Chapter 5
Deja Duel: Part 1
The Nightmare of Toon World
Out in the beautiful state of California, Yugi and his friends were riding along the highway in the limo provided to them by Maximillian Pegasus, which was to take them to his compound as he eluded to in the video tape he sent. "Wow, this place looks nothing like Domino City." Spike said in amazement. "Of course not, Spike. This is San Francisco." Twilight replied. "Yeah, the home of the Golden Gate Bridge." Tristan added. "Not to mention all the seafood you could ask for." Pinkie added.
"Uh, Pinks, this ain't a vacation. Pegasus called us out here, remember?" AJ pointed out. "Oh, trust me, I remember. Its like I read it just a day or so ago in a book." Pinkie replied.
("And by read it, I mean wrote it. And when I say that I did, I meant you wrote it, Mr. Author.")
'Yes, and based on the message he sent us, I'd say that he's already in trouble.' Yami thought before Yugi remembered the ending of the tape Pegasus sent them. 'Let's just hope we get to him before those thieves do.' the ancient one added. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were flying to Duelist Kingdom in their Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet for the duel that Seto and Pegasus agreed to playing.
"Seto, we're right over Duelist Kingdom." Mokuba said as they approached. "I'll try to make this quick. The less time we spend here, the better." Seto stated. "Good, because this place is nothing but a bad memory." Mokuba replied. "Initiate the landing sequence." Seto instructed. "You got it." Mokuba replied before doing so. "Beginning descent now." he added before the craft landed right in front of the castle.
"I'm sure that his majesty is somewhere inside that old castle." Seto said before disembarking. "Time to give him a royal beating." he added as Mokuba disembarked and a compartment holding Seto's briefcase opened to let it out. The door soon opened after Mokuba grabbed the briefcase. "Looks pretty empty. I guess Pegasus' staff are on extended vacation or were moved to a new location or something." Mokuba suggested. "Good, that means less people to get on my nerves, now let's find this lunatic so we can leave." Seto replied before they both went inside.
Meanwhile, at San Francisco International, the bag Rex and Weevil were hiding in was being wheeled out of the airport and onto a truck. "Remind me whose idea it was to hide in the luggage." Rex said. "I forget." Weevil said, though they were both in a daze from being battered and tossed around on the plane trip to the US. Elsewhere in the Golden City, the group kept riding along, this time down a steep hill road. "I'm actually impressed with these steep roads. I mean, its like the city was built on a hilly countryside of something." Rainbow admitted.
"And over on your immediate right, if you're sitting closer to the rear of the limo, or on your immediate left if you're sitting closer to the front of the limo, you'll get a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Originally opened on May twenty-seventh, 1937, it stretches 4,200 feet, going one mile from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean." Pinkie said with a smile. "Wow, Pinkie, I'm impressed. Did you take an extra credit course in history to learn that?" Twilight asked. "Actually, I read an American history book I had from the past semester." Pinkie replied.
"Too bad it ain't literally made of gold, you know, for the Golden City?" Joey said. "You taking this all in, Yuge?" he asked his friend. "Oh, sorry, what'd you say?" Yugi asked. "Yugi, are you okay, sugar cube?" AJ asked back. "Sorry, guys, I'm just busy thinking about everything we found out this week." Yugi replied. "I see what you mean. I mean, it's not every day that a gateway opens between one world and another one where monsters exist." Twilight said. "Not to mention that giant creature your dragon blasted apart is trying to destroy both." Rainbow added as Yugi pulled out his Eye of Timaeus card.
"Yet even with the Eye of Timaeus card in my deck, I still don't think that's gonna be enough. After all, that monster will return, since it's still weak." Yugi figured. "Well, one thing I do know, we have to get to the bottom of this mystery before that monster strikes again." he added. "Spoken like a real detective." Rarity said as they drove across the Golden Gate bridge. Meanwhile, the Kaiba Brothers were still looking for the owner of the Duelist Kingdom castle. "Maybe Pegasus chickened out." Mokuba suggested.
They soon entered the room where Seto and Pegasus last dueled. "This is where the Duelist Kingdom finals were held, only there's no bridge to keep us from falling 200 feet." the boy continued. "I've just about had it with looking. Show yourself, Pegasus, unless you've come to your senses and backed out of this!" Seto called out. But he soon got an answer when they both heard Pegasus laughing. "Your lack of patience never fails to amaze me." the man said.
Soon, Pegasus appeared on the other side of the room. "Well, you're as irritatingly jolly as ever." Seto said. "Come now, Kaiba, show a bit of respect between businessmen. Besides, we've been through so much together." Pegasus replied. "I didn't come here to catch up, I'm here to duel you so that you can either get out of my life or give me back my company shares, or both." Seto responded. "Well, is that what I've done to deserve such hatred? And I know you've got hate inside of you because I saw the broadcast of your match at Battle City against Yugi for the championship title." Pegasus stated.
"The list of reasons is longer than that, but I don't have much time. And as you know, you stuck your nose where it didn't belong by buying up pieces of my company." Seto pointed out. "And I have the sneaking suspicion that you're the one who's been ruining my company's reputation and mine by coming up with this monster scare." he added. "Admit it! You're the one who made it look like Duel Monsters are invading the world just to get some attention!" he shouted, thinking Pegasus was truly the one responsible.
"Do you honestly believe that? Or are you afraid to admit what you truly think? That maybe these Duel Monsters are real. After all, who has the resources to create flying holograms without the need for a machine? Certainly not me." Pegasus replied. "Sounds to me like you're covering up for another technology firm, and you've gone so far down the rabbit hole of the lore of your own game that you're unable to tell reality from fiction." Seto retorted.
"Oh, trust me, I'm perfectly sane. You just refuse to believe that there are some things in this world, if not the entire universe, that CANNOT be explained. Which is why you always resort to your same old speeches. Then again, you didn't use that on me when we last dueled in this very room." Pegasus replied, causing Kaiba to remember the last duel they fought. "If I remember correctly, you said I'm not human after you saw your brother collapse in the dungeon where he was being kept." he added.
"You dare bring that up?" Seto asked, annoyed. "Its not a crime to reminisce about old times, is it?" Pegasus asked. "Listen, if you're trying to bring up what happened last time I was here to mess with my head, it won't work. This time, you're the one who's gonna suffer defeat." Seto replied. "Then let's get this duel on the road. It's time for the rematch of the century to begin!" Pegasus declared before the arena lowered into place and connected the two hallways, allowing both players to meet on the battlefield.
"This arena looks frighteningly familiar, doesn't it?" Pegasus asked. "So, here we are again, in the same spot where I devastated you last time. Now, are you ready for a repeat performance? It'd be my chance to beat you for the second time in my lifetime." he continued. "I beat you once before when I sought a way to destroy the Egyptian God Monsters, and I can do it again. The sooner I beat you, the sooner me and Mokuba can get out of here and continue on with our lives." Seto replied before activating his Duel Disk.
"My brother's gonna take you apart, Pegasus." Mokuba said, knowing his brother would succeed. "Well, Mokuba, it warms my heart to see that you're still the one and only fan of your big brother." Pegasus said. "Mokuba, just stay back." Seto said. "Stay back? Why? Its not like he has anything that could hurt us." Mokuba responded. "Maybe not, but we both know what this madman's capable of so you need to be at a safe distance." Seto replied before walking forward.
"Well, I may as well head up to the balcony." Mokuba said. "The ultimate rematch is about to start, we're making history! And since I may or may not have some DMTV cameras put up to record every move, we could potentially have fans watching live." Pegasus declared. "The only bit of history we'll make is when the creator of Duel Monsters gets toppled for the third time in his own game." Seto replied as Mokuba reached the balcony.
'I'll be safe up here in case Pegasus tries to pull something, I just hope my brother will be okay.' the boy thought as his brother readied his deck. "Seto! Do as Yugi did and beat Pegasus at his own game!" he called, to which his brother smirked. "Let's start. You've wasted enough of my time already, Pegasus." Seto said. "Is it me or are you always in a bad mood? There's nothing major at stake here, so why not just lighten up?" Pegasus asked. "I will, just as soon as I tear you apart." Seto replied as he inserted his deck into his Duel Disk.
Once Seto plugged his Disk into a slot on his side of the field, the Duelists were ready to begin. "Here we go." Mokuba said before both players had their life points set to 4000 and shouted 'Let's duel!' before the game began. "Now, since we're playing on my battlefield, I'll make the first move. So batter up." Pegasus said as he drew. "I'll start by summoning Toon Alligator in defense mode." he added before his cartoon creature appeared.
'I know this strategy.' Seto thought. "Next I'll set a card, now its time to step up to the plate, Kaiba-boy." Pegasus continued as he finished his move. "I know what you're up to with that move." Seto said. "Oh, really? And what would that be?" Pegasus asked. "You're using the same monsters from the last two times we fought, Toon monsters, but not to mess with my head, but to try and get the upper hand, since you know as well as I do that Toon monsters were too powerful to be distributed publicly." Seto replied.
"You claim I'm not trying to play mind games? Well, that's a switch. And here I thought you were going to overthink my motives for this game." Pegasus said. "Is that so?" Seto asked before drawing. "Well, here's a little something for you to think about, my Spear Dragon." he continued before his monster appeared. "Spear Dragon, attack his Toon Alligator with Cyclone Blast!" he commanded before the reptilian caricature was blown away.
"Your little Toon is gone, but your life points aren't safe just because it was in defense mode, thanks to my dragon's special ability. Which means you lose 300 life points based on the difference between your Toon's defense points and my dragon's attack points." he continued before Pegasus' life points lowered to 3700. "Then my Spear Dragon automatically switches to defense mode. Finally, I set two cards facedown. That ends round one." he added before his move ended. "Way to go, Seto!" Mokuba shouted.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in San Francisco, Rex and Weevil were bumping along in their bag in the back of the truck before it hit a bump and opened the trailer, causing both boys to fall out and tear through the bag they were hiding in. But they soon found themselves in the wrong part of town. "Well, well, look who just dropped in." said some street thug to his friends. "Hey, we don't want any trouble." Weevil said, trying to talk some sense into them. "You two shoulda thought about that before falling out of that truck and landing onto the street. This block is our turf." said another street thug.
"Any ideas, Rex?" Weevil asked. "Only one. HEEELLLLPPP!" Rex replied. Meanwhile, at Duelist Kingdom, the game continued with Pegasus drawing his next card. "Excellent. This card should spice things up a bit. Its a magical little number I like to call Toon Table of Contents." he said. "What on Earth is that?" Seto asked. "It's a magic card that allows me to take any card from my deck and put it in my hand as long as its Toon related." Pegasus explained. "Not again! You're going to play Toon World!" Seto said in shock, knowing exactly what Pegasus had in mind.
"Don't sound so surprised. Out of all the cards I've created, this one is, by far, my favorite. But based on your reaction, you knew this would happen. But now, it's time to bring it out! Presenting, Toon World!" Pegasus replied before his life points lowered to 2700 and the book appeared. "Now, if you remember, I can bring any and all Toon Monsters I choose to the field, after I pay the cost of admission, which was a mere 1000 life points. Now, let's start this cartoon marathon with a new favorite of mine, shall we?" he continued before picking a card.
"Meet the Toon Masked Sorcerer!" he declared before his new monster, a level four, Dark attribute spellcaster/toon/effect monster with 900 attack points and 1400 defense points, appeared on the field. "He may seem harmless, but he's got quite a temper." he continued before laughing. "You're in my world now, Kaiba-boy." he added. "Man, now that Pegasus played Toon World, he can summon any Toon monster he wants. And since the Toon monster line of cards was never distributed to the public, he's got every single one of them." Mokuba said in worry.
"It's time to give you a taste of your own medicine with this!" Seto said with a smirk and a chuckle. "I activate my Cloning trap card!" he declared as his trap sprung and created an exact duplicate of the Toon Masked Sorcerer. "Why don't you try dueling with some originality?" Pegasus asked, unamused at Kaiba's play. "What's the matter, Pegasus? Are you annoyed because I've made it pointless for you to attack?" Seto asked, confidently. "What do you mean?" Pegasus asked back, frustrated.
"I mean, one of us was using his brain today and you're looking at him. Now, if you attack me, you'll be destroying your own monster. Care to give it a shot?" Seto replied, proud he outsmarted Pegasus. "You've saved yourself for now." Pegasus said, annoyed. "No kidding." Seto replied before drawing. "Next I'll play MY favorite card! Ready? I sacrifice Spear Dragon and my Toon Masked Sorcerer clone!" he declared. "Oh, no! Are you going to summon what I think it is?!" Pegasus asked in a panic, though Seto just smiled. "I summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" he declared before his ace monster appeared.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Mokuba said with a smile. "My dragon has been hungry for a new monster to destroy, and your Toon is on the menu." Seto said, confidently. "I'm afraid he'll have to starve. Because, in case you've forgotten, my Toons can only be destroyed by other Toons." Pegasus pointed out. "I'm well aware of that, but I won't let a technicality stop me." Seto stated. "Well, in that case, this trap will stop you!" Pegasus replied.
"I activate Toon Mask!" he added before his trap sprung. "This card lets me trade in my Sorcerer for a Toon version of your monster." he explained as the mask slapped itself onto the Toon Masked Sorcerer. "Oh, great." Seto said, annoyed. "Say hello to an old friend, my Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!" Pegasus declared before said monster appeared. "It's no friend of mine, Pegasus! You know how much I hate that thing! Your Toon Dragon is a disgrace to the original Blue-Eyes!" Seto snapped.
"Oh, come now, Kaiba. Like I told Yugi when I brought out his Toon Summoned Skull, Toons have feelings, too." Pegasus replied. "Well, let's just see how he feels about my next card! I activate my magic card, Shrink!" Seto declared as his card activated. "This makes your puny dragon, even punier!" he added as the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon shrank down while its attack points were cut in half. "So, what? He's still indestructible. All you did was make my monster more lovable." Pegasus pointed out.
"I'm through messing around with your pitiful excuse for a dragon, so let's focus on the real Blue-Eyes!" Seto stated before activating a card. "This magic card is called Charm of Lamentation, and it'll make my Blue-Eyes' attack even more deadly!" he explained. "You know that won't do a thing. What part of 'Toons can't be destroyed' don't you understand?" Pegasus asked. "Blue-Eyes, attack with White Lightning!" Seto commanded before the attack fired, but it was quickly deflected upward by a sign held up by the Toon dragon.
"Are we clear now on the whole 'Toons are indestructible' thing?" Pegasus asked. "Yes, but there's an extra effect to my Charm of Lamentation." Seto answered. "What about it?" Pegasus asked. "As long as it remains on the field, I get to draw a card from my deck every time my Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacks and fails. And since your Toons can't be destroyed, I'll keep drawing cards." Seto explained as he drew.
'The key to beating this washed-up has been is somewhere in my deck. I just have to keep drawing cards until I find it.' he thought. "Back to me." Pegasus said before drawing as Shrink loses its effect and the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon returns to normal. "I'll start by giving up 500 of my life points." he continued before his life points dropped to 2200. "This allows my Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon to attack your life points directly." he added. "The time has come, my angry little Toon, unleash your fury upon Kaiba-boy!" he commanded before the blast fired.
"I don't think so! I activate Negate Attack!" Seto declared before his trap sprung, sending the attack through a portal. "Well, you're no fun." Pegasus said, annoyed. "As you know, this trap card automatically ends your attack before it hits its target, so you spent your life points for nothing." Seto replied. "I have to disagree, thanks to a magic card called Toon Rollback!" Pegasus retorted before activating said card. "This lets me rewind our battle, giving my dragon a second chance to attack." he explained.
"Hold on, your dragon can't attack twice in one turn, my Negate Attack card ended the battle phase!" Seto pointed out. "Shame on you, that's not my plan. You just jumped to that conclusion." Pegasus replied. "Just go." Seto replied, annoyed. "As I was saying, I have no intention of attacking you with my dragon again. No, I'm afraid he's no longer needed." Pegasus continued. "I think I'll trade him in for something better. Oh, Toon Dark Magician Girl!" he continued before the caricature of Yugi's best female monster appeared from the Toon World book.
"Attack Kaiba-boy's life points, won't you?" Pegasus asked/commanded before the attack launched and slashed Seto's life points in half once it hit. "She packs quite a punch, doesn't she?" Pegasus asks. "And so do I." Seto replied, ever defiant as he drew. "Now, Blue-Eyes, attack his Toon Dark Magician Girl!" he commanded. "Hopefully this attack will let Seto draw what he needs." Mokuba said before the attack launched and entered the Toon Dark Magician Girl's hat, yet like a comical stage magician's trick, the hat exploded and streamers came out.
"Remember, every time my Blue-Eyes tries and fails to destroy your Toons, I draw another card." Seto said before doing so and chuckling. "I must've missed the joke." Pegasus said. "That's just it. Your dueling is a joke, Pegasus. Your strategies are as outdated as the original cards you created when the game of Duel Monsters first began." Seto replied. "Your Toon monsters may be indestructible, but only as long as you have Toon World on the field. Without it, they can't be on the field, now can they?" he continued. "So what's your point?" Pegasus asked. "HERE'S my point! I activate the magic card, A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!" Seto replied before activating said card.
"What do you plan to do with that?" Pegasus asked, worried. "First, it allows me to return my Blue-Eyes to my hand, then it lets me wipe out any and all magic and trap cards on the field. Which means your Toon World is toast!" Seto explains, shocking Pegasus before both Toon World and Toon Dark Magician Girl are destroyed. "There goes my precious Toon World." the creator of Duel Monsters said in distress. "Way to go, Seto! I never doubted you for a second!" Mokuba shouted. "I'll finish by summoning Versago the Destroyer in defense mode." Seto said before his new monster, a level three, Dark attribute fiend/effect monster with 1100 attack points and 900 defense points, appeared.
"Your move, Pegasus." he concluded. But his opponent said nothing. "Hello?" he asked, but still, no response. "Last chance, then I'll take your silence as a forfeit." he said. Still, nothing. "So I suppose this means you surrender? Not that I blame you, I'd quit too if my strategy was as lame as yours. After all, they're the exact same tactics you used against me and Yugi the first time you dueled me and him. In fact, you almost made the same moves card for card." he stated. "What's the deal, Pegasus? You're a lot of things but, predictable, isn't one of them." he added.
"I just haven't been myself lately." Pegasus replied. "In fact, I mean that quite literally." he added as his voice changed mid-sentence, catching Seto and Mokuba off-guard and indicating that it wasn't Pegasus at all, but an imposter. "What's going on?" the boy asked. "Surprise!" shouted the imposter before revealing himself to be Alister. "I've waited for this day for a long time, Kaiba-boy." he added. "You're gonna pay for tricking me like this!" Seto shouted.
"Pretty good imitation, right?" Alister asked as he imitated Pegasus' voice, indicating he was a master of disguise. "Identify yourself." Seto demanded. "Alister's the name, Kaiba-boy. Now let's duel for real!" the Swordsman replied as he readied his own Duel Disk. "What kind of Duel Disk is that?" Mokuba asked. "Its quite similar to KaibaCorp Duel Disks, only different because of the design. Me and my pals call it the Chaos Disk." Alister replied before drawing.
"This magic card is about to change everything. I activate the Seal of Orichalcos." he continued before doing just that. "What's that?" Seto asked before the seal began to lower. "This is nuts!" Mokuba shouted before the seal surrounded the battlefield and the players. "Explain yourself, now!" Seto demanded as the environment began to change around them. "Oh, as if you're gonna believe me?" Alister asked. "Try me." Seto replied.
"We're trapped in here till the duel's over. Then, once I crush you, I'll be able to get out. Of course, you, on the other hand, won't be as lucky as myself, Kaiba-boy." Alister explained. "What do you mean?" Seto asked. "When you lose, like you did with Pegasus, your soul will be locked away for all eternity! But this time, you won't be set free!" Alister replied, revealing he had some kind of vendetta against Seto Kaiba.