WhiteAsukalover: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!
SereneShadows: Man oh man, you wrote a long review! I hope you forgive me for giving a short and quite shameful review reply, my dear. I'm in somewhat of a hurry and I wish to post this up before the night gets to be too dark! I'm sure you understand. But your words, they clear my mind and brighten the skies! Thanks you so much for all of them! It was wonderful to hear from you! I'll try my best to read your latest story, thanks again for everything! Enjoy!
MythCreatorWriter: I have no idea what made me think that, actually. It's been so long I have forgotten. It's okay though, in the long run, I don't think anyone could be creepier than me… BTW, on a totally random note, last Saturday I was hangin with my boyfriend at my place on a date, and we watched some YGO in Japanese. Can anyone say .EVER?? It was actually really awesome and we were both making fun of the terrible translations and I was squealing over Mokuba's adorableness and it was awesome! Okay, that was TOTALLY random, but I thought you might enjoy it all the same. Well, the fun is just about to begin as we inch closer and closer to the moment of truth! Thanks for your review! Enjoy!
Kukki Boo: Okay, I'm going to be honest, it's been a while since I've last updated so I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say you hate something, but I hope it doesn't bother you anymore! Or at least that you don't hate it enough to kill me(or possibly take my soul? Gosh, I should read my past reviews before replying, hahahaha) Thanks for your wonderful review all the same! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
AmePiper: I love you! I know you're still a wee bit behind, but that's okay, because you have the voice of an angel that could cure cancer just by singing to it!(wow, what a cool analogy… I should use that in a poem of some sort!) Anyway, while I do miss your awesome reviews, I also love you incredibly and am still giggling with love from our last vocal conversation. It's like a dream come true, ONLY IRLROFLLOL! Okay, I'm going to stop being a dork now. Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 20: Painful Choice
-S-
After being adopted by Gozaburo and raised to become the next heir of his company, I began to believe that every successful business had its fair share of dark secrets. If one were to begin with Gozaburo, well, it would be self-exclamatory; the guy was nuts. If one were to move on to me, I was an orphan, driven my determination and the struggle to survive. If one were to look to Noah, all they would see was a spoiled brat turned vengeful because Gozaburo didn't give him the love he thought he deserved. And after that, the cycle starts all over again.
I suppose, in a way, a part of me wanted to feel bad for Noah as he told his tale of being trapped in a virtual world as his father slowly abandoned him. After all, I had discovered that Gozaburo held the incredible skill of ruining people's lives to get what he wanted. Judging from the story Noah told me, apparently even Gozaburo's own son wouldn't get off that easily when it came to Gozaburo's lust for power. The man as a whole was truly evil.
Still, I couldn't feel sorry for that green-haired brat. Not after everything he had put me through. Even less for doing all this to prove himself to the one man I believed to be the devil himself.
"…After a while, he began focusing on his new family until finally he chose to ignore me completely. He didn't believe that Kaiba Corp. could be run properly by a virtual president." What a load of bull. I couldn't be how naïve this kid was.
"Noah, Gozaburo didn't give up on you because of your virtual state. I think he knew that no matter how much knowledge you gained, you'd always be a spoiled brat, expecting to get ahead in the world without making any effort at all. As despicable as your father was, he understood the value of hard work. It was his own determination that got him where he was, after all," I closed my eyes and smirked, "And as much as it pained him to admit it, I think Gozaburo knew I was the best candidate to become Kaiba Corp. president."
I opened my eyes once more, "As for you Noah, his real son," I stretched my arm upward and pointed towards the glowing, blue sphere over head, "You were better off isolated in your computer world, out of everyone's way!" Noah began laughing. Even his shameless laughs began to annoy me about this kid.
"Oh Seto, that might be the most ridiculous story I ever heard. Come on; my father wanting YOU to become president?"
"Why do you think he created that digital dump for you? You were in the way."
"You actually believe that my father put me here to focus his attention on YOU?" Noah raised his hand, holding out three fingers, "Seto, you always thought you were top dog, but out of the three Kaiba brothers, you're the low man on the totem pole." I chuckled.
"You're confused Noah, that's your slot."
"Why don't we ask Mokuba and see what he thinks, shall we?" My eyes narrowed and I gritted my teeth.
"Leave him out of this…" I said in a low voice. "My younger brother won't be involved in this fight."
"I think you're the one that might be confused, considering he's MY brother now." I decided to ignore that comment completely. There was no use verbally challenging him. It would be easier and more enjoyable to completely obliterate him in a duel, anyhow.
"Let's finish this, it's my move!" I declared, drawing a card from my deck. I looked at my card. It was Pot of Greed. "I'll play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two extra cards from my deck."
"Go ahead; you'll need more than that to defeat me."
"Then I'll use my deck master's special ability, which allows me to summon one monster without any sacrifices, and the monster I choose is Different Dimension Dragon!" I summoned my dragon onto the field in defense mode, while also placing three more cards face down. "I'll end my turn for now, Noah." I was fully aware that Noah's monster was stronger than my dragon and that with one attack he could destroy it, and also destroy my last 1400 life points. Or so it would seem…
"Is that all you've got? What a pity…" Noah drew a card from his deck, looking smug when he saw what the card was. "Looks like this duel will end in my victory, and then Kaiba Corp. will finally be mine." I made sure to keep my face completely void of emotion. I wanted Noah lured right into my trap. I needed him to take the bait.
"I'll activate the card, Deepest Impact!" A yellow beam shot out from the card Noah was holding and streamed straight above him. The sky became a light red, and I could hear Yugi and his friends anticipating something bad about to occur next. Just then, giant, fiery meteors came crashing down onto the earth from up above. One crashed right into my Different Dimension Dragon, causing an explosion. I covered my face as sparks and smoke gusted towards me.
"History tells us that the dinosaur age abruptly ended thanks to a meteor shower. Then the earth cooled off and the ice age began." The scenery all around us began to change. Now all of the landscape that surrounded me became covered in snow, and large snowflakes continued to fall from the now dark and cloudy sky. Noah's Giant Rex began to freeze up and turn into an icicle before titling over and breaking into many pieces. Noah had destroyed his own monster. What effect did Deepest Impact hold?
"I'm sure you're wondering what purpose was behind using my Deepest Impact to destroy both our monsters and cut both our life points in half. It's all part of evolution Seto; it cuts out the weak so that the strong can survive." Noah must've been humoring himself, since I was fully aware that I was the strongest out of the two. He pulled out another card and activated a spell. "My next card is Ice Age Panic, which allows me to summon Last Tusk Mammoth." It was about time he did something.
"Now I can call back to the field my Different Dimension Dragon! He is back on my side of the field, in defense mode." My dragon flew out of a warped hole and stood in front of me. "My dragon has the ability to hide itself in another dimension to save itself from destruction. Now that it's back, and it's more powerful than your mammoth, helping to protect myself from attack."
"Not exactly, Seto. My mammoth will be able to destroy your dragon, no sweat." Now Noah was just humoring me. How adorable.
"Go ahead and attack me, I dare you. My monster is stronger." I was aware that if Last Tusk Mammoth was destroyed in battle, its effect would activate, and both of us would lose life points. Noah commanded his mammoth to attack me, but I had another plan. "I activate the trap card, Ring of Destruction, which destroys your mammoth and inflicts damage equal to its attack to both players."
"Are you trying to destroy yourself Seto? Does this mean that you've finally accepted defeat?"
"Not quite, because now I activate Ring of Defense, which protects my life points, but now yours. Your mammoth is destroyed, and now you're down to 600 life points." It was true that my life points were just as low at this point, but Noah's field was wide open for attack. This duel was close to being over. I drew a card from my deck. "It's time I finished you off and ended this, once and for all."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Then prepare to be amazed; first, I'll switch my Different Dimension Dragon from defense to attack mode. Then I'll discard my Thunder Dragon to the graveyard and into your Ark, but also enabling me to draw two more Thunder Dragons from my deck," I picked out another card from my hand and activated it, "Now I'll play Polymerization to form Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon."
"Uw, I'm SO scared… too bad you can't attack the same turn you summon it. Looks like your twin-headed dragon will have to wait its turn."
"Not quite. For I also activate the magic card Quick Play, allowing my fusion monster to attack the same turn it's summoned." Noah pointed upwards at his floating, boat deck master.
"Have you already forgotten the special ability my deck master has? It allows me to call upon any monsters that Shinato's Ark has absorbed and use them to protect myself." Noah brought his Giant Rex and Solider of Stone back to the field from his ark. I began to laugh.
"You fool. You fell right into my trap. Now I can destroy the rest of your life points and end this family feud." I clicked another button on my duel disk and activated a trap card that had been face down on the field for quite some time now. "I wanted you to use your deck master's special ability, so it would allow me to activate this; Dragon's Rage. This allows my monsters to inflict battle damage to your life points, as long as their attack is high than your defense monsters' defense. And if you can do the math, you can see I've got you cornered.
"I'll begin the slaughter by using my Different Dimension Dragon to destroy your Giant Rex, bringing your life points down to 400. But don't get too comfortable, because as soon as I attack your Giant Solider with my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, it'll be all over." Finally, this long and seemingly annoying duel would come to an end. I could feel myself getting a rush from all this, my heart was pounding. It was the effect the ending of a duel always had on me. Finishing someone off was the best feeling in the world, most of all.
"Now my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack his Giant Solider!"
"Stop!" I heard someone say in the back of my mind. My body froze up and my eyes widened. The voice sounded familiar, almost too familiar. A tiny warp hole appeared on Noah's side of the field, and a figure appeared floating in mid air before landing on his feet. It was Mokuba.
"Mokuba!" I called over to him in complete surprise. What had Noah done to him? The boy didn't respond to me at all and instead held out his arms. As Mokuba stood there, staring at me blankly, he spoke, "If you want to attack my brother, you'll have to go through me." The thrill of the duel had vanished from my nervous system, and even from my thoughts. Now my head was full of worry and anxiety.
"Mokuba, snap out of this!" I begged. I couldn't believe what was happening. And then Noah began laughing once more, but this time with a bit more evil hinted in his voice. He pretended to cower and pointed towards me.
"That's right Mokuba, save me! He's the stranger whose been trying to break you and I apart!" Mokuba let his arms drop to his side, his face was so… empty, as was his voice.
"Stranger…" I titled my head downward, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists. I was angry now. The worry was still there, but the anger was more visible across my face. I couldn't believe how low Noah had been willing to go. This was too far.
"No, it's me!"
"Mokuba has chosen which side he wishes to be on based on his own free will. Looking back, maybe you should've treated him with more respect. I give him the support you never could." Noah wrapped his arm around Mokuba; grinning an evil smile. I didn't like the way he was holding my brother. I didn't like where he was going to ultimately take this duel. I didn't like any of this. "So now you have a decision to make. You can forfeit this duel and hand Kaiba Corp. to me, or continue your attack and risk losing your brother forever. Your brother's fate is in your hands."
I could feel the perspiration forming on my face. My body was hunched over, and my heart was torn. Everything led up to this now. I had never been put in such a situation, especially not one I faced in a duel. If I attacked, I would be able to defeat Noah once and for all, but then Mokuba… I would hurt him also.
"So what's it going to be; control of Kaiba Corp. or your brother? Decide. Your decision will impact the rest of your life." My breathing began to slow. I didn't know whether it was from all the anger that was welling up inside of me, or from the emotional pull I was feeling from having to make a decision like this.
"Noah… Release my brother this instant. He has nothing to do with this… this is OUR fight. Is that clear?"
"There you go again, acting as if Mokuba hasn't a say in anything that involves him." I hated that Noah was taking my words and turning them against me. Noah was obviously messing with my brother's mind. I hated him for that. "Let him know how you really feel, Mokuba."
"Give Kaiba Corp. to Noah right now," Mokuba said, almost robotically. I couldn't stand the sight of all this.
"It looks like Mokuba has made his position quite clear. Now, are you going to attack me or not? If you do, just remember you'll be striking Mokuba."
"You conniving snake." Noah was, in so many ways, like my step father. In fact, if I thought about it, this is exactly what Gozaburo would've done. But it almost seemed as though Gozaburo would've handled it with a bit more class and sophistication, or at least in a way that didn't make him seem like a complete coward playing dirty. Usually Gozaburo was better at hiding that.
"Well Seto? Attack and you'll win the duel, but at what cost?" It was almost like Noah was insisting that I make a move, considering how many times he kept coaxing me. I wished I didn't have to make a move. I didn't want to hurt Mokuba; it was a natural instinct of mine to keep him out of harm's way. But with so little life points, the odds were against me of being able to win this duel without an attack towards Noah.
"So what's it going to be, Seto?" The arm holding my duel disk was beginning to shake from anticipation. I had to make a decision. The duel had to continue. "Your victory or your brother?" I couldn't attack. I couldn't. I exhaled the oxygen I had been holding for quite some time as I spoke.
"…I'll end my turn." It was the only thing I could do. It was the only thing I would've wanted to do. Noah was making a low blow, but I wouldn't fall into it. In my head, I would always be a card player, striving to be the best, fighting to beat everyone. However, in my heart, I would always be Mokuba's brother, his protector. There was nothing in this world that would ever push me to hurt him.
I would continue to keep him safe, even if it meant losing the duel, losing my body, and even giving up Kaiba Corp. I would do it all for him.
A/N: Just when you think that you're in control, just when you think that you've got a hold, just when you get on a roll, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again. Oh here it goes again. Sorry, I had to do it! The song, "Here It Goes Again" by OK Go has been stuck in my head for days now… and wow, it kind of actually fits where we just left Seto off right there. Ha! Isn't it funny how things work out like that? Anyhow, so… it's what we've all been waiting for, it's what we've all be peeing our pants for! I thought it ended in a good place, and hopefully I'll be able to get all that I want to in the next chapter. I'm excited! Sorry for the week long waiting period, some of my reviewers were having a hard time keeping up with all my updating sprees on top of their crazy lives! Hopefully everyone understands and is happy. Thanks for the patience guys! You rock!
P.S: Mokuba's POV should be showing up in the next chapter, so don't you worry! You'll all get your fill of him soon!
P.S.S: Did anyone think I was dead? Cause I did!:D Good times.
P.S.S.S: Severance and Forlorn should be updating real soon as well!