Wolfie: I don't own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh, just my oc Yuki and all alterations I make to the canon plot to add her in. Since Seto did not get to duel Pegasus like he did in the show there is no reason for Tristan to believe that Pegasus cheats. Though I will mention the fact that they went snooping, but it won't be one of the main focuses of this chapter. Now please read, review, and I hope you like the book so far.
Chapter 32: The Night Before
Later that night Yuki was fast asleep in bed, Yugi laid next to her with half of the covers thrown off of him. Snoring up a storm as both siblings had been too tired to do anything else other than take a few moments to freshen up for bed. They had also managed to at least hang a few things up on the coat stand next to the bed before they went to sleep as well. These things being both their backpacks, Yuki's jacket, and the Millenium Puzzle as their shoes were on the ground next to the bed. Yugi, who was still snoring up a storm, was oblivious to his sister twisting and turning in bed. The cause of Yuki's distress was the sound of her grandpa's voice calling her name, his voice getting louder each time he spoke. Until finally the girl with tri colored star shaped hair jolted awake as she bolted up into a sitting position. Looking around the room in confusion, checking to see if her brother was still asleep in the process.
"Grandpa? Grandpa is that you?" Yuki called out quietly, wondering if going to bed drunk was making her hallucinate.
"Yuki, I must speak with you." Solomon said, his voice echoing as he spoke to Yuki as if he was right in the room with her.
"Where are you, Grandpa?!" Yuki asked, trying not to say anything too loudly as to not wake up Yugi.
"Follow my voice." Solomon said as his voice seemed to echo and fade as if he was moving away.
As quickly and quietly as possibly Yuki climbed out of the bed, scrambling to put her shoes on as she rushed towards the door. Barely remembering to slip on her Millennium Puzzle as she bolted out of the door into the darkened hallways of the castle. It was easily one o'clock, possibly two o'clock in the morning and no one but the night guards should be up this late. Seems a bit overkill for Pegasus to have night guards but Yuki didn't have time to think about something like that. Her grandpa is calling out to her, that means he's not as trapped as she first thought he was. Or she truly is hallucinating after going to bed drunk, either way she needs to see what is going on or she'll never get back to sleep. Just like in her room Yuki didn't see her Grandpa anywhere nor could she tell how close or far away his voice actually is. It was extremely confusing since it was kind of scaring her how she could hear him but not see him.
"Grandpa!" Yuki called out again as she shut the door behind herself, thankful that it seemed like no one else has heard her.
"Yuki! Beware of Pegasus." Solomon warned as Yuki turned her tourso to look at the pitch black void at the end of the hall behind her where his voice seemed to be coming from. "You must stop him, or he could destroy the entire world." He said, wishing to warn his granddaughter from what might be beyond the beyond.
"Pegasus?" Yuki asked as she began to run down the hallway towards her grandpa's voice.
"Yuki!" Solomon called out yet again, once again sounding like he was moving further away.
"Don't worry. I'm coming, Grandpa!" Yuki uttered as she ran down the hallway as fast as she could without drawing too much attention to herself.
Yuki's little game of "follow the voice" had led her to Pegasus's shrubbery garden as she panted from running so much. She still had yet to find her grandpa however as she stood in the garden looking around for any sign of the oldest Muto family member. The garden illuminated by the full moon was vacant of any other life besides Yuki herself, not even an animal, nocturnal or sleeping, to speak of. It was honestly eerie to say the least, as if Pegasus had wanted this place to be unnatural and void of any life besides himself and his goons. And as Yuki stood there looking for the source of her grandpa's voice yet again, she began to shiver from the cold night air. She may have remembered her Millennium Puzzle, but as a result of her rush to leave she forgot her jacket. Leaving her in only her navy blue long sleeve shirt, black skinny jean overalls, black ankle boots, her puzzle, and her leather collar choker necklace. The thin fabric of her shirt honestly not doing much to protect her from the cold.
"Grandpa! Where are you? I can't find you!" Yuki exclaimed as she caught her breath, feeling like she can be as loud and necessary since there seem to be no guards out here.
"Yuki! Beware of Pegasus." Solomon repeated causing Yuki to look around, only for her to look down and see her grandpa's soul card laying before her on the ground. "Pegasus wields Shadow powers of incredible strength, much stronger than anyone could have imagined." He said as his voice echoed and seemed to be strained in some instances.
"How? How's something like that possible?" Yuki asked as she kneeled down and touched the card. "Grandpa, please tell me. How can Pegasus's Shadow Magic still be getting stronger?" She asked as she had picked up her grandpa's soul card and was now holding it up much closer to her face.
"Every soul he traps in the Shadow Realm, even after they are released, increases his strength." Solomon revealed as that explains why Pegasus took both his and Mokuba's souls.
"Damnit!" Yuki uttered as she punched the brick path of the garden with her left fist out of frustration. "He's got to be stopped! Hm?" She declared only to hmm in confusion as her grandpa's card floated from her grasp and slammed into a tall, flat white stone. "Grandpa?" Yuki asked as she approached the stone that his card was now pinned to.
"He wants you next, Yuki." Solomon revealed causing Yuki's head to tilt to the side in confusion as she looked at his card.
"He wants me? That slimeball already got me to become his heir. What else could Pegasus possibly want from me?" Yuki questioned with a frown, slightly hugging herself as a particularly cold mid-night breeze blew past her.
"Pegasus unlocked tremendous magic with his single Millenium Item. How much power do you think he will wield if he has your puzzle?" Solomon asked causing Yuki to gasp slightly, she didn't even want to think about what kind of power that would give Pegasus.
"Grandpa, tell me. How can I stop Pegasus?" Yuki asked, this was a question that had been plaguing her ever since Pegasus stole her grandpa's soul after she lost their video duel.
"Just as Pegasus learned to harness the magic of his Millennium Eye, you must also learn to control the power of your own Millennium Item." Solomon explained, Yuki's eyes widening in response to this as she caught on to what he meant.
"My puzzle?" Yuki asked and she was honestly dreading the answer that she gets.
"Yes, Yuki. Your Millennium Puzzle." Solomon stated as Yuki gulped slightly at that.
"How though?" Yuki asked, wondering how her grandpa could expect her to control her Millennium Puzzle when she doesn't even know if Yami is hurting people. Or if she can trust him to not hurt anyone if he hasn't hurt someone already.
"That you must discover on your own. Whatever it takes, Pegasus must be defeated. If he wins, with his unlimited Shadow powers and the magic of the Millennium Items, he can unleash armageddon upon the entire world!" Solomon exclaimed as a wall of white-blue fire suddenly appeared between Yuki and the stone that his card was pinned to.
"Grandpa!" Yuki exclaimed, the fire blocking her from getting closer to the stone that was now towering high above her.
"You can do this, Yuki! I believe in you!" Solomon called out from higher on the stone over the roaring fire that kept his card out of Yuki's reach. "Yuki!" He called out again as the fire had now cast a blue glow upon his card and his granddaughter.
"Grandpa!" Yuki breathed out as it seemed like the fire was licking at the edge of the card yet was not burning it.
"Unlock the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. Only then can you defeat Pegasus." Solomon explained as soon the wall of roaring fire became larger, blocking Yuki's view of the card completely. "The Millennium Puzzle, Yuki!" He shouted over the fire, desperately trying to get his message across.
"Grandpa!" Yuki shouted as the fire seemed to have burnt the stone and card to a crisp, only to bolt upright in bed covered in a cold sweat. "It was a dream, all of it?" She muttered as she looked around the room, everything was where she had put it before going to bed. "Or was it?" Yuki wondered aloud as she glanced down next to her, seeing Yugi still fast asleep snoring up a storm.
Trying to go back to sleep would be pointless as Yuki slowly climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom attached to the room. Shutting the door and turning on the light as she looked at herself in the mirror that was over the sink. Her wild mane of tri colored star shaped hair had become even wilder with a case of bed head. Her pale skin glistening with a sheen of sweat that had been caused by that dream as she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Shaking her head slightly Yuki decided to ignore how she looked for now as she turned the faucet on. Cupping her hands underneath the could stream of water that came out, splashing the handful that she collected onto her face. She repeated this process two to three times before using one of the provided towels to dry her face off. Feeling much more awake and refreshed Yuki turned off the water and light, leaving the bathroom in search of her hairbrush.
After retrieving it from her bag Yuki looked towards the window, noticing how the sun was beginning to creep over the horizon. This caused her to sigh as she began to brush her hair, she honestly didn't feel like she got a good night's rest. Unlike Yugi, who most definitely got his necessary twelve hours of sleep and is pushing for thirteen hours. The eight year old simply rolling over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow as sunlight began to illuminate the room through the window. Yuki simply shook her head at this, deciding to let her brother sleep for a while longer as she finished brushing her hair. And as she went to put her brush away she caught sight of the Millennium Puzzle as it hung innocently from the coat stand. The gold that it was made of sparkling in the sunlight as Yuki's mind drifted back to the dream that she had not too long ago. It still fresh in her mind as she shoved her hair brush back into her bag.
'That wasn't an ordinary dream. Grandpa was trying to send me a message from the Shadow Realm, I just know it.' Yuki thought as she sat down on the bed and leant back against its headboard. 'What's the secret of my Millennium Puzzle that he was talking about though?' She wondered as she couldn't help but look back at the puzzle yet again. 'And what about Yami? I have so many questions that I do not know the answers to, and I'm running out of time!' Yuki thought, letting out a small huff of annoyance as the back of her head hit the wall with a small thunk when she leant her head backwards.
Yuki however wasn't the only one that had had a rough or long sleepless night. Mai had spent all night preparing for her duel with the heterochromic eyed female. Wracking her brain to remember all of the times she had seen Yuki duel and then rearranging her strategy accordingly. It may have taken all night but Mai had finally done it and she was confident that she was going to give the smaller girl a run for her money. Bandit Keith had also hand a long sleepless night, but not because he had been spending to time preparing for his duel with Joey. On the contrary he had been up all night waiting till he was sure that the oldest Wheeler sibling was asleep before sneaking into his room. After doing so he stole Joey's Glory of the Kings Hand card, the only card that he has to let him duel tomorrow for the prize money. Leaving with the card in hand but only after Bandit Keith had gotten the scare of his life when the other male seemed to be awake. Only to look back and realize that Joey was just talking in his sleep.
The last people in their merry band of misfits to have a rough night were Tristan, Tea, and Bakura. They had spent the night snooping around the castle because the brunette male had a hunch about Pegasus. Tristan felt like since the silver haired male would stoop low enough to steal Solomon's and Mokuba's souls then it made sense for him to cheat too. Which resulted in them sneaking around looking for any ways that Pegasus could be cheating without anyone noticing. Their search had uncovered a peep hole in the wall that could allow a telescope to see the cards in a duelists hand. Which then led to a tower that was facing the exact peephole that turned out to be some kind of shrine to a blonde woman. To make matters worse though they were found out by Pegasus, who then let them witness an old school Duel Monsters game between him and another man. They had been wearing brown cultist robes, used large stone versions of the cards, and the loser had lost their soul.
The duel also had had an audience of men in similar robes who stood around the room chanting as the duel happened as they stood in an egyptian looking room. And above the alter past the two duelists was the painting of the same woman that they had seen before. Now, if it had not been the loud gasps that Tristan and Tea had let out when the man disappeared after being defeated then they wouldn't have been seen. The man who had won the duel revealing himself to be Pegasus as him and the other robed men corner the three teens in the entrance that they were hiding in. The only reason that they had gotten out of there intact was because Yami Bakura had decided to make a surprise reappearance. Erasing the minds of Pegasus and all of his cultists as Tea and Tristan woke back up in their respective rooms in the castle. Thinking that everything that had happened up until that point was a dream and nothing more.
Yami Bakura had made his reappearance for a reason, he now had his eye on obtaining Pegasus's Millennium Eye rather than the Millenium Puzzle. Speaking of the Millennium Puzzle, Yuki was hesitant to put it back on just yet as she stood looking out the window. The sun had risen higher in the sky, meaning that it was about time for everyone to start waking up. After all this is the day, the day of the finals, and the day that they will find out who is the King or Queen of Games. Judging by the sound of footsteps in the hallways her and Yugi were the only ones who had yet to leave their rooms. Yuki wasn't too worried about that at the moment, she was certain that at any seconds her friends will be barging through that door. Intent on seeing if she was awake and the planning on waking her and Yugi themselves if they aren't already awake. Which means that she has just enough time to be left alone with her thoughts, if only for a few more minutes.
'Fuck. It's morning already, and I barely slept at all.' Yuki thought before she glanced at the Millennium Puzzle that now laid on the room's coffee table. 'Grandpa told me I need to trust the ancient presence within my Millenium Puzzle, but how can I do that?' She wondered as she turned and slowly picked up the Millennium Puzzle. The gold feeling warm in her hands as she held with whilst slipping the leather cord it was hanging from around her neck. 'What if it, Yami, decides that we need to do anything to win? What if, what if he hurts someone?' Yuki wondered fearfully before a knock at the door broke her train of thought.
"Huh, who is that? Is it breakfast?" Yugi asked as he finally woke up, sitting up as he looked around hopefully for some room service breakfast.
"He-Hey!" Joey greeted as he was the one to open the door and walked in first.
"Hey, Yuki." Tea greeted as well as her, Tristan, and Bakura were there too.
"Ugh, it's just you guys. Your not something I can eat." Yugi grumbled as he climbed out of the bed and headed to the bathroom, shutting the door so he can do his morning business.
"Ignore him, he's cranky in the morning till he eats." Yuki said as she crossed her arms slightly and watched as her friends finished coming into her room. "What's up though?" She asked curiously, having expected them to show up but not this soon.
"Aren't you ready yet? You're gonna be late." Tea stated as all of them, including Joey, were all ready to get going to the duel arena.
"And if you're late, they'll disqualify ya right out of the tournament." Joey added as a reminder that this wasn't like school, there were bigger repercussions if you're late here.
Yuki nodded as she slipped on her shoes and jacket, making sure that Yugi was ready to go as well. The 8 year old didn't seem to keen on leaving without breakfast but was happy when is sister said he could bring what was left of his snacks. As they left the room Yuki, for once during this tournament, did not let the transformation caused by Yami to happen. She just didn't want to take any chances right now as they all walked down the hallway towards the duel arena. Their little group going their separate ways with Yugi going up to the balcony with Tea, Tristan, and Bakura. Whilst Yuki and Joey headed into the hallway where all of the other duelists were waiting for it to be there turn to go out onto the arena. Bandit Keith, Seto, and Mai were already there waiting as they turned their attention to the two teens that had walked in. Yuki ignoring the so called bandit completely and gave the cobalt eyed male a nod in greeting. Which he returned as she looked towards the tall female that will be her opponent.
"Well, look who's finally awake." Mai stated teasingly as Yuki approached her.
"Mai." Yuki said, frowning smally at the teasing but said nothing about it.
"Sleep well? I was starting to wonder if you would even show up." Mai admitted as Yuki only let out a small hum in response to that.
"Hey, there, dweeb. So, you about ready to get your ass kicked across the arena and back?" Bandit Keith asked, pretending as if Joey still has a chance even though he knows he doesn't.
"Dream on. At least i didn't have to go and steal the star chips to make it to the final round of this here tournament, and I won't have to cheat to beat you, Keith." Joey declared as he was confident that he could wipe the floor with someone that doesn't fight his own battles.
'You're such a sad case. You don't even realize I swiped your card, the one you need to qualify for the finals. You've already lost, and you're too dumb to know it.' Bandit Keith thought with a smirk as Seto looked at him subtly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at the blonde males behavior.
"Attention! Attention! The duel champion playoffs are about to begin! All finalists will now enter the arena!" Croquet said over the intercom as the eyes of the Pegasus on the arena door glowed green before the door slid open.
This had revealed a balcony that the duelists could stand on and watch the action from the arena floor. Across the way was another balcony with a green velvet chair with double doors that revealed Pegasus, Croquet, and Kemo. The silver haired male coming to stand infront of his chair as he greeted the five finalists of his tournament. Explaining how only one of them will win the prize money, emerge victorious, and earn the right to challenge Pegasus himself to a duel. Tristan immediately had to ask what the person who manages to beat the silver haired male gets for their victory. Pegasus explaining how it's a one wish kind of scenario, where if the request the winner has is within his power he will be able to fulfil it. Also making it quite clear that the winner will be named the undisputed Duelist Kingdom champion, ranked number one in the world. Though Pegasus then went on to say the title was the true prize and not the money, which didn't sit well with Joey or Bandit Keith.
"Your a regular comedian." Bandit Keith stated with a smirk, arms crossed over his chest as he had his sunglasses covered gaze trained on Pegasus.
"Listen, you. The money's all I need for my sister's operation." Joey said as he didn't care if he won the title or not, the money was all he cared about winning.
"Yes. Yes. I'm sure some of you have more riding on this tournament than others, hmm, Yuki?" Pegasus asked with a chuckle, thoroughly enjoying singling out his secret heir.
'Pegasus. Your still holding my grandpa's soul captive. But I will find some way to defeat you no matter what so I can save him!' Yuki thought, her heterochromic eyes ablaze with determination as she looked at Pegasus.
"All right, let's get this show on the road. Only one of you will emerge victorious from these playoffs, but I wish you all good fortune." Pegasus said as he sat down in his chair, which looked more like a throne to be honest. "Now shuffle your decks, and may the best duelist win!" He exclaimed before a holographic chart showing who was dueling who popped up over the arena.
"The first duel will now begin. Mai Valentine vs Yuki Muto. Duelists please proceed to the arena." Croquet said as both girls left the balcony to go to their respective side of the arena.