Chaos Effect

Chapter 30

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I folded my arms across my chest and stared down the two teens that had just decided to approach me while I was minding my own business and begun to talk to me.

To me. Not with me. Because that would imply that I was actually able to say a few words.

It was becoming a rather annoying occurrence, honestly. Yugi was the King of Games and with that hair of his should have been recognized whenever he stepped out of his door. Yet he managed to go unnoticed for much of the time, able to happily live his life. Well... happily live his life with evil duelists constantly wanting to rip out his/his friends/his ghostly buddy's soul and stash it in the Shadow Realm. But me? Even though I'd come in 2nd place at Duelist Kingdom I got spotted all the damn time and had to deal with fans, suck ups, and people who wanted to hitch their wagons to my star.

"We just really think you'd love the game," the first teen told me excitedly. "And it would really help if you played it and promoted it!"

"Very easy to learn!" the second declared.

"So easy."

"Insanely easy."

"Uh huh," I said dryly, already feeling my brain trying to chew its way out of my skull and escape this conversation.

"So the first thing you need to understand is the Dice Pool."

The second one chimed in. "Or maybe the Crest Pool."

"But Crest Pools are connected to the Dice Pool."

"That's true but the Dice Pool is just the basis, the Crests are the most important."

"Well the Dice Master is also important."

"Oh, so important."

'That's it, I'm out of here!' I heard my brain say, following by the sounds of footsteps, a door opening and closing, and then a car screeching off into the distance. I suddenly understood what it was like to be Joey.

Originally I hadn't had much planned for the day... which, sadly, was how my days had been going for the last few weeks. After the events of the VR world things had calmed down and I found myself stuck in the Land Between Filler, the worst land to be in. At least with Filler Arcs something happened. But with me ducking out on meeting Rebecca there had been nothing really interesting for me to do. Normally I would have been able to do my job but... well... my job at the moment was staying out of Seto's way.

No, seriously. He'd actually presented me with a contract that said my job as minority shareholder in Kaibacorp was to stay out of his way unless there were board meetings. It'd even been notarized.

Apparently realizing that thanks not just to Pegasus' lawyers but also Mokuba's relationship with me that there was no way he'd ever actually be rid of my smirking face Seto had set about doing all he could to keep me far... far... far away from him and his projects and tasks. Not that I honestly minded as I'd never had the technical interest like Seto; I was creative and while I could woodwork, sculpt, and write working on complex computers had never been my thing. So I hadn't been chomping at the bit to be given a division of Kaibacorp and running it. Seto's contract had made it clear that unless I was asked for I was to sit at home collecting a massive paycheck. Oh, I had power... I could push to bring in a new investment or make suggestions. And with Pegasus and Kaiba butting heads I could easily play one against the other and pretty much control the company if I was subtle enough.

But at the moment there really wasn't anything to do meaning my days were spent trying to keep busy and fight off the boredom. Mokuba had been busy with school, getting done with the wind down for the year, while Mai had taken a trip up North to be interviewed for a fashion magazine and do a photo shoot. Yugi and his friends were also in school and my uncle had Chaos Communications which meant I was stuck finding ways to keep busy all on my own.

I was... handling it well.

~Two Days Earlier~

"Its okay Dil, I can plays right down here!"

"WHY!" I screamed at the TV as Tommy Pickles hugged his brother. "Dil hits you and never helps you out and still steals your toys! Why would you want to play with him! Why would you still love him! He's a bad baby!" I fought the urge to shake the tv and Shadow Realm energy burst from my body. "YOU SHOULD HAVE FED HIM TO THE WOLVES!"

~Present Day~

...fuck Dil Pickles.

So when I'd seen an advertisement for a new entertainment store called the Black Clown having a grand opening that entire week I'd decided to check it out rather than plot out how to murder fictional babies who were horrible and deserved to be punished for being horrible.

Of course that had meant slipping out of my uncle's place without being notice, which was easy with the Millennium Key. He was still looking for a bodyguard for me, as me being trapped on an island, nearly set on fire, and then fucking stabbed had made him a touch... protective. And that was without him knowing that I'd been trapped in another dimension for a day. He'd told me that he'd found the perfect person and were waiting for them to arrive and the Abed part of my brain wondered if I was going to get my own John Wiggle.

...which would mean Mai would soon be replaced with Felicity Smoak and that was going to fucking suck.

While the Black Clown advertised itself as a 'Game Shop' it was more like a comic book store and an FYE and a Spencers/Hot Topic merged into one massive multistory shop. There was a section for comic books and graphic novels and another for DVDs. A cd section and records for those that wanted to be hipsters and counter culture. A whole half floor dedicated to different graphic tees. And of course the toys which is where I had decided to camp out and figure out just what I wanted to fill my days with.

I'd past by the Diamond Muppet figures (getting the oddest thought about me dressed as Rick Sanchez yelling at Yugi for some reason) and was considering getting back into Legos ('cool, Lego Sesame Street set!') when I'd gotten accosted by two 'fans' of mine that were trying very hard to try and get me to endorse some new game.

"Now the hearts are important because you have to protect those," one of the two teens told me, shaking me out of my thoughts. "But to do that you have to make a path with your dice-"

"Oh fuck," I muttered to myself as I realized just where I was: Duke's Game Shop. And it was the grand opening which meant-

'Do I stop Joey from dressing like a dog or not?' I thought to myself as the two teens, not noticing that my eyes had glazed over and I wasn't focusing on them at all, continued to try and explain how Dungeon Dice Monsters worked. 'If I could even get him to not challenge Duke. Joey was one of the most stubborn people I've ever met-'

"Hey Ed!"

"Speak of the Devil," I muttered and, seeing the two teens had turned towards each other and began debating... something, I honestly didn't know, I made my escape and headed over to where Joey was standing with Yugi, Tea, and Tristan. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Just checking out the game shop after Joey's duel with Duke," Tristan said. "Mr. Muto's might be more cozy and friendly but WOW does this place have some amazing things!"

"I'm trying to figure out how to sneak some of this stuff up to my room... my grandpa will have a fit if he finds out I was shopping here."

Tea let out a sad little sigh. "There are a lot of things I'd like to buy but..." she trailed off, looking anywhere but my direction... and especially my stomach where the wound from her father's knife was still healing up.

"Well, I suppose now is the time for some late birthday gifts," I said with a smirk, walking over to some pegs and grabbing four $100 gift cards.

"No way!" Tristan said excitedly. "Seriously man?"

"It's technically Kaiba and Pegasus' money," I pointed out. "So why not spend it?"

"I don't know, Edwin," Yugi said slowly, shuffling a bit. "It feels wrong-"

"Not to happily accept!" Joey said, wrapping his arm around Yugi and giving him a shake. "Right, Yug?"

"Heh... yeah," Yugi said, taking the hint.

"You sure about this, Edwin?" Tea asked, shifting from foot to foot.

I smirked. "I'm not in the habit of giving away money if I don't mean it," I commented as I went to the register and set about paying for the gift cards. Glancing over a Joey I remembered the mention of the duel and realized that must have been his battle with Duke. Except... he seemed to be in a great mood and NOT dressed as a furry so something was up. "So duel, huh?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as I could.

Joey rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... didn't do that well."

"It was a brand new game you've never played before, Joey!" Yugi told him. "You did as well as you could."

"And aren't you glad you didn't make any insane bets?" Tristan asked.

"Insane bets?" I asked as the cashier finished the order and I passed out the gift cards. Without anyone saying a word it was decided that since I had been the one to buy the gift cards the teens would follow me around until I was done shopping, as it would be rather rude of them to demand after such a gift I left my browsing so they could spend my money.

"Aren't you a little too old for that?" Tristan asked as I grabbed a cart and put the Lego Sesame Street in there.

"You're just mad you can afford one," I pointed out.

"...maybe."

"Insane bets?" I repeated to Joey, causing the blonde to sheepishly rub the back of his head.

"Heh... yeah. So the guy that owns this place... well, actually he doesn't so much own it as his dad does and he just helps him run it but that doesn't matter... anyway, his name is Duke and he came to take a look at our school, to see if he wanted to transfer there in the fall. And he was acting all smug and getting all the girls to curl up next to him and coo about how wonderful he was and..." Joey shook his head in frustration. "This game shop is cool and all but it's hurting Yugi's Grandpa and his card shop and I was thinking I would do something to help out."

"You were going to challenge him to a duel and force him to close up shop!" Tea complained.

I shot Joey a dark look; even though he said he HADN'T done that and I knew from canon he attempted just that it still annoyed me and I had come to realize that I had to be the voice of reason for the group and get them to actually act like mature adults.

So, grabbing of the Winnie the Pooh Lego Set I had spotted I stared Joey down and waited for him to explain just what he'd been thinking.

"Yeah it was dumb, okay!" Joey exclaimed in frustration, racking his fingers trhough his hair. "I was just annoyed at that Devlin guy and thinking about poor Mr. Muto and..." He sighed. "But then I remembered what happened on the boat when we dueled and how I almost cost myself a card from my deck for no reason. And then I thought about what happened with Kaiba and the money for my sister's operation and I realized that I just couldn't do it. I mean... what if Duke demanded that Mr. Muto close his shop down? Or that I had to give him every dime I had."

"Or forced you to wear a dog costume."

The four teams blinked and slowly stared at me.

"...what you and Mai do when you're alone-" Tristan began to say only for Tea to elbow him in the gut.

"The point," Joey finally said, "is that I realized that I couldn't do that. Too big of a risk. So me and Duke just played his new game and did it for bragging rights." His shoulders slumped. "He totally took me out."

"But you still did really good for a first timer!" Duke called up, walking over to us. I was a bit surprised to see that Duke was all smiles... I remembered vaguely from the anime that he was pissy with Yugi because he blamed him for Pegasus never answering him back about his game. But I didn't get the sense of that here... he seemed rather polite and friendly, just like in Battle City.

"Eh," Joey said with a blush, "I did the best I could... but next time my best will be better than your best!"

"We'll see," Duke said before greeting Yugi. "Have you decided when you want to take me on?"

"I think maybe a week or two. I'd like to read up on the rules so I can really put on a great performance. Give the viewers something exciting to watch!"

"Viewers?" I said in confusion.

"Oh!" Tea said, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Edwin wasn't here when we talked about this!" She turned, gesturing at Yugi and Duke. "After seeing Joey's duel Yugi suggested he and Duke duel and they find a way to show it to people all over, to help get interest to build up in Dice Monsters. You know, get the buzz around it so then someone picks it up?"

Duke nodded. "I came up with doing a stream online... the Creator vs. the King of Games. That will get people super excited no matter who wins."

"And it will be fun to learn a new game."

I raised my eyebrows, impressed. "Well... I'm glad that you guys are able to become friends over this."

"Yeah," Yugi said, bobbing his head. "I was a bit worried when Duke mentioned that he looked up to Pegasus... I was afraid he'd blame me for what happened to him. But Duke was really good about it."

"Pegasus is clearly busy so I know it might take him a bit to get back to me. And with Yugi helping me when he DOES contact me I'll have a stronger hand to bargain with."

'Duh!' I mentally scolded myself. 'Last time Pegasus was able to escape and for a long time people thought he was dead. Because of my Uncle though Pegasus is on a World Apology Tour... so Duke has no reason to hate Yugi at all!'

"Wait a minute," Tristan said, scratching his chin. "What do you need to wait for Pegasus at all?"

Duek smiled at that. "I could try and market the game myself but a lot of the monsters I use are based on ones found in Duel Monsters. If Pegasus says no I'll look into finding an artist to create new monsters for my game but I think it would be a lot better if I was able to use monsters people were familiar with."

Tristan though just shook his head. "That's not what I'm getting at. Why not just get Edwin to produce the game."

"Say what now?" I asked.

"Hey man, Ed might be loaded but you can't just go from him givin' us these gift cards to him bankrollin' a game!" Joey complained.

"That's not what I meant," Tristan snapped back, annoyed. "Industrial Illusions and Kaibacorp merged, right?"

My eyes went wide. "Ooooohh...."

"And Edwin is now the entire Board of Kaibacorp..."

"...fuuuuuuccckkkk..."

"So that makes him the board of directors for Industrial Illusions too!"

"....meeeeeeee," I moaned as what Tristan had figured out crashed right down on me... and Duke judging by the way he was looking at me, utterly starstruck.

"Oh... oh! That's... that's perfect!" He ran up and grabbed my hand and I suddenly understood animals that would gnaw their own foot off to escape a trap. "We have to discuss the game!"

'A day talking about Dungeon... Dice... Monsters,' I thought. 'I should have let Tea's father finish me the fuck off.'

"Hey Duke?" Yugi called out, waving his hand as the teen began to drag me away. "Maybe it would be better to tell Edwin about it after the two of us dueled. Then he would be able to at least understand the game having seen it played?"

"Oh... yeah, that's a great idea!" Duke said with a grin. "You'll be able to see us battle and then we'll spend the rest of the day going over the game and my ideas on how to expand it."

"Oh. Goodie," was my dry response. Luckily Duke didn't detect my... less than joyful desire to spend time trying to learn his confusing game and left us after a few minutes.

"Thank you," I said with a sigh. "Though I get the feeling you only gave me a stay of execution."

"Aw, come on Ed! Duke's game is a blast! I just wish you could have seen my time playin' it!" Joey puffed up his chest and jabbed his thumb at himself.

"Uh huh. You two do realize that I might actually like to do things OTHER than play games, right?"

Joey and Yugi just stared at me.

"Have other hobbies?"

They blinked.

"Something that doesn't involve Duel Monsters? Or a spin off?"

Dead eyed looks.

"...what were you two going to use the gift cards for?"

Yugi brightened at that. "I was going to see about some strategy guides for Duel Monsters. Maybe see if they have some of the finals on DVD I could watch again."

"I need somethin' to hold my cards," Joey said. "And then maybe get some custom dice and coins for when I use my chance cards!"

I gestured at Tea and Tristan, eyes wide and hopeful.

"...hey, I was going to grab some CDs. Maybe a model kit," Tristan stated.

"Tristan you just became my new best friend and I'm buying you the Lego Sesame Street set a reward."

"Yes!" Tristan said, pumping his fist while Joey protested.

~MC~MC~MC~

The gang spent another few hours browsing all parts of the game shop, figuring out what they wanted to spend their gift cards on. Tea decided to limit herself to 50, so that she'd have more to spend later on rather than blow it all at once. That didn't mean though she didn't have fun with everyone going through the store from top to bottom, checking out all it had. And she didn't miss Edwin quietly motioning for the cashier to use his credit card rather than Tea's gift card to make her purchases.

"You didn't have to do that," she said softly while Joey rang up his loot.

"My fault that you're in this situation," he pointed out.

"It' my dad's fault, not yours," Tea said.

"Well it's too late, I already did it and it would be rude to try and return my gift."

"I won't then," Tea said with a smile, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you Edwin."

"Any time." He paused. "And if you or your mom or Yuri need anything-"

"We'll be fine. Mr. Muto already is offering to help and mom, worse case scenario, can just contract grandpa and grandma. She doesn't want to because she's proud but if need be she can reach out to them."

"Good." He paused. "If I find out you are just trying to be brave and put a happy face on things I will not only help you but I'll do it sugary sweet."

"Oh really?" Tea asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm thinking singing telegram!" Edwin said, holding his hands out like a director framing a shot.

"Don't you dare!" Tea exclaimed in mock horror, smacking his shoulder. After a moment she said softly. "Thank you Edwin. I mean it."

"Hey, I'm the Guardian Devil. I have to guard something."

Tea though crinkled her nose at that. "You aren't the Devil... not to me. Or any of us."

"I'm no Angel," he stated. "The Spirit made that clear to all of us."

"Well the Spirit... the Spirit is a ghost in a pyramid so what does he know!" Tea let out a huff and Edwin once more laughed.

"Excuse me?"

The two turned and Edwin let out a yelp as he saw that the one that had approached him was a long lanky clown wearing an old fashion jester's uniform and a 'comedy' drama mask.

"Oh goodie... the reboot of IT," Edwin said with a grumble.

"Mr. Chaos? My employer wishes to see you."

"Huh, wonder what Duke wants," Tea stated.

"Only one way to find out," Edwin said with a shrug before grabbing the receipt he'd gotten paying for Tea's stuff and jotting down a note. "Listen, if you guys have problem with the gift cards here is the pin I used to buy them. Can you get Tristan to take my stuff with him? I'll pick it up later."

Tea frowned as she accepted the receipt. Edwin hadn't used a pin... she had no idea what he was talking about. She almost said something but then caught something in his gaze; his glasses flashed and he pressed his lips together and without even moving his head an inch Tea knew he was shaking his head 'no', warning her not to say a word. So instead she plastered a smile on her face and watched as Edwin and the clown disappeared.

"Hey, where did Ed go?" Joey said, finally coming up with his bags, Tristan and Yugi a few steps behind. Tea looked down at the note Edwin had slipped her. "I wanted ta show him-"

"Where's Duke?" Tea said, cutting him off.

"What?"

"Where's Duke?"

"I don't know," Joey said. "He disappeared-"

Tea grabbed one of the saleswomen that had been walking around the store greeting customers. "Find Duke Devlin and tell him that Yugi Muto and his friends need to use his office, right now!"

"Tea, what's wrong?" Yugi asked.

Tea just wordlessly held out the note for her friends to see.

HE'S KIDNAPPING ME SEND HELP!

~MC~MC~MC~

"You know your plan might have worked had we stayed at the game shop," I pointed out to the clown as we walked along a back alley. We'd been traveling for 20 minutes, the clown urging me to follow and frankly I was getting annoyed. I'd pegged instantly that he was a Rare Hunter, as Arkana's episode was my favorite and I remembered the clown that had tricked Yugi into Arkana's dueling arena. This one was slightly different but close enough for me to wager it was the same one, trying to resemble the mascot of the Black Clown Game Shop this time around.

"Plan?" the clown asked pleasantly with just a touch of edge to his words.

"To kidnap me and take me to your boss," I said coolly. "Pretty obvious what is going on."

"Yet you have followed? A smart man doesn't walk into a trap."

"Unless he's so smart that he's decided to walk right in. But a smart man wouldn't admit that so maybe it is a double bluff. Or a triple." I paused. "I keep using that word. I'm not sure I know what it means."

The clown actually stopped and stared at me, confused.

"...do none of you people watch the classics?" I groused as the clown finally motioned for me to continue on and after a few minutes we arrived at a non-descript warehouse; it was the kind you see in cartoons and tv shows all the time but don't actually exist in real life. He waved at the entrance and I merely smirked and patted his cheek. "Goodnight Wesley, sleep well, I'll probably kill you tomorrow."

If the warehouse was pathetically stereotypical from the outside then its insides sought to even outdo that in trying to create a sense of 'Look at me, I'm nondescript!'. A large open building, hollow for the most part, with only some beams holding up the roof and a few walkways littered around it. I honestly had no idea what they might have once made in there but I could only assume it was plain cardboard boxes or sheets of white paper or other bland and uninteresting things. My toe scuffed at the cement floor; there weren't even any marks for where machines once sat or old rivet holes that had held equipment in place. It was the definition of empty space.

"HELLO BAD GUYS!" I called out, throwing my arms out wide, a cocky grin on my face. "THE DEVIL WILL SEE YOU NOW!"

"The Devil," a voice called out and from the shadows emerged a tall middle eastern man, wearing the dark purple cloaked robe of the Rare Hunters. "You call yourself the Devil? Quite a bit of arrogance there, don't you think?"

"Not at all. For all you know I actually am the Devil. The Morningstar. The brightest of all in Heaven. After all... the greatest trick I ever played was making the world think I didn't exist."

Actually I preferred the alternate version: the greatest trick the Devil played was making people think he existed. To spread terror and fear over a lie, something that wasn't real in the slightest? Oh yes... that was a dark and sinister game that I could appreciate very much.

"You know, I do find it odd you sent the clown to get me."

"We needed someone that could slip into that game shop undetected. The gaudiness of that place... a clown fit so well."

"Oh, this isn't the part where you ramble on about the American pig dogs, is it?" I asked with a roll of my eyes, looking around the warehouse and spotting all the doors I could see. Not just the exit but any that led to different parts of the building. After all, for me a door was a portal to anywhere I wanted. I just needed to get to it in time. "And I was actually referring to the fact that I don't have the best history with clowns. They tend to... die... when around me." I gave a shrug. "But I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm here now so let's hear what you have to say... unless the clown's comment about his master wanting to speak to me was just another trick."

The Rare Hunter merely waved his hand and two more of the number stepped forward, bringing out a long wooden table while a third and fourth were in charge of the chairs. After a few moments they had the setting for a small meeting all read y to go and I, being a polite guest sat down while the Rare Hunter did the same.

"You have a name?" I asked, leaning back in the folding chair. "Because on one hand it would make things easier if you had a name. Then I wouldn't have to keep calling you 'That Robed Guy'. On the other hand if you don't have a name I can just make one up for you. I'm good at naming things." I smirked. "I'm thinking for you... Biggles."

"My name is-"

"Quiet Biggles," I commanded. Two of the Rare Hunters, the ones that had set up the table, took a step towards me but I shot them a sideways stare. "Hey! Your boss wants to talk with me and my jaw being wired shut will prevent that. So back off, Tweedledee and Tweedledum." I paused. "You can fight over who is who."

The two, who I suspected were Lumis and Umbra, growled at that but the leader of this little group waved them off and they stepped back into the shadows. "I am Stephen," the Rare Hunter said.

"...pardon?" I asked.

"Stephen."

"Do... do you spell that with a V of a PH."

"PH."

"Oh thank god," I said, slumping further in my seat, legs stretched out. "I was worried I'd slipped into the abridged series and... well... you have no idea what I am talking about but that's okay, don't worry your pretty little head about it. Now then, champ." I sat up straighter. "What is it you want from me other than for me to shut the hell up? That's what most people want though and it ain't happened yet so good luck with that!"

Stephen smiled at that, holding his hands out in a gesture of 'well, you see'. "Merely your time. My master wishes for me to approach you concerning a... venture... we believe might be beneficial to us all."

"Shoot," I said, having a feeling I knew exactly what Marik was interested in.

"You almost became the King of Games. One turn would have seen you won. And considering the match you gave Yugi Muto I doubt that you would have lost to the likes of Pegasus. He might be the inventor of Duel Monsters but he is not the champion of it." Stephen paused. "And, in fact... he truly isn't the creator either."

"He's pretty open about getting inspiration from his visits to the tombs of Egypt."

"Inspiration... ripping off... complete theft. So many words for it, I suppose." Stephen smiled at me, all pleasant words but no warmth of kindness. "Duel Monsters, as you know it, was actually created in Ancient Egypt. It was the game of Kings and Rulers. Of the highest born. In fact... it is a game that belongs to my employer. His ancestors were the creators of it."

'I doubt that,' I thought to myself. 'The tomb keepers were servants... they weren't the priests of Atem. And even then... Duel Monsters was no game to them. It was a weapon of war. Of violence. The show tried to make it out as some ancient entertainment but it wasn't even a gladiator fight. It was done for power and strength and dominance. And either Marik knows that and is trying to hide the truth from me... or he's a fool and the tomb keepers no longer know their own history.'

I didn't say that to Stephen though. Why tip the Rare Hunter off that I knew far more than he realized, after all?

"Duel Monsters is in his blood... and it is his right to reclaim what was taken from him and his ancestors."

"Neat," I said with a shrug. "Failing to see where I come in seeing as my ass is English and German. Its in my blood to conquer and making Downton Abbey." I paused. "And Dutch. Also Dutch. They didn't make Downton Abbey."

"My master is not a bigot, unwilling to work with others. All that seek power and vengeance find in him an ally. He is seeking the aid of others to aid him in his quest... and in exchange he will grant you all you wish."

"Really?" I asked, bemused. "So what is it he wants to give me?" I shrugged casually. "I mean, seeing as he knows so much about me he must know what I desire."

"He does. Power. It is clear how you manipulated Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus that it is power you seek. The power to alter your life. You are a titan of industry now and as wealthy as the pharaohs of old. But you lack a title. He is will to grant you it. If you join us he will see you become the King of Games."

I let out a short sharp whistle. "Well, that... is impressive. Just a little problem there Biggles." I poked the table with my index finger. "He can't just hand out the title to whoever he wants. He doesn't have the power or the right. The King of Games is Yugi Muto and only by defeating him could one claim the title for their own."

"And defeating Yugi is exactly what my master desires. Your goals are one and the same."

"Yeeaaaaah," I said slowly, drawing out the world. "Just a tiny issue with that. See... I'm not interested in defeating Yugi." I flashed an innocent look at the Rare Hunter. "I know, I know... everyone in the world seems interested in taking out Yugi after he's beaten them. Pegasus, Weevil, the pedophile that thought he'd finally found a baby he could diddle." I paused. "That was a short joke."

"I got it," Stephen said dryly though I could hear either Lumis or Umbra snickering at my insult. "The title of King of Games-"

"Is made up. It isn't real." I scoffed. "I mean... come on guys. King of Games because he won a single card game. Not King of Duel Monsters, mind you... all games. I wasn't aware he'd beaten Deep Blue and was a Chess Champion! Or Ken Jennings to be Jeopardy longest reigning champ! Or my dad when it comes to that Yodeler Guy on The Price Is Right... he has a whole system, works every time."

"Mr. Chaos-"

"Okay, fine. His method is $25, $35, $45. There, now you too can be the King of the Yodeler Guy Game!"

"Would you take this seriously?" Stephen snapped in frustration.

I just stared at them before letting out a guff. "Did... did you guys research me. Like... at all?" I looked at the five. "I'm Edwin Chaos. I'm never seriously until I need to be." I adjusted my glasses and knew the lenses were flashing in the low florescent lights of the warehouse. "And if I need to be serious... that isn't a safe place for any of you to be standing. Ask the clowns that have died mysteriously while around me."

"We are offering you much."

"A pretty purple robe and kissing your master's feet? My name isn't Lucius Malfoy so go tell Voldemort to piss off." I leaned forward, now growing annoyed. "Or, since I can only assume he is watching everything through your eyes... how about you come on out so I can say it directly to you... Marik."

The change in Stephen was instant. His eyes glazed over, his face grew slack, and his body went rigid before he began to speak in a distorted voice. "So you know of me."

"I did my research... unlike you. Had you looked into me you'd have realize that you'd never get me to join your fuckbois."

"What I offer is beyond what mortals can dream of. The greatest desires that many would call mere fantasies are easily granted by my hand."

"This mortal can dream rather big," I said with a smirk. "I dare say I can dream larger than you, darling." I made a kissy face at Stephen, causing Marik to clearly startle at how mocking and condescending I was being. "Biggles here already told me what you were trying to pay me with. A meaningless title that only children care about. Ooooooo." I wiggled my fingers. "Of course, considering how much YOU clearly think the title of 'King of Games' is worth... I wonder how much of a monkey's paw this offer truly is. Let me guess... I'll be King of Games for about 3 minutes then you'll come with a rigged duel and force me to give it up? Hmmm? Hmmm?" I shook my head. "If I want the title... I'll take it for myself."

"I am talking-" Marik began, trying to command me with sheer force of will.

"And I'm not listening!" I snapped, now truly done with Marik. And it had only been a minute of him and his distorted voice so that was rather sad and pathetic; a real statement on his lack of 'force of will'. "There is NOTHING you can offer me to get me to sign up to join you. Wealth? I'm richer than you, Marik. Power? I have minority control in KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions and I'm willing to bet I'm my uncle's heir so Chaos Communications is mine as well. Women?" I began to laugh and looked over at Lumis and Umbra. "Look up Mai Valentine. We're dating."

"Nice," the taller one said only for the shorter one to elbow him, getting him to quiet down.

"Now, while you just picked me out because you assumed I would be so weak willed that I'd accept whatever you were shoveling without complaint just for a chance to duel Yugi again... who I was fuc-king hanging out with an hour ago... I actually found out a lot about you."

"You know nothing about me," Marik told me. "Nor of my goals."

"I know a lot. Marik Ishtar. Sister is Ishizu. Brother is Odion. Former tomb keeper until you decided to rebel and created the Rare Hunters, a criminal organization who uses bribery, blackmail, and counterfeiting in order to gain power. Tell me, what deck made up of fake cards were you going to offer me if I agreed to be your minion?" While Stephen didn't so much as twitch from the way Marik was hissing I knew he was getting very upset at me laying out all his plots and plans. "I also know about three particular cards. Pegasus was very nice to inform me of them during duelist kingdom. A soldier of stone, a dragon of the sky, and a chicken. I know you hold two. Your sister one. But neither of you will have them for long."

"I am the master of the God Cards," Marik snarled.

"You're burglar who made his name through theft and falsehoods. You've sold your Rare Hunters on tales of a New World Order that will never come to pass. You dream of defeating the Pharaoh... a long dead man who doesn't even know you exist and didn't awaken in our world again until long after all the pain you suffered happened. You're angry... I get that. But you can't rage at people that had nothing to do with your sorrow."

"You know nothing of what I will do." He was still trying to push this, that he was the innocent party when he was literally forcing a man to be his slave.

"You're a liar... and a thief."

"Shut your mouth."

I let the next words roll of my tongue, a vindictive purr. "Murderer."

I could tell I had hit a cord there.

"Oh yes... I know the lie you tell everyone... even yourself."

"Quiet."

"Your father wasn't killed by the Pharaoh," I said, standing up and leaning over the table.

"I said be quiet."

"YOU killed him."

Marik let out a roar and Stephen grabbed the table, flipping it over and advancing on me. "Seize him! Break his bones if you have to! Then bring him to me my servants! I will dig the secrets out of his head."

'Me and my fucking big mouth!' I groaned, realizing that I had just taunted Yugioh's version of a mob boss. I looked towards the closest door and went into a dead run only for one of the Rare Hunters who I hadn't pegged yet, possibly not one featured on the show at all, tackled me hard.

And that's when my phone began playing a song and I knew I was screwed. Because this wasn't a 'Oh, he's rallying and kicking ass!' song or a 'Here comes the great escape!' song.

It was 'here is a melancholy tune to hear as Edwin gets his ass kicked' song.

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No, I won't be afraid

Oh, I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

The blows came hard and fast once the Rare Hunters realized I was actually down. I curled in on myself as they kicked and clawed at me, trying to get me to stretch out so they could more easily knock me out, do some damage, and drag me to Marik where he most likely hoped to just use the Millennium Rod on me or cast me into the Shadow Realm. In a detached part of my brain, the part that currently wasn't registering pain as boots were slammed into my lower back, I was utterly thankful I'd not only locked my brain down with the Millennium Key but also done the same thing to my chest, locking my soul in place to keep it from being ripped out again. One time with Bakura sending us into the cards was enough for me.

Of course that meant my soul was stuck in a body currently getting tag teamed by five guys who were eager to prove they were the best at dishing out agony.

So darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

Stand by me

I could feel the Millennium Key within me calling to be let out. That it could help me. The problem with that wasn't my fears of using it. Yes, dark magic always came with a price and ripping a hole into the Shadow Realm and unleashing who knows what... that would come with a mighty big price tag, I was sure of it. But the problem was that using the Millennium Items was all instinctual or based on belief. You either had to trigger a power by accident or believe that an item could do something. Yugi commonly did the first, I did the second. But I had no idea what the Key could do in this situation to help and I couldn't get a moment to focus in order TO do something.

I was too busy crying out and struggling not to bite through my own tongue as Marik's thugs laid into me.

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall

Or the mountain should crumble to the sea

I won't cry, I won't cry

No, I won't shed a tear

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

"Enough!" someone called out and the blows stopped for a moment, allowing me to catch my breath. But if they thought I was going to just uncurl and let them have at my softer bits they were sadly mistaken. And I was sadly mistaken thinking they actually thought that as it was clear that Marik, still in control of Stephen, had enough sense to realize when a plan wasn't working and alter things.

Hands with iron grips grabbed onto my wrists and ankles and began to tug.

And darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

Stand by me

I fought to stay curled up, thrashing a bit as they pulled and yanked, but with the four of them each taking a limb I soon found myself pulled into an X hold with Stephen himself, face utterly blank and eyes still glazed over, staring down at me.

"You should have taken my offer, Edwin," Marik told me. "Had you accepted this could have been a lot less painful for you. And I would have been kind and allowed you to keep your mind, had you merely served me willingly." Stephen raised his foot up. "But now I will rip your mind into pieces and reassemble it into the weapon to defeat the Pharaoh-"

And that's when a new player broke into the warehouse.

"Get away from him," a heavily accented voice called out.

"Re... Renard?" I murmured, my head turning to stare at Renard Volpe, the former Eliminator. His coat flared out behind him and the man stared down my attackers... then cracked his knuckles.

Renard charged forward.

And darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand

Stand by me

Stand by me

The two nameless Rare Hunters let go of my arms, moving to intercept the professional duelist, only for the self proclaimed swashbuckler to level them both with a twin clothsline. I wasn't idle either, though, choosing that moment to grab onto Stephen's ankle and yank hard, tripping up Marik's current puppet and causing him to topple to the ground before grabbing onto his skull and slamming him facedown into the concrete, feeling his nose shatter.

Whenever you're in trouble

Won't you stand by me?

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

Renard quickly showed that he wasn't merely someone that knew his way around a deck. He a daredevil and a fighter and he proved it. Lumis and Umbra, startled by Stephen falling and the other two Rare hunters getting stiff arms to their throats, let go of my legs and moved to attack Renard only for the former Eliminator to throw the shorter one over his shoulder before doubling over the larger one with a solid haymaker right to his stomach. He crumpled and Renard smirked before suddenly spinning around and giving Shorty a kick to the side of his head, toppling him to. By that point Stephen had gotten to his feet, clutching his bleeding nose, but Renard grabbed his head and slammed it down into his kneecap, sending him one more to the floor.

And darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

"Come on!" he roared, pulling me up. I winced and hissed in pain but forced myself to move, Renard wrapping my arm around his neck and helping me make my towards a door.

"Hold on," I groaned, focusing. "Just trust me... getting us the hell out of here." I tapped into the power of the Key and touched the door before Renard pulled us both through.

Whenever you're in trouble

Won't you stand by me?

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

Stand by me

~MC~MC~MC~

A few hours later Edwin sat in his living room, a heating pad on his back and several bags of ice littering his bruised body. Luckily nothing had been broken during that little rumble and all he had to deal with was ache, pains, and splotch marks on his skin. All that would go away soon enough... sooner, in fact because the anime never let injuries linger unless you were Solomon Muto.

Renard was puttering around the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich, much to Edwin's amusement though he didn't really know why. It just seemed so odd yet also made a lot of sense. He was hungry, why not get a snack? Yet it also seemed so odd that Renard had suddenly appeared, seemingly out of no where, saved him from the Rare Hunters... and now was making a BLT.

"So," Edwin finally said, shifting to look over the couch towards the kitchen only to grimace in pain at the way his muscles protested that move, "what brings you back to Domino? Or have you ever been to Domino and this is your first time?" He paused, wiggling his jaw. "What did you give me as a pain reliever? Think its making me ramble."

"No, I think that is merely how you always are," Renard teased.

"Fair enough."

"And yes, I have been to Domino many times. For business, for pleasure, for boredom and excitement."

"And this time?" Edwin asked as Renard walked over and sat down on in an easy chair, setting his sandwich and a class of milk on the coffee table.

"Business. Your uncle contacted me. He remembered what I had done for Mokuba, how I helped you get the boy off of Pegasus' Island. He was impressed by that and the other work I have done. Both in the dueling and in the... other matters."

"Do I want to know what those other matters were?"

"Most likely not," Renard said with a smile before taking a bite of his sandwich. "Mmm... very good." He took another bite before continuing. "You have not had an easy time of it since we last saw each other, my friend."

"Stabbed, kidnapped... all good." Edwin went silent for a moment. "Damn, I need to call Tea and let her know I'm okay."

"Already done. I handled it." When Edwin looked at Renard in confusion the former Eliminator shrugged. "She contacted your uncle and he contacted me."

"You're the bodyguard he hired."

"I am. My duty is protect you, to ensure that you are safe. I see you will make this task very interesting."

"I'm sure my uncle is paying you quite a bit to put up with my annoying behind."

"I would have done it for free." He leaned back in his chair, a smile forming on his lips. "Do you remember what we talked about back on Duelist Kingdom? Our dreams?"

Edwin nodded. "Haven't quite reached the point where I can make clear to the immortals that I brought more good to the world than they ever did... but I'm getting there."

Renard smiled at that. "Mine has always been to find my crew. Those I would die for... for I know they would die for me. And thus we would all live. I saw what you did for Mokuba Kaiba... how you sacrificed wealth and fame to ensure that a boy was made safe. How you trusted me with that dream and as a result we brought good into this world." He let out a pleased little huff, setting down his sandwich. "I have thought long on this and the answer is now clear."

And with that Renard pulled himself from his chair and dropped to one knee, head bowed.

"You... are the captain I have long searched for."

"...no."

Renard looked at him, disappointment flashing through him only to see Edwin had stood up and was now holding out his hand.

"If we're going to work together... if I'm to be your captain? There is a rule: we are equal. You don't kneel to me. The world kneels to us."

With a smile Renard thrust his hand up, taking Edwin's in his own and sealing with a handshake what was destined to be a life long bond of friendship.

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