28The Queen of Games
The Virtual World- Chapter 23
Step-Father Vs. Step-Son: Escape the Virtual World: Part I
Kaiba was walking down the streets of Domino with one destination in mind: KaibaCorp. "Any moron could have seen that Noah had never intended to set us free. He claims that the doorway would lead back to the real world, but it was just another one of his tricks. Now, It's time to take down the source and put an end to this nightmare once and for all: my step-father, Gozaburo. If he thinks dragging the whole world into this virtual dump heap is going to work, then he's more senile than I thought" Kaiba thought as he stood in front of the building he came to.
"I'm sure that old fart is sitting in my office right now. I've taken him down once, and I can do it again. But this time, it'll be for good" Kaiba said with determination as he walked up to the building.
Elsewhere
"That little brat suckered us again. Now he's toast!" Joey said angrily.
"Calm down, Joey. Getting mad won't solve anything and we need to come up with a plan first" Yugi said.
"I already got one. We find Noah and shake him upside down till he tells us where the exit is" Joey said.
"I'm with Joey on this one. Only Noah knows where the exit is" Duke added.
"And we need to hurry. It's only a matter of time before Gozaburo pulls a matrix on the planet" Jun finished.
"This is all my fault" Daisuke said as Hitmoi appeared beside her. "You thought there was good in Noah and there's nothing wrong with that" Hitomi said.
"Yeah but, I thought we could trust him" Daisuke said as she thought back to when Noah turned her friends, including Yugi, Jun, and the Kaiba brothers to stone.
"Noah's acts are fueled by anger and a deep rage after being left alone by his father for so long, but if we can get him to see the light, there maybe a chance" Hitomi said.
"Let's hope we can. Lives are stake" Daisuke said as she turned to the others. "All right, let's go find Noah and make him tell us where the exit, and once we're free, we can come up with a plan to stop Gozaburo from carrying out his scheme" Daisuke said.
"But how?" Serenity asked.
"If there's one person we know who knows a lot about computers is Izzy, he'll know exactly what to do" Jun answered.
Just then, a laugh rang out and 3 Skull Knights appeared. (2650/2250)
Then 3 Lizard Soldiers appeared (1100/800)
Along with 3 Command Knights (1200/1900)
And 3 Rock Ogres (800/1200)
"If anyone's got a plan, please speak now" Jun said.
"Last time, I checked: running away was an option" Duke said.
"Hold on, I have an idea" Yugi said as he drew a card. "I summon Curse of Dragon" Yugi announced as the winged, legless dragon appeared with a screech. (2000/1500) "Dragon Flame Attack!" Yugi commanded as his dragon blew a steam of fire at the Lizard Soldiers, destroying them.
"Nice one, Yugi. My turn" Joey said as he drew a card. "I play Axe Raider" Joey announced as his warrior appeared. (1700/1150)
"I play Lady Ex-Veemon" Daisuke announced as her female dragon appeared. (2700/2500)
"I play Greymon" Jun announced as her dinosaur appeared with a roar. (1900/1800)
Back at the fortress
"It's good to be back in the real world, now I can finish what I started by using my father's technology to destroy this place" Noah thought as he walked through the hallway in Mokuba's body to a door. He typed in a code on a keypad. "Access granted" The computer said as the door opened and Noah walked through. "With this, I can destroy the virtual world, along with my father, Seto, Daisuke, Yugi and their friends" Noah said as he went to a control panel and started typing. Soon a map of the world appeared on screen. "Initiating satellite sequence. Targeting central computer" The computer said.
Back in the virtual world
"It's time to put an end to this nightmare once and for all" Kaiba thought as he rode an elevator to the office. Once he got off, he walked up to the door and kicked it in.
"Haven't I taught any manners?" Gozaburo said as Kaiba walked up to his deck.
"You taught me business skills, but never had time to teach me manners" Kaiba responded.
"Have a seat, it's time we had a talk" Gozaburo offered.
"I'm not in very good mood right now" Kaiba declined.
"Just give in, Seto. Or you can meet the same fate as your friends" Gozaburo threatened when a screen appeared out of the corner of Kaiba's eye. He saw Yugi's Curse of Dragon getting destroyed by Cosmo Queen. Luckily, Daisuke summoned the Dragon Tamer to deal with it.
"As you can see, my army of monsters is making quick work of those fools" Gozaburo said.
"And I'm supposed to be scared? Look, you lost KaibaCorp to a more, experience person. So why don't you cut the small talk and release us now, before I do something I won't regret" Kaiba threatened.
"You haven't changed a bit. Ok, how about we settle this with a rematch?" Gozaburo asked.
"You couldn't beat me in a game of chess when I was a kid, what makes you think you can beat me this time?" Kaiba asked back.
"I'm not talking about chess. I'm talking about Duel Monsters" Gozaburo responded.
"And what makes you think you can beat me at that?" Kaiba asked for a 3rd time.
"I want to humiliate you the same way you did to me" Gozaburo answered again.
"I never back down from a challenge and I don't plan on doing that today. Let's duel" Kaiba accepted.
"Then, follow me. The arena has already been set up" Gozaburo said as both he and Kaiba left the office.
Back in the control room
"It's almost done" Noah said as he typed in the last commands on the keyboard.
Elsewhere
Marik walked into a room with an insane glee on his face. "I'll show those fools that I'm not to be ignored" Marik said as he raised his Millennium Rod and unleashed waves of magic, destroying everything in sight, causing the lights to go out.
In the control room
"No, I was almost finished" Noah said in frustration.
In the cargo bay, the clamps holding the blimp were released.
"Hey, we're not locked down anymore" Roland said.
"Now we just need to locate Mr. Kaiba and the others" A KaibaCorp employee said.
What was said did not go unnoticed by Tea, Ishizu, and the Digidestined.
"What do you think cause all this?" Cody asked.
"It's Marik. He went to find Yugi and the others" Ishizu answered.
"Then we got to find him and stop him" Tai proclaimed.
"I need your help with something first. Come with me" Ishizu said as she lead Tea and the Digidestined down the hall.
Back in the virtual world
Kaiba and Gozaburo arrived at the arena Kaiba once duel Yugi, but this time Gozaburo took Kaiba's side, and Kaiba took Yugi's side.
"I hope you're ready to lose it all, my son" Gozaburo said.
"You tell me" Kaiba said.
(Gozaburo: 4000)
(Kaiba: 4000)
"I'll start off by playing the magic card, Painful Choice. You know what this does" Gozaburo said.
"Yeah, yeah. You show me what 5 cards you have in your deck, and I get to pick one for you to keep. The rest go to the graveyard" Kaiba said.
"And these 5 cards should look familiar to you" Gozaburo said as 5 cards appeared which shocked Kaiba beyond belief.
"It can't be! It's the 5 pieces of Exodia!" Kaiba yelled in horror as he thought back to when Yugi first used Exodia in their duel.
"It seems you know your painful history with this monster" Gozaburo said.
"That's in the past and I'm about to send 4 pieces to the graveyard. And I choose... The Right Arm" Kaiba said.
"Then the rest go to the graveyard, next I'll summon one monster in defense mode and end my turn" Gozaburo said as a face down card appeared.
"Then it's my move" Kaiba said as he drew a card. "I'll place one card face down and then I'll summon Vorse Raider in attack mode" Kaiba announced as a face down card appeared followed by his blade-wielding monster. (1900/1200)
"Whatever monster Gozaburo put on the field has to be powerful, then again he's bluffing" Kaiba thought. "Vorse Raider, attack his face down card!" Kaiba commanded as his monster threw it's blade at the face down card, destroying it. The card was the Right Arm of Exodia.
"What was Exodia's Right Arm doing on the field?" Kaiba demanded.
"You'll see. Now I play the magic card, Contract with Exodia" Gozaburo said. "I needed all 5 pieces in the graveyard in order for this card to work. Next, I pay 2000 life points to summon this, Exodia Necross" Gozaburo said which cause Kaiba to gasp as Exodia appeared, but instead of his trademark color, he appeared in a more dark version. (1800/0)
(Gozaburo: 2000)
Back in the control room
The lights came on. "Backup generator activated" The computer said.
"Now to finish what I started" Noah said as he looked on a screen to see Marik battling his security drones. "An intruder. No matter" Noah said as he finished typing on the keyboard and pressed a button. "This place is history" Noah said as he took off and a timer appeared.
"Warning: Satellite attack in in t-minus 30 minutes. Evacuate immediately" The computer announced.
Back in the virtual world
The others took shelter in an alley.
"Think we lost them?" Jun asked.
"We should be safe for now" Joey answered when suddenly a Lizard Soldier appeared behind them.
"I hate it when you're wrong, Joey!" Tristan cried out.
"Let's pound this punk into next week, guys" Joey said as he, Yugi, Daisuke, and Jun each drew a card.
"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight" Joey said.
"I play Berfomet" Yugi said.
"Come on out, V-Drago" Daisuke said.
"Let's make history, WarGreymon" Jun said as the 4 monsters charged toward Lizard Soldier.
Back at the base
Noah was riding an elevator to the surface.
"My father will regret the day he betrayed me. Now I can put the past behind me once for all" Noah thought as he thought back ton when Gozaburo revealed he wasn't planning on handing over KaibaCorp to him.
Soon the underwater base came to the surface, and a helicopter rose from a secret hatch. Noah walked out of the elevator and toward the chopper.
"Who needs family?" Noah asked as he thought back to what Mokuba told him about family and that Kaiba could build him a new body.
"What did I do? I let my anger and rage get the better of me. Daisuke was right. But I can still make things right" Noah said as he ran back to the elevator.
Back in the virtual world
"Your Exodia Necross only has 1800 points" Kaiba pointed out. "What sort of threat can it pose?" Kaiba asked.
"You'll see. Now, Exodia attack his Vorse Raider!" Gozaburo commanded as Exodia lunged it's fists at Kaiba's monster, only for it to throw it's blade at the fist, causing sparks to fly.
"What happened?" Kaiba demanded.
"My Exodia Necross gets 1000 points when it engages in battle with another monster" Gozaburo answered.
(Exodia Necross: 1800-2800)
"Plus it can't be destroyed in battle as well" Gozaburo added.
"We'll see. My move" Kaiba said as he drew a card. "I summon Spirit Ryu" Kaiba announced as his dragon appeared. (1000/1000) "Next, I activate my face down card, Burst Breath. By sacrificing my monster, my trap card destroys every monster on the field with less than 1000 defense points" Kaiba said as Spirit Ryu vanished and Vorse Raider glowed but was shocked to see Exodia still standing.
"Wait, your monster should have gone to the graveyard. But how?!" Kaiba asked in shock.
"I'll explain. Exodia Necross has a few hidden tricks up it's sleeve thanks to the 5 pieces in the graveyard. First, the Right Leg prevents my monster from being destroyed by all of your magic cards. The Left Leg protects from trap cards as well. The Left Arm protects it from all monster effects, the Right Arm gives 1000 points every time it engages in battle, and last but not least, The Head of Exodia protects it from all monster attacks" Gozaburo explained.
"That means it's indestructible" Kaiba said in shock.
"Precisely. Which there's nothing in your deck that can stop it" Gozaburo taunted.
"I wouldn't count on it. I place one card face down and I'll switch Vorse Raider to defense mode" Kaiba said as a face down card appeared just as Vorse Raider kneel down on one leg.
Back in the base
"I have to stop the countdown before it's too late" Noah said as he ran into the control room only to find it was trashed.
"No, what happened? The whole room's destroyed. That intruder must have done this" Noah said as he ran off to another room.
Back in the virtual world
"Black Luster Soldier, attack!" Yugi commanded as his solider sliced a Cosmo Queen.
"Fend them off, Axe Raider!" Joey commanded as his warrior sliced a Rock Ogre.
"Go, Buster Blader!" Daisuke commanded as her swordsman destroyed a Command Knight.
"Blow them away, Omnimon!" Jun commanded as the Royal Knight blasted a Skull Knight.
Back at the base
"I need to warn the others" Noah said as he ran into a room and started typing on a computer.
Back in the virtual world
"Let's blast this freak show into next week" Joey said as he, Yugi, Daisuke, and Jun faced a Cosmo Queen.
"I summon Dark Magician" Yugi announced as the purple robed magician appeared. (2500/2100)
"I summon Red Eyes Black Dragon" Daisuke announced as the black skeletal dragon appeared with a roar (2400/2000)
"I summon Rocket Warrior" Joey announced as his little warrior appeared. (1500/1300)
"I summon MetalGarurumon" Jun announced as the mega-level Digimon appeared. (3400/2700)
"Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi commanded.
"Invincible Attack!" Joey commanded.
"Inferno Fire Blast!" Daisuke commanded.
"Metal Wolf Claw!" Jun commanded as all 4 monsters fired their attacks at Cosmo Queen, destroying it in a huge explosion.
"Hello, is anyone there?" Noah's voice rang out.
"That's Noah" Duke said.
"Noah, come down here and face us like a man!" Joey demanded.
"Listen, you're all in danger. The virtual world you're in is about to self-destruct" Noah said causing everyone to gasp in horror, including Kaiba and Gozaburo.
"I can't believe it. Noah, you better tell us where the exit is or I'm going to be on you, like ugly on an ape!" Daisuke demanded as well.
High in Earth's orbit
A KaibaCorp Satellite jettison some parts revealing 4 missiles as it was lining up for attack.
"Warning: Satellite attack in t-minus 8 minutes. Targeting central computer. Evacuate immediately" The computer announced.
To be Continued
Can Daisuke, Yugi, and the others escape the virtual world before it's gone? Can Kaiba win his duel against Gozaburo with only 8 minutes to spare? The conclusion of the Virtual World arc is coming up. So stay tuned.
A/N: I do not own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh!. Enjoy the chapter.