Chaos Effect

Chapter 58

Eddy-Boy, I hope you have some ideas on how to deal with this lout," Pegasus told me quietly as we waited for Bruno to look over his cards and decide what he wanted to do as his first move. "Because I really don't look forward to being trapped her forever."

"Yeah, I'm thinking," I muttered. 'I could get out of here real easy... but Bruno has proven that he's not going to give up. So we might be able to escape him today but that just means he's going to keep coming back. The first time he was just trying to lure me into a deathtrap... now he's kidnapping other people and using them as bait. I can't leave until he gets what he wants and I don't think even he even knows what he wants. Damn it all... there has to be some way to sneak out of this mess without anyone getting hurt!'

"And now I draw!" Bad Bruno declared. "And-"

"Sorry," Good Bruno said though I got the sense it wasn't for us; he wasn't all that happy, and rightfully so, that the jackass was threatening to keep using his niece's life as a bargaining chip to keep me dueling. "But my Fire King High Avatar Garunix activates its effect, returning it to the field and bringing with it the scorching fires that wipe out every other monster on the field."

Pegasus narrowed his eyes in annoyance as his Thousand-Eyes Restrict was destroyed, reduced to cinders by the flames of the High Avatar's rebirth. "I hope you realize that soon it will be my turn... and I am going to quite enjoy making your monsters a part of one of my Restrict creatures."

"You won't be getting another turn once I'm done!" Bad Bruno exclaimed with a manic giggle. "Because I have drawn all the cards I need to crush you and Edwin Chaos off once and for all."

"You know, if I had a nickel for every time someone told me that I'd have enough to crush the next person who said that horrible cliché in nickels," I replied.

"The only one about to be crushed is you!"

"...did you just repeat your first insult again because you couldn't come up with a better one?"

Bad Bruno merely sneered at me, letting a hot blast of air out of his nose. "You are about to lose this duel, Edwin Chaos! And with it everything else!"

"What does that even... we aren't betting anything you boob!" I complained.

"We are betting everything! And I am going to win the pot with this turn!"

"I don't even know what you are trying to say anymore!" I groused but Bad Bruno just ignored me.

"Now, I suppose I can thank my foolish partner for burning up my other frogs because with nothing being on my side of the field I am able to summon my Treeborn Frog from my graveyard." A battered looking frog with little angel wings and a halo slowly rose from the card graveyard, hanging in the air before us. "Next, I will send one T.A.D.P.O.L.E. to the graveyard in order to special summon once more to the field my Swap Frog!" The frog returned to the field, giving a croak before settling in. "And he will be remaining for a while as I want to bring out something far more dangerous than what I have in my hand. Before I do so-" Bad Bruno smirked, "-I am going to use my Swap Frog's second effect to send a second T.A.D.P.O.L.E. to the graveyard." Another small, black tadpole appeared on the field in a ghostly form before disappearing into the card graveyard, Bruno grinning the entire time. "And now... your reckoning. I tribute my Treeborn Frog to summon the Des Frog!"

"I've been meaning to ask," I said, looking at Pegasus as the Des Frog formed on the field. "Des..."

"Legal."

"Thought so."

"Yes," Pegasus said with a weary sigh. "All things considered I should have taken their souls first."

"That is assuming they have souls!" I laughed.

~MC~MC~MC~

Martin, head of Kaibacorp's legal department and insurance adjustor, looked up from his work, wondering why he had the vagueness sensation that he needed to dope slap Edwin, before shrugging and getting back to figuring out just how badly the entire Battle City thing was going to hit KaibaCorp's insurance renewal next year.

~MC~MC~MC~

"And with the Des Frog on the field," Bruno said, forcing us to pay attention to him once more, "and two T.A.D.P.O.L.E.s in my graveyard I can summon two more Des Frogs from my deck to the field!" Two more of the frogs appeared, joining the first in staring me and Pegasus down and also making me wonder why the Budweiser Frogs had disappeared. "And now I will activate this: Polymerization!"

"Here we go again," I groaned. "You did this last time Bruno and it didn't work, remember?"

"This time I won't be defeated by your Jerry Beans Man!"

"Your what?" Good Bruno asked.

"It... it was a thing, I don't like talking about it," I said softly, looking down at my feet in shame.

"Come forth D.3.S. Frog, the bringer of DOOM!" The truly massive warty frog appeared, letting out a croak that was so loud the walls began to shake around us. "With this monster I will be able to easily hop right onto you, Edwin Chaos, defeating you completely. And then I will allow my hired help to take you out Pegasus! At last I will have my revenge for all you did to me! There is nothing you can do to stop me! Your lifepoints remain unguarded with nothing to stand in the way of my monster's attack! You are done for, all of you!" Bad Bruno threw back his head and laughed.

"Except for the summoning sickness," Pegasus said dryly.

Bad Bruno's laughter dried up.

"W...what?" he managed to get out.

"You do remember that, don't you? Fusion monsters can't attack the turn they are summoned unless you use the card Quick Attack. Which-" he chuckled, "-I can tell from the look on that befuddled face of yours you certainly don't have in your hand."

Bad Bruno just blinked at us.

"That's still a thing?" he asked.

"...for fuck's sake Bruno YES!" I roared, throwing my hands in the air. "Yes it is a fucking thing still! Admittedly you are right it is a stupid fucking thing-"

"Hey!" Pegasus said, annoyed.

"-but it is still a thing for now! Hopefully someone will get rid of it but for now it is a thing!" I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "Okay, how about this... last time we dueled I offered you the chance to give up. This time... I'll give up, okay?" I put my hand on my deck. "There, I just gave up. You got your big fucking revenge! Huzzah! I bow to your greatness! Can we just stop now?"

"...no," Bad Bruno said. "That wouldn't be an honorable victory."

"He has you there," Pegasus replied.

I could feel my left eye twitched. "He. Kidnapped. A. Child. To. Get. Us. To. Duel. Him."

"It still wouldn't 't be honorable to give up like that, Edwin," Pegasus said.

Good Bruno meekly raised his hand. "Also, just letting you know, Mira isn't a child. She is... 15."

"Draw your hand once more and face me Edwin!" Bad Bruno declared.

"Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right," my phone played, "here I am, stuck in the middle with you!"

I took several long deep breaths.

"Fine," I growled, holding every word for as long as I could. "Fine." I took back my cards and drew my next one since it was my turn. "Okay then..." I pushed my glasses back up and in a clinical tone declared, "since Starry Knight Arrival is still on the field I can activate its effect, allowing me to special summon once more to the field my Starry Night, Starry Dragon."

The ivory dragon appeared on the field, letting out a roar before she turned and looked at me. Her gaze was very much one that, on a person, would have screamed, "Wait, we are still doing this?"

"Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are, girl, but let's get this done and then you and I can find you some nice card sleeves, okay? Pretty gal like you deserves something special." The Starry Night, Starry Dragon preened at that before turning back to the others. "Okay... so let's just rattle this off super quick, shall we? I use the first effect to destroy the D.3.S. Frog-" The bloated monster exploded into bits of slime, "-ew. Next, I attack Good Bruno and banish his Fire King High Avatar Garinux, allowing my dragon to attack directly. Bad Bruno will block that attack..."

"Actually... defeat him." Bad Bruno shrugged. "I no longer need him in this duel, even with my D.3.S. Frog defeated. I will use far more terrible monsters to destroy you, Edwin."

"...okey dokey."

The Starry Night, Starry Dragon let out a snort upon seeing just Bruno, and lightly swished her tail, barely hitting him but causing his lifepoints to drop to zero. (Good Bruno-0000)

"Oh no, I don't have to play this game anymore. I am so upset," Good Bruno declared. "I'm going to get the pizza out of the fridge."

I looked anywhere but in his direction.

"No!" Bad Bruno snapped. "I might not need you but I want you to witness my defeating of Edwin and Pegasus!"

"...I am beginning to see why Edwin is so frustrated all the time if you are the type of opponent he must always face."

"At least Kaiba can duel," I pointed out. "Why is it Yugi gets him and the Rare Hunters and I get... him?" I said that in the same tone as Michael Bluth commented on his son's girlfriend.

"Keep making your comments but on my next turn-"

"Which I don't believe you will be getting there, my dear boy," Pegasus taunted. "For it is my turn... and I have grown rather tired of you. So, allow me to show you the true power of MY deck. Once created to stand against my enemies... and now designed to stand with my friends." He looked at me and gave me a nod before holding out a card. "And I start with this: Relinkuriboh!"

On the field a Kuriboh appeared... but different. While it was the cute little hairball that Yugi loved to summon this Kuriboh had been altered, with its claws turned into the grasping hands of the Relinquished and the Eye of Anubis grafted onto its back. It let out a squeaky call that was... distorted at the end, sounding like the moan of the Thousand-Eye Restrict.

"Does everyone have one of these things now?" I complained. "Where is my Kuriboh, Konami?"

"Who?"

"Nothing," I said quickly to Pegasus. "Just make your move." Under my breath I muttered, "I want a Kuriboh and I want a TVtropes page..."

"Gladly. For you see my Relinkuriboh isn't going to be staying on the field. Instead I will be using him to bring forth a new monster. By converting him into data I am able to summon a new monster to the field by simply altering the 1s and 0s that make it up. So come forth Relinquished Anima!"

On the field a Relinquished appeared only to slowly turn around, spinning in the air a full 180 degrees until its maw was now above its eye stalk. Its fleshy wings and claws shifted as it lowered down onto the ground, staring at Swap Frog on Bad Bruno's side of the field.

"And you should know what happens now," Pegasus said with a smirk. "My Relinquished Anima, absorb the Swap Frog so that it becomes a part of you, adding its attack points to your own!"

"No!" Bad Bruno roared. "Fight back! Don't let it suck you in!" The Swap Frog tried to hop away but it found itself being dragged along the ground, the winds the Relinquished Anima was creating to suck the Swap Frog into its maw far too great. The little monster even tried using its tongue in order to hang on but in the end it found itself lifted into the air and gulped down into the maw of Relinquished Anima, appearing moments later fused to its fleshy form. "You stupid frog! Now I'm defenseless!"

"Don't blame your monster for your lack of skill!" Pegasus declared with a shake of his head. "Are there weak monsters in Duel Monsters? Of course... when I created them I assumed that they would merely be stepping stones to the more powerful creatures that one could place in their deck. But Yugi Muto taught me that there is no weak monster. Every monster can win a duel in the hand of a duelist that understands how to properly use them. What is about to happen next, Bruno? That is on you. Your lack of skill. Your blind focus. All of it... is on you." He smirked, eye narrowing. "Relinquished Anima, attack Bruno directly."

"No... no there has to... I must-" Bad Bruno didn't get to finish as in the next moment Relinquished Anima fired off a blast of magic that sent him slamming into a wall. (Bad Bruno-0000)

"That was lovely," Good Bruno said with a yawn, "but you know that he is just going to demand we duel him all over again, right?"

"Eddy-Boy, surely if you hurry-" Pegasus began.

"Can't risk it. Who knows what he has rigged up with our friend's niece." I sighed. "We just have to keep beating him in duels until he gives up."

"And... I will NEVER give up!" Bad Bruno said, shoving himself away from the wall. "I will just keep coming at you, Edwin Chaos... again and again and again. You embarrassed me twice? I will embarrass you a thousand times! You will beg for me to end your suffering and I will not! And then I will drag you with me as I face off against every other sniveling little worm that ever-"

Bad Bruno didn't get to finish.

Mostly because a masked man dropped down from the ceiling tiles, landing on him and sending him smashing into the ground.

"You will not harm another person, villain!" the figure declared. He had on a purple bodysuit, a tattered read cape, and a white featureless mask. "Not while I stand here! For you now face the mighty of Corpse-Man!"

"...okay, I'll take it," I said with a shrug. "Thanks Corpse-Man but I think he can't hear you. Knocked him out real good."

The... superhero?... tilted his head before looking down at Bad Bruno's form, grabbing him by the hair and lifting his head up to confirm that yes, yes he was knocked out. The masked figure then shrugged and let Bad Bruno's head drop to the ground with a crack. "Ah, so I have."

"Hey, I don't think the three of us are complaining," I told him. Hey, he was weird but I supposed the madness that came about during the GX era had to start somewhere.

"Far from it," Pegasus said with a slight bow, accepting this rather quickly all things considered. "Thank you very much, noble Corpse-Man."

"Don't suppose you have seen my niece?" Good Bruno asked.

"No but I did find a fox man with a young child. There was a small misunderstanding but the baby is safe."

"He means me," a Columbian teen said, hurrying into the room with Renard fast on her heels. She hugged Good Bruno tight, the thin man quickly returning the embrace. "We're fine... Mr. Volpe and I checked and there isn't anyone else here."

"And clearly no bomb," Pegasus said, looking down at Bad Bruno's unconscious form. "Yet another pathetic ruse."

"I would suggest leaving though, before we find out if that really is the case," I said to the others.

"What about him?" the teenager asked, finally letting go of her uncle.

"Never fear, little one-"

"Seriously?" the teen complained. "Still?

"-I will make sure the authorities handle this criminal!" Corpse-Man hefted Bad Bruno up over his shoulder. "Remember... should you ever be in trouble, should you ever be in danger, should you ever feel mildly insulted by a billboard... Corpse-Man will be there!" And with that he hurried out of the room.

"Good speed, Corpse-Man," Pegasus whispered.

"You made a new friend," I said to Renard who had the most put-upon look on his face.

"I do not wish to talk of it... ever again."

"Should I be worried about you forming a Justice League with him?" I teased.

"I will leave you here, Captain."

"Fine, fine, show us the way out." Rendard nodded and led us through the twists and turns of the warehouse, finally allowing Pegasus and I to get some fresh air.

"I say I think I will need a vacation after this!" the creator of Duel Monsters stated with a smile. "Though that might have to wait. I do have so many things to do now."

"Like hiring new bodyguards?" I asked. "How did Bruno trap you anyway?"

Pegasus pressed his tongue against his cheek.

~One Day Earlier~

"Discounted manga! Discounted manga! Come and get it!"

"Oooooo!" Pegasus said in delight, deviating from his original path in his search for Edwin and heading towards the vendor that had a cart full of different manga volumes. "Tell me, do you have any of the Disney inspired stuff? I recently discovered Papernik and I'd love to see how Japan handled Donald Duck."

"Sure, right in here," the vendor said, opening up a large crate that was JUST big enough for a man to be shoved into...

~MC~MC~MC~

"Oh, it was very clever," Pegasus assured me.

"Uh...huh." I turned to look at Good Bruno and his niece. "Anything I can do for you two?"

"Unless you can get us home real quick I don't think so," Good Bruno said. "This had sounded like a good idea but now I really just want to sit down and watch my telanovas."

"Got a picture of what home looks like?" I asked. Good Bruno, to his confusion, reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of a large and colorful house. "Yeah, that will work." My eyes went black and gold, causing the two Columbians to leap back, and I grabbed onto the warehouse door, turning the knob and creating a portal back to their home. "There ya go."

"...what till your abuela hears there is more magic in the world than she thought!" Good Bruno declared before stepping through the portal, his niece taking a moment to thank Renard before going through as well.

"They took that well," Renard said.

"Magic is becoming far too commonplace," I stated with a sigh, shaking my head at that mere thought. "And all the pity for it."

"Someone has become rather melancholy," Pegasus teased lightly. "You are far too young to be thinking like that, Eddy-Boy."

"We're the same age, Pegasus," I said softly. "I just don't look it. Not thanks to Selene."

"Selene?"

"Yeah... you might as well know. I doubt she does subtle." I shook my head and scoffed. "I'm not-"

My phone rang.

"Hold that thought." I pulled it out and answered. "Hello?"

"Edwin!"

"Mokuba?"

"I've been trying to reach you but the Rare Hunters jammed the signal! I had to sneak away!"

My blood ran cold. "What is going on? What's wrong?"

"You have to get to the docks! Now! If you don't... they're going to kill them!"

~45 Minutes Earlier~

"That was a great duel man!" Joey said, holding out his hand which Tristan quickly grasped. It just felt so GOOD to be on the same side of things as his best friend again. "Seriously, you were amazing!"

Koyo nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "You did a really great job out there. I'd have never realized that you had only started playing this game."

"Yeah, well, I was able to get caught up real quick," Tristan said. "Hey Duke!" Tristan called out, waving to the game store owner. "Decided to stick around and watch?"

"Yeah," he said with a slight smirk. "I figured the shop could do well without me around so why not take in some duels. Makes me wish I had entered myself."

"Man, I'm glad ya didn't!" Joey said. "You are a beast when it comes to dueling."

"You aren't a slouch yourself, Joey, don't dismiss your skills."

Joey looked away, rubbing his hands together. "Yeah well... I seem to be doin' that a lot recently." He looked back towards Tristan. "I mean it man... I'm real sorry for how I acted."

"I'm sorry too," Tristan said. "I get where you are coming from, I really do. This all happened so sudden-"

"But that don't make it right that I didn't trust ya! I should have had more faith in ya, like you've always had in me!"

"Maybe but I should have tried to show you that I was ready."

"You were both wrong now hug each other!" Koyo complained.

Joey and Tristan shot Joey's new friend a dark look before chucking at embracing quickly, patting each other on the back.

"So that means both of you are in the finals now, right?"

"Yup!" Joey said, popping the P at the end of the world. "So that means our odds just got a ton better!"

"I can't believe Yug hasn't gotten in yet," Tristan said. "I don't like it that he's waiting this long."

"Eh, Yug is always late gettin' in. Remember Duelist Kingdom?"

"You were late getting in too, remember?" Tristan pointed out. "If Edwin hadn't tricked Bandit Keith you might not have made it!"

"Ugh, don't remind me!" joey complained just as his phone rang. "Hello?"

~MC~MC~MC~

"And with these locator cards you and I are now in the finals, Yugi," Kaiba said, handing the clear cards over to the Pharaoh. "So this duel wasn't for nothing."

"How can you be so callous, Kaiba?" the Pharaoh demanded. "We nearly had our souls ripped from our bodies! Umbra, if he is lucky, merely sustained injuries from his fall." He pointed to the dark-masked Rare Hunter who was dangling from his parachute down below them. "And if the Shadow Realm did take him..."

"Are you still going on about that?" Kaiba complained with a huff, walking over to Mokuba who had been left safely near the stairwell. "A bit of a light show and changing his voice and you are convinced these two were taken over by some deranged Egyptian mobster?" He scoffed. "Don't make me laugh, I save that for when I defeat pathetic dweebs like these two."

"You can't ignore this, Kaiba!" the Pharaoh snapped in frustration. "Things are at work that are far greater than you can possibly imagine."

"That's the problem, Yugi," Kaiba declared. "You allow your imagination to run wild and it leads you to be tricked into cons like this one. You know for a skilled duelist you really are na?ve."

"Kaiba!" the Pharaoh called out.

"Just be ready to face me in the finals, Yugi," Kaiba declared, turning his back on his rival. "Because when we next meet on the battle field I will be using Obelisk the Tormentor to-"

A ringing filled the air.

"Hmmm, I suppose I should be glad you waited to put that off vibrate until after the duel."

"I didn't take it off vibrate," the Pharaoh said worriedly. "I have it set to not disturb me... unless it is an emergency." It had been something Renard had helped the gang set up, secondary lines going to each phone that would act as emergency numbers, used only in life or death situations.

And at that moment... it was the emergency number that was ringing.

The Pharaoh slowly took out the phone, barely noticing that Mokuba had stopped Kaiba from leaving.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Hello... J-Joey."

"Serenity?" Joey said in confusion, brow furrowing. "What's going on sis?"

"I... need you... to listen... carefully."

"Serenity? What's wrong?" Joey saw his friends tensing but he was too focused on his sister's stilted speech. "Why ya talkin' like that? You're all stutterin'."

"I'm... not... st-stutter," Serenity said, her voice quivering. "This... stupid... b-bitch... is crying... as... she tries... to... repeat... what I... m-make her... say."

Joey nearly shattered the phone.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried out, his shock so great he took back control of his body. "Where are you Grandpa?!"

"If... if you want to find him," Yugi's grandpa said, voice stilted and stuttering, "You... need to... come to... the Domino pier. You... will receive... the... address. No... police. No... other... Millennium Item users. Just you. Come... and face your judgment... Pharaoh- Yugi! Run!" the old man cried out suddenly. "Don't come here, it's a-" He let out a cry of pain and the phone went dead.

"No..." Yugi whispered. "Grandpa..."

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Mokuba asked, stepping forward.

"It's my grandpa," Yugi said, looking down at his phone as if just staring at the screen could force his grandfather to call back and reveal it had all been a poorly made joke and everything was fine. "Marik Ishtar has captured him." The phone buzzed, a text coming through with an address. "I have to go here in order to save him."

"It's clearly a trap," Seto said with a huff.

"I know... but I can't just leave him out there. I have to save him."

Yugi began to head towards the stairwell only for Kaiba to scoff. "There is no need for that." He took out his own phone and dialed a number. "Get me a helicopter to my exact location at once."

"Thank you, Kaiba," Yugi said softly.

Mokuba flashed a determined look on his face. "Any time, Yugi!"

"I'm not doing this for you," Kaiba though retorted. "Marik and his Rare Hunters keep interfering in my tournament. I won't let that stand a second more. I'm going there to put an end to him myself. I won't have our rematch canceled because of his actions. I want you utterly focused so that when I beat you there is no excuse you can make." He paused, refusing to turn in Yugi's direction, instead staring out at Domino. "You helped save Mokuba from Pegasus. I haven't forgotten that. I don't like being in someone's debt, Yugi. That is all this is... settling old scores."

"Right," Yugi said with a nod, knowing that Kaiba wasn't telling the full truth but not wanting to press him any further.

'Yugi,' the Pharaoh said to him, 'Kaiba is right. This is very much a trap.'

'I know, but we can't leave Grandpa there.'

'I am with you... but we must not rush in recklessly. Marik is counting on you not thinking straight, hurrying in to try and save your grandfather. We must go in collected, in control. If we rush in without a plan then he already dictates everything. I swear to you that we will defeat Marik... but we can not allow him to believe that he is in control of this situation.'

'You're right,' Yugi thought to himself, worrying his lip. 'After this though... we can't let him hurt anyone else. We have to stop him, right now. He wants to be a duel? Then we must make it his final duel.'

~MC~MC~MC~

"That son of a bitch," Tristan hissed.

Koya frowned. Joey had nearly collapsed once the phone call was done, forcing Koyo to grab Joey and support him before he toppled over. Now the blond was leaning on him and he was working rather hard not to think about how this was the worst possible time for him to finally get a chance to wrap his arms around the attractive blond. "What is going on?"

"That was Joey's sister, right?" Duke said. "I remember him telling me about her... she was in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Tristan said, fists clenched. "Those bastard Rare Hunters must have kidnapped her!"

"Who are the Rare Hunters?" Koya asked.

"A group of criminals. They go around stealing rare cards..." Tristan shook his head. "No... that's the least of their crimes. They like to kidnap people, assault them... one group nearly killed our friend Edwin and another one nearly burned Yugi alive in a warehouse."

"So this isn't a prank," Koyo confirmed. "These are dangerous men."

"Very dangerous," Tristan said.

"We should call the police," Duke stated.

Joey though finally came out of his catatonic state. "No... Marik said no police. And besides... the cops are shit in this town."

"Yuri is a good cop, or was," Tristan argued. "We could call her. She might-"

Joey though shook his head. "We can't, Tristan. We call her and there is a chance Ed finds out."

"No Millennium Item holders," Tristan muttered, remembering what Joey had told them was Marik's other threat.

"That creep Marik knows Edwin is real good with his Millennium Key... he doesn't want him anywhere near the pier. So we can't call anyone Ed is connected to." Joey shifted away from Koyo who watched the blond begin to pace. "We can't even call Yug! It's just me!"

"Us," Tristan confirmed.

"I just found out about this mess but I'm not standing by as some poor girl gets kidnapped," Koyo declared. "I'm in too."

"So am I," Duke said. "Come on, my car is this way! We need to get to the pier before these Rare Hunters decide to do something worse."

"We're going to get her back, Joey," Tristan promised his friend as they ran to the parking lot. "I swear it."

~MC~MC~MC~

Serenity couldn't stop herself from sniffing. "Please... why are you doing this, nurse?"

A voice, cruel and cutting, cackled at her tears. "Are you really that stupid?" the gaunt Rare Hunter laughed, leaning in close, Serenity trying to shift away from the hot breath on her cheek but the ropes that were wrapped around her were simply to tight and all she could do was sit there in her hospital gown, shivering. "He was never your nurse. You trotted after him like the dumb little girl you are. Wandered right into our trap." Serenity whimpered as the Rare Hunter ran his hand along her stomach. "For someone so pretty you really are stupid-"

Odion grabbed the Rare Hunter's wrist and twisted it until he felt something pop

"Son of bitch!" the gaunt hunter screamed, falling to his knees. "You fucking-"

"If you touch her again you will wish that it was me breaking merely your hand," Odion rumbled. "Do not make me inform Master Marik of your sick desires."

"Fuck! Okay, okay! You didn't need to break my fucking wrist."

"It is merely sprained. Now go wait for the Pharaoh." The gaunt hunter glared at him but Odion merely stared him down and finally the man hurried off. Satisfied Odion knelt down next to Serenity, hating how she flinched as he placed his hand on her arm lightly. "I am sorry he did that. I will stay with you until the duel begins, to ensure you aren't hurt."

Serenity though sucked in a breath. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why do you want my brother?"

"I do not want your brother," Odion said. "I am sorry I had to involve him in this. The only thing I regret more is involving you, Serenity. I swear to you though neither your brother or yourself will be harmed."

"Then why... why are you doing all this?" Serenity whispered, trembling. "Where are we?"

"We are at the Domino pier," Odion stated, wishing he had been able to have her dressed so she wasn't so exposed. But they had been on a short timetable and he'd been forced to hurry to get her out of the hospital. "As for why you are here... this is a matter that began long before either of us were born yet has dragged us both into madness and treachery. But, if the gods are good, today will see the end of it and we will at least be freed."

"I don't understand," Serenity said.

"How much do you know about your brother's friend, Yugi Muto?"

Serenity frowned at that. "Yugi? He's Joey's best friend... and a really good duelist. He won Duelist Kingdom. He helped pay for my eye surgery."

Odion nodded at that. It pained him that he was forced onto opposite sides of Yugi Muto as the boy truly seemed to be a pure soul. He hoped that when all was over and Yugi understood just what had truly happened to him that he would forgive Odion for his part in this day. That he would understand it was done with the noblest of intentions.

"Yugi Muto several years ago received from his grandfather an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millennium Puzzle. The puzzle had once been in the care of my master's forefathers, the tomb keepers, but became lost centuries ago. It passed from hand to hand, each new owner attempting to discover its secrets, to assume the puzzle into its true form, but all failed. Finally though Yugi solved the puzzle... and unleashed a dark curse upon himself."

"A... dark curse?"

Odion nodded. "Yes, Serenity. The Millennium Puzzle held the soul of a cruel and wicked Pharaoh. He had enslaved the tomb keepers to guard his treasures, so they might serve him when he returned to the world. The Pharaoh's evil knows no bounds. He gladly took over Yugi's body and began to use him to harm others. Drive people mad. Burn them alive. Some were evil, yes... others though merely came upon him in the wrong moment.

"Gradually Yugi became aware he was possessed but the Pharaoh convinced him and later his friends, including your brother, that he was a harmless spirit, seeking to only guide young Yugi." Odion frowned. "But those in power... they do not guide. They dominate." His mind went to his adopted father... if one could even call him that. He had never wanted Odion, seeing him as only a means to an end. It had been Odion's mother who had loved him, cared for him... and her death had been the beginning of the end for his happiness. "He twisted lies until they appeared to be truths and Yugi and his friends came to believe that he was some hero destined to save the world. But my master... my brother... Marik Ishtar... he understood the truth. He understood that the Pharaoh was an evil that must be stopped. He freed us from the chains the Pharaoh had placed on us. Chains known as duty and legacy. And now we are going to save Yugi."

"If... if you want to save Yugi... why did you take me from the hospital? Why bring me here?"

Odion sighed. He had been against this plan. He had begged Marik to let him face the Pharaoh; he just knew that his deck could defeat the Pharaoh and put an end to the spirit's curse. But Marik had insisted that this was the only way.

"Yugi is the one that allows the Pharaoh to remain on this realm of existence. Even removing the puzzle does not lift the curse. No... Yugi must release the Pharaoh, banish him from his mind. Then, and only then, can we imprison the Pharaoh once more. To do this though we have been forced to take... extreme measures." He stood up. "The Pharaoh will duel your brother. Yugi and all his friends will see his cruelty. They will realize how little human life means to him and it will drive them to reject the Pharaoh. Gods be good in a few hours all of you will be free." He paused. "I am so sorry you were placed in this situation, Serenity. I swear... I will spend the rest of my life making up for what has happened... and what must come."

And with that he walked away from Serenity, leaving the girl to think.

"You really believe that, don't you?"

Odion turned towards Solomon Muto. He hadn't realized the old man had waked up.

"Is your head okay? I am sorry your handlers injured you."

"You mean your cohorts?" Solomon said gruffly. "You truly believe you are the hero here?"

"I do not need to justify myself to you."

"No... but you needed to justify yourself to her," Solomon said, nodding in Serenity's direction. "You know this is wrong... and you know the lies you are spewing, that you were so desperate to convince even yourself are true... are wrong."

Odion remained rather quiet. A part of him that sounded suspiciously like his mother whispered that Solomon was right. Of course she was only whispering that in between screaming at him to grab Serenity and get her and Solomon the hell out of there. Which was odd because Odion had never heard his mother scream. Ever. Even when she'd died giving birth to his brother she hadn't raised her voice.

"This must be done to stop the Pharaoh," Odion informed the old man.

"Yes yes, you have said that many times. And that isn't a lie because you feel that this trickery and treachery are the only ways to defeat the Pharaoh."

"So you admit your grandson is possessed by a dark spirit?"

"I know the legends of the Millennium Puzzle," Solomon said with a huff. "I found the damn thing, didn't I? You think I gave my grandson an ancient Egyptian relic without researching it to understand all it could do? I'm not a fool. I know about the legends and history of that thing... I am willing to bet that I know more than you."

"But not Master Marik."

"Who never saw the Millennium Puzzle in his life?" Solomon pressed. "For someone who led a sheltered life he sure does seem to know a lot."

"You have no idea the wisdom my Master has."

"I know that a good man doesn't kidnap innocent people in order to see their plans get off the ground. Do you know what that little course of action tells me?" Solomon grinned and Odion couldn't help but shiver at how cold the old man's smile was.

Odion merely turned and walked away.

"This isn't going to end the way you think it will!" he called out. "It's not going to work out like you think!"

Odion just kept going.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Set us down there," Kaiba declared to the copter pilot, his face tense as he saw the flurry of action around the dock. "That's where Marik told you to head."

"Thank you again, Kaiba," the Pharaoh told him softly. "I know that you are doing this for your tournament... but thank you all the same."

Kaiba pressed his lips together firmly. "I am doing this because you helped Mokuba." He paused. "Yugi... your grandfather was not a strong duelist but he did duel with honor. I... should not have destroyed his Blue-Eyes the way I did. For that I will do all I can to help you save him."

"...thank you," the Pharaoh said softly before glancing back at Mokuba. "But be careful... if Marik was willing to go after my grandfather-" he had to be careful with how he worried that, as he didn't want to cause the tenuous truce between him and Kaiba to falter due to an argument again the powers of the Millennium Puzzle, "-he may be willing to go after your brother as well."

"He'll regret that if he does," Kaiba said.

"Maybe I should call Edwin?" Mokuba suggested.

"Marik warned us not to involve Edwin," the Pharaoh reminded him. 'As much as I am now wishing I could. He has shown great skill with his Millennium Key... having Edwin with us here would provide us with the backup we need.'

'We can't risk my grandpa though. As much as I might hate it our only choice is to go along with Marik's demands and hope that we can get through this safely.'

'Yes, you are of course correct,' the Pharoah thought as the copter landed near a nice looking car and he stepped out. The winds were whipping around him, making his coat flap behind him like a cape, and his eyes were narrowed and steely as he looked at the sight before him. 'But that still doesn't make me happy about what we find ourselves being forced to do.'

Someone, most likely the Rare Hunters, had arranged the shipping containers to form a pathway, stacking them in such a way that as the Pharaoh walked through the way he couldn't see anything other than the different colored steel that surrounded him like a canyon. Kaiba and Mokuba were right behind him and that made both him and Yugi feel a touch better; Kaiba would ensure that the Rare Hunters couldn't overwhelm him and he was still following Marik's instructions to the letter.

Twisting and turning along the path they finally came to the other side to find two cranes sitting before two long docks, a horde of purple cloaked Rare Hunters watching with leers save for the tallest who merely stared at the Pharaoh with a neutral look.

"Ah, at last!" one Rare Hunter declared, the man's voice distorted and his eyes blank. "The last of our guests has finally arrived!"

"Last guest?" the Pharaoh asked only to start when he heard a familiar voice.

"Yug!"

"Joey?" he said in surprise, turning to find Joey, Tristan, Duke, and a brown haired teen roughly their age all standing off to the side, being guarded by the Rare Hunters. "Joey, what are you doing here?"

"The creeps here called me and told me I had to come! I'm guessin' they called you to?"

"They did. They've captured Yugi's grandfather and I will seek his return."

Joey though blinked at that. "Mr. Muto? But... they told me they had Serenity."

"Serenity?" the Pharaoh exclaimed in shock. "No... I talked with him. Not her."

"I talked with her, Yug."

"You talked with them both!" the possessed Rare Hunter declared and the two friends turned as the cranes turned on and slowly raised the last two shipping containers, revealing Serenity and Yugi's grandpa tied up to chairs, their backs to them.

"Yugi?" the old man called out, trying to twist his head to look at them.

"Joey!" Serenity cried out in fear.

"I'm comin' Serenity!" Joey cried out only for several Rare Hunters to move in and prevent him from going forward. Not that Joey didn't put up a fight as he leapt at them with his fists swinging, managing to get a few strikes in before he was thrown back, Duke and the new guy catching him before he fell.

"What is going on here?" Tristan demanded. "Why have you taken those two?"

"To prove a point, Tristan Taylor," the possessed Rare Hunter declared.

"And what point might that be?" Duke growled.

"That the Pharaoh is not the hero you think he is... that he will happily let the innocent die." The hunter waved towards Solomon Muto. "Do you know much about this man? Oh, he puts on the disguise of kindly old shopkeep rather well but it is all a mask. A costume that he has donned. The real Solomon Muto... he is well known in Egypt. As a thief and a criminal." The Hunter looked at Yugi's grandpa. "How many of our tombs did you break into, stealing the relics of the dead in order to feed your own lust for gold? How many of you cheated out of their hard earned gains." They could hear the leer in Marik's voice. "How many of you killed?"

"What are ya talkin' about?" Joey demanded. "Yugi's grandpa is a good man!"

"Only because history is written by the rich and powerful... and Solomon Muto is both." Marik chuckled through his puppet's mouth. "You have no idea just who that old man is. But... I do. His soul is filthy with his sins." He turned now to Serenity. "As for your sister...

"She is an innocent, Joey Wheeler," the tallest Rare Hunter declared. "A girl who has never experienced the real world, living a blessed and sheltered life... but all I have seen has shown she has not harmed another soul."

"Enough, Odion," Marik's latest put snapped. "Your thoughts on the girl are known." He looked back on Joey. "But despite all Odion has said... the Pharaoh will kill her."

"He'd never do that!" Joey declared.

"Even to save his host's grandfather?" Marik asked.

The cranes groaned and the Pharaoh looked up in time to see them shifting the containers they had lifted up so that they were hanging about Yugi's grandpa and Serenity. Mokuba cried out and Solomon struggled against his bonds even as Serenity twisted her head about in confusion.

'Grandpa!'

"Serenity!" Joey screamed in terror, Duke and the other teen holding him back even as they glared at the Rare Hunters.

"What are you doing, Marik?!" the Pharaoh roared.

"One of the Millennium Items that I have been unable to find is the Millennium Scales. They are all about balance... and life vs. death. This hour... another balance has been struck. You and Joey Wheeler will duel, Pharaoh. Should you defeat him the container over Miss Wheeler will fall, killing her. But if you lose then she will be spared... at the cost of your host's grandfather, the conman Solomon Muto!"

'No...' Yugi whispered in horror.

"And what is to prevent us from rushing you right now and stopping this?" Kaiba warned, taking a step forward.

Marik's puppet looked right at him. "Should any come forward or attempt to contact the authorities I will release both containers, killing them both. Something I imagine the Pharaoh would not care about in the slightest."

"You expect us to play this mad game, Marik? You keep claiming you want my puzzle? Then show yourself as a man of honor and face me on your own! Do not involve others in your traps!"

"You act as if you are the one in control here, Pharaoh!" Marik declared. "I am the one who holds the power. For the first time in your life you will not be able to command your servants and slaves to make your will come true. You will duel and by your actions you will decide who lives and who dies!"

The Pharaoh looked around, dread filling his soul as he tried to figure out how to get out of this damnation.

~MC~MC~MC~

Author's Notes: Because I've been asked several times starting this Chapter I will begin posting the decks of certain characters. Today we start with Edwin's Battle City Endymion Deck as it is right now!

MONSTERS

Endymion, The Mighty Master of Magic |||

Reflection of Endymion |||

Servant of Endymion ||

Magister of Endymion ||

Magical Abductor ||

Frequency Magician ||

Rogue of Endymion |

Crusader of Endymion |

Defender, The Magical Knight |

Brekaer, The Magical Warrior |

SPELLS

Mega Ton Magical Cannon ||

Magical Citadel of Endymion |||

Book of Moon |||

Twin Twisters ||

Endymion's Lab ||

Terraforming |

Spell Power Grasp |||

Spell Power Mastery |||

Pot of Duality |||

EXTRA DECK

Summon Sorceress |

Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians |

Day-Breaker The Shining Magical Warrior |

Tempest Magician |

Strategy- Everyone should, by now, know the main goals of this deck but just in case... Edwin has built his deck all around the building up of spell counters. The spells he uses either net him extra counters, help collect counters, or can quickly add counters. His monsters are designed around this as well, with Endymion being the key card in his deck thanks to its effects. While we have yet to see Edwin pull of Pendulum plays the deck is designed to do so, allowing him to flood the field with monsters. And even if someone manages to stop Endymion the use of Tempest Magician and the Cannon can also make life hard for the duelists of Battle City.