Okay everyone...we've begun May and Max's journey to help save the world! But lets segue from them and head onto the other party that's involved with the madness.
All right, let's go!
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Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
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Chapter 6-Duped Twice and Nothing More
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While Yugi and the others were driving in a limousine to Industrial Illusions, there was trouble at Kaiba Corp.
And by trouble, it would be described as...really, really bad.
"Seto!" cried Mokuba, entering the office of his older brother. He stopped at the desk, panting for breath. "Check the database; someone's been buying up all the shares of the company."
"Impossible!" Kaiba exclaimed to his younger brother, typing against the keyboard on his desk. As he typed, Mokuba added, "It's true! I saw it myself!"
The young CEO gasped when he saw the two graphs on the screen—one bar graph and one pie chart. They both had different colors, marking people who had shares of Kaiba Corp.
"If these numbers are correct, half of Kaiba Corp. has already been bought by one person!" said Kaiba, observing the data. "And they're still buying! But how can that be?"
"What are we going to do?" asked Mokuba, coming to the side of the desk with a look of concern.
"We have to stop them." Kaiba answered immediately. "If they buy any more shares, then they can take control of the company, and there's no way that I'm going to allow that. Wait a minute...." He began typing something on the keyboard once more as he added, "There's only one person who is capable of something like this."
Just then the phone rang. Grabbing it, the brunette was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Kaiba-boy." Replied the Creator of Duel Monsters amongst the web cam at his office. "I missed you."
"I knew it." Kaiba snarled. "It was you."
"I'm afraid I'm guilty as charged." said Pegasus with a grin. "It looks like we're partner now; this is going to be so much fun!"
"This company is mine!"
"You're always so uptight, Kaiba-boy. Why not treat yourself to a nice vacation?"
"Enough!" Kaiba barked back. "I will never let a snake like you wrap yourself around my company! Is that clear?!"
"Relax," Pegasus replied. "I don't want your company; I just needed the upper hand so I could force you to do something for me...plus I was bored and it was fun. You see, since both of our reputations are at stake—thanks to these pesky monsters—I thought we could raise our public image by dueling each other."
"You must be out of your mind!" Kaiba said in response.
"Should I take that as a no?" asked Pegasus. "Well I'd consider if I were you; because if not, then I'll buy the rest of Kaiba Corp. and break it apart piece by pathetic piece. So what's it going to be? Do we have ourselves a rematch? Or should I just proceed with Plan B?""
"Wait...." Kaiba replied as Pegasus asked, "I need an answer."
"What are you going to do?" asked Mokuba once more.
"You have yourself a duel." Kaiba replied after seconds of silence.
"I knew you would see things my way!" Pegasus said with utmost glee. "So I set up an arena in Duelist Kingdom for old times sake." The message ended with him waving to the younger CEO and saying, "Don't forget to bring your Blue Eyes White Dragons!"
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We were supposed to begin building Kaiba Land amusement parks all over the world, and Seto promised he wouldn't duel until he was done. Mokuba thought to himself as he and his older brother were riding the elevator down to the basement levels. He even locked all of his Duel Monster cards away so he wouldn't be tempted.
The elevator soon slowed down as the lighted sign read 'B5'. A slight bell sound was heard as the elevator doors slid open and the two brothers walked out. There was some silence for a while as the two headed toward the gates of a large vault.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" asked Mokuba, as the two were walking.
"I have no choice." was Kaiba's reply once they reached the barred gate. Pulling out a key card from his purple duster, he swiped it down the reader, then proceeded to type the 5 number combination on the keypad below.
"Access granted." A voice replied as the bars upon the vault slid back. "Disengaging Security System." A low rumbling sound accompanied the opening as the Kaiba brothers continued their walk inside.
"Maybe Pegasus was just bluffing, you know?" Mokuba said to his brother, trying to prove some sort of theory to the trouble.
"I'm not taking that chance; I have to do this." Mokuba stayed silent as Kaiba repeated the same motions with the locked vault gate from before amongst one of the drawers in the dark room.
I knew someday that I would unlock my deck and duel once more. The older brother thought to himself. I just never thought it would be this soon.
Reading the combination, the drawer soon opened itself, mist escaping the closed chamber. Kaiba immediately gripped onto the handle of a silver briefcase kept inside, setting it onto the ground. The younger brother stared as the latches of the briefcase were opened, the lid opened to reveal Duel Monster cards piled amongst the bottom half of the carrier, and a Duel Disk was strapped to the lid.
"Let's go, Mokuba." Kaiba stated simply after he placed the Duel Disk onto his left arm. Mokuba nodded slightly as the two headed to the roof of the Kaiba Corp. building. There, a two seater plane in the likeness of a Blue Eyes White Dragon—detailed down from the head that was the cockpit for both brothers, all the way down to its massive tail—was waiting for them.
As they neared the plane, Mokuba stopped in his tracks, bowing his head. Kaiba noticed this and stopped also.
"What's wrong?" asked the older brother.
"It's just that..." Mokuba lifted his eyes to meet with the gaze of his brother's blue eyes. "We were supposed to start building Kaiba Land...and you promised not to duel until we start."
"We will build Kaiba Land, Mokuba." Kaiba said with determination. "Just as soon as I teach Pegasus a lesson."
Mokuba stared at his brother then smiled, nodding his head. He laughed and ran to the CEO.
"Awesome!" Mokuba cried in excitement.
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As the two brothers were sailing toward Duelist Kingdom, Yugi and the others were still in the limousine, driving amongst the roads of San Francisco.
"This place looks nothing like back home." said Joey, staring at all the sights.
"Of course not!" Tristan replied. "This is San Francisco, dude! Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, and all the seafood you can eat!"
"That sounds yummy!" said May, sitting in a section behind the teenagers. "I hope that their noodles are just as delicious as they are back home!"
"And maybe they have some shops for us to buy more cards!" Max added.
"We're not here for a vacation, guys." said Téa, interrupting the excitement. "We're here to see Pegasus."
She's right. Said Yami, agreeing with the dancer's words. And based on the message Pegasus gave us, I say that he's in grave danger. Let's just hope we get to him before those thieves do.
"Hey May." said Max, keeping his voice low. "I've been wondering about something."
"What's that?" asked the older sister. Max brought out a small box, and lifted its lid. Inside were a couple of Duel Monster cards, paling in comparison with the briefcase Kaiba usually carried with him.
"Well, Dark Horus said that we have the power to summon Duel Monsters into the real world." Max explained. "I was thinking that we should look into the extra cards Mr. Muto gave us and see which ones we could use to call upon."
"What's wrong with the ones in our deck?" asked May with confusion. "Aren't they strong enough already?"
"Well, what if we fight one of those guys with our decks?" Max answered his sister. "They'd know our strategy, and might find a way to stop those monsters." He looked at the pile of cards in the box. "I say we choose cards that they won't expect from us. Remember your duel with Bandit Keith?"
"Of course I do."
"Then they might use the information from your Ancient Egypt deck you used to duel him with and use it against you!" Max said, nearly raising his voice. "Do you want to fail Atem?"
May shook her head; the spirit was depending on her to help save the world. Plus Manaphy became a Duel Monster Card to protect her...she couldn't fail them both.
"And I don't want to fail Jirachi or Silent Magician or Maiden of Macabre!" Max added. "My monsters are depending on me to stop the darkness, and so are yours, May!"
"We're not going to fail, Max!" May reassured. "We're going to stop that biker gang, get back Slifer and Obelisk, and return to Petalburgh in time for me to catch the first ship to Johto!"
"Yeah!" said Max, raising a fist in the air. "But...which monsters are we going to choose? Seeing these in front of us...they don't look as if they have great abilities or potential."
"Don't think of it that way." said May. "Every Duel Monster is unique, just like every Pokémon is different from each other. So, maybe we have six type of monsters, just like a Pokémon trainer can have up to six Pokémon on hand."
"Good idea!" said Max, bringing out a couple of cards. "But how do we hold onto them? We can't just carry them in our hands all the time."
May rubbed her chin in thought, trying to figure out the best answer to the problem. Her eyes trailed down to the Duelist Monthly magazine onto her lap....and then an idea popped into her head. She immediately started flipping through the pages, trying to find something that she had seen earlier.
"Whatcha looking at?" asked Max, trying to see the magazine. May stopped the magazine that had the picture of Seto Kaiba on it. She then pointed onto the card necklace strapped around his neck. She then removed the half Poké ball necklace around her neck, leading the small pendant out of the ball chain it was in until it was in the palm of her hand.
"The idea that's going to help us carry six Duel Monsters easily." May answered, staring at the chain clenched in her left fist.
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"Seto," said Mokuba, staring at the island dotted in the blue ocean. "We're approaching Duelist Kingdom."
"I'll try and make this quick." Kaiba answered. "The less time I'm here, the better."
"Me too." Mokuba replied. "This place has nothing but bad memories."
But you've had good memories here also. Like that time Yugi promised that he would save you and your brother from that evil man.
Mokuba blinked in shock as he heard a voice in his head. Looking to his left and right, he found no one there. It was strange...but it was if it was talking to him.
Of course I'm talking to you! The voice replied, a bit clearer. The beings of Joy and Wisdom are awakened and are heading on their journey, but the Child of the Moon must join on their quest!
"Who...are you?" Mokuba said with a very low voice. The voice laughed, sounding as if it was him but only a few years younger.
Khonsu, the Moon God. The voice replied. I protected the Pharaoh from his evil enemies 5,000 years ago...and I also helped High Priest Seth and Soothsayer Jouno use the spell to temporarily purify him from that evil Heart of Chaos!
"That's just crazy!" Mokuba screamed aloud.
"What's crazy, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked his younger brother. Mokuba looked and saw that no one was there. "If you were listening, I've been telling you to initiate the landing sequence."
"Uh, right!" Mokuba replied, flipping a few switches. The legs of the Blue Eyes White Dragon soon bent down, as the plane was landing amongst the shrubbery of the island. "Beginning our descent to Duelist Kingdom."
This 'kingdom' you speak of wasn't as grand as Pharaoh Atem's though. Khonsu replied in Mokuba's mind. But then again, Atem was ruling it with corruption and hatred....
Must you try and make me seem crazy?! Mokuba replied to the voice in his head. He and Kaiba got out of their seats, Kaiba explaining "I'm sure that his 'majesty' is somewhere in this castle."
"Time to give Pegasus a royal beating!" Mokuba nodded his head as a panel on the side of the Dragon head opened, the silver briefcase sliding out. The black haired boy handed it to his older brother, waiting for the doors to the castle to open. When they did, there was nothing but an empty hallway to greet them.
"Looks pretty empty in there." Mokuba commented. "I guess Pegasus's staff is on vacation or something."
"That means less people to get on my nerves." Kaiba stated, walking amongst the hallway. "Now let's find this lunatic so we can leave."
Mokuba nodded his head, about to take a step when he saw a ghostly figure standing in front of him. It looked exactly like the boy, except he was wearing a white tunic, a golden collar wrapped his neck, golden bracers were on his arms and he even had a headdress of a black circle with a white crescent under it. What also surprised Mokuba was that the spirit had white eyes with no pupils, causing him to look...sinister. But in his mind, Mokuba felt that he was nice and that the person's name was Khonsu, like the voice who was talking to him earlier.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Khonsu whispered as Mokuba took a step closer to it. Trying to grab the spirit's hand, Mokuba was shocked to see that it went through him. Panic struck his body, but seeing his brother ahead of him, he continued to catch up as the figure followed him. "But...." Khonsu continued. "You must accept your fate, Child of the Moon."
"Child of the Moon?" Mokuba whispered softly. "I can't be that! I'm Mokuba Kaiba...not some ancient deity."
"You are a descendant of mine." Khonsu replied, unheard by the older brother. "Your brother will not protect you forever, you must learn how to fight for yourself. Remember all of the times you were kidnapped?"
Mokuba nodded his head sadly...he had been kidnapped twice by the staff of Pegasus, once by the Rare Hunters, and a fourth time by the Big Five back at the Virtual World. He got his soul sent to the Shadow Realm and had himself brainwashed by his own step-brother during those stints, and it hurt him a bit that he couldn't fight like his brother.
"So you see?" Khonsu continued. "You want to be strong...but you aren't. However, with the guidance of the Moon, your power will radiate amongst the stars and they will help you stand on your own two feet. Wouldn't you want that? Would you like to help your brother stop worry about you?"
"Y-yeah..." Mokuba replied as he continued to walk through the hallway. "I'd....want that."
"Then take me in...the beings of Joy and Wisdom accepted their fate and are doing whatever they can to stop the great evil from appearing. The third being must awaken to help. Child of the Moon, Defender of the King....do you accept your mission? Not only for the sake of the world, but also for the sake of your brother?"
"I do!" Mokuba yelled with determination. He didn't understand why he was feeling so excited...but something told him that it was a good feeling.
"You do, what?" Kaiba asked, breaking Mokuba out of his excitement. Mokuba looked at his brother with a bit of guilt in his face. "What's going on, Mokuba?"
"N-nothing." Mokuba replied. "I was thinking...that I might want to have a Duel Disk and deck for myself, Seto! I mean, it's not fair that only one half of the Kaiba Brothers get to duel, and if we team up together, then no one could stop us!"
"We'll see about that after we deal with Pegasus." Kaiba answered, although Mokuba thought he saw a small smile on his brother's lips. The trademark frown appeared once more as the two continued to head toward the dueling site. Khonsu giggled a bit as Mokuba let out a small sigh. The young boy gasped a bit as he saw a white outline surround his body.
"Let my power run through you, Defender of the King." The Moon God whispered. "I will send you a Duel Disk to fight with as soon as I gain agreement with a friend of mine. Your Deck will arrive when you meet up with the Goddess of Joy and Prince of Wisdom."
"Can you tell me who they are though?" asked Mokuba. "That way I know who to expect later on."
"Sorry." Khonsu giggled as he started to fade into motes of light. "Can't tell you...but you'll know when the three of you meet."
Mokuba blinked his eyes as Khonsu disappeared from site...knowing that somehow, he would never be the same again.
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"Here we are!" said May, showing her brother the card necklace. All of the cards were protected with slips, each slip being pricked with a needle so the chain could thread through them. The Pokémon coordinator smiled as she looked at her handiwork; six monsters from all of the leftover cards were chosen to protect her should things go horribly wrong.
"That's awesome!" Max replied with awe. "What Monsters did you put there?"
"Well," said May, removing the necklace, flipping the cards over to show her brother. "I have The End of Anubis, Castle Gate, Brain Jacker, Umbral Soul, Guardian Sphinx and The Hunter with 7 Weapons. They're a mix of Earth and Dark type monsters...it's sort of strange."
"Here's mine!" said Max, showing his sister his necklace. "I have Testament of the Arcane Lords, Guardian of Order, Blast Magician, The Tricky, Ice Queen, and Copycat!"
"Two Light monsters, two Wind monsters, one Fire and one Water monster...what a coincidence." said May. "But Copycat?"
"Copycat is a good monster!" Max exclaimed. "It copies the attack and defense of an opposing monster."
"It copies the original attack and original defense, Max." May replied. "So if the monster gains more attack or defense points due to the effect of a different monster, Copycat won't copy that."
"But it's good either way!" Max said. "And besides, at least I have more variety with my monsters."
"Variety?" asked May. "All six of your monsters are Spellcasters! I have a Warrior, two Fiends, a Reptile and two Rock type monsters! Now who has variety?!"
"Your monsters could get killed with Magic Cards like Exile of the Wicked and Breath of Light!" Max snapped back. "And The Hunter with 7 Weapons only works on one type of monster!"
"But your monsters can get destroyed by Last Day of Witch!" May retorted. "And I doubt that they'll be useful if Skill Seal is in play!"
"Oh, says the girl who's afraid of Tentacool!"
"That coming from a little know-it-all brother who can't win a Pokémon battle!"
"Guys, keep it down!" Joey replied, staring at the window. "I'm looking at the sites."
May and Max stopped bickering and soon looked through the window of the car. The limo had passed a sign that said "Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco", and a cable car that had a couple of passengers who were ignorant to the group riding inside the limousine.
"A cable car." said Joey with enthusiasm. "I saw one of those in a movie once."
May and Max stayed quiet until they saw the image of a large suspension bridge above the water.
"And there's the Golden Gate Bridge!" Tristan added.
"It doesn't look golden to me." Joey remarked. "You taking all of this, Yugi?"
"Huh?" asked Yugi, turning to his best friend. "Did you say something?"
"Hello, Earth to Yugi." said Téa, seeing the reincarnated Pharaoh waking from his daze.
"Sorry, guys." Yugi replied. "I can't stop thinking about everything we found out this week. It's not everyday that a magic gateway opens between our world and the world of Duel Monsters. And on top of that, a giant super monster is trying to destroy both worlds...plus the only protection we have against it..." He pulled out the Eye of Timaeus as he continued. "Is this card, and that might not be enough....because that mega monster is still out there somewhere." He let out a sigh.
"We have to get to the bottom of this before it strikes again." Yugi finished as May whacked him on the head with the magazine.
"For goodness sake, Yugi!" May exclaimed. "The Eye of Timaeus isn't the only card who can protect us! You still have Jirachi and Manaphy to help you out!"
"And you have the powers of the Goddess of Joy and the Prince of Wisdom!" Max added. "As long as you have the two of us then nothing will stop us!"
"But don't forget," said Joey. "You two are targets because of the Winged Dragon of Ra you guys carry. As long as that card is in your possession, you'll be targeted also."
"We're already targets." May said in response. "I didn't have a Millennium Item on me, but I was forced to duel Bandit Keith all the same. So we're doomed either way."
"But we won't be!" Max exclaimed. "We have the Heart of the Cards on our side! Those motorcyclists are going to get their just desserts!"
May stayed silent about that part....when she was at that scaffolding with Raphael—which nearly caused her to plummet to her death—she felt as if something was wrong him...as if, he was trying to figure out what was so special about her.
"Hey, May!" said Max to the distracted Coordinator. "Do you feel something...weird?"
May wanted to respond, but she did feel something...as if the two siblings found something, and this 'union' was completed.
"I don't feel anything." said Tristan. "You guys must be feeling claustrophobic."
"It's not that!" Max snapped. "It's like...there's someone other than us who have these powers."
"I still don't get the idea of the beings of Joy and Wisdom." Téa said in response. "What does that make me, the Angel of Friendship?"
"Very funny." May replied sarcastically. "But..." There was some silence before the Pokémon Coordinator continued. "I just know that whomever this person is, we can trust them...."
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"Maybe Pegasus chickened out." Mokuba said to his brother, as the two continued through the hallway. By the time the two got to the end, they immediately stopped, seeing that the gargantuan room had a floor that was far below them.
"That's so not cool!" Mokuba exclaimed. "We could've fallen 200 feet to our deaths!"
"I've just about run out of patience!" Kaiba barked. "Show yourself, Pegasus! Unless you've come to your senses and ran home!"
Laughter rang amongst the building as the eccentric Creator appeared from the opposite hallway. His trademark grin was still plastered on his face as Kaiba scowled at his nemesis.
"You're as irritating as ever." Kaiba remarked.
"Come on, where's the love?" asked Pegasus. "After all, we've been through so much."
"I didn't come here to catch up!" Kaiba snapped. "I came to duel so you can get out of my life!"
"And what have I done to deserve such hatred?" asked Pegasus with some shock.
"It's a very long list, and I don't have a lot of time." Kaiba explained. "Most recently, you stuck your nose where it didn't belong when you started to buy shares of Kaiba Corp. And I'm sure you're the one who's been ruining my reputation by starting this monster scare, aren't you? Admit it! You made it look like Duel Monsters were running over the world just to get some attention!"
"Do you honestly believe that?" asked Pegasus. "Or are you afraid to admit what you truly think? That maybe these Duel Monsters are real...."
"Ha!" Kaiba scoffed. "You should know by now that I don't believe in your hocus pocus magic tricks, and I certainly don't believe in real monsters!"
"You still trying to get away with your 'I don't believe in magic' speech?" Pegasus replied mockingly. "Don't you think it's time to give that one a rest already? Especially after the time we've spent not so long ago in this very castle."
Kaiba snarled, recalling Pegasus taking his brother's soul away, and then him losing to the Creator of Duel Monsters. That did it...he needed revenge.
"That's enough!" He barked.
"What's wrong?" Pegasus asked with mock pity. "Did it suddenly become a crime to reminisce about old times with good friends, Kaiba-boy?"
"Listen," said Kaiba. "If you're trying to mess with my head by bringing back what happened in the past, I'm afraid it won't work. That's old news! This time it's you who's going to suffer!"
"Then let's get this show on the road." Pegasus announced. "Let the Rematch of the Century commence!"
A platform from above the room lowered down, showing the Duel Arena similar to the ones placed around Duelist Kingdom. Holographic panels rose from the side, as the life point counters on the stations were marked 4,000.
"Well, well, well." The Creator continued. "Here we are again....in the exact same spot where I devastated you last time. So, ready for a repeat performance? Who knew that I'd get to defeat you twice in my lifetime?"
"Let's get this over with." Kaiba stated simply. "The sooner I annihilate you, the sooner I can get out of here and get on with my life."
"Yeah!" Mokuba added. "My brother's going to tear you apart!"
"Oh, Mokuba." said Pegasus, noting the younger brother. "I see that you're still Kaiba-boy's one and only fan."
"Mokuba, stay back." said Kaiba immediately after the comment.
"What?" Mokuba asked with some shock. "But Seto..."
"You heard me!" Kaiba said, interrupting his brother. "We both know what this madman is capable of, so I want you at a safe distance!"
"Fine!" Mokuba replied. "I'll stay...." The last part was said softly. He immediately ran out of the hallway, trying to remember the route to the balcony.
"The ultimate rematch is about to start!" said Pegasus, as the two competitors walked to their stations.
"The only thing that's going to be history is you!" Kaiba retorted.
Mokuba made it to the balcony, staring at the duel as he was panting for breath.
"I guess I'll be safe here should Pegasus decide to pull something." He said to himself. "I just hope my brother's all right." He stared down at his brother preparing to duel. "Seto, time to beat him at his own game!"
But it's just not fair.... The younger brother thought to himself. I want to help too!
"Mew." Mokuba looked down to see a little white lion cub staring at him. It couldn't have been possible but it was staring at the young boy with large periwinkle eyes that seemed to blend with its furry coat.
"A lion cub?" Mokuba asked himself as he got on his knees, a hand stretching out to the animal. The cub sniffed it a bit before running its tongue amongst the fingers. This time, Mokuba felt s sandpaper-like feeling amongst the digits.
Leo Minor likes you a lot, don't you think? Mokuba turned to see the white eye doppleganger smiling at him. In his left arm was a Duel Disk—the life point counter/deck holder was pure white to look like the moon while the tray of the Duel Disk itself looked like a black crescent—and a weapon that looked like a large Mezzaluna was strapped to his back. The main difference in the weapon was that instead of handles at the end, there was a large handle connected to the middle of the blade.
"Actually my birthday's July 7th, so I'm a Cancer." Mokuba replied. "What's going on, Khonsu?"
Your Disk is ready, Defender of the King. Khonsu answered in his mind as he removed the Disk. Once you have the Disk, then you shall begin your destiny...no longer will enemies try and harm you, you shall defeat them and defend yourself from harm's way.
Mokuba wanted to say something, but felt the little lion cub push him closer with its head. The animal nudged his head onto the back of Mokuba's legs so the younger boy had no choice but to move closer and closer to the young god. Taking the Disk into his hands, the boy placed it onto his left arm, amazed that it had become solid right in front of his eyes.
"This is...incredible." Mokuba said to himself in shock. The lion cub let out a small roar and turned into a mote of light, jumping into Mokuba's left hand. It then transformed into an yellow Duel Monster card that read, "Celestial Spirit-Leo Minor".
The Celestial Spirits are the card forms of the Constellations in the night sky. Khonsu explained. I am good friends with Sothis so I was given permission to get these cards. Leo Minor is here because he was pretty excited to finally see the reincarnated Defender of the King.
"Khonsu, you said something about Atem." said Mokuba as he placed the card into the Card holder of the disk. "Is he...or does he have some resemblance to Yugi Muto?"
Khonsu nodded his head in reply. "Then..." Mokuba continued. "In the past, this ancient Pharaoh...he was evil?"
Khonsu's smile turned into a frown as he bowed his head. It was a tragic day when he and Kura found the Heart of Chaos...originally meant for one person to control, the heart split in half when both of them grabbed onto it. As they grew, the darkness took over them...and it was impossible to touch them because the Heart protected them from entering the domain of the Underworld. Then a great monster appeared, saying that he had come to claim his children....had it not been for Atem's cousin, High Priest Seth and the Soothsayer Jouno...then all would have been lost.
"Does this mean that Yugi is also evil?" Mokuba asked with some shock. "Does he have the Heart of Chaos in him?"
The Heart of Chaos prevented death, but nothing explained the soul escaping the body. Khonsu explained. A spell was used on both of the holders of the Heart of Chaos so that half of their souls would be trapped in the Millennium Items, and the other half would be sealed in the Book of Secret Arts. The Heart of Chaos was taken away, taken so that no one would ever be corrupted by that evil item ever again.
"But the Book of Secret Arts is just a Card." Mokuba exclaimed. "There's no way that souls could be trapped in there!"
The card you speak of is just an offshoot of the real Book. And based on the circumstances...someone has opened the book and released the spirits from their slumber. Good timing also...evil is coming once more.
Mokuba didn't want to reply to that as he soon let his eyes gaze onto the duel below. Kaiba had connected a cable to his duel terminal and had summoned Spear Dragon to fight against Pegasus's Toon Alligator.
"Spear Dragon," said Kaiba, pointing to the monster in Defense Mode. "Attack his Toon Alligator with Cyclone Blast!"
Spear Dragon opened its mouth, letting out a blast of wind target the Reptile Monster. The little alligator soon became nothing but a pair of eyes and ashes, before disintegrating into particles.
"Your pathetic little Toon is gone." Kaiba stated. "But since it was in Defense Mode, your life points are safe, right? Wrong! Because due to my monster's special ability, you lose 300 points!"
Pegasus stood in shock as his life points dropped from 4,000 to 3,700.
"Then, Spear Dragon automatically switches to Defense mode." Kaiba finished, the blue dragon shielding itself with its wings. "I'll end my turn with two cards face down. Round one is over!"
"Way to go, Seto!" Mokuba said, cheering his brother on. Khonsu stared with some seriousness though.
Pegasus drew a card from the top of his deck. "Excellent!" He cried. "This card should spice things up a bit."
He showed it to his opponent, a green book that was open and colorful lettering was escaping the pages. "It's a Magic Card I like to call Toon Table of Contests." The Creator continued. "It allows me to draw any card from my deck with the word 'Toon' in the title."
"Not again!" Kaiba exclaimed. "Toon World?!"
"Don't sound so disappointed." said Pegasus, drawing a card from his Deck. "Of all the cards I created, this by far is my favorite!"
Placing the card on the Duel Terminal a green pop-up book appeared on Pegasus's side of the field.
"Toon world!" Pegasus exclaimed. "This card lets me summon all my Toon Cards onto the field and admission is only 1,000 life points!"
As his life points dropped to 2,700, the book opened, revealing the water-colored scenery kept inside the pages.
"Now why don't we start the show with a new face?" Pegasus continued. "I summon Toon Masked Sorcerer in Attack mode! He may be harmless, but he has quite the temper!"
The card appeared onto the field, and the Masked Sorcerer appeared. This version seemed to look more like a brighter version of the card, as if it was some sort of painting made by Pablo Picasso. (900/1,400)
"Now that Pegasus has played his Toon World card, he can summon any Toon monster he wants!" Mokuba said to Khonsu. "And he's got tons of those in his deck!"
Just because he has that card, doesn't mean he's truly unstoppable. Khonsu replied. But something about this man is causing me to feel nervous. Mokuba, your brother is going to be in serious danger.
"Time to give you a taste of your own medicine with this!" said Kaiba, pressing a button on his duel disk. "My Cloning Trap card!"
The trap card revealed, and was soon replaced with an identical copy of Toon Masked Sorcerer.
"Why not you try dueling with some originality?" asked Pegasus.
"What's the problem, Pegasus?" Kaiba retorted. "Are you annoyed because I made it pointless for you to attack?"
"What do you mean?" asked the Creator.
Kaiba smirked, tapping his head with a finger. "I mean that one of us was using his brain today, and I'm not talking about you!" He explained. "So if you attack me, you'll also destroy your own monster as well! Care to give it a shot?"
"You saved yourself for now." Pegasus snarled.
"No kidding." Kaiba replied, drawing a card. "Next I'll play my favorite card! Ready? For I sacrifice Spear Dragon and Toon Masked Sorcerer to summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
The two cards vanished and were replaced with the powerful dragon. It let out a loud roar at its opponent. (3,000/2,500)
"That's what I'm talking about!" Mokuba cheered.
"My monster's hungry." said Kaiba. "And your Toon is on the menu."
"Then he'll just have to starve!" Pegasus replied. "If you forgot, my Toons can only be destroyed by other Toons."
"I'm well aware of that!" Kaiba barked. "But I won't let a technicality stop me!"
"Then maybe I can stop you with this trap!" said Pegasus. "I activate Toon Mask!"
The Trap Card appeared, revealing a face of some sort of strange grey creature with a pink top hat. It latched itself onto Toon Masked Sorcerer who was trying to get rid of it.
"This card lets me trade my Sorcerer for a Toon version of your monster!" Pegasus explained as the Toon monster vanished from the field.
"Say what?!" Kaiba nearly screamed.
"I sacrifice Toon Masked Sorcerer to bring out Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" And with that cry, and a puff of smoke, the smaller and more cartoon version of the legendary dragon appeared. It had a large grin and was chuckling to itself. (3,000/2,500)
"You know how much I hate that thing!" Kaiba snapped. "That thing is a disgrace to the original Blue Eyes!"
"Oh come on, Kaiba-boy." said Pegasus. "Don't you realize that Toons have feelings too?" In response to the question, the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon started to cry, as streams of tears escaped its eyes.
"Well let's see how he feels about my next card!" Kaiba announced. "I activate my Magic Card Shrink! So now it makes your puny dragon even punier!"
A white outline appeared around the Toon Dragon and it soon shrank to half of its original size. Its attack dropped all the way down to 1,500.
"So what?" asked Pegasus. He's still indestructible; all you did was make my monster more lovable!"
"I'm through dealing with your pathetic excuse of a dragon!" Kaiba said in response, activating one of his face down cards. "So let's focus on the real Blue Eyes, and with this card, it'll make its attack even more fierce!"
A Magic Card appeared, depicting two men raising their arms up as a card floated between them.
"It isn't going to work; which part of Toons can't be destroyed didn't you understand?" Pegasus asked once more. Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, placed a hand on his stomach and started to laugh.
"Blue Eyes!" Kaiba cried, ignoring the question. "Attack with White Lightning!"
The real Blue Eyes let out a blast of energy, heading toward its Toon Counterpart. The smaller dragon seemed to look in shock, but then brought out a sign which deflected the attack.
"Are we now clear on the whole 'Toons being indestructible' thing?" asked Pegasus.
"Yes." Kaiba replied with sarcasm. "But you seem to have forgotten about my Charm of Lamentation card; as long as it remains on the field, I get to draw one card from my deck every time my Blue Eyes White Dragon attacks and fails." He drew a card as he continued. "And since your Toon monsters can't be destroyed, I'll keep drawing more cards!"
The key to defeating this washed up has-been is somewhere in my Deck! The brunette CEO thought to himself. I just have to keep drawing cards until I find it!
"Back to me." said Pegasus, drawing a card. "I'll start by sacrificing 500 life points for my dragon to attack your life points directly. So now, Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, unleash your fury on Kaiba-boy!"
The Toon Dragon let out an attack as Pegasus's life points dropped to 2,200.
"You activate my Negate Attack trap card!" Kaiba replied, as the attack became neutralized by an invisible barrier. "This Trap Card automatically ends your attack before it's able to hit its' target; so you spent your life points for nothing!"
"I have to disagree." said Pegasus. "Thanks to a Magic Card known as Toon Rollback!"
The Magic Card appeared, showing a reel of colorful film coming out of a spindle.
"This lets me rewind our duel, giving me a second chance to attack!" Pegasus finished.
"Hold on!" Kaiba exclaimed. "That's not how Toon Rollback works; your Blue Eyes still can't attack twice in one turn!"
"That's not my plan!" Pegasus explained. "Shame on you; I suggest paying attention instead of jumping to conclusions. As I was saying, I have no intention in attacking you again with my dragon. No, he's no use to me anymore...so I've decided to trade him in for something better!"
Blue Eyes Toon Dragon heard all of this and soon brought out a handkerchief, waving goodbye. He turned into motes of light as a puff of pink explosion came from the open Toon World book. The smoke billowed out as a new monster appeared, looking similar to Dark Magician Girl, except younger and with a big grin on its face. (2,000/1,700)
"Attack Kaiba-boy's life points, Toon Dark Magician Girl!" The Toon card nodded her head, raising her scepter in the air. Bringing it down, she fired an orb of magic at the opponent. Kaiba grit his teeth as his life points dropped all the way down to 2,000.
"Doesn't my monster pack quite a punch?" asked Pegasus as Toon Dark Magician Girl tossed her staff in the air, before catching it.
"So do I, watch this!" said Kaiba, drawing a card. "Blue Eyes, attack his Toon Dark Magician Girl!"
Blue Eyes White Dragon reared its head, preparing its attack.
"But those Toon Monsters can't be destroyed!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Seto, don't attack!"
The dragon let out its attack as Toon Dark Magician Girl looked around in a panic to escape. She then grinned as she removed her hat, letting the attack enter it. It grew and grew, until it exploded into a burst of confetti.
"Remember, every time my Blue Eye's attack fails in his attack, I get to draw one card!" Kaiba drew his card and looked at it, a huge grin on his face.
"I must've missed the joke." said Pegasus as Kaiba replied with, "You are the joke."
"You're just as outdated as your strategies." The CEO explained. "Your Toon monsters are indestructible only as long as your Toon World card is on the field. Without it, they're history!"
"So, what's your point?" Pegasus asked, sweat appearing on his face.
"I activate the Magic Card, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!" As Kaiba announced that, the Magic Card showing Tyrant Dragon flapping its wings amongst the ground was shown. A huge fiery dragon appeared from the card, eclipsing the Blue Eyes White Dragon in its size.
"W-What are you going to do with that?" Pegasus asked with shock.
"First, I'll return my Blue Eyes to my hand." said Kaiba as Blue Eyes White Dragon left the field. "Then I can wipe out all Magic and Trap cards on your side of the field; which means your Toon World is toast!"
The fiery dragon flapped its wings as rocks started to fly into the air. Toon Dark Magician Girl covered herself from the explosion, but soon got destroyed. The Toon World Magic Card didn't fare well either as it exploded soon after.
"Oh no...my precious Toon World!" said Pegasus, bowing his head and gripping his long, silver hair.
"You did it, Seto!" Mokuba cheered, jumping up and down. "I never doubted you for a second!" He turned to Khonsu who was still fixated at the Duel Monster Creator. "Khonsu...aren't you happy?"
Not as happy as you are, Mokuba...I fear something worse is about to happen. This 'Pegasus' is not what he appears to be.
"Huh?" asked Mokuba. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'll finish by summoning my Versago the Destroyer in Defense mode." Kaiba added.
A fiend with black spiky hair, mask and dark wings appeared, crouching itself with its claws. (1,100/700)
Pegasus did not respond to Kaiba's response to ending his turn, staring at his empty field. Mokuba stared, and soon gasped...he was seeing a green aura surrounding the older man.
"W...what is that?" Mokuba asked the Moon God. Khonsu sighed as he pointed to Kaiba's opponent.
That's known as Magic Dowsing.... Khonsu explained. The aura you are sensing tells me something is very, very wrong; this man is not who you think he is....In fact, I fear he has an evil power inside of him...very evil.
"Last chance, then I win." said Kaiba. "I'm taking your silence as a forfeit. I wouldn't blame you; I'd quit too if my strategy was as lame as yours. You're using the exact same tactics you used the first time we dueled here; in fact you've almost used the same moves card for card. What's the deal, Pegasus? You're a lot of things, but predictable isn't one of them!
"I just haven't been myself lately." Pegasus replied. "In fact..."
"I mean that quite literally!" Mokuba was in shock when he heard Pegasus's voice change. Khonsu just said "Told you."
Gripping onto his face, it was soon to be revealed as nothing more than a mask! The rest of the disguise—the long silver wig, and the red suit—was also tossed into the ground, revealing one of the Swordsman of the Orichalcos. This one was around Kaiba's height with short red hair and was wearing a grey shirt that exposed his muscle abs. He was also wearing a pair of black pants and boots, while black fingerless gloves covered his hands. A Duel Disk covered in ancient symbols was on his left arm and a green stone was wrapped around a piece of twine.
"I've waited this day for a long time, Kaiba-boy." The swordsman spat out.
"You're going to pay for tricking me like that!" Kaiba screamed.
"Pretty good imitation, right?" The swordsman replied, imitating Pegasus's voice.
"Identify yourself." Kaiba snarled.
"Alister's the name, Kaiba-boy." Was the Swordsman's reply. "Now let's duel!" Alister's Duel Disk activated, revealing its sinister scythe-like tray. There was silence as the red haired Swordsman drew a card. Khonsu's eyes widened when the card was drawn.
Get your brother out of there now! Khonsu yelled. That's the power I've been sensing!
"This Magic Card is about to change everything!" said Alister, placing the card into the tray. "Activating the Seal of Orichalcos!"
Mokuba didn't know what to think as he saw a large green circle with ancient symbols falling down from the ceiling. It settled onto the Duel Terminal as two lines formed a six pointed star. The Duel Terminal seemed to disappear as the seal was hovering above the ground.
"This is nuts!" Mokuba cried, heading toward his brother as Khonsu followed soon after.
"Explain yourself, now!" Kaiba yelled.
"As if you're going to believe me?" Alister replied mockingly.
"Try me." Alister smirked at the response as a miniature version of the Seal appeared on his forehead.
"We're trapped here until the duel is over." Alister explained. "Then, once I crush you, I'll be able to get out. Of course, you on the other hand, won't be as lucky, Kaiba-boy."
"What do you mean?" asked the CEO.
"When you lose, your soul will be locked away for all eternity." said Alister, pointing a finger at his opponent. "But this time you won't be set free!"
"Seto!" cried Mokuba, running toward his brother. Unfortunately as he neared him, a forcefield blocked him so he soon fell on his bottom. It didn't faze the young boy as he started pounding the barrier with his fists.
"Get out of here Mokuba!" said Kaiba, as his younger brother continued to pound away on the Seal of Orichalcos. Mokuba didn't hear him, as his eyes were glazed over by a white sheen. He was still seeing the green aura surrounding the red-haired swordsman, and he knew that it was pure evil.
"Alister, give me back my brother!" Mokuba roared. "You have no idea who you're messing with!"
"Really now?" asked the Swordsman. "I know exactly who I'm dealing with...a greedy, little punk who's just as pathetic as his old man."
Mokuba snarled at the mentioning of 'old man', as memories of his step-father came into view. That tore it. Khonsu's spirit hovered over Mokuba, arms wrapped around the boy's waist as Mokuba's outfit began to chance into a white tunic and the white moon/black crescent crown.
"As the Defender of the King, I command you to stop this foolishness!" Mokuba screamed, his voice mixing with Khonsu's. "I swear that when I get to you, I'll be feasting on your entrails!"
"I'm shaking in my boots." Alister said sarcastically. "You're no better than your brother!"
"How dare you say that!" Mokuba snapped back. He brought out the Mezzaluna blade and swung it down on the barrier. Despite of the power in the weapon, it didn't do anything.
I keep telling you, Mokuba. Said Khonsu, while the younger brother kept attacking the force field. Your brother's stuck in that seal until the duel is over...that is the magic of this so-called Seal of Orichalcos.
"Mokuba!" cried Kaiba, seeing his younger brother mercilessly attack the barrier. "What's happened to you?!"
Mokuba stopped attacking as the Mezzaluna dropped from his hand. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on his forehead. Then, taking a deep breath, the tunic and crown disappeared, and white eyes were replaced with amethyst.
"I'm...sorry, Seto." Mokuba replied sadly. "I...I know you don't believe in magic...but..." He stayed silent at that part, trying to find the best words to describe the situation.
"Hmph." Alister scoffed. "How cute....but it's not going to break the power of the Orichalcos!"
"All right, Alister." said Kaiba with a low growl. "Now who put you up to this?!"
There was silence before Alister replied with, "No one did. I'm here to represent every single person whose life was ripped apart by your company. And more importantly, I'm here to make sure no one gets stepped on you ever again!"
"Get in line." Kaiba replied with sarcasm. "I hear that speech every single day."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Punch buggy green, no punch backs!" said Tristan, lightly punching Téa in the arm.
"Ow!" Téa replied. "Stop that, we haven't seen a car for miles!"
"She's right, you know." said Max, staring through the car window. The scenery changed from a city to a desert type area with scorching sun and not a car to be seen.
"How long until we get there?" May whined, closing the magazine in her hands. She had just gone through the different groups of Duel Monsters—Harpies, Dark Magicians, etc.--and was starting to get very bored. "I just want to stretch my legs and duel some one, or at least train with my Pokémon!"
"Easy for you to say." Max replied. "You've already had a single duel; I've only dueled once and that was with you!"
"Trust me, Max." said May. "You think it's exciting, until that Seal of Orichalcos is in play. Once it is, then you'll start to panic and worry."
"You okay Yugi?" asked Joey, seeing his friend staring out into space.
Yugi sighed. "Well, I've been better." He answered. "How about you?"
"Well, I've been worse." Joey replied.
"Aren't you guys worried about what Pegasus said on that video tape yesterday?" asked Yugi. "Someone's been following him, and I have a feeling that it's the same biker gang that stole the Egyptian God Cards from my Grandpa's shop!"
"Me too." said Joey.
"If they found him, we could be walking into a trap." said Téa with worry.
"Then we'll just use our Pokémon to defeat them!" said Max. "My Shuppet can immobilize them while May's Blaziken and Munchlax can punch them down. If we can't have that, then we'll use Squirtle's Ice Beam to freeze them!"
"And what would that accomplish, Max?" asked Tristan. "They might try and give us the wrong information, and the attempt to use those monsters of yours will be useless!"
"Get it into your spiky head, Tristan!" May snapped. "They're not monsters, they're Pokémon! And at least they can do more than you can!"
"Yeah!" Max added. "I don't see a Duel Disk on your arm, and even Téa's a better duelist then you!"
"I'm not a duelist just because I don't have one of those Disks, huh?" Tristan snarled. "What about you?! Are you a Pokémon Trainer just because you have two Pokémon around you, and the fact that you can't be a trainer until you're ten?!"
Max snarled; Tristan had backed him into a corner. He wasn't an official trainer for another 3 years, and the fact that Tristan brought it up just made him angry.
"Tristan, that's enough!" said Téa. "The last thing we need is arguments and fighting."
"That's easier said then done." May muttered under her breath.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Now let's continue." said Alister, drawing a card from his deck. "I summon Gorlag in Attack Mode!"
A red skinned, dark winged, horned fiend with a mane of blue flames appeared, gripping onto a sword made of blue fire. Its blue eyes began to glow in an evil light. (1,000/1,000) -) (1.500/1,000)
"Your monster just got stronger!" Kaiba gasped out. "But how?"
"Remember the Seal of Orichalcos?" asked Alister. "As long as it stays active on the field, every monster on my side of the field gets a 500 Attack point boost."
"What?" Kaiba said in shock.
"You heard me!" Alister remarked. "Plus my Gorlag gets another 500 monsters for every Fire monster on the field!"
"There are none!" Kaiba remarked.
"Oh really?" asked Alister, an evil grin on his face. "What do you think my Gorlag's made of?"
Gorlag roared as its Attack raised all the way to 2,000.
"Gorlag, attack his Versago the Destroyer!" said Alister as the fire monster became wrapped in flames. It then swooped down on Versago, the fiend disintegrating into pieces with a slash of the blue flame sword. Then, Versago appeared on Alister's side of the field, still crouched in Defense Mode.
"Oh, did I forget to mention my Gorlag's other special ability?" Alister continued. "Every time he destroys on of my opponent's monsters, that very same monster appears on my side of the field. Only,, this time, it becomes a creature of fire!"
Versago the Destroyer soon became surrounded by an aura of fire, as the Seal became planted on the mask. (1,100/700) -) (1,600/700)
"And you remember what happens when a Fire monster is on the field right?" Alister said with a smug grin. "My Gorlag gets even stronger! It's over, Seto Kaiba!"
Gorlag roared once more as its attack raised all the way to 2,500.
"No way!" Mokuba said to himself, outside of the barrier. "Every monster Seto loses becomes Alister's...his whole deck can turn against him!"
And not only that, you've got some explaining to do to your brother. In your moment of rage, your powers activated; had it not been for your brother to snap you out of it...it would've been very awful.
"Sorry, Khonsu." Mokuba murmured. "I...was just angry at how Alister mentioned our step-father like that."
Anger always clouds judgment, Mokuba. Khonsu stared at the Seal of Orichalcos. And right now, your brother is on his own; my magic won't be able to destroy this barrier, and your deck is still getting prepared....all we can do is wait and hope for the best.
A face down card appeared behind Alister's monsters. "Now that I've placed one card face down, I'll end my turn."
This wacko has more skill than I thought. Kaiba thought to himself. But too bad for him, I'm better. And I've got the cards to take him down.
Kaiba stared at the three cards in his hand: his Blue Eyes White Dragon—returned to his hand due to A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon—Pitch-Dark Dragon, and his Crush Card Trap Card.
Once my Virus combination infects his Gorlag, every monster he stole from me will be gone. Then his life points will be wide open.
"It's show time, so watch out." said the CEO, drawing a card from his deck. "First, I summon Pitch-Dark Dragon in Defense Mode. Then I place this face down."
A small black dragon appeared, crouching in defense. (900/600) Behind it was the face down Trap Card.
"Let me guess, that's Crush Card, isn't it?" asked Alister. Kaiba snarled at the question.
"I've had my eye on you for a long time, Kaiba." The Swordsman continued. "And I know every pathetic detail of your life, including your obvious Duel Monster strategies!"
"I see." Kaiba said with some sarcasm. "I had no idea that you were such a big fan of mine. So is that the reason you dragged me out here? If you wanted my autograph, then all you had to do was ask."
"You make me sick, Kaiba." Alister spat out.
"What did I do?!" Kaiba asked in return.
"You ruined my life." Alister answered, closing his eyes. He then brought out something from his pocket, showing it to his opponent. "And now this is all I have left of my family."
"A doll?" asked Kaiba, seeing it. It looked like a burnt up action figure, that was missing an arm and a leg while part of its helmet was chipped.
"That's a Dyna Dude action figure, Seto!" said Mokuba. "But it looks older then the ones back in the orphanage!"
"At least someone knows what it means." said Alister, opening his eyes once more. "It's very important...because seven years ago, it belonged to my brother Mikey." His eyes opened as anger was on his face. "And I won't see him because your father took him away from me!"
Kaiba and Mokuba stared in shock; during their time with Gozaburo, they never recalled hearing about him taking a young child away.
"It was seven years ago today." Alister began. "A day I'll never forget...the tanks came back, and this time stronger than before...the enemy wouldn't leave until they won."
Continuing the tale, the Kaiba brothers listened as they were told how tanks from Kaiba Corp. came to help push back the enemy, and that the Dyna Dude figure was given to Mikey by Alister on the boy's 6th birthday. However, things took a sour turn when the enemy bombarded them, and while Mikey was taken to a tank for safety...he was captured...and all that was left was the action figure.
Screaming out to the high heavens, it was there that Alister saw Gozaburo at the edge of the camp, learning that he funded weapons to the enemy side...Then, he was given a chance to have revenge....
"Your father did this to me!" Alister growled. "You run his evil company now, so you're at fault for this also!"
"That's not true!" Mokuba cried back.
"It's time to pay for your father's crime, by giving up your soul...to feed the beast." Alister replied.
"That's not fair! My brother's innocent!" Mokuba screamed. "Our step-father was a big jerk, but don't blame Seto for that! He knew that Gozaburo was wrong, that's why Seto took over Kaiba Corp. and changed it to a company that helps people. Sorry Alister, but whatever happened is not our fault!"
"What do you know?!" Alister asked the younger Kaiba.
"A lot!" Mokuba replied. "You may not know this, but my brother and I grew up without a family also!"
"You poor thing." Alister remarked. "Now imagine what your life would be like if you didn't have your brother either."
At that statement, the stone around his neck began to glow. Mokuba's eyes glazed over as he whispered, "No, I can't."
"Mokuba, don't listen to him!" said Kaiba as Mokuba broke out of his trance.
"But I'm just trying to help!" Mokuba explained as Khonsu stared at the younger boy with sadness.
"How cute." Alister spat out. "A family spat. Don't worry Mokuba, your brother won't push you around anymore, once I take is soul."
"Take a look at yourself!" The swordsman continued. "Everything you own was paid by that company, and that same company took my brother away! So it's time for you to pay me back, by giving up your soul!"
Kaiba closed his eyes. "You have a good point, Alister." He replied. "I agree, my step-father was a snake and what he did to your family was wrong. But then again," He opened his eyes before continuing, "I don't really care for the way you got me here by threatening to put me out of business! So why don't we continue this duel, and if you're lucky enough to win, maybe i"ll decide to help you out!"
"When I defeat you in this duel." said Alister. "You will help me out, just you wait!"
His face down card flipped open as he announced, "I activate Royal Decree! And as long as this card is in play, all other Trap Cards on the field are useless!"
But I need my Crush Card to win! Kaiba thought to himself.
"I hope my Trap Card didn't put a damper with your little plan." Alister taunted. Kaiba replied by saying he ended his turn.
"That's what I thought." Alister added, drawing a card. "Now Gorlag, attack his dragon with Fire Sword Slash!"
Gorlag swooped down once more, destroying Pitch-Dark Dragon with one slash of the sword.
"And now, Versago the Destroyer...attack Kaiba's life points directly!"
Versago flew into the air, slashing Kaiba with its claws as the CEO's life points decreased from 2,000 to 400.
"Seto's down to his last 400 life points!" Mokuba said to Khonsu. "What do we do now?"
Nothing, apparently. Khonsu replied. While we can't do anything to stop the Orichalcos...I can give you strength to fight your future battles...just be very lucky that your brother has not paid attention to the new Duel Disk I gave you.
Mokuba nodded his head, staring at the device on his arm; in all of his panic and worry about his brother, the young boy completely forgot about the item. "Just what do I have to do to gain this power?" He asked the Moon God.
Close your eyes. Mokuba did so, as the scenery of the duel vanished before his eyes. Opening them once more, he found himself in a room with a four poster bed covered in white sheets. A little dragon was resting on the bed, and surrounding him were a couple of stuffed animals on the floor and a desk with a silver platter of chocolate parfaits. Standing near the desk was picture frame with a picture of that depicted him and his brother playing a game of chess.
"Where...am I?" Mokuba asked himself looking around. "And...why does this look familiar?"
"This is your soul room, Mokuba." The young boy saw Khonsu sitting on the edge of the bed, the little dragon toy in his hand. "It reflects your true nature as an innocent child, plus it's the safest place to hand you your powers without your brother knowing." The Moon God stood up, and walked to the young boy. "Now give me your hands."
Mokuba raised his arms as his hands were taken in a light grasp by Khonsu's own hands. The white-eyed boy soon closed his own eyes.
"Repeat after me." Khonsu stated simply. "I, Defender of the King, accept my role to help protect those near to me."
"I, Defender of the King, accept my role to help protect those near to me." Mokuba repeated.
"With the guidance of the moon, may my enemies tremble, and let my light shine upon all wanderers."
"With the guidance of the moon, may my enemies tremble, and let my light shine upon all wanderers." Mokuba repeated once more as a white outline surrounded his body.
"Let the stars be my witness, for I shall unleash the full might of my power!"
"Let the stars be my witness...for I shall unleash..the full might...of my power!"
At the last line, Mokuba couldn't explain the feeling of light wrapping around his body. Closing his eyes, a feeling of peace and tenderness escaped as the light dimmed down. He now looked similar to the Moon God, except that he still kept his own amethyst eyes, and he even had a golden tag wrapped around his neck with a set of hieroglyphics carved upon the metal.
"This is....amazing." Mokuba whispered to himself. "Wait a minute...how did you even come to me in the first place?"
Khonsu smiled a bit as a small orb of light came into view. It soon materialized into a card that read, "Khonsu-Child of the Moon"" which bore an image to the boy, except the image was wrapped in linen bandages and had a crook and flail in his hands.
"Remember when I said that someone opened the Book of Secret Arts?" said the Moon God. "I detected who that person was, and that was the Goddess of Joy. In doing so, she also woke me up from my slumber...and once this card was created, I was able to create a physical form. I then found you bearing an aura similar to mine, and I realized that you were a vessel in my original Temple of the Moon. It would explain how the two of us fused and gave us the ability to summon my weapon..."
"A vessel?" Khonsu nodded his head at the question.
"Sometimes, the priests would use children to help channel the spirit of a certain God." Khonsu explained. "You were one of my Vessels, and your aura and appearance greatly resembles Moka. Moka was the youngest out of all the Vessels, and he was my Vessel around the time of Atem's reign of darkness. He was very sweet and gentle, trying to make sure no fights entered my domain...but you died when I tried to purify the darkness from the Ancient Pharaoh...and then I waited until the end of the dynasty to have myself sealed away...waiting for the day that I would awaken once more."
"That's....unbelievable." Was the only word Mokuba could comment on the situation. "Does this mean I can fly, or summon spirits? Do I have any magic powers?"
"In due time, you shall." Khonsu answered. "Now, let us return to the real world...."
"But can I return to my soul room when I want to?" asked the young boy. "It seems nice...."
"Every person has a soul room, but only a few people can enter them." Khonsu replied, grasping onto the reincarnated vessel's hands. "Close your eyes once more..."
Mokuba closed his eyes and opened them to find himself back at the dueling site. From what he was seeing, Kaiba had monsters on the field—the only thing he had was his Crush Card—and Alister had Gorlag and two Blue Eyes White Dragons on his side of the field! Gorlag had 3,000 attack points, while both dragons had 3,500, all had the Seal of Orichalcos on their foreheads.
"You're staring at the face of 3 unstoppable creatures with a combined total of 11,000 attack points!" Alister announced. "But lucky for you, I can't attack this turn. So I'll just play one card face down and end my turn. And thanks to the sacred Seal of Orichalcos, when you lose your life points, you'll lose your soul! Soon, you'll suffer like I did at the hands of your father!"
I'm down to my last 400 life points, and I'm out of moves! Kaiba thought to himself, seeing his predicament. There's not a card in my deck that can save me now!
"Don't give up, Seto!" Kaiba turned to see his brother's hands pressed upon the invisible barrier. "You can win, I know you can!"
"How adorable." Alister replied to Mokuba's words. "But if you can get your head out of that little fantasy land you're living in, can't you see your brother is about to lose?"
"Seto will win!" said Mokuba with more determination. "I can see it....you shall be defeated by him, and maybe then, you'll realize that the both of us are telling the truth."
"And I'm going to believe the words of a little boy like you?" Alister remarked mockingly. Mokuba snarled at the statement, but didn't say anything else.
Kaiba was about to draw a card, when he was blinded by a bright light. When it dimmed, he was soon floating down from the sky into ancient temple with many pillars. In front of him was a giant ice sculpture of a dragon, with a sword pierced at the bottom of its mouth.
"Kaiba," said the reassuring voice of Dark Magician Girl. "You have been chosen to unlock the mighty Critias. All you have to do is remove the sword."
Following the Duel Monster's instructions, the CEO gripped onto the handle of the sword, pulling it out until it was completely removed from the statue. The ice around the dragon cracked, falling down onto the ground to reveal a dragon with dark blue scales and a blue gem on its forehead, similar to the one on the Winged Dragon of Ra.
"Now join forces." Dark Magician Girl added. Kaiba replied with, "Anything to shut you up." as he dropped the sword and touched the large dragon's muzzle.
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Back at the limousine, the Eye of Timaeus began to glow.
"What's going on?" asked Yugi while the three passengers sitting alongside him stared in wonder.
May stared at the site before she saw something glowing in her Deck. She pulled it out, looking through all of the cards until she found what she was looking for...Khonsu, Child of the Moon.
"Why is Khonsu glowing like that, May?" asked Max. May didn't answer, as she continue to stare in surprise.
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"Well, what are you waiting for, Kaiba?" asked Alister, seeing his opponent stalling for time. "Are you going to play your card or not?"
Kaiba noticed the card he drew was glowing and looked at it. His eyes widened at the image he was seeing.
What's wrong with me? He thought. I'm seeing things again! I never put this card in this deck, and the picture looks like the dragon I was dreaming about. Is this one of Alister's tricks?
"No." Dark Magician Girl's voice reassured him. "Play this card, it's the only way to win!"
"Now I play Fang of Critias!" Kaiba announced.
"You don't have that card!" Alister screamed, a nervous expression on his face.
"What do you call this?" Kaiba asked, summoning the dragon onto the field. "Next, I'll merge my with my Crush Card to create a new monster!"
The two cards swirled together in a mesh of colors.
"No way!" Alister replied. "There's no way you can fuse a monster with a Trap Card."
"Looks to me like I just did." Kaiba said in response with a laugh. "Rise my Doom Virus Dragon!"
The cards were replaced with a light purple dragon with spikes trailing down its spine and and yellow scales trailing down the tail appeared with a roar. It glared at Alister with its yellow eyes. (1,900/?)
"Big deal." Alister remarked, calming down when he saw the attack strength of the monster. "My monsters are stronger."
"That may be true," said Kaiba. "But Doom Virus Dragon has a special ability that automatically destroys every monster on the field whose attack strength is 1,500 or more. So your monsters are gone!"
Vines appeared, wrapping around Gorlag and the two Blue Eyes White Dragon. The three monsters were soon destroyed, leaving Alister with his Royal Decree Trap Card and his face down card.
"Now Doom Virus Dragon." Kaiba added, pointing to his opponent. "Attack his life points directly!"
Doom Virus Dragon roared, letting out a gout of smoke at Alister, who was surprisingly acting calm on the situation.
"Game over, Alister." Kaiba stated simply. "I win."
"You haven't beaten me yet." Alister said in reply. "I activate my Contagious of Madness Magic Card!"
The card revealed, showing a mass of people screaming in pain amongst a black sky with a grinning face staring at them. Doom Virus Dragon's attack hit the card, instead of the duelist and a bright light disintegrated the dragon.
"Here's how the card works." Alister explained. "I'll lose 1,900 life points thanks to your Doom Virus Dragon, but you also take half of the damage I would've received!"
"One half of 1,900 is 950." said Mokuba, doing the math. "And Seto only has 400 life points. But wait, Alister only has 1,200 life points...that means it's a draw!"
You're right. Khonsu replied. And because the Orichalcos can only take the loser, then no one loses their soul...your brother has dodged a huge bullet...but you still need to explain your act of anger to him.
"Don't remind me." Mokuba muttered under his breath, seeing a green geyser of light rise from below the floor, knocking Kaiba onto his bottom near the boy. Looking up, he noticed that the Duel Terminal was slowly reappearing, and that Alister had disappeared.
"This isn't over!" The swordsman's voice yelled amongst the empty room. "You're going to pay for what your father did to me and my family, Seto Kaiba!"
Kaiba soon stood up, staring at the Fang of Critias once more...he could sense the power coursing through the card...now he knew that it wasn't a dream.
Well, Mokuba... said Khonsu. The next question is, when you'll meet up with Goddess of Joy and Prince of Wisdom?
From the looks of what we saw right now, Seto will be heading toward Industrial Illusions to speak to the real Pegasus and figuring out who's buying all the shares of our company. Mokuba replied in his mind, trying to make sure his brother couldn't hear him respond to an Ancient Egyptian God.
"Mokuba." said Kaiba. "What was with giant blade and you calling yourself the 'Defender of the King?' And where did you get that Duel Disk?"
Mokuba gulped as beads of sweat fell down his face. From the looks of things, he had a lot of explaining to do.
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"Are we there yet?" Joey asked the group as the limousine soon came to a stop at an abandoned gas station. Seeing this, everyone looked around, wondering as to why they were taking a break.
"Why did we stop?" asked Tristan.
"Hey, wait!" said May, seeing the limousine driver walking out of the car. "Where's he going?"
"This doesn't feel right." said Max, seeing the limousine driver continuing to walk away from them. "I have a very bad feeling about this."
"Well, I'm not going to wait forever." said May, grabbing her Duel Disk. "I'll fly on Altaria all the way to Industrial Illusions if I have to."
"I'm going also!" said Max, also grabbing his Duel Disk. Opening the door to their section of the limo, the siblings got out, and ran across the hot asphalt road.
"You guys!" said Tristan as he and Joey got out. "Come back here!"
May and Max ignored the cry, grabbing onto their Poké balls. Suddenly, they heard a low rumbling sound.
"Did you hear that?" asked May to her brother. Max nodded his head as the two saw a giant cloud of dust heading toward them. Seconds passed, and the cloud of dust dispersed, revealing a huge gang of motorcyclists all covered in black from their helmets to their boots.
"This is not good, May." said Max. "This is not good at all!"
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Max: All right, let's recount what's happened so far. You and I have been sent to Domino on a mission to save the world from darkness....
May: The two of us were given the titles of 'Goddess of Joy' and 'Prince of Wisdom', and were given cards based on Manaphy and Jirachi
Mokuba: And now it's revealed that I used to be a Vessel for the Moon God and was given the title 'Defender of the King'! From what's being said, I don't like the look of things.
Max: Me neither. Hey! There's an Absol waiting for us...that's not a good sign.
May: And what's a Pokémon Trainer doing in the middle of the desert? Wait a minute, what's on his Poké balls?
Mokuba: Is that the Seal of Orichalcos? Looks like whomever is behind this is getting more than Duelists on their side.
May: Max, stay back. I'll handle this guy!
Max: That's not the only thing I'm worrying about, May...I'm worried about what's going to happen if you lose!
Mokuba: Next time, "Between my Brother and Me" chapter 7: Stuck Absolutely and Not Probably Doomed
May: Whomever is challenging me is going to wish he'd regret it!
Max: And I'm going to make sure that the next battle that happens between us will be mine!
Mokuba: I just hope we can get to whomever is causing this mess...