Seto fought the urge to snarl as he sat in the waiting room.
It wasn't becoming of a businessman like him. Wasn't something that would look good to anyone he was looking to make deals with. He had to be strong. Had to be present himself as utterly unflappable. That he was in complete control.
Even if it felt like he wasn't at all.
He would have loved to have claimed that his problems started with Yugi Muto and him defeating him but honestly he saw now that Leichter and the rest of the Big Five had been preparing to take him out for a while now and had only used his loss as an excuse to do so. If not Yugi it would have been something else; something he said or did that made them decide to move. Maybe even nothing HE had done… he could see them arguing, because he had no interest in forming a relationship with anyone, that Mokuba wasn't a worthy heir and thus they needed to step in.
Many would then claim that it was then clearly when the Big 5 had made their move that things had begun going wrong for Seto. But that wasn't true either. As much as he hated to admit it Edwin had proven far better as a board member than any of the Big 5. He actually showed up at KaibaCorp to interact with the department heads, had a good mind for hiring, and could be a monster when it came to getting rid of the deadwood. The man had quickly gained the reputation of being 'The Grim Reaper' when it came to firing people because he would give people just enough rope to hang themselves, so that everyone saw that the person deserved to be canned and not accuse any of them of cruelty.
'It all came apart when Ishizu asked for that meeting,' he thought darkly.
She had convinced him to the throw the Battle City Tournament which, while getting a lot of press for KaibaCorp, had created even more headaches. The permits. The property damage. All of that had cost him a lot of money which had forced him to postpone the opening of the American KaibaLand. He hated that… he wanted the park open. Had promised himself it would be open. And he'd been forced to delay because Rare Hunters had destroyed the roofs of towers and ruined a shipping yard.
Then Ishizu had decided to kill Edwin and… well… that had been when the death spiral had begun. The moment Edwin had died it had felt like every ounce of good luck that he had, everything that had allowed him to take every challenge and turn it into a success, had disappeared and left him facing disaster after disaster. The crashing of the KaibaCorp Blimp. The destruction of the KaibaCorp main office. The destruction of his SECONDARY OFFICE. Someone was out to get him, he just knew it, but the cops were utterly useless. They claimed that the destruction was a gas leak at the main office. Even though it had clearly been an attack.
An attack that had killed all the department heads. And those that hadn't…
~Earlier…~
Seto glared at the ruins of the building, as if his stare could make them reassemble back into a proper structure and not a pile rubble.
"I told you, Allie, its not that big of a deal. I'm actually a few minutes early-" Seto glanced behind him to see a man in business casual and a KaibaCorp name badge clipped to his collar staring in horror at the building. "-I need to call you back." He pocketed his cellphone and shook his head. "Seriously?! My first day."
"Tell me about it," Sally, the head of the KaibaCorp Daycare, declared as she walked up holding a coffee cup. "I left my favorite coat in there." Seto stared at her. "Uh… and the loss of life? Soooooo bad."
The new arrival, who had a soft Australian accent, shook his head. "Damn it all, Valon is never gonna let me hear the end of this. Had some job offer at AtlanCo that he said I should take. Claimed I could get my own motorcycle, paid by the company."
"Hey!" one of the workers who was digging through the rubble said. "I think the daycare is completely intact!"
Sally's eyes though went wide in horror at that and she looked at the man. "Think they are still hiring?"
"I'll call him."
~Present~
It was like he was cursed.
And now the news report he had seen. The one that had forced him to leave Mokuba with some servants and come to CCN late in the night, demanding a meeting with Kipling Chaos. It was the last thing he needed and he was there to make sure that a retraction was on the air by morning.
'I will not have any more distractions,' he thought to himself as he looked at the bored looking secretary who was sitting at her desk, clearly playing some video game rather than working. He hadn't been surprised to find Kipling still at work, as the man kept weird hours. Often he would work for a few hours, then return to his condo to relax, then finish up the day at his office once more. It allowed him to catch the morning and evening news. Seto had learned all about the man when he had first been forced to take up with Edwin and he was glad for that knowledge as it allowed him to know right where to go-
"Mr. Chaos will see you now," the secretary stated.
Seto stepped into the office and found Kipling sitting at his desk, suit jacket off and papers spread all over. Multiple screens were showing not just CCN's current channels (of which there were 8, for there were three news, two sports, a history and documentary focused one, an entertainment, and weather) but also the competitors different channels. There were no windows in the room, and in fact the office was in the center of the building, right at the very heart of it.
He could tell at once that Kipling was Edwin's uncle. Both had similar tastes… a mix of minimalistic and cluttered mess. The former came in the form of furniture and the like. Very basic, very simple. A standard desk one would find at any office. A padded desk chair. A few low seats for guests. The clutter came from the many different items that covered the bookcases. Books, of course, but also all manner of trinkets and doodads that the man had collected over the years. Edwin had been even worse, filling every spare spot in his own office with toys and collectables.
They weren't alone in the office either. Kipling's head of security, the man that had helped take Duelist Kingdom along with Yuri Gardner was standing there, looking primed and proper in his suit and tie-
"I'm not doing a retraction, Seto," Kipling said, not bothering to look up from the documents he was going over. "In fact I plan to run the piece tomorrow morning on all the news and entertainment channels. I would have told you over the phone or in an email but I had a feeling you wouldn't accept that and wanted to yell at me in person. I will warn you that I've already told Baptise that should you raise your voice to me he is allowed to break your hand as he forces you out of this office. If you dare approach me he will draw his weapon and shoot you. Should you manage to actually harm me he is to make you disappear… you'll live but how long will depend on your tolerance for pain."
Seto set his jaw.
"You are going to claim that my report is slander, aren't you? First off that is wrong… since it was first written out it would be libel. Second off every point raised is utterly true. There are questions how you were able to get the courts to move so quickly to award you custody of your brother. There are questions about his schooling record. There are questions about how stable his home life is-"
"My brother-"
"Isn't your emotional crutch or your pet that you keep around to remind yourself that you are a human being. He is a child. A little boy who deserves happiness. Yet you seem to focus too much on yourself, Seto. I am doing what you should have done… I am asking the questions you should have asked yourself."
Seto glared at the man. The report had been utterly painful but more importantly it was going to cause problems. It had questioned how Seto, even as an emancipated teenager, had been able to get custody of Mokuba. Why there were no social service visits. Why so many people didn't even realize Mokuba was around; Seto went to school (briefly… it had been a mistake and only done because Crump had insisted that Seto should 'try and make some friends and have the typical teenage experience') but Mokuba was homeschooled. He had no one outside of Seto. Add in all Pegasus had done and it didn't look good.
But he wasn't a danger to his brother, like the report claimed. He wasn't abusing him emotionally… which was foolish because the only 'abuse' that came from 'emotions' was the weakness of one's self to move beyond taunts and insults. Neither of which Seto ever directed at his brother.
"Everything I do is for Mokuba-"
"Is it? Or is it for yourself and you've just deluded yourself into believing that it is for your brother." Kipling shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Threaten me with your lawyers. Attempt to buy CCN stock. Challenge me to a duel. The first two I am ready for, the last I refuse. I am an adult, Seto, and while I enjoy Duel Monsters I don't make it the end-all, be all game that everyone on this planet seems to do nowadays. So no, I will not allow you to challenge me to a duel to remove the story or for you to gain control of KaibaCorp or for us to decide which one of us should raise Mokuba like this is some twisted 90s family movie.
"And before you misinterpret what I said there, no I am not doing this to steal Mokuba away from you. My concern is for the boy. Mynephew… the one you got killed… he cared for Mokuba greatly. He risked his life to protect him. And I am not going to dishonor his memory by allowing you to destroy that boy's life just because you are selfish. I am going to let the courts decide and if it turns out that you are the best guardian for Mokuba then so be it. I won't press you any further. But if the courts come to the same conclusion I do that you are not fit… I will help them remove him from your care."
Seto narrowed his eyes and moved to step forward only to pause, glancing at Baptise who had shifted, ready to attack him and fulfill Kipling's promise.
"You can't win this fight, Seto. In fact I would suggest you back away. This is only one part of a war and sometimes the only way to continue on is to admit you are beaten and work to prepare yourself for the next clash. Or, to use cards since that seems to be the only thing that matters in your life… you have been dealt a bad hand. Fold and wait for the next draw."
And with that he looked down at the papers once more.
"If you want to make some rant now about how this won't stand or you will take me down or how I don't know who I am messing with please deliver it to my secretary. I honestly don't care. You are a child who still thinks like a child, Seto. You believe that you are a master of business and while you are quite intelligent you lack experience. I have built up my empire over 35 years and I know how to run things. You aren't the first person to come here all full of bluster and think they can get me to bend to their blowing winds. And you won't be the last. So now, please, leave me be as I have work to do and you should really stop proving my point by abandoning your brother."
Seto stared at the man for a long time before storming out.
'In the morning I will get my lawyers to look over everything in that report,' Seto thought. 'I'll also need them to look over everything that was done that gave me custody of Mokuba.' Honestly he hadn't paid much attention to that… Gozaburo, damn his soul, had been the one that had set up the contracts that gave Seto full control over Mokuba's life until he reached maturity. Seto still wasn't for sure why the man had done that but it had been one less hassle he needed to deal with. 'And I still need to determine what happened with Edwin's shares of KaibaCorp… if they went to Kipling that is going to make life a lot harder.'
His mind raced with the other things he needed to do. In the morning he needed to meetwith the insurance company concerning the KaibaCorp blimp… he was hopeful he could get his money back. Then there was the discussion of the next generation of Duel Discs… normally he would have had Aria handle the field testing of that but with her missing and presumed dead it fell to him, much to his annoyance. Normally he wouldn't mind working on such things but he had so much on his plate…
'…and Mokuba,' he thought to himself as he reached the lobby and moved towards the exit. 'I need to spend some time with him. Make sure he didn't see that report on the news. It wouldn't do-'
Seto's limo exploded.
The duelist just stared in shock at the flaming wreckage that was his car.
"Damn it Moxie!" someone called out but that was all Seto heard as he stared at the wreckage.
~MC~MC~MC~
Edwin slowly opened his eyes and stared right into the utterly delighted face of Charlie, who was practically pressing her nose against his own.
"Do you know what today is?" she practically sang.
"The day we talk to you about personal space and boundaries?" Edwin asked.
"No silly!" she proclaimed, sitting up so that she was no longer so close to him he could tell what she had eaten for breakfast (waffles, if he had to guess, based on the syrupy smell). "Its time for the Hellfire Gala!"
"Yay," Edwin said dryly. He was unable to get up because Charlie was currently straddling him and he REALLY hoped that the covers were thick enough that she didn't feel how that was affecting him. 'Damn it all, its been too long since I took care of things,' he thought, even as an evil little part of his mind (well, more evil that he currently was) pointed out that Mai had proven that it was more fun to have someone else assist with such things and… well… Hell was full of some very attractive demons including Charlie who he had only learned recently was bi.
He mentally punched that voice in its dick and shoved it back in whatever broom closet existed in his mind.
"Oh, come on Edwin!" Charlie said, throwing her hands out wide. "Aren't you excited to see other Duelists and get a chance to have actual duels with them?"
"…no," he replied and he tried to roll over and go back to sleep only for Charlie's weight to keep the covers from moving… or him either. "Charlie, come on!"
"But this is going to be so amazing!" she declared, bouncing up and down giddily. "You chance to test yourself against other demons… but it will be in a controlled space so there will be no threats against anymore, no violence to ruin things, no one trying to enact some revenge plan…"
"…yeah, sure none of that has ever happened in a Duel Monsters tournament."
"Exactly!" Charlie declared, not detecting Edwin's sarcasm.! "Come on, you need to get up and get dressed so we can get ready! I want some advice on my deck… I think I have it all locked down and figured out but it never hurts to take a second look… or a third… or a fourth now that I think about it. Perhaps a fifth if I-"
Edwin finally shoved Charlie off of him and get up, the Princess of Hell letting out a yelp as she tumbled off the bed. "Right, I am getting up and getting dressed now. Happy?"
"Of course!"
"…Charlie?"
"Uh huh?"
"Are you going to stay here while I change?"
"EEEEEEEPPP!" she exclaimed, covering her eyes as she realized what he was getting at. "I am so sorry Edwin! I promise I won't look!" She thrust out her other hand and began to waggle it about. "Not that I mean you are ugly or anything. I mean, hey, very committed to Vaggie but I can appreciate an attractive man and you are attractive. And I mean, sure, nudity isn't that big of a deal in Hell and there have been a few times where I almost walked out of my room topless because I got distracted but Razzle and Dazzle always caught but I get that there are boundaries. Big ones and I promise to respect them! And that means not peaking as you change! And I'll make sure no one else will peak because, again, you are pretty attractive and I am sure-"
Edwin looked at Jackie who leapt up from the soft little dog bed he'd gotten him, the canine spinning around Charlie so quickly that it caused her to begin to twirl around. She let out a startled cry at that but Edwin merely rolled his eyes as she was sent careening out of the room like an out of control top.
"Finally," Edwin muttered… just as Niffty walked in. "…cleaning or a peak?"
"Can't I have both?" she asked sweetly only for Jackie to pick her up in his mouth and trot back to the door, dumping the little cycloptic demon on her tush before shutting the door.
"I swear if the lawyers down here weren't all evil this hotel would be open for so many lawsuits." Shaking his head Edwin, rather than making to get dressed, moved to his desk while Jackie began to secure the room, using his power to ensure that there were no peep holes, hidden passageways, or cracks in the walls where someone could watch Edwin. Assured that everything was okay for the moment Edwin picked up his deck and thumbed through it. "You know… one would expect this to be the moment, while it was just you and me, Jackie, for me to reveal that I am really excited to duel again. That this is my chance to get back to what I do best. That the thrill of not just laying out the cards but finding ways to play the mind game with my opponents is a tantalizing thing. That I secretly want to be in that tournament… to win that tournament… and be the first Duelist to rank in the Top 3 within two different planes of existence."
He looked at his deck.
"…god I just want to read a good book today," he complained before he set about getting dressed. "Over and under on me encountering some maniac that decides to turn this tournament into some kind of revenge plot?"
Jackie didn't take the bet.
~MC~MC~MC~
"I do think I am beginning to tire, Husker!" Alastor said with a smile as he grabbed onto a Sinner Demon's arm and ripped it right off at the root before using it to beat his attacker senseless. "I must get back on my exercise routine… it simply will not do for me to get so tired so easily! Next thing you know I will be as swollen as Mammon!"
Husk, despite the bitterness he still felt towards Alastor (and existence in general), let out a laugh at that. "Think you could convince some of these guys to become your new sparring partners?" He sent out several of his playing cards, purple robes slicing into ribbons along with chests and limbs.
"I suppose I could ask," Alastor said before slashing his long claws through the neck of one of the Sinner Demons, taking his head clean off. He slipped it on like it was a puppet and turned it towards him even as he lashed out with his long legs, kicking away several demons had been trying to get close to him. "What do you think, Chum? Feel like working for me?" He had the skull wiggle back and forth; not a nod or a shake. "Ah, you need time to decide. Very well!" With that he tossed the head up before leaping into the air, kicking with the side of his foot right into the snarling face of another robed cultist.
'Honestly impressive how many this Malik guy has,' Husk thought to himself as he adjusted his hat, giving a little smirk and a wink at one of the minions that were inching towards him, letting the fool know that he had spotted him and he wasn't going to be able to get the drop on him. 'We've been fighting for hours and it feels like there is always more waiting to come at us!' During the beginning of the fight it had been utter madness, what with all the bodies trying to crush them in the sudden rush to defend Malik Ishtar. But as he and Alastor had thinned out the ranks the fighting had become more organized, as strange as that was to believe. No longer was it a mob of bodies flinging themselves at the two in a desperate attempt to be the one that managed to do the deed. No, as their numbers had thinned the demons had realized that if they wanted to defeat the two they couldn't risk elbowing each other in the face.
The crowd had backed away from them. Small groups moved to confront them. And when Alastor or Husk took out a demon, either leaving them a twitching wreck or a chilling corpse waiting to pop back up in the Pride Ring, several of their numbers would be quick to gather up the pieces and pull them away.
'Otherwise we'd be slipping on blood and entrails,' Husk thought to himself as he hurried to grab a few more of his playing cards that had been embedded into the chest of one rather large demon that looked like a cross between a bear and a washing machine. Honestly he sometimes wondered what their lives had been like on earth. 'Hell, sometimes I have trouble figuring out myself. I get the gamblin' theme but the cat stuff? That's a bit odd other than the tux thing.' He shook his head when one of the purple robed demons nearly got a good clip in on his head; he just managed to duck in time before giving the bitch a brand new pussy, slicing a hole right next to the worn out old one and driving his fist right up into her guts before extracting several lengths of entrails.
"Not… again…" the woman got out before dropping to the ground.
"Again?" Husk muttered. 'Maybe the bitch died that way on Earth… hell of a fucking way ta go if that's the case but-'
Suddenly a heavy hand fell on his shoulder and Husk whipped around to see another bear and machine fused demon standing before him. The new arrival's lips curled back into a snarl before he went for the door that was right under his squishy manbear boobs, yanking it open to reveal boiling hot water that let out a blast of steam. Several other minions grabbed onto him and began to force Husk towards the opening.
"I'm good, thanks!" Husk said as he scrambled to get their hands off of him. "I know the joke is that cats hate baths but this is just a personal matter…" He pushed hard with his left hand so that he could let go with his right and drive it into the bear washing machine's face, gouging out an eye. The demon let out a bellow at that and Husk kicked out at his ankle, shattering it even as he brought his left hand up and dug into a deep cut on his chest. He pressed as hard as he could only for his thumb to catch on something within, making him hiss in pain. But he righted himself and dug in again, yanking the object out even as he used his tail to grab onto one of the demons pushing him from behind and tossing him into the washer. That caused the demon to howl in agony as his skin began to boil off, falling from his body in great gooepy sheets.
But Husk was more focused on what he had pulled out of the bear demon's wound. He looked at the torn playing card, one of his very own, and then back to the demon who was still holding his face even as several other robed demons came over and began to yank him away.
Slowly the math began to add up.
Husk always kept count of his cards and knew exactly how many he had. At the moment he should be missing 8 cards, ones he had been unable to retrieve before the attackers that had been cut apart by them had been dragged away from him. He remembered every target he had thrown his weapons at. And there had been one bear-looking demon he had thrown at, not two.
'And… it was only one,' he slowly realized before leaping over a group of 7 demons and landing next to Alastor. "We got a problem!"
"Oh?" Alastor said, bemused as his shadow tripped up a demon that was moving rather fancy, spinning his arms and legs about almost independently of his body, each one tipped with steel. Not Angelic Steel but still hard enough to cut into his foe. But the shadow sent him face down on the ground and Alastor, almost as an afterthought, drove his cane into the demons' throat and out the back. "Did you pull a muscle? I did warn you to stretch before we headed out."
"Would ya look at them all," Husk complained. "Ya notice anything about these bastards?"
"Well, they have horrible fashion sense," Alastor said, shaking his head even as he lashed out with his foot and kicked another one right in the chest, making his ribs cave into his lungs. "I mean, the color isn't too terrible but the robes are just unshapely. One should be able to tell the body type of the person they are dealing with, after all. I know what some will say-" He drove his fist down, causing another demon's head to be smashed into their torso, bits of blood and skull bubbling from the hole that now sat between their shoulder blades like a child's volcano, "-that such garments hide bodies that shouldn't be presented. But I say fooey on that! Be proud of who you are, no matter your shape!"
"Not that!" Husk said impatiently and even when Alastor shot him a narrowed-eyed gaze that let him know that, even with his smile, he wasn't pleased with Husk's tone, the former Overlord refused to back down. "Look at the cuts on them. The slashes. The wounds. They aren't bleeding but they aren't old!" He lashed out with his claws, grabbing one of the demons and dragging them close to Alastor to let him get a good look. "They are the same ones we fought already! We are just repeating the same fights!"
Alastor tilted his head at that before throwing out his arms, causing his shadow to flare out and throw all the other demons back save for the one that Husk had snagged. The Overlord slowly bent at the waist, head though tilting back so that he could stare right at the shorter Sinner Demon. Alastor carefully adjusted his monocle, squinting slightly before he raised his hand up and traced the faint scars that ran along the demon's face, comparing them to his own long claws.
"Why… I do believe you're correct!" Alastor declared, his tone doing nothing to hide his delight. He lashed out and made a new set of claw marks, going the opposite way so they formed hashmarks on their foe's face. "How every interesting… normally it takes some time for a Sinner to reconstitute themselves but here we have them reappearing after only a short amount of time. And appearing right back here… oh, now this is a tasty little morsel of a mystery, if I do say so myself."
He looked at the other gathered demons, who were being held back by his shadow. Husk wanted to be annoyed that Alastor had been playing it easy the last few hours but honestly at this point he was far too used to the bastard pulling shit like that. Treating the entire shitstorm that was hell as a game that he was playing with no pot and the ability to just fold a hand and start all over again. It was probably the most frustrating thing about the Radio Demon: he never took anything seriously. Not like some of the younger Sinner Demons, who treated Hell as a chance to be as crude and rude as possible, giving in to every desire. Alastor simply refused to give any situation the weight it truly deserved unless he WANTED it to have weight. Then, and only then, would he actually make clear that he wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Now… how is this possible, hmmm? Can't be each of you doing it… you are too much of cowards to have such a power. You are all quite literally the definition of lackey. No no no." he tapped his finger against his chin, straightening to his full height even as the demon he had just clawed rolled on the ground, hands clutched to their face. "No… I dare say it is the little leader of this ramble is the key. Especially since we haven't actually seen him since he ordered our second untimely demises." Alastor began to look about, craning his head one way and then the other. "Well? Wherever could you be…"
The crowd parted once more to reveal Malik Ishtar, who merely regarded the two with cold distain.
"Ah, there you are," Alastor stated, twirling his cane. "Now then… feel like telling us how you were able to do this?"
"Life and death mean nothing for the Lord of the Tombkeepers," Malik stated.
"Now THAT is a lofty title… and some lofty ambitions!" Alastor smirked as he took a step forward but when he saw several of the demons in the crowd move towards him once more he held up his hands and made his smile all the more charming. "Come now… we have spent several hours battling one another and as far as I can tell no one is worse for wear-"
The demon Alastor had clawed apart twice howled in pain.
"-so why can't we discuss this like mature and rational adults?"
Malik though didn't smile. Didn't sneer. Didn't do… anything. He just remained utterly still.
Husk was used to being able to read people… first when he had been an Overlord and figuring out people's tells. It was how the Gambling Demon had managed to build his empire, after all. Understanding what it meant when someone smiled or frowned or tried REALLY hard not to do either. And later, when he'd been sent to rock bottom and been forced to serve cheap booze to any bastard that showed up with a few bills to their name, he had learned even more. Because sometimes the twitching of a lip was the only warning before some bastard decided to gut you with a broken bottle and then move to steal your entire selection of booze. Honestly the latter was more painful than the stabs.
Husk was VERY good at reading people.
He couldn't read a damn thing when it came to Malik.
"What would be rational for me is to beat you down until you have no choice but to accept my deal. I have already determined what the souls of those fools that swore themselves to my traitorous son were able to do to my new followers… they were weak and young to this world we exist in. You… have age. And power. I will be curious what you provide me."
One didn't last as long as he had in Hell, even at the end of Alastor's leash, without being quick enough to figure out what certain threats meant. And Husk had always been smarter than people gave him credit for. They saw his drinking and his surly attitude and thought him to be an idiot or so drunk that he wasn't paying attention to what was actually going on around him.
'Bastard has found some way to drain the life out of demons and gift it to others,' Husk thought, thinking to the bodies they had found. 'They were allied with Malik's son and he currently has no desire to deal with his kid so they are reduced to corpses while their lifeforce is given to those that Malik has gathered to himself and who pledge their own loyalty to him.'
That honestly brought up a lot of questions but Husk also knew that now wasn't the time to voice them.
"Is that a challenge?" Alastor asked. "Because I believe we are ready for whatever you will throw at us." But even as he stepped forward he looked back, finally noticing that Husk wasn't feeling as confident as he was. "Husker? Are you giving me first dibs? Don't worry, I am sure that there will be enough of this one for both of us."
Husk though shook his head. "I think we've done enough today."
"Come now… we haven't even confronted our little friend here and seen if the dog can actually back up his bark with some bite." Alastor's eyes began to glow as he stared at Mailk, who merely continued to sit on his throne, watching them both from narrowed eyes.
But Husk shook his head. "I know that you treat all of your existence as some humorous little thing to keep you entertained… but I've been on both sides of the table. The one collecting the pot… and the one that lost it all." He rubbed his throat as he thought of that losing hand. "If you ever listen to me… listen to this advice."
~MC~MC~MC~
"Aria, a moment," Edwin said, grabbing the hellhound's wrist as she bounced towards the door.
"What is it?" she asked, tail wagging hard. She was getting to go to the Hellfire Gala and she was so excited! She couldn't wait to see how her deck did against all the new duelists in Hell. She was sure that she'd be able to make a good showing of herself and her cards… maybe not win the entire thing but at least make it a few rounds. Win some rare cards or claim some pocket change (even if Edwin paid for everything she wanted now… she told him he didn't have to, he had told a story about his father revealing that when people bought you things it was them saying they loved you, and she had been left mumbling out thank you, so moved by his words). The others were heading towards Charlie's limo, with Ediwn and her being the last heading out of the hotel. No one knew where Alastor and Husk were and Angel Dust had apparently sent Charlie a message saying he would meet them at the tournament when he got done with work, having decided he might not take part.
"I want you to be VERY careful when it comes to gambling at this tournament," Edwin told her, trying to keep his words as gentle as he could while making it clear that this wasn't a joke. "I can't tell you to not accept any gambles as that wouldn't be fair but I am going to warn you off letting your passions get the better of you and have you accepting wagers you can't back up."
"Listen, I know to be careful… I grew up in Hell, after all."
"Yes… where people tend to be insanely stupid because they think since they are already in Hell what happens to them doesn't matter. But I don't need you entrapped by some demon, Aria."
She shifted at that; she hadn't told him the full story of what had happened to her. How she had ended up on Earth. Of the mistake she had almost made with the Overlord that would have destroyed her just to make a quick buck and then sold what remained for another few dollars. She understood how just a single moment of dropping your guard could lead you to trading away your freedom. One day… one day she would tell him. When she was sure that he wouldn't do something stupid like confront of the Overlord in question. Even with him apparently being an Overord himself Aria still feared for him… what that demon would do if he knew she was back. It had taken Bianca so much to get her to Earth and to fake her final death… she didn't want to waste all she had given up being stupid. And more than that… now she had so much more to lose. Because if V-
"Just… I want you to be careful, okay? Remember the advice."
"Advice?"
Edwin nodded… and began to sing.
On a warm summer's evening
On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with the gambler
We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-starin'
Out the window at the darkness
The boredom overtook us
And he began to speak
He said-
~MC~MC~MC~
Husk looked right at Alastor even as he took out some of his favorite exploding dice.
"Son, I've made a life
Out of readin' people's faces
Knowin' what the cards were
By the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind my sayin'
I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey
I'll give you some advice"
~MC~MC~MC~
Edwin squeezed Aria's shoulder.
So I handed him my bottle
And he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette
And asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet
And his face lost all expression
Said-
~MC~MC ~MC~
Husk leapt over a few of the minions, tossing out the dice and watching them explode… but unable to enjoy it as more swarmed to take their place.
"If you're gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done
Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep"
~MC~MC~MC~
Edwin shook his head.
And when he'd finished speakin'
He turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette
Faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
But in his final words
I found an ace that I could keep
~MC~MC~MC~
Though they were in two different places, dealing with two completely different beings and two completely different situations, in that moment Edwin and Husk were together, singing in unison.
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done
You've got to know when to hold 'em (when to hold 'em)
Know when to fold 'em (when to fold 'em)
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done
~MC~MC~MC~
"Okay Edwin, I promise," Aria said softly. "I'll keep it just to cards, nothing else."
Edwin clearly didn't like that; he didn't like gambling at all. Didn't like risk where there was a chance that you lost it all purely through dumb luck. No… he preferred skill, plain and simple. A game where if you were losing you could get out before things got too bad.
But… he had to remind himself that Aria was a big girl… and would have to learn to take care of herself.
…though that didn't mean Edwin couldn't be there to put his thumb on the scale.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Well… I suppose sometimes there is something to be said for leaving your audience hanging with a cliffhanger," Alastor said as he summoned his shadow, Husk shivering as he felt the tendrils grab hold of him. He truly hated it when Alastor did this. "And as for you, Malik… don't think this means the program is canceled. Just that you'll need to tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion."
And with that he warped himself and Husk away.