Merger of the Big 5 Part I

'So…Noah's your step-brother, Kaiba?' Duke asked.

'Leave it alone,' Sharee muttered under her breath as Kaiba snapped,

'That's none of your business!'

'But it does explain why Noah brought us all here,' Yugi said.

'Yeah,' Joey said. 'He wants to prove to Kaiba's step-dad that he's the better son.'

Yugi nodded.

'Oh my God!' Sharee muttered. 'Stop poking the bear.' She was either ignored or they didn't hear her.

'So to show his power, Noah teamed up with the Big 5 to defeat us,' Yugi said. 'And he's holding Mokuba captive to weaken Kaiba.'

At that point, Kaiba decided to turn around and walk away. 'I've heard enough!'

Téa ran over and stopped in front of him to stop him leaving. 'Stop right there!'

Kaiba glared at her. 'What's the problem?' There was an undertone of warning.

Téa completely missed it. 'Going somewhere? If so, then that's the problem!'

Sensing a Téa-esque pep talk coming on, Sharee rolled her eyes. She knew Téa meant well, but she had a very narrow view of life in general. Sharee had been raised to respect the fact that not everybody tackled problems like she did. She strode over. Grabbing Téa's wrist she yanked her out of Kaiba's way.

'Shut up, will you?' Sharee snapped. 'There are times when you can give your pep talks. But there are also time when you've gotta button your lip and back off. Now is the time for the latter.'

Téa looked stunned for a moment. 'But—'

'No!' Sharee lifted her hands. 'Listen up, Téa, I know you mean well but you're overlooking one thing: you grew up in a single house your whole life with doting parents and a big, fat allowance as a reward for good behaviour. Your whole life you've been protected from the psychopaths and the weirdos of the world. You have no right to go barking about the business of someone who wasn't!'

'What do you mean?' Duke asked.

Sharee turned back to the rest of the group, most of which (she was glad to note) looked either acquiescing or shame-faced. 'I've met Gozaboro Kaiba. It wasn't much of a meeting. I was a little kid and my dad kept me close to him the whole time. He viewed it as a lesson to me on character judgement.'

Kaiba scoffed.

Sharee nodded her head. 'I'll edit it for you guys and say he was a jerk.' Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kaiba smirk. 'If you want to go, then go.'

Téa went to protest, but Sharee spun back around and glared at her.

Kaiba walked away.

Sharee waited until he was gone. 'Understand this, Téa. Kaiba is screwed up. He won't accept help, so he can't be helped – not where it really matters.'

'We can still try!' Téa insisted.

'And set out on the road to nowhere?' Sharee shook her head. 'Don't waste your time. As any psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker will tell you, you can't help someone who won't help themselves.'

'But he needs help!' Téa insisted. 'And it's the right thing to do!'

Sharee groaned in exasperation. She rolled her neck as she turned away from Téa, and then froze. 'Oh. We've got company.'

The whole group spun around and looked up, following her gaze to the top of the ridge over them.

'Tristan!' Téa called.

'It's not Tristan!' Joey snapped.

'It's the techno-geek of the Big 5, Nezbitt,' Duke said. 'Even though we kicked his nerdy butt in that duel, he still took Tristan's body.'

When he started laughing, Sharee frowned.

'I think it's more than Nezbitt in there,' she said.

'Very good, girl,' he said with a different voice. And then they heard Nezbitt's voice. 'I'm not alone in here.' Yet another voice came from him. 'Today's special is five-for-one!' And the voice changed again. 'And the verdict is in.' Leichter's voice was easily recognisable. 'Our combined force will destroy you.'

The five deck masters appeared around Tristan's body.

'They're all using Tristan's body!' Téa exclaimed.

'Give him back!' Yugi yelled.

The Big 5 glared down at him. 'Listen, Yugi,' one of them said. 'There's only one way we'll return your friend.' He smirked and laughed, as another of the Big 5 took control again. 'But believe me, junior, the odds are in our favour.'

Téa evidently recognised the voice. 'Hey, that's Crump.' She shivered. 'Sicko!'

'All right!' Yugi called up. 'Tell us what we have to do to get Tristan back from your control!'

'Why, duel us,' Leichter said. 'Win and he's yours.'

'Why do I doubt that?' Sharee asked quietly.

YGO

The Big Five came down in Tristan's body.

Gansley spoke and raised Tristan's arm. 'Now, let's duel, Yugi.'

The duel disk appeared on his arm.

'You five are on!' Yugi quickly swapped over.

YGO

The Pharaoh activated his duel disk. 'Let's do this. For Tristan!'

'Hold it right there!' Joey stepped over. 'Your math's a little off, if you get my drift! Five-on-one's uneven, so count me in!'

'Are you sure?' the Pharaoh asked.

'Yeah,' Joey said. 'No question. The two of us are a team, Yugi. Now, let's waste these five suits!'

The Pharaoh smiled. 'Yes. And together we'll save Tristan.' He looked over his shoulder and checked. 'Mayet, it might be an idea if everyone else moves to higher ground.'

'Of course.' Mayet immediately turned and ushered every else up towards the rock ledge behind them.

Johnson spoke through Tristan next. 'Fine, Yugi. Five-on-two. Since this duel is two bodies against one, the only way for justice to be served is for us to start with 8000 life points while you two begin with 4000. Win and you'll be reunited with your friend. Lose and you all belong to us!'

Gansley then took over Tristan's body.

'Are you two ready to lose?'

'No,' Joey said, 'cause you're fighting the Dream Team! You five are going down!' He activated his own duel disk.

'Let's get down to business,' Gansley said. The cards appeared in front of them. 'Choose your virtual decks.'

Yugi and Joey quickly selected the cards they wanted.

'You'll need all the help you can get,' Gansley gloated.

YGO

Mayet noticed.

She presumed that Joey must've seen the Harpy Lady because of what his heart just did. It was a sort of jolting, with the connection shooting in a particular direction. Blinking to herself, Mayet took notice of the direction in which the connection had gone. She may have to follow it later. For the time being, she watched Joey steel himself and continue selecting his cards.

The cards in front of them vanished.

'Now,' Gansley said. 'It's time to choose your Deck Master.'

The Pharaoh pulled a card from the deck and held it up. 'I choose this monster! Dark Magician!'

The Dark Magician emerged from the card and came to stand by the Pharaoh's side, on his right. He stood at exactly the same position that Mayet stood in respect. Something nagged at her, like it was significant in some way. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

Joey then pulled his card from his deck and raised it up. 'And I'll take Flame Swordsman!' The monster emerged from the card and came to hover by his side.

'Since there's five of us,' Gansley said. 'We're going to rotate our Deck Master monster. So we'll start with this, my Deep Sea Warrior.' The Deep Sea Warrior appeared next to Tristan's body. 'A strong investment. Now stand back! I'll begin!' Gansley drew, but he made a noise like it took effort. He then looked at his card. 'First thing's first, I'll play this magic card!' He took the card from his hand and set it. 'Legendary Ocean!'

The card appeared on the field.

The fortress rose up behind him and the massive tidal wave came at them.

'Oh, no!' the Pharaoh cried.

'Time to flood the market!' Gansley crowed.

The water splashed down around Joey and the Pharaoh.

'Did you know he was going to use that?' Duke asked her.

'No,' Mayet said. 'But think about our duel. The effects here are real. You don't want to be standing in range if they unleash something that attacks the whole field.'

YGO

'And now I'll summon this monster!' Gansley set another card. 'The Legendary Fisherman!' The monster leapt out of the water.

'That's the card Mako Tsunami almost beat me with!' Joey exclaimed.

It splashed back into the water.

'Hey!' Joey snapped. 'Hold on! You have to sacrifice something first to play that card! It's too powerful to summon to the field in your first move.'

Ordinarily, yes. 'With his magic card, he can,' the Pharaoh said. 'Be careful, Joey. As long as that card is in play, he's at a dangerous advantage.'

'Don't worry, Yugi,' Joey said. 'We'll dry up his ocean in no time!'

'You'll sink long before that,' Gansley said.

'You take the next move, Joey,' the Pharaoh said. 'And, remember, these corporate tycoons can't be trusted!'

'Forget about it. You and I are gonna put these guys outta business, Yugi, and it's all gonna start right now.' Joey drew. 'Watch this! I summon Alligator Sword in defence mode!' He set the card and it appeared on the field. The monster emerged from its card, crouched down in defence position. 'That's all for now, you old geezer but this is just the beginning. So don't get used to that body!'

'It's my move now!' The Pharaoh drew. 'And I summon Gizelle the King of Mythical Beasts in defence mode!' He set the card and the monster appeared on the field in front of him.

'And that's all? Now…' Gansley suddenly paused. Then he drew. 'Ready?' This time, it was Crump's voice.

'His voice changed!' Joey observed.

'Yes,' the Pharaoh said. 'They've switched control.'

'Correct,' Crump said. 'I'm Crump, the Big 5's accountant. And I'm an expert at crunching numbers and crushing my rivals.' He chuckled. The Deep Sea Warrior vanished and the Nightmare Penguin appeared in his place. 'Now, meet my good friend, Nightmare Penguin, the last Deck Master you two will ever see.'

He smirked.

'Come on, guys!' Téa yelled from above. 'Crush this bird-brain! I already beat this flipper-footed freak, and so can you!'

'Here goes!' Crump crowed. 'Legendary Fisherman, attack Yugi's Mythical Beast now!' He then explained, 'Thanks to the special ability of my Nightmare Penguin, my Fisherman gets a 200 attack point bonus. It's all about the numbers, boys!'

The Fisherman's attack points flew up to 2050.

'And your number's up!' Crump crowed as his Fisherman destroyed the Mythical Beast. The Fisherman dived back underwater. 'And next, I summon Catapult Turtle!' He set the card on the field and it appeared in the water. 'In defence mode.'

'He played another five-star monster,' Joey observed. 'And thanks to that magic card of his, he didn't have to make a sacrifice. Not good! We gotta get rid of his Legendary Ocean card or we can say goodbye to our bodies forever, Yug.'

The Pharaoh looked over at him.

He was right.

YGO

Kaiba climbed the stone steps.

Yugi and his friends can deal with the Big 5. I've got bigger problems.

He agreed with Shauna's estimate on the whole thing. He must have died before he and Mokuba came into the house. He'd been naïve as a kid, but now he knew that there was no reason Gozaboro should have been expected to keep his word after that chess game. He'd been brought in after Noah died.

But it'd taken two years for him to even suggest Kaiba inheriting the company.

So…what was the initial reason?

What was the subtext beneath that conversation between Gozaboro and Noah that he'd seen?

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. There's a piece to this virtual puzzle that I still need to find. And, when I do, all of this will be over. But the first thing I have to do is find Mokuba, and rescue him from Noah. Then I'll show Noah that no one disrespects my family and gets away with it.

YGO

'All right, Big 5! You body-snatchers better give back my friend now, cause you're all done!' Joey drew. 'Now I place one card face-down.' He set the card in question.

'That's your big move?' Crump demanded.

'I'm not done!'

YGO

Mayet felt it again.

That was why she wasn't surprised at his next move.

'And now, I summon CyberHarpy!' The monster in question appeared on his field. 'And, next, I switch Alligator Sword into attack mode!' The monster shifted. 'And that ends my turn!'

Clearly, he was setting a trap.

YGO

'And starts mine.' The Pharaoh drew.

It's time for me to pick up where Joey left off! Yugi declared. This doesn't look good. I don't have anything in my hand that can stop his Legendary Fisherman from attacking.

The Pharaoh intentionally skated his eyes over.

Wait! Joey's face-down card! It could be my only hope.

The Pharaoh took a card from his hand. 'First I summon Mystical Elf in defence mode!' He played the card and she appeared on the field in front of him. 'Now, let's see what you can do, Crump!'

Crump drew. 'And now say goodbye to your Mystical Elf! Behold! Legendary Fisherman, destroy Yugi's monster with Harpoon of Doom!'

The Legendary Fisherman attacked.

'Not so fast. I activate my trap card.' Joey hit a button on his duel disk and his down card flipped up. 'Kunai with Chain!' The card glowed and the kunai shot out. It wrapped around the Legendary Fisherman's leg and pulled him back into the water, cutting off his attack. His pet fish soon followed him.

'Excellent move, Joey!' the Pharaoh called.

Crump growled.

'Hey,' Joey said. 'Why the long face? Don't tell me you're upset just because your Fisherman got a little tied up. Here he comes right now.' He reappeared on Crump's side of the field, the kunai still wrapped around his leg. 'And, thanks to my chain, he can't attack. While my CyberHarpy gets even more powerful.'

CyberHarpy's attack points flew up to 2300.

'Oh, well,' Joey said. 'And things were going so good for you too. Maybe now you five freaks know who you're up against.'

Crump ground his teeth and took a card from his hand. 'I'll conclude by placing one monster, face-down, in defence mode.' He set the card and it appeared on the field. 'And that ends my turn.'

'Here we go again, Crump.' Joey narrowed his eyes and drew. 'Look out!' He looked at the card. 'Now! It's time for me to dry up your ocean, Crump!' He played the card he'd just drawn. 'Cause I activate my Harpy's Feather Duster!' A gust began to pick up. 'This card sweeps away every magic and trap card on your side of the field.' Sure enough, the ocean was swept right away, like a tide receding. 'Including your Legendary Ocean!'

Crump ground his teeth, then he cried out in alarm.

Joey gave the order. 'Now, CyberHarpy, attack his Legendary Fisherman!' With a screech, she attacked. She slashed through the Fisherman, shattering him and his fish. 'Aw, yeah! Watch this! Alligator Sword, attack—' He quickly stopped himself. 'Catapult Turtle still has 2000 defence points. My attack won't do a thing.' Of course, that still gave him one other option. 'It's still my move, Crump. And I'm not done wiping the field clear of all your pathetic monsters yet. And my next victim is that face-down mystery monster of yours.'

'No, Joey!' the Pharaoh called. 'Don't! It's too risky!'

Even so, he had the feeling that Joey would do it anyway. He threw all caution to the wind when he got on a roll like this.

'Risk is my middle name, Yug,' Joey said. 'So check this out! Alligator Sword, attack his face-down monster!'

His Alligator Sword charged and sliced the face-down card clean in half. The Magician of Faith briefly appeared on the field, and then she shattered.

Crump sneered. 'You triggered my Magician of Faith's special ability! Thank you, Wheeler. Now I can bring back one magic card.'

'What?' Joey demanded.

'I'll give you one guess.' Crump held up Legendary Ocean. 'Time's up!'

Joey cringed. 'Oh no! I was afraid of that! A Legendary Ocean! Sorry about that, Yugi.'

'You fools are making this way too easy,' Crump boasted. 'You're defeating yourselves.' He chuckled.

'Calm down, Crump. This duel is still on. My move! Now…' The Pharaoh drew. 'All right, Crump.' His lips quirked upwards. 'Now, it's about time someone put you in your place.'

'Go ahead,' Crump said.

The Pharaoh took one card out of his hand and played it. 'I play Kuriboh in defence mode. 'Next I'll activate Card Destruction!' He pulled the magic card out of his hand and set it on the field. 'Too bad!'

The card appeared on the field and flipped up.

Crump drew back and his Deck Master squawked in alarm.

The Pharaoh smirked. 'Now we must throw away all our cards, which means your Legendary Ocean card is gone again.'

'Awesome!' Joey cheered. 'I knew I could count on you, Yugi!'

Crump growled as all of them discarded their hands.

'Now,' the Pharaoh was the first to draw, 'it's time for all of us to draw a new hand. Right, Crump?'

With a grin, Joey drew his cards.

Crump drew his cards with a scowl.

'I'm through for now,' the Pharaoh said.

'All right you brats!' Crump snarled. Then his voice changed again. 'Crump has been dismissed, kids. Time to bring you to justice. In case you don't already know, the name's Johnson, Legal expert of the Big 5. And my first order of business is to clear the field of this penguin, if you don't mind.'

The Nightmare Penguin was replaced by the Judge Man.

'Meet Judge Man!'

YGO

Kaiba finally came to the top.

'Where are you?' he yelled, having found nothing. 'Mokuba!' His voice echoed but received no other replies.

'I know you're out there! Can you hear me? Mokuba!'

Kaiba began to look around the ruins that sat at the top of those stairs. This Noah kid is trying my patience. If he has some sort of grudge against me, he should stand up to me face-to-face. He walked to the other side and looked down over a fogbank. But capturing my defenceless brother, and hiding him in this virtual labyrinth only shows what a spineless coward Noah really is.

The fogbank cleared and Kaiba gasped.

'It can'tbe! That building! It's…my design! But I've never shown those blueprints to anyone. How could Noah have recreated it?'

New Haven, CT, USA

Shauna worked frantically.

'Son of a…' She devolved into muttering. She knew who was really behind this. She knew as well as Kaiba did. And she was going to get control away from him if it was the last thing she did!

Suddenly something caught her eye.

Shauna looked up.

'Oh, you little—!'