DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Text in 'single quotations' is being thought. Text in "double quotations" is being spoken. This will remain the same in each chapter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: At the end of Duelist Kingdom, Kaiba left the island by helicopter. The last scene shown on the island was of Yugi and the others running after Kaiba in the hopes of catching a lift back with him. It didn't actually show him saying yes...
.
Pegasus's Special Deck
Chapter 1: The Return of Bandit Keith
By Shadow's Mirror
.
Bandit Keith scowled as he hauled himself out of the water and onto the beach. Not only had he been humiliated in his defeat at the hands of that smart-alec kid, Joey Wheeler, but his backup plan to gain the cash had also failed. He'd gone to all that trouble for nothing! He snarled and stared up at the castle looming on the cliff-top far above him. No! He was not going to let Pegasus get away with this! He started to make his way back to the castle, plans for his revenge already taking shape within his mind.
'I'll wait until I see my chance and then I'll teach Pegasus a lesson. He'll pay for dumping me in the water! Let's see how he likes it when I steal some of his precious cards!'
It was well after dark by the time Keith reached the castle. He was hot, tired, hungry and thirsty, but he was also still fuming over his defeat. When the castle came into view, he hid behind a tree and glared at it with fury burning in his eyes. He was so mad that it took a moment for him to realise what he was seeing. Or rather, what he wasn't seeing.
'Huh? Why aren't there any guards? Last time, Pegasus had men surrounding the place like it was some kind of fortress! Hmm… I guess the competition must be over by now, so Pegasus isn't as worried about security. Heh. This must be my lucky day!'
Keith approached cautiously, but became bolder when no alarm was raised. He entered the castle and started searching through the rooms, warily at first but with increasing confidence as no one appeared to question or stop him. It was beginning to look as though the castle was deserted.
It wasn't long before he came to the guestrooms where he and the others had slept the night before. Keith could hear voices in one of the rooms. It was the first sign of life he'd encountered. Moving as silently as he could, he made his way closer until he could make out the words.
"So, what do we do now, Yug? I can't believe Kaiba refused to give us a lift! What with you helping him and his brother and all. Man, I should have told him off!" Keith's fists clenched at the sound of Wheeler's voice. He would have liked nothing better than to show himself and demand a rematch, but it was obvious that the brat wasn't alone and Keith knew he'd have other opportunities.
"Yeah! Still, at least he said he'd send a boat back for us." Keith recognised the voice. It belonged to the brown haired boy. What was the name again? Tincan? Trashcan? Tristan! That was it!
Joey's voice came again. "Lot of good that does us. It won't get here until the day after tomorrow! Which means we're stuck here!" There was a loud bang, like the sound of a foot kicking the wall, then a heavy sigh. "Could be worse I guess. At least that creep Pegasus disappeared after you beat him. His men too. Kinda weird how quick they all vanished, huh?"
"I know, Joey." It was the spiky-haired kid. Yugi. "I'm a bit worried about it, but this place seems safe enough so why don't we stay here tonight? We can make our way back to the dock tomorrow. What do you think?"
"Sounds like a plan, Yug!" Keith gritted his teeth at Joey's annoying enthusiasm.
"Yeah! I definitely don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." That was Tristan.
"I agree. This place does have a rather eerie feel to it." A shiver ran down Keith's back at the soft voice with its English accent. The kid's name was Ryou and there was something about him that really creeped Keith out, although he couldn't quite work out what.
"I'll say. But at least we have one more night in comfort." Keith was mildly surprised to hear Mai's voice. He hadn't figured her to be one of their cosy little group. He frowned as he remembered something. Maybe that explained how Wheeler had managed to come up with that card during the tournament, even though Keith had stolen it from him the night before!
"Then we're all agreed. We'll stay here tonight and leave first thing in the morning." A girl's voice broke into Keith's thoughts. It took him a moment to remember her name. Téa. Yeah, that was it.
The group's voices started getting louder. They were heading his way. Bandit Keith slipped back along the hallway, barely able to keep himself from laughing out loud at what he'd learned. 'So, Pegasus was beaten and couldn't handle it huh? Man, I wish I'd been here to see it! Still, that makes this almost too easy. Let's see what little secrets Pegasus has lying around this place!'
- - -
It didn't take Keith long to find the secret card room hidden behind a wall in Pegasus's study. He let out a long whistle of appreciation at the sight of row upon row of game cards, slotted into specially designed racks that held them up on the wall. They were all in mint condition and most of them looked as though they'd never been used. There were some gaps in the collection, a fact that made Keith grin. 'This must be where Pegasus boosted his deck before the tournament. Guess he wouldn't mind if I helped myself to one or two.' He began working his way around the room, selecting the choicest cards as he went.
When he was done, Keith turned his attention to the only other item in the room. The filing cabinet was locked, but that was no problem for Keith. He'd been picking locks for years so it only took him a few moments to get the cabinet open. Inside, he was shocked to find files on every one of the duelists who had participated in the tournament. There was even one on him! 'These could come in handy.' As he gathered them up, he noticed something odd about one of the files. It was in a red folder. All of the rest were in plain white folders. 'What do we have here? Seto Kaiba. Heh. Looks like Pegasus was expecting him to put in an appearance the whole time! Let's see what Pegasus has to say about him…'
- - -
By the time Bandit Keith had finished reading the file, he was shaking with excitement. 'Why Pegasus, I never knew you had it in you! This is evil. It's perfect!' With a cruel grin, Keith returned to the filing cabinet and took out the small box that had been mentioned in the file. The file had not only said what it contained, but it had explained the contents in full detail. After stuffing his ill-gotten gains into his pack, Keith hurried off to make his preparations for the following day.
.