"So, what's the current status?" Otogi put his bag down on the bed. The hotel room was large enough to house all three of them: Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi who had just arrived after his hours-long space travel from Altana to Ibistapola. He felt slightly queasy, as always after a space flight; Otogi's stomach reacted funny to both the launch and landing. Nonetheless, he had ordered a light dinner from room service as it had been a while since he had eaten, and his teammates had taken the opportunity to order food as well.
"The whole gang is present on the October," Honda said. "Both Maliks, both Bakura, the Pharaoh and Yuugi, the one Jounouchi calls the 'innocent guy'." The disbelieving tone in his voice made his thoughts clear on that.
Otogi nodded. "Did you manage to make contact?"
"Unfortunately not. A couple of days ago, I send him a holomessage to ask him to meet up for burgers again," Jounouchi elaborated. "I couldn't visit the October myself of course, out of fear of running into the Pharaoh. I used a regular delivery service; anything more personal would've raised questions."
"Now you don't have any contact with him at all," Otogi concluded.
"Yuugi hasn't left the ship ever since we first met up," Jounouchi confirmed. "The message was accepted by Ryou Bakura, but who knows what happened after he took it inside the ship? If he gave the message to the Pharaoh, then I'm sure it has never reached Yuugi."
"It seems that contact with Yuugi Mutou is out of the question at the moment," Otogi said. "What about Ryou? He's still a KaibaCorp. employee. He has to be worried about his position, as he's unable to contact anyone. He went along with the group, but was it willingly? It's hard to say no when you're caught between such extreme forces."
Jounouchi was relieved. He'd thought earlier that the rest of his team was convinced he exaggerated when talking about the group at the October, but Honda and Otogi had finally come to realize that these people weren't exactly normal, and that tremendous powers were involved.
"Ryou is with Marik all the time," Jounouchi said. "I don't want to risk anyone of us getting hurt trying to approach him." Honda grunted. His broken arm was a testament to the violence Marik was capable of.
"Leaves us Malik Ishtar," Otogi continued.
"He barely leaves the ship. I spotted him with Bakura a few times. He's agitated all the time."
"Everything indicates that they're preparing for something," Honda said while Otogi booted up his laptop. "We observed deliveries every day: food and fresh water, and the amount of battery packs, proton cubes and general electronics is daunting. If it weren't for the engines needing so many repairs, they would've left already."
"I have no idea where they would be going to," Jounouchi said. "We have no authority on this planet, so we can't access their flight plans. Ibistapola is tag-free, rule-free and Kaiba-free. Man, I wish I could stow away on that ship."
"Maybe that's an option?" Honda asked. Otogi immediately shook his head.
"I doubt it. The ship's more than probably equipped with detection devices and if Jounouchi is discovered, there's no telling what they could do to him. I wouldn't risk it. I think I've got a strong hunch as to where they'll be going next."
"You do? Tell us!"
Otogi turned the laptop around to show them an overview of the docking ports at Vertregg 12. "The Pharaoh's LAV is still registered and docked there."
"What, you assume they're going to pick up his ship?" Honda said. "What if…"
"Let me finish," Otogi cut him off. "He went to Vertregg 12 to search for Yuugi Mutou, right? Yuugi is the owner of a Game Shop. Vertregg 12 is the host planet for illegal Duel Monsters tournaments."
"I don't get it," Jounouchi said. Otogi's fingers tapped on the keyboard to recall the footage of Yllsen Volta V. Both Honda and Jounouchi cringed when they saw the October, engulfed in flames, created by the weird gryphon-bird-beast that enveloped the ship, responsible for destroying the research facility and the entire planet.
"Do I have to remind you of the Sun of God Dragon, Ra?" Otogi said sternly. "I have studied Ryou's notes meticulously back at Altana. I've constructed a theory… it's quite astounding and farfetched, but just hear me out, okay? As you know, Duel Monsters was a very popular card game back on Earth, when it still existed in the galaxy. I've told you about the God Cards, the most powerful cards in the game, nowadays on display at the Expanding Galaxies Contemporary Museum: Ra, Osiris, and Obelisk."
"The Museum displays the original cards?" Honda asked.
"No, holographic duplicates. No one knows where the original cards are. It's assumed they were lost after Earth exploded. When you're busy rebuilding society and adjusting to life in space, a card game doesn't take much priority. However, people started to wonder why Earth exploded in the first place. My theory is, that the God Cards are responsible."
Honda and Jounouchi chuckled. "Yeah, right!"
"I told you, my theory is quite astounding and farfetched…" Otogi was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Honda went with his good hand to his concealed laser gun.
"Room service!" A cheerful voice announced. Jounouchi got up and opened the door. A young man pushed a large food trolley inside the room. "Eat up, gentlemen!" Jounouchi gave him a tip and the server left again, thanking him profusely. Out of habit, they checked the trolley for bugs or any other equipment, but didn't find any. Jounouchi passed the large plates around. Otogi had ordered a light dinner, soup with a sandwich, but the others had chosen for steaks and fries.
"About my theory," Otogi continued as he blew on a spoonful of hot soup, "I did some digging around. The Expanding Galaxies Contemporary Museum is really fascinating, I can see why Ryou Bakura likes it so much. There's a lot of information, even more than most people realize."
"So?" Jounouchi asked, cutting into his steak.
"Duel Monsters started out as a board game, based on an actual Ancient Egypt game. As technology improved, so did the game; it was the first game in the world to be played with holographic technology, called Solid Vision."
"Solid Vision," Honda repeated. "What did it do?"
"It brought the game to life, literally," Otogi said. "The Monsters called forward took shape and form, and acted on the battlefield according to their masters', the players', wishes. It was trailblazing, futuristic technology at that time. And guess what - it was developed by KaibaCorp., under supervision of Gozaburo Kaiba."
"Gozaburo was a warmonger," Jounouchi said. "Why would he develop such technology?"
"Originally, Solid Vision was intended to train soldiers," Otogi explained. "It acted as a virtual reality system to mimic combat situations without real casualties, and the software would simulate war or terrorist attacks as an addition to combat training in the field. I couldn't discover why Gozaburo allowed Solid Vision to be used for Duel Monsters, but the system had one, big flaw."
Jounouchi and Honda forgot to eat their dinner. "What, what?"
"It ran on the electricity network," Otogi said. "Common, run-of-the-mill electricity. So when the God Cards came into play, they overloaded the network, setting off a chain reaction."
"I don't get it," Honda said. "Even if the network fails… there's always something like a back-up network or battery-powered generators."
Otogi lowered his voice to an ominous, menacing tone. "I'm talking about the God Cards, not the ordinary Duel Monsters cards. Solid Vision couldn't handle it when they were summoned, thus overloading the network - and everything else. Imagine a…tsunami of power blowing everything electrical out of the water, pardon my bad puns - no more power to sustain any system or network, including the back-up networks."
"A global black-out," Jounouchi said. "But even if the planet's without electricity, that doesn't mean… it would blow up, wouldn't it?"
"Hence my outrageous theory," Otogi said. "I believe that, once a God was summoned in the game, it overloaded all and everything; like I said, setting off a chain reaction. Think about military systems, for example. An entire country engulfed in the dark, no more electricity."
"They might think they're under attack," Honda said. It started to dawn to him. "And they react with a counterattack."
"Gozaburo Kaiba was neck-deep into warfare," Otogi said. "His Solid Vision failed… the same Solid Vision that was used as a war simulator."
"Jesus fuck," Jounouchi said. "With the electricity going out, the system thought it was under attack… and launched all of Gozaburo's warfare."
"Missiles. Nuclear warheads. Everything."
Honda stared blankly in front of him. "There would be a response," he said.
"A nuclear response," Otogi said. "Mankind wiped each other out due to a global black-out, reacting in panic… all because a God Card came into play."
"That's hard to believe…" Jounouchi's voice died down. Nobody reminded him - or each other - of the Sun of God Dragon they had seen themselves, in all its blazing glory.
"He summoned Ra without Solid Vision being into play," Honda said, voicing everyone's thoughts. "How could he summon a God? What did he do, pull it out of his pants pockets and just called it into existence?"
"The Pharaoh was seen as the representative of the Gods on Earth," Otogi explained. "Son of the Gods, remember? I believe that all six of them are connected to the God Cards. One for each duo. Let's assume that Ra belongs to the Pharaoh and Yuugi, Osiris to the Ishtars and Obelisk to the Bakura. They're preparing to play the game once more, involving the God Cards, on Vertregg 12, the home of the illegal tournaments… who facilitate dueling arenas with the outdated Solid Vision system."
"Farfetched perhaps, but your theory holds merit," Jounouchi said. His dinner had gone cold. "But there are so many questions left. What do they gain from playing the game? Why Duel Monsters? And who was playing the game and summoned the God that Solid Vision couldn't handle?"
"We know by now that they're people with unlimited powers, older than mankind itself," Otogi said dryly. "We might know who they are, but their names mean nothing. We don't know what they are. And we also know that at least one of them is able to summon a God into existence, without the help of technology. If he's going to repeat that feat in the next game, then…" he took a deep breath. "…then Vertregg 12 is fucked. Just as fucked as Earth was."
"This is really nice, Malik-kun," Yuugi said. He was on his second helping, realizing that he hadn't eaten properly in quite a while. These last few days had been so exciting and yet so strange!
"You want some more?" Malik lifted up the pan. Yuugi held his bowl close, so Malik could pour the soup without spilling. There was nothing cozy or homely about the October's kitchen, but the fragrances of the spicy lentil soup and fresh baked bread added at least a bit of warmth to the atmosphere. Yuugi thanked Malik after filling up the bowl and fidgeted a little.
"I'm sorry I haven't been around much, Malik-kun, Ryou-kun," he said. "I haven't been really social."
"You got pretty much consumed by Atemu-san," Ryou said, subconsciously still using the honorific he had adopted for the Pharaoh back on Vertregg 12. "As we all know."
Yuugi blushed and busied himself with his soup and a slice of bread. "I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I… this is all very new to me. Malik-kun, at least you know what's going on..?"
"No, I don't," he said bitterly. "Marik doesn't tell me much, and the answers Bakura gives me only raises more questions. He knows a lot but he won't share, unless there's a profit for him to be gained. He isn't the Thief King for nothing."
"Thief…King…?" Yuugi put a small dab of - real - butter on the slice of bread. As the bread was still warm, the butter melted a little; a delicious treat, as such small luxuries weren't available on his home planet. "I haven't talked to Bakura-san myself…"
"Just stay out of his way, he's a major asshole," Malik said. "No offense, Ryou."
"None taken. I don't like him very much myself. Every time I see him, it's like I'm looking into a mirror and see a twisted, evil version of myself."
"A dark half," Malik said. "The same goes for me and Marik." They both looked at Yuugi, who was happily eating another spoonful of soup. He noticed their intense gazing and smiled in return.
"What? A dark half? No, Atemu-kun isn't dark. He's really kind and loving."
"Really? By the way," Malik said, "did you receive that message?"
"Message?"
"Two days ago, a holomessage was delivered for you. I wanted to give it to you in person, but the Pharaoh took it. He said that you were resting."
"Oh! What an unfortunate misunderstanding," Yuugi said. "I'll ask him as soon as I see him." He ate another spoonful of soup.
"Yuugi, aren't you in the least bit curious?" Ryou asked. "It could be a message from Anzu!"
"Huh?"
"Anzu, your fiancée? The girl you're in love with?"
Yuugi scratched the back of his head. "Ah, Anzu! It could be a thank you note for the package I send her."
"It's of no use." Malik shook his head. "The Pharaoh has sunk in his claws deep, very deep."
"Don't be silly, Malik-kun," Yuugi said. "I know who Anzu is! I love her! Besides, I'll see her soon again!"
"You will?" Ryou had used a slice of bread to clean his bowl and munched on the thick crust. He was unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. "How come?"
"We're going back to Vertregg 12! You didn't know? Atemu-kun said so! He has to take care of some business there."
Malik paled. "Holy fuck."
"What's wrong?"
"It's going to happen sooner than I thought," he said. "Ishizu… my sister always said that when the six of us were… together, something big would happen. She'd foreseen some kind of fight…"
"A fight?" Yuugi was shocked. "I hate fighting!"
"Vertregg 12 is going to be the center of a battle of the Gods," Malik said. "And the Pharaoh has the first draw… he's going to call for Ra and burn us all alive!"
"Malik?" Ryou felt like he had to throw up, and he dropped the last of the bread. "What are you talking about?"
"You know Duel Monsters, right?"
"Yes, and it's illegal," Yuugi answered.
"You own a Game Shop, you-"
"I've never sold a Duel Monsters card in my life!" Yuugi protested. "I didn't even know my grandfather owned a deck, until recently! It's an illegal game, so I steer clear of it. I own an honest shop! I pass every control flawlessly!"
"I was going to say "you should know", but you probably hear that all the time," Malik said. "Duel Monsters is a watered down version of the games the Pharaohs used to play in their time. Sinister, dark games. Shadow games. The same shadows that envelop Marik and Bakura. Something went terribly, horribly wrong back then, and it's going to happen again if we don't stop them!"
"Stop them, but how?" Yuugi was stupefied. "How can a game cause this much grief and pain?"
"Because there are powers involved that are far above and beyond human's belief," Ryou said. "Marik has survived for so long due to his constant anger and hatred. Bakura has survived for so long due to his hatred and need for vengeance. And your Pharaoh, Yuugi, has survived for even longer because of his cunning manipulation."
"Atemu-kun isn't like that!" Yuugi lowered his eyes, saddened. "Why do you keep talking so badly about him?"
"Because he is bad," another voice spoke up, startling all three of them. Bakura stood in the door opening. "Ironically enough, he didn't start out like that. I've known him as a truly benevolent and righteous Pharaoh, but he had one, big weakness."
"Bakura-san," Yuugi said, voice meek. His stomach tied itself into knots. He shouldn't have had that second bowl.
"Games," Bakura said. "Your Pharaoh loved and loves games. He always won. He was so good, that he could play games quicker and better than the ones who invented them, and memorize and adapt the rules just after one round of explanation."
"I love games too," Yuugi said.
"You wouldn't put the entire world at stake, would you?" Bakura laughed without humor. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but your beloved Pharaoh was the one responsible for Earth going out with a bang. He won - by losing Earth."
"That's… not good," Ryou said.
"I don't believe it!" Yuugi stood up. "You're wrong! You're making this up!"
"We're leaving for Vertregg 12 as soon as Marik has finished the repairs," Bakura continued, not disturbed by Yuugi's outburst. "Do you really think your Pharaoh's going to take you home and everything will still be the same?"
"You don't know anything about him!"
"I know everything about him," Bakura said. "I robbed his tomb, which was… mighty interesting."
"Bakura, stop," Ryou said.
"What's the matter? You can't deal with the truth? You all knew that this day was coming. It took some time to figure it out, but-"
"Why!" Malik barked at him. "Why us? Why now? Why?"
"I don't know why now," Bakura gave back. "Call it destiny, fate, or just utter bull. Whatever it is, it has brought us together: two, four, six people. Do you think you're the first Yuugi? Or the first Ryou? Or the first Malik, perhaps?"
"What? You're talking nonsense," Malik said. He hadn't even heard or thought about that before.
"Just think about it. We're from ancient times, and we need you to survive. You're not much older than seventeen, eighteen. Who sustained us before? There have been Yuugis, Maliks and Ryous before. Not all of them made it. That's why this is so important. We're together, all six of us, and shit is going down, lead by our exalted Pharaoh, who created this mess in the first place."
Yuugi wanted to open his mouth, but decided against it the last second.
"You wanted to defend him again, didn't you?" Bakura didn't sound sarcastic. He eyed Ryou. "And you would defend me, and Malik would defend Marik, if anyone were to badmouth us. I heard your cries on Yllsen Volta V. You were scared out of your minds; not because the whole thing was going down, but because you were afraid we weren't going to make it."
He was met with silence. "I can't make it any uglier than it is," Bakura said. "Even we dark halves don't know what's really going to happen, after everything's said and done. It's been so long since all three of us had Others who were able to withstand the onslaught."
"Onslaught?" Yuugi looked sick.
"No one likes to be trifled with," Bakura said. "And nobody likes to be fucked with. And we fucked each other over hard and good the last time we met, so I think it's going to be a big and awesome party, and everyone's invited!" He cackled loudly and left the pantry, leaving everyone to his own thoughts.
Kaiba didn't want to be recognized, so he used an exceptionally strong alterfactor to change his appearance artificially. It gave him an exceptional feeling of freedom; nobody looked at him twice, nobody paid attention to him, nobody saw him as the CEO of this galaxy's conglomerate corporation. He was now a nameless customer, a faceless client, an average nobody on a planet that had elevated bureaucracy to a way of life. Vertregg 12 had been one of the first artificial planets created by Gozaburo Kaiba and it still showed its ancient roots; ancient compared to the current state of technology. Kaiba snorted. The planet had dealt with the first evacuees from Earth, being denied a place on Altana, and to keep everything under control, the government had adopted a rigorous and strict routine of paperwork, which still was effective today. He appreciated the delicious irony of Vertregg 12's complicated and convoluted registration of everything imaginable, with the planet being the central host of extremely illegal Duel Monsters tournaments. It had taken him less than a day to locate a dueling arena and he had participated in one of these tournaments. He didn't need to bring out his Blue Eyes White Dragons - it would attract too much attention, and he wanted to save his dragons' strength for the inevitable, grand finale. If Ishizu Ishtar had been right… he didn't like to admit it, but he believed her. She hadn't lied to him before, she had nothing to gain by telling him lies. Her words about 'the past' were ludicrous of course, preposterous, but the idea of him fighting the Pharaoh was nothing but exciting.
A tall man walked behind him, casually looking around. Kaiba had taken his faithful bodyguard, Isono, with him. Isono had been with the Kaibas for years and completely loyal and devoted to the two brothers. Mokuba hadn't been pleased when he found out that Kaiba had left, as they were rarely ever apart. He would make it up to him later. Now, he was fascinated by the tournament and the technology. Kaiba had immediately recognized Solid Vision, the holographic technology his adoptive father had developed. The system had been high-tech back in the days it was developed, and it was amazing to see it still being used. Just imagine what Duel Monsters could be like, running on KaibaCorp.'s technology! If it wasn't for the stigma on the game itself, he could capitalize on it for millions' worth. He observed the players, but it became obvious pretty soon that they were nowhere near his level. He grew tired of their amateurism. For the interest of the game, he hoped that the Pharaoh and the others would make their way over soon. He couldn't wait to test his skills, and he had plenty of surprises prepared as soon as they would arrive.
Chapter 27 | Chapter 29 |