Chapter 74 - 74

Chapter 74

"The Word of God."

Renard looked over at his Captain. Edwin was seated in Renard's cabin, slouched in an armchair, looking out the window but not truly seeing anything. Kaiba had allowed everyone a 30 minute break before the next duel. But rather than focus on looking over his deck Edwin had pulled Renard aside and asked to talk with him in private, to give more information on his cryptic statement that he'd figured out some way to deal with Selene.

Thankfully Mai, who had seemed rather flustered that her other self had taken over yet again, had allowed Yuri to pull her away to grab brunch, and thus didn't seek to follow them.

"We hear about it a lot, don't we? Holy books are 'The Word of God'. Our laws are based on 'The Word of God'. People live their lives based on 'The Word of God'." He paused, letting out a huff. "People die every day arguing over which god to listen to and whose words actually have power.

"But... we never consider just what that means. The Word of God... to have power to alter the world through utter belief. That a God believes something to be true and thus when they speak it reality is warped." He looked down at his hand. "In the beginning... there was darkness." A ball of Shadow Magic danced on his palm; Renard would never get used to that. His Captain was growing stronger the longer he held the Millennium Key, learning to tap into the power of the Shadow Realm. It was frankly eerie how he could call upon the darkness and Renard wondered just how powerful Edwin would be in a month, considering how he'd leapt leaps and bounds so far. "And then the Lord said 'Let there be light'." His hand trembled slightly and Renard's eyes widened as the Shadow Magic ball began to twist, shrinking down... and glowing with a brief flash of golden light before disappearing completely. "And the Lord said it was good."

"That was new," Renard stated.

"Never tried it before," Edwin admitted. "The Millennium Items are tied to the Dark God Zorc... god of shadows and darkness. But they were also blessed by the ancient Egyptians who worshiped Ra. He wasn't the leader of their gods but he was an important figure. And the Millennium Key is supposed to be one of three items that weren't directly tainted by Zorc."

Renard frowned, doing the math. "The Ring, the Rod, and the Eye, correct?"

"Right. They are the tainted ones." Edwin had given him that history lesson when Renard had first joined up with him. "The Key, the Scales, and the Necklace are untainted. And the Puzzle sits in the middle, the soul of the Pharaoh and the essence of Zorc in balance. Of course, considering how Ishizu is getting, we know that someone can still use an untainted item for evil." He shrugged. "I wanted to see if light could beat back darkness and be wielded by the Key. Seems like it can... but it's a struggle." He shook his arm. "Feels like I've had it locked in the same position for hours. Fingers are tingling."

"Perhaps don't do that again?"

"Or try a few more times and see if it gets easier," Edwin said with a slight smile. "But not today." He leaned back in the chair. "But the Word of God... that's important. It alters our reality but now I know that it alters their reality as well. A god is only as powerful as they believe themselves to be. At least that's my running theory at the moment."

"What happens if you make god bleed," Renard stated.

"Exactly. You prove that a god is mortal... perhaps Leonidas didn't merely make Xerses bleed and reveal he was lying. Maybe... he actually made a god bleed and from that moment he was rendered mortal."

"Selene admitted this?"

"Selene was proving a point... she was explaining why she doesn't just wave her hand and force me to love her. Why she doesn't rewrite my memories or make me into a copy of my previous self. It wouldn't be fun or sporting and that's all the gods care about. They are bored assholes."

"And since their word is the law of the universe if they declare something..."

"It becomes true."

Renard frowned. "So what... you trap her in a paradox? Make her claim she won't do something then get her to do it?"

Edwin though shook his head. "Far too risky. That might hurt Mai. That's what makes this such a pain in the ass... it's a hostage situation and you can't harm the kidnapper in any way. It's like... Selene is a suicide bomber with a deadman switch and she has Mai wrapped up in her arms. I can't get her away so I have to find some way to defuse the bomb."

"And what are you thinking then?" Renard pressed.

"I have a few ideas... I need to work them out in here." He tapped his head. "But the point is I actually have some hope."

~MC~MC~MC~

"There, are you dweebs finally ready to get back to the duels?" Kaiba said with a roll of his eyes as everyone returned to the main ballroom of the KaibaCorp Blimp.

There were a few missing still. Marik and Ishizu, as well as Bakura. But Odion had finally joined them, standing off to the side until Edwin and Renard walked over to stand with him, the two shooting glares at anyone who might have a problem with that.

"Hey, just because ya got nothin' in your life 'cept duelin' don't mean the rest of us can't use a break ta eat!" Joey shouted, holding a croissant sandwich in one hand.

"And show us all what you are slobbering over, Wheeler," Kaiba said in disgust before activating the Bingo Machine. "Now then, let's see who the next two duelists will be."

The balls bounced about before two were finally snatched and dropped down.

"Yugi Muto vs. Tristan Taylor." Kaiba smirked at that. "Well, looks like I'll get to watch at least one of you dorks get booted out of my tournament."

"And the other one will be in it to kick you out, rich boy!" Tristan declared fiercely.

"Keep telling yourself that, Taylor," Kaiba said before marching out of the room, calling out to them, "You have three minutes to get out to the arena or you're disqualified!"

"Someone is antsy," Koyo commented.

Duke nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised he cares. I'd have thought he'd just go back to his room and brood."

Tea frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "He probably wants to see what changes Yugi made to his deck and what Tristan is using. How much did he see of your deck when you two dueled against those Rare Hunters, Yugi?"

"I used my Gaia the Fierce Knight deck," Yugi admitted. "So he'll know about that. And he obviously saw me duel against Joey with my Dark Magician deck." He frowned. "Maybe I should-"

"Don't tell me another word, Yugi," Tristan warned him. "I want no one to claim I had an unfair advantage against you."

Yugi considered that before nodding. "I only now the bare basics about your deck, Tristan, so I suppose that's more than fair. We'll go into this completely blind."

"And the best duelist will win, right?" Tristan said with a grin, holding out his hand. Yugi, after a moment, shook on it and the group made their way towards the elevator. "But whoever wins has to promise to kick Kaiba's butt, okay?"

"And Marik's too," Tea stated. "And I wouldn't mind Ishizu being added to the list."

"Still angry at her even after you broke her nose?" Koyo asked.

Tea merely shrugged. "I'll only be satifised when she'd out of the country and we know she can never meddle again."

'Are you okay, Yugi?' The Pharaoh asked within his mind. 'I know this is going to be hard for you... it is difficult to take on our friends.'

'Yeah but I was already preparing for that once we all got on. I mean... I want them to do well but that means that no matter what someone was going to end up taking on their friend. After all, there can only be one winner in this tournament.'

'But we must remember that it isn't just this tournament we must be concerned with,' the Pharaoh stated. 'There is far more at stake... and complications keep arising.'

'I know,' Yugi admitted. In his mind he saw Marik, a grin on his face as he held a card covered in shadows. 'Marik wants to defeat us and claim the Millennium Puzzle, as well as Slifer the Sky Dragon. Even if he doesn't know what he'll do with them, as Edwin keeps claiming, I still can't let him just take the Egyptian God Card. That power...'

The Pharaoh murmured in agreement. 'And then there is Bakura... or the Spirit of the Millennium Ring. He has shown himself to be unwilling to give up his pursuit for the Puzzle as well. And despite Tristan getting rid of the Ring it returned to him...'

Yugi sighed at the doors to the elevator opened and he, along with his friends, stepped out. On the opposite end of the dueling arena Edwin, Renard, Odion, Pegasus, and his Grandpa stepped out. 'I don't trust Ishizu either, not anymore. Not after what Mokuba told us about that woman, Susan.' He shuddered at the thought of him having considered, even for a moment, working with the Egyptian woman. She had been willing to brainwash some poor person, convince them they were... Kaiba's lover from a past life?... all to try and get him to... 'We don't even know what she did it!' He set his jaw. 'Pharaoh... do you think there is a chance she's lying about your past?'

'You mean I might not even be a Pharaoh?'

'Maybe.'

'...no,' the Pharaoh stated. 'I do think she was telling the truth there. She knows too much about the Millennium Items and comments Marik, Odion, and even Selene have made point to me being a Pharaoh when I was alive.'

'Selene,' Yugi said. 'Now we have a goddess to worry about.'

'There is one good piece of news there.'

'And that is?'

'She is focused on Edwin.'

Yugi paused before letting out a huff, hearing the amusement in the Pharaoh's comment. 'Pharaoh!'

'I may be on better terms with Edwin after our journey through the multiverse but I won't deny I enjoy seeing him twist in the wind sometimes. He certainly needs his ego knocked down a peg or ten.'

'...maybe but the problem is if he gets knocked down she might very well come after us next.'

'If it is for a relationship we have no fear... Tea will protect you.'

'Pharaoh!' Yugi mentally exclaimed before finally stepped up into the dueling arena, activating his duel band and turning it into a duel disc.

"Some time you have to let me try that out, Yug!" Tristan called out.

"I think Edwin has enough for all of us," he stated with a grin. "He just never got a chance to pass it over. Now, are you ready Tristan?"

"Are you? Need to let the Pharaoh take over?"

Yugi however shook his head. "For you Tristan... I want to be the one in control."

"Okay man! But don't hold back on me, you hear!"

"Never!" Yugi said .

"This match will determine who moves on to Round 2 of the Battle City finals," the ref declared as Yugi reached into his jacket and pulled out the deck he would be using for that duel. "Yugi Muto will be taking on Tristan Taylor. Begin!"

"Duel!" the two of them declared together.

"Tristan, I'll let you go first!" Yugi called out.

"Okay man, but get ready to be impressed!" Tristan drew his hand and looked over his cards carefully, his lips pressed into a slight frown before he nodded. "I'll start by summoning Machina Gearframe in attack mode!" the orange robot appeared on the field, falling into a boxer stance. "And when this card is summoned I get to add a Machina from my deck to my hand." He took out his deck and searched through it. "And I know just the card I want." He added that to his hand before stating, "And now I will summon another Machina Monster."

"Why do I feel the urge to say, "Screw the rules, I have money"?" Edwin said, brow furrowing. "I mean, it's a reference which is what I do because I'm basically Abed meets my version of Luna Lovegood but it's a weak one at that..."

"I special summon in defense mode my Machina Air Raider in defense mode by discarding my Machina Irradiator." On the field a drone-like Machina monster appeared, hovering above Gearframe. "And I end my turn."

Yugi drew before looking over the field. 'Tristan really wanted to get that Air Raider on the field... he sacrificed another powerful Machina monster in order to do so.'

'Or he needs the Machina Irradiator in the graveyard,' the Pharaoh commented. 'You must remember Yugi that the game has evolved far beyond how it was only a few months ago. Now many duelists use the graveyard as just another tool.'

'Like Kaiba did in his duel with Renard,' Yugi thought back. 'But just like their decks have evolved... so have ours! And I think it's time we show everyone that!' He held up a card and declared. "Tristan, you are the first person who is going to see me use this deck!"

"And hopefully I'll be the last when I beat ya!"

Yugi smiled at that. "We'll see, Tristan! See, I was actually working on a deck similar to this before Kaiba took on my Grandpa and I began using his deck. I was collected the Magnet Warrior Cards because they were monsters that started out small but were able to combine together to become something far bigger and better. It reminded me of all of us... combining our talents in order to become something greater. I never did finish that deck but thanks to Pegasus now I have something even better!" He put the first monster on his duel disc. "I summon Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior to the field in defense mode!" The monster, which was a fusion of metal, electric coils, and of course magnets, appeared on the field with some sparks before it settled down, its feet locking onto the dueling arena floor. "And when Gamma is summoned to the field I am able to special summon from my hand one Magnet Warrior. So I'll summon Beta the Electromagnet Warrior also in defense mode!" A second Magnet Warrior, this one far more bouncing than the first, appeared on the field. "And when Beta is summoned I can add one Magnet warrior from my deck to my hand." He took out his own deck and began to go through the cards. 'Perfect! Now that I have Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior in my hand next turn I can summon him. He'll allow me to add my Magnet Warriors' fused form to my hand and then summon it to the field. With that in place I'll be able to hit Tristan really hard!'

'Be careful though, Yugi,' the Pharaoh warned. 'Tristan is not a slouch... not if he got this far into Battle City.'

The Egyptian man frowned at that. "I'm not sure I like thinking about that."

"Yeah, multiverse is a bitch," I commented as Yugi finally nodded his head, having most likely finished up talking with the Pharaoh. "Remind me to tell you about the world were all of us are gender swapped."

"Tristan, you've done really good but now it's time to finish this duel," Yugi said. "I activate Berserkion's special ability: by banishing a Magnet Warrior from my graveyard I can destroy one monster on your side of the field! So I will destroy your Citadel and leave your field wide open!"

"Or," Tristan said with a smirk, "I'll destroy my Machina Citadel on my own, using its own effect that will destroy all monsters on the field that have 3000 or less attack!"

"Man, I remember that effect!" Joey declared.

"Yeah!" Koyo said excitedly. "That's the effect that Tristan kept using to deal with Mako's monsters!"

"Except Yug can bring back his three original Magnet Warriors all over again!"

"No, he can't!" Tristan called out, filling one of his trap cards. "I activate Machina Minefield. This card allows me to negate a monster's effect and I choose of course Berserkion's! Which means at long last your Magnet Warriors won't be bothering me any more."

"Don't be so sure of that," Yugi said as he held up a card and normal summoned Alpha, which allowed him once more to add a Magna Warrior to his hand. "And your field is still wide open for attack-"

"Unless I activate Back to the Front!" Tristan said, activating his second facedown card. "This allows me to once again summon my Citadel!"

"Amazing," Duke said, shaking his head. "Tristan truly is matching Yugi blow for blow!"

"They really are evenly matched," Tea said as Tristan shifted his Machina Citadel to attack mode and attacked Alpha the Electromagnetic Warrior, scoring, at long last, the first hit on lifepoints in the duel. (Yugi-2700)

"You said earlier..." Odion began, "that Yugi Muto is more of a real person than the Pharaoh..."

"Of course," Renard stated with a casual shrug. "The Pharaoh... he is a man with no memories. No form. Everything he has is borrowed. He only understands Japanese because of Yugi. Only knows how to duel because of him. Thus more respect should be given to Yugi-"

"Wait," I said, cutting of Renard. "Speaks Japanese?"

"Yes..." Renard said slowly.

"Are... are we speaking Japanese right now?"

"Yes?" Renard said, confused before he raised an eyebrow. "Is this a 'I'm from another world' thing?"

"Seems like it," I admitted slowly. "Everything sounds like English to me."

Renard frowned. "What about now?"

"English."

"That was French. This is Russian. This is German."

"English, English, English." My face screwed up into a frown. "The only time I haven't understood what someone was saying was when I heard what I think was Greek..." I sighed, pitching the bridge of my nose. "Fucking Selene. Mark my words..."

"Sometimes," Odion said slowly, "I forget that I am not the only one leading a strange life."

"Yeah, I keep thinking I should have pamphlets made," I commented as Yugi finally looked up from going over his hand.

"Tristan... I am glad you gave me this duel. I always wonder if the Pharaoh is the one who is the true King of Games. If I am nothing more than a fraud, tricking everyone into thinking I do far more than I actually do." He smiled. "But this duel... it has shown me that I can win this tournament on my own. Because you are one of the most skilled duelists I have faced so far. Thank you for forcing me to up my game. I'll never forget that."

"Looks like Yugi is going to win," I commented. "...also am I speaking Japanese right now?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Huh."

"I first send the different Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Electromagnet Warriors that I've slowly been putting in my graveyard via effects and battle from this game in order to summon once more my Berserkion."

"And if I use Citadel's effect then you'll just bring out your three Magnet Warriors and swarm me," Tristan stated. "So its better to wait and force you to decide how our monsters are destroyed."

"There isn't a choice at all. I activate Polymerization, fusing Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from my hand with my Berserkion who is on my side of the field!"

"Valkyrion?!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Another Magna Warrior that uses the first three Magnet Warriors I was originally gathering in order to be formed. By merging him and Berserkion I can summon Imperion Magnum the Superconductive Battlebot!"

The monster that formed from those two Magna warriors was truly a wild sight. A centaur-like creature made from six different Magnet Warriors, electricity bursting from its body as all around it the field began to buckle and shake thanks to the magnet pull coming from its body.

"I activate Quick Attack, allowing my Imperion Magnum to attack your Citadel!" The newly created monster let out a bellow that was like a dying electronic device before thundering forward, leaping into the air and shattering Tristan's monster. "And then I activate Defusion! This allows me to summon Berserkion back to the field while Valkyrion, who was not summoned properly, is sent to the graveyard. But with your field empty..."

Tristan smiled. "Good move man... hit me with all you have!"

"Right! Berserkion... attack!"

The Magna Warrior rushed forward before stabbing at the ground just before Tristan, sending him falling back as his lifepoints dropped to zero. (Tristan-0000)

"Yugi Muto has defeated Tristan Taylor and moves on to the next round."

Yugi walked over to Tristan and offered him his hand. "Good duel?"

"Good duel," Tristan agreed, accepting the help up.

~MC~MC~MC~

Chaosverse Omake

"This isn't right, brother."

The man who was no longer a man merely smiled. "Of course it isn't, Alpha, but this is how the Senate works. They don't like someone asking too many questions so its just best to get rid of them."

The Archivist and Historian frowned though, shaking his head and causing his white droopy mustache to swing back and forth. "This is a disgrace! They should be helping you, not doing... I... I won't stand for it. They can take me too, damn them to the Pit!"

"You have to," he said gently. "If you are offlined then the House of Trion is dead." He paused, reaching up with his manacled hands to take Alpha's in his own. "I always wondered what it would be like to have an older brother. Thank you."

Alpha frowned at that, still wishing he knew what had happened to his younger brother to make him so confused, to cause him to say such strange things, but before he could say a word the Senate Guards shoved his brother forward, through the door that led into the full Senate and Alpha was forced to join with the audience.

"This isn't right," Senator Ratchet complained, folding his arms over his chest. "Just makes me want to retire all the quicker."

"Its going to tear the planet apart. Even with tension in Kaon calming down as of late this show of force..."

The Senate Sergeant At Arms called out suddenly, cutting him off. "Hear ye, hear ye! The Senate is in sessions. Sentinel Prime presiding. First order of business: the trial of Omega Trion, The so-called 'King of Beasts' for treason, subversion, illegal alt mode, and conspiracy!"

"Oh, is that what being something other than a good little soldier is called?" Omega Trion asked with a smirk. He was stockier than Alpha, with a golden circle beard around his mouth and golden-maned leo heads upon his shoulders. He shared similar coloring to his brother Alpha Trion but his build was thicker, built for battling up close. He lacked the cloak that Alpha had though that was to be expected, what with Alpha being the Archivist of Cybertron while Omega was simply another Cybertronian... one who is recent cylces had seemingly gone mad.

"Enough,"Sentinel Prime, the orange leader of Cybertron, said coldly. "Or we will have your voice box!"

"How keeping with Primus' ways, to torture those you don't like!" Omega taunted right back. "What next, remove my head and hands so everyone can see how 'bad' I am?" He scoffed. "The corruption of the Senate must run deep if they think YOU are the beacon of justice! No wonder Tyrest refused to hear this case!"

"I said that was enough!" Sentinel bellowed, standing up. "Omega Trion, you are-"

"Can I just cut you off right there?" Omega said, talking right over Sentinel. "See, none of this really matters. This entire... show trial. You already decided the verdict. I talked to the wrong people, showed concern for the wrong bots, and now I'm to be an example. We all know it!" He spun in a circle, holding out his wrists, daring someone to contradict him.

Though he had his faceplate up Alpha could tell Sentinel was smirking. "Well... if you wish to move onto the punishments..."

"Gladly," Omega said... and one of the guards reached out and removed his cuffs.

Alpha would have gasped at that if he hadn't been silenced by two thirds of the Senate guard suddenly turning on the rest of their squad, taking them down before moving to open doors, allowing a stream of rather infamous faces to swarm into the room despite the cries of panic from the Senators.

From up high the brilliant young scientist Starscream, along with his brothers, flew in, shattering the great dome of the Senate, and began firing stun blasts at the more war-mongering Senators.

Legendary lawman Ultra Magnus burst through a wall, aiming his gun at a Senator who had just begun to rise up, allowing Senator Ratbat to strike the bot down.

The 'Ghost of the Wastes', whom Alpha had learned only recently was an escaped mental patient named Soundwave, marched in with a small army of animal alt form Cybertronians, sharing a nod with Ironhide who handed him a gun. Several of the Beastbots whent to Alpha's brother, Omega reaching down and petting a leo and pachyderm moded duo.

Optimus and Elita, the two low class bots who Alpha and Ratchet had saved and upgraded after an explosion at the docks, raced in, Elita throwing Omega a large energon blade.

And Megatron of Tarn himself followed right behind them, a smile playing on his face as he aimed his fusion canon right at Sentinel.

"What... what is the meaning of this?" Sentinel asked even as Omega leapt into the air, swinging his sword at the Prime, the leo beast turning into a shield for him to wield. Sentinel quickly brought up an energon shield of his own but Alpha could tell that it had been hastily activated and not fully charged up while his brother's sword was at full power. The energon began to crack under the first strike alone.

"The meaning is that the many are tired for a loud few ruling over them. Declaring that because of your build you are a lesser." Omega leaned in close, his voice mocking. "You shame Primus."

"Primus can go to the Pit for all I care, so long as I take your head!" Sentinel asked... only to freeze as his body began to tremble. "What?"

Alpha took a step forward. "It can't be..."

The fighting stopped as all stared at the Prime as he suddenly leapt back from Omega, dropping his shield and pressing his hands to his chest. "No... no..."

"Someone isn't worthy anymore," Omega taunted as Sentinel's chest suddenly exploded, the Matrix of Leadership rocketing out. Omega turned towards Optimus...

...and was just as shocked as Alpha when the Matrix slammed into his own hands.

"Omega Trion," the Matrix whispered in a thousand voices for all to hear, "you are a light in the darkness. You are the shadows against the burning suns. Arise... Chaos Prime."

There was a blast of light and when it faded Omega was nearly twice his original height, with a grand helm crest, horns on his leo-headed shoulder armor, and the Matrix embedded in his chest.

"...oh fuck," the new Prime whispered as all in the Senate knelt before him.

INTRODUCING CHAOS PRIME

The Chaos of Earth 84