Chapter 111

Renard glanced over at me. "I'm guessing that Exchange of Spirit was a pretty important card if it has you shocked that Seto just destroyed it?"

He had seen the shock come over me as Ishizu's facedown had been revealed, as well as Ishizu's own reluctance to place the card in her graveyard.

I nodded. "Exchange of Spirit allows the duelist to swap their graveyard with their deck. As well as their opponent's graveyard with their deck. Exchange of… Spirit."

I didn't need to say anything else. Renard was the European Champion… at once he saw the power in that card.

"Shit," he said, causing me to raise an eyebrow; I almost never heard Renard curse. I was the potty mouth and he was the handsome foreigner who couldn't settle on an accent (seriously, he somehow managed to say 'shit' in a Russian, French, and Turkish accent). He had no need to curse or swear. While for me dropping an f-bomb was like breathing for Renard it wasn't needed. He could get his points across without resorting to vulgarity. "Do you believe her entire deck was built around that?"

"…possibly," I said slowly.

Yuri leaned in, whispering lest the tv cameras (or Ishizu herself), picked up her saying, "Is this a 'I'm from another reality' thing? Because it feels like that."

"We really need a codeword for that, Captain," Renard remarked.

"We do," I admitted. While pretty much everyone on the blimp now knew I was from an entire different universe (while they couldn't focus much on the battle against Wyatt THAT little detail seemed to remain firmly in their brains) that didn't mean I needed the rest of the world to know that I was from another universe. There would be panic, fear, the need to experiment on me like I was ET…

~MC~MC~M C~

"It all adds up," Aria stated to Moose. "Edwin is a traveler from another dimension."

"Wait, you people didn't know that?" Moose asked. "I've known since his first week at KaibaCorp!"

The others just blinked.

"It was pretty obvious…"

~MC~MC~MC~

I let out a sigh, running my fingers through my hair. "And yes, this is a… the thing we need a codeword for. When Ishizu dueled Seto originally Exchange of Spirit was her trump card. It forced him to only have a few cards left in his deck, ones he'd already used, obviously, and put him at a risk of decking out while also having very limited options for dealing with what she had on the field. But… I'm not sure if that's her whole strategy this… time? Weird way to think about things." I made a face.

Mai glanced at us. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean is it really a second time around if for them? In my mind it is… I have one set of memories so its kind of like I'm a time traveler except I'm not actually from this time so can they really be called memories? I mean, if you read a book about… I don't know, Pegasus' life and it described him as some ripped muscle bound weight lifting nut and discovered that wasn't the case would you say things were changing or that the book got it wrong? Because-"

"I meant the strategy," she said, cutting me off.

I blushed at that. "Right. So, uh, the other half of her strategy in that duel was a card called Blast Held By Tribute. Or something like that, I might be getting the name wrong but-" I looked at Mai who was merely staring at me with a level look, "-but you don't care about that. Basically it put a bomb in one of Seto's monsters. When he tribute that monster to summon Obelisk the Tormentor the bomb went into it and started the timer. If it had gone off he would have taken a ton of damage and lost. It was the only way she was able to find to get around the God Cards' Immunity to effects."

'And,' I mentally added, 'it was my first clue that I could find my own workaround.' My hand slowly slid towards my Kaiju deck. 'That there were ways around the God Cards other than just attacking with a stronger monster. You have to be trickier about it but it is possible.'

"Except Seto doesn't have Obelisk the Tormentor anymore," Yuri commented. "Ishizu has it in her deck."

"Right," I said.

"So Ishizu defeated Seto then?" Renard asked. "You make it sound like she didn't."

"No, Seto won. He…" I removed my glasses and pinched the bridge of my nose. "This is so stupid… in that duel Seto won by having a vision of Ancient Egypt and that convincing him to tribute Obelisk to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon, causing him to break fate and destiny."

"How does that even work?" Mai asked. "I thought the only way that someone could block an item was with another item. Your Key mostly."

"No, there are other ways. Joey fought against Marik's control when he was put under the power of the Millennium Rod. And Seto seeing the vision broke Ishizu's visions. But the latter was different… Seto saw his incarnation, the Priest Set, and the Blue-Eyes. They have a bond."

"Bond?" Yuri pressed, because of course she did. "What kind of bond?"

I let out a groan. "Damn it all, do NOT say a word to him because he won't understand… the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is connected to a human girl, one with white hair and blue eyes, that the Priest Set fell in love with. She allowed herself to fully merge with her Ka, the White Dragon, to become the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She swore to protect Set and his reincarnations forever." Mai raised an eyebrow at that, mouth twitching. "People who are moon goddesses and dating reincarnated Greek Mages do NOT get to talk!"

Mai had the decency to stop smiling at that.

"At least she is fucking a human in both her lives," Yuri muttered.

I shot Yuri an annoyed looked before I allowed the Millennium Key to emerge. "But I'm not for sure that matters anyway. I've been breaking Ishizu's visions with this bugger for the entire length of the tournament. And Ishizu isn't using the Millennium Necklace so she can't see how things go."

"So Seto is good then," Mai stated.

I shook my head. "Maybe… or maybe not. Because that was Ishizu. This is Yami Ishizu and… and I think she has some very dangerous things planned."

As I said that Seto finally got done with his silent gloating (something that would never stop being creepy… duelists just pausing mid duel, frozen like statues, allowing everyone watching to make comments) and stared Ishizu right down.

"So… what do you see coming next?" Seto taunted smugly.

"Without my Millennium Necklace I can not peer into the future-"

"Oh, don't give me that," Seto said with a huff. "We both know you don't need that trinket… because you can't actually see into the future. Its all just smoke and mirrors. Cold reading and vague comments. A party trick done to entertain the guidable."

"Do not equate the gifts and skills of my ancestors to cheap illusions performed by frauds, Seto Kaiba," Ishizu said with a cold smile. "We were building dynasties while your ancestors were fighting each other off with wooden sticks to determine which hut of mud and straw they got to sleep in."

"Yes," Seto said, returning her cold smirk, "and then we went on to forge an empire while your people became a tourist attraction and the inspiration for Brendan Fraser movies."

"Normally I'd say that was a sick burn on Seto's part," I commented, "but the Brendan Fraser movies were SO much better than the Tom Cruise ones and he did The Last Samurai so…"

"Is… is there a point to any of that word salad?" Yuri asked.

"No, sometimes I like to just fill awkward silence with comments that amuse myself."

"That must make sex interesting," Renard joked.

"You think for a moment I would allow awkward silence?" Mai teased.

Ishizu drew and looked over her cards, drawing our attention back to the duel. "I will set these two cards all facedown on my side of the field and end my turn." On her side of the field two cards appeared, all innocent looked sitting there.

That had all of us glancing at one another.

"It's a trap," we all said at once.

~Several Years Ago~

"Did you really need to go that hard?"

Seto glanced over at the new arrival, frowning as he filled out the forms he had been presented. "I would have thought that the creator of Duel Monsters would want to see people putting their hearts and souls into his game."

Maximillion Pegasus looked down at him and at once Seto was sure that he hated the man. There was nothing more that annoyed him than when people looked down at him, seeing him as little more than a foolish child that didn't know what they were talking about. Pegasus had the same patronizing smile that most adults had when they decided that they would "honor" Seto by speaking with him. The kind that made it clear that they thought him stupid and naïve.

"What I want is to see people enjoy my game."

"And I enjoyed winning," Seto replied. "If he wants to know what that feels like-" he nodded towards the teen, a few years older than him, that he had just defeated, "-then he should get better."

"There is more to Duel Monsters than merely winning," Pegasus stated. "Duel Monsters can be enjoyed by all."

Seto scoffed as he looked back down at the form. "You know I hear that from a lot of people. Usually losers."

"What a cold way to look at the world," Pegasus commented. He waved his hand towards the crowd of people that were mingling about the different booths and stands, looking at the promotion art that was showcasing the different monsters that would be in the next set. "There are people who enjoy the art work. Others the lore… I just hired one my intern from England and she has some wonderful ideas. And still more enjoy the sense of community. It for all ages." He gestured at where an old man in overalls was chatting with a brown haired girl. "They don't care about winning."

"Don't they?" Seto asked. "You think a single one of those dweebs wouldn't trade all the pretty art or deep lore for a chance to be standing where I am right now? Face it… the only reason you think they enjoy that stuff is because you aren't in their position."

"Come now, my boy, is life really that hard?"

"I'm not your boy. I'm Seto Kaiba… and you'd be wise to remember that name, because I plan to remain at the top of the Dueling World for as long as I wish. And the moment I don't? Your game is dead." With that he passed the forms back and accepted his prize: A copy of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Seto didn't even bother to look at Pegasus as he walked off.

"Well then… I'll keep all of that in mind… Kaiba-Boy."

Seto stopped and considered turning around to address Pegasus before deciding it wasn't worth it. 'I got my card… that's all that matters.'

And yet… as he walked way… he swore he saw a flash of white in the corner of his eye. White not belonging to Pegasus.

~Present Day~

Seto smirked. 'Those fools are right… you are setting up a trap, Ishizu. But I'm not worried at all. Being unable to play your little mentalist games is throwing you off completely, leaving you to make foolish mistakes. You aren't able to focus properly and actually duel me as you are too concerned with trying to prove that all this magic hooey is real.' He scoffed. 'Pathetic… I will be taking back Obelisk the Tormentor and then you'll be locked away in your cabin until Battle City is over with… and I am the champion. Maybe, if I'm kind, I'll just hand you over to the Egyptian Authorities.'

He reached for his card only for Ishizu to throw out her hand. "I activate my Trap Card, Kaiba: Gravekeeper's Trap!"

"Uh… does that have her picture on it?" Edwin asked, tilting his head as the card appeared on the field.

Seto frowned. It… did vaguely look like Ishizu. But more likely she had simply based her look off the card. Plenty of duelists were doing that nowadays, trying to focus more on 'a look' than actually learning how to play the game. They treated it like Pro Wrestling… and were about as dignified as them all. It made Seto scoff; he would never be caught dead doing such a thing.

~MC~MC~MC~

"What?" Cassie said, pressing her hand to her ear so she could focus on the call and not Sasha and Nate arguing about what chip dip was best.

"I asked if you were working," her boss said.

"No… no I'm not working, I got the week off. So did you too!"

"We got in a last minute design from Mr. Pegasus and we need so lore for it."

"I am on vacation!"

But before she could say anymore Keith hung up and Cassie heard a ping letting her know she'd gotten a new email. She frowned and considered just ignoring it before finally sighing and opening it up-

"What the fuck is 'Kaibaman'?!?!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"This card," Ishizu continued on, "is a danger to you in many ways. But to start it allows me to declare one card and, if it is on the top of your deck, then you will need to discard it."

"And here it is," Seto said with a roll of his eyes. "Where you pretend to have psychic powers. Where you get into my head by making me believe that you know what I've drawn and what strategies I would pull. Of course that would require me to actually be so weak-minded that I would become flustered by such things. Let me assure you I'm not Wheeler."

"HEY!" Joey cried out. "What's that supposed ta me, Kaiba?"

"It means I heard about Valentine and her little ESP act."

"…eh, what ESP act?" Joey said, Seto huffing at the blond's lies.

"Don't act dumb Wheeler, its like me acting like I need to breathe oxygen." Seto turned his full attention back to Ishizu. "Now… like I was saying, this is the part of the duel where you try your tricks to learn what cards I have drawn." He tapped his duel disc and it began to flash dark blue lights. "But I've now activated my anti-hack software, Ishizu. If you try any of your tricks to attempt to illegally look at my deck… I'll know and you'll be instantly disqualified from Battle City."

"Eh, why would rich boy tell her dat?" Joey said, already having forgotten Seto's insults against him. "I mean, if that freaky chick Ishizu didn't know about it then when she… oh." Joey blinked. "I guess it don't really matter, since its all her item and not her…"

'And you wanted to act like you wouldn't fall for her schemes, Wheeler,' Seto though with a mental roll of his eyes. 'I'm surprised that you haven't been kidnapped a hundred times by men in windowless vans offering you candy.' He looked over at Ishizu as she worked to decide what card to call out. 'As for why I told her… I want her to know that she can't pull her little trick so she won't even try. She might attempt to try her little "I can see the future" routine but she'll have to explain why she can't actually perform… and she won't risk that. So that leaves just dueling.' He huffed, seriously wishing he could just trap her in a lie or catch her cheating so that he could boot her out of his tournament. It would be utterly delicious.

And she'd walk away with the Egyptian God Card.

' I need her to remain in this tournament… a disqualification means that she'd keep Obelisk the Tormentor; she's right that it was originally hers and she only let me borrow it. I could try and go through the courts but someone like Ishizu would be willing to destroy it just to spite me. Claim it was 'the will of the gods' the card got torn in half. As much as I want to reveal that she is a fraud I can't until I have my Egyptian God Card right back in my hands. Then, and only then, can I finally show the real her to the world.'

Ishizu finally squared her shoulders and declared, "The card you are going to draw is Pot of Greed."

Seto drew and smirked as he revealed Dragon Shrine. "Nope. Maybe that necklace of yours is the real deal." His smile became utterly sharp before Ishizu had a chance to celebrate that little 'admission'. "Because you certainly don't have any powers."

"I have power, Seto Kaiba-"

"No," he said, delighting that he realized at once that he'd finally found the flaw in her armor. The mistake that would bring her tower crashing down. "You don't have power Ishizu… the Item does."

Her eyes slowly widened at that.

Seto smirked.

'I'm almost ashamed I didn't realize it sooner,' he thought. 'That this is her weakness. My way of finally dealing with her and her foolish mystical mumbo jumbo.' Out loud he said, "That's what you've been telling all of us, isn't it? That the Millennium Necklace has such great power, that we should respect it. The Necklace… not you. It is the source of all your success and ability in this tournament. Allowed you to get your locator cards. Allowed you to defeat Odion. Allowed you to learn the combination of my safe. The Necklace… but not you. It is the true power."

"The Necklace has power," Ishizu retorted. "I am pleased that you finally realize that. But I-"

But he cut her off once again. Because he now understood. Ishizu was a prideful woman. She had built herself up as some foreign mystic, tapping into powers he could never understand. No different than the gurus that claimed they could speak to serpents or the dreamy-eyed women with bushy hair who spoke with the spirits. They had a 'gift' and wanted to be acknowledged for it. Take that away though…

"And you are just the one it works through. Anyone could do it. Hell, I bet if I put it on a monkey they could see into the future just as good as you could." He paused. "Probably better, since the monkey wouldn't waste everyone's time between predictions."

"Oh, that was a good one," Edwin admitted.

"The Necklace is the only thing that matters, Ishizu. The rest of you? Worthless. You are only here, in this spot, in this moment, because of it. A carrier that drags it around, allowing it to do what it can. You are a chauffeur, nothing more."

"You don't know what you are speaking of, Kaiba."

"I think I do," Seto said. "Yugi might play up that he has some mystical Pharaoh's ghost living in his body but he is still a skilled duelist. If I took that puzzle away from him he'd still be a skilled duelist. Chaos might use contacts to change his eye color-" Edwin did just that, flashing a mocking little smile at Seto, "-and honestly the black and gold looked so much better-" his eyes returned to normal as he pouted, "-but he is also a skilled duelist and, as much as it kills me to admit it, a decent businessman. He doesn't need glowing eyes to be a success."

Edwin… didn't say a word. Instead he just stared at Seto in shock

Honestly it was the most surprising thing of the entire day, that the loud mouth knew when to shut up and not ruin a good thing.

"Even Marik is a good duelist. A criminal that needs to be investigated, perhaps, but I'll leave that to people who are actually paid to deal with those things. He doesn't need to rely solely on that stick of his in order to win."

"The Millennium Rod, Kaiba!" Marik called out with a laugh. "But I'm not offended… you are finally speaking true. My sister is a pathetic little thing… and I can kill easy enough without the power of my Millennium Item."

"…right," Seto said, really glad that the cameras were rolling; he'd be able to have his lawyers turn everything over to the cops and have them ready to arrest the Egyptian bastard the moment the tournament was done… and of course with the Winged Dragon of Ra firmly in his deck. But first he needed to finish with Ishizu. "But you? There are only two options for you, Ishizu. Either you are a fraud or that Necklace of yours DOES have powers. But either way… that is ALL you have. You are either a weak conwoman with a played out gimmick who has managed to get this far in Battle City due to blind dumb luck and gullible fools who are willing to believe anything you say… or you are little more than a rider on bronco racing out of control, refusing to listen to your commands, and left clinging to their mane with teary eyes hoping that when the ride ends you'll be where you want to be.

"You're nothing without your crunch. The moment you can't play your games and you find yourself facing someone who isn't willing to go along with your lies… you crumple. And I'm about to show the entire world exactly how pathetic and small and worthless you truly are."

Ishizu narrowed her eyes at that.

"And… that's important for you, isn't it?" Ishizu asked. "To prove that I don't belong here." She smiled; a slight one that barely managed to lift her lips up. She tilted her head and her hair caught in the wind that blew across the blimp, making it shake and tremble like a basket of hungry serpents. "Because maybe if I am proven a fraud… then the world will focus on me and won't look at you. Won't realize that YOU are the fraud."

"Please," Seto said, rolling his eyes. "The world knows exactly who I am. I am the Greatest Duelist the world has ever seen. I am one of the richest men in the world. A genius that is dragging the humanity kicking and screaming into the next one. Everyone knows that. So please, Ishizu, try and claim I am someone that I'm not."

"Oh yes… the great Seto Kaiba. You've made sure the world sees you all so well."

She leaned forward.

"But… you aren't really him, are you… Seto Shinryu."

~MC~MC~MC~

"You look to be having some intent thoughts."

Koyo started, looking up before glancing down at the cards he'd laid out on the table. He had decided to skip the last duel of Round 2, not interested in watching Seto and Ishizu hate fuck each other. 'Because that is honestly what they will spend most of the duel doing,' he thought… only to realize just who had come up to talk to him, eyes going wide. "Mr. Pegasus!"

"Hello there, Koyo," he said and the young man moved to stand up only for the businessman to wave him off, chuckling slightly as he did so. "Now now, no need for any of that. I'm not some king or government officially. I am not so vain that I need you to lay yourself prostrate before me, face down and ready."

Koyo opened his mouth to apologize for that only for his phone to chime… and a voice to call out, "HEY! PHRASING!" from it before going silent.

"I… uh…"

Pegasus though merely let out a weary sigh, though he was still smiling when he did it. "Quite alright. That would be Troy, Edwin's phone. At this point I believe he's wormed his way fully into the blimp's entire network."

Koyo settled back into his chair and Pegasus, much to his surprise, did the same. So flabbergasted was he that the creator of Duel Monsters was taking a seat on a padded plastic chair across from him that he found himself blurting out, "So Edwin has a sentient phone now?" Yet even as he said the words he thought about how it oddly felt like he'd already known that.

"Yes," Pegasus said with a shake of his head, "he does. Sometimes I believe that man just attracts crazy."

"Considering his girlfriend is apparently also a goddess?" Koyo said without thinking.

"…that actually explains quite a bit," Pegasus said and Koyo blushed as he realized that he'd let slip a secret that wasn't his to tell. Thankfully, before he could truly dwell on that, Pegasus leaned over and looked at the cards that Koyo had set out. "Ah… now I remember these cards."

"My pride and joy," Koyo stated, running his hands just above the cards. Elemental Hero Ocean. Elemental Hero Woodsman. Elemental Hero Blazeman. Elemental Hero Stratos. "I worked really hard to find all of these. Core of my deck. Decided after everything I've seen though to do some touchups, see if I couldn't make it a bit stronger. Hoping maybe, when we get down to only a couple duels, Seto will let some of us just have some casual matches."

"Done," Pegasus said, causing Koyo to blink. "Remember, KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions has merged. Kaiba-Boy and I have equal shares and I know that Edwin will go along with my yes vote. it's done."

"Huh," Koyo said with a bemused smile. "Uh… thanks."

"No problem at all. I'm looking forward to see you duel." He looked once more at the cards. "You said you found these?"

"Found, researched, won, bought… sometimes more than one. For Woodsman it was all four… that was a wild weekend." He smiled at that. "But I got them all the same."

"You weren't one of the duelists to get a free deck?" Pegasus asked.

"Oh, I got a free deck," Koyo said. And that had been an utter shocker.

He still remembered the day well, his sister calling out he had a packages from Industrial Illusions (in her standard annoyed voice that made it clear that she thought he was wasting his money) and Koyo thinking that it was the packs he'd ordered. But rather than the padded envelope with its yellow front and white label he'd come to the kitchen to find small maroon box with a neatly printed label on it with his name all bold yet plain upon it. Cutting into it only to stare in shock at the deck that was wrapped up in clear plastic, containing cards he'd never even heard of before had left him thinking he was dreaming. Oh… he knew of the archtype but he had never heard of the cards. He'd spent several hours going through the entire deck, staring at the cards and making sure they were real before it finally and fully slammed down on him that this was his life and not some fantasy.

"But," he continued on, "these four weren't a part of it. A lot of other great cards but not these four."

"From your original deck then?" Pegasus asked.

"Yes and no," Koyo stated. "I mean there are a few cards I've kept from my original deck. Some of the Elemental Hero cards work well even with the deck you sent me and if I already had a card that came with the new deck I swapped the old ones in… you know, sentimental value and all that. Felt wrong that they'd helped me out this long but I was tossing them aside for the new hotness, especially if they were able to do the exact same things."

Koyo paused, looking over his deck with a soft smile.

"I have all my old cards too. Happily retired… though I guess in Duel Monsters no card is ever retired. You never know when a new strategy will come out that needs an old card… or you need an old card in order to take DOWN some new strategy." He gestured at the Core Four Elemental Heroes. "But these guys were different. They weren't released to the public." He paused, raising an eyebrow as he stared at the creator of Duel Monsters. "Shouldn't you know this?"

Pegasus though chuckled. "Oh Koyo… thanks to the deck release-" and there was a strange twitch in his lips when he said that which had Koyo knowing there was more to that story than merely Pegasus being generous, "-there are thousands of Duel Monster cards floating about. While I do work to create many of them I don't know what happens to them once they are taken from my hands. There are entire divisions in charge of determining what are in packs, what are promos, so on."

"Ah, sorry about that," Koyo said, Pegasus waving off his worries. "These four came out as prize cards for tournaments. The Heroes Circuit… all the entry fees went to different charities. Homeless Vets in America, Womens Shelters in France, so on. I've… done a lot of chasing these last few months in order to snag them." When he saw Pegasus raise an eyebrow at that Koyo shifted. "I… have a lot of free time on my hands."

"Because you've already graduated from high school," Pegasus stated. He leaned forward, careful to do so in a way that wouldn't send the cards sliding around the table or onto the ground. Mindful of how he positioned himself. "I've done my homework on you, Koyo."

He frowned at that. He had a feeling that 'homework' for people like Pegasus had to be terribly invasive.

Reading his thoughts Pegasus stated, "You'll forgive me for that-" and while said with such a casual air Koyo knew a command when he heard it, "-but I've had a situation of late that have required me to be far more careful."

"Oh?" Koyo said. There really wasn't much else to add.

"Did you ever hear about how Eddy-Boy managed to become the sole member of KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions' Board of Directors?"

Koyo shook his head; he remembered vaguely seeing the news reports about that but it was only because his phone had alerts set up to send him stories about I2. He hadn't thought much about it until he'd met the man and realized that he wasn't merely some wunderkind or a friend of Seto Kaiba's given a plum position. And after seeing Edwin burn a group of terrorists alive and learn that not only was magic real but it was currently being used to fight a millenias-old battle? Well… the entire thing about Edwin's job hadn't really crossed his mind.

"Edwin managed to get to the Duelist Kingdom finals before anyone else. Rather impressive, I must admit, because I only invited him… well, actually I didn't invite him at all. I invited his uncle but he was injured and sent Edwin. I didn't think much of him… but then he made contact with Yugi Muto and his friends, rescued Mokuba Kaiba, impressed Renard Volpe, and while he was doing all he could to prevent a relationship had clearly made Mai Valentine fall head over heels for him. I thought him a curiosity then, someone I needed to truly monitor… and then he revealed he was actually a detective looking into the death of someone I knew."

That… made Koyo frown.

"Edwin's a detective?"

"Not in the slightest," Pegasus said with a breezey smile. "The man is a liar. He can't seem to help himself. He will craft his little fibs and then send them out in the world. Oh, I suppose he had no choice… I doubt any of us would have believed him had he told us that he was really from another reality where all of this was a Saturday Morning Cartoon."

"Yeah, I'm still wrapping my head around that," Koyo admitted.

"But the point remains that Eddy-boy was able to lie to me fully. Make me believe first that he was nothing special and then that he was a detective that was on my side. I didn't see what was coming until he sprang it on me." Pegasus shut his eyes. "Kaiba was enraged when Edwin forced us to give him all of the Big Five's shares in our companies but I was impressed. 'Here is a man of vision!' I thought." He chuckled.

"So… you did your homework on me because you got tricked once before?" Koyo asked only to wince at how… mocking… his tone came out.

Thankfully Pegasus didn't seem to take any offense.

"Edwin Chaos is someone I have grown to admire. He lost his mother. And that grief… it consumed him. I doubt he'll ever be able to pull himself free of it. I… I doubt he wants to be pulled free of it. The same was true with Cecelia. Men like Edwin and I… we cling to our grief, use it as fuel. But where I allowed it to drive me into darkness… his has thrown him so fully in the light it is a wonder the Shadow Realm hasn't burned to cinders.

"But he wasn't the one that saved me, Koyo. That was Yugi. He was the one that made me realize truly how wrong I was. He cost me everything and I am grateful for that because it awoke me from my daze. And despite the fact that he has every reason to hate me… Yugi cares for all. I think, should he should feel true remorse, he'd forgive even Marik."

"Yeah," Koyo said softly. "Yugi is like that, from what I've seen."

"So you must understand that I am protective of him. I am the uncle he sees on holidays who tries to make up for not visiting by giving lavish gifts." Pegasus leaned back in his chair, though without any slouch and slump. "Yugi does that… his life has not been kind and kept him from having the large family he desires and thus he has sought out to gain a family. Brothers in Tristan and Joey and perhaps now Duke. I won't call Tea his sister because that would make things a bit too Game of Thrones…" Koyo couldn't stop the bubbling laughter that trickled out of his throat at that. "Edwin is the older brother that he never had and his friends have become family as well."

"Yugi does that. You want to be around him."

"Yes," Pegasus said and there his smile fell. "Which is why I have taken it upon myself to make sure those that get near him do not hurt him or those he loves."

"That's why you looked into me," Koyo said, at once understanding. "I get it," he said quickly. "I get it. I just happen to run into Joey and the two of us become friends and now I'm hanging out with the King of Games. That has you leery. But I swear, I didn't mean to run into Joey. Wasn't planning it. I just-"

Pegasus held up his hand, stopping him. "I looked you up, Koyo… why do you think I disapprove of you?"

The young man shifted awkwardly at that.

"But… I think you owe it to them all to tell them who you are, Koyo." Pegasus shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "You are working towards you doctrine-"

"I… just want to be normal," Koyo said softly. "Everyone that knows me just see me as the smart kid. The one that graduated high school when he was 12. Who got through college by the time he was 14. That's why I took this year off, even though my sister says I should be focused on school."

"Yes," Pegasus said. "I imagine it is hard for her with her own… achievements."

Koyo really didn't want to talk about his sister. "That's why I love Duel Monsters. I mean, it helps that I'm smart to play it but it's a game where me being…" he waved his hand about, not sure what word he wanted to use so he didn't come off as an arrogant ass, "…me doesn't give me much of an edge. Hell, from what I've seen anyone in this tournament could beat me."

"And I suppose pretending to be dumber than you are makes it so you never have to worry about the likes of Joseph getting worried being around you?" Koyo opened his mouth but Pegasus cut him off. "The others probably don't see it but I do… you like him. And not in a 'friendship' sort of way."

"In a friendship sort of way," Koyo said quickly before adding, in a much softer voice, "because… friendship is how to start a relationship, right?"

Pegasus merely smiled at that. "It very much is." He leaned forward once more. "Might I give you a piece of advice, Koyo? Never be ashamed of who you are. At worst you'll learn just who Joseph is and realize that he isn't someone you want to be with."

Koyo cringed at that. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. He'd only known Joey for a few days but the blond had… well, Koyo had a type. He knew he did. And when he'd first seen Joey he'd been attracted to him like a moth to a flame. The hair, the build… he couldn't help but talk with him. And to his utter delight Joey had been more than a pretty face. He was kind and funny and passionate and loyal and…

"I… I don't…"

"Here is something else you should know," Pegasus said softly. "And I won't give you the trite comments that love is worth the risk and all that. Instead I want you to realize how many people are on this blimp that will stand with you if Joseph does do something stupid. You won't find yourself dealing with this all on your own. You will have others to lift you up."

He reached over and placed his hand over Koyo's.

"Trust them."

The teen swallowed at that.

"Now then… tell me how you use this deck. What are some of your favorite strategies?"

Pegasus' eye twinkled.

"And… what would help it grow stronger?"

~Several Years Ago…~

"Did you get it Seto? Did you get it?"

Seto smiled, reaching over and ruffling his brother's hair. "Of course I did." He sat down next to his brother, waving off the tutor he had hired to see to his lessons. This had been a moment both of them had been waiting for and Seto wasn't going to make his little brother wait a second longer than he had to.

Carefully reaching into his pocket he pulled out the small silver container, pressing a button on the side to have it pop open to reveal-

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Wow…" He looked up at his brother with wide bright eyes. "You managed to get it?"

"Its right here, Mokie!" Seto teased, causing his brother to blush. "Yeah. I had to duel the guy and even then still had to buy it off of him… but I got it." He looked down at the card. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"I was told there are only six that were ever printed!" Mokuba declared.

"Four," Seto corrected. "Two were destroyed, unfortunately." He shook his head. Why would ANYONE destroy a card like this… or any card really? What point did that serve?

"And we have one, Seto!" Mokuba declared.

Even as more servants breezed into the room to clean up from Mokuba's study session Seto gazed down at the card.

'Have… one…' Seto pondered, only broken from his thoughts when he saw something flash in the corner of his eye. He turned to see a wisp of whitish-silver hair and nearly rose up before stopping himself.

Just an illusion.

Nothing more.

It wasn't her.

~Present Day~

Yugi frowned as he puzzled over what Ishizu had just said. 'Shinryu… what could that be? I've never heard that term used before when it comes to Kaiba.'

'I don't know, Yugi,' the Pharaoh said. 'But from the way Kaiba is looking I don't think it is a term he was happy to hear.'

Looking at the other duelist Yugi couldn't help but agree. Kaiba had completely frozen up, his body as stiff and still as a statue. With all the color draining from his face only helping make him look ever more like he'd been carved from a solid block of marble.

"Shinryu?" Joey said, scratching his chin. "What da hack is dat?"

Tristan snorted. "Probably some term Kaiba came up with to try and compete with Yugi. Can't be the King of Games so he's now the Shinryu."

"That jerk!" Joey exclaimed, taking a step forward and shaking his fist in Kaiba'a direction. "Dat what ya doin', Kaiba? Tryin' ta make up for the fact that my pal Yugi has defeated ya so many times that the only way you can feel special is by given yourself some kind of title?"

Seto… didn't say a word.

"Hey!" Joey shouted, taking a step forward. "What's wrong, Kaiba? Mad that we figured out-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Joey stopped short, shaking from the sudden loss of momentum, and ended up faceplanting right onto the ground. He whipped around, clearly to demand to know why Edwin had shouted at him, only to clam up when he saw the absolute thunderous look on Edwin's face. His eyes were blazing with gold and white and Yugi swore that just for a moment a pair of ghostly wings appeared behind him. But then they were gone, leaving just an angry Edwin. Which, admittedly, was still a terrifying sight.

"Not. Another. Word." Edwin warned before turning to Ishizu and jabbed a finger at her. "That… was a low blow."

But the Egyptian Woman merely stared at him, looking utterly innocent… not that Yugi believed that in the slightest.

'After what she did to me… trapping me in my own mind… I will never believe that anything she does it out of the goodness of her own heart or a desire to try and help others.'

'Yugi…' the Pharaoh said softly.

'No Pharaoh,' Yugi thought back, 'no. Marik and Ishizu… they are made for each other.'

"I don't know why you are so upset, Endymion. After all… I am merely addressing Seto by his name."

"His name is Seto Kaiba though," Duke stated. "Not Seto Shinabing."

"Shinryu," Ishizu repeated and Yugi saw Kaiba's mouth twitch at that, though that was the only reaction. "And of course that is his name." She shook her head in mock disappointment. "You have done so well to hide the truth, Kaiba. To make the world forget where you came from. Seto Kaiba, the great and powerful businessman and duelist. The boy genius who has taken on every challenge and found a way to the very top. Who until Yugi Muto has never failed in anything he set out to do. Holder of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. An impressive man. One the history books will write about and scholars will debate. Hero or villain?

"But its all a lie, isn't it? A mask that you carved for yourself from the bones of others. You aren't the heir of the Kaiba Family… you aren't a Kaiba at all. You are Seto Shinryu, son of Akio and Chiyo Shinryu. Or you were… until you decided to bury your past so deep that none could ever find it."

Ishizu took a step forward, her eyes burning with malice.

"Do you ever think of them, Seto Shinryu? When you lay your head to rest in the home of a war monger who sold death to the highest bidder? Do you remember that small house that you once called home, out in the country where the tallest building was the water tower? While you eat the meals that were crafted by others with ingredients worth more than what your parents made in a year does your mind turn to the meals your mother thinned out with water in hopes of making last just a bit longer? As you work on your deck, tossing away cards so expensive that many would have to sell their souls in order to obtain one, do you think of the cardboard your mother would bring you so you might make your own toys out of it and tape?"

"That's enough!" Edwin roared, taking another step forward.

"I am merely asking questions," Ishizu countered. "Questions that don't concern you, Endymion. This matter has nothing to do with you… our friend here doesn't need you to fight his battles. In fact, I dare say that many of those here have no need for you to work out your own issues by acting as their protector."

Edwin glowered at her, refusing to back down, but Ishizu merely shrugged before turning to Seto once more. "Are you so weak, Seto Shinryu, that you can not handle such topics?" She shook her head, refusing to even glance at Edwin, Mai grabbing his arm to keep him from leaping at the woman. Though, in Yugi's opinion, that had less to do with protecting Ishizu and far more with her wanting to keep Edwin from doing something that he would regret. "You talk about me and the Millennium Necklace. How it holds the true power. I see now why you would believe that… you have made your entire life into a mask. The Kaiba name… it is your way of hiding who you truly are.

"You have crafted your persona, sewing the threads together to create your cloak that you hang about your shoulders. 'I am Seto Kaiba, fear me'. But I do not fear you for I know what you truly are. You are Seto Shinryu, a little orphan boy, crying out for your mummy and daddy, wishing for them to return. But they won't. They are never coming home. And even if they did we both know they would be horrified by the man you have become.

"And when I win this duel, Kaiba… when I defeat you… the world will never look upon you the same again. Seto Kaiba will be dead and all that will be left is the child you were, wailing in the dark. So make your next move… it will do nothing to save you. Because you can't escape what you truly are. Not anymore."