Chapter 4 - 4

Chapter 4

With my newly acquired star chips tucked in my bag I set about grabbing a quick lunch of granola bars and bottled water, musing on two things. The first that it REALLY hadn't been a smart idea to read Jurassic Park while coming here, especially since there were monster roars filling the air every once and a while. The second was just how utterly stupid so many people in this world were.

'They all have a gambler's mentality,' I thought to myself as I chewed on my meal. 'Bet big or go home. No subtly, no caution. Even Yugi does it most of the time, willing to gamble his deck or accept insane requirements just for the hope of revenge or at least vengeance.' I slouched against the tree I was resting against looking up at the sky and watching the clouds go by. "Seriously, these people are all about strategy EXCEPT when it comes to bets!" I paused, lips puckered in thought. "With the right two-headed coin and the right bulb in the White House I could rule this world in a week." I scowled. "Bulb. Bulb. Grrr. B.O.O.B. Come on 4kids it's a part of the body! Girls got bulbs, fat guys got bulbs, all of Gobe's creatures of bulbs!" I blinked. "Gobe... Gobe. Oh, but God Card is okay? GAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Part of the reason I was annoyed (other than those bastards that were dubbing me) was that Stratus had thrown my plans into disarray. I had originally planned to try and take on one more duelist before hooking up with Yugi and his friends but Alto and his stupidity meant that now I had far too many Star Chips to risk getting in another duel, not unless I wanted to lose on purpose and that carried far too many risks. Give the wrong person too many Star Chips, they lose to the wrong person, and suddenly Bonz is in the finals instead of Yugi.

'Huh... what would have happened if Yugi didn't actually make it to the finals but he also didn't lose? I mean Yugi's grandpa would have been screwed but how would Pegasus have dealt with that? The whole point is to eliminate him.' I thought about the pink-wearing villain before letting out a huff. 'Loophole, most likely.'

But taking on another duelist and giving it my all, and thus winning (which I felt far more comfortable with now that I understood Duelist Kingdom was half good draws and half utter bullshitting) would mean that facing Ghost Kaiba would most likely net me 10 Star Chips, or get me dangerously close to it. And with everyone playing 'All Or Nothing' except Mai, Rex, and Bonz, that would result in me screwing up the timeline. I was already hiding that I had jumped to 6 Star Chips, hiding 3 of them in my suitcase. Go in with too many against the clown and the gang would be slapping me on the back and congratulating me for making it through to the next round. I needed to get inside to watch the tournament, not steal a spot from Yugi or Joey.

That, sadly, meant that my part in the tournament was over after I took on Ghost Kaiba. A great consolation prize to be sure but it did take some of the fun out of being stuck in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Throwing my wrappers into a ziplock bag and stuff that into my suitcase and stood up and worked the kinks out of my back before making my way towards the dock. 'I wish there was a way I could help that kid and Mokuba,' I thought. 'No way around it though. Mister Iwasnt Givenaname needs to get booted off the island Survivor style and Mokuba has to... get thrown into a damp dungeon and then have his soul sucked out of his body.'

I stopped dead in my traps.

'God damn it!' I mentally cursed, checking my watch and seeing that my lazy late lunch had taken me to past 2pm. I picked up the pace, stretching my legs out just a bit more to add to my speed. 'Can't do it. Can't let a kid go through that torture. Maybe I can hide him so Seto still thinks he's kidnapped? Or maybe Seto can still challenge Pegasus and I can keep Mokuba occupied so he doesn't dwell on Seto's soul getting sucked up. Damn damn damn it!' My guilt was applying a jackhammer to my thoughts. 'Pegasus, I swear you and I are going to have words when this is all through you twisted fuck!'

I knew that I was being insane. Mokuba seemed to be fine after Duelist Kingdom... in fact getting kidnapped was his entire bit. He was Seto's morality chain, after all. But I couldn't live with myself knowing that an innocent child had been put through hell just because I wanted to take the easy path. It was a risk... a huge one. Who knew what this would do to Yugi's ability to beat that Cycloptian bastard? But I had to try!

I raced towards the dock only to skid to a stop when the cries of 'Help me, help me please!' filled my ears. "Crap!" I roared, skidding on the dirt path before turning back around. "They met him at a dueling platform, not the boat you idiot! Gah!" I charged forth, spotting a few of Pegasus' minions but seeing them walking with calm, if rather downtrodden, competitors saw me breeze by them all, causing a few of the suit-wearing goons let out cries for me to stop that went unanswered. Charging forward I arrived in time to spot Tristan rushing the pointy-haired thug, managing a rather impressive judo flip on the guy... only for said goon to easily do a flip and launching himself right back at Tristan with a flying kick that would have made Jackie Chan clap. The vest-wearing kid tried to escape only for the hired muscle to grab him again, easily lifting him up as Yugi and his friends went to Tristan.

"HEY!" I bellowed, using every projection trick from my time on the stage to make my voice boom out, pulling out my phone and aiming it right at the prick. "I wonder what the public will say when they see footage of Pegasus' staff beating up teenagers and assaulting kids? Think it will make the nightly news all over the world or just in the 1st world countries?"

"Give me that phone!" the goon threatened, moving towards me.

I merely leapt back, a dark smirk forming on my lips. "Hey! HEY!" I barked, scolding him like I would an over-eager puppy. I held the phone up and away from me, wiggling it a bit. "Freedom of the press. Besides, I didn't just take your picture there, Sally, I made that an attachment to a text to my uncle, Kipling Chaos. Don't know who that is? Ask your boss about Chaos Communications." I saw the thug growl at that. "Oh, so Sally recognizes that name. TV network, radio station, newspapers... all I have to do is hit send and your face is plastered on the evening news so don't take another step towards me!" The dumb muscle did just that and I touched my phone. "I can make it worse, if you want! Don't even need to hit a button, just need to tell it 'send'. Voice to text." I brought the phone close to my mouth. "Industrial Illusions employee manhandling underage boy?" I sneered. "So drop the kid, step away from me, or I'll have every law agency in the world wanting to talk to your behind and then, just for good measure, I'll begin naming your boss in all this!"

Of course I couldn't do any of that. At least not yet. Hadn't had a chance to get the text app open before I came charging in. All that was on now was a normal text screen. But tall, dark, and pointy didn't need to know that. 'Oh baby, you are so talented,' I mentally quoted, 'and they are so dumb!'

"You will delete that message now or I will remove you from the island!"

I scoffed. "S-E-N-D spells se-"

"Okay, okay!" the goon said, dropping the kid but keeping a hand on his shoulder. "You are interfering in official tournament business. It is none of your concern."

"Eh, I think it is our business when ya have the kid in a chokehold!" Joey declared, moving to back me up while Tea saw to Tristan.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yugi asked.

The thug reached down and grabbed the kid's arm, pulling up his empty dueling glove for us to see. "This duelist lost all his Star Chips. Per the rules of Duelist Kingdom he must leave the island immediately."

I frowned at that. Though I knew the truth of it all I had to play my part. "You know, you have a funny way of handling simple rule enforcement there, Sally."

"But I didn't lose my chips in a duel!" the kid said quickly. "They were stolen! My cards too!"

"I don't care what lame excuse you have, kid! You need-"

"Shut up Sally," I said in annoyance, taking a step closer while keeping my distance. "I want to hear his story."

"Me too," Yugi agreed. "If someone did steal his Star Chips that should be the person you go after, not him!"

"Yeah!" Tea added. "What kind of tournament is Pegasus running if he lets people steal from other competitors and then doesn't even bother to investigate?"

The thug growled and looked up at the five of us. "Listen, you know how many different excuses we've heard so far from people who lost all their Star Chips? They hid them, they must have fell out of their dueling glove, a bird took them, my opponent cheated... we've had 12 duelists eliminated so far and half of them used lame excuses like that. We don't have time to investigate all of them. Pegasus has given us those direct orders. So stay out of it and focus on dueling so you don't end up like this brat."

"Why you-" Joey said only for me to hold my arm out, stopping him. "Ed, what's the big deal?"

"Sally here does have a point," I said. "If the kid is lying-"

"I'm not!" the duelist exclaimed, squirming in the thug's grip.

"Stop calling me Sally!" the minion complained.

"...IF the kid is lying then SALLY here is right to take him off the island, especially if he is resisting."

"You can't honestly believe that he's not telling the truth!" Tea complained.

I shot Yugi a look and he sighed, nodding his head. "We didn't think Weevil would toss my cars off the ship. We can't be sure who is telling the truth here."

"I am!" the kid pleaded. "Please, help me!"

I looked at Sally square in the eye. "You're taking him to the dock, right? How long before the boat heads back to the ship?"

"Thirty minutes, on the dot."

I gestured at the five of us. "Then let us look into it. We find out before hand who did it then you can kick the right person off the island. You don't have to do a thing... other than treat that kid with a bit more respect." I paused, wiggling my phone. Stick first, now the carrot. "Besides, if you are wrong and you tossed that kid out for no reason then you might get in trouble. But... if you catch the real criminal I'm sure Pegasus will be rather pleased."

The moment his frown went from intense to thoughtful I knew I had him.

"Fine, but you don't get a second more!"

Yugi stepped closer to the kid, Joey and a slowly rising Tristan moving to back him up in case Sally tried something funny while I moved back, phone raised in one hand while the other was held out to shield Tea. As the gang talked to him I took the time to actually snag a picture of Kemo... I was going to need it later. "Okay, so what did the person who stole your cards and Star Chips look like?"

"Well, I couldn't see his face, it was covered with a bandana. But he was a little guy and he challenged me in the meadow. Platform 146."

"He challenged you to a duel monster's game?" Yugi asked while I wondered what other game he could have been challenged to... and that got me thinking about that weird Shonen manga about Go.

"Yeah!" the kid said, growing angrier by the minute. "But the moment I put my duel monsters deck and Star chips down he grabbed them and ran off with'em!"

"Just go with this guy, okay?" Tea said. "We'll get your cards and Star Chips back."

"We'll find that little thief and bring him to justice! You can count on us to make sure they don't kick ya off the island for no good reason!" Joey declared.

"We won't let them ship you off!" Tristan declared, pounding his fist into his open hand.

"But if we don't make it," I said, glancing up at Sally, not trusting him for a second to have told us the right time, "you contact Chaos Communications when you get home and I'll make sure you get your deck back. I swear."

"But there is no reason to worry about it because you have the brilliant mind of Joey Wheeler on the case and I always get my man!"

Yugi, Tea, Tristan and I all facefaulted.

"Onwards, troops!" Joey declared, marching off.

"...can we toss Joey in a ditch somewhere?" I asked dryly. "He won't be missed. Not really."

After about ten minutes we finally found the correct platform and I'd nearly gotten Tristan in on the 'toss Joey in a ditch' plan.

"What is your brilliant mind telling you now?" he asked.

Joey just rubbed his head. "Uh, beats me! All it's doin' now is givin' me a brilliant headache." Yugi though ran up to the platform... and sat down. "Hey Yug, think the thief will come back?"

"He just might and until then we can put our heads together and come up with a plan!"

"Like realizing that we now only have 20 minutes left?" I said, looking at my watch. "And it will take 10 minutes to get back to the docks."

"We can't just go running about trying to find the thief, Edwin," Tea pointed out, sitting down on the ground. "Right now this is our best bet."

I couldn't honestly remember how they'd found Mokuba and I hoped that there hadn't been a fade out of commercial break between them sitting down and him popping up. "Guys, we need a better plan than 'Sit in the dirt'. The thief isn't going to fall out of the sky you know!"

That's when Mokuba leapt out of the bushes.

"...that wasn't falling out of the sky!" I jabbed my finger at the runt. "You ruined the bit! Shame on you!"

"I found you at last, Yugi!" Mokuba declared.

"That must be the kid we were lookin' for!" Joey said as I bit my tongue from saying 'looking?'.

"I can handle him!" Tristan declared.

Tea shot him a look. "I hope you can you're twice his size!"

"Just try it, you big dork!"

"Back off kid!"

I, the only one not posing like I was ready to get into a Westside Story rumble, pinched the bridge of my nose as Joey and Tristan began to make demands of the kid. People complained about them not doing much when Yugi dueled to save the world but now I was seeing why neither of them had gotten a spinoff.

"Okay, as the only adult in the meadow..." I said, walking in-between Yugi and his friends and Mokuba. "How about we use our big boy words?"

"I know what he wants..." Yugi said. "He wants to duel me. That's what you want, right?"

As Mokuba affirmed that I looked skyward. "10 minutes... we have 10 minutes to wrap this up. 10 minutes." I moved to stand with Joey, Tristan, and Tea, looking down at my watch. "I guess if I run ahead that might buy us another 5?"

"Don't worry, Ed!" Joey declared. "Yug will wipe the floor with this little thief in no time!"

A smile that would have made the Joker proud formed on my face and I hissed through clenched teeth, "He wanted to just sit around and wait while we were on a short schedule, Joey. Forgive me if I trust his ability to manage time!"

"...well, it worked, didn't it?" Joey asked. Rather than respond I merely waited for him to turn away before I raised my hands, mimicking choking him.

But all thoughts of anger and annoyance died a swift death as Yugi's puzzle began to move on his own. I could practically hear the Millennium Duel theme playing as Yugi narrowed his eyes and within the fraction of a second I found myself staring at HIM.

Yami Yugi. The Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Pharaoh Atem.

It wasn't like the show, where there was a flash of light and a swirl of magic. No, it was far more subtle and I could see how people might miss it if they didn't know Yugi well and weren't looking for it. But the way the boy in front of me held himself, with the cool confidence and determination, made it clear that this was no longer Yugi Moto. Yugi was shy, unsure of himself, in that awkward time between being a child and being a man where one didn't know how to act. Slouching down, bunching his head and neck down into himself, his shoulders dropped, eyes either wide with excitement or down towards the ground. But the Pharaoh? The pharaoh held his head high, making himself instantly taller by the way he squared his shoulders and stared straight forward, eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed upon his opponent. This was someone who, even without his memories, without fully realizing he was a separate being from Yugi, knew how to command attention, to command men, to command a kingdom. This... was a ruler.

"Wow," I whispered even as the Pharaoh asked Mokuba how many Star Chips they wished to wager. All at once I understood why so many people who had once been his foes became his allies. And I also saw who Yugi would one day become. It wasn't reincarnation, not with the Pharaoh's soul trapped in the puzzle, but somehow the world had decided that the Pharaoh needed to return again and created Yugi Moto to not only guide him but replace him when his battle was finally at an end.

"Yeah, Yugi gets pretty impressive when he gets like this," Tristan said. "It's like he becomes a completely different person when he duels."

"You have no idea, Tristan," I said softly as the Pharaoh and Mokuba both tossed out 5 Star Chips as their wager. Where before I had found it insane that people would go all-in on these duels, even if Mokuba was attempting to get revenge on Yugi for Seto's lose, when I looked upon the Pharaoh I knew that, even without prior knowledge... I would wager everything I had on him to win.

I watched the duel in silence, unable to root on Yugi like his friends did. Nor could I find it in myself to make fun of him for his cookie cutter clichés, like claiming that Mokuba's Man-Eater Plant was destroyed because it didn't belong to him when in reality it was simply that the thing had less attack points. 'With him when he tells you something... you believe it. Even if he is ignoring the true reason the wisdom of his lesson overpowers basic logic and becomes the reality. Mokuba isn't losing because of weak cards... he is losing because he wasn't using his own cards.'

"Yes, I sensed the connection to Kaiba," the Pharaoh stated. "You're his brother, Mokuba."

"How did you know... it doesn't matter."

"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed.

Tea nodded. "It is Seto's brother!"

"I am Seto's brother and he's the best duelist there ever was."

"You're right," I called out, moving out from behind Yugi's friends. "And do you think he'd be proud of you right now and what you're doing?"

"What are you talking about?" Mokuba demanded. "Who are you? You aren't Yugi's friend."

"Yes I am," I said glancing at the Pharaoh and giving a nod in return before I looked back to Mokuba. "I am Edwin Chaos. And your brother would be very disappointed in you."

"Shut up!" Mokuba yelled. "You don't know a thing about my brother! He left because of Yugi! Because he didn't know who he was anymore after losing to him!"

"No," I said, firmly but with gentleness. "Mokuba you didn't understand him."

"How would you know, you weren't there!"

"But I am a big brother. I know what it's like to care for someone. So believe me when I tell you Kaiba didn't leave because he lost to Yugi."

"He said-"

I cut him off, deciding to dig into show lore in order to make my point. "That he didn't know who he was anymore. But I don't think it has anything to do with Yugi. I think it has to do with him. Seto Kaiba became the man he is through cunning, not cruelty. He took over Kaibacorp by convincing the Big 5 that he was the best option when compared to your stepfather. And then he decided to do away with the war divisions and turn Kaibacorp into something that made people happy, rather than bringing them pain." I shook my head. "Think about that... and then think about what he did to Yugi's grandpa. He forced an old man to duel him purely because he wanted to control the final Blue Eyes White Dragon in existence. Never mind that Solomon Moto had retired from dueling. Your brother put him in the hospital and then tore that card up! After he already had it! He could have locked it away where no one would ever find it but he maliciously tore it up in front of Yugi. That wasn't cunning! That was cruel!" I huffed. "That wasn't Seto. That was Gazabora."

Mokuba stared at me, eyes shimmering with tears. "No... that-"

"Your brother didn't know who he was anymore because he realized he was turning into the man he hated the most in the world. So he went off to find himself, to remember how he had become Seto Kaiba. And if that Seto, the one who got you two out of that orphanage, saw you right now using a stolen deck to fulfill a half-thought out scheme... he'd be ashamed of you."

The young boy quietly reached over and placed his cards on the top of his deck, forfeiting the match. I moved swiftly as the platform lowered down and, the moment Mokuba was back on the ground, held out my arms. The boy sniffed before rushing into my embrace, crying softly as I turned so the others couldn't see him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He repeated it over and over.

"I know," I told him, running my hand along his back, letting him spill his grief out. "And your brother will understand and forgive you too. But now you need to make this right."

He pulled away and hastily wiped his eyes as the Pharaoh and his friends approached. "Edwin is right, Mokuba," The Pharaoh said. "Your brother will forgive you. But what I want to know is how you ended up on this island."

I placed my hand on Mokuba's shoulder as he told them all about Pegasus, Kaibacorp, and the Big 5. Of how Gazabora's bylaws stated that only a member of the Kaiba family could control the company and the plan was to force Mokuba to sign the paperwork to force the merger of Pegasus' company and Kaibacorp. That would put Pegasus above Mokuba, allowing him to make the Big 5 the heads of their five divisions with free reign to return the company to what it had once been. Only I knew that Pegasus was willing to do this as he needed Kaibacorp's hardlight hologram tech in order to give his wife a body.

I clenched my freehand into a fist as Mokuba finished. 'Pegasus... if I thought I'd survive it I'd hold you down myself while Zorc scooped out BOTH your eyes! And your snake tongue as well!'

"Man, I can't believe Pegasus would do all that!" Joey declared. "What an utter creep!"

"Someone needs to do something to stop him."

"Believe me Tea, Pegasus won't be getting away with any of this," the Pharaoh stated firmly. "He has hurt a lot of people and has much to answer for. But before we can deal with him we must make right our own mistakes." He looked to Mokuba. "And that means returning the stolen Star Chips and deck to their rightful owner."

"You're right," Mokuba said, dropping his head.

"And we aren't going to make it if we don't hurt," I said, glancing over and letting out a sigh as the Pharaoh placed his five Star Chips back in his dueling glove, ensuring that this time he didn't lose 2 of them. "Mokuba, give them to me."

"Why?" the boy asked.

"I'm faster than all of you. Try and keep up but I'm going to race to the docks before that boat leaves."

"We'll be right behind you, Edwin!" Tea called out as I snatched the deck and Star Chips, placing the former in my pocket while clutching the latter in my hand. Within moments I'd left the others behind and went into a dead sprint, slowing down only when I began to feel my sides burn. I went into a fast walk at that point, still quicker than any of Yugi or his friends could have ran, but a glance at my watch told me it was going to be close. Too close. Fate, it seemed, would only allow so many things to change.

"No!" I yelled as I spotted the boat already rowing out to sea, Pegasus' goon watching as the eliminated duelists disappeared from view. I picked up the pace once more and my feet pounded on the stone dock as I finally reached the end. "What the hackysack, Sally? You said 30 minutes!"

"30 minutes, 29 minutes, what does it matter? Those losers were done anyway. They were never going to make it to the finals."

"Says you Sally May," I snarled. "Now turn the boat around so I can give the kid back his star chips."

"No," Sally said. "And the name is Kemo. Show some respect for your betters, you punk."

"I will when I see one of my better, Sally. Right now all I see is a tall man with a stupid hair cut compensating for having a tiny Richard Nixon!"

Kemo made a face, obviously not getting what I was saying, but by that point the Pharaoh, Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Mokuba had all caught up. "What's going on, Edwin?" Tristan asked.

"The Pretty Princess Sally lied to us," I snapped. "He told us the wrong time just so we couldn't give these Star Chips back."

"That's not fair!" Tea declared.

"Tough luck, Pegasus sets the schedule here."

"That's it, I'm gonna give this guy a pounding!" Joey declared.

"You have to call the boat back!" Mokuba said only for me to block his path. "Edwin?"

"Mokuba, do you recognize this man?" I said coldly.

"Y-yeah," Mokuba stated. "He works for... the Big Five!" He leapt back, realizing the danger. "You're the one that grabbed me!"

"So kidnapping along with grabbing little boys," I snapped. "Oh, am I going to enjoy sending out that message. You want black and white stripes or orange, Sally?"

"You will do no such thing," Kemo declared. "Pegasus has declared that if you send out any messages about what occurred here he will eliminate you and Joey Wheeler from the tournament."

"You can't do that!" Tea declared.

"Yeah, that's not fair!"

"Pegasus' tournament, Pegasus' rules," Kemo said with a grin. "He also wants you to hand over those stolen Star Chips."

I could have just set the card on the field. I could have. I could have made it to be no big deal, that this was just another monster from my deck and I was summoning it. Played it very casual and loose, like one would if they were at a tournament in my world. Summon the card, move on. But as I selected the card and heard Joey and the rest of his friends gasp and cheer me on, Mokuba letting out a whoop as he too realized that I'd drawn something special, I suddenly had an epiphany. I knew why in the show the likes of Yugi and Jaden and the rest made such a grand showing of announcing their move. Because I didn't want to let this go by as a casual thing. This wasn't like the match against Alto. This was Kaiba's deck I was facing. I wanted this to be special... to have true weight.

I thrust the card high above my head. "I summon forth the monster that is going to end this duel! The one who sees magic not as a wild beast that must be broken but rather science that must be mastered till it is so understood that performing miracles is of little wonder as drawing a breath. Face the might of Endymion, the Master Magician!" I slammed the card onto my podium's reader and felt raw glorious energy rush through me as my mage formed on the field.

Soft light shone down as the dark cloaked magician appeared. Dressed in ebony and violets, his ornate mask in place as he twirled his staff, the beams of light gleamed on the golden accents of his robes and made the great golden and white-silver ring that hovered behind him shine like the greatest of ethereal treasures. Dotting his clothing and gear were spell counter orbs, crystallized magic that just waited for the spark to make them truly shine.

'Glorious,' I thought to myself before select another card from my hand.

"Wait... so does that mean that Edwin's magician is, like, the boss of yours Yugi?" Joey asked.

"I don't know about that," the Spirit stated and I fought back a smirk at how utterly petulant he sounded about the idea that his Dark Magician might be outclassed by Endymion. "It might be stronger than my Dark Magician but strength isn't everything. The might of the Dark Magician isn't merely in his attack but also his adaptability. After all, all good magicians have tricks up their sleeves."

I nodded at that. "Yugi's right!" I called down to Joey. "Which is why its time for me to show you my Magician's best spells." I turned to look right at Ghost Kaiba. "But let me assure you... this isn't no mere illusion. Endymion is no mere conjurer of cheap tricks." I held up a card. "By sending one Spell Card from my hand to the graveyard Endymion can channel the energy of that potential magic into his very staff!" I placed Sparks in the graveyard and watched as the orb in Endymion's staff lit up. "And now Endymion can directly destroy your La Jinn! Endymion, Power Spell Blast!" The staff lit up and Endymion sent out the blast right at the genie.

Ghost Kaiba threw out his hand, fingers splayed. "I activate one of my facedown cards: Redirection. This trap allows me to take an effect or attack that is aimed at one of my monsters and send it at another. And I choose my giant!" The trap, which resembled a twisty pipe, caught the blast before it began to grow and twist like a Microsoft Screensaver image, sending the attack at the Cyclops instead, shattering it into bits.

"So much for that!" Kemo declared.

"Pipe down, Sally, I ain't finished yet!" I called out. "After all, first there is the matter of your lifepoints dropping like a stone thanks to that destruction." (Ghost Kaiba-1200) "And I still get an attack, so La Jinn is still getting torn to shreds. Endymion, Power Grasp Sweep!"

"I reveal my next facedown: The Magical Lamp."

I frowned a bit at that. I knew there was a card known as The Ancient Lamp that could redirect attacks but the Magical Lamp was a new one. A spell, for one, and it seemed that it protected Ghost Kaiba from attacks on La Jinn so long as he sent one card from the top of his deck to the graveyard. Rather useful, I had to admit, though not that useless for me as it created a nice wall I'd have to deal with.

"I thought Edwin had him there," Tristan stated with disappointment.

The Pharaoh merely shook his head, arms folded over his chest. "That's the thing about duels, Tristan: even the greatest of strategies and plans can be utterly rendered useless by an opponent's cards. A skilled duelist must not only understand this but be ready to counter their foes with their own combinations and attacks."

"Uh, Yug?" Joey said. "Kinda sounding like you are on Spooky Kaiba's side."

"Thank you!" I called out to Joey, gesturing at the Pharaoh who merely stayed silent. 'Okay, really have turned the Pharaoh against me, at least in this duel. He can Mind Crush people or be as mocking as HE wants but when someone else is doing it suddenly he's Helen Lovejoy clutching at his pearls asking why someone would think of the children. Hypocritical bastard.'

"Yugi should be rooting for me," Ghost Kaiba said. "I am the one that wants to reunite with my brother and you are the fiend that is trying to keep us apart. He knows in his heart of hearts that it is wrong to keep brothers separated and that you are the villain here." Ghost Kaiba drew. "And now it is time to set things right. Behold the proof that I am the real Seto Kaiba!" And with that he summoned his monster.

And I craned my neck up to stare at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in all its imposing, terrifying glory.

~MC~MC~MC~

Back in Japan, in a secret room within the Kaiba Mansion that had once been used by Gazabora Kaiba to hide those scientists and engineers that had delved a bit too deeply into their work and attracted the attention of the world governments, Seto Kaiba sat at a computer typing in commands.

"There is no way that this Duelist Kingdom just happened to occur at the same time Pegasus made a play for my company. The two have to be connected."

"And they are," the computer said rather bluntly. "The Big 5 have finally betrayed you."

"I expected as much. They thought that with Gazabora gone I'd be a puppet they could manipulate. I showed them how wrong they were. They were just lesser evils when compared to my adopted father but evil all the same. Worse they refused to move forward, choosing to remain in the past. I've known they would plot something for a while now but I thought I had a bit more time. Something has changed."

"That change was your loss to Yugi Moto. It embarrassed the board that their CEO lost to a nobody-" Kaiba grit his teeth. "-oh, you know it's true, don't deny it! Well, now they have made a deal with Pegasus that if he is able to embarrass Yugi right back then they will merge Kaibacorp with his company."

"Thus the tournament." Kaiba frowned, looking over the computer. "Except there has to be more to this than simply defeating Yugi. The tournament is too big... Pegasus has gone to smaller tournaments before to take on challengers. Why waste all this money just to embarrass Yugi? No... there is more to this than we know. I need more information."

"Then why not just go there yourself?" the computer's AI asked in a sassy tone. "Seems like your style to go marching into an obvious trap."

"Because I need to make sure it truly is the trap I should deal with," Kaiba stated. "Alright, Yugi is going to be the key. Begin searching for the Dark Magician, his favorite card."

The computer was silent for several long minutes, allowing Kaiba to think upon how much his life had changed in just a few short days. He had finally achieved his dream of being the sole controller of the Blue Eyes White Dragon only for his status as the greatest duelist in the world to be utterly shattered thanks to a child who hadn't even competed in a tournament doing the impossible. Then Pegasus and the Big 5 had set their sights on him, forcing him to flee and then hide in his own mansion. He'd even been forced to leave his deck behind... he had little doubt that Pegasus had a hold of it and that burned him greatly. And to find out that Mokuba had been taken... Pegasus had a lot to account for.

Kaiba looked over at the new Duel Disc he had been working on. 'That is going to help even the odds. I wouldn't put it past Pegasus to use the hologram technology to look at opponents cards and mess with their strategies. I want someone I control. And as for my deck...' he looked over at the pile of cards on another table. 'I am almost ready there too.'

While he would always prefer his main deck and his Blue Eyes Kaiba believed that it was important to be versatile. As such in the last year while he'd been searching for the fourth Blue Eyes he'd also been collecting cards to build a new deck, his XYZ Dragon deck. The machines did remind him a touch of Gazabora's war profiteering but he was able to brush those concerns aside when he saw the strength and flexibility the XYZs gave him-

"Well, sorry to say that there is no Dark Magician currently being played in Duelist Kingdom. I did detect something that might have been it but that was a few hours ago according to the logs."

"Keep searching then," Kaiba stated.

"Well, I could do that... or I could alert you to what else I found."

"If it isn't about Yugi I don't care."

"Even if it is a duelist who seems to be battling no one? And who is facing down a monster with 3000 attack?"

Kaiba rolled back to the keyboard at that proclamation. "My Blue Eyes! Pegasus must have locked information about it behind a firewall... but he didn't think of doing it for whatever dweeb got suckered into facing it. He probably assumed that Yugi would be the one to face it!" His fingers flew over the keyboard and sure enough other than the weak encryption that Pegasus was using for the entire tournament there was little resistance to him pulling up the duelist's information. "Edwin Chaos..."

"Per the Duelist Kingdom files on him he is a last minute replacement for Kipling Chaos. He is using a modified version of his deck."

"Can we get more information on him?"

The AI laughed and Kaiba knew if it had a face it would be grinning. "Oh, I can do more than that. Pegasus locked up all sorts of things but he doesn't think this duelist is all that important. Meaning if you break down this encryption here..." a file appeared and Kaiba got to work, entering in commands and activating his own programs to attack Pegasus' security. Soon enough the file shattered and the screens in his saferoom filled with footage from Duelist Kingdom and the duel that was taking place...

"Who the heck is that!?" Kaiba exclaimed seeing what could only be his doopelganger on screen. A doopelganger with pale skin, dark marks under his eyes, and gaunt cheeks. "What fake did Pegasus bring to the island to use my deck?"

"That I don't know but I'm reviewing the footage and audio of the beginning of the duel... hmmm... seems to claim to be YOU."

Kaiba grit his teeth. Another insult. "Not surprised. Pegasus would play mindgames like that." He shook his head, noticing that Yugi and his friends were watching. "I suppose this Chaos fell for it?"

"Actually no. He keeps calling him out, calling him a fake and-oh."

"Oh?"

The computer shifted the camera. "Seems Edwin Chaos is dueling not just for Star Chips but to protect-"

"Mokuba!" Kaiba exclaimed at the sight of his brother being watched over by Yugi's dweeb friends. "That idiot is using my brother as a bargaining chip?"

"Not sure he had a choice," the computer stated.

Kaiba didn't respond to that. "Alright, where is the duel at right now?" If this fool was risking his brother and getting utterly trashed-

"Currently your imposter has two Blue Eyes White Dragons on the field, having summoned one and used Tribute to the Lord of D to sacrifice La Jinn and the Magical Lamp to summon the second from his deck. His lifepoints are at 1200. Edwin Chaos just saw his Endymion the Master Magician and then his Crusader of Endymion destroyed. He currently has 3400 lifepoints."

Kaiba started at that. "How does he have THAT many lifepoints when he is facing down two Blue-Eyes?"

The computer pulled up an image of a card. "Thanks to Solemn Wishes he gains lifepoints every time he draws a card." The AI paused. "Oooooh. Or at least he did."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your imposter just activated Bad Reaction to Simochi. That card reverses lifepoint gain, causing Edwin to now LOSE 500 life points every time he draws a card. That has taken him to 3100. He is now setting a monster in defense."

"I know what the card does, it's in my deck."

"Touchy touchey." The computer was silent for a moment. "Should we begin assisting? I believe that we can hack into the dueling computer and begin draining the attack power of the Blue-Eyes-"

"No, leave it be," Kaiba said with a shake of his head. "Even with our help this Chaos has no hope of defeating my deck. Yugi is there and when he moves to protect Mokuba then we'll begin assisting. But I won't risk Pegasus realizing what we are doing on someone who doesn't stand a chance."

~MC~MC~MC~

It was one thing to see the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the show. It standing there, glaring at its opponents, mouth open ready to fire off an attack. It was quite another thing to be facing down the bastard in real life.

It was huge. T-Rex huge. And then there was the fact that unlike almost every other hologram in the game I'd faced so far, save for Endymion, the thing wasn't merely mindless hardlight. It. Was. Alive. It had a soul. I understood that even without the knowledge that this was Kaiba's eternal guardian.

And the dragon was pissed.

Partially at me because I was the one it was facing. But I could also tell that it wasn't happy being controlled by anyone but Kaiba. Oh, it might allow Yugi to use him, if for a good cause, and I wondered if it knew I was protecting Kaiba's brother that it would allow me to issue a command without a snarl. But Ghost Kaiba? It was only following commands because it had to, not because it wanted to.

And to add to the terror of all of this... there was a second one on the field.

'I can't keep playing defense against it though,' I thought as Rogue was destroyed and I began to search my deck for a continuous spell card to set on the field per his effect. I needed something strong since I'd been forced to discard a card, meaning I would be topdecking for most of the duel now AND had to always draw a defensive monster till I could find a way to deal with the dragons. 'If I draw into having no monsters I lose the duel per the rules. And that Bad Reaction trap is going to drain me to nothing if I'm not careful. I need to-'

I paused.

'I did not have this card in my deck.'

I pulled the card out and stared at it. I knew my uncle's deck well. It sucked. I had made it a bit better with my shopping spree but it wasn't where I wanted it to be yet. The weeks before Battle City would be spent getting it to the level I desired. But I knew that deck.

And the card I'd just chosen wasn't in it.

'Heart of the Cards,' I thought to myself with a shake of my head and a slight smile. 'Trust in the Heart of the Cards.'

"What's that? So terrified by the might of my dragons that you don't know what to do? Don't worry... there is only a little shame in admitting how truly inferior you are when compared to me. Surrender now and let Mokuba return to my side and I will be merciful to you. You may leave this island in tact-"

I snorted before turning to Kemo. "Hey Sally? You have Pegasus sitting in your ear whispering things, right? He mind if I play some music to go along with all of Pennywise's doom and gloom preidictions?"

"Listen you-" Kemo began only to pause, touching his ear before nodding. "Mr. Pegasus is interested to see just what you might have in mind. It would amuse him to see your choice."

"Was hoping you'd say that!" I pulled out my cellphone and opened Youtube.

"What are you doing?" Tea asked. "You have to focus on the duel!"

"This isn't the time for music!" Mokuba complained.

"It is always time for music, especially when I want to set the mood!" Finding the perfect music and setting my phone on the dueling platform, the Bluetooth connected with Pegasus' tech, and then I flashed Ghost Kaiba a grin. "This fits on two counts. One that you seem to be preaching doom and gloom to me about how I am doomed to fail. Granted, you aren't the only one. The guy that is supposed to be supporting me is also enjoying spouting off how I am screwed all because I don't respect you." I didn't even bother to look at the Pharaoh at that point, as I honestly didn't care what the actual ghost thought. "So this is my response to you saying that it's all over."

God bless Joey for being the perfect setup man. "And uh... what's the second reason, Ed?"

"Because it lets this fat, balding, point-haired clown remember that I know what It really looks like. So sing along if you know the words, Pennywise!" Ghost Kaiba flinched at that but I didn't care. I just smiled. And with that I hit play.

I was willing to bet they thought I'd have some dramatic music. Maybe a rocking ballad with Aerosmith or Queen or the like. A deep booming beat, a war march.

What none of them expected was Modest Mouse.

"I backed my car into a cop car the other day/Well, he just drove off - sometimes life's okay/I ran my mouth off a bit too much, ah what did I say?/Well, you just laughed it off and it was all okay!"

"I place on my field the continuous spell card Endymion's Lab! And I am going to warn you right now, if you don't take me down real fast... I'm going to slay you and your dragons." I drew my next card and grinned before slapping it onto the field, not even caring that Ghost Kaiba's Trap drained down my lifepoints. (Edwin-2600)

But Ghost Kaiba didn't say a word. No remarks about how he'd beat me, no trying to keep up his disguise that he was Seto wanting what was best for his brother. He just drew his next card and I could see it in his eyes... that little bombshell I'd dropped about his true looks? It had broken him. Maybe for a moment, maybe forever, but it had left cracks. The damn imposter wasn't someone who was on their first mission. Being Kaiba was just another job for him.

'It's Hannibal King,' I thought to myself. 'He's been so many other people for so long that he isn't comfortable being himself. I bet he met with Pegasus in another form. His true body is just for his own eyes. Me knowing the truth? Oh, that rattled him.'

My downface Magician of Faith shattered and I was all too happy to take back Pot of Greed. It cost me 1000 lifepoints on top of the 500 I lost for my normal draw but with three cards in my hand I suddenly felt a LOT better about my chances. (Edwin-1100)

"Now then, first I will set this monster. Next I will activate this: Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Bad Reaction and returning my Solemn Wishes back to its normal state!"

"What a minute," I heard Tristan say. "Why is that one card on Edwin's side of the field glowing?" Two beads of light had begun to shine on the edge of the card.

"It's because he activated a spell card," The Pharaoh stated, rubbing his chin. "He did state that it would allow him to deal with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons but I'm not entirely sure what use it will be. Endymion's Lab is used to gather spell counters, but at the moment he doesn't have any monsters that can benefit from that. There must be more that we are all missing. He was willing to give up what little remained of his hand for that card... there must be a use for it."

Once again action shifted to Ghost Kaiba and once again he was silent except calling for an attack. "Oh no!" I said in a mocking tone as 'Float On' continued to play. "You have attacked my Steel Scorpion!" My monster shattered only for it to reform clutching into the Blue-Eyes' chest. "My Steel Scorpion will destroy your Blue-Eyes at the end of your second turn. And when that happens... you are done."

The fraud glowered at that and set a card before motioning for me to continuing. A draw, setting Neo the Magical Swordsman, and my turn ended. (Edwin-1600)

"Hmmm," Ghost Kaiba stated, looking over his hand. "I think it's time to stop your Solemn Wishes. I use Trap Defusal, destroying your Solemn Wishes and with it your ability to boost your lifepoints!" The spell card flashed before my Solemn Wishes shattered but I was more focused on my Lab, which now had a third spell counter on it. "The cost is that both of us are able to draw one card but I am not concerned with that. There is no monster left in your deck that can defeat my dragons! This is only a matter of time before you are destroyed. Just as I destroy your Neos!"

"And just like I destroy your Blue-Eyes!" I called out as the Steel Scorpion exploded.

"I activate Hallowed Life Barrier to protect my lifepoints! Nice try, Edwin, but once more you come up far too short."

"Heh, this is getting pretty boring," Kemo taunted. "Why don't you just give up now Chaos and admit defeat! If you get on your knees and beg maybe I'll be gentle with you!"

"Huh... where have I heard that before? Oh yeah that's what your mother said last night!" I called out. Granted, it took me imagining that Kemo's mom was begging me to be gentle while I brushed her hair but still I was able to work around the 4Kids censor. "I'd say your dad but he was too busy hiding in the closet sobbing and smacking his own head while whimpering!" I looked up and saw that Ghost Kaiba was smirking as the card he'd drawn. "Let me guess... you just drew the final Blue Eyes, didn't you?"

"Well... what does it matter if you know the truth? Yes... yes I have! And I also have in my hand Monster Reborn! On my next turn I will summon one dragon from my hand and the other from my Graveyard! Then you will face the fury of my three Blue-Eyes!"

"They aren't yours, you fake!" Mokuba cried out. "They are my brothers!"

"Mokuba," I said sternly, "That's enough." I could tell the boy was confused. The Pharaoh was the one to scold him, not me. "Besides, don't waste your breath... this fraud isn't getting a next turn. I'm ending him right now!"

"Ending me?" Ghost Kaiba taunted. "You don't have a single monster on the field, let alone one that can defeat my dragon! Face it, Edwin... you are finished."

"We'll see..." I said, drawing. "First I activate Red Medicine to increase my lifepoints to 2100. But honestly... I could lose that much and not care. I could lose all but one lifepoint and not care. Because all you have are monsters on the field and nothing to stop what is about to happen. So let me make this clear to you, Fakey... what is about to happen next isn't because you stole Kaiba's deck. Or tried to steal his identity. It is because you traumatized that boy-" I pointed at Mokuba, "and just sent my damn Papa Wolf Syndrome into fudging overdrive!" I lifted up a card. "I activate the spell card Spell Power Grasp! This card allows me to add one spell counter onto a card on my field and I choose Endymion's Lab! And because Spell Power Grasp is a spell card itself it adds a second one to the Lab while I add a second copy from my deck to my hand. But I have more than enough to end you right here!"

"With what card?" Ghost Kaiba asked. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the mightiest card in the game!"

"Attack points don't make a card mighty! Its effects! Abilities! Combos! Take my Endymion... I told you that he studied magic until it became as simple as breathing to him. And the first spell he truly mastered?" I leaned forward and grinned with all teeth and no joy. "Monster Reborn."

"...no," Ghost Kaiba whispered.

"Yes."

"No no no!" Ghost Kaiba pleaded.

"Yes, yes, forever yes! I remove 6 spell counters from Endymion's Lab to bring forth from the graveyard the Master of Magicians: Endymion!" My Ace Monster reformed onto the field, spinning his staff before letting out a cry, a blast of magical energy flaring out from him and nearly knocking everyone but me off their feet. But the biggest effect was on Ghost Kaiba as his disguise shattered, his form bursting out of his Kaiba guise and revealing that bloated lovechild of Dilbert's boss and Bozo the clown for the world to see. But rather than arrogance and snide mockery he wore in the show when he'd revealed himself to Yugi now the Mimic was staring at me with utter terror. And It. Was. Delicious.

"What... what is that?" Tea exclaimed.

"A fake and a fraud," I said coldly. "A thief that stole Seto's deck and tried to kidnap a child. Not Kaiba, not his ghost, not his dark half. Just an assassin and a criminal Pegasus hired to recapture a child and illegally take over a company. A master of disguise who has used his powers for things that would make your hair curl." I was of course lying through my teeth but the way the fraud was staring at me with open shock showed I'd hit the mark. "Reporter. I've done my research. I know things you wouldn't believe. Secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken... knowledge that would make parasite gods bleed." Thrilled that this world didn't have Doctor Who, or at least no one was a fan to realize I'd ripped of the 11th Doctor, I turned and glared at the Pharaoh. "Still think I should 'show him respect'?" The Pharaoh merely narrowed his eyes and I focused once more on my foe. "You know what happens now, Eliminator!"

"No... no, you can't!"

"I can!" I held up the Spell Power Grasp that I had gained. "I activate Endymion's special ability, transforming this spell into the energy needed to slay your dragon!" I placed the card into the graveyard. "In the words of your people, Fakey... they float... they all float! And down here... YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!"

The fraud cried out as Endymion lashed out, sending the Spell Power Blast at the stolen Blue-Eyes, the dragon actually leaning into the strike to end its enslavement and finish the duel with an explosion that had the imposter gripping the podium to try and remain in place. (Ghost Kaiba-0)

"Beep beep, Ritchie," I said coldly as my platform lowered down and I gathered up my cards. "Now then, I'll be taking my star chips, you and Sally will be on your way, and just because you really prissed me off I think I'll be giving Seto's deck to Mokuba-"

The Fraud though was having none of that, reaching his hand into his cloak before yanking it out...and pointing two fingers at me. It took me a long moment to realize what was going on. 'Oh thank you 4kids for censoring the guns!' I took a step forward and the imposter trembled.

"Stay back! Stay back! You aren't getting anything from me! I mean it! Give us the boy and leave before you get hurt."

"Careful, Edwin!" Tristan called out. "This guy is serious!"

"Don't let him hurt you!" Mokuba declared.

I quirked an eyebrow at that but the Pharaoh moved forward, putting himself between me and the fake. It would have been rather impressive and emotional if it weren't just the frauds fingernails that were threatening me. "I might not agree with Edwin's methods but I see now he was right about you: you are undeserving of respect or kindness, swindler! You disgraced Kaiba by using his deck and his face and now you try to weasel your way out of admitting defeat? No more!" He thrust out his hand and I leaned back as the glowing image of the Eye of Horus appeared on his forehead. "Begone!" The world went negative for a moment and the Fraud cried out, his image shattering like glass before... he was just gone.

And no one other than me even reacted to the fact that another living creature had just gotten blinked into the cornfield.

"Froot Loop me," I murmured at the reminder that the Pharaoh, for all his judgmental ways, could be a savage bastard. Pushing back that horror until I had a private moment to properly freak out I instead walked over to the fraud's podium and took Seto's deck and my newly acquired star chips. "Well Sally, this has been fun but I think it is time you headed off."

"I don't think so," Kemo snapped. "Mr. Pegasus wants Mokuba Kaiba and I'm not leaving without him."

Joey glared at him, balling up his fist. "What's the deal!? You and Ed had a deal!"

"And I'm breaking it. So what?"

"Ya friggin' cheat!" Joey declared, balling his fists up.

Tea nodded, moving to stand behind Mokuba, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You aren't going to take him! We aren't going to let you!"

"Yeah, if you want him you'll have to get through us!"

Kemo cracked his knuckles. "That can be arranged..." he took a step forward only to pause, touching his ear. His face screwed up in disgust for a moment before it went back to its normal stony glower. "Very well." Kemo looked at us and with a barely held sneer stated, "Mr. Pegasus has agreed to your terms, Edwin Chaos: So long as you remain on this island and the boy remain with you he will not be harmed or taken."

Joey, Tristan, and Tea cheered that but I merely glanced at the Pharaoh. "Meaning I am now a target for every eliminator Pegasus has in his employ?"

"My thoughts exactly," the Pharaoh said before turning and looking towards one of the cameras that had been watching the duel. "And Pegasus... you have just revealed to us your cruelty and madness. I won't let that stand. Be ready... because I'm coming for you!"

"What he said," I muttered for lack of a witty comment. Mostly because my mind was elsewhere. I had sought to avoid changing events, to let history play out as I remembered it. Now though? Mokuba was safe. He would travel with us and wouldn't fall into Pegasus' hands. And now Pegasus was going to be gunning for me as hard as he was Yugi and Seto.

I hadn't merely changed history.

I'd taken a sledgehammer to it.