Author's Note: When I approached Chapter LIII, Robert le Diable (The Count of Monte Cristo), I originally planned to make this chapter take place at an opera, but... then I remembered this is a Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic, so I decided to make another twist... and this will probably be the only chapter that will contain... a 'duel'.
Chapter 25: Exhibition Match
The day after the Count of Monte Cristo's visit with Mrs. Pegasus, Seto Kaiba announced a Kaiba Corporation-sponsored Duel Monsters competition. This event was to begin a week after it was made known to the public. To avoid any city-related problems (ie: crime) the tournament would take place at the Kaiba Dome in (Domino's) Kaiba Land.
However, Kaiba would not become a participant in his own tournament; instead he'll face an opponent in an exhibition match. Having heard rumors of the Monte Cristo's top-tier rank in the game, the C.E.O. decided to test the man's supposed reputation. He was going to duel the count.
It was barely a day that an invitation letter was sent to the foreigner's residence. Seeing this as an opportunity to further his revenge against one of his enemies, the count immediately accepted, and sent an email to Kaiba.
On the day of the tournament, thousands of people swamped Kaiba Land. Because of the two men's renowns, bets were made between fans and gamblers. While the middle-class civilians were seated in the stadium seats, Téa and Mokuba, along with a few other privileged naturally found themselves in V.I.P. boxes.
Meanwhile, Kaiba was waiting in his private office, preparing himself to face his opponent. Although it has been years since he last dueled, he re-honed his dueling prowess via virtual simulation matches.
As for the count, he was on his way to the stadium. Inside his limousine sat Rebecca, at his side, who was dressed in the latest fashion; elaborate and tasteful.
"Remember, Rebecca... do not look at him until I give you the signal."
The young woman nodded. The black vehicle was illuminated by the starry night, as it raced to its destination.
Back at the stadium, in the V.I.P. rooms, the three families: the Kaibas, Wheelers, and the Pegasuses were socializing with each other. To be more specific, Mai was chatting with Téa about the latest fashions; Joseph with Pegasus about the financial world; Serenity giving Mokuba the cold shoulder; Valentine Pegasus pining not for her fiancé, but rather her true beloved... et cetera.
As for the famous CEO, he heard a knock coming from his door.
"Yes?"
The voice replied, "Mr. Kaiba."
"Ah, Roland. Come in."
A few moments later, and Kaiba' right-hand man enters his boss' office.
"Your duel is about to begin, sir. I thought that you'd like to know."
"I already know. Is Monte Cristo Hakushaku here?"
Seemingly coincidental, one of the security cameras caught a familiar dark figure about to enter the building. Both Kaiba and Roland notice this.
"Speak of the devil."
The count was seen alongside a beautiful young woman, followed by his two right-hand servants, Rafael and Valon.
"Hey, look! It's the Count of Monte Cristo!" screamed several fangirls, and the like.
This announcement immediately brought the attention of various paparazzi. It took a handful of Kaiba's suits to keep the relentless photographers away from the mysterious celebrity and his servants.
When Monte Cristo entered inside the Kaiba Dome, he was told by Roland to follow him. Before he could follow Kaiba's right-hand man...
"But, Your Excellency!" exclaimed Rafael.
"It's all right. Guide the girl for now. That's an order."
With that, the count left his servants and went inside a spacious and luxurious room that had some hydraulic machinery in the center.
"I'm sure that you've had experience with these elevating platforms... Mr. Kaiba will be here shortly, Your Excellency."
The suit exited the room. As promised, his superior appeared before his opponent a few minutes later.
"Looks like we meet again, Count," said a slightly arrogant voice, "This time, to face each other in a duel."
"I assume that you've prepared yourself for this little duel of ours, Seto Kaiba?" asked Monte Cristo, "You know, such as attempting to find out more about your opponent; practice matches, et cetera?"
"Then you should know that Underground duels are illegal, Count. If you recall, that Zane Truesdale involved himself in those, and look what they did to him; he's dead."
"Hmph! It would seem that you've done your homework. After all, I do want to fight an opponent who poses a threat outside the arena as much as I," said Monte Cristo in a dreadful voice.
'What...? What's that supposed to mean?! Am I actually... scared of this guy...?' thought Kaiba.
With much confidence, he responded, "Look, what I'm saying is this: You're going down, Count."
Distracted by his own rant, Kaiba failed to notice that he and his opponent were elevating. "I believe you mean, 'going up', Kaiba," said the shadowy man.
In mere moments, the two men found themselves in the center of the stadium. 'Smoke' came out from the floor, as Kaiba and the count made their 'entrance'. The two announcers made the usual comedic banter, and publicized the tournament's beginning, starting with the exhibition match between Seto Kaiba and the Count of Monte Cristo.
"Since you're the challenger, why don't you begin our duel, Kaiba?" asked Monte Cristo.
'Hmm... I see what he's trying to do. By having me go first, he'll attempt to counter my opening play with his opening play. Nice try, but...'
"Why don't we use a coin toss to determine who starts the exhibition match?"
In a calm and collected voice, the count said, "Very well, then."
The count produced a coin from his pocket. "Looks like you're prepared, Count."
"I'm always prepared, Kaiba. In fact, I have been waiting for this moment for years."
"Oh, is that a fact?" questioned Seto.
"Indeed. Now choose your pick!" exclaimed Monte Cristo as he flipped the coin into the air.
"Heads!"
The coin dropped back into the count's hand; it's tails. "It seems as if Luck is not on your side today, Kaiba."
His opponent scowled at this. Monte Cristo casually glanced over to where his servants were seated; in a separate, private box. The two duelists activated their duel discs and began with the phrase: "Time to duel!"
Upon hearing this, the audience roared. 'I wonder if...' thought a worried Téa. Mokuba saw this and asked why his sister-in-law seemed troubled. She assured him that it was nothing at all.
The count declared, "I shall begin my turn by drawing one card... and that will end my turn."
The two announcers, the audience (including the VIP), and Kaiba (especially) all became dumbfounded at this strange maneuver.
"Did Monte Cristo Hakushaku really end his turn just like that?!" exclaimed Gene (one of the two announcers).
"I don't know, Paul, but that stunt of his has gotta be one of the gutsiest opening plays I have ever seen in the history of Duel Monsters! No, I take that back; it is!"
In the private boxes, the three families were all similarly shocked as well. "Dat Count must'a lost it!" screamed Joseph, "He won't last long against rich-boy if he's gonna play like dat!"
"Umm.. Joey, you're rich too," said his wife, Mai.
"Oh, yeah..."
Mai silently muttered, "Idiot..."
"Why did you do that... why...?" uttered Mrs. Kaiba.
Kaiba, feeling insulted, exclaimed, "What?! Are you that arrogant, Count? Or is it that you're trying to psyche me out?"
Monte Cristo merely smirked, and then returned to his neutral stance.
"I thought that this was your specialty: one-turn kills. This is your chance to take out most, if not, all of your opponent's Life points in your first turn, and yet you seem to hesitate...?"
'Damn... he's got me there. But, he's right... he has not even a single card on his side of the field!'
"All right, then! I'll begin my turn by drawing one card from my deck. Next, I'll play the spell card, Polymerization, which allows me the ability to fuse together 2 or more fusion-material monsters from my hand or field together to special summon a fusion monster. And so... I'll send my 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons from my hand to the card graveyard to create the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"
A bolt of lightening (hologram) struck the stadium floors. Once the flashing light was over, a three-headed dragon suddenly appeared, growling. Many people in the audience were astonished at the presence of the mighty creature.
"Now this is interesting... It seems that you have successfully summoned your most powerful monster."
"Yeah, and this is where it all ends, Hakushaku! Attack him directly, my beast! Neutron Blast!"
The behemoth of a dragon produced 3 beams of light from its three mouths; it then launched the destructive blasts towards Monte Cristo. As soon as the smoke cleared, the dark figure stood unfazed, as if he did not feel the impact of the assault. Much to everyone's surprise, the count's Life points remained intact.
"Impossible!" cried Kaiba, "Your Life points should've hit zero by now! Is this a glitch in the Kaiba Corp duel disc system?!"
"Impossible, you say? Why, the very reason I haven't suffered losing even a single life point was because I simply discarded a certain card from my hand: Kuriboh."
"Kuriboh?!"
Kuriboh. That one word was pretty much the topic of several heated debates amongst the audience.
"Now, if you're done, may I begin my turn, Kaiba?" asked the count.
"I'll end my turn by sacrificing my dragon for the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (3000/2500) And by the way, my new monster gains 300 Atk points for every dragon that's in my graveyard, and that's four! So, my Shining Dragon now has a grand total of 4200 Atk! Sure, his power is slightly less than that of the Ultimate Dragon, but he gains an immunity from targetting effects!"
"I draw one card, and then I'll activate the spell card, Blood Note, a card that enables me to select one monster on my opponent's field. For every 4 stars in the selected monster's 'power' level, I can special summon a Blood Token onto my side. I also play another spell card, Fiend's Sanctuary, which produces one Fiend Token."
After Monte Cristo activated his two spell cards, a total of 3 tokens materialized on his side of the playing field.
"It's obvious why you're doing this... you're planning to summon a powerful monster, aren't you?"
"Perhaps... but the word itself is a bit vague in this game."
'What's that supposed to mean...'
The count continued, "I sacrifice my three tokens to summon... Yubel (0/0)!"
In an instant, a hermaphroditic creature emerged from out of the ground.
'No! Not that card! If that card engages in a battle with my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, then I'll be the only one to lose damage! Damn!'
Before Monte Cristo could declare his monster's attack against the metallic dragon to win the duel... some people in the audience noticed a certain young woman faint from a separate VIP box...
"Look! She fainted!" screamed several onlookers.
Feigning surprise, the count turned around and said, "What?!"
He continued, "That's Rebecca!"
Kaiba muttered, "Rebecca..."
The duel ended abruptly; it was a draw. Monte Cristo then made his leave, apologizing for the sudden departure. When he arrived at the entrance/exit of the Kaiba Dome, his limo was already waiting for him. Shortly after, the vehicle sped away from the dome.
Rebecca was already inside the vehicle. She weakly uttered, "There's no doubt... it is him."
Author's Endnote: I apologize for the late update. This chapter took longer than I had expected to complete. With that said and done, the next chapter will be submitted next week, at one of my appointed dates (Fri or Sat).