The One Who Came With The Night
The 'trip' back to the castle was anything but fun, he decided fairly quickly. Saruwatari had not appreciated the fact that Yugi won at all, and given the condition of his neck right now that was more than apparent. He realized all to quickly however, that the room they were taking him to was not the same tower that he'd been in before. Instead they moved down, down down, into the depths of a dank torch-lit hall with a pounded dirt floor. The boy watched as a cell door was opened, before he was roughly tossed to the other end. "Gn!" Mokuba grunted as he fell to the ground of a basement cell, pulling himself up slowly with a cough. Ow... Ow... In addition to the bruises from earlier this was... He frowned as he heard a 'clink' noise, turning to find that there was now a chain around one of his wrists. They... They'd locked him in a dungeon cell! "Gh... You... Let me out! Right now!"
Saruwatari merely smirked, shaking his head. Now that the chain and cuff was attached, he moved back from the boy to watch as Mokuba fruitlessly tugged at the chain. "And why would I do that," he 'asked', arms crossed as footsteps echoed down the hall. It was dark in this place... So dark... The sun had already begun to set, and through the barred window above him there was nothing but a dull ray of light that illuminated nothing. All he could see was a dull gleam of light against Saruwatari's sunglasses, and along the bars of the cell door behind the man. "It took me ages to find you after all, and thanks to that mess with your 'friends'," the man added with a sneer. He shook his head mockingly as he cut off, before continuing. "Tsk tsk tsk... After all that Pegasus did for you, looking after you even when you refused to give up the information we needed..." Did for him? He locked him in a tower room with nothing but a bed and his belongings! He kidnapped him from his own house, searched the entire place...
As Mokuba merely smirked darkly in response to that (After all, it would be impossible to get the information from him), a voice came from out of the cell. A voice that caused a shiver to run violently down his spine, a familiar shadow appearing on the floor as the steps grew louder. "That's enough I think," said the chillingly familiar voice. "You're dismissed, Saruwatari..." The suit nodded, moving to the side as his employer stepped in. "I want to speak to dear Mokuba-boy in person..." H-Hihhhh...
The suit left, and Mokuba drew back as the red suited CEO of I2 walked in. Pegasus waited silently, arms behind his back until the footsteps echoed down the hall and out of existence. The boy swallowed nervously, tensing as the man drew back his hair to reveal a golden eye before stepping forwards. That eye... The others had called it the 'Millennium Eye'... He'd looked at him with it on his arrival to the island, stared at him and somehow known everything..! And it gave him the chills, even before the man actually spoke. Staring at nothing, a dull shine passing over it. Nonetheless, as he remembered why he was there, and managed to muster up at least a fraction of courage for the moment. After all... He stood between the company and Pegasus didn't he? So long as Pegasus focused on him... "Gh... Why do you need to talk," he bit out with a snarl. "You can read minds can't you?" That's what Anzu had said at least... Along with everyone else.
And apparently, he was right about that. Pegasus chuckled, shaking his head with a mock sigh. "Dear dear me! You mustn't think of such things," he 'whined', bringing a hand to his head rather dramatically. This man was not setting a good image for Americans... At all... "It would be rude if I just pried through your head and left after all... Really..." His eye narrowed, and he looked down at the small boy before him. The man's expression shifted from the look of mock despair to a fairly frightening smile, and Mokuba shivered in response. "But I have to say... Why is it that once you were found by Saruwatari you gave in so easily... You could have attempted to run, or even have your canine-security defend you..."
The boy continued to press himself against the wall as Pegasus stared down. He stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with the man lest his thoughts be pulled from his mind. He couldn't let anything out... He couldn't reveal anything, even think of anything... "W-Why would you care," he asked nervously, head turned deliberately away from the man. "I... I have your precious key after all! So you should be happy I'm here!"
"Yes... I was wondering about that," he said, stooping down and roughly grabbing Mokuba's chin. Ignoring the grunt of pain he received in response, he jerked the boy's head up and towards him. And still, Pegasus noted with a cruel smile, the boy was attempting and failing to avert his gaze, only to finally lock on to the Millennium Eye. It had that effect... Drawing the attention of all who were near, leaving their minds as easy prey... "When I looked into your thoughts, it appeared you weren't lying about the 'key'... After all," he stated, eye narrowed slightly, "All you had to do was admit to swallowing 'a key'... But it occurred to me, my dear Mokuba-boy, that I never asked which key..." The smile grew dark, his eye narrowing further. That look... It wasn't good... "Now why don't you tell me again, exactly what key it was you were given..?"
He swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't tell him... He couldn't think about it, not about the key, not about the replica that was long-since dissolved... Not about the key Katsuya had, not about his nee-sama's secrets, about- He froze as chuckling came from the man holding his face, and his breath hitched. Nee-sama... No... He'd let the thoughts run through his head... Even though he'd been so sure he could hold them off...
The man's smile grew as he dropped Mokuba's head, pulling something from his pocket. As the boy below slowly looked upwards in horror, Pegasus chuckled just lightly. "Such an interesting mind you have Mokuba-boy," he said with a laugh. So very very interesting, the thoughts that ran through the panicked mind... "Don't worry... I already knew that you didn't have the key... I just thought I'd check." He held a card out, still smiling as he looked over the blank canvas it depicted. "But my my! To think that Kaiba-boy was... Well," he said as the boy's eyes widened in response, thoughts supporting his suspicions. "I suppose that 'boy' would be... inaccurate... now wouldn't it..."
"Y-You..." As Pegasus continued to chuckle, Mokuba grit his teeth, lunging at the man. The chain clanked angrily against the wall, and Mokuba struggled as he attempted to throw a fairly terrible punch. "YOU BASTARD! BASTAAAAAARD!" As the man raised an eyebrow at language he'd likely picked up from Katsuya, he continued shouting, eyes filled with rage. These were his thoughts... His secrets, and the secrets others had trusted with him..! He had no right... No right..! "GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT! YOU... YOU DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW THAT! ONLY NEE-SAMA, ONLY KATSUYA-NII-" He chocked, still struggling against his restraints as he looked forwards. How dare he... How dare he...
Pegasus merely smiled as he stepped back, the chain holding Mokuba in place as he laughed. "So close to your employee's Mokuba-boy... You shouldn't think those things..." His eye narrowed with cruel mirth, and he continued. "You don't know what sorts of things could happen as a result..."
Didn't know... He knew what could happen, but his thoughts weren't normally available for broadcast! The boy merely growled, tugging fruitlessly at his chain as he reached forwards with his free arm. Just... If he could just do something, anything..! "HGGGN! You stay away from them! You can't touch them," he shouted, eyes narrowed as the man before him merely held that same card with a frightening smile. "S-STAY AWAY!" As he continued to struggle, he suddenly found himself growing abnormally cold, eyes going wide as the sensation of immense weight passed over his body. "Hng..!" He stopped struggling, taking a few steps back as he slowly looked up at Pegasus with wide and terrified eyes. This feeling was increasing... He was having trouble moving, and it felt as though he'd finished running for days on end. "What... What is this..."
Chuckling continued to fill the room, and Pegasus held a card out for him to hold, dropping it on the ground. It landed face down... His vision swam, and he blinked in a failed attempt to clear his blurred sight. A card... He didn't want to see what it was, and yet... Hesitantly, Mokuba moved forwards, slowly picking it up and flipping it over to look at it's image. 'Soul Prison', it said, with faded katakana slowly appearing on the bottom. He squinted at it, watching as an outlined image of a person slowly faded into it. He felt weak... Dizzy... The boy groaned as he held his head, biting his lip. "What are you doing," he forced out, falling to his knees as his hand refused to drop the card. "Why... Why are you..."
"Shhhhh..." Pegasus' golden eye gleamed in what little light filled the room, the captive below watching with dulled vision as the man gave him a frightening smile. "I don't plan on doing anything more than this, Mokuba-boy... Just sleep... Sleep," he said, the boy below attempting to do just the opposite. "It's all you need to do..." Such a calm voice... Smooth and convincing, but he couldn't listen... If he listened, who knew what would happen, who knew what would await him..!
Frightened eyes dully made their way to the hand holding the card, unable to widen as colours began to appear on it. The hand shook slightly as he collapsed forwards, falling to his side to stare at the image. Black hair... White shirt... Blue eyes... He gave a shiver as the image slowly began to clear, practically crying for his body to just hold on, to just hang in there. This person... This face appearing on the card... It was... He couldn't... He couldn't give in to this, it had to be a trick, a hallucination, anything but this... He wanted to see his big sister again, to see Katsuya again, to see everyone...
Sleep, whispered a voice somewhere as he shook. Who was that... Who was speaking... Just sleep...
Sleeep...
As he closed his eyes, finally giving in, the card slipped slightly in his hand. Pegasus chuckled as the boy finally caved, image on the card now complete. It was the first time he'd tried to only gradually seal a soul... An interesting result really, he had wondered what sort of effect on the body it would have. The man leaned over, grabbing the card still tightly clutched in Mokuba's hand before looking over the image of the frightened and trapped young boy with a cruel smile. The boy's hands gripped the bars of his prison, eyes wide and fearful as his expression locked in a silent cry of terror. "Good... You listened... Things go so much better when you do after all, and I do hope you don't mind these... Terrible living conditions," Pegasus muttered as he turned from the soulless body on the ground. "But I'm afraid you've given me no choice," he said with a sigh, moving to leave the cell without even bothering to shut the gate behind him. "After all... Soul's can't run, can they Mokuba-boy..? So it's not as though you'll be any trouble for me now..."
There was no answer, save for a slight shiver on the image of the card as it was placed into the depths of a breast pocket.
Cards couldn't scream after all.
Meanwhile in the woods of the island, Katsuya and the others were searching rather fruitlessly for Mokuba. "It's no use," Honda shouted loudly as they leaned against a cluster of trees. They'd stopped going after duels the moment they realized Mokuba was gone, but for all the time they'd spent looking they were having no luck whatsoever. "That kid isn't anywhere!" Yea no shit Honda, Katsuya thought as he clenched his fists. No shit... Damn it...
It was nine hours into the first day now- for the past few hours, they'd been searching high and low for Saruwatari's hide, but to no avail. At the moment, all they'd succeeded in doing was souring the mood further and exhausting themselves. "Tch... Mokuba was probably taken t' Pegasus' castle," Katsuya growled, spitting at the ground as he collapsed. "F'r us to have an incentive t' go in an' get him back..."
Yugi nodded, looking over at the distant building in question. "We can't get into Pegasus' castle unless we have 10 starchips," he began, frowning. It made sense really, now that he thought about it; the door to the castle was literally locked with a dial meant for ten chips. Without the chips, it was effectively a fortress... And since Mokuba had still been carrying all the chips he stole...
Another nod from Katsuya, the blond moving from the side of the tree with a determined expression. "Right!" Ten starchips... They got a hold of those, and they'd be set to 'storm the gates' so to speak. He frowned however, as he turned to look down at his wrist. Ten chips... That was all easy for Yugi to say... He had 6, only four more and the guy would be there. As for himself... Well... Shit, he only had two! He'd only dueled once the entire time and the sun was already setting! Damn it damn it damn it... Alright! He clenched his fist, the decision being made. "Time t' find me an opponent..." As the others shrugged, standing up to follow him as he stalked off, he cracked his knuckles. Time to get moving!
This was apparently much easier said than done however... As an hour later, he still had two star chips. He'd probably asked at least half the island to face him, and... He still had... Two star chips...
"Hey you," he shouted, grinning as he found another duelist. Maybe this guy would fight him! Just about everyone else had flat out bolted for some reason... "You wanna duel me?"
The boy turned for a moment, blinking. "Duel? S-" He tensed, growing pale as he looked at the group. "T-That's... Mutou Yugi behind you... Isn't it?" As a matter of fact, yes it was... And he had better not be staring from behind h- Damn it. The boy shook his head, laughing nervously. "N-No thanks... Yugi would just wipe the floor with me after!" No.. No he wouldn't... Because he wouldn't be fighting! Daaaaaaamn it...
As the boy ran off, Katsuya groaned. "Auuuuugh... Man that's th' fourth one!" He rubbed his face, sighing as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Shit... Isn' there any other way I mean... Hell, every time they spot Yug' they run off... No will power at all..." Just what kind of tournament was this if no one was fighting them? Rigged maybe..? Or... Something..? (Did Yugi's 'loss' count if they just didn't manage 10 chips before someone else did? Because if everyone was running...)
Bakura laughed lightly from behind, shaking his head. "I think they see Jonouchi-kun as a tough enemy... Since he's hanging around Yugi-kun..." Oh? Hey, that wasn't bad- wait, was he implying that he wasn't good at all? Was he..?
Beside him, Honda nodded before sighing. "They probably feel his aura of RAGE..." Rage?
Katsuya's response did nothing to help the image in any way, his face going rather red. "NHHHH! IT'S NOT MY FAULT," he bit out with a growl, crossing his arms. Honestly..! He wouldn't feel so pissed if Pegasus wasn't being such an ass about everything going on! As he turned to continue searching for an opponent, about to say something to Yugi, he was interrupted by a familiar laughing voice. The group froze, and he mentally groaned. Ohhhhh shit not her...
He turned, wincing as Mai appeared with a smirk. "We meet again, Jonouchi!" Wait, so... She was stalking him now? And what was she even doing here? She smirked, crossing her arms. "You look the same as ever... A bunch of kids klutzing around..." The woman chuckled, shaking her head as the others continued to sputter at her insults. "What, did you all turn into ducks?" A what!
Katsuya seethed, reeling back at the comment. "D-Ducks! What the-" Scowling, he made to respond to that only to freeze as he caught sight of the woman's wrist. Hang on, she had eight star chips... That was four times more than he had, damn it... He bit his tongue as he went over the difference in chips, watching as the woman turned to Yugi.
"Yugi... Doesn't it annoy you," she said in her sickeningly sweet tone, crossing her arms as she sighed. "Every time you're 'alone', they're just following you around..." Wait, what was with that comment? Just following around, well what did she think, that they'd just abandon him? Or... That he'd abandon them? Seriously, what the hell was she doing.. He tensed as the woman abruptly turned to point at him, shouting. "JONOUCHI!" Wah! What what? What, she was turning on him now! Stop switching! "Last time you got flowers and sparkles, but this time my manservant will beat you!" Flowers and sparkles? If that was flowers and sparkles, he'd be stocking up in brain bleach for months... And hang on...
He did a double take, blinking a few times as the word 'manservant' registered in his mind. "Er... Wait what? Manservant..? What..?" Blinking again, he managed a smirk. "Finally get someone t' stay after yer creepy card playin' then?"
Mai tensed momentarily at that, before grinning in response. "You could say that," she said as she stood to the side, gesturing to the space behind her. "TA-daaah!"
From behind the tree, a familiar face appeared, its owner smirking as he gave a wave to them. Though familiar was a fairly loose term, given that it was more 'familiar to all those who had a TV'... Not to mention, this was the same guy who poked fun at their sleeping arrangements on the boat... Only to show up later in that same room. Hahahahaa... Now that he thought about it, Mai hadn't been in that room that evening... So if you thought about the reason behind the switch, this was probably just her using the guy instead of dating. (Otherwise it wasn't really working in his head.) "Heh heh heh... Been a while Yugi, Jonouchi!" Dinosaur Ryuzaki...
Wait, Katsuya thought as realization finally thumped him in the head. He was facing the runner up for the tournament? He swallowed, before remembering Mai's 'duck comment'. Damn it! Who cared if this was probably part of some weird vengeance plan! He could do this... And he would do it! For Mokuba and Shizuka both! "Alright," he shouted, gritting his teeth. "I'LL TAKE YOU ON!"
"J-Jonouchi, I really doubt-" Hang on what was Honda saying!
"I AM NOT A GOD-DAMNED DUCK!" As Honda drew back, he shook his head. Honestly... God! Turning back to face his opponent, he nodded again. Alright... "I'll do it!"
Ryuzaki nodded as well, moving from the tree he'd been leaning on with a smirk. "We'll duel in that box over there," he said, before walking off with another wave. "I'm going ahead, alright?"
He nodded as well. "Right!" As he said this, Mai moved to join the teen, Yugi coming up beside him at that moment.
"Jonouchi," the teen said, his friend looking down at the moment in thought. He almost seemed to be lost in whatever he was thinking about, before Yugi turned to look up at him. "I need to ask you something about earlier, during the duel with the ventriloquist..." The ventriloquist..? Why would he be asking about that?
Katsuya blinked, before nodding. Well... Not like it couldn't wait just a little more right? "Got it... We can talk after this then... Listen, Yug'," he said, the teen giving him his attention. "I need t' ask ya a favor." If he was going to do this for Mokuba and everyone else, he mind as well go all out... As the others turned to listen, he continued, mentally kicking himself. "I don't want yah t' give me any advice during this duel! None at all, alrigh'?" That way it would all be 'him'- and he'd be able to tell himself that when he got to the other side. Granted... Yugi's advice was pretty good... And also fairly helpful...
Damn it... Why'd he say that? What the hell did he just- ACK. Never mind... He wasn't going back on his words, and it wasn't like he could turn back time anyways! Though the others seemed to be having thoughts fairly similar to his doubts right now... "What are you saying Jonouchi," Anzu shouted, the others nodding in agreement.
"Dude, that's crazy!" That would be Honda...
"You can't beat him on your own Jonouchi-kun!" And Bakura...
He smirked, shaking his head. Well... Regardless of what they thought (And what he thought...), he shrugged. "Yea yea... I know..." The blond gave a sad smile, continuing. "Inside my head, I'm tellin' myself th' same thing... 'what th' hell did you jus' say, damn idiot!'... That's what I'm hearing!" Katsuya held up his glove, looking at the starchips. The two that sat there gleamed in the setting sun, and as he looked over them he found himself nodding to himself yet again. "I'm gonna bet all my starchips on this duel... An' if I lose, it's all over..." He swallowed, clenching his fists. "And it'll mean I can't save Mokuba..." It would mean he couldn't save anyone... "But... I'm gonna win by myself," he said, smirking as he turned towards the duel box. "An' by winning... I'll be winnin' for th' others too, doing it on my own! That's how I feel!"
Yugi stared at him a few moments, before nodding. He got it... Abruptly, he seemed to 'drop', almost collapse... And before they knew it... "Yugi!"
The blond stared, before grinning as Yugi looked around with wide eyes. The few strands of blond hair that stood on end as the 'Other Yugi' flopped back over his face, and the boy shook himself for a few seconds. "Hah! The normal Yugi came back!" Now that he thought about it, for all the similarities he had a fair number of differences from his 'other self' in terms of appearance...
His friend blinked as the others stared at him, before grinning. "Hahaha! Yep!" As the others made to cheer Katsuya on, the boy continued to grin, chasing after his friend as they headed toward the duel box. "Jonouchi-kun, good luck!"
He nodded, turning around and shaking his head with wide eyes. Hoooooly shit. Having gotten so used to hanging around the 'other Yugi'... The overall cheer and almost childish attitude that the 'original' had was pretty damn weird. 'Yugi,' Anzu was shouting in the back ground, 'Let's cheer for Jonouchi!' 'Yea,' was the loud, cheery response, and Katsuya resisted the urge to shake himself off. Sooooo different... If this sort of thing happened often, he'd probably have to carry around a bucket of water or something. That or his arm would be completely red from all the pinching he was doing. Nonetheless...
A few seconds later, he was staring Ryuzaki down across the duel table, decks cut and shuffled as cheers came for both sides from around the box. "Heh..." Ryuzaki turned, snorting. "The peanut gallery sure seems lively..." For all the sting of the comment, it actually sounded pretty calm; maybe the duel wouldn't be to bad! "By the way," he added, turning to his opponent. "How many Star Chips you betting?"
Katsuya tossed his two chips on the table, frowning slightly. His only chance... Regardless of how his opponent acted, he couldn't slip up even once! "Two!"
The teen nodded, pulling two off from his own glove. "Gotcha! I'll bet two as well then; I have the mountain field, and you have the grassland," he began, placing his deck in position on the field. " And the mountain field gives my dinosaurs a power up," he added with a smirk. "Get ready!"
Another nod. Alright... Ryuzaki was runner up in the tournament finals... His dinosaur cards were strong, but if he could pull out the two card combo he used to beat Mai... Baby Dragon and Time Wizard would finish this off easily!
"Let's go," Ryuzaki shouted, pulling the blond from his thoughts. "Duel!"
They drew their cards, Ryuzaki Katsuya grinning. "Lucky..." First hand and he already had Baby Dragon and Time Wizard! He smirked, already confident in himself. He could win this... He could definitely win this! "Let's go! I summon Baby Dragon in Defense mode!" He definitely wasn't putting him in attack mode. That would be silly.
For a moment, Ryuzaki appeared to be staring at the monster incredulously; after all... It had what, a few hundred points to defend with. He soon shook it off, playing his card with a smirk. "Alright then! This is my card; Two Headed King Rex!" Ehh... Shit... He probably should have remembered to put a card to keep the first half of his combo alive huh... Not that he had one really... He winced as Ryuzaki sent it forward, groaning as the dinosaur squished Baby Dragon beneath its fat clawed toes. "AHAHAHAA!" Ryuzaki laughed at the expression on Katsuya's face, shaking his head. "What are you, stupid? You can't just put down random cards, use your head a little!" As the teen rapped on his own head, smirk still in place, Katsuya grimaced. Sheesh! He had been! ...Kinda. Alright, so...
Why was Mokuba's taunting voice of 'you can't win with just monsters' in his mind... Damn it... Ugh... At the thought of Mokuba and the boy's current likely position, his mood soured even more. Shit... Toning out the shouts from outside, he looked at the dinosaur with partial disgust, idly looking at the attack power it held with a frown. Shit... There went his trump card... And his stratedgy... He scowled as Mai shouted that particular part out loud. Yea yea, rub it in why don't you... So he couldn't use Baby Dragon with Time Wizard now, he'd just have to pull out something else! He had at least one card that would work in here...
"C'mon," his opponent said, snapping Katsuya from his thoughts. Ryuzaki had a frown on his face, arms crossed in impatience. "Play your next card!"
He nodded. "Right..." God damn Mai mouthing him off outside... Seriously, what did she have against him anyways, just because he was mouthing off on her cards... ...They had it coming. Ryuzaki had a fairly strong monster on the field, that was true, but he had a good one in his hand as well thanks to this draw! Gritting his teeth, he played a card on the field. That Rex's attack should be below his monster's so... "Let's go, Demonic Ox-Man! Attack!"
Ryuzaki grinned, laughing loudly as most of the others outside groaned. Shit. He'd missed something again, hadn't he. "HAHAHA! You really are a moron! Did you seriously just forget about the field effect?" And AAAAAAWWW SHIT. Yes. Yes he did, and FUUUUUUUUUUUU- "DINOSAUR FOOT STOMP!" The Rex charged at his ox-man, and though his own monster managed to force the foot off of him for a few moments, he soon joined Baby Dragon in a pile of mush on the field.
Aggguuuhh.. "Damn it..." His points dropped by a few hundred, and he winced. Great... He took the first hit. Idly, he heard Yugi say 'Don't rush!' from outside, and he nodded. Alright... Alright calm down, don't rush... Don't rush... Wait... Didn't he tell Yugi not to give him advice? Then again, 'don't rush' was pretty standard... Ok. Ryuzaki got a bonus from the wastelands... But two could play at that game! His field was grassland after all... And grassland powered up swordsmen and warrior monsters. "Alright... This is my card then," he shouted, playing one on the field. "Axe Raider! And he gets the grassland field bonus!" As the axe raider stood, gaining enough to surpass the twin rex, he nodded. Don't rush... He wouldn't attack this turn. "I'll set him here and end my turn!"
His opponent nodded, drawing a card. "My turn," he said, apparently glad that Katsuya was actually being an 'opponent' now rather than just playing cards left and right. "Ok! This is my card, also gaining a bonus! Sword Dragon!" The stegosaurus like monster appeared on the field with a roar, attack just barely surpassing Katsuya's own. SHIT. That wasn't good! "DRAGON TAIL SWORD! Axe Raider's gotten what was coming to him!"
"Gh!" He watched as the monster charged the field to slam his tail down on the Axe Raider. Katsuya winced, watching as the monster was cut cleanly in two while the stegosaurus meandered back to his own side of the field. Shit... Even more attack points...
"HAHAHA! It's no good," Ryuzaki said with a smirk, before grinning. "If you think you can beat my dinosaurs, you'd be better off living in the ice age!" Yea, whatever the FUCK that meant! God!
He looked down at the table, eyes closing as he rubbed his head. Damn it... If this was Ryuzaki's beat down strategy he was done for... Man... He knew he couldn't... Briefly, he found himself turning to look at Yugi, before quickly smacking himself in the head. Fuck! He had to pull himself together, god... What was wrong with him, falling into that kind of gloom so easily. Yes, Mokuba was gone and there was no telling what happened to him... But he couldn't let that, or anything else bug him... He had to win! He had to! With his own power..! "My turn," he finally said, drawing a card. Alright... He didn't have any cards to match his dinosaur... Katsuya looked over the 'Time Wizard', biting his lip. Well... Maybe it had some other power...
He set it face down, watching as Mai began whispering through the glass to Ryuzaki. Obviously he wasn't able to hear what the woman was saying... And Ryuzaki himself didn't say much in response. Something about 'not having a clue about how to use it' really, but the only thing he could think of that he would be talking about was the card... But... How the hell could they know what he set? He mentally shrugged, before grabbing another card from his hand. It was probably a fluke... Damn it...
"Anyways," he muttered, putting the card on the field. Better keep Time Wizard safe, not to mention his lifepoints... "For my turn, I'm putting Ogre Rock in defense position..."
Across from him, Ryuzaki smirked. "A monster like that ain't gonna beat this one! Wasteland power up! I summon Megasaurier!" The teen laughed, the triceratops-like monster appearing on the field and preparing to charge. It pawed the ground, snorting before it took off to gore the ogre on Katsuya's side of the field. "Megasaurier's charging attack! And Ogre Rock bites the dust!"
He winced again, playing another monster in attack mode with a grimacing attempt at a smile. "How about this then..." This monster gained a bonus too; if he was lucky, it would-
There was merely another laugh in response, Ryuzaki drawing a card and pointing his triceratops forwards yet again."HA! That one's just a snack for my dinosaurs!" Shit, their bonus still topped his!
Katsuya scowled as his points went down, biting his lip again as shouts rang out outside and mutters began yet again. Come on, come on..! He drew his next card, steeling himself. He could do this! For himself, for the others... Besides... He gritted his teeth as he smirked. If he lost now, Seto would probably use his hide for a carpet or something. Not even that... More likely just throw him in a meat grinder. But that wouldn't happen... Katsuya looked over his card, mentally nodding to himself. It couldn't happen..! "My turn," he stated, now confident once more. "And this is my card, the Flame Swordsman! He gets a field power up!"
His opponent blinked, grinning as the robed warrior appeared on the field. "Ohoo... You finally brought out a serious card!" As if to agree with this, the swordsman held his blade out in an attack stance, the weapon glowing with heat as its owner frowned.
He nodded, pointing the monster forwards. Damn straight he did; but none of his monsters weren't serious... He picked them for a reason, and so did Yugi after all! "Let's go! ATTACK!" Flame Swordsman and Megasauriler's attack power was equal, that was true; he didn't need Ryuzaki to tell him that. However, that wasn't all that was working in his favor... "BLAZING SPIRIT SWORD," he began, the swordsman charging forwards to cut through the dinosaur in a flurry of flames. "Megasauriler is annihilated!" Fire trumped all dinosaur cards, all of them! And since the entirety of Ryuzaki's deck was based on them, there was no way he could lose now! As his opponent reeled back in shock as he took a hit to his life points as a result of the attack, Katsuya smirked. Just watch... He'd win with his own strength... And he'd fix this mess! He'd get Mokuba back, while giving Shizuka the chance to see without glasses, without a blurred veil of nothingness..! "HAH! Take that dino-freak," he said with a grin, Ryuzaki scowling at the 'dino-freak' comment. "This guy is my best of the best... And you can kiss all your dinosaurs good bye," he added, watching as Ryuzaki tensed, "Cause I'm gonna beat the crap outta all of them!" 'Keep on at it', they shouted outside, the blond nodding. No problem... He would do just that! "It's your turn, 'dino-freak'!"
Ryuzaki visibly glared at the jibe at his deck, drawing a card. The look on his face quite clearly said he wasn't able to counter... The teen put a card in defense on the table, still scowling. "I'll put wild raptor on the field and end my turn!"
HAH! Now he was running! Nice to see the tables had turned! "Ok, my turn," he shouted, grinning. Lets get rid of the next attack mode dinosaur! "Flame Swordsman, attack!" The swordsman rushed forwards with his blade yet again, cleaving through the twin headed rex and making Ryuzaki's points drop even more. "TAKE THAT!" As the cheers continued from outside, he had to smirk; at the moment, it looked like Mai was reaming Ryuzaki out for beginning to lose. Ryuzaki himself didn't seem to pleased with her, muttering something about busty blonds always being bitches.
Somehow, he couldn't help but agree... (Mai certainly didn't.) But there were bigger jerks (And fish, to quote Ryota) in the world... And one of them was comatose. He watched as Ryuzaki again drew a card, frowning and setting it in defense. Huh... He'd have to get through that 'wall' first then... Nonetheless.
"CUT IT IN HALF," he shouted again, Flame Swordsman slicing through the last of Ryuzaki's attack mode monsters. From outside, he heard Mai say something about not dueling the teen if he lost, and he had to laugh. So that was why he was here? She probably set him up to duel him as a precaution... Knock him out, and know to watch your step. And with the reverse, it was one less problem to deal with! Well, explained the 'manservant' deal at least, he noted with a mental sigh... Back to the battle though, he had to smirk as Ryuzaki stared at the board with a frown. "Heh heh.. What's wrong dino-freak? Run outta cards?"
The teen scowled, drawing a card. "Oh just shut your trap already," he muttered, before his expression abruptly changed. Oh... Oh fuck, that was never a good thing... Hell that was the look he had when he drew his swordsman he bet... "HAHAHA! Red Eyes Black Dragon!" The monster appeared on the field, Katsuya gaping.
Oh fuck... That... That was a really strong card...
Ryuzaki continued to laugh, grinning. "Heh heh heh! Not so cheery now are yah?" No... No he really wasn't, Katsuya decided as the black, skeletal dragon flexed his wings with a feral growl. "I got the legendary Red Eyes Black Dragon as a tournament prize; it's an ultra rare card! Red Eyes is a dark attribute, so it won't get a power up... But it's still more powerful than your swordsman! GET READY!" He directed his monster forwards, the dragon rearing its head. "Black Fire Bullet! Destroy Flame Swordsman!"
FUCK! He watched as his card smoked out of existence, his points dropping to 65. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! It got his swordsman... FUCK! That was the best card in his deck... He looked down at the table, gritting his teeth. This was it... "Shit," he muttered, ignoring Ryuzaki as the teen laughed. 65 points, you didn't come back from that kind of move... Not unless you had insane luck like a certain friend of his..! He was gonna loose... Drawing his next card, his mood not improving at all, the teen grit his teeth. Shit.. Mokuba... Shizuka... Everyone... The meat grinder was actually looking fairly comfortable now...
He looked up blankly as Ryuzaki started shouting at him, frowning slightly. "Jonouchi," he was calling, voice seeming further away than it actually was. What was it..? He was about to win, what was it..? "This is a trading card game.. So lets make a bet! The winner gets one of the loser's cards!" What..? Why was he making that bet now..? It wasn't like his Flame Swordsman would do any good in a dinosaur deck right..? And yet... "So if I win," he continued, Katsuya's frown deepening, "I want your Time Wizard!" Time Wizard? The blond looked down at where he placed the card. Oh yea, he'd forgotten-
Wait, why did Ryuzaki want that card? Hell, how did Ryuzaki even know he had that card! It'd been face down the entire time!
"And if I lose," the teen was continuing, "You get my Red Eyes Black Dragon! It's a premium card, worth over a hundred thousand yen!" HUNDRED THOUSAND! He watched blankly as Mai began shouting at Ryuzaki about the trading rule, a determined expression coming over his face. A hundred thousand yen card... Not only would he be one step closer to Mokuba if he won, but when he finally got there and Yugi freed everyone... He'd be that much closer to Shizuka's eyes... And if he didn't get the prize when he saved Mokuba, that card could very well pay for her eyes as it was!
He nodded, clenching his fist. "I'll do it," he shouted, watching as the two continued to bicker. Alright... Think, think! He didn't have any other cards he could use, but they obviously wanted it for some reason. It was a special card... A card that he put a lot of trust into; Yugi gave it to him for a reason and not just for a trump with Baby Dragon! He didn't know what would happen... But he didn't have anything left... And if he lost this bet, and this game, he wouldn't have another chance... Right! The blond stared at the table, mentally nodding. He'd take this gamble! "I'll put this card face up," he shouted, the ones across from him not noticing for the moment. "I'm using Time Wizard!" Ryuzaki and Mai instantly turned from their argument, looking over with raised eyebrows. Ah... That got their attention! Ok then... Thinking back to what Ryuzaki had muttered earlier, there was some sort of trick to this card, Katsuya decided with a slight frown. How did this card- Ah! He looked at the top of the staff blinking. On the staff... It looked like... He narrowed his eyes. A roulette wheel? The skulls were probably bad... But there was a 2-4 shot of getting a crown, which would probably do something, given the odds against it... So... "ALRIGHT," he shouted, smirking. "TIME ROULETTE! When the roulette spinner stops... Success will mean 'Time Magic'..." Or... Or something. Whatever it was, it probably had something to do with time... Not like he'd be dinged for saying it wrong right? "And failure will result in self-destruction!"
The needle spun rapidly, Katsuya biting his lip. Come on, come on... Odds were against him, but he needed a miracle! Across from him, Ryuzaki and Mai were both watching with wide eyes, as were everyone else... Come on... The needle began to slow... Come on... And it landed on... The crown. "
"SUCCESS," he shouted with a grin, the familiar wave of light appearing over the field. "TIME MAGIC!" He watched as the monsters on the table rapidly aged, Ryuzaki tensing as his monsters degraded into almost nothing. "A million years in the future," he shouted with a grin, "Your dinosaurs have become fossils! ALL OF THEM ARE DEAD!" Ryuzaki's points plummeted to zero as his dinosaurs and dragon both died, face pale. The duel was over... Gathering his cards, Katsuya idly smirked as Mai joined in the chorus of cheers. The others had noticed as well, giving her a fairly confused stare as the woman coughed in an attempt to cover it up. Hahaha, she just didn't want to be on the other end of that card... Given that even on its own there was a fair shot of clearing the field, he didn't want to either. Still... Crazy blond twit... (Wait, he was blond... Uh... Lets rephrase that...)
Ryuzaki handed him the Red Eyes card, honoring their agreement as two starchips were also added to his wrist. The teen still had at least one chip left it looked like really; so for all that had happened (including losing such a rare and powerful card), he seemed pretty cool about things. Mai, on the other hand, had since vanished... Most likely to get her remaining two chips. "Hahaaa!" Katsuya had to grin as he left the duel box to the shouts of his friends. He had struggled in there but in the end... It really felt fulfilling, winning on his own. Hell... Not only had he done that, he got his own rare card too! He bet even 'Seto-chan' wouldn't sneeze at that one... Pocketing the Red Eyes Black Dragon with the rest of his deck, the grin grew still wider. Four chips down, six to go... One step closer to Mokuba, one step closer to Shizuka's eyes, one step closer to Yugi's grandpa...
They could do this!
The sun was already setting, Seto noted as she stared out the window. The sound of chopping helicopter blades filled the air, visible waves rocking through the ocean below as they passed. A majority of the trip had been held in silence, not that she minded really. Both the guard at her side and the pilot were two unknown employees, and she would much rather not speak with them... Not while she was looking over her papers or simply staring at the sky that at the moment, felt rather foreign to her. Somehow, while she couldn't remember anything past 'falling asleep' at Death-T, it seemed as though she'd missed seeing it. All the same, she decided as she turned from the window, grabbing her case from the ground. The silence was beginning to grate at even her nerves, and one could only stare at the setting sun for so long.
The case was opened, the woman idly taking a glance through the window again. Nothing in all directions could be seen now that they were 'half way there'. Just an endless expanse of water, with no way of telling just where they were. Briefly, she wondered how long they'd been flying; she didn't know the time after all, and there was no clock in the helicopter that she could see from her seat. It made it rather easy to hide things from her actually... Her eyes narrowed, but she held her tongue; now wasn't the time to bother with such things. Instead, she would go over the other things she'd brought with her. Seto grabbed a few of the cards from her briefcase, eyes lingering on the proto-type 'duel disk' she'd made those months ago. Now that she thought about it... While these would be able to bypass Pegasus' mind-scan, however it worked, it wasn't a very 'user friendly' system. Spitting cards to the side after use, the constant throwing and recalling... Hn. She would have to do some redesigning after this was all over... But really, when they'd first been designed, she'd had a few other things on her mind.
Such as him... "Death-T," she found herself muttering, the guard beside her turning. Thankfully, she knew better than to foolishly mutter things without using her false voice... It would cause problems if she didn't after all... Seto flipped through some of the cards, eyes growing distant as she continued to speak. "...How long has it been since then," she whispered with a frown, eyes almost closed as she stared at the cards. She assumed it was almost winter... But she still didn't know exactly what month or day it was... She'd missed Mokuba's birthday, that was for sure... Not to mention every other day between then and now.
Beside her, the guard coughed, as though caught off guard by the question. "Yes... Well..." Seto raised an eyebrow, her face still turned away from the guard as the man spoke. "It's been approximately half a year Seto-sama..."
She looked at the guard from the corner of her eye before snorting. Regardless of the fact that she wasn't speaking to him, she had to mentally shake her head at that. Half a year... She'd been gone for half a year... "What a year indeed," she found herself muttering again, going over a few of the cards she'd grabbed from the case. "I think I've forgotten how the cards felt..." She knew it was at least that really, so the answer wasn't helpful at all. For now however, she had at least one question she wanted to have answered... And while she doubted the answer would be honest, she still wanted one.
"We... Have all been waiting for your recovery Seto-sama," the guard continued, Seto idly noting that his expression said otherwise. In fact, the tone did as well...
Well, regardless of that... She held the cards with one hand, grabbing the folder Kyouko had handed her with the other. "I should hope so," she said, eyes narrowed slightly. "After all... You work for me, correct?" There was a hidden meaning in that, and she continued to stoke the flames that burned it. "All the events that occurred involving KaibaCorp, and even those outside the company," she began, eyes still narrowed, "Are in this report... Mokuba gave this to the only maid he trusted," the woman continued, placing the file down on her case. And there had only been one, given the crowd of new faces she'd seen in that foyer. "Now why is that..."
The guard coughed, expression unreadable as he gave his response. "We are worried about Mokuba-sama as well, Seto-sama. Believe us when we say, we will get him back."
"Of course we will," she stated rather bluntly, finding herself staring at her case. Mokuba... She would not wast this chance! "You sound as though you have doubts... ...'Okami'," the woman continued, the guard nodding as she addressed him. Honestly, she was surprised she'd bothered herself with remembering his name... But really, it would probably help for this small moment. "Just how is it that not a single member of my staff were able to prevent my brother from going missing..?" As she asked this, Seto pulled the papers from the folder to go over them, having only made it half way through before turning her attention to the deck. Once she'd found out that the Board of Directors had taken control, she'd just about had it with the papers... There would be a number of changes being made when she got back, mark her words...
As she placed the cards down to look through the remaining papers the guard beside her, Okami, coughed yet again. "T-That is..." He frowned slightly before continuing, Seto practically watching the cover-story being written right then. "We have a theory, Seto-sama... We believe that it may have been an inside job..." Of course it was...
She showed no visible reaction, instead skimming the papers at a fairly quick pace. Most of the information was to be expected... The board of course wasn't stupid enough to refurbish the newly established Game Technologies company as an Arms manufacturer again; that would cost far too much, and besides that they would need to get into her safe to find anything that would make it possible. There was something at the end of these papers that she absolutely needed to get to though... Something important that Mokuba, or perhaps someone else had left behind... "An inside job," she said, not looking from the papers. As the guard beside her nodded in response, she flipped through another form to look at the next. "Go on then," the woman continued. "Just who is it that you believed kidnapped Mokuba?" Who was it that you were planning on blaming, who was it that this man wanted fired more than anything... It was already fairly clear that this 'guard' would more likely attempt to attack her than protect her- however, at the moment it did more to simply hold her tongue. She could deal with the trash when she arrived at Pegasus' island. For now, she needed to go through these papers, and find out if those she had been told she could trust could legitimately be trusted...
Okami grew silent for a moment, as though hesitating. "It was one of his personal employees, Seto-sama; to be specific, a young part-time member of the security force by the name of Jonouchi Katsuya." She paused just slightly, before returning to her papers. Interesting, how it had changed from 'suspected' to 'it was'. But Jonouchi... It was that name again, the one that she kept hearing since she woke up. So they wanted her to believe that he was to blame then? And yet Kyouko, who had given her these papers had insisted that this same Jonouchi was the one who went after Mokuba... All the same, that would make a good cover given the obvious reality; but for what reasons could she possibly trust this man, she decided as she continued to listen. "As he disappeared shortly after the boy went missing, we believe that he is the one responsible for his kidnapping..." The guard seemed to grow more nervous as she went through the papers, coughing again. She had no reasons to trust anyone at the moment really, not outside those she herself had hired... However... If Mokuba himself had hired this 'Jonouchi'... Seto remained silent as she shuffled through the papers, now coming to the last few. As she grabbed the last form however, a wide eyed frown visibly appeared on her face. There was a note attached... Eyes skimmed it over before the papers were replaced inside the folder, the frown still set across her face. Okami looked over at the woman, coughing yet again. "...S... Seto-sama..?"
The woman took up her cards again, ignoring the guard for a brief moment. Those last two papers... Aside from the note, there had been a form detailing a single week of vacation for that same 'Jonouchi Katsuya'. Signed by her personal assistant himself, and dated the very evening after Mokuba had supposedly gone missing according to Kyouko. So it was two people now that she trusted completely who also trusted this person... Her thoughts led to the note as she continued to frown, staring out of the window again while gripping her cards. It was messily written, and not at all professional; but even so, she somehow felt it was enough to increase her suspicions on the guard beside her, possibly more so than the guard's own words against Isono's and her brother's apparent ones had been.
'I won't break my promise,' it said in messy kanji and kana, the woman frowning. A promise... If she could recall even meeting this person, she would be wondering what it was. But the words after made it fairly clear that it was not something she would remember. 'I'll bring him back,' the second half said. Aside from that, there wasn't even a signature.
Even so, she had a feeling she knew who wrote that... "Hnp..." She grit her teeth, eyes narrowing with rage as she idly shuffled the deck of cards in her hands. "To think the Board of Directors would even think of making a deal with Pegasus..." It had been detailed quite clearly in the folder really... If Pegasus defeated Yugi, who had beaten her at Death-T, then they would hand the company over without question. A deal that would easily win those five money and Pegasus even more, and it disgusted her completely. "Making such an exchange behind my back, and taking Mokuba as well..." Okami visibly tensed at these words, and she continued to mutter to herself. "He will pay dearly for this..." With her hands... She would end this scum that dared to mess with her internal affairs.
There was a nervous cough again, and she mentally wondered what sort of excuses the guard beside her would come up with now. He was making himself terribly obvious... "One thing Seto-sama," he began, regaining his 'neutral' tone of voice. "There is, after all, another enemy on the island we are approaching. Do not forget about the boy who started this entire mess to begin with." She kept silent, replacing the deck she'd gone through to look through the next one in her briefcase. The boy... 'Yugi'? She highly doubted that he would stand in between her brother and herself... "Exacting revenge on him," the guard continued, seeming to stare at the deck of cards that Seto was now shuffling through, "Is the short cut to reviving your former reputation, Seto-sama!"
"...Revenge..." Somehow, she didn't feel as though revenge was what was driving her for the moment; particularly with Mokuba's life on the line. Nonetheless, she remembered the duel clearly... The shock of the final summoning of Exoida, the look in his eyes... 'An instant of atonement Kaiba,' the teen had shouted as he pointed at her that day. Atonement... She stopped shuffling through the deck, smirking. "His battling was splendid," she muttered, partially to herself. Seto turned to look out the window, eyes growing distant as she stared out at the night sky. Slowly, she watched as the moon appeared from behind the clouds, continuing her mutterings with little regard for those listening. "Just as the last time I fought him..." Still staring at the ocean, she ignored the stare that Okami was now giving her; what use was the opinions of someone she would likely need dead in a few moments anyways? "I don't care if my heart seethes with feelings of revenge or not," she stated aloud, a small smirk appearing on her face. "I want to fight with him again..." And again and again until she won... With feelings that were focused entirely on the duel rather than another purpose.
Abruptly, Seto tensed, eyes narrowing as the clouds in the sky cleared completely. Still holding the cards in her hands, she stared at the moon, watching closely as it slowly drifted towards the left. How strange, she thought as she fixed a narrowed stare at the sky. Slowly but surely the moon disappeared from the side of the window, increasing her suspicion. The moon was moving in the opposite direction of the place they were heading...
She frowned, eyes drifting to the other window and watching as the moon slowly began to appear in view. Circles... Her gaze shifted back to her case, a growl caught in her throat. The helicopter was moving in circles, the most childish and idiotic way to keep her from reaching her destination and it had worked. And given that she already had her suspicions, she had a fairly clear idea of why... There was a click beside her, and the woman turned her attention to the so called guard Okami.
"Tch," the man muttered, gun held at the ready and aimed directly for her head. Quick to draw... She hadn't said anything, and yet her well guarded body language had still managed to set him off. "It seems you've noticed already, Kaiba Seto..." He smirked, chuckling slightly as the gun gleamed in the light of the helicopter. "I was beginning to wonder how long I would have to hold out... The silence was killing me... But then maybe you thought that yourself, with all the muttering you've been doing lately..." Tch.. Morons.. She gave a mock sigh, fingering the cards in her hand as the guard continued. Honestly... She had no time for this garbage... "You're going to become a snack for the sharks 'Seto-sama'," the guard stated with a gratingly annoying tone. "They've been getting rather hungry..." Were they now..?
The woman scoffed, placing a card in her right hand before returning the rest to her other. Not as though this moron would realize what she was doing now... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." She chuckled, before resuming her frown. "It would figure that such small time employees would betray me as well..." She fixed a narrowed glare through the corners of her eyes, continuing. "Tell me, how long was it before my brother saw through your facade Okami?"
Okami merely smirked wickedly, still holding the gun. "Who knows," he said finger slowly pressing on the trigger. "Maybe if you're lucky you can find him in the other world and ask him yourself!" Mokuba-! He dared to even imply that he was dead..! "Get ready... Hi hi hi hih..."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, before a false expression of calm came over her face. No... She raised her hands above her head, eyes closed as she silently reminded herself that Mokuba was alive... He had to be alive... He had to... There was no reason for Pegasus to kill him, no reason... He was alive... "Before you shoot," she began, holding the card above the gun at a somewhat odd angle. "I'd rather not get blood on my cards..." She closed the case in front of her with her other hand, setting it on the ground before bringing it above her head as well. "Let me put my hands above my head first..."
"Hi hi hi hi hih..." The 'guard' continued to chuckle, before nodding. Good... He hadn't realized she could have put the card in the case... "Alright... Not a problem... Words worthy of the 'Prince of Cards," he added, seemingly emphasizing the title. Prince... Tch! She was far more than some 'Prince', she guaranteed that! As Seto's glare increased, the man's expression twisted into a frown. "Now then! DIE, SETO!"
A flick of the wrist was all it took. The card was dropped swiftly, and rather than a loud bang there was merely a light 'clack' noise as the gun failed to fire. Okami stared in shock as the gun locked, hand shaking as a guard sat between the trigger and the gun barrel. Gyakuten no Megami... The 'Goddess of Change'... Seto's eyes narrowed further, teeth grinding in anger as the man before her continued to stare at the gun in shock. "You..." He turned to her with wide eyes, expression barely visible from behind the black shades. A thick dent was visible on the card, but the trigger was still unable to connect with the rest of the gun. Stilll... That dent "Thanks to you," she hissed, grabbing the barrel of the gun tightly with a snarl, "A rare card has been ruined!" There was a sickening crack in the room of the helicopter, followed by a wailing and piercing scream as she snapped the guard's grip backwards. Seto pulled the gun into her hand in one smooth motion from Okami's now useless finger, taking the card with her other hand and aiming the gun at Okami with a cold glare.
The man continued to scream, clutching his finger in pain. Quickly however, he noticed the weapon that was now being pointed at him, drawing back from the gun with a choked scream. Seto smirked darkly, not even bothering to stand as she held the gun towards Okami's head. "If you're going to kill me," she stated, the smirk vanishing. "Do it with cards, or not at all! Now," she shouted, ignoring the man's mutterings of 'how... how..' "Open the door!"
Okami did just that, drawing it out as much as he could get away with while pleading for his life. In response, he received nothing but a cold, uncaring stare. Pathetic... One single turn around and the opponent was groveling for their life... "Hn! ... You, Pilot," she shouted, the man turning with a swallow. Yes... She certainly hadn't forgotten him... "Both of you are leaving this helicopter one way or another, get out!"
The pilot froze, stuttering as the gun was turned on him. "B-B-But s-sir... You can't possibly pilot this craft without me... R-R-Right..!" Ahh, and there was that defense as well...
Of course, given her skills in vehicle handling, it was a pointless shield. "Hnhnhnhn..." She smirked, moving from her seat to stand. "Oh don't worry... I know how to pilot a helicopter..." The woman moved over, grabbing her briefcase and holding it tightly. With the grip she held, it would be easy to crack it over either one of the men's heads... And if she had to, she would do it without question. "Even if I break open your skull in that seat, I can still get to the island easily..." The pilot gulped, knowing full well what she had grabbed the case for.
"U-U-Understood!" The man struggled to calm his breath, shakily standing with his hands raised. "Just please, don't... Don't kill me..!" Oh please, just get out already... The pilot moved from his seat up front, joining Okami at the open door with wide eyes. "Please..." Don't kill them..? It was tempting.
The muttering and begging was really getting on her nerves... Nonetheless, she could stand it for this single moment, being the one with the gun in this situation. Only for this moment however... "Hnhnhn... I could care less what you scum want... Now," she shouted, taking a small step forward as the two men clung to the sides of the helicopter. Wind whipped through her hair, knocking the pilot's hat from his head and vanishing into the darkness. Her stare remained unchanged and cold, the two men frozen as she raised her briefcase. "Disappear into the ocean, both of you!" A swing of the case, and the men released the sides of the door in a panic. Their eyes widened as they realized their fatal mistake, falling into the depths of the sea with a bloodcurdling scream of terror that was drowned out by the helicopter above them. Seto merely laughed loudly as she shut the door behind them, watching the men surface below. Taking a seat in the front as she took hold of the controls, she grinned. "Filthy animals," she laughed, turning the vehicle towards the island. "I hope you become the food for the very sharks you spoke of earlier! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"
As the clouds began to appear and surround the moon again, laughter filled the air, accompanied by only the dull crackling static of the radio beside her. Now then, she thought with narrowed eyes. To Pegasus' island!
AN: Pegasus you creepy creepy man... Why did I write that scene, why the hell did I write it... *shudder* Also, spastic Mokuba makes sense if you think about all the crap flying his way right now. And about Jonouchi. Heheee...
Speaking of Jonouchi, at last! Red Eyes is obtained! Love that dragon. Normally, I would mention the other 'challenges' I set up for this fanfic, but really, they've been mentioned a few times in earlier chapters... So I'll just give you the poll results on Priest Set's gender thus far.
So far, female seems to be favored, with it being a tie between a clearly female 'Priestess Set', and a cross-dressing Priest, the scores being 1 - 1. This is probably because if it was male Set, all you people participating in the poll would be wondering how reincarnation fucked up like that.
Male becomes female? USAGI YOU NUT BAR.
This chapter came up fairly quick neh? Look below for the reasoning.
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey there Iona! Yea... The 'Gay Clown' would have been just as amusing to kill, but somehow I liked the 'Ventriloquist of the Dead' bit better. Maybe it's his name. Seriously! Imagine someone walking up to you and being all 'I'm the Ventriloquist of the Dead'. YESSSS.
Thanks for the compliment on Saruwatari's 'not so great escape'! Also, yes... Kaiba is indeed kicking but. Very hard too. We'll see how she reacts to Jonouchi... Ironically, since she can't remember him at the moment (She certainly recalls everything by the end of Duelist Kingdom though, so no worries), she's actually not that bitter about him... He dooms himself by extending the 'PMS' joke from Death-T though, throwing any budding respect she had for him out the window. D'OH.
As for Yami/Yugi's interrogation... Hehehehe... In time... In time... (I hope I don't disappoint you with it!) No breaks for Jonouchi at all.. :'3
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that, unlike Kaiba, loves Oden to bits!
And in other news, when Jonouchi is yelling at Honda, it's because of the original Japanese lines; it's a pun. In Japanese, Honda was about to say 'Karugaro', which... Is what he said up there really. However, in Japanese, the word for duck is 'Karugamo'; given that Jonouchi cuts Honda off, it's likely that he heard 'Karuga' and completely flipped out.
Interesting fact, but unlike in the anime, Ryuzaki is actually pretty cool about dueling at this point in the manga. I don't know about later on (Aside from one shot of him asking Jonouchi in Battle City about how his dragon card is doing... And yelling at him for losing it. xD), but he's not that bad. At all. As I said early on... If not for the fact that he ordinarily lives in Osaka, and therefore doesn't really see the others that often at all, he'd be far more likely to end up on friendly terms with the main cast than a bespectacled snot like Haga.
TIME ROULETTE! GOOOOOO. There is nothing more godly than that card, I swear. There is also nothing more blunt than this: 'ALL YOUR MONSTERS ARE DEAD.' - If I heard that, I would probably cry. But that's because I suck. In any case, one has to wonder what happened to the elemental bonuses later on in the manga... They just... Vanish... (Then again, at this point, the rules of the game still weren't established. As seen with Yugi's 'Catapult Turtle Flying Castle Gambit'. (Look up 'New Rules as the Plot Demands' on TVTropes... There's an entire section dedicated to YuGiOh.)
Specifically (And I'm explaining this because we won't see that duel; Jonouchi wasn't there after all.), what Yugi did was send his dragon knight at the thing holding a castle in the air with his catapult turtle. Now, Yugi had previously set Swords of Revealing Light, preventing the guy's monsters from hiding in the darkness the castle brought, so what his opponent did was shield all the monsters under it... As the castle had a barrier that blocked attacks. However, when the swords vanished on the turn Yugi did this, the castle fell, as it had then only been supported by the swords' effect of freezing time... And... Well, all of the monsters were underneath the castle, so they were squished.
But the entire duel is essentially only possible with the holograms involved. Hence, 'New Rules As The Plot Demands'.
You might notice that, in terms of the manga, the scene at the end with Kaiba has happened early. This is for a very good reason; the duel after Jonouchi and Ryuzaki's is Yugi's and that... Night guy's duel. And the only time we see Jonouchi during that is at the times directly before it, when Mai shows up with food and such... So my plan is to tie that in with what we see after the Kaiba scene; namely, the aftermath of Yugi's duel.
It makes sense when you think about it; it takes a full evening for the ship to travel from Tokyo to Pegasus' isle, so if it takes just as long for the helicopter, then Kaiba's 'half way point' would have happened before Yugi's duel. Speaking of the duel, the chapter that it starts up in is titled 'The Man Who Came With The Night'... I tweaked it slightly for this chapter, as I thought it, again, rather appropriate. (Oddly enough, the chapter with Kaiba's scene doesn't happen until four after it, and is called 'A Storm In The Kingdom'.
Aside from that, there is not much more to speak of in this chapter... Though that's probably my tired rushed brain at work. This chapter was mostly written already; I only had to add two scenes, and it was done! (Hence the quick update.)
With that, I will see you next chapter!