Chaos Effect

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"So I know this isn't going to work but I figure I might as well try."

The reedy looking man let out a chuckle at that. "Then why are you asking if you know it won't work? Why bother wasting the time?"

"I like to talk," I admitted.

Renard managed a chuckle at that. "It is true. I think of him like a shark… if he stops talking he will die."

"Actually I think that is a myth… I'm not for sure, honestly. Are we close to Shark Week?" I frowned; I really hoped that Shark Week existed in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! because things would really suck if it didn't. Of course knowing how this world was it was all about Shark decks and Shark strategies.

Reedy Man laughed even more at that; always nice when the hired goons had a sense of humor. "My employer warned me of as much. He also warned me you were far too cunning for anyone's good. An annoying little gnat, I believe he called you." He paused. "His words, not mine. Honestly? I don't know you so I'm not going to judge you." I glanced back and saw him frowning, his free hand tugging on the green hooded poncho he was wearing. "Tired of that."

"That sounds about right, the gnat thing" I admitted. We were walking down side streets, keeping away from crowds that might be able to offer help. And thanks to Reedy (as I had decided that was his name now until I found out what is real name was… and I could possibly continue to call him Reedy even after that) holding a gun to Renard's back there was no chance I could slip away with the Key. I was half tempted to call for Selene but I figured that was something you pulled out as a last resort; summoning your stalker goddess wasn't something one did casual-like. 'Hey babe, want to save me from a kidnapping… no, I don't only call ya when I've been handcuffed!' "Still… you aren't curious what I was going to ask?"

Reedy let out a sigh. "You aren't going to let this go until I allow you to speak, are you?"

"Not at all. Otherwise it's going to get real boring, what with you prep walking us to the… uh, where are we going?"

"You'll find out."

"Right. Not even a hint?"

"Noooooo."

"Right."

I began to whistle the car chase music theme from The Blues Brothers.

"Very well, say it."

"Now I don't know if I want to," I said with mock aloofness. "I mean, you were so against it…"

Renard cut me off. "Captain? Unless you wish to swap who has the gun pressed to their back?"

"Right, right." It glanced over my shoulder once more at Reedy. The thing is, from the way he was acting… I was getting the feeling that Reedy really didn't want to be here. "I have a feeling I know just who is putting you up to this."

"Considering what I've learned about you, Edwin Chaos, you seem to make a habit of gaining enemies."

"…that is fair. Still, I think I know who is after me this time and I just want to say… whatever he is offering… I can actually give it to you."

"I doubt that," Reedy said.

"Try me. I'm rather wealthy, I have connections… you have no idea what I can and can't do. Need to find someone you lost? My uncle can do that. All of Chaos Communications at your command. Want revenge? Some would call that the most worthless of endeavors but I'm not going to judge. Just need some hard cold cash? I can more than match whatever your boss is offering."

"This you won't be able to do," Reedy told me as we turned a corner and came to a waiting limo. "Believe me on that. Only my employer can give me what has been offered to bring you in. Now…get in and put these ones." He gestured at a set of cloth bags that were sitting on the seat.

"This is rather elaborate for your boss," I commented. "And by that I am being sarcastic; normally he is a little bitch when it comes to over-thought plans. A limo and some sacks? That is rather pedestrian for him."

Reedy chuckled at that. "I actually talked him down from being more complicated. Now then…" he waved the gun at the limo. I looked around. The door was already open so I couldn't turn it into a portal that would drop us off in the middle of Chaos Communications or KaibaCorp or any other place where there would be people that would help us out. With the gun covering Renard I couldn't hope to surprise him with Shadow Realm magic. And there wasn't anyone to call out to in hopes of getting help.

"Renard?"

"Yes?"

"If you have some super secret karate move that will get us out of this I suggest you do it now."

Renard merely slid into the limo and put the bag over his head.

"Yeah, I thought as much." I slid into the limo and put the bag on my head. "Hey, you washed it at least… that's nice."

~MC~MC~MC~

"You can't hope to defeat us," Evelyn said as she drew her next card. "Even if we weren't in perfect harmony with each other my brother and I have destiny on our side. We are fated to win this duel… not you."

"Everyone believes that they are fated to win each and every tournament," Tea said simply. "That doesn't mean you will. I have seen plenty of skilled duelists lose… duelists that needed to win in order to make their dreams and desires come true. Just because you think you deserve to win doesn't mean you actually will. And it certainly doesn't mean that you can get away with allying with the likes of Marik and his Rare Hunters!"

"You are one to talk when it comes to who you associate with," Eugene said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Marik has made sure to inform all of his elite Rare Hunters, as well as his trusted allies such as my sweet sister and I, all about you and your friends. We know your pasts, your presents… and your futures."

"You call a petty thug a friend," Evelyn stated. "Joey Wheeler… he is the child of drunks and neglectful parents. His own mother abandoned him because she knew there was nothing worthwhile about him. If he had been drowned as an infant nothing would have changed when it came to the world. His life is meaningless and yet you call him a friend? It shows how little you truly matter yourself."

"Joey isn't his past, he is his future," Tea snapped back. "Yes… his childhood wasn't a happy one. And so many people looked past him… but that has nothing to do with him! That has everything to do with THEM! They FAILED! They missed the good man he could be… that he is going to be!" Tea grit her teeth together. "I am honored to be his friend, to stand by his side… and I can't wait to see the man he becomes!"

Eugene though wasn't convinced by her speech. "That is the speech one gives when they don't want to admit that they've hitched their wagon to a dead mule. Of course I shouldn't expect anything less from you… Yugi Muto? The child of a broken home, his grandfather a scoundrel and thief who gambled his way through? Tristan Taylor, the weak son who has no hope of living up to the lofty skills of his forefathers? Ryou Bakura, the lonely and meek little boy who has no strength…"

"Yugi is the King of Games and every day he proves how worthy of that title he is. Tristan is doing the brave thing and seeking out a way to make a name for himself, separate from his family. Bakura has faced traumas none of us can comprehend and each time come back stronger!" She jabbed her finger at Eugene. "Don't you DARE talk bad about my friends again!"

Eugene snorted in amusement. "More pathetic ramblings from a little girl who sees the world as friendship and sunshine and rainbows even as her father proves to be the most corrupt man in this city?"

Tea flinched at that but now it was Yuri's turn to speak. "You think you understand my sister and I? We are not our father… and we have seen things that you could never comprehend. We have seen true evil…" She shut her eyes, visions of her counterpart on Earth-2, who had decided to embrace everything she herself had turned away from, flashing in her mind. "In the world… and in ourselves. And we haven't let it break us. It has made us stronger. You keep talking about how you understand us-"

"And we do," Evelyn said with a patronizing wave of her hand. "You have latched onto a new power even as you scorned your father. The Guardian Devil. That whore Mai Valentine. The foppish fool Renard Volpe. You've traded one kind of scum for another."

"Maybe," Yuri admitted, "but that scum is so much higher up the food chain than you they can't even see you worms wiggling in the ground."

THAT got Evelyn fuming. "We are not worms, you cretin! We have the blood of kings in our veins!"

"Yeah, sure you do. And if I spend 50 bucks in the right place I can buy a plot of land in Scotland and call myself a Lady."

"We speak of true royalty," Eugene stated. "Our family… it traces itself all the way to the line of English kings. Our ancestors ruled an empire that has never been surpassed. The divine right of kings is within our very souls!"

"And yet you duel in the streets at the command of a tomb keeper," Yuri taunted.

Evelyn's eye twitched. "We work WITH Marik Ishtar to reclaim what belongs to us. When we defeat you and bring you to him he will reward us handsomely."

"What? Make you kings and queens?" Tea asked dryly.

"Perhaps," Eugene said with a shrug. "We will settle for our noble titles returned to us."

Tea chuckled. "Ha! So it is all an act."

"Pardon?"

"All the hoity toity garbage… you aren't royalty or nobles… you are peasants!"

"We are nobles!" Evelyn screamed.

Tea though shook her head. "Nuh uh. You just admitted you weren't. How else could Marik return your noble titles to you?" The twins went silent at that. "I'm right, aren't I? What happened? Born to the second son? Or get exiled?" The twins were silent but Tea shook her head, causing Yuri to wonder if she realized how much she resembled Yugi and Edwin when they dueled in that moment. The cockiness, the confidence, the knowledge that she'd trapped her foe and now she was able to how things went. Even though it wasn't in the duel and merely in a conversation Tea had still managed to trick the twins into admitting something they had clearly been trying to hide and it made Yuri smile as she saw her little sister all grown up.

"If you must know… a forefather of ours was rather… foolish with how he managed our family's lands and holdings," Eugene admitted before glaring at the two of them. "But when we defeat you two and bring you to Marik he will ensure that we are restored to our rightful place as masters our lands."

"Neat," Yuri said with a smirk, deciding to channel Edwin for a moment. "So… who is going to be in control."

"Pardon?

Yuri pointed at the two of them. "You can't marry… unless you are THOSE kinds of nobles-" Eugene and Evelyn scowled at that in disgust and Yuri gave them just a bit of credit for not being that kind of disgusting, "-so that means only one of you can be the actual master of your ancestral lands. The other… well, they might get a title but it's just honorary, isn't it? Just given by their sibling. So… who is it?"

Eugene laughed. "Why, me of course! I am the male, after all."

"Pardon me, beloved brother," Evelyn said with forced sweetness, "but I am older than you and eldest is the heir."

"But you are a woman, sweet sister. A king's home is his castle… that is how the saying goes, after all."

"But the queen is the most powerful piece of a chess board, is she not? The King might decide the end of the game but the queen is the one with all the strength."

"The queen does the work, sweet sister."

"Like a servant?" Evelyn charged.

"Your words…"

"If you believe for one moment I am going to allow you to take what belongs to me-!"

"You have no reason to fear because I will not be doing that!" Eugene charged. "I will be claiming what is MINE!"

"OI!" Evelyn snarled, dropping her posh accent and falling into one that might be heard in the back alleys of London's more dangerous neighborhoods. "If ya think I'm gonna 'llow ya ta take the title and use me, ya got another thing comin'! I was the one that thought up findin' Marik!"

"I was the one that convinced him ta help us!" Eugene said, his own cultured and refined tones shattering to reveal the more harsh and vulgar accents that colored his words. "If'n it were up ta ya we would've just waited outside and hoped he helped us out! I convinced him that we could do this!"

Evelyn glared at her brother, stomping her foot. "Clear off with that rubbish, ya fuckin' prick! You ain't done nothin' ta further our goals that I didn't already have planned! Face it, Gene, ya're just riddin' me coattails."

"Your coattails? Ya ditzy dart! I'm the one with the monster on the field that has these two twits shuddering in their boots! What have ya done but gotten your monster defeated, Evie?" He rolled his eyes. "And what a monster! Oh, aye, we get it love, ya're all edge and grimdark with yar dark monarch. Really scary lass. Try a bit harder ta make everyone scared of yar bony arse!"

"Better than your faggoty lookin' angel!"

"Whoa!" Yuri exclaimed, holding up her hands. "No need to go dropping language like that-"

"Fuck off!" brother and sister snarled at her before continuing their feud.

"Should… should we do something?" Tea asked softly as Yuri glanced at her.

"I don't know. Usually this is the part of the duel where Edwin or Yugi does something amazing. You have anything amazing planned?"

"Nothing I can do at the moment," Tea admitted. "Next turn…"

"I'll show ya what I can do!" Evelyn declared, holding out a card. "I'll activate Soul Charge! With this I can pay 1000 lifepoint to summon one monster from the graveyard!" (Evelyn and Eugene-3000)

"Ya daft bint those are my lifepoints ya're spendin'!"

"They are MY lifepoints to, brother, and I'll show all of ya how I am gonna win this duel! I summon back my Erebus and have 'im attack Silva!" The Dark Monarch appeared on the field once more and with a tap of his finger upon his throne he caused Yuri's monster to shatter. "Here! I managed ta get the first damage on their lifepoints! Better than what you've been doin'!" (Yuri and Tea-2700)

"But it cost us nearly as much lifepoints to do that!" Eugene snapped.

"What, 'fraid your sissy little monarch can't finish the job next turn? Don't worry… let the REAL head of the family take care of matters!"

"Oh, I'll defeat'em next turn and I won't need ta waste none of our own lifepoints!"

"Ahem."

The feuding twins turned to Tea.

"It's mine turn." She drew. "And to be accurate… it's the last turn." She held up a card. "I'll begin by summoning my Agent of Creation-Venus and using her effect to pay 1000 lifepoints to summon two Shine Balls from my deck to the field." (Yuri and Tea-1700)

"See, she's hurtin' herself for us!" Evelyn said with a smug smirk.

"Just like ya hurt us!" her brother retorted.

"Now then," Tea continued even as the twins glared at each other, "the Shine Balls won't be staying on the field for long. Link Summon!"

"Link Summon?" Eugene said in surprise. "What is that?"

"A new way to bring monsters out to the field, on special part of the duel disc, actually." Tea swept the two Shine Balls from her duel disc and placed them in the graveyard. "I sacrifice these two orbs of pure goodness to summon forth one of the mightiest guardians of the Sanctuary in the Sky: my Celestial Knightlord Parshath!"

The fairy that appeared on Tea's side of the field was unique, even when compared to some of the things Yuri had seen summoned during a duel. It was a crystalline centaur, with the upper half being a knight whose flesh was made of raw diamonds with wings that were panes of titanium that didn't connect to its back as they hovered behind it. The lower part of the monster was also made of diamonds but had 8 legs, each gilded with gold and silver armor.

The twins looked at the monster before both of them let out scoffs. "You think that garish thing will be able to defeat us?" Evelyn said with a dainty sniff.

"Hey!" Yuri complained. "You can't pretend you are still all posh and cultured!"

"Pretend? Whatever are you talking about?"

"We heard your real accents."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"…seriously?" Yuri complained.

Tea though merely shook her head. "They can use whatever accent they want. They are still going to lose."

"Like my sweet sister said," Eugene declared, "we aren't afraid of that monster. In fact it looked rather weak to me… certainly weaker than our monarchs!"

"You should know by now that it isn't the attack points that make a monster powerful. Just like you can sometimes topple an empire with an army… or merely slay the king with a sole assassin." As she said that the Knightlord held up his weapon, which began to glow.

"What trickery is this?!?" Evelyn exclaimed.

"My Knightlord's effect. When Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field I can add to my hand one monster that lists the field spell in its effect text to my hand." She tapped her duel disc and a card spat out of her deck. "And now I will banish my Agent of Miracles- Jupiter from my graveyard in order to summon forth the master of the Agent, the being they all circle around. Come forth Master Hyperion!"

There was a single spark and then, with a boom that rattled the Sanctuary in the Sky the physical embodiment of the Sun appeared on the field in all his glory. He towered over even the Monarchs, arms held out wide as his very fiery aura flicked and lashed out, threatening to consume all.

"And now its time to end this duel!" Tea declared.

"How?!?" Eugene exclaimed in shock. "Our monarchs are still more powerful than that… creature!"

"Through his effect! By banishing a Fairy-Type monster from my graveyard I am able to remove one of your monsters from the game… and when Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field I am able to use that effect twice!"

"No… you can't! Our… our Monarchs…" Evelyn pleaded even as Tea's monster reached down and grasped the Monarchs of heaven and the Underworld in his hands. The two royal monsters aloof dispositions disappeared in an instant and they began to struggle and fight against the hold but there was nothing they could do to escape. "Do something Eugene!"

"I… I don't…"

"Master Hyperion, Supernova Strike!" Tea declared at Master Hyerpion's eyes flared before he reduced the two monarchs to ashes. "And now, with your field empty…"

Evelyn desperately looked about before locking eyes with Yuri. "And… and you are okay with this? You did all the work? You continually protected her… and now your little sister is going to steal the glory all for herself!"

Eugene quickly nodded. "It should be YOU that makes the final blow, not her! She has no right to take from you this victory."

Yuri shut her eyes and began to chuckle.

"Why… why are you laughing?" Evelyn asked, her voice wobbling between the false upper crust tones and her true lower class accent. "Tell me why-"

Yuri though just shook her head. "You two… using your little terms of endearment, dressing in outfits that go so well together… but in the end you were reduced to petty squabbling the moment each of you thought the other was going to claim a bit more power, a bit more standing. For all your talk of being such close siblings… you have no idea what it is like to actually be family." She opened her eyes but rather than look at the two Rare Hunters she stared at her little sister, smiling. "Family doesn't care if one is more successful than the other. Not really. There might be some jealousy, sure, that's human nature. But in the end you are happy for them. You are happy that they succeed. When they are down you don't mock them you hold out your hand and help them back up."

"And not just with your family by blood," Tea said. "But the family you choose, as well! You brought up Joey and Yugi and Tristan and Bakura… they are that I chose. When Joey's sister needed help there was never a question that Yugi was going to give the prize money to him. And if I had been entered in Duelist Kingdom I'd have done the same thing!"

"Edwin and Mai and Renard?" Yuri stated, fists clenched and a firm and brilliant smile on her lips. "They were there for me at my darkest moment and helped me back up. Gave me a reason to keep going. You can mock them all you want… but they are my family, just as much as Tea. That's why I have no problem if Tea takes you out! Just like I'll be cheering all the same if Edwin or Yugi or Mai win Battle City. Because they are family and that is what you do! So…" she looked to Tea. "Why don't you finish them off?"

"Gladly," Tea said, thrusting out her hand. "Knightlord Parashath, Master Hyperion! Attack Eugene and Evelyn directly!"

The twins could only cry out as they were hit by the blasts of holy energy, dropping their lifepoints down to nothing and sending them falling to the ground. (Eugene and Evelyn-0000)

"And THAT is how the Gardner Sisters do it!" Tea said, pumping her fist in the air.

"You… you pathetic little peons," Evelyn wailed as Yuri walked over to them.

"You will pay for-" Eugene's threat was cut off as Yuri pressed her boot against his wrist, causing him to squirm.

"Yeah, see… Yugi and his friends might not have problems with having rivals that swear vengeance but I roll with the Guardian Devil and his crew… and we don't put up with that noise." She squatted down and patted Eugene on the cheek. "Now… be a good boy and leave us your rarest cards and your locator cards, okay? Okay."

"Unless you want us to fight you street level," Tea threatened.

The twins looked at each other. The moment Yuri released Eugene's wrist the two were scrambling away as fast at they could, tossing the cards behind them as they hurried off.

"Street level fighting?" Yuri asked. "What do you know about street level fighting? I have been begging you to go to my self defense classes for years after you quit…"

"Joey showed me how to throw a punch," Tea admitted with an embarrassed shrug. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"That it did," Yuri said as she picked up Erebus, tossing the Heavenly Monarch to Tea. "And this was rather eventful." Tea though didn't answer. "Right?"

"Yuri… they had 6 locator cards."

"Pardon?"

"They had 6 locator cards. Three between them, I guess!" Tea held up the cards. "I only need one… that means…"

"Wait…" Yuri said, eyes going wide. "You aren't-"

"I SO am!" Tea said, reaching over and shoving the five locator cards into Yuri's duel disc, then doing the same with her own. "Come… we can do it together…"

Yuri looked at her sister, lips pursed. "It will annoy Seto Kaiba to no end, won't it? That the two of us got to the finals before he did?"

"Oh yeah."

Yuri grinned and pulled out her original Locator Card and shoved it inside her duel disc.

~MC~MC~MC~

"…that can't be possible," Seto murmured to himself , looking down at his phone before swiping the screen away and pulling up his contact list.

"Everything okay, sir?" Aria, the head of his beta testers asked. He had run into his employee and Mokuba had asked to duel her, wanting to see how how his deck would manage against her system. Edwin and her were friends (the only real knock against her, honestly) and thus Mokuba and her knew each other well enough. Aria was a decent woman, even if she did dress like she was getting ready to go to a rock concert all the time, and she was one of the only people that could keep up with him when he got on an inventing tear.

"Everything is fine, continue with your duel."

"Right," she said before turning to Mokuba. "My move, right?"

"Yeah! And I love your digital deck!"

Aria smiled at that. "Yeah, Caesar asked me to test out the program, see if it could work with the duel disc system. Obviously it will never replace the trading card game and I am able to access any card I want but hey, makes it fun."

"Yeah… because I doubt I'd ever meet someone who played a physical copy of THIS deck!" Mokuba gestured at Aria's side of the field, which had both the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon currently out to face off against Mokuba's Ice Barrier Dragons.

"Well, I do run a Red-Eyes Deck."

"Really?" Mokuba asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I love the potential of it. I brought it up to Edwin and Cassie a few weeks back and they convinced Pegasus to send me a deck. Has some interesting cards…"

Seto tuned the two out, focusing on listening to the ringing of the phone before a voice finally came on. "Yes Mr. Kaiba, sir?"

"I need you to run a check on the Battle City rankings system. Clearly something is wrong with it."

"Very well sir," the technician said and Seto waited, almost able to hear the click-click-click of fingers on the keyboard. "I'm not seeing any problems, sir. What did you notice?"

"You aren't seeing that four people have already gotten their locator cards…and WHO they happen to be?"

"Actually its five sir," the tech said. "Another one just made it."

Seto grit his teeth. "Edwin Chaos-" He paused before shaking his head. "Fine, maybe he did get his cards that fast. He was the first person to Pegasus' Castle… the man is an annoying little gnat but he does know how to duel. And Mai Valentine… she might rely on her looks far too much but she's just as skilled. But Tea Gardner… Tea Gardner? Yugi's little cheerleader friend who is always whining about friendship? SHE managed to get into the finals?"

"…yes sir," the tech said, sounding totally unfazed (which was expected; Seto had hired his techs to be able to do the job without reacting to even his own anger). "It appears her and her sister, Yuri Gardner, won in a tag duel and split the locator cards."

"I activate my trap card!" Mokuba called out.

Seto grit his teeth. "And who is the one that just managed to get into the finals while we were talking?" Mentally he added, 'If it is Wheeler then I know something is wrong…'

"Brom Bones, sir," the tech said.

Seto frowned at that. "That name… it sounds familiar…"

"He is the American Champion, sir. Mr. Pegasus hired him to act as an Eliminator…"

"Yes, him," Seto said, remembering the duelist in question. While Seto had never dueled him he knew Brom was supposed to be an amazing duelist who loved to overwhelm his opponents. "I'm not surprised that he-"

"Joseph Wheeler just activated his locator cards, sir."

"…what?"

The tech repeated his comment. "Joseph Wheeler. He just-"

"How did that little cretin manage to get six locator cards?!?!" Seto demanded, nearly crushing the phone he was gripping it that hard.

"I am looking over who had the cards before him… looks like he defeated a Vellian Crowler. Though that was about an hour ago… I think he didn't know what to do with them."

"Blue-Eyes Attack!"

Seto scoffed. "That sounds right when it comes to Wheeler. Is there anyone else close to getting their final locator cards?"

The tech was silent for a few seconds, pulling up the needed data. The leader board showed where people were but not if they were currently having a duel; the tech though could see that-

"Another person just got their final locator card."

"Who?" Seto said dangerously. "Yugi's little friend Tristan? Maybe his grandfather?"

"It is-"

"Nice job, Mokuba!" Aria said as she powered down her duel disc and walked over to Seto's brother, causing the older of the Kaiba Brothers to actually realize the duel was over… and Aria was handing Mokuba his sixth locator card. "That was a neat move with that quickplay spell card."

"Thanks. Sorry I kicked you out of Battle City though!"

"Meh, I would rather just watch it on TV. Cassie is going to livestream it. We were going to invite you guys if you didn't make it but sounds like it will just be the office gang. Hmmm… speaking of." Aria pulled out her phone and began to go through her contacts.

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed, running up to his brother. "Did you see that? I'm going to the Battle City Finals!"

For anyone else he would have scoffed. Or been annoyed that they had qualified before him. But looking down at his brother, his eyes wide and a massive smile on his face, Seto could only smile and place his hand on his brother's shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"I sure did, Mokuba. Now we just need to work on getting me my final locator cards."

"That will be easy!" Mokuba declared, throwing his arms out wide. "With Obelisk the Tormentor in your deck you'll-"

"OBELISK!?!"

Seto and Mokuba turned to find Aria pulling her phone from her ear, eyes screwed up in pain thanks to the sonic attack she'd just suffered from Cassie's cries. Seto stared, confused, only for his brain to quickly make the connection.

'Pegasus had a whole team that worked on the God Cards but according to Ishizu the first night they spent on them they were found horrifically killed. Cassie Garnett works for Pegasus in the Lore and Research Department…' He held out his hand and Aria, no fool, handed the phone to her boss. "Ms. Garnett."

"Y-yes," the woman on the other end said, her voice trembling. "Did… did you say 'Obelisk the Tormentor', Mr. Kaiba?"

"I did. I assume Pegasus had you on the God Card project."

"…nope!"

"Ms. Garnett…"

"I wasn't on the God Card Project!" Cassie said hurriedly, her words a fast and panicked jumble. "I certainly didn't get assigned by Pegasus to look into the origins of three large duel monsters he remembered from tablets he saw in Egypt! And he completely didn't rush into my office after the design team was brutally murdered and told me to forget all about the God Cards and to delete all my files! Nope, Mr. Pegasus didn't save my life and I am NOT barricading myself in my apartment right now!"

"If you know something-"

"SSShhhhHSSSShhhssss!" Cassie hissed into the phone. "Sorry… breaking… up. Must being… tunnel. SHHHsssSSSShhhSShS."

"Ms. Garnett, may I-"

The phone line went dead.

"Do… do I want to know, sir?" Aria asked.

"No," Seto said, tossing the phone back to her. "In fact it would be best if you just forgot everything that took place."

"Yes sir."

~MC~MC~MC~

Selene casually leaned back, sitting in mid air, rising just enough so that her pale toes dangled a few inches off the ground. It wasn't a magic trick or some super power but merely her choosing not to obey the rules of gravity. For mortals such cosmic laws were built into their dna, so that they had no choice but to obey them. The need to eat. That what goes up would come down. The flow of time forever forward. All were so engrained into their very beings that even when they wished not to follow those rules they had no choice but to obey. Some, like the great magicians and mages, could bend the rules, but at a great cost of power. Her Endymion had learned how to float, after all, which made their love making-

She paused, brushing that thought aside. She needed to focus. Fantasies of love making could wait.

For a god though the laws were something they could either obey or not. Oh, there were some that were stronger than others but all of them, with enough willpower, could be set aside.

And Selene had willpower to spare.

She watched as the tomb keeper and the Patchwork groveled before her. It amused her so much that they had thought themselves to be a challenge for her. That they had any hope to defeat her. She was sure even now the Patchwork was scheming to try and defeat her but that would never come to pass.

'He is not my brother,' she thought to herself idly. 'He behaves like him but he is more like a child raised by my brother than truly him. There is too much of humanity in him.' Her brother was a schemer… of course all the gods were schemers, to so extent. One had to be when you could get whatever you wanted with a wave of your hand. Full use of one's powers? That was boring. It was why so many gods imposed challenges upon themselves, to make life more interesting. Ares refusing to commit to any plan during a battle, to see if he could win purely through sudden attack despite the fact that he was his sister's rival in strategy. Zeus seducing women rather than merely taking them as was his right, revealing his divine grace so that they would submit to him. Osiris allowing his jealous brother to tear him to pieces just to see if his wife was cunning enough to find all of his scattered bits and piece them together. Herself and her creation of her Mai Valentine persona.

The same was true of Zorc. He had wanted to rule the world and enslave humanity but he hadn't wanted to merely storm the sands as some giant beast and impose his will on all that appeared before him. No… he had wanted humanity to doom itself. He whispered in the ear of the Pharaoh's jealous brother that he and his son should continue on the rule of Egypt, not Atem. Had shown the man how to make the Millennium Items knowing that such a dark ritual would not just open rifts in the mortal world to his domain of darkness and shadow but also inspire others to rise up against the Pharaoh and his Priests and create glorious war, with each loss of life serving as another bloody tribute to Zorc.

'The only things he didn't see were the Pharaoh Atem's noble sacrifice or my Endymion's role,' Selene thought to herself, allowing her mind to drift to her love's arrival at the Thieves' Village. 'But he used that all the same.'

In comparison the Patchwork was… sloppy. Blunt. He was a hammer where the situation required a fine knife. His attack on the Pharaoh at Duelist Kingdom had contained all the subtly as a chariot crash performed by two drunk racers. And now this alliance with Marik? There was… merit to it… but she didn't know what purpose it served as it was doomed to come apart rather soon.

"You say you can help convince my Endymion to come to my side," Selene said, quirking an eyebrow. "Why would I need help? What is humanity when compared to a goddess?"

"Many have thought the same thing," Marik stated. "And they have always underestimated the secrets of the world to their folly."

The Patchwork nodded at that. "Edwin Chaos has already shown that he has an affinity to claiming power… but he does little with it. With just the Millennium Key he could create an empire. Topple his foes. There is nothing he couldn't take, nothing he couldn't seal away. And yet he continues to humble himself and remain as a mere mortal. Do you believe that even you could tempt him?"

Selene frowned at that, eyes narrowed. 'He does show an unnatural attachment to my Mai persona.' Rather than celebrate that his lover was an immortal being offering him the chance to be a god Endymion clung to her weaker, memory-lacking persona like a child would a beloved toy well past the time of growth and maturity. "And you believe… what? That you can teach me how to seduce him?" She tittered at that.

The Patchwork though shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Rather we can, in our own efforts to defeat the Pharaoh and his allies, drive Edwin from them and anyone else who would keep him tethered to the world."

"I could slay them all with a wave of my hand," Selene pointed out.

"But he'd never forgive you," Marik said. "Men like Edwin Chaos… they look on such acts with a narrow view."

Selene slowly nodded at that. Endymion did love more than her… his students, his servants… she had been tempted more than once to demand him slay them all, just to see what he would do. "Yes… yes, perhaps you are right. What do you propose then?"

"It would be too simple to merely kill them. No… we in fact need them alive." Marik paused. "Though the quality of that life is the true matter that must be considered. Should they face hardship after hardship, failure after failure… and see your lover only achieving all he desires…"

"Yes…" Selene purred, nodding in agreement. "Yes, I believe you are right. And you are already positioned to ensure that happens."

With that there was no need for further words. The accord was silently struck and the three parted ways. Or, at least, the Patchwork and the Tombkeeper believed there to be one between the three.

Selene remained in the alley for a bit, knowing that when she allowed the memories of their conversation to be locked away Mai would only remember Marik and Bakura attacking her. It made her smirk; she wondered if they realized how difficult their charade would be thanks to that knowledge. She remembered, from viewing Endymion's life on that other strange Earth, that in the original histories of this world Marik and Bakura both portrayed themselves as friends of Yugi and his allies for a little while longer, only revealed during the first round of duels during the Battle City Finals. No so here… Mai would reveal everything and that was assuming her Endymion wasn't already planning to tear apart their schemes.

'It doesn't matter though,' she thought to herself as she heard Tea and Yuri coming and quickly reverted herself to looking like Mai, choosing to lock away her memories for last, 'they will attempt to betray me. I will use them until they are no longer needed. This will be my new restriction to make the game fun: to use those two rather than simply take matters into my own hands.' She giggled. 'Oh… what FUN this will be!'

~MC~MC~MC~

"That was a dangerous gambit you played," the Spirit of the Ring said once he and Marik were far enough away from the goddess that he trusted her not to overhear. "And it is unwise to pledge one's self to a god so quickly. Still perhaps-"

Marik whipped around, pointing his Millennium Rod at him, eyes narrowed. "Do you believe I forgot her words so quickly? That you seek to destroy the world? I was a slave to the Pharaoh… I will not replace his whip with yours."

"Oh… oh, so the little tomb keeper had taken his delusions of strength and expanded them even further." The Spirit leered at Marik, his Millennium Ring beginning to glow. "I battled Pegasus already and claimed his Millennium Eye… I believe that your Millennium Rod would make a nice addition to my collection."

He paused, however.

'I could do it now. Beat back this fool and claim his item. Yet another stepping stone towards freeing my greater half from the depths of the Millennium Puzzle. But… to do so would be to remove a powerful piece from the game board.' During his time hiding in young Ryou Bakura's mind he had learned much about the different table top and role play games that the boy loved and could appreciate the skill they required. How every piece had a purpose and a truly smart player would know when to use each one… and when to remove it. 'If I were to deal with Marik now the threat of him and his Rare Hunters would be gone. The Pharaoh would only have me to challenge him… and while I have grown stronger I can not be certain that I am strong enough to defeat him. Especially considering that the piece of my soul I left to wander the Millennium Puzzle in hopes of finding the seal that holds my larger half continues the search.

'If Marik is allowed to remain, however, that would mean further distracts for the Pharoah, to keep him from seeing the truth of the danger he is in. His focus would be splintered and it would allow me to strike at the right time.' He chuckled in his head. 'And… should the opportunity arise to slay Edwin Chaos it would be easy enough to pin the deed on Marik and let him face the wrath of Selene.'

With that settled Bakura took a step back. "I think you should focus on your revenge, Marik Ishtar… and as such I will leave you to that." With that he entered the shadows, using the Millennium Ring to teleport away. "But know this, tomb keeper… when next we meet it won't be as allies!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Into the Chaosverse Omake

Earth 1138

Palpatine smirked as he settled behind the desk of his new office, only a mouse droid who was cleaning away keeping him company. it had all worked out perfectly. The foolish girl queen had done the vote of no confidence and he'd been elected chancellor. He'd tried to stall her from leaving, of course, as her staying and the people of Naboo suffering would have worked perfectly to have them eventually lead the Seperatist Movement he was creating. Oh the tragedy of his own home planet abandoning the Republic... but it show how... dedicated... he was to preserving it that he stood against his own people.

But she had left and that had forced him to change plans but-

Here is the thing about the Force. Yes, it can warn of danger... but only to a point. A split second reaction. Except for the rare moments of visions most Force Users only got a moment of warning, little more than a scream a second sooner than most, to tell them of danger. And even then the danger had to be planned. A Force User couldn't feel lightning suddenly striking from the sky.

Palpatine was planning on this. His entire plot, Order 66 and the perfect Jedi Trap, required for the Jedi to be focused on so many other things that they weren't prepared for the sudden attacks that would come against them.

Here is the thing about The Force.

Those that use it, despite what they might claim on either side, always focus on other Force Users. There are them and there is everyone else and everyone else doesn't matter.

Here is the thing about the Force.

Droids can't tap into it.

All of this explains why Palpatine only has a microsecond, a slight flare of DANGER, before the Mouse droid that had rolled up to him exploded, the Thermal Detonator going off at point blank range.

And even for the Lord of the Sith... there is little the Force can do when its user is flash fried to a skeleton within the blink of an eye.

The Jedi will investigate heavily. That is the irony of it all. They will search out Palpatine's killer even though they should praise him and damn the dead man. If he was able to Palpatine would have cackled over it. But… the Force is a funny thing. The Dark Side isn't a piece of the Force but rather those that were blessed twisting it and brutalizing it in order to get what they desire. And the Force… it remembers. So that when one enters it they face all the good and the ill they did.

Palpatine in one moment is savoring his coming victory. The next his twisted soul is being forever torn apart by those that have waited for their vengeance. And as they claim their piece of him he feels agony that changes every moment, so that he can never get used to it. And in his ears he hears the wails of the Dark lords that came before him… cursing him for his failure.

The plans of countless Sith, for over a thousand years… are reduced to dust because of a droid and a man without a lick of Force powers.

Miles away from the Senate building… Edlin Keyoos smirked behind his beskar helmet.

"So... what was that about?" Jango Fett asks the foundling he discovered 10 years previously, arms folded over his chest. Behind him Zam, Cad Bane, and a collection of Bounty Hunters all stared in shock at Edlin's handiwork. He had asked them all to come and witness his magnum opus. They'd assumed he was pulling off a bounty from a secured prison. Instead they just watched him murder the most powerful man in the Republic.

"Oh... just making the galaxy more interesting," he stated with a casual shrug. "Now then... let's go get you the Darksaber, pop. I think its time the New Mandalorians learned how things SHOULD be run."

Introducing the Edwin Chaos of Earth 1138- Edlin Keyoos. Bounty Hunter. Mandalorian. Advisor to Jango Fett, the newly reinstated King of Mandalore.

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