FROM HELL WITH LOVE (2)

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Pegasus slowly raised his head as he added a fifth card to his hand. His face looked gaunt, his expression that of someone under an enormous amount of stress.

"I will place one monster facedown in defense mode, and one more facedown card. That ends my turn."

"It seems the reality of the situation you've created is dawning on you," taunted Cecelia as she drew. "None of this would have ever happened had you not failed in your duty as a husband. Now all those chickens are coming home to roost."

She glared at him as she spoke, the look of sheer contempt feeling very out of place on her otherwise soft features.

"Now, I will show you what true loyalty looks like. Knave of Hearts, attack his facedown monster now!"

The armored soldier marched across the field and dealt a downward stroke with his blade once again. The card flipped over to reveal a familiar blue-eyed young man, dressed in oversized pants and shoes. He let out a cry of pain before the blade descended and finished its grisly task.

The destroyed monster was clearly another copy of Legendary Hero – Keyblade Master (1000/1000).

"Now, my Red Queen, attack him directly once more!"

In a flash, the woman screeched out her catchphrase once more before brazely striding across the field and bringing Pegasus to his knees with a powerful thrust of her scepter into his gut.

(Cecelia: 2700, Pegasus: 2250)

"I end my turn: yet it's your time that is almost up, Maximillion. There will be no room for denial soon. You will be forced to look upon the reality of your derelictions with nowhere to hide."

Pegasus slowly struggled to his feet, moving as if he was underwater.

"He's going to lose at this rate, or he might not even be able to continue the duel," thought Kaiba, clenching his fist in frustration. "On the one hand, it's clear that the thing wearing Mokuba's face obviously wants something from me regardless of how these duels go, so maybe it doesn't matter anyway whether he wins or loses… But on the other, that isn't a risk I can take… This is my brother's life at stake here."

Pegasus continued to move sluggishly, seemingly bearing the weight of several worlds on his shoulders.

"Snap out of it and focus, Pegasus," called out Kaiba harshly.

The older man looked over and smiled weakly.

"Oh, Kaiba-boy. I almost forgot you were there. I must admit, I'm not entirely sure what's going on with me at this moment, but I still intend to fulfill my promise to you and your brother here. It may just be a bit tricker than I anticipated though…"

"Damnit, I hope that was enough to get his head back into this. I am not one for pep talks…"

Pegasus gingerly drew, and another very weak smile flickered across his face.

"Ah, perhaps the tides are shifting in my favor once more. I activate Tome of the Legendary Hero, which allows me to add any Legendary Hero or Legendary Weapon card from my deck to my hand. I will choose and immediately summon Legendary Hero – Summoner Traverse (1000/2200)!"

Materializing on Pegasus' field was a lithe young woman. She had shoulder-length brunette hair, while dressed in a black undershirt, the upper section of which was covered by a white sash that also wrapped around her neck and shoulders, and a purple traditional Japanese skirt or a hakana. A long blue earring hung from her right ear and a silver necklace lay around her neck. Most curiously, one of her eyes was blue, and the other was green.

In her right hand she also held a long staff, whose handle was blue for most of its length with a red tip at the bottom. On its tip was a metallic golden circle filled with intricate patterns.

"Next I activate my facedown Call of the Haunted in order to resummon Legendary Hero – Katchem (1200/900) from my graveyard."

The young boy reappeared, adjusting his hat and then blushing when he caught sight of Summoner Traverse, who smiled playfully at him. The small yellow rodent on his shoulder hopped up and down at the sight of the Red Queen, growling, "Pika!"

"Your weaklings were no match for my Red Queen before and will continue to be no match for her now, even with the newest addition," hissed Cecelia.

"Just wait. As you remember, Legendary Weapon cards go facedown instead of to the graveyard when the monster they're equipped to is destroyed. Therefore I still have Legendary Weapon – Monster Catcher on my field, and can equip it to Katchem right now."

The red and white ball reappeared in Katchem's hand, which he confidently held out in front of himself.

"And then I get to summon another Protector Beast Token, and Katchem allows me to pick its attribute. I choose dark!"

With those words, the yellow rodent hopped off Katchem's shoulder and made its way over to a separate monster zone, letting out a determined squeak (2000/2000).

"And per Monster Catcher's effect, each Protector Beast gets an effect depending on its attribute… Since this one is dark, it gains five hundred attack points."

The chubby little rodent growled and glowed with crackling electricity (2500/2000).

"Then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," continued Pegasus.

A swirling tornado materialized on Cecelia's field, shattering the facedown card behind the Red Queen.

"So I guess he can temporarily take out her Red Queen again with a kamikaze attack from the token, but it'll just come back and she'll draw again with Card of Safe Return," wondered Kaiba. "How does that benefit him? His other monsters are still weaker than her Knave, so he won't even get any life-point damage in… Damnit, I hope I don't need to give him an energizing speech again."

Cecelia seemed to share his sentiment.

"I don't care if you destroy my Red Queen with a suicide attack, she'll just come back and strengthen me further," she snapped. "Go on, do it."

"Very well," stated Pegasus quietly. "Protector Beast Token, attack the Red Queen now. Use Thunderbolt!"

The plump little mouse let out another squeak and began crackling with electricity. Its eyes squinted with concentration, and the aura of lightning grew even larger until multiple arcs of it began to lance across the field, targeting the Red Queen directly, who shrieked in pain as the bolts began to cause her to disintegrate.

Within moments, she was gone. It seemed, however, that the Token was too overwhelmed by the effort and also collapsed forward with a groan before vanishing. Katchem stared at the empty monster space glumly, barely holding back tears.

Pegasus looked at the young boy apologetically before turning back to his opponent.

"Now, I move to my end phase…"

"And with that, my Red Queen will return!" declared Cecelia triumphantly, as a hole appeared in the ground in front of her, the crimson-haired woman starting to rise.

"Not so fast!" retorted Pegasus. "Summoner Traverse's quick effect activates: if I have another Legendary Hero in play, once per turn I can negate the activation of one of your cards that activates from your graveyard and then remove it from play!"

The girl raised her staff, which glowed and then sent a pulse out across the field, which immediately caused the hole in the ground to collapse onto itself and seal the Red Queen back within the ether.

"No!" gasped Cecelia in shock.

"And what's more: Summoner Traverse then has another effect activate depending on whether I just targeted a monster, spell or trap card. Since the Red Queen was a monster, Summoner Traverse can now call out a Protector Beast Token (2200/1000) of her own!"

At this, she then raised her staff again, with four spheres of light rising out of the ground next to her in formation. The spheres shot into the air, melding together into one shapeless flash near the ceiling. Soon, a form began to emerge from within the light, descending towards the ground.

It largely resembled a dragon of sorts but was had elements of a bird's appearance. It had large leathery wings and thick, muscular purple hind legs but its torso was covered in red feathers. Its head and tail, however, looked more reptilian once again, with the former resembling that of a lizard and the latter long and powerful, waving out behind it.

"That will end my turn," concluded Pegasus.

Cecelia's eyes seemed wild with frustration and shock as she drew, which was hardly surprising considering how quickly the duel had been turned on its head.

Yet despite his turnaround, Pegasus still seemed ill at ease as well. He wore the triumph of vanquishing the Red Queen not with the pride one would expect of such a turnaround but as if it was a victory that brought him one step closer to an eventuality he wasn't prepared to face.

"This won't end the way you hope it will, Maximillion. Your actions in this duel continue to be a metaphor for your actions in life and as long as you refuse to see that, a very rude shock is waiting for you at the end," seethed Cecelia.

Her opponent didn't reply and merely stared at her stoically.

"Now my Knave, attack his Legendary Hero – Katchem and ensure that no more of these Protector Beast Tokens show up to aggravate me further."

The soldier flashed a sickly grin and was upon the confused boy in a flash. He brought his sword downward, which caused Pegasus to involuntarily flinch and look away to avoid seeing the macabre result.

(Cecelia: 2450, Pegasus: 1750)

"Does witnessing death pain you so that you can't even look at it?" she taunted. "I wonder if you stayed by my bedside in those final hours or if that was too much for a man as weak as you as well."

"I was right there with you for everything from the moment you were diagnosed to the very end," Pegasus managed to gasp out.

"Then why did you do nothing and just let it happen?!" she almost screamed.

Pegasus looked down and placed his free hand on his forehead, the other one that held his cards hanging by his side.

"Just… Just finish your move."

"Fine. I will end my turn there, and in doing so bring you that much closer to confronting what you've done."

Kaiba clenched a fist. He was pretty sure he more or less knew exactly what was going on here now, as long as they were right about what this Apep's powers were really about.

The duel Pegasus was trying to win was, at this point, secondary to the battle within him. The fact was that his locus of control was purely internal, and Kaiba had been able to recognize it for a while even if Pegasus himself could not.

He was prepared to call this out to the older man if necessary but it was really not something he wanted to do. Seto Kaiba didn't do emotions… except if his brother's fate was at stake.

Pegasus took a deep breath and drew.

"Protector Beast Token… attack her Knave of Hearts!"

The gryphon-like creature let out a screech, beat its wings and took off across the field. The Knave ducked to avoid its beak, but in that moment was caught by the talons of its hindlegs. It then started to ascend, reaching the unusually high ceiling of the Kaiba Corp conference room before dropping the Red Queen's servant. He let out a wail before shattering into pixels the moment he hit the ground.

(Cecelia: 1950, Pegasus: 1500)

Pegasus hesitated before speaking again.

"Summoner Traverse… attack her directly."

The young girl spun around, twirling her staff and firing out multiple orbs in Cecelia's direction. They all hit her in the torso, dropping her to one knee and causing her to retch in pain.

(Cecelia: 950, Pegasus: 1500)

Pegasus could still feel the pangs of pain from the damage Mirror of Underland had dealt him from the first attack, but he put it aside.

"I… end my turn. Cecelia…"

She labored to her feet and glared at him.

"What?" she spat.

"We… We don't have to do this," he said softly, trying to avert her gaze.

"No, Maximillion, we really do," she replied with a savage smile.

"For Christ's sake, there he goes again," snarled Kaiba to himself.

"She is NOT your wife, Pegasus," he snapped out loud. "Keep your head in this."

Pegasus didn't even turn to look at Kaiba to respond to this. He merely rested his forehead against his open palm once more, waiting for his opponent to commence her turn.

She drew, and spoke with a note of pure venom entering her tone.

"We will stop playing games. If you think the Mirror of Underland was painful, just wait until you see what I have in store next. Continuous spell card, activate: Frabjous Day."

The scene around them began to shift and change. Gone was the colorless ground with towering, multicolored plants. Instead, they were now standing on a giant chessboard, which seemed to be located on a barren beach of sorts. In the corner, overlooking a very rough sea, was a rough cliff peppered with crags, mounted on which were the ruins of a castle-like structure.

"When Frabjous Day is activated, I can automatically activate a specific field spell from my deck," she continued. "This one is called Pandora Hearts. It's effects alone are not as devastating as Mirror of Underland, but in combination with Frabjous Day that becomes a different story entirely."

Pegasus did not reply.

"First among these: a certain card from my deck will now enter yours."

She slipped her deck out of her Duel Disk and located a certain card. Invisible force plucked it from her grasp, carrying it across the field and depositing it in Pegasus' hands. He flipped it over.

The name on the card was "Vorpal Sword." It was an equip spell, and its effect read "The monster equipped with this card gains zero attack points."

He looked up at her suspiciously, his mind a maelstrom of emotions.

"What is this?"

"You'll see soon enough, Maximillion."

He growled in frustration and shuffled it into his deck as he was required to.

"Next I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back the Knave of Hearts (1700/1200) you just destroyed, and in doing so, draw one more card because of Card of Safe Return," she continued.

The leering soldier reappeared, facing Summoner Traverse and her gryphon, but then immediately began to vanish once again.

"I will then tribute him to summon my Jubjub Bird (2000/1600)!"

As the Knave finished dematerializing, his place was taken by towering avian creature. It was a behemoth of a bird, at least nine feet tall, and could best be described as cross between a flying ostrich and a toucan, given its sharp and lengthy beak. It was covered in maroon, blue and white feathers, with starkly crimson and cruel eyes.

"My Jubjub Bird is another loyal servant of the Red Queen, and will do his part to avenge his liege. Attack his Token."

Kaiba and Pegasus both raised their eyebrows at this. Another suicide attack? This one wouldn't even yield the benefits that her previous ones with the Red Queen had, since her newest creature was weaker and not just equal in strength with its target.

The bird flared its wings out and was soon aloft. It flew as high as the ceiling permitted, before then stapling its wings to its side and allowing itself to freefall in its target's direction, like a missile tipped with a razor-sharp beak.

As it approached, Pegasus suddenly noticed his Token beginning to glow purple (1000/2200).

"What's this?!" he gasped, just as Cecelia's monster collided with his. Its beak penetrated straight through the gryphon, which let out a shriek of agony as it was ripped apart by the sheer force of impact, its remains exploding soon after.

(Cecelia: 950, Pegasus: 500)

"What just happened?" he choked out in shock, still reeling from the impact of the latest battle damage.

"It's very simple," she responded smugly. "When it does battle with another monster, my Jubjub Bird allows me to switch its target's attack and defense points."

"Well, that changes things," he muttered to himself.

"Your Traverse Summoner is next," she hissed. "And even if you survive that, on my second standby phase after activating it, the Frabjous Day will bring this duel to an end by bringing out a creature that your worst nightmares would be unable to conceive."

Pegasus took that as a sign that it was now his turn. He plucked the top card off his deck, and scanned his hand. He could see the beginnings of a plan to reverse his fortunes but it wouldn't be possible to bring it to fruition yet.

"I will switch Summoner Traverse to defense mode. Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," he mumbled.

The brunette dropped down onto one knee, and held her staff protectively across her.

Cecelia drew.

"Had I drawn a monster I could have finish this year and now. On the one hand, perhaps you deserve to be put out of your misery, on the other, it would have been a shame for this to end before the main event gets here. So in the meantime, I will just attack your Summoner with my Jubjub Bird and use its effect again!"

The bird squawked harshly and took to the air again. In this moment, Pegasus' lone monster glowed as its scores changed (2200/1000), and a minute later was slammed into by the Jubjub Bird and shattered into nothingness.

"I place one card facedown and end my move…. One more turn, Maximillion. One more turn until it's time for you to face your past actions, or rather, inactions. Your chickens have come home to roost."

Pegasus stared blankly at her for a moment, before finally managing to get words out.

"Cecelia," he rasped. "I loved you with every fiber of my being. From the second we met I spent every waking moment of my life trying to make you happy. How did I fail you?"

"Do you remember your vow to me after my diagnosis, Maximillion?" she responded icily. "About how you were never going to let anything happen to me? How you'd scour the Earth to find a way to cure me?"

"I did scour the Earth-…"

"Yes, only after I was already gone, in a feeble attempt to make up for your failure while I was still alive," she hissed. "In the process you committed countless atrocities, in my name, just to feel better about your failure to save me in the first place."

Pegasus had turned very pale.

"Cecelia, I loved you-…" he began stuttering, but was cut off.

"If you really did, you'd have found a way to keep us together," she spat cruelly.

Pegasus didn't reply. He looked almost as if he was about to keel over.

"You may claim that you're trying to atone for your sins, but that will never be possible, because all of them can be traced back to one: your dereliction of the promise you made me. That is something you can never atone for, and as a consequence it will taint every other attempt you make to repair the damage you've done to everyone else."

He stared up at her, his eyes moistening.

"Cecelia," he choked out. "If you truly believe that I let you down… I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am-.."

"She doesn't believe that, Pegasus," Kaiba's voice interjected.

Both duelists whirled around to see him standing on the sidelines, glaring harshly at Cecelia.

"And how do you know that, Seto Kaiba?" she hissed.

"Because she's not real, Pegasus," he stated simply. "Your wife most likely died peacefully knowing you did everything you could to save her. She never believed you failed her… but you always did."

Pegasus' eyes widened. "Kaiba-boy, what are you-…"

"You made that promise that you'd find a way to save her, and the fact that you couldn't has haunted you ever since. This… thing you're dueling is a reflection of your own feelings about that. I got inside Apep's mind, remember? This is what his… magic does. He brings out your darkest and innermost thoughts… In your case it's called survivor's guilt, Pegasus."

Pegasus stared at him, absolutely stunned. "Where did you-…"

"I'm an orphan, Pegasus," replied Kaiba quietly. "My parents died in a car accident when I was eight. I always thought it was my fault, sometimes I still do, even though I know that's a completely ridiculous notion. I tried to channel all of that into protecting Mokuba the best I could. It seems like you didn't have anyone else to focus on after your wife died, so you went all in on bringing her back."

"Stay out of this," Cecelia snapped, but both men ignored her. Pegasus looked completely transfixed.

"If I didn't still have my little brother around, I don't know how my life would have turned out after losing my parents," continued Kaiba. "It kept me centered through everything that came after. That's why I was never consumed with compunction like you've evidently been. "

"Kaiba-boy, I-…"

"I finally understand you, Pegasus," Kaiba cut him off. "Your actions during the Duelist Kingdom tournament: it wasn't just because you desperately wanted to bring your wife back to life. It was because you were, whether you knew it or not, trying to atone for letting her die in the first place.

"I'm telling you now, Pegasus: that wasn't your fault. That's the same thing I was told by the orphanage therapist over and over. I didn't say anything back, nor did I fully believe it back then, but I know it's true in my case and also in yours. If you start to believe that, nothing this thing says will have any effect on you," he finished, gesturing towards Cecelia.

Pegasus continued staring, before cracking a small smile and wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"My, my. Seto Kaiba, playing psychotherapist. I didn't know you had it in you, Kaiba-boy."

He then straightened up and took on a more serious expression.

"You may well be correct, Kaiba-boy, and if you are, then bravo to you for helping me come to the root my decades long trauma. Even if what I did to you, Mokuba, Yugi-boy's grandfather and others was motivated by undiagnosed survivor's guilt… it doesn't excuse the fact that I still did indeed do those things, and that they were wrong."

"Well, that's what you're here for, Pegasus. Look… You're clearly serious about helping me get my brother back. So… I forgive you," managed Kaiba through gritted teeth.

Pegasus' eyes widened, and then he was forced to wipe them again.

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you Kaiba-boy?" he chuckled through emotion.

"Yeah, and the other surprise is that despite the fact I'd do anything to ensure Mokuba's safety, up to and including giving you this little pep talk, I will end you if you ever reveal we had this conversation to anyone," growled the younger man.

Pegasus and finished drying his eyes and chuckled again.

"Very well, Kaiba-boy. Mum is the word. Now, I believe I have a duel to finish."

He turned back to face his opponent, who was glaring at him maliciously.

"You're not going to just "finish" this duel, Maximillion," snarled Cecelia. "Nothing has changed, despite that pathetic display from the two of you. You still own your failures, and you will continue to do so until I summon my greatest monster next turn and finish this duel."

"You are right," replied Pegasus evenly. "I very clearly still harbor deep feelings of guilt and sorrow about my wife's death, who by the way you are not. But I know now they are my feelings, and that I have just never reckoned and coped with them. They are not what my wife ever actually thought about me. I will find a way to come to terms with my emotions about this, but now is not the time. I am fairly capable of compartmentalizing, which I will do in order to see this duel through."

With that, he snapped the top card off his deck. His face brightened as he caught sight of what his newest card was.

"Finally," thought Kaiba, almost rolling his eyes. "I guess all that time I had to sit through Yugi and his speeches may have been good for something after all…"

"It's time for the real duel to begin. I summon Legendary Hero – Warrior Born (1500/1500) in attack mode!"

Materializing on Pegasus' field was a tall, muscular man dressed in an orange martial arts gi On his upper body was an outer vest with a small black and white insignia on the front and a much bigger one on the back, while covering a dark blue undershirt. He also wore a similar dark blue belt and wrist bands, as well as boots with yellow laces.

The most striking aspects of this newest arrival's appearance, however, were that he had an utterly bizarre hairstyle, with half of it in the form of bangs hanging down over his face and the other spiking out behind him, and a completely naïve and unsophisticated smile on his face.

He noticed the Jubjub Bird across from him and smiled even more broadly, before sliding into a fighting stance and shouting excitedly, "Let's fight!"

Kaiba's eyes twitched. "Pegasus, is that-…"

"Shh, Kaiba-boy, there are copyright laws," chuckled Pegasus. "Plus, if you name them, that ruins the fun!"

He tapped a button on his Duel Disk, and the facedown Legendary Weapon – Monster Catcher and Kingdom Key, that had both remained there since Katchem and Keyblade Master had been destroyed destroyed, flipped faceup.

"Next, I'll equip Warrior Born with both my facedown Legendary Weapon cards!"

The red and white ball as well as the large, golden key appeared on the field in front of Warrior Born. He looked at them curiously, clearly unaccustomed to wielding weapons. His expression then changed when both objects glowed and then turned into balls of energy, which then floated over to him and disappeared into his body.

Warrior Born let out a roar and clenched his fists. The ground began to shake and a golden aura erupted around him. He continued to snarl, his entire body trembling, as his impossibly messy hair began to spike upwards. After multiple attempts, it actually stayed up and then changed color to golden, with his eyes turning cerulean blue as well. The golden aura remained, but the trembling stopped and he fixed Cecelia and her monster with a cold, hard stare.

"Warrior Born gains new abilities for every equip spell card he's equipped with: for the first one, he gains eight hundred attack and defense points, for starters."

As he spoke, the orange-clad man's scores ticked upward (2300/2300).

"Now, he will attack her Jubjub Bird: and since his attack and defense points are equal your Bird's effect will not cause him any problems!"

The man cupped both hands with his side, and a throbbing ball of light materialized in the space between his palms, reflecting all across the otherwise relatively dark room.

"Kamehameha!" he roared, throwing his hands forward and letting the sphere erupt into a torrent of energy in the Jubjub Bird's direction, which squawked in alarm.

"I activate Sakuretsu Armor, destroying your attacking monster," replied Cecelia with a snarl, tapping a button on her Duel Disk.

The Jubjub Bird was immediately covered by silver armor, and it crossed its wings in an attempt to protect itself and hopefully reflect the incoming energy attack, but it was to no avail. The stream of light washed over it and within seconds it was reduced to a pile of cinders.

(Cecelia: 650, Pegasus: 500)

"What just happened?" she screeched in outrage.

"Rather simple, my love," replied Pegasus sarcastically. "When Warrior Born is equipped with two equip spells I can spare him from being destroyed by a card effect once per turn. So your Sakuretsu Armor was rendered worthless."

She fixed him with a cold hard stare.

"Fine. It doesn't matter anyway. The moment you end your turn, you and your childish Hero cards are all history."

Pegasus shrugged. "Fine then, by all means don't let me stop you. I am prepared for anything you have, however."

Her face broke into a vicious smile. "You're going to regret your flippancy, Maximillion. Just like you will regret ever trying to help this fool in a first place in such a sad attempt to redress your failures…"

Unlike earlier in the duel, her barbs rang hollow, and Pegasus simply stared at her silently.

She drew, and didn't even look at her newest card.

"And now, we move into my standby phase…"

The field shuddered as she spoke.

"It's time."

Pegasus started back in shock as the chessboard they stood on began to crack. A towering, horrific form emerged from underneath it. Warrior Born's eyes widened as his gaze trailed upward toward the beast that was now blotting out the sun. The monster appearing could be described as tremendous, terrible, unreal, and not to mention "brillig" as well as all the other words Lewis Carroll had invented.

If one was to speak lucidly on its appearance, the creature was a black-scaled behemoth of a dragon. It had two massive wings that flared out in either direction, and a rather human look to its face. Instead of a long snout which was common for most dragons, its face and nostrils were rather round, almost flat, with two long tendrils sliding out from either side of its nose in the form of a bizarre moustache.

"The Jabberwocky (3000/2600)," whispered Cecelia.

Punctuating his mistress' statement, the towering beast roared loudly.

Pegasus stood there, transfixed.

"This is the end, Maximillion," his opponent murmured with a twisted smile. "The true power of my Frabjous Day continuous spell comes into play now."

Pegasus felt his skin grow cold as both Warrior Born as well as the Jabberwocky glared at each other and glowed.

"As long as the Jabberwocky remains in play, I cannot lose the duel," Cecelia continued.

He gasped. What kind of effect was this?!

"However, if indeed it is destroyed, I lose instantly. The interesting part is that the Jabberwocky cannot be destroyed by card effects as long as the Vorpal Sword isn't in play, and it can only be destroyed in battle by a monster equipped with the Vorpal Sword."

So that was why the card had been placed in his deck.

"I fully admit that I have used some fairly unbalanced cards in the past, but this is a new level of overpowered," Pegasus growled through gritted teeth.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Maximillion," she responded coolly. "You see, there's a caveat… by the effect of my Pandora Hearts field spell, the Jabberwocky cannot deal you any battle damage until you control one face-up Vorpal Sword equip spell on your side of the field. If the monster equipped with the Vorpal Sword is destroyed in battle, you lose the duel."

Pegasus nodded slowly. He understood now… It was the aim of the Frabjous Day spell card to set up for a final showdown between the Jabberwocky, and the most powerful monster possible that he could possibly create, in a winner-take-all scenario.

"Also, here's another fun fact: the Jabberwocky gains five hundred attack points during each of my end phases."

Pegasus glanced down at his deck.

So, it was a race against time… If he didn't draw the Vorpal Sword soon, the Jabberwocky would become almost impossible to defeat.

"I know what you're thinking, Maximillion," taunted Cecelia. "You just want to wait and wait until you amass the resources necessary to destroy my Jabberwocky, don't you?"

Pegasus did not respond, knowing some bad news was likely on the way.

Well," she continued with a thin smile. "That's not going to happen. The Frabjous Day, according to Lewis Carroll's old poem, was to be a war between the Red Queen and her hated sister, the White Queen. Instead of having their armies indulge in full scale slaughter, they would each nominate a champion who would come forth to represent them.

"The two champions would engage in battle. The White Queen was able to get Alice to wield the legendary Vorpal Sword and slay the Jabberwocky in time. However, imagine if Alice hadn't been brave enough to step forward? What if the Jabberwocky hadn't faced his old enemy, the Vorpal one as he called it, in battle one last time? What would have happened?"

Her voice dropped and she spoke a single word out silkily.

"Slaughter."

An ominous air descended around the room.

"If you don't draw the Vorpal Sword by your third standby phase after the Jabberwocky is summoned, all bets are off. In technical terms, my field spell, Pandora Hearts, is sent to the graveyard."

"So the Jabberwocky will be able to deal battle damage…" trailed off Pegasus.

He clenched his fist. This was not good.

"Your Legendary Hero – Warrior Born may have been a worthy opponent under different circumstances, but that is not going to be the case today, Maximillion. The Jabberwocky demands something… greater," trailed off Cecelia, before grinning.

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

The black dragon issued a deafening screech and then breathed out a blaze of silver flames that went on to wash over the chessboard, making its way slowly to the female mage. Just as it seemed Pegasus' sole monster was due to fall, he tapped a button on his Duel Disk. A swirling vortex materialized, and sucked in the flames, leaving his field unscathed… for now.

"Negate Attack," snarled Cecelia.

Pegasus nodded, his eyes gleaming. "You'll get your showdown, Cecelia. It's just not going to be on your terms alone."

"Fine," she snapped. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

A vertical card appeared behind the monstrosity now dominating her field, which glowed silver and let out another screech (3500/2600).

Pegasus drew.

"Unless that card you just drew was the Vorpal Sword, you have two turns left," his opponent hissed.

He ignored her.

"I activate Messenger of Peace. At the cost of one hundred life-points during each of my standby phases, no monster on either side of the field with fifteen hundred or more attack points can attack," stated Pegasus simply, as a green bordered card materialized face-up on his field. It depicted a serene, robed man with a dove on his shoulder holding his right hand up.

"You only have five hundred life-points left so that will not save you for long," snapped Cecelia.

"I don't need it to," replied her opponent coolly. "I will then place one card facedown and end my turn.

Cecelia added a fourth card to her hand, and growled in frustration.

"I will pass."

The Jabberwocky, meanwhile, glowed with silver energy again (4000/2600).

Pegasus drew, and then tightened his lips as he felt a small stab of pain from the life-point cost of maintaining Messenger of Peace.

(Cecelia: 650, Pegasus: 300)

"I will play Pot of Greed, in order to draw a further two cards," he declared.

The familiar green, grinning pot appeared on his field as he further added to his hand.

Pegasus allowed himself a small smile when he looked at these newest cards.

"Well, if things aren't crazy enough already, I think it's time to just go all out from here. I summon Legendary Hero – Game King (800/600) in attack mode."

Appearing next to the orange-clad and golden-haired titan was a comparatively diminutive young man. He was even shorter than Katchem, wearing a dark blue school uniform over a black inner shirt. His hair was even more extravagant than Warrior Born's, in fact it put his to shame: with multiple spiky blonde bangs at the front and large black spikes behind that also had a magenta sheen to them. Around his neck hung a upside down golden pyramid that looked suspiciously like…

"Pegasus…" seethed Kaiba through gritted teeth.

The older man turned around, closed his eyes and grinned.

"Don't say anything, Kaiba-boy. Like I said, it ruins the fun of it. Rest assured though I am taking this very seriously no matter what you may think of my card designs."

He then turned his attention back to the duel.

"Next I'll activate his effect. I choose one card from my deck for every Legendary Weapon card in play, plus one. That makes three in total."

He located the cards he was after and then fanned out them out, the backs facing Cecelia.

"Then, you have to randomly select one and guess if it was a monster, spell or trap. If you guess correct, I have to discard all these cards. If you're wrong, then I get to add that card to my hand and return the rest to my deck."

"You really are pitiful," scoffed Cecelia. "Leaving your fate to blind chance like this… A real man would take control of his own destiny and that of those he claims to love."

"That is exactly what I'm doing," replied Pegasus with steely calmness.

"Well, this is very simple," she retorted. "Obviously one of the cards you've chosen is Vorpal Sword… All I have to do is guess spell, and if I'm correct then it goes to the graveyard, and even if I'm wrong it will simply go back to your deck while you get another useless monster or trap card."

"So is that going to be your choice then?"

"Yes!" she snapped. "I choose the middle one and declare spell."

Pegasus barely held back a grin, flipping the card around to reveal it as a quick-play spell card called Legendary Strike.

"Oh, no, you guessed correct," he mourned in a very obviously sarcastic tone. "That means my other cards go to the graveyard as well."

He turned them both around to reveal them as Pot of Avarice and… Vorpal Sword.

"It's over!" hissed Cecelia. "Now you will never be able to engage the Jabberwocky, but starting on your next turn the gloves come off for him."

"Tell me something," shot back her opponent. "If I was hoping you would guess wrong and I would be able to add the Vorpal Sword to my hand, would I have chosen all three cards to be spells, thus making it impossible for you to be wrong if I chose a spell?"

Cecelia paused, taking in the meaning of what he just said.

"Furthermore," he continued. "If you were going to guess spell regardless, there was no way for me to get Vorpal Sword in my hand. If you picked it and guess right, it was going to the graveyard. Even if the other two cards were say, monsters, and you picked one of them and guessed wrong, then Vorpal Sword was still going to go back to my deck."

The full implication of his words dawned on her.

"So you wanted it in your graveyard…"

"I activate Fairy of the Spring."

Another spell card appeared on his field, this one depicting a translucent female figure holding a broadsword in each hand: one black and one golden.

"Your strategy of requiring me to use a specific equip spell to beat you when my entire strategy revolves around equip spells was a bit… shortsighted," chuckled Pegasus. "Fairy of the Spring allows me to add any equip spell from my graveyard to my hand, the only cost being that I can't activate it this turn. Of course, I choose…"

He fished it out of his graveyard and held it up for her to see.

"Vorpal Sword."

Cecelia's eyes widened.

"And since I didn't technically draw it, your Pandora Hearts still grants me one more turn before your Jabberwocky can do damage," he concluded smugly.

Even Kaiba had to admit to himself, that was a feint worthy of the man that Pegasus' monster was modeled after.

Cecelia simply was too stunned to say anything, so Pegasus elected continue briskly.

"I will end my turn there."

His opponent didn't seem ready to take her turn, so sure had she been that his efforts would be fruitless.

"I…" she began with a stammer, before shaking her head, the glint of anger returning to her eyes.

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn," she hissed. "Vorpal Sword or not, your comeuppance is now here. The Jabberwocky will remain the instrument of the punishment you have long deserved."

At her words, the dragon screeched and grew stronger yet again (4500/2600).

Pegasus drew, and as he did, the chessboard shattered underneath their feet, returning them to the cold and dark room in Kaiba Corp HQ.

"Time to put up or shut up, Pegasus," thought Kaiba grimly.

"I will not pay the one hundred life-point cost, thereby sending Messenger of Peace to the graveyard and allowing all monsters to attack once again," declared Pegasus.

"What are you playing at…?" Cecelia hissed suspiciously. "Your Warrior Born is still nowhere near strong enough to challenge the Jabberwocky even if you now have Vorpal Sword."

Pegasus ignored her.

"Next, I'll activate Vorpal Sword and equip it to Legendary Hero – Warrior Born."

Appearing in the hands of the flame-haired warrior was a long but thin sword. It had a silver hilt with a steel blade that had runes inscribes all the way down along the center of its length.

At this, the Jabberwocky let out a deafening roar of rage, clearly furious to see its old enemy once again.

"Now you've just gone and made him mad," mocked Cecelia. "And like I said, still too weak."

"Not once I activate this next card," retorted Pegasus with a gleam of determination in his eyes, sliding another card into his last available spell and trap card zone.

"It's Mage Power: I equip it to Warrior Born, which gives him five hundred more attack and defense points for every spell and trap card on my field!"

The Vorpal Sword in Warrior Born's hand evaporated into energy which he then absorbed as well, his aura flaring out further and further. He leaned forward onto his knees, gripped his fists by his side and let out another ferocious roar, this one so loud it was probably heard several floors down. His golden hair began to grow until it reached down to his back, and when he looked up his eyebrows were gone (4800/4800).

His steely gaze met that of the Jabberwocky, whose eyes now contained an unusual emotion… fear.

"And what's more…" continued Pegasus grimly, "I activate my facedown Forbidden Chalice, and target your Jabberwocky!"

The dragon's silver aura vanished (3400/2600).

"What just happened?!" panicked Cecelia.

"Forbidden Chalice negates the effects of the targeted monster until the end of the turn," declared Pegasus. "It does grant that monster four hundred more attack points in exchange, and Warrior Born (4300/4300) may now be weaker, but it's a trade-off I'll be happy to take given it takes away the boost your Jabberwocky got through its own effect."

He pointed at her field elegantly.

"In other words… this duel is over. Warrior Born, attack!"

The orange-clad man snarled fiercely, and turned, cupping his hands by his side once again. A sphere of pulsating blue energy arose, and with another roar he fired it out in the Jabberwocky's direction.

"I activate my own Negate Attack!" screamed Cecelia. A spinning vortex appeared in front of the Jabberwocky, absorbing Warrior Born's attack just in time.

Pegasus growled in frustration as Warrior Born stood upright once again, panting slowly.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy for you, Maximillion?" she hissed.

"Perhaps not," he replied evenly. "I switch Duel King to defense mode. Then I will set one card facedown, and end my turn."

As he finished speaking, the Jabberwocky's silver aura roared back to life (4500/2600), and it screeched and hissed at Warrior Born (4800/4800), who continued to meet its gaze unnervingly.

Cecelia drew.

"This ends now, Maximillion," she spat. "I activate my facedown Pyro Clock of Destiny. This will move the turn count forward by one… and in doing so, gives the Jabberwocky five hundred extra attack points!"

Pegasus looked on impassively as the dragon grew in strength once again (5000/2600).

"Now, Jabberwocky… FINISH this once and for all and DESTROY his Warrior Born!"

The dragon let out a sound that almost sounded like a cruel laugh, and once again belched out a stream of flames in Warrior Born's direction. The fire washed over almost Pegasus' entire field, causing Duel King to have to scramble to the edge to avoid it.

The Jabberwocky let its attack flow for a good while before finally sealing its maw. The last of the flames evaporated, to reveal Warrior Born still present. Both his gi and undershirt had been completely burnt off, leaving his upper body visible and covered in scratches and burn marks. He was panting with exertion, as clearly the attack had taken a toll on him.

The same could be said for Pegasus. He was gasping in pain himself as his life-points tumbled once again, but he also had a triumphant smirk on his face, contrasted with the look of outrage on Cecelia's.

(Cecelia: 650, Pegasus: 100)

"When Warrior Born is equipped with three or more equip spell cards… I can prevent him from being destroyed in battle, once per turn," explained Pegasus, the grin not leaving his lips. "So unlike your Jabberwocky, I won't lose just by having the monster using Vorpal Sword destroyed. You'll have to defeat me the old fashioned way by reducing my life-points to zero."

"A task I most certainly intend to see through," snapped his opponent.

"I move to main phase two and activate Gold Sarcophagus. This allows me to remove one card in my deck from play and then add it to my hand in two turns."

A bright golden coffin, with an open lid, bearing the Eye of Anubis appeared on Cecelia's field behind the Jabberwocky.

"I choose Fairy Meteor Crush, which will allow my Jabberwocky to deal Piercing damage when the time comes," she declared venomously. "Your Warrior Born is maxed out strength-wise, so all you can do is hide behind monsters in defense mode now. In two turns this duel will end no matter what."

As she ended her turn, the Jabberwocky glowed silver again, surpassing the highest base attack score of any monster in the game (5500/2600).

"You're wrong about that," he responded evenly. "This duel won't end in two turns… It's going to end now."

"You're delusional," she spat in reply. "Just like the delusion of your own innocence you've carried with you for so long."

"I am well aware of my sins, as I've said before," Pegasus stated calmly. "Thanks to Kaiba-boy here, I finally know how to address them. So now, watch me finally pay my debts to him by activating my facedown trap card Magical Trick Mirror."

A very strange looking wizard appeared on Pegasus' field. It wore a traditional purple robe and magician's hat, but its body seemed to be made entire of mirrors. The reflections of various cards began to appear in those mirrors as Pegasus continued to speak.

"This will allow me to replicate the effect of any spell card in your graveyard: I choose Monster Reborn, and I will use it to summon Legendary Hero - Katchem (1200/900) once again!"

The boy reappeared on Pegasus' field to the left of Warrior Born, who broke his intense stare-down with the Jabberwocky to give him a friendly nod. Duel King was another spot over to the right, and even he looked over cautiously and threw up a thumbs-up.

"That just made your Warrior Born (4300/4300) weaker once again, and gave my Jabberwocky another target," snapped Cecelia.

"That's where you're wrong," retorted Pegasus. "You seem to have forgotten that one of the cards Warrior Born is equipped with is Legendary Weapon – Kingdom Key! I haven't used its effect in some time but now I have the chance: I can send one Legendary Weapon from my deck to the graveyard and Kingdom Key takes on its effect for the rest of the turn."

As he spoke, Warrior Born let out a long, exhausted breath and his hair returned to its natural raven and shorter (but still fairly wild) state. He then raised both hands to the air, his palms flat.

"I choose Legendary Weapon – United Energy Blast, which gives Warrior Born six hundred extra attack and defense points for every other Legendary Hero in play."

Duel King and Katchem both cautiously raised their hands, and small blue and white orbs emerged from them and flew up to the space above Warrior Born's hands. They merged into a larger sphere which began to grow at a rapid pace (5500/5500).

"NO!" shrieked Cecelia, taking an involuntary step back.

"And yes, our monsters are equal in strength… But as you know, Warrior Born can be spared from being destroyed in battle once per turn. That means he will survive this battle, while you and your Jabberwocky…"

He trailed off momentarily, taking a second to admire the now gigantic ball of energy Warrior Born had generated with the help of his comrades, before finishing, "… are through."

Cecelia looked petrified, her mouth opened once again but no words issued forth.

Pegasus looked at her almost sadly.

"I do this for the memory of my Cecelia, the real one… and for you and your brother, Kaiba-boy," he added, without turning to look at the CEO.

Kaiba did not reply, just watching on in amazement.

"Warrior Born… Finish this."

His monster needed no further urging. With a cry of "Spirit Bomb!" he brought his arms down, launching the massive ball of energy at the Jabberwocky. The dragon shrieked, just like its mistress did a moment ago, but it was soon drowned out as the blast consumed it. The light soon became too bright to make out any details besides the fact that it was clear that the Jabberwocky was being slowly disintegrated.

Kaiba and Pegasus were forced to shield their eyes momentarily. When they were able to see again, the blast was gone and Cecelia's field was clear.

(Cecelia: 0, Pegasus: 100)

Cecelia remained where she was, still and silent.

Pegasus met her gaze, and it seemed like he was about to take a step forward, when she suddenly began to literally disappear into thin air. It started with her feet and moved upward, and before Pegasus could even register what was happening, she was gone.

He simply stood there for a moment longer, taking in what had just happened, before slowly turning to face Kaiba.

"I pay my debts, Kaiba-boy," he said hoarsely, his eyes on the verge of welling up once again.

Kaiba nodded slowly. "I meant what I said Pegasus… We're even."

Pegasus closed his eyes and dropped down onto his knees, a small but satisfied smile crossing his face.

"I also meant it when I said that if you ever discuss what we spoke about here today with anyone, you'll regret it."

Pegasus didn't open his eyes, but allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Your secrets are safe with me, Kaiba-boy, don't you worry."

Kaiba nodded. "All right, looks like we need to keep making our way to the top of the tower."

The older man opened his eyes and groaned, grabbing his side.

"Make that you need to keep going. I'm not as young as I once was, that duel was an… ordeal. I need to rest here, perhaps I will catch up later."

Kaiba stopped short.

"Are… you sure?"

"Yes, yes, Kaiba-boy, I think the active role I was meant to play in this affair has just concluded. I also think after what just happened I'd benefit from some time alone with my own thoughts. You, meanwhile, have a brother you need to save."

He staggered to his feet and made his way over to a nearby wall, sitting down again and leaning against it.

"Fine," muttered Kaiba. "I'll see you on the other side."

With that, he left through the door they entered from initially, in search of an elevator that worked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Joey and Tristan rode their elevator up in relative quiet.

"I gotta be honest: a part of me still can't believe we're doing all this for rich-boy of all people," muttered Tristan, breaking the silence.

"Eh, didn't you hear what Yuge said at the hotel about this before we left?" replied Joey with a shrug. "Kaiba can be a jerk sometimes, I know that better than anyone… but when it comes down to it, he's been on the side of the angels every time it matters."

Tristan didn't respond for a minute.

"Yeah I know," he said finally. "Still… I almost got arrested trying to help him and didn't get so much as a thank you."

The elevator came to a sudden stop and Joey turned to look at the floor indicator. They were on the thirtieth floor.

"What are you talking about?" he said obliviously.

"You telling me you don't remember when I fought that Kaiba Corp goon at the airfield so the three of you could steal that jet?" snapped Tristan irritably as the door opened.

"Right, of course… Jeez, what's gotten into you man?"

The pair made their way out of the elevator and followed a neon arrow painted on the wall into a corridor.

"Man, it's just… I feel invisible sometimes," sighed Tristan.

Joey turned to look at his oldest friend with concern.

"What are you talking about, man?"

"I'm just… always in the background. Yeah obviously not everyone can be like you and Yugi, dueling madmen for the fate of the world, but I still just wish that sometimes people would think of me as less of a nobody."

"You are not a nobody," said Joey firmly. "You're my oldest friend and we've been through everything together."

"That's just the thing," mumbled Tristan. "I appreciate where you're coming from, but what I'm after is being able to stand for myself, and not as just a sidekick to one of the main characters."

He stopped short as the corridor ended at a large oak door.

"Well, here goes nothing," muttered Joey, pushing the door open to reveal a cavernous and dark room.

A lone figure stood in the middle. It was a man, tall, slim and dressed in a black trench coat. Covering most of his face was a gas mask of some sort.

Joey stepped forward, leaving Tristan dithering at the entrance.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled.

The man bent his neck forward and pulled the mask off, looking upward to reveal a very familiar face.

"What the-… TRISTAN?!" choked Joey, turning to look back at his friend and then the man in the room.

It was true. They both shared the same face, identical in fact.

The only difference was their expressions. The face of the Tristan that Joey had walked in with was frozen with shock and fear.

The one standing in the middle of the room, however, radiated a hard, cold look of rage. Finally, he spoke.

"My name is Sylar."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I bet no one saw that ending coming. For my Nightrise holdover readers… Given I said I would incorporate the best elements from Nightrise into this story, did you really think I wouldn't include the single best twist I ever wrote in that story?!

This was a difficult but fun chapter to write. Definitely ended up a lot longer than I expected to be honest.

The Legendary Heroes were a blast to write, and once again I thank 7th Librarian for creating them. Dragon Ball, YuGiOh! and Pokemon were all big parts of my childhood so writing Goku, Yugi and Ash teaming up, even just as cards, definitely had me feeling some type of way. I don't believe anyone has ever written a crossover with those three characters.

The elephant in the room for some people may be that the way Kaiba supported Pegasus was a bit OOC. I would agree: if this was Battle City Kaiba. He has evolved considerably since then, both in canon as well as in this story himself.

I admit it is still difficult to see Kaiba identifying with someone else's emotions, but I think that losing a loved one is about the only thing he probably would do so with, considering losing his parents was the defining moment of his life. Plus, we already know that Kaiba would do literally anything for Mokuba, including being willing to sacrifice his own life. If he knows he NEEDS Pegasus to win here, is it THAT hard to conceive he'd swallow his pride and give him a pep talk?

ChroniclerDL: Yup, that was the intention haha. I hope you enjoyed reading how it resolved itself in this chapter. Thank you for continuing to read this story and follow along!

Galaxyquest240: I am happy to see you enjoyed it man! The Alice in Wonderland deck is literally 12 years old haha, I made the cards back in 2011 for my old story Nightrise, and it was used, ironically, by Pegasus. The L-Heroes are a blast to write and as mentioned above we have 7th Librarian to thank for creating them. I'm also glad the response to my characterization of Cecelia seems to be so good, and I hope this chapter met expectations with the conclusion to that plot thread too!

Well, thanks for reading everyone! I may or may not update in the month of May, as things may get a bit busy IRL, but I will do my best to get one out still! Hope you guys enjoyed this one in the meantime.