The Red String of Fate
It was the end.
The air on the gameboard was tense and thick, not that anyone was really breathing. That was the thing about being a figurine. They were still breathing somehow, but technically they didn't actually have to. It was weird. Horrifying in fact. Not as horrific however, as the sight of Zorc cackling while Bakura dropped the dice to the ground. "You've had your turn," he shouted wickedly, the figurines standing frozen in fear as the sound of clattering dice sounded about the table. "Now Zorc gets his... He turns his full wrath on the adventurers!"
Katsuya's breathing hitched, the dice clattering to the ground. Not critical, not critical... Anything but that, if he got one solid hit in they were-
"SUPER CRITICAL! Zorc's Black Magic, DARK CATASTROPHE!" As Bakura cackled, the entire field when black. Katsuya found himself blown completely back with a wave of immense pain, darkness over taking him... No... Yugi's monsters roared in agony as the others were thrown back just as mercilessly. NO... He heard the dull clatter of metal against the board, the figurine forms of the others falling lifelessly to the ground... NO! "HAHAHAHAHAAA!" In the fading darkness, he could make out Bakura's blurred, grinning face. "Zorc's magical attack has the power to kill characters with more than 50 hit points in an instant!" No shit... Katsuya slowly began to shut his eyes, feeling his 'body' grow heavy. This was the end... He'd failed Mokuba... Kaiba was probably going to wake up to an empty house now, if the woman ever woke up... "All of the player characters are DEAD..." He didn't say?
Fire fire fire, his entire body was on fire... Even through blurred vision and numbed, non-existent nerves the feeling was just as blinding. Burning... Burning... Burning... He was burning, but he didn't have the strength to do anything, even scream... Tired, he thought as he finally gave up trying to move.
So tired... The blond closed his eyes, welcoming the inevitable. So tired... If he could just...
Sleep...
...
...
...
And suddenly, he wasn't sleeping any more. Katsuya's eyes flung open as a feeling of 'free falling' came over him, the 'landing' jolting his body. "Huh!" He coughed, somehow still standing as he gripped his knees for support before looking around. "W-Where... Where am I..." He slowly stood back up, taking in the vast and empty expanse before him. Darkness...
This place was so dark... There was nothing, absolutely nothing around him, or even, as he realized with a gulp, beneath him. As he looked down however, he frowned, staring. His clothes... They weren't the ones he was wearing when he lost his soul, that was true but... Leather shoes, breeches, a tunic... The blond quickly felt behind him, eyes widening. A god damned sword and shield strapped to his- This was what his figurine was wearing! At those thoughts, he looked up again, eyes wide. The figurines... Abruptly, Katsuya found himself looking over his hands and arms, almost laughing from the shock. He wasn't a figurine..! This was incredible, he wasn't- The teen frowned, looking out into the darkness with another thought. "Shit..." Mokuba, Yugi, Honda, Anzu... The others weren't... He took a few steps forwards, frowning. "Where the hell are they..?" It... This wasn't death right? He wasn't waiting for some creepy ghost to take him to Enma was he! Katsuya's eyes widened as he grew pale, the thoughts hammering in his mind. S-Still.. If he was the only one here, that had to mean that the others lived right? R-Right!
Holding his head in his hands, he groaned. Ohhhhh god... Dead... He was really done in wasn't he, this was- "Eh..?" He blinked, frowning slightly as he pushed back those thoughts a moment. Something on his hands... Something small, hair-thin in fact... He held up his hand, squinting in the darkness as he tried to make it out. It was almost like the only source of light was himself really, but that wasn't it... "What the hell is this..?" The frown deepened as he found what looked to be a string around his thumb, giving a light tug at it only to watch as the other end vanished into the darkness. "Where..."
He could hear the 'clink-clink-clink' sounds of metal connecting as he walked forwards. The darkness there was endless, pressuring, and he briefly wondered how much time had even passed. Then again, he was dead wasn't he..? So really, time probably didn't exist any more. The clinking continued, before stopping. Katsuya froze, staring off into the distance for a moment. Something felt off... As though in a few seconds, something would happen... The blond stared as, from the same direction of the string, a partially formed 'ball' came tumbling forwards. It bounced a few times, as though thrown, before rolling to a stop about a foot away from him. Katsuya blinked, staring at it before leaning down to pick it up. "What is this," he muttered, tossing it a few times in one hand. "A puzzle..?"
"Y-You..!" He stopped, turning as a young, childish voice pierced the darkness. A... A little girl... A small, probably no older than 5 little girl wearing a yukata stood there, her hands clutched tightly to the sides of her head in pain. The girl's face was twisted in a mix of emotions; confusion, fear, torment... Yet there was an oddly 'adult' tone to those eyes, he noted with a frown. A tone that made it seem as though this pain, though intense, had been experienced in a similar fashion before...
As the girl buckled over in pain, he found himself standing on the spot, unable to move. He felt weak... Like something was sapping away at his energy... But that couldn't be right, he was dead... Wasn't he..? "Where is this place," he muttered, eyes narrowed. "Who... Who are you..?" His vision was fading... Did this mean he wasn't dead? That he'd be waking up..? Or was he just in some kind of strange limbo, and the real death had yet to come? Maybe this 'girl' was another of Bakura's figurines, and he'd just randomly run into- As he held a hand out with the puzzle, he froze. The string... The string, it was attached to...He studied the girl's face, the child still looking at him in shock. This kid... She looked almost like...
"Seto-chan..?" As he said this, the teen tensed, a shudder passing through his body that very moment. The puzzle fell to the ground with a crash of metal, Katsuya suddenly finding it difficult to breath. He clutched his stomach, choking as a wave of intense pain ran through his body. What... What was this..? Eyes widened as he watched something drip from his body, before his vision was blocked by a wave of reds, golds, and yellows. "Ah... AHHHH!" Burning... Burning... Fire! He was on fire! The teen reached forwards, shouts lost as he felt himself drift away. Dead... He was...
For the past few hours, she'd been feeling immeasurably cold. The warmth that she held with her as she worked on her puzzle, the intensity of the emotions flowing through each piece, in one instant, had been snatched out of her grasp. In one instant, she was reminded by that 'voice', head pounding as wave after wave of thoughts ran through her head only to be pulled forever more from her grasp, one instant... The ones closest from her seemed to have been torn from her life completely. Seto's eyes widened as she bit back a scream, body practically shrinking as pieces of her puzzle vanished into thin air. And as the pieces of memory she'd worked so hard to connect were ripped from her mind, she'd once again found herself restritcted to the tiny, childish form of past memories. "AUAAAAHHH!" No! NO! Her fingers dug into her head, before finally releasing to grab the puzzle before her and hurl it out of sight. Gone gone, everything! GONE!
The pain intensified, as though rebounding with the puzzle missing. "RAAAAAAAHHH!" Her body tensed, face twisted with a mix of rage and pain. Everything, everything she knew... How old was she again? When was she born again? Where was this place again? What was that sound she'd finally heard in the puzzle again? The girl's eyes grew wide as each thought vanished, expression becoming more fearful with each one. No... No she couldn't forget, she couldn't..! Blindly, the girl ran off in the direction of the puzzle, stumbling and tripping over her own feet as she went.
And then, as she came to a stop, the pain only just slightly easing, she spotted something else. Eyes still wide, she looked up only to see a face that she somehow still remembered. "Y-You!" As she said this, another wave struck her, and she forced herself not to react. 'Who are you,' he said, and for a moment, she found herself staring at him in shock. "K-Katsu-" She jerked back, face shifting to that of a horror far surpassing the pain she felt when the teen before her abruptly burst into flames. His screams sounded through the air, before being drowned by the roaring flames and with a jolt she realized that the fires were not only there. She batted at the flames that had seemingly followed an invisible line to her hand, eyes wide. Out! Out! Get- The flames halted, and a string of sorts became reduced to ashes from her pinky finger. Briefly the pain vanished, and she looked at the empty space where the blond had stood with wide eyes.
He'd reached out for only a moment... Nothing more. He was dressed really... Really weird, when she thought about it. Leather armor, a shield and sword... Like a game... "Seto-chan," he asked, almost whispering. For a moment, she'd been about to yell at him, tell him off about calling her by that name... That name that she couldn't recall... And then...
The girl stood, regaining her older form. Katsuya... That was his name. He was hired by... By Mokuba to... To... She grimaced, struggling to keep hold of herself yet again. Something was happening... The pieces vanishing, the memories disappearing, what happened just now... "Un... Argh..." Seto gripped her head, stumbling with wide, open eyes. Disappearing... Vanishing... The darkness was closing in with each vanishing piece, her memory becoming nothing but empty holes. "What... What's happening..."
Who... Who was doing this! A voice came from in the distance, and she looked forwards with a glare as what looked to be text appeared in mid-air. 'My name is Bakura Ryou...' The kanji and kana hovered directly above where Katsuya had stood, and through the veil of pain hitting her even now, she was still able to stare at them with narrowed eyes. Bakura Ryou..?
Seto winced again, clutching her head. This... Pain... She snarled, lashing at the text that had apparently appeared from the smoke of the earlier flames. "Why should I care who you are! Get out of my head!"
There was no answer for a moment, and then the text flashed, changing. 'My friends are in danger.' Just get out! She didn't care about these 'friends', let alone this 'person' even! Leave! 'Your brother and friend are there... Please listen...'
"WHAT?" Her brother... Her brother was- Thoughts were torn once more, an image flashing before it vanished from her memory permanently. "Auuuugh!" She continued holding her head, watching as a 'screen' appeared. Five 'figurines' with portraits were visible on the screen, two of them appearing slightly familiar. One had black hair, and was probably just a child... The other... Hang on... "Mokuba..." That's right... His name was Mokuba, he was... "And... And the..." The mutt? The one from before, his name was... Was... Each portrait held beneath it the words 'HP 1'. Hp... Hp, what was that... A number so close to zero... If she could just remember these two, she knew they were important but- "What do you expect me to do," she snarled, wincing in pain again as another piece vanished from the puzzle. "WHO ARE YOU!"
'I helped them this time,' the text began. 'And I want to help them again. This time, I will fight.' The text continued appearing, causing Seto's frown to deepen. 'I cannot stop the next attack. Help.'
She snorted. "And how! I'm stuck here..." The woman gritted her teeth, staring at the ground. Stuck, trapped... "I'd do anything for my brother, but so far all I can see is darkness!" Darkness and a puzzle ball full of holes in the memory where those two sat. Two? One... They were fading away... Fading...
The 'screen' paused, as though contemplating this. 'Please,' the text seemed to have a begging tone to it as it went, hovering in place. 'Please just say you will.'
"Tell me what you'll do first!" She glared at the text, still gripping her head in pain. "SPIT IT OUT!"
Another pause, and a smoking, ghostly figure with no face or discernible body appeared from a small burst of flame. It stood in the exact position Katsuya had, but it was... Different. Misting, completely white... There were no clear features, form, anything to identify it... Save one thing, and one thing only, and that was a left hand. "... ..." It had no voice. It had nothing... Just that pale, just as white human hand with which it reached forward.
Seto jerked back, the puzzle pieces she had yet to place scattering across the floor. They clattered against her fallen puzzle, and the 'ghost' paused in his approach before bending down to grab one. "You... Don't touch those!" For a moment, the figure paused, before continuing as it ignored her protests. Slowly, it stood straight again, holding the piece in both hands before covering it with them. "Give that back," Seto hissed, the ghost continuing. "You have not right.. Gh!" She clutched her head again, closing one eye as the ghost continued its work. Slowly, it moved its hands, pulling the piece in 'two'- one piece remained identical to the first, unchanged as the ghost dropped it to the ground with a 'clink'. The second however... "Tch... You..." The woman stood, frozen as the figure continued in silence before handing her the second. It was completely different from the other, the only similarities being the shining golden colour it held. "What the hell is this..." She felt the 'new piece' over, frowning before text appeared behind the 'ghost' again. "What are you doing..?"
'Please help,' the ghost appeared to beg, gesturing with that same left hand. 'Just a little. Please help.'
"Gh..." 'Just a little' it said? What did that even meant! The cold feeling in her body increased, the puzzle continuing to vanish as her head throbbed. Mokuba... Katsuya... What did they look like... Hang on... Who were those two anyways, why were they so important..? Brother..? Did she have... That's right, she had... "N..." Why couldn't she remember anything all of a sudden! Why were her thoughts disappearing! Mokuba... She knew he was dying... But that same dark voice in the back of her head kept telling her not to bother... "N..." And yet she knew, just knew that if that were to happen..!
Clutching the piece in her hand, she continued to grip her head with her other hand. Seto stared deliberately at the ghost, gritting her teeth before nodding. "What ever it takes..." The pain increased again, and even with the puzzle piece in her hand she brought it to her head with a wince. "I'll do it..!" The voice in the back of her mind pleaded, told her that if she lost she would die... But she was still here wasn't she! And there would be hell before she died... But if she didn't do anything, then her brother would die instead... Katsuya would...
Why did she care...
"What ever it takes," she repeated, the ghost standing there a moment...
Silence filled the room, and he nodded. The ghost seemed to mist away, before charging towards her. Before she could even say a word, it passed through her body, the woman's eyes widening with shock. As her eyes slowly closed over, she felt the holes in her memory repair... Her head stopped throbbing, and the piece she held tightly in her hand clattered to the ground, her body following it.
Ah, she thought as her vision finally blacked out. It felt... Warmer now...
He could hear shouting. Bakura's angered cries as the other Yugi rolled a pair of dice. 'But HOW,' he was shouting, voice shaking with rage. 'I never programed that NPC!'
He felt someone picking him up, and slowly, Katsuya opened his eyes. Light... The ceiling... Even without a nose he could still smell the smoke on the air. He blinked a few times, before realization hit him. Hang on... The ceiling, the board, the voices...
They were alive! And oh... It hurt to be alive really... He groaned, holding his head as he turned to the one who had helped him up. "Ung... Mokuba.. Are you... You alrigh..?" The 'fairy' nodded, body fairly singed, but otherwise ok. "Man... I thought we were dead..." Really really thought he was dead...
Mokuba nodded again, looking over the others worriedly. "I... I think we were... But..." The blond followed his gaze to Bakura, who was still shaking. "I don't know what happened, but I think that somehow, that attack didn't work the way it was supposed to..."
The teen nodded, looking towards the others. The attack didn't work? Huh... So... Someone pulled them back then..? He swallowed, pulling himself to his feet. "You alright guys?" There were weak nods, a few mumbled 'yea, I'm good's before Yugi's voice interrupted them. The teen was still facing Bakura from what they could get from the opponent's expression, and he sounded more than confident in whatever had turned the tides. "True Bakura, the others are still to weak to strike back..." Wait they were? He winced, clutching his 'stomach' in pain. Ok... Yea, they were. Still feeling the strike from Zorc it looked like. "But it seems that some other force is on their side!" Wait what? At those words, he and the others turned to look around the board for this 'other force' that 'Yugi' was talking about, finding nothing. Nothing on the ground... Where was it, the air? As Yugi continued, he found himself turning back to look at Zorc with narrowed eyes. "I'll say it once more Bakura! It's not over yet!" The sound of dice clattering to the ground came, followed by a 'swish' sound. Zorc screeched in pain, Katsuya noting that for the same eye that had been gouged with an arrow, Bakura was closing his.
Katsuya turned to follow the path the arrow had come, before widening his eyes. When he thought 'in the air'... He hadn't been serious! "Who th' heck..?" 'Birdtail', as the race was called, was an aptly named group, given what the character sheet had said. Clawed feet, a long feathered tail, and almost avian eyes... But the special part about them was the ability to fly, with the angel like wings on their back... In the end however, their lack of decent weaponry for any of the classes he'd wanted had thrown the idea of a flying race off however. Looking at how this NPC character had just slammed Zorc in the face however... "Who is that..?"
The others followed his gaze, before Honda grinned. "I don't know man, but whoever she is, she just took out Zorc's left eye like it was nothing!" Yes. Yes she did, but who was she..? He couldn't see her face really, eyesight from a figurine's perspective was just a little faulty really... "I like her!"
Beside him, Anzu nodded in agreement, while Mokuba stared up at the sixth player character with narrowed eyes. Ignoring the stare, the woman watched as whoever had shot the arrow came towards them from the sky, giggling. "I bet that one hurt..!" At those words, the archer landed, apparently wearing a simple leather tunic with a quiver. Her hair was a little longer than Anzu's, and trailed back down between her wings from what they could tell. The more interesting part however, now that she was close enough to see...
"Huh..." Yugi blinked as the archer turned to glance at him, before turning back to face Zorc in silence. "Those eyes... The almost remind me of Kaiba..." An angel Kaiba. Hahaha. If it wasn't such an impossible wish, he'd be doing what Honda was doing.
This being, of course, laughing, wincing, and laughing again as the archer seemingly ignored him. "Oh man... If Kaiba wasn't in a coma..." Honda quickly stopped at Mokuba's incredibly intense glare, coughing nervously as the others looked at Bakura with smirks. "Er... Anyways..."
Bakura in question was wincing, holding his left eye shut as he gritted his teeth. "Yugi..." As the albino said this, Katsuya found himself looking at the otherwise silent archer with a raised eyebrow, before continuing to listen to the conversation above. This 'Kaiba' look-alike was actually creeping him out a little... Completely into the NPC role... "You've really pissed me off now..." At that moment, the teen looked down at his laptop before tensing with shock. What the hell... Now what could be on that screen that scared him so much... "If I do this," Bakura muttered to himself with a grin, "And place the computer where my left hand can't reach, you're powerless!" What the heck was he muttering about? Did... Did he lose it just now?
As Bakura continued into quiet, if not somewhat insane laughter, the others approached the 'Archer' somewhat hesitantly. What with her having saved all their asses without a word, it seemed like the right thing to do."So," Anzu began, the other woman turning with her same blank stare. "What's your name..?"
She gave no answer, merely blinking as she looked Anzu over. It was as though she couldn't answer really- like all she was there for was literally just to save them and help them out for the home stretch. Honda raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with a frown. "Hey, the lady asked you a question... Er... Lady..." Shrugging off his lame request, he tapped the archer's shoulder, before drawing back from the equally blank and uncaring stare he received for his efforts. "Er... On second thought... I'll leave you alone..."
"S- Seri," Mokuba said, the others turning as he coughed. "Er... I mean..." He flushed, before laughing nervously. "The... The armor she's wearing looks like parsley, doesn't it? So we can call her 'Seri' for now! Ahaha.." He gave Katsuya a look, as if to say 'PLEASE HELP'.
Catching on fairly quickly (Given that it looked like the boy would stab his toe if he didn't hurry), he nodded. "Yea! 'S not like she's sayin' anything! Hahaha..." The others gave him a fairly disbelieving look, and he coughed. Staring a few moments, the others eventually shrugged before turning upwards as Bakura continued speaking. Quietly, Katsuya turned to Mokuba with a confused glance. "H-Hey kid... That isn't..."
He shrugged, eyes wide as 'Seri' merely stood motionless in wait for her 'turn'. "I don't know... I mean... It looks like her but... That's impossible right..? She... She's at home, I mean..." The boy was answered with silence, Katsuya staring at the woman oddly before being slapped. "Hey," Mokuba hissed angrily. "Stop ogling my sister!" He wasn't! Well... Maybe... Agggghhh, they were figurines, he shouldn't be doing that... ...But still...
"What, you didn't think of that when I was hired for security!" Ok, not his best defense, lets try... "And it's not really her, it just looks like her!" If it was actually Kaiba, he'd eat Zorc. And... Right now he didn't want to go anywhere near Zorc.
The boy scowled, whispering back. "I have cameras to tell me if you're doing anything like that, so I know you're not, moron!" Crossing his arms, he focused on Katsuya's other attempted defense. "And just because it's not her, doesn't mean! You said it yourself, she looks like her." Katsuya appeared to ignore this, still staring at the figurine before gaining another smack. "Stop ogling her, Katsuya-nii!"
Before he could respond to that, the boys turned, a pair of dice clattering to the ground again. A wave of energy passed over them, and the blond blinked. "H-Huh, what..?" He looked himself over, eyes wide as the burn marks and injuries began to repair themselves.
From behind, Anzu giggled. "I won out with initiative," she stated, twirling her staff. "I might have more experience attacking, but I can also heal!" The injuries continued to vanish, Mokuba flexing his 'fingers' for a few moments, as Katsuya stretched.
"Hah! I feel great!" The others cheered, Anzu beaming with pride as she glanced at 'Seri'. Katsuya also looked over, but the archer remained otherwise motionless... It was all a little creepy actually, and it felt as though the figurine wasn't even... There.
Above, Bakura seethed for a few moments before smirking. "Alright then..." He said with a laugh, gripping the dice in his hands. "You're completely healed! But compared to Zorc, you're still nothing more than micro-organisms.. And having a level 5 archer at your side will do nothing for it!" He continued to laugh, the figurines bracing themselves as Zorc moved to prepare a strike. "Even at your maximum hitpoints you'll be blown to dust on Zorc's next turn! Get ready," he shouted, raising his right hand in preparation to drop the dice. "Because Zorc hits on an 80 or less... And if he hits, then all of you will take damage! HERE I-"
Katsuya frowned as the albino's left hand moved on it's own accord, dropping a pair of dice to the ground. Bakura's own face contorted with shock and rage as they toppled, while 'Yugi' merely grinned. "99," the teen called out, Katsuya swearing he heard someone else speaking. Was there someone else there..? Anyone..? "A fumble!"
'I won't let you control me anymore!' Who was saying that? It sounded so familiar, almost as if it was... As the voice sounded, Seri appeared to be the only one aware of it, eyes turning towards the left hand but still holding the blank gaze. 'I won't let you control me!' Who was that? That voice that he was hearing, it sounded almost identical to- The blond watched as Zorc prepared his blast only to have it explode in his face, grinning. About time the enemy got a bad roll! "A'RIGHT! He fumbled!"
Yugi also grinned, watching as Zorc hissed in rage. "He blew himself up! We have a chance after all!"
"AAAAAUGGH!" Bakura's shout took their attention, a majority of the group turning with wide eyes as the DM gripped his left wrist. "This..." The hand shook, as though struggling, and Bakura continued to stare at it with his one open eye. As though fighting against himself... What was he doing, what- "THIS BLASTED LEFT HAND!" Their eyes widened, and there was a disgusting 'squelch' as the teen brought his hand down on the sharpest thing in sight. Mokuba looked as though he'd be sick as drops of blood landed mere centimeters from their places, accompanied by a few flecks of skin and muscle tissue that had been knocked off by the force. Bakura had... Impaled his own left hand on the sharp point of one of the castle towers, fingers twitching as the teen pushed firmly on it. The castle top was bathed in red, fragments of bone jutting from the hand as the tendons attached pulled back in on themselves. And through all of that, the albino wasn't showing the teeniest bit of pain. "AHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Katsuya stared with wide and disgusted eyes as the teen cackled, hand giving a pathetic twitch. He turned as the archer as well made a sound, wincing as she stumbled on her feet. What the hell... Why was she reacting to this... "HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, BAKURA RYOU!" Bakura? But this was Bakura, wasn't it! What the hell was going on, was he possessed or something! "How does the durable poly-resin feel? AHAHAHAHAHAA!"
Anzu gulped, looking at Bakura's twisted expression with mixed fear and confusion. "L-Look at Bakura's expression... What's going on with him?"
He as well gulped, before looking at 'Seri'. For a brief moment, he was almost sorry about the fumble but... "That... That ain't Bakura," he shouted, the hand finally giving one last twitch as 'Seri' collapsed to her knees. "This can't be him!" They'd been bad mouthing him the entire time, but it never occurred... That maybe, just maybe, when Bakura had mentioned those comas the day before, that he was genuinely afraid... That there really was something else doing this... And if Bakura was only just now fighting back...
"Yea," Honda shouted, the others nodding in agreement. "This guy can't possibly be him!" Bakura was the good guy... He wasn't sure what the hell happened, but the fact was...
'Don't come in!' He'd tried to warn them as well... Katsuya winced at the memory, biting his lip. He'd tried everything... Separating himself from everyone, even skipping school that day for their sake he bet... And instead they'd dropped their beliefs in him like a hot potato, focusing on 'Bakura the Bad' instead of 'Bakura the Probably Possessed'. And hell, with everything else that went on around here...
Was it that surprising? "Heheheheheheee..." Bakura looked up from his hand with a wicked grin, typing a few things into the laptop as he spoke. "Next is the Beast Tamer... Your turn, Yugi!"
As 'Yugi' took the dice, Katsuya found himself looking from 'Seri' to the teen with an odd look. The figurine was shaking, just slightly. As though her life literally was tied to that one hand. ...That hand... Zorc was missing a hand right? Finally, he turned to Yugi with a determined look. "Yug'..." The 'tamer' turned to him, blinking. "You know what tah do, right?"
He nodded, smiling. "Yea!" As he said this, the other Yugi turned to stare down Bakura with a severe glare. They all knew what needed to be done now!
"Game Master," he shouted, obviously refusing to refer to him as Bakura now that they'd decided he simply wasn't, "The Beast Tamer will try his power on Zorc, the Lord of Darkness!"
'Bakura' jumped, single eye widening with shock. "What? Do you honestly think that the 'Taming' power will work on Zorc?" As the albino said this, the figurines merely nodded. It wouldn't work completely, Katsuya thought to himself. But if Bakura was trapped in there somewhere, they'd get him out! "Hehehehe... A useless effort," Bakura said with a smirk. "Zorc wouldn't become your ally even if it meant the end of the world!"
Across from him, the other Yugi merely huffed. "I'm trying it anyways," he said with a shout, dropping the dice. "Here's my roll!"
As they clattered to the ground, Yugi braced himself, sending his 'hands' over towards Zorc. "Don' forget," Katsuya muttered as Yugi did this. "Aim f'r the hand!"
"Got it!" It was '05', a critical hit... Zorc cackled as the hands moved around to his wrist, the demon looming over them with a menacing grin.
"Fools," he shouted, ignoring the looks of determination that his victims held. As the hands moved to 'tug' at it, he continued to cackle. "You'll have to raise your level to a MILLION before you can think of making ME an ally! AHAHAHAAA! You- ...WHAT!"
They stared, Anzu pointing as a white mist began to escape from Zorc's arm. At the same time, 'Seri' appeared to regain her strength, coughing slightly as she looked forwards in genuine curiosity. "L-Look," Anzu shouted, the mist slowly taking the form of a white-haired figure in white. This was... "Zorc's arm!"
Yugi smiled as the figure reached forwards, ignoring the screams of rage that Zorc was giving. "Here," he cried, the large 'taming hands' reaching towards the figure. "Take my hand!" The figure did just that, appearing exhausted as he did so before being pulled down.
As the figure collapsed to the ground before them, Mokuba nervously floated over to the robed figure, tapping his shoulder. "You..." The figure slowly stood, and he frowned slightly. "You're Bakura... Aren't you..?" He couldn't be sure... But it certainly looked like him.
The wizard smiled, brushing some dust from his robes as the archer joined his side. "Thank you, everyone," he said quietly. "For saving me..." He cleared his 'throat', before continuing. "I am the White Wizard Bakura," he began, before gesturing to 'Seri', "And this is the Archer, 'Kai'." At this, 'Kai' bowed her head slightly, eagle-like eyes appearing to fill with life now. Kai... That was Seto's gaming name... But she'd never even gone near 'Monster World', right? (And if she had, he had a feeling that the player would not be female. Or low in level.) "We're NPCs, non-player characters created by Ryou Bakura," the wizard continued, gripping his staff. "Please, allow us to join your party!"
"Of course," Katsuya shouted, the others nodding in agreement. Hey, he'd thought they already had really... "Why th' heck would we say no?"
Honda grinned as the two new party members joined their side, pumping his fists. "YEA! Let's show Zorc a new level of pain!"
'Bakura' hissed, before grudgingly continuing to narrate. "It's still your turn," he bit out, Mokuba's figurine blowing a raspberry at him. "The magic gunman goes next!"
Across from him, 'Yugi' nodded. "The gunman attacks," he shouted, rolling the dice. "He shoots Zorc... 15!" A blast from Honda's gun shot through Zorc's midsection, the others gaping.
"Holy shit," Katsuya shouted, grinning as a large hole appeared where the bullet had gone through. "That never happened before!"
Beside him, Bakura laughed, smiling softly. "As an NPC," he began, the others watching as 'Kai' began to shoot a volley of arrows behind Honda's shot outside of 'Yugi's control. "Kai and I obey the will of the other game master, Bakura Ryou." As 'Kai's turn also ended, a fair number of arrows stuck to the side of Zorc's face, his smile grew. He adjusted the grip of his staff, which glowed slightly before returning to normal. "I thought it might help, if I lowered Zorc's defenses slightly with my white magic..."
The groups grins grew as Zorc's hitpoints plummeted, the demon snarling in pain. "Ahahahaaa! YES," Katsuya shouted, Mokuba grinning as well. White Wizards... 'Diabolists'! With Bakura on their side, things were looking up a lot, and it seemed they just might make it through!
Bakura continued to smile softly, shaking his head. "This is the least I can do," he said, Kai standing beside the group silently again. "You saved me from the darkness of Zorc's heart, and my partner from a similar fate... This time, I will fight together with you!" A similar fate..? For a brief moment, Mokuba and Katsuya both had to frown. If 'Kai' had been created by Bakura, he'd say the same right? At the same time, Bakura had never met Kaiba, whom the figurine resembled... So... What did he mean by a 'similar' fate..?
At these words, the 'fake' Bakura growled, gritting his teeth. The expression of anger was more than evident on his face, and Katsuya found himself grimly appreciating that fact. Served him right, sealing them all in these lead figurines... The blond found himself quickly drawing back however, as the expression changed to a grin. Zorc gave a loud roar of some sort, body twisting and mutating as they all drew back. "Oh no," Bakura shouted, holding his staff out protectively. "No, that's-" Whatever it was, it wasn't good!
As the beast writhed it gave a final loud roar before releasing a blast of energy, the group caught completely off guard. "NO," the other Yugi shouted, the board vanishing into clouds of smoke as the 'other' Bakura cackled. The growls could still be heard through the fog, and the figurines below squinted as they attempted to see through to their opponent. And what they saw... Katsuya swallowed, eyes growing wide as the mutated creature slowly revealed itself before them.
"This is Zorc's final form," Bakura shouted loudly, the wave of energy pressing on the group. "His attack and defense both level up, and now, it's HIS turn! DICE ROLL!" Wait, that attack wasn't even- It shouldn't have been his turn as it was and- The dice clattered to the ground, Bakura still cackling. "SUPERCRITICAL!" A panel of sorts opened on the 'final' form's chest, a large blast of energy shooting forwards. Shit... Shit..! He couldn't move... Neither could the others... The pressure pushing down on them, whatever it was, held them firmly in place. He closed his eyes, biting his lip as he waited for the attack. Shit... Shit...
Nothing was happening.
He watch numbly as both Kai and Bakura jumped forwards, the wizard acting first as he stood beside the blond. "WHITE MAGIC," the albino shouted, "Shining Shield level 13!" Even as the shield appeared, the heat from the blast felt worse than anything before. Even as Kai stood directly in front of them, back turned to Zorc as she held her head down in pain, he idly wondered if this was how oven-made pizzas felt.
"WHITE WIZARD," the other Bakura cackled, the energy still bearing down. "How long can your magic stand against Zorc's flames!"
The wizard winced, and as the others told him to hang in there, that he was doing alright, Katsuya found himself looking at Kai's smiling face. "Smile..." He swallowed, voice low and barely audible as he stared at the archer in shock. White feathers were misting away into nothing but solid, unmoving lead, unlike the seemingly 'living' forms they held. And as drops of what the blast was hot enough to melt dripped down to the ground, she was still smiling. "Why are you..."
And to his surprise, he heard her voice again. "The last... Piece..." What? She continued to mist away, still smiling. Her arms and legs were becoming rigid, glued to her side as most of the figurines had been created. And even through that... "The last piece... For her sake..." What the hell was she saying? Last piece? Last piece for what!" With those words, she vanished into nothing but a solid lead figure, clattering to the ground lifelessly. And still he could hear... 'Don't die, both of you.'
The dust cleared, Bakura collapsing to the ground as Honda looked over at the others. "The attack is over," he said, breathing heavily. "Is everyone ok..?" Even the ground was about destroyed by the attack, black ash marks mucking up the ground before them. In the midst of it, 'Kai's figurine lay on it's side, staring blankly upwards and completely devoid of life.
Katsuya grimaced as he took in the scene, numbly pulling himself to his feet. "Kai... She didn't..."
Beside him, Mokuba nodded sadly. "We've all taken a lot of damage..."
The others turned to Bakura, Anzu running over to his size in worry. "Oh Bakura... Just wait, I'll use my healing magic next turn and-"
The wizard shook his head, weakly pulling himself up. "No... I... I'm fine," he said, wheezing. "Anzu... If you have enough magic to heal, please, use it to attack Zorc!" As the others looked at him in shock, Bakura's expression hardened. "I don't have enough power to protect everyone again... And the only reason I could is because Kai took the brunt of the attack... If we don't finish it on this turn," he continued, bracing himself with his staff, "We'll all be destroyed!"
They fell into silence, before Mokuba and Katsuya both shared a glance and nodded. "We got ya Bakura," the blond said as he took up a stance with his sword. "If we gotta die, we'll do it together!"
"Yea," Honda added, spinning his gun before taking aim. "Time to hack and slash!" And shoot! Looking forwards, he smirked. "And it looks like that attack has one good point too!"
Yugi nodded, as his other self pointed towards a rather prominent eye that appeared beneath the 'panel' from the attack. "Look," the 'tamer' shouted. "His weak point!"
The other Yugi grabbed the dice, nodding. "The muzzle of Zorc's death weapon... Hit the eye!"
As he said this however, Mokuba balked. "Ah! The hole," he cried, the panel slowly closing in an aperture. "It's closing up!"
"No good," Anzu cried, shaking her head. "It's too late! It'll seal up before we can strike back!"
Katsuya winced at that realization, growling as 'Bakura' gained a smug expression at the fact. Damn bastard, of course the one weak point would be covering itself. 'Bakura's grin quickly vanished however, as one of Yugi's monsters charged forwards to jam itself into the hole. "Poki!" They shouted out to the small 'sheep', the monster merely bracing itself in the round aperture hole. "This is your chance," he shouted at them, the 'poki' sounds echoing around the board. "Blow me away, along with him... Do it now, quickly!"
The blond stared, before shaking his head. "Thanks... Poki..." He resumed his stance, before frowning. "But we ain't sacrificing a friend we've fought alongside!" Even if that friend was technically a falsely created being... But hey, for all he knew, that 'falsely created being' was another offshoot of Bakura's soul! (Though what did that make Kai...) "An evil soul ain't worth an ounce of the life of a friend!" He stepped back, allowing Yugi to come forwards and gain the 'initiative' to move first. Yugi's move... He could fix this!
"Let's go," 'Yugi' shouted, dropping the dice. "The beast tamer attacks! 02!"
Below, Yugi nodded, hands stretched out in determination. Poki might not be able to get out alone, but perhaps with Yugi's help... "TRAINING HAND! JET STREAM PUNCH!" A large fist appeared, blasting clear through the weak point and catching Poki in its safe grip. While flaps of skin were all that was left of Zorc's weak spot, Poki was completely unharmed.
The others grinned, watching as Zorc wretched in pain. Above, the other Bakura clutched his stomach as well, growling. "Alright!" Katsuya grinned, watching as Zorc slowly pulled himself back up. He hit the weak point dead on... They had a chance!
The dice rolled again, Mokuba twirling his daggers. Now that it was down to the group, all of them standing in a 'line' of sorts, speed was determining the turn-set. "Now for the rogue! Dice roll!" They clattered to the ground, the 'fairy' vanishing from sight to charge forwards and slice the monster's bottom legs clean off from the body. "04!"
Giggling echoed through the air again, before the boy reappeared on the other side of the monster. "Shadow Tag Strike!" As Mokuba smirked, Zorc still continued to roar in pain, fumbling around with his single hand.
This is the final blow, Katsuya thought to himself as 'Yugi' grabbed the dice again. This was it... "The warrior's turn!" The dice clattered to the ground, and he narrowed his eyes as he charged forwards. "01!" Last hit! They couldn't waste this!
Explosive Energetic Slash! Zorc screeched as his entire torso was cut through, bottom half separated from the top cleanly by the blade. Katsuya turned, watching as the demon collapsed to the ground to clear a path for the others to grin at them. "We did it," Honda cried, the 'gunman' watching as Katsuya and Mokuba both gave each other a high-five. "We beat Zorc!" It was over! He and Mokuba ran between the two halves, joining the others with equally wide grins. They'd won! They... Wait...
Just as they began celebrating with the others however, Katsuya found himself turning back to look at Zorc's corpse. Something didn't feel right about this... He reeled back with a shout as Zorc continued to hiss in pain, slowly pushing himself up as clouds of shadow seeped from his mouth. "No way..." The demon struggled to stand on one hand, Katsuya's eyes being drawn to 'Bakura' with horror. "Zorc isn't dead yet!" That expression... That twisted expression on 'Bakura's face, that contorted grin... Identical to the monster before them...
"Hahahahahahaaa... The fact that you didn't finish Zorc on this turn will be your down fall," the teen said with a low, grim chuckle. His breathing was weak, haggard, and still he continued, as though on his death bed. "On the next turn, Zorc and the adventurers must roll for initiative again! YUGI," he shouted, finding the strength to pull himself up in the chair. "We roll at the same time! The winner goes first!"
As Katsuya turned to look over at 'Yugi', he repressed a nervous swallow. 'I'll take you on', he was saying. 'This roll means life or death', he was saying... The other Yugi clenched the dice tightly, while 'Bakura' continued. Last chance... All or nothing with this one move...
If it was possible, that frighteningly inhuman grin had grown. "This roll," he began with a crazed laugh, "Will also determine the success of the attack! Not only will it determine who goes first, it will determine who kills who!" As the group of figurines and 'Yugi' both sent ice cold glares to the teen, he continued. "The instant my roll beats yours, Zorc will self destruct," he shouted with a laugh. "By destroying all of you, I will be victorious... And if we roll the same number," he said darkly, "We both die! I blow up the same moment you attack me! Either way, I win! AHAHAHAHA!"
He frowned at those words. Alright, so the roll had to beat his but... 'Other' Bakura had said 'I'. He didn't say 'Zorc', he said 'I'... "What th' fuck..." They had to win this... Katsuya, along with all the others, turned to look up at 'Yugi' with determined frowns. Bakura of course was going on about how he'd win no matter what... But they had faith... They had faith in this roll! It would win!
"Lets go," 'Bakura' shouted, grinning madly. Death just wasn't even phasing this guy... Right to the end, he was going through with his plans. "THE ROLL OF LIFE OR DEATH!"
The dice flew into the air, Katsuya and hte others watching as they slowly sailed downwards. Please... They needed this number... Please... "00," he shouted, looking across at Bakura.
Katsuya's eyes widened with relief as the others grinned. Supercritica! The lowest possible roll! They were in the clear! "How do you like them apples," he shouted, turning towards 'Bakura'. "Super Critical!" His face fell however as the albino continued to grin, simply watching as his own dice clattered to the ground. "No..." The dice clattered to the ground, and 'Bakura' began cackling madly. No way... No fucking way, the chances of getting a tie of those numbers were just... "Super..."
The albino's grin widened even more, his closed eye giving the appearance of a cruel wink. "AHAHAHAHAHAAAA! What a cruel strike for you," he laughed, pointing across to Yugi. "At the moment you were sure of victory, to fall into the jaws of defeat!" As the other Yugi leveled a silent and angered gaze at the teen, his laughter increased. "This was GREAT! This was the best game I've ever played! Two sets of double zeroes... The most dramatic ending, everyone dies!" He grinned, moving to type something into the laptop. "Just as you leap forwards," he narrated, the figurines below glaring daggers larger than themselves, "Zorc explodes, taking you wit-" He froze, eyes wide as the dice cracked. "It's YOU!"
Katsuya turned, eyes wide as the others watched the dice, confused. "What's going on," Anzu was saying. "How are the dice doing that?"
"They're cracking," Yugi was saying, eyes wide. "They're just... Crumbling!" What did they mean 'just crumbling', couldn't they see?
He was right there..!
'I don't want to lose any more friends!' Ryou Bakura hovered above the dice, staring his other self down. 'Even if it means my soul should shatter!' No... Katsuya's eyes grew even wider with realization as the dice continued to shatter, mouth hanging open. No... Bakura was going to.. If the dice were tied to him the way he thought, then that meant.. The spirit turned to the other Yugi, whose eyes widened as the dice continued to break. "Yugi... Everyone..." His voice grew loud, clearly heard across the table. The gasps of the others around him told the blond that they could see him as well... Maybe it was because he was talking to them all, but then how was it that earlier... "Thank you for believing in me..."
"BAKURA!"
An explosion resounded about the room, the dice bursting into pieces. The 'other' Bakura reeled back in shock, the others on the table rendered silent for the moment. 'Yugi's eyes narrowed as he stared the albino down, clutching the edge of the table. Finally, he spoke."So you rolled a super critical," 'Yugi' asked with a glare. "I don't see one! No dice, no roll," he added. "WE ATTACK! Prepare yourself Zorc, for Anzu's magic!"
The magician nodded, wand at the ready as she aimed at the enormous, hideous beast. "Lets do it," she shouted, a blast of energy forming at the end of the staff for a moment. "GO!" The blast launched off the weapon, encompassing Zorc's broken body completely. "FINAL BIG BANG!" The entire area in front of them was hidden in the light of the explosion, which managed to keep below the top of the table. Zorc's figurine vanished from sight completely, his silhouette slowly fading away into dust. Before they could contemplate this however, the group's attention was pulled to another source.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Katsuya jumped as 'Bakura' gave a scream, eyes wide as the outline of a ring of sorts appeared through the 'DM's shirt. While the light from the blast enveloped the demon's almost destroyed body, Bakura toppled over with an expression of fatal pain. Zorc was dead. The 'fake' Bakura was dead... But what about..!
Sh-Shit! "BAKURA!" The other Yugi rushed over, lightly checking for a pulse on the albino. The figurines stared upwards, eyes wide. "Yug', how's he-"
The teen shook his head, looking down at the still miniature forms of his friends. "It's no good... He's dead..." No... Bakura... Sacrificed his soul... To save all of them. After they'd given up on him for the first half of the game... He'd done that...
"No," the White Wizard behind them said quietly, the others turning to look at him in shock. That's right... This 'Bakura' was created by the real one, wasn't he? But then, what was 'Kai'..? Nonetheless, he could do something, right? "Ryou Bakura's soul is still alive," he said sadly, gesturing to himself. "Inside of me..." So then... "The master created me into this world, and through his adventures made me grow," the wizard continued with a smile. "Over time, I became a level 13 white wizard... And now, I can pay my master back."
The group stood, rendered silent by the words. After a few seconds, Honda muttered a 'whoah', but otherwise listened as the NPC continued. "Since I'm level 13, my healing magic should be strong enough to transfer my soul back to the master... But I'm a lead figurine in a game world," he cried, turning to the still 'real' Yugi. "I can't move without the will of a game master, or a player... So Yugi," he continued, eyes wide and pleading. "Throw the dice for me! Make the roll to do my magic!"
Picking up the dice, 'Yugi' nodded, eyes soft as he smiled. "I will! And don't worry," he added, the others looking up at him as well. "I'll be sure to roll a critical!"
The white wizard turned to the others, smiling sadly. "The next time we meet in this world," Ahahaha, if they played this game ever again... "I too will be a level one apprentice in my class, without any experience.." Well... That didn't sound too bad...
Honda balked, eyes wide. "N-No xp? But, Bakura!" Experience wasn't really the problem here! Sheesh!
"Farewell, everyone..." With that, the dice were thrown, double zeroes landing on the board as expected. "Healing Magic," the wizard cried, body glowing with light as he began to 'vanish' in the same way 'Kai' did earlier. "Luonazun!" Holding the staff up high, the same familiar 'change' happening to his body from the bottom up. Legs grew rigid, arms here held taught at the sides... And finally, the figurine clattered to the ground, silent.
It was a strange feeling. One moment, he and the others were holding White Wizard Bakura's motionless and stiff body, the blond shouting as his expression froze in a gentle smile... And the next, he was being woken up by Mokuba. "Katsuya-nii!" He groaned, rubbing his head. Ach... It hurt like hell damn it... "Katsuya-nii, wake up! We're back to normal!"
He blinked, sitting up as he looked at Mokuba. "We're..." The look of shock was quickly replaced by cheer, and he pulled the kid close into a hug. As the boy in question squawked in response to this, he grinned, completely lost in the moment. "Oh man! We're done! We did it! Yer' still alright! We WON! YES!"
"Ano... Katsuya-nii..." The boy pointed beyond Katsuya's shoulder, coughing.
Katsuya blinked, looking around as the others gave him an odd, raised eyebrow stare. The hug was released with a nervous laugh and cough, Mokuba rolling his eyes. "Er... We did it~ Now yer si- Yer brother won't completely slaughter me when he gets up, ahaha..." As the others merely laughed in response, he turned back to Mokuba. They'd made it...
They returned to normal... As the others smiled back at him, Bakura thanking the others heavily for what they'd done (Not to mention apologizing even more), he had to silently thank whatever gods were watching them for getting out of that alive. He knew he wasn't going anywhere near this game for a while... A... LONG... While. As they left, Bakura gave each of them the figurines they'd had, the blond idly noting that they seemed to be smiling. As the others turned to leave however, he found himself picking up the 'Kai' figurine and turning to Bakura. "Hey," he said quietly, the albino turning with a blink as Mokuba also followed him. "That 'archer' figurine..."
"Ah, that one..." Bakura picked it up, the figurines large white wings gleaming in the light of the room. It was somehow still intact after all that had gone on after her 'death'... An impressive feat really. "I can't remember making a birdtail... Particularly not a female archer," he added with a small smile, handing it to Katsuya. "I'm not sure why," he continued, before smiling, "But I feel as though this is important to you two though," the albino said as he looked down at Mokuba a moment. "I think I'll give it to you."
Katsuya stood, silent for a moment as Mokuba looked up at the figurine. It was the boy who spoke first in the end, after the silence that came over after saying their good-byes and leaving the apartment. They were alone by this point, everyone having gone their separate ways by now. "Katsuya-nii," he said, the pair walking home in the partial darkness of the evening. "That figurine... That smile..."
He nodded, pulling it carefully out of his bag. The palm sized figurine sat cold on his hand, Remaining light washing half of the features of the figure. "Yea... I wouldn't know myself but..." The blond sighed, looking at the oddly uncharacteristic smile on the 'archer's face, before turning to Mokuba. "Hey Mokuba," he asked, eyes soft. "What yah said back there... When we were tryin' teh figure out 'Kai's name..." 'Seri' he'd said... One of the offered 'possibilities' that Yugi had given... And undoubtedly noticed if Yugi's own reaction was any sign.
The boy merely 'hnn-ed', staring ahead. "It was nothing," he said, a little faster than normal maybe. "I really meant it... If you look at the shirt the figurine is wearing, it looks like parsley." The teen looked back at it, blinking. Well, he had to admit, it did look similar but... He doubted that was it really.
Katsuya sighed, but decided to leave it as it was. Honestly, they'd dealt with enough that day... Probably best to leave things be. Instead, turning his attention to the road below, he changed the subject to something else. "Do yah think," he said, somewhat hesitantly as the boy beside him looked up. "Do you think that it was... Her?" As impossible as the question seemed, the boy's answer told him it had been on both their minds.
"...I..." Mokuba fell silent, before nodding, wiping a few stray tears at the thought of 'seeing' his sister again. "I don't think it was all of her but..."
He smiled, the pair falling partially silent as they continued off. The answer didn't need to be said after all. Regardless of the fact that it had obviously not been Kaiba, it had also been at least... A small part. "Yea... Me too..."
A small piece of the puzzle...
AN: I swear it, Bakura gets the BEST LINES EVER.
HOW DOES THAT FEEL BAKURA?
HOW DOES THAT DURABLE POLY-RESIN FEEEEEEEL?
You can probably tell that I had far too much fun making up attack names.
You can also likely tell that I was feeling far to romance-y for this chapter, and I will forever be trying to figure out how I got Bakura's soul to Jonouchi's soul, and Jonouchi's soul INSIDE Kaiba's soul. Especially since Kaiba is like... Miles away in the house at this time. UUUUUH... I... I don't know... (-coughredstringscough-) But heeeeey Kaiba gets a puzzle piece out of it. (To be specific, what Bakura did was take one of the pieces and use it for a figurine. In return, he not only left behind what he'd used to make that figurine, but also another piece for the puzzle created from those experiences. Though Kaiba won't remember a damn thing concerning that.) Anyways... Uh...
I'lllll just move on now...
Anonymous Review Responses
Hi there Iona! Glad to see you like Mokuba's involvement! I was wondering how that would be taken... Hopefully, I can keep it up!
As for Yu-Gi-Oh R... I'm wondering about that myself. Mostly, I'm building on two things, which will largely affect how I do this. The first thing is obviously timing, which I'll probably decide as things begin shaping up. The second however, is an interesting point but... In Yu-Gi-Oh R, when Yakou Tenma comes to see Pegasus, you see the bloodied table but... There's no body. He's got the company but where did the body GO? (It scares me, it really does...) In any case... We'll see what happens.
To answer your question, I don't think it's so much that everyone wants his company, so much that Kaiba just makes waaaay too many enemies. Pegasus wanted it for a realistic reason (KaibaCorp has the machines, he has the cards), the Big Five for a more obvious reason (They kinda were already a big part of the company), Gozaburo and Noa in Virtual World for another reason... Siegfried's was built COMPLETELY on revenge however- he was upset about Kaiba using an idea that they had... Pretty much both come up with at the same time, and getting to Pegasus with it first. (Irony is, Kaiba was 'inspired' to create SolidVision by a Shadow Game against Yugi, whereas Siegfried legitimately came up with the idea on his own. D'OH.) As for Tenma...
Not completely sure, but it either has to do with Pegasus' goals, with his need for Solid Vision to get 'revenge' on the falsely accused Yugi (But Fluffy gets his, yes he does...), or... Quite possibly both. Helps that he's somehow being possessed by the evil counterparts of the God Cards.
That or Kaiba just attracts people like magnets by being a jerk and owning what is (If not what WILL be in the future given the spinoffs...) possibly the most influential company in his field... Possibly the world in a few decades. WOWWWWWW KAIBA. WOW.
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section so mind-blanking-ly incredible it... It... Shoot, I can't remember... ._.
Not actually much to say here in terms of the manga, save for perhaps... This. The dice that Yami Bakura uses have a soul trapped in them, much like the figurines. It's how he got insane rolls even later in the game. To be specific, he pulled them out right before the hit that SHOULD have killed everyone. Bakura however, retook control of his left hand after it was blasted off of the Zorc figurine, and used some handy keyboard typing to save everyone's rears. (Hence why Yami begins muttering to himself and moving the laptop to the side.) Actually, a small bit of what Bakura 'says' to Kaiba (Who he ironically doesn't even know... Or even meet until Battle City. Actually no, he does see Kaiba in Duelist Kingdom, never mind.) is what he types out on the laptop as a message to Bakura. Needless to say, Yami Bakura wasn't happy... Particularly after he finds out his left hand was hiding the soul-possessed dice as well. (This would be about where he stabbed his own hand. Yay?)
Bakura got back at him though, as when Yami Bakura attempted to stick a piece of his soul in the dice to ensure a perfect roll. Instead of succeeding, Bakura snuck into them... And self-destructed. Hihhhhh... You never do find out if he remembers this... But it's heavily implied that he does. Possibly even stated. (Yikes.)
Some of you are probably wondering why I threw the god-damned 'Red String of Fate' in here. To answer your question, I'm a hopeless romantic. On a more 'guide' type of note, the original tales of the red string are not tied to the pinky of both people involved; instead, it's tied to the pinky of the woman, and the thumb of the man. Hnnnn... Guess tying it to the pinky on both ends is just simpler nowadays.
As a last note, you're probably wondering what the hell happened to Jonouchi during that twisted, hellish scene. Well... To be frank, all of the injuries he got as a figurine rebounded on him and... He ended up pulled back into Monster World. The two biggest ones that show up are Zorc's attack at the tower (A nice slash to the midsection, which would likely cause a bit of bloody vomit on his part... Ick.), and Zorc's attack shortly after that. The super critical one. The one that set him on fire. Ouch. Then again, at least it went faster than Kaiba's memory purge induced OOC-ness. That one had to suck a lot.
See you next time guys~ Duelist Kingdom is coming faster than you think! And then you'll actually have to wait for me to type the chapters, rather than simply edit them. Because all of the fanfic to a certain point was typed before I uploaded the prologue... I've just been editing after that.
Off we go!