Chaos Effect

Chapter 75

"What do you mean?" Mokuba asked, his brow furrowed.

"Yugi realized that some of the contestants in this tournament would be keeping track of the strategies each duelist is using, so they could tailor their decks to counter those strategies. Him using a deck he hadn't used in the tournament yet was smart."

"Is that why you used your ABC Dragon deck in a few of your duels, Seto?" Mokuba asked.

"It is," he confirmed. While he doubted anyone would take as much time as he had to actually analyze the different duels every finalist had been in he had known that his deck did have a glaring weakness: its fame. He was Seto Kaiba and the entire world knew that he used the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. 'I'm almost grateful to Pegasus for sending me that second deck... it needed a lot of changes made to make it work the way it should but it has given me another option.'

"Oh!" Mokuba said excitedly. "And that's why Edwin sometimes swaps out his decks!"

He glowered at that. So far he'd only run into two other duelists that mixed up which decks they used: Yugi and Edwin. 'The two that I am most concerned about,' he thought to himself. 'I will beat them but I want to have every advantage I can get in order to do so... them swapping out their decks makes it a chore.'

He pulled up his files on Yugi and Edwin, scrolling through them while Mokuba began to mumble about getting a secondary deck for himself; Seto would only step in if Mokuba began to really go in that direction as, at the moment, his brother still needed to learn how to master his Ice Barrier deck before he could begin using a second deck. It was hard to swap between decks, especially if they had vastly different strategies. His own Blue-Eyes Deck and ABC Dragon Decks were wildly different and he had to be in the right mindset in order to use them both properly. He had spent days in the simulator room at KaibaCorp, swapping between decks until he could remember every card he had and all the different combos.

'I thought Yugi only had two decks,' he thought to himself. 'He used his Dark Magician deck for most of his time in Battle City but against that Rare Hunter he used a Gaia the Fierce Knight deck. But apparently he has a third deck, that Magnet Deck...' He frowned, pressing a finger against his cheek in thought. 'But there is always a chance he has more than that even.'

His fingers flew over the keys of his computer before used the built in mouse to open up some files, finally finding what he was looking for.

'His first two decks used monsters that he had in Duelist Kingdom. Gaia the Fierce Knight and the Dark Magician were two of his go-to monsters.' In another window he brought up the Duel Monster Card Registry and began to input names. He couldn't access the full database, much to his annoyance, but he could pull up any card that had been used in any tournament. The program he had designed would search through the registry and determine if there were enough cards to build an entire deck around one particular monster. 'Summoned Skull and Celtic Guardian seem to be the two monsters he used the most after those two.' The program continued to chug along and Seto frowned; it would take some time for it to come up with all the possible variations of decks that might be made, assuming there were any. 'Summoned Skull is a possibility. Celtic Guardian... that Rare Hunter used a variation but nothing else.'

As the system ran he pulled up Edwin 's decks which were far more annoying because the man was using decks that had nothing to do with each other. 'According to this Edwin has registered...' He leaned forward, eyes narrowed. 'Five decks. But... two of them have corruptions in the files.' The first, his Mystical Beast deck, showed up as only being used twice around Christmas... yet that made very little sense, considering that Christmas hadn't even come around yet. Same with Halloween and his Ghostrick deck; even odder it listened that he had used it YESTERDAY yet also on Halloween. 'I need to defrag this entire system,' he thought bitterly. 'Someone clearly was using this computer for things they shouldn't-'

~MC~MC~MC~

Cassie shivered.

"What?" Alec asked from the couch, the rest of the Kaibacorp Department Heads looking at her from their seats. They were munching on pastries while they waited for the next duel to begin on the tv; one of the benefits of BEING department heads was declaring they were doing 'work at home' days. IE sitting on their asses watching the Tournament.

"I don't know... I just suddenly remembered that time Aria dared me to use Mr. Kaiba's computer to look up Street Sharks Porn."

"...that exists?" Caesar asked.

"Everything has porn," Martin commented. "Haven't you read the Yugi/Seto Slash fiction?"

"...nooooooooo," Caesar said slowly.

"I found Edwin/Anthro Female Kuriboh lemons before," Aria chimed in.

Everyone just stared at her.

"It was actually more tasteful than you'd think."

~MC~MC~MC~

Seto ignored the glitched out decks and focused on the three he'd actually used in Battle City. 'His Endymion deck... that is the one he tends to favor. It's built around spell cards and getting his monsters out quickly, with Endymion being the main monster he uses to win duels. That said he's shown that he has Synchro cards that can help him win and spell cards as well.' He pulled up the next deck. 'He hasn't used it much at all but I do have records on his Lair of Darkness deck. That one seems to be a complete reverse of his Endymion deck as it focuses on Trap Cards and tributing monsters in order to bring out his Lord of the Lair.'

The final deck was the most irksome.

'Pegasus... it's clear he gave Edwin a brand new deck.' He frowned as he looked over the records of Edwin's tag team duel with Pegasus. 'Starry Knight. It seems to be built around Starry Night Starry Dragon card... though there isn't nearly enough for me to truly determine its full power. And I've never heard of that deck. I bet Pegasus custom-'

"Seto?" Mokuba called out, causing Seto to instantly stop what he was working on and look at his brother. "Are you sure that's its right for you to look at how other people were dueling?" He frowned. "It feels like cheating."

Had it been anyone else Seto would have gotten mad over that accusation. But it being his brother he knew that the question was coming from a place of innocence and thus he merely shook his head. "It's no different than if you took out a notebook and records what everyone was doing during a duel. And CCN is running coverage of the tournament and has analysts looking at each duel."

"You think they are talking about us right now?"

"Why don't you turn it on and see?" Seto said, knowing that would occupy his brother for a while and allow him to focus. He stared at his computer, tuning out the commercial that was playing when Mokuba flipped on the tv in his satellite office, and got to work trying to figure out more about the competition.

~MC~MC~MC~

"They decided the next round," Yuri said as she walked into Mai's room. The duelist in question looked up from her bed, which she had flopped down upon in an ungraceful heap, and frowned. "We don't have to talk about it-"

"Please, do," Mai said. "I want to think about anything other than my life and all the problems that are going on." She let out a huff. "Especially since it feels like every time I take a step forward I end up having to take two steps back."

"Selene?" Yuri asked.

"Selene," Mai confirmed. "She took over again. She keeps doing that and it's so frustrating! And she's ME, Yuri! I'm getting mad at myself! She's me but with... more! I'm competing against myself."

"And winning," Yuri pointed out. "Edwin isn't pushing you away... if anything he is trying to wrap you up and keep you safe."

"He is and I love him for that but I know I am putting him in such a tough spot. Selene..." Mai rolled her hand about as Yuri moved to lie down next to her, Mai scooting slightly so make room, "...she wants to do things to him. Horrible things. If a man tried to do to me half the things she's apparently attempted he'd either be in jail or I would be for murdering him. I'm forcing Edwin to be near his potential rapist."

"And he doesn't mind because he loves you," Yuri assured her. "Plus... like I said... you're winning." She motioned at Mai's form. "Selene can't win because Edwin likes his women tough, strong, and down to earth."

"I am not down to Earth. Everyone knows I'm high maintenance." Honestly more than one man had called her a goddess (sometimes flattering, sometimes as a bitter insult) and now all that seemed like a bitter joke.

"Maybe in the past but the Mai I've come to know only wants the world to think that." She paused. "You realize if Selene were sitting on a golden throne and you were lying in this bed Edwin would go to you, right?"

"...yeah," Mai admitted.

"He loves casual and frumpy."

Mai snickered at that. "If I wore old worn pajamas and Selene had on a golden cocktail dress he'd ask if I wanted some fuzzy slippers."

"Selene presents him with the finest meal and he asks if you want to bother heating up the left over Dominos."

That had Mai laughing even harder. "He has such a horrible taste in food! Do you know his dad and him make this wet burrito but its marinara sauce, mozzarella, and shredded chicken? There isn't even a name for it! He swears by it though!"

"Selene will be waiting to take him to the Opera and he'll just want to watch Bones." Yuri paused. "Okay, I can't make fun of him for that. Bones is a good show."

"It so is!" Mai agreed before letting out a sigh. "He's great. We're great. We're just stuck with a demented goddess inserting herself into our relationship."

"We'll figure it out," Yuri assured her. "Right after we deal with the demented Egyptians that want to either kill Yugi or make him the next ruler of Earth."

"Don't remind me. Still upset your sister got to punch that bitch in the nose before I did." Mai lifted her hand up, wiggling her fingers. "Wonder if I could convince Selene to give me super strength for an hour so I could give her a swirly."

"A swirly?" Yuri asked.

"Edwin would be turned on by how undignified it was," Mai retorted before rolling onto her side. "So, who are the next two duelists? You said the match was decided."

"Yeah... me and Tea."

Mai instantly sat up. "Oh Yuri... I'm so sorry!" She gave her friend a hug. "I'm focused on me and you-"

"It's okay!" Yuri assured her. "Honestly I'm glad!"

"You're... glad?" Mai pulled away from her, though she kept her hands on her shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"The way I see it this ensures that one of the Gardner sisters is getting into the next round."

"But you both could have gotten in."

"Or neither," Yuri argued. "Look at Renard... he is the European Champion and he's out of the tournament. We have you, Yugi, Edwin... Brom is the United States Champion. Rex nearly was Intercontinental. I'd rather we have it this way, that was one of us gets in, than have the gamble that neither of us does." She paused. "And honestly I'd rather lose to Tea than have to face you or Edwin."

"Or kick our butts and lord it over us," Mai teased. "So, you better get going to your duel."

"Not coming?" Yuri asked.

Mai smiled softly. "Thanks for checking on me but I need a bit more time to get my head on straight... you don't mind, do you?"

"It's okay," Yuri assured her. "I get it. Or at least I'm trying to. You focus on you, okay?"

"Okay."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Live from the CCN Studios it's the Battle City Finals with your commentators and analysts Marc Jeice, and Scott Burter, along with Card Expert Curtis Guldo."

"Welcome back, folks!" Marc, the Australian commentator, said with a grin. "For those of you who are just joinin' us we've had some rather impressive duels so far!"

"That's right, Marc," Scott, the other commentator, said with a grin. "First we had Seto Kaiba, organizer of the tournament and former Number 1 duelist in the world, defeat the European Champion Renard Volpe. But don't be fooled into thinking it was easy, as those two went blow for blow against each other, with Volpe forcing Kaiba to give it all he had."

"Which is good as Mr. Kaiba is going to need to give it his all if our last duel was any indication. Yugi Muto, the Number 1 Duelist in the world and King of Games, went up against newcomer Tristan Taylor, a friend of his actually. But there was nothing friendly about their duel as Taylor's machine monsters gave Muto a thrashing."

"But the King of Games showed why he has that title," Scott pointed out. "Using his Electromagnet Warriors he was able to keep his field full of monsters and overcome Taylor's army of Machina monsters. Truly an impressive match, especially considering that Mr. Muto hadn't even used that deck before during Battle City."

Marc nodded as on the screen a new graphic appeared, depicting two women. One was a teenager with a short bob cut wearing a black jacket over a pink top while the other, while similar in appearance when one compared her face to the younger, had a far more punk style. Her hair was dyed blue and done up in a Mohawk and she was wearing a white goth-style outfit. "But what we have now is truly a biblical match and I'm not just saying that because of their decks! Its Tea Gardner, friend of Yugi Muto, vs Yuri Gardner, assistant and student of two time reigning Eurasian Champion Mai Valentine."

"These sisters might love each other dearly but that doesn't mean they will be taking it easy on one another. Both are looking to move onto the finals and only their blood and kin stand in the way."

"But it's not just the battle of sister vs sister that makes this a match to watch! Let's turn it over to Curtis for a look at their decks."

The screen did a transition wipe to Curtis, the short and somewhat pudgy Card Expert, who was clearly standing beside a green screen though at the moment it was showing a split view of fluffy white clouds and shadow and fire.

"Thanks guys. Now, for two sisters Tea and Yuri couldn't be any more different when it comes to their decks." He waved his right hand and the blue sky pushed the shadow side away, taking up the entire screen while cards began to appear. "Tea uses a Fairy Type deck that focuses on The Agents. Now, these aren't the cute and cuddly angels you see a lot of young girls gravitate too. This deck is filled with warrior fairies based on Roman gods and the planets that have adopted their names. Some of the card so watch out for will be her Agent of Creation-Venus, who can flood the field with Shine Balls, and of course the leader of The Agents: Master Hyperion."

He waved his hand and the screen shifted so that the shadows and flames took over. "For the elder of the Gardner sisters there is the Dark World deck. These monsters are all fiends and focus on discard effects to generate powerful moves, summoning dragons and generals of the Underworld. Add in having cards that can alter her opponent's spells and traps and you have a dangerous deck to face. Back to you, Marc and Scott."

"Thanks Curtis!" Scott said. "It looks like the duel is about to begin! Let's go to the KaibaCorp blimp and watch the action."

The screen changed to a live shot of the blimp, where Tea and Yuri were shuffling their decks.

"So we have an interesting assortment of duelists watching this match. For Tea Gardner she has the King of Games along with Joseph 'Joey' Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, up and coming game developer Duke Devlin, and last year's Intercontinental Finals quarter finalist Koyo Hibiki. Over in Yuri's corner she has Top Ranked Duelist and Runner Up of Duelist Kingdom Edwin Chaos and the European Champion Renard Volpe, along with the creator of Duel Monsters himself Maximillion Pegasus." Scott paused. "Though I notice that Mai Valentine isn't there at the moment to cheer her student on. What do you think of that, Marc?"

"Could be for any number of reasons. With 6 of the 14 duelists now having already dueled the odds of being selected next grow greater. And with the likes of the North American Champion Brom Bones, Chaos, and this year's Intercontinental Runner-Up Rex Raptor it is possible Mai decided to work on her deck. Doesn't look like Yuri is too worried though..."

"And the duel has begun!" Scott declared as Tea held out a card.

"I summon in defense mode The Agent of Mystery-Earth to the field!" The small fairy with blue green hair and a perky smile popped up winking at everyone before settling in defense position. "And with her on the field I can add one Agent monster from my deck to my hand."

"What do you think of that opening turn, Scott?"

"A safe one. Because she can't attack until her next turn the standard wisdom is to set yourself up for a bit of protection. But using The Agent of Mystery she also nets herself an Agent Card... depending on her opening hand that might be her Agent of Creation-Venus, which is her best bet early on to form a wall around her lifepoints as well as set herself up for bringing out stronger fairies. Let's see how Yuri responds."

"I'll start with this!" Yuri said, placing a spell card on her duel disc. "The spell card Terraforming!"

"Terraforming, for those that don't know," Marc said, "is a spell card that allows a duelist to pull a field spell directly from their deck and add it to their hand. It is a handy card as it not only lets you set up where your monsters will be battling but it also acts as a deck thinner, something many duelists don't think about."

On the field Yuri's field spell activated, causing the sky to grow dark as fog rolled around the ground... and behind her a massive dark gate pulsing with sinister energy appeared, its surface carved with words written not by human hands.

"The Gates of Dark World," Scott stated. "A strong card that will assist Yuri well- Oh, she's moving in to attack!"

Yuri had summoned Broww, Huntsman of Dark World, and commanded him to attack, the monster notching his bow and firing a black arrow right into The Agent of Mystery, destroying her. Yuri finished by setting one card on the field before ending her turn.

"That was a good start, Yuri!" Tea called out with a smirk. "But only a start. I activate Sanctum of Parshath!"

As the temple appeared on the field Curtis appeared on the screen in a small bubble. "The Sanctum of Parshath is based on Greek Temples. According to the Duel Monsters website the original name for the Parshath Archtype was to be Perseus, the Greek Hero who slew the Gorgon Medusa."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Why DID you not call it that?" Aria asked.

Cassie groaned. "There was some stupid licensing issue... I don't want to get into it."

Everyone looked at Martin who frowned. "Why do you people keep thinking I'm the one that complained about that? I mostly handle insurance?"

"Like dueling on a blimp?"

Martin groaned. "I'm still having nightmares about all that paperwork..."

~M C~MC~MC~

"The Sanctum of Parshath is an interesting card," Curtis continued. "While it isn't a field spell it acts like the Sanctuary in the Sky, the home base of the Agents. Thus by playing it Tea can now use many of the secondary effects her Agents have."

"And now I summon The Agent of Creation-Venus!"

Scott laughed. "Just like we said!"

Marc agreed. "The Agent of Creation-Venus is another great deck thinner while also allowing Tea to fill her field up with monsters that will protect her lifepoints and act as tributes if needed." As he said that Tea gave up 1500 lifepoints to summon in defense mode three Mystical Shine Balls in defense mode. "But it looks like she isn't satisfied with just waiting!"

"Venus!" Tea called out. "Attack and destroy Yuri's Broww, Huntsman of Dark World!" Venus nodded and summoned several smaller balls of light, which she hurled at the huntsman, destroying him (Tea-2500, Yuri-3800)

"And first strike goes to the younger of the Gardner sisters... but from the way Yuri is looking I don't think she's done by a long shot!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"We need to talk."

Ishizu had decided to grab a late breakfast while everyone else was watching the duels, having no desire for company at the moment. Her mind was racing with her visions of the future, of what would come to be and what she must do to help the future along to its correct path. To return her brother to his destiny and see the Pharaoh ready to save the world yet again. So she had gotten a modest meal of fruits and toast and found a seat by the window, putting some jam of her bread that was sweet and tart at the same time. It was a decadence she hadn't had in the tombs of Egypt and she for a moment wondered if, perhaps, things would have gone differently had her father allowed such treats. Would that have been enough for her brother to stay, if things had been a touch easier?

But she had quickly banished that thought. He had to serve the Pharaoh. All served the Pharaoh. It did not matter what was commanded of them they had to do their duty.

Though... that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a delightful breakfast.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Solomon Muto took a seat beside side, a cup of coffee gripped in his hands. She couldn't help but look at his thick calloused fingers. They appeared stubby and fat but she knew they were strong... even in the hidden homes of the Tombkeepers they knew of The Gambler Solomon Muto, who could venture into crypts that no man was meant to be able to break into and get past all the traps with hardly a hair mussed. He had built up a fortune plundering the relics of her ancestors and been called a hero for it.

"You don't like me," Solomon stated. "I can tell."

"We haven't even met before this moment," Ishizu argued.

"But you know of me... I can tell by the way you stiffened in your chair." He smiled slightly. "It's okay... I'm used to that. The sins of youth."

"Sins you have done little to make up for," Ishizu pointed out.

Solomon chuckled. "So you do know of me."

"You are a thief who plunders the tombs of the Pharaohs. You stole from the gods."

"I went through the burial chambers of dead men who horded their treasures rather than using them to help those around them," Solomon argued. "How much wealth of the Kingdoms was wasted making their monuments and filling their chambers with gold and gems they would never use?"

"It was for their afterlife," Ishizu stated.

Solomon raised an eyebrow at that. "The Pharaohs were living gods, were they not?"

"Of course," Ishizu stated.

"What does a god need with gold?"

For a moment... just a moment... Ishizu swore she could hear Moon laughing in her ear.

"It is not for us to question the gods," Ishizu finally said.

"How convenient," Solomon commented. "Then I will question you: Do you truly want to save the world?"

"Of course I do," Ishizu said firmly. "A great darkness is coming, a terrible evil that was once defeated by the Great Pharaoh, who gave up his life to seal it away. But it has always been known that the nightmare he prevented might come again and thus the tombkeepers had been ready to aid him. All I have done has been in the name of that."

"That girl you sent against Seto Kaiba, who injured an innocent woman and threatened his brother... how did she help stop this great evil?"

Ishizu frowned. "Seto Kaiba is the reincarnation of the Priest Set. While he did battle the Pharaoh the confrontation only strengthened the Pharaoh and helped him be ready for the coming darkness. But Seto Kaiba has lost his way... rather than see himself as one to lift up the Pharaoh he believes he is destined to overcome him. I used the power of my Millennium Necklace to give that girl memories of Ancient Egypt and the woman who the Priest Set loved."

"You forced an innocent person to become someone they weren't all to get someone else to become a servant to your Pharaoh."

Ishizu shook her head at that. "You will never understand."

"No, I won't," Solomon admitted. "How many more would you damage in your quest? Joey? Tristan? Tea? If you believed that their blood would make it easier for you to achieve the victory you seek would you kill them?"

"My vision doesn't require that."

"You haven't answered my question," Solomon pressed.

"There is no need to answer hypotheticals."

The old man's eyes sharpened, his lips a firm line. "If you thought that the Pharaoh should have a better vessel... would you kill Yugi?"

"Your grandson is a fine vessel for the Pharaoh's spirit. You will not be satisfied with that because you have already decided that I am the villain here but I remind you that what I do is in the name of saving the world. Of all on this blimp I am the only one trying to do that."

Solomon nodded. "You're right. You are the only one trying to do that."

"...what are you implying?"

"Nothing at all," Solomon assured her. "You are the only one trying to save the world. Everyone else is focused on card games... you are the only one that knows of the danger."

"Indeed," Ishizu said slowly, not trusting the man whose silver tongue was still spoke of even after he had been retired for decades.

"I suppose... it would help things out greatly if certain obstacles were eliminated. Those that cause problems for you sent off so they no longer whispered in the Pharaoh's ear to not follow you? And others to agree to follow the path you have set?"

"What are you offering, Solomon Muto?"

"We're on a blimp," Solomon said with a careless shrug. "Very high up. If Edwin, for example, were to trip and fall... well... accidents happen. So sad that a man he trusted was right there to see it happen but couldn't stop it..."

~MC~MC~MC~

Yuri frowned as she looked over Tea's field. 'She's gotten better. Battle City... it's sharpened her skills.' She felt a smile tugging on her lips. 'I always knew Tea was smart... but now she is showing how cunning she can be.' People always dismissed Tea as just a pretty face, not helped by their father's ill-gotten gains establishing her as a 'rich girl'. That was part of the reason why she liked hanging out with Yugi; too many people at her school saw her as someone to suck up to when Tea just wanted to be friends because she liked having friends. But she wasn't dumb like so many people thought... no, her sister was smart and cunning. 'Sometimes annoyingly so...'

~A Few Weeks Ago~

"Alright, let's watch some Castle!" Tristan declared as he plopped down on the couch next to Joey. They were all gathered at his place, having decided to spend the raining Saturday binge-watching.

"He did it," Tea and Edwin declared at the same time, pointing at the screen.

"...you promised!" Yuri complained, glaring at her sister.

"But it's obvious he's the criminal!" Tea whined.

"It really is," Edwin stated.

~MC~MC~MC~

'If I am going to win I'll have to give it my all.' Yuri selected a card. 'But... not yet. Right now I need to see just what she is planning.' Out loud she declared, "I activate Gateway to Dark World!" The spell appeared, causing the Gate behind her to pulse. "This card allows me to summon one Dark World Monster back to the field from my graveyard. So I return Broww, Huntsman of Dark World in defense mode, set one card, and end my turn."

"Setting up some defenses?" Tea asked with a smirk. "Not going to attack my Shine Balls?"

"And let you take more of my lifepoints? No... no I don't think so."

"Suit yourself," Tea said. "I'll summon in my last monster zone The Agent of Miracles-Jupitar!" The muscular Agent appeared, the planet he was named after briefly flashing behind him. "And now I will use his effect to banish Earth from my graveyard in order to increase Venus' attack by 800 points." The female Agent's body glowed as an orb resembling Earth appeared in her hand. "And now my Agent of Miracles will attack your Broww, removing your last line of defense!" Jupiter nodded and easily shattered the Dark World Fiend with a swing of his first. "And now my Venus will attack you directly-"

"I activate Dark Scheme!" Yuri declared. "You now face a choice, Tea: You can discard one card to negate this card's effect... or we both discard 2 cards and draw two."

"What's the big deal about that?" Joey declared. "Just discard the two cards... why would Tea give up a card just ta stop that?"

"It's how the Dark World deck works, Joey," Edwin pointed out. "It's all about discarding cards in order to activate their effects. Tea has to decide if it's better to give something up to stop Yuri from activating whatever she has in her hand."

Tea considered that for a long moment before nodding. "I saw what your deck could do when we took on those Rare Hunters... I won't risk it. I'll discard one card and still attack you directly." She sent one of her Master Hyperions to the graveyard while Venus launched her orb right at her sister, striking her directly. "And while I could shift my Shine Balls into attack mode and try to go for the win... I don't like what you have in your hand so I'll end my turn there." (Yuri-1100)

Yuri drew her next card and smirked. "Perfect."

"Oh, this is about to get good," Edwin said with a smirk.

"I start by activating the effect of my Gates Of Dark World field spell, which allows me to banish Broww from my graveyard in order to discard one of my Dark World monsters and then draw a card... and as you know, that is never good, as my Dark World monsters hate being in the light and LOVE to journey into the darkness of the card graveyard." She slotted the card in question into her graveyard... only for said card to appear on her side of the field. "Especially this one, who can emerge from the graveyard to strike out at my foes. Come forth Silva, Warlord of Dark World!"

"Eeesh!" Joey exclaimed ass the general fiend appeared on the field. "Man, how can someone as nice as Yuri have such creepy monsters!?"

"Next I activate Hand Destruction, forcing us to discard two cards to then draw two cards." Tea took a moment before sending two cards to the graveyard, drawing two while Yuri did the same, pleased at what she had gained. "And now I will summon Beigge, Vanguard of Dark World... but he won't be staying for long." The fiend who looked like someone had pulled its skin far too tight around its face, returned to Yuri's hand. "You see, by returning Beigge to my hand I can summon forth one of the most dreaded citizens of the Dark World... the corrupter of light and good... Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!"

On Yuri's side of the field a great fiendish dragon appeared, letting out a roar that made everyone clap their hands over their ears. He gave off an aura of darkness and power, tempting all that looked upon him to heed his call... but also let them know, in their hearts, that any deal made with him would always benefit the Dark World.

Grapha slowly turned and looked RIGHT at Edwin, much to Yuri's surprise.

"What is a Lord to a Devil?" he asked, his eyes flashing black and gold.

Yuri watched as Grapha stared her friend down for a few more moments before finally turning back toward's Tea's side of the field. "Now then, let me show you the full might of the Dark World! Silva, attack and destroy Jupiter! And Grapha, destroy Venus!"

The warlord nodded and slashed his blade several times before, in a blinding burst of speed, he suddenly was right in front of Jupiter, impaling the Agent of Miracles right in the stomach, causing him to gasp just before he was shattered. Venus, for her part, merely stared down Grapha before shutting her eyes, allowing him to blast her with a shot of dark flames that engulfed her, leaving not even ashes. (Tea-300)

'That took out almost all of Tea's lifepoints. And even with the three Shine Balls on her side of the field I will be able to defeat her real soon if she doesn't do something.' But rather than feel confident about her victory Yuri instead found herself giddy... at what her sister was going to do next.

Because she had no doubt that Tea was going to come right back at her.

~MC~MC~MC~

"What do you think of that last turn of Yuri's, Scott?"

Marc chuckled. "She certainly made good use of her cards there. Bringing out not just Silva but Grapha as well was a smart move on her part, as it allowed her to take quick advantage of Tea having two monsters in attack mode. I know some would argue that she should have been more cautious, as she has now opened herself up to some devastation if her sister finds a way to clear the board, but with Tea having already made a large dent in her lifepoints I think in this case fortune favors the bold. Of course that could all change depending on what Tea does next."

"That is the question, isn't it?" Scott agreed. "With those three Shine Balls on the field she has a ton of options left-"

He was cut off as Tea began to speak. "That was real good, Yuri. Real good. So I can't just stand by and not do anything else... I need to show you MY moves! And I start with banishing The Agent of Creation-Venus from my graveyard to summon Hyperion... but NOT the Hyperion you know!" As Venus disappeared a sun appeared on the field... a black one. "Master Hyperion represents our sun... bright and shining but also volatile in its burning light. But what happens to Hyperion when the sun is created not of matter... but anti-matter?"

Yuri's eyes went wide. "Earth-2."

"A gift from Aiden. My deck isn't just Agent cards... it also includes dark counterparts to them. I usually only run the ones of light but I have allowed a few of the Dark Ones to be part of my deck... such as Majesty Hyperion, Lord of the Inverse Agents!" Tea threw out her hand and the black fires of the dark sun began to gather together into a new form.

"Are... are you following any of that?" Marc asked.

"I am not. Curtis?"

The Card Expert appeared on the screen. "While I don't know what she means by Earth-2 the Inverse Agents are something I do know about. While there are only four known members these Agents, rather than being Light Types, are Dark Types. The Agents are protectors of life, be they Light or Dark, but the Dark types are seen as approving of more violent and destructive acts."

Oh Tea's side of the field the dark robed Hyperion appeared, bluish purple flames radiating from his body before he knelt down on Tea's side of the field.

"And next I activate The Sacred Waters in the Sky, which allows me to either activate one The Sanctuary In the Sky directly from my deck or add a card that mentions it from my deck to my hand."

"Oh!" Scott proclaimed. "With that card Tea will be able to reduce all damage to her lifepoints to zero! That is a strong card to play, as it will mean that unless Yuri attacks directly she'll be safe!"

"I will add one card to my hand."

The commentators were speechless.

"Why?" Yuri finally asked, she herself startled.

"You'll find out," Tea said with a cheeky grin. "But first the second effect of my Sacred Waters: when this card finishes its effect I gain 500 lifepoints for every Hyperion and Agent monster on my side of the field. So my lifepoints increase by 500." (Tea-800) "Next I activate Shining Gift, which allows me to tribute as many Shine Balls on my side of the field to regain the lifepoints I lost summoning them. I will select one! (Tea-1300)

"Tea..." Yuri said, confused.

"I tribute two of my Shine Balls to Link Summon The Protector of the Agents-Moon!" On the field two of Tea's Shine Balls were digitalized, the ones and zeroes that made up what had once been orbs of light flowing into one another, forming into a single pillar which, in turn, resolidifed into the new monster: a spritely creature of pale blue-white, a soft smile on her face. "And now allowing me to explain what is about to happen. Your Dark World Monsters are still more powerful than my Fairies. But that power is going to be your downfall. You see... Majesty Hyperion will use his dark matter gravity to force both of us to take the same amount of damage from battle. What happens to me will also happen to you."

"What a cunning move!" Marc exclaimed. "With Tea's lifepoints now higher than Yuri's a suicide run against her Grapha will knock Yuri's lifepoints down to zero!"

Yuri had clearly realized the same thing because she nodded, placing her hand on top of her deck, her Dark World Monsters disappearing. "Good job," she said, walking across the field and giving Tea a hug, her sister returning it in earnest.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ishizu almost brought up Moon... but she didn't because the death of her lover would turn the titan's eyes away from the Pharaoh and her towards his killer. It would eliminate them as well... and the death of Solomon Muto would be good motivation to get the Pharaoh's vessel back on the correct path.

'Yes... a simple push by the right person might solve all my problems...' Out loud she said, "And you would... consider this."

"For a small price," Solomon said. "Very small when weighed against the salvation of the Earth."

She nodded, having already expected that. She reached into the small bag that sat on the ground by her feet and pulled out her checkbook. "The Egyptian Government has been very helpful to me. Name your price." She began to fill out the check.

"Your brother's head."

Ishizu's eyes went wide, her pen sliding across the check and smearing ink all over it.

"W-what?"

Solomon pulled a foldable knife and drove it point first into the table, it wiggling slightly as he let it go. "Take this knife and kill your brother. Slit his throat, stab him in the belly, I honestly don't care. Just bring back his head."

"How... how could you-"

"He tried to kill me," Solomon said coldly. "Edwin is a friend and I am willing to shove him off the blimp... do you think I will get misty-eyed over killing the criminal that strapped me to a chair and threatened to crush me?" He scoffed. "Come now... you are smarter than that."

"I... I can't..."

"Why not?" Solomon asked. "You said it yourself: the world is at stake."

"My vision-"

"is it of the world being saved... or your brother alive and at your side?" Solomon looked at the knife. "Do you truly want me to believe he is needed alive?"

Ishizu's mind raced. The carvings on her brother's back... they were the instructions for the ritual that the Pharaoh must perform to enter the puzzle and face Zorc once more. She wasn't supposed to know that, as it was meant only for the leader of their clan, but when her brother had killed their father she had looked through all his scrolls and texts and learned everything her family had been guarding. It was why she had been so desperate to bring Marik back into the fold. For him to do his duty.

'Yet... I know it all,' she thought to herself with growing horror. 'Marik isn't needed. Father wasn't able to destroy his records of the ritual so a copy exists beside what is scarred into Marik's flesh. He... he isn't needed. And with his death I could take the Winged Dragon of Ra... all the god cards would be in my and the Pharaoh's hands once again!'

Solomon was right... she could kill Marik now and nothing would change.

Except...

"No," she said stubbornly. "My brother will do his duty."

"So you would risk the world for a single mortal," Solomon said, removing the knife. But he kept it in his hand as he rose. "I would burn this world to protect my grandson... if I find out you have endangered him in any way as part of your mad scheme I will end your line, Ishizu Ishtar. I will call in every favor I have... let every piece of scum on this planet who goes to sleep fearing the day I call in my debts know we are square if they bring me your body in pieces." He narrowed his eyes. "Have a good breakfast."

Ishizu waited until he was out of the dining room before grabbing her head, her skull throbbing as the headache that had come the moment she had chosen Marik over the Pharaoh exploded within her brain.

And on the small of her back her own ritual scarring burned.

~MC~MC~MC~

Chaosverse Omake

"We have to keep fighting!" Tai cried out, watching as Greymon was easily tossed aside by Devimon.

"But what can we do?" Sora asked in fear, cradling her own Digimon. "He's too strong!"

"Indeed I am!" Devimon declared with a wicked laugh. He threw his arms out wide as he cackled, delighting in the suffering of the children before him. "These are the mighty Digidestined? The ones fated to save the Digital World?" He dropped his head, staring at them with utter mockery. "You... infants. You never had a chance against me-"

Devimon suddenly exhaled, sharp and hard, eyes wide as his hands dropped, mouth opening as he gurgled.

"What?" TK whispered, his brother moving to stand beside him. "Matt, what happened?"

"I... I don't know..."

"So," a new voice said, that of an adult. "I had to do quite a bit of leg work to figure out how to do all this. Sneak around while you and the rest of your fellow tin hat despots looked this way and that... but oh the goodies I found. Something to cloak me from all of your sights. Weapons to make slaying you oh so easy. For example... this gauntlet that I'm currently using to dig around your guts!"

There was a flicker and the Digidestined stared at the blond man that suddenly appeared behind Devimon, a silver gauntlet on his right hand which was currently buried in Devimon's back.

"That's... that's Edwin!" Mimi exclaimed. "The camp councilor!"

"Hey kids!" Edwin called out. "Sorry I got separated from you but I'm here now. And I'm going to make sure these freaks don't hurt you or your friends again. And I'm going to start... with you." He leaned in towards Devimon. "To quote a great prince, Devimon? I'm gonna blow my load all up in your insides."

"Wha... what?"

Edwin didn't even say a word, merely smirking as Devimon screamed as suddenly he turned into Ones and Zeroes thanks to the anit-virus he blasted into the tyrant's belly... only for there to be a flash of light as his data was captured and converted. It flowed over Edwin, forming into black armor that locked onto the man's body.

"Alright kids..." Edwin said, holding out a hand and forming an ebony sword, "who wants to go kill a giant monkey dj? "

Introducing Camp Councilor Edwin

The Chaos of Earth 101001