Power And Weakness
-Bzzzz. Bzzzz.- "Come on," Yugi hissed at the phone, fists clenched as the ringer came through the air. He'd been repeating this action a number of times so far, looking more and more agitated with each 'run-through'. "Pick up..!"
She'd be lying if she said it wasn't slightly amusing, but the fact was, with all the time they were wasting she was beginning to feel just as agitated. "You've called your 'friends' six times already," Seto growled, glaring at her rival as the boy was again answered with a dial tone. "Face it; they aren't answering."
"Tch... This isn't like them," he muttered, stowing the phone back in his jacket pocket. "She normally would have answered by now... And Bakura would have answered quickly as well, there's something wrong!" Nhn...
Of course there was... That was why she had Mokuba looking. "Save your breath... We'll know where they are soon enough," she muttered, adjusting her shoulder as they continued down the road. "I have Mokuba tracking your dog and friends, it won't be much longer. Really," the woman continued with a smirk, chuckling under her breath, "You should get a collar on him before someone beats you to it..."
"Gh-" The teen tensed, turning to the woman with narrowed eyes. "Stop comparing him to a dog Kaiba... You of all people should know he's far more than that, both as a person and a duelist!"
Hnnn... Well, he certainly had a habit of exceeding the expected limits of common sense... Seto merely rolled her eyes at the thought and response both however, turning the next corner with a slight sigh. "Yes... About that..." Yugi frowned as his 'friend' continued, a slightly unimpressed frown in place. "As I recall," she said with raised eyebrows, "Jonouchi's duelist level is '2' out of '8'... Considering only duelists of level five and on are allowed into the tournament," the woman continued with a subtle growl, "Exactly how did your friend the 'mutt' get in?" Yugi bit his lip with those words, turning away as the woman continued in response to her 'friend's silence. "Hn! Well then... As soon as we find him, I'll just have to declare him 'disqualified'," she decided, smirking as the teen beside her balked. "Hnhnhnhnhn..."
"Gh- Kaiba," Yugi growled, saying nothing more as he clenched his fists. The teen scowled as his 'friend' walked ahead, the woman looking back with a narrow smirk before continuing.
"What... Not so eager to find him anymore," she 'asked', still chuckling under her breath. "Afraid to find him only to tell him he's out of the running?" Again the answer was silence, the pair continuing down the road as they searched for any sign of Anzu and Jonouchi. Well... She supposed there wasn't much to say on that really... ...And she supposed that if the mutt had somehow managed to qualify for the finals she'd let it slide... They would all be inside an airship after all, it wasn't as though everyone would die while in the air. Now then... So far, since they'd run into since that pathetic 'tag-team' match, they'd run into two duelists, each one dealt with swiftly and mercilessly... And each one giving Yugi another card. They were now tied, five cards for five cards...
But what was taking Mokuba so long to call back with Jonouchi's location she wondered, a frown coming over her face. "Hnnn..."
Yugi turned, frowning as the woman beside her grumbled under her breath. "What," he asked as he shook his head, "What is it?"
Wh- Nothing, he should mind his own- ...Ahhhh, but this was Yugi... Right. "Hn! Nothing," the woman said plainly, a smirk coming over her face again as she opted to change the subject. "It's just odd don't you think? Here I am, walking shoulder to shoulder with the man I consider my lifelong rival... The one who I would want nothing more than to drive into the ground with Obelisk right this moment," she added 'darkly', watching as her rival's expression continued to sour in response to the comment. "Hnhnhnhnhn..."
What, not funny? Well... It was amusing her at least. "...Kaiba," Yugi muttered, narrowing his eyes as he turned back to the streets. "Right now we just need to find my friends... You can have your duel when we know they're alright," he continued, his rival again rolling her eyes.
"Yes, yes, your 'friends'... 'Mazaki' and the 'Mutt'," she muttered, smirk dying. Honestly, did she even say 'duel me' after catching back up? No. Not to say she wouldn't love that right now... "You know, despite all I think of your so called 'friends'," the woman said somewhat shortly, "We still share a similar purpose in this regard... The Ghouls..." Yugi held silent as the woman continued, the taller of the pair currently narrowing her eyes as she continued. "I'm going to smash every single one of them, individually..."
"...I understand your goals to do that Kaiba but-" But nothing.
"Listen, Yugi... The only reason I'm teaming up with you," Seto growled rather bluntly, "Is because as the only two with God Cards, we are an irresistible prize..." She chuckled somewhat at that, before continuing with a slight sneer. "We'll attract those Ghouls like flies and kill them just as easily, exactly like those before us..." And there was no other reason! ...Except to pass the time it was apparently taking to track Jonouchi...
Just why was it taking so long? "...Kaiba," Yugi asked, pulling the woman from her thoughts on Mokuba and bringing the woman's gaze toward him, "...Just how did you get a God card," he asked, a slight frown on his face as his 'friend' snorted. Hn!
Wouldn't he just love to know? "Hnmp... It 'chose' me," she said with a smirk, chuckling under her breath as the teen beside her growled at the answer. "That's all... And it isn't just that one," she continued, the smirk widening to a rather odd grin as the elated thought of the card's 'power' again came to mind. "Soon enough they'll all 'choose me' Yugi, yours, the Ghoul's... Their power is good as mine, understand," Seto said with a grin, still chuckling. "Hnhnhnhnhn..."
"Tch..." The teen merely scowled in response to that, pulling out his phone and again attempting to call his friend. One moment, another... Another... And another... Yugi's eye visibly twitched as there was again no answer, the boy attempting a second number before clicking it over with a growl. "...Damn it..!"
"Seven," Seto muttered, adjusting the collar on her jacket as her friend growled in response. Well it was true... ...And it had taken far too long for Mokuba to respond to her calls, this wasn't good. "And that is it," she muttered, adjusting her collar and clicking the radio on with narrowed eyes. "Mokuba," she called, holding the radio close as static met her ears. Nothing but snow... The woman waited a few moments, before repeating her call with narrowed eyes. "...Mokuba," the woman said again, "Answer me..."
Yugi paused as his rival stopped walking, the woman's grin and humor all vanishing very quickly as she continued to receive static as a response. "...He's not responding," he asked in alarm, blood draining at the third 'bad sign' so far.
Gh... No... Not good..! They'd at least had a chance of tracking down Jonouchi with the slate, but if they had her brother...
...If they had... Her brother, she repeated in her mind, eyes widening with fear as the gravity of the words hit her. No..! "...Mokuba," she repeated somewhat louder, a tinge of panic coming into her voice as she swallowed. "Mokuba," Seto shouted again, "Are you there!"
"Kaiba we need to go check on him," Yugi muttered with a nervous swallow, staring at the woman and slowly shaking his head. "If something's happened to Mokuba and the others, I can guarantee that-"
"Don't. Say anything," she growled, sending a sharp glare to the teen as her 'rival' immediately clammed up. Mokuba wasn't answering the radio... Which meant that the guards had both been 'dealt with', Mokuba wouldn't just leave the radio unattended..! So in addition to Jonouchi and his 'friends' apparently being too stupid to defend themselves, the guards had been overpowered and possibly killed, her brother taken and... And... "Gh..." Alright, alright, she told herself, rubbing her head, first things first, she'd need to-
"...Kaiba," Yugi shouted with a jolt, "Above you-!" What?
"Tch!" Seto turned, arm raising into a block as a shadow flew over head. Something locked around her wrists, someone small using the arm as leverage to push off toward the ground across from her, but... "Who-" The 'shadow' quickly landed, black cloak flapping in the breeze as he turned back. A ghoul..! And... The woman looked back at her arm, eyes wide as she looked over the bizarre 'mask' that was locked around her arm and duel disk. "..What the hell..!" What the hell did that scum slip on her arm!
Yugi stared at the lock like device that was wrapped around his rival's dueldisk, eyes wide as the woman attempted to pull at the thick chains briefly only to growl in unbridled rage. "Some kind of... Mask..!" More like a chastity belt for her duel disk!
"Hnhnhnhnhn..." The two turned, both glaring at the short masked 'ghoul' as the man turned to face them. "This just isn't your day is it Seto Kaiba... First your employees, then your brother... And now I've blocked contact to your God Card... I'd be fairly impressed if you could pick that lock, hnhahaha!"
Blocked co- So that was the intent then? It really figured... It really figured that SCUM like this would resort to that... Even Yugi was looking at the woman beside him with slight unease as Seto growled, knuckles cracking as she began to walk forward. "You... You can enjoy your few seconds of laughter while you can you rat, but if you think you can get away with threatening my brother and doing this to my arm..!" He could enjoy being beaten to death with it!
"Now now, don't get all strung up," the man muttered, taking a step back as a rumbling sound came over the air. A mask covered the right half of the ghoul's face, a permanent grin drawn on its form as it was mirrored by a real one. "There's a key for that lock after all, so you'll be getting your precious 'God' back... "And as for your brother," the ghoul continued with a chuckle, "He's perfectly fine..." And she was supposed to take his word for that! The man pointed upward, Seto and Yugi both frowning as the rumbling appeared to increase in volume. "Take a look," he added with a low grin, chuckling as the familiar sound of a helicopter continued to close in from above.
Take... Take a...
Look..? The woman's eyes widened as she slowly turned upward, mouth hanging open as she spotted something dangling from the helicopter that had appeared in the distance. That... The vehicle slowly came closer, hovering a number of feet away as the figure that was strung around the middle and hanging ten feet below the device quickly cleared. That was... "Mokuba," Yugi whispered in horror, staring in shock as the screaming boy swung from the cord in the distance. The winds were battering him about like some invisible cat would play with a toy, black hair growing matted and tangled as it caught in the boy's face, his eyes wide with terror as his mouth hung open.
Screaming... He was screaming but all she could hear was the helicopter, the roaring sound that was drowning out her brother's shouts for help and..! "Mng... You..."
"You want him back," the Ghoul asked with a sneer, Seto looking back down at the ghoul with rage filled eyes. "Want your duel disk 'unlocked'..?" If not for the fact that she didn't know if there was a radio connected to that copter in the mask... "Follow my lead," the masked man said with a grin, hopping back and up one of the signs to the sides. "I'll be on the roof of this building you see behind me," he continued cheerfully, "And I expect both of you to come... Unless," he continued with a dark sneed, "You'd rather both him and your 'Jonouchi Katsuya' to be 'misplaced'," the man threatened, both of the teens before him shaking in rage.
"You damned snakes," Yugi hissed, face growing red as the masked ghoul continued to free-run up the building at their side.
"Yugi... Why don't we show this scum exactly what kind of HELL they've wrought on themselves," Seto growled, nails digging into her palms until blood ran across her fingers.
"Agreed," the teen roared without pause, the masked man before them merely disappearing toward the roof to join another masked figure up above. The roaring helicopter in the distance continued to sound, both of the duelists looking at the vehicle a moment before swallowing. Mokuba... The helicopter was turning away, flying off into the distance and disappearing behind the taller high-rises of the city...
Mokuba..!
Hang in there!
"Un!"
-brmm!-
"Hah... Hah... HAAAAAAHHH- ...UN!"
-BRRMM!-
The sounds of constant pounding filled the dark, sunless air around Anzu Mazaki as she slammed her weight against the warehouse door, teeth grinding together as she was answered with steady and complete resistance once more. Nothing... The steel door that sat before her held completely, Anzu biting her lip as she stood back from the entrance and shook. This place...
She'd woken up just moments before in this dark... 'Warehouse' of sorts, surrounded by a maze of storage containers and wooden crates. There was almost no light in the room, or at least what was created by an impenetrable and impossible to scale wall of storage containers at the side. Jonouchi was gone... Her phone wasn't getting any reception at all, that was the first thing she'd checked when she'd woken up... And as she walked over to the side, stepping on the pile of boxes near the only light source she had, the only window in the room she had to bow her head in misery as she realized she couldn't possibly reach the frame in the stupid skirt she was wearing... And even then she'd probably only fall head first to the ground trying to stretch her leg through the window. "Damn it," she whispered, sinking to the ground as she rubbed her head with slightly worn and bloodied palms. Trapped... She was trapped like some kind of lab rat, or even her hamster, she had no clue what happened... "What's going on..."
-crrrrrrrrrrkk-
Anzu turned, jumping as the door to the warehouse slipped open a notch to allow a sliver of light in. There were mutterings coming from the other side... The sounds of a slight struggle, but as she came to the door she found herself jumping back as someone was thrown past her to the ground, the door closing over with a slam. "Glk!" The boy that had been tossed in struggled to pull himself up, quivering and shuddering violently from some unseen horror. Black hair, a light vest over a t-shirt... And...
Oh god..! "M-Mokuba," the woman shouted, rushing forward to help the boy up with wide eyes. The boy shuddered as she grabbed his arm, helping him to a seated position before paling. "You're shaking like a leaf," she whispered, Mokuba merely coughing as he closed his eyes tightly. "What happened," Anzu asked, "You're so cold..." More than cold, he felt like an ice cube..!
"H-Hah... Hahhh... Hah..." The boy swallowed as he was helped up to his feet, breathing frantic as he clung to Anzu's arms. Why was he... Why was he so cold..? "Hah... Gnk... Where..." Mokuba swallowed, continuing to shiver as Anzu stared. "K-Katsuya-nii," he whispered with a cough, shaking his head as he opened his eyes. "Where... Where's Katsuya-nii," he managed to force out, slowly warming up in Anzu's arms.
The woman shook her head, biting her lip as she stared at the ground. "I don't know... I only woke up a few minutes ago," she explained with a nervous swallow, "I can't find him anywhere..." At least not on this side of the warehouse she thought bitterly, eyes trailing over to the slight gap between storage bins. They were all turned with their doors toward her, giving the nasty feeling of something lurking on the other end... Gh... "I tried to get out," Anzu muttered, turning away from the bins with a shudder, "But all I managed to do was cut my hand..." A number of times actually... That door was in really bad shape despite its strength...
"Ng..." Mokuba nodded, standing away from Anzu as he continued to shake slightly. "T-Then... What about your phone," he asked, swallowing as he looked at the woman worriedly. "Did you try-"
The woman held it forward as she clenched her purse, a standard 'no signal' light flashing from the screen as she shook her head. "Nothing," she admitted, stowing it back in the bag and turning to Mokuba. "...I'm sorry..."
The boy bit his lip, bowing his head as he clenched his fists. "Those bastards... Forcing my brother to do what they want..." What? Anzu blinked, staring as Mokuba explained with a nervous shrug. "I... I had been about to track down you and Katsuya-nii, like my brother asked," he admitted, coughing awkwardly. "One of the Ghouls mentioned following you around," the boy continued quietly, "And we were worried... So we-"
"Ahh... We," Anzu asked somewhat incredulously, raising her eyebrows. "Not to make things seem worse but... Since when did your brother care about what happened to Jonouchi and I," she continued, a slight frown on her face.
"Oh... Well... Yugi and I were worried I guess..." Mokuba turned away briefly, shaking himself as he sighed. "I mean... I know Nii-sama doesn't act like it, but he does care... In his own way," he added, scratching his head. The boy continued to shiver as he looked around the room, swallowing as he rubbed his arms. "Still... I know the God cards they have are rare," he muttered somewhat angrily, biting back a growl, "But it never really hit me that someone would go through all this trouble to get them..!" Yea well...
'Duel monsters' hadn't seemed like the sort of thing to spawn giant holographic matches, but there they were... And... Wait... "God cards," Anzu repeated, blinking. "Yugi has... He has one of the God cards?"
Mokuba nodded, wrapping his arms around himself as he sat on one of the boxes at the side. "Yea... He won one just before I was captured," he added, standing up on the box as he continued. "The ghouls probably took us as leverage for that... Stupid 'Malik'," the boy growled, kicking a nearby box as he swallowed. "I hope nii-sama shoots him point blank for what he did!"
H-Hahh! That was a little extreme wasn't it? Anzu swallowed, silent for a moment before realizing what the boy had just said. Malik... ...They might have been taken for the cards but... "I wonder," she muttered, taking a seat on a nearby box and turning away in thought. "...If there's more to it than that..."
"...More?" Mokuba stared, before Anzu nodded and explained.
"Yugi only just got the card right," she asked, the boy nodding. "Well... Earlier," she continued, lowering her voice, "Jonouchi was acting as though we were being followed, constantly looking behind him. Bakura and I thought he was just spacing out but-"
"Wait," Mokuba muttered, "You were being followed? ...Ah! Malik told us that he had you both tailed," he continued with a slight shout, eyes widening with realization. "That's why we started looking for you," he added, watching as Anzu bit her lip and winced.
So Jonouchi was probably being the smartest of them at the time then... Ooooh... She'd been worried about all the wrong things then! "Gh... That's not good," she muttered, recalling Ishizu's words about a 'great battle' taking place. But that... That couldn't possibly have anything to do with this right? Anzu continued to bite her lip, arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes in thought. "There's obviously something more to this but- Hnn..." The woman shook herself, holding her head before turning to the window she'd attempted to escape from before. "We need to get out of here," she muttered, shaking her head and swallowing. "There has to be some way we can both escape, a window, or..." Or... Anzu paused, staring off above the boxes and at Mokuba as the boy frowned.
"Or," he asked, watching as the woman before him began climbing toward the window again. "H-Hey, what are you-"
"Come on," Anzu hissed, grabbing Mokuba's arm and pulling him forward and up the crates with a swallow. "There's a window over there, I can help you out..!"
"I-" The boy blinked, stumbling and protesting somewhat as the woman helped him over a few large crates. Shouts were sounding outside for some reason now... She didn't have much time, if she couldn't fit than Mokuba at least would..! "A-Anzu," Mokuba muttered, under his breath, "What about you though, and Katsuya-nii? How are you guys going to get out..!"
The woman shook her head, merely helping the boy up as they pushed at the small window to open it up to the harbor outside. "We'll manage," she said with a swallow, looking out the window at the pile of boxes in front of it. Crates and things completely lined the wall, leading out to the road along the pier... Good... Mokuba wouldn't be falling from too high then... Anzu pulled Mokuba forward, lifting him up toward the window and helping the boy through. "Just go and get help! I might not be able to get out now," she continued with a panicked whisper, "But you can!"
The sound of the door opening came through the air, Anzu swallowing as she looked back at from Mokuba to the door. "...Anzu," he whispered, already half-way out the window.
"Go," she hissed, pushing the boy through the window. "And hurry!" There was a slight shout as Mokuba tumbled forward, a small thud echoing through the air as he landed. Ghouls were running into the room now, the sound of footsteps echoing outside... She couldn't fit reach this window, true, but she could at least listen as Mokuba picked himself up and fled the scene, the ghouls charged with them more distracted by what they could see...
"H-Hey," one of the ghouls growled, running forward with wide eyes, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Haha...
Hahahahaha..! Rough hands pulled her away from the window, the woman kicking out at the men grabbing her as she growled, elated mood quickly vanishing as she was dragged across the floor. "G- What the hell do you think you're doing, pigs!" Stone and wooden slivers dug into her legs, hair tugged painfully above her head as it was used as some sort of hand-hold for the ghoul to grab. "Gh- Don't touch me!"
The second ghoul merely spat on the ground, looking around the room as his partner held Anzu still. "D-Damn it," he muttered, turning from the rest of the small empty space in the room, "The boy's gone!"
"What," the other snarled, dropping Anzu roughly to the ground as she groaned.
Anzu coughed as she pulled herself up from the ground, watching as the ghouls turned on her with wide eyes. "You..."
"Hnh..." Time to do... Something Jonouchi would do, she thought mentally, stumbling to her feet as she spat a bit of blood on the ground. "Got a problem with that," she muttered hoarsely, a hand slapping across her face in response.
How they knocked her out this time probably had more to do with the ground that met her face than chemicals really...
Bastards. Monsters. The kind of scum that made her wish she carried a gun. This and many other steadily more creative curses were being muttered under Seto's breath as she stormed up the stairs of the relatively tall high-rise that their target had free-run up to. And as this string of curses came through the air she couldn't help but notice the emptiness of the building, fists clenched tight as Yugi ran behind her and further up the stairs. Demons, fiends, scumbags, dead, dead, DEAD! "When I get to the top of this building," she spat, cursing the broken elevator that they'd found at the bottom floor.
"We may very well have no choice but to give in to their demands," Yugi warned, his own tone clearly showing his distaste for the situation. "So you might want to hold off on the end of that sentence..."
Tch! Tell it to someone who gave a crap. "'Kaiba's don't 'negotiate' with nutcases like these," the woman growled, passing the tenth floor of thirteen with thundering steps, "They 'win', by any means necessary- and if I get any references to past matches," she added with a snarl, turning on her rival for a brief moment as they came to the twelfth floor...
Yugi's look quite clearly said this was the last thing on his mind, not that Seto could see it as she turned away from the teen. "Just try and calm down," the boy warned somewhat hypocritically, his own posture betraying that advice as they slowed their pace on the stairs. "They have Mokuba, and they probably have Jonouchi and the others as well," he continued, face still red at the thought of what the ghouls were doing with their hostages. "We can't risk their lives because of anger!" Oh really?
"And you're any better," she spat lowly. voice momentarily left un-disguised as they ran up the stairs. There was a moment of silence with that, the pair making it to the final floor as Yugi frowned. "As I recall, you were more than ready to push me over that castle tower in the Duelist Kingdom... So what's with the change of heart, Yugi?" There was an awkward span of silence in regards to that, Yugi stopping for a moment as his rival briefly turned back.
"...Something my partners and friends taught me," the boy said plainly, tone laced with clear distaste. "Though believe me when I say that if it weren't for them there would be a lot more blood shed than necessary..." Oh... Well wasn't that an interesting confession... "And at least I'm trying to heed those words," he muttered off in regards to said 'confession', before pushing past the woman and onto the roof. "Now then," he growled, staring across the rooftop with narrowed eyes.
"Tch... Two," Seto hissed as they moved out onto the roof, a large and seemingly bottomless skylight across from them. A pair of ghouls stood on the far end of the glass roof, each wearing the iconic black-purple robes of the Rare Hunters. There was something strapped to the bottom of the glass as well, the woman noted... Something small, and round, a device of sorts... But for the moment, she wasn't particularly interested in that, preferring to deal with something far more important. "You two," she shouted, voice again hidden with more masculine tones as she narrowed her eyes. "What did you do with my brother?"
The two across from them merely sneered, the taller chuckling from behind the black 'half-mask' on the right of his face. "Your brother? Oh... He's 'safe'," he said with a dismissive shrug, the shorter one from before also chuckling as the two teens stepped forward.
"Well... For now at least," the white-masked man muttered, grinning darkly as the woman before them continued to tense. Gh... If she could just push them off the edge of this roof right now... "Here," the ghoul continued, tossing a key forward as Seto caught it in a swift and reflexive motion, "The 'first half' of our deal... Now that you're up here," the masked one 'explained' with a sneer, "You won't be needing that disk lock..."
Tch... And she had a nasty feeling she knew why too, given the positions of the pair before her... Nonetheless she unlocked the bizarre, mask-like device, tossing it roughly to the side as the chains fell to the ground around her. Now then, she thought as she narrowed her eyes, only for her rival to step forward and speak first. "What do you want from us," Yugi hissed, arms crossed as the two teens stared the ghouls down. "You hang Kaiba's brother from a helicopter... You kidnap my friends, doing who knows what to both them and whoever was around them... Answer us," he roared, the wind about them howling as if in response to this rage.
Again the ghouls merely chuckled, moving their arms to reveal duel disks as the devices clicked into position, decks already loaded into each one. "Now now," the short one said with a sneer, wagging his finger at the pair. "Not so hasty... You haven't even given us the chance to introduce ourselves," he drawled, shaking his head.
"And as two of Malik-sama's top assassins," the taller continued darkly, crossing his arms with a disgusted expression in place, "That's quite insulting... But given the circumstances you're 'forgiven'," he continued, the two across from him rendered silent with rage the more the ghouls spoke. "I," the man continued as he gestured to his face, black 'scowling' mask gleaming in the sunlight, "Am the 'Mask of Darkness'..."
"And I," his partner added, holding his hands out wide as he chuckled, "Am the Mask of Light... And together we are a tag-team formed specifically to hunt down the two God Cards, in the event that a pair such as yourselves appear..." Well wasn't that just convenient... They were against a nutcase who prepared for losing... "Now... Both of you, step on the glass," he ordered, the two teens both doing so with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. "We're going to have a two-on-two match," 'Light' continued with a grin.
"But first," Darkness added as he spread his arms to gesture at the field, "We'll explain the rules," His partner nodded from the side at this, before the taller of the pair continued. "Besides being a 'tag-team' match," he explained, grin holding steady across his face, "Each player's points are 'stand alone'." Stand alone... "When one person loses their points," the man continued in clarification, "They're eliminated; to win however, both opposing partners must be defeated!"
"And of course, by 'eliminated'," 'Light' continued with a wide and toothy grin, "We mean 'killed'..."
Tch... 'Of course', Seto thought with a mental growl, before looking down at the glass she now stood on while the 'Masks' gestured below. "As you can see," Darkness shouted over the raging winds, "We're on the top floor of this building, standing on the skylight that spans the entire height... Besides this sheet of glass," he continued, tapping the thick sheet for emphasis, "There is nothing standing between us and the ground floor..."
Yes, because that was safe... Though she supposed that as long as each of the four windows were supported on their own... "And if your life points hit zero," Light 'warned' with a grin, pulling Seto from these thoughts, "There won't be anything to keep you on this roof- as soon as your points are gone the devices attached to this roof will send out the shockwave needed to shatter the glass beneath your feet," he announced with a mad cackle, "Sending you thirteen floors down to your death!" ...Great... Just...
"And before you even think of simply dueling from the side of the skylight," Darkness growled, his soon to be opponents raising their eyebrows somewhat, "Remember who has your friends and family in their possession..." There went that option.
"Hnhnhnhn... That's all for the rules... Time to start! We call this the 'Last Stand Death Match," Light cackled, grin mirroring the one on his mask as his partner did the same. "Sounds fun, doesn't it?" Fun?
Silence continued to emanate off of Yugi and Seto both, the two merely loading their decks as a fierce wind began to blow about the rooftops. They had yet to say anything since the two began speaking- after all, talking would just wast time.
Like what these nimrods were doing. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Too scared to speak," Darkness asked in the continued silence, sneering as the two narrowed their eyes further. Oh please...
Of them? "Are you done now," Seto growled, clicking her duel disk into place as her 'partner' did the same. "It's taking all I can not to simply push you off the side of this building without you morons wasting my time," she continued, opponents momentarily tensing under the glare as she held her duel disk forward. "As it is," the woman spat, "The only reason we're having this duel is so that I can have the satisfaction of watching you fools bring about your own demise!"
Yugi nodded with those words, jaw clenched as he stood across from the 'Mask of Light' and held his own disk forward. "Enough talking," he said with a shout, wind picking up in ferocity as he tossed his jacket to the side. "Begin the duel!"
"GO!"
Hands were drawn... Momentarily Seto glanced down, eyes narrowed at the height beneath them. Almost like looking at a pair of mirrors across from each other... Except she could somewhat see the bottom, the 'end' in this case. Tch... While heights were never a problem for her, the glass 'floor' was giving her a case of vertigo... Nothing compared to what Mokuba likely felt from that helicopter, a nasty voice reminded her, the woman swallowing as she looked over her hand. Nothing... "I go first," the 'Mask of Light' was shouting, taking two cards from his hand with a grin. The woman pulled herself from her thoughts, turning as the man continued speaking. "Got it? We'll alternate players," he stated clearly, "One team at a time..." Standard procedure... Did he really need to go over it again? "Now, for my turn," the man continued, a pair of flat, holographic cards appearing to the field as he spoke, "I'll set two face down cards... And that's the end! Now then Yugi," the mask called out, pointing across from him, "You'll go next, understand?"
The teen gave a curt nod, looking over his hand momentarily before speaking. "Alright then," the teen shouted, drawing his card and looking over it before he set it on the duel disk. "...I'll play Beta the Magnet warrior in defense mode," he decided, the holographic 'magnet doll' appearing as the card was set, 'u' shaped hands forming a block as it crouched down. "Turn over!"
"My turn then," Darkness announced in response, raising his disk back up as he took his turn. The man drew from his deck, quickly setting a card for an odd, spherical angel of sorts to appear. "Shining Angel," he called out as the angel as well crouched down, "Defense mode!" Hnn... Two face down's, a mon-
"HnhnhnhnHahaha!" Make that one face down... "And the moment his monster is summoned," Light called out, his first face down swinging upward with those words, "I activate this! Spell card, Mask of Brutality," he shouted, his partner laughing as the clawed mask came to the field. The mask shimmered into existence on the crouching angel's face, eyes seemingly replaced with clawed hands from the mask.
"This gives Shining Abyss 700 attack points," Darkness explained with a grin, the cards too far apart for any fine print to be read off the cards. "So have fun trying to top that!" Seven hun-
"Tch..." Right off the bat he had a monster with over 2000 attack points..! Well... Obviously her opponents would be relying on 'teamwork', Seto thought with a mental growl, arms crossed. "Hmp..." Not that that generally worked out well... The woman glanced at her rival briefly as it came to her turn, mentally snorting at the idea before turning back to the field. Hah! Like she would be making any plans with him... No... She'd just have to use whatever Yugi had on the field to her advantage... These ghouls...
She was going to crush them herself, so called 'help' would only 'spoil the brew' so to speak!
"My turn," she muttered that that in mind, a dangerous and wide-eyed glare in place as she drew her first card. "First I'll set a card face down," the woman announced, the holographic card hovering two feet from the ground with those words, "And then the beast of the battlefields, Blood Vorse," she continued with a shout, "Attack mode!" The axe wielding monster appeared in an instant before her, teeth bared in a permanent scowl as its card hovered behind it, iris-void eyes staring across the field. "Hn... End turn!" And next turn, she'd be sacrificing for her next monster... Bringing this duel even closer to an end.
Hnhnhnhnhn... "Well well," a drawling voice muttered across the field, Seto's mental chuckling quickly vanishing. "Someone's plotting something..." Oh please, the point of summoning was fairly obvious as it was... The Mask of Light continued to grin from across her, drawing his next card and looking at it with a chuckle. "It's my turn," he said plainly, "And for my next play, I'll be using this very card! Ta-daaah," he shouted, setting the card on the field as its image was revealed to the others. "Mask of Accursed!" Mask of-! The card's 'mask' briefly appeared before the spell, gruesome, nail-beaten face staring out to the field. "Nhnhnhnhn! A nice mask wouldn't you say," Light commented with a grin, the mask appearing on Yugi's Beta Warrior with a swift flash as the monster was pulled 'out of play' and behind him. "Your monster looks wonderful!" ...Ehhh...
Seto glanced at the monster, briefly running over the card's stats in her mind. ...Hn. Five hundred points of damage to Yugi for each turn he took with the mask on his monster... Beta Warrior now rendered unable to attack and defend as a result. Not her problem then... She'd deal with these scum before that became an issue in any case...
"And for the rest of my move," the shorter of their opponents continued, Seto glancing back as the man grabbed another card from his hand, "Another face down card!" The next card appeared in a flash on the field as Light made his decision, the two cards he had resembling some sort of bizarre table as a result. Another trap or spell... Tch! Playing nothing but de-buffs and 'buffers' then? Pathetic... "And that'll be all for me," the man 'decided', crossing his arms before gesturing across to his opponent. "Of course, that means you take 500 points of damage," the ghoul added, grinning as Yugi glared at his duel disk and opponent both.
"Tch... Draw," the teen shouted in response to the 'reminder', looking at his result with narrowed eyes. The Magnet Warrior was paralyzed for the moment thanks to his 'mask' Seto thought to herself, glancing at the beast. But if there was one thing it was still good for, it was a sacrifice. And if Yugi passed that up... The teen beside her grimaced, staring at his opponents cards for a moment before nodding. Good, he was going to do something that made sense. "...I sacrifice the Magnet Warrior," he shouted, only for the next of 'Light's cards to swing upward as the man cut his opponent off.
Alright, maybe it made a little less sense than expected. "Hehehehheee! Not so fast now," Light shouted, laughter filling the windy air as the card's image and masked moved toward the center of the field. "I activate the trap 'Mask of Restrict'! As long as this is here there won't be any sacrifices from you two," he continued with a grin, the bizarre skeletal mask hovering above the center of the field as both Yugi and Seto paled. No... Sacrifices..?
No. No no no no no... No... That wasn't... Darkness sneered from across the two, chuckling under his breath as his opponents both went white. "Hehehe... And with that card, your 'Gods' are useless... So have fun gathering shields in the meantime," he continued with a laugh. "You'll need them!"
No no nonono- "You snakes," she growled, deciding not to wonder when 'hebi' became an insult in her mind. "Rggggh..."
"Gh... Damn it," Yugi muttered under his breath, replacing the card he'd planned on summoning before taking two others from his hand. "I play Kuriboh in defense mode," he announced, the furball springing into view and staring out at the field as its card appeared behind it on its side, "Along with one face down card!" The second card appeared like a table beside the Kuriboh, shimmering somewhat in the light as its summoner scowled. "I end my turn," he continued, his opponents grinning in response.
"Which makes it mine," Darkness announced, a 'hissing', 'psst' sound from Yugi's end of the field pulling Seto's attention from whatever play he was planning to make. Wh- What, now?
"Kaiba," the teen muttered, looking at his rival with a slight frown as he received a similar look in response, "Listen... As much as I know you have a ridiculous hatred for 'working alongside' someone," he whispered under his breath, "Our normal tactics aren't going to work here..."
Nhnnn... Yes, damn that supposedly 'ridiculous' hatred. How ever would she stay on top? (Idiot...) "Your point," she growled in return, eyebrow raised somewhat as the boy shook his head.
"My point," he hissed with evident agitation, "Is that we need to share plans; we need to work together on this one," he continued, sounding fairly similar to his 'past' self in the Legendary Heroes game.
"Hn!" And in all honesty, going along with programming and working in a tag-team duel were two very different things. The woman snorted, crossing her arms as she turned away from the boy with a slight smirk. "Ridiculous..."
"Kaiba," Yugi growled, his rival merely rolling her eyes. Stop talking...
She was trying to focus on the duel... "Shining Abyss attacks Blood Vorse," Darkness shouted abruptly, his target's owner smirking in response as she watched the angel approach.
"Hn! Just try it," she sneered, tapping her duel disk as her face down card swung up, the attacking monster halting in place to allow its activation. "Activate trap; Ring of Destruction! You can enjoy your twenty-three hundred points of damage," she continued as the grenade-decorated ring latched around the 'angel's neck, her 'partner' grinning in relief as the card activated. Seeeee? 'Every duelist for themselves' worked perfectly fine... (So stop bugging-)
"I wouldn't think so," 'Light' said from across the field, the grins of his opponents falling in response. What..! Seto's smirk vanished as her second opponent's next card swung upward, the image of two cards appearing on the field. "Counter-trap," he called out with a cackle, "Curse Transfer!"
Curse transf- "Gh-!" The ring of grenades quickly appeared around her own monster's neck in response to the trap, an explosion of light taking over the field as she was left defenseless. Within a single instant the monster and trap were both removed from the field, the cards doing nothing from their place in the duel disk... And with twenty-one hundred points left, with no shield... "Shit," she muttered, teeth grinding as the angel before her moved to attack again. Shit...
Shit! "Hnhnhnhn... That's the strength of Light and Darkness," 'Light' said with a shrug, shaking his head as he sneered.
"Our teamwork is unbeatable," Darkness continued, pointing forward with a wide grin in place. "And thanks to that bit of fun, this will be a two-on-one match! Have fun in Hell, Seto Kaiba!"
H-... Haaaah... The angel let loose a single, solid blast of blinding light toward her, Seto's eyes widening briefly as the light filled her vision with nothing but white. No... No..! The woman's eyes closed over out of reflex as the light intensified, arm raised above her head in 'defense' only for the woman to frown as it began to fade. Lowering her arm and looking forward, the frown was replaced with an expression of shock as a series of explosions filled the air from in front of her rather than from below, the glass still firm beneath her feet as the light began to clear. "What..?"
"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Seto blinked furiously in an attempt to clear her vision, before staring as a swarm of kuriboh each took the attack from the monster before her. The holographic beasts filled her and Yugi's side of the completely, from behind and in front as the attacking angel retreated to its side of the field. This...
This strategy... She turned to the side, eyes wide as she looked over her rival. "Yugi..!" He...
Why! The teen merely smirked, arms crossed as 'Multiply' floated face up on the field. "Hnhnhn... You know this combo don't you," he asked with a wink, his 'partner' merely tensing at the reminder of the Duelist Kingdom fiasco. "Kuriboh and Multiply... More than enough to protect the both of us from your attacks," he shouted toward his opponents, the smirk growing into a grin.
"Tch... A wall of weaklings," 'Darkness' spat, Seto merely staring at the wall of holographic monsters incredulously as rage began to build. His card...
His card saved... "Yugi," she growled, eyes wide as she clenched her fists, "I don't need your help in this duel!"
"Hn! So you say," he responded, eyes trained on the field as his 'friend' continued to grow red, "But if either of us dies," the boy continued in a dark reminder, "The other won't be far behind... And you know full well that your brother and Jonouchi both wouldn't want that of you," he added, placing a fair amount of emphasis on the latter with narrowed eyes. Tch...
Jonouchi... And what did she care what that mutt thought anyways! She was doing this for her brother and no one else... "Tch... You think that it's impossible to win on your own then," she sneered, narrowing her eyes as her rival continued to stare at the field.
"I think that if there's one thing these two serpents before us have in common, it's their 'teamwork'," Yugi retorted, eyes narrowing further from their usual glare as he glanced to the woman at his side. "They're supporting each other perfectly, their decks working together like a well-oiled machine! And unless we fight together," he continued, tone raising in angered volume, "We will not succeed!"
And where was the proof in that! "Fight together," the woman repeated darkly, slowly calming herself down from the near-death moment she'd only just had as she snorted. "...Pfh!" About as much as needed at the minimum- in other words, no change! "Whatever! It's my turn," she growled, drawing a card from her deck. Now... What did she- "Nh-!" The familiar 'vanilla' coloured card met her gaze, diamond white image gracing its form. Blue-Eyes..! The woman's eyes widened briefly, moving over to glance at the Mask of Restrict that still sat above the field. So long as that thing was there, she wouldn't be able to tribute summon... But if it was only tributes then... ...No choice, she thought bitterly, adding the dragon to her hand as she grabbed a different card. 'Stepping stone' tactics it was! "I'll play a card face down," she decided, crossing her arms as the card in question flashed to the field. Relying on Yugi of all people... Damn it! He'd better not defy expectations this time! "I'll also play Gadget soldier in defense mode," the woman shouted, watching the holographic and 'transformer-esque' figure appear in a crouch, its 'flipped' card appearing shortly behind it. "End turn!" This had better work...
"Hnhnhnhnhn... Got your hands full there," 'Darkness' taunted, sneering as he looked across the field at the monster. "You're barely protecting yourself now!" Tch... They'd see who had their hands full in a moment...
The woman was pulled from her thoughts and curses however as her opponent's partner laughed, drawing a card and placing it on the field. "It's my turn now though... But look at you, hiding behind that wall of scrub monsters!" ...If it weren't for the fact that it came from scum, she'd have considered keeping that comment in mind... "I think I ought to clean them up," Light continued with a sneer, Yugi tensing as another spell appeared upon the field. "Here's another Mask... The Mask of Dispel, attaching to your Multiply card!" Another mask-! The swarm of kuriboh immediately dissolved as the mask wrapped around Yugi's spell card, the original kuriboh appearing back in front of its own as the mask at its side stared outward with its mournful face. "Hnhnhn... And besides cancelling that spell's effect," Light bragged, pointing across to his opponent with a grin, "You'll take 300 points of damage each turn from that mask! Hehehehehee..."
So now he was taking 800 points per turn... Seto grit her teeth, eyes narrowing as she ran a few things from her mind. 'Light' was still going through his move... Summoning a weak monster to attack and destroy Kuriboh, leaving Yugi defenseless as it came to his own turn... 'And don't forget about your life points,' 'Light' was saying with a laugh, Yugi growling under his breath as the damage was done. Not much left now, but Yugi would manage. As to what he was doing now though...
That would be for her to decide, she thought with a cunning smirk, looking to her rival from the corner of her eye. "Hnhnhnhnhn... What's wrong Yugi," the woman drawled somewhat, 'rival' turning to her with a frown. "Don't tell me you've run out of low-level monsters... You realize you're defenseless otherwise right," she 'reminded', the smirk growing as she continued to stare at the boy from the corner of her eye. "Well... I suppose it can't be helped if you only have high level monsters in your hand," Seto 'admitted', smirk becoming more and more fox-like as she 'planted the seed'. "A card that requires sacrifice is completely useless right now... Maybe it should just be sent to the grave," she added, raising her eyebrows as she looked back to the field. Silence settled over the pair as she chuckled, before narrowing her eyes somewhat darkly as she turned her attentions to the field. "Yugi... You understand me," she muttered under her breath, tapping her arm as her rival stared.
"K-Kaiba..." She'd take that as a 'yes'. Now just play the damn card already... Her 'partner' smirked, nodding as he took a card from his hand. This had better work... "I do," the boy muttered, responding to her earlier 'question' before setting the card on the duel disk, "And I'll play one card face down," he shouted, holographic sheet appearing above the glass as he swallowed, "I end my turn!"
Across from them the two 'masks' were muttering, voices relatively unheard. Their heads were bowed, their faces hidden, and the wind blew over any hope of listening in on their strategizing. In the end however Darkness chuckled, drawing a card before switching it with another from his hand as he took his turn. "Well well well... No monster to come to your defense Yugi," he 'asked', a sneer coming over his face as he slipped the card into the duel disk. "You know what that means... But before I attack, I'll be using this," the man announced, card appearing on the field to bring with it an immense 'vase'-like device to the field. "Ritual Spell, Curse of the Masked Beast!"
Curse of wha-
"We offer two tributes," Light shouted, gesturing toward the field. "One monster from light,"
"And one from Darkness," his partner announced, both beasts on the field vanishing in a swirl and pillar of light as the 'vase' cracked in the center of the field.
"Behold," the pair shouted, the vase abruptly erupting in an almost explosive light, a grotesque beast appearing between the two duelists. "The Masked Hellraiser, Beast of the Beyond! And now that we have our monster," Darkness continued, the strange, twisted monster more than proving itself worthy of the name, "I attack! Go Masked Beast, destroy him!"
Thirty two hundred attack points... The monster charged toward Yugi, Seto merely snorting. Hn! She wasn't about to have that happen... "Gadget Soldier takes the hit," she said plainly, arms still crossed as she looked at the attacking monster blankly. The others on the field turned as the Masked Beast changed its path and charged toward Seto's monster, the woman smirking as her opponent's paled in response.
"Gh- You took the attack," the ghouls hissed, the Masked Beast 'shredding' the Gadget Warrior with a single strike before lumbering back to its position.
"Hn! That's the purpose of a shield isn't it," she muttered, a dark smirk in place as her partner grinned. And before this one got the wrong idea... "We're even now," she continued plainly, the smirk vanishing before Yugi could say anymore. The teen's grin faded just as quickly as the woman looked back over the field, eyes narrowed. "There's nothing else to it."
"Tch..."
"Hehehehe..." Such an annoying laugh these people had... "You might have spared yourselves this turn," Light said with a dark and cackling chuckle, "But on either of our turns we can eliminate either one of you," he continued 'threateningly. "You've just dug yourself into a hole!"
"Pff!" The woman snorted in response to the paper thin threat, shaking her head. "We'll see about that," Seto said plainly, her partner nodding as he activated his spell.
"Right! I activate the spell 'Card Destruction'," Yugi shouted, his opponents paling as the spell took effect and swung up to reveal its image to the entire field.
The ghouls both looked at their cards, paling as they traded glances. "Gh..."
"Discarding our entire hand..." That was right...
And even better than that... The woman sent the cards into the grave as required, a smirk coming over his face as she tapped the disk for the second half of the turn. "Yes... The entire hand," she muttered, before looking across the field with her finger on the card's corresponding 'spell' button. "And now to take my turn..." The pair across from her visibly tensed at those words, watching as the woman continued. "Ordinarily I would have to tribute two monsters to make this summon," Seto 'explained', arms crossed in evident annoyance. "But I'll show you just how many other ways there are to bring a high-level monster to the field... Watch! Reveal face down card," she shouted abruptly, the card swinging upward to release a wide spread, pale green light onto the field, "Monster Reborn! Bringing Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the grave!"
"B-Blue-Eyes," the masks protested, the woman across from them sneering as the card released from the grave appeared on the field, the card itself being set into place on the duel disk. The dragon's ear-splitting roar came across the field as it was summoned into play, the familiar, if not 'odd' feeling of the dragon's arrival coming over as the winds blew viciously against them.
...But... Wait, why wasn't it in front of her..? Seto blinked, glancing to the side with slightly wide eyes as the enormous white monster seemed to curl around behind her, head easily as large as half of her body and just as wide. This... Blue-Eyes was..! The monster raised its head slightly as it stared back at its 'master', bright blue eyes revealing the woman's reflection clearly before the dragon beat its wings to took to the air to hover above. This detail... Seto minutely allowed her gaze to follow the monster upward, a slight feeling of calm momentarily coming over her. She'd gone out of her way to make sure there was enough detail in the monsters but... She shook herself mentally, instead smirking as she looked at Yugi. Well... He'd certainly played his part! And ohhh look... He actually believed this was 'teamwork'...
It was almost sickeningly naive, it really was... Just how did people live with that kind of belief, really... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." Seto smirked at the thought, laughing under her breath as she looked back toward the teen. "I have to say Yugi... As much as I prefer solo-battles," she 'admitted' calmly, "I think I've found a very key element in tag-team matches..." The woman continued to chuckle as a wash of elation came over the boy beside her, a grin on his face despite the dangerously fox-like expression on his rival's face. "'Using your partner to your advantage'... If you can predict exactly what your partner will do," she explained smugly, "Just like you would in a one-on-one match, then it's easy! You used 'Card Destruction' so that I could bring out my greatest monster from the graveyard... But that's just logic," she continued with a grin, Yugi's expression quickly sinking into a scowl. "It's all easily predicted mannerisms... And you think this makes us 'friends'," the woman sneered, grin falling as she shook her head. "Hn! As I said before, we're 'even' now," Seto growled, her 'friend' grinding his teeth as the woman continued. "I've paid you back for saving my lifepoints... The next time you attack, don't expect Blue-Eyes to be helping you- I'm not helping you again," she muttered, looking back at the field as Yugi growled under his breath. Now then...
The Masked beast had 3300 points... And... Blue-Eyes... Had three thousand... Shit. This hadn't really figured out in her mind before... ...Actually, this was probably one of the few times she'd caught herself on this kind of thing damn it and... (Shit, what the hell did she do to get out of this-) "What are you waiting for," Yugi said somewhat smugly, eyebrows raised in slight amusement, "Blue-Eyes is the 'ultimate beast' isn't she? So attack him!"
"What," she growled, looking at the teen incredulously. "You want me to..!" Attack? Attack the thing more powerful than-
This had better be a joke...
And a 'quick to end' one as well, because she was not amused! "If you attack now," Yugi was assuring her, "Blue-Eyes will defeat the Masked Beast... Of course, if you don't trust me," the boy continued with a 'dismissive' frown, "You can just let it return to the graveyard..." GH...! If she attacked now she'd just end up dead anyways..! "Go on," Yugi said from the side, smirk slightly more honest than prior as he crossed his arms. "Show some courage!"
Alright, that was enough! "Fine," she growled, growing red as she turned to the field with grit teeth. Taunt or no... She wasn't backing down from him! "Blue-Eyes," she ordered with a swift gesture, the dragon giving a loud and almost song-like roar as it began to charge a blast of heated white flames. "Strike them down! BURST STREAM OF DESTRUCTION!"
Flames shot through the air as a third roar was released, the volume much greater than it had been moments before. "GRAAAAAAOOOOOO!" In fact... That was far louder than expected, a voice in the back of her mind muttered as the fires filled the air, white light blinding the woman as the sound of the beast's beating wings echoed behind her. The flames had quite clearly filled the field with their light for the moment... It was all she could do to not squint in an attempt to see at the moment in fact. "Grnnnnn..." Lower, Seto noted, frowning somewhat. The dragon was simply 'growling', 'purring' even, but... But she only programmed 'battle cries', roars, not... Not that, it was a dragon after all, and... The woman turned, staring as the head of her dragon brushed beside her before raising into the sky to cast a shadow on the glass. Felt...
She felt that, but how...
"Impossible," someone muttered from across her, Seto looking back to the field with still wider eyes as her opponents paled. The light was finally fading, but in its place...
Gone... The hellraiser was... Gone... "The monster was killed," Darkness spat, visible eye wide with horror as he and his partner were left defenseless.
"But how," Light was whispering, shaking his head as she stared across the field, "How did it.." She did it... She killed the Hellraiser but...
That would mean...
There had been a power boost or decrease inflicted...
By someone other than her...
Which meant that she owed Yugi again! AAAAAAGH!
"Hnhnhn..." Yugi smirked, arms still crossed as Seto looked over with a torn expression of both anger and relief in place. And he had the gall to laugh, what kind of... GH! "When I used Card Destruction," the boy was explaining, "One of the monsters sent to the graveyard activated its effect... 'Archfiend of Gilfer' when sent to the grave," Yugi continued with a shout, "Decrease all opposing monster's attack power by 500 points!" Then...
When Yugi had played that card... Seto frowned, looking back to the empty field with wide eyes. He'd been thinking that far ahead..? "Gh..." Damn it, that was something she was supposed to be doing!
Yugi smiled, looking back at the woman with a slight nod despite his rival's obvious displeasure. "Kaiba... This is the power of 'Unity'," he said calmly, the teen ignoring his rival's current discomfort in response. Unity...
Tch! This wasn't the time! "...My turn is over," she muttered, clenching her jaw as she looked across the field with narrowed eyes. Blue-Eyes was still here, that was all that mattered! "Do your worst..."
"Hn... I play a monster in defense mode," Light decided in response, nodding as it came to his turn while he slipped a card on the disk. "Along with one face down card before I end my turn," he continued, a four-faced 'jar' appearing to hover above the field beside the face down in the meantime. "There goes another eight hundred points," the man 'sung', his opponent appearing to have little or no reaction as the blow was dealt from the effects.
Nineteen hundred points left for Yugi then... They had two moves left at most with that in mind... "Hn... One face down card," Yugi shouted, the card appearing at knee-height before him as he continued. "And then Alpha the Magnet Warrior in attack mode," he continued, the armored 'magnet' appearing to the field as its card was set in place. Alpha, Beta... Hnnn... "Now Alpha, attack the Four Faced Beast," he ordered, the warrior charging 'Melchid' and cutting the monster in two with its blade. "Magnet Sword Spark! And Melchid goes down," he roared, the monster briefly hovering in place with an odd 'hollow' light on its two halves before vanishing in a shower of pixels. "Turn over!"
Darkness stared across the field for a moment with those words, eye narrowing briefly before he drew his card. Whatever he was saying, she couldn't hear it... "Hnn..." Seto crossed her arms as the two across from them turned to each other, muttering things under their breath. There they went strategizing... As to what they would do to beat Blue-Eyes, this would probably be the most pathetic of resistances in all of history. 'Unity'... Tch! Seto watched as 'Darkness' shouted out his next move a card set on the field for his turn. A long snake-like monster with arms and a twisted chameleon-esque face came on to the field with the card behind it, a smaller, feminine mask in the center of its brow. "...Pff! 'Nuvia'," she snorted, arms crossed as she stared at the grotesque looking beast. Sheesh, constant mask theme... "I didn't think anyone older than four put that in their deck..."
The insult was ignored as their opponents continued to grin, Darkness merely pointing the beast forward with narrowed eyes. "Hn! You'll love this then," he roared, expression almost mirroring the scowl on his mask as he continued on. "Nuvia attacks Blue-Eyes," he called out, the monster dropping its larger mouth open to charge a blast of lightning. "Light Beam Gun!"
"WHAT?" Was he serious- The monster had 2000 points, this was just going to help-
...There was more to it. Damn it."Hnhnhn... Activate spell," Light announced gleefully as the holographic snake blasted a ray of electricity toward Blue eyes, "Mask of Weakness! And just in time for the attack!" Mask of- The card that swung up on the field shimmered slightly as a mask appeared before it, a mannequin pinned to its form as stakes hovered in the eye sockets. And after vanishing from sight with no warning...
"G-Gnnnnnnn... GROAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOO!" The dragon roared as the mask vanished and reappeared across its chest, stakes driving into its body as Seto stared at the enormous beast beside her. That spell... But that spell halved the attack points of...
"Gh..." Shit... She turned back to where 'Nuvia' sat, watching as the electric blast fired toward her dragon, the monster in question crawling in front of its summoner in an attempt to shield her. Shit..!
"Bye-bye Blue Eyes," 'Darkness' said with a grin, chuckling under his breath as Seto stared at her monster. Blue-Eyes... From the stakes impaled on its chest, from the body that was somehow creating a shadow over her as the monster curled above and before her... Blue-Eyes was bleeding... "The attack continues!"
"I don't think so," Yugi shouted, a card swinging upward as he tapped his disk. "I have my own card," he continued, the card briefly revealing its image and information to the field before vanishing from sight. "The trap 'Mystical Rift Panel! Lets see how you like wearing your own mask," the teen snarled, the mask on Blue-Eyes' chest launching forward with a jolt before attaching to the monster across from it. "Burst Stream!" The dragon gave a fearsome roar as its wounds repaired, droplets of blood staining the glass before vanishing in pixelated light as it released a blast of white flames, little evidence of its logic defiant injury remaining. The holographic beast before it stood little chance as it vanished in the fires, the great White Dragon returning to its place behind its summoner...
And in response, the 'Mask of Darkness' and his partner were quite clearly left panicked. "My... My life-points," the man muttered, swallowing nervously as he stared at the field, the strike having absolutely devastated his formerly impressive total. "My lifepoints..."
"H-Hey... Partner," 'Light' coughed nervously, waving his hands at the man, "Calm down, it's just one hi-"
"I attacked because you TOLD ME SO," the man roared with a start, 'Light' shrinking back before scowling as his partner continued. "And now look what you've done, you shrimpy little shit! I'm just a scratch away from death!"
"Shrimp-!" The shorter ghoul snarled under his breath, red face greatly contrasting his white mask. "Well... At least I'm not some kind of 'ogre', mister 'big-boned'!"
"Hnhnhnhn... Hey now, the duel's still going," Yugi muttered with a grin, Seto still staring across the field with wide eyes in her continuing shock, the words between the three duelists barely registering in her mind. "You'll never beat us arguing like that..!" This... Seto swallowed, hands held somewhat limply at her sides as she frowned.
Again...
Yugi had just saved her again, but looking at the dragon beside her, at the monster that so clearly seemed to defy the laws of holograms and simple AI... "...Grnnnn..."
'The power of Unity'... Seto swallowed as her rival's words came to mind, eyes narrowing to slits as she thought. And just what sort of power was that supposed to be then? Hell, what 'was' power?
'It's the only thing that matters,' the ghostly tone of her late 'father' growled, Gozaburo's voice causing a shiver to run down her spine despite the fact that they were words she actively lived by. 'That's what POWER is!'
In a fight, everyone other than yourself is the enemy, she could remember being taught. Your own strength and intelligence was what determined your win, your own 'power'. It was the weapon you used to crush your opponents and protect what was yours, to defend your territory and stake your claim on what would soon be added into it. It was just like in a game...
And a game, she thought for a moment, was just like real life. When it came down to it, you could only rely on yourself... And yet...
Seto stared across the field, eyes closing over somewhat as Blue-Eyes 'sang' behind her, as the picture that she had reluctantly allowed Mokuba to leave in her room came to her mind, and as she felt Yugi's stare from beside her while the fierce yet comfortable wind of the battle blew about the field. The power that her rival had...
What he considered the 'power of unity', a phrase that went against everything she knew... Could it be possible...
That this was stronger than the power she held on her own?
AN: Da-da-daaaa... Part one of the tag-team 'Mask' battle is here! And hey look, character development... We're actually really close to the end of this duel, only two chapters of manga left for it. But if I didn't cut it here, I don't think it would have fit too well in the next chapter; as it is, if we think of it in 'episodes', we're half way through the third episode of that duel.
That means there's only an 'episode and a half' of this duel left! In any case, that doesn't include shots of the warehouse though, and we are getting another look at Anzu (And Jonouchi) in there... Not to mention a bit of the train, along with the lead-in for Jonouchi VS Yugi.
Which I am personally looking forward to a lot by the way.
...Because I am a sadistic little prick when it comes to writing. Hehehehehehe. (You've been warned!)
I'm pretty much 'giving up' on the poll for now; no one's voting, and the current votes are completely one-sided really... Until someone votes again, I'll just tell you this; dreams are winning.
And now..!
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey Iona! Did Anzu learn anything… Hnnn… No? Then again, it was just Bakura last time, and like Bakura, Malik hid his Millennium Rod. And Jonouchi really should listen; at least he was closer to doing so…
Unfortunately, since Anzu was already running for the alley, Jou ended up following out of worry. And getting caught as a result.
As for how he'll stand up to the possession… You're right to say that it'll still work, but there's a bit more depth to it, and you'll see that next chapter. Until then Iona!
And it is quite sad, isn't it Randomprojects? As for deviousness... He is, he really is...
Oh, you like the hairstyles then? I can't say what it's for really, not in a review response at least, but I am looking at what you said about the hair styles... So the longer says 'Kisara' and the shorter 'Seto' eh...
Hehehehehe...
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's still shuddering; those mask things are FRIGHTENING. Also, apologies for being so short a microscope is needed to be seen.
Oh wait, you didn't say that?
The title for this chapter is based on two things; one, Kaiba's absolute fixation with 'power' during this duel, which gets worse near the end of the duel before getting better. It also focuses on why they're there; a number of weak-points that Kaiba would likely die before admitting to having.
Okay! Good news, the internet is great for getting anime-only dialogue! Bad news…
A lot of the subbed episodes were taken down, while the dubbed ones weren't. The problem here is that Kaiba's character differs considerably between the two; take for example, the first scene in this chapter. Dub!Kaiba was pestering Yugi about duelling.
Sub!Kaiba mentioned it once and dropped it, most likely because he recognized the fact that the situation really wasn't the time! The only reason why I still have Seto acting somewhat pestering-ly is because it's manga dialogue… Also because until the last moment, she really thought Mokuba was still looking for Jou.
In any case, this means I'm winging most of the anime dialogue from episode summaries… But that's okay; by this point, the characters are more or less their own separate characters from the Dub. You sure wouldn't hear 'Tea Gardner' shouting 'DAMN IT' now would you?
As for Mokuba's language, blame Jonouchi.
Originally, the scenes containing Anzu and Mokuba were quite broken, dotted across a number of the episodes containing the tag-team duel. I've shortened the number of gaps to prevent 'jumping', along with giving the parts some actual length though. You can almost guarantee that all of Anzu and Mokuba's scenes are happening as the duel progresses however; Mokuba's escape takes place about half-way through the duel, giving him enough time to flee and get a helicopter.
No seriously; why didn't anyone think of just not duelling on the glass, and duelling from the nice safe roof? Probably this.
Unseen to all of you are Kaiba's… Lovely expressions during this duel… They get frightening. Of course, it's possibly worse in this situation (the fanfic I mean), as when people compare a 'papa wolf' to a 'mama bear' persona, it tends to be like comparing 'wicked cool protection' to 'scary as satan himself' protection…
So oddly enough, the expressions Kaiba makes in the manga become even more frightening, even though there's actually no difference in the level of care that fem!Kaiba has for Mokuba in comparison to her canon counterpart.
If anything, the difference is in how readily she's adapting to this whole 'power of unity' deal. (AKA friendship. Which is just flying over her head right now.) You'll see how major this difference gets next chapter...
In any case, it's interesting to see how Kaiba tends to take pretty much every method used against her other than a monster-on-monster attack where one is clearly more powerful as an insult. In fact, I would stretch the definition to include even 'amusing'.
Speaking of insults though, 'hebi' is Japanese for 'snake'. And as to how that entered the insult vocabulary (Though it is actually fairly common for 'snake' to be used as an insult), think of it this way; one of Apep's, Ancient Egypt's equivalent of Satan, forms is of the 'endless serpent', and we currently have two people with heavy subconscious ties to Ancient Egypt on a roof in foul moods. Tadaaaaa...
Catch that 'Blue-Eyes is a girl' slip from Yami Yugi there? It's nothing special, just the same thing most people do when refering to cats or dogs; dogs are often called 'he', depending on upbringing, and cats 'she'. My Opa to this day refers to my very male cat as 'she', because of the use of gender-specific words in his native language of German.
For example... 'Die Katze', or 'The cat' is feminine. In contrast, 'Das Hund', or 'The dog' is masculine... Or is it plural? I'm extremely rusty with my german, I keep mixing up my 'Der's and 'Das'...
In any case, this feminine word/masculine word play doesn't exist in Japanese, so Yugi's still technically saying 'it'.
Well, that's all for now then... I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and you can expect to see the next one some time next week! See you soon!