Chaos Effect

Chapter 18

"You guys certainly don't do anything by halves, do you?" Yuri asked as she looked over the gear that John Baptiste, the head of Chaos Communications Security and Protect, had brought her. Dark forest camo in color, everything was of high quality but not in the sense that it was costly just to be costly. No, she could tell that everything had been designed to both be easy to wear (in turns of comfort and unhindering ones movement) and providing protection. She ran her hands along the tactical vest that was hers and smiled; this was better than what they handed out to the highest ranking members of the police force for dealing with domestic terrorists.

"We believe that what one spends on protection is returned in having a job completed," Baptiste said with a casual shrug.

Yuri nodded and set the clothes back on her bed before moving to leave her cabin. The boat they were on was a quick moving bugger while still affording everyone the ability to have their own rooms. Something Yuri was thankful for as she wanted the time to focus and center herself. It was something she tried to do before any bust and something she absolutely had to do today.

'My life has become chaotic so quickly that I've barely had a chance to breathe!' she thought as she and Baptiste made their way towards the galley. 'The kidnapping, dad, what they were planning to do to me, and now this? It feels like-' "Oh dear lord," Yuri said suddenly, eyes catching something just on the edge of her vision.

"What?" the man said, following her gaze. "What is it?" he asked as he watched two other security officers kill time before the meeting.

"Duel Monsters? Seriously?" she complained as she saw the two men playing the card game. "Does everything revolve around Duel Monsters in the country?"

"It is a fun game," Baptiste stated.

"...oh please tell me you don't play!" Yuri complained in frustration. When Tea had first told her about the game, taught to her by her friend Yugi, Yuri had thought it merely cute. A fun little distraction her sister would grow out of. She was a teen... that's what they did. Yuri had gone through her own phases like that; her goth phase coming directly to mind. 'Though I so pulled that off,' she thought to herself. She still had the leather jacket she'd spent 3 months saving up for; unlike most girls who went through that phase Yuri had wanted to be different even when being different and thus bought a white leather jacket rather than the typical black one most of the girls in her cliché had purchased. And when she'd moved out of that phase when she'd gone to the academy the jacket had remained.

Baptise actually smiled, a rarity for him, and that pulled that out of her rambling thoughts. "I do. I don't claim to be good but it is good for strategy and seeing how others handle both fights and setting up traps." He pulled out a deck. "Spyral." His smile fell as he saw that Yuri clearly still annoyed. "You don't play?"

"I've been taught," she said. And she had... Tea had shown her and her little friend, Yugi Moto, had visited several times while Yuri had the day off and she'd watched him and Tea goof around with the game. The boy was a natural. And made for a good teacher; Yuri had quickly picked the game up though her deck was a mess of random cards others had tossed her way. "I just don't have the time to play. And I think it's weird everyone is obsessed with it."

"So I shouldn't ask if you'd like a match?" Baptiste asked.

"I didn't even bring my deck," Yuri grumbled; it was still in her desk. A few people at work had been bugging her to work on it, suggesting she get into warriors or fairies or the like but Yuri didn't have the time. 'And warriors and fairies?' she thought to herself. 'That's not me.'

The image of a tall, priestess-like figure bathed in light that was anything but holy flashed through her mind but she quickly shoved it aside. She had to focus.

"Would you like something to eat then?" Baptiste asked. "We have time before the next meeting."

"That would be great." While she knew there were plenty of detectives and officers on the force who couldn't handle eating before a big raid or a major event Yuri had learned that it was best to get food when you could as you never knew when you'd have another chance. Life could suddenly twist around and change things and suddenly what was only supposed to be a 10 minute operation would become an all nighter; better to fill your stomach when possible. "What is this meeting about?"

"Final prep for our landing," Baptiste stated. "We hope to be on the island as night falls... that will give us the cover of darkness to get into position. We'll search for both targets and civilians on the outer edges while a second team will secure the castle so that they aren't aware of what we are doing. By 1 am I hope to have everything in place to do a full assault in the morning, capturing Pegasus and securing your sister and Mr. Chaos, along with any other duelists that are on the island."

"Good," Yuri said, rubbing her biceps nervously. She knew this would work... couldn't afford not to think it wouldn't work. Still, until she saw Tea with her own eyes and knew she was safe she-

"Sir!" one of Baptiste's officers, a woman with a short bob who towered even the other men, called out. "A ship is hailing us."

"Pegasus?" Baptiste asked, all business.

"No sir... you need to see this." The woman motioned for them to follow and Yuri and Baptiste lengthened their strides to keep up with the tall woman, moving through the hall before finally coming outside where several of Baptiste's men were standing at the rail, pointing at a small (in terms of the ship they were one) boat that was bobbing in the water. At its rail was a man with red hair who wore a long blue nautical jacket, his hand raised in greeting. "Sir, this is my commander John Baptiste. Please tell him what you told us."

"Certainly!" the man called out, his accent... very hard to place. "I am Renard Volpe. I have left Duelist Kingdom and I am trying to get myself and my passenger to Domino. If you are with Chaos Communications as you say then you may have saved me a trip though."

"We can provide proof," Baptiste declared.

"Good!" a young boy called out, darting out from behind Renard. "We have to save my brother and Edwin!"

"Oh my god," Yuri whispered. "That's Mokuba Kaiba."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Come on Yug, what are ya thinkin'?" Joey protested, waving his arms about madly. "Ya always tell me to keep a level head and think things through and then ya go off and do this!?"

Yami (as the spirit had begun to think of himself) shook his head though. "It needed to be done. Edwin Chaos can't be trusted Joey and he just showed that."

"I don't know, dude," Tristan said, scratching at his chin, "I watched that duel and didn't see anything that seemed strange or wrong. I mean yeah, when you pointed out all the things Edwin didn't do it seems odd but he had good points himself. I'm sure he could watch one of your duels and point all the mistakes you made."

"These weren't mistakes," the Spirit declared forcefully, slowly shifting his gaze towards where Edwin was talking with Mai. "He wasn't giving the duel his all. He was disrespecting you, Joey."

"The only person that feels disrespectful at the moment is you, Yug," Joey said bitterly. "I gave it my all and nearly beat'im and you think that its only because Ed was goin' easy on me?"

Realizing just how his words had come out Yami turned to Joey, a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry Joey, of course I-"

"Say it, Yug," Joey said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, face closed off. "It's clear already what ya think of me." With that he ambled away from the group, pretending to be suddenly very interested in a fern that was planted in the corner.

"Nice going man," Tristan said, hurrying over to comfort Joey, Bakura doing the same. That only left Tea... and Yami wasn't going to find sympathy with her.

"Edwin was right, wasn't he? There are two Yugis," Tea asked rather bluntly, especially for her. "The Yugi I know and... you."

"I.... yes," Yami admitted. "I don't know how... I believe-" he gestured at the Puzzle, "-this is the cause of it. But yes."

"I've wondered about that," Tea admitted.

"Since my duel with Bakura."

"Partially," Tea said, clearly thinking back to that night and the dark magic that had affected them all. "The memory of that though is... like a dream. Joey barely remembers, Tristan has completely forgotten, Edwin clearly remembers it well, and for me its just snippets. But it mostly came when we were making our way up to Pegasus' castle. I began to think about how different you are from Yugi, how he suddenly acted nothing like my best friend. There being two of you was the only explanation."

"I know this must be hard for you to accept... know that Yugi didn't lie to you. Honestly the two of us believed ourselves to be one person for a long time. It has only been recently that we have truly separated into different halves."

"I figured," Tea stated. "The differences have become more clear." And then her expression hardened as they came to the meat of the matter. "Yugi would have never treated a friend like you did."

Yami sighed at that. "I am sorry for what I said to Joey. I never meant to insult his dueling skills. He's come a long way and-"

"I'm not talking about him. Or... it's nice that you understand that you hurt his feelings and want to make it up to him but I'm talking about another friend." Yami stared at her blankly and Tea prompted, "Edwin?"

"Edwin is not our friend."

"Well, maybe not your friend after how you treated him but he is my friend still."

"Tea," Yami tried again, "you must understand... Edwin can't be trusted."

"Why?" Tea shot back. "Because you say so?" She shook her head. "I'll admit that him giving up his chance to face Pegasus and forcing Kaiba to buy his spot was wrong... no." She screwed up her face. "I can't really say that it was wrong. Edwin had every right to do what he did. It's just not what I would have done but that's okay. Friends can disagree on how to do things. Like you almost attacking Kaiba and sending him off the edge of the castle."

Yami winced at that, the memory of what he'd nearly done the day before, Tea crying out for him to stop, feeling like a hot poker pressed into his side. It had been a mistake, caused by the heat of battle and his drive to face Pegasus, and it would be a mistake he would have to deal with for quite some time.

"What is important," Tea continued, "is how you handle disagreements with your friends. You don't throw around accusations and condemn them just because you feel like you're in the right. You show them just as much kindness as you would if they did something right." She shook her head. "No one likes being scolded."

"They don't," he admitted, glancing at her.

Tea quickly saw what he was hinting at though. "Would you prefer I made a big scene of saying you were wrong to yell at Edwin?" When he didn't answer she turned away. "I don't know how long you were trapped in that Puzzle but you need to learn to talk to people and be friends with them... before you find yourself alone."

'She's right,' Yugi told him in their mind as Tea went to comfort Joey.

'Edwin-'

'We don't know why he made that deal with Kaiba. We don't know what him and Pegasus did all last night. There might be many things that we don't know the answer to. It's like Duel Monsters... you can't just rush in attacking without considering the cards in your opponent's hand.'

'I know of one card,' Yami stated.

'The goddess,' Yugi said. 'You hid that from me.'

'I did it for your protection.'

'But if you'd let me know then we could have worked together to figure it out, see if she truly is a threat. Edwin certainly doesn't seem to know who she is so maybe he's in just as much danger as us. Or none at all.' Yami could feel Yugi shaking his head in despair. 'And now we have to duel him and Edwin has something to prove. He's going to come at us hard.'

'We'll beat him, Yugi.'

'How many other duelists have thought the same thing when facing him?'

The Spirit of the Puzzle merely took out his deck to check it over one last time.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Are you okay?" Mai asked me as I paced.

"No," I said, seeing no reason to lie. "I'm angry at that hypocritical, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou bass-player and his attitude. I don't know what it is but he's had my number ever since I took on that fake Kaiba. Honor and respect..." I nearly spat in disgust. "Don't get me wrong, those are important but not if you end up hurting yourself just so others can say, "Oh, Edwin was reduced to being a bum dancing for nickels but at least he has his honor!". Honor... honor is what the rich and the powerful cloak themselves in to disguise their lack of caring for the world and trick the poor and weak into doing what they're told." I ran my fingers through my hair to get my locks back off my forehead. "There are two types of honor, you know? Internal and external. Yugi and his friends only care about external honor, what others think about them and how they have to live up to the standards that they feel society should be run by. I prefer internal honor; I'm more worried if I can sleep at night."

"Well, at least you're talking again," Mai said with a smirk, interrupting me. "It was weird seeing you duel Joey and be so quiet."

"He didn't do anything to deserve my wrath." She shot me a look and a sighed. "Yeah, I know... my mom and what he said. I was angry at the moment but I can forgive people... one of my biggest faults, actually. I'm quick to forgive."

"I would have thought it would be the opposite, that you hold onto grudges."

"I do that too but I'm willing to give someone a second chance. I'm all for redemption tales."

"Even with Yugi?"

"Even him." Though in my mind I mentally corrected that it was the Pharaoh who I hoped would get his head out of his ass.

"Don't duel angry, Edwin," Mai warned him. "Yugi might have been in a funk when I faced him but he's snapped out of it and he's back to the duelist that beat Kaiba. He's not going to go easy on you."

"Oh Mai," I said with a chuckle and a grin, "that's perfectly fine. I plan to not go easy on him either."

"Hmm... you like it rough, I see. Good to know." With that the minx planted a kiss on my cheek while I struggled to figure out how the hell she'd slipped that little innuendo past the 4Kids censors. Moving away from me as Croquet called for Yugi and I to take our positions I took a final moment to roll my neck back and forth to work out the kinks. 'To hell with canon,' I thought to myself. 'I already saved Yugi's grandpa. My mind is locked up tight so Pegasus can't read my thoughts. And I know how to take down his Toons and Restrict. No more playing nice with Yugi and his friends. He wants to be the hero? He has to beat me.'

"We now begin the final match to determine who will face Maximillion Pegasus for the title of King of Games. This duel with see Yugi Moto," The Pharaoh walked to his dueling platform, his friends cheering him on though I couldn't help but notice that it was a bit more muted than one might have expected, "take on Edwin Chaos."

And my phone decided to screw with the soundtrack again.

"That's a good pick," I said with a smirk.

~MC~MC~MC~

Tea looked up as the music began to play. Strong, steady, it was made up only of the clapping of hands and a choir of voices not really saying anything but still singing along all the same to the tune. "What is that?"

"I guess it's the same thing Ed did during our duel," Joey said, bobbing his head.

"But it's a different song from the one that played during your duel, Joey," Bakura said.

Joey shrugged. "He likes all sorts of music... has good taste."

Tea opened her mouth to respond but then... the actually singer began to sing as the lights went down and Edwin, standing in a doorway, dropped his head and clasped his hands in front of him as a siren went off.

I'm living' in that 21st century

Doing something mean to it

Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it

Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it

I guess every superhero need his theme music

His head snapped up as the beat dropped and everyone leapt as the light fixtures above him exploded, sending sparks flying all around him. Edwin began to march towards the platform, face an utter mask of dark determination as his suit jacket snapped behind him like a cape. Even with his long strides it seemed to Tea that he was moving in slow motion, making every moment count and etching his approach in their minds as, in one smooth motion, Edwin slid the jacket off and tossed it to Mai before he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up. Gone was the man Tea had made friends with, who had gotten her and her friends a room when they were shivering cold, who had saved Mokuba, who had offered his camp to them.

This was something else. Something dark. Something... powerful.

No one man should have all that power

The clock's ticking', I just count the hours

Stop tripping', I'm tripping' off the power

(21st century schizoid man)

'Every song that Edwin has used was him sending a message. With that fake Kaiba it was to mock him trying to scare him. With PaniK it was to lift Mai up. With Joey... with Joey it was like he was trying to apologize to us for being himself. But this?' she swallowed as Edwin stepped onto the platform and pulled out his deck. 'This is Edwin going to war. Oh Yugi... what have you gotten yourself into?'

No one man should have all that power

The clock's ticking', I just count the hours

Stop tripping', I'm tripping' off the power

(21st century schizoid man)

"As Mr. Moto was given the #1 in our original drawing he gets choice of going first or second," Croquet declared once the music had ended.

"I'll go first," Yugi said, drawing his hand.

"Is that wise?" Tristan asked. "I mean now Edwin will be able to know exactly what Yugi is planning."

"Yeah but if he went second Ed could set a trap for him," Joey pointed out. "You know how Yug is... he loves to set things up and force his opponent to march right into the trap. This is the best move for him."

"Except Edwin will know that and can now destroy whatever Yugi sets up. There will be no surprise." Tristan shook his head. "I think he should have gone second."

"Nah, Yug'll be fine!" Joey declared.

On the platform Yugi held up four cards. "I will start by summoning my Beaver Warrior in defense mode." The small knighted mammal appeared, sword and shield in hand. "And then I will set these three cards on the field and end my turn."

"See, settin' a trap!" Joey declared.

"Maybe, Joey," Bakura stated, "but like Tristan said Edwin is smart enough to know that Yugi is doing just that. He made it to the finals after all, no matter how he arranged to enter to begin with, and apparently was skilled enough at dueling that he got 10 Star Chips before anyone else." He rubbed his chin. "I think this might be the toughest duel Yugi's ever had."

"Which is a good thing, if you ask me," Mai said with a smirk as Edwin studied his hand.

"Yeah yeah, you want Ed ta win. We know." Joey rolled his eyes.

But Mai scoffed. "I have far more depth than that, Joseph. This is good for both of them." She gestured towards Pegasus, who was sitting on his throat drinking from a wine glass, clearly bemused by the situation. "Pegasus isn't just an amazing duelist; he created Duel monsters. He knows every card, understands what they can do and will be able to see every combo coming. Facing him won't be an easy. Yugi and Edwin battling each other and giving it their all will hone their skills and get them ready to take him on. It will be better that they are forced to do their best rather than get a puff battle."

"I think Mai is right," Bakura stated. "The only way one gets better is by facing challenges."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Tea murmured, hugging herself as Edwin finally drew a card from his hand.

"I summon Endymion!" Edwin declared, his Ace Monster appearing on the field.

"MAN!" Joey exclaimed in shock and horror at the sight of the spellcaster. "He summoned Endymion already!"

"His first turn!" Tristan said, just as startled by how bold Edwin was being.

"Oh no!" Tea declared.

Edwin pointed at the Beaver Warrior. "Attack! Spell Power Blast!"

Yugi thrust out his hand as Endymion rushed forward, staff glowing brightly with crackling magical energy. "I activate Monster Replace! This card allows me to return Beaver Warrior to my hand and summon a new monster in his place. I bring forth Summoned Skull!" With a bolt of lightning the fiend appeared with a high pitched hiss. "And then I activate Makiu the Magical Mist, protecting him while also increasing Summoned Skull's attack by 30%!" The dark magical storm swept over the field, coating both monsters in a fine mist while also filling the air with static. Tea gasped as the skulled monster's attack rose to 3250, more then enough to defeat Endymion. "Counter with Lightning Strike!"

"I activate the Spell Card Shrink!" Edwin countered, throwing a card from his hand to the field. Summoned Skull let out a cry as the spell hit, causing him to shrink down to half his size, looking rather sad and pathetic as it hissed at the now much taller magician. "This Quick Spell Card can be played directly from my hand and it reduces your monster's attack by half, dropping your Summoned Skull down to 1625." Edwin smirked. "Thank you for presenting me with an attack position monster... I so do enjoy damaging lifepoints this early in the duel!"

"Yugi!" Tea cried out in fear.

"I activate my final face down, Negate Attack, stopping your monster. And next turn your Shrink will wear off, returning my Summoned Skull to full strength."

"Well, I wanted to wait to do this but hey why not put on a show? Endymion, I discard one spell card to allow you to destroy one card on the field. And with Makiu protecting the Summoned Skull I will just have to destroy that! Spell Power Sweep!"

The attack that Endymion had been preparing to fire was converted into the destruction spell that Endymion fired off in a wide arc, shunting away the storm and leaving the field back to normal with both monsters keeping their original attack.

"And I end my turn," Edwin finally said.

"Whoa... that... that was amazing!" Tristan exclaimed. "It was so quick!"

Joey was just standing there, slackjawed. "Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen one of them completely change things up!"

"I must say," Bakura stated, "that was a ripping fast flurry of combos!"

Mai had lost her smirk and was just as startled at the others. "Those two... they really do belong in the finals." She let out a little laugh, bouncing back. "Hey, I nearly beat Yugi and Edwin owes me a real duel... can't be too upset with all that."

Tea though was focused on Yugi and Edwin, the two of them staring each other down. 'And that was just the opening move. What will things be like by the end?'

~MC~MC~MC~

Pegasus, sitting on his throne, pressed his index finger to his lip, his only outward sign that he was interested in the duel before him. Unlike Yugi-Boy's little friends he wasn't gaping in shock at what the boy had pulled off and how Edwin had countered him; quite the opposite, for he'd have been disappointed in the two if they had done less than they had in that first turn.

'Truly skillful,' Pegasus thought to himself. 'Yugi knew that Edwin would come at him hard and he sacrificed nearly all his hand to prevent the blow. While Edwin did well to counter but also show the weakness in Endymion... though I wonder if Yugi-Boy figured it out.' He turned towards Yugi, resisting the urge to use the Millennium Eye to see just what he was preparing to do. While he had no problem doing so during his own duels, for he needed to ensure that he would win no matter what if he hoped to save dear Cecelia, in this case with nothing on the line he got to indulge in the rare treat of watching in person a duel and letting it unfold completely naturally.

"I start by activating Pot of Greed, drawing two cards. Next I will set one card and shift Summoned Skull to defense mode."

Edwin drew and considered his hand. "I'll activate Pot of Greed as well-"

"I activate Shared Ride!" Yugi declared, the card flipping up. "This card allows me to draw cards if you do the same outside of your draw phase."

'Oh, how clever,' Pegasus thought to himself. 'It cost him a card but he gained 2. A rather nice move by Yugi-Boy... and a reminder to Edwin that he can match him move for move.' Edwin set his Crusader of Endymion onto the field, the twin-shield wielding warrior shifting into defense position before Edwin commanded his Master Magician to attack Yugi's monster. 'And there it is, the weakness of Endymion. The power to destroy any card is mighty... but the cost is high with having to discard a spell, since it is near impossible to retrieve a Spell from the graveyard. And if you lack one... well, Edwin's burn abilities are rendered rather weakened at the moment.' He sipped his wine. 'Though there is still time..'

"I set my Beaver Warrior once more in Defense mode and set one card on the field." The monster and the card appeared on the playing field before the younger of the two duelists. "I end my turn."

Edwin nodded. "Then I'll take out your Beaver. I discard this card-"

"Reveal my trap! Skill Drain!" Yugi thrust out his hand as the card, depicting the Dark Ruler Ha Des grabbing at his chest, flashed. Endymion grunted and did the same as wisps of smoke drifted from his body. "At the cost of 1000 life points I can activate this card, which prevents your monster from using his effect, meaning your destruction tactics are now done!" (Yugi-1000)

"A heavy cost for a temporary obstacle," Edwin pointed out. "Though... what do you have planned?"

"This: Dian Keto the Cure Master, which increases my lifepoints by 1000, returning me back to a full 2000." Yugi grinned at that. "So it was rather worth it to weaken your Magician." (Yugi-2000)

"For now," Edwin merely said before smirking. "And only in the magical sense. Endymion can still get rather physical. And as the song said... let's get physical. Attack!" Yugi gripped his platform as his Beaver Warrior was shattered. "Keep setting them up, Yugi... I so do enjoy watching your monsters shatter. It gives me life."

"Then let us see if it works both ways. I summon Curse of Dragon and equip it with Fairy Meteor Crush!" The bone-colored dragon appeared with a screech before the ghostly outline of a meteor appeared around it. "This equip card grants my dragon such crushing strength that when it attacks a defense monster you take the difference in damage! Curse of Dragon, Burning Dragon Flame on his Crusader!"

Edwin's monster bellowed in pain as it was shattered under the fiery onslaught. He set a final card on the field, emptying his hand, and ending his turn. (Edwin-1200)

'And first blood goes to Yugi-Boy,' Pegasus thought to himself. 'A rather impressive showing. Despite playing with a nearly empty hand he keeps finding ways to force Edwin back. Endymion has been neutered and Edwin lost nearly half his lifepoints with a powerful dragon still on the field. And with that Skill Drain active Edwin had been reduced to having merely normal monsters on the field no matter what he summons! Many would think that Eddy-Boy was done...' Pegasus though shut his eyes. 'No... that man is far too clever to be kept down by this. Yugi-Boy will need to be far more cutthroat if he wishes to stop him before he mounts his comeback.' He snapped his eyes open. 'Though, considering what he almost did to Kaiba, it might be Edwin who wishes to toss himself from my castle walls!'

~MC~MC~MC~

Yugi was everything I'd expected him to be.

Honestly, if I wasn't so frustrated with the Pharaoh and his arrogant attitude I'd have been a touch giddy that I was forcing him to play as hard as he was. Already he'd used multiple combos to counter me, bringing to mind my favorite duels of his; him vs. Arkana in the Wizard's Duel being the top one. He'd done something similar and that was on his first friggin' turn! It was impressive and awe-inspiring and reminded me why I'd fallen in love with this game.

'Now I just need to see if I can push him farther... or break him when he tries to bend.' I drew and looked over my hand. 'Endymion is out at the moment and I don't have anything that can destroy Skill Drain. Even if I drew Breaker he'd be neutralized so that's no good... wait.' I looked up and noticed Yugi's empty hand. 'That might work. If Yugi can't summon a monster and leaves his field empty he automatically loses the duel. Endymion can just keep attacking... he has no monsters that are stronger than it. Worst case that downface is Mirror Force. But I have to risk it.' Out loud I declared, "Endymion, attack the Curse of Dragon!"

"Reveal my face down!" the Pharaoh declared but to my relief it wasn't Mirror Force. Rather it was another card, one I didn't remember him actually having before. "Monster Recovery. This allows me to shuffle Curse of Dragon back into my deck and then draw 5 new cards."

"...nice," I admitted. "I was honestly just thinking if you didn't keep top decking monsters you'd lose on a technicality. While that would be interesting I don't think any of us want the duel to end like that."

"I find that surprising, coming from you," the Pharaoh stated.

I narrowed my eyes at that, my good mood gone. "And I'm not surprised in the slightest that when I actually pay you a compliment and show you respect for a smart play you treat me like garbage." The Pharaoh glowered at that but said nothing. "Oh? Not in the mood now to tell me how I am scum and disrespectful while you treat me like trash after offering you an olive branch? Maybe I should rip up one of Solomon Moto's cards and put him in the hospital... then you'd forgive me."

"That is different." He sounded like a petulant child.

"Because you say so? Or because you decided at random that I'm the villain here? Not Kaiba who brutalized Mr. Moto. Not the countless duelists that cheat and lie and steal. Me... because I dared to cut a deal to give everyone what they wanted. Heh." I sneered at him. "Well guess what, Spirit... I don't care about your approval or want it. If I have to jump through a thousand extra hoops while people like PaniK instantly get your respect... how does the saying go? 'For I have plunged my hands into muddy waters and found it better to be a commander than a common man!' Well then... you want me to be the villain? Do all you want then. Keep mocking me. Insulting me. Trying to turn people against me. Spreading lies and accusing me of things I never did. Cast your blame on me. But guess what? I won't play along anymore. I'm Edwin Chaos. Let the world decide who I am. Not you. Now draw your card and show me what you got!"

~MC~MC~MC~

'Enough!'

He felt the Spirit of the Puzzle stop as he reached for his deck, jerking as if he had been struck by lightning.

'Yugi?' the Spirit said, startled.

Yugi Moto had cried out only the day before, that time in fear and desperation. But now... now it was full of determination and drive, of strength and confidence. And the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, who had faced down criminals and sadists and madmen with mystical powers, couldn't help but obey, turning inward to speak to the child... no, the young man... that had solved the puzzle and released him.

'Edwin is right,' Yugi told him as the two stood in the darkness that was the Spirit's mindscape. 'You have to stop treating him so horribly just because you don't agree with everything he's done.'

'You don't understand,' the Spirit countered. 'Edwin... he can't be trusted, Yugi.'

'Why? You mentioned a goddess... one Edwin clearly has no idea about. What happened? What are you hiding from me?' Yugi narrowed his eyes and the Spirit flinched. 'I thought we were partners. We agreed to work together. We talked about this only a few hours ago.'

The Spirit stared him down before his shoulders slumped and he sighed. 'Yugi... this is all so confusing for me. I don't know who I am, even my own name, but I feel these... instincts. The same ones that have helped us win so many duels and defeat so many foes. And all of them are telling me that Edwin is our enemy.'

'But why?' Yugi pressed. 'What has he done that is so wrong?'

'Kaiba-'

'Kaiba made the deal. Pegasus made the deal. Maybe we would never have offered it but Edwin had the right to do so. Friends can disagree. Friends can do things differently from those that care for. But you don't attack a friend and yell at them. You can be firm, stand up for what you believe in, but you don't treat them like you have. That's not how you make friends... its how you make enemies. Is that really what you want?'

'No,' the Spirit admitted. 'But that goddess-'

'Tell me. Tell me right now what happened.'

'It was after Edwin tricked the Spirit of the Millennium Ring into losing our duel. The Spirit attacked him and all of you were knocked out save the Spirit and I. That's when... I don't know who she was, only that she was one of the gods.'

'Gods? Like... god gods?'

'Indeed. She easily cast the Spirit into the Shadow Realm and told me that the Spirit serves her brother... and that she is beyond good and evil. The goddess claimed Edwin as her 'beloved' and that he belonged to her. Yugi,' the Spirit of the Puzzle shook his head in sadness, 'as much as you might want to we can't trust Edwin. With such a force-'

'Bakura.'

'What?'

'Bakura was possessed by the Spirit of the Ring. Does that mean we can't trust him?'

'No, of course not! Bakura-'

'Edwin knows nothing of this goddess, just like Bakura knows nothing of the Spirit of the Ring. So why are you willing to help Bakura and forgive him but attack Edwin?' The Spirit of the Puzzle swallowed at that but said nothing. 'Well?'

'I don't know,' the Spirit finally admitted. 'There is... there is something in my mind. A memory I can't grasp-'

Around them the world flickered and for a moment Yugi saw they were in an Egyptian throne room, a figure seated on the high throne... and Edwin, wearing the robes of Endymion, pointing angrily at the ruler who sat above them before he slammed his staff into the ground, blinding them all.

'What... what was that?' Yugi asked.

'I don't know... but I think... I think that is why I have been so hard on Edwin. The goddess stated that he had a role to play, that she brought him here... what if-'

'He's like you,' Yugi finished. 'No memory of WHY he is here but still driven to act because this goddess demands it.'

The Spirit steeled himself. 'If that is the case then I was wrong. You are right... he is like Bakura, at the mercy of forces stronger than us. And we must stand with him for whatever is coming.' He let out a sigh. 'Though with the damage I've done-'

'We'll fix it... but first we need to finish this duel.'

"Yugi!"

The young man blinked, the Spirit allowing him control, and saw that everyone was staring at him. "Uh?"

"You zoned out for like 5 minutes," Edwin exclaimed. "I thought you had a stroke or something!"

"Sorry... I was just thinking."

Edwin shot him a look. "Uh huh." He mouthed, "Your friend?" and Yugi, after a moment, nodded.

"Mr. Chaos, it is your right to demand that Mr. Moto forfeit if he-"

"No," Edwin said, cutting Croquet off. "I'm good. Yugi needed a moment after that... I think we both did to calm down." He smiled, a genuine one, and Yugi flashed a grin right back at him. It was nice to see that whatever hard feelings Edwin might have for the Spirit of the Puzzle he didn't hold that against Yugi himself. "Ready to continue on? I think we owe these people a show!"

"Right!" Yugi said with a grin, drawing his card. 'Perfect!' He held out the monster he'd just drawn. "Since you summoned your best spellcaster Edwin... it's only fair I summon mine! Come forth my Dark Magician!" The dark robed mage appeared across from Endymion, the two staring each other down before giving one another a nod. Of respect... and acknowledgement that only one could be the true master of the mystical arts. "And now I equip him with the Book of Secret Arts! This tome teaches my Dark Magician forbidden and lost magics, increasing his attack to 2800! Dark Magic Attack!"

Edwin shielded himself as Endymion shattered under the dark blast before looking at Yugi and smirking. "You know I'm going to have to pay you back for that." (Edwin-1100)

"You can try!" Yugi called out, not quite a taunt but enough to show that he was ready for a fight.

'Edwin won't take that lightly,' the Spirit said in Yugi's mind.

'I know. But that just means we need to be ready for him!'

Edwin drew before looking up over his glasses. "Well, this worked for you, Yugi... I set one monster in face down defense and set these two cards and end my turn."

"I don't know if I prefer Edwin and Yugi being friends or feuding," Bakura said. "They seem rather scary both ways."

"Yeah," Joey said. "They are really getting into it now."

"With Yugi not fighting with Edwin they can focus on actually having a great duel," Tea said with a smile. "This is what Duel monsters is all about!"

"Say that after Edwin beats Yugi," Mai retorted.

Yugi looked over his hand. 'Nothing I can use to eliminate those two face downs Edwin set. I could hold off attacking... no, I think I have to risk it.'

'I agree,' the Spirit chimed in. 'Edwin knows that we'll suspect a trap... but that in and of itself could be the trap. Making us being too cautious only to activate something that punishes us for not attacking. Or perhaps it isn't even a trap at all.'

'A fake trap? Perhaps.' Yugi nodded. "Dark Magician, attack his downface monster!"

Edwin smirked.

"Thanks. I'll activate my trap card: The Copycat!" The mirror-faced mage appeared on the field. "This card lets me select one card from your graveyard and activate it. And I choose... Fairy Meteor Crush!"

"What?" Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Bakura all exclaimed in shock. Even Pegasus and Mai went still at that unusual choice.

The Dark Magician continued on though with his attack and Yugi braced himself for Edwin's monster to reveal itself to be a brutal defensive beast that could easily repel back the Dark Magician. But the blast just continued on and Edwin's card merely flipped up as it was struck, revealing the Witch of the Black Forest who shattered into pieces.

"Wait... why did he do that?" Joey said, scratching his head. "Why bother equipping that card to his monster if it was going to be destroyed."

"Who said I equipped it to MY monster?" Edwin asked, waving his hand towards the Dark Magician. Yugi watched as around his mage the image of the meteor appeared, ghostly but there.

"That makes even less sense!" Tristan declared.

But Mai was the one that spoke up. "Does it?" She began to grin. "Look at the lifepoints!"

Yugi's friends all looked at the counters and while Edwin's remained the same... Yugi's had dropped down! (Yugi-1200)

"Oh!" Pegasus said in delight. "Now THAT is clever!"

"What... what happened?!" Joey declared before wagging his fist at Edwin. "Hey, what did you-" Edwin's gaze snapped towards Joey, glasses flashing, and Joey quickly swallowed and shifted back. "er, I mean... how did you do that?"

Edwin, now back to being calm and pleasant after that near attack, shrugged. "It's all in the card effect. Fairy Meteor Crush states that if the monster equipped with it attacks a defense monster with a higher defense then your opponent takes damage equal to the difference. Not the opponent of the owner of the attacking monster..."

"But the owner of Meteor!" Yugi exclaimed as it dawned on him just what Edwin had done. "And since you control Fairy Meteor Crush-"

"Every time you destroy one of my downface monsters with your Dark Magician you will take the damage!" Edwin spun his hand about before pressing it to his chest and giving Yugi a bow.

'He's right!' the Spirit thought. 'It's a perfect setup. He's neutralized the Dark Magician... whatever card he sets in defense mode we can't attack without losing lifepoints. And with Summoned Skull already destroyed we have very few monsters that can take out his best defensive monsters.'

'And our own Skill Drain means we can't use what few effect monsters we have to counter. We'd have to waste a spell card destroying the Meteor and Edwin knows that, meaning he can keep laying down traps to trip us up.' Yugi looked at his deck. 'We have to figure a way out of this! If we don't we risk losing Grandpa and Kaiba's souls forever!'

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