The Pharaoh and the Wayfarer (Atem/Yami Yugi x Spirit! Reader)

Chapter 32: A Virtual Nightmare

And now for a detour from our tournament arc.
I own nothing.
Chapter 32: A Dive Back into the Virtual World

Both (Y/N) and Yami sat on top of a bed, semi dressed and a Senet board between them. The dawn light was creeping into the room as Yami watched his wife debate her next move carefully.
"You're free to surrender at any time, shagngu." The pharaoh teased lovingly.
(Y/N) narrowed her eyes at him, as if the mere thought was an insult. "We've played this game every day since we were children, and have either of us ever once surrendered a game?"
He chuckled. "I suppose not. Still, you insisted on playing this early due to our schedules, so I don't want you to be in a sour mood from your inevitable defeat."
She then tapped him on the head. "Hush, you intolerable man."
"I thought you found me quite tolerable considering you agreed to marry me."
"Right. Remind me why I did so?"
He took her hands in his. "Because I have been hopeless in love with you since we started this little tradition."
She smiled at him. "And there it is."
The two shared a sweet kiss, mindful of the board between them, when a creak came from the door. The pharaoh's back was too it, so he did not see who had come in, but (Y/N)'s expression only became more tender and glowing, which made his heart soar.
"Oh, it seems we have a visitor." She said endearingly. "Care to join us,-,"
Before she could finish the sentence or Yami could turn to see who it was, the sharp static filled his ears and the world seemed to shake.
The former Pharaoh's eyes opened as he and (Y/N) nearly tumbled off the bed, having spent the night together.
"What on earth!?" (Y/N) shouted as her husband steadied them both.
When the shaking calmed, the two jumped to their feet.
"I highly doubt that was Kaiba's idea of a wake up call." Yami said. "How's your arm?"
"Still broken, but it doesn't hurt." (Y/N) reassured. "Was that turbulence?"
The blimp shook again, this time making a hard lean, which nearly caused the couple to slip. Deciding this was likely something going wrong, they decided to hand control back to their counterparts, who raced towards the main controls, picking everyone else up on the way.
"Seto, is there a reason for the rough flying?" Rain asked as they all ran in.
"Yeah, some of us sleep past 5:00 am." Tristan complained, still not entirely awake.
The blimp lurched once more and Rain, still not used to having one arm, was nearly sent spinning, only being saved by Tristan.
"The autopilot isn't responding, Mr. Kaiba!" Roland shouted.
"Make it respond!" Kaiba answered angrily as Rain shot him a look.
"Seto, I don't think the 'hit the TV until the signal comes back' tactic is gonna work here!"
"It's rejecting every one of my commands!" The pilot yelled. "What should I do!?"
"I pay you good money!" Kaiba answered, unhelpfully. "Now do whatever it takes to get us back on course to Kaiba Corp Island!"
The monitor flashed, showing an island with a singular tower.
"Seto, Mokuba." Rain said, slightly concerned. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yup." Mokuba said. "That's where our company started."
"Is that the final dueling site?" Yugi ask.
"It is." Seto confirmed. "I built it from the ruins of my stepfather's empire. It symbolizes the triumph of the new over the old."
"Kaiba Corp wasn't always a game company." Mokuba explained. "The corporation was originally set up by our stepdad to construct high-tech vehicles for war, but Seto took over and changed all that. That island out there used to be the company's central headquarters until my brother tore down all the military factories! Then he built that Duel Tower on top of the rubble as a symbol of the new Kaiba Corp!"
"That's enough, Mokuba!" Seto interrupted before Rain jumped in.
"Come on, Seto, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I mean, that also technically symbolizes the start of the relationship between our families' companies."
"Wait, I thought you guys were always business partners with Kaiba Corp, Stormy." Joey said as she shook her head.
"Only the new Kaiba Corp. Gozaburo Kaiba tried to open relations beforehand, but gramps would never go into business with a warmonger like him."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Carter had enough sense to not get bitten by a snake, that's all."
"That too." Rain agreed.
"I've got it!" The pilot announced. "The navigation systems are taking commands from outside the ship. Someone's hacked into the mainframe and changed our destination coordinates!"
"There's no way that's true!" Mokuba argued. "The security system on this ship is state-of-the-art!"
The blimp then took a sharp descent, making everyone struggle to keep their balance. At one point, they hit ocean, making everyone fall forward. Again, Rain, who couldn't steady herself with her broken arm, was practically launched and fell right on top of Yugi, the force making her yelp in pain.
Rain groaned, scrambling to get off him when the ship stopped shaking. "Sorry, Yugi."
"It's fine." He assured, helping her get back up. "Are you okay, though?"
"It's fine." She answered, not being entirely honest. "Everyone else okay?"
"You mean besides the whiplash and the sprained ankle?" Tristan asked rhetorically as Joey glared at Kaiba.
"Can you say 'lawsuit'?"
Mokuba ignored him. "Try the Emergency Override System!"
"It's no use!" The pilot shouted back. "I've been completely locked out!"
Just then, the monitor fizzled as a voice came over the PA system.
"Greetings, duelists. There's nothing wrong with your television set!" A young boy then appeared on the monitor. "I'm in control now!"
"Identify yourself!" Seto demanded as the boy smirked down at them.
"Always barking orders, aren't you? I've been observing you, and it's time I put you in your place, Seto! From now on, I'll be calling the shots around here. And my first order of business is to put an end to your little card game."
"Seto, who did you piss off this time?" Rain asked genuinely as he glared at her.
"Shut up, Rain."
"You'll never get away with this, you creep!" The younger Kaiba brother declared.
"Too late for that. I already have!"
"Look, kid, I demand to know your name!" Seto demanded.
The boy rolled his eyes. "There you go again. Well, fine. The name is Noah, and you and I go back quite a long way, Seto!"
"Noah?" Rain repeated, again getting that familiar feeling as Seto gritted his teeth.
"All right, enough of your foolish games!"
"I'm afraid my games have only just begun, you fool!" Noah declared before the monitor went out again to show the open ocean.
"Well, that's concerning." Rain said bluntly as an entire underwater fortress rose from the sea. "What are the odds we can get out of getting into that death trap?"
"Slim to none." The pilot answered. "I have bad news. The fortress is using a tractor beam to pull our aircraft towards it!"
Everyone braced as the blimp was forced to make a landing inside the base, cutting off all possible escape routes.
As everyone else talked about payback or watching each other's backs, Rain glanced over at the Kaiba brothers.
"Seto, are you sure you don't know that kid?"
He eyed her. "This is my aircraft, Rain. I'll handle it."
"Famous last words." She muttered as the ship finally landed and Noah reappeared.
"Thanks for dropping in, Seto. Time for you and your friends to exit the ship."
"What if we don't?" Seto challenged, making Noah chuckled.
"I'm afraid at this point, refusal is not an option."
The walls surrounding the blimp suddenly opened, revealing two lines of turrets trained at them.
"This kid's nuts!" Joey shouted as the elder Kaiba began to march out.
"You all stay here!"
"Seto!" Rain yelled as Yugi went after him.
"Kaiba, don't!"
"Yugi, Rain, this is my battle, so don't do me any favors."
"Seto, please recall what a similar mindset did for you in Duelist Kingdom." Rain snarked as Mokuba hopped up from his seat.
"Mokuba, stay with Rain and do not leave this ship! Noah, I'll be coming out alone!"
In response, the turrets fired, purposely missing.
"Care to reconsider you decision?" The gunfire then turned off. "Now, let's try this whole thing again, shall we, Seto? Please be so kind as to exit the ship, with your friends."
Without much of a choice, the whole group was forced to disembark, Seto continued to insist that he handle everything, to the chagrin of the Wayfarer and Joey.
"Look, I don't know what this kid's beef is with you, but it's our problem now too." Joey argued as Rain crossed her arms.
"He's right, Seto. It's clear this boy doesn't intend to give any of us a pass."
The brunette huffed angrily as Noah urged them through the corridors of the base, only allowing the duelists to proceed (despite Duke, Tristan, and Serenity not being duelists and leaving Yami Marik on the ship).
"What is it you want from us, Noah?" Yugi asked.
"Everything will be made clear soon enough. Just continue to the end of the hallway where my associates will greet you."
"This is getting creepier and creepier." Tea muttered to Rain as they passed through a door.
"No kidding. I feel like we're the idiot teenagers that set the horror movie in motion."
They all entered into a hollow chamber. As they glanced around to figure out what they were supposed to do, there was a blinding flash and cackling.
"Who's there!?" Seto demanded. "Show yourselves!"
"With pleasure." A familiar voice said as five familiar faces emerged.
The Kaiba brothers and Rain all glared in their direction, immediately recognizing their opponents.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rain growled.
"You should have known we'd be back, Seto Kaiba and Rain (L/N), for revenge!" Gansley spoke for the Big Five. "Surprised to see us again?"
"You two know these guys?" Joey asked, Yugi adding in.
"Rain, why do these guys seem familiar?"
"These are the five creeps that tried to get rid of Seto and take over Kaiba Corp!" Mokuba reminded them. "Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nezbitt, and Leichter!"
"That's right!" Joey remembered. "They trapped Kaiba in Cyber-land until we saved him!"
"Almost right." Kaiba corrected. "They were hired by my stepfather to serve as Kaiba Corp's board of directors, but that wasn't enough for them, so they tried to destroy me and take over my company."
"Shouldn't they still be trapped in the virtual world?" Rain asked.
"That's right." Gansley answered. "But did you honestly believe that you'd seen the last of us?"
"I guess not." Rain jabbed. "Roaches are stubborn little creatures after all."
"Hold your tongue, girl!" The older male snapped. "You're just as arrogant as your grandfather!"
"Arrogant?" Rain repeated. "My gramps was just smart enough to never trust a bunch of backstabbing snakes like you or your old boss!"
"We wandered through cyberspace for what seemed like an eternity thinking of one question over and over: how could we get revenge for our suffering? We finally found our answer the day that Noah hacked into Kaiba Corp's mainframe. Once we discovered that we all shared common enemies, naturally, Noah uploaded our minds to his system."
"I defeated you once, and I can easily do it again!" Seto declared.
"We plan to give you every opportunity to do so, Mr. Kaiba, for we've devised a new game with Noah's help."
"What kind of game are we talking about, you snakes?"
"Oh, it's a game you're quite familiar with, Mr. Kaiba. It's a Duel Monsters Tournament, a virtual one, that is. And you're all invited to participate."
"But why do you guys wanna duel us?" Yugi asked.
"Our minds have been imprisoned for so long that we've lost our bodies, but if we defeat you in Noah's virtual arena, then we'll return to the real world in your bodies!"
"No one's takin' over my body again!" Joey stated firmly.
"I'm guessing this is also revenge for outplaying them last time." Rain deduced as Gansley glared her down.
"Too true, but it's also an insurance. After all, not even Carter (L/N) would interfere again if his granddaughter was in danger. Now, it's time to pay a visit to our special dueling world!"
The world suddenly spun as everyone blacked out for a moment. Eventually, everyone regained consciousness, sprawled out on a jungle floor.
"Not again." Rain moaned. "Seriously, though, they send us to a virtual environment, but they can't even let me have my arm back? They do know I can't duel like this, right?"
"That might be the point." Yugi said, helping her get up. "Sounds like they want you as hostage more. Sorry, Rain."
Something enormous flew above them, frightening Serenity, who ran to her brother.
"Joey!"
"Relax, Serenity. I know this place looks real, but it's actually just a life-sized video game, sis!
"You sure this isn't real?" Tea asked, reminding Rain she and Tristan didn't experience the virtual world before. "Because it sure smells real."
"It's virtual, but the danger is very real." Rain corrected. "Mental cognition can do a number on the body, even if it's all in our heads."
Just then, the ground began to rumble, making Mokuba look at his brother nervously.
"I don't like the sound of this, you guys."
Just then, a carnivorous looking dinosaur glanced over at them from the tree line, making them all freeze.
"No. Sudden. Movements." Rain whispered warningly.
"D-don't worry." Joey stuttered, stepping in front of Serenity. "It's just a hologram!"
"You sure?" Tristan asked.
"Y-yeah! Don't I seem sure?!"
"Regardless, running is always a prey response, so don't-," Rain was cut off by the dinosaur approaching.
Everyone instinctively bolted, Yugi dragging Rain away as Kaiba was the only who stood his ground, even as a clawed hand was swung at him.
"Seto!" Mokuba screamed.
The limb harmlessly passed through him as the lizard stalked away.
Kaiba smirked. "That brat Noah can't intimidate me with cheap virtual illusions like this. I wrote better virtual-reality programs back when this kid was still wearing diapers! This stuff's amateur."
"You're right." Tea said, passing her hand through some nearby flowers. "Uh, Kaiba, did you just change your outfit or something?"
Everyone looked to see a different Kaiba wearing his Duelist Kingdom outfit standing in the thicket. When this was pointed out to her, Tea scrambled backwards as Rain pursed her lips.
"You know, I'm gonna say: the wardrobe change was the right move."
Seto huffed as the copy walked past them. "What a cheap copy. I used to create virtual clones of myself all the time to duel against."
"Why duel against yourself?" Duke asked.
"Who better?"
"Uh, the guy who beat you?" Rain snarked, pointing at Yugi as Kaiba glared at her. "Hey, you set yourself up for that one."
Just then, there was a thud behind them as a warrior with several weapons, Total Defense Shogun, appeared.
"Where'd he come from!?" Joey shouted.
"Attention, fools!" Gansley's voice said from nowhere. "It's time for us to demonstrate the new dueling rules!"
"What do you mean new rules?" Yugi demanded.
"We've created a new system of dueling especially for our tournament, so pay attention, and try to keep up. This is called the Deck Master System!"
Gansley went on to explain the rules with a practical demonstration, namely about choosing deck masters, moving them to the field, their special abilities, and how losing the deck master meant game over.
"I've heard enough!" Kaiba shouted, after seeing his virtual self defeated. "I've defeated you five white-collar has-beens once before, and I can easily do it again! No matter what the rules are, I'll still take you down!"
The Big Five laughed in unison as the world around them faded out, leaving them to stare down the business men again.
"Make no mistake, you kids aren't going anywhere for awhile. Your only chance out is to defeat each of us in a duel."
"There's no way you're gonna get away with this!" Mokuba said, joined in by Joey.
"Yeah! We'll kick your big-business butts!"
"Joey, wait." Serenity tried to say.
"Don't worry, Serenity. We can whip these five geezers, one, two, three! I promise we'll win, and I've never broken a promise to you."
"Then promise you'll be careful." She asked.
"Deal."
"If we stick together, they won't stand a chance!" Yugi assured them.
"These guys fell apart last time we fought them." Rain reminded. "No way they can take us on now!"
"Don't worry." Duke jumped. "I've got your back!"
Tristan nodded. "Me too!"
"Pass the jam, 'cause these guys are toast!" Joey declared.
"Hold on, guys." Tea interrupted. "They never said which of us will actually have to duel.
"Good question." Crump said. "Just to make sure that you all suffer equally, well be dueling against every one of you brats!"
"Remember, we need to take over five bodies." Johnson said. "So the first five of you to lose will have the honor of gaining our minds while yours stay trapped here!"
"In your dreams!" Kaiba hissed.
"Ever since you destroyed our bodies, all we've had are our dreams, Mr. Kaiba!" Nezbitt said back. "Until now! The time has come to make our dreams a reality by escaping from this virtual abyss and leaving you here in our place for all eternity!"
"Our analysis shows your chances of escape are 0% and falling sharply!" Crump informed them as Rain chuckled.
"Could've sworn you said that right before Yugi and Kaiba blasted you to kingdom come last time."
Gansley glared at her. "It's only a matter of time before the five of us are set free from this virtual prison!"
"These crooks haven't changed one bit." Seto sneered as Rain put her good hand on her hip.
"No kidding. You old men know what the definition of insanity is, right?"
"Bring it on, you old coots!" Joey challenged.
A hole suddenly opened up beneath him, causing him to vanish in an instant. As Tea and Serenity ran over to where the hole had been, Crump laughed.
"As you can see, before the dueling begins, we plan to separate all of you. Ta-ta!"
Everyone began disappearing one after another until only Yugi and Rain were the only one's left. As Rain opened her mouth for another smart remark, Yugi all but tackled her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they were sent plummeting.

Welcome to the Virtual World folks. I say Noah's in need of a female presence in his life, and lucky for him Rain and (Y/N) fill that role for the Kaiba brothers already, so it's a two for one!