#but the characterizations and this adaptation of the vr world arc have been REALLY fun

[capucapo]

Brothers' Battle part 1/4

[ continued from here, directly copied from Discord w minor editing for typos and formatting. yes, we played out an entire Duel. it's going to be a little bit of a read but I'm really, REALLY proud of this group effort to rewrite the VR World arc and there's so much good Character behind the card games.

Seto Kaiba @blueeyesking, me as Noa, Mokuba, and the Yugis. Wyatt @seashaper, Hika @nameless-brand, and Pyre @redeyesandchilifries coming in later

Names with my posts don't always line up bc sometimes I just switch POVs too many times in one reply, but will be color blocked with purple for the Yugis, magenta for Mokuba, and black italic (like this!) for Noa ]

Seto Kaiba

Seto's grin immediately falls away, replaced with a slightly agape shock. Concern tugs at the muscles in his face, twitching into another barely-recognizable microexpression- but Mokuba should be able to read Seto's face like a book, and that book reads,

"MOKUBA!"

He's alive! He's not hurt, and doesn't seem to be at all restrained… but his clothes are very… muted. Maybe it's just the virtual world's expression of him.

Mokuba

Mokuba's reaction hardly looks relieved to see the eldest Kaiba. The Imposter. His brows knit tight, his jaw set.

[ High above, an alarm rings out through Noa's control room. The largest, central screen changes perspective, zooming in on a young man with dark, braided hair. If he had veins, his blood would have turned to ice inside them.

No. No no no.

Why was Mokuba putting himself in danger? ]

On the street below, Mokuba takes a defiant step towards the imposter.

"gee, and I thought losers were supposed to give up and die," Mokuba's tone is venomous.*

yugi!

Yugi feels his heart sink as he utters the teenager's name in concern. His Other Self balls a fist, swallows the lump that forms in his throat as he spares a glace toward Kaiba.

The world seems to stand still.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's heart sinks, too, but it was already so deep it didn't have far to fall.

He… he couldn't be serious. He couldn't have said that, right? This must be another nightmare, only shared. Surely. Seto stops directing his Blue-Eyes, and it begins biting and slashing and firing beams at the insects on its own.

"That was what Gouzaburo believed."

Mokuba

Mokuba's glare doesn't falter.

"so then how many times do you have to lose before you listen???? just leave me and my Big Brother ALONE already!!!"

[ As he snaps at this Imposter, his so called Brother appears. A young man somewhere between the brothers in age, with an uncanny likeness to the elder. He wears a pleasant smile, but his eyes are cold and sharp as an icicle. He places a hand upon Mokuba's shoulder, and the way that the younger boy leans familiarly into the touch turns both Yugi's stomachs in unison. ]

"mokuba--" Yugi starts to step forward, only to be blocked by his Other's arm. Not yet, he feels inside his heart.

Seto Kaiba

"Your big brother… I don't even know who this clown is."

Seto covers his despair in biting wit, crossing his arms and straightening into a properly haughty posture. His eyes catch Noa's, and narrow.

"Whoever this kid is, he's not your brother, Mokuba. I am. And I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back."

Mokuba

The look on Mokuba's face is heartbreaking enough for Yugi. He gives a concerned look in Kaiba's direction.

["Give it up, Seto," Noa finally speaks, his gentle, song-songly voice uncomfortably calm. "Mokuba remembers the way that you hurt him, you hit him and then set your monsters lose upon him-- Isn't that right my Baby Brother?"]

"that's right. I'm not going ANYWHERE with you!!! my REAL brother and I are going to take Kaiba Corp back and remind the world what WINNING looks like!!"

Mokuba raises his left arm, a DuelDisk materializing in a wave of glowing cyan pixels. Noa's hand tenses on his shoulder.

["Mokuba. This isn't safe, you need to let me--" ]

"no. no, he HURT me. I need to do this, Big Brother. I've been waiting my whole LIFE to do this." Mokuba's words drip with poisonous resentment.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's eyes don't widen. Of course. This person has poisoned Mokuba against him with yet more realistic bending of the truth. Just like in his own nightmare, something terrible was done to Mokuba by some program wearing his face…

However, he wasn't expecting Mokuba to try and Duel him. Seto glances at the Yugis, then steps forward, removing the cards inside his DuelDisk and shuffling them. The Blue-Eyes nearby dematerializes as it is removed from the field.

"If that's what you want, Mokuba… I accept your challenge."

He looks to the stranger.

"The only danger here is the delusion you have, about taking my brother and the company I sacrificed my life for. We have suffered enough of Gouzaburo's lingering grudges!"

Seto flares a hand out dramatically, causing his coat to flap and emphasize the motion.

Mokuba

"WHAT brother??" Mokuba snaps. "'cuz MY only brother is Noa, and you stole that company from US. and once I beat you at your precious favorite game, I'm taking back what's ours," Mokuba snaps at the Imposter.

Yugi looks nervous, chewing on his bottom lip as he anxiously watches this confrontation between brothers. When Seto accepts the challenge, he gasps, takes a step toward the taller man again.

"kaiba, i don't have a good feeling about this--"

"shut UP, yugi. enough of your stupid friendship speeches, this is a family conversation!" Mokuba snaps. Then he turns to look up at the young man beside him, his expression and tone softening as he does. "you can do something about that, right Big Brother?"

[ Noa gives a dark grin in response, his cold, blue eyes locking onto the object of his animosity. "Of course I can, my Baby Brother. How about we take this battle somewhere just a bit more.. fitting," Noa hums.

Slowly he raises one hand in a grand gesture, and as he does, the streets of Domino City seem to crumble and fall away. The ground around their feet begins to rise high, high up into the blue sky, until the parties finds themselves on three separate rooftops. The brothers standing opposite each other on a long walkway, the Yugis and Noa occupying two smaller, round turrets, separated from the main platform by an endless chasm. ]

Yugi's heart skips a beat. His Other Self feels his stomach drop.

The details are different, but they recognize this playing field. The parapets at either end of the rooftop.

They both already know these stakes before Noa has to explain.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's heart pounds in his chest, the alarm he feels impossible to hide. His stance widens to steady himself as the terrain changes- into an all too familiar arrangement. They… they can't be serious. This is where Yugi learned their family's harshest lesson: to lose is to die. But he talked Seto off of the edge by conceding to his unfair ultimatum.

Seto's heart pounds in his ears.

"He's lying to you, Mokuba!" his tone is slightly more desperate. "You and I stole the company from Gouzaburo- and this boy has never been in our lives! I promised you we would- we would make theme parks, and entertain and support kids everywhere, so that they didn't have to suffer like we did!"

Regardless of his attempts at reasoning with Mokuba, Seto readies his Duel Disk.

Mokuba

Mokuba's never been here before. He's never seen this arena, never before heard the chilling ultimatum. But he doesn't need to. He already knows everything he needs to, as decided by Big Brother Noa.

"you're the one who's lying!! you really think anyone believes that?? YOU ?? caring about anyone but yourself???" Mokuba snaps as he draws his first five cards. "you threw away everything that made KaibaCorp what it was just to humiliate and MOCK our father's legacy!!! I'm going first!!"

[ "Let me remind you of the rules here, Seto," Noa purrs from the sidelines, his voice as deceptively gentle as ever. "You'll each take a step backwards for every 100 points of damage that you take. When your lifepoints run out, so does the rootftop you stand upon. Of course, these monsters aren't some cheap trick of light, like you're used to. The force of your attacks may be enough to bring this Duel to a conclusion before they even hit zero." ]

Mokuba stands confidently, a violent storm in his eyes as he finally looks down at the cards he's drawn. He can't help but smirk-- it's a perfect opening hand.

He sets the board wirh two face down cards, one monster, one a spell or trap, and ends his turn.

Seto Kaiba

The glare Seto levels at Noa may as well have the same level of threat as a gun barrel. But after a moment, he's more focused on the game at hand, brutal stakes clawing at his back.

In his first hand are Cyber Jar, Spirit Ryu, Burst Breath, Shrink, and Ring of Defense. He sets one and plays the monster in Defense Mode.

"The Kaiba Corporation, as a military entity, was a monstrous tool of destruction that gave the highest bidder the necessary firepower to massacre anyone in their way. Is that a legacy to be proud of, Mokuba? Or was it always our dream to save the world by making it a better place? To pursue our passion for children's card games? Open your eyes! Our adoptive father beat me every day, to teach me this world is cruel and unforgiving to the weak, and the world of business is worse. But we outplayed him at his own game, and with him gone, KaibaCorp has been flourishing as an entertainment technology company. You can't tell me you'd be happier facilitating the death of millions for money, just because it was what some old fool wanted you to do with his resources!"

Mokuba

[ Noa's own blue eyes meet Seto's threatening glare, but the smile on his lips shows only amusement as the fight begins in earnest ]

Mokuba draws a card to begin his turn. Effect Veiler.

"Kaiba Corporation was the epitome of power and strength. do you even hear yourself???? when the next great war starts, how many people are you going to save with children's card games???" Mokuba argues spitefully.

He takes only a second to look over the cards in his hand. His opening draw was good-- improbably so. Controlled as all things in this domain by Noa's divine will. That would be the only help offered to the youngest Kaiba, justified, in Noa's opinion, by the teenager's lack of experience as a Duelist. Not that he needed to justify something that no one, not even Mokuba, would know.

Mokuba plays Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting Seto's only set card for destruction. He then flips face up the monster he'd set on his first turn, revealing a weak and harmless Red Eyes Baby Dragon, now standing in attack mode. Plays another spell from his hand, Red Eyes Insight, sending one monster from his deck straight to the graveyard in order to add another spell to his hand. It isn't time for that yet, though. Instead, he activates his set trap card, allowing him to bring the Red Eys Archfiend of Lightning he'd sent to the graveyard immediately to the field. In exchange for his turn's normal summon, he activates the archfiend's effect, destroying the weak monster Seto had chosen to defend himself.

"you didn't outplay anyone. you cheated, and you stole away my Big Brother's rightful place at the head of our company!!!! don't act like you're above us, seto. how many deaths have YOU caused in your selfish rise to power, anyway??? what makes you any DIFFERENT ?? just because you like playing stupid little games for stupid little kids? it's time to grow UP already," he snaps, before ordering his baby dragon to attack directly.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's set card turned out to be the trap card Burst Breath! It disintegrates as Seto discards it, cussing quietly to himself. He knows Mokuba, having Red Eyes Baby Dragon on the field, will want it attacked so that it can activate its effect. He doesn't know all of Mokuba's deck, though, and the archfiend catches Seto off-guard, obliterating his Spirit Ryu and leaving him open to the Baby Dragon's direct attack. Its fireball pushes him back the required twelve steps, closer and closer to the edge…

"But we did outplay him, Mokuba! My plan hinged on you- I believed in you to make it work! This guy didn't exist-- we were Gouzaburo's only sons! He's using you!"

The taller brother calls over to Mokuba, even as he draws and glances at his remaining options. His drawn card is Pot of Greed-excellent. He casts Pot of Greed and draws his two cards, fishing for options to take out Mokuba's monsters without hurting him too badly. Even if he can deck his brother out without pushing him to the edge, will this bloodthirsty "Noa" still enforce the loss penalty…?

Vorse Raider, Heavy Storm, Thunder Dragon. Not terrible… Seto discards Thunder Dragon in order to draw his other two copies from his deck. Unfortunately, they both take one tribute to summon, themselves…

He summons the Vorse Raider in Attack Position. Then, he casts Heavy Storm, destroying Mokuba's trap card- and finally casts Shrink, targeting Mokuba's Archfiend, then begins his Battle Phase so that his Vorse Raider can attack the weakened Archfiend.

"My passion for card games isn't unique, no. But given our past, and my treatment by our adoptive father, I know how people shouldn't be treated. KaibaCorp under him would certainly have encouraged the next great war to have started already, in order to secure their bottom-line! Those resources could be better spent making people happy!"

Mokuba

Mokuba seems completely unfazed as he watches Seto move backwards, closer to the edge of the rooftop. He does spare a glance in Noa's direction, seeking quick and silent validation that he's making his Big Brother proud with that opening combo.

"you think you know everything, don't you seto??? well news flash, WE were LUCKY to get to call ourselves Gouzaburo's sons!!!!!!! and you were ungrateful for that!!! but my Big Brother Noa was Gouzaburo's only REAL son, and he was kind enough to treat me like his own brother anyway!!!!! what did YOU do??? you hit me and you pushed me away!!! you tortured me when I lost to yugi!!!!! Noa would NEVER hurt me like that!!"

Mokuba frows as his continuous trap is destroyed more quickly than expected. Somewhere there's another one of those in his deck, but he's more disappointed that his lack of any monsters in his graveyard prevent him from activating the card's second effect on destruction. Before he can be too sad by that, though, his archfiend shrinks before his eyes, its attack halving as well.

The attack that destroys his archfiend makes the teenager hiss in pain. He's not a Duelist, he's not used to even the force of solid vision. Let alone these virtual monsters with their very real pain. But he takes his required six and a half steps back with a smirk on his face."

"how would YOU know how people should be treated??? you treat everyone on earth like they're below you. tell me again, seto!! how did you get those precious blue eyes cards again???"

He draws his card for his next turn, and his smirk falters. Brows knit as his lips press into a thin line. Enemy Controller. It's not a bad pull. But he recognizes this card, and not from setting up his deck or practice plays. It's one of his opponent's. He sets it face down immediately.

He eyes the field a moment, then delares his battle phase without summoning another monster. Instead, he orders his Baby Dragon to attack the much stronger Vorse Raider without hesitation. The tiny dragon is, expectedly, destroyed immediately, and Mokuba grits his teeth, takes his 7 steps back. But his grin returns-- in fact he's almost giddy.

As the Baby goes to the graveyard, it's replaced by another, stronger dragon. And with Mokuba's battle phase still active, he orders the Red Eyes Black Dragon to attack, destroying Seto's vorse raider and 500 of his life points

"you know, Seto!!!!! if I reallyyyyy begged him to, my Big Brother might let you live!!! you'd have to give up Kaiba Corp though, oh, and your body too…. but you could live forever here in this world instead!! you just have to give up now….. last chance! I end my turn."

#ooc #ic action #[ not visible ic ] #rp #noa's arc #drabbles #I forget what tags I used when I posted the prologue on Yugi's blog xjsjsjwjwj #anyway #aside from opening hands and first draw bc of misunderstanding we did actually play this duel using notes and random bumber generators #which was REALLY fun #but the characterizations and this adaptation of the vr world arc have been REALLY fun #and I hope my mutuals can enjoy this text format Yugioh Filler Episode too #please please please like if you read I want to gage engagement here bc I might like to share rps in the future #this one goes a little long but I promise it's really fun and there's going to be much much more than just dueling #blueeyesking #seashaper #nameless brand #redeyesandchilifries