You woke with a groan, as was usual lately, a pair of sweet, sweet velvet lips wrapped around your shaft.
…Fuck, whoever said a humble peaceful life was the key to true happiness had obviously never felt this.
You lift up the covers and smirk as you see Layla slowly licking up and down your dick, Ruby hunched behind her and whispering sweet little nothings in her ear as her own hand idly fondles Layla's breasts.
After enjoying their attention for a few more minutes, you eventually cum and get up to go get some actual breakfast, throwing on a quick pair of lounge pants and leaving Ruby and Layla to snowball your cum between themselves as they kiss.
You make your way out of the bedroom and down into your new kitchen, a part of you still in awe at the sheer size and luxury you now own.
Walking into the kitchen, you can't help but let out a sharp whistle as you look at Angel in her sinfully short maid costume, reaching up to one of the cupboards, lifting her skirt, and exposing her entire ass to your roaming gaze.
You walk up and give her a playful spank on the ass, smirking as she turns to face you, a smoulder in her eyes.
"Heh, I have to admit, little Dove, I'm going to miss this. Today's the last day of our bet, isn't it?" You ask, idly groping her ass as you do so.
Angel blinks at that, as if only now registering the reality of your words. "...Huh, has it really been a week already?" She says, reaching over to the counter and grabbing her phone, eyes widening as she confirms your words.
"Damn, hmm…" Angel suddenly turns to you and runs her slender fingers up and down your bare chest.
"Well~ is there any reason to end the fun so soon? If my lord so wished, I wouldn't be opposed to extending this arrangement to something a bit more long-term, maybe even becoming his permanent little angel maid~?" She purred out as her fingers circled your heart and you felt yourself stiffen at the idea.
…It wasn't a terrible idea now, was it? A house as big as this would need upkeep, and God knows you and Mai weren't gonna do it, so you'd have to hire housekeepers in any scenario, so would it really hurt to hire people you already knew? And if they just so happened to be down for some fun, well, side benefits were only a bonus…
Before you could respond to that, your attention is suddenly caught as your phone begins to ring in your pocket.
Fucking hell, you had told your manager to not bother you unless it was important—
Your thoughts are interrupted as you pull out your phone and see an unknown number; you quickly go to end the call, assuming it was just some spam, before suddenly, in big bold letters, IMPORTANT scrolls across your screen.
…Goddamn it, you should probably deal with whatever the fuck this is.
Turning back to your little dove, you shoot her an apologetic smile before leaning in and planting a soft kiss on her lips, saying you'll pick this discussion back up later, stepping out of the kitchen and into the hallway as you pick up your phone.
"Fucking what? This had better be actually important; I was in the middle of something." You growl out to whoever the fuck you were talking to.
Whoever's on the other end doesn't answer for a few seconds, probably surprised at your aggression before you hear a male voice clear their throat.
"...I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Yuzuki. I can call back later if you so wish?" The voice offers, but you just groan and run your hand over your face.
"Nah, moment's gone, so who the hell are you and what do you want? Assume it's gotta be somewhat important if you can mess with the KC phone." You say as you lean up against the wall.
"Yes, I believe you'll find what I have to say very interesting, Mr. Yuzuki, but first of all allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gansley, and I am the vice president of business strategy at Kaibacorp." He explains as your eyebrow shoots up.
…It really shouldn't be a surprise; Kaiba was a lot of things, but he wasn't incompetent (at least at building tech; his dueling skills were another matter, at least when compared to yours), so it only made sense it'd have to be someone at Kaibacorp messing with your phone, but it was still surprising to have anyone at Kaibacorp reach out to you, let alone some rando.
"Hmm? And what can I do for such a big shot? If Kaiba wants something, tell him not to be a bitch and reach out to me himself." You said, annoyed at the thought of Kaiba sending one of his cronies to summon you, If that bitch wanted something, he better be prepared to beg on his hands and knees at your doorstep; you weren't some dog who he could snap his fingers for and come running.
"Ah, I'm afraid Mr. Kaiba is unaware of this call, Mr. Yuzuki; in fact, I imagine he'd be very displeased if he were to learn of this call." Gansley said, and now THAT caught your attention, pissing off Kaiba? Suddenly this call got a lot more interesting.
"Oh-ho~ now you're speaking my language, so let's get to the point, Gansley. What do you want?" You casually say as you step into a small empty side room.
Hmm, not big enough to be an actual room, a closet, or something? Maybe some kind of pantry since it's close to the kitchen?
Eh, you'll let Mai figure it out.
"Tell me, Mr. Yuzuki, I am aware that recently Mr. Kaiba sent you a large personal donation, and from your recent activities it appears you've been making good use of the funds, but how would you like even more? Alongside enough power to help shape the very world itself?" Gansley offers, a hint of something dark in his voice.
Your eyebrow shoots even higher at that, now thoroughly curious about what the fuck he could be talking about.
"...I'm listening."
-x-X-x-
It was a few days later that you and Mai entered Kaiba Land, getting paid a ridiculous amount of money to act as beta testers for their new state-of-the-art virtual reality game.
…Well, that's what Mai thought you were doing.
You walk with Mai, arm thrown around her shoulder as some suits lead you into the area holding the pods that'd allow you to enter the game.
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"Hmm, you know, hun, I was a bit skeptical when you told me about this, but I'm actually getting kind of excited. Full virtual reality? Now THAT sounds interesting." Mai comments as the suits begin to set everything up on the tech side for you both to jump in.
You grin over at Mai, leaning in for a quick kiss. "Ha! Shows you to ever doubt me; trust me, if I thought this shit would be a bore, I'd have told the people who reached out to me to go fuck themselves, and after the week we had, let's just say I've got a higher standard for entertainment now." You say with a growl, subtly lowering your hand to give Mai's ass a quick grope, which she just rolls her eyes at.
"Yes, yes, you're the smartest, most brilliant man to ever exist who's never had a bad idea in his life; we all know that." Mai comments sarcastically, but with fondness in her eyes.
"Ah, good to see you've picked that up; knew there was a reason I got with you besides your good looks." You tease as you pull her closer to you, diving in and beginning to kiss her neck while Mai lets out a low giggle.
Unfortunately your fun is put to an end soon enough, one of the suits awkwardly coughing to get your attention.
"Ahem! We've finished setting up the systems; all that's left now is for both of you to take a seat and insert your decks in the corresponding sections, and we can begin." He says somewhat awkwardly, gesturing to one of the now-opened pods as you reluctantly disconnect yourself from Mai.
"Welp, looks like it's time to get started then, babe. Guess I'll see you in the matrix." You say with a grin as you swagger over to your pod and take a seat.
"Suppose so, hun; let's see if this thing really IS worth the effort or if I get to have the hold it over you as leverage for taking me on a bad date." Mai states as she's led to a pod besides yours.
As you sit back, you reach into your deck box and pull out the deck you had specifically prepared for this; with what was coming up ahead, you had decided to make a deck specifically that'd help with the new mechanics of the game, which had been thoroughly explained to you by Gansley once you had agreed to his and the others request.
As you place your deck down into the slot, the helmet immediately lowers along with the glass.
…Alrighty then, let's get this started.
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---------->
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LP: 2000
Money: 0
Bitches: 1
You blink and suddenly find yourself in a wide-open grassy field, Mai blinking beside you.
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------------>
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.....Huh, well, that was freaky. You had been expecting a dive or some sort of fanfare, but you had just blinked, and you were in.
You walk over and grab Mai's shoulder to help ground her, more than used to suddenly appearing in a different place by now from how often you visited your Soul Palace.
"Welp, looks like we're in, though gotta admit I didn't expect such a peaceful start." You say idly as you look around.
Hmm, maybe the Big Five had set your spawn to try and help you? Or maybe the game was just programmed so you didn't get tossed straight in the deep end.
…Though with the way some of the grass began to rustle in the distance, you may have just jinxed it.
"Look alive, babe; think we've got company." You state seriously, raising your hand to your deck as Mai quickly copies you, narrowing her eyes over at where you were staring as three monsters suddenly jump out in front of you.
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---------->>>
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…Hmm? Monsters in wild grass? Where had you heard that one before?
You had no further time to contemplate that question as the monsters suddenly dashed at you as you drew your hand-
You sit back with a deep sigh as you get confirmation their agent had officially entered the game, calling the rest of your compatriots to the meeting room to discuss their next step.
As the other four entered the room, you lifted up a remote and turned on the screen in the middle of the room, displaying their agent alongside his lover.
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"....Are you sure of this plan of yours, Gansley? I can understand taking precautions in case Kaiba has any backup programs in the game we're unaware of, but promising KaibaCorp to a man like that? He may be the King of Games but he is merely a hedonistic narcissist who enjoys chasing skirts." Johnson drones out as he places his arms down on the table.
You sigh at that, understanding the concern but thoroughly annoyed Johnson couldn't see the brilliance of your plan.
"And that is exactly why I chose him. Unlike with Pegasus, where KaibaCorp would have been thoroughly integrated into Industrial Illusions, or Seto who would sooner die than lose a grip on the company, a man like Makoto Yuzuki will quickly bore of running a company like KaibaCorp BECAUSE of his hedonistic tendencies, and once he has, he shall soon enough leave it to us while he uses a small portion of the company's resources to indulge himself, leaving the five of us clear to steer the company back into the prosperity it had under Gozaburo—no, not just equal but even further. With the breakthroughs in holograms and virtual reality along with AI that Seto has made, the company is set for greatness never before seen in this world without his moral quandaries and childish frivolities to hold us back." You explained as the others take in your words.
"...And what of the boy? What shall we do if he takes issue with the direction we try to take the company?" Nezzbit asks, eyes flickering over to the screen showing Makoto and his lover fighting off against three trash mobs.
"Then it should be simple enough to take him out, no? He's no Kaiba, though I can't imagine he will; he probably won't even notice considering all the beauties he surrounds himself with." Crump says lecherously, eyes locked onto the female form on screen, almost seeming to lick his lips.
"...Disregarding Crump's usual behavior, he's not wrong; with all we've seen of the boy, as long as we feed his indulgences and play to his ego, he won't care, and if for some reason he ever does, it'll be a simple matter to deal with him while one of us takes over as president." Leicher says, eyes locked onto the screen, specifically Makoto, his plan obvious for all of you to see.
You look to Johnson to see if he has any more concerns, but he just nods his head, accepting your decision.
"Good, now that that matter is settled, how go the preparations for Seto?" You ask as Nezzbit picks up a sheet of paper and looks it over.
"Our deadline is in a few days; if he's not satisfied with the game, then we're all fired. Lucky enough, though, the modifications to the game are now complete; the minute Kaiba enters the game, he'll be trapped like a rat." Nezzbit says, with a certain glee in his tone, at the idea of being the one to outdo Seto with a program he had modified himself after years of humiliation from Seto's superiority.
"Good, everything is going according to plan. Now, how about we toast, gentlemen? To the new president of KaibaCorp: Makoto Yuzuki." You say sarcastically, calling in your personal secretary to wheel in a cart with five glasses along with some wine you had been saving for just the occasion.
As all of you toast, you can't help but smirk as you look at the screen, Makoto taking out the rest of the monsters, almost in awe of your own brilliance as your plan plays out flawlessly.
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------------>
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You just grin at the charging freaks as you look at your hand and quickly slap down Spell Sanctuary.
"I activate my Spell Sanctuary! Adding my Lighting Vortex!" Your speech is interrupted as you have to quickly steady yourself, feeling the ground shake behind you. As you look over your shoulder, you see a whole ass palace being raised from the ground.
…Right, you weren't playing Duel Monsters.
Shaking your head, you continue on as the monsters charge, the boar especially seeming to sense something going on, buckling down and beginning to book it.
"Next up, I summon my Dark Magician Girl and immediately activate my Rites of the Underworld! Tributing both her and my Scapeghosts to summon my Hades! Lord of the Underworld!" You grin as your beautiful magician appears for a moment but gets immediately sucked into the summoning circle alongside your boys as Hades rises up just as the boar gets concerningly close.
It seemed to attempt to skirt around Hades, obviously sensing his threat and deciding to come straight for you instead, but Hades merely lowers his staff, stopping him dead in his tracks as you continue on.
"Next up, I activate my Lighting Vortex!" At your words you raise your spell up high, and suddenly three bolts of lightning shoot out from your card, impacting each of the monsters and immediately destroying them.
You stand there grinning in satisfaction as your Hades returns to your deck and Mai steps forward, eyebrow raised.
"...Was summoning your ace really necessary there?" She said with a somewhat amused grin as you coughed, slightly embarrassed.
"...I might be a bit too used to my normal combos. Can you blame me?" You said with a sheepish smile before looking around as Mai walked up to you.
"So what now, handsome? Since this was your idea, I'll follow your lead."
Hmm, that was a good question: what to do from here…
-x-X-x-
LP: 2000
Money: 20
-x-X-x-
Well, first things first was to see if the monsters dropped any loot. This WAS a video game, right?
And as you step up to where the Boar Soldier had died, you see a spinning card with copper coins on it and a fat 10 on the front.
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....Welp, that was loot if you'd ever seen it.
Walking over to where the other two had died, you see two more cards, though this time they both only had 5 on the card.
You look over your shoulder at Mai and wave the two cards at her.
"Yo, we splitting the loot or…?"
Mai just shrugged at your question. "Keep it; we don't even know what it's for yet. If I need some, I'll just ask."
You raise an eyebrow and let a lecherous grin come to your lips at that. "Heh, a sugar baby even in the game? And what are you gonna do when you need to come begging for me?" You say as you swagger over to her.
Mai just grins at that. "Hmm, I don't know, but to be fair, I'm not sure if I'd go for a guy with only 20 credits to his name~" She said, playfully hopping back as you try to wrap an arm around her.
…Heh, what a minx, though that DID give you an idea.
You grab your deck and pull out Card of Sanctity, grinning as you hold it up.
"Well, let's see if we can do anything to change that~" Though after a few seconds of nothing happening, you just lower the card with a pout as Mai grins over at you.
"What was that now, handsome?" Mai purrs out teasingly, but you just ignore her and shuffle through your deck until you find Red and summon her as she appears with a roar as you climb aboard.
"...Shut up," you say, totally not pouting as Mai just lets out a pretty laugh and climbs on behind you as you command Red to fly up and look for any place that seems inhabited.
-x-X-x-
After around an hour of flying, trying to find any place that seemed like it could be populated, yours and Mai's attention is suddenly grabbed by a great roar in front of you as something quickly zooms through a cloud.
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Heh, not bad, but not something that could stand against your Red-Eyes.
You just grin over at the dead dragon as you quickly draw five cards.
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You begin to grin maniacally as you look at your hand.
…Fuck the hell yes.
"Ha! Let's get this show on the road!" You grab your Polymerization and second copy of Red-eyes from your hand and raise 'em up high.
"I activate my Polymerization! Fusing—!" Suddenly your speech is interrupted as you feel something whizz by you and snatch your Polymerization and Red-Eyes, flying over behind the Serpent Night Dragon as your eyes widen.
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..... You were gonna kill 'em, not just for making you look like an idiot but for the sheer audacity of touching your fucking cards.
But for the moment you had something else to be concerned about as you watched as the Serpent turned to the bird and dived towards your cards.
"Not so fast, you overgrown snake! I summon my Amazoness Chain Master! Quickly get back those cards!" Mai commands as her Amazoness appears on your Red-Eyes' back and twirls her chains before tossing them towards the bird that had stolen your cards.
-x-X-x-
Unfortunately though, Serpent Night Dragon seemed to notice Mai's plan and quickly contorted its body to block the chain as its beak came in contact with your cards; the dragon began to glow.
…It better fucking not-
"Fucking blast it, Red!" You quickly order as you throw your hand out, Red quickly following your command and shooting out a fireball; unfortunately, with the urgency of the command, she didn't have time to line up her aim, so the fireball whizzed helplessly above the now growing dragon.
Soon enough the glowing faded, revealing the now pitch-black dragon with crimson cracks running across its body, that towered over you and your Red-eyes.
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"....Fucking hell, gotta deal with this shit now." You spit out as you lift up your Pot of Greed and activate it.
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...Okay, you could work with this.
Tsk, there was only really one thing to do here.
"Come back to me, Red-Eyes!" You call out as Red-Eyes returns to your hand, sending you, Mai, and Amazoness Chain Master into a freefall as you hold up your Advanced Ritual Art.
"I activate my Advanced Ritual Art! Sending 1 Normal Monster—" Your eyes suddenly widen as the two scarlet Skull Red Birds dive after you, while the serpent begins to charge up an attack.
Fuck! Were you not gonna make it…?!
"Not so fast! I activate my Harpie's Feather Duster! Blow them away, Chain Master!" Mai suddenly calls out as a giant feather appears in her Amazoness' hand as she suddenly swings it, unleashing a great gale of wind, sending both skull red birds rapidly off course and causing the blackened serpent's head to rise, diverting its beam of energy off course.
"Fuck yeah! Great stuff, gorgeous! Now come on out! Reshef the Dark Being!" At your words Reshef suddenly appears and catches you both, causing an admittedly very uncomfortable landing, though thankfully Mai's Chain Master managed to land gracefully and catch Mai.
But enough about that; you had a fight to finish…!
"Next up, I activate my Reshef's effect! By discarding 1 card I can take control of a monster on the field!" You say, tossing your Magician's Left Hand and pointing at the dragon looming above you.
"Go on, Reshef!"
As the beam of energy impacted the dragon, you could tell it was fiercely resisting, doing everything in its power to buck off the strings of control Reshef was trying to attach to it, but eventually, soon enough, it caved, though judging by the current of crimson energy running through its body, you weren't sure that'd last for long.
Well, you had better hurry up then!
But first things first, whatever weird cooldown seemed to affect the Duel Disk in here seemed to have worn off as you and Mai both drew.
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Well, since you had a moment to breathe, you may as well use it; you raise your Card of Sanctity high and activate it, but at the same time you throw your other arm out.
"Fucking snake! I command you to incinerate those overgrown chickens!" Even though it was obviously resisting your command, nevertheless, your new dragon turned to its former subordinates, still disoriented from Mai's previous attack, and shot a beam of black fire out, erasing both completely.
…Okay, that problem was solved; now just to deal with the main threat before it pulled on the leash, and you had just the idea.
"Next, I activate my Monster Reborn! Reviving my loyal Red-Eyes and separating it from the Midnight Serpent Dragon!" You yell out as you raise your reborn, praying this worked!
You grin as the Midnight Serpent Dragon lets out a screech of pain, your Red-Eyes slowly being pulled out of it and returning to her rightful place under you.
"Ha! Should have known not to fuck with me! Now Red-Eyes! Blast it to oblivion—!" You begin to call out but are interrupted by a hand on your shoulder.
"Heh~ Not so fast now, handsome; there was a little something you wanted to do earlier, wasn't there? Well, never say I don't do anything for you." Mai says, holding out her own copy of Polymerization.
…Fuck, this girl was perfect.
You grin as you take the card and raise it high, beginning to call out.
"I activate my polymerization! Fusing together my—!"
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon along with my copy in hand to make Red-Eyes Twin Blaze Dragon!"
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You grin as your dragon makes its appearance, swiftly wrapping your arm around Mai's waist and recalling Reshef and hopping on to your new dragon's back.
"Heh, all's well that ends well, right, girl? Now how 'bout we show that overgrown worm its place in the pecking order?" You ask as you run your hand up and down your dragon's neck before switching to the other as both heads let out a roar.
"Alrighty then! Get it, Red-Eyes! Twin Blaze Burst!" You call out as you throw your fist to the still disorientated Serpent Night Dragon as your Blaze Dragon charges up a colossal fireball within both its mouths.
"Now, fire!" You order as your dragon lets out two colossal streams of fire like a pair of erupting volcanoes, causing the Serpent Night Dragon to let out a screech as it's slowly burnt to a crisp.
Heh, that's what it gets for even thinking it could touch your cards.
Mai saddles up to you and bumps your shoulder, a grin on her face. "Feeling better now, handsome? Saw the way you were pouting before."
You just huffed at that, gesturing for your Blaze Dragon to fly up to collect the loot.
"Hmph! I wasn't pouting! I was angry that those gnats thought they had the right to touch my cards!" You call out as you grab a 100 card from where the serpent had died along with two more 5s from the birds.
"Right, right, of course you weren't pouting; I definitely believe you~" Mai cooed out as the two of you continued your argument as Blaze Dragon continued its flight, looking for any kind of town.
-x-X-x-
Thankfully, it didn't take TOO much longer for Red to find a seemingly populated town for you and Mai to stop at.
You order Red to land a ways out and then recall her to make your way there on foot; you wouldn't want to spook any NPCs and have to full scorch earth now.
As you and Mai stepped in, you looked around, noting it seemed to be a pretty simple faux-Egyptian-style town.
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"So, what's the plan now, handsome? Never really was one for video games." Mai asked as she looked around, making a face at a stall selling what seemed to be some kind of cooked lizard hanging from its tail.
"Well, usually in big safe zones like this you'll find at least a couple side quests. I got no clue if there's some kind of main quest in the game yet or whatever, so for now think the best plan is to just fuck around; that's the whole point of being beta testers." You say with a shrug.
Of course you also needed to just kill time in general until Kaiba gets in the game, but it was best to keep that on the down low.
"Sounds good to me then. Suppose it's also best to have some kind of home base as well; I'm not exactly one for camping, even virtually." Mai hums out as she steps forward and wraps her arm around yours.
"Good point, so it looks like the plan is to find some place to sleep, and then we'll ask around town for any obvious plot hooks to bite on." You say with a nod as you and Mai continue to peruse town, now looking for a place to stay.
…Of course, Mai being Mai, she absolutely refused to stay at any of the common inns dotted around the town, and you can't say you blamed her really; most of 'em looked like they were either on the verge of collapse or infested by rats, fitting for the aesthetic you supposed, but still, not a place you'd want to sleep in.
Though after some more wandering, you're abruptly stopped as Mai tugged at your arm, eyes locked on a nearby building.
"...How about that place? Seems decent enough."
You look over to what she's suggesting and blink your eyes.
"...Mai, I think that's a coliseum or something, not an inn." You say with a deadpan look as Mai's eyes just sparkle.
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"Who cares? It's the biggest building in town, so it's obviously run by the guy who has the most money, and considering the lack of other luxury, I'd hedge my bets that there's at least one bedroom in there that he can stay in, so we go in, ask politely, and if they say no, we kill 'em and take over, simple as that." Mai said with a shrug as if it really was that simple.
…Weren't you meant to be the morally dubious one in this relationship? You almost want to burn down an orphanage or something to cement your position.
Welp, sometimes a good boyfriend just had to nod his head and do as the lady asked.
…You totally weren't doing it because you'd developed a taste of luxury yourself, no siree.
As you and Mai step in, you're almost immediately beset by some grunt guards, hands on the hilts of their swords.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Fresh meat lookin' to take a shot at the champion? Well, sorry, kid, but you're fresh outta luck; the champ's not here right now." One of the guards spat out.
…Hmm, well, that sounded like a side quest hook if you'd ever heard it, but how to handle this?
-x-X-x-
Well, first things first was getting Mai's thoughts, so you ignore the guard for now and turn to her.
"Sounds like a classic plot hook if I've ever heard one. How do you wanna play this, babe? Wanna follow the story beats or just say fuck it and bust our way inside?" You ask her; thankfully enough it seemed the guards' AI wasn't so advanced that they could parse your words since he just stood there, glowering at you.
Mai hummed at that while tapping her chin. "Hmm, well, for now how about we find out some more info and look around our new place? Maybe get an idea about this so-called champ and what he's up to; we can decide what we're doing after that."
You just nod at that and turn back to the guard, explaining you were merely going to look around, which seemed to cause him to back off.
After exploring a bit you do have to admit this little coliseum was probably the nicest place you'd come across so far: good furniture, nice decorations, the works, with the occasional generic guard patrolling the place, though soon enough you and Mai find yourself in the office of a literal toad called Tregal.
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---------------->
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"Ah, so you're looking for information on our Grand Champion, eh? Well, there is no better man to ask than I." Tregal says with an annoying high-pitched voice as you watch his throat literally bulge.
"Our champion is the strongest warrior within all the land this side of the desert who commands a great and terrible dragon. In all the years since he has taken his spot, he has not once been bested in combat, not even close." As he said that, his eyes seemed to glint for some reason, eyes darting to your Duel Disks. "Though I am sure the two of you may be able to do it, you possess the same sacred armament as our Grand Champion, so at the very least it would be quite the show."
Tregal suddenly sighed for some reason and seemed to slump down in his chair, disappointment writ across his face.
"Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to set up a match right away, our champion is away at the moment; some beast or another was rampaging close to a nearby fortress, and he decided to go and stop it. I'm unsure precisely when he'll be back, though if you so wish, I could tell you the location of where he was going." Tregal offered.
You accept the offer without question and then step outside with Mai.
"So, looking like the champs, the big shot around here, I'm guessing if we stayed or went to get him, we could challenge him to a match, win and then become the champs ourselves, or we could do a bit of a forceful takeover and have to deal with him when he arrives back to see there's been a change of management." You think out loud to Mai as you lean against the coliseum walls, Mai quickly joining you.
"Looks that way. I'll leave the decision up to you; as long as we get ourselves a nice big bed before the day ends, I don't really care how we get there." Mai said with a shrug as she played with her hair.
Hmm, well, you had two real options here: go out and fetch the champ, which was probably the intended progression for this little quest, or go full renegade here.
Choices, choices.
-x-X-x-
Eh, it'd probably be best to follow the actual quest; there would probably be more rewards if you did.
Saying as much to Mai, you nod and begin to make your way out of town, summoning Red and hopping on her as you begin to make your way to the location of the fortress Tregal had told you about.
Thankfully enough it only took around an hour to arrive, and just in the nick of time seemingly as you watch what you presume to be the Grand Champion face off against a massive centaur like monster covered in masks in the burning remains of some sort of military outpost, keeping his distance by riding on the back of Hyozanryu.
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"Welp, this is a boss encounter. If I've ever seen one, you ready for this, gorgeous?" You ask, turning your head to look at Mai with a cocky grin, which she answered with in kind.
"Heh, I should be asking you that, handsome, make sure not to get your cards stolen this time~" She purred out as she drew her hand.
You turn away, totally not pouting as you quickly follow in kind, more than ready to get this show on the road.
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Well first things first you should activate your Pot of Greed, and as you do so you swiftly see Mai following your lead with her own, then activating Graceful Charity.
Tch, lucky bitch…
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Well first order of business was a good ol' sneak attack, lets see if you can do anything by unveiling that things ugly mug.
"Swoop down Red! Get as close to that thing as you can without it grabbing you!" You call out as Red roars in response as she swoops down.
Right as the monster turns its attention to you you smirk and raise up your Pillager.
"Come on out Pillager! And get that mask!" You order as Pillager swiftly appears beside you with a smirk before lunging towards the monster.
Unfortunately though it looked like the bastard had some pretty quick reflex, quickly bringing up its hands to cover its face, obviously guessing Pillager's target.
Though thankfully it looked like Pillager had a brain in his skull, swiftly ducking low and grabbing one of the masks adorning its body and jumping back up to you and Mai with a mask in hand.
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----------------->
.
Hmm, not bad, you'd have preferred to poke the obvious weak point but this wasn't a bad substitute.
Before you could act on anything else the Champion pulled up besides you on his own dragon.
"I don't know who you two are but I assume you wish to slay the beast as well? Then that makes us allies, I ask that you buy me some time, I have a plan to slay the beast!" He called out before diving back down and recalling his dragon, looking like he was setting up for something.
…That sounded awfully close to an order, and you did need to take this guy out anyway.
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--------------->
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…Unfortunately if you were gonna take this thing down you needed a bit more fire power than what Red could provide.
"I activate my Rites of the Underworld! Tributing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Copycat in order to summon-!" You began to call out before suddenly one of the masks on the creatures began to glow.
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------------->
.
Fuck!
"Not so fast! Come on out, Harpie Lady!" Mai suddenly calls out as her Harpie Lady appears, but she was far from done.
"Next I activate my Harpie's Feather Duster! Blow that mask away!" Mai calls out as a large feather appears in her Harpie's claws, who swiftly swings it and creates a typhoon right at Masked Beast who raised its arms to defend itself, but in the process the glowing mask on its body was blown off into the distance!
Fuck, you loved this girl!
"-My Hades! Lord of the Underworld!" You finish up as Red disappears from beneath you along with your Copycat in hand.
As you fall to the floor you don't let up, swiftly raising another card.
"But I'm not done! Next I activate my Polymerization! With my Hades being the lord of the Underworld I'm allowed to use monsters in my Graveyard as fusion materials! And I'll be choosing to fuse my Hades alongside my Copy to create-!"
"Hecate!" You finish as your new monster takes her place.
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--------------->
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"But I'm not done yet! I'll equip Magician's Left Hand to her!" You call out as Hecate's hand begins to glow with energy.
Though suddenly just as you were about to continue another voice called out.
"Ha! Good show! But I won't be outdone here! Come forth my heart and soul! Tyrant Dragon!" The Champion called out as from under his feet an enormous dragon suddenly made its appearance, flames licking from its mouth.
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------------>
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…Tch! Fucker thinks he can show you up?!
Focus! You can deal with this asshole later!
"First up I activate my Hecate's effect! Allowing her to copy the effect of one monster in my Graveyard, and I'll choose my Hades!" You call out as a dark blue glow engulfs your Hecate for a moment.
"Next up I activate my Hades effect! By paying 250 Life Points I can revive one monster in my Graveyard, and I'll be pick my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" You call out as Red rises from the grave even as your Life Points drop slightly, unfortunately she wouldn't be sticking around for long.
"Next up, I activate Mask of the Accursed! Lets see how you enjoy this!" At your call you fling the back you had stolen before and fling it to the monster, grinning as it seems to magnetically get drawn directly to its face, the monster letting out a scream as its main mask seemed to get damaged, lowering its ATK by-!
300!
Though before you could continue your move the bastard suddenly spoke up.
"Good job side-kick! You've set me up perfectly!" The Champion roared as he suddenly raised a card.
"I activate my Axe of Despair and equip it to my Tyrant Dragon! Raising its ATK by 1000!" The dead man calls out as an axe suddenly appears on the forehead of his dragon, acting almost like a horn as its ATK was raised to an admittedly impressive 3900.
"Now go, Tyrant! Ruin Breath!" He called out as his monster let out a wave of now black flames, incinerating the Masked Beast as it let out a screech of pain before eventually exploding.
Without missing a beat the Champion turns to you, backdropped by the flames as he grins.
"Ah, I must say you two, that was a most impressive performance, do not worry, after that show I am more than happy to accept you both as my side kicks! What do you say?!" He says holding out a hand, obviously expecting you to take it.
....
.....
You just glare at him, reaching out and batting his hand aside.
He just let out a disappointed sigh at that.
"…Oh well, I was afraid of that." Suddenly he looks up with steely eyes.
"…Tyrant, I activate your effect. Go! Ruin Breath." Your eyes widen as he quickly jumps back under his Tyrant Dragon as it opens its mouth, black fire building as it prepares to launch an attach that'd engulf both you and Mai.
Fuck!
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------------->
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"Red! Block it!" You call out as Red dives directly towards the black, taking it head on as you quickly hold up your trap as she screams.
"I activate my Eradicator Epidemic Virus! Tributing my Hecate in order to destroy all your spells!" You call out as the axe on-top of Tyrants head pops, lowering its ATK back down to 2900 as Red finally succumbs, dealing 500 damage to your Life Points and leaving you with nothing.
Thankfully for you though, you weren't in this alone.
"Not so fast! I activate my Elegant Egotist to summon my Harpie Lady Sisters!" Mai calls out as her Harpie splits into her three iconic monsters.
"Makoto! I need you to protect me while I summon Mistress!" Mai calls out from behind you.
Shit! Easier said than done when you had no cards!
Though at that thought you sense the cooldown on your Duel Disk is done and quickly draw like your life depends on it, because it just might!
.
----------->
.
You draw and get Mirror Wall!
Oh thank fuck!
"Tch! You stopped me once but you won't again! Go, Tyrant! Ruin Breath!" The Champ calls out again from his place between his dragons left as he throws his arms forward.
"Not so fast! I activate my Mirror Wall! Negating your dragons attack and halfing it's attack!" You call out as a transparent barrier appear and negates its attack as the Champ gnashes his teeth.
"Good job, Makoto!" Mai calls out from behind you before continuing. "Now I activate my Polymerization! Fusing together my Harpie Lady Sisters in order to summon my Harpie Mistress!" Mai declares as her monster makes its appearance, narrowing her eyes up at the dragon.
"Now go Harpie Mistress! Eternal Bondage!" Mai shouts out as a collar appears in her Mistress' hands, which she swiftly tosses around Tyrant Dragons neck, bringing it to heel.
"Lets go, Harpie Mistress! Finish this! Harpie Domination!" Mai cries out as he Harpie charges forward, leaping into the air and falling down towards the Champ with a kick with her stiletto heels.
"Not so fast, bitch! I activate my Spellbinding Circle! Lets see how your monster enjoys being confined!" The Champ calls out as a magical circle appears before flying towards the still descending Harpie Mistress.
Fuck! If he managed to buy himself more time there was no telling what he could do! You had to do something, if only you had a Spellcaster on board!
You blink at that, realization hitting you.
…What was a Spellcaster but someone who could do magic? And last you checked while you weren't exactly tossing around fireballs you could still do it.
You raise your hand high and focus, trying to focus all your magic into your hand, praying the system would somehow pick it up.
For a moment nothing happens and you begin to believe you had failed, but suddenly, just for a quick moment your hand lit up and the Spellbinding Circle disappeared as the Champs eyes widened behind his mask,
"WHAT-!" He barely had time to shout out before Harpie Mistress impacted him, digging her heels deep into his stomach as he crashes into the ground with a scream of pain.
After a few more seconds of Mistress twisting her heel in even deeper and some beautiful screams of agony from the bastard he suddenly went silent, before exploding into a cloud of energy like every other mob in this game, leaving behind a card marked with 3000 alongside one marked with 1000, from what you presume to be the Masked Beast.
As the battle ends you collapse to your knees panting, the adrenaline finally leaving you as you bring up your Duel Disk to check your Life Points.
…1250, not great but not the worse it could be either.
You're brought out your thoughts as Mai suddenly collapses down besides you, obviously relieved as well.
"…Gosh, I thought video games were meant to be relaxing? What say we grab the idiots helmet and make our way back? If anyone questions us we burn 'em alive or something, all I want right now is to collapse on a nice, comfy bed and get some sleep." She sighed out.
…You know what? That sounded like a great idea.
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---------------->
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LP: 1250
Money: 4130
-x-X-x-
After that you and Mai fly back to town, mask in hand and throw it at Tregal's feet and explain you were the Champions now, and after a quick appearance from both Red and Harpie's Pet Dragon everyone was quick to kiss the ring.
In the following days you and Mai mainly relaxed, though you did go out and complete a few more side quests or face challengers in the coliseum bringing your money counter to a nice round 10.000
Did you spend any of your money?
Blue Medicine (One time use) 1500 Money --------->
Poison of the Old Man (One time use) 5000 Money --------->
Mystic Wok (One time use) 10.000 money --------->
Dark Hole 3000 money ------->
Swords of Revealing Light 1000 money ------->
-x-X-x-
You awoke to another day with a loud yawn, in the admittedly VERY comfortable champion's bed in the arena you and Mai now ran.
Speaking of, for once it looks like you had to get up before Mai. Looking over, you can't help but smile at how calm and peaceful she looked, happily dreaming away.
Hmm, as cute as her pouting face would be if you woke her, it'd probably be best to let her sleep in for now; it's not like the two of you had any plans or the like. You could probably cross the desert properly now with the Niwatori you had managed to get from taking over that desert bandit tribe, but it was probably best to stay put until you get a sign that the plan is underway.
…And well, not like you were complaining about being the champion of the coliseum, adored by the people and having your every whim answered.
Speaking of which, as you step out of yours and Mai's room after putting on your robes, you turn to the two guards at the door.
"Yo, I'm heading out. Once Madame Butterfly wakes up, inform her I'll be making sure our new bandits are playing nice. Oh, and also remind her she still has to keep up her side of our little bet~" You sing out, VERY much looking forward to seeing her in her new outfit.
The NPCs just nod in response to your order as you turn to leave, ready to make sure your little bandit queen hasn't tried to pull against the leash as you summon Red and fly to the outskirts of town.
As you land, you can't help but smirk as all of the bandits' eyes immediately go to you before shooting to the ground the minute your eyes passed over them.
…Heh.
In any case, you ignore them for now and march your way over to Sable's tent.
You step in, drawing her attention from where she was cleaning her scimitar.
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"Yo! How's my favorite desert princess doing?" You say with a smirk, leaning against a wooden pillar holding up her tent as she narrows her eyes at you.
"...I told you, I am no princess; I am the rightful queen of my people through right of combat." She hissed out at you.
"Heh, correction, you WERE the rightful queen of your people through right of combat, but last I remember that's now me and Mai. Really, you're lucky me and Mai decided to let you retain a position of authority, but as far as I'm concerned that makes you just a princess now~" You chime out as you tease her.
It had started two days ago; some runner from the village had said that a great and terrible bandit tribe was approaching the town to destroy it, which was a plot hook if you had ever heard one, so you and Mai had immediately set out to confront them. To be honest, your original plan had just been to firebomb them all, but luckily for them, Sable had stepped up just in time, stopping your first attack with great effort, and you had decided it'd be more fun to engage with the quest rather than cheat it.
…And it certainly had nothing to do with Sable being a cute girl, no matter how much Mai teased you otherwise.
After that, things had gone pretty simply; you both had landed and had a good old trial by combat to become the new leader of the tribe before dragging them back to the village where they'd been staying since.
"...If that is as you command." Sable says, bringing you back to the present as she nods at your words.
You cough, slightly embarrassed from getting caught up in your own thoughts.
"Right, anyway I just popped by to make sure everything's still fine and get some of the Niwatori cards. Tregal thought it may bring some more challengers to the coliseum if we offered some up as a prize. Do you have any spare on hand?" You asked her as Sable blinked before rummaging through her deck for a moment, handing you five Niwatori cards.
You just grab them before patting her on the head.
"Good girl, now just continue as you were. Make sure none of the others start any trouble with the villagers again; wouldn't want a repeat of last time now, would we?" You say, referring to an incident yesterday where a dozen or so of the tribe had decided they no longer wanted to put up with this "humiliation" and so had robbed some of the villagers before fleeing into the desert.
…Of course, they were nowhere near fast enough to keep away from Red, so now they were some 5-star meal roasted to perfection for any monsters in the desert.
"I understand. I apologize again for being incapable of reining in my men; I await whatever punishment you deem necessary." She says as she dips her head to you.
…Whoever programmed her knew exactly what they were doing with that, but unfortunately enough for you, there DID seem to be some restrictions in regard to "adult" content; you and Mai had brought in one of your newfound cultists to your bedroom a few days ago, and she was built like a Barbie doll. You knew what your first complaint was going to be when you got out of here.
Thankfully, it didn't seem to apply to players, or you may have just forced your way out of the game by now.
After that you give a swift goodbye before you're tempted to double-check the system and make your way back to the coliseum.
Arriving back at the coliseum, you ask whether Mai's awake and are then led to the relaxation area, where you see her lounging on a sofa in her new outfit while your cultists slowly feed her grapes.
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---------------->>
.
You smirk, not even trying to stop your eyes from roaming her body as you make your way over, and after a few quick adjustments you squeeze in behind her and cuddle up.
"Heh~ I've gotta say I'm loving the look, babe. Whoever suggested it must be a genius, probably handsome too." You tease with a cocky grin as Mai just fondly rolls her eyes, taking a bite from the pile of grapes in a cultist's hands.
"I swear one of these days your ego is gonna get big enough it'll burst like a balloon; I'm only wearing this thing because of that stupid bet." She huffs out with a pout.
"Oh? Stupid bet? That wasn't what you were saying when we made it; you seemed awfully excited at the thought of getting me a thong and ordering me around all day~" You point out taking a bite out of some of the grapes yourself as your cultists just stand quietly by.
"Urgh, I still say it shouldn't have counted; the agreement was whoever killed the most enemies without wide-scale destruction. You having Ruby instantly kill the boss and land on all the fodder should have totally counted as wide-scale destruction!" Mai whined out as you just chuckled.
"The agreement was any wide-scale backrow or monster effect; the only thing I used was Ruby. It's not my fault I'm a genius~" You purr out, blowing in Mai's ear, and you see her whole body shudder, goosebumps running up her skin.
Mai just let out another huff at that before conceding by changing the topic. "So, what's on the agenda for today then? Got a lead on a quest or something?" She asked before letting out a sharp whistle, one of the cultists immediately kneeling down in front of her and beginning to massage her feet.
"Nah, Fregal has that whole little promotion with the Niwatori he wants to do, remember? So I say we just sit back and relax today and see if anyone bites the bait, and if they do, we mop the floor with 'em and then get right back to relaxing." You said with a shrug as Mai just hummed in acceptance.
With that, you sat back and began to relax, gesturing for some of the cultists to begin to dance for your pleasure.
Heh, this is what Kaiba gets for trying to stop your fun.
It was only a few hours later that one of Tregal's men made his way into the room, bowing deeply at the waist from his intrusion.
"Grand Champions! I apologize for interrupting you, but Master Tregal wished for me to inform you that a new challenger has arrived!" He announced, luckily for him, making sure his eyes stayed firmly on the floor.
Hmm? That was surprising; it hadn't taken long for you and Mai to stop getting challengers after you'd decimated the first dozen or so. You suppose putting up a prize had actually borne some fruit.
Feeling Mai gently squeeze your hand from its place around her waist, you look down and see her looking up at you. "Hmm, you want to take this one, hot stuff, or should I? I can't remember which of us got the last one."
That was a good question. You were never opposed to showing off to the crowd, of course, but you can't deny the idea of Mai putting some idiot in the ground in her new outfit WAS an appealing image…
"Hmm, why don't you take this one, babe? I would be a bad boyfriend if I hogged ALL the spotlight now, wouldn't I?" You tease with a grin, giving her a quick squeeze.
She just rolled her eyes at that. "Well, we can't have that now, can we?" She suddenly tilted her head up at you. "Not going to complain about me going out wearing this, will you? I don't hate when you get all possessive and jealous on me, but if you tell me to go switch my outfits last minute, I'm gonna be annoyed."
You just shrug in response to that. "Nah, you're mine, and I'd kill anyone who tried anything, but for just looking? Let 'em, let all of them know the most beautiful woman in this entire place is mine; let the men burn with jealousy that they can't have you and the women turn green from envy that they AREN'T you. Besides, they're NPCs; I'd have to be really pathetic to get jealous of a bunch of 1s and 0s." You chuckle out, Mai joining you a second later as you both languidly get up from your seat and make your way to the arena.
You give Mai a kiss before separating, heading to the VIP booth where Tregal is waiting for you while Mai prepares her entrance.
"So, who's she facing, Tregal? Didn't think anyone in town had the guts to try anything. One of the bandits thinks they're clever?" You ask him as you lean back in your throne, already dressed in your Lord Regulus assemble.
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----------->
.
"Ah, I believe they are outsiders, my lord; the three of them apparently came into town today and tried to cross the desert before realizing they needed Niwatori's." He explained as your eyebrows shot up.
Hmm, that was pretty in-depth; maybe the game was sensing you were stalling and had created a new quest to force you to move?
Also…
"Three of 'em? I thought there was only one challenger today?" You asked him, narrowing your eyes as he croaked nervously.
"A-Ah, well, you see, while three of them came, they decided to only have one of them face you. If they had decided to all challenge you, I assure you I would have informed you! L-Look! In the crowd! Those two with the strange clothes are the companions of the challenger!" He said, lifting a hand and pointing to a section of the crowd as your eyes followed.
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----------------->
.
.....Welp, if that wasn't a sign the plan had started, you don't know what was.
Though for now it was probably best to sit back and enjoy the show, you'd hop in before Mai managed to crush whoever the third of the trio was.
With that, it wasn't long until the apparent "Senor Porky" made his appearance, and you couldn't help but snort at how ridiculous he looked.
…Yep, that was definitely Joey.
Though he almost seemed to fall over as Mai made her appearance being carried by four of your most heavily muscled male cultists still in her chainmail bikini, though now adorning her Madame Butterfly mask.
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----------------.>
.
Alrighty, Joey probably calls out, asking what Mai's doing here, and then you jump down and—
Your thoughts are interrupted as Mai suddenly leaps from her throne in front of Joey and smirks.
"Ha! I knew guys could be dirty as pigs; I didn't know they dressed the part, though. Let's hope you duel better than you smell!" She taunted with a grin while her cloak flared behind her, her body on full display.
…As much as she bitched and moaned when she lost, she certainly didn't seem against the outfit now. Don't tell me you'd awakened an exhibitionist in her? You weren't sure you had it in you to deal with two Ruby's…
Well, in any case, Joey should call her out any second now—
"You know what I like about butterflies? They don't talk!" Joey suddenly barked out, hand going to his deck.
…Right, Joey wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
You just sighed and decided to stay back for now, thankfully before you had to step in and block an attack. Joey seemed to realize who he was facing, taking off his mask right before Mai could destroy his Flame Swordsman.
"What are you doing here, Mai?!" Yugi suddenly called out as he leapt out of the stands along with Mokuba, running up to Mai, though a blush did quickly spread across his face as he got closer, eyes immediately darting down as you chuckled.
…Ah, still so innocent.
You just grin as Mai explains she was acting as a beta tester, quickly standing up and jumping down besides her as the three stooges jumped back in surprise.
"Yup, two of us got hired to playtest this before release, and won't ever hear me turn down taking more of Kaiba's money." You say with a grin to Mokuba before turning to the other two. "But what about you guys? Same deal?"
…You already had a pretty good idea what was going down, but you couldn't reveal that just yet.
From there, the three of them explained what was going on and that Kaiba was apparently trapped in a temple across the desert.
Well, it looks like things were coming to a close here; as fun as it had been, you wouldn't mind getting back to the real world and reaping your reward for your cooperation in this little scheme.
You just smirk at the trio as they finish up their explanation. "Oh, this is TOO great! Little Kaiba went and got himself captured by some suits and needs rescuing?" You suddenly bark out a laugh as you continue. "Ha! Count me in! Think they'll have put a dress on the damsel in distress?"
You ignore their response and turn to Tregal.
"Tregal! Hand over the Niwatori cards now! Me and Butterfly are going on a quest again!" You bark out as Tregal's eyes widen.
"B-But the match! You must—!" He starts before suddenly freezing up as Red appears in front of him snarling.
"Oh? I must? That almost sounds like you were trying to give me an order, Tregal, but there's no way that's right; you're much too smart for that. You know exactly what'll happen to people who try to order me around." You say with a raised eyebrow as Red leans in closer.
"O-Of course! I merely meant to say you must hurry, my champion! Every day in the village without your presence is a lesser day for the people!" He slams out, grabbing the cards and gently placing them in Red's mouth as she brings them over to you all.
"Too true, Tregal, too true." You suddenly turn to the crowd and spread your arms wide. "Worry not my people! Your champions shall return soon enough! But for now I am off on a quest to save the fairest maiden in all the land!" You call out as the crowd cheers in response to your words as the five of you leave the coliseum.
Joey walks up beside you and raises an eyebrow. "You really plannin' on comin' back to this place? Not really much point once we save Kaiba."
You just shrug at that. "Nah, we've been here long enough as is, but I can't exactly disappoint my adoring audience now, can I? Besides, no shot, Kaiba doesn't reboot this entire thing once we get him out of here, so it's not exactly gonna hurt to lie to them."
And with that said, the five of you entered the desert, more than ready to deal with whatever's ahead.
…Ah, you were gonna miss this place.
From there things were relatively smooth sailing for a bit, you all making conversation while you managed to pass the sandstorm barrier thanks to the Niwatori, but soon enough you're all interrupted as the ground begins to shake.
"Look alive, people! Looks like we've got an encounter on our hands!" You call out, hand going to your deck as soon enough two monsters burst out of the ground.
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----------------->
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Hmm, nothing too impressive stat-wise, but they'd probably be tougher because of the environment, and you knew better than anyone by now you couldn't count out any other surprises laying in wait.
Heh, but by this point the game should know it could throw whatever the fuck it wanted at you; you'd always come out on top!
With that thought, you quickly draw your opening hand and prepare to face the two behemoths.
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---------------->
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You can't help the grin that comes to your face as you see Lightning Vortex in your opener.
Ha! It didn't matter what dumb gimmick these fuckers had if you turned 'em to glass before they could do anything!
"Let's end this quickly! I activate my Lighting Vortex!" You yell out as you quickly discard your Magician's Left Hand to the Graveyard.
Suddenly storm clouds appeared above the behemoths, lightning crackling within them that suddenly shoots down directly at them.
Ha! The bigger they are, the harder they fall-!
Before you could even finish that thought, the lightning seemed to fall through the two monsters as they dissipated like a mirage, and you swear you heard a faint giggling coming from somewhere within the desert.
Before you could look around for the source of the noise, your eyes widened as your Niwatori let out a squawk of panic, one of the green tentacle vines from the Sand Stone appearing behind you and swinging directly for you!
You fumble desperately for your Mirror Force, but the flinch from your Niwatori had displaced you enough that you wouldn't manage to bring it up in time!
"Not so fast! I activate Negate Attack!" A voice suddenly cries out as a translucent barrier appears before you, stopping the vine in its tracks inches before it would have crushed you.
You look over and see Mokuba charging to you, already in the process of lifting another card up.
"Come on out, Swordstalker!" He calls out as a familiar monster appears before him, quickly dashing forward and slicing through the vine that was seemingly dead set on trying to force its way through the Negate Attack, the ground shaking slightly as the tentacle writhes on the ground.
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---------------->
.
.....Tch, how the hell had he gotten his hands on Kaiba's deck? Kaiba should have had it when he came into the game; this might cause problems for the plan.
In any scenario you had more immediate concerns at the moment, so you just shake that thought out of your head and nod to Mokuba in thanks before your attention is taken by the Sand Moth launching out of the ground behind Yugi and Joey, bringing its massive sandy hand down on them!
"Guys-!" You call out in worry, but thankfully Yugi was already on it, raising a card up high.
"Go! Burning Land!" Yugi barks out as a huge wave of fire is unleashed from his card, hitting the Sand Moth and immediately making it cry out and fall back, but the wave doesn't let up, continuing to roll out even as the monster pitifully raises its hands to defend itself, slowly getting more and more stiff as its body is turned to glass.
"Ha! Keep up the pressure, Yuge! I got just the thing to finish this!" Joey calls out with a grin as he raises one of his cards.
"Come on out, Axe Raider! Slice that statue in two!" Joey orders, thrusting his fist forward as his Axe Raider appears and swiftly follows its orders, dashing forward, axes raised high, as it impacts the now almost fully glassed Sand Moth, immediately shattering it into hundreds of thousands of little glass shards.
Your attention is caught again by the surrounding sand storm, the melodic giggling still ringing out behind it.
"Tch! Let's see how long she stays laughing after this! Harpie Lady, blow away the sandstorm!" Mai calls out as her Harpie Lady appears, Harpie's Feather Duster in hand, which she swings, sending a typhoon of wind directly to the sandstorm, creating a hole in it for a moment and revealing the source of the giggling.
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----------------->
.
Mystical Sands' eyes seemed to widen for a moment at her sudden reveal before narrowing with a smirk, shooting a wink to you and the others as the sandstorm strengthened, obscuring her from view yet again.
…Well, looks like you'd found the gimmick of this fight.
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------------>
.
Monsters: Swordstalker, Axe Raider, Harpie Lady (+Duster).
..... Alrighty then, if you were gonna have any hope of cleaning this up, you'd need someone to deal with the witch bitch first, and luckily enough, you had just the gal for the job.
But first, you'd need a little help getting her out.
"Yo, Yugi! I need a Spellcaster on the field! I have a plan to deal with the sandstorm!" You call out to Yugi as he just nods, not seeming to hesitate for a second.
"Mystical Elf! Take the field!" Yugi calls out as a familiar blue-skinned blonde appears before him, smiling as she clasps her hand.
You idly notice out of the corner of your eye Mai's Harpie Lady glaring over at Mystical Elf and licking her lips.
…Well, someone was holding a grudge from Duelist Kingdom.
You shake your head and raise your Silent, now wasn't the time for thoughts like that.
"I tribute Mystical Elf in order to summon my Silent Magician!" You yell out as Silent appears with her, an unusually expressive look on her face as she tilts her head inquisitively, awaiting your command.
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----------->
.
"....Hmm?"
"Silent! I need you to use your magic to disrupt the sandstorm so we can kill the witch hiding inside of it!" You ask her, Silent nodding her head at your order as she turns to face the sandstorm, raising her staff up high and closing her eyes as she begins to concentrate.
As Silent began to charge her spell, Mystical Sand obviously took note of what you were planning, sending the sandstorm directly to Silent and buffeting her and the rest of you with the storm, hoping to break her concentration.
Though it quickly becomes apparent that while an annoyance, it wasn't going to stop Silent, causing the Sandstone to launch itself out from behind her, attempting to crush her with its claw.
"Oh no, you don't! Axe Raider, get in there!" Joey orders, his Axe Raider jumping forward and catching the claw before it could impact Silent.
"Good job, Joey! Now hold it there!" Mokuba suddenly calls out, thrusting his arm forward as his Swordstalker charges, a malicious grin stretching across its face as it jumps up high, sword raised before bringing it down and slicing the Sandstone in twain.
Just in time as well, Silents' eyes shoot open as her staff suddenly lets off a wave of light that impacts the sandstorm, causing it to fall to the ground and revealing the Mystical Sand, whose eyes widen in panic, turning and beginning to flee.
"Not so fast, bitch! I activate my Elegant Egotist! Letting me summon my Harpie Lady Sisters!" Mai calls out as she glares at the retreating witch, her Harpie smirking as her two sisters form at her sides, the three of them quickly giving chase to Mystical Sand.
"Tear her to shreds, girl!" Mai gives out her order as her harpies finally catch up, sadistic smirks stretching across each of their faces as they dive in and begin to peck at Mystical Sand like a pack of birds, pulling at her hair, scratching at her face, and tearing at her clothes until she falls from her broom to the sand below, being destroyed in the process.
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…You definitely need to make Layla and Angel catfight for your amusement once you're back in the real world.
You turn and spit out the handful of sand that had gotten in your mouth from that annoying-ass encounter before turning to the others to make sure they were alright.
"We all good? No one buried alive?" You asked as your little group all nodded in affirmative, though their eyes did seem to dart to something behind you.
You swear to god if there was a monster behind you….
Thankfully enough, that wasn't the case. Now with the bitch witch dead and gone, you all could actually pay attention without the sandstorm no longer obscuring your vision, revealing some kind of temple on the other side.
"An old woman told us my brother was taken to a temple across the desert! This has to be it!" Mokuba suddenly called out before forcing his Niwatori into a full-blown sprint.
"Hey Mokuba! Wait for the rest of us!" Joey shouted as he ran after Mokuba, the rest of you following as you approached the temple.
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Hmm, not bad, but it lacked a certain grandioseness you'd expect from a final area.
Before you could ponder that thought any further, you all quickly had to hop off Niwatori's as Mokuba rushed to the entrance of the temple, Joey hot on his heels and grabbing him by the shoulder before he could rush inside.
"Look, Mokuba I know you're worried about your brother, but you can't be running off; if you got lost, then the time we'd spend lookin' for ya would be time we're not saving Kaiba." Joey said surprisingly reasonably as he crouched down beside Mokuba, who just bit his lip in frustration.
"I know, it's just…" He bit out, unable to finish his sentence.
"You're worried about your brother; I get ya. If it were my sister in there, I'd be the same way, but that's only more reason ya gotta play it smart so we can save him as soon as possible." Joey said with one final tap on Mokuba's shoulder as he got back to his feet, Mokuba seeming to have calmed down.
…Huh. Joey was surprisingly good with kids, apparently.
"That's right, Joey! As long as we work together we're sure to get Kaiba back!" Yugi chirped up from his place besides you.
God, you couldn't wait to see the look on Kaiba's face when he saw Yugi having come to rescue him, especially if he hit him with a cheesy line like that.
After that you and the others enter the temple, and almost immediately your eyebrow shoots up, as rather than an interior of a building, instead you are in what looks like a dark cave descending into the earth.
Well, this felt like sloppy map design.
In any case, as you and the others descended, you eventually came upon a double door that, when opened, led you to the start of a very obvious maze.
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You blink and look around at the area for a short few moments and turn your gaze to Mokuba. "This meant to be like this? Feels like a bit of a disconnect for a massive temple to lead into a cave that descends into a maze."
Mokuba blinks at that, seeming to realise the truth of your words before his eyes narrow. "...The Big Five must have messed with the game to make sure my brother couldn't escape, but that means he must be here!" He called out, hope in his voice.
Suddenly, as you were talking, you all jumped back as the doors suddenly slammed shut behind you, Joey running forward and trying to open them to no success.
"It's locked tight! We're stuck!" Joey called out, looking on the verge of throwing his back out.
"It's alright; remember this is all a game, and we'd never progress forward if we just backtracked. We have no choice but to go through the maze." Yugi said as he turned to face the entrance.
Hmm, was that true though?
Though before you could voice your thoughts, a female scream suddenly came from within the maze as all your eyes widened, Joey suddenly bursting past you as he ran headlong into the maze.
"I'm on it!"
Mai just let out a chuckle as Joey ran off, eyes darting to you.
"I guess all guys are suckers for playing the hero, ey handsome?" She said sarcastically as you pondered what to do.
-x-X-x-
You just click your tongue as you see Joey run off.
"Joey! Get back here, man! You literally gave a speech about this!" You call out after him, but unfortunately, though he seemed hyper-focused on helping whoever was screaming.
Mai just sighs as she crosses her arms. "Sheesh, you'd have thought—"
She's abruptly interrupted as suddenly from behind you all the doors are caved in, a Labyrinth Tank barreling towards you all!
"Fuck! Everyone hop on!" You cry out, quickly reaching for your deck and pulling out Red, summoning her as you and the others grab on and fly up, dodging the Labyrinth Tank as it heads into the maze.
You keep your head on a swivel, expecting some kind of monster to suddenly swoop down and attack you; there had to be some kind of incentive to actually traverse the maze rather than just flying over it.
But after a few seconds with no interruptions, you let out a breath you'd been holding.
…Looks like the suits hadn't considered the option of players just flying over the maze when they'd modified this area, luckily enough for you.
You're brought out your thoughts as Yugi suddenly cries out, pointing to the maze.
"Look! The Labyrinth Tank is heading right for Joey! We've got to help him!" Yugi says as you follow where he's pointing, as Joey absolutely books it through the maze, but from your aerial point of view, you could see him rapidly coming up to a dead end.
"Shit! Red, go grab him!" You call out as Red swiftly follows your orders, diving down and plucking Joey with her talons right before the Labyrinth Tank would have flattened him.
Joey lets out a shuddering breath as Yugi quickly reaches down and grabs his hand, pulling him up onto Red's back with the rest of you.
"Ahhhh, thanks, Yuge. I'd have been a pancake if not for you."
You just raise a mocking eyebrow, looking down at him. "What? No thanks to yours truly? Would have thought you'd know better after your little speech outside."
Joey sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at that. "Yeah, but I heard that girl scream and just—" Joey suddenly cuts himself off, eyes widening as he rapidly looks over the side of Red.
"The girl! We gotta go save her quick!" He calls out only to be swiftly interrupted by a Key Mace of all things, flying up to his face.
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"Oh! It's that fairy again, just like in the graveyard. Do you think she'll lead us to wherever the girl is?" Yugi stated, seemingly familiar with the monster, as she just rapidly nodded her head, urgency in the action.
…Welp, this was a little Navi if you'd ever seen one; it was best to follow along before she started piping up.
Nodding, you silently order Red to follow the Key Mace as she rapidly darts away back to the maze, Red right behind her.
Though as Red lands and you return her after you all hop off, you can't help your eyes widening as you look at the apparent damsel in distress.
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…God, you were so happy to be alive, you couldn't wait for the next time Kaiba tried to call you out on your completely normal and healthy appreciation of women just for you to throw it back in his face that he legitimately genderbent his own brother.
You stand stunned for a minute, mind fantasising about all the shit you could give Kaiba as the others interrogate Kaiba's little fetish bait, finding out that she was lost in the maze and that the Key Mace was supposedly her guide and would show you all the way out.
Mai has to quickly give you a pinch on the cheek to snap you out of your euphoria as you all follow the little fairy, soon enough coming to the end of the maze, though as you all step out, your eyes widen as you are immediately beset by Gate Guardian of all monsters, flanked by a Monster Tamer.
Couldn't ever be simple, could it?
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You quickly jump to the side and pull your hand as the others do the same, Princess Mokuba quickly retreating behind cover, knowing you needed to act fast before the Gate Guardian could act as it slowly began to stir from its slumber.
Though as you look down at your opener, you can't help but grin, confident you have this in the bag.
"First up, I activate my Advanced Ritual Art! Milling my Tri-Horn Dragon in order to summon my Black Luster Soldier!" You declare as your soldier takes his stance in front of you.
"And next up, I activate my Polymerization! Fusing together my Black Luster Soldier and Red-Eyes Black Dragon in hand in order to summon my Red-Eyes Lustrous Dragon to the field!" You call out as your Black Luster Soldier and Red fuse together, unleashing a monster you hadn't had the chance to use since Duelist Kingdom.
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Heh~ who'd ever have thought the day would come when you had TOO many good cards?
In any case, you had a guardian to break.
"Go on, Lustrous! Blast that Gate Guardian straight to hell! Infernal Flare Blast!" You order as your monster unleashes a wave of pure white and black energy on the now-standing Gate Guardian.
Unfortunately before your attack could connect, the mouth of Suijin opened up wide and spat out a blast of water, getting into a beam struggle with your Lustrous Dragon, though one she was slowly but surely winning.
"Keep it up, Lustrous! I know you got this!" You cheered her on as her attack began to gain dominance.
Just as you were sure of her victory, though, the Kazejin segment opened its mouth, shooting out a gale of wind to reinforce Suijin's attack, overpowering Lustrous as the gale hit her, throwing her back and reducing her ATK to 0 as your eyes widened in panic as Monster Tamer darted forward, whip raised.
Fuck…!
You quickly activate your Spell Sanctuary, feeling a rumble behind you, but you knew you wouldn't be able to do anything in time before Monster Tamer finished whatever it was planning.
Thankfully, before the whip could impact your monster, a familiar barrier appeared yet again and stopped it as Mokuba stepped forward.
"I activate my Negate Attack!"
…Tch! At least it wasn't fucking Kaiba. You think you'd rather have died than needed to be saved by him, let alone twice. But it still stung that you needed to be saved by his cards.
Suddenly though, you see him narrow his eyes at one of the cards in his hand, seeming to weigh something for a moment as he gritted his teeth.
"N-next I summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" He suddenly calls out as you freeze, an all-too-familiar monster appearing beside him.
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You feel your chest tighten for a moment, the sound of rain faintly in your ears as you look up at the dragon before shaking your head, coming back to the present as Mokuba continues.
"Go on, Blue-Eyes! Attack the Gate Guardian! White Lightning!" Mokuba orders, almost a note of wonder in his voice as Blue-Eyes shoots out its attack, only to be met with Sanga shooting forth a bolt of electricity, destroying Blue-Eyes' attack before impacting the dragon itself, reducing its ATK to 0 as Mokuba grits his teeth in frustration.
"I activate my Pot of Greed before summoning my Harpie Lady! Keep an eye on that Monster Tamer! It's definitely got some purpose for being here!" You hear Mai call out from behind you, but your eyes stay locked on the Gate Guardian, not willing to look away even for a second.
Suddenly though you feel a tap on your shoulder, breaking your focus as you blink over at Joey as he looks at you with a somewhat nervous grin.
"Hey, Makoto, I know you're pretty protective of your cards, but mind if I borrow one from your grave real quick? I got a plan." He explains, giving your shoulder a squeeze as you tense up, wondering if you should really allow him to use your card.
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You grit your teeth for a moment before forcefully relaxing with a sigh.
"...Just this once, and if you embarrass yourself while using it, I might just kill you." You snort out, somewhat mockingly, but Joey just grins, raising a card from his hand.
"Alright! No need to worry about that, just watch a pro in action!" He suddenly calls out as the familiar form of Graverobber appears at his back, oversized card in hand.
"Thanks to my Graverobber, I can grab one card from the Graveyard and summon it, and I think I'll take Makoto's Black Luster Soldier!" Joey calls out as your soldier appears in front of him, sword raised.
"Now go, Black Luster Soldier! Destroy that Monster Tamer!" He orders as your Black Luster Soldier dashes forward, but you can't help but be concerned it was an in vain play as Gate Guardian prepares itself to protect the Monster Tamer hiding behind it.
…Though it looked like Joey wasn't lying when he said he had a plan, raising another card with a grin.
"Come on out, Marauding Captain! Now blow your horn and get that ugly mug's attention!" Joey calls out as Marauding Captain appears at his side, raising up some kind of war horn and blowing into it, causing Gate Guardian to freeze, its attention solely focused on the noise, allowing Black Luster Soldier to dash between its legs and directly to the Monster Tamer whose eyes widened, desperately trying to bring his whip up and—!
Failing to do anything, as Black Luster Soldier easily slices through his whip, followed swiftly by Monster Tamer, who lets out a scream as he's destroyed.
"Alright! Who's da man! It's Joey Wheeler, that's who!" Joey cheers as he jumps up and pumps his fist, obviously proud of his little plan succeeding.
Though before you could congratulate him, your eyes suddenly widen as Gate Guardian shoots out a beam of energy directly at his Marauding Captain as Joey's eyes widen.
Shit! If Joey got hit by this, he was done for!