Maximillion knew that he had done much to ensure he never received forgiveness, if even from himself.

The grief and madness that had consumed him when Cecelia had died… it had driven him to do so many terrible things. Not just the obvious stuff that everyone always brought up when they wished to hurt him. He had kidnapped people. Stolen souls. Engaged with the most vile of men to torment those that should have been his closest allies. Cheated at his very own card game.

No… it had been the things that others didn't really think about that left him awake at night. Ignoring his boys completely and utterly when they too were dealing with the grief of losing Cecelia. They had needed him but he'd been so consumed with his despair and then his rage at the world for taking her from him that he'd failed to remember that others had loved her too. Same with his in-laws… Harrison and Victoria had lost their daughter and he had forgotten all about them. Made the loss all about himself. And those at Industrial Illusions… they had remained loyal to him but he saw the damage he'd done to them by forcing them into impossible situations.

Poor Croquet who had stood by him, carrying out his orders even as it killed him to do so. While he always showed such a professional and detached persona when he was on the job when Maximillion commanded him to be 'off the clock' the man was light and flippant and even snarky. A good man. A good friend. And he had been forced to do many unpleasant things all in the name of Maximillion's goals.

His security staff who had seen themselves forced to become monsters; save for a few, like Kemo, all of them had expressed such regret at having to treat other duelists so unfairly purely because Maximillion was too focused on Yugi and Kaiba. When Kipling Chaos' security team had taken the island they had fought back but once captured had been relieved that someone was there to put an end to the madness. Maximillion had met with all of them and made clear if they wished to quit he would give them generous bonuses and letters of recommendation. He didn't blame any that left and those that remained earned his gratitude.

And finally… the Industrial Illusions staff. He hadn't realized how far he had fallen until he'd met with Keith for lunch just before Battle City and the man had commented how nice it was to eat with Maximillion again. Only then had he realized that it had been months since the two had been able to have what was supposed to be their weekly meals.

Maximillion had harmed many people. He would happily work the rest of his life to try and make up for it.

But… seeing Leichter and how he was acting, all that he had done? Well… it did soothe his soul a touch to know that he wasn't the worst being in the universe.

"I know it isn't quite the same, what with her only being a copy of your precious Cassandra," Leichter said and Maximillion kept his face utterly neutral, "but there is a beauty to all this. Every teacher wants to know that their student surpassed them, after all… we all assumed when Seto defeated Mr. Kaiba that he would be pleased. We… misjudged him… but still, you must be delighted that she is doing so well." He paused. "Of course, if you wish to further emulate Mr. Kaiba…" he glanced towards the edge of the castle.

Maximillion merely narrowed his eyes. "Her name is Cassie. NO ONE calls her Cassandra."

"Well, this one can be Cassandra then," Leichter stated. "The seer who foretells the doom of all, to whom all listen. It works rather well, doesn't it?"

Maximillion merely smiled at that. "Cassandra was never believed when she foretold doom. All ignored her."

"That only-"

But he cut the other man off. "That is the problem with you, Leichter… you are so desperate to leave behind the man you once were that you make such sad little mistakes like that all the time. I see it. Seto Kaiba sees it. And I assure you Gozaburo saw it."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh, but I do," Maximillion assured him as he drew his next card. "You are so terrified of only being seen as that uneducated little boy that was pulled from his 1 road town where there were more bars than there were people that you try to put on a disguise of worldliness. But it keeps failing, Leichter… you keep revealing just who you really are. Your attempts to flaunt your worldly nature like an heiress showing off her new coat only to come off as a call girl flashing her new boob job. Trying far too hard to surround yourself with excess that it goes from richly to gaudy. Even your choice of personalities for Cassandra here… a child's scribble of what an English woman is like rather than the real thing. All of it stinks of your desperation. There is no escaping it, not for you. It clings to you like coal dust."

"So what? You think because you were born into wealth the rest of us can't better ourselves?"

"Not at all," Maximillion said pleasantly. "Merely that you should wear who you were like a badge of honor. You get no where in this world running from your past… just like you don't get anywhere hiding your faults and mistakes." He gestured towards the cage. "Take Serenity here-"

"Hey! How 'bout ya don't tell 'im ta take me!" she snapped. "I like my soul where it is, thank ya!"

Maximillion chuckled at that. "She worked on her diction but she never denies who she once was. You though… don't think I don't know about your vocal lessons, the ones you vainly hoped would rid yourself of the accent you so loathe." He gave a bemused little shrug. "But we've lost focus, haven't we? Let us continue the duel."

"Finally," Cassandra said and her relief amused Maximillion, for it showed that for as much control as Leichter tried to claim that he had over the AI Avatar he didn't dominate her fully and there was a bit of free will there in Cassandra. Not enough to most likely turn her against him… but enough that he might just be able to find a new tool in her.

"You know," he said, "I am disappointed in you, Cassandra. I had thought that you would know that it was very unwise to see me as merely a one-note joke. I am much like the classic cartoons that inspired my beloved Toons. See, everyone takes only a single glance and they believe that they have no depth. That they are just broad slapstick without any real thought. But if one digs deeper they find depth they never thought they would encounter. The subtle wit, the precision timing, the hidden little details that are so easy to miss a thousand times only to suddenly pop up upon another viewing. That is the joy of those cartoons and what makes them timeless. Makes them something that will remain around forever." He raised an eyebrow. "You? You're a pale imitation. A plagiarized work created by a hack who steals from others and doesn't understand why their jokes aren't getting any laughter. The reboot that rips the heart and soul out of the franchise all in the name of an easy buck. Such things never last… much like you in this duel.

"I start my turn by using the Toon Bookmark." He smiled as his graveyard suddenly popped out of his duel disc, bouncing around him like a playful puppy. The Toon Bookmark was stuck in it, giggling happily as he motioned for him to come closer. "This allows me to add one Toon Card from my graveyard back to my hand. And I think you can guess which one it will be! I remove the needed cards from my deck in order to reactivate the Toon Kingdom!" The castle shimmered once more as it turned into the fairytale keep, the windows growing eyes that each one batted at him, giggling and fussing like blushing maidens. "Next, I'll use Toon Table of Contents!"

A copy of Toon World appeared and Maximillion began to leaf through it, murmuring to himself as he did so, nodding his head. He didn't actually see anything but a showman knew when to be silent and when to put on a performance.

"Ah yes… that will be a lovely one." He pointed at a page and the book leapt out of his hands, spinning wildly till it turned into a card. "This allows me to add one Toon card from my deck to my hand… but I think I'll wait a moment on that. Instead I will use Comic Hand!"

A trap door suddenly appeared on the field and Dragunity Knight-Gae Dearg blinked at its appearance. The drake mount he was riding slowly nudged it with its nose but nothing happened. Then it slowly extended its foot and tapped it… nothing happened. Both dragon and rider let out a sigh of relief.

The MOMENT their guard dropped a second trap door, one just behind them, opened up and a large white gloved hand popped out, wrapping its fingers around them before the spring that led back to the depths of the Trap Hole pulled back, yanking the monster inside. From down below they heard whistles, chimes, and heavy industrial equipment get to work, smoke puffing out like clouds from the first trap door.

"This card allows me to claim one of your monsters and induct it into the ranks of my Toons! Think of it like a caricature artist doing drawings. Now then, say hello to Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg!"

The dragon let out a roar as it burst out of the first trap door… a roar that sounded oddly like a lion. Its body had become even more cartoonish, with its legs stick thin and bowed while its chest was five times the width of its hips with massive tree trunk arms that it happily flexed. Its rider, a tiny little toon, leaned over and waved its fist in frustration; the flexing had nearly caused him to fall.

"You've robbed him of his dignity!" Cassandra complained.

"no no no… I've merely shown him the funny side of things," Maximillion assured her. "Next, with Toon Kingdom on the field, I can Special Summon from my hand one of my newest Toons in defense mode." He paused. "See, I have created many different toons in honor of Duelist Kingdom and the duelists that joined me there. Kaiba-Boy, Yugi, Joseph, even Bandit Keith. Still working on Edwin's… but this one works rather well. A tribute to dear Mai. Come forth Toon Harpie Lady!"

She was a short thing, one tooth poking out as she rubbed her face with her overly large hands, limbs springy as she bounced about and giggled.

"And now, thanks to her effect, I will destroy your Dragon Ravine," Maximillion said, causing the deep canyon to disappear, replaced by a cheery cartoon forest full of whistling trees. "There, Serenity, you are completely safe. If you fall you will bounce."

"Yay," she said with the most deadpan delivery possible.

Maximillion though rubbed his chin. "Now then… my Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg isn't affected like most toons by Toon Kingdom. He doesn't need to wait a turn to attack, as he can simply just begin performing his act without waiting for the credits to begin rolling. But as I think about it I believe that going all out this turn wouldn't be the best course of actions for me. I frankly don't trust you having any monsters on the field. So far better to attack and destroy your Dragunity Dux!"

Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg looked at Dragunity Dux, who shook his head in a clear attempt to get what had once been his ally to stop and think things over. But Gae Dearg pulled out a long contract, holding it out to Dragunity Dux so he could see all the benefits he got from being Maximillion's monster. After a few moments Dragunity Dux dropped his head and sighed, motioning for him to just hurry up and get on with it and Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg carefully rolled the contract back up, stuck it in his pocket… and then allowed his mount to leap in the air, bulbous butt coming right down on Dragunity Dux, destroying him. (Cassandra-3500).

Cassandra sniffed at that. "How… low brow. Still, it only bought you 500 of my lifepoints."

"And your stronger monster," Maximillion stated. "Also I still have my Deck Master's ability. I am able to roll my lucky dice and if I get a 5 or a 6…" This time the die did land on a 5 and Maximillion suddenly found himself surrounded by old fashion trumpets that unleashed a fanfare, confetti raining down around him along with ticker tape. "Ah, very nice. My lifepoints now increase by 1000." (Pegasus-2600)

But Cassandra didn't look concerned at all over what had happened with Maximillion's turn. In fact she looked rather blasé about the entire situation.

"A cunning set of moves… and you were right that it was dangerous to leave me even a single monster on the field. But, dear Maximillion, you failed to consider that even leaving me a single lifepoint was a foolish thing to do and now you will have to suffer for such a misstep."

'And the frightening thing is… I think she might be right,' Maximillion thought to himself. 'Most duelists would be rattled by what I had done. Kaiba-Boy and Yugi certainly were both startled when I turned their beloved monsters into Toons. But not Cassandra. Perhaps it is because she is programmed to maintain her composure… but I have my doubts. No… I think she might be rather unconcerned about what happened. That the loss of Gae Dearg will not slow her down in the slightest.' He forced himself to remain aloof, not wanting to show how worried he now was. 'I can't allow myself to grow lax… if I do I could end up losing this duel just as it looks like I have moved to take advantage!'

~MC~MC~MC~

'Careful Pharaoh!' Yugi said as they came to a door. 'Remember what happened the last time.'

"Believe me, Yugi, I remember." The Pharaoh looked down at the end of his coat, which was sporting a new hole in it. 'I should have been more focused… if I had been using the powers of the Millennium Puzzle I would have realized we were walking into a trap.' He had been so focused on finding the others that he had just pushed into a large open room, maybe the size of Kame Game at least in terms of height, only to realize too late that it was set up with the automatic turrets that Noah had used when they'd first arrived to draw them to the VR Pods. It had only been the fact that only an hour or two ago he had been in the middle of a war that had allowed him to leap back through the doorway, with only his coat taking the damage from his recklessness.

As such the Pharaoh carefully opened the door.

Nothing happened.

'Perhaps we should throw something out, to see if it triggers something,' Yugi suggested, appearing beside the Pharaoh.

"But what?" the Pharaoh asked. "We don't really have anything I would want to risk." Certainly not any of his cards… even his side deck was something he wouldn't risk. It went against every instinct he had to even consider tossing a card needlessly out and risking its destruction. He considered tossing the shield he had gained but worried that, due to the doorway, it would be hard to get it back. "I suppose we could toss your wallet…" He went to reach for it only for Yugi to shake his head.

'Pharaoh, what about our coat?'

'Our coat?' The Pharaoh thought back in shock, so startled he didn't even speak the words aloud.

'It already has a hole in it,' Yugi argued.

The Pharaoh pulled the coat around himself tighter.

'Pharaoh…' Yugi said with a bemused huff. 'We can get another jacket. In fact I need to get measured for one in a few weeks for when school starts back up. For as much as everyone jokes about it I AM still growing.' Which the Pharaoh knew Yugi was thankful for… recently they'd found photos from last summer, when Yugi and Tea had gone to the pool, and the two of them lying on beach chairs had looked more like mother and son than two friends the same age. Yugi would never be a tall man but it would be nice if he weren't being looked down upon by 5 year olds.

"…very well," the Pharaoh said with a sigh, slipping off the coat. He carefully made sure that there was nothing in the pockets or the like before running his hand along the fabric. He really loved this coat…

With a toss he sent the coat flying through the doorway.

"OW!"

He hadn't been expecting that.

"Who throws a coat?!"

"Yuri!" the Pharaoh and Yugi said at the same time, though the former police officer only heard the Pharaoh. He hurried through the door to find Yuri removing the coat, glowering at it like it was the most offensive thing in the world; judging by the red mark on her face one of the buttons on it, most likely on the sleeve, had smacked her face. "I am sorry about that," the Pharaoh said, taking back the coat. "We ran into the automated defenses before…" he trailed off, finding the hole in his coat and sticking his finger through it and giving it a wiggle. "We thought it best to be cautious."

"Understandable," Renard stated. "We ran into the same thing."

"You manage to find anyone else?" Yuri asked.

The Pharaoh nodded. "I encountered Edwin."

"Captain?!" Renard said in shock. "He wasn't placed in the Virtual World?"

"He was," the Pharaoh countered. "Noah… Noah put him in some kind of dome, trying to drive him mad. Nothing but himself."

"Sensory deprivation," Renard said darkly. "That… that is vile."

"But you found him," Yuri said.

"Yes… the two of us were brought together by Entropy. We spent several days in another part of the multiverse… it doesn't matter now, we won and we returned here." He paused. "Edwin… returned to the dome."

"…what?" Yuri said flatly.

Renard though just shook his head. "Of course he did…" he muttered.

The Pharaoh quickly spoke up. "He isn't trapped anymore. He realized that the Millennium Key is now a part of him… during our time on that other Earth we ran into another version of him, a mage. He was able to determine that when the Key was purified upon Edwin's resurrection it lost all connection to the Shadow Realm. It is now linked solely to him… and he can call upon its powers even in the Virtual World."

"That makes me feel a touch better but I wish that he hadn't gone rushing back in there." She shook her head in frustration before sighing. "You find anyone else? Or anything?"

"Nothing," the Pharaoh confirmed. "You two?"

The two bodyguards shared a look.

"What… did you find?" the Pharaoh asked slowly.

"Gozaburo apparently was collecting Duel monster cards. Rare ones. As in unreleased ones." Renard shook his head. "Yuri and I found a bunch of them, including Dark World Stuff that we didn't even know existed. Fur Hire as well."

The Pharaoh frowned at that. "Could you take me to this room?" When the two of them shot him a flat stare he held up his hands. "I am not merely interested in collecting cards for myself. I want to look them over… I am curious about something."

The two shared a look before Renard shrugged. "I suppose we can… we're wandering around aimlessly anyway."

"Especially since we raided it ourselves," Yuri admitted.

And with that they headed off.

~MC~MC~MC~

Leichter reached up and adjusted his tie, needing something to do with his hands. Such an adjustment was fine… anyone would do it and no one would think less of a man making sure his tie was straight. In fact they might be impressed, thinking them collected and dedicated to their looks.

He needed Pegasus to think that. Needed him to not realize how much his words had gotten to him after their verbal sparring.

'How dare he bring up my past,' he mentally hissed. 'How dare he embarrass me like that!'

His past was, to not be overly cute, in the past. He had rid himself of it, shedding it much as a snake shed its skin. Bit by bit he'd rid himself of it. His accent tapered down from the crude thing it had been into something more dignified (despite what Pegasus had said he hadn't tried to remove it completely; that would have led to far too many questions). He had learned how to handle himself properly at meals and in meetings. Spent many sleepless nights studying decorum. Gozaburo had enjoyed ribbing him whenever he made a mistake but that was fine… his friend had merely wanted him to be better. That was all.

He'd even made sure that almost no one knew his first name, seeing Boregard as too strange and out of place for the world of business that he made his domain. Anton was far better.

'And now he is trying to embarrass me in front of that girl,' Leichter thought bitterly. It didn't matter that she was a no one that didn't matter. That she would never do anything with her life. She would KNOW. 'I don't care what I promised… I have to make sure she has no chance to ever reveal this. She… will have to die.'

But… that would come later. For now he needed to focus on the duel. Cassandra was preparing to take her turn and he knew that the AI Avatar was about to turn things around. Yes, Pegasus had taken her most powerful monster on the field… but only the field. He knew there were other, dangerous, deadly monsters that lurked in her deck, waiting to be unleashed.

"I will start by activating Dragunity Whirlwind, which allows me to summon one Dragunity Winged Beast and one Dragon Tuner from my deck to the field!" A great wind suddenly picked up, making the cage that Serenity Wheeler was in shift and sway violently and caused Pegasus' hair to blow away from his face, the man reaching up to try and correct it.

The winged beast, Dragunity Senatus, looked far more like a priest than a warrior, what with the quill in their hand and the staff they held in the other. The dragon, meanwhile, was most striking for the large horn that resembled a black blade that jutted out of its head.

"But my monsters won't be staying on the field for long, for I will use them to syncro summon my Dragunity Knight- Gae Bulg!" The drake (Leichter couldn't remember the name of it and honestly he really didn't care, so long as it served its purpose… and more importantly served HIS purpose) leapt into the air, turning into a ring of energy that Dragunity Senatus leapt through, the sage turning into a beam of energy as he did so. The two merged into one, creating the new dragon rider team. It was a great serpentine beast, dark purple with shining white armor. The same was true of its rider, who hefted up their staff and let out a war cry that echoed all around them. "And now I can remove from play Dragunity Legatus in order to increase Dragunity Knight- Gae Bulg's attack to 3800 for this turn!" She flashed a coy little smile. "And darling… I am still not done."

"Yes!" Leichter declared, leaning forward intently. "Dominate him! Show him our might!"

Pegasus opened his mouth to say… something… but Cassandra spoke right over him. "I now use the spell card Dragunity Glow in order to add one Level 5 or higher Dragunity Monsters from my deck to my hand. Next, I will banish Dragunity Couse and Dragunity Phalanx from my graveyard in order to special summon from my hand Dragunity Arma Gram!"

The dragon that appeared needed no allies. No… it could wield a sword on its own. And what a sword it was: a massive single hand claymore, ready to cleave into its foes.

"And now I do believe I will take out the threat the monster you pilfered from me poses. I will attack your Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg with Dragunity Arma Gram!" The massive armored dragon raised his sword, slamming it down upon Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg, causing it to deflate like a balloon, puddling down to the ground. "And now, because it was destroyed, it will become equipped to my Dragunity Arma Gram-"

Pegasus though held up his finger, wagging it back and forth. "Now now… don't go thinking the show is over just because you got in a single hit against our hero. You should know that be it an anvil to the head, a mallet to the face, or a fall from a great height… it takes a lot more to destroy a Toon. I use the effect of Toon Kingdom to banish one card from the top of my deck in order to protect my dear sweet Gae Dearg." The Toonified Dragunity monster raised its arm, thumb extended, and then stuck the digit into its mouth. It took a breath before puffing hard into its thumb, causing its body to reinflate, popping back into position and form. "Of course I still take the battle damage but I can live with that." (Pegasus- 2100)

"But can you live with this?" Cassandra asked as she pointed at his Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg. "I can still attack your Dragunity with Dragunity Knight- Gae Bulg!"

"And I can still protect my monster with Toon Kingdom," Pegasus reminded her, sending another card from the top of his deck off to be banished. As a result the blow that Gae Bulg fired at Gae Dearg struck him head on, causing him to be left only a pair of eyes that blinked, but then a pencil appeared from the sky and quickly redrew both rider and dragon. "And my next turn I will attack with both of my monsters, defeating you." (Pegasus- 700)

"Except you won't!" Cassandra declared, holding out a new card. "I activate Dragunity Reins!" The spell appeared on the field and at once all the monsters trembled as leather leashes appeared, locking around them all. "This card makes it that neither of us can change the positions of our monsters, so long as this card remains on the field. And because it targets all of the monsters your Toon Kingdom can't prevent it from reining in your Toons."

That made Leichter laugh in delight. "Do you see, Pegasus? Do you see how we are prepared for you? Yes, next turn you can attack with your Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg, but Cassandra will survive the blow. You won't be able to do another attack, for all your Toons require one turn on the field before they can attack. And when you end your turn Cassandra will attack your Gae Dearg with her monsters, wiping out the last of your lifepoints and ensuring I get the win!" He threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Accept now your defeat! Soon I will be claiming your body while you are forever trapped in this digital hell!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"This is troubling," the Pharaoh said as he looked over the card room that Yuri and Renard had discovered. He had taken out several cards to look them over, frowning as he inspected them. There was a Dark Magician fusion card he'd never heard of before. Several new dinosaurs that he had a feeling would work well in Rex's deck. Ghostly fiends that seemed destined for Bakura and he felt a stab of regret that they had so quickly forgotten about their lost friend; despite Edwin assuring him that Bakura was fine it still felt wrong not be seeking him out. "None of these cards were released."

"None," Renard confirmed. "Sometimes one or two cards… other times…" he trailed off.

"There were decks for archtypes we've never heard of," Yuri stated. "White Forest. Watt. War Rock. And that was just looking at the Ws."

"And I suppose you didn't liberate a few for yourselves?" the Pharaoh teased with a smirk only to blink when Renard and Yuri both shifted. "Oh."

Renard sighed. "Edwin has six decks at this point! Doesn't hurt for us to have some spares."

"I might have grabbed a couple for a few other people… purely to keep them out of Noah's hands."

The Pharaoh he could not scold her for the theft. 'After all, these cards should never have been here in the first place. I'll have to ask Pegasus but it seems to me that somehow Gozaburo was able to get his hands on them.' He knew that there were connections between KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions before Pegasus had attempted his takeover; Kemo for one. 'Could it be that Gozaburo did like Edwin and set something up to deliver cards to himself? And if so… when? Are these older cards that should have been long released or new cards that somehow were diverted here?'

"Pharaoh," Renard stated, "none of this is making sense. How did these cards get here? If Noah could so easily command them to arrive why not do more to get us into position for his scheme?"

"I am beginning to wonder if it is Noah who is truly pulling the strings here," the Pharaoh murmured.

~MC~MC~MC~

'Well… this is certainly an interesting situation,' Maximillion thought to himself as he considered the field before him. 'On one hand it appears that I am in grave danger. If it weren't for that spell card I could have simply moved Toon Harpie Lady into attack mode and win. And even if Cassandra had been able to find some way to block me from attacking this turn I could have simply moved Gae Dearg from attack mode to defense mode and just waited for the right moment. Yes, it would have risked draining my deck but hopefully I would be able to draw a card that would help me.'

He frowned.

'But… that is no longer an option. I'm trapped with Gae Dearg in attack mode. Even if I attack directly this turn it won't be enough for me to be able to defeat her. And Cassandra could find a way to increase the attack of Gae Bulg, ending the duel her next turn. And that's assuming she doesn't manage to summon another powerful Syncro Monster.' He narrowed his eyes as he hand slowly went towards him deck. 'No… I can not risk it. I can't hope that I can stall for another turn. I need to draw the card that will win me this duel right now… it is my only hope!'

Yugi had always spoken of 'The Hearts of the Cards'. Maximillion had never truly been sure about such a thing… yes, he believed in magic, as it was hard not to believe when one had gotten a mystical Egyptian artifact jammed into their eye socket. And the God Cards… well, there was no denying that they held power. But that didn't mean that he believed in something so strange as a deck being able to read your desires and magically make the card you needed pop up to the top of the deck. Yet… he'd seen it happen so many times for not just Yugi but other duelists. The hour of need, where if they didn't draw the right card then they were done for. They would reach for that card, slowly draw it… and find it to be just what they needed.

'And now… I need the same thing. For myself. For Serenity. For all those counting on me. I can't let the likes of Leichter take control of my body. To gain my company and my standing. In his hands so much disaster would come about that I doubt anyone would be able to repair it. I need to draw one card… the one card in my deck that can win this duel…'

He drew.

Maximillion… smiled.

"Leichter… like so much else when it comes to your life… it seems as if you are going to be yet again stuck as second best."

"What… what are ya talkin' about?" Leichter said, his accent growing stronger in the face of Maximillion's declaration.

That made Maximillion chuckle. "What I am talking about is that I have drawn the sole card that will allow me to win this duel. That will put an end to this mockery and set things right. First-" he took a different card from his hand, "I tribute the Toon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand and my Toon Harpie Lady in order to special summon from my hand the ultimate Toon. The grandest representation of mirth, humor, but also strength and every-lasting endurance. I summon to the field the Toon Black Luster Soldier!"

The warrior appeared with a bounce, legs looking as if they had no bones as they bowed and flexed from his landing before finally allowing him to settle. He hefted his sword… only for it to deflate, causing the warrior to sigh before giving it a hard shake, causing it to spring back up with a very loud BOING!

"That might be a powerful monster," Cassandra commented, "but it still is no help to you. It won't ever get a chance to attack as once your turn is over I'll attack Gae Dearg."

"And I'll let him be destroyed," Maximillion stated. "You still won't be able to defeat my Toon Black Luster Soldier."

"Then I will ensure there is a winged-beast in my graveyard that I can banish to powerful up my Gae Bulg!" she declared with a dismissive sniff.

"Yes… you could do that…" He paused. "Except you won't get a chance. For you see… the Toon Black Luster Soldier doesn't need to wait a turn before he can attack."

"WHAT?!" Cassandra exclaimed, her arrogant attitude disappearing in an instant.

"That is right!" Maximillion declared, the Toon Black Luster Soldier rubbing his breastplate to make it gleam. "My monster, unlike every other Toon in my deck, is not restrained from attacking the turn it is summoned."

"No!" Leichter cried out. "This… this ain't fair!"

"What is it Gozaburo was so fond of saying?" Maximillion said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Oh yes… there is no such thing as fair in business. Toon Black Luster Soldier and Toon Dragunity Knight- Gae Dearg, attack Cassandra directly and end this mockery of a duel."

Leichter screamed… something… but it was lost as the goofy power up music began to play, dramatic and bombastic and heroic, as the two monsters attacked Cassandra directly, causing the Englishwoman to cry out… before she fell to the ground, letting out a huff. (Cassandra-0000)

"WHOA!" Serenity cried out and Maximillion turned to see the cage she was in swing back to the terrace, settling down gently and the door swinging open to allow her to step out. The young teen growled and kicked the door in frustration… only to begin hopping around, clutching her foot. "Stupid steel!" she shouted, rubbing her sneaker.

"Well… crikey," Cassandra said with a sigh as the rest of the monsters disappeared and the Toon Kingdom field spell dissipated, returning the castle back to how it had always looked.

"Crikey… crikey… that's all you have to say?!" Leichter demanded. "You just lost me this duel and that is your only response?"

"What else would you have me do, luv?" Cassandra asked. "We lost."

"No… no, you lost! I didn't lose! I can't lose! I refuse to lose!" Leichter looked about wildly. "I didn't lose! I am not a loser! I am not a loser!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Maximillion said, only to raise an eyebrow. "Now… that is interesting."

"What… what is it?" Leichter said, looking about. Maximillion gestured at his own face and Leichter ran to one of the windows, staring at his reflection. "What?"

He was seeing what Maximillion had noticed: Leichter was growing younger. The years were slowly sliding away from him. Not just the wrinkles and the like but his clothing too. His suit became a bit less well tailored, the material not as good and fine. His beard became patchier and covered more of his face. Every second that tickled by brought him closer and closer to youth.

Leichter began to panic.

"No… please… not this! Not this!" he pleaded."This… this isn't me!" He rubbed his face only to scream when he saw how filthy it was. Maximillion could only stare on as the coal dust gathered on the man, smudging his skin. His clothing began to shift as well, turning into denim and canvas that was perfect for one working long days in dark mines.

Serenity moved to stand next to him, utterly startled by what she was seeing. "What… what's happenin' ta him?"

"Noah is sending him back to where it started."

"No… no, this isn't me!" Leichter screamed, trying to rip the clothing off. "I am not…" He violently shook his head. "Stop this, Noah!" he roared.

"No… no I think not," Noah's voice said from all around them, in stereo. "No."

Maximillion frowned at that. There was… something off about Noah's tone. It took him several moments to realize that he was being rather, well, restrained, in his words. Normally Noah was a chatty bugger, unable to keep himself from yammering on because he enjoyed the sound of his own voice. Something Maximillion understood, for he loved to hear himself talk as well. But now, even as Leichter went from pleading to demands, he said not a word.

'Whatever is going on?' Maximillion wondered.

"You… you think this matters?" Leichter roared. "I still am me, even if you dress me up like some child's doll! I-" And then he froze up, a look of utter horror coming over his face before he grabbed his head and began to scream. "No! Stop it!"

Serenity grabbed Maximillion's arm. "I'd like ta get the fuck out of here now."

"I'm finding myself agreeing," Maximillion said as they began to edge towards the door.

"I… I remember… I remember… my house… in Domino. It's… where is it? Where is it?" Leichter looked up wildly. "I can't remember. I can't…"

'He's removing everything that came after,' Maximillion thought in horror. 'Noah is erasing the knowledge. Leichter still is himself, knows he SHOULD know… but Noah is removing the actual knowledge. Like moving the contents of an entire library into storage; the card catalog says still where everything should be but the shelves are bare.'

"No!" Leichter screamed one final time before a shaft (and how fitting was that word) suddenly opened up under him and Leichter plunged down it. Maximillion SWORE he heard "Hi Ho, Hi Ho!" before the shaft closed up.

And then they were alone.

"…what the fuck!?" Serenity screamed right in the air, still clinging onto him.

Maximillion found that he couldn't scold her for her cursing.

"…what the fuck, indeed," he murmured himself.

~MC~MC~MC~

Chaosverse Omake (Guest Written by the Patient One)

Part 3

The door to the Emperor's room swung wide open to admit Sagi, Guillo, two uniformed Dark Service grunts, and a pair of Paramachina.

The man sat on his throne behind his desk, unmoving, while a goateed man in black, white, and gold and a slouch hat stood before him, turning to regard them. His eyes fell upon Sagi at once.

"Ah, the spiriter boy. …You're here sooner than expected."

Sagi's eyes narrowed at the strange man, but he turned back to the Emperor without another word.

"Emperor Olgan, if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking this list of Malpercio's afterlings."

Sagi's eyebrows shot up in shock, and his sword was in his hand by the time the man turned back. The man raised a brow.

"Now, what's this? I don't believe I'm your target."

"I came here for that list. And I'm not leaving without it," Sagi said firmly.

The man scoffed. "I believe you came here to kill the Emperor. If you want to succeed before reinforcements arrive, you had best set aside whatever personal interests you have."

Sagi responded by grasping his sword in both hands and spreading his Wings of the Heart, a radiant glow overtaking his body, and Guillo immediately stood beside him.

"Men, don't allow him to leave. Besides my personal reasons, he's beaten us to our assignment."

The man scowled as the two servicemen started, only then noticing that Olgan hadn't moved a muscle since they entered the room. The two and their paramachina stood at the ready—

And then spotlights flashed on in the room, and the Dark Service's leader stormed in with half a dozen men.

"Ah, what fortunate timing," the man said, smirking slyly. "Captain, I came here on Baelheit's orders, but it seems the Spiriter boy has murdered Emperor Olgan."

"What?! Serviceman Sagi, this is unspeakable! You've tainted the Dark Service's name beyond repair!"

Sagi stared in bewilderment.

"But, Captain! You gave us these orders! I thought you said this mission was for Lord Baelheit!" one of the servicemen said.

"Ah. So it was a trap," the other one said, tossing aside his helmet and casually opening fire on the captain and servicemen, peppering their limbs with bullets while the two Paramachina lunged at them, knocking out the captain before succumbing to the other soldiers' hasty gunfire.

Darius tossed the gun aside as the soldiers turned on him, only for a whip to materialize moments later and strike them down. Sagi and Guillo leapt into the fray, dispatching the would-be firing squad in seconds and leaving the remaining Dark Service agent that had accompanied Sagi looking between everyone in the room in complete confusion.

Sagi, Darius, and Guillo then looked at the stranger, who was scowling again.

"So. How much do you know about Olgan's experiments?" Darius asked.

The man's frustration turned to shock. Then, just as quickly, it turned to rage.

"It seems you know far too much. Well, that's fine; the plan was for you to die either way. Let me demonstrate the might of the Empire that will soon dominate the world."

Energy shone around him, and machina overtook the right half of his body, claws growing on his hand and a single mechanical wing on his back, allowing him to levitate.

"This is the birthchild of imperial progress: a machina arma. I haven't had an opportunity to test it against another human yet. How suiting that I'll be demolishing a pair of the old man's experiments!"

"You wish," drawled Darius, vast silver wings growing from his back as he stood at the ready, glowing the same way Sagi was. "The emperor dreamed of artificially creating a Spiriter."

"And he succeeded," Guillo finished acridly.

Now livid, the cyborg flew forward.

The remaining Dark Serviceman pressed his back to the wall outside the room, soaked in sweat and feeling like the world was spiraling out of control as explosions, clangs, and cracks echoed from the Emperor's room. He had no idea how long he'd been there before a voice broke him out of his shock.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He looked up to see a white-haired woman scowling at him.

"Valara," he choked out. "Someone else killed the Emperor, and he blamed the Spiriter. And the Captain acted like we'd never been ordered to kill him! Then that other newbie teamed up with the Spiriter and his Paramachina and took out the Captain and the other men and started attacking the Emperor's killer! I don't know what's happening!"

Valara blinked slowly at this information. Something very strange was going on, that was for sure. She moved to the door and cracked it open, and her eyes widened as she recognized the man hovering on the other side of the room: Shanath, Baelheit's right-hand man. Meanwhile, the purple-haired recruit that had claimed to be from Azha and joined as a common grunt seemed to be another ghost boy, finishing a combo with his whip that brought Shanath down from how high he'd been above the ground.

Then ghost boy number one let out a chain of spinning slashes that Shanath was barely managing to endure, never mind parry. And then—

"Feel the fury…OF A GOD!" Sagi roared, landing five swift blows with his sword that seemed to cut through even light, then rearing back with a final savage slash that shattered Shanath's armor and weaponry, leaving him to collapse to his hands and knees.

As the battle ended, the three combatants relaxed their stances, the wings and glows fading as Shanath fell on his rear, leaning against the Emperor's desk and coughing up blood. Valara frowned at how grave his wounds were.

"Such strength," Shanath uttered hoarsely. "I never thought any man would be able to harness the afterlings' power…Perhaps their research wasn't the madness I thought it to be…"

"You're kidding, right?" the purple-haired young man who had joined them a couple of days ago scoffed. "Malpercio's power is as poisonous as the Taintclouds. The fact that we purified it doesn't change that those experiments never should have happened."

"But it seems like you have your own reasons to hate it," the ghost boy added. "So, is that why you killed Olgan?"

Shanath chuckled, blood spilling further from his mouth.

"The old man's ego was too big. He tried to turn his son into a tailor-made Spiriter that could inherit the Empire. Sadly, my body didn't make a good home for the afterling—no. There's nothing sad about that. I was lucky. I never had to turn into a monster like those other wretches."

He leaned back, smiling wryly.

"But yes. I wanted to kill him with my own two hands. But it appears that I won't be able to kill the rest of the Malideiters as well."

Grimacing, he reached into his pocket and turned over a Magnus card.

"Here…you wanted the list. I assume you'll be disposing of the afterlings in your own way."

"We've already started on it," Darius said. "What about you? Are you willing to be healed? Or can you not let go of your hate?"

"Tch," Shanath spat to the side as darkness surged around him. "There's not enough of anything but hate left in my heart…and it's been choking me for the last fifteen years. I'm beyond help now."

The two humans and puppet exchanged looks. The purple-haired one shook his head first, and Sagi sighed in disappointment.

"Then answer us one thing before you die: what was Baelheit's real intention with this assassination?"

Valara blinked as the apparent Paramachina spoke in two voices.

"Heh," Shanath chuckled. "Baelheit's intention was never for Olgan to die. This was all meant as a setup to goad Sagi into unleashing his afterling. You were recognized as a Malideiter from the beginning."

Another bloody cough, but Shanath kept smiling.

"Baelheit hates the project almost as much as I do…he was the chief researcher. His wife died, and his daughter's body had to be rebuilt with machina to save her…ugh…"

His smile slowly faded, pain contorting on his face.

"Sagi…your mother…she's an orphanage matron."

"What about her?" Sagi asked defensively.

Shanath breathed hard as, with the last of his strength, he handed over another Magnus.

"Savyna…my daughter…take care…of her. And…don't…trust…"

His voice grew quieter with every word, and Valara wasn't sure how much more he said before his arm fell to the ground. With Shanath dead, the two boys and the Paramachina slowly exchanged looks.

"Well, this was interesting," the Paramachina drawled. "What are we supposed to do now? We don't have anyone to witness that we didn't kill the Emperor."

"We were planning to kill him anyway," Darius said dismissively. "But first things first. Sagi."

The other boy nodded, and both of them knelt before Shanath's corpse, the same bright white light as before coming from their fingers as they placed their hands on his torso. The dark miasma that had been rising from his body like smoke from a fire began to coalesce into a single cloud, rising almost apart from its body. Valara couldn't see their faces from the angle, but the tension in their forms spoke volumes.

Suddenly, the darkness stopped emerging, their fingers pressing into the completed cloud. The two sagged almost immediately as the black faded to white, and the cloud passed into the vents before disappearing.

"That's that. Now, with Olgan dead, we go back to Plan A: meet up with Bein and go over the list. First, though, we find Savyna. Let's get out of here." He paused. "Well, after we deal with our eavesdropper, anyway."

His whip lashed out at the door, knocking Valara back as it swung open. She leaped back to her feet but found herself staring down the trio, all of whom regarded her neutrally. For several moments, nobody spoke.

Finally, Valara smirked.

"So, you said you needed a witness?"