Chapter 32
"This place is creepy," I commented, looking around at the caverns were traversed.
Remember, it's not real, said Marik.
But it feels real.
"Well guys, the good news is that each of us defeated one member of the Freaky Five!" said Téa. "Three down, two to go!"
"The bad news is, we don't know where they're gonna strike next," said Yugi. "Or who they're gonna strike next!"
"Serenity, I'm coming!" Joey shouted and took off running.
"Joey!" Téa and Yugi called after him.
I sighed. "Guess we better follow." The three of us ran after him, managing to keep him in sight.
Does he ever stop and think? Marik said. Tiring us all out won't help him save his sister. We need a better plan.
Well, if you've got one, go ahead and share it. Marik grew silent.
We had been running for awhile when I scream reverberated on the walls. "You hear that?" said Téa.
"That was Serenity screaming just now, I know it!" said Joey.
"We're gonna find her, Joey!" said Yugi.
"I hope so! Hello?" There was no response. "Serenity!"
I stumbled as I tried to keep on running. Yugi slowed down to help me stand upright. "Are you alright? I can ask Joey to slow down."
I shook my head. "I'll be fine. Besides, it would be worse to have emotions even stronger if we don't run as fast as possible."
"Just don't over do it."
"None of this is real, remember? It's all in our heads."
"That doesn't mean your body won't break down. The mind is powerful. Let me know if you get too tired."
I gave him a small smile. "Thanks."
At least someone gets it, Marik said.
A little while later, someone screamed in anguish, "No!"
"That sounded like Serenity!" Joey shouted.
"Joey?" said Yugi. Joey suddenly picked up speed. "What! We'll make sure she's okay."
Joey appeared to ignore him. "Serenity!"
"Joey, wait! We gotta stick together!"
I sucked in a sharp breath. "This is not good."
Do you sense something? Yami asked.
I can feel some of Serenity's emotions, which means we're close. She's upset about something, and it's not the kind of upset you would feel for yourself.
Do you think something happened to Tristan or Duke?
Possibly.
Then we better hurry.
Agreed.
Just what we need, Marik muttered. I chose not to respond. My legs felt like they were on fire, but I kept on running. My friends were in danger! We needed to help.
"I'm coming, Serenity!" Joey shouted.
"Does Joey even have the slightest idea where he's going, Yugi?" Téa asked.
"I doubt it, but at this point his guess is as good as mine!" said Yugi.
"We're going the right way," I said. "I can feel her emotions."
"What about Tristan and Duke?"
I hesitated and checked the emotions around me. "Nothing, but Joey and Serenity's emotions may be so strong that they're blocking the other's."
"That makes sense."
"Hey check it out!" Joey said, pointing to a light up ahead. "That could be the way!" As soon as we entered the light, I realized we were no longer in an underground cavern. Instead, we appeared to be in some sort of hanger.
"Where are we?" said Téa.
"Serenity!" Joey shouted. I glanced down to see serenity and Duke dueling some sort of duel monster. "Up here!"
Serenity looked up and gasped. "It's really you?"
"Of course! Who'd you expect?"
"Yugi!" said Duke. "Téa! Samia!"
"Hey, Duke!" said Yugi. "It's good to see ya!"
"Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion," said the duel monster, "but I have a duel to win and a virtual world to escape."
Yugi glared at him. "Just what we thought!"
"Right, Yug," said Joey. "He must be one of the Big Five!"
"Hey... Where's Tristan?" asked Téa.
"Yeah, wasn't he with you?" said Yugi.
Suddenly, I felt intense sadness from Serenity and Duke. "Oh no..." I whispered.
"No," said Duke. "Tristan... is gone. He lost."
"Oh no!" said Yugi. "He lost?"
"Hold on!" said Téa. "That means... Oh no!" She sunk to the floor. "Tristan!"
"That tin-plated creep is gonna be strutting around in Tristan's body?" Joey said. He pounded the railing in anger. "No way! Come on!"
I grit my teeth to deal with the onslaught of emotions. Are you okay? Marik asked.
Yeah. I'll be fine. Everyone else felt so strong that I was unsure of how I felt myself, though I knew I must be sad.
"He tried his best..." said Serenity, who had also fallen to the ground. "He was only trying to protect me and now we may never get him back!"
"Aw, man."
"They need help!" said Yugi. "You should see if you can enter the duel, Joey, to take Tristan's place and help him!"
"Good idea! All right, make room for me!" Joey lifted his leg over the railing.
"Negative," said the member of the Big Five. "Intruders are forbidden to duel."
"Figures..." Joey retracted his foot. "Okay, listen up! Whatever you do, don't give up, Serenity! I'm here for you, and I know you can do this. I'm gonna be your guardian angel, way up here in the rafters. Got that? Now show him what you got, sis!"
Serenity managed to stand. She looked back at Joey with a small smile. "Thanks, Joey."
"Go get him! He's all yours. Never mess with the Wheelers, tin man!"
It's her turn? said Marik. This could end badly.
Not necessarily. Let's wait and see what happens. It's not over until it's over.
It sounds like it's over for Tristan.
My heart clenched. His mind still has to exist somewhere in cyberspace, right?
In theory...
"I'm afraid it's too late for all of you," said the Big Five member.
Serenity drew a card. "This one's for Tristan!"
"Serenity, you already know everything you need to in order to beat this guy," Duke said.
"Right! I sacrifice Lady Panther so I can summon Marie The Fallen One!"
"Good!"
"Okay, now feast your eyes on this little number, Nesbitt!" Serenity discarded a card. "First I'll dispose of this, so then I can activate the special ability of my Deck Master! Fusion Vision... go! Goddess With The Third Eye, fuse together Marie The Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden to form Saint Joan!"
"Impressive..." said Nesbit. "But I'm afraid your monster isn't powerful enough to take me on." Suddenly, Serenity's monster powered up. "What's going on? This can't be!'
"Awesome!" said Duke. "Command Angel's special power kicked in! It raised the strength of every fairy monster on the field, including Saint Joan. Thanks to Tristan's monster card, we can still do this!"
"Now her Saint Joan has 3200 attack points," said Joey.
"Yeah but, his Perfect Machine King's still has more points..." said Yugi. "Saint Joan needs another power boost! But how can she get that?" He carefully examined the field. "Tristan's card." He cupped his hands to shout at the duelists. "Hey, guys - listen! I think I know how you can do this, but you're going to need Tristan's help! Trust me on this!"
"How can Tristan help us?" called Duke. "He's not... Well, you guys know."
"No more discussion," said Nesbit. "Make your move now!"
I felt Duke's confusion clear up. "Now I activate my Deck Master's Special Ability!"
"What?"
"Strike Ninja, do your stuff! Activate the card Tristan left face down on the field!"
"No!"
Duke discarded two cards. "Go Strike Ninja! Raise his face down card." The card lifted on the field. "He left us Rare Metal Soul. Awesome! Looks like Tristan came through."
"Too bad for Nesbitt," said Yugi. "Rare Metal Soul raises Saint Joan's attack points by 1000!"
Looks like they lucked out again, Marik said.
"That's impossible!" Nesbit growled.
"Now their attack points are tied!" Tea said. "What happens?"
"Just watch," said Yugi.
"Okay... Do the honors, Serenity, and get rid of this rusty old pile a junk once and for all!" Duke said.
"All right!" said Serenity. "Go, St. Joan, and attack the Perfect Machine King now!" The fair monster rose and struck Nesbit, destroying them both.
"Since Perfect Machine King was the Deck Master, he automatically loses the duel!" said Yugi.
"Yeah!" Joey cheered. "Way to go, sis!"
"You fools!" said Nesbit's voice. "I may be going offline, but I won Tristan's body!"
"You can't do this!" Serenity cried.
"Hey, let him go, you creep!" Duke shouted. My friends and I quickly made our way out of the rafters.
"Negative," said Nesbit. "He's my ticket out of this virtual prison... I'm finally free!"
"That mechanical snake in the grass!"
Serenity fell to her knees. "I don't believe it... They have his body... and it's my fault?" I stopped near her, feeling her sorrow as my own.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Serenity," Joey said gently. "Are you all right?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, sis. Really."
"Joey!" She turned around and jumped into his arms.
"We won the match! Why didn't that bring Tristan back?"
"I don't know. We'll find him."
"They took Tristan's body, but his mind must be here somewhere!" Yugi said.
"Right," I agreed. "As long as we're still stuck here, we have a chance to find him and get him back."
"I'm glad we're all back together, you guys," said Téa. "Now we just need Tristan."
We're not going to leave until we find him, are we? said Marik.
Nope.
Then let's get to it.
I smiled. Hopefully I was having an effect on him. We made our way outside and found ourselves in some sort of city. We walked along a sidewalk, nearing a warehouse. The spirits of my friends were still pretty down, so I did not feel good either.
"Poor Tristan," said Serenity.
"Don't worry," said Yugi. "The big five said they had him in some kind of a virtual holding area. We just have to find him before they take control of his body."
"That's right, and his mind would be trapped somewhere in cyber space!" said Joey. "We gotta get him back now!"
"There are people up ahead," I said.
"Look! It's Tristan!" said Serenity.
"And Kaiba and Mokuba!" said Yugi as we ran up to them.
"Yugi," said Kaiba.
"Tristan!" said Joey. "I knew we'd track you down, pal!" Tristan stared at him coldly. "Are you okay?"
"Wait, something's not right," I said. "He doesn't feel like Tristan."
Joey glanced at me. "What do you mean?"
"Why don't you kids run along," said Tristan.
"Wait a sec!" said Duke. "You're not Tristan, you phony!"
"Whaddaya talkin' about?!" said Joey. He moved in close to "Tristan."
"Wait, Joey!"
Joey leaned his face close to Tristan's. "I think he's right!"
"Yes," said "Tristan." "I've taken over your friend's body! And now that that's over... I can take care of you! En garde!" He suddenly attacked Kaiba with a wooden sword. Kaiba tried to defend himself with a pipe, but Not-Tristan knocked it out of his hands. "Nice try!"
"Why are you doing this!?" said Kaiba.
"Because you need to pay for what you did to me! Goodbye." Not-Tristan raised the wooden sword. Suddenly, a robot monkey flew onto his head, grabbing at his face.
"What is that thing?" said Téa.
"This is getting too weird!" Joey said. He punched Not-Tristan just as he flung the monkey off his head, sending him crashing through a warehouse door. "Take that!"
"Joey! It's still his body!"
For a moment, we could not see Not-Tristan. Then he suddenly sped out of the warehouse on a motorcycle. "Pardon me!" He grabbed Mokuba and placed him on the seat behind him.
"Seto!" Mokuba cried.
"Kaiba, I've taken something from you so we're even now!" Non-Tristan sped off into a tunnel.
"Come back! Right now!"
"Too late!" said Duke. "He's gone!"
"Oh no! Mokuba!" Kaiba ran into the warehouse. A second later, he emerged on another motorcycle and zoomed after Non-Tristan into the tunnel.
"What now, guys?" said Tea.
"Kaiba's after the fake Tristan," said Joey. "So, we gotta find out where the real one is!"
"Joey's right!" said Yugi.
"Hey, look!" I said, pointing to the robotic monkey sauntering over to us.
"It's that robot runt again!" Joey said.
"I don't trust this little rat," said Duke.
"He's a monkey," Serenity said as she knelt down next to the robot. "And how dangerous can he really be?"
"Wait, don't touch it, Serenity! For all we know, this chimp could be a trap!"
"Good point, Duke," said Joey. "Maybe we should just take this guy apart."
"Yeah, we could unscrew his head and take out his batteries."
"No way!" Serenity said with a hint of anger. "Don't you lay a finger on him!"
Joey blinked. "What's the problem, Serenity?"
"This little guy risked his life to save Kaiba!"
Joey appeared uncertain. "I guess that's a good thing."
"And just look at him." Serenity pet the monkey, smiling at him. "Hi. He's adorable!" The monkey let out some noises and gratefully let out some noises. Wait a second...
"Just do me a favor, okay?" said Duke. "Keep that thing outta my face."
I stared at the monkey, head tilted slightly. "Samia, what's wrong?" Yugi.
"Nothing's wrong," I said. "It's just... I can feel that monkey's emotions. That must mean he's a real person and not an NPC, right?" The monkey spoke enthusiastically as if to confirm.
"Whoa, cool," said Joey. "Can you tell who it is?"
I shook my head. "My powers don't work like that. I can feel others' emotions but not whose they are. It's not like they have a specific imprint."
"Do you think someone else is trapped her besides us and the Big Five?" said Tea.
I shrugged. "It's possible."
"It could be one of the Big Five," Duke said. "We need to keep an eye on him."
"Yeah, let us know if you sense anything weird from him," said Joey.
I nodded. "Alright."
"Okay, we gotta get going guys!" said Yugi. "The Big Five may have Tristan's body, but his mind's got to be around here somewhere!" The monkey started chattering again and pointed to himself.
"Zip it!" Joey said. "I got my eye on you, ya robot varmint!"
Serenity turned away. "Joey, stop!"
Several minutes later, we were zooming down the road . "Good thing we found this virtual pick-up truck!" Yugi said.
"Yeah, it beats walking, that's for sure!" said Joey.
"And it should help us to find-" The truck suddenly stopped, tossing Téa onto Yugi and Serenity into Duke. "Hey, why'd ya stop the truck, Joey?"
Joey pointed to the sky, where something shot across it. "Look, Yug, what is that?"
Yugi glanced up. "Oh wow! It looks like some kind of a rocket!"
"Yeah, but who do you think launched it?"
"The Big Five?"
It could be a duel, Marik said.
Maybe Kaiba's, I agreed.
If he wins, can we finally get out of here?
After we find Tristan.
Right.
"We're looking for Tristan, remember?" said Serenity.
"Then let's keep looking," I said.
"Let's face it... I'm way cooler than that Romeo wanna-be Duke Devlin!" said a very familiar voice.
"Weird," said Joey. "I could have sworn I just heard Tristan's voice."
Duke looked at the monkey. "Yeah. It came from him."
"If I stay stuck in this robo-chimp's body too long, I may start chowing on bananas and bugs!" said the monkey.
"It does sound like him!" I said.
Yugi and Tea stared at the robot monkey. "Tristan?!" they said.
"Ah, Tristan?" said Yugi. "Are you in there?"
"Did I just say that out loud?" said the monkey.
"Come here!" said Joey. He jumped out of the truck cab and grabbed the monkey away from Serenity. "Who are you!? I don't trust you one bit, ape-boy!"
"Joey! It's me!"
"I think you're a robot spy sent by Noah!"
"Hey, I'm a monkey, not a mad dog!"
"I - I think he's telling the truth," I said.
Joey looked at me. "You said you couldn't tell who people were."
"Well, there are clues. Like, the monkey's emotions with all of you are similar to Tristan's. And with his voice sounding the same... it only makes sense."
"Thank you!" said the monkey.
"With the Big Five running around in disguise, we're not taking any chances!" Duke said, and he proceeded to tie up the monkey in the corner of the truck bed.
"I'm telling you, it's me! Cut a chimp some slack!"
The truck followed the path of the rocket, which hung in the sky. Eventually, we reached an area with lava all around. On the other side of a bridge, Kaiba stood dueling a duel monster. All of us jumped out of the truck.
"Kaiba!" Yugi called.
Kaiba glanced at us. "Yugi."
"Yugi!" Joey said. "Kaiba's up against one of the baddest deck Masters of all time!"
"You're right, Joey!" said Yugi. "It's Jinzo!"
"And you know what that means, don't you, Yug?"
"I sure do. It means that Kaiba's trap cards are totally useless!"
"Oh no!" said Téa. "It's like dueling with half a deck!"
This will be interesting, said Marik.
He'll win.
Your faith is astounding.
Have I been wrong yet? Silence followed.
The Big Five member, names Lector, activated a trap card that prevented Kaiba from using magic or trap cards. As long as he paid 700 life points per turn, it remained on the field. This was nothing to him because he gained 1500 life points a turn from two of his cards. The rocket turned out to be Satellite Cannon, a monster that was unreachable because it was so high in the sky.
"You seem a little stunned to me, Mr. Kaiba," said Lector.
"How can I stop a weapon that's... Up there!?" said Kaiba.
"You can't! Orbiting the earth, My satellite cannon is virtually unreachable! It can't be beat!"
"I never heard of a duel monster that can attack from outer space!" said Joey.
"Satellite cannon is so high above the earth's atmosphere that it's shielded from the attack of almost every monster!"
"Almost!" said Kaiba. "How do you know I don't have a monster In my deck that can reach it, Lector?"
"Trust me, Mr. Kaiba. By the time you summon a monster with the ability to attack my satellite, it will be too powerful to destroy. That's because it gains 1000 attack points with each turn. At last, the mighty Seto Kaiba is about to lose everything that he has! And it serves you right, after destroying your own stepfather and betraying the Big Five. Now it's time you paid the price for using others to get what you want. Even your own brother!"
"What's he talking about?" said Yugi.
"That doesn't sound like him," I said. From what I understood, everything Kaiba did was for him and Mokuba together, not just himself.
I wouldn't put it past him, said Marik.
That's because you don't believe in people.
People have always let me down. Marik paused. But that is beginning to change. I accepted that as a victory for now.
"You'll stop at nothing to get what you want, Mr. Kaiba, even if it means deceiving those most loyal to you," said Lector. "Your treachery began when your stepfather, Gozaburo, gave you ten million dollars to test your business skills. When you increased the cash by threatening a smaller company, he was impressed with your abilities and your cruelty. But that wasn't good enough for you, was it? You wanted more.
"You came to us and told us, if we helped you take over Kaiba Corporation, we'd rule it together as a team. So, slowly we all started buying pieces of Kaiba Corp to try and take over the company. But securing the percent we needed proved difficult. Then we realized that someone was leaking our plan to Gozaburo Kaiba. You told us that someone was your little brother, Mokuba!
"By turning on your little brother, you forced Mokuba To run to your stepfather, Gozaburo, for comfort. Of course, Gozaburo had his own agenda. You see, Mokuba owned two percent of Kaiba corp, exactly what Gozaburo needed to stay in control. But Mokuba gave his two percent to you, allowing you to gain control of the company. Gozaburo was so ashamed that he ran away. No one's heard from him since! So, your cruel plan worked!"
"What's your point, Lector?" said Kaiba.
"You played us like fools! Mokuba wasn't the snitch, now was he!? It was you! Wasn't it Mr. Kaiba?"
I gasped. "It can't be..."
I told you, said Marik.
"You knew that your stepfather liked people to think they were winning," said Lector, "so when he beat them, they'd feel that much worse. So, you used Mokuba as a pawn. You began leaking information about your plan to Gozaburo and made everyone, including him, think it was Mokuba! So your stepfather let you gain 49% of his company, thinking Mokuba would give him the 2% he needed to stay in control! But you knew better didn't you Mr. Kaiba!? You knew that your little brother would be loyal to you... No matter how poorly you treated him!"
"You're wrong!" Kaiba shouted. "Mokuba was the only one I trusted. I knew that together he and I could take our stepfather down!"
"You used him... To achieve your own selfish goals. You toyed with your brother's emotions and took advantage of his trust for you! Then you destroyed the very man who rescued you from that orphanage! You never intended to run Kaiba Corp with us as a team, like you promised. When you became president, you took away our responsibilities! You used me, just like you use everyone, including your little brother."
"Look, Lector. Life is a game, and if you can't win it, then don't play! Now, let's duel!"
There has to be more to the story, I said to Marik.
Too bad Kaiba doesn't feel like extrapolating, said Marik.
I suppose it's good he's not super defensive. That means he doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He wouldn't hurt his brother on purpose.
That doesn't mean he hasn't done so unintentionally. To that, I did not have a response.
Kaiba played the monster Spirit Ryu and used it to attack Fairy Lily. Lector activated Fairy Lily's special ability to raise her attack to 3400. Kaiba activated Spirit Ryu's special effect, discarding two dragon cards to boost its attack to 3000. The monster was still destroyed, and he was left with 800 life points. He then attacked Fairy Lily with another monster, Twin-Headed Behemoth, destroying her. Lector was brought down to 800 life points as well.
On Lector's turn, he did not want to pay 700 life points to keep Imperial Order in play, so it was destroyed. Now Kaiba could use magic cards again. Lector played a monster face down. Then he used Satellite Cannon to destroy Twin-Headed Behemoth.
Kaiba summoned Possessed Dark Soul and used it to attack Lector's face down monster. The monster was Dream Sprite, and it could redirect the attack at any other monster. Lector chose Satellite Cannon, which Possessed Dark Soul could not reach. Lector drew a card and then ended his turn.
"That snake!" said Joey. "How come he didn't attack?"
"You heard him, Joey," said Yugi. "He's charging up his cannon for one final attack!"
"I'll take down your little space cannon!" said Kaiba.
"Good luck!" said Lector. "Most monsters could never reach that high!"
"Aw man!" said Joey. "Does Kaiba have a monster strong enough to crush that thing?"
"Wait," said Yugi. "There may be one in his deck... But who knows if he can summon it in time!"
There's no way he can do it, said Marik.
I believe he can.
Kaiba drew a card, and I felt his satisfaction. "And now behold my ultimate creature!"
"What is it?" said Lector.
"You'll see! But first I'll place this in defense mode. Now, my deck master! Show your special ability! At a cost of 500 of my life points, Lord of Dragons allows me to summon any dragon from my hand. Now I'll sacrifice both of my monsters!"
"What do you think you're doing, Mr. Kaiba!?"
"You're about to find out. I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon! There's your target! Go Blue Eyes! Take down his satellite cannon now!"
"Ah, dragons can fly," I said.
"Precisely," said Yugi.
"No!" shouted Lector. "Do you have any idea what this means?"
"I know exactly what it means, Lector," said Kaiba. "This duel's over! I know your satellite cannon only has attack points when it's about to attack. Otherwise it has an attack power of...zero!"
"No!"
"That means, once I attack... You lose everything! You should have known better than to challenge me! Now my Blue Eyes, finish him off with White Lightning Attack! Looks like you won't be leaving cyber space anytime soon."
"Nice job!" said Tea. "Kaiba wasted that big five creep!"
"No!" Lector cried. "I was so close to finally escaping from this digital dungeon!"
"Where's Mokuba?!" Kaiba said in anger.
"You'll never see your brother again, Mr. Kaiba!" Lector slowly dissolved into the air. "However, I'll be back!"
"Mokuba" Kaiba called out. "I'm coming, Mokuba!"
Perhaps your faith is well-place, said Marik. We find Mokuba and then we can leave?
Yes. Then Lector's words replayed in my mind. Hopefully...