Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Lady of Dragons ❯ Millennuim Prelude ( Chapter 14 )

"The future is not something you enter.  The future is something you create."

- Leonard I. Sweet

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MILLENNIUM PRELUDE

"Okay... Now that I have the darn things, how do I make them work?" Peter growled. He was now in front of the museum with his father, attempting to figure out how in the world this thing was supposed to get him to the finals.

Locator cards had been obsolete for a number of years now. Everyone knew that the finals always began at the same place, Kaibacorp Airfield. However, with the ever-increasing technology of the tournament tracking system, they were still needed to put a duelist's position as a finalist into the database.

Peter swung his head around as he heard the familiar honk of a blue van. Joey, now with a very noticeable blue bandage on his forehead, pulled up to the parking lot. Peter was actually quite glad at this turn of events; the first few drizzles of rain had begun to fall.

 

The young dragon master squeezed into the back seat around the car seat and bags that held the belongings of his sister. He stared at his small deck of gold cards, each with the Kaibacorp logo branded on them, and tried to think about how he could make them reveal their secret. He barely heard Joey grumbling to himself in the front.

"Sure, she takes the baby with her, and I still have to carry around all of this junk!" Joey stopped dwelling on his misery long enough to look back at his son. "Hey champ, what's the hold up? I thought you would have plugged that thing in already."

Peter hung his head a bit. "I never learned how to make this stupid thing work," he admitted, slightly sheepishly.

Joey looked back to help, nearly causing him to crash into a telephone pole. "Oh, that's easy," he said, not paying attention to Peter's irritated scowl. "Look at the slots. Five for monsters, five for magic, one for a field, and one for a deck master if you want one. That's twelve slots."

Peter looked at the cards and gazed at the blue barcode, attempting to see if there was any certain order that the cards went in. Finally, he just winged it and inserted the cards into random slots. It seemed to work though, as a new holograph seemed to take form. A prerecorded message began: "Greetings, finalist..."

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"…Derik Motoh."

 

Derik suppressed a shiver. The holographic figure was definitely older, but not unrecognizable. Silver hair was pulled back into a colonial ponytail, revealing an eye patch over the left side of the man's face. It was a man that Derik had seen not ten minutes ago. "I am Maximillion Pegasus, and I will personally witness your matches on board the Kaibacorp 7 airship waiting in Kaibacorp Airfield."

"As always," Isis grinned.

Derik kept paying attention as the recording continued, "All duelists have the privilege of inviting one guest to witness your exploits. This recording should have unlocked a personal invite on your duel disks. As another privilege, all finalists have the opportunity to create a one of a kind card for their own personal use, hand-created by moi. I am afraid that as of now the ante rule is expired, but face it, if your deck needed any improvement, you would not be where you are. Please report to Kaibacorp Airfield on day six of the tournament for your chance to participate. Good luck, finalist!"

Derik had stopped paying attention at the personal card offer. What on earth could he possibly want in his deck?

Isis brought him back to reality with a crash as she looked at her watch. "Shoot, it's six forty-five already."

Derik looked at her as if she had just sprouted dragon wings. "Uh, hello, 'Miss Favorite to Win'? The guy said day six. That's two days away."

Isis turned and returned the look of unbelief. "Uh, hello yourself. The tournament was shortened, remember?"

Derik didn't even bother to try and put the information together before nearly yanking the little girl's arm out of the socket. There was no way he was going to be late for this.

Yugi sighed before even attempting to catch up to them. "You know, those two seem kind of cute together when they aren't locked in a state of harsh competition," he said, apparently to no one.

Yami heard, though, and quickly took his transparent physical form. "Do you think that they will realize that you have a car, and they don't have to make a run for the airfield in the rain?"

"I doubt it," Yugi replied to his partner with a chuckle. "Those two may not have a whole lot in common, but they have an identical hard-headed streak. I swear, I don't know where Derik gets it. He seems more like Joey then like me most of the time."

Yami looked at the path that the two children had taken before saying something on his mind. "Yugi, I am glad to be back with you, but there is so little we know about Seskera. I have not been able to do anything to stop him. To make it short, I don't know if there is anything I can do."

Yugi had been thinking that himself, but without the Order of Ammit picking him out as a target, he had nowhere to begin to start looking. "I know how you feel, but now that the finals are on he should be easy to find. You can protect everyone aboard that blimp. And besides, it doesn't hurt to be careful. We don't know if we need the Egyptian God cards either, but we have them just in case."

Yami grunted in response and retreated back into the puzzle.

Yugi only now realized that he was soaking wet from the pouring rain. Having a conversation with your dark spirit could make you lose track of things.

 

Not even bothering to take the car, he set off to follow the children at a moderate jog, immediately falling over due to a stitch. He had spent far too many years behind a counter. "All that running around when I was younger and I never once got tired," he muttered.  "I must be getting older." Yugi set off again, listening to a light chuckle from his other self as he held his arm to his side and kept going.

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Ishizu followed her husband as he stepped out of the black limousine. To her surprise, several of the finalists had already arrived. The sound of screeching rubber told her that the other shower guests were not that far behind. The smell of friction-burned tires wafted to her nose as doors slammed behind her.

Tea stepped out, heart racing and eyes wide, and immediately began yelling at Mai, saying things that no parent would want to be their child's first words.

 

“Stop your complaining!" Mai finally interrupted. "I got us here alive, didn't I? I happen to be an excellent driver."

Tea replied, "For a video game, yes!"

Mai ignored her, getting Isabelle out of her car seat. Tea gave a smug grin as Mai wiped the baby-puke off of the child's shirt. "At least it's raining, I don't need to do another load of laundry," the mother countered weakly. The two women waited under a flimsy canopy, until the first of the finalists arrived.

Actually, it was eight people arriving at once under a very large umbrella.

Marik and Bakura quickly ducked under the canopy to talk to the girls.

 

"Making new friends, brother?" Ishizu teased in a way that was normally not her style.

Marik sneered with a look that would kill a vampire while struggling to get his hair to stand up after the rain had washed it. "I told you that I didn't spend the money on hair gel," the Tomb-Keeper said accusingly, envious at Bakura's perfectly held haircut. He then swung his head, making sure to hit Bakura in the face with his matted hair before responding to his sister. "For your information, I was trying to find Seskera."

"Don't you remember what he looks like?" Tea questioned.

"Yes... ten years ago!" Marik thundered. "Odion is here, however." He gestured to a large purple-cloaked figure near the back of the crowded umbrella. Sparing a glance at Mai, he then added, "And for the gods's sakes, woman, wear a thicker shirt!"

Mai quickly turned around, keeping her rain soaked chest from view. "I'm nursing a baby... a very hungry one," she defended. Nonetheless, she held the baby a little higher in her arms.

"We had better be going," Bakura interrupted. "The finalists will be registering soon. That may give us a clue."

Marik scowled once more. "I hate rain."

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"Is that her, the woman who can tell the future?" one man said.

"Ishizu, yes... my sister," Odion responded.

The other hissed, "That could sabotage the whole plan if word gets out of who I am. Are you sure that you couldn't cover for me?"

Odion shook his head while speaking quietly under his breath. "No. I was the decoy for Marik last time I even came near this tournament. Most of these people know me. I told you it would be dangerous taking me on board. I knew it would reveal your presence on board the ship."

"We have to risk it," the Ammitite leader whispered. "In fact... it works in my favor. I need the soul energy of a strong duelist. Specifically, I need that Winged Dragon of Ra - and you are going to get it for me."

"And how are you going to keep your own cover? The moment the Kaibas see me, they will know who you are," Odion asked, a little too curtly.

"Have no fear about that," Seskera hissed in his trademark icy tone. "You simply need a guest pass. It doesn't have to be mine. The more men I have on board, the better. Besides, not only am I an accomplished pickpocket, I have always had a keen interest in drama." Odion inhaled to speak, but was cut off by his master. "We don't get cards just by winning them you know."

That wasn't what he was thinking. Odion just couldn't shake the feeling that this scenario was all too familiar.

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Ishizu heard a creak at the door and watched as her brother and the other three squeezed into the small office, all drenched. Seto sneered, saying, "I hope all of you are guests for the finalists, otherwise I have to ask you to leave."

 

As the others stared in disbelief, people started heading through the door.

First was a man who, had circumstances proved different, could have worked as a punk rocker. Gelled blonde hair curled backwards from an almost corpse-like face. Before he could speak, Kaiba directed him to another guy, barely in view to the side.

Holding up a clipboard, the man said, "Finalist registration, first name?"

"Ashford," the punk said in a tone that sounded out of place with his hair, until you saw the eyes. They were the coolest misty blue that many of them had ever seen, and unlike most eyes, no luster could be seen shining off of them. The very sound of that voice made Ishizu's blood run like ice through her veins.

The moment seemed to last forever; however, it was little more then an instant before the security guard asked the next question. "Last name?"

Ashford actually seemed taken aback by the question before responding. "None given," he responded with a touch of chilling silk.

"I am afraid that I need a last name, sir," the guard added, a bit annoyed.

Ashford responded with something no one expected - a blow to the security guard's face.

Only when a return punch knocked him to the ground did he answer through a bloody lip. "Clive," Ashford hissed. "Are you happy now?"

"Very. You have a room reserved on the blimp; I trust you can find it without an escort. Guest?"

"My girlfriend, she took the guest entrance as requested."

"OK, you may proceed, Mr. Clive." The guard caught the first bits of an argument between Marik and Kaiba, something about finding someone and a guest entrance, before wiping the spit off of his neck that Ashford had hit him with on the way out.

A friendly face interrupted his bad mood. "There's only one person I know that can punch like that. Tristan! How's it going? Long time no see," Joey called out.  He had just walked through the door, a soaking Peter at his side.

The rest of the gang looked up to greet their old friend, now that they recognized him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be in the army or something," Joey questioned.

"Do you know how hard it is to get a defense position here in Japan?" Tristan countered. "This security gig isn't half bad though."

"I'll bet," Joey baited, "how hard can it be to sit on your butt and stare at big-screen TV's all day?"

Tristan refused to answer and simply took down Peter's name. Joey got his guest pass, and moved up the stairs to get settled in.

The next time the door opened was punctuated with a crash of thunder, and what appeared to be a man with two heads stood at the entrance. When the backlight cleared, however, it was revealed to be two men, walking in together. One was holding small glasses to his eyes, trying in vain to keep water off of them.

The other was wrapped in a white sheet. It took Kaiba a minute to realize that it was held together with leather belts to form a makeshift straitjacket; underneath it, revealed by the rain, was a real straitjacket, as well as several other restraints. The wrapped man seemed to be stooped over, showing off blue and green hair. His eyes didn't match, one being blue and the other green, and a long scar circled around one eye and to his chin.

Despite being sympathetic, Tristan had to admit that it was the creepiest man he had ever seen. "Um, I need a first name, sir," he asked the straitjacketed man.

The other man took a posture of importance as he straightened his collar, but a glint of silver did not escape anyone's eye. "He goes by the name of Logos. I am his caretaker and therapist, Dr. William Montgomery. I know he is a bit unorthodox, but as will be revealed in my upcoming book, dueling is..."

"I don't recall asking you," Tristan cut him off.  "I can assume that you are his guest. Last name?"

There was a brief silence, and then the duelist let out a maniacal laugh.

Tristan paused a moment.  "Lo...gos. Right, carry on."

 

As the duo continued up the stairs, Kaiba couldn't help but notice, "We've got some rather strange ones this year. Any luck, Ishtar?"

Both siblings looked up at the exact same moment, but only Marik answered. "It could be any one of them. Nothing would surprise me now. But unless Odion shows up, I can't be sure."

The answer was disappointing, but satisfactory as Kaiba again turned to the door. His own daughter and Derik arrived next, totally soaked, with an utterly exhausted Yugi not far behind.

 

Kaiba took one look at the two as they registered together and paled. "Oh, no," he muttered to himself, but it did not escape Ishizu's ears. Or Yugi's for that matter.

"Oh, come on, what's the matter now?" Ishizu asked.

"I'll be damned if I raised my daughter just so she could marry a Motoh," Kaiba stated simply, half in shock.

"Kaiba, they're only eight," Yugi reminded him.

"Best to kill it before it spreads," Kaiba said with a note of finality.

Derik took his father up the stairs to his room while Isis decided to stay behind. The wait wasn't long before another finalist opened the door and tried in vain to dry off.

The new arrival flicked his hair to one side, inconveniently hitting Kaiba in the face. It was cut far longer then usual, about the middle of the shoulder blades. The remarkable thing, though, was the single streak of deep red through the center of the style.

 

The duelist finally took the time to get his bearings, noticed the grim expression on Kaiba's wet face, and gave a weak smile.

Tristan, wanting to keep his employer from exploding, spoke quickly.  "First name?"

"Thoth."

"Last name?"

"Paradeus."

"Go ahead." Tristan wrote the name down furiously, but called out as Thoth ran by, "Hey, where's your guest card?"

Without hesitation, the man searched the pockets of his rain-drenched jacket. "Drat. I know I had it here. Forgive me, I'm a bit new at this, but I'm sure…" Thoth looked up as the laminated card was waved in front of his eyes.

"Shadi!" Ishizu called out to her old friend. He didn't seem to listen as he held out the card.

Thoth gave a weak chuckle and struggled to find his words. "Thank you. I am in your debt."

"Do not mention it." Shadi responded, as he watched Thoth stumble up the steps on the way out.

Kaiba groaned from the sidelines, grunting, "Weasels like that have no business being here. I swear, one of these years I'm selecting them all myself."

Ishizu stepped forward, asking Shadi, "Speaking of not having business here, what brings you here?"

Kaiba's jaw nearly went rolling into the street when Shadi presented a duel disk and twelve locator cards attached to it. The spirit obviously didn't realize the level of his accomplishment. "You must explain these things more adequately, Seto Kaiba," he said.  "I had a severe degree of difficulty operating this contraption. But more impressively... I see you have been redecorating."

 

Golden light flickered from beneath the folds of Shadi's robe, accenting the look of hatred on Kaiba's face.

 

Shadi inspected the rest of the company in the room. "Woman, your child hungers. But if you would be so kind as to give her nourishment somewhere else..."

Immediately Isabelle began crying in Mai's arms. Ishizu led Tea and her into an adjoining office, Mai still wondering how he knew that, and Tea reassuring Tristan that they did not need his assistance.

Kaiba grunted, getting the attention of the room with little effort. "Well, if that's all of them, I'm going to bed."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Marik interrupted after being quiet all this time. "You don't expect me to sit here and wait for Armageddon do you?"

"If you don't have a good friend aboard this blimp, I do," Kaiba responded.

Shadi stepped between the two just as Marik began to reach for his back pocket, holding up his own pass. "I have no one of importance to accompany me. If you choose, you may take my guest ticket."

Ishizu came forward with an offer of her own carrying a spare pass. "We have passes ourselves. I'm sure Isis wouldn't mind if we used hers to bring one more guest along." The girl herself was asleep in what must have been an uncomfortable position, leaning against a wall.

"That will be mine," Bakura declared as he snatched it out of the woman's hand. "I've been unconscious during the majority of these little adventures and I'm not missing this one."

Mai and Tea decided to stay on the ground, and with the frail promise of Tea not worrying, the women decided to head for home. Kaiba nudged his daughter awake before carrying the sleepy girl up the steps.

 

Ishizu, meanwhile, gave one last look at the door and turned. She was nearly up the steps when she heard the eighth finalist arrive.

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"Well, this certainly is a surprise for me," said a man in a wheelchair, before he turned it around to face the audience. "I didn't expect so many familiar faces, although I knew I would be seeing you, Derik-boy."

Yugi's offspring grinned from ear to ear. Unlike the virtual duelist that he was happy to beat, Pegasus himself seemed a warm and caring person. True, he was getting on in years, but he seemed nice enough.

 

"First thing's first," Pegasus continued, "I won't bore you with another congratulations speech because I daresay I've already done that in hologram…"

"Get to the point, old man," Kaiba snapped while leaning against the back wall. The duelists were sitting with crossed legs on the floor. The guests were not to influence the duelist's strategy, so they stayed in their rooms for the time being - the exception being Dr. Montgomery, whom Kaiba had known better than to keep out. "Your company went dead broke years ago, and I daresay so are you. I'm doing you a favor that you don't deserve. I would have bought the company and thrown you out on the streets myself if Devlin hadn't beaten me to the punch, so speed up or shut up!"

Most of the duelists were yawning and dozing too much to care, but the door opening got their attention. Ishizu walked in briskly, escorting an eleven-year-old girl with her. "Sorry we're late, but Crystal here got lost on the way to the airfield. She isn't too late is she?"

Kaiba's response was slightly sarcastic: "Of course not. Just sit and listen to what this old has-been has to say." Ishizu quickly exited, high heels clapping against the floor.

"As I was saying," Pegasus resumed, but Derik was barely listening. He was staring at the red-haired arrival, and feeling the butterflies of puppy love start to set in.

 

"Each of you has the opportunity to make one exclusive card for the finals," the older man continued. "Mister Kaiba and myself will be screening them, so I want nothing too game-breaking. I will probably be up all night with a case of beer…"

"Ag-hem," Kaiba grunted.

"…pot of coffee," Pegasus smoothly corrected himself, "getting the prototypes made. Just fill out one of the forms provided by Mister Kaiba tonight and I'll do my best to watch you duel tomorrow. Good night and good luck!"

Everyone quickly grabbed a form and shuffled off to their own rooms. Kaiba caught a few mumbles of "What do I want?" and "That was a waste of time," and "Mine will kick your butt." The last one was Isis.

Kaiba looked at the once unstoppable, but now frail old man. It was hard to believe that this cripple had almost ended his and Mokuba's entire existence. At least now I'm sure he has changed, Kaiba thought. "Pegasus," he asked quietly.

 

The man gave a hint of recognition before tugging at the wheels of his chair.

 

"I have something for you,” Kaiba continued. “Bakura said it was important." He dropped a small tissue into the man's lap.

Pegasus looked at it curiously before opening it and letting what looked like a small gold marble fall to the floor. Kaiba carefully went to pick it up.

 

"I wouldn't do that," Pegasus warned.

 

Kaiba got the picture as the small ball burned red against his skin, singing his fingers. He seized back before fitting Pegasus with an accusing gaze.

 

"I told you," the creator of Duel Monsters chuckled. "Millennium defenses: each item has a power that prevents it from falling into the wrong hands. I tell you, you wouldn't be the first one to fall victim to them… Try to get that Millennium Rod away from Marik and see what happens."

"I would rather not," Kaiba responded quite honestly. "Just fix the eye patch and get to work. Those forms won't take long for some of them, you know."

Pegasus let youthful energy flow back through him as his item was returned to him. It wasn't enough to get him to stand, but he could paint now and it would remove a few wrinkles. "Thank you, Kaiba... for everything."

Kaiba hated to be thanked, especially by the likes of this man. "Just keep out of my love life with that thing."

Pegasus gave a slight laugh, and for once in his life, it wasn't psychotic. "I'll do my best."

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"Now, I need a dragon supporter that's for sure, but a monster or some type of magic card?" Peter was pacing around the room while his father was already snoring on the bed. What a waste, Peter thought to himself, and then he watched out the window. The rain was beginning to freeze in the night air. It would be thawed by morning, but it gave Peter a glorious view of the moon, just the inspiration he needed. "All right, first a name. Moon…light…Dragon…"

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"Wha t is there that I don't already have?" Isis was in all but a tantrum as she racked her brain for the possibility of a new card. "This would be so much easier on a full stomach." The girl had her own room, of course - the Kaiba family vacations were always taken on the blimp. But Isis had agreed that she would be treated like any other duelist off the street. It meant lousy décor, but at least the room had a small refrigirator.

The girl quickly found ingredients for a bedtime snack and began to make her favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich. She was briefly reminded of her duel with that crazy chef, Kirby Morimoto. She reminisced every detail, not even realizing that her snack was finished, but the taste needed to be washed out of her mouth or her breath would reek in the morning.

Working in silence, she finally spat the banana-flavored toothpaste into the sink before gazing deeply into her own eyes. Her image in the mirror practically spoke to her and smiled back when her idea was firmly planted in her mind.

 

Inspiration came in the weirdest places.

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Ashford was also hard at work, but not on card making. "Come on, Marina, I just want one kiss before bed; that's all! We need to keep up the act anyway…" He was greeted with a slap to the face.

The girl's platinum hair shimmered in the moonlight, matching the blank silver stare of her eyes. "I still don't understand why I'm still here."

"You are still useful," Ashford responded. "Now at least humor me while I'm drawing this picture."

Another painful slap, and Marina hissed, "That was humorous to me, you cad."

Ashford quickly took all laughter out of the situation with a single look. "I don't find that funny. Let me say this only once. Give me no reason to hurt you."

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Montgomery finished writing down the stats of his patient's new monster while Logos finished the picture. "Beautiful, Logos. You could be a regular Picasso if you weren't so abstract. This card will get you to the top of the finals for sure. I can't…" He continued rambling while adjusting the pin on his coat, but Logos had already fallen asleep, tightening the hold on the straitjacket to keep himself warm.

Isis had taken up a room when her family had assumed that she would use her own, so Thoth was bunking with them. He was deep asleep and dreaming of finally winning his first tournament. Not even a comet could wake him up.

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Derik was dead tired; he would rush making his card first thing in the morning. He already had his pajamas on for the night, and was about to fall asleep on his feet if he didn't do something soon. The small boy's heart gave a jump as his father's puzzle clattered to the floor. Derik sighed; why did his dad have to be in the same room with him?

Yugi's son reached down to pick up the enchanted artifact, feeling the cool metal against his fingers. The puzzle seemed loose somehow, about to give way and fall into pieces.

The shine of the moon reflected into Derik's eyes, suddenly causing a headache. He had known that he was tired, but nothing like this. Pain and images flooded through the boy's mind, threatening to rip him apart. An elaborate maze, the Millennium Eye, his Dark Magician, and someone screaming.

Poor Derik didn't even realize that it was his father screaming through the twisted mix of shadow and reality. He was lost in a world of magic and darkness, and Yugi's calls for help reached nothing but empty hallways.

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Only three others were awake. Pegasus was now hard at work on the first card request; he was not to be disturbed.

Ishizu felt a pulse at the necklace clinging to her throat, reliving her earlier premonition of danger. Her throat tensed. It was here, now, that it would happen. She turned to face her attacker with only the slightest glimpse of his face before a soaked rag was stuffed into her mouth. The woman lost consciousness quickly.

The assailant worked quietly as he picked her up over his shoulder and carried Ishizu into the street. No time to wonder long; he still had other duties before the night was over. He spoke to the woman he was carrying, even though she could not hear. "I'm sorry, sister."

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Kaiba crawled into his own bed, not really bothering to think of where Ishizu went as the blimp started to take off. That was his cue to get a good night's sleep, and he dozed fast under the gentle rocking motions.

 

It would be a long day of sorting and duels. Half of the finalists would be eliminated; hopefully one of them would be Seskera. No time to think of anything. Just sleep, and see what tomorrow brings, whatever that may be.

Coming next chapter: The Battle City Finals get off to an auspicious start.  Peter is first up, and his opponent is Crystal, the daughter of another duelist from the good old days.  It's a war between the dragons and the sea, and only one side will triumph.  This and more in Chapter Fifteen, "Crystal, Queen of the Seas"!