Thank you to everyone who read the prologue! Here's chapter one of Minds, trickery, and personal hell. I did my best, especially with the duel in this chapter. Because I've never written a duel before. Also, I don't own any of the characters except Sara. Kazuki Takahashi, Toei, Shueisha, Konami, etc own the others. Also, I use dub names cause that's how I watched the anime.
~Dream~
In the middle of the living room, Joey hugged Sara for what seemed like forever. Joey smiled at his daughter "I love you, and I will come back." He promised before he let go and walked out the door, closing it. Sara barely waited. A few moments before racing to the door. "Daddy!" She exclaimed, but there was nothing but pitch black. "Daddy?" She called out in a hesitating tone. The living room dissolved, leaving Sara in the darkness.
Everywhere was black it didn't matter where she turned "Sara!" Joey's voice called out. Sara ran in the direction of his voice "Daddy!" She called out, distressed. "Sara!" His voice came from a different direction. She stopped running and switched directions, "Daddy!" She shouted, the shout echoing. "Sara!" Her father's voice shouted in another direction. Then Joey's voice was heard from every direction. Sara looked in every direction, trying to decipher where her dad was, but his voice overlapped so much that it was impossible to figure out which way.
Sara ran in a random direction until she could make out a figure. Sara wasted no time getting closer to the constitution, and when she got closer, she knew it was Joey's. "Daddy." She said as she made it to him. She went to reach out when he disappeared "I love you." Joey's voice echoed around. "Daddy!" Sara screamed before she fell into darkness.
~End Dream~
~10 and a half years later~
Sara gasped as she flinched awake. "Not that dream again." She groaned, her heart beating rapidly in her ear. Sara's walls were lavender, her bed against the wall, a side table next to it, a bookshelf across from the end of her bed, a dresser next to it, and a desk tucked in the corner under a window. After she calmed down, Sara got out of bed, grabbed her locket from her side table and put it on, and changed her clothes. She wore blue jeans, a belt with a deck holster, a green tee shirt, and black boots. After grabbing her deck off her dresser and placing it in the holder, Sara left her room, went into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, washed her hands, and grabbed the small case on the side of the sink. She opened it, revealing green-colored contacts "Let's get this over with," she muttered as she plucked one of the contacts out of the case and held her eye open. Sara hated her contacts but she knew it was to keep her safe "One down." She said as she gently placed the contact in the other eye. "Both are in." She said as she put the other one in. After closing the case, Sara left the bathroom, descended the stairs, passed the living room, and entered the kitchen.
The kitchen had a medium table against the left side of the wall, a clock and cabinets/counters along the right wall, and a trash can at the entrance with a fridge next to it and a door a few inches away leading to the backyard. Serenity sat at the table "Good Morning, Sara." She yawned, sipping on her coffee. "Morning, Aunt Serenity." Sara greeted as she grabbed the bread to make some toast. After Joey was captured, Serenity decided to leave the underground base so Sara could have a chance at a normal childhood, and she and Sara moved in with Serenity's mother until she finished school. After popping the bread in the toaster, Sara grabbed a plate and turned to her aunt "So has it come yet?" She said, trying to be nonchalant. She was talking about an acceptance letter to Levitation Academy, the school her dad went to before he had her. Serenity chuckled and shook her head 'no' "Not yet." She told her niece. Sara pouted at the answer. "Come on, it should have come by now!" She whined, as the ding of the toaster before went off, and she carefully grabbed the pieces of toast, dropping them on the plate. Sara sat across from her aunt "You sound like your dad when he's impatient." Serenity said wistfully. Sara winced, she knew that her dad was a sore spot despite her aunt telling Sara stories of her and her dad when they were little as she grew up "Sorry." She mumbled before taking a bite of toast. Serenity shook her head "No don't be. You should show the attributes of your dad. Both of them." She assured her.
Sara didn't know much about her Papa, that her dad called him. She knew his name and a few stories, but that's all. Serenity didn't know much about him or even met him. All they knew for sure was that Joey was together with her papa but ran away so Sara wouldn't be under the seal of Orichalcos after being born.
The awkward silence lingered as Sara continued her breakfast, and Serenity finished her coffee. After she finished, she threw the plate in the trash and went over and hugged her aunt. "I miss him too." She murmured sorrowfully. After a minute, Serenity looked at the clock which read 9:50 A.M. "Aren't you supposed to be at work at 10:15?" She said suddenly. Sara's eyes widened. "Shit, I'm gonna be late!" She shouted before sprinting through the living room and out the front door, slamming it shut.
When Sara reached Kame Game, she saw her Grandpa sweeping "Hey Grandpa." She greeted him breathlessly. Solomon chuckled "Almost late again." He said knowingly. Sara narrowed her eyes "Hey, I made it." She pointed out the obvious. Solomon grinned "Hey, Sara. I'm just finishing up, so why don't you run the cash register." He suggested. Sara nodded before opening the door "Ok, maybe during lunch, we could play a game?" She said hopefully. Grandpa chuckled happily. "We'll see." He said, avoiding answering yes or no.
The store had several customers, but by 12:30 it was quiet mostly because it was the start of lunch hour so Solomon flipped the open sign to close and made ramen for lunch. Afterward, it was time to play a friendly match of duel monsters.
Soloman and Sara sat at a table, decks shuffled and set aside, and drew five cards "Let's duel!" They both said. Solomon's LP 4000, Sara's LP 4000. "Ladies first." He declared graciously.
Sara drew a card and then smirked "I place the swordsman of Landstar in attack mode. And end my turn." She declared as she placed the card upwards. Grandpa drew a card "I place Gazelle the king mythical beast in attack mode and place one card face down." he said, placing Gazelle face up while placing a card face down. "Gazelle attack!" He exclaimed. Sara took the Swordsman of Landstar and put him in the graveyard. Sara's LP dropped to 3500.
"My turn," Sara said as she drew a card. "Alligator sword in Attack mode and Battle warrior in defense mode." She said, placing one card up and the other sideways. "I end my turn." she said.
Soloman drew a card. "Berfamet in attack mode, and I reveal my face-down card polymerization to fuse Berfomet and Gazelle to get Chimera the flying mythical beast!" He said excitedly. "Destroy battle warrior." He commanded. Her LP was safe, and Sara put battle warrior in the graveyard. "I place a card face down and end my turn," Grandpa stated, placing a card face down.
Sara narrowed her eyes, playfully. "Don't get too excited old man," Sara warned playfully. "I play cyber tech alligator in attack mode. Now cyber alligator attack Chimera!" She commanded. Cyber alligator slashed at Chimera, destroying it. Solomons LP dropped to 1900 and placed Gazelle in the graveyard but Berfomet was placed on the field. "That's no way to talk to your elders, young lady." He reprimanded her sternly. "I place Beta the magnet warrior in defense mode. And end my turn." He placed the card sideways, face up.
Sara drew and smiled. "I switch alligator sword to defense mode and Cyber tech alligator attack!" "Not so fast! I activate mirror force!" He said, flipping the face-down card up. Cyber-Tech Alligator and Alligator Sword were destroyed and put in the graveyard. Sara drew a card. "I play flame swordsman." She said, placing the card face up. "Give Beta the magnet Warrior what you got!" She said while Flame swordsman attacked, destroying the little warrior. Solomon placed Beta in his graveyard. Sara sighed "I place panther warrior in defense mode, and I put two cards face down, and end my turn." She said as she placed the cards in their positions.
Drawing a card, Solomon smirked at her "I play Monster Reborn to bring back beta, then I place Gamma the Magnet warrior and Alpha the Magnet warrior on the field, then I sacrifice them to bring forth Valkyrion the Magna warrior!" He said as he placed Valkorion's card on the table. "Valkyrion destroy Flame Swordsman!" He commanded. Sara growled as her life points went down to 1700, and she put Flameswords Swordsman in the graveyard. "I end my turn." She muttered. "I activate Graceful dice." She said, activating the card. "With it, I can increase my attack points by the thousands depending on the number." She said as the dice were tossed in the air. The dice rolled around until it landed on a 1. "Crap!" She exclaimed as Panther Warrior's attack increased by only 1000, leaving Panther Warrior with 3000. "I end my turn." She announced. Grandpa smirked at that. "Valkyrion attack!" "I activate my magic card, scapegoat." She declared as she flipped the card over, and one of the tokens was destroyed.
Solomon drew a card. "I place one card face down, and Valkyrion attack again!" "Scapegoat activate!" Sara said, and another token was destroyed. Solomon gritted his teeth. "You can't hide behind those tokens much longer." He taunted knowingly. " Hate to admit it, but he's right." She thought as she drew a card again. "I put Brigadier of Landstar in defense mode, and I end my turn." She said, as put the card in defense mode. Solomon smirked, "I play Swords of Revealing Light and Valkyrion, attack one of her tokens!" He exclaimed as he flipped the card over and Valkyrion destroyed one of her sheep tokens. Sara was surprised at the move. "I was probably gonna sacrifice one of my tokens if you attacked anyway," She mumbled under her breath. "I end my turn," Grandpa said. Sara looked at her cards and smirked. "I pass." She said, knowing she could do nothing. "Valkyrion, attack her remaining token!" He said as Sara put the scapegoat card in the graveyard. Solomon had Valkyrion the Magna warrior in attack mode. At the same time, Sara couldn't make a move, had Panther Warrior in attack mode, and brigadier of Landstar in defense mode on the field. "It seems we're at the end, my dear." He commented. "I guess we are." She said solemnly. "Valkyrion, attack panther warrior," he said. Valkyrion destroyed panther warrior and the rest of Sara's life points.
"Damn! I was close that time." She hissed, disappointed that she didn't win. "You might have won if you used the Red eyes black dragon you have." He said with a smirk. Sara placed a hand on her locket where the card was."I can't." She refused. Grandpa glared at her. "Your father said to keep it safe, not let it go to waste." He stated knowingly. Sara sighed "True, but I just don't want to damage it." She said honestly. Solomon hummed at the statement."Maybe it's time that you make your deck." He suggested while she put the deck in the holster. " He does have a point, I can't use Dad's forever." She thought before nodding. "I agree." She said as he went over to flip the sign to open. "I can't believe that you still use his deck." She commented, referring to his grandson as he put the deck underneath the counter. Grandpa smiled wistfully, "It's nice to have him with me when I play." He told her, somewhat sorrowfully. "The heart of the cards." She guessed right. Grandpa nodded "That's right." He confirmed.
The rest of the day was fairly quiet, a few more customers came in and perused and bought some games, and after closing shop early, Solomon and Sara talked about what type of deck she'd want, and by the time Sara got home, the sun was almost set "Aunt Ren, I'm home!" She called out. Serenity entered the room with an envelope "Is that what I think it is?" Sara asked hopefully. Serenity held out the envelope "Open it and find out." She encouraged her niece. Sara took the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out the paper inside. As she scanned the letter, Sara smiled brightly "I got in! I got in!" She screamed joyfully, as she leaped up and jumped up and down.
Serenity sighed "Come on, we need to go." She said suddenly, Sara raised her eyebrow, confused. "Now? But it's pitch black out." She pointed out. Serenity "Just follow me, please." She requested softly. Sara stared at her aunt. " She hasn't steered me wrong before, so I need to trust her now." She thought as she followed her guardian. They went down several streets, and a couple of alleys until they arrived in the middle of an empty street in front of a water main cover "Why in the hell are we in front of a water main cover?" Sara questioned bluntly. Serenity gave her a 'what your tone' look "This is where we're going." She said seriously, pulling off the cover. Sara looked down "Are you sure where we need to go is down there?" Sara asked, hesitating a little. Not hesitating, Serenity dropped down the water hole "You'll see." She said, evading a direct yes or no answer. Sara looked down the hole. "Yeah, no way." She refused. "Don't worry, I'll catch you," Serenity assured Sara. Sara sat at the edge of the hole "Geronimo!" She exclaimed as she dropped down, her aunt catching her arm before she fell. "You ok?" Serenity asked concerned. Sara looked up at the shining moonlight "Isn't someone going to-" She said before the cover was put back on, darkening the world around them.
Serenity laughed "let's go." She said quickly. Both went down a winding path until they reached what looked like a bunker door "Here we are." Serenity declared before she knocked in a specific way. "The more you take, the more you leave behind?" A gruff voice barked from the other side. "Steps," Serenity answered calmly. "What has a neck but no head?" the voice asked roughly. "A bottle." Sara blurted out. "Correct." "Last one. What is more useful when it is broken?" He questioned them. Aunt and niece turned to each other and whispered to each other for a minute before "An egg." They simultaneously answered.
The door opened squeakily, "Welcome to headquarters." The voice said warmly. Both women stepped inside, and the man turned to Serenity "You know there's an easier way to get here, right?" He reminded Serenity, lowly. Serenity smiled "I know, but this is Sara's first time here in so long. Plus, she needs to get the newbie treatment." Serenity murmured. The room was like a reception area at a company, but along the entrance wall, there were doors up and down like at an apartment building and left middle and right tunnels leading elsewhere, and people were walking around everywhere "Woah." Sara exclaimed in awe, as she looked around. Serenity looked at Sara "Does anything look familiar?" She probed curiously. Vague memories came to her mind, Sara nodded "Yes, but vague ones." She answered before Serenity beckoned her close. "Keep close since this is your first time here in a while." She cautioned Sara.
Weaving through the crowd to the other side of the room, Serenity pointed toward the right corridor "We go down here." She told her niece. The hallway seemed to go on forever until they reached a door "Here we are." Serenity announced before she knocked. "Come in." Someone called out. They entered a dark boardroom with a long table with three silhouettes sitting with only the moonlight illuminating a spot on the table. "About time you got here." A gruff voice. Serenity rolled her eyes "Not everyone lives here, asshole." She snarked. Seto Kaiba leaned forward, hands laced together in front of his face, elbows on the table. "That may be, but when we have a meeting I expect you to be here on time." He scolded. Serenity sighed "I'll be on time for the next one." She said, quickly."Can we get to why we're having the meeting in the first place?" She said, changing the subject. The other two silhouettes came into the light. A woman with glasses, and freckles, was dressed in business attire, and a man with silver hair, was dressed in a red business suit. Sara looked at her aunt. "Auntie, what's the woman's name?" Sara whispered, not recognizing the woman. "Rebecca Hawkins." She supplied.
"Yes, let's. Has your niece been accepted into Levitation?" The blonde inquired. Sara nodded. "I have. But why do you need to know?" She wondered. Pegasus smiled at her "My dear, we have a proposition for you." He said. Sara raised an eyebrow "What kind of proposition?" She questioned her, reserved. "Two of them might be Presidents of two of the most successful gaming companies or not. I'm not rolling over that easily." She thought knowingly. "We need you to retrieve something for us." The blonde stated simply. "Okay, what is it?" "What do you know about the legendary Dragons?" Kaiba asked bluntly.
Sara thought of her history lessons. "They were three knights of Atlantis, and they sided with King Ironheart but were defeated in the battle of Atlantis and vanished." She recited knowingly, remembering the words of her textbook. Pegasus shook his head and turned on a projector, set up at the wall "Right and wrong. They were on the verge of defeating Dartz, but somehow he won. They were sealed away, when I invented Duel Monsters, I made cards for those Dragons. When King Dartz got wind of them, he took them and locked them up. We need those cards if we have any hope of defeating him." He explained firmly.
Sara looked at the pictures on the projector, A teal-colored dragon with a scarred eye, A red dragon with a horn, sharp teeth, horns on the back, and two wings with horns at the tips, and finally, a dark blue dragon, standing on its hind legs, fangs, and wings with a long tail. "Why me?" Sara asked. The three glanced at each other "We need someone to infiltrate Levitation, get into the castle, and get those cards. It can't be Kaiba or Pegasus because they're watched too closely. We don't know any teenagers that got accepted besides you." Rebecca told her honestly.
"Will you accept this mission?"
Thanks for reading! Crossposted on AO3: /works/49181158/chapters/124658629
