Chapter 110

"Did you get what you were looking for, sir?"

Seto let out a huff, long legs easily eating up the distance from the store and the limo that was parked just outside. He didn't even give a backwards glance at the tiny little card shop; honestly it as more like a booth one found at a mall. A mall that had half the stores closed and the fountain long dried up. "I should have. But the old fool has no understanding of how the world works."

He didn't even look at the driver as he opened the door to the limo, Seto easily slipping inside with utter grace and control. He didn't know why he was talking with the man… he didn't matter in the slightest. He was a pathetic little man who had no desires, dreams, or drive. He would do his job, go home to his lazy children and shrew of a wife, and he would go to bed thinking he was happy when in reality all he was doing was kidding himself. Deluding himself into believing that he mattered when if he were wiped off the planet at that very moment no one would even react after three days.

And yet as the man (and Seto hadn't even bothered to learn his name) moved to shut the door he found himself saying, "I offered him more than he will make in a year for that card and he refused it. He doesn't even use it in his deck… the old fool just keeps it for sentimental value."

The driver frowned at that. "Then what is the problem, sir? I thought you wanted to secure the Blue-Eyes White Dragon so that it could never be used against you. Why not…" The man rolled his hand, searching for the right word, "offer him a bunch of money to sign an agreement that he'll never use the card in a duel and upon his death the card automatically goes to you?"

Seto frowned at that. "Don't be ridiculous." The driver quickly apologized and shut the door… but Seto was left pondering that idea. It wasn't a bad one at all… such agreements happened all the time. Museums would agree to hold items for a certain amount of time, paying for the right, with the understanding that the items they had would be returned to their countries of origins. This would just be a reversal of that. The old man in his stupid suspenders would be able to cling to the strongest card in all of Duel Monsters and Seto would make sure that NO ONE ever dared use the card against him. The old man would probably thank him for it! Yugi Muto's mother and father weren't around, the latter dead and the other such a deadbeat that she might as well be. That meant Solomon Muto was his guardian and Seto couldn't imagine someone like that, living above his tiny little card shop where he peddled comics and knock-off Lego sets, would have a large enough nest egg to be able to afford to send the boy to college. Unless Yugi was willing to spend the rest of his days also trying to keep that pathetic little shop running any sort of monetary windfall would be a benefit.

It wasn't like he'd have to wait long even. From the looks of Solomon Muto… and the garbage can filled with twinkie wrappers and off brand chilli cheese flavored Fritos… he would be lucky if he lived another five years before his heart burst out of his chest and raced out through the streets, screaming "Freedom!" as it did so. Seto could pay a small amount of money each year, perhaps 14 million yen, for Solomon to agree to never use the card and JUST hold onto it for sentimental value.

'Probably would have to put in a clause with steep penalties if he ever let it out of his sight.' While he doubted someone like Yugi would take the card and begin dueling with it, as the boy clearly had an honor streak ten miles long, his other friends?

He frowned and pulled out his phone. "Sowash, I want you to pull up everything on the following three people and fax me the info within the next 30 minutes."

It only took 15 and what Seto found dashed any idea that he would make such a deal with Solomon Muto.

'Tristan Taylor is perhaps the best of a bad bunch. Family owns a furniture store, he's set to inherit it, and he does have a clean enough record. But the other people he hangs out with…' He frowned as he looked over the next file, the limo idle at a traffic light. 'Tea Gardner has nothing in her file… but her father is one of the most corrupt cops I've ever laid eyes on.' Ken Gardner worked for the Chief of Police in Domino and Seto himself had been forced to deal with that man multiple times when it came to basic protections for his businesses. It had been made clear to him that if he didn't pay up the police would spread the word that his offices were the perfect places to rob. 'And then there is Joey Wheeler…'

Drunk father. Multiple citations for misdemeanors (which Seto was willing to bet Ken Gardner had seen to getting rid of). Lousy at school.

'He'd steal that card the first chance he got,' Seto though. 'He'd probably sell it for a few hundred bucks…'

And with Solomon Muto foolishly letting that criminal know about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?

'No… I can't risk making a deal with him. That would only risk people learning about it. It won't be long before they do but I refuse to be the cause… or to sit idly by and have that threat to me be out there.'

There was only one choice. He would have to FORCE Muto to give it to him-

Seto glanced out the window only to start. There, amongst the crowd of people watching to cross the road, was a pale young woman with stark white hair and the most piercing blue eyes he'd ever seen. She was wearing a dress that while not designer in the slightest had clearly had a lot of care put into it.

The limo suddenly began to move and at once the woman was gone.

And Seto Kaiba suddenly felt very cold.

~Present Day~

"Street Sharks: The Movie is getting rave reviews!" the announcer declared as footage of the new CGi blockbuster action event flashed across the screen. "Mo Beautrix said "Jaws made you afraid to go into the water… Street Sharks makes you afraid to go into the streets!". Ira Woods raves "These sharks have bite!". And Mako Tsunami said, "I can't decide if I find this offensive or not." Street Sharks: The Movie."

The screen changed to the four sharks staring at a car… the window lowering to reveal Vin Diseal.

"The only thing more powerful than Dr. Parinoid? Family."

And with that the screen switched to the CCN title card, a fanfare blaring out.

"Its starting!" Cassie called out just as there was a knock on the door. "Please murder whoever is keeping us from watching this!"

"Okey dokey!" Aria said, pulling out a baseball bat and making her way towards the door, only for Caesar to grab her and twist her around back to the couch.

"What did we tell you about suggesting such things to Aria?" Sally asked.

Cassie sighed. "Sometimes she can't tell what is real and what is a joke."

"I can too!" Aria complained.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Whose there?" Aria called out.

"…I can't tell if she's joking or not," Martin muttered before deciding to be the adult in the room and answer the door. "Nate!" he said with a grin, slapping the new arrival on the shoulder. "Come on in! I think you are one of the last to arrive! Alec and James are already here."

"We're still waiting for Moose to arrive-" Sally said only for the man in question to walk in with a case of beer slung under his arm, "-and speak of the devil and he shall arrive."

"Except the Devil doesn't drink," Caesar commented. "He's too busy buying toys all the time."

Cassie instantly was next to Moose, making a 'boing' sound as she rocked back and forth several times. "I will fight and defend all you desire."

"…you are talking to the beer, aren't you?" Moose asked.

"Shhh, the important people are talking," Cassie said, happily grabbing the pack and taking it to the kitchen. "Yes, that's right… let me introduce you to my friends…" She shut the door and they heard her talking to her wine, whiskey, and scotch.

"And we lost her," Nate muttered as he stepped inside, waving to James and Alec who waved back. Nic, who had decided to show up despite not being part of the KaibaCorp crew and was technically the enemy of their boss' girlfriend ("technically only" he had said) and Alan were over in the corner going over something on Alan's phone.

Caesar shrugged. "Meh, the god cards thing bugged her all day, we can give her this. Moose, give me a hand with the couch."

"That's offensive!" Aria proclaimed. "He might be the janitor but he doesn't have to work! We're on a break!"

"…I am asking him because he's the strongest person after me and we need the space."

"…oh," Aria scrunched down. "Sorry."

Moose just shrugged only to blink as he saw two more people walk in from the kitchen, laying out platters of food. Subs cut into bit-size bits, bags of chips, cold cuts, the perfect Duel-Watching buffet. "Uh… is that a female Kaiba?"

"Net," the 'female Kaiba' stated.

"That's Sasha," Martin stated. "She's Kaiba's new body double. And that's Zachary… he's new and this is our first chance to induct him into the group."

Moose and Nate shared a look. "Mokuba hired her, didn't he?" both said at the same time.

Martin smirked. "Revenge for the whole "Princess Mokuba" thing." He chuckled. "To be fair she is VERY good at her job."

"It's starting!" Sally called out. "And by that I actually mean the duel, not to rehash of their decks!"

"I thought you weren't into Duel Monsters," Aria said… only to see Sally pop in some ear buds. "Ah."

Sasha frowned, glancing at Sally who was happily tuned completely out of everything. "She is very… strannyy?" She frowned, struggling for the right word.

"Strange," Moose stated.

"Strange."

"Shhh! Its starting!" Aria declared before balling her hands up into fists and pumping them rhythmically up and down. "Duel. Duel. Duel."

The others joined her.

"Duel. Duel. Duel."

"Well?" Seto said, narrowing his eyes and folding his arms over his chest. "You were so desperate to have this duel and reveal to the world how utterly outclassed you are… you might as well be the first one to go."

Ishizu smiled at that. "Ah, of course you would think that, Seto Kaiba. You believe that-"

"So anyone notice that she looks a bit… different?" Cassie asked, tilting her head as she tuned out Ishizu's rambling speech about how amazing she was.

"You mean she is dressing kinda slutty?" Aria asked, also tilting her head.

James chuckled. "Women mocking other women's fashion choices. How-"

Sasha twisted around, staring at him as she slowly used the butterknife she'd grabbed to cut her sub into smaller bits.

"-completely reasonable and I am going to shut up now."

"-will fail. It is known. This is just the first step towards that." She held up a card. "I set my Millennium Seeker in defense mode."

"Huh," Cassie said, "its Mr. Arrrgghh."

"Mr… what?" Alec asked.

"Mr. Arrrgghh. Pegasus met him once. I didn't even realize he was the basis for a card… must have had its lore handled by someone else, before I was made head of Lore."

Nate frowned. "Why do you call him Mr. Arrrgghh?"

~Many Months Earlier…~

Shadi frowned as he appeared in the strange hallway. After a lifetime spent in the deep and secret chambers of the tombkeepers it was still so very odd to walk the structures of the modern day. It was so very odd. So very different from what he knew.

He didn't like it at all, the strange feelings that the world of Maximillion Pegasus put inside him. He was used to walking steps of confidence and strength, of knowing exactly where he was and, more importantly, what he meant for the place he found himself in. But the modern word… he was an intruder and a stranger. Someone that didn't belong. And that bothered him greatly. He didn't like feeling so unsure of himself. So awkward and strange and… wrong.

'But I must be here… I must speak to Pegasus about the dangers that come from his actions. It was one thing when he began to use the myths and legends of the Pharaoh's contemporaries. The Greeks, the Persians. The use of things like the Celtics and the Romans was… disappointing but still understandable. But these drawn figures of mirth that he called 'Toons'? No. No… this can not be allowed to continue a second more. I MUST correct this… get him to understand that he must stop this at once!'

Shadi took a breath as he came to a door, strange symbols upon it that spoke to it being a place of great importance. He knew that Pegasus would be in there.

He swung the door open.

"We must-"

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" a British woman screamed, covering herself up as Shadi realized he'd accidently entered into a feminine water closet. "PERVERT!"

And with that she kicked him between the legs.

"Who the fudge do you think you are?!?"

"…aarrrggghhh," Shadi moaned as he collapsed onto the ground, cupping his groin.

"Well fridge you too, Mr. Arrrgghhh!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"By the time the security guards showed up he had disappeared," Cassie said.

"So kicking men in the dick make them disappear…" Aria said, rubbing her chin.

"That's been my experience," Sally added.

The guys in the apartment were saved from having to worry about the ladies trying that out by Seto making his move.

"You think I'm scared of a man holding a feather?" Seto said with a dismissive sniff. "That is, at best, a shield. And a weak shield at that. Especially when I have this in my hand." He held up a single card and spun it around to reveal-

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Nate exclaimed. "He drew it his first turn! That's impossible!"

"Well, technically, he had a 7.5% chance," Martin stated. "And considering that he drew 5 cards that means he had a-"

"You know," Moose said, cutting him off, "if I had watched this with my mops they wouldn't have said as much."

"Sorry, but this is something that tends to happen whenever there is a duel."

Sasha slowly looked at Moose. "As… much?"

Ishizu merely smirked at Seto, pressing her hand to her Millennium Item. "Ah, but you don't plan to summon that monster, do you? I see that you-"

"That is enough of your games, Ishizu!" Yugi called out, the cameras suddenly twisting around to reveal him taking a step away from his friends. "You keep claiming that you are some grand duelist and that this is all meant to be?"

"I speak the truth in both of these matters, my Pharaoh."

"Then you will prove it."

That caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is it you suggest, my Pharaoh? What shall I be doing to prove my words to you?"

"Go through this duel without using the power of your item!"

"Please," Seto said with a roll of his eyes, "more of this magic nonsense?"

"How does he not believe in magic?" Nate asked. "We've all seen Edwin use that Key around his neck to teleport! Last week he used it to get us all tacos!"

Ishizu jut ignored Seto, focusing instead on Yugi. "My Pharaoh… you would have me duel without using the power of my Millennium Necklace? To prevent me from knowing the glory that is the might of the Egyptian Gods?" She shook her head. "You ask much, my Pharaoh."

"Too much, I guess," Edwin said, folding his arms over his chest and rolling her eyes. "Come on, Pharaoh… there is no way Ishizu does anything without her crutch."

Ishizu's smile fell at that.

"I know what you are attempting to do, Edwin Chaos," she said coldly. "You are trying to use reverse psychology."

"Nope, just stating a fact. You have built your entire existence around using that Item. Can't even duel properly… need to cheat in order to win. Did you even duel once before arriving at the blimp?"

"She did not!" Aria complained, folding her arms over her chest and letting out a huff.

"Huh?" Caesar said, confused.

~Battle City Day 1~

"Well, the duel disc handled that one well enough," Aria said to herself, looking over the device on her arm. While she was technically part of the tournament her main goal was to put the duel disc system through its paces, to see if she could figure out any flaws that would need to be corrected. When the tech guys built things they always assumed that they had done it perfectly but Aria had found that they always underthought the stupidity of the common man. What they would do, what they wouldn't do. Things that would give the designers nightmares.

They had planned for someone to walk up and kick the hardlight projector. They hadn't planned for someone to fire one onto a moving car and suddenly have the Celtic Guardian running away from a duel… backwards. They had planned for rain and snow. They hadn't planned for someone to drop a cup of chili on the thing. They had planned for people doing illegal moves. They hadn't planned for someone trying to tap a drawing of the Blue Eyes White Dragon over a Mushroom man while also placing the Jack of Spades in facedown defense position.

Aria was the one that thought of such things and that was why she was lead tester for KaibaCorp. She had seen enough stupid things in her short time on the planet to know just how dumb humans could be.

That meant she'd had a duel on a beach, the waves coming up to her ankles while her holo projector struggled to deal with the movement of the ocean. She'd had another one in a rotating restaurant, watching as the GPS for her duel disc struggled to maintain location connect and thus slowed down the time it took for her attacks to go off. She'd had a duel in a tight alley where the projectors had to figure out how to show the images while shining down below from the tops of roofs.

All had been noted and detailed so that the tech guys could figure out how to take the insanity she'd forced their toys through and get them to work proper.

"And not a bad haul," she said as she looked over her 3 locator cards. She had been bouncing back and forth in her totals, at one point nearly at zero, another time at 5. She wasn't in Battle City to win, she was in to play test and thus that meant taking on duelists of wildly different skills, willing to do strange and odd things. "Could have done without dueling that skull-mask wearing guy…" she muttered only to drop one of her locator cards. "Oops."

But as she went to grab it a woman in white suddenly darted out from around the corner, grabbing the card and hurrying away as fast as she could.

"HEY!" Aria screamed, giving chase. "That's mine!"

"And it will aid the Pharaoh well!" the woman called back.

"Screw the Pharaoh, gimme that back!" But the woman was quick, able to beat a crosswalk light and leave Aria staring at the traffic that suddenly began to wiz by. "Darn it!"

"Never fear, fair damsel!" a voice declared and Aria turned, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Corpse-Man! Thank goodness you are here! That woman stole my locator card!"

"I will retrieve it!" the world's first dueling superhero said boldly before running off.

Only to turn back around.

"Unless something more important comes about."

"Of course, I understand!"

~Present Day~

"Too bad Corpse-Man didn't catch her," Aria muttered. "But I suppose that he's only one superhero."

Martin nodded, "We must always remember that Corpse-Man does what he can…"

"Shhh!" Cassie hissed. "Edwin is on a roll!"

"I'm just saying," Edwin said with a casual wave of his hand, flicking his fingers about in Ishizu's direction, "that its really pathetic that you claim to be the Pharaoh's greatest aide and champion and you can't even duel properly. Especially when everything is going to be decided in a duel. Unless Marik is going to go about having us play arcade games instead." He looked over at Marik and shrugged. "I assume that's a no and you'll be actually dueling the Pharaoh to determine who gets the loveliest piece of jewelry of all?"

"That is correct and-" Marik stopped when he realized just what Edwin had called Yugi's puzzle. "Watch your tone, Chaos! The power of the Millennium Items-"

"Will grant you power and magic and 4 more inches onto your penis. Which will bring you to a whole 4 and a half inches!" He turned back to Ishizu. "I'm trying to be nice, I really am. Considering you killed me a… day a go? Feels longer. Meh. You killed me but I am still trying to show you some respect and kindness. I believe that at one point your heart was in the right place Ishizu but now you resort to cheap tricks just to get your way. At least Marik actually dueled Bakura and Brom and didn't whip out his rod time and time again."

Ishizu narrowed her eyes. "The Millennium Necklace and I are one, Edwin Chaos. Destined to return to each other in all my lives. This is known. The Pharaoh does not understand such things because his knowledge has been corrupted by the likes of you and his Vessel. You have no idea-"

"Bwa-ka."

That made the woman stop short.

"Did… did you just make a chicken noise?" she finally said.

"Bwa-ka," Edwin repeated.

"It will not-"

"Bwa-bwa-bwa-bwa-ka!" he said, face utterly relaxed and neutral.

"I know-"

"Bwa!" Edwin said, raising up his arms and beginning to flap them. "Bwa-bwa-bwa-bwa-bwa-bwa-ka!"

"FINE!" Ishizu roared and she reached up and tore the Millennium Necklace from her throat, holding it out far from her body and dropping it to the ground. She turned and faced Yugi, a dark smile on her lips. "You want me to prove myself, my Pharaoh? Very well! I will win this duel through skill alone, just as the ancients did. Then you will understand my might and my power and how I am the only one-"

"WOULD YOU PEOPLE JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!?!" Seto thundered. "NO ONE gives two shits about your mystical mumbo jumbo! Magic, ancient relics, the fairies… all of them aren't real-"

"EEP!" Cassie, resident british woman, quickly looked around to make sure the Fair Folke weren't listening to that.

"-and I am tired of MY tournament being dragged into your delusions. Now… it is my turn and I am going to defeat you, Ishizu, claim back Obelisk the Tormentor, and when I do I will kick you OUT of my tournament once and for all! You won't be able to find duels on the sidewalk in the worst side of town!"

"Did… did he just equate dueling to prostitution?" Moose asked.

"Da," Sasha said, just as surprised.

"And just to prove that you have no so-called psychic powers that allow you to see the future… I wasn't planning to summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon." He smirked. "No… I just needed to show it to you so I could bring forth this: the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

On the field a beast that could be considered a regional variation of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared. It had the same vague shape as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon but it was sharper, spikier… where there was an elegant grace to Seto's signature monster the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon was a harsher beauty. It was the difference between a well made spoon and a well made knife. Both had their uses. Both technically could harm. But they served different purposes and had vastly different existences even if one could see right away that they belonged together as part of a set.

"By revealing the original Blue-Eyes White Dragon I am able to summon to the field my Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon. And it has no time for your pathetic Millennium Seeker. Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, attack with White Thunder!"

The dragon let out a bellow before flapping its wings, creating a great maelstrom that caused the Millennium Seeker to shield himself in a desperate attempt to try and protect his form. But the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon wasn't interested in merely blowing the monster away; no, it opened its mouth wide and fired off a bolt of lightning that shot into the sky. The winds suddenly stopped and everyone held their breath… before the sonic boom from the attack struck, shattering the Millennium Seeker into a thousand little shards.

"And so much for that," Seto commented. "Now I set this card… and end my turn."

"Pretty solid showing," Martin stated, walking over to the table to get some food.

"Maybe," James murmured, "but I've dealt with a lot of conmen and hustlers… and whenever they wear a smirk like the one Ishizu is wearing? That always meant bad things."

~2 Years Ago…~

"I just don't know how it all began to go so wrong," Terrence Long murmured. He was far too used to being the one in the chair behind the grand desk, watching the pathetic little people come to him cap in hand begging for help. It was so odd for him to find himself now in the opposite position, forced to plead for some kind of relief.

"You had a lot of trouble suddenly come at you," the young CEO of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba, said coolly, not even bothering to look at Terrence. He hadn't been surprised by that… it was a power play he'd used before himself with vendors that wanted to use his warehouses. To show that he had so little respect for the person that you didn't even need to look at them. He used to look out the window, to stare at the harbor. Kaiba didn't do that… choosing instead to merely focus on his work.

He didn't know what was worse.

"Trouble is being polite about it," he muttered. A bad investment that had left him with land he couldn't use. A storm that had resulted in product being damaged even though they were supposed to store it in a way to prevent that from happening. A bad inventory that hadn't gone down their way. All of it meant that when KaibaCorp had come knocking to buy him out… well, Terrence had no other choice but to sell.

Even though it killed him.

"This company has been in my family for 4 generations," Terrence murmured. "I never thought… well, I suppose you don't really care, do you?"

"No, I don't," Kaiba confirmed.

"Right," Terrence said. He felt no anger. He couldn't. He'd done this himself, after all, to so many.

"But…" Kaiba said slowly, "a bit of news has reached me that has made me… reconsidering things." Terrence felt his heart drop. "I would be willing to go through with buying your company… and then resell it back to you for a trading card."

"…what?"

"I don't repeat myself," Kaiba said, leaning forward. "You son acquired 6 months ago the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. You give that to me and I will pay off all your debt. You keep your company and continue on with all you have done for the last few generations. I'll never bother you again."

"My… my son… it's his card…"

"And you are his father. Surely you can find a way to get it from him."

It wasn't a question.

Two hours later Terrence placed the card on Kaiba's desk. His son didn't even know he'd taken it… he'd learn that later that night. Terrence was sure he would hate him… but he could live with that. Could live with his son's rage at what he had done to save their family business.

And as for Seto Kaiba… Terrence would never know it had been his own accounting division that had leaked the investment rumors Terrence had leapt at. His agents that had sabotaged his warehouse before the storm. Had altered the inventory numbers.

It didn't matter.

Seto Kaiba had the card.

Though… he did notice a strange woman with stunning eyes glance at him as he left work that day, staring at him with disappointment before she was swallowed up by the crowd.

~MC~MC~MC~

"What do you think, Edwin?" Yuri asked me.

'Duck out claiming I need to go to the bathroom. Use my Key to claim the Millennium Ring of Earth-2. Use it to create a portal right under the Millennium Necklace. Grab it and hack it up with my lightsaber… oh I am so glad that stayed after the filler arc! Wait… no! Dump it into a part of the multiverse where there is nothing but lava. Melt it like the fucking One Ring. Find some way to record it and force Ishizu to watch. Also record Ishizu's reaction so I can masturbate to it every night-'

"Edwin?" Yuri said, prodding me again.

"Hmmm?"

"What do you think? Was that wise of Seto to bring out the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon so soon? Or should he have held off on it?"

Shaking myself out of my thoughts on how I could have easily claimed the Millennium Necklace and also ruined Ishizu's life (I was trying to be more considerate of her but damn it she made it so hard!) I looked over the field. "Its hard to say. I doubt that he's going to win with that and it would have been better to save that for when he could have hit her lifepoints. On the other hand the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon is really hard to get out onto the field so if you have the chance to do that… well, why not?" I shook my head. "Honestly I think its one of those moves where we won't know until the very end how important it was."

Ishizu drew her next card, considering it carefully before she then added it to her hand… before shuffling the entire thing.

"Clever," Mai muttered. "You got her to give up her way to view the future and see what Kaiba has… so she is now going to be careful and make sure we can't tell what she is doing. Changing up what cards she drew and when."

"What do you mean?" Tea asked, having overheard Mai's comment.

She smirked. "A trick I learned ages ago was how to keep track of cards. You wouldn't believe how handy it is to be able to remember just what card a person drew and what order… I might not know WHAT the card is but by remembering how they reacted I can figure out, based on their strategies, how powerful the card is."

"Clever," I admitted even as Ishizu held up two cards from her now randomized hand.

"Now then, Kaiba, I will send my Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard from my hand to the graveyard in order to special summon Keldo the Sacred Protector!"

She thrust out her hand and on the field her monster formed. It was a great statue of a figure that might have been human or might have been some otherworldly alien monster; it was honestly impossible to tell as there were too many elements to it that made it 'human' but the oddities that made up its form kept it from ever being able to be seen as someone you would encounter walking down the street. Rather than have true hands it had a pair of large shields fused to the ends of its arms that it slammed down to the ground. They, like the monster itself, were ornate and beautiful yet also strong.

"And when I do this I am able to add one card to my hand from my deck, so long as it meets the sacred commands."

"Sacred Command?" Tristan asked. "What does that mean?"

"I have no idea Tristan," the Pharaoh admitted.

I was just as clueless. 'I've never heard of these cards. I know that Ishizu had some strange robotic angel things that she used in her single duel in the manga and anime but these cards clearly are not them. I don't know what the heck these monsters are or where they've come from… only that they are upgraded forms.' I frowned. 'And that her main strategy is Exchange of Spirit. Could that be it? Could the sacred command have to deal with cards that are connected to Exchange of Spirit? It would make sense… if these are upgraded from what I knew… and I thought of this like Konami making the card game and not Pegasus...' I pressed my lips together at that. 'Yeah… I think that's exactly what is going on. Ishizu is trying to set up for Exchange of Spirit!'

"I will now set that card on the field before summoning in defense mode Zolga the Prophet." Another monster appeared on the field, just as strange as Keldo the Sacred Protector. While at first the monster appeared to be a robed figure, dressed in a ceremonial headdress and robe, a further study of it revealed that it was just the robes and headdress; there was nothing underneath the garments at all!. It was raw magic itself that kept the garments alive, like a ghost wearing a sheet. "And thanks to this monster I can now see the top five cards on your deck."

Renard shook his head. "I suppose none of us should be surprised that she still found a way to 'gaze into the future'."

The holo projectors revved up and Seto's duel disc chirped before it projected five cards onto the field, turned so only Ishizu could see them clearly. "Now, what to do with this knowledge? I suppose I could leave you in the dark, Seto Kaiba… but I think it would be far more interesting for you to gaze into the future as well. The five cards on the top of your deck are Silver's Cry, another Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Ultimate Fusion, Dictator of D., and True Light." The cards faded and she smirked. "It is your turn."

"Good," Seto said coldly. "If I had to deal with another speech from you about how I needed to 'fear the future' or how 'everything is happening as it once did' I think I would have hurled myself off this blimp."

"That is your normal strategy," I commented. "And no, I'm NEVER going to let that go, Kaiba!"

Seto, for his part, merely huffed. "Whatever. Now that little miss "I can see the future" is done with her turn I can actually show everyone watching how a true duelist plays this game. I'll start by activating this: Bingo Machine, Go!" On the field the very bingo machine that Seto had used to determine the matchups for the finals appeared on the field. It was something that I wasn't going to think too hard about as that was a path to madness. "This card allows me to select three cards from my deck that are connected to my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and you must select one at random before the others are shuffled back into my deck."

"A good move," Renard stated. "By doing that Kaiba ensures that everything Ishizu saw on the top of his deck doesn't matter anymore."

"And with her not able to use the Millennium Necklace she can't stack the deck in her favor." Yuri's face twitched after she said that. "And the pun was definitely not intended."

I watched as Ishizu's jaw worked and I could tell from the way her hand was twitching that the very thing she wanted to do was to reach down and claim the necklace once more, so she could use its power in order to look at Seto's cards. 'Its like a drug,' I thought, rubbing my chest where the Millennium Key sat within my sternum. 'You use it once, thinking that it won't matter that much, that you are just using it to get through a tough situation. But then you see how easy it is and it becomes second nature. Its like walking or breathing. And you continue on until, finally, its so second nature that to lose it is to like having an eye ripped out or a leg cut off.' I stared at Ishizu who grit her teeth and selected a card on the right. 'The fact that she is actually trying to duel while clearly wanting to reclaim her item is impressive.'

Seto took the selected card and added it to his hand… and then moved on, as if nothing had happened. "I will now attack your stupid looking statue with my Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon." The dragon growled before letting out a roar, not even bothering with the theatrics of the White Thunder attack, shattering it into pieces.

"A powerful attack, Kaiba," Ishizu said. "But my lifepoints remain untouched. And it seems that the card I gave you didn't help you get past my barrier of Earth Fairies."

"Are you sure about that?" Seto asked with a smirk.

"Oh boy…" I heard Joey mutter, "that don't sound good."

"You have been so concerned with what is in my deck that you weren't paying attention to what I had on the field. Don't worry though… it's a mistake all amateurs make when playing this game. First not thinking ahead… and then course correcting too much and thinking out so far in advance that they aren't paying attention to what is actually happening on the field. It always leads to their downfall… and its going to lead to yours right now." He smirked, tiling his head down and shutting his eyes. "Do you want to know what three cards I selected for you to pick from when I used my Bingo Machine, Go? were? They were two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and a Tyrant of D. I had a 2 in 3 chance of you selecting one of my Blue Eyes… and you did just that."

"He WANTED another Blue-Eyes in his hand?" Tea said, surprised. "Why would he want that? He doesn't have any monsters to tribute in order to summon one, let alone two."

"Except he has that facedown on the field," Tristan commented.

Seto huffed. "Well, I guess I'll give it to Taylor… he actually is paying attention." Seto thrust out his hand. "Reveal my facedown card: Ultimate Fusion!"

The card, which was a blue and white version of the standard Polymerization, only with two Blue-Eyes being sucked into the portal, appeared on the field and at once The Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon let out a roar even as Seto held up the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons in his hand.

"By shuffling from my hand, field, and graveyard Blue-Eyes White Dragons back into my deck I can fusion summon a new and powerful dragon. And because the Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon counts as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon while in the field or in my graveyard I can use him as well to bring forth the Alternative for the Ultimate Creature of Destruction! Come forth Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon!"

The skies opened up and lightning slammed down into the ground all around us. I instantly threw my arm over my head while reaching for Mai as the bolts pounded down all around us. Several of them slammed into the same spot on the field and they twisted into Kaiba's new monster. It was similar to the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon but, much like the Alternative to its normal counterpart, there were differences that showed it to be a cousin of the Ultimate Dragon. In the same family but different enough that you wouldn't mix them up. Far spikier and sharper, like a dragon made of swords and daggers. Where the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon took the Blue-Eyes had made it have a more armored appearance the Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon was a sword if drawn by Rob Liefeld with Frank Miller consulting.

"And now to show you the power of my monster," Seto declared.

But Ishizu merely smirked. "Ah, but have you forgotten Kaiba? When a fusion monster is summoned to the field it can not attack the turn it appeared. So all that build up for something that can just stand there, glowering at me. And I have a whole turn to destroy it."

But Seto merely closed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "Ishizu… you claim to be so wise and bright. That you understand everything that is going on and have already planned ahead for every move I make. Is that right?"

"That is a generalization but you are correct."

"Yet you forget… I created the rules of Battle City. You think for a moment I forgot the fusion restriction?"

"Oh…" Joey said slowly, "that's a good point. Rich boy probably knows rules we ain't even encountered yet!"

'Which gives him an advantage,' I thought. 'Of course… I read through the rule book too so who am I to judge?'

"You see, Ishizu, it isn't the my Ultimate Dragon's attack that you should fear. Rather it's the power it can unleash. And that starts with the might of its fusion summoning. I activate Ultimate Fusion's secondary effect!" Seto's eyes snapped open at that and we all looked up to see that the storm was still raging. "It takes a lot of power to bring forth my Ultimate Dragons… but I can help that fusion along by already having a monster on my field. If I do then part of the power that would normally be needed in order to do the fusion summoning can remain… and then be redirected!"

"Redirected?" Ishizu said, clearly surprised.

"That's right," Seto stated. "For every Blue-Eyes White Dragon I used in my fusion summon that was on the field I am able to destroy one card on your side of the field!" A bolt of lightning struck down, shattering her Zolga the Prophet. "And now… my dragon." The Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon leaned down, energy burning in its mouth. "This monster, once per turn, can destroy up to three cards on your side of the field if I used a Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon to fusion summon it! Meaning I can clear away your facedown card, leaving you with nothing!"

He paused.

"Which sums up well your chances in this tournament: nothing."

With that Seto's dragon fired off its attack, Ishizu forced to send to the graveyard…

…Exchange of Spirit.

"Oh shit," I murmured.

"You thought you could stand against me, Ishizu? Thought you had a chance to defeat me? Well now you will learn just how wrong you are! Next turn I will attack you directly and there won't be anything you can do about it! I will reclaim Obelisk the Tormentor and you will be nothing but a distant memory!"