Idia was passing by the outside barrier when he saw something flitter by. He paused, and stopped to properly look.
It happened again, this time a bit closer. He went to the edge of the barrier, and openly yelped when eight massive tentacles slammed against it in frustration.
It took him a second to register the human-like torso connected to it, and to recognize the face.
"Azul-shi?!"
An hour later...
Vil couldn't help it...when he heard the specifics of the heart attack Azul gave Idia, he burst out laughing, almost to tears.
"It's not that funny!" said Idia, pouting. They were on the nearest shore, because Azul didn't have any of the potion to turn him into a human and had followed them.
"I bet it was hilarious," said Vil, grinning at Azul.
"He deserved it for the stunt he pulled before," said Azul, unsympathetic. "And how is it that you got here so fast?"
"I can create my own portals between mirrors," said Vil, shrugging. "Idia's parents helped me in getting registered in exchange for learning more about shadow magic. The only ones who haven't been in contact with us are Epel and Jamil at this point."
"Wait...does that mean you've found Yuu?"
"Yuu saw Grim during an interview and tracked me down," said Vil. "She's working on transferring to my current school so she can stay close to the rest of us. Riddle is with us too, as he's living with a different friend and splitting the rent."
"I'm surprised his mother allowed it."
"She's still in a coma, her medical license has been revoked and if she wakes up it's unlikely she'll regain custody of him," said Vil without hesitation.
Azul stared at him. Vil had a cold smile on his face.
"Do I want to know?"
"I have a friend who will be attending RSA to drive Neige up the wall. He dealt with the bitch as a favor to me, and because I paid him well for it," said Vil flatly.
Riddle was still in contact with Trey and Che'nya, and their friendship had actually grown stronger without his mother's shadow over him.
"So what now?" said Azul.
"Idia and I only have another year until we get our invitations. Leona is already there, and is waiting for us," said Vil. "But...there's nothing that says we can't set things up ahead of time before our internships."
Azul looked smug, as he recognized that tone and expression very well.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Have you ever heard of a company called Industrial Illusions?"
Azul's eyes gleamed. Vil knew he had successfully captured the conniving housewarden under his banner. He knew Idia was thrilled as well, since he had already agreed to act as the head of the tech division of the company in addition to his work as the next head of STYX.
Idia was openly looking forward to one-up Kaiba in the tech sector and to show him what a real genius looked like. He vaguely recalled some of the things Kaiba had managed to pull off before the rewind, and Yugi had confirmed that he had somehow managed to break into the Egyptian afterlife just to duel the pharaoh again.
Considering Idia and the twins were related to the Greek god of the dead, there was no way he would let that stand twice.
Yugi was honestly wondering if it would be worth it to complete the Ceremonial Duel a second time just to get it over with, but at the same time he didn't want to lose Atem twice.
"So you want to build up this company to rival Kaiba Corp, just to piss off the CEO of the other company?" said Azul.
"I had to pull off a dramatic rebranding just to get away from his obsessive ass," said Vil tiredly. "If you think Rook is bad, Kaiba is worse because he has the money, resources and influence to properly track his prey down to demand a duel in order to satisfy his overbearing ego."
"Ugh, tell me about it," said Idia, making a face. "The idiot's already tried to hack STYX three times, and ORTHO's has to put in a special firewall just to block any IP address associated with his company. He was really pissed once we got NOAH up and running."
"Who's NOAH?" asked Azul.
"Kaiba's adopted older brother, aka the biological son of his adopted father. The only reason that he was taken in was because his 'father' didn't like losing to a child in chess, and agreed to adopt him and his brother. However his son had an incurable disease so he managed to upload his mind into a special server, then forgot all about him once he adopted Seto and Mokuba. Needless to say Noah was rather pissed about the matter," explained Vil.
"Mom was thrilled to have two new sons to add to the family, and ORTHO is happy to have someone who can mostly keep up with him," said Idia.
Noah was a bit of a brat, but he was beyond thrilled having a new family. Add in the mandatory therapy that he was undergoing, and the fact Idia was able to upload his mind onto a new body and he was doing much better.
ORTHO was just pleased that he wasn't alone anymore, and that he had someone to talk to.
"So what is it you expect me to do? I'd have to wait until the invite comes before I can gain access to the potions we'd need," said Azul.
"True...but nothing says you have to wait until then to come up with a business plan for the Monstro Lounge beforehand," said Vil smugly.
Azul's eyes gleamed.
"Are you suggesting a sponsorship?" he asked.
"More like a partnership. I want to make enough money that I can legitimately tell Kaiba to fuck off if he tries to stalk me again. Idia can handle the websites and online ordering for the lounge, as I'm sure he could create a program for it in his sleep," said Vil. "It's not that unusual for corporations to have multiple holdings, so why not make your restaurant one of them and put you in charge of the PR division?"
Azul liked that idea a lot.
"Does that mean you'd allow me to use your influence to promote the restaurant?" asked Azul.
"We can hammer out the details later, but I don't see why we can't have special nights and a raffle for a special photo op with myself and some of the others. Imagine how much we could make having people take pictures together with an actual prince?" said Vil smirking.
If Leona wanted to improve things back in his homeland, he'd have to play ball. Besides, this gave the lower ranks a chance to make an honest living by working for their group and improve his own image among the populace.
That being said, Vil was beyond amused that before Azul left back to the Coral Sea, he made a point to pull Idia into a searing kiss.
"You had better not make me wait two years before making a move again."
Idia's hair was completely pink, but there was a silly smile on his face.
"Of course not, Azul-shi."
Vil left them alone to have an overdue discussion, and was amused that Idia made a device so Azul could alert him when he was nearby for an overdue date.
They made such a cute couple together, and Vil was quietly rooting for them.
Yugi was traveling through the mirror with the Puzzle on when it happened.
He knew instinctively he was in the lands of the dead, as the place had a distinct oppressive feel that reminded him of the Ceremonial Duel.
He kept walking, as the way back had shut the second he was through. The moment he saw the boat with the ferryman, he knew exactly where he was.
What the hell had he done to piss off Hades?
"Coin for the ferry..." rumbled Charon.
Yugi reached into his pocket, and to his confusion managed to find two coins. He didn't recognize them at all, and wondered where they came from. Either way, he at least had payment for the ferryman.
Cerberus was both impressive and respectably terrifying, but left them alone because he was on the ferry. His job was to keep the souls in, not prevent entrance.
Hades was even more impressive in person than his statue suggested. He was wearing more modern clothing, and his aura was downright terrifying for the living.
In this domain, he was king.
Yugi knew better than to bluster or radiate his usual aura. Even Atem was on his best behavior, because one does not piss off a god without dire consequences being involved.
"I greet the King of the Underworld," said Yugi, his tone formal and as respectful as he could make it.
"Tch, well at least you're not completely stupid," said Hades. "Then again you are the reigning King of Shadows."
Yugi remained silent, though he did his best not to look the god in the eye, as that might imply disrespect.
"I don't know how you managed to rewrite time, but you've been making some big ripples and it's gotten to the point that the other gods are starting to take notice. The only reason I'm not dealing with you permanently is because you are actively trying to improve and protect my bloodline," said Hades flatly.
Yugi had always suspected there was something odd about the Shroud line, but to have it confirmed was a bit much.
"Bring out that king you've been carrying around your neck for the past year. I want to have a word with him."
Yugi felt the flare of shadow magic, as Atem took over. He was a bit less respectful to Hades, but then again he had been raised during a time when the Pharaohs were the equivalent of a living god among men.
Hades glared at him, but didn't smite him for his arrogance.
"Look. I'm going to offer you a deal, one approved by Osiris as well. You get one shot to regain your body and live out your mortal life a second time. In exchange you make sure that stupid dragon stays out of the afterlife until it's his time."
"What happens once my mortal life concludes?"asked Atem. It was a reasonable question.
"You go straight to your original afterlife, since your people made sure the funeral rights were properly observed. So long as you don't do anything to end up being destroyed, you get a free pass straight through the gates of judgment without having to wait."
Yugi made an inquiry, which Atem bemusedly shared.
"What of Ba-Ku-Ra?"
"The thief?" said Hades. "What about him?"
Yugi switched back with Atem.
"Bakura might be a thief, but he is being manipulated by a demonic entity that created phylacteries. Wouldn't it be better to deal with the entity permanently rather than allow it to live and create a bigger headache later on?" said Yugi.
Hades looked at him.
"You want me to give the thief the same offer the king is getting."
"You don't have to make the trial easy, but the chance of Bakura going out of his way to cause trouble to get the same deal is ridiculously high. He's not afraid to risk his other half to survive."
Hades rubbed his chin.
"You make a fair point. Better to deal with both of the souls at the same time and drag that damn Zorc out of hiding once and for all. It's bad enough he killed off Osiris' line of favorite mages and made soul containers," said Hades.
Yugi remained silent.
With a snap of his fingers, a very bewildered looking Ryou and Bakura appeared.
"What the hell did you do now?" said Bakura to Yugi.
"Not me, and I suggest being a little more respectful. You really don't want to piss off Hades," said Yugi quickly. "Especially since he's one of the more reasonable gods out of that particular pantheon."
Bakura blinked.
"Wait...this is Hades?" he said bewildered.
Hades looked to Yugi, an odd expression on his face.
"You think I'm one of the more reasonable?"
Yugi crossed his arms with a flat, derisive look on his face.
"Well unlike some gods I could name out of the Greek pantheon, you at least don't have a reputation for being a serial adulterer and rapist," he said flatly. "You do your job properly and don't screw around with the mortals out of boredom and spite. I actually pity Hera for being stuck with the thundering moron."
Hades stared at him for several minutes, before a wicked grin filled his face.
"You, I like. Now let's set the terms for their parole back in the mortal realm, shall we?"
