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In the slowly arriving dawn, most of Japan had yet to awaken to the day following the tournament preliminaries, particularly those who had participated in the intense matches that had filled the city. At a head-ache inducing 5 AM after all most would simply be rolling over in their covers, if there was movement at all within the curtain enclosed bedrooms. Sunlight was only just cracking over the edges of the horizon, peaking through the windows... A wondrous sight that only the earliest of waking people could see in the coming dawn, along with a few stranded train-goers angrily mashing the buttons of their cell phone.
But for the moment that beautiful sight was blocked by vicious waves, and ruined by the screams of those inside the Battle City's airship as it came toward an opening 'hole' in the oceans below. The ringing phone of one of the passengers was ignored in lieu of the chaos around, those inside either grabbing at railings or furniture for support. Though at the moment, despite the screams, it was still Seto's voice that was the most apparent, no matter how loud those passengers had gotten. After all...
Noa had just claimed superiority. The woman had already become enraged enough at the failed 'manual' manual override. Tiny but otherwise unnoticeable burns were covering Seto's fingers as a result of having to manually instil the command by means of wire crossing after all, and the fact that even this had been pushed to the side was almost completely unbelievable. To add a personal pet-peeve to the list of issues however... Well, even someone who knew Seto in passing would know that this was a fatal mistake. "You... You dare to joke at a time like this," the woman snarled in response to the claim, leering at the screen above. Noa appeared to merely continue smirking with amusement however, the hole below opening its doors wide to allow the airship within what ever chamber it held.
"I never said I was joking Seto. Why would I after all, I have no reason to," he stated, chuckling as the window's view went black. The seas continued to rage as the boy chuckled, lapping at the sides of the enormous entry-way as the others stared. "I merely wanted to invite you to my home," Noa told them, a few questions of the sort of 'home' it was coming to mind as they came in. "To the place I have lived for the past eight years... Waiting..." Eight... That was how long it had been since Noa died though Katsuya told himself, which meant...
The blond grit his teeth, clenching the railing as panicked cries erupted about them. 'We're being pulled in,' obvious shouts announced, 'What's going on! Let us out!' This wasn't good... This wasn't good at all, he was a little more accepting of weird stuff by now but if this was really Noa... Katsuya continued to tense as Yugi looked at him from the side, bowing his head somewhat as they continued to dive forward. "...Jounouchi-kun," he said quietly, his friend not turning as the airship righted itself for landing. "You don't seem very surprised about what's happening..."
Well... Besides the fact that he tended to get previews of this kind of thing now... "I try not t' question things any more," he muttered, before swallowing as the ship docked into place. Blinding lights clicked on before the windows, a small number of the group wincing at the change in lighting as they were closed in.
"Ah... It looks like we're here," Noa said with a smile, narrowing his eyes as the group before him snarled and leered in response. "That means I can let you off now," he continued on in the resulting silence. "Of course, by 'you' I refer only to the duelists, particularly the long awaited Seto," the boy added, eyes appearing to flash with anticipation as he looked to the woman. "I'm not rude though... So if you could please heed by my request, I'll try not to impose the invitation..."
Seto looked about ready to pull the screen off the ceiling and smash it into pieces at the thought of taking an 'invitation' from the boy before her. Or even just because the boy was there. "Gh... And what if we refuse," she 'asked' bluntly, the boy on the screen appearing to frown somewhat in response.
"Well," he muttered, a series of turrets moving out from panels inside the wall across from them to pointing their guns forward in answer. "You don't have a choice in that matter... Should you refuse," the boy continued lowly, "I'll have to exact force... And we don't want that," Noa 'warned' the woman before him continuing to growl. "I'll say again... I would much rather not impose this upon you, but should you not come inside, I will have no choice," he stated, the screen growing black again as he left his last words hanging dangerously on the air. "Three minutes," he told them, the voice appearing to originate from outside the craft. "I'm watching you..."
Silence sat over the crowd as the warning was given, those at the back end of the bridge staring at the turrets incredulously. "Is... Is he serious," Honda muttered, eyes wide as he turned back from the window with wide eyes. "Half the competitors are in comas," he hissed, "How the hell are we supposed to-"
The teen cut off as Seto moved past, coat billowing behind her as she stormed up the steps. Rage was beginning to look like the mood of the day as she moved, and for the moment there were none who really planned to argue with her leaving. Well...
Almost no one. "Ah- Kaiba-san," Yugi called out, the woman not even glancing back as the group turned. "What are you-"
"His target is me," she said plainly, punching in the keys to re-open the door before watching them pull back to the dark hallway. "Until I find out what's going on," the woman continued with a scowl, "Each of you are going to be staying on board, with the doors locked completely and-" The woman froze as Mokuba walked past into the hall, tensing as the boy paused to look back. "Gh- Mokuba!"
"Hey, Noa said 'all duelists'," he told her with a shrug, a smirk on his face. "If we're missing three, then I'm coming to keep the image up! Like you said, no casualties, right nii-sama?" Oooh, nice excuse there...
Too bad Seto wasn't buying it. "Tch... You're staying here, where it's safe," she growled, narrowing her eyes. "And that's final!"
"Hn!" Katsuya snorted, joining the boy in the hall and looking back. He wasn't saying anything, but when Seto was trying to be angry at Mokuba, she actually looked pretty cute. Not like when she was pissed at everyone else. You were supposed to run when that happened. The blond continued to smirk despite those thoughts coming to mind, hands stowed in his pockets as he spoke. "Y' might be able t' tell Mokuba what t' do," he told the woman, "But don' think that I ain't comin' along myself," he finished, Seto merely continuing to scowl.
"That's right," Yugi added seriously, moving to join the two as the others began to follow. "Noa asked for the duelists... And both Jonouchi-kun and I count as two of those, but if you go alone, I doubt he'll be happy about it."
"And I told you before," she growled, looking to Yugi specifically. "I don't negotiate with people who make threats on my brother or staff; I'm leaving the ship alone," she pressed, "And the rest of you are staying-"
-click- -BRINBRINBRINBRINBRINBRI-
With a sudden shattering 'boom' and 'clink' that repeated nearly endlessly the crowd jumped or ducked for cover, the turrets abruptly beginning to fire at the ground before the airship. Bullets ricochetted off concrete and steel both, embedding themselves into the ground or simply clattering to a stop. For the most part however, despite all damage the chaos errupted in an instant, with aggravated shouts and wide-eyed stares filling the room.
"Aahhhh-ahhhh-aaaahhhHH! What the hell," Honda shouted loudly from behind the bridge railing, "He's actually firing at us!"
"We NOTICED," Otogi angrily called out in response, those by the door turning as Noa's voice echoed through the speakers once more.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," he announced, the turrets pausing in their attack to readjust their aim to a more vital point. "I said all of you... All those at the back of this Bridge room," he continued in clarification, "Are to get off and follow my instructions. Unless you plan to test your windows for bullet resistance," Noa added 'questioningly', the target of his words gritting her teeth as the sound of re-loading turrets caught her attention.
Well... Given how much of an option they had left... "Tch..." Seto continued to tense, before forcing out her next words with obvious distaste and gesturing to the hall. "Everyone off the ship," she growled, the others trading somewhat nervous looks in response to the woman's own. "Unless you plan on getting shot," she added darkly, all others responding fairly quick after that.
After all; call him crazy, but he had a feeling that no one would really want that happening too soon. The crowd headed out into the hall as quickly as possible while Seto made her way toward the door, the pilot momentarily remaining behind to send a message through his radio. "Well... I guess we don't have much choice," Anzu muttered, swallowing as Katsuya turned to glance at her. "Given the current situation..." Her eyes were still clouded over he noticed, a slight frown on his face as the group stopped outside the door. Did that mean it was Malik speaking, and that Anzu was still 'asleep'?
Why would he bother with that..? "Noa said 'duelists' didn't he," Shizuka muttered, watching as Seto tapped a few buttons on the side to activate the ship's exit. The door before them fell forward in an instant, stairs unfolding from within as they touched the ground. Walking out from the airship unease clung to the group like a thick fog, leaving a majority of them to follow those ahead in hesitant silence. "If... If Noa only wants duelists," his sister was saying again, rubbing her arms somewhat. "Then..."
"It's like Anzu said," Mokuba muttered in response, "We don't really have much choice..."
No... But that didn't mean they couldn't fight back. "We're jus' gonna have t' take 'm out then," Katsuya growled, cracking his knuckles as they walked further out into the large hangar around them. The chamber they were in had closed back over long before, but now that they were outside they could see small puddles of water scattering the ground. Small droplets dripped from the air-tight seals above, and at the sides they could see large ventilation pipes carrying in air from the outside world. What light they had to see these with came from large lamps from the side, and as far as they could tell there was only one way forward; a long and well lit hall guarded by ceiling mounted turrets, each one of them in possession of a motion sensor that would activate at their passing.
Not that he could see the turrets of course, but he was fairly certain they were there. Along with that without Noa's command of otherwise, they'd fire as soon as they took a step inside. As to what was going on now rather than in the near future... As the crowd converged outside the ship the pilot poked his head through the door, swallowing nervously as he glanced at the turrets. It was quite obviously not his 'day' to say the least really, and the foreign pilot was more or less sweating bullets as he attempted to attract his employer's attention. "Kaiba-sama," he called out, stepping forward from the ship's doorway as he swallowed. "Kaiba-sama, I've contacted the rest of the staff so that-"
-whrrr- -click-
The pilot froze as the turrets adjusted their aim, before again sending a spray of bullets forward.
-BRINBRINBRIN BRINBRIN BRINBRINBRIN BRIN BRI-
"H-HAHH! HAH!" Pallas leaped back into the doorway as the turrets again took aim and fired, the crowd ducking as bullets bounced through the room. Metal bounced rapidly through the room even as the devices stopped, the bullets only just begining to stop as Katsuya turned back upward to where his mind told him the PA was located.
"Gh- What th' hell," he snarled, clenching his fists. "Hey NOA! You tryin' t' kill us b'fore y' do whatever y' want with us," Katsuya roared, a few of the others having similar opinions as they looked to where the blond had turned.
"Just what does he want with us," Yugi muttered, frowning somewhat as the others stared back at the ship. "He hasn't even told us that..."
Who knew... Noa was certainly more than willing to explain though, given the slight 'click' on the PA as it turned on its audio. "I believe I said duelists only," the boy said plainly, voice echoing loudly about the room. "While the loyalty of your staff is admirable," he went on, voice almost surprised in tone, "I intend to make sure that request is fulfilled. There are eight duelists before me now," the boy continued seriously. "I will take no more, and no less. Should I see anyone leave this ship," Noa warned as the tone darkened, "I will not hesitate to fire... So I'll say it again. I am only extending my invitation to the duelists I see here, and no one else. Everyone else will stay on the ship." And there was no point arguing against it with the turrets pointed at them all...
Though it seemed that this info had taken a bit to sink in in a few cases... "Hold on a second," Otogi hissed, looking back from the PA to the others with narrowed eyes. "He thinks we're duelists? I was under the assumption that he just wanted non-staff off the ship," he protested at a whisper, "I've only played this game once!"
"Yea well I haven't played at all," Honda responded darkly, "But you don't see me telling this nutjob that," he continued, his friend merely swallowing at the warning.
"So... On we go," Katsuya 'asked', Seto merely storming forward with a determined glare. The others again traded looks as they were answered with silence, the blond eventually shrugging as he moved forward. "...Yea... Yea I'll take tha' as a 'yes'," he muttered, shaking his head.
"What I wouldn't mind knowing is why this is even happening," Anzu stated almost suspiciously, the group slowly making their way through the hall and looking around at the walls in curiosity. Occasionally a window to another room could be seen, or a locked door, but there was otherwise little else to see. Through the blackened, 'two-way mirror' glass they could see dark rooms, some for testing machinery and others filled with nearly dust-less furniture, untouched by humans of any kind for a number of years. For the most part there was nothing to see other than this however... And as they followed the PA-systems and lights along the sides the group held silent, pressing forward through the empty hall.
No matter how much time pass however, Anzu's question however was on everyone's minds, and as the others came to a large door at the end of the hall a number of them found themselves pulling that question back to mind again. From the front, Seto reached a hand out toward the door before them, tapping the handle and watching as it opened a crack. It was unlocked; this enough was enough to bring a deep scowl across her face it seemed, and with clenched fists she took a step back. "Tch... Just what are your intentions with us," the woman muttered, glancing to the sides as a solitary PA-system cracked to life again. "This is clearly a trap- so explain yourself!"
"Hnhnhnhnhn... All will be made clear soon enough," the boy responded, low chuckling clearly audible in the background of where ever he was. "But for now," he requested politely, "Come inside... There are some people in here who are very eager to see you..." The crowd continued to tense with those words, Seto in particular narrowing her eyes at the mention of someone 'expecting' them. "Come on now," he added as the head of the group paused, turrets slowly turning toward them as they slid out from panels in the ceiling. "I'd much rather not waste bullets you know."
Those words were all it took to snap the woman from her suspicious silence, eyes narrowing as she tightened her jaw. "Tch..!" The door pushed open immediately after the snort hit the air, Seto storming forward as blinding light met their eyes. Initially there was nothing to see in the white glare; those near the front held their arms up in defense from what would likely render them temporarily blind if they stared too long, while those in the back ducked somewhat and squinted against the constant glow. As their vision cleared however, the light itself dying down Yugi, the Kaiba siblings, and Katsuya all found themselves staring forward in horror, the expression more or less mirrored by Honda as five shadows appeared about a desk. The room itself was nothing special at first glance. A board room it seemed, with the false image of Tokyo's skyline out of a window and a ring of chairs lining the table before them. There were mutterings behind them in regards to this of course... 'A board room,' Otogi was asking in particular, 'In the middle of a place like this?'
'Just who are those people,' Shizuka added, the sounds blurring in the back of his mind. Most of them knew quite well 'who' those people were after all, and these people were the last ones he'd ever expected to see or hear from again if at all.
Sitting at the table after all were five figures that almost everyone in the room knew were meant to be long gone, five men whom had long since been dead and 'buried' in rubble. Yet as Seto stood frozen, eyes wide, all they could do was watch as the five stood, stepping forward with stiff expressions and narrowed eyes.
"Hello 'Kaiba'," Oshita spat, wrinkled face curled into a scowl as he leaned against his cane. "I presume you're well?" One ghost was bad enough... Two was pushing it.
But God help them if these were really the 'ghosts' of the Big Five.
They weren't supposed to be here. And that was the first thing that came to mind after the chilled feeling that ran down her spine the moment she saw their faces, followed by a panicked yet hidden rush of denial and fear. She'd personally pulled the plug on each of their minds, left them to die and demolished the room to leave nothing left once she was sure no ghosts of memory would remain. She'd heard their panicked cries before hitting the 'mute' button and given each of them haunting 'final words', messages to carry with them to the far beyond. There was no evidence of their existence, nothing but whatever mourning families remained and old employment records, along with a hidden room that no investigator ever found.
And yet standing before her now she could not deny who it was addressing her, she could not deny that they had 'returned'. "You..." But they... They were dead..! They were dead, she had killed them, it was IMPOSSIBLE! How... "How are you here," she hissed, slight expressions of amusement flashing over the former board's eyes. They knew who she was now at that! If they... If they said a single thing..!
"I don' think they really are here," Jonouchi muttered from the side, an audible swallow coming through the air as he stared forward with similar thoughts. Personally she wanted to know how he would even realize that... Along with anyone else. But then she was also just wondering why the hell anyone else wanted to come, so she wasn't saying anything. Not looking back the woman instead continued to stare, the five before her chuckling at the obvious discomfort they had her placed in. "S... Kaiba," the blond repeated from behind, voice somewhat hesitant. "I think tha' these guys 'r..."
"Holograms," Yugi finished nervously, the window in the background flashing with the words. From the image of Tokyo's skyline came the ocean floor, the image merely reflecting the outside of the walls rather than imitating the steel wall it likely was. "This entire room is a hologram," the boy behind him continued, a few of the others staring in confusion as he stared. "All of this... It's completely fake!"
"If everything here is a hologram it still doesn't explain how they're here," Honda stated, growing pale as he backed toward the door. "Almost all of us were there that day," he continued with a shaking voice, "You know damn well they should be dead!"
"Dead," Otogi repeated, turning with a jolt. "Just why would they be-"
"You can get your answers later," Ota muttered impatiently, narrowing his eyes as the crowd stared. "After all... Death is really a matter of opinion in this case... And I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to explain soon enough."
The others of the five nodded, each one looking toward them as the room appeared to flicker with static. "It's true that our bodies are long gone," Otaki continued on with narrowed eyes, "And that knowing you they're likely rotting where you left them... But our minds have remained locked in that exact state," he barked, teeth grinding. "With not a single moment to vanish with those corpses!"
"You almost lose yourself when you're in a position such as that," Oka stated lowly, the lawyer adjusting his glasses as his form flickered and shifted. "You forget what's real," he muttered, "And what was real..."
"But in a way 'Kaiba-sama'," the next of the group snarled in sarcasm, "Your final words to us are the reason we can still be here..! After all," Daimon continued darkly, "Had it not been for our desire for vengeance, we would never have held a clear enough mind to keep ourselves intact!" Oh, so now this was 'her fault'...
Well, while she wouldn't blame them for wanting to get back at their murderers, the larger question still remained. How were they here! Not that they were answering that question of course, but until they did she would not likely be able to handle this issue too well. Of course, the five before her were still talking, having evidently not finished. "You're not the only one we want," Otaki stated with a growl, teeth grinding as the others in the room tensed in place. "Yugi, Jonouchi, Mokuba... We'd have gone after that 'beta-tester' we'd hired as well," he growled darkly, "But it would seem she isn't here..."
"Not that we mind," Ota added with narrowed eyes, evidently unaware of the situation on the 'Battle Ship' at the moment. "Even just you four are fine, so long as there are other options available..." Other-
What? "Other options," Anzu repeated incredulously, eyes wide as she took another step back. "Just what do we even have to do with this," she shouted. "Do you even have a clue as to what's going on right now? Or even why we're the ones who came out?"
"I don't think they really care," Otogi muttered, Seto narrowing her eyes somewhat as she listened to Anzu's words. What she had to do with this... Anzu had a fair amount to do with this the woman realized with a frown, eyes narrowing further as she glanced back. She'd been one of the two idiotically creating a barricade while watching over her brother and the others in the pods, forcing the guards back until they finished in the game. As a result, she would be considered an instrument in the board member's deaths, and in the end was one of the few who even knew of their 'end result' if not indirectly...
But shouldn't she have known this herself then? The woman ground her teeth further as she pushed the thought from mind, glaring at the holographic forms of her deceased 'board'. Anzu wasn't the problem right now after all. What was the problem was the five murderous and treacherous men before her, who had more than once attempted a hit on her life and that of her brother's! "You... Just how is it that you managed to put together something like this any ways? Do you even have a 'plan'," she continued, the five merely holding silent as their target snarled. "Or did you pull us here for nothing but talk?"
"Hmp! As impatient as ever," Oshita grumbled, adjusting the cane in his hands. The scowl across his face seemed to deepen even further than likely possible, fists tightening their grip before a smirk slowly came over him. "Of course, you are correct to assume we had aid in escaping to the network system here..."
"That's right... It wouldn't be fair to assume that we were without help," Oka continued, turning to the others. So there had been someone then...
And if her guess was right, she knew exactly who that person was. "So then 'Noa' did this," the woman growled, growing red with rage. "Hn! Typical... To get your 'vengeance' you had to turn to a child..." One that looked younger than Mokuba at that.
"Well, we share a common goal after all," Daimon responded, apparently not affected by the insult. Across from him Seto's frown deepened with confusion, the others as well narrowing their eyes. Common..? Just what did 'Noa' even have to do with her? She hadn't seen or heard of the boy until a few minutes prior, and even then she had no clue what it was that he 'represented'. "Of course... Noa-sama's methods are a little 'slow'," the man admitted as his target pondered Noa's identity, the man narrowing his eyes. "After all... It would have been much easier to simply kill you and be over with things..." Tch...
She'd like to see the 'holograms' try... Though given that they were connected to a series of turret guns, it would probably be best to hold her tongue for Mokuba sake and that of the others for now. "We may desire your swift and painful deaths of course, but we still owe Noa-sama our lives," Otaki muttered, frowning as the others listened in silence. "And in exchange for his help, for the opportunity to return to the world as heads of KaibaCorp, he only requested one thing in return..."
"That we face you, each of you," Ota clarified, "In a battle." A 'battle'? "That we fight fair matches out until the end... A duel," he added almost hintingly, Yugi's eyes widening somewhat at the term.
"A... A duel," he repeated, staring forward. Seto as well frowned at that, staring in silence as the boy continued. "But why would Noa want you to duel us," Yugi asked somewhat incredulously. "What point would that have?" Yes, just what point would there be in that, other than the five before them losing horribly yet again? They would end up facing three professional duelists, one being herself and the other being Yugi after all... And while she couldn't speak for Jonouchi and the others, she certainly wouldn't allow the scum before her the honor of a win.
The five appeared to scowl at the reminder of the duels however, narrowing their eyes in distaste. "Believe us when we say we would much rather kill you now, and be rid of you menaces as soon as possible," Daimon spat, eyes narrowed with considerable rage.
Oka nodded in agreement, nonetheless shaking his head. "Orders are orders however... And if we disobey Noa-sama," the former lawyer went on, "We would be much worse off..."
"The reasoning matters little though," Oshita barked, the room appearing to flicker and reveal flashes of steel in response to the rage. "What matters is that you're right where we want you; and unless you agree to a match played by Noa-sama's rules," he continued with a crazed scowl, "You're never leaving this place!"
"Keh! If it's a fight y' want," Jonouchi snarled from behind, "Then it's a fight you'll get! I'll take y' on," he roared, the woman ahead of him mentally smacking her forehead before a click took her attention from the blond's idiocy.
"Ah... N-Nihan," Shizuka was asking, the others only partially paying attention. "Before you do that..." The girl tapped her brother's shoulder, pointing to the back as the others turned. "Over there... Didn't we leave the door open," she muttered fearfully, those listening quickly turning back with wide eyes as they followed her gaze.
The door... "The door-!" The others stared in horror at the steel wall that met their gaze, tiny glass windows fogged completely as the holographic room melted into the remains of a gas chamber. "N-Nii-sama," Mokuba whispered with a swallow, his sister gritting her teeth as she looked around them. "Nii-sama, the door is..!"
Closed. Something thick began to come over the air, Seto's eyes briefly widening as she turned back. This was more than just a trap... A hissing sound was echoing in the room, the voices around her were beginning to quiet... This... This was... "You... Locking us in a room like this..!"
"Hnhnhnhnhn... What," the board called out, holograms stretching and distorting as the five figures appeared to flame into shadowed ghosts rather than their now deceased and burried counterparts. "Did you think we would be playing against you right here in this room," they asked in unison, chuckling almost insanely. "Don't be so FOOLISH!"
"The doors... The doors are locked," Otogi was shouting from behind, coughing weakly as he pulled with no result. "They aren't budging, we're... We're..."
"N-Nii-sama," Mokuba whispered from the side, stumbling on his feet as his sister turned back. "I feel... Dizzy..."
"Bastards... What th' hell is this," Jonouchi snarled through his coughs, "Knock-out gas?" Most likely...
"Not too far from the fact," the board cackled, a loud 'thud' coming over the air as Mokuba collapsed. Seto barely caught the boy as he fell, the action quickly followed by Yugi as she placed her brother on the ground. The room was becoming hazed... Falling to the ground next was Shizuka and Anzu as the gas took effect, and while the remaining three boys stumbled on their feet Seto's own mind was spinning as she glared. These monsters... These... More thuds hit the air... Honda... Otogi... "Have a nice stay," the board muttered lowly, ghastly grins barely visible through the gaseous haze. "Ojou-sama..."
Bastards... "Monsters... The moment I find the computer you're connected to," she warned with a slightly slurred snarl, unable to concentrate on holding her voice, "I'll... I..." The gas had taken effect... Whatever anyone else had said if they weren't knocked out already she couldn't hear, eyes rolling to the back of her skull as she toppled forward. And the last thing she saw as she finally faded out... As the doors opened and her mind lost its grip on reality... Was some sort of machine pushing into the room to carry them off...
There hadn't been much to say after his statement of the obvious in the gas chamber really. Probably because he was tired... More likely it was because he'd been standing right under one of the gas nozzles and collapsed around when Mokuba did. Though if anyone figured he'd fallen just before Honda had, that would probably be because he'd fallen backward... And just about knocked him over. Either way, he hadn't been expecting to wake up to see this, despite the fact he hadn't woken up yet.
"Nnngh..." Opening his eyes of course, had been difficult to say the least. The gas' effects still lingered, making his body weak, sore, sluggish... Overall 'not healthy' really. Looking around as he finally did rouse himself however, brought more than enough surprise as he pulled himself to his feet. "Wh.. What th' hell..." Trees... Giant ferns and palms..?
"A jungle," Yugi asked from the side, the boy waking up with a short groan. "How did we end up in a jungle..?"
The others as well began to wake, more or less opening their eyes at about the same moment as they stood. All around them and the dirt clearing they stood in they could see trees and shrubs, tropical and extinct plant-life towering above them as a glaring sun burned even higher above it. "I think it's safe to say we're not really in a jungle," Mokuba grunted, stretching himself with a wince.
"Given that a dinosaur just flew past us," Honda added with a swallow, the pterodactyl in question having ducked behind the jungle's trees, "I'll have to agree with him on that..."
"H-Hahhh... D-Dinosaurs..."
"Well... A... At leas' we know it's jus' an illusion righ'," Katsuya said with a quiet laugh, turning to his sister as the woman stared at where the monster vanished. "Nothin' t' be afraid of..."
"Eh..? N-Nihan," she said somewhat confusedly, turning to the blond. "I was just surprised, I never said I was scared..." Moving ON!
The others were also righting themselves, either wandering the field or standing in place like Seto with a scowl. "It's just a hologram," Anzu was muttering curiously, "But even though I know this..." The woman swallowed, sniffing somewhat at the air as she frowned. "It's so weird... I mean, it's not just the sights," she exclaimed, "The sense of touch and smell, they're all real..!" And they'd seen that before...
A rumble hit the air with those thoughts, a number of them growing pale as they turned to the source. "And so are the... Footsteps," Honda questioned, before the trees above began to shake. "What the hell is big enough to-"
"THAT," Otogi answered fairly quickly, low growling meeting their ears as they turned.
"Grrrrrnnn..." From between the trees rose an enormous scaled head, eyes widening with shock as the face of a tyrannosaurus-rex met their gaze. "Grnn... GREEEEEEEEEHHH! REEEEEEEEEEEHHH!"
"A... D... Di..." Shizuka grew pale, stumbling back with a jolt as the monster lowered its enormous maw in a threatening gesture. "Dinosaur... It's a..!"
"It... It's jus' an illusion," Katsuya laughed nervously, backing away as he repeated the mantra in unease. "Jus' an'... Illusion..."
The dinosaur didn't quite agree it seemed, instead lowering its head further and preparing to launch the nearest person into its maw. "GREEEEEEEEHHHHH!"
Yea they should probably not hang around here. "Not helping Nihan!"
"RUN," another voice, likely Honda, shouted in panic.
And really, he couldn't agree more with that plan. "RIGHT B'HIND YAH," he roared, shoes skidding across the dirt as he took off. "Let's get outta here!"
"Good idea, let's- H-Hey," Mokuba cut off, turning from his two-yard take off. "N-Nii-sama! What are you doing!" What? Why, what was she-
The others turned as the dinosaur snarled and widened its mouth, the woman standing before it apathetically as jaws moved to close over. "S- Kaiba," Katsuya shouted, the beast snapping its jaws shut without another word. "A-AAAAHH!"
"Kaiba-san," Yugi screamed, the dinosaur appearing to pause.
"Nii-sama!"
-fzzzt!- Katsuya stared somewhat blankly as the jaws of the monster continued to remain shut as they lifted and phased through their intended target. Evidently, this dinosaur wasn't completely real... Leaving Seto in question to smirk rather smugly as the confused beast turned to stomp away from the lot. Somehow, she hadn't been eaten. Somehow.
He was probably going to hear about that for the next month now. "Hn! Pathetic..." Yeaaaaa... You tell whoever locked them in a VR jungle Seto-chan! That was a great idea! "Is this your idea of a fight," Seto roared to the empty jungle, quite obviously unaware of Noa's location but not letting it distract her. "Using the tactics of a small child?" Well... Noa was supposedly only 12 but...
"It didn' work..." Why the hell didn't it work, they'd been slammed around like bean-bags in the last game...
Nonetheless, Seto merely snorted at the statement, likely rolling her eyes. "Of course it 'didn't work'," she said plainly. "After all, while it's a virtual world," the woman continued, "It's still only an imitation of my hologram technology..." Wait, how the hell did she know- "Solid Vision only appears solid," Seto continued, the blond appearing just slightly surprised as a result. "You can't actually be struck by it." ...Oh.
He wouldn't know that... But okay. "He's right," Anzu muttered from the side, having separated from the group to study a flower at the side. The woman frowned as her hand passed cleanly through the blossom, shaking her head as she stared at the plant. "Even the flowers are fake- ... ...Eh..?"
"Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn..."
"HEEEEEHHH!" The group tensed, watching Anzu jump back as a small girl stepped out from the jungle to stand before her. "W-W-Who!"
Yea... Um... That was a good question, one that the girl appeared more than pleased to hold over the crowd. The girl appeared familiar almost really, despite the fantasy garb she was in. Her skin was about as averagely toned as anyone there, and though her hair was a fair bit longer than the one that came to mind, the face still matched. Evidently he wasn't the only one who thought this either, as upon spotting the small child Seto had grown deathly pale... With Noa chuckling darkly from above as his voice echoed about the trees and plants. "Welcome," the boy was saying, the small girl moving past the group and twirling a large mallet of sorts in her hands as the voice spoke. "To the virtual world..!"
"H-Heh... A little girl... But why would Noa use..." Why would he use a little girl, that didn't make...
"Ah- Jonouchi-kun," Yugi whispered with a swallow, Seto looking as though she was barely containing whatever annoyance and rage she so wished to express, "Isn't that... Her?"
"I'm pretty sure," he answered quickly, confused mutterings filling the air before a second child appeared. "Ah- That..."
The second child appeared quite similar to the first, but there were notable differences, and all of them disturbingly familiar for reasons completely unknown to him. Despite the near identical facial structure, his eyes were grey rather than blue, and his skin was tanned to almost appear darker than the 'little Seto's' shoulder length hair. More importantly however was that his own hair, white in colour, was hidden beneath a bandanna of sorts, with his clothes designed similarly to his implied opponent as he gripped a sword and shield. "...He's kidding me," Seto hissed from the side, somewhat wide eyes looking to the children in distaste. She obviously didn't recognize the boy much beyond similarities to Noa's own, but she still had a point... "This is completely-"
"Ridiculous," Noa offered, voice echoing through the air as he chuckled from above. "Preposterous, or perhaps even... Unforgivable? Perhaps I should explain," he continued plainly, the two children on the field staring each other down. "You see," the boy explained, "While you will each be 'dueling' as I promised, it's come to my attention that despite my greatest efforts, only half of you are at the 'fair level' entered in this game... All others are either recreational players or simply non-duelists, a true disadvantage..." Yea, well, it wasn't as though they'd really been prepared... Though if the two before him were about to do what he thought they were... "Due to this disadvantage," Noa went on plainly, "These fights will be a little different than initially planned... We will be fighting with the deck-master system," he explained to the confused crowd, "But rather than simply fighting with cards, you will be fighting with your life... And whatever weapons are granted to you," he finished almost humorously, the children abruptly charging each other with a shout.
"HRAAAAAHHH!"
"GO!"
Sword connected with mallet side as they screamed, 'Chibi-Seto' initially finding her first swing missed before it was blocked and parried by her opponent. The boy in question, quite stuck by this point, found himself forced to push and flip back from the over-sized hammer, swinging his blade off from the weapon as the force blew both back. "The deckmaster system works as follows," Noa explained through the fight, a holographic screen of sorts hovering at the side of each player's head in that instant. "Upon acting on a challenge to battle," he stated calmly, rows of panels streaming past each 'player's vision, "Each of the opponents will choose one monster from their deck to assimilate with, absorbing their abilities as their own. Here... How about a demonstration," he asked with a sneering tone, the girl before them abruptly swinging her hand at the screen as a panel of light passed her.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon," she shouted, hammer breaking into pixels as a bright light enveloped her. In an instant the girl appeared to 'grow' somewhat, a helmet resembling the monster's head covering the upper half of her face as wings sprouted from her back. White armor covered her from the neck down, and hair lengthened into a white pony-tail from the back of her helm before the light could even clear to reveal her body. As it did however she nodded, taking a fighter's stance with the enormous great-sword gripped tightly in both hands. "Hn!"
"Tch! As usual," her opponent snorted. "How typical you would pick the power house!" 'Chibi-Seto' appeared to grind her teeth at this, eyes thankfully covered lest anyone connect the expression to the real one. "My deckmaster will actually prove useful," the boy before them continued, tapping a card on the screen with his blade. "Total Defense Shogun," he roared, his own armor fading out to shift and mirror that of the monster's. Weapons and shields of all kinds appeared on the boy's back as it was covered by straps, his own sword remaining in one hand as the shield on his arm increased considerably in size. "Let's GO," he shouted in challenge, screen appearing to flash as he charged forward.
"Hn! Draw," 'Seto' announced in response, running after her opponent as the screen again appeared at her side. Constantly the weapons clashed, her opponent's blade throwing her back blow for blow as the screen reacted to her words. "Summon the Lord of dragons," she shouted as the panel vanished from her sights, "And play the Flute of Summoning Dragon as well!"
Down at the side the monster arose in a pillar of light, halting her opponent's advance as the boy leaped back to glare. Bone-lined armor and weaponry would prove just slightly more powerful than himself after all, and while the small 'shield' was in place the monster pulled a flute from a pouch at the side. The flute that appeared in the monster's hand was brought calmly to his lips, a loud and echoing horn's note rumbling through the air as he activated the spell. "Gh- Shit-"
"Two more dragons are summoned from my hand," the girl snarled from the side, not bothering to move for the moment as she made her play. Two 'cards', mere panels of light appeared at her sides, bursting into pillars of white flame and pixels as they began to form. "Blue-Eyes and Blue-Eyes," 'Chibi-Seto' announced, the enormous and majestic beasts hardly doing the real versions justice.
"Blu-" Yugi's eyes widened, the boy shaking his head in disbelief. "But... With the deckmaster system in place," he muttered at the summoning, "That would mean..."
"That kid just summoned three blue-eyes white dragons in one turn," Otogi muttered, eyes wide. "And she could still cream her opponent with Lord of D!"
"Sheesh," Honda groaned, rubbing his head. "She's just as over kill as Kaiba is..."
"Gh..." Probably best to ignore them right now, and not add to things... ...And in their case, not turn around incase she was glaring at them...
On the field, 'Chibi-Seto' still had the screen up, her Lord of Dragon now grappling with the boy before her in order to stall him. Evidently the 'life-point' system still applied though, as despite the increased strength, the turn-based point of the game prevented either from dying or even landing a fatal blow. The Lord certainly wasn't trying to make one after all, and given how much luck the opponent was having in landing one...
Well, it was likely just what 'Chibi-Seto' had planned really, as a third panel had appeared on her screen as she continued her turn. "Last card... The spell Polymerization," she cried, vortex appearing in the air behind her. "I'll add my dragon's power to my own," the girl roared, her dragons sucked into the spiral as she grinned almost madly, "Summoning the Ultimate Dragon!"
"Ah-" This time it was Anzu's turn to pause, the woman staring in shock. "But if she's the deckmaster then doesn't that mean-"
Blinding light filled the air as the girl again charged, jumping into the air as her opponent looked up. Again the girl grew, the vortex crushing and flowing into a single stream that coated her body completely with the light of the two dragons she was merging with. Through the light one could see robes replacing her armor, the wings lost in lieu of a billowing cape as the helmet thankfully remained in place. Rather than wielding the oversized great sword now she held a simple claymore, and though she hovered in the air it was plain to see she was making her attack from the safe distance where she stood. "The ability of the Ultimate Dragon," she announced, free hand appearing to glow brightly as flames whipped around it, "Is that fusion monsters can attack the moment they are summoned... This is the end," she roared, pointing her hand forward as the flames blasted forward, "BURST STREAM!"
"Tch- I sacrifice 1000 lifepoints," the boy announced, hopping away from his battle with the lord of dragons to drop the blade, "To activate my effect... Mirror Force Barrier!"
Mirror force? Shit. 'Chibi-Seto' (Not really chibi by now) paled, grip on her sword tightening with shock as her opponent announced the ability. "Nh! You-!"
The boy before them held his hands high as a shield of shimmering light appeared around him, the blast of white flames his opponent sent forward ricocheting off the sides in an instant. White met white as the woman was struck by her own attack, screaming from the force of the fires while the others were left blinded to the point of turning away. In just moments the light had thankfully cleared the field- the fires from the area were gone, along with the woman who had summoned them... Her opponent in the meantime merely returned to the state he had been initially fighting in, turning to leave through the jungle with a blank expression in place. "Gone," Katsuya found himself muttering, eyes wide as he looked about the field. "She lost..."
"So then... Even if we have lifepoints left," Yugi stated with a swallow, grabbing at as much as he could from the duel's result, "If we, the 'deck masters' are destroyed, we lose no matter what..."
Just like 'real life'. "Gh... Bastards..!" The others turned as Seto began to speak again, the woman beyond livid and murderous by this point. "You told us we would fight fairly," the woman roared, clearly pissed both over her situation and the fight they'd witnessed just now. "Yet you introduce ridiculous rules such as this," she continued, "And turn it into some sort of melee!"
In a sudden flash the jungle vanished, the board room again appearing around them as the big 5 sneered. "But of course," Ota chuckled, before a scowl appeared on his face. "After all," he muttered darkly, "So long as both sides play by the same rules, it's only fair..."
"You can consider it punishment for bringing in only half of the duelists," Otaki added, bowing his head as the others nodded. "Given that we would have simply dueled using standard rules if that had been the case..." Yea... Somehow he doubted that...
But really, who was arguing. "So what do you say," the next of the group continued, again adjusting the glasses on his face. "Will you fight... Or will you surrender," Oka 'asked', a dark smirk growing somewhat as the light glared from his glasses.
Seto merely continued to grind her teeth, nails digging into her palms. "You haven't even given us any choice otherwise," her brother roared, his own expression almost mirroring his sister's as he buckled under the emotional pressure. "All we can do is fight!"
"Ack- But I don't even have my deck," Shizuka muttered, her brother merely smirking.
"No problem; there's only five guys here..." And three duelists... Eh... "I'll jus' have t' fight in yer place," he decided with a grin, a number of the others trading looks as the girl stared.
"Hey... And just what does that mean for us," Honda asked, frowning as the blond shrugged.
"Ehhhh... Do what y' wan'," he said with a smirk, his friend choking on air as he stared incredulously.
"Do wha- JONOUCH-"
"What's going to happen if we lose," Anzu abruptly asked, the group cutting any conversations or curses short to turn their attentions to the question. "We know that to escape we have to win," she continued seriously, "But what if we lose?"
"Ahhh... Someone finally understands," Oshita stated, chuckling as Otaki smirked. "I was wondering when we would get that question..."
"Winners get prizes, losers get punishments... It's only natural to question about what that punishment is," Otaki said calmly. "Of course, as to the answer..."
"Should you lose," Oka explained, adjusting his glasses absently, "You will remain here, your minds trapped in a fate identical to our own..."
"Your bodies in the meantime, will become ours," Oshita growled, those before him staring with wide eyes. "Regardless of gender preference," he added with a subtle glance to Seto, "Though it's quite clear that we can still escape this with such a thing intact..."
This... This was... "You monsters," Seto hissed, fists clenched as they hinted at what knowledge they had inexplicably held back from the crowd. "This shouldn't even be possible..! This..."
"How could you do this," Anzu shouted, the protests filling the room. "WHY!"
"Damn it all..." There was no question as to why, they were dead and pissed, wasn't it obvious?
Across from them the five merely chuckled, flaring into shadows once more as they rose above the crowd. The board room had again melted into the steel-floored room it represented, and behind the 'shadows' was nothing but empty white space and light. "What can we say," they chorused, cackling madly as they loomed above. "We ARE monsters now! What did you think became of us!"
"Gh..." 'Monsters'? That was just an insult. "If yer so eager, why don' y' start th' fight now," Katsuya roared, stepping forward with narrowed eyes. "If yer so confident," he continued as he stared the shadows down, "How come you haven' star-" -ted..? The blond cut off abruptly, the ground vanishing beneath his feet in a perfect circle as he scrambled for the edge with no luck. "H-Haaah-haaah-HAAAAHHH! SHIIIIT!" WHY DAMN IT. "SHIIIIIIITT!"
"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba's faded voice called out, the others shouting almost in unison as he toppled through streams of data and code.
"Nihan!" Shizuka...
"Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi..!
"JONOUCHI!" ...Wait... Seto? Katsuya found himself pushing the thought from mind rather quickly, instead screaming and holding his arms up in defense as he fell forward. Light was stabbing at him... Darkness surrounded him, and above, the hole above him had disappeared. Both his clothes and 'body' were being peeled away by lines of zeroes and ones, leaving nothing be a spectral, glowing version of himself similar to the last virtual game he had played. Dark...
It was completely dark, and yet as he landed in the middle of this darkness, a screen appeared before him. It was a simple screen really... A game screen it looked like, complete with a stat sheet and a level. And in addition, just beneath the words 'Tap Start to Begin'...
"Ah- This is..." This was the same sheet he'd had before! In the last virtual game the blond realized, when he and the others had to save Seto! Katsuya stared confusedly at the screen, narrowing his eyes as he looked it over. Same stats, same level, same- ...Class and armor... "Oiii... I thought I picked th' warrior class," he muttered, tapping the screen in accusation before jumping as the darkness vanished. Instantly his 'clothes' were returned, a new outfit covering him as a weapon appeared in his hands to begin the game. The menu before him as well vanished from the darkness, and from beneath him a vast wasteland appeared as he fell. "Ah- H-HAAAHHH! WHAT TH' HELL IS WITH-"
-fmmp-
Great. Sand. "Gn! Pbt! Plleh! PLEEEEEH... Bleeeeeh..." The blond spat any sand that landed in his mouth from the fall as far out as possible, staff somehow still gripped in his left hand as he groaned. Shaking hands pulled his body to his hands and knees after the failed and near instant landing, clumps of sand stuck to his mouth as he attempted to wipe it off. "Ugggghhh 'f all things t' end up in... Why th' hell did it have t' be sand..."
"Hnn... That's a good question," a familiar voice stated, the blond jumping as he turned. Before him stood Noa, in the same form he had seen from his dreams and with not a hair out of place. "I suppose that it has to do with something in your head..." In... In his head? Noa nodded, as though hearing the thoughts within his mind before speaking. "Well... I sent everyone to chain of memories after all," the boy explained, "And its their job to get out. I mind as well make it easier to balance the field after all..." Well... He supposed that the balancing thing made sense but... To get out...
Well he'd never even been in a desert befo- Katsuya froze, looking around as he cut the thought short. No... That wasn't completely true, there were still his dreams weren't there... "Then... Th's place..." Sand... A stable house...
Goats. Lots of goats. Crap. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Good... You've got the idea," Noa said with a smirk, slowly fading from existence. "Memories are fragmented into dreams after all... So why not end up trapped in one? All you have to do now is find your 'meal ticket'," the boy continued, eyes narrowing in mirth as his target continued to look around. "Good luck with that..." Yea, yea, like he care-
Wait, Noa was right behind- "Ah- O-OIII," he shouted, turning to the empty space Noa had filled moments prior. "Wait! Get back here so I c'n beat th' shit outta y'! NOAAAAA!"
It was probably expected that he wouldn't get an answer he supposed. Noa was the 'enemy', and probably not going to trust him anymore than he did now. The blond sighed, shaking his head before looking himself over in the meantime. He mind as well get used to what he was wearing after all... And from what he could tell, the armor he had was fairly similar to what he'd seen 'Chibi-Seto' initially wear, sans various golden accessories. Of course, he couldn't help that note that his own 'tunic' was more likely a 'wrap' of sorts, the fabric tied in place by a sash. So he had a tunic on then... But what else? His feet were completely bare, as were his legs, but while the tunic barely came to his knees to make up for the fact he also appeared to be wearing a billowing and large sleeved cloak... The fabric a bright and flaming red to contrast the scenery and the rest of him, with a few lines of white along the edges.
Yet even with this colour contrast he still 'fit' his location, the cloak seeming just as familiar to his subconcious thoughts as the rest of the area. "Shit... I look like something from a god-damned nativity scene," he muttered, tightly gripping his staff in his free hand while pulling at the cloak with a scowl. Seriously, what was going on with that..? The blond continued to frown, looking around in confusion. Somehow, as he'd looked down, the goats had all vanished, replaced with a vicious sand-storm that ended a few feet from where he stood. There was now nothing but endless sand and an empty stable house around him, not counting the blistering heat from the sun above... And there was supposed to be a way out of this? Really?
"Try looking for a door you moron," a voice muttered, Katsuya rolling his eyes. Hah! Oh great... He was talking to himself. As if seeing everything else didn't make him crazy already! "Hn! To others maybe... But you're not talking to yourself." Not ta-
Waaaaiiit this voice was... "H-Heh..? It... It's you," he shouted with a jolt, looking to the air on reflex with wide eyes. "Th' ghost..!"
"Yes, yes, the 'ghost'," it muttered sarcastically, voice seeming to echo about the back of his mind. "And stop staring at the sky like an idiot," the spirit added, presence still unseen to the blond as he looked down with a red face. "Honestly... I would think that this sort of conversation was impossible without unconsciousness," the ghost pondered curiously, "But evidently being placed into a virtual dream is close enough to it for this to work." Errr... Kay...
Man this was weird... Though he supposed it made sense if- Wait... "Wh- Hang on... If yer still in my head, do y' know where we are," he asked hopefully, a grin appearing on his face as he reminded himself not to look up.
"Of course not idiot, you're unconscious." Thanks...
Katsuya shrugged, scratching his head at the blunt response. "Well, it was worth a shot..." Another snort came from the spirit in his mind at the comment, the blond sighing as he looked around. "So... What 'xactly can y' see then," he asked, squinting through the sands around him.
"Nothing actually; what I can 'see' is merely a transfer of your memory." Memory?
"Wait, yer searchin' through my head!"
The spirit balked, the image of the flustered ghost coming to mind as it snarled. "Of course not, fool! These are your 'present memories', thoughts and recollections of what you see and say mere moments before! Haven't you ever wondered why you think about what you say after you say it? Well don't," it continued, "Because it's the only reason I can even communicate with you!"
"Ack- Got it, got it," he said quickly, ducking under the words as he winced. "I won' argue..."
"Good. Now then... Grom what I can tell your memory here in this game, the one you're trapped in," it clarified, as though waiting to see if his 'friend' would correct him, "Is merely another 'memory' entirely. Though it's certainly not one of this time," the spirit added somewhat sourly. "Hnnn... I wonder..." Eh..? Wonder what? Katsuya blinked, subconsciously turning back to glance at the stable house before jumping and looking back as the spirit spoke again. "Go due north," it said somewhat quietly, voice sounding tense as it gave the order. "This storm is likely a representation of whatever is fogging your memory... It shouldn't harm you," the ghost continued, "Not unless this 'Noa' person is as sadistic as certain other people."
"Certain others," he asked with a frown, raising his eyebrows as the ghost shook his head in that same back-of-mind vision.
"Later," the spirit muttered, still crossing his arms as it spoke. "For now, just do as I said; I'll see what I can do to help you from there," it continued seriously, "But as 'Noa' told you, these are your memories; while I can help with what both our minds experienced, there are certain things that you'll have to figure out on your own."
Hn! This really was like a video game then! "Got it," he found himself answering, walking forward through the sand and wincing as he passed through the storm unharmed. All that happened was that his vision was blocked, and his legs somewhat burnt from the contact with the ground. "Man I wish I had shoes," he muttered, idly looking down as he continued forward.
"Hn! Learn to live with it," the ghost told him with a smirk, Katsuya rolling his eyes. Of course...
In the meantime, he'd be pondering how similar this was to conversations between the two Yugi's to pass the time it would take walking through the desert.
While Jonouchi Katsuya was traveling through a desert his own mind had locked from him for some reason, others found themselves in stranger situations, situations that most would find themselves barely able to keep track of. It was a bit of a 'gift' he supposed, being able to see and comprehend those very situations all at once. Had this been eight years prior, he'd still be fumbling over the programming of the system entirely, raging over the inability to even re-program the silly loops and 'single options' his father had locked into the reality he was forced to accept. But that was then.
And this was now. And right now, with his eyes closed, he could see many 'realities', each one as 'real' as the last. In the fields and parks of a simple riverside district in Osaka, Shizuka Kawai was watching a younger version of herself bicker with a boy she had met only that day. The two had been forced into partnership as they floated in one of many swan boats, and neither wanted anything to do with their twelve year old counter-parts. In the Grand Canyon of Arizona however, from another memory of a time long before, Anzu Mazaki was walking a path that mirrored the one she had taken as a small and confused child, when her hand had been held by her Grandfather rather than gripping a staff in tense fear from what monsters had been entered to the system.
Further 'away' in terms of memory and distance both however there were Hiroto Honda and Ryuuji Otogi, whose memories had merged to create their next and combined challenge; from Honda's vision of the middle school's 'Kyoto field trip' and temple came the building and location both, and from the depths of Otogi's very own nightmares and childhood stories came the mood and opponents. It would be quite a while before they escaped, from both the building and the monsters that filled their hall... And even then, Honda was not the only one who affected the memory's 'location', with a dark and chilling surprise waiting for them at the end.
But the whereabouts of those people mattered little to him, almost as little as Yugi Mutou awakening at the peak of a waterfall did. All that caught his attention with that particular situation really was the distance between himself and his opponent, the digital form of Oshita's 'Deepsea Warrior' lurking in wait beneath the enlarged shoumyou river's depths. Their fight would be soon, but not just now... He'd watch them when it did.
For now however there were two groups he would keep an eye out for, and two only. Seto Kaiba and her brother would be the the first of course, Noa's mind extending an eye out to watch as the pair trekked through the thick trails of a Mountain they hadn't seen in four years. It was a tall mountain, a well known portion of the alps and known to the world as its tallest point. According to their memories, they had only been there because of a business agreement between their own family's War Arms business and that of the former German Arms and Defenses company known as 'Schroeder Corp'... A company that had been creating weapons and systems since the time when blades were the weapon of choice, a clear reference in their name's meaning.
As to what the pair thought of the location, the reactions couldn't have been more varied. Mokuba had been too young to really remember much, and all he could do was ponder how familiar the terrain was as he and his sister cut through small waves of duel monsters. His reaction to the location was a mix of dull curiosity and indifference, his own drive to move forward increased by the monsters ahead. Seto on the other hand, had only served to become more ruthless in this pursuit the further they went, as though spurred on by a hated memory...
And if he was correct, that memory would do just that, even if it hadn't been the intended memory for them to become entrapped in. There were certain things he wanted them to relive, specific moments... But really, he could deal with that in just another moment. For now however, he paused in his observation of the woman he so hated, of the woman whom he had spent so long detesting for her lies. For now, there was someone more important than even her- and as he turned his eyes back to the deserts of Ancient Egypt, where Katsuya trekked through the desert, Noa found himself frowning in what was, for the first time in a long time, the sensation of confusion. His memories... Even to him they were unknown, a fact that would cause problems within the program. They were scrambled, confusing, and more importantly those of a nut-case. Monsters battling in a blood soaked street, Gods arising from cards... These memories would cause problems he told himself as he opened his eyes, frowning as his plan reformed. Problems he had no time for. Problems he had no patience for.
"A program then," he decided, pushing in through the vulnerable and defenseless memories of the mind he had focused on. "One who knows him," the boy continued, seemingly floating through space as an image came to mind. Humanoid, for familiarity... With key points to make it identifiable as 'inhuman', and as a being under his control. And of course, a few portions would have to allow it access to the rest of the program, that was for sure. There were just a few things he would have to do to make this program- and while he was at it...
Why not make a second? A 'spy' of sorts, something to handle the data that was so scrambled within the human mind. Something to make sure his two most 'prized guests' on the mountain didn't stray from the path, or attempt to break free from the net that was slowly closing in on them. Something to probe their thoughts with more focus and detail while he busied himself with everything else... Yes, he told himself with a smirk, the boy crossing his arms as the plan locked into place. Something that could break even her defenses, finding a weak-point more vulnerable than even her brother! Yes, that was perfect...
And from behind two figures in white appeared from nothingness, neither one any taller than their creator before them. Their outfits almost mirrored that of their creator, but despite the child like appearance their were more bestial traits about them that set them apart. These would work he told himself as he turned. These would work perfectly... "Your names," the boy asked as he looked to the programs, one 'male' in appearance and one 'female'. The two stood with blank expressions in place, eyes glazed and unblinking as their creator gave the command. "What are your names," he repeated, wishing to see just what memories had been used to build the pair to form them.
"Kisara," the first stated, blue eyes somewhat shadowed as she stared toward her 'creator'. The second as well showed no signs of life in that regard, grey eyes appearing almost dead as he gave his own answer to the boy.
"...Seraph."
AN: Saraph! What are you doing here? ...Evidently being confusing. Very VERY important that you realize now that these are programs, and only programs; they aren't going to be channelling any spirits or something weird like that. More importantly, they won't actually look the same; as you can see below, their colouration is mostly white, and while that makes sense in Kisara's case, the reasoning isn't going to be revealed in a long time when it comes to Saraph. Or... 'Seraph', which came from that word.
Now the wings make sense don't they! (Seraph being what certain angels are called... Specifically 'Seraphim'...)
As you can see already, things are going to be very different in the fanfic compared to the anime; with that in mind, expect a battle beneath the waters of a river next chapter, combining the fighting from the fanfic with the cards of canon with Yugi's puzzle and game playing prowess!
Also, you can bet millions that I'll be listening to 'Bossdeath' and the 'Stray Girl in Her Lenses' songs from the vocaloids for most of this arc. Even though the only connection is a video game theme. UM. (Maybe throw in some video game soundtracks...)
Anonymous Review Responses
Glad you like the art RandomProjects! There's some more just below in colour if you're interested.
Yessssss… Jou and Noa's encounter was very, very creepy; we'll have to see if it meant something or not though. Not to mention how he'll top it. (Be glad he didn't confront Jou on his 'dreams'. VERY glad.)
OH! Malik killed the doctor because he was there, plain and simple. He was there, he wasn't leaving, he was a problem. As Malik has no qualms in the matter, it was easily done thanks to the Millennium Rod; this is actually why he had not time to kill Rishid in terms of the fanfic; by the time he ensured the doctor was silenced and dying, it was time to duel.
As for why Bakura and Malik (Both being the 'Yami's in this case) duelled, it was out of a deal made between the real Malik (who was possessing Anzu at the time); Malik needed help to get his body back, and Bakura agreed to act as this help, provided he receive the Millennium Rod as a result. So yes… Dark Bakura the entire time, even as he vanished off.
Annnnd… Oooooohhh the more people guess the more I want to reveal… But I can't! ACK.
Actually, the ghost's identity will be revealed fairly shortly compared to everything else, along with a second reveal later on… In other words, we'll figure out his name, but we won't figure out what face goes with the name until later.
OH. That was just me spouting theories. It would probably be a kidnapping deal though, as the Ishtar clan is fairly closed off…
Ooooh, don't get me started on interviews Iona… I got a 'job' of sorts interviewing people for a friend of the families' business, and for some reason no one's showing up. I'm more than glad that this fanfic is a source of cheer though; I know that when I feel particularly down I tend to work on typing the next chapter, or simply plotting out various things that will or won't happen. Not to mention pending doodle comics.
But yes… Many many many disturbing things, though in regards to Malik I think he was just in shock…
Noa will be using everything to his advantage, guarantee it! He's going to be taking advantage of his semi-omnipotency, I can tell you that… Until we really see that happen though, I'll just let you enjoy this chapter- see you soon!
Oooooh yea… The next duel will definitely be a problem CynicalGamer… Particularly the one following; a shadow game and the ability? Someone put him out of his misery!
I'll never stop preening! I am the great peacock (Hen?)- Usagi now! AHAHAHAaaaa wait only the males get the feathers…
I personally have to figure out just how Kaiba will be able to wrap her head around this; the supernatural really tends to screw with her badly!
I'm praying, I'm praying!
And the dub pretty much erased Kaiba's character development from the field completely; he was far more civil by the time Doma and World Prix rolled around, I can tell you that.
Chibis are below~ (Enjoy!)
Hnnn… When you put it like that, I'd have to say the latter, hehehehe… In any case, I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for intentional nightmares, Jonouchi's dream was just that; a dream. While it will tie into the coming chapters in some way, the actual Noa had nothing to do with it.
It was just Jou having an overly creepy dream. With obligatory Yay. Hehehehe.
In any case, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's wondering... What's Ryuzaki doing in the meantime?
'Press Start' is obviously just the beginning of the silly game references, but believe me, once I get going on this... You're going to want to beat me with sticks.
Something I forgot to mention last chapter, but Malik, rather Malik-in-Anzu (that came out weird), sought out Bakura shortly after the issues with Yami Malik began. He gave him the ring back, and, after making a deal, Malik temporarily partnered up with Yami Bakura to challenge Yami Malik to a 'shadow game' with the intent of getting Malik his body back in exchange for the Millennium Rod.
Unfortunately, their bodies were tied to their lifepoints; as each player lost points, portions of their bodies vanished. So, when Bakura lost, he actually disappeared completely. In the original, Bakura remained alive because of the bit of soul he planted in Yugi's puzzle… In this case…
He really did disappear, and getting him back will not be easy! As to where he went, it wasn't the puzzle... But who knows where he is now.
Ahhhh, Kaiba's billowing coat of amazing… The fact is, so long as Kaiba is moving, that coat isn't defying any gravity laws. Coats really do billow like that; a friend of mine tested it with thief king Bakura's coat.
A small bit of dialogue changes and such here; two random mooks became the pilot charging out of the ship for one, and scenes with Shizuka being nervous and frightened were altered to fit the fanfic's version. Shizuka's scared yes, but looking back, I actually wonder if she might have been a bit younger than I thought… Of course, fanfic-Shizuka is quite a bit more tsundere than her canon counterpart, though I suppose anyone would be after spending Middle School with Ryuzaki.
In any case, other, more major changes are on Seto's part; she actually stole one of Yugi's lines in order to question Noa! Mostly because I realized that it wouldn't make sense for Yugi to repeat his line, which had been moved closer to exiting the ship to make sense… Eheeeeee… Also, you think Kaiba's taking this silently? HAH.
You'd think that Noa's fortress would be dusty, but you're very wrong. The air is filtered completely for one, and since no one's breathing it or walking around, there's no hair, skin, no transferred particles of any sort of material hanging around.
And this means no dust. This also helps to actually enforce the creepiness of the situation; this means nothing living has been hanging around, and for a very long time.
Originally, we just got a trippy light show and everyone falling into holes for the entry into the Virtual World, with the demo duel dividing those two. However, this obviously makes no sense, and the question remains, how the hell did everyone get in those pods! Because seriously, we never found that out! Thus the fanfic version... Combining gas with the fact that Japan's been working on a robot to move hospital patients from bed to bed lately. (Like a forklift! ...For people.)
That would do the trick here I'd think.
It's important to note that Noa, while having many options on hand, was literally on his last leg with the 'gassing plan'; the fact is after all, he needs to knock out eight people… At once. Thankfully, they're all between twelve and seventeen. Unfortunately, they vary between Mokuba's 4'6'' and Yugi's incomplete height at 4'11'' (He'll be 5'0'' even soon enough) to Seto's six freaking two.
Luckily, Fanfic-Seto's a lady, a slim one at that, which means less muscle mass to deal with... So this still works, as she's knocked out just moments after the last few guys, particularly since most of the older ones are sleep deprived already. Gasses like these take different amounts of time to work on different people after all, and often take a minute or so to work (same with tranqs, those can take up to fifteen minutes though.)... More importantly, women and children are out much quicker than men, due to size, resistance, etc...
In any case, why is this so lucky? Because it's quite likely that if it took much longer to take effect, we'd have had two deaths on our hands; too much gas is kinda fatal, and Yugi's not exactly the biggest seventeen year old given that he's only five inches taller than Mokuba... And a skinny one at that.
Now go picture the cast of Yu-Gi-Oh dropping like flies!
Also, it was originally the big 5 explaining this part (the demo-duel that is), but I liked Noa's take more... Because he's a prick about it. They still got their last word in, as creepy as it was.
As for who the opponent to 'chibi-Seto' was, it was the apprentice from that 'Priests' image I showed you before; originally he didn't get much of a part, but I decided that since he disappears anyways that a childish rivalry is okay. As for his resemblance...
Yes, as a matter of fact, it is a shout-out to Noa; Akhnaden draws a fair number of ties to Gozaburo in terms of 'evil dads' after all. (Ironically, the situation is reversed in Egypt; Set is the real child, and the OC is merely in a son-like situation due to apprenticeship. He disappears just as quickly as Noa though.)
As to why I can say this, it's because it's not a spoiler; just a silly little fact that I doubt would end up revealed in the fanfic for a while.
You know that whole 'your mind makes it real' thing? Combined with Kaiba's scepticism, things would have been awesome… Except that Noa just altered the code so she wouldn't get squashed this one time, and it would have failed horribly if she tried to work by it a second time around… (Kaiba, stop thinking of the VR game you fixed!)
Yes, Lord of D. is more powerful than that Shogun, and the duel could have ended right there. But Kaiba is Kaiba, even when formed as a copy, and can't help but show off when the opportunity arises. D'OH.
Funny thing; there really are just enough guys for the Big 5 to steal if we think of Noa still hounding Kaiba; Shizuka, Anzu, and FanficKaiba make three girls out of eight people.
Try not to think to hard about who got who, the Big 5 lost in the end.
For specifics on how this deck master system works... Players have the option of, while dueling, attacking 'directly', using themselves as the weapon. Basically they turn it into a boss fight. However, monsters summoned will try their damnedest to get in the way, and the fact is, the Big 5 are going to be really good at dodging... So while in this case, it's like the deckmaster is always on the field, it's still just as hard to finish a fight like that.
Of course, given that the deckmaster system is how pretty much all of the duels are lost, you can bet this makes for some crazy-awesome fight scenes yet to come.
Where the heck is Jonouchi? You'll find out… Soon. As for everyone else, Shizuka and Yugi are the only ones whose locations are completely unchanged, albeit with a waterfall being added in Yugi's case. This is partially for the sake of the memory fun, and partially because Seto and Mokuba end up going through lots of memories… And I'm not particularly in the mood to centre on the ones covered completely by Death T... (Though it will largely center on backstory and Gozaburo despite this.)
Anzu's memory is just of a vacation to the USA, specifically the Grand Canyon. More info on her memories when we get to her though, along with everyone else when we hit that…
I will get specific with Yugi's though, as his fight is next. Yugi's currently at the top of Shoumyou Falls, a neighbour to the Hannoki falls, and twin to it. They're the largest waterfalls in Japan (Though Hannoki only has water in april and july, due to the melt of snow from the plateau at Mt. Tate...), and I think the tallest in Asia as well… They're located in Tateyama, a town that is in turn located in Toyama, which is in turn located in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Where does this put it? A fair distance from Tokyo, but really, it's just on the other horizontal side of Japan.
As to the importance of waterfalls for Yugi's fight, believe me, you WILL find out in the next chapter. OH you will find out…
And onto Kaiba's memory... (Kinda.)
'Schroeder', a German name in origin (which makes sense; Siegfried is German after all) originates from the term 'to cut' in the same language. Normally it referred to a family of tailors, but the Schoreder company was explicitly known as a war arms company in the anime.
At least until Siegfried's parents died and he took over. Managing to parallel Kaiba completely until Kaiba finished a deal with Pegasus before he could. Whoops!
Irony? Siegfried is hinted at coming across Solid Vision himself, creating it so his brother could enjoy the game more. In Kaiba's case, due to this being fused with the manga, she created it purely to inflict the same punishment on Yugi that he inflicted on her. So if Yugi hadn't done that...
Would that mean Siegfried invented duel disks? Weird isn't it? So many 'what if's' floating around...
Kisara and Saraph! What? For specifics on their programming, they're both guides; one to make sure Seto does what she's 'supposed' to do (Namely go through memories centred on Gozaburo… Ick…), and the other is both to make sure that neither Noa nor Jonouchi lose the latter in his own memories but to also figure out how that could be possible. Hoorayyyyy… (Basically, his purpose is to get him to Oka, AKA the Lawyer.)
Again, I cannot stress enough, as I did just above, that they're merely programs created from memory fragments; in fact, the 'fragments' are partially why they aren't completely human... Though you get to guess what the heck I'm talking about on that point.
FanArt And My Art Section
Psssst... Take out the spaces for your link...
Also I like fanart... If any artists are out there and listening...
Today we have lots of costume-references, along with a single concept sheet. There'll be more 'realistically sized' references as the chapters come and go though, mostly for the deckmaster references.
Concept-Reference: Demo-Duel Deckmaster (Chibi-Seto) – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ Blue-EyesExample. jpg - I have to say, never has drawing child-sized fem-Kaiba been so fun. ...Though I do find it a little disturbing at how easy it is. Mrnnnn...
Chibi-Reference: Shizuka & Honda – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ ShizukaHondachibi. jpg - In which we see the Blue Mage Shizuka (who gets to keep her deckmaster after battle) and Gunman Honda (who gets five million designs thanks to the big five. FFFFFF)! Shizuka's staves are unfortunately quite useless at the moment, as they break really easily.
Chibi-Reference: Anzu & Otogi – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ AnzuOtogichibi. jpg - What's with the snake? If you can't guess, you'll probably get it during Anzu's chapter... Anzu by the way is a Black Mage, and the stone in her staff is a Carnelian. Normally this wouldn't have anything to do with her... But it will. Trust me. In any case, Otogi is a 'dancer'. Make fun of dancer's all you want, but he's going to be kicking ass with those daggers...
Chibi-Reference: Jonouchi & Reference: 'SERAPH' – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ JouChibiSaraphProgram. jpg - What's this? Jou's outfit changed? And to those familiar with certain other arcs and characters, that outfit looks oddly familiar too, doesn't it? I wasn't lying when I said there'd be small reveals as the questions were raised guys! In any case, at the side we have 'Seraph' as the program is called; his tan is gone, but that's because the program wasn't created from a memory of Saraph, he was created from a mix of memories in general. Saraph just happened to be the more prevalent one, and thank god for that or we'd have three Yugi's running around.
Reference: 'KISARA' - http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ KisaraProgram. jpg - And thus the program that will be stalking Kaiba, meet mini Kisara! Complete with Blue-Eyes parts, to make up for the fact that I pulled her out from a later appearance. Mostly. She'll still show up I think. It's complicated...
Concept: Schroeder Family 4 Years Prior – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ SchrodinerFamily. jpg - In which I replace the guy Gozaburo met at that dinner party with a lady, for both lulz and awesome. (No really, that lady is BADASS)
Hey... It was a two second flashback, I can take creative jumps here! I do admit failure on Sieg's hair though; evidently, I gauged the length wrong, as it was shorter when he and Kaiba met, but oh well. This is from four years prior (Seto was thirteen), not six years (when they met). I figured I mind as well post this now despite those flashbacks not being due to appear until the Grand Prix arc though, as the family was mentioned just above and... Yea.
As a side note, for the fanfic, Schroeder Corp and Kaiba Corp are working in a partnership rather than competing; whereas Gozaburo's company focuses on the offensive dealings, Schroeder Corp will be focusing on defensive and locative systems, meant for precautionary and protective measures, meaning that there's an advantage on working alongside the other. More on that when that arc actually arrives though, along with what that means for the relationship between Sieg and Seto.
And for now that's all I have for you! As we go, I'll be posting more serious design art for current and future chapters, along with some doodles on the side. I hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone, and until then, I'll see you later!