things, and he even told me that part of the Light was still inside him. He assured me that it can't control him again, but…."

"The fact that it's there bothers you," Yugi finished.

Aster nodded, "After practically being attacked by the Light at the end of our duel, I suppose you could say I've developed some kind of sixth sense, or at least a bad feeling about it. And these past few weeks, I've had a lot of 'bad feelings' about Sartorius. He promised me he wasn't using his tarot cards to predict the future anymore, but at this point, I'm not sure anymore. If the Light is getting stronger, there's no telling if Sartorius will be able to keep it under control. It took Jaden and me everything we had to get rid of it the first time, and I don't think we'd be able to do it twice. I've been staying away from him the past couple of days, just to keep my head clear, but if the Light took control now, with everything going on, I don't think I could rally the old Sartorius out of it. The Light of Destruction would come back probably stronger, and the whole world would be in danger – again."

Yugi smiled sadly, "Believe it or not, I've been in this type of situation before. Sometimes, you and your friends at Duel Academy remind me of my high school days, always off on some sort of adventure or saving someone from something evil. This time, it was in the middle of a duel, and we were losing badly. The person I believed in most to do the right thing turned completely against his principles just to get the upper hand in the game. In the end, his monsters turned against him, and I paid the ultimate price. The fate of the world was at stake, and his momentary lust for power cost us the game – and more. After it happened, I couldn't trust him either, but in time, I had to believe in him to learn from his mistake and do the right thing."

"What happened?" said Aster.

"In the end, he had truly regretted what he had done. He apologized, and through teamwork, we saved mankind. But it wasn't easy, and there was a lot of soul-searching involved. But there's something you can do that I couldn't in our similar situations."

Aster raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Talk to him. You need to let him know how you feel. Until he did some soul-searching, I was powerless against his decisions, but, while this evil spirit is dormant, you need to confront your friend about this. He may not realize what's happening, and that could be the only problem. By avoiding each other, you could be creating a bigger problem. This could be something he's wanted to share with you. If the Light is fueled by emotion, avoiding your manager and causing him worry might escalate this alien's control. My advice to you is to find Sartorius and have a long, talk. After what you've told me about last year, he still needs to earn back your complete trust, and by not communicating with him, he might also be losing trust in you as well. Not to mention, with the danger placed on you at this point in time, you don't want your closest friend to turn against you. Believe me, when I had a large burden put on me, even during the Battle City tournament, it was next-to-impossible to fight my best friend, who was being brainwashed by an evil force."

A sudden ringing nearly made Aster jump a foot in the air. Reaching into his suit, he pulled out his phone, "Sorry, excuse me for a sec," he walked out into the next room, "Hello?"

"Aster?"

"Sartorius? What's up?"

"Don't 'what's up?' me, Aster. Where on Earth have you been!"

"Oh…eh, around…something up?"

"What do you mean, is something up? I've been trying to reach you for two days! There's something I've been wanting to discuss with you that's rather important to your duel on Saturday, and if you keep ignoring me, I'd rather not have to forfeit your participation in the biggest duel of your life."

"You wouldn't do that…would you?"

"Look, Aster, I need you to return. It's imperative we discuss this matter sooner than later. Please come back home."

Yugi stood up and took the duel disk off the shelf, holding it in his hands and inspecting it as if he had received the device for the first time. He looked up as Aster walked back in a few moments later. "That was him, wasn't it?"

The pro duelist nodded, "Turns out he wants to talk to me about something…and wasn't too happy about me jumping ship the past couple of days."

Yugi smiled, "Then you should go find him and work things out."

Aster nodded, placing the threat letter back into his pocket, "He said it was urgent so…."

Yugi nodded, "I understand."

Aster stopped at the door, "I have to say, thank you. It was kinda nice to hang out with someone without a dueling deck nearby."

Yugi laughed, "Same here as well. Though I'm pretty sure our paths will cross again. Take care of yourself, Aster, and work things out with Sartorius."

He watched the sleek black car pull up against the curb and didn't turn back inside until the limo had turned the corner, heading out of sight. Closing the door, he walked back into the living room, and hit play on the DVD player remote. His eyes wandered to the end table next to the couch, where an invitation to the Kaiba Dome's 10th Anniversary event poked out from under a pile of mail. You're a good kid, Aster, and a good duelist at that. Our paths will cross again….

Finished this chapter rather late, and assuming I caught all the mistakes. If you find anything I might have missed, let me know!

Happy Halloween, dear readers! Candy corn for all!