So it's official. Dance classes are kicking my ass. I'm surprised I'm not dead yet. Anyhoo, sob story over. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. This chapter will be longer than the last one and should be more action-y as well. I hope you enjoy!
xxxx
"Welcome to Kaiba Land guys!" The pride in Mokuba's voice made Alissa smile. Mokuba had told her the story of how he and Seto always wanted to build a chain of amusement parks. She was happy that they were finally seeing that childhood dream come to life.
"Whoa this place is great! There must be every ride ever invented here!" Tea said in awe. The group walked around the park, being careful to avoid the large crowd of rowdy kids.
"I thought Kaiba Land hasn't opened yet." Tea asked suddenly.
"It hasn't. These are special guests." Mokuba answered.
"Oh and did we mention that every ride today is free?" Tristan and Joey stared at Alissa and Mokuba in shock. Their shocked faces quickly changed to wide grins.
"You guys rock!"
"Woo hoo! Let's tilt a whirl till we hurl!"
"I need to get more female friends." Alissa giggled at Tea's annoyance.
"You can say that again Tea."
"I saved the best part for last. Guys, this is the Kaiba Dome!" Mokuba held his arms up with a flourish.
"Whoa! Is that a Blue Eyes arena?"
"Uh huh. Come inside and Mokuba can show you around." The group followed Alissa and Mokuba into the Kaiba Dome.
"The Kaiba Dome is the world's largest indoor stadium," Mokuba explained proudly. "And that's the KC DuelTek 760."
"Whoa, not to shabby Mokuba." Joey said, genuinely impressed.
"It's our new, state-of –the-art dueling platform." The group turned their attention to the kid on one side of the platform that was going up against the computer.
"That kid's toast. There's no way he'll be able to beat that digital duelist's monster now," Joey replied when the computer managed to form Five-Headed Dragon Monster using the monsters that were on its side of the field.
"Not a chance. Our computer was programmed to imitate the strategies of the best duelists. We've even imported Seto's deck and Yugi's deck too."
"It's got my deck too right?"
"Of course it does Joey. That way it can lose too."
"Tristan!" Joey yelled. Alissa rolled her eyes as Tristan and Joey began to fight with one another.
"The players can choose from five levels," Alissa continued. "It goes from beginner all the way to expert."
"Hey is that Yugi Muto?"
"No way? It must be a theme park look alike."
"It's gotta be him!"
"It is him! I want his autograph!" A large group of kids instantly surrounded the group and started talking all at once.
"I can't believe it's you," a boy with dark pink hair in a ponytail said in awe. He had wide brown eyes and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose.
"I'm Leon," the boy continued. "I've been a fan of yours since Duelist Kingdom." Yugi laughed sheepishly.
"Hey Leon," he said, taking the hand that he'd been offered in a shake.
"Hey doesn't anyone want my autograph?" Joey asked loudly.
"Are we supposed to know you?" One of the kids asked, earning a snort from Alissa. Alissa covered her wide grin with her hand as Joey shot her a glare.
"Come on Kid. I'm Jumpin' Joey Wheeler. Battle City finalist."
"Joey who?"
"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Tristan asked with a large smile to add insult to injury.
"I'm tellin' ya I get no respect." Rick, the boy who had just finished dueling stepped up to Yugi who was currently signing autographs.
"Can you take a look at my deck please? I can't seem to win no matter what I do." After explaining to Rick that he needed to balance his deck with magic and trap cards instead of just having dragon cards, Yugi handed him a card.
"Here take this. This card reminds me of a good friend of mine and it should help you out."
"The Heart of the Underdog? Do I get to keep it?" Yugi nodded. Rick smiled as the rest of the kids surrounded him to take a closer look at the card.
"Hey, who does that card remind you of Yug?"
"I'll uh…tell you later."
"I'm going to go try the card out now!" Rick ran towards the dueling platform and jumped on. He set the computer to level two then prepared for battle.
"Initiating gameplay," the computer announced. "Commencing du-." The platform and all the lights suddenly went dark.
"What happened?"
"Ha, looks like the Kaiba boys forgot to pay their electric bill," Joey laughed.
"Either that or they didn't work out all the kinks in their system," Rebecca replied.
"But that's impossible! We worked out every possible bug," Mokuba rushed to the control panel and began fiddling with the switches. "Stay calm everyone! I'll get this figured out." Suddenly, the lights switched back on. As soon as the lights came back on, the doors to the Kaiba Dome closed, trapping everyone inside. The kids inside began to panic.
"We're trapped!"
"It isn't responding," Mokuba's voice was tight with worry. "I've lost control."
"Step aside Mokuba." Rebecca took Mokuba's place in front of the control panel and began trying to figure out what was happening.
"Just as I suspected. An outside party is controlling your computer. But this isn't an ordinary hacker we're dealing with. This is a high end job."
"Who would do this?"
"My guess is that they want something from you Mokuba."
"Well I say that we pull that scrap heap to shreds!"
"I'm with you Joey!"
"Guys stop!"
"What is it Alissa?"
"If you do that we'll never get out of here. The only way we'll be able to get out is if that computer loses in a duel."
"So our fate is in the hands of that kid up there?"
"Oh no! It gets worse! The computer set itself to the toughest level!"
"Oh man I'm toast!"
"He's right. He's only a beginner, he'll never get past level five!"
"I hate to say it but Mokuba is right. He needs help." Yugi's millennium puzzle began to glow and when the light cleared, Yami stood in his place. He jumped onto the platform where the young boy stood.
"I'll take it from here. Is that alright?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"Don't worry. I will bring your deck to victory, but you have to have faith." Rick smiled.
"Right. Let's dismantle this thing!"
"You've got this Yugi! We're all behind you!"
"Let's duel!" As the duel progressed, the children who were watching began to panic again.
"I want my mom!" A girl cried.
"It's alright. Yugi will win and we'll all be fine."
"Tea's right," Alissa kneeled down in front of the girl who had started to cry. "He's the King of Games remember? He'll get us out of this. Don't worry." Not long after saying this, the computer attacked with two monsters, bringing Yami's life points down to eight hundred.
"Oh no! Yugi!" Tea exclaimed, her eyes filled with worry.
"We aren't off to a great start guys."
"I'm sorry," Rick said quietly, holding on to the back of Yami's jacket. "If it weren't for my deck you'd be winning right now."
"Be patient. Your deck is strong. It has heart and there is nothing that is more powerful than that."
"So we can still win?" Yami nodded with a reassuring smile. As the duel continued, Alissa noticed a young girl sitting with her head in her hands. She knelt down next to the girl and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Hey are you okay? What's your name?" The girl sniffed and looked up. Her hazel eyes were wide with fright and she was shaking. Beads of sweat were on her pale skin.
"I'm Sarah. I'm really scared."
"It's okay. You're going to be fine. Yugi will win and we'll be out of here soon."
"No. I haven't eaten yet. I left my snack with my Mommy. I feel sick." That's when Alissa noticed the silver medical bracelet around the girl's wrist. She lightly grabbed Sarah's hand and examined the bracelet. Oh no. She's diabetic.
"Guys!" Alissa called, gaining the group's attention.
"What's up Alissa?" Joey asked in concern. "What's wrong?"
"Do any of you have a juice box? Or some hard candy? Anything with sugar?"
"I don't," Tea answered, earning confused nods from everyone else. "Why? What's going on?"
"Sarah is diabetic," Alissa said, tossing her head at Sarah. "Her blood sugar is low and she needs something now."
"Oh wait. I think I still have my soda from earlier."
"Have you opened it yet?"
"No."
"Hand it here." Tea pulled her unopened soda out form her purse. Alissa quickly grabbed it from her and opened it.
"Here. Drink half." She handed the drink to Sarah and watched as she drank. As she drank, the color slowly began to return to her cheeks. Alissa smiled in relief.
"Feeling better?" Sarah nodded.
"Thank you." Alissa smiled in return.
"You're welcome. Just sit here for a few minutes. Yugi should have this computer beat soon." Alissa pulled her attention back to the duel and noticed that Heart of the Underdog had been played. Alissa watched as Heart of the Underdog's special effect was activated and it continued to do so until Yami had drawn seven monsters.
"I play Spirit Ryu in Attack Mode! And thanks to my dragon's special ability, it gains one thousand life points for every dragon I send to my graveyard and I count six." The onlookers watched as Spirit Ryu's points increased to seven thousand.
"Now, destroy his Jinzo and the rest of his life points!" The attack hit, destroying the computer's monster and bringing its life points down to zero.
"He won!"
"I knew he'd save us!" Yami and Rick climbed down from the dueling platform
"Well done Rick. It was your faith in your cards that helped us win." He handed Rick's deck back to him.
"It was nothing," Rick said with a wide grin.
"Whoa your deck is awesome!"
"I'd trade anything for some of those cards!" The group of kids surrounded Rick, offering praise. The doors opened again and everyone piled out. The children all greeted their parents with smiles, ready to tell their parents about the awesome duel they had just witnessed.
"Thanks for the card Yugi. I'll take good care of it," Rick said, holding up the card.
"Good."
"See ya." Rick turned on his heels and ran down the steps to meet his parents. "Mom! Dad! You'll never guess what happened!"
"Oh. Excuse me!" Alissa turned when she heard a voice.
"Me?" She asked when she noticed a woman around the age of forty staring at her. Then she saw Sarah standing next to the woman.
"Oh, you must be Sarah's mother."
"My daughter told me about what happened in there. Thank you for taking care of Sarah."
"Hey it's no problem. I'm glad I could help. You're feeling better now Sarah right?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you."
"You helped too. You were very brave." Sarah stepped to Alissa and hugged her around the waist.
"I never learned your name."
"I'm Alissa."
"Thanks again Alissa."
"No problem. Now go have fun okay? Have A Blue Eyes Burger for me will ya?" Sarah grinned and nodded before joining her mom again. The young girl waved as she walked with her mom in the opposite direction.
"How'd you know she was diabetic Alissa?"
"It was on her medical bracelet that she was wearing."
"How'd ya know how to help her?"
"I remember learning about diabetes in health class. Maybe if you'd pay attention, you'd remember Joey." Alissa added the last part with a grin.
"I get no respect," Joey said dramatically. "Hey Yug, about that card, you said it reminded you of someone right?"
"I did? Oh yes…um…a little help here?" Suddenly, Yami switched, leaving a blushing Yugi to answer Joey's question.
"Oh yeah that's really mature Pharaoh!"
"Yug? Everyone else seems to think that I'm the one that card reminds you of the Underdog."
"Well…uh…that card reminds me of you because no matter if the odds are against you, you always pull through."
"I can see your business cards now man. Joey Wheeler, Executive Underdog!"
"Watch it Tristan!" Alissa laughed at her friend's antics. Suddenly, a helicopter landed in front of them. Seto jumped out, a worried frown set between his brows.
"Mokuba! Alissa!"
"Hey Seto!" Mokuba called, running to greet his older brother.
"Is everything alright?" Mokuba nodded.
"A bit late to be saving the day dontcha think? Yugi already did that!" Joey yelled, quick to jump at the CEO's throat. "Now that you're here maybe you could fix that wacko computer of yours Moneybags!"
"Settle down you Underdog." Seto's statement had Tristan, Tea, and Alissa snorting with laughter. A glare from the blond made them fall silent.
"There's nothing wrong with the computer. It's the hacker that's the wacko."
"Who was it?"
"I don't know Mokuba. There's a long list of possible suspects. As we've seen in the past, Kaiba Corp. has its fair share of enemies so it doesn't surprise me that someone is out to sabotage this tournament. But whoever it is, they wont get away with it. This punk will be found and punished!" Seto paused to turn to Roland. "I want the security tripled for tonight's tournament registration. We can't afford another unexpected interruption."
"Of course Sir."
"And anyone who is late to registration will be disqualified. Mokuba make sure Wheeler's late." With that, Seto stalked of in the opposite direction. A few moments passed before Seto's words it Joey.
"Hey wait a minute! I know an insult when I hear one! Turn around and look at me when I'm yellin' at ya!" Alissa rolled her eyes and hurried to catch up with Seto.
"Was that really necessary? I mean it was clever and kind of funny, but was it necessary?"
"It's been a long day and I needed a laugh."
"Well if you wanted to laugh I could've just told you a joke. Knock, knock."
"Are you serious?"
"Knock, knock," she repeated. He sighed.
"Who's there?"
"Interrupting cow."
"Interrupting co-."
"Moo!" She laughed at her own joke and Seto remained silent. "Oh come on, you have to admit that it was kind of funny."
"Funny and stupid are two different things."
"It's good to know that despite stressful situations, you can still maintain your charismatic personality."
"It's a skill."
xxx
A couple hours later, Alissa stood with her group of friends at the registration ceremony. She was talking with Yugi when a flash of yellow crossed her vision and she was shoved out of the way.
"Hey! Watch it!" Alissa's comment went completely ignored.
"Yugi Muto? I knew it!" The woman that stood in front of Yugi had black hair adorned with pink hair accessories. She gripped his hands in hers with a smile.
"I'd recognize that adorable spikey hair anywhere!"
"Uh thanks?"
"I'm Vivian Wong, but call me Viv," she said with a wink. A small blush covered Yugi's cheeks.
"Uh hi Viv."
"Hey let go of him!" Rebecca's shrill voice was laced with jealousy.
"I know we'll be rivals once that tournament starts, but that doesn't mean we can't be friend outside the games. You're a quiet one huh?" She asked, grabbing onto Yugi's head and pulling him into her chest. Tea and Rebecca looked mortified. Yugi on the other hand looked terrified.
"Hey break it up," Tea said, finally stepping in.
"Yeah. Let him come up for air Viv." Rebecca added.
"Hey! Is that Seto Kaiba!" Vivian said loudly, throwing her arms above her head. "Yoo-hoo Kaiba-poo!" She ran across the room towards the brunet.
"Looks like this is all me," Alissa said. "He's in a 'I have a stick this size of Texas shove up my ass' mood so for the safety of Viv and every other person in this room, I better go pacify the raging fan girl." Alissa followed Vivian, trying to stop her before she reached the CEO. Seto is going to owe me big time for this! When Vivian was a few feet away from Seto, Alissa squealed, drawing the attention of both the CEO and Vivian.
"Oh my gosh! You're Vivian Wong!" Vivian smiled and walked towards Alissa, the dreamy CEO completely forgotten.
"Yeah that's me!"
"Oh my gosh! I'm your number one fan! I can't believe I finally get to meet you! Can I have your autograph?" Vivian smiled broadly.
"Of course. Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?" Well shit, I didn't think about that. Thinking quickly, wanting to distract Vivian for as long as possible, Alissa grabbed a napkin from off one of the tables and rummaged through one of her pockets for a pen.
"Here." She handed them both to Vivian. "Make it out to Alissa." Vivian signed the cloth napkin then handed it back to Alissa.
"I can't wait to see you kick butt!"
"I'm glad I have such a loyal fan! Well, enjoy the tournament Alissa." Vivian waved and walked off in the opposite direction, completely forgetting about the CEO that she had prepared to attack not even two minutes before. Alissa cleared her throat and stepped next to Seto.
"Sorry you had to see that."
"You know you'll have to pay for that napkin right? It's silk."
"I just saved you from a rabid fan girl who'd probably steal your used tissues to add to her shrine, I think you can overlook one ruined napkin Rich Boy. Unless of course, you wanted to have your face shoved into her boobs. That's what happened to Yugi. I swear, I thought his face was going to get sucked into her crevices."
"Please stop talking."
"Who had the shits in your oatmeal this morning Rich Boy? You're usually pretty serious but right now you're wound tighter than a spring." Seto ignored Alissa and turned his attention to Roland who was standing on his other side.
"Let's get started Roland. Time is money."
"But Sir, we're still waiting on one more contestant."
"Then he's disqualified. Didn't I make it clear that anyone late to registration would be disqualified?"
"Pardon my tardiness, traffic was a nightmare." A voice with a thick German accent had the trio turning their attention behind them. A man in a purple suit with long pink hair stood behind them. The man wore a devilish smirk.
"By ze way Herr Kaiba, I'm Zigfried." He tossed a long, pink strand of hair out of his eyes.
"I don't care who you are. You show some respect if you want to stick around."
"That's right," Alissa added. "Next time try to be punctual." Zigfried turned his attention to Alissa and smiled.
"My apologies. Perhaps you'd allow me to take you out somewhere to make it up to you." Alissa felt Seto tense up next to her.
"Sorry. I'm not into men with hair the color of a baboon's ass. Better luck next time though."
"You should teach your guests to control their tongues Herr Kaiba. Ve vouldn't vant people to think you're a bad host now vould ve?" Zigfried chuckled before walking away.
"I don't like that guy. There's something off about him."
"I agree. But for now find a place to sit. The event is about to start."
xxx
"Ugh that Zigfried guy is so infuriating!" Alissa hissed, pacing around Seto's hotel room later that night. "Did you see him up there acting like top shit? And why the hell were all the girls swooning? Ugh he makes me want to choke myself with a spoon."
"Would you calm down? I don't see why you're letting him get to you."
"You're right. Sorry. There's just something about him that I don't trust." She cast a glance at the clock and noticed that it was nearly one in the morning. She stood and stretched.
"I better go. I wouldn't want to put you in an awkward position if anyone were to find us together."
"Why would it be awkward? The world already knows that we're together. That we were together." He quickly corrected himself. Although he'd like to think that they were still together, he was unsure if she had different thoughts because of her amnesia. She smiled thoughtfully at him.
"We are together. We're just taking it slow until I get better." To prove a point she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He kissed her on the forehead before resting his chin on the top of her head.
"So you'd be okay with me staying in here tonight?"
"The bed is a king, it's not like there isn't enough room."
"Okay, well I'm going to be then okay? I'm tired. Goodnight Seto."
"Goodnight Alissa."
"Try to get some sleep tonight okay? Sleep deprivation isn't healthy."
"Whatever."
xxx
"Alissa!" The harsh voice of the family's son made her jump. She came out of the kitchen with the dishrag on her shoulder.
"Yes Tony?" Fear made her voice quiver slightly.
"What is this?" he asked, pointing to the empty glass on the coffee table.
"It's your beer glass from last night. I was just starting the dishes now-." A sharp slap to her right cheek made her stop talking.
"Did I ask you what you were going to do? Why wasn't it done before I got home?"
"I'm sorry, I had to clean out the garage today. I was doing that all morning and-."
"Shut up!" He cut her off with another slap. "If I knew you were this incompetent, I wouldn't have told my dad to give you and your mother a chance."
"I'm sorry-."
"You aren't paying off your debt quickly enough. Perhaps we should pay your poor mother a visit?"
"No, please don't. I'll do anything; just don't hurt my mom. She's all I have." He rose and eyebrow at her.
"Anything?" She swallowed around a large lump in her throat.
"Yes." He smirked.
"Strip."
"W-what?"
"I said strip."
xxx
The sound of screaming woke Seto from his brief slumber. Alissa was thrashing around in the bed.
"No! Please stop! Let go! I don't want to!"
"Alissa? Alissa wake up!" He put her hands firmly on her shoulders to try and shake her awake. She fought against his arms.
"Stop it! Please, it hurts!"
"Alissa it's just a dream. Wake up!" His heart was pounding in fear. He had never seen her so worked up before. Alissa finally woke and crumpled into his arms a sobbing mess. Seto gently rubbed her back.
"Shh it's okay. It was just a dream."
"No it wasn't," she sniffed. "I remember Tony. Oh God Seto he-."
"Shh don't talk about it."
"What's wrong with me? Why did I let him do that to me?"
"You did it t protect your family. You had no choice."
"I could've just killed myself."
"Don't ever say that again. Don't even think that." She crumpled into sobs again, burying her face deeply into his chest. He held his arms around her in a comforting embrace and that's how he sat until she finally fell asleep again. Once she was asleep again, he placed the covers over her again. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"I love you," he whispered, wondering if he'd ever be brave enough to say it when she could hear him.
xxxx
Alright. Chapter fifteen over and it looks like I met my deadline this week! That's a first. Anyhoo! I honestly hate the duel between Yami and the computer so that's why I didn't go into much detail with it. I tried really hard not to rush the ending, but it probably ended up that way anyway. I also had issues figuring out how to tie up this chapter so hopefully the way I chose to end the chapter worked. Thank you for all the support you guys have been giving. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. See you guys next week!