Katsuya sighed as he flipped his phone closed.
While it was good to know his sister's body was safely stored at the Kame Game Shop, where it would be protected by Doctor Mutou, he still had to find where her soul was being stored.
He had an idea where it might be, but he needed to talk to Marik, who' d taken the weekend off working at the shop to compete. That meant he'd need to find Marik before he could badger him for information. With Battle City now in full swing and the streets loaded with duelists and spectators, he needed allies if he was going to hunt the other teen down.
So, he'd called Honda.
He knew it was probably overkill, when he had Ba-Khu-Ra's assistance too, but he didn't entirely trust the Thief Queen to help, and with his sister's soul and his or Yugi's lives at stake, he was going to get every piece of help he could get.
As he headed for the park, having agreed to meet Honda there, he heard sirens racing down the next street over and he shuddered. Central Domino had been pedestrianised for the event, so it had to have been urgent for the security to allow what sounded like a police car or an ambulance to go racing down the busy street.
Part of him was worried the ambulance was for Yugi, but he couldn't message her to check in. He couldn't even reply to the message she'd sent him earlier. Not without breaking the terms of the magical oath Ishizu had forced him into.
Katsuya could, however, get Honda to talk to her once he'd met up with him.
Duelists and businesses weren't the only ones taking advantage of the gathered tourists. Buskers lined every corner, bringing music and entertainment to the streets and Katsuya tried to take in every moment of it he could.
His hands started shaking again at the thought this could be the last time he heard each piece of music or saw this particular part of the city.
He'd been an idiot. He should've never made the oath without knowing the full details.
Not that he could've known.
Yugi hadn't told him she'd been poisoned. From the shock and anger on Ba-Khu-Ra's face, she hadn't known either. Katsuya suspected Yugi had held back the information from them all, in order to stop them from spending the entire tournament worrying about her.
If he'd known, he'd have bargained for something else. Anything else but to duel against her when a win could claim her life.
Now, unless he managed to recover Shizuka's soul in time, he had no choice but to duel against her and try to win, or he'd lose his sister forever.
Frustration and worry coursed through him.
He'd sworn to Yugi he'd fight Ishizu alongside her. Not against her. And still she'd kept back vital information that could've changed everything.
'Not,' A treacherous part of his mind reminded him, 'that you gave her much of a chance to talk.'
He grimaced as the memory of this morning struck again. He'd been cooking when she'd come upstairs and, on the phone, when she'd returned. She'd received the threat moments after he'd cut the call to his mother. Katsuya ground his teeth together as he remembered cutting Meisa off before storming out of the house. There was a chance they could've alerted him then, allowing him to know before he made a deal that'd get one of them killed, but he'd stopped them.
If he'djust stopped. If he'd waited to hear her out…
As he passed a circus tent, he felt like the world's biggest clown.
"You hear? They've already gotten a second Map Card." One of the spectators commented as they left the tent, "Who wants to bet they'll be at the finals first?"
"I don't take sucker bets." Their friend replied, shaking their head, "That Dark Magician of theirs makes them almost undefeatable."
Katsuya paused, torn for a moment. If the Duelist they were talking about had the Dark Magician, the odds were it was Yugi. If it was, he could get Honda to pull her aside and give her the heads up about what'd just happened and ask her to keep an eye out for Marik or Rishid.
His eyes widened as he spotted Marik heading in through the entrance gate, with Honda close behind, expression firm and determined.
Katsuya darted around, dropping the entrance fee into the bucket and getting sworn at for jumping the queue, before sliding in behind the pair. The fuss he'd caused attracted attention though and before he could catch up to the ones he was chasing, the figure at the centre of the ring, a blue and black masked figure in a burgundy suit, snapped his fingers.
"You. Duelist." The spotlight suddenly shone on Katsuya, blinding him and forcing him to bring up an arm to be able to see. "You're Jonouchi Katsuya, are you not?"
"What's it to you?" The duelist grouched in return, just wanting to get to Marik and get answers without being harassed.
"I am the Master of Magicians, and I could not resist challenging one like you." The entertainer cackled, "A Duelist Kingdom semi-finalist? One who nearly defeated the great Seto Kaiba? Defeating you would make for a wonderful show!"
Katsuya glanced toward Honda, who'd paused and turned when he heard the magician's call. The duelist nodded toward Marik and Honda nodded, knowing what Katsuya wanted without words. Then he turned back to the man at the centre of the ring.
"So whose ass am I kicking now?" Katsuya asked, unable to turn down the challenge due to tournament rules and in dire need of wrecking someone's day as hard as his had been ruined.
"I am Pandora, I am the true Master of Magicians and the one who's going to teach Yugi how to properly utilise magic." The man informed his opponent as he caught a Duel Disk flung from the side of the ring, "I will become even more famous than I already am and no one will be able to resist my charms!"
"Never heard of you." Katsuya vaulted the barricade at the side of the ring, activating his Duel Disk as he went and showing his prize cards to the crowds. "And if you want to get to Yuge, you have to go through me. Two map cards."
"Oh that's right." The magician smirked as he drew his opening hand and first card, "You're Yugi's little pet project, aren't you?"
"Excuse you?"
"Oh, it's all over the circuit that she taught you how to play." Pandora chuckled, his microphone carrying his voice to the crowd, "Imagine that. Normally it's the boys who teach their girlfriends to play. Does that make you the girl?"
"Make your move and I'll prove I don't need her to win." Katsuya hissed out, his voice getting lost under a chorus of 'oof' and 'ooh' from the people in the stands.
"You'd better make this a show." Pandora's laugh grated on Katsuya's nerves. "I summon Legion, the Fiend Jester!"
A marionette-like creature in a red pointed hat with red and green paint markings appeared on the field with an overly dramatic bow.
"And I set a pair of cards face down." A showy arm sweep later, the set card was in place. "For a later trick. It's your turn."
In another time, in another place, Katsuya would've been all about the showmanship. Unlike Yugi he enjoyed playing up to the fans when they gathered and more than once he'd been the diversion that had allowed Yugi to escape.
Now however, he wasn't in the mood for it. He had too much else on his plate to truly be able to relax and enjoy the duel. As he drew, he scowled at his hand. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
His black armoured knight was barely on the field before Pandora's face down card flipped face up.
"I activate my Dark Renewal."
At Pandora's call, his Jester and Katsuya's Knight were dragged into a dark abyss, the remains of which slithered into one spot and rose from the ground, conjuring a Dark Magician.
But not the one Katsuya was used to. This one had dark skin, white hair and donned red and gold armour. Its expression wasn't one of determination and pride, but instead a cold, cruel sneer that set Katsuya on edge.
"This duel is as good as already over," Pandora crowed to an audience who roared with appreciation.
"I'm not done yet. I set two cards face down and end my turn." Katsuya countered, irritated at being dismissed so easily. "I've been fighting the Dark Magician since day one. Your lousy copy can't compare to the original!"
"Copies," Pandora corrected.
Katsuya's eyes widened at the emphasis on the multiple.
"I activate Dark Magic Curtain, sacrificing half my life points to summon a second assistant!"
A second red Dark Magician joined the first with a nod to its companion.
"Of course they're nothing but servants compared to the skills I possess but they'll end this duel for me! You really should've at least tried to put on a show!"
"Oh. there'll be a show alright, my trap's about to ruin your performance." Katsuya countered, gesturing to his face down card, which flipped to reveal Trap Hole of Spikes. The panic on the new Dark Magician's face matched the screech Pandora let out as the ground gave way, revealing a spiked pit that consumed the summoned monster, spearing it through and costing Pandora another 1250, bringing his total all the way down to 750.
"Well, my first slave can still teach you to properly respect your betters!"
"I don't think so." Katsuya tried to counter by activating his Scapegoat card, which summoned four little colorful goats to his side of the field.
"My Shadow Balance will clear the field for me!" At the magician's call, Katsuya's sheep and his Dark Magician were scooped into a set of scales that weighed the monsters, found Katsuya's side to be heavier and clamped shut, destroying three of the Scapegoat tokens.
The last one stood no chance against Pandora's Dark Magician and was blown away in a burst of dark magic.
The crowd loved it though, and Katsuya felt lighter as he heard the cheers. It was hard not to get swept up in the atmosphere as he drew and he grinned brightly as he drew his arm back dramatically, "I summon the Blue Flame Swordsman!"
The blue armoured Warrior stomped onto the field and pointed his sword at the enemy Dark Magician, who looked thoroughly unimpressed by the 1800 attack points he brought with him.
"He can't compete but feel free to throw him to the wolves!" Pandora laughed, only to pale when Katsuya activated his second card.
"Oh, he's going to kick your ass!" Katsuya snickered as he activated his Lightning Blade, which added 800 points to his Swordsman's total, boosting it to 2600. Electricity arced up and down the glowing sword, which shimmered with blue fire. "Take down that fraud!"
The Warrior launched himself forward and slashed at the remaining Dark Magician, who bellowed in pain and shattered into pieces, taking yet another 100 points from Pandora's total.
"So, who needs a lesson on how to play the game?" Katsuya couldn't help but taunt as Pandora's total hit 650, while his own stood comfortably at 4000.
"I am not out yet!" Pandora was frustrated. He'd thought this would be a relatively easy duel but instead it was looking like he would end up losing this duel.
And then he drew.
And he cackled.
"The show is still on, my card will bring back the lead actor!" Pandora slammed a card into his Duel Disk, revealing it to be Monster Reborn. It lit up brightly, before exploding into confetti, from which emerged one of his two Dark Magicians. "And I activate Thousand Knives as well!"
Katsuya didn't have a chance to counter as the newly returned Spellcaster threw knives at his Blue Flame Swordsman, who managed to block the first two, only to get impaled by the following three and disappear from the field, leaving Katsuya wide open for…
"Now, Dark Magician, let's try that trick one more time! Attack him directly!"
Katsuya had gone up against a Dark Magic Attack before, when he and Yugi had been practising with their Duel Disks. This attack had nothing on the strength of the purple Dark Magician that resided in Yugi's deck, the one Meisa frequently referred to as Mahad.
Still, it burned off 2500 of his life points, taking him down to 1500 and putting him on the back foot.
"Next turn you'll leave the stage, and the main show can start!" Pandora laughed, gesturing at the performers stood on the edge of the ring, looking unamused.
"I wasn't the one who delayed the show." Katsuya huffed, drawing and quickly redrawing after playing, "I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards."
When his new draw gave him Monster Reborn and Polymerization to go with the Hayabusa Knight in his hand, Katsuya knew exactly what he needed to do.
"See, training for this tournament with the REAL Queen of Darkness taught me a few tricks." Katsuya gloated loudly enough for his voice to carry to the crowd who went silent, waiting to see what he would do. "Including that a Dark Magician can become many things with the right allies."
"But you don't… don't you dare!"
"I play Monster Reborn, bringing back one of your Dark Magicians." Katsuya smirked as one of the red armoured mages took his side on the field, "And I play Polymerization, fusing him with a Warrior to create Dark Cavalry!"
The horse the Dark Magician rode reminded Katsuya a little of the one Gaia the Fierce Knight rode into battle.
"And Dark Cavalry gains attack power for every spell and trap in the graveyard, so all those tricks you've been pulling are about to backfire! Dark Cavalry, attack!"
The new monster's attack rose to 3700, far more than needed as the horse galloped forward, allowing the rider to strike with a glowing staff and destroy his former ally, destroying 1200 life points and ending the duel in Katsuya's favour.
"Game Over." Katsuya crowed, "Hand them over."
"I… I lost?" Pandora stammered, staring at his Duel Disk as he backed out of the circus ring. "I failed? Again?"
He staggered as his heel hit the edge of the ring and he jerked as he tried to keep himself upright. His mask fell away, revealing horrific burn scarring on his face that made the nearest spectators gasp. Katsuya crossed the ring within seconds, scooping it up and heading over.
Suddenly Pandora's desire to be famous made sense. The mask had been a good distraction, but the face underneath spoke of a pain which had Katsuya's stomach churn.
"You okay, dude?" He asked as he offered the mask to its owner, who kept his face turned away as he snatched it back.
"A word of advice." Pandora's voice shook as he fixed the mask back in place. "It doesn't matter how well you think your life is going. It only takes one stupid mistake to have everything ripped away from you. Make sure you enjoy every moment you have."
Those words struck rather close to home after the events of this morning, causing Katsuya to swallow hard. "I will."
"I suppose you want these." Pandora offered his two Map Cards to the teen.
"And one of your Dark Magicians." He spoke quietly as the real circus started, "That's all I want. I don't want to ruin you or any shit like that."
"You can't use him, but fine." Pandora shrugged, confusing the teen as he handed him the items in question with shaking hands.
With four Map Cards in hand, Katsuya was well on his way to the finals. The magician's words made sense, however, when he compared the Dark Magician to his other cards and realised it was slightly smaller. When he examined it carefully, he realized the border was narrower, suggesting it'd been clipped.
The amazing luck Pandora had shown over the course of the duel had not been luck.
The magician had cheated.
"Dude, you…" He started to snarl at Pandora, only to find the magician had fled the area. Disappointment surged through Katsuya. He'd hoped to give the Dark Magician to Yugi as an apology for screwing her over. He couldn't do it if the card was clipped.
"Hey, should we step outside?" Honda asked as he and Marik joined him.
Katsuya was surprised to see Marik ahead of Honda until he realised Honda had grabbed the back of Marik's shirt, preventing him from running away. The circus crew allowed them to slip out of the back of the tent, giving them some cover as Katsuya turned to glare at Marik.
"So, when were you gonna tell me your Oneesan kidnapped my Imoto?" He snarled, slamming a fist into the wood next to Marik's head.
"I didn't know till a couple of hours ago." Marik protested, nervously rubbing his wrist, where a red and black dragon bracelet rested as he scuttled away from his angry co-worker. "By which point there was nothing I could do."
"She's got my Imoto's soul." Katsuya growled out, ignoring the grimace his words created on Honda's face. "And I need to find it. Where would she hide something like that?"
"I know she gave Rishid something to protect earlier." Marik paused to think for a moment before offering. "He probably has it."
"You could've let me know earlier. You have my number."
"You think I want this to happen?" Marik's voice practically squeaked, "That I want my sister to threaten the people who can free me from the Tomb Keepers? She's the one with the power, I'm just along for the ride. And she's changed. Like, really changed, since we were attacked the other day. I don't think she's okay anymore."
"That's an understatement." Katsuya huffed, running a hand through his hair, "She could get me or Yuge killed."
"What?" The surprise on Marik's face seemed honest, making Honda and Katsuya relax a little.
"That's why I need to find my Imoto's soul."
"Find Rishid. He'll know where it is. I'm sure of it. Last I heard he was heading for the aqueduct."
"Thanks." The pair of locals left to go hunt down Rishid, leaving Marik behind.
Guilt struck Marik as he rubbed his wrist again and let out a sigh before pulling out his phone and fired off a text message.
'Hey Rishid. Sent him your way like planned, he has backup with him. Bracelet is still safe.'
Marik didn't want to do this. He didn't like the idea in any way shape or form, but the simple fact was there was no other choice. The Pharaoh had to do her duty, or the Tomb Keepers would keep hunting him and his siblings. For her to do her duty, she had to learn the lesson the Ishtar siblings had learned years ago.
Sometimes you need to hurt the ones you love.
If she didn't learn that lesson, his siblings would get hurt again and if it came to his siblings or his new friends there was no choice.
His siblings would win every time. Even if he hated himself for it afterwards.
"I'm sorry, Jonouchi."
Down the road, Honda pulled Katsuya into an alley and slammed him against a wall. "What do you mean Ishizu could get you or Yugi killed?"
"We don't have time for this," Katsuya pushed him back with an angry snarl. "I'm gunna have to duel Yuge if we can't get Shizuka back in time and I don't…"
Honda grimaced and backed up as Katsuya swallowed hard. "Can't you just refuse?"
"I'm Oathbound." Katsuya shook his head, knowing Honda would understand what he meant. "I have to duel her."
Honda grimaced, Oathbound himself to Ba-Khu-Ra and able to understand just how binding it was, "But you wouldn't kill Yugi."
"I don't have to. Ishizu poisoned Yuge's soul."
"What?" Honda hissed, backing off.
"I don't know when, or how, but if she loses a duel, she's dead. And if I don't get Shizuka's soul back, I'm gonna have to duel her, which means…"
"You might kill her." Honda paled.
"And Ishizu's made it clear." Katsuya's hands balled into fists as he nodded, "If I go into that duel, only one of us is coming out."
"Does Yugi know?"
"I can't talk to her."
"That's probably a good thing."
"Why?"
"Because we have time to stop you having to face her and there's no point stressing her out yet." Honda stared at him, "If she's at risk in any duel, distracting her now could get her killed. We're better off keeping quiet and dealing with this ourselves."
"Y…you're right." Katsuya nodded, feeling a little steadier with Honda at his back. "But if the worst happens…"
"It won't." Honda cut him off, not wanting to think about it as he turned for the alley's entranceway, "Let's go kick Rishid's ass."
"Right."
