Chapter 20: Kaiba Land part 5: Mother Knows Best
The final match had arrived. Gohan had told Yugi of his loss to Zigfried by that point, which led to Joey boasting about himself not being such a bad duelist after all, until Tea mentioned that at least the Saiyan Hybrid got to the semi finals. Now sitting in the main arena's stands, everyone was just waiting for the final match to get underway.
"Ummm… Fasha?" Tea stuttered.
"What?" came Fasha's reply.
"I know back in the restaurant Vivian was being a total bitch, trying to steal Yugi away, but I have to ask…"
"Get to the point!"
"Not that I'm complaining, but why did you beat her up after Yugi beat her?"
"After the whole mess with that Orichalcos thing, did you really think I was going to give him up that easily? Besides, I haven't had a good fight in a looong time, so I thought, since she was a 'kung fu master', that she would put up a decent fight. What a rip-off!"
"Why do you say that?"
"She was pathetic. She was so weak it was pitiful. Just one hit and she goes flying? I've seen better from your punching bags!"
Just then, the announcer proclaimed the start of the final match. However, that was when Kaiba arrived and declared the match invalid due to Zigfried Lloyd having registered under a fake name. After some more bickering, the match changed to Zigfried von Schroeder vs. Seto Kaiba. As the Duel proceeded, Gohan and Joey recognized cards used against them, cards that both of them succumbed to.
Kaiba eventually did what Joey and Gohan could not: triumph over Zigfried. With this victory, Zigfried was disqualified, but allowed to stay to witness the final match. Amid Leon's strange behavior of anger instead of cheerfulness, it was here that another controversy occurred: Leon Wilson was also using an alias, as he was really Leon von Schroeder. More details about his life, this time coming from Leon, actually seemed to intrigue Fasha. Him being alone for most of his life until he proves his worth and gets noticed by powerful people sounded strangely familiar.
Golden Castle of Stromberg came into play sometime afterwards, and that was when things got ugly. After hearing that the card wasn't only not a tournament-legal card, but also carried a virus on it, Fasha's rage was increasing. This man had clearly used his own brother as a pawn! It was when Leon tried and failed to dispose of the card and virus that she snapped. Amid Zigfried's laughter and boasting about the card's indestructible effects, he didn't notice the Saiyan woman appear behind him. Eventually, the card was destroyed, and just then, Zigfried felt a constricting pressure on his throat. Directly afterwards, he felt himself being lifted off the ground.
"Vot is… ze meaning… of zis?" Zigfried coughed.
"Miss, please let him go!" Leon shouted.
"Why?" Fasha burst out. "This man just deceived you! Lied to you! Used you!"
"I know, but can't we give him another chance?"
"I know his type. I have worked with people like him before. You'll be kept around as long as you are useful, but as soon as you become useless or viewed as a threat, you will be quickly… disposed of."
"Zigfried would never do that!"
"Oh really? Take a good look at what he made you do today. Let me ask you, are you really prepared to sacrifice your values for your brother's selfish schemes? Also, considering what he has made you do, what isn't he prepared to do to you for the sake of his own goals?"
"But he offered me the chance to be with my family again!"
"Was that what you really wanted?"
"Yes. I told you, I was pretty much forgotten about. I wanted to do anything to be a part of the family."
"Then why did you even bother creating 'Leon Wilson' instead of using the Schroeder name and bringing glory to your family that way? Didn't you say you changed your name so that your family wouldn't find out? Besides, left alone until you develop talents of your own? Your talents being used for somebody else's gain once you are discovered? That relationship is not brotherly, but the same relationship as someone has with a tool!"
"How would you know?"
"I walked the same path as you, Leon Wilson, and it nearly got me killed."
"I thought everyone knew: I am Leon-"
"…Wilson. Face it; you didn't want to be a part of something that went against all you stood for. You were much happier as Leon Wilson than Leon von Schroeder. Why else would you not have had any fun challenging the King of Games as per your dream?"
"Wait, so you say I might suffer in the long term?"
"Yes, and that is why Zigfried is hanging over this balcony. I know the pain of being used, and then disposed of, and I will not let it happen again!"
"But what about my family? I want to be-"
"When will you listen to me? They spurned you for most if not all of your life. You owe them nothing!"
"Zigfried's suffocating! Please, let him go!"
"Fine!"
Fasha threw Zigfried back onto the floor of the Duel Arena, whereupon he started coughing. The pressure from her grasp had left him deprived of air, desperate for oxygen exchange to happen. Leon then considered surrendering the Duel to Yugi since he was forced to play foul.
"Listen," Fasha began again, "…you are not so weak that you need to give up your dream just because of your loathsome brother. You are not weak at all."
"She's right, Leon," Yugi spoke in the Pharaoh's voice. "Facing me was your dream. You owe it to yourself to see your dream through to the end, and that is why you shouldn't surrender."
"But, that card…" Leon sobbed. "It's my fault for playing it in the first place. I didn't want this, I just wanted a fair duel!"
"The only one to blame for that is your pathetic excuse for a brother," Fasha continued. "Were it not for his selfish interference, I am sure that you would have enjoyed the Duel. By doing your best to fight against his plans, you have proven that you are far stronger than he could ever hope to be."
"But I'm also a Schroeder-"
"Do you really believe that? Ask yourself this, would you rather be the miserable Leon von Schroeder, a tool in the plans of your brother and SchroederCorp, or stand tall as Leon Wilson, the happy and as yet undefeated young champion Duelist?"
From there, Leon resolved to continue the Duel, and although it ended in his opponent's victory, he was still told that he fought with honor in the toughest of circumstances, and he never gave up. Zigfried's plans went further down the tubes when he stated that the damage caused by the virus he had unleashed on KaibaCorp would take years to repair, as Kaiba himself appeared and told him that the files had already been restored. Utterly defeated, it took a few words from Leon himself to persuade Zigfried to run SchroederCorp not as a rival to KaibaCorp, but its own company. During this, Leon also thanked Fasha for helping him realize the truth.
Later, at the airport, everyone was preparing to say goodbye to Professor Hawkins, Rebecca and Duke.
"Ummm… Fasha?" Yugi began.
"Yes?" his mother questioned.
"I didn't know you were so concerned about Leon back there."
"I think it's this world. A couple years ago I would have just left him to his fate, but now, strangely, I saw something wrong with standing idly by. Besides, the methods of Zigfried von Schmoeder felt highly reminiscent of those of Frieza."
"Wait, so you were used as well?"
"I thought I told you, Yugi, our entire race was used. What's more, once we proved our strength, we were obliterated."
"I don't think I've ever seen this side of you, Fasha," Solomon observed.
"There are quite a number of sides you haven't seen of me, old man! Were it not for… certain things… I would have had you punished for turning against the family on the spot back in that restaurant!"
"Hey, you guys!" Mokuba shouted, running towards them. "I hook you up with our private jet and you don't have the courtesy to board on time?"
After a little bit more bickering and a few more goodbyes, Yugi, Solomon, Joey, Tea, Tristan and Fasha left on the aforementioned jet to return to Domino City. For Yugi, it was quite a happy time: he had reunited with his mother, and was now ready to help the Pharaoh unlock his memories. The only thing he was slightly unsure about was that, during the actual flight, Fasha stated her intent of training with him once they landed.
End note:Sorry for the late update. Other things have just been getting in the way. I'll try to come back to this over the next few months, so hopefully there will be an update fairly soon.