Chaos Effect

Chapter 80: Chapter 80

"Should... should we do something?" Tea asked softly.

"What can we do?" Duke replied.

"I... I don't know," Tea said, her nerves causing her to repeat her words, stammering and stumbling over them like a child trying to run down a rocky trail. "I just feel like we should do something, you know?"

"I know what you mean, Tea," Tristan said with a sigh, looking over at the dueling arena and Joey, who was still standing there, looking blankly at his hand. "I just don't know what to do."

Brom had long left the field, as had most of the others who had watched the duel. The cameras had gone off, the need for a 30 minute break for the talking heads to discuss what they had seen so far and what to expect for the remains of the tournament. And yet Joey remained on the field, standing there with his cards in his hand. Sometimes he would say something and his friends would think he was talking to them, but after the first few times of them asking him to repeat himself they'd given up trying to figure out what he was saying, understanding that the words weren't meant for their ears at all.

Mr. Muto had left, saying that he'd talk with Joey when he was ready, while Mokuba had been taken by Edwin someplace else, none of them were sure where. Koyo had taken Serenity back to her room, the poor girl getting worked up with worry over her brother.

'And what she learned about him,' Mai thought to herself, folding her arms over her chest. Renard had headed off with Edwin but Yuri was still with her, staring at the sad and solemn scene before them. 'I suppose Joey also learned quite a bit about himself this duel.' Brom had been like a knife used to remove the flesh from a deer: sharp, penetrating, getting under the skin so not to destroy with a violent thrust but instead wiggling and shifting. A much worse way to be hurt, if Mai were honestly. A blow out loss was one thing but to have your sins and errors laid out like Joey had?

"I can't believe he's out of the tournament already," Yuri said, putting words to the biggest issue of them all. "He took on Edwin in Duelist Kingdom, didn't he?"

"Nearly beat him," Mai stated. "It was the luck of the draw that ended his run there."

"I know Brom is the American Champion but..."

Mai nodded. "I get it," she said. "No one expected him to win like that. Not against Joey."

Yuri shook her head at that. "If Edwin were here he'd make some joke about plot armor, I guess."

'You have no idea how right you are,' Mai thought. She had been able to tell that Edwin was startled by Joey's loss and she knew that Brom hadn't been in the original Battle City that Edwin had seen in his dimension. She didn't know how far he'd gotten but from the way Edwin had spoke she had a feeling it was rather far.

And now he was out.

"Is Wheeler still out of it?" Kaiba said as he strolled over. He let out a scoff. "So he lost... he should be used to failing at this point."

"Hey man!" Tristan shouted, wheeling around on Kaiba, shaking a fist at him. "No one asked your opinion so why don't you back off?"

"Believe me, the last thing I want to be doing in interacting with any of you dweebs," Kaiba replied. "But I still have a tournament to run and those duelists that haven't blown their chance are going to want to duel."

Yuri narrowed her eyes at that. "I suppose Joey could be asking you for tips on losing... you do that enough yourself."

"I am the greatest duelist in the world," Kaiba retorted.

"And yet Yugi has the title of King of Games, Edwin made it to the finals of Duelist Kingdom before you, and neither resorted to running away like a little bitch when Exodia obliterated your ass."

Kaiba shot Yuri a cold stare. "I'd watch how you talk to me, Gardner... since you were drummed out of this tournament by Yugi's little girlfriend there really isn't a need for you to be here anymore. I could real easily drop an inflatable raft and leave you in the middle of the ocean to paddle back to Domino and your daddy."

Mai held out her hand when Yuri moved to tell Kaiba just what she thought of that. "We'll get Joey out of the arena, Kaiba. You can head out now."

She heard Yugi's friends huffing at her giving into Kaiba's demands but ignored them, focusing instead on the rich duelist in front of her.

"I see someone has some sense. Go clean up that mess, Valentine... I suppose you're used to that, slumming it with Chaos."

Mai's smile grew sharp. "You know," she said, walking up to Kaiba, refusing to break their staredown, "my birthday is coming up... I think I'm going to ask for a present from Edwin."

"I don't care about what little sexual fantasies you two swap between each other. I have more important things to deal with."

"I wasn't talking about that so now who has their mind in the gutter?" Mai asked, finally close enough that she could drop her voice to a whisper. "I was thinking... KaibaCorp."

"Excuse me?"

"Edwin controls 25% of KaibaCorp/Industrial Illusions. Pegasus and you both control 37% each. Which means that if Edwin and Pegasus wanted to they could hold a vote of no confidence and have you booted as CEO... and make the new one... me."

"They would never-"

"You would still own it, yes," Mai said dismissively. "And honestly I don't care about that. The money I don't need... my boyfriend is a multimillionaire and so long as we're together he's all too happy to pamper me. See, you claim I'm slumming it... I'm just not calling in my favors." She paused before whispering with dark glee, "but if you keep acting like a massive tool I will find Edwin right now and after I use every trick I've learned to make a man a whimpering pile of pudding I will get him to go to Pegasus and stage the takeover. I will take over KaibaCorp... and I will SOOOOO love ruining it just to spite you. I'm thinking a new line of Makeup with your face on every bottle..."

"If you think for a moment I'll let you threaten me-"

"I don't think... I know." Mai whispered so only he could hear, "Let's remove Edwin from the equation... even though yesterday he killed eight people just to save an old man he is friends with and a girl he only recently met... what will he do to you if you decide to finish that sentence with a warning of all the harm you will bring to me?" She paused, letting Seto consider that, before continuing. "Everyone seems to be forgetting that I'm not some damsel in distress. Edwin is the na?ve innocent in the relationship, Kaiba... there is no 'Guardian' in front of my title... I'm the Bitch Devil and I'll use every trick I know, every favor I have, every con and cheat I've learned to make your life a living hell."

Seto merely glowered at her.

"But..." she continued, "I REALLY don't want to. And I don't think you want to be a monstrous ass like your shit licker stepfather. Edwin makes me want to be a better person... so don't give me a reason to break his heart, okay?"

He looked at her, his gaze steely and hard, for several long moments before finally rolling his eyes.

"I don't have time for your dramatics, Valentine," Seto said dismissively. "Just make sure your boyfriend is out of the way, would you? Before Chaos catches you two making moon eyes at each other."

Mai narrowed her eyes at that before shaking her head, realizing that it was useless and not worth her time. Instead she turned to Joey's friends, gesturing at Joey. "Kaiba's right... as much as I hate how those words taste on my tongue. You need to get him someplace before he delays the tournament."

"Mai's right," Yugi said, moving towards Joey, reaching out and taking his arm. "Come on Joey, let's go."

"Yug?" Joey said, starting the moment Yugi touched his arm. "Hey... is... is the duel over? I... I think I..."

"Yeah Joey," Yugi said softly, leading his best friend towards the elevator, "the duel is over."

Yuri watched as Yugi pulled Joey towards their group, taking him away from the platform. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and sighed at the sad sight of Tristan having to turn Joey back around when he made a move to go back to the platform to finish the duel. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I wish I could say that he'd bounce right back," Mai said. "I've seen him deal with crushing defeats and within a few days he's able to snap back to it."

"But...?"

"The three times Joey lost... he had something else to focus on. When Kaiba beat him it was rallying in order to help his sister. When Edwin defeated him it was cheering on Yugi because Pegasus had Mr. Muto's soul. And when the Rare Hunters took his Red-Eyes Black Dragon he wanted to get it back. But this time... what does he have to draw him out?"

"Yugi defeating Marik?" Yuri asked.

"Maybe," Mai whispered, wishing that would be enough.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ishizu moved through the halls of Kaiba's airship, sweeping past others without giving them the slightest bit of her attention. For once she didn't focus on the pharaoh... in fact if had she encountered him there she wasn't for sure what she would do, her mind was so focused on what had just happened. She... had no time for him. Had no time to try and make him see how he needed to listen to her, to hear her guidance and wisdom, so that she might lead him down the correct path to save the world.

Because what had just happened... it had changed everything. And now the world was at risk.

She swept into her target's room, flinging her hand out so that to door shut behind her before focusing on the man that sat at the writing desk, a notebook set before him, a pencil held in his large fingers.

"Hmmm?" Brom Bones said, looking up from his notes. "Can I do something for you... Miss...?"

"Ishizu. Ishizu Ishtar. And I would have you explain to me why exactly you have chosen to defy the order of the world."

"...pardon?" the large man asked, confused by her statement.

Ishizu pressed her lips together into a thin line. Of course he was confused... he did not see what she did. Sometimes Ishizu forgot that not all were as wise and knowing as she was. That she needed to go slowly with them, like one would a child. To be patient. It wasn't their fault they were so clueless about the ways of the world... it was their nature, after all. They weren't blessed as she was.

She took a slow, calming breath, before saying, "Your duel against Joey Wheeler has endangered many things. And the only way to correct them will be to surrender your spot in the Battle City finals to Joey, so he might continue on."

Brom placed his elbow on his desk, resting his head against it as a bemused little smile formed on his lips. "Oh... and please explain to me why, tombkeeper, I would do that. I beat Joey fair and square... his friends aren't rushing to demand I apologize or give up just to soothe his ego. Joey isn't doing that either. So why are you asking for that?" He poked at the inside of his cheek. "You aren't their friend, after all. I get the sense they all rather loathe you. So it can't be some attempt to try and make right the failures in growing closer to them... you strike me as a woman who does not do such things. And if it is that then I would suggest letting that go because none of them will never forgive you for thinking so little of Joey that you came to me, begging me to give up my spot just to soothe the damage his loss caused."

"It is not Joey Wheeler that I care for. It is the world that matters to me. In order for it to survive he must continue on in this tournament."

Brom chuckled at that. "Now that is something lofty to claim!" He motioned for her to take a seat but Ishizu shook her head, choosing to remain standing. "Tell me, how could one little tournament, one that isn't offering any true title even, could ensure the survival of the world?"

"You wouldn't understand," Ishizu stated.

"Hmmm... how do you know I won't understand? You haven't told me yet... I could very well understand and just need a bit of info in order to see the truth. Come now, tell me what you know..."

Ishizu considered him for a long moment before nodding. "Very well." She waved her hand before her throat and the golden relic that rested upon it. "This is the Millennium Necklace. Its power grants to me the ability to gaze through the veil of time. I can see what came before and I can see what comes after. The visions of the past have allowed me to understand how we have arrived at this moment. The visions of the future what awaits us."

"So you have seen visions of doom and horror and destruction?" Brom asked.

"No. Quite the opposite. I have seen us come to the very edge of Armageddon but we are pulled back."

"Ah," the large man said, leaning back in his chair. "So you have seen a future that you want to come about, rather than prevent. That is... refreshing." He chuckled before taking a breath, staring at her. "And how do I play into this?"

"You don't," she said bluntly. "You have no role in what I have seen."

Brom... smiled at that. "Well that is nice to hear!" He clapped his hands together. "It is always so nice to not be the source of destruction of a civilization." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "But Joey Wheeler is?"

"The Nameless Pharaoh is the savior who I aid," she explained to him, growing rather pleased that he wasn't dismissing her outright. 'Of course the Americans... they are a melting pot of many different beliefs and cultures. And because they do not have a true culture of their own they are far more willing to listen to the wisdom of their betters.' Out loud she stated, "This Tournament should not have taken place. It only did because of the actions of my brother. Rather than finally fulfill the duty of the tombkeepers and complete the task that we were commanded to complete he has thrown away thousands of years of work out of a misguided belief that the Pharaoh is the reason for all his pain and suffering."

"When all know it is Pharaoh Set who is the cause," Brom stated. "He is the one that commanded your ancestors to guard the Millennium items."

Ishizu frowned at that. "The Pharaoh commands and we obey."

"Of course," Brom said, holding out a hand. "Please, continue."

She took a moment to rein in her anger. He had accepted her comment and thus did not need a lecture from her. A... refreshing change of pace. "I have seen how to return us onto the path that leads to the end of the threat that comes for us all. The Pharaoh must win this tournament and collect all three Egyptian God Cards. And my brother must be made to obey once more."

"And Joey Wheeler has a part in that?"

"He does," Ishizu confirmed. "My brother goes against his oaths. This has caused a fracturing of his mind and allowed darkness to grow. I must defeat that darkness. The Pharaoh will first face the Dark Spirit of the Ring... three times must he be defeated before the danger he poses is finally dispelled. Joey Wheeler will face Odion, my brother's last connection to sanity; when Odion is defeated it will cause the darkness in my brother to come to the surface, exposed."

"And you... want that?" Brom said. "That doesn't sound like a kind thing for a sibling to want. I want to lift my brothers and sisters up, not cause them further harm."

"Sometimes one must be cruel to be kind," Ishizu said, thinking of her father and his ways. That was something Marik had never understood. She continued on though, feeling no need to justify her actions to the man before her. "I will duel Seto Kaiba, defeating him and putting an end to his belief that he is greater than the Pharaoh. And my brother, fueled by his darkness, will defeat Mai Valentine... she will be the sacrifice made to show the Pharaoh the danger my brother poses if he is not brought back to the light. Something I will do, with the aid of the Pharaoh. He will provide me-"

"I doubt your brother will be allowed to sacrifice Mai," Brom said, cutting her off.

"He must. For the good of the world."

"I only mean that Selene will not allow herself to be your pawn."

Ishizu frowned at that. Yes... her vision had not revealed that Mai Valentine was the ancient Greek Titan in disguise but...

She froze.

"How... how do you know that Mai Valentine is Selene?"

"The same way I know that Edwin Chaos is the reincarnation of her lover Endymion, the greatest mage to ever walk the Earth. Or that you yourself are the reincarnation of the Priestess Isis who served the Nameless Pharaoh in his battle against Zorc." He paused. "Or how I know the Pharaoh's name."

"You... you know?" Ishizu stammered.

Brom smirked. "I do."

"You must tell me!" She pleaded only to stop. "Or... should you? No... you must never tell. Only the Pharaoh-"

"That is the problem with prophecy and destiny and all that, isn't it?" Brom said pleasantly. "You can never be quite sure if it wouldn't be better to... speed things along." He rose up. "I think we are done here. I will not be surrendering my spot in the Tournament. Joey Wheeler lost and his time in it is over."

"You must!" Ishizu demanded. She did not plead... no, she did not. She did not plead to this man. "For the good of the world you must."

"The world will go on, same as it always did," Brom stated. "If Zorc does destroy it something else will take its place. Do... do you even realize how many End of Days of come to this planet? To this galaxy? Universe? You are but the latest in a long line of prophets who told me 'We must save this or all life will be wiped out'. And yes, sometimes the destruction is so great that it appears that nothing could ever come back from that. But... life survives. Maybe just a single cell. But it survives and it grows and life begins again. Radically different from what we have now, but it comes. So please be honest... you do not want to save the world. You want to save yourselves. A noble goal, I don't deny that, but the fact remains that at some point... your time will come. Perhaps it is this moment."

"How... how can you say that?" Ishizu whispered.

"My dear," Brom said as he gently took her hand and gave it the softest of tugs. And yet to Ishizu it was as if she were thrown from her chair, "I wasn't always a psychologist. This is just what I do in my retirement."

Ishizu swallowed. "What are you?"

Brom locked eyes with her and in his irises she saw countless worlds die so others could live.

"Selene and Zorc aren't the only gods on this blimp."

And with that he shut the door on her.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Why are you not on my side?"

I turned and stared at the Spirit of the Ring before looking down at Mokuba. "I need to take care of some things. Go find your brother, okay?"

"Right," Mokuba said, sensing the tension that had built in the air and quickly getting up from his seat. We had gone to the cafeteria to get something to eat and just polished off some burgers and fries (thank God for small miracles that Seto had remembered that the tournament would be filled with teenagers who would like greasy comfort food to eat) when Yami Bakura had decided to come for a chat.

And much to my own surprise... I was willing to hear him out.

"You eat yet?" I asked as the Spirit moved to sit down beside me. He shook his head and I waved towards the kitchen. "Get something."

"You haven't-"

"Remember our last duel?" I asked him. "Well... the duel I was a part of? You need to care for that body you're in. That means food. Get something to eat... I'm not going anywhere."

"Why do you care about me?" the Spirit asked.

"I don't," I admitted. "I care about Bakura. And right now what benefits you benefits him so you get a break." I paused before shrugging. "And hey, you asked me a question nicely instead of making threats. I'm willing to try and have a nice conversation with you for once."

The Spirit narrowed his eyes before flashing a dark smile. "Very well... though I doubt the Pharaoh and his little friends will be pleased."

"They aren't pleased with many things I do."

"Like the men you killed?" he taunted.

I didn't twitch. "They've been good about that. And that isn't keeping the conversation pleasant, Spirit. Do try and keep things civil, would you? Be a nice change of pace for all of us." He stared at me before looking down at his menu. "You don't get to have many conversations, I'm guess. At least ones that don't end with people screaming in terror."

He leered at me. "Very true. Hmmm... the steak. The bloodier the better." He glanced at me. "Does that disgust you?"

"Mostly because I was raised on well done meat that was well seasoned. I have a garbage pallete."

The Spirit chuckled and placed his order with a passing waitress who came by to ask if I needed anything else. I waited for her to bring me a new glass of pop before finally saying, "So... you want to know why I'm not on your side. I know its rude but I'm going to answer your question with a question: why should I be on your side?"

"You have already shown you are more at ease with the immortals," the Spirit stated.

"Mai and Selene are two very different beings, as confusing as it is since they actually are the same."

"But you are still with her."

"You aren't offering to blow me, are you Spirit?" I asked with a mocking smile. "Because I'll admit I do lean towards the Bisexual end of the spectrum... but I MUCH prefer women so I still see myself as straight." I waved my hand. "That wasn't an insult, by the way... thought I do tend to make things sound like that. More like playful ribbing which... well... ask literally anyone who knows me and you'll see that's just how I am. Still, sorry about that... we are trying to have a peaceful conversation."

The Spirit, clearly deciding that he wanted to keep with the attempt to try and actually talk like adults, accepted my comment without any of the normal sneering or insults. "You are more at ease with immortals than you are mortals. You feud far more with the Pharaoh than you ever did with me." The waitress brought over his food (HOW he got it so quick I would put up to anime magic) and he began to cut into it. Not the savage tearing into that had become a meme... just eat it like a normal person. I decided to look over the desert menu as he spoke. "You adapted far quicker to the Millennium Key than most do with their Items. The Pharaoh and Little Yugi... they weren't fully united for a long time. After all, the Spirit wasn't even sure what he was until after he encountered me. Pegasus held the eye for two years before he began to experiment with its power."

"Marik and Ishizu and Shadi I'm guessing don't count since they grew up with the items."

"Exactly," Yami Bakura said. "And my host... he has only scratched the surface of my Ring's power. But you?" He pointed at me with his fork. "You mastered it within a day. And then went beyond all others. What does that tell you?"

"I don't know... the mind is the only limit so maybe I'm just better than everyone else in accepting what the Key can do."

"Or... you are something different. Something beyond the rest of these mortals." He paused, taking a moment to chew on a piece of steak. "I sensed it about you... when we battled at Duelist Kingdom. Selene only confirmed it. Your flesh might be mortal but your soul is something else entirely."

I decided to stay utterly quiet about Selene wanting to make me a god. No need to drop that little tidbit as honestly I had no idea what the Spirit of the Millennium Ring would do with that knowledge. It was dangerous enough that Renard, Yuri, and I knew that there was a way for a mortal to become immortal... what would happen if the likes of Yami Bakura, a fragment of Zorc merged with the soul of the Thief Bakura, decided to attempt that himself rather than free the Dark God locked in the puzzle.

"You can try to be like these people... but you aren't. You never will be." He smirked at that. "You will always be alone, Edwin Chaos. And the harder you try to fit into their world the more likely it becomes that they see you for what you actually are."

"And that is?"

"Something different," he replied. "And humans? When they encounter something different they don't embrace it with open arms. Their answer is to subjected it or to destroy it. And you?" He chuckled. "You are no slave. So that leaves only one thing left for you to become." He locked eyes with me. "A monster."

"Maybe," I said softly setting my desert menu down. "But that doesn't mean I can't be the monster that kills other monsters."

Yami Bakura threw back his head and laughed at that, startling the waitress as she came to find out my order. With lightning quick reflexes he grabbed her wrist, his other hand going for his steak knife. "I could slash her wrist right now. Or maybe cut her throat." The woman began to struggle but Yami Bakura twisted her hand, making her cry out in pain. "And what would be lost to the world? She is just one piece of a billion... a speck of sand."

"Perhaps..." I said before I suddenly lashed my hand forward and wrapped my fingers around the Spirit's throat, pressing my thumb into the soft flesh just below his jaw. "Or, Spirit, that is why I won't join you, because you are blind to them and their potential."

The Spirit stared me down before letting the waitress go, the poor woman stumbling back while I let go of Yami Bakura.

"Neopolitian ice cream," I said politely.

"Yes sir," the waitress said; it didn't shock me that Kaiba had hired people that could get over such things as threats of death and return to professional detachment so quickly.

The Spirit waited until my ice cream had arrived before finally asking, "And what potential is that? Do you realize just how little humanity matters in the grand scheme of the world? There are countless other universes out there-"

"I know," I said with my own smirk.

"-hmmm. You do, don't you. And yet you still believe them worthy of saving? Why? Selene will protect you from the destruction I will bring to this word when I unleash my full power. She will tuck you away in her own private realm... perhaps even allow you some familiar faces. Your bodyguards. The youngest of the Kaibas. The people you fight for... that you will die for because you will die if you face me... they are nothing. You do not know them. Have never seen their faces or listened to their words. So tell me... why care?"

I leaned back in my chair. "Have you ever heard of the phenomenon of air suddenly changing into gold?" The Spirit raised an eyebrow at that. "It is an impossible thing. I'm not talking about alchemy, by the way. I mean right in front of us, the air between us right now, transforming into gold."

"Without any outside influence?"

"Without someone driving it to do so."

"Impossible," he said.

I nodded. "Life began so far back that I can't even begin to comprehend it, Spirit. The moment that the spark of existence began is so distant that... well, I can't even put it into words. And I'm a wordy bastard, you know that." I stirred my ice cream. "Have you ever stopped to consider just how amazing that event was? Life coming into being. And how it developed! The creature that no longer needed to divide but could create something new by joining with another. The one that climbed out of the ooze and the slime and onto dry land. The mutations that came about that should have meant death but instead allowed it to thrive. Do you know that grass is a mutation? The ability to grow from the root rather than the top of the blade... that was a mutation. Same with the ability to drink milk after infancy... a mutation."

"I've often thought of you humans as mere mutants and cretins," Yami Bakura said.

"Heh," I replied, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "And with all those choices, all those events... you really have to begin thinking about them. One animal survives a predator attack and lives to mate with another of its kind. A man dies without meeting his child and that changes everything about who the child becomes. A cruel world changes the path one person takes while a kind world does the same thing a generation later. All of this until finally two people who lived 90 minutes away from each other just so happen to have their sisters meet and suggest the two go on a date. The man decides to try it even though he has another date planned. The woman decides to see the man again despite him being a stick in the mud who mocks her drinking and her smoking. And somehow, despite all of this they fall in love. They marry. And when they try to have a child... they can't. For a year and a half they fail until finally... all those moments of their lives and their parents lives, and everything that came before... ensure that a child is born. One... who just grabbed you by the throat and saved that waitress' life."

I smiled.

"Can you even consider the odds that I would come into existence? They must be... one in a trillion? Beyond that? An impossibility. Like... turning air into gold. A miracle." I finished off my ice cream. "THAT is why I am going to take you down, Spirit. That is why I refuse to let Zorc win. Because every single living creature... is a miracle. And they will create other miracles who will create other miracles, again and again and again. And I refuse to let you destroy that because of some... petty need to be a destructive force." I stood up and nodded my head at him. "I understand if you can't accept that and that means this is the last time we can have a polite chat. Thank you for being man enough to try."

The Spirit considered me for a long moment and I was just about to walk away when he said, "Speaking of impossible odds... I have one I'd like to share with you. A child, born to a village of people that were just trying to survive in a world that demanded they be crushed. This child had not done anything himself... that would come later. And yet the Pharaoh's brother and his soldiers marched on the village and decided to use them all as a sacrifice to create seven items.

"Now... that might seem impossible enough... but think on this, Edwin Chaos: what are the odds do you believe that the day they decided to do that... a Greek Mage just so happened to arrive at the village. And he found that little boy... and he told him to run before he unleashed his own magic on the Pharaoh's brother and the soldiers, slaughtering any who stood against him. What are the odds... that he would arrive and save the child who would grow up to help bring the downfall of the Pharaoh?"

He leered at me.

"What are the odds that you, Endymion, would be the cause of all of this?"

I found myself unable to say a word and thus turned away, leaving the sound of the Spirit cutting into his steak as the final goodbye.

~MC~MC~MC~

KNOCK KNOC KNOCK

Joey barely turned his head towards the door. "Hey, I don't know who it is but I'm not in the ta talk." He was flopped down on his bed, which is where Tristan and Koyo had left him when they'd eventually gotten him back to his room. He didn't remember the trip from the dueling arena to the suite, it all just a blur. All he could remember was Koyo telling him that they'd check on him later and he should just relax.

But he didn't want to relax. Didn't want to try watching TV or playing a video game or browsing on his phone. All he wanted to do was lie there and realize just how badly he'd messed up.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Hey, I'm sure ya mean well but I don't want ta talk ta anyone, okay?"

"I think you'll want to talk with me," Mai said, gliding into the room.

"How'd ya get in here?" Joey asked, lifting his head up. "I had that door locked."

"What are you doing here being all mopey?" Mai asked as she moved to sit down beside him. "Still depressed about the duel?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "I can't believe I lost... this was supposed ta be my chance ta show everyone how good I'd gotten when it came ta duelin'. And I'm out in the first round!" He huffed as he flopped back down on the bed. "I mean... come on! That is NOT what was suppose ta happen!" He shut his eyes in frustration. "So if this is where ya want ta tell me that I need ta let it all go and move on... I ain't in the mood ta hear it, okay Mai?"

"No... that's not what I'm here to say," Mai said.

"Oh? Here ta gloat then that you are still in this? Ya still have ta beat win your duel!"

"Won't be a big lose if I don't," Mai said. "It would give us more time."

"More time?" Joey said, confused. "What are ya-"

Mai suddenly rolled on top of him, legs spread as she straddled his waist, fingers running along his sides before she began to lean down, her hot breath blasting across his face.

"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with a few things..." she whispered as she brought her lips close to his ear before using her teeth to pull on his lobe.

"Mai!" Joey exclaimed in shock. "What are ya doin'?"

"I think you have an idea," she teased as she ground her hips into him. "Unless that is a duel monster in your pocket..."

Joey swallowed. "What... what about Ed? You and him-"

"Oh Joey," Mai purred as she began to plant kisses along his neck, "you always were better at seeing things than the rest of us. You said it yourself, all those weeks ago: Edwin is a good man but you? You are the one I'm supposed to be with. I have been trying to deny it, ever since I found myself ensnared by him, but seeing you battle with Brom, giving it your all and refusing to give up only to be robbed? It made it clear to me that I couldn't keep lying to myself."

"I..." Joey let out a hiss as Mai reached down and stroked her hand along his groin. "But... Ed..."

"Oh, please don't mention him, Joey!" she said in distress. "Let me have this moment of true, honest passion before I have to go back to him and the lies."

"Lies?"

"Of course," Mai said, pulling away from him, hands moving back up towards Joey's chest. "You know what men with wealth and power are like, Joey. Better than anyone else. Do you think it's a coincidence that I ended up with Edwin after he got millions of dollars and those shares in KaibaCorp?" She let out a huff of frustration. "I'm to blame, really... I have always cared more about wealth than love and I thought-"

"Nah Mai, it ain't your fault!" Joey declared, struggling to sit up though with how Mai had him pinned he could only shift up a bit on his elbows. "If he's forcin' ya ta be with him..." Joey shook his head, thinking of the likes of Pegasus and Kaiba... and how Edwin seemed chummy with both those scumbags. He looked at Mai's face suddenly and asked, "He doesn't..."

Mai looked away from him, tears gathering in her eyes. "Joey..."

"I won't let him get away with this," Joey snarled. "I swear Mai."

"You can't do anything Joey... he's too power." She got off of him. "And now I've run out of time. Edwin will want to know where I am. I'll try and sneak away later but..."

Joey opened his mouth, to beg her to stay, but Mai was already out the door, leaving him alone with only the dark thoughts bouncing in his mind.

~MC~MC~MC~

In the hallway Selene smirked to herself, checking her reflection in her compact to make sure that her makeup was in place.

'Mortals are always so easy to control,' she thought to herself as she walked away from Joey's room, 'but immature males have always been the utter easiest!'

She had no idea what Joey would do now. If nothing but stew then she'd shrug it off as a small distraction and move on. But... if he were to do something against Edwin... to show him that caring for the mortals was foolish? Well...

Walking back into their rooms she found Edwin lying on their bed, clearly having a nap. She smiled and walked over to him, fingers tracing down his chest to his pants as she thought of all the naughty things she could do with him...

...and then he slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Hey Mai."

"...hi," she said, swallowing.

"Come here," he said, holding out his hand. "We have another ten or so minutes and I think it's gonna be a long day. Let's get a bit of rest in."

Selene found herself crawling onto the bed, snuggling up next to Edwin as he threw an arm around her.

"Hey," Edwin said, reaching out and running his thumb along her cheek. "What's wrong?"

Selene blinked, confused, staring at his thumb and the tear he'd caught with it.

Why was had she begun to cry?

"Just... hold me, okay?" she asked and after a moment her beloved pulled her in close, not saying a word.

And Selene wondered why all she could focus on was what she had done with Joey... and her hopes that Edwin would never find out.

~MC~MC~MC~

Chaosverse Omake

"If we hope to complete the De-Gravitator we MUST obtain the ionichip," Destro snarled in frustrated, looking over his men who merely stood at attention, refusing to say a word. Realizing that they were not going to offer a way for them to gain the piece that Cobra Commander demanded they obtain the head of M.A.R.S. narrowed his eyes before pointing to the door. "Out. All of you. It seems to be that I, and I alone, must find a way to ensure that this simple task is completed."

The Cobra Patrollers all left, leaving Destro alone... or almost alone.

"I think there is a small problem with that strategy," the Baroness purred from the corner where she was seated. "Namely that you have no idea how to actually get it yourself."

Destro hated to admit that she was right. "It would have been simple enough if we hadn't relied upon the Dreadnoks." The Baroness shot him a look but he didn't waiver. "YOU were the one that said I should trust them to complete this task!"

"Only because you didn't want to go for stealth. You thought a loud distraction would be the best way to keep the Joes from realizing what we were up to. And even then we would have succeeded if that 3rd party hadn't shown up. What was her name again?"

"We looked into it. She is Viperidae. We think she might be connected to Snake Eyes... can't be sure. But the power armor she wore was on the level of M.A.R.S. tech." He frowned as he remembered how the mysterious masked woman had suddenly fallen from the sky right in front of the Dreadnoks, taking out Zaranna before she could even get off a shot. Once that had been done they had been utterly without hope. "We should have sent Zartan."

"...yes," the Baroness admitted. "But it is too late for us to do that now. So we need to secure the ionichip one way or another."

"It is locked up tight at the Joes' new mobile vault. We have no way of being able to retrieve it."

The Baroness glanced at him. "Yes... WE can't."

"No," Destro said at once. "Absolutely not."

"It is our best option."

"The cost alone is worth more than M.A.R.S.'s budget for an entire year. And their completion rate-"

"Is better than ours," the Baroness stated. "Make the call."

Destro glowered at her before walking over to a picture in his office and swinging it to the side, revealing a safe. From it he retrieved a key that he took over to a second safe hidden under a rug near his desk, pulling out a small com-screen device that he placed on his desk. He pressed a button and at once there was a crackle... and then a logo of a blue and yellow C! appeared on the screen.

"Lord McCullen," a non-descript voice stated, "what is the price of victory?"

"Whatever you desire," Destro said, hating that he was basically handing the mercenary a blank check. "We are in need of your services once again, Director. "

"And I am of course happy to be of service," Director Chaos stated, voice purring with joy. Most likely because the transfer of funds had occurred. That was how it worked when Cobra was forced to reach out to Chaos INC: they paid first and then aid was given. "Anyone in particular you'd like to bring in?"

Destro and the Baroness shared a look before the dark haired beauty said, through clenched teeth and with clear distaste, "is... the Monster Fucker available?"

"She prefers Stheno."

"No, she doesn't," the Baroness grumped. "She's all to eager to inform us that she's 'Monster Fucker'."

"I'll talk to her about that but yes, she is available. I can have her at your location in 12 hours for debrief." Director Chaos paused. "Pleasure doing business with you."

~MC~MC~MC~

In his office Director Chaos leaned back in his chair. "Cobra isn't happy they lost the ionichip. Paying us good money to snag it."

"Going to have Stheno claim it?" Viperidae asked as she sat across from her boss, drinking a pop from the vending machine.

"That's who they want. Go find her and let her know what she can expect from the Joes. Then let's give it... 23 hours before you alert them there might be an attempt and seek out pay for further info and assistance. Enough time for her to be able to already infiltrate but also make them desperate enough to pay you to try and get it back."

Director Chaos chuckled.

"We do this right and those idiots might pay us 4 times each to pass back and forth the ionichip!"

DIRECTOR CHAOS

Aster, Weylin

Role: Head of Chaos INC on Earth-1981

Primary Specialty: Mercenary Placement

Secondary Role: Information Gathering

Birthplace: Corunna, Michigan

Director Chaos uses his business to gain cash from both GI JOE and Cobra without either knowing it.