善良妈妈的朋友

Chapter 11

Yes, I didn\'t trust him when he said this platform was safe. There was, however, someone I did trust.

"Pegasus, I know you\'re watching!" I called out after having gotten done inspecting the dueling platform. It sat on the edge of a grassy area that had recently had some flooding, the waters having risen up to cover the soil and leave only the tall grasses and other vegetation visible. The buzz of insects filled the area and I was more than grateful I\'d thought to pack bug spray, having applied it to both myself and Mokuba the moment we\'d reached the spot; knowing Bruno he probably bred Shadow Realm bugs whose bites caused you to see ghosts of your past failures. The scent of decaying vegetation and stagnate water was strong, clinging to everything. It took several moments longer than normal for the duel platform to rise and I was willing to bet that no one had used it the day beforehand. Looking overhead I saw clouds beginning to form and knew if this duel took too long we were going to end up soaked. "I want your word that Bruno isn\'t setting up a trap that will end my life or have me banished to the Shadow Realm!"

There were several moments of quiet before the screen on the dueling platform that would normally show my lifepoints lit up with 4 thumbs up symbols.

"I\'ll take that as a yes?" I asked.

Another pause and the word \'YES!\' appeared on the counter before it ticked to 2000 lp. Also I couldn\'t help but notice a small clicking noise that was followed by Bruno muttering to himself.

I turned to Bruno and smiled, gesturing towards the platform. "Was that honestly so hard?" The little pipsqueak grumbled and I suddenly began to wonder if Pegasus had decided to lock the slimy bastard out of the platform save for the ability to duel. "Okay, what did you have planned before your boss stepped in?" I asked as I walked to the platform, motioning for Mokuba to follow me.

"Merely something to make the duel more interesting... something to make the blood thunder in our veins and the pressure all the greater!"

"...so poison or a big rock hanging over my head," I stated. "Why am I not surprised. Seriously, kid, how screwed up are you?"

"More than you could possibly imagine!" Bruno said with demented glee. "Watching as hope is snuffed out and strength is leached away is thrilling for me. Has been ever since-"

I cut him off. "Oh dear, I just realized that I don\'t care."

"But you-"

"Bored now," I said, only mildly annoyed he made me quote Willow; Spike was a different story. I hopped up onto the platform and right before it rose I grabbed Mokuba and hauled him up beside me. "Stay put, okay?"

"What are you doing?" Bruno demanded as his own platform rose. "This battle is between you and me!"

"And if you think I\'m leaving Mokuba on the ground with no one to protect him you are as nuts as you try to portray yourself to be." I took out my deck and began to shuffle it. "Pegasus might have given his word not to take Mokuba but that doesn\'t mean any of the rest of you will hold yourselves to his word. Especially if you are working for the Big 5. Pegasus has honor... they don\'t."

"You can\'t have him up with you!" Bruno complained.

"He\'s only had one duel and he didn\'t even know how to play properly. This is a teaching moment for him and he\'s not going to be helping me. Now either get with the wager or call this off!"

Bruno growled at that before calling out, "Winner take all! All your Star Chips! Including the ones you haven\'t told anyone about! All nine!"

"No," I said firmly.

"That is the wager!"

"And I refuse. Funny thing, that. You need both parties to agree to a wager." I waited, a slight smirk on my face, until finally Bruno let out a bellow of annoyance. "Seeing things my way? Good. Since Pegasus knows how many I have then we\'ll play this straight: one star chip, Bruno. That\'s it. You beat me and you give another Eliminator a chance to take me on. Lose and I have all 10 chips." I jabbed my finger at him. "Are you in or are you out?"

"I\'m in," Bruno finally said.

I grinned darkly. "Then it\'s time to DUEL!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Master Pegasus," Croquet said, walking up behind his employer. Pegasus was seated in his observation room, staring at all the television screens that were currently broadcasting his entire tournament to him. While far fewer screens actually displayed duels, thanks to so many of the competitors having already been eliminated the day and night before, there were still enough to truly make things interest. And like how a fromager patiently waited for the best curds to rise from the whey so too had Pegasus\' patience paid off. For while there were less duelists on his islands the caliber of their skill and gamesmanship meant they were worth 20 regular duelists.

"Just look at it, Croquet!" Pegasus said with delight. "While I find joy in watching my precious Duel Monsters being played and loved by the masses what brings me even greater enjoyment is to see the truly skilled competing. It is like a banquet and I can\'t decide where to start first." He waved his hand towards the screens. "Perhaps with young Rex Raptor? He is trying to redeem himself after his loss to Yugi\'s friend Joey Wheeler." He paused as on the screen one of Rex\'s dinos shattered under the assault of Mai Valentine\'s Harpie Lady Sisters. "But, hemhem, it seems as if those hopes are about to be dashed." He turned his attention to another screen. "And then there is Seto Kaiba." On his screen he was fusing together his Battle Ox with his Mystic Horseman as he took on the Eliminator Congo Cornella and her wild beast deck. "He might try and hide it but I can tell that he is enjoying himself." He took a sip of wine. "Well, as much as he can." To another monitor his gaze fell and his good humor faded some what. "This would be perhaps more interesting if I didn\'t know who the true puppet master was." On the screen was the dueling platform that had been installed in the caves, with Joey Wheeler struggling to take on Bonz and his horde of zombies. "Bandit Keith," Pegasus said in annoyance. "Such a vile little cheat."

"If you know that he shouldn\'t be here why do you allow him to remain?" Corquet asked.

Pegasus frowned at that, swirling his drink. "Because whether he realizes it or not I control his fate, Croquet. I can dismiss him at any time, with his stolen glove and borrowed Star Chips." A smile formed on his lips, cutting and sharp, "But I do find it so much more interesting to give such men a glimmer of hope that they might be able to achieve their dreams of revenge before I snuff them out like candles." He waved his hand towards where Kaiba was dueling, now having summoned one of his Blue Eyes. "That is why I\'ve given Kaiba-Boy this chance. Had he been a good little boy and accepted that I was his better than I\'d feel no need to toy with him. But he is a bold little mouse, nipping at the cat\'s whiskers. Mmmm... but he is going to learn that this cat has claws."

His attention moved from Kaiba\'s duel to another new element that had been added to his tournament. There, giving the wetland dueling platform its first game of the tournament, was Edwin Chaos taking on Bruno Hadrian. It seemed that the blond man had finally gotten over his suspicions of what Bruno might have planned and finally agreed to duel. Of course he was only wagering one Star Chip so even if he lost it wouldn\'t matter much in the grand scheme of things... honestly he should be focused on Yugi-Boy or Kaiba. But there was just something... different... about Eddie-Boy that made Pegasus want to pay attention only to his duel and forget all about the schemes and plotting he\'d been doing.

"Have we found out any more about Edwin, Croquet?" Pegasus asked as Bruno drew his opening hand.

"Grew up in America, in the state of Michigan. Is 22 years old and just graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan. One brother, Joshua Chaos, currently a freshman at the same school. His father, Keith Chaos, is retired. Mother, Ann, passed away from cancer a year ago."

Pegasus rubbed his finger across his bottom lip. "So he understands what it is like to lose someone," he murmured to himself. \'Would he understand then what I wish to do, if I informed him? Would he accept all I am willing to sacrifice to get Cecelia back?\' He watched as Bruno placed on card in face down defense mode and ended his turned. \'I considered it with Yugi-Boy but his father died when he was just a babe... he doesn\'t have the connection to the man that I can influence. But Edwin?\'

He pushed those thoughts off as Edwin summoned his Rogue of Endymion, the red assassin twirling his blades before taking on a fighting pose. Edwin then sent Trance the Magical Swordsman to the graveyard so he could bring out of his deck the continuous Spell Card Endymion\'s Lab. "He certainly enjoys that little combo," Pegasus said more to himself that for Croquet\'s benefit. "It won the duel for him against my Imposter Kaiba and he used it again against PaniK and Renard." Edwin called out for an attack and his Rogue leapt forward, slashing down the facedown to reveal, of all things, a small tadpole monster. "Oh, now that is interesting... I wonder if Edwin realizes the danger he is in." he took a sip of wine. "So many duelists care only that their monsters are large and terrifying. But the skilled duelist understands that sometimes it is the most innocent looking of creatures that can be the greatest dangers." He smiled as he thought of his own Toon Deck. He\'d designed it not merely out of his love for cartoons but because he knew that so many would write off his silly little monsters with their large goggly eyes and huge grins as little threat at all. Which would make it all the sweeter when his monsters utterly destroyed his foes. Humiliation so did spice up the dish.

Bruno set a card on the field before discarding another T.A.D.P.O.L.E. from his hand to the graveyard to special summon his Swap Frog. The yellow and red horned frog appeared, blinking its green eyes as it stared at Edwin while Bruno used its effect to send a Treborn Frog from his deck to the graveyard.

"How clever. He didn\'t need to special summon his Swap Frog but did so in order to load his graveyard up." Pegasus chuckled. "So many duelists believe that the Graveyard means that a monster is gone forever. But just like the past... sometimes things we believe we have left behind have a way of returning in the most unexpected ways." Bruno called for his Swap Frog to attack and Pegasus set his wine glass down, steepling his fingers together. "With the Field Bonus granting 1200 attack points to Level 2 and lower Aqua Monsters Bruno has more than enough attack points to take down Edwin\'s Rogue." The red assassin burst apart and Edwin\'s lifepoints ticked down (Edwin-1300). "It is only the second turn and already Edwin\'s lifepoints have been reduced by nearly half." Everyone always underestimated Bruno and while his tactics could be extreme (and had been neutered in this case) he did get things done on the battlefield. "Still... that man has proven that he simply can\'t be counted out."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Oh for Kermit\'s sake," I muttered as I looked at the field. Now that Bruno had made it clear he was claiming the field bonus the projector had made virtual wetlands appear on the field. The long grass partially hid his monster and I could almost feel the water soaking into my boots. "And I actually like Frog decks."

"I don\'t get it," Mokuba said as I drew my next card, "how did that tiny frog destroy your Rogue?"

"The field bonus," I said as I looked over my cards. "Normally a duelist needs to play a field spell in order to alter the field and change it to the area they wish to battle on; they do that normally to get a special bonus that helps their monsters. For example, I am looking for a field spell for my deck called The Magical Citadel Of Endymion that helps collect Spell Counters for my monsters. But for this tournament Pegasus decided that certain dueling platforms automatically have a field spell bonus unless action takes place to change the field."

"So that field bonus made that frog really strong?"

Bruno giggled. "Indeed it did! The Wetlands are home to all manner of creatures and if a traveler wanders into them they could quickly find themselves in a sticky situation. Thus what has happened with my Swap Frog... and many of the other frogs that lurk just below the surface of my deck."

"...you wouldn\'t be related to Mako, would you? I mean, you don\'t look alike but you never know..." Seeing Bruno just glare at me for not taking him seriously (\'You\'d think Pegasus would pass the word along that I am fucking flippant as fuck\') I instead looked over my hand. "First I\'ll activate Spell Power Grasp. Not only do I get to add a counter to my Lab but since this is a spell itself Lab gains another Spell Counter." Two orbs of raw magic appeared before, with a flash, they solidified into their crystalline forms. "And I gain a new Power Spell Grasp card from my deck. Next I\'ll set Defender, The Magical Knight in defense mode and end my turn." My blue warrior appeared, his shield slamming down on the ground. I felt no need to mention that he gained a Spell Counter when he was summoned, which would protect him from an attack. \'Hopefully that will buy me some time to draw the right cards to get rid of that damn frog... and the Wetland field bonus as well.\'

"Playing defensive won\'t do well against me!" Bruno taunted as he drew. "First, my very special Treborn Frog can resurrect himself from the graveyard so long as I don\'t have a spell card in play." I mentally grumbled over the Field Bonus and how that didn\'t count as a spell like a normal field spell would. "But he won\'t be staying there for long! My Swap Frog is able to return one Frog back to my hand so I can summon in his place my Des Frog!" The angelic/demonic born-again frog shattered only for the pieces to reform into a small green frog. It... just looked like a frog. That was it.

"That\'s all?" Mokuba said, sharing my thoughts. "No horns or spikes or laser eyes?"

"Oh, don\'t be so quick to knock my froggie!" Bruno said in a childish voice. He snapped his head up and leered. "Because he never plays alone. Because there are two T.A.D.P.O.L.E.s in my graveyard I can summon from my deck two more Des Frogs!" A pair of two green frogs joined the first and the Swap Frog on the field and I fought the urge to go \'Bud...weis...er\'. "And because that was a special summon I can still perform a normal summon! Say hello to Submarine Frog!" The newest frog was far more cartoonish than the other 4 on the field, sporting a bubble dome diving helmet, wetsuit, air tanks, and a spear gun.

"Okay, at least that one looks interesting," Mokuba replied before folded his arms over his chest and scoffing. "But only it and Swap Frog gain the field bonus and Edwin has his defender in defense mode to protect his lifepoints!"

Bruno merely pointed at my monster and I let out an annoyed huff as the Submarine Frog dove into the wetlands, swimming around for a moment before bursting out and attacking my monster, shattering it. (Edwin-900)

"What?!" Mokuba declared, shocked. "But your monster-?"

I shook my head. "Submarine Frog does damage when it defeats a defense monster."

"...that is so not fair."

"It completely is," I said calmly but firmly. "You can dislike how an effect goes but that doesn\'t mean that it\'s broken."

I was trying to keep things light but honestly I was worried. Looking over my hand I didn\'t have anything that could take out his monsters and another hit from the Submarine Frog would wipe out the last of my lifepoints. \'For an annoying little shit the kid knows how to duel,\' I thought to myself as I began to go over my options. \'He\'s loaded up his field with monsters so he is planning something...\' My eyes kept coming back to the Des Frogs. \'Three of them. They don\'t get the bonus from the field effect and he\'s shown he has other monsters that would be better suited for the Wetlands. So why build so much of his deck into summoning them? Unless...hmmm...\' A bold, risky plan was fermenting in my brain. If I couldn\'t pull it off I was done but honestly I was one turn away from getting completely swept by the brat. And while it wouldn\'t send me out of Duelist Kingdom I did have a problem with Kit CLoudkicker scoring a victory on me. Especially as I had a feeling he would just keep harassing me.

Thus, with little to actually lose and all to gain, I decided to pull an Atem and try and use my opponent to beat himself.

"It honestly doesn\'t matter what monster I lay on the field," I said with my best taunting voice, a cocky smirk that would have done Loki himself proud forming on my lips as I placed a monster in facedown defense position. "Though this will be strong enough to withstand your frogs for one more turn. And that is all you\'re going to get, thanks to my Lab and this!" I held out Spell Power Grasp and slapped it onto the platform\'s reader. "Now two more Spell Counters are added to my lab... and I get another Spell Power Grasp! The one that will charge the Lab fully up with six counters. And when my lab is fully charged I will be able to summon Endymion and begin destroying each and every one of your frogs! Heh, this will be so quick I\'m not even going to waste time picking out a song!" I held my arms out wide. "So come on! Get your turn done so I can stomp you and your lilypad munchers flat!"

I watched Bruno carefully, forcing myself to remain prideful and boastful and not give up the ruse. If he attacked my defense monster I was done, losing the duel and the Star Chip and more importantly my pride at letting such a snot nosed brat wipe me out without getting a hit in myself. But... if I had managed to tweak his self-importance just enough...

"You act like I\'ll let your Lab remain on the field unmolested!" Bruno called out, laying a spell card on the field.

\'YES!\' I mentally cheered as I saw that my guess had been correct.

"I activate the spell card Des Croaking! When I have three Des Frogs on the field I can have them issue forth a vocal assault that destroys all the cards you control!"

"Oh no!" Mokuba exclaimed in horror. "Your Lab!"

"That\'s right! Now witness as your Lab, and all those Spell Counters you wasted time gathering, are shattered!" The Des Frogs inflated their throats and chests before letting out long loud bellows that were more like demonic foghorns than the ribbits of swamp dwellers. My Spell Card shuddered before shattering into bits, Bruno cackling the entire time. "And now for your facedown!" The song of death began anew and my defense position card began to shake.

I smirked. A genuine, true smirk.

"If only you had attacked with your Submarine Frog, Bruno... you\'d have won the duel. But I knew someone like you wouldn\'t be able to resist the urge to take me out with a big showy stunt. Too bad your performance has backfired right back on you! Reveal my defense monster: The Old Vindictive Magician!"

The monster, a wizened mage with orangish skin and long white hair that looked like a cross between the Crypt Keeper and every ornery old man meme appeared, glowering at the frogs even as he began to tremble under the assault of the croaking. He grimaced and lowered his head, clutching his staff and muttering to himself before he exploded into hundreds of hologram shards (Edwin-675)

"So what?" Bruno complained. "I still destroyed your monster and your lab!" But as he finished saying that he suddenly stopped dead as he saw the my Magician\'s staff, though broken, remained on the field. "What... what is going on?"

"Vindictive. It\'s in his name." I gave a shrug. "Meaning that when he is destroyed I can take out one of your monsters...like your Submarine Frog. Who also has the Field Attack Bonus, meaning that you take 1200 points of damage!"

"No... no! You can\'t!"

"Cry all you like, I can. " I watched as his little frog was reduced to pixels but it was the joy in seeing his lifepoints tumble down-down-down that made me all the happier. (Bruno 800)

~MC~MC~MC~

"Well well well," Pegasus said in surprise. "I must admit, Edwin certainly is doing well. A rough few moments, to be sure, but he is managing quite well against Bruno."

While he kept his tone light and airy, playing off Edwin\'s move as merely an impressive move in the game, inside worms of doubt were burrowing through his brain.

\'First Endymion and now that Vindictive Magician. Edwin keeps finding ways to hammer away at lifepoints without actually needing to declare at attack." He ran his index finger along his lips in thought. \'And I know from his duel with PaniK that he has the spell card Tremendous Fire. I should have banned such cards from my tournament but I assumed all the competitors would be focused on tossing their strongest monsters at each other and seeing who came out on top rather than trying for more subtler methods. This could make any duel against Eddie-boy all the tougher!\'

And that was what truly worried Pegasus.

He had studied all the duelists that had come to his island to compete in his tournament and designed his deck to be able to counter each and every one. From the likes of Mai Valentine to Mako Tsunami to Weevil Underwood he knew how they tended to duel and had cards in place that would give more than give him the edge; Toon Vacuum that would suck up all the power-ups Mai used, Toon Mermaid with an equip to take advantage of the Umi bonus, and Toon Exterminator to kill all the bugs. Little Yugi had forced him to become a quick study of his duels when he\'d lost the pieces to form Exodia but that was easily managed and he now saw how the boy played. He mixed clever ruses with quick combos that boosted the strength of his monsters in order to ride right over his opponents. Kaiba of course did almost the reverse, making it appear that all he cared about was brute strength when in reality the Blue Eyes White Dragons actually hid the traps he constantly placed on the field for his foes to stumble into while they put all their attention on those dragons.

Pegasus wasn\'t concerned about either of them. With Kaiba his toons would be enough to manipulate him into the perfect position to end any threat he might pose. \'Honestly any slight against those dragons of his is enough to send him into a tailspin!\' Pegasus smirked as he thought about using the power of Toon World to transform a Blue Eyes into a loyal and devious toon that happily betrayed its former master. As for Yugi if he managed to break through the toon monsters then Pegasus\' far more sinister monsters would spell the end of him. He could see it clear as day: little Yugi reduced to a trembling wreck when faced with the might of his Relinquished and then his Thousand-Eyes Restrict! \'And even if either of them had a chance against my monsters, which they don\'t, my Millennium Eye gives me all the advantage I need!\'

But Edwin? Edwin Chaos was different. He reminded Pegasus much of himself, using taunts and casual words to drive an opponent to distraction. One only had to look at how Bruno, someone known for sowing anger and then fear into their opponents, had been reduced to exclaiming how unfair Eddie-boy\'s tactic had been. Bruno didn\'t even realize that Mr. Chaos was living rent free in his head now and no one was going to evict him.

\'He doesn\'t even see that he still has a massive advantage with all his frog monsters on the field. He can\'t focus on that.\' On the screen Pegasus watched as Edwin activated Pot of Greed, drawing two cards before summoning Breaker the Magical Warrior... who began to charge his sword with magical energy. "Oh?" Pegasus said to himself just before Edwin commanded his knight to attack not the frogs but the Wetlands themselves. "Ah... I was wondering if anyone after Yugi-Boy would think to try and eliminate the Field Attack Bonus." The projection on the field changed from being like the true wetlands around it to a burnt out husk of land filled with cracking dry earth with the only moisture being tiny wisps of steam. It had been a bold and risky move... but it had worked.

And it made Pegasus all the more worried.

\'Edwin Chaos doesn\'t think like any other duelist I\'ve ever encountered. It\'s like... he\'s from a completely different world where the rules are nothing like we know them to be.\'

The fear lasted only for a moment... and then Pegasus narrowed his remaining eye, lips pressed in a firm line.

\'So in order to learn how to defeat him I\'ll need to dig the secrets out of that mind of his. Even if I have to utterly destroy him to do so!\'

~MC~MC~MC~

"Now, I know what you are thinking," I said casually as Breaker spun his sword before bringing it back into the ready position. "No, wait, I take that back. I know what you SHOULD be thinking but frankly with how twisted your little mind is who knows what you are pondering. But what you SHOULD be thinking is that even with the Wetlands destroyed my Breaker is still down some attack points by using the Spell Counter in his sword to destroy the field. Except-" I held up a card, "-I know how to power him right back up! Spell Power Grasp!" I slapped the card down onto my platform. "Not only do I gain another counter to destroy another Spell of yours, until I use it that Counter will power my Breaker\'s sword, allowing him to easily take out your weakened Swap Frog. And if I am doing my math right... that will eliminate you from this duel! Breaker!"

My swordsman rushed forward, letting out a bellow as he hacked into the Swap Frog, shattering it easily to bits. But my good mood turned out to be short lived as Bruno\'s lifepoints did not drop all the way to zero.

"The Wetlands were destroyed this turn but their power wasn\'t completely dissipated yet. There was still enough to keep my Swap Frog powered up to 1600. That keeps me in this duel and in the perfect position to end you!" (Bruno- 500)

"You Eliminators keep boasting about how you are going to eliminate me, destroy me, end me... but you all keep failing to do so." I looked down at Mokuba. "Have you noticed that?"

"Yeah, it\'s kind of weird."

"So it\'s not just me. Good to know-"

"STOP IGNORING ME!" Bruno roared. Mokuba and I both looked up at him... not because he was actually intimidating but because his shrill little voice was hard to block out. "All... all you do is mock me and belittle me and ignore me! Me! Bruno Hadrian!"

"Yes, you," I said with a roll of my eyes. "And you know why? Because if you are my final opponent before I hit 10 star chips... you are pathetic." I tapped my forehead and flicked my hand into the air to show my annoyance at having to deal with the brat. "I mean, I get it. Life isn\'t always escalation to bigger and bigger threats. It doesn\'t: start off with common mooks and work your way up to world ending elder gods."

"It isn\'t?" Mokuba asked, confused.

"Well, for me it usually isn\'t," I stated, quietly realizing that in this world what I had described actually DID happen to Yugi and his friends. Fight a few generic foes, move on to the minions of the villain and/or rivals, then take on someone with dark magic or a god in human form. Rinse, repeat, cash the fucking check. "Others, maybe, but I\'m not special like that. I just kind of... bounce around from one adventure to the next. Would be fun if things actually followed the classic pattern but hey, if that were the case Bruno here would have come before Fakey and PaniK." I turned to the kid a shrug. "No offense but compared to what I\'ve faced so far you\'re kind of a step down." I looked at my lifepoints. "I mean, okay, you started out strong, I\'ll give you that. But I\'ve taken back control and I\'m ready to take you out. So make your little speech about how this isn\'t the end and you are going to destroy me and all that so we can move on to me whoopin\' your behind like this is Mama\'s Family and you\'re my stupid grandson. Hop to it, Bubba!"

Bruno had been clenching his teeth together during my entire rant and from the way his face was turning purple I figured he was either about to burst a blood vessel or turn into an eggplant. I got the feeling that the brat was used to everyone cowering from him after he pulled his little Damien bit. The weird tilting of the head, the death traps, the mocking helium voice... would have been better if he used something other than frogs though...

\'Huh. I wonder if this is this world\'s literary scene kicking in,\' I thought to myself. \'I just dueled PaniK so fiend types are out and Joey is taking on Bonz and it would be weird to have two zombie decks in play. Could do evil spellcasters but I\'ve kinda got the lock on spellcasters with Endymion... feels like Bruno kind of got stuck with frogs because there was no real scary deck left for him to play. In Duelist Kingdom, at least. Now in Battle City-\'

"He is really upset," Mokuba said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and saw that Bruno was still ranting and raving about how no one respected him and no one treated him like an actual duelist and... I began to pity him. I truly did. He was just a kid after all. This wasn\'t Fakey or PaniK. This was a kid, no older than Mokuba, and it was clear all he really wanted was some attention. For someone to validate him and make him feel important. And as I thought about that I couldn\'t help but think about how I\'d been treating him and a pang of guilt filled my heart. Was it right of me to treat him like crap? To mock him? He was a really good duelist... if I hadn\'t tricked him with my flip card I\'d have lost without scoring a single hit. That was utterly impressive. Maybe... just maybe... he needed someone to help him out. To show him a better way. Plenty of people in this series had been redeemed. Seto nearly killed Yugi\'s grandpa; Pegasus imprisoned souls but was treated like a friend thanks to filler arcs; Marik was a terrorist but got off without even a slap on the wrist; Duke was a furry and hiding his homosexuality but if he wanted to fuck Joey while he wore a dog suit that was okay with everyone! Maybe Bruno just needed a friend. Maybe Tea was right and with some caring and attention Bruno could be better. And maybe I was the sort of man-

"When I defeat you I am going to bring Mokuba to Pegasus!" Bruno screamed, his rage, somehow, someway... breaking the censor. "But just his head... I\'ll leave you the rest of the boy! But Pegasus might need more proof... so after I beat you I\'ll paralyze you and make you watch as I skin him alive. Slow and careful, make it last. If he needs Mokuba I can be him... I\'ll just wear him like a suit while you keep the innards!"

\'No, fuck it,\' I thought in disgust, reaching down and gripping Mokuba\'s shoulder as Bruno continued to describe all he\'d do to the boy.

I\'d been quoting the Doctor a lot, which made sense. After all I was in a strange world, had found myself in a new and younger body, and held knowledge that my companions didn\'t have. And one quote was now bubbling up into my brain, a perfect one to sum up my thoughts on Bruno after I\'d actually begun to feel sorry for the little monster.

\'No second chances. I\'m that sort of man.\'

"Draw," I said coldly, cutting Bruno off.

"What, are you getting annoyed by what I\'m telling you?" the brat asked, tilting his head again and leering at me. "Because it\'s the truth-"

"Draw," I repeated.

"No jokes? No songs?"

"no, not this time," I said with ice in my veins. "You don\'t get my rage. You\'ve gone beyond that, a rare treat." I glared at him but did not tremble or move. Everything about me was stillness. I\'d felt this only a few times, when my fuse had been allowed to burn and rather than explode the fires imploded in my heart and everything reversed. I always wore my heart on my sleeve, everyone knew that. And the few that had seen me go ice cold, locking my emotions completely away... knew to run very, very fast.

I could feel Mokuba staring at me, feeling him trying to pull away in fright. He was scared on me. I knew it.

I\'d worry about that later.

"Draw."

Bruno took me in for a moment, rallied, and put on a smile. I didn\'t know if it was fake or if he was just stupid. I honestly didn\'t care. All of reality had become condensed to just me staring at him. "You should have gone after my Des Frogs, Chaos! Now I am going to make you pay for your mistake. I activate Polymerization, fusing my three Des Frogs-" there was a swirl of light as the three frogs were pulled into a glowing orb that began to swell into a massive shape nearly as big as the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "-into the D3S Frog!"

The creature that finally formed was an ugly beast. Monstrously large not merely in size but girth. A fat, bloated thing with warts on its back that looked ready to burst and spike-like growths on its limbs. It had the squat stance of a morbidly obese creature but also held its head like a king that believed itself to be the most noble in the land. A long, thin... for lack of a better term \'moustache\'... grew from the corners of its upper lip and its violet eyes were glassy and lifeless yet also disturbing in how much they clearly detected.

I didn\'t even react.

"Next turn... will be your last!" Bruno promised. "When my D3S Frog attacks he will crush any monster you lay on the field and end any hope you had of defeating me!" He let out a manic giggle at the thought.

I drew my next card.

"Monster Reborn," I said with little emotion, the mantra of \'kill kill kill kill kill\' running through my brain even as my emotional sector tried desperately to reboot itself. "Resurrect Trance the Magic Swordsman." The monster I had discarded my first turn appeared, a powerful evolution of Neo the Magic Swordsman formed on the field with his sword in hand, a grin on his face, and magic swirling around his fingers. "Attack the big one."

Trance, not needing to be told twice rushed forward. But rather than seeing Bruno\'s frog shatter I instead got to watch Trance slam to the ground hard. It was only then that I noticed that Bruno had set a card face down on the field while I was focused on his giant frog.

"Gravity Bind!" Bruno taunted. "This trap card prevents all Level 4 and higher monsters from attacking! Doing so slams them right down to earth, the weight of their own strength working against them!" He giggled that deranged little giggle of his as Trance struggled to rise only to slam right back down again.

"Oh, that isn\'t good at all!" Mokuba exclaimed. "There is no way you can destroy that giant frog with a Level 3 or lower monster!"

"Right," I said, slowly allowing my emotions to leech back into my body as I shifted Breaker to defense mode. I was still running on robotic nature but I was coming back to myself. And with that my mind began to cycle through things, begin processing ideas once more as I left the single-minded focus of killing the brat that had threatened Mokuba. And something was occurring to me that Bruno had missed.

"Now, you might falsely believe that your Trance is enough to protect you from my D3S Frog. But you are WRONG! Because this frog, the lord of ALL frogs, gains strength from the fallen! Behold! I activate Foolish Burial to send the Treborn Frog I returned to my hand to the graveyard. And with it there my D3S Frog increases to 3000! And then I summon a Swap Frog to the field allowing me to send another Treborn Frog from my deck to the graveyard, increasing my D3S Frog to 3500!" Around the bloated froggy the ghostly spirits of the two Treborn Frogs appeared, serving their master and granting him greater strength. "And with the Spell Card Quick Attack my D3S Frog doesn\'t have to wait a turn to attack! He can do so right now and wipe out your Trance!"

The massive frog shifted his bulk, wiggling a bit before launching himself into the air-

-and striking his head on a dome of blue energy.

"So focused on defeating me, Bruno, that you missed what was right in front of you!" I taunted as my emotions burst back in all their wondrous fury. Mirth. Deviousness. Justice painted with Rage. "Your Gravity Bind trap is still in play, meaning that D3S Frog is in the same situation as my Trance! A large warty beast, to be sure, but utterly useless!" I gave a slight shrug. "As a wise man once said... you should be more mindful of your surroundings."

"Then I\'ll simply need to eliminate the Gravity Bind!" Bruno declared. "It served its purpose but is no longer needed! I activate Mystical Froggy Typhoon!"

And all my rage died and was reborn as utter bafflement as Bruno activated the spell card, which depicted a frog clinging to a branch in the middle of the Mystical Space Typhoon.

"Huh," Mokuba said, tilting his head, pretty much summing it up for the both of us.

"Not sure what you feel? I have a guess: terror. Fear." Bruno said

"Well, those are emotions..." I admitted.

"This card allows me to send one Aqua Monster from my deck to the graveyard to instantly destroy one card of the field. And I choose my own Gravity Bind!" I reached down onto my dueling platform as Bruno laughed. "And as I send a final Treborn Frog to the graveyard not only do I remove the obstacle in front of me but power up my D3S Frog to 4000 attack points! YOU! ARE! DONE!"

The frog leapt...

...and hit his head again.

I shrugged. "Not if I sacrifice Breaker\'s Spell Counter to destroy your Mystical-" I made a face and forced myself to finish, "-Froggy Typhoon." Breaker tossed his sword at the MFT and I swore he did so with a roll of his eyes and a scoff, just as annoyed and offput as I was by Bruno\'s card. \'It isn\'t even a pun. Sounds like... something I\'d come up with after failing to think of a better name.\' Still, it was destroyed rather quickly and I decided to push all thoughts of it out of my mind. "And now I believe it is my turn." I drew my card.

My shoulders slumped.

A groan escaped my lips.

"Bruno?" I asked weakly, suddenly longing for Froggy Typhoon again.

"What?" the boy snapped.

"Please... please surrender."

He blinked at that before bursting into high pitched laughter that made Weevil sound like James Earl Jones.

"Are you begging?" Bruno asked.

"Yes," I admitted weakly. "I am begging you. Please, pretty please, surrender."

"Edwin!" Mokuba exclaimed. "What are you-"

I showed him what I\'d just drawn from my Uncle\'s deck.

Mokuba stared at it, then me, then back at the card.

"...please give up Bruno," Mokuba said. "I really don\'t want Edwin to win that way."

"Win? You still think you can win? Next turn I\'ll simply find another way to destroy the Gravity Bind and crush your monsters! Your Trance won\'t stand a chance!"

I shut my eyes in let out a weary sigh. "Okay. You asked for it." My tone was utterly bland. "Pegasus, if you are watching... I hope you at least get a giggle out of this." I set the card on the reader. "I summon... aw geez... Jerry. Beans. Man."

~MC~MC~MC~MC~

Pegasus stared at the screen, watching as the tiny cartoon bean warrior appeared on the field.

"Oh... oh my," Pegasus said.

"Well... I didn\'t expect that..." Croquet said before realizing he\'d spoken out of turn. "My apologizes-"

"No no, quite alright," Pegasus said, still staring at the screen. It was like watching two monkeys play Chicken with Porsches. You knew it was going to be horrible yet one couldn\'t turn away. "That... oh poor poor Eddie-Boy."

~MC~MC~MC~

I could only stare with slumped shoulders as Jerry Beans did a happily little dance, giggling and waving his sword around. \'Damn it Jerry,\' I thought before looking at Bruno in disgust. "I hope you realize this is all your fault."

"What... are you talking about?" Bruno demanded. "That... thing can\'t hurt my D3S Frog! All you\'ve done is embarrass yourself."

"He can\'t," I said in a dry voice. "But the Swap Frog you left in Attack Mode? He can. Jerry... just..." I gave a weak wave of my hand. "Just end it." I didn\'t even bother to watch the Bean destroy the frog, instead choosing the pack up my deck and lock it back up before the platform began to lower. "I win... woooo." I spun my finger around in the air. (Bruno-0000)

"I\'ve decided I don\'t want to make a deck based around Jerry Beans Man," Mokuba said, pulling a face.

"If you did I think Seto and I would both disown you," I muttered before flashing him a weak smirk. "Come on, let\'s collect my Star-" I blinked as I saw Bruno pointing a finger at me. "-Chip. Huh." Seemed like the censor had woken up after Bruno had threatened to kill and skin Mokuba. Nice of him to get off his ass and actually do his job. Mokuba, for his part, did hide behind me as Bruno took a step forward. "Well well well.. I suppose the promise of not harming us only pertained to the duel and not afterwards?"

"Exactly," Bruno said. "But only if you resist. See... you fell right into my trap! Now that you have 10 Star Chips-" he threw one at me which I caught, "you have to come to the castle. Putting Mokuba back under Pegasus\' control."

"Except I don\'t. Nothing in the rules say I HAVE to go to the castle. Only if I get 10 Star Chips I should go to the castle in order to be one of the first 5 duelists to arrive. So if I postpone long enough it won\'t matter anyway."

"Except you\'ll be out of the tournament and Pegasus can send every goon he has after you and the boy."

That was true and I hadn\'t actually come up with a plan on how to deal with that. And I needed to begin thinking because I knew Yugi and Kaiba would begin dueling as the sun was beginning to set and Mai and Tea would have their duel just as the sun was dropping past the horizon. And there was no way I was bringing Mokuba anywhere close to Pegasus\' castle. So far all I had was \'hide hide hide\' until Yugi defeated Pegasus but that meant 2 to 3 days of being on the run. Worse, it also meant that on the 2nd day I needed to get near the castle, as I didn\'t want to risk being left behind when everyone shipped off.

"So," Bruno said, gesturing at me with his crooked finger. "Why don\'t you cut out the middle man and-"

He never finished.

Mostly because he got a funny look on his face and fell over into the wet long gross, a goose egg rising from his noggin as Renard lowered the tree branch he\'d swung at the punk\'s head.

"I believe I have a way around that, Mr. Chaos."

"...how did I not see you sneaking up on him?!?" I complained.

~MC~MC~MC~

Mokuba stood next to Edwin and Renard as they came to the pier, glancing around nervously to make sure that none of Pegasus\' goons were around. Renard said they were safe, that he had a small jammer that allowed him to kill the camera feed and keep Pegasus blind for a half an hour. Mokuba just hoped he was right.

Not that he didn\'t trust the Eliminator... he\'d taken a liking to Renard right away, as the man seemed like the kind of person you would want as an Eliminator. A tough duelist, yes, but when he wasn\'t facing off against a foe he was kind and polite and honorable. Yes, honor. That was the perfect word for Renard Volpe. Mokuba could tell that Edwin liked the man too.

"There she is," Renard, waving his hand towards the small yacht that was sitting anchored right off the edge of the pier. "The Sea Fox."

"I am in the wrong business," Edwin commented, glancing at Renard. "How much do you make as a professional duelist?"

"More than enough."

"To have that money," Edwin muttered.

"My brother gave you 3 million dollars, remember?" Mokuba reminded him, Edwin\'s eyes widening as he patted his deck box that had the check inside.

"Right," Edwin stated. "Alright Renard... I think I get the plan: we take your boat and get the heck off this island."

"Exactly," the Eliminator said. "I have informed Pegasus that I am done and I am leaving. We all get on the boat and get away from here. Inform the police of what Pegasus was doing and how he tried to hold Mr. Mokuba and nearly got you killed thanks to that vile filth PaniK."

"Oh, I can save you time there," Edwin said with a smirk. "I let my uncle know yesterday evening all about this tournament. If we are lucky the police are already in contact with government officials to come and help." He bobbed his head back and forth. "Still, I won\'t say no to some insurance. So let\'s get the heck off this island. "

Mokuba though shook his head violently. "We can\'t go! Seto is still going to the castle! We have to get him!"

Edwin grimaced at that. "Mokuba, I already told him to leave once and he didn\'t listen. He\'s not going to listen now. He wants to take on Pegasus. The best thing we can do is get you someplace safe."

"And I\'m not going to leave him all by himself!" He knew he was acting like a brat. He knew that Seto would be very upset when he found out Mokuba hadn\'t done as they\'d planned and kept himself safe. But it didn\'t matter. That was his brother and he was going to help him! Seto had never abandoned him and he wasn\'t going to abandon him either.

Edwin turned back towards the island, jaw working before he finally said, "You and Renard need to get on that boat." Mokuba opened his mouth but Edwin continued on. "I\'ll go back up Seto."

"You... you will?" Mokuba asked.

"I have 10 Star Chips. If I hurry I can get into the castle. I might not be able to compete but I can help your brother out. Keep Pegasus off balance. Worst case... if he fails-"

"He won\'t," Mokuba said stubbornly.

"-if he fails I will be there to take his place." He turned back around and knelt down so he was eye level with Mokuba, putting his hand on the boy\'s shoulder. "But you have to promise you will stay with Renard."

"I... I will."

Edwin nodded before rising and looking at the former Eliminator. "I\'m putting all my trust in you."

"I will prove it hasn\'t been in vain. There haven\'t been many you could trust on this island... I will be the first."

"I appreciate that," Edwin admitted. "Get to Domino and contact Chaos Communications. Mokuba will be your proof I sent you. Tell my uncle he needs to keep you both locked up tight, just in case the Big 5 come after you. Better yet..." Edwin pulled out a notebook from his suitcase and jotted down a number. "Call him before you get to shore and have him send his own security forces to help you."

"You think it will be that bad?"

"I think you and I stumbled into A Song of Ice and Fire," Edwin growled. "So yeah, that bad."

Renard took the phone number before clasping hands with Edwin in the Spartan style. "We will meet each other again, Edwin Chaos. And when we do I wish to speak with you concerning important matters. Concerning my dream."

"Till then," Edwin said before reaching down and squeezing Mokuba\'s shoulder. "You listen to Renard, you do as he says." Mokuba nodded and gave Edwin and quick hug, Edwin patting him on the back. "I\'ll be back with Seto as soon as I can."

"I know," Mokuba whispered. He released Edwin only for the older man to take off his Tiger\'s cap and plop it on his head.

"I will be coming for that soon," he said with a smile smirk.

Renard gently led Mokuba towards the boat. And 10 minutes later, as they finally hauled anchor and began to pull away from the island, Mokuba still watched as Edwin Chaos stood on the pier, a silent sentinel seeing them off.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Good luck guys," I muttered as the boat disappeared from view.

"They will be fine."

I wiped around only to find myself held in place, limbs unable to move.

"But now that they are gone I must see who you, the man that has inserted himself into the business of the Dark One and the Pharaoh, truly are."

"Shadi," I said in shock just as the mysterious bastard lifted up the Millennium Key and pressed it to my forehead.