Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Yugioh The College Years: The Different Story ❯ Chapter 6
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Yuugi Motoh 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.05.2005 | Updated On: 11.05.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 238 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.05.2005 | Updated On: 11.05.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 238 | Status: Work In Progress
CHAPTER 6
"Yo, Kaiba," Joey said. "Tell me one thing, what's with da copter fixation? Whassa matter, you get carsick or something?"
"Can it, Wheeler," Kaiba said, stepping to the ground lightly. "When I want to hear a dog barking, I'll go visit the pound."
"WHAT?! I'll pound YOU, ya--" Joey started forward, to be grabbed by Bakura and Tristan. Kaiba only smirked and stalked over--no other word would describe it-- to stand in front of Yami, eyes narrowed. "Just what do you think you're playing at?" he demanded. "I've never thought of you as a quitter."
Yami threw him a smouldering glance but said nothing.
"You know, you don't look like you're ill. So what is this, more of your mystic mumbo-jumbo? Some mysterious threat to the world that you have to run off and take care of?" Kaiba smirked. "Grow up, Yugi. There's no mysterious conspiracies at work here. Admit it. You just don't think you've got what it takes, after what, two, three years of being out of the circuit? Well, too bad. I'll have my clinic here on the island check you out, and if you're really ill we'll see about letting you out of it. But if you're well enough to Duel, I'm going to hold you to it-- or watch you prove yourself a coward and a fraud."
Yami's eyes widened, then narrowed. Soft lavender eyes turned blood-red, and his mouth drew back in a snarl. "Coward?" he repeated. "Call me...coward? You know NOTHING." A sense of tension, of power, filled the air, like the seconds before a lightning strike.
Kaiba laughed lightly, folding his arms. "Now you're beginning to interest me. Suppose you prove to me I know 'nothing' on the dueling field."
"Oh, I don't think he's under ANY obligation to do that," a second voice said, lazily cutting across the incipient disaster.
Kaiba froze, his eyes going wide. Startled himself, Yami turned slightly, looking back over one shoulder, the red fire fading. "..?"
At the edge of the wharf, Maximilian Pegasus swept back his hair and smiled to himself. This was going to be the most interesting thing that'd happened for YEARS. Smoothing down the lapels of his khaki, he strolled forward, attention all on Kaiba, who was standing there approaching critical mass. "Hello, Kaiba-boy," he drawled. "Miss me?"
"What... the hell... are you... doing here?"
"Living here, at least until recently. It IS my island, after all. Where else did you expect me to be? Really now."
"We had an agreement. You're not supposed to be interfering in the tournament."
"Oh, I remember our agreement, but do YOU see any Dueling going on here? No? Well, then, obviously I'm not interfering with the tournament. But then, you've always been so amazingly shortsighted for a successful young businessman, Kaiba. Constitutionally unable to see anything but what you choose to see." Pivoting, Pegasus strolled off a few steps, gesturing around him. "You fail to see, for example, that no matter who owns a piece of land on paper, it will always belong to its true master. And this island is mine." He turned again, folding his arms. "This is MY kingdom," he continued, letting some of the mockery drop out of his voice. "I built this place, as you built KaibaCorp, to be my bastion against the world. It carries my mark deep within it, beyond your power to erase. And that's really what you wanted, wasn't it. This place, this tournament... this attempt to keep Yugi from leaving... it's all just another attempt to erase the events of a past you couldn't control. To deny that you were ever in a situation where you came in second. You always have to be first in everything, don't you, Kaiba-boy? Because if you're not, then what possible worth are you?"
Kaiba had gone from the flush of anger to a deadly pale by this point, and his clenched fists were hanging loosly by his side.
"Yugi is right," Pegasus said, taking one step closer, more than a hint of darkened steel entering his tones now. "You know NOTHING. You imagine that the world is something you can weave to your own purpose, in your own time. You think that you can wipe away the marks time and life have left on you." With one hand he swept back the fall of hair on the left side of his face, letting Kaiba-- and Kaiba alone-- see what lay under there. "Remember this? THIS is the sort of thing that happens to the arrogant, sooner or later."
Kaiba only scowled.
"The world will break you, Kaiba, if you insist on trying to bend it to your purpose," Pegasus said, voice barely audible above the surf. "It will break you, and roll on past you without a second thought. You'd better learn now, there are some things you can't control-- some things you have no RIGHT to control-- and some things you will never survive unless you're willing to accept them purely for what they are." He let his hair fall back down. "Yugi and his friends have their own reasons for wanting to leave now, and you have no right to stop them. Nor are you GOING to stop them. I won't have it, you see. And though I no longer hold the Millenium Eye, I am still Maximilian Pegasus, and YOU, Seto Kaiba, would be well advised to remember that a good magician never gives away ALL his secrets. Beware of giving me reason to show you what I've kept in reserve." He turned away, leaving Kaiba standing there, and bowed from the waist to the others. "Our boat awaits us; shall we board?" Long fingers snapped. "Busby. My suitcases."
"You're going too?" Mai looked surprised. "You mean you're actually leaving the island?"
"Why not? It's about time I got back into the swing of things. I've been stuck out here in a self-imposed retirement for years. Unless I want to become a dried-up rich recluse instead of an eccentric rich playboy, I need to expand my horizons again." He half-turned. "Besides, I seem to be making a habit out of rescuing you people. Maybe I'd better be close at hand in case I have to rescue you again."
Tristan's eyes narrowed. "You know something."
"I know a lot of things. Whether any of them are germane to the situation remains to be seen."
The trip back to the mainland was a quiet one. Pegasus stayed at the rear of the boat, watching his island dwindle behind them, expression unreadable. It took far less time in the smaller, speedier motorboat to make the transit across the channel. They drew into dock just as the afternoon was beginning to fade into twilight.
"Far be it for me to bring up this inconvenient little point," Bakura said as they disembarked, "but since we left the tournament before it ended, how exactly are we supposed to get home? I rather doubt Kaiba is feeling generous enough to have an auto sent round for us."
"Kaiba might not be," Pegasus said, "but I am. Busby, go find us a nice large car from the Industrial Illusions carpool here in town and bring it around, won't you?"
"Yessir!" Busby darted around a corner and vanished. Twenty minutes later a limousine pulled up to the edge of the boat landing.
"Isn't he a treasure?" Pegasus purred, smiling back at the group. "Now where to?"
"Jankenpon Center," Tèa said. "Um, Mr. Pegasus..."
"Just 'Pegasus' will do."
"...Thanks. We really do appreciate this." She glanced sideways at Yami. "He's REALLY not feeling well--"
"Tèa, dear... spare me. I was watching. I saw what happened." Pegasus looked around, scanning the streets. "But we really should discuss this on the road, in the limo. Hm?"
"I ain't so sure about dis..." Joey grumbled, climbing into the car. "Whoa! Check it, dis thing's fully stocked! Foldout TV's on da armrests... is dis real leather? Man, I gotta get me one a'dese."
"JOEY," Tèa said, climbing in after him, "can you get serious for a second here? We've got problems and all you can do is drool about a stupid car."
"Tèa. Tèa, Tèa, Tèa. DIS is NOT just another 'stupid car'. DIS is LUXURY on wheels."
**********
When they were on the highway, Mai leaned forward. "All right, Maximillian, spill it. You're involved in this up to your snowy-white eyebrows, aren't you?"
"Me? Mai, you must think I'm a complete scoundrel."
"If it suited you, yes. You'd've made a GREAT highwayman."
"I'll take that as a complement." Pegasus turned and looked out the window at the gathering dark. "Actually, my involvement in this was only peripheral, up until about three months ago. That was when I received a telephone call from Diaz Russio."
That got Yami's attention. "Diaz?"
"Mm." Pegasus nodded. "The same Diaz you Dueled, Pharoah. --Oh yes, I know who you are. I remember you VERY well. I don't suppose it'll do much good, but... I am sorry. I could claim momentary lapse of sanity as a reason for the events of the first Duelist Kingdom, but it's not justification. I am ultimately responsible for the things I did, whether or not I was fully in my right mind when I did them. I've paid for it, am still paying for it I suppose, one way or another."
"We...saw your diary," Tèa said softly. "We read about your wife. We were looking for the cards that you used to trap Yugi's grandfather and the Kaiba brothers in."
"Cecelia..." A bittersweet smile. "She was my everything. Better men than I have done worse things for the woman they loved. But that is immaterial to the point at hand." He looked calmly around. "Diaz, as I was saying, called me. Himself. He had a business proposition for me. He wanted to buy out my contract with KaibaCorp, have me become his own personal designer for a new line of Duel Monster cards. Virtual cards, for use in a new game he was designing. Or so he said."
"And YOU said...?" prompted Tristan.
"I told him the truth. I haven't designed a single new card since Duelist Kingdom. I had a few stockpiled, but when those had been sent to KaibaCorp, that was it. The end. I haven't been able to paint anything. I'm not sure why. Of course, I didn't tell him ALL the details, simply that I was retired, no longer creating, very sorry.
"He refused to take 'no' for an answer. He persisted in offering me ever larger sums of money and percentages of commission, as if he thought I was only concerned with the money. The money's NEVER been an issue. Despite what Kaiba thinks, he could terminate my contract with him tomorrow and I'd still have enough of a fortune left to go on quite comfortably till I'm, oh, a hundred and fifty-three or so. The issue is the connection I felt with the creatures of the Shadow Realm. The need, the desire to bring them to awaken them from their long slumber."
Mai's eyes were wide by this time. "They're ALL real...?"
"They're ALWAYS been real, Mai. Older than America, older than Egypt even. As old as the first dreams of Mankind." Pegasus steepled his fingers. "It's merely that the ancient Egyptians were the first to try to understand them, live with them. They are the stuff of Chaos itself, given form by us. You've noticed, haven't you, the archetypes? Dragons, elves, fairies, devils, demons, angels-- the creatures we know from Duel Monsters have shapes we recognize from a hundred old fairy tales, a thousand old legends. Our dreams and our nightmares are the patterns. I believe that the Shadow Realm really IS a shadow-- of the world of Men. It cannot exist without us, and in a sense we can't exist without them. Men have always needed their dreams, their fantasies. The Orientals say it best: Yin and Yang. The balance of the two principles. There cannot be Day without Darkness, there can't be Shadows without Light."
"And da Egyptians... dey figured it out an' started playing games with dese things?"
"More than games, Joey. I believe that in the ancient city of the Pharoah, the Shadow Beings-- what we call Duel Monsters-- coexisted with men. They all lived together in one relatively peaceful kingdom. However, SOMETHING happened. What it was I can't tell you, I don't know. The EFFECT it had is obvious-- the Shadow Realm was shut off from our own world, except to those who hold a Millenium Item." Pagasus sighed. "But that, too, isn't material to the point. The point is Diaz Russio, and his ever-more ominous attempts to get me to produce more cards."
"Ominous as in-- what?" Tristan leaned forward, hands between his knees. "Threats?"
"Yes, though very politely veiled. And promises. One of the things he promised me was the restoration of the Millenium Eye."
"That's impossible!" As all eyes turned his way, Bakura hastily added, "I mean, WE don't even know where it is, how could Diaz?"
"Very good. I wondered about that one myself. I'm fully aware of who it was that took the Millenium Eye." For just a moment Pegasus's gaze lingered on Bakura. "But I confess I couldn't see why the thief would be willing to give up the Eye on Diaz's say-so, nor how Diaz could've learned about it in the first place. I... admit, there was more than a moment's temptation. You can't understand what it is to wield that kind of power until you've had a taste of it. The Eye allowed me to do more than simply read minds; it permitted me to see across the miles to anywhere on the globe, or into other planes of reality. Nothing was beyond my sight, not even my beloved Cecelia. I could see her, or at least I thought I could, but never, never touch her."
"That's so sad," murmured Tèa. "No wonder you-- you were trying to release her."
"I've since come to the realization what I thought I saw was probably no more than an illusion, wrought by my own desperate desire and the powers of the Eye. I did tell Kaiba he only saw what he wanted to see. I spoke from bitter experience. I think the Cecelia I saw with the Eye was only what I wanted to see, too. Not the truth. I couldn't bear the truth. That, pretty much, was the telling point. Knowing what I know now, I might have been able to master the Millenium Eye and control it properly-- the Millenium Items themselves are neither good nor evil, it depends on the use to which they're put and the intent of the person using them. But I didn't want to wager that I was wrong, and I didn't want to be indebted to Diaz."
"A... wise decision," Yami observed. Somehow, during Pegasus's speech, some of the lingering distrust and dislike he'd held for the man had faded. I might do the same for Yugi, or for these friends of ours, he mused. Who is to say what I would do if I were in Pegasus's place? It is time I let go of this part of the past, too. Yugi would want that. Reaching across the interior, he held out his hand. A little startled, Pegasus took it, and Yami shook it, then let go. "Peace between us," he said.
A gentle smile touched Pegasus's features. "I thank Your Majesty," he said, inclining his head. "Now, where was I..."
"Diaz," Mai said. "Don't stop now, this is getting interesting."
"About the time Kaiba contacted me wanting to use my island for a tournament, I realized I was being watched. Stalked. There were people moving around in the forests, and they were taking great care not to be identifiable. That was a nuisance. What came after that was alarming.
"There are... things... on the island. Creatures which I believe may be Duel Monsters, or something very similar. And I don't recognize them."
"Now dat ain't right," Joey interjected. "I mean, c'mon here, you invented da game-- okay, you invented da CARDS, how's about. So you gotta know every card in da whole world, right?"
"You flatter me, Joey. No one could remember every card that's ever been released. But I DO have the original artwork for every one of them, and I do have a database that lists every card, just as Kaiba does. The entities that were roaming around my island at night did not fit the description of any Duel Monster I ever produced. Which leads me to one of two conclusions. Either these are creatures which existed in the Egyptian era that I simply haven't 're-invented' yet, but which someone managed to unearth; or, and more troubling, these are Duel Monsters which were created by someone else." Pegasus swept his gaze around. "You do understand-- I thought I was the only person in the world that could re-awaken Duel Monsters. It's not as simple as merely painting a picture. There is a certain expenditure of mystical energy required to imbue the painting as a doorway into our reality. After the first time, any representation will work, but the first invocation takes the raising of power. That's another reason I haven't done any more cards. I don't have the resources of the Eye to draw on. Without it, I either can't imbue the painting, or I'll kill myself trying to."
Tèa mulled that over. "So.. if these are new Duel Monsters... someone might've died to create them." She shuddered. "That's a horrible thought, Pegasus."
"Isn't it? It's a perfect explanation of why they want me. If they truly DO have the Millenium Eye, or can get their hands on it, and give it back to me, then I can produce cards for them without keeling over. They can have all the Duel Monsters they want-- EXCLUSIVE Duel Monsters that exist nowhere else. Remember I said earlier that only the holders of a Millenium Item can open the Shadow Realm. That leads me to believe Diaz must have one or more of the items in his possession. He has something on his side, certainly, since he was able to extract Yugi's soul from his body. Then they just summon the creatures through and take over the world with no one to stop them. No conventional weapons can stop a Duel Monster. The armies of the world would be utterly powerless against them."
As Pegasus continued, Yami Bakura stared out the window into the night. This doesn't bode well for me. I know Diaz doesn't have the Eye. But if he wants it, then he'll be after me. I don't think I'm quite willing to give up the Millenium Eye, or the Ring for that matter. After all, why stop at one item when you can have two?
Like it or not... I must join forces with the Pharoah for a time. He's the only one who stands a chance of stopping Diaz. I suppose that also means helping him get Yugi's soul back. Aloud he said, "Then our first step is retrieving Yugi's soul."
"I was wondering when you'd speak up, thief. So NICE of you to officially join the conversation."
"Huh?" Tristan blinked, then shot Bakura a look. "You mean--"
"That isn't your little friend. I don't think it's been the real Bakura for some time. I still possess some sensitivities, without the Eye. And I think I'd be able to recognise the person that took the Eye from me to begin with."
Yami Bakura smirked. "I underestimated you, Pegasus. Another man would've perished, or become a raving lunatic."
"People make a practice of underestimating me. I encourage that, to be honest. Mai is right, I don't miss many chances to give myself an advantage in any given situation." Pegasus leaned forward. "You still have the Millenium Eye, I take it."
"It is safely hidden where only I can find it. But I'm sure you realized already that means my interests now coincide with yours."
"I believe the quote is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. So long as we're all working towards the same goal-- Diaz's defeat-- you'll be willing to assist us."
"Wait a sec, wait a sec, 'us'?" Joey scowled. "Since when did you hook up with us, Peggy-poo?"
Pegasus arched an eyebrow at that, but let it slide. "We're all in the same boat, Joey. We are all targets of Diaz, or shortly to be."
"He's right." All heads turned as Yami continued, "We... need one another. To survive this. I believe Pegasus can be trusted. This one..." he gave Yami Bakura a stare. "He decieves when it suits him, but I do not think this is one of those times."
Yami Bakura bowed his head mockingly. "You speak truly, O Mighty Pharoah. Until the present crisis is averted, I am your man. I swear it, in the name of Osirus, and by his dark brother Set."
"That reminds me." Tèa swept back her hair. "Didn't Diaz say something about Osirus?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Something about somebody finding Osirus." Tris grimaced. "I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention at the time, if you know what I mean."
"He said, 'on the day when Isis finds Osirus, I shall be made whole'," a new vioce interjected from the front. Everyone looked that way to see Busby looking back at them in the rearview mirror.
"Guess that means you were dere too. Jeez, what is dis, 'Spy on Yugi Day' or something?" Joey leaned up towards the grille between the seats. "What's your part in all dis? You just work for Mr. Moneybags here?"
"Nahhhh, he's my dad." Busby grinned.
Joey face-faulted. "Ya... wha...."
Pegasus chuckled. "May I introduce to you the reason why I haven't been kidnapped before this. Busby Berkley-- AKA Doppleganger. Buzz, take a bow."
Busby doffed his hat and grinned. "Nice to see you guys again-- on the same side of the field this time, if you catch my meaning, if you get my drift."
"Doppleganger?" Mai gasped. "But that's just a--"
"A card, Mai, a card. A Duel Monsters card. A card whose power is to duplicate any other card in play on the field, Magic, Trap, Field Effect, Equip Card... or Monster. In the real world, Doppleganger can become anything he wishes to become. 'Busby' is just a disguise so that he can move about freely without attracting undue attention." Pegasus smiled fondly. "He's my favorite card, you know. He's so versatile."
"Freaky mooky." Joey stared through the grillwork, fascinated. "It ain't like I din't know they could do that-- come through into the real world, dat is. I seen it happen too much to not believe it. But-- hey, you ain't got a Millenium Item, so how come he's still here?"
"He's my favorite card. Think about it."
"Our cards..." Yami drew out the deck, took the top card off the stack The face of the Dark Magician looked back at him. "The favorite ones. The ones we feel closest to. We have..." he frowned, concentrating. "A special--"
"A special bond," finished Tèa, eyes lighting up. "That's what you mean, isn't it, Pegasus? Like our bond with Yugi. Our favorite cards are especially close to us. They can feel us and come through to help us when we're really in danger, if only we believe they can."
"Bravo, Tèa." Pegasus applauded. "You're absolutely right. Even without the Realm being opened, the single card that means the most to us will come to us when we need them. That gives us some slight hope against Diaz. We are not entirely powerless. And with the further assistance of the Pharoah and the thief, here--"
"Ba-Khu'ra," the Thief corrected. "It is my name. Use it."
"With Yami's and Ba-Khu'ra's help, our decks should be fully available to us."
"That is, unfortunately, most of the help I can offer." Ba-Khu'ra shook his head. "The Ring failed to locate Yugi. I've already tried. I conclude, therefore, that he is somehow beyond its range, which I thought was infinite. That, or he is shielded in some manner. There ARE ways to do that, but I was not aware anyone in THIS world still knew of them."
"So what, then?" Tristan looked grim. "How do we track this guy down? He could be anywhere."
"The old-fashioned way," Mai answered. "We do a little detective work."
Pegasus dimmed the interior lights. "May I suggest at this point that we all try to get some rest while we're traveling. It's been a long day, and we're going to be very busy in the days to come."
**********
It began with the wind. Tèa could feel it stirring her hair, then catching up strands of it here and there. Part of her knew she was dreaming, but it didn't stop her from walking along the darkened path in front of her. Couldn't I be having a nicer dream? the dream-aware part of herself grumbled, considering right now my real life sort of sucks?
No one answered her; not precisely. Instead, the wind brought the sound of a voice, distanced, muffled. Having nothing better to do, she followed it.
As she walked the forest began to change. Not darker or more menacing; not forboding; not monstrous. But the green leaves grew brown, withered and dropped away, leaving bare branches against a bleak grey sky. The sound of birdsong grew silent. All that she heard was the wind whispering through the twigs above and the broken voice ahead of her, which she could tell now was sobbing. Quiet, despairing sobs that led her on and on until she topped a rise and found herself staring down into a hollow in the hills, where there stood a great dark Gothic house, weathered, beaten down by the years yet still strong enough to stand a century or two more.
As far as she could tell, the crying was coming from there.
Towards one side of the house a old storm shutter flapped restlessly in the wind, revealing a window from which the glass had long been broken and removed. It was barely large enough, but someone COULD wriggle their way through without too much trouble, given they could reach it.
As Tèa stood there looking, something brushed past her ankles, then leapt in a blur atop an old washtub (had that been there before?). For a second the huge brindled cat sat there, bathing, then gave Tèa a long cat-stare out of one golden eye before leaping again to vanish in the tall grasses.
From washtub to window and in was only a few minutes' work.
And yes, here was the source of the crying; down the hall, the long, impossibly long hall, towards the crying, towards the dim light of a flickering fire... and stopped at the doorway by something. Some barrier, something that felt cool and slick and impossibly heavy, like a great sheet of glass.
A room, dark, furniture covered in sheets, dim and forboding.
In the center of the room, a small boy, hands over his face, trying to muffle the sound of his despair and failing.
Yugi! Tèa flattened to the barrier at once, trying to find a way through or catch his attention and failed at both. Furious, she hammered on the invisble wall hard enough to make her hand ache.
Someone stirred, then, in the back of the room, and moved forward; the tall man they'd called Junon. His face mirrored the misery in Tèa's heart. Apparently not seeing her, he walked forward and knelt by the sobbing boy, one hand on Yugi's shoulder, consoling. Yugi only hunched away, giving the giant a look that would've melted stone.
Junon looked down, hurt, guilty, but shook his head slowly: no.
Yugi swallowed, wiping a hand at his face, and said something, the words indistinct. Junon made some reply that Tèa couldn't hear no matter how hard she strained. More earnestly, Yugi argued, pleaded, receiving only another slow shake of the head. The boy's shoulders slumped and he looked away miserably.
Junon heaved a sigh and gently stroked Yugi's hair, then picked him up, turning so that Yugi and Tèa were looking straight at each other through the barrier. Yugi's eyes widened, then he reached out a pleading hand, saying something.
Tèa shook her head. "I can't hear you!" she shouted, then pointed at her ear and cupped a hand behind it. "I can't hear! Oh Yugi-!"
Yugi's brow knitted, a look of determination on his features. His fists clenched. He closed his eyes and appeared to be thinking, or concentrating, as hard as he could on something. Tèa gave a little squeak as she saw the familiar Millenium symbol flare to life on his forehead. He's never done that before! What's going on?
(Wheels)
Tèa grabbed her temples, eyes wide. She'd HEARD him, somehow. "Yugi...?"
(look for the wheels, they never stop)
"What wheels? I don't understand. Yugi--"
(where you can't tell the night from the sunrise)
"I don't--"
(red and black, Tèa, PLEASE--)
The light faded as Junon carried Yugi away, into the dark of the old house.
"OH!" Tèa sat straight up, banged her head against the back of the seat, and clutched it, wincing. "Owiee..."
"Tèa, y'mind keepin' it down?" Joey mumbled. "Some of us are tryin' to sleep here."
"Joey!" She grabbed his shoulders, shook him. "Joey, WAKE UP! I just had the weirdest dream-- Yugi was in it. I think he was trying to tell me something!"
"Huhwha?" Knuckling his eyes, Joey sat up a bit straighter. "Come again?"
"I had a dream--"
"I got dat part. You said Yuge was in it?"
"Uh-huh." Tèa nodded. "I was in this totally creepy house out in the woods somewhere, and there was this-- wall or something I couldn't get through. Yugi was on the other side. That guy Junon was with him. I couldn't hear what they wee talking abuot, but right at the end Yugi saw me, and he did something-- I saw the Millenium Eye. Not the EYE eye, not the object; the symbol. It was glowing on Yugi's forehead. The Pharoah's done that before, remember?"
"Uh... yeah.. yeah, I think I know what'cha talking about. Hang on a sec." Leaning across the compartment, Joey shook everyone else awake. "Sorry, but I think you guys need ta hear this. Tèa had some kinda loopy dream about Yugi."
"It wasn't a 'loopy dream,'" Tèa protested. "More like a nightmare." Quickly she repeated what details she could recall to the others.
"Wheels?" Tristan clapped a hand to his forehead. "Red and black? I don't get it. What did he mean? I mean, assuming that wasn't just wishful dreaming on Tèa's part-- sorry, Tèa, we've got to consider that."
"Where you can't tell the night from the sunrise." Mai nibbled her lip. "Well, I suppose it could be a big city-- city lights can make the night look so bright it's hard to be sure it IS night-- but there are a lot of big cities in the world too, to paraphrase Pegasus." She looked over at Pegasus as she spoke, then stared. "Pegasus?"
Very softly, Pegasus began to sing under his breath:
"There's a sign in the desert that lies to the west
where you can't tell the night from the sunrise
and not all the King's horses, nor all the King's men
have prevented the fall of the unwise
And they think it will make their lives easier
for God knows up till now it's been hard
but the game never ends when your whole world depends
on the turn of a friendly card..."
"Real nice, dere, Peggy, you should go on stage. Mind lettin' us in on what dat was about? Unless ya just think life needs a soundtrack or something."
"I know where Yugi is." Pegasus frowned.
"What? WHERE?!" Yami grabbed the older man's lapels. "Tell us!"
"I don't know PRECISELY where," Pegasus said, "but if that truly was Yugi, he's just narrowed it down to one city." He raised a hand, pointing at Yami's fists, locked in fabric. "Mind letting go of the coat now?"
Yami let go--reluctantly.
"What I just quoted are part of the lyrics to a song by a group called the Alan Parsons Project. They did an entire album themed towards gaming and gambling--and what it could do to people." Pegasus smiled. "Trivia time. Which North American city is known as 'the City of Lights' because the illumination from it is so immense it can be seen from space? Answer: Las Vegas. And where does it lie? In the deserts of Nevada, to the west. And where would you find wheels that never stop? In a casino, of course. A roulette wheel... which is colored--"
"Red and black!" Tristan crowed.
"Exactly. It certainly sounds as if Yugi is trying to direct us towards a casino. So our next step--" he bowed slightly in Yami's direction-- "If I may, our next step should be to search for a casino with ties to Diaz."
"How do we do that?" Tristan asked. "I mean the guy's not likely to've hung out a sign or anything."
"No... no he isn't. Not one that you'd think of as 'a sign', no. But I happen to know just a bit about being rich (funny thing, that, but there you are). Finance implies earnings of one sort or another. Earnings implies--"
"A business!" exclaimed Tèa. "He has ties with a business somewhere. He has to earn his money somehow. Don't they have to list the company officers when they incorporate themselves?"
"They do, and that is a matter of public record. Mind you, Diaz COULD be independantly wealthy, but even then he must have investments, bank accounts, something of the like. Let's stay with the idea of business ties for right now, though. We should begin by investigating the owners of casinos in Las Vegas and see if we can locate one that lists Diaz Russio as a corporate officer, member of the Board of Directors, or partner. If we find such, we can be reasonably certain that's where Yugi is. With my connections, that should be simple enough, though it might take a few hours."
Yami nodded once. "Make it so."
"As you command."
"Yo, Kaiba," Joey said. "Tell me one thing, what's with da copter fixation? Whassa matter, you get carsick or something?"
"Can it, Wheeler," Kaiba said, stepping to the ground lightly. "When I want to hear a dog barking, I'll go visit the pound."
"WHAT?! I'll pound YOU, ya--" Joey started forward, to be grabbed by Bakura and Tristan. Kaiba only smirked and stalked over--no other word would describe it-- to stand in front of Yami, eyes narrowed. "Just what do you think you're playing at?" he demanded. "I've never thought of you as a quitter."
Yami threw him a smouldering glance but said nothing.
"You know, you don't look like you're ill. So what is this, more of your mystic mumbo-jumbo? Some mysterious threat to the world that you have to run off and take care of?" Kaiba smirked. "Grow up, Yugi. There's no mysterious conspiracies at work here. Admit it. You just don't think you've got what it takes, after what, two, three years of being out of the circuit? Well, too bad. I'll have my clinic here on the island check you out, and if you're really ill we'll see about letting you out of it. But if you're well enough to Duel, I'm going to hold you to it-- or watch you prove yourself a coward and a fraud."
Yami's eyes widened, then narrowed. Soft lavender eyes turned blood-red, and his mouth drew back in a snarl. "Coward?" he repeated. "Call me...coward? You know NOTHING." A sense of tension, of power, filled the air, like the seconds before a lightning strike.
Kaiba laughed lightly, folding his arms. "Now you're beginning to interest me. Suppose you prove to me I know 'nothing' on the dueling field."
"Oh, I don't think he's under ANY obligation to do that," a second voice said, lazily cutting across the incipient disaster.
Kaiba froze, his eyes going wide. Startled himself, Yami turned slightly, looking back over one shoulder, the red fire fading. "..?"
At the edge of the wharf, Maximilian Pegasus swept back his hair and smiled to himself. This was going to be the most interesting thing that'd happened for YEARS. Smoothing down the lapels of his khaki, he strolled forward, attention all on Kaiba, who was standing there approaching critical mass. "Hello, Kaiba-boy," he drawled. "Miss me?"
"What... the hell... are you... doing here?"
"Living here, at least until recently. It IS my island, after all. Where else did you expect me to be? Really now."
"We had an agreement. You're not supposed to be interfering in the tournament."
"Oh, I remember our agreement, but do YOU see any Dueling going on here? No? Well, then, obviously I'm not interfering with the tournament. But then, you've always been so amazingly shortsighted for a successful young businessman, Kaiba. Constitutionally unable to see anything but what you choose to see." Pivoting, Pegasus strolled off a few steps, gesturing around him. "You fail to see, for example, that no matter who owns a piece of land on paper, it will always belong to its true master. And this island is mine." He turned again, folding his arms. "This is MY kingdom," he continued, letting some of the mockery drop out of his voice. "I built this place, as you built KaibaCorp, to be my bastion against the world. It carries my mark deep within it, beyond your power to erase. And that's really what you wanted, wasn't it. This place, this tournament... this attempt to keep Yugi from leaving... it's all just another attempt to erase the events of a past you couldn't control. To deny that you were ever in a situation where you came in second. You always have to be first in everything, don't you, Kaiba-boy? Because if you're not, then what possible worth are you?"
Kaiba had gone from the flush of anger to a deadly pale by this point, and his clenched fists were hanging loosly by his side.
"Yugi is right," Pegasus said, taking one step closer, more than a hint of darkened steel entering his tones now. "You know NOTHING. You imagine that the world is something you can weave to your own purpose, in your own time. You think that you can wipe away the marks time and life have left on you." With one hand he swept back the fall of hair on the left side of his face, letting Kaiba-- and Kaiba alone-- see what lay under there. "Remember this? THIS is the sort of thing that happens to the arrogant, sooner or later."
Kaiba only scowled.
"The world will break you, Kaiba, if you insist on trying to bend it to your purpose," Pegasus said, voice barely audible above the surf. "It will break you, and roll on past you without a second thought. You'd better learn now, there are some things you can't control-- some things you have no RIGHT to control-- and some things you will never survive unless you're willing to accept them purely for what they are." He let his hair fall back down. "Yugi and his friends have their own reasons for wanting to leave now, and you have no right to stop them. Nor are you GOING to stop them. I won't have it, you see. And though I no longer hold the Millenium Eye, I am still Maximilian Pegasus, and YOU, Seto Kaiba, would be well advised to remember that a good magician never gives away ALL his secrets. Beware of giving me reason to show you what I've kept in reserve." He turned away, leaving Kaiba standing there, and bowed from the waist to the others. "Our boat awaits us; shall we board?" Long fingers snapped. "Busby. My suitcases."
"You're going too?" Mai looked surprised. "You mean you're actually leaving the island?"
"Why not? It's about time I got back into the swing of things. I've been stuck out here in a self-imposed retirement for years. Unless I want to become a dried-up rich recluse instead of an eccentric rich playboy, I need to expand my horizons again." He half-turned. "Besides, I seem to be making a habit out of rescuing you people. Maybe I'd better be close at hand in case I have to rescue you again."
Tristan's eyes narrowed. "You know something."
"I know a lot of things. Whether any of them are germane to the situation remains to be seen."
The trip back to the mainland was a quiet one. Pegasus stayed at the rear of the boat, watching his island dwindle behind them, expression unreadable. It took far less time in the smaller, speedier motorboat to make the transit across the channel. They drew into dock just as the afternoon was beginning to fade into twilight.
"Far be it for me to bring up this inconvenient little point," Bakura said as they disembarked, "but since we left the tournament before it ended, how exactly are we supposed to get home? I rather doubt Kaiba is feeling generous enough to have an auto sent round for us."
"Kaiba might not be," Pegasus said, "but I am. Busby, go find us a nice large car from the Industrial Illusions carpool here in town and bring it around, won't you?"
"Yessir!" Busby darted around a corner and vanished. Twenty minutes later a limousine pulled up to the edge of the boat landing.
"Isn't he a treasure?" Pegasus purred, smiling back at the group. "Now where to?"
"Jankenpon Center," Tèa said. "Um, Mr. Pegasus..."
"Just 'Pegasus' will do."
"...Thanks. We really do appreciate this." She glanced sideways at Yami. "He's REALLY not feeling well--"
"Tèa, dear... spare me. I was watching. I saw what happened." Pegasus looked around, scanning the streets. "But we really should discuss this on the road, in the limo. Hm?"
"I ain't so sure about dis..." Joey grumbled, climbing into the car. "Whoa! Check it, dis thing's fully stocked! Foldout TV's on da armrests... is dis real leather? Man, I gotta get me one a'dese."
"JOEY," Tèa said, climbing in after him, "can you get serious for a second here? We've got problems and all you can do is drool about a stupid car."
"Tèa. Tèa, Tèa, Tèa. DIS is NOT just another 'stupid car'. DIS is LUXURY on wheels."
**********
When they were on the highway, Mai leaned forward. "All right, Maximillian, spill it. You're involved in this up to your snowy-white eyebrows, aren't you?"
"Me? Mai, you must think I'm a complete scoundrel."
"If it suited you, yes. You'd've made a GREAT highwayman."
"I'll take that as a complement." Pegasus turned and looked out the window at the gathering dark. "Actually, my involvement in this was only peripheral, up until about three months ago. That was when I received a telephone call from Diaz Russio."
That got Yami's attention. "Diaz?"
"Mm." Pegasus nodded. "The same Diaz you Dueled, Pharoah. --Oh yes, I know who you are. I remember you VERY well. I don't suppose it'll do much good, but... I am sorry. I could claim momentary lapse of sanity as a reason for the events of the first Duelist Kingdom, but it's not justification. I am ultimately responsible for the things I did, whether or not I was fully in my right mind when I did them. I've paid for it, am still paying for it I suppose, one way or another."
"We...saw your diary," Tèa said softly. "We read about your wife. We were looking for the cards that you used to trap Yugi's grandfather and the Kaiba brothers in."
"Cecelia..." A bittersweet smile. "She was my everything. Better men than I have done worse things for the woman they loved. But that is immaterial to the point at hand." He looked calmly around. "Diaz, as I was saying, called me. Himself. He had a business proposition for me. He wanted to buy out my contract with KaibaCorp, have me become his own personal designer for a new line of Duel Monster cards. Virtual cards, for use in a new game he was designing. Or so he said."
"And YOU said...?" prompted Tristan.
"I told him the truth. I haven't designed a single new card since Duelist Kingdom. I had a few stockpiled, but when those had been sent to KaibaCorp, that was it. The end. I haven't been able to paint anything. I'm not sure why. Of course, I didn't tell him ALL the details, simply that I was retired, no longer creating, very sorry.
"He refused to take 'no' for an answer. He persisted in offering me ever larger sums of money and percentages of commission, as if he thought I was only concerned with the money. The money's NEVER been an issue. Despite what Kaiba thinks, he could terminate my contract with him tomorrow and I'd still have enough of a fortune left to go on quite comfortably till I'm, oh, a hundred and fifty-three or so. The issue is the connection I felt with the creatures of the Shadow Realm. The need, the desire to bring them to awaken them from their long slumber."
Mai's eyes were wide by this time. "They're ALL real...?"
"They're ALWAYS been real, Mai. Older than America, older than Egypt even. As old as the first dreams of Mankind." Pegasus steepled his fingers. "It's merely that the ancient Egyptians were the first to try to understand them, live with them. They are the stuff of Chaos itself, given form by us. You've noticed, haven't you, the archetypes? Dragons, elves, fairies, devils, demons, angels-- the creatures we know from Duel Monsters have shapes we recognize from a hundred old fairy tales, a thousand old legends. Our dreams and our nightmares are the patterns. I believe that the Shadow Realm really IS a shadow-- of the world of Men. It cannot exist without us, and in a sense we can't exist without them. Men have always needed their dreams, their fantasies. The Orientals say it best: Yin and Yang. The balance of the two principles. There cannot be Day without Darkness, there can't be Shadows without Light."
"And da Egyptians... dey figured it out an' started playing games with dese things?"
"More than games, Joey. I believe that in the ancient city of the Pharoah, the Shadow Beings-- what we call Duel Monsters-- coexisted with men. They all lived together in one relatively peaceful kingdom. However, SOMETHING happened. What it was I can't tell you, I don't know. The EFFECT it had is obvious-- the Shadow Realm was shut off from our own world, except to those who hold a Millenium Item." Pagasus sighed. "But that, too, isn't material to the point. The point is Diaz Russio, and his ever-more ominous attempts to get me to produce more cards."
"Ominous as in-- what?" Tristan leaned forward, hands between his knees. "Threats?"
"Yes, though very politely veiled. And promises. One of the things he promised me was the restoration of the Millenium Eye."
"That's impossible!" As all eyes turned his way, Bakura hastily added, "I mean, WE don't even know where it is, how could Diaz?"
"Very good. I wondered about that one myself. I'm fully aware of who it was that took the Millenium Eye." For just a moment Pegasus's gaze lingered on Bakura. "But I confess I couldn't see why the thief would be willing to give up the Eye on Diaz's say-so, nor how Diaz could've learned about it in the first place. I... admit, there was more than a moment's temptation. You can't understand what it is to wield that kind of power until you've had a taste of it. The Eye allowed me to do more than simply read minds; it permitted me to see across the miles to anywhere on the globe, or into other planes of reality. Nothing was beyond my sight, not even my beloved Cecelia. I could see her, or at least I thought I could, but never, never touch her."
"That's so sad," murmured Tèa. "No wonder you-- you were trying to release her."
"I've since come to the realization what I thought I saw was probably no more than an illusion, wrought by my own desperate desire and the powers of the Eye. I did tell Kaiba he only saw what he wanted to see. I spoke from bitter experience. I think the Cecelia I saw with the Eye was only what I wanted to see, too. Not the truth. I couldn't bear the truth. That, pretty much, was the telling point. Knowing what I know now, I might have been able to master the Millenium Eye and control it properly-- the Millenium Items themselves are neither good nor evil, it depends on the use to which they're put and the intent of the person using them. But I didn't want to wager that I was wrong, and I didn't want to be indebted to Diaz."
"A... wise decision," Yami observed. Somehow, during Pegasus's speech, some of the lingering distrust and dislike he'd held for the man had faded. I might do the same for Yugi, or for these friends of ours, he mused. Who is to say what I would do if I were in Pegasus's place? It is time I let go of this part of the past, too. Yugi would want that. Reaching across the interior, he held out his hand. A little startled, Pegasus took it, and Yami shook it, then let go. "Peace between us," he said.
A gentle smile touched Pegasus's features. "I thank Your Majesty," he said, inclining his head. "Now, where was I..."
"Diaz," Mai said. "Don't stop now, this is getting interesting."
"About the time Kaiba contacted me wanting to use my island for a tournament, I realized I was being watched. Stalked. There were people moving around in the forests, and they were taking great care not to be identifiable. That was a nuisance. What came after that was alarming.
"There are... things... on the island. Creatures which I believe may be Duel Monsters, or something very similar. And I don't recognize them."
"Now dat ain't right," Joey interjected. "I mean, c'mon here, you invented da game-- okay, you invented da CARDS, how's about. So you gotta know every card in da whole world, right?"
"You flatter me, Joey. No one could remember every card that's ever been released. But I DO have the original artwork for every one of them, and I do have a database that lists every card, just as Kaiba does. The entities that were roaming around my island at night did not fit the description of any Duel Monster I ever produced. Which leads me to one of two conclusions. Either these are creatures which existed in the Egyptian era that I simply haven't 're-invented' yet, but which someone managed to unearth; or, and more troubling, these are Duel Monsters which were created by someone else." Pegasus swept his gaze around. "You do understand-- I thought I was the only person in the world that could re-awaken Duel Monsters. It's not as simple as merely painting a picture. There is a certain expenditure of mystical energy required to imbue the painting as a doorway into our reality. After the first time, any representation will work, but the first invocation takes the raising of power. That's another reason I haven't done any more cards. I don't have the resources of the Eye to draw on. Without it, I either can't imbue the painting, or I'll kill myself trying to."
Tèa mulled that over. "So.. if these are new Duel Monsters... someone might've died to create them." She shuddered. "That's a horrible thought, Pegasus."
"Isn't it? It's a perfect explanation of why they want me. If they truly DO have the Millenium Eye, or can get their hands on it, and give it back to me, then I can produce cards for them without keeling over. They can have all the Duel Monsters they want-- EXCLUSIVE Duel Monsters that exist nowhere else. Remember I said earlier that only the holders of a Millenium Item can open the Shadow Realm. That leads me to believe Diaz must have one or more of the items in his possession. He has something on his side, certainly, since he was able to extract Yugi's soul from his body. Then they just summon the creatures through and take over the world with no one to stop them. No conventional weapons can stop a Duel Monster. The armies of the world would be utterly powerless against them."
As Pegasus continued, Yami Bakura stared out the window into the night. This doesn't bode well for me. I know Diaz doesn't have the Eye. But if he wants it, then he'll be after me. I don't think I'm quite willing to give up the Millenium Eye, or the Ring for that matter. After all, why stop at one item when you can have two?
Like it or not... I must join forces with the Pharoah for a time. He's the only one who stands a chance of stopping Diaz. I suppose that also means helping him get Yugi's soul back. Aloud he said, "Then our first step is retrieving Yugi's soul."
"I was wondering when you'd speak up, thief. So NICE of you to officially join the conversation."
"Huh?" Tristan blinked, then shot Bakura a look. "You mean--"
"That isn't your little friend. I don't think it's been the real Bakura for some time. I still possess some sensitivities, without the Eye. And I think I'd be able to recognise the person that took the Eye from me to begin with."
Yami Bakura smirked. "I underestimated you, Pegasus. Another man would've perished, or become a raving lunatic."
"People make a practice of underestimating me. I encourage that, to be honest. Mai is right, I don't miss many chances to give myself an advantage in any given situation." Pegasus leaned forward. "You still have the Millenium Eye, I take it."
"It is safely hidden where only I can find it. But I'm sure you realized already that means my interests now coincide with yours."
"I believe the quote is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. So long as we're all working towards the same goal-- Diaz's defeat-- you'll be willing to assist us."
"Wait a sec, wait a sec, 'us'?" Joey scowled. "Since when did you hook up with us, Peggy-poo?"
Pegasus arched an eyebrow at that, but let it slide. "We're all in the same boat, Joey. We are all targets of Diaz, or shortly to be."
"He's right." All heads turned as Yami continued, "We... need one another. To survive this. I believe Pegasus can be trusted. This one..." he gave Yami Bakura a stare. "He decieves when it suits him, but I do not think this is one of those times."
Yami Bakura bowed his head mockingly. "You speak truly, O Mighty Pharoah. Until the present crisis is averted, I am your man. I swear it, in the name of Osirus, and by his dark brother Set."
"That reminds me." Tèa swept back her hair. "Didn't Diaz say something about Osirus?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Something about somebody finding Osirus." Tris grimaced. "I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention at the time, if you know what I mean."
"He said, 'on the day when Isis finds Osirus, I shall be made whole'," a new vioce interjected from the front. Everyone looked that way to see Busby looking back at them in the rearview mirror.
"Guess that means you were dere too. Jeez, what is dis, 'Spy on Yugi Day' or something?" Joey leaned up towards the grille between the seats. "What's your part in all dis? You just work for Mr. Moneybags here?"
"Nahhhh, he's my dad." Busby grinned.
Joey face-faulted. "Ya... wha...."
Pegasus chuckled. "May I introduce to you the reason why I haven't been kidnapped before this. Busby Berkley-- AKA Doppleganger. Buzz, take a bow."
Busby doffed his hat and grinned. "Nice to see you guys again-- on the same side of the field this time, if you catch my meaning, if you get my drift."
"Doppleganger?" Mai gasped. "But that's just a--"
"A card, Mai, a card. A Duel Monsters card. A card whose power is to duplicate any other card in play on the field, Magic, Trap, Field Effect, Equip Card... or Monster. In the real world, Doppleganger can become anything he wishes to become. 'Busby' is just a disguise so that he can move about freely without attracting undue attention." Pegasus smiled fondly. "He's my favorite card, you know. He's so versatile."
"Freaky mooky." Joey stared through the grillwork, fascinated. "It ain't like I din't know they could do that-- come through into the real world, dat is. I seen it happen too much to not believe it. But-- hey, you ain't got a Millenium Item, so how come he's still here?"
"He's my favorite card. Think about it."
"Our cards..." Yami drew out the deck, took the top card off the stack The face of the Dark Magician looked back at him. "The favorite ones. The ones we feel closest to. We have..." he frowned, concentrating. "A special--"
"A special bond," finished Tèa, eyes lighting up. "That's what you mean, isn't it, Pegasus? Like our bond with Yugi. Our favorite cards are especially close to us. They can feel us and come through to help us when we're really in danger, if only we believe they can."
"Bravo, Tèa." Pegasus applauded. "You're absolutely right. Even without the Realm being opened, the single card that means the most to us will come to us when we need them. That gives us some slight hope against Diaz. We are not entirely powerless. And with the further assistance of the Pharoah and the thief, here--"
"Ba-Khu'ra," the Thief corrected. "It is my name. Use it."
"With Yami's and Ba-Khu'ra's help, our decks should be fully available to us."
"That is, unfortunately, most of the help I can offer." Ba-Khu'ra shook his head. "The Ring failed to locate Yugi. I've already tried. I conclude, therefore, that he is somehow beyond its range, which I thought was infinite. That, or he is shielded in some manner. There ARE ways to do that, but I was not aware anyone in THIS world still knew of them."
"So what, then?" Tristan looked grim. "How do we track this guy down? He could be anywhere."
"The old-fashioned way," Mai answered. "We do a little detective work."
Pegasus dimmed the interior lights. "May I suggest at this point that we all try to get some rest while we're traveling. It's been a long day, and we're going to be very busy in the days to come."
**********
It began with the wind. Tèa could feel it stirring her hair, then catching up strands of it here and there. Part of her knew she was dreaming, but it didn't stop her from walking along the darkened path in front of her. Couldn't I be having a nicer dream? the dream-aware part of herself grumbled, considering right now my real life sort of sucks?
No one answered her; not precisely. Instead, the wind brought the sound of a voice, distanced, muffled. Having nothing better to do, she followed it.
As she walked the forest began to change. Not darker or more menacing; not forboding; not monstrous. But the green leaves grew brown, withered and dropped away, leaving bare branches against a bleak grey sky. The sound of birdsong grew silent. All that she heard was the wind whispering through the twigs above and the broken voice ahead of her, which she could tell now was sobbing. Quiet, despairing sobs that led her on and on until she topped a rise and found herself staring down into a hollow in the hills, where there stood a great dark Gothic house, weathered, beaten down by the years yet still strong enough to stand a century or two more.
As far as she could tell, the crying was coming from there.
Towards one side of the house a old storm shutter flapped restlessly in the wind, revealing a window from which the glass had long been broken and removed. It was barely large enough, but someone COULD wriggle their way through without too much trouble, given they could reach it.
As Tèa stood there looking, something brushed past her ankles, then leapt in a blur atop an old washtub (had that been there before?). For a second the huge brindled cat sat there, bathing, then gave Tèa a long cat-stare out of one golden eye before leaping again to vanish in the tall grasses.
From washtub to window and in was only a few minutes' work.
And yes, here was the source of the crying; down the hall, the long, impossibly long hall, towards the crying, towards the dim light of a flickering fire... and stopped at the doorway by something. Some barrier, something that felt cool and slick and impossibly heavy, like a great sheet of glass.
A room, dark, furniture covered in sheets, dim and forboding.
In the center of the room, a small boy, hands over his face, trying to muffle the sound of his despair and failing.
Yugi! Tèa flattened to the barrier at once, trying to find a way through or catch his attention and failed at both. Furious, she hammered on the invisble wall hard enough to make her hand ache.
Someone stirred, then, in the back of the room, and moved forward; the tall man they'd called Junon. His face mirrored the misery in Tèa's heart. Apparently not seeing her, he walked forward and knelt by the sobbing boy, one hand on Yugi's shoulder, consoling. Yugi only hunched away, giving the giant a look that would've melted stone.
Junon looked down, hurt, guilty, but shook his head slowly: no.
Yugi swallowed, wiping a hand at his face, and said something, the words indistinct. Junon made some reply that Tèa couldn't hear no matter how hard she strained. More earnestly, Yugi argued, pleaded, receiving only another slow shake of the head. The boy's shoulders slumped and he looked away miserably.
Junon heaved a sigh and gently stroked Yugi's hair, then picked him up, turning so that Yugi and Tèa were looking straight at each other through the barrier. Yugi's eyes widened, then he reached out a pleading hand, saying something.
Tèa shook her head. "I can't hear you!" she shouted, then pointed at her ear and cupped a hand behind it. "I can't hear! Oh Yugi-!"
Yugi's brow knitted, a look of determination on his features. His fists clenched. He closed his eyes and appeared to be thinking, or concentrating, as hard as he could on something. Tèa gave a little squeak as she saw the familiar Millenium symbol flare to life on his forehead. He's never done that before! What's going on?
(Wheels)
Tèa grabbed her temples, eyes wide. She'd HEARD him, somehow. "Yugi...?"
(look for the wheels, they never stop)
"What wheels? I don't understand. Yugi--"
(where you can't tell the night from the sunrise)
"I don't--"
(red and black, Tèa, PLEASE--)
The light faded as Junon carried Yugi away, into the dark of the old house.
"OH!" Tèa sat straight up, banged her head against the back of the seat, and clutched it, wincing. "Owiee..."
"Tèa, y'mind keepin' it down?" Joey mumbled. "Some of us are tryin' to sleep here."
"Joey!" She grabbed his shoulders, shook him. "Joey, WAKE UP! I just had the weirdest dream-- Yugi was in it. I think he was trying to tell me something!"
"Huhwha?" Knuckling his eyes, Joey sat up a bit straighter. "Come again?"
"I had a dream--"
"I got dat part. You said Yuge was in it?"
"Uh-huh." Tèa nodded. "I was in this totally creepy house out in the woods somewhere, and there was this-- wall or something I couldn't get through. Yugi was on the other side. That guy Junon was with him. I couldn't hear what they wee talking abuot, but right at the end Yugi saw me, and he did something-- I saw the Millenium Eye. Not the EYE eye, not the object; the symbol. It was glowing on Yugi's forehead. The Pharoah's done that before, remember?"
"Uh... yeah.. yeah, I think I know what'cha talking about. Hang on a sec." Leaning across the compartment, Joey shook everyone else awake. "Sorry, but I think you guys need ta hear this. Tèa had some kinda loopy dream about Yugi."
"It wasn't a 'loopy dream,'" Tèa protested. "More like a nightmare." Quickly she repeated what details she could recall to the others.
"Wheels?" Tristan clapped a hand to his forehead. "Red and black? I don't get it. What did he mean? I mean, assuming that wasn't just wishful dreaming on Tèa's part-- sorry, Tèa, we've got to consider that."
"Where you can't tell the night from the sunrise." Mai nibbled her lip. "Well, I suppose it could be a big city-- city lights can make the night look so bright it's hard to be sure it IS night-- but there are a lot of big cities in the world too, to paraphrase Pegasus." She looked over at Pegasus as she spoke, then stared. "Pegasus?"
Very softly, Pegasus began to sing under his breath:
"There's a sign in the desert that lies to the west
where you can't tell the night from the sunrise
and not all the King's horses, nor all the King's men
have prevented the fall of the unwise
And they think it will make their lives easier
for God knows up till now it's been hard
but the game never ends when your whole world depends
on the turn of a friendly card..."
"Real nice, dere, Peggy, you should go on stage. Mind lettin' us in on what dat was about? Unless ya just think life needs a soundtrack or something."
"I know where Yugi is." Pegasus frowned.
"What? WHERE?!" Yami grabbed the older man's lapels. "Tell us!"
"I don't know PRECISELY where," Pegasus said, "but if that truly was Yugi, he's just narrowed it down to one city." He raised a hand, pointing at Yami's fists, locked in fabric. "Mind letting go of the coat now?"
Yami let go--reluctantly.
"What I just quoted are part of the lyrics to a song by a group called the Alan Parsons Project. They did an entire album themed towards gaming and gambling--and what it could do to people." Pegasus smiled. "Trivia time. Which North American city is known as 'the City of Lights' because the illumination from it is so immense it can be seen from space? Answer: Las Vegas. And where does it lie? In the deserts of Nevada, to the west. And where would you find wheels that never stop? In a casino, of course. A roulette wheel... which is colored--"
"Red and black!" Tristan crowed.
"Exactly. It certainly sounds as if Yugi is trying to direct us towards a casino. So our next step--" he bowed slightly in Yami's direction-- "If I may, our next step should be to search for a casino with ties to Diaz."
"How do we do that?" Tristan asked. "I mean the guy's not likely to've hung out a sign or anything."
"No... no he isn't. Not one that you'd think of as 'a sign', no. But I happen to know just a bit about being rich (funny thing, that, but there you are). Finance implies earnings of one sort or another. Earnings implies--"
"A business!" exclaimed Tèa. "He has ties with a business somewhere. He has to earn his money somehow. Don't they have to list the company officers when they incorporate themselves?"
"They do, and that is a matter of public record. Mind you, Diaz COULD be independantly wealthy, but even then he must have investments, bank accounts, something of the like. Let's stay with the idea of business ties for right now, though. We should begin by investigating the owners of casinos in Las Vegas and see if we can locate one that lists Diaz Russio as a corporate officer, member of the Board of Directors, or partner. If we find such, we can be reasonably certain that's where Yugi is. With my connections, that should be simple enough, though it might take a few hours."
Yami nodded once. "Make it so."
"As you command."