Seto glared at Joey. Tristan and Joey glared at Duke, who was staring dreamily at Serenity, who was watching, fascinated, as Mai walked her through some of her favorite duel strategies. Tea cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her.
"I assume you all know why you're here?" Joey, Tristan, and Mai, her co-conspirators, nodded.
Serenity raised her hand. "I know I don't really qualify, but Joey wanted me to participate anyway so I don't get targeted."
"I didn't know we were planning anything. Joey just told me we were going to have a little fun." Duke raised his eyebrow, and then turned to look at the group's black sheep. "And what the heck are you doing here?" All eyes turned to Seto Kaiba.
"I received an anonymous letter last night. Something about much needed revenge."
Tea shook her head. Well, despite the methods, everyone had made it. "Close enough."
Tristan stood and walked over to her, brandishing a pencil and paper. "Tall story short, we've got some planning to do."
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Seto allowed himself a rare smile. It had been so long since he had pulled a prank he had forgotten what it felt like. The secrecy, the planning, and the way his heart raced in sudden jumps and spurts when he thought he heard his target arriving early. He'd forgotten it all. It was almost… fun?
"Mister Kaiba, really. Isn't something like this a bit beneath you? Mokuba was one thing, but you're not a child anymore."
"And I don't pay you to tell me what I'm too old for. Hand me that board, please."
Roland heaved a huge sigh, handed over the piece of wood, and then gestured to the newspaper lying beside his employer's leg. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a look at the available jobs."
Seto paused and looked up at him. "Are you thinking of quitting?"
"No. But I would like to fantasize."
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"Ow!" Joey stumbled back and clutched his head where he'd been hit. "Watch it, Tristan!"
"You watch it! I can't see where I'm going! Could you stop whining and tell me if I'm going to run into anything else?"
"Yeah! Me, again! Just… stop moving for a minute and let me get out of your way."
It took another ten minutes for the pair to reach the basement and collapse to nurse their cuts and bruises.
"How many more do we have to do?" Tristan shook his hand, hoping to get some feeling back into it.
Joey thought for a moment, then let his head drop in defeat. "The next time we get volunteered because we're the 'strongest', help me remember to run."
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"I can't be the only one who sees his as a bad idea. I mean do we really want to start a prank war with… anyone from this family? Grandpa alone has survived traps and dungeons that have stumped and killed even professionals. And, need I remind you, Yugi and Yami's names translate directly to 'Shadow Game'."
"Duke! Either quit complaining and give me a hand, or leave and let me tell them that this was all your work. And besides, they started this, not us." Tea shifted her position and inadvertently sent up a cloud of dust, causing her to sneeze. "Wow. They really don't use these shelves often, do they?"
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"Aww! This is adorable! Why doesn't she ever wear this when she duels on TV?" Serenity paused to hold up a frilly, pink and white dress fit for a princess ball.
Arthur laughed. "She's twelve. It's hard enough for her to be taken seriously as is."
"But she's practically teaching her college classes."
"And she's one of the most formidable duelists on the island." Mai put in.
"That doesn't mean she's not young. People don't usually take her seriously until she's shown them up somehow."
"It's a shame." Serenity frowned and replaced the garment. The three got back to work, just a bit more somber at the realization.
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Rebecca opened the front door, hung up her coat, and headed up to her room. Her grandfather wasn't home yet, so she had the house to herself. Grinning, she allowed herself to plan the night ahead.
First, she'd finish the last chapter in that Cassandra Clare book she'd been reading, then she'd make dinner. Macaroni, maybe? That sounded good. And after that, if her grandfather still wasn't home, she could… reset her entire (censored) room. Was this some kind of sick joke? Or had her grandfather finally gone as crazy as his colleagues had thought he already was?
Everything in her room had been enlarged noticeably. She didn't have a lot of furniture to start out with, but, as it was now, her floor space was surprisingly reduced. After the initial shock wore off, she noticed a note on the now-huge bed. It was written on a piece of paper twice the size as a regular sticky note, and in large lettering. She was starting to feel very much like a midget.
Your tea party was fun. Just thought I'd return the favor. –Grandpa
Rebecca arched an eyebrow in confusion, remembered the day she made the house 'her size', and smiled. Something occurred to her just then, though, and she threw open her closet excitedly to see. Sure enough, Teddy was now as big as a Labrador. Grinning and hugging her bear, she hopped over to her bookshelf. Her night would continue as planned.
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"The blueprints are fine. That's not what I have a problem with." Mokuba spoke into his earpiece while going over the rough design of their company's newest product. "No, I don't have a problem with the graphics, either. What I have a problem with is the material you've chosen to use. It's extremely expensive and- Oof!" He broke off when his foot caught something and he fell forward onto the staircase. Something had happened while he was gone, that he was sure of. "I'll have to call you back." He hung up without waiting for a response.
The stairs had been modified drastically. It was obvious that it had been done in a rush, most likely to ensure he didn't come home to a half-finished product, but the work had his brother's name written all over it. Not literally, of course, but the fact that he had been behind this was obvious. No matter how much of a rush he was in, he was a perfectionist. Boards had been installed to make the steps larger. Now, instead of twelve steps, each six inches high, there were now a series of six raised platforms leading up to the second story.
"Seto! What the heck did you do while I was gone?" He called up to the home office.
"I got talked into taking advantage of my height. What did you do today?"
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Yami and Yugi unlocked the shop door, entered and locked it behind them again. "So Mitch is really looking forward to Casey coming to Japan, it sounds like." Yugi grinned as soon as the door was closed. They had decided to spend their day off at the arcade and ran into the elder brother of Yami's American friend.
"She's not going to be here for a while, but he's already setting up a room for her."
They walked up to the second story and paused. The door that led from the staircase to the living area of the building was shut. It was usually shut. That wasn't why they had stopped, though. It was the doorknob that was out of place. To be more precise, it was three feet higher than where it was supposed to be.
"I don't want to know what happened while we were gone." Yugi groaned.
Yami reached up and turned the knob, opening the door. "We're going to find out eventually."
"And why cant we just wait for Grandpa to call and tell us?" The shorter teen hung back while his brother entered the living room.
"Great idea. Leave our elderly grandfather to stumble into whatever is in here."
Yugi hesitated a moment longer, but eventually followed Yami in. Their living room, kitchen, bedrooms, even the bathroom and closet had been rearranged. There wasn't a single item on any shelf that was lower than four feet.
"We need more short friends, don't we?" Yami said bemusedly.
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Rule 48: If short people can't prank tall people, tall people can't prank us. (Ankle biters can still draw blood, and the deadliest animal is still the mosquito. If this happens again, we won't hold anything back. –Yugi)
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I know I haven't replied to any of your reviews and I am so sorry, but internet connection at my place has been insane. I will have everything sorted out soon though, (hopefully) and be able to properly reply.
Thank you all so so much for hanging with this story for 48 chapters! Please review and let me know what you thought! Also, I just saw Dark Side Of Dimensions and I don't know if it was just me, but it seemed like pretty solid Prideshipping. :3