By Nyassa Kaiba (aka Nyassa Kai's Clone)
Notes: Things REALLY start to move along in this chapter.
Chapter 3It was time! After a week of furious preparations Duelists from all over the world met in Domino City, at the piers, to ride the boat to Duelist's Kingdom. For Yugi, Joey, Seto, Mokuba, Mai, Keith, Rex, Weevil, Maeko and Bones it was simply a matter of seeing familiar faces and following familiar routines. But for Tea, Tristan, Ryuuji, Bakura, Serenity, Ishizu and Marik it was their first time at a Duelist's Kingdom Tournament. And for some of them it was their first Tournament, period.
"Okay, remember Fera's song…" Tea said nervously. "I won't give up, I won't back down, I'm not gonna panic. I will not run. I'll stand and fight…"
"I didn't hear that one." Yugi said, interested. "Is that one about me?"
"Whoops!" Tea smacked a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, that one was supposed to be a surprise. Element Wheel is going to do a concert at Duelists Kingdom and they were going to sing that. They're going to sing Blue Eyes Lullaby too." Tea grinned.
"Oh, you mean that song about the Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Serenity asked. " Yugi's grandpa sang that one for me. It was pretty."
"That's it, sing and you won't be nervous." Mai said knowingly. "It helps if you have something to focus on. If you're thinking about anything but the tournament it will help keep you from being nervous."
"Thanks. I'll try that." Tea hummed the melody for the Panik song under her breath. Duelists crowded the pier. Tea saw quite a few familiar faces. Even Espa Roba was in on it this time. He was sitting on a pile of ropes, making a great show of meditating. His brothers were adding last minute additions to his back pack and camping gear. Maeko was polishing his spear. Bandit Keith was deftly tying on his bandana. Tea saw other familiar faces dawning their 'battle gear.'
Suddenly, from deep within the ship a gong sounded. Three shadows appeared within the ship. As they exited and the gong died away, Tea saw that these three figures weren't just any people! They looked like Duel Monsters! Only they weren't.
The first of them was a boy dressed as a Dark Magician. He HAD to be six feet tall and his skin black. His hair, instead of the dark magician's usual soft purple, was reddish brown and tied back in cornrows. His hat slipped back slightly, and Tea saw his intense green eyes.
In the middle was a silver fang. But closer inspection proved that the silver fang was really a person with a wolf's cloak tied around their shoulders. Under the cloak, the cosplayer wore a black leotard. The Silver Fang cloak draped over his shoulders and covered the upper half of his face. He walked hunched over, moving his arms as well as his legs. As a dancer, Tea had to admire the ingeniousness of his deception. The cosplayer was moving with incredible grace and dignity.
On the right most side of the deck, stood a Dark Magician Girl. Like the Dark Magician with her, she had reddish brown hair in cornrows and intense green eyes. The blush marks had been lovingly painted on her cheeks. Her staff slipped slightly in her hand, as Tea saw her shift her grip slightly as she walked.
Incredible! Tea heard Yugi gasp slightly as they appeared. "Cosplayers." Tea whispered.
"You'd almost think they were the real thing!" Yugi hissed back.
Behind them came… "Is that her?" Joey whispered.
"Oh that's her alright." Maeko hissed back. "Natari Pegasus. She's taken over Industrial Illusions. First thing she did was throw away all of Pegasus's Funny Bunny comic books!"
Joey snorted back his laughter. "I'll bet the big guy didn't like that."
"He didn't but he lost his memory." Maeko shook his head, testing the end of his harpoon. "Perfect, all set."
"Duelists, and dignified guests. I am proud to welcome you to Duelist's Kingdom." The shy, silver haired girl with a holographic eye was gone now. Here before them was a passionate speaker, strong, confident. She stood straight and tall, proud of what she was a glad to show it. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid, displaying the Reflection Eye, her power, for all to see.
"I see many new faces among the crowd, as well as old hands. I expect that this year, everybody new and old alike, will duel with honor and respect. Cheating will be dealt with harshly, with up to the loss of all starchips as punishment. New quarters have been constructed for the finals. Steps have been taken to assure your safety as well as a fun time. This year, you will not be forced to leave the island if you lose all of your Starchips. You will be escorted by my friends the Cosplayers to the Crystal Caverns Complex to await the finals. You will have the option of watching the competition this time.
"There have been a few changes to the rule book, which will be discussed at length when we make the crossing. I expect the dueling staff to be helpful and encouraging. I am also proud to welcome some guests to Duelist's Kingdom this year. They will have the privilege of using the Dueling Platforms. But they are not allowed to compete for starchips. A guest is signified by a black Dueling Gauntlet. You will all have quarters assigned in the Crystal Valley at the northern end of the Island.
"If you ever run into a problem on the trail, the Cosplayers will be on regular patrols to assist you. If you lose all your starchips, call to them like this… Anima ad anima!!!!" Natari cupped her hands to her mouth as she called.
About a half a dozen cries from both the crowd and the depths of the ship answered… "Ave Ave Ave!!!"
"That is the signal that you have been found and they're coming as fast as they can." Natari explained. "I should also warn you that there have been changes to who gets the top apartments. Two of them will be shared this year. Yugi Mouto gets apartment One. Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba will be sharing apartment Two. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood will be sharing apartment Three. Bandit Keith gets apartment Four. And finally Mai Valentine will get Apartment Five. Now, without further adeu, I will turn to Chuck the Dark Magician, and his sister Nneka the Dark Magician Girl to supervise the embarkation." She stepped back into the ship, seeming to fade into nothingness.
"Supervise the WHAT?" Joey demanded.
"Embarkation." Weevil hissed as he passed Joey.
"They're going to make sure that everybody's on board." Bandit Keith explained, shifting his back pack to his back. Joey did not miss the hunting knife sheathed at his side. So that one was armed this time. Or did Keith intend to use the knife as a tool on the trail. After all, if Maeko fished, then why couldn't Keith hunt?
"Oh." Joey blinked in surprise. "Hey wait for me!" He cried.
Mai rolled her eyes. "Joey if you keep up like that then you'll end up tiring yourself out too early. We'll have quite a hike to make if we're going to the northern end of the island." Mai unrolled a map and Joey, Yugi, Tristan and Tea peered over her shoulders.
"See? I went as far as the mountain region on the first day last time. I saw the construction they were doing in the northern end of the Island. That's going to be a two hour hike at least. Might be easier if we're going down hill, but I don't know. Listen, I went camping with Keith a couple times when we were younger. He's a good hiker and knows the rules of the road. You'd do well to follow his example, Joey. PACE YOURSELF." Mai warned.
"Right, like I'm gonna do anything that slime ball does." Joey muttered.
They were in line between Keith, Weevil, and Espa Roba. "Then go ahead and collapse from exhaustion Wheeler." Keith sneered.
"Hey why don't you leave him alone!" Espa Roba protested.
"Go ahead and worship your idol Roba." Keith sneered. "I'm going to camp practically this time. Although I hear they've constructed way shelters along the main paths. Here, here and here." Keith pulled out his own map. "I marked shelters that were being constructed last time I was there. Mai and I clashed quite a bit. See the X marks in red? That's where I battled her."
"I fought you to a draw last time we were here Keith, so keep your hands off." Mai gave him a swat that wouldn't hurt a fly and rolled her eyes.
"Can I see that map?" Weevil asked, jumping up.
Mai rolled her eyes again and clipped it to a clip board. "If you can copy maps okay, and promise not to throw it in the OCEAN like you did Yugi's Exodia I'll let you borrow it to make a copy."
"I'm a VERY good draftsman." Weevil said with pride. "You'll get it back."
"Why don't we compare notes when we get to our quarters." Keith suggested.
The three of them agreed. "Hey Mai, you gonna hang out with that bug?" Joey demanded pouting.
"You're welcome to join us Joey." Keith and Weevil groaned in dismay.
"Present your gauntlets please." Chuck said calmly. "Ah, Weevil, no more throwing cards in the ocean I hope." He said with a pointed smile.
"Nope, nope no way. I've got the ultimate strategy this time." Weevil said smugly.
"See that you don't, or we'll turn this boat right around and leave you behind on the pier." Chuck said pointedly. Joey snickered. "Well hello Mr. Wheeler and Welcome. And Hello to you too Mr. Mouto."
"What's up with you Wheeler?" Weevil sneered as they climbed onto the ship. "It wasn't your card that I threw away."
"No, but it was MY deck that you tampered with at Battle City." Joey grinned. "I can't WAIT to see you get trounced."
"He tampered with your deck? What did he do?" Keith demanded.
"Slipped in a card that affects the whole thing. Like that virus card that Seto used on Yugi shortly before the finals at the last Duelist's Kingdom. He had some punk kid slip the card in while pretending to beg for my autograph."
"What card was it?" Keith asked, curious.
"Parasite Paracide." Weevil said, flushing slightly as they headed up the stairs.
Keith made a face as they turned a corner. "I HATE that card."
"I won his Insect Queen though. I don't think I'll use it." Joey made a face. "That was the most disgusting Duel I've ever fought."
"Hmph." Weevil snorted.
Rex was waiting for them at their shared quarters. "Hiya Wheeler, didn't think I'd see you. Hey Yugi, you gonna do some backseat dueling this time?"
"Of course not. Joey's gotten good enough so that he could beat the crap out of all of you, any day." Yugi said loyally.
"Well spoken." Mai clapped. "Rex, if you want to come we're going to have a little tactical meeting. You remember the map that you, Keith, and I put together last time?"
"How could I forget?" Rex asked, arching an eyebrow at them.
"We're going to consolidate what we learned on our last journey and then Weevil's going to make copies for us." Mai explained.
"Well, I can help you with the new constructions." Rex said, ushering them into the quarters he and Weevil were to share. "I was there when they were being built." Rex flopped back on the couch. "I hope you don't mind Simple Plan. I work better with background noise." He put a CD into a portable CD player.
"I don't mind Simple Plan." Joey peered over Mai's shoulder as she, Rex, and Keith spread out their maps.
Weevil pulled a sketch pad out of his backpack and flipped through it. Most of the drawings were technical diagrams. Weevil didn't have much imagination. But then he came across a page that had portraits of Weevil's main monsters, Insect Queen was there, so were the two Kamakiris and a Man Eater Bug. But in the center was his Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. "You drew those Weevil?" Yugi asked, amazed.
"Sort of. They aren't very good." Weevil said in a tone that suggested he didn't think much of his work. "Here's a blank page." He pulled all three maps in front of him. "Mai's has the least detail, so I'll start there."
As they watched, the island was carefully reduced to the page with incredible accuracy. Weevil wasted no lines, making the best of every blank space. He finished the outline of the island and sketched a key in the corner. Then he began to mark the trails from Mai's travels, then Keith's, finally he took the new details from Rex's map. "I think that's it." He said, checking his work.
"Weevil, that's amazing." Yugi blinked. "Where did you learn to draw diagrams like that?"
"I want to be a scientist, a scientist has to keep records Mouto." Weevil explained. "So I learned to keep records." He said with a shrug.
Interesting, the bug has some powers after all. Yami mused.
Yami that's rude.
Look, I'm not denying that he has talent, but his manners leave much to be desired. Yami said reasonably. Too bad he can't learn those. Somebody should send him to finishing school. Unless, of course, he's already been thrown out of finishing school.
Joey noticed the expression on Yugi's face and whispered. "What's wrong?"
Yugi said in a low voice that the other three couldn't hear. "Yami said they should send Weevil to finishing school, unless he got kicked out of it already."
Joey facefaulted. "Yami that's awful." Joey rolled his eyes.
"What's wrong Joey?" Mai asked.
"Tell you later Mai." Joey grinned. "It would be rude to say it now."
"Okay then, later."
Rex and Keith were fighting over the CD player. "Mine!" Keith growled, pouncing on it and scrambling to put in Godsmack.
"I'm the one who bought it!" Rex protested. "And it's in my room!"
"But I only have my diskman!" Keith protested. "Have mercy!"
"No! Simple Plan stays on."
Keith facefaulted. "The horror."
"Here you go." Weevil finished his copying of the map. "One for each of us."
"Alright!" Joey grinned, folding his away carefully.
"Just don't lose it Wheeler, 'cause I'm not making another one." Weevil said, putting away his sketchbook.
"There you are." Seto stood in the doorway. "You're late Joey."
"I've been in here the whole time. Are you looking for me?"
"Just worrying about whether or not you actually MADE it to the boat." Seto said snidely.
"Why I oughtta."
"Joey you DO tend to be late for things." Mai pointed out. "And wait, since when have you called Joey by his first name?"
"Since we snuck up on Bakura and Marik making out in the Janitor's Closet." Joey snickered. "That was priceless!"
Keith snorted. "Knew he had to be a Fag."
"Watch your language Keith. Your mouth will get you into trouble someday. Or did your experience at Duelist's Kingdom LAST time not teach you that?" Seto motioned for Joey to follow and turned on his heal.
Yugi watched in silence as Joey followed. "See ya later Yug!"
"Later." Yugi said with a small smile. He could guess what they would do.
The others all stared at Keith.
"Look. I haven't met this Bakura guy, so I'm not going to judge him. But Marik is a scumbag, plain and simple. Whatever Joey and Seto did to him, he deserved."
"Marik was being controlled by the spirit in his Millennium Item Keith." Yugi said gently. "He wasn't responsible for his actions."
Keith stuck his nose in the air. "Spirit shmirit. I don't believe in spirits. I mean, sure those Millennium Items are powerful, sure they have magic, but a spirit? Come on!"
"You don't believe me. Yami shall we?" Yugi asked the puzzle.
"Yami? The Ancient Pharoh?" Keith's eyes widened.
Yami made quite a show of appearing out of the puzzle in a flash of golden light. He did, however, have the good sense to appear in his translucent form. "You were saying Keith?" Yami asked, arching a smug eyebrow.
"In-credible! How did you do that?" Rex demanded.
"The Millennium Puzzle, so that's your secret." Weevil commented. He reached out to touch Yami gently.
"Uh… Weevil, I wouldn't do that. He doesn't like you very much. He made a comment about your manners earlier."
Weevil drew back. Rex blinked, standing up, then sitting down, then moving between Yugi and Yami and looking at first one, then the other. "You… so thaaaaat's why you grew taller when Joey dueled me. I thought that it was a trick of the light. It was almost dark and I was pretty high up on the platform. But it's true, you DO transform."
"You're right." Keith looked them both over. "They look alike at first, but not after you look at them hard enough."
"That's right, and if any of you so much as lay a claw on Yugi I WILL beat you when we get to Duelist's Kingdom." Yami glowered down at the others.
"Like I ever DO cause trouble?" Rex asked.
"YOU and Mai don't cause much trouble. You play honestly and fairly, but Weevil and Keith still need to learn a lesson in Dueling Etiquette." Yami growled, before disappearing back into the puzzle.
"Yami-kun!" Yugi protested, turning red.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Look, I wanna get some chow and some shut-eye. It's going to be a long hike. I don't care about that spirit as long as it doesn't interrupt my sleep." Keith took the new copy of the map that Weevil had made for him and left.
Weevil was still staring at the Millennium Puzzle. Yami giggled at the back of Yugi's mind, because he knew that Weevil wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Yami-kun are you sure that revealing yourself was wise? Yugi asked worriedly.
Who will believe them Aibou? And if I choose to help you during a duel there's no way they can stop me either. Yami giggled. You wear me all the time, how is Weevil supposed to throw me in the ocean?
I hope you're right. Yugi said worriedly.
Mai stood then. "I'd better get going too. Yugi, I came up with a new strategy, do you think that Yami will help me test it?"
"Maybe a little later. Besides, even if he can't I'll bet Tea and Joey would." Yugi answered. "I was hoping to discuss tactics with him myself."
Among other things. Yami grinned, sending a ripple of lust through their link.
Yugi flushed. YAMI-KUN
"Earth to Yugi!" Mai waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello Yugi!"
"Huh?" Yugi jumped.
"What's wrong?" Mai asked worriedly.
"Yami was talking to me, that's all." Yugi shivered. Yami-kun not in front of Mai PLEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEE! He begged.
Okay, I'll wait to take you until we get into our quarters.
"Well as long as you're alright, I'd best get going." Mai said, opening her door. "See you later Yugi!" She shut the door.
Yugi went into his own room, shut, AND locked the door and fell back against it. Yami came out of the puzzle in solid form and scooped Yugi up in his arms. He poked Yugi in the stomach. Yugi giggled as Yami threw him in the air, catching him and pushing Yugi gently back onto the bed.
Yugi smiled up at Yami, who leaned down to kiss his aibou gently. Yugi responded to the kiss, shivering as he felt Yami's love through their link. "Hm… shouldn't we wait until after dinner? I heard that they're actually serving meals this time."
"I don't eat." Yami said shyly. He nuzzled Yugi gently. "Of course, for you I'd make an exception."
"Yami-kun!" Yugi protested.
"Shhhh!" Yami pointed to Seto and Joey's room next door. "They might hear us."
"Yami-kun." Yugi murmured, snuggling up against Yami.
Yami stroked Yugi's hair, cupping his cheek in his hand. "Hikari." Then he leaned in to kiss Yugi gently.
That was about the time that Yugi's stomach growled. "Whoops, I guess I'd better get something to eat."
"I'll be waiting." Yami said cheerfully. He fell back onto the bed to wait.