Chaos Effect

Chapter 45 - 45

Chapter 45

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Tristan frowned as he took the Locator Card from the duelist he'd just defeated, giving him a polite bow in thanks. He'd chosen not to take the woman's rarest card because honestly all he would have done is sell it as it really did nothing to help his deck. Besides, as he'd told her, she had an awesome Fiend deck and that card was the lynchpin to its entire strategy. He just couldn't bring himself to ruin that because he wanted to make a quick buck.

He was walking away when a horn honked and he looked around before spotting a convertible... and a familiar face in the driver's seat.

"Duke!" he called out, his early low mood forgotten as he spotted the other teen. While Tristan and the rest of the gang hadn't known Duke for long he'd quickly became a good friend. With Yugi's Grandpa training Joey all the time ('Don't think about it') sometimes the gang needed someplace else to hang out and Duke's card shop was the perfect place to do that.

Hopping out of the car Duke grinned, Tristan and him sharing a hearty half hand shake half grapple grab. "Hey Tristan, how is the tournament going?"

"Good enough. Got my second locator card." He paused, looking Duke over. "I'm surprised you didn't enter. Didn't Edwin offer you the chance?" It was thanks to Edwin that Tea and Tristan had been able to enter the tournament, using his pull as the sole member of the Kaibacorp board to force through their inclusion.

"He offered, which I thought was odd. Didn't expect someone like Seto Kaiba to give him that kind of power. Or to allow people to enter he didn't vet." He paused, scratching at his chin. "Honestly Kaiba seems like the kind of person that would say he's going to throw a tournament and when Yugi showed up he revealed that a large net was named 'Tournament' and then he threw it at Yugi."

Tristan snickered at that. "Heh. Maybe... but Kaiba has some weird honor code and stuff. Edwin gets annoyed by it a lot... he rants to us all a ton when we hang out and ask him how his job is."

"That must be fun," Duke said with an eyeroll.

Tristan though quickly shook his head. "It actually is! Edwin loves to jerk Rich Boy's chain and has no problem talking smack about him... I think it has to do with the fact that he knows Kaiba can't fire him. With him owning the stocks and Pegasus liking Edwin his job is pretty secure." Tristan shrugged. "As for entering us into Battle City I think he managed to slip that into the tournament rules without Kaiba noticing."

Duke chuckled at that. "Sounds like Edwin. As for me... this tournament really isn't my thing. I like making games more than just competition at them."

"Fair," Tristan said.

"So... are you okay?" Duke asked, leaning against his car. "You seemed a bit down when I spotted you. I thought for a moment you'd lost."

"Nah, I won." Tristan rubbed the back of his head. "Other things though that are giving me problems."

"OH? What's wrong?"

"The win," Tristan said. "It just wasn't... satisfying."

"Wanted something hard fought? Or wanted to blow her out of the water?"

"Neither. I don't know I just... I don't feel all that excited. I mean this was my first major win. I've done dueling most with simulators and against my friends. Tea and I are evenly matched and Edwin and Yugi usually kick my ass-" He had a feeling that Yugi in particular was being nice and pulling his punches; Edwin it was hard to tell as he seemed to always be scheming so it might just be natural for him to appear as if he were faking something, "-so this was a big deal. But I just feel like..." He gave his hand a wiggle from side to side.

"Well... I can't really answer that," Duke admitted. "But I hope you figure it out." He reached out and gave Tristan a pat on the shoulder.

Tristan... just stared at him.

"I'm really bad at these comforting moments, aren't I?" Duke asked.

"It would only be worse if you had said, "That'll do, Pig"." He paused before smiling, shaking his head. "Dear lord I sounded like Edwin there for a moment."

"Well, I can't say as normally my interactions with him are money based."

"He's been hitting up your store hard?"

"Apparently, from what he's told me, being insanely rich without having to do much work leaves you bored so he needs things to do...

~A week earlier~

Duke frowned. "Shouldn't you be prepping for a tournament or something?"

"Meh," Edwin said as he dumped an armful of Transformers onto the counter. "Saving the world fighting the Rare Hunters and shit? Okay. Assembling the entire Beast Wears Season 1 cast? Much better. You agree, right Renard?"

Renard merely shrugged, busy reading a Tin Tin graphic novel.

Duke frowned. "I'm just saying-"

Hina, head of the Black Clown Game Shop's inventory and merchandising, elbowed Duke hard in the stomach. Edwin frowned at that but she quickly distracted him by passing him a catalog with more toys he could buy, allowing her to turn to her boss, glowering at him. "We are beating all sales projections thanks to him spending like crazy! Shut the hell up!"

"Hey, do you carry Jurassic World dinosaurs?" Edwin asked, looking at the Fossilizers he had bought.

Duke frowned. "No we-"

"WE CAN!" Hina exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Hey, you want to stop for lunch?" Duke asked. "Or are you busy trying to win this tournament?"

"Did lunch but I'll join you while you eat, get a snack or something," Tristan said. "I honestly don't care if I win this tournament... or even make it to the finals. The point was to prove I could do it, that's all. No reason to starve." He moved to get into Duke's car. "Besides, I'm sure the others are way ahead of me already. Probably already meeting up where the locator cards say to go."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Marik," the Pharaoh said, at once taking back control of Yugi's body; while he had trusted the boy to handle the duel, knowing that Yugi was more than skilled enough to be able to defeat Cabal, when it came to the likes of Marik Ishtar and the power of the Millennium Items he much preferred having his soul be the one on the line. The memory of Yugi passing out, his soul so weary from constantly shifting back and forth to fight off Pegasus' Millennium Eye as well as the constant pressure of the Shadow Realm still haunted the Pharaoh. 'I won't let him face the likes of this madman.'

He did feel a bit better with Edwin at his side. The older man had faced off against the Spirit of the Millennium Ring and hadn't blinked. Marik had also attempted to convince Edwin to work with him and the 'Guardian Devil' had made it clear that there were some deals even he wouldn't accept. That had made him just as much of a target but in turn meant he was an ally in this fight, the previous feud the two had participated in during Duelist Kingdom forgotten and moved beyond.

'And then there is the Key,' he thought, chancing a glance at Edwin. He'd summoned the Millennium Key and his eyes were blazing black and gold, making it clear that he was tapping into the power of the ancient artifact and wasn't afraid to use it. 'He was right... I should have learned what the Millennium Puzzle can do. Marik, Pegasus, Ishizu, Edwin... all of them have shown greater aptitude with their Items than Yugi and I have.'

'We've managed well so far,' Yugi chimed in.

'Yes,' the Pharaoh admitted, 'but I'd rather face Marik and his Rare Hunters from a position of power rather than weakness.'

"We meet again, Pharaoh!" Marik said, Cabal's body hanging loose and limp like a marionette whose strings had been cut save one. "It seems you managed to defeat dear Cabal."

"And kept her from being maimed," The Pharaoh declared, glancing at the saw blade that stood now still, silenced once it had reached its end point. "Your trap was poorly thought out, Marik. You nearly lost one of your Rare Hunters to it."

Marik scoffed though Cabal's face didn't twitch in the slightest. "Do you believe I care either way about her? She was just another means to an end. She could have bled out for all I care... if she wasn't strong enough to defeat either of you two then she is worthless!"

"Human life is so meaningless to you that you so carelessly throw it away?"

"Do not speak to me and wasted lives, Pharaoh. My family has wasted our lives serving your memory! Countless generations, glimpsing the sun only for brief moments, knowing only the darkness of the crypts we were forced to protect. All in your name."

"I never asked for that Marik," the Pharaoh said softly. "And I am sorry for what you have gone through." He narrowed his eyes and his voice grew more firm. "But that doesn't give you the right to torment the innocent!"

Marik though merely laughed. "That is why they exist though! To amuse their betters! Cabal had a chance to prove herself stronger and when she failed she earned only the right to serve as yet another pawn to use in my game against you."

"So is that what you're doing?" Edwin finally said, speaking up. "Trying to prove that you are one of the 'betters'."

"I am one of the betters," Marik said hotly.

Edwin though rolled his eyes, taking his cards of his duel disc and placing them back in his deck box. "You steal the souls of others in order to make yourself feel big, Marik. But the truth is you are a pathetic little man who was the son of an even more pathetic father."

That caused Marik to growl. "You will pay for every insult and joke you send my way."

"Come and get your pound of flesh then!" Edwin taunted, holding his arms out wide. Cabal's form though merely stood there. "Well? Come on then! The Devil will see you now!" But when Marik did nothing Edwin merely grunted in annoyance. "Pathetic, utterly pathetic. You preach about how mighty you are but the only thing you can do is weakly send out your puppets to battle the Pharaoh and me. Don't have the balls to do it on your own."

"This is merely a warm up," Marik told him. "A way to tenderize the meat before I finally smite the two of you and have my revenge."

"Revenge?" Edwin said with a laugh. "Oh... the most worthless of endeavors."

"It isn't too late to end this madness, Marik," The Pharaoh said, taking a step forward. "Put aside this feud... I have no wish to quarrel with you. Let it be done."

Marik though merely turned Cabal's body to face him fully. "Not until I hold your Millennium Puzzle, Pharaoh, and hear you wail as you are banished to the Shadow Realm!"

"There is no reason for any of this!" the Pharaoh exclaimed in frustration. "You and I have no reason to be enemies! I have done nothing to you! I was trapped in the puzzle for thousands of years according to Ishizu and-"

"Ishizu," Marik growled. "You would be wise to not believe a word she says, Pharaoh. She has more than one face and is willing to show you whichever one gets her that which he desires before turning the other's gaze upon you. She is not your ally."

"She's a bitch who likes to hide things, I'll admit that," Edwin stated. "But that doesn't make her our enemy."

Renard chose that moment to speak up. "Your family... you say they kept you trapped, correct?"

"All in the name of serving the Nameless Pharaoh! We were never allowed lives. Never allowed to know freedom! Every moment of our existence was meant towards guarding the Millennium Items. Rituals and torture were my toys and gifts, and the chains of tradition my only comfort in those dark and horrible days. All I ever heard was how this was for the good of the Pharaoh! How we must serve the Pharaoh! How we could not have dreams and desires because of the Pharaoh! I wanted a life and he ROBBED that from me. And for that the Pharaoh MUST pay! I will take his power and I will rule this world, destroying all he created!"

The Pharaoh winced at that. 'is this truly my fault? While I do not have my memories Ishizu made it clear that she served me. Addressed me as a servant would a king. Is it possible that before I placed myself in the Millennium Puzzle I gave the orders that led us to this moment? That I doomed Marik and his family to thousands of years of servitude?'

Edwin frowned though, raising his hand like he was a student asking permission to speak in close. "Pardon me for being an American Idiot-" his phone began to play a song only for Edwin to look down. "No, I wasn't setting up for that, please be quiet." The music instantly cut off. "Thank you." He looked back at Marik. "Pardon me for this but I have to ask... what power do you think he has?"

"The Power of his Puzzle."

"Uh huh. And what power is that again?"

"The power within the puzzle," Marik said in a bored tone, as if he were talking to a rather stupid child.

"You keep saying that. Pegasus too. 'The Power of the Millennium Puzzle'. The thing is..." Edwin began to pace, "...I've been around Yugi and the Pharaoh for a while now and honestly... I have more power than him." He held out his hand and Shadow Realm magic crackled and danced along his fingers. "I can do a lot of shit. All I need is to do a little twirl and I might as well be an Anime Magic Girl. Sailor Namek." He closed his hand and the shadow realm magic disappeared, his black and gold eyes the only sign he was still calling on the power of the Millennium Key. "And you have the Millennium Rod and that can do all sorts of things, can't it? Summon the shadow realm, brainwash people, control minds, manipulate them... all sorts of nifty tricks."

He paused.

"Name one fucking thing the Puzzle does."

Cabal's body stood there.

The Pharaoh blinked.

"See, I've been begging the Pharaoh to let me help him figure out the powers of the puzzle but he keeps ignoring me. Yugi too. At first I thought it was because I'm the Guardian Devil and hey, I might guard people but the word 'Devil' is still there in the title so do you really want to trust me with knowledge and power? But..." he tapped his chin and the Pharaoh and Yugi both realized that Edwin was entering is 'college professor mode'.

They settled in to watch, grateful that, for once, it wasn't them who was the focus.

"I think there are only three powers the Puzzle has and the Pharaoh knows it. He's just embarrassed that the Millennium Puzzle, the Item of the Pharaoh... is the bitchest bitch ass of the Bitch items." He began to tick off his points. "The first power is Mind Crush, able to banish people to the Shadow Realm."

"Indeed!" Marik proclaimed. "A mighty power that-"

Edwin's key flashed and they all felt a pulse of dark magic.

"Both of us can already do that so that's just overkill, Marik." He smirked and ticked off the second point. "The Puzzle holds the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh. Now, I don't know about you but I have enough of hearing his speeches without him being able to do them in my head uninterrupted."

Renard scoffed. "You are complaining about another giving long speeches?"

Edwin flipped his bodyguard off before continuing. "Can you imagine it?" He mimicked the Pharaoh's voice. "Edwin, it appears there is too much dairy in your diet. As such we will need to triple wipe, for if we are going to pull solutions out of our ass it must be clean. Believe in the Heart of the Toilet Paper!"

"I don't sound like that," the Pharaoh muttered.

"That leaves the final power of the puzzle... I suppose that must be the one you want."

"Yes! That power-"

"To grow exactly 5 centimeters!" Edwin thrust out his hand, fingers spread wide.

Cabal... actually blinked at that.

"...what?"

"I can't be the only one who noticed," Edwin said, walking over to the Pharaoh and carefully placing his hand at his forehead. "The Pharaoh gets slightly taller when he's in control. Now, I know you are wondering why he doesn't grow taller. After all he is still short. Sometimes I like to pick him up and stick him in high places like he's an Elf on the Shelf."

"You have never done that," the Pharaoh grumbled, turning away from Edwin. And he wasn't blushing in embarrassment... he wasn't.

Honestly.

"Shhh, the tall people are talking." Edwin continued on, "But he can't grow more than that. It has to be natural! He wants people to think he's still growing!" He smirked and walked back to where he had started. "Honestly Marik you don't need to take over women's bodies if you want to be taller. Just get some lifts in your shoes like Tom Cruise does. Then you can also run away from your gay thoughts like Tommy Boy does-"

Marik, realizing that I wasn't going to let him give his big speech, summoned a golden shield to block my attack before spinning the Millennium Rod. "So be it... we'll battle in this wretch's shattered mind and determine what end awaits you!"

"Remember what I said about being able to create anything in the world of the mind?" I asked them as Marik began to advance. "Now is the time to do it!"

It was, unsurprisingly, Yugi who acted. The Pharaoh was clever and cunning... but not creative. Oh, he could create strategies to be sure but he couldn't make something out of whole cloth. Yugi was the one who dreamed of creating his own game. He was the one who thought wild dreams and held onto grand hopes. The Pharaoh was a smart man with a limited view of the world... Yugi was the one that burst though the limits. It was why, in the end, he had defeated him in the ceremonial duel.

And it was why it was Yugi, and not the Pharaoh, who closed his eyes, held out his hand, and willed Excalibur, complete with the stone itself, to appear so he might draw forth the blade of Kings.

"Nice," I said as Yugi shifted his clothing to that of his armor from the Virtual World. "Though you must be willing to dream a little bigger, darling."

With that I held out my hand, light forming around it as I focused on the key.

"When you walk away..."

Marik charged and Yugi moved to meet him, swinging his sword and striking the Millennium Rod which Marik wielded like a morning star. The Pharaoh was trying to figure out some way to help him, looking about desperately, but I was focused on my own weapon, knowing that the more thought I pumped into it the strong it would become.

"You don't hear me say..."

I focused on the light, only dimly seeing Yugi summon his own shield that resembled the Millennium Puzzle, using it to block Marik's attack before he lashed out himself.

"Please... oh baby... don't go.

Steel formed on my palm as the light solidified. A weapon fit for me: the man who had journeyed to a new world and now wielded a Key. What other blade could I choose?

"Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight..."

It was golden in color, the crossbar obsidian angel wings, the shaft the perfect length for my reach and the head's teeth forming into a crescent moon. And upon the pommel was a chain... with the Eye of Horus charm dangling from it.

The music suddenly changed to the Hikari Orchestra Theme.

I gripped my Keyblade and launched myself forward just as Marik swung the Millennium Rod Yugi's head, catching his strike with my own weapon, the clang of gold upon light-forged steel filling the air.

"Why?" Marik hissed. "Why do you throw your life away for this meaningless boy?"

"Because Marik... even without the power of the Puzzle Yugi has a gift you will never have: He's REAL good at making friends!"

I could feel his arm trembling and shaking from the blow and I pressed my advantage, storming towards him, using my greater height to keep him well away from me while I, in turn, was able to drive him back. He brought his shield up to try and block but Yugi, bless him, was suddenly there and the two of us began to hammer Marik hard.

"What's the plan, Edwin?"

"Drive the bitch out!"

Marik found himself being pushed towards the back of the stage, trying to find some way to drive one of us away so he could focus on the other but it wasn't working. I would go for heavy blows, wanting to see the bastard on his knees, while Yugi was darting in and out with Excalibur, knicking away as the shield Marik was wielding, making it smaller and smaller as we reached the end of Cabal's mind... and moved towards his own. For what felt like hours Yugi and I alternated between blocking Marik's blows and delivering our own, doing all we could to keep him from striking back.

That wasn't to say that Marik didn't get in his blows. I had a cut on my brow from where the winged edges of the Millennium Rod had caught me and Yugi's armor had been shed after Marik had dented the breastplate so badly it was worse to wear it than to keep it on. He also began to fire off Shadow Realm magic, the touch of which was like dry ice: a horribly freezing burn that clung to your flesh no matter how much you tried to rid yourself of it.

Still... we were winning.

Something smashed behind us and I chanced a glance to see that the Pharaoh had summed a sledge hammer and used it to smash in the water torture trap, causing Cabal to spill out onto the stage, gasping for breath. Yugi at once began to back off, Marik panting as he glared at us.

"So you've freed her," he said with a sneer. "You think that matters?"

"It's one less life you'll ruin," Yugi challenge.

"Leave, Marik," the Pharaoh said coldly, moving to protect Cabal who was still wheezing. "You are done."

"No... I am far from DONE!" With that he suddenly swelled to the size of a giant, body so large he crashed through the wooden floor of the stage so only his upper body was visible. Yugi cried out as he leapt away just as Marik swung his fist down, shattering the floor and revealing that under the stage was the Shadow Realm, hungry to consume us. "I will simply banish you to the darkness right here! Then I will collect your puzzle from your lifeless corpse!"

"Yugi!" The Pharaoh called out. "We must go now!" The boy nodded and moved to run only for Marik to drive his fists into the floor, blocking off his path. "YUGI!"

"How does it feel, Pharaoh! To know that you will get to watch your precious partner be banished to the Shadow Realm, unable to do anything!" Marik raised his hand and slammed it down...

...only to stop as I blocked the attack.

"The mind," I said with a grunt, feeling something swelling in my chest. Not the power of the Key. Something else. Something dark and light and terrible and beautiful. I grasped it and squeezed it hard. "is the only limit!"

I'd once heard that within everyone there is a door. And behind this door they place everything they fear. Everything they want to forget. No matter how powerful it might be. It must be put behind that door and a lock placed on it. And depending on the person this door might be as small as a mouse hole or as giant as a mountain. But the door is there. And sometimes some fool will come by... and bang on the door. Rattle it. And that terrible thing would come crashing out.

Marik had knocked on the door.

The last thing I heard... was a VERY big lock open.

~MC~MC~MC~

Selene's eyes widened as she watched the battle. Even though it was taking place in the mind of that little whore Cabal who had dared to get close to her beloved she could see all that was going on. For what were thoughts but dreams dreamt with the waking eye? And dreams were the products of the night where the moon was the only witness.

So she saw her love grasp onto his power and a smile blossomed on her face. 'Oh... there you are,' she thought to herself before allowed her own consciousness to rocket forward, brushing aside the boundaries of reality so she might get a closer look...

~MC~MC~MC~

Yugi stared in shock as Edwin forced Marik's giant hand back. He knew that Edwin had said anything was possible in the mind but this? He shouldn't have been surprised because he knew that logically just because Marik was gigantic that didn't mean anything when it came to power. After all there were plenty of Duel Monsters who were rather small yet still had great power. And yet there was a difference between throwing cards out onto the field, even with them made physical with hologram projectors, and seeing someone he knew and was friends with holding off a giant with just his bare strength.

"How... how are you doing this?" Marik demanded, just as startled as Yugi by what was happening. "My power is greater than yours!"

"You think you have power," Edwin said...in a voice tinted with a Greek accent. His eyes were shut and a smile on his face. Suddenly several more keyblades appeared, flying through the air and striking Marik's giant form, forcing him back. Edwin, now no longer needing to push back Marik's hand, rose in the air as dozens... no hundreds... of Keyblades swirled around him like snowflakes in a blizzard. He held out his hand and the keyblade he held twisted, growing longer, warping and transforming... into the Staff of Endymion. His eyes snapped open and blazed with power. "And in the mind it isn't Obelisk or Slifer or Ra who matters." He smirked. "It's me. Here? I am the god."

Something... flashed across his face. An older, more powerful visage. Clawing at the surface, making its presence known.

"Théleis tis dynámeis mou?" He said, holding out his hands. "Molon labe."

"I... I don't think Edwin is in the driver's seat anymore," Yugi whispered.

He thrust out his right hand and the keyblades launched forward, striking Marik like hail, forcing him to shield his face as he tried to guard against them. Edwin merely drove his left hand forward and sent more of his swarm at Marik, now truly forcing their foe back into the depths of his mind. He began to wave his hands like a conductor as the music played around him, cutting into Marik's giant projection as his eyes blazed and dark energy poured from him. And as he did so his clothing began to change, his coat lengthening, a black mask forming over his face...

"You will pay for this!" Marik roared even as he covered his face with his forearms. "When you least expect it I will destroy all you hold dear! You will BEG for your torment to end!"

There was a flash of light and Yugi's eyes went wide as a woman in a silver dress suddenly appeared next to Edwin, startling him just as much with her appearance. She draped herself around him before merely flicking her hand, banishing Marik. The Leader of the Rare Hunters howled as he was cast from the shared mind space.

"Geia sou agapiméni."

"It's her," The Pharaoh whispered. "The goddess."

Yugi looked at the immortal woman who was still pressed against Edwin, swallowing at the sight of her. She paid them no heed, instead grabbing Edwin's face and giving the man a deep kiss that quickly shifted into something so personal and intimate Yugi felt a bit dirt and embarrassed watching. She was practically grinding her pelvis into Edwin's hip as she latched onto him.

Only... Edwin's body twitched and the goddess pulled away, startled, as the staff turned to dust and the aura around him faded.

"Get out of my head," he whispered in his own voice again.

And then there was a flash of light and Yugi found himself on the ground in the dueling arena, looking around in confusion before getting his bearings and realizing that he was back in the real world.

"So..." Edwin said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "we all saw that, right?"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. I... I think that's the goddess the Pharaoh kept mentioning."

"That or Marik has really weird ways of showing how much he hates me," Edwin muttered.

Renard frowned. "I really don't want to know what you two were doing, do i?"

"Not really."

A groan filled the air and Yugi turned away from Edwin, eyes widening as he saw Cabal begin to stir. He rushed over to the other duelist, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, you're alright. We got Marik out of your head and-"

Cabal shoved him away, Yugi falling onto his rear as Cabal scrambled to her feet, rushing over to the curtain where her boyfriend Arkana's shadow was still being projected. She tore down the cloth only to stop, staring at the bed... and the mannequin that was lying there.

"No..." she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Cabal," Yugi said, getting up. "I know-"

"You did this," she hissed, turning back and glaring at them. "All you had to do was die and Master Marik would have brought him back to me! And now he's gone and you cast my Master out so I can't even gain his forgiveness."

"...but we saved you," Yugi said softly.

"You took EVERYTHING from me!" Cabal snarled, bunching up her fists and taking a step towards Yugi, who scrambled back in shock only for Edwin to step in front of him, shoulders tense and muscles bound and ready.

"Leave," he hissed. Renard stepped forward as well, cracking his knuckles.

Cabal looked at the two of them before turning and storming off.

"I... I don't understand," Yugi said. "I thought Marik-"

"Not everyone is a good person that was led astray," Edwin said with a shake of his head, walking over to where Cabal had been standing. Yugi dimly realized that Cabal, thanks to Edwin tackling her, had spilled some of her cards on the ground and failed to grab them when she'd stormed off. "Some people are just horrible and can't be saved... don't want to be saved."

"I... I don't believe that," Yugi stammered.

"I'm not saying you should," Edwin informed him. "Only that you should realize that's a possibility. It will save you a lot of heartache down the line." He reached into the box that had been near Cabal's feet, finding a key... and two locator cards. "And to the victor goes the spoils," he said as he tossed one of the locator cards to Yugi, pocketing the second for himself. "And I think I'll let you claim both of the Rare Cards... you can pay me back later with something that works better from my deck." He grabbed two cards and walked back over to Yugi, revealing that he'd snagged Secrets of Dark Magic and one of Cabal's Red Dark Magician.

Yugi though shook his head. "I can't accept these."

"You won them fair and square," Edwin reminded him. "That is how the tournament works."

"But-"

"Cabal used her Dark Magician poorly. Saw it as only a weapon of revenge. You have a chance to use it properly, to bring honor to it. To show it how it feels to be wielded by a true duelist. So stop being an idiot and take it."

Yugi shot him a dark look but took the cards all the same. "Well, I guess we should be getting out of here."

"Yeah." Edwin looked about the arena, a frown forming on his lips.

"What is it?" Renard asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about... something I need to take care of."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Edwin!"

I had just broken away from Yugi, leaving him to, if canon tried to reassert itself, face off with Strings and claim Slifer. As for me I had no idea who my next opponent would be but honestly with the thoughts swirling in my mind at that moment I wasn't really focused on Battle City.

Looking up I saw Mai running towards, me, Yuri a few steps behind. She flung herself at me, giving me a hug before letting out a sigh. "What happened to you? You never showed up and we couldn't find you..."

"Long story," Renard muttered. "Involved more crazy women than you might expect."

But I just stared at Mai, not saying a word.

"Edwin?" she asked, touching my check. "Are you okay?"

"Whose asking?" I said. "You... or the goddess?"

Mai blinked... before her entire demeanor changed. The fear and concern bled away and in its pace was delight with just a touch of arrogance.

"Hello lover," the goddess said as my life got far more complicated.

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