Yu-Gi-Oh!: The story of a Legend continues... (Finished)

[RyanAtlus]

Hi!

Thank you for showing interest in my fanfic. Comment something usefull, and I guarantee you, you will be repped. There's loads of information in this first post. There's a list of main Characters and their Bio's. Then, a list of Chapters. This allows me to take a step back and look at what I have allready achieved. Some Card Effects were altered, and a list is also in this post. Last but not least, Decklists and Summoning Chants.

Enjoy your read!

Ryan

 

This fanfic is currently number 10 according to the number of comments, and number 3 according to the number of views.

 

Bio: Saitu was raised by foster parents. That's where he was found as a baby, and no one could tell him anything about his past. No one, untill "the story of a legend continued".

In the beginning, he was prtrayed as being very shy towards other people, untill he met Ryan. He's not often attracted towards the other gender, but Alice seemed to have moved him. He's very smart: he's even seen speaking Latin in one of the later chapters.

Orb: Courage

 

Ryan Johnes

Age: 16

Appearance: Tall, shoulder-length blonde hair, dark blue eyes

Deck(s): Ryan's Main Deck is Final Countdown, but he's build an Earth Beatdown Deck for fun once. His first Deck was based on blocking all attacks with 2-card combos, while his second Deck focused on stalling using each card as an individual. His Earth Deck was based on Summoning Valkyrion the Magna Warrior with Heart of the Underdog.

Bio: Ryan's parents got divorced when he was still young, but he doesn't care too much about his father. He's an only child, and lives with his mom. He learnt that you need to be carefull with time, and that patience is a virtue. In early chapters he's seen chasing girls, but that seemed to have changed once he met Saitu.

He's a former regional champion. His main problem is decks with an alternate win condition.

Orb: Patience

 

Alice Solum

Age: 16

Appearance: Not too short, long blonde hair, very bright blue eyes

Deck(s): Alice used to play a Plant Deck to Tag with her sister. When that Deck got destroyed, she built a Spellcaster Deck focussing on the use of Magicians and Spell Counters.

Bio: She grew up along with her sister and her parents, who are both Biologists. She enjoys cosplaying a lot. That's why she chose to build a Magician Deck.

Orb: Wisdom

 

Jane Solum

Age: 16

Appearance: Slightly shorter than her sister, shoulder-length black hair, bright green eyes.

Deck(s): Jane's original Deck was based on Summoning Tytannial, Princess of Camelias. Her re-newed Plant Deck is focussed on Synchro Summons and the use of Black Garden.

Bio: She grew up along with her sister and her parents, who are both Biologists. She's the more silent of the two sisters.

Orb: Life

 

Katrina Pegasus

Age: 22

Appearance: Tall, long blonde hair

Deck(s): Katrina invented the Gladiator Beast Archetype, claiming that those who are able to defeat it ressemble true power. It's said she, along with her grandfather, are the only ones with a Toon Deck.

Bio: Katrina is the granddaughter of Maximillion Pegasus. She took over Industrial Illsions, hoping that he'd get a good old day without too much problems. She's in the lead of the group of Duelists who fight the Society of Shade.

Orb: Power

 

Mokuba Kaiba

Age: 52

Appearance: Short, black/grey hair, green eyes

Deck(s): Over a hundred, only his Beast-Warrior has been seen up to now.

Bio: After Atem left, Mokuba started studying Dueling in order to help his brother find Duel Academy. He did judgings on important Tournaments, occasionaly participating in one. After Seto disappeared, he took over Kaiba Corp. He claims that Seto might still be alive, but his hope lessens every day. He's seen to be very kind towards the main characters.

Orb: none yet

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Overview]Part I. The Deck (post 3)

Chapter 1 : The Dark Duelist

Chapter 2 : A Legend's Story

 

Chapter 3 isn't here anymore. It is now the second half of chapter 2.

 

Part II. Bonds of Friendship (post 3)

Chapter 4 : The Beginning

Chapter 5 : The End of the Start

Chapter 6 : Garden of Eden

 

Part III. The Locator Cards (post 3)

Chapter 7 : Battle City, Part II

Chapter 8 : Deck Destruction

Chapter 9 : All or Nothing

 

Part IV. Huge Revolution (post 3)

Chapter 10 : The Force of a Girl

Chapter 11 : Surprising Synchro's

Chapter 12 : De-Deck-tion

 

Part V. Domino City, here we come! (post 5)

Chapter 13 : Pot of Gold

Chapter 14 : The First Domino Duel

Chapter 15 : Old School

 

Part VI. The First Round (post 5)

Chapter 16 : The War has begun

Chapter 17 : Heavy Metal

Chapter 18 : Three Turn Overkill

Chapter 19 : Down Under

 

Part VII. The Society of Shade (post 7)

Chapter 20 : The Legend of the Gladiators

Chapter 21 : Opening up the Lockdown

Chapter 22 : The disturbance of Yin and Yan

Chapter 23 : The Duel for the yellow orb

Chapter 24 : The arrival of a new Challenge

 

Part VIII. The Arrival of a Rival (post 7)

Chapter 25 : Du pain, du vin et des jeux de cartes

Chapter 26 : Stronger than ever, the Princess awakens

Chapter 27 : Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Chapter 28 : Total eclipse of the Heart

 

Part IX. 180 Degrees (post 9)

Chapter 29 : Day at the Museum

Chapter 30 : Magical Mayhem

Chapter 31 : Queen of Card Games : Back in control

 

Part X. The Invitation (post 9)

Chapter 32 : The Incredible Healing Deck

Chapter 33 : The Rightfull Owner

Chapter 34 : Bifurcation

 

Part XI. The Monster Spirit's World (post 13)

Chapter 35 : Tag Showdown

Chapter 36 : The Different Dimension

Chapter 37 : Wizard's Power-Easter Eggs and TIME

Chapter 38 : Psycho Shocker Android

 

Part XII. Back for the Battle (post 15)

Chapter 39 : Back to Reality! Acceleration!

Chapter 40 : The Fast and the Duelist

Chapter 41 : We interrupt this broadcast...

 

 

 

[spoiler=Alternate Card Texts]

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Destiny Hero-Defender (4* DARK/Warrior 100/2700)

If this card is in face-up Defense Position during your opponent's Standby Phase, both Players draw 1 card.

 

Spring of Rebirth C S

Increase your Life Points by 500 for each of your monsters that return from the field to your hand.

 

Interdimensional Matter Transporter N T

Remove from play 1 monster on the field untill the End Phase of this turn.

 

Cloning N T

Activate only when your opponent Summons a monster. Special Summon 1 "Clone Token" that has the same original Level, Type, Attribute, ATK, and DEF as the Summoned monster. When that monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, destroy this token.

 

Flashbang N T

Activate only when your opponent declares a direct attack. It is now the End of the Battle Phase.

 

Black Garden F S

When a monster is Normal or Special Summoned, except by the effect of "Black Garden", halve its ATK and Special Summon 1 "Rose Token" (Plant-Type/DARK/Level 2/ATK 800/DEF 800) to its controller's opponent's side of the field, in Attack Position. You can destroy this card and all face-up Plant-Type monsters on the field and Special Summon 1 monster with ATK equal to the total ATK of those monsters from your Graveyard. When this card is sent to the Graveyard by an effect other than it's own, the ATK of all monsters become their original Attack.

 

Exploder Dragonwing (7* Dark/Dragon 2400/1600)

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

If this card battles a monster whose ATK is equal to or less than the ATK of this card, you can destroy the monster immediately with this card's effect without applying damage calculation, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.

 

Inferno Reckless Summon Q S

You can only activate this card when 1 monster with an ATK of 1500 points or less is Summoned to your side of the field while there is a face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field. Special Summon all cards with the same name as the Summoned monster from your hand, Deck, and Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. Your opponent selects 1 monster on their side of the field and Special Summons all cards with that same name from their hand, Deck, and Graveyard.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Decklists]

[spoiler=[color=red]Main Characters[/color]]

[spoiler=[color=blue]Saitu Kaiba[/color]]

[spoiler=Basic Dragon Deck]

Normal Monsters

 

- Luster Dragon

- Divine Dragon Ragnarok

- Lord of D.

- Tyrant Dragon

 

 

Fusion Deck

 

- King Dragun

 

 

Spells

 

- Stamping Destruction

- Dragon's Mirror

 

 

Traps

 

- The Dragon's Bead

 

[spoiler=Seto Kaiba]

Monsters

 

- Blue-Eyes White Dragon x3

- X-Head Cannon x2

- Y-Dragon Head x2

- Z-Metal Tank

- Lord of D. x2 (Removed 1 of them for Vampire Lady in Chapter 16.)

- Blade Knight (Removed for Vampire Lord in Chapter 16.)

- Kaiser Sea Horse

- Thunder Dragon x3

- Vorse Raider x2

- Vampire Lady (Inserted by removing Lord of D. in Chapter 16.)

- Vampire Lord(Inserted by removing Blade Knight in Chapter 16.)

 

 

Fusion Deck

 

- Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon

- Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon

- XY-Dragon Cannon

- XZ-Tank Cannon

- YZ-Tank Dragon

- XYZ-Dragon Cannon

 

 

Spells

 

- Dragon's Mirror

- Soul Exchange

- Polymerization

- The Flute of Summoning Dragon

- Monster Reborn

- Shrink x2

- Trade-In

- Cost Down

- Soul Release

- Mystical Space Typhoon

- Lightning Vortex

- Heavy Storm

- Fissure

 

 

Traps

 

- Return from the Different Dimension

- Crush Card Virus

- Interdimensional Matter Transporter x2

- Dust Tornado

- Sakuretsu Armor

- Roll Out!

- Bottomless Trap Hole x2

 

[spoiler=Seto Kaiba, edited]

Monsters

 

- Blue-Eyes White Dragon x3

- Thunder Dragon x3

- Vorse Raider x2

- Vampire Lord

- X-Head Cannon x2

- Y-Dragon Head

- Z-Metal Tank

- Kaiser Sea Horse

- Krebons

- Rose Warrior of Revenge

- Paladin of White Dragon

- Kaibaman

- White Stone of Legend

- Wall of Illusion

 

 

Extra Deck

- Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon

- Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon

- Five-Headed Dragon

- Goyo Guardian

- Exploder Dragonwing

- Trident Dragion

 

 

Spells

 

- Advanced Ritual Art

- Monster Reborn

- Shrink x2

- Ancient Rules

- Cost Down

- Trade-In

- Dragon’s Mirror

- Polymerization

- Soul Release

- Heavy Storm

- Mystical Space Typhoon

- Brain Control

- Dark Core

- Big Bang Shot

 

Traps

 

- Royal Decree x2

- Torrential Tribute

- Crush Card Virus

- Last Turn

- Return from the Different Dimension

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Ryan Johnes[/color]]

[spoiler=Final Countdown 1]

Monsters

 

- Mask of Darkness

- Destiny Hero-Defender

- Arcana Force-The Fool x2

- Marshmallon

- Necro Gardna

 

 

Spells

 

- Spell Economics

- Final Countdown

- The Dark Door

- Lightning Vortex

- Gravekeeper's Servant x2

- Swords of Revealing Light

 

 

Traps

 

- Scrap-Iron Scarecrow

- Pyro Clock of Destiny

- Macro Cosmos

- Sakuretsu Armor

- Negate Attack

- Threatening Roar

- Waboku

 

[spoiler=Final Countdown 2]

 

Monsters

 

- DD Warrior x3

- DD Warrior Lady

- Wall of Illusion x3

- Legendary Jujitsu Master x2

- Morphing Jar

- Morphing Jar #2

- Guardian Sphinx

- Mask of Darkness x2

- Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive

 

 

Spells

 

- Final Countdown x3

- Messenger of Peace x3

- Level Limit-Area B

- Swords of Revealing Light

- The Dark Door

- Lightning Vortex

 

 

Traps

 

- Threatening Roar x3

- Thunder of Ruler x3

- Waboku x2

- Gravity Bind

- Torrential Tribute

- Reckless Greed x3

- Good Goblin Housekeeping x3

 

 

[spoiler=Earth]

 

Monsters

 

- Gemini Elf

- Insect Knight

- Alpha the Magnet Warrior

- Beta the Magnet Warrior

- Gamma the Magnet Warrior

- Valkyrion the Magna Warrior

 

Spells

 

- Heart of The Underdog

- Two-Man Cell Battle

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Katrina Pegasus[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Gladiator Beast Andal

- Test Tiger

- Gladiator Beast Bestiari

- Gladiator Beast Equeste

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Gladiator Beast Gyzarius

 

 

Spells

 

- Gladiator Proving Ground

- Monster Reborn

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Alice Solum[/color]]

[spoiler=Plant]

Monsters

 

- Gigaplant x2

- Rigorous Reaver

- Nettles

- Arcane Archer of the Forest

- Wall of Ivy

 

 

Spells

 

- Cost Down

- The World Tree

- Double Summon

- Seed of Deception

- Raregold Armor

 

[spoiler=Spellcaster]

Monsters

 

- Magician's Valkyria x2

- Dark Magician Girl

- Dark Magician

- Gemini Elf

- Silent Magician LV8

- Endymion, the Master Magician

- Magical Marionette

 

 

Spells

 

- Monster Reborn

- Sage's Stone

- Thousand Knives

- Magic Formula

- Magical Citadel of Endymion

- Spell Absorption

- Spell Power Grasp x3

- Trade-In

 

 

Traps

 

- Magician's Circle

- Mirror Force

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Jane Solum[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Lonefire Blossom

- Tytannial, Princess of Camellias

- Lord Poison

- Gigantic Cephalotus

- Naturia Cosmos Beet

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Queen of the forest

 

 

Spells

 

- Black Garden

- Monster Reborn

- Heavy Storm

- Card Rotator

 

 

Traps

 

- Plant Food Chain

- Call of the Haunted

- Pollinosis

- Light of Intervention

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=red]Pre-Final Duels[/color]][spoiler=[color=blue]The Notary][/color]

Monsters

 

- Newdoria

- Snipe Hunter

- Twin-Headed Wolf

- Mask of Darkness

- Dark Armed Dragon

 

 

Spells

 

- Allure of Darkness

- Mystic Plasma Zone

 

 

Traps

- Shadow Spell

- Mask of Weakness

- Compulsory Evacuation Device

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Tom[/color]]

 

Monsters

 

- Vampire Lady

- Vampire Lord

- Vampire Genesis

 

 

Spells

 

- Call of the Mummy

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Kurt[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Needle Worm

- Morphing Jar

 

 

Spells

 

- The Shallow Grave

- Hand Destruction

- Lightning Vortex

- Dian Keto the Cure Master

- Gravekeeper's Servant

 

 

Traps

 

- Gift of Greed

- Flashbang x2

- Sakuretsu Armor

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Sanzyudai Yuki[/color]]

Monsters

 

- E-Hero Avian

- E-Hero Clayman

- E-Hero Burstinatrix

- E-Hero Sparkman

 

 

Fusion Deck

 

- E-Hero Thunder Giant

- E-Hero Flame Wingman

 

Spells

 

- Miracle Fusion

- Polymerization

 

 

Traps

 

- Negate Attack

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Steve][/color]

Monsters

 

- Marshmallon

- Spirit Reaper

 

 

Spells

 

- Reversal Quiz

- Ookzai

- Dark Snake Syndrome

- Wave-Motion Cannon

 

 

Traps

 

- Gift Card

- Wall of Revealing Light

- Defence Draw

- Magic Cylinder

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Flash[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Shining Angel

- Batteryman AA x3

- Thunder King Rai-Oh

- Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

- Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder

- Thunder Nyan Nyan

 

 

Spells

 

- Inferno Reckless Summon

- Spell Absorption

- Luminous Spark

- Continuous Circuit

- Two-Man Cell Batle

- Lightning Vortex

 

 

Traps

 

- Light of Intervention

- Waboku

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Jack Arrow[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Gilasaurus x2

- Sabersaurus

- Super Conductor Tyranno

- Super-Ancient Dinobeast

- Hydrogeddon x2

- Oxygeddon

- Water Dragon

 

 

Spells

 

- Heavy Storm

- Jurassic World

- Bonding – H2O

- Mystical Space Typhoon

- Smashing Ground

 

 

Traps

 

- Volcanic Eruption

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Mokuba Kaiba[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Lycanthrope

- Gene-Warped Warwolf

- Chiron the Mage

- Mystical Knight of Jackal

 

 

Spells

 

- Synthesis Spell

- Stray Lambs

- Double Summon

 

 

Traps

 

-Cloning

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=red]Finalists[/color]]

[spoiler=[color=blue]Misty Riguez[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Marauding Captain

- Command Knight x2

- Comrade Swordsman of Landstar

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Goyo Guardian

 

 

Spells

 

- Reinforcements of the Army

- The Warrior Returning Alive

 

 

Traps

 

- Sakuretsu Armor

- Reinforcements

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Coranos Crowler[/color]]

 

Monsters

 

- Ancient Gear Knight

- Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon x2

- Ancient Gear Golem

- Ancient Gear x3

- Ancient Gear Beast

- Gear Golem the Moving Fortress

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem

 

 

Spells

 

- Ancient Gear Castle

- Geartown x2

- Machine Duplication

- Polymerization

- Ancient Gear Tank

 

 

Traps

 

- Magical Hats

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Thomas[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Mother Grizzly

- Giga Gagagigo

- The Legendary Fisherman

- Yomi Ship

- Levia-Dragon - Daedalus

- Hydrogeddon

 

 

Spells

 

- A Legendary Ocean

 

 

Traps

 

- Gravity Bind

- Tornado Wall

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Brock[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Ojama Yellow x3

- Ojama Green x2

- Ojama Blue

- Ojama Black x3

- Snipe Hunter

- Ojama Red

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Ojama King

 

 

Spells

 

- Enchanting Fitting Room

- Polymerization

- Ojama Delta Hurricane!!

- Ojama Country

- Ojamagic

- Lightning Vortex

-Monster Reborn

 

 

Traps

 

- Spirit Barrier

- Ojama Trio

- Defence Draw

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Lao Tse[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Asura Priest

- Inaba White Rabbit

- The Tricky

 

 

Spells

 

- Spring of Rebirth

- Creature Swap

- Lightning Vortex

- Mirror of Yata

 

 

Traps

 

- Threatening Roar

- Draining Shield

- Spirit's Invitation

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Nadine Hucy[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Judgement Dragon

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=red]Society of Shade[/color]][spoiler=[color=blue]

Magurios[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Silent Magician LV4

- Silent Magician LV8

- Dark Lucius LV4

- Dark Lucius LV6

- Silent Swordsman LV3

- Silent Swordsman LV5

- Dark Mimic LV1

 

 

Spells

 

- Level Up!

- Swords of Revealing Light

- Level Modulation

- Nightmare's Steelcage

 

 

Traps

 

- Spellbinding Circle

- Call of the Earthbound

 

 

 

[spoiler=[color=red]Other[/color]]

[spoiler=[color=blue]Mimirca Hucy[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Reflect Bounder

- Manju of the ten-thousand Hands

- Fiend Reflection

- Fiend's Mirror (Ritual)

- Copycat x2

 

 

Spells

 

- Beastly Mirror Ritual

 

 

Traps

 

- Mirror Force

- Mirror Wall

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Yugi Muto[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Kuriboh

- Watapon

- Queen's Knight

- King's Knight

- Jack's Knight

- Dark Magician Girl

- Sangan

- Marshmallon

- Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight

- Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning

- Mystical Elf

- Alpha the Magnet Warrior

- Beta the Magnet Warrior

- Gamma the Magnet Warrior

- Summoned Skull

 

 

Spells

 

- Card Destruction

- Monster Reborn

- Golden Sarcophagus

- Magical Dimension

- Heart of the Underdog

- Book of Moon

 

 

Traps

 

- Magic Cylinder

- Mirror Force

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Dr. Jerkins[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Injection Fairy Lily

- Guardian Angel Joan

- Nimble Momonga x3

 

 

Spells

 

- Telekinetic Charging Cell

- Dian Keto the Cure Master x2

- Trade-In

- Spell Absorption

- Poison of the Old Man

- Emergency Provisions

 

 

Traps

 

- DNA Surgery

 

 

[spoiler=[color=blue]Paradox Brothers[/color]]

Monsters

 

- Giga-Tech Wolf (P)

- Cannon Soldier (P)

- Jirai Gumo (P)

- Kaiser Sea Horse (D)

- Sanga of the Thunder (D)

- Suijin (P)

- Unshaven Angler (P)

- Gate Guardian (D)

- Kazejin (D)

- Giant Rat (P)

- Labyrinth Wall (P)

- Shadow Ghoul (D)

 

 

Extra Deck

 

- Labyrinth Tank (P)

 

 

Spells

 

- Polymerization (P)

- Brain Control (D)

- Double Summon (D)

- Book of Moon (P)

- Monster Reborn (P)

 

 

Traps

 

- Judgement of Anubis (D)

- Widespread Ruin (P)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Summon Chants]

Duelists use these Chants to announce one of their Key Cards.

 

"Decay and Death will come over you! Summoning this Dragon is all that’s left to do! Special Summon! Dark Armed Dragon!”

 

"King of the Dragon’s, I need your help. Come to me, let my Dragons go free! Fusion Summon! King Dragun!”

 

"Be aware of Time, the countdown for the Epocalypse has begun, let’s get ready to rumble! Activate Signature Spell Card! Final Countdown!

 

”Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

 

"Mechalicious! More than meets the eye! Contact Fusion! XYZ Dragon Cannon!”

 

“Queen of the forest, come to me! Realease the power within thee! Synchro Symmon! Queen of Thorns!”

 

”Mirror, mirror on the wall! Vanity will cause the world to fall! Go! Ritual Summon! Fiend’s Mirror!”

 

"Forces merge together! Now, form the ultimate Power! Fusion Summon, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”

 

"Mighty Knight,a queeste for thee. May your lance lead me to victory! Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

 

"Master of the Magician’s, I need your Power. Emerge, greater than before! I Summon Endymion, the Master Magician!"

 

"The beginning has come to an end. Black Luster Soldier, help me reach for victory.”

 

”The Force of Dark Magic stands by me. I call upon you, Dark Magician!”

 

"Hell Flames will Burn eternally. Decibels rise to match an explosion. Synhcro Summon, Exploder Dragonwing!”

 

"Demonic King of Fiends, unleash your might upon the unworthy! Summon, the Summoned Skull!"

 

 

[Mysty]

Hey there, this is good stuff. The duel format is interesting: great dueling, but no conversation that stretches a duel that lasts only a few turns to about half the episode. An example of that is when Yusei fights Bolt Tanner. Yusei and Bolt Tanner each had 3 turns, and on his 3rd turn, Yusei won. Just 6 turns total.

By the way, in the Kaiba deck, do you mean Card Destruction or Hand Destruction?

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=I.The Deck]

[spoiler=Chapter 1 : The Dark Duelist]Young Saitu was running as fast as he could. He had to be there in time. He had been called by his notary earlier that day, who had told him to come immediatly. He had a few minutes left and he only had to go through an ally. He stopped running and walked on, breathing heavily. At last there was news... News about his parents and grandparents he had never knew... His story was quite dramatical. He had been found on a doorstep as a baby, with a letter and codes of a well-filled bank account. Now,16 years later, he would finally discover everything there was to know.

He was at the end of the ally when suddenly a noise grabbed his attention. He turned around to see a man lying on the ground, moaning. Saitu was well-educated by his foster parents and thus he decided to help the man.

“Are you all right?” he asked,while helping the man to stand up.

All of sudden and out of nowhere, iron bars fell from the sky, forming a cage in wich he and the man were trapped. Saitu was looking around him when a sudden force pushed him against the wall. The Duel Disk that was on his arm unfolded. The man who had been lying on the ground had stood up. He was standing several meters from Saitu, and opened his own Disk

“What is this about?” he shouted.

“Lose and your Deck will be mine. Now,let’s get started...”

 

“I’ll start things of...” the man said, drawing six cards...”Let’s see...” he had a good long look at his hand; it was even becoming annoying after some seconds...

“I’ll just set a monster, and two face-down cards.” The three holograms appeared.

“You can go now.”

“About time. Geez!” he blurted out while drawing his card. “I’ll summon the Luster Dragon!”

A beautifull dragon covered with saphire appeared. It was one of the strongest Level 4 monsters in the game. (1900/1200)

“Go, Luster Dragon! Saphire Strike!” The Dragon flew towards the monster card and was about to shatter it, when he was suddenly bound by several chains.

“You naive little boy!” the man laughed. “My Shadow Spell stopped your Dragon, and decreases it’s attack by 700 points!” Saitu looked at the screen of his Disk. He saw his Dragon’s attack points decreasing to 1200.

“Then I’ll set a card and end my turn.”

“Huh. Seems like you’re trapped already. Draw!” He looked at his new card, and smiled at it.

“I’ll keep this one for later...Flip Summon! Newdoria!” A humanoid fiend appeared from under the face-down Card. (1200/800) “And now, some quality time with a good friend of mine! Snipe Hunter!” He placed the card on his Disk aggressively. A purple fiend brandishing a sort of pistol jumped out of the card. (1500/1200) “My little friend may seem weak, but he’s got a powerfull effect!” the man explained. “Go! Die of Death!” The Hunter grinned, pointed his gun to the air, and fired. A die came out of the weapon, and landed next to the weakened Dragon, bearing the number ‘2’. The Dragon looked at it in fear, and tried to fly away, but the chains didn’t allow him. Saitu looked in disgust while the die exploded, making pieces of saphire fly through the ally.

“Wonderfull!” the opponent laughed. “But, all the good things have a price, so my Mystic Plasma Zone goes down the hole!” He took one of the cards from his hand and placed it into the Graveyard Slot. “Attack Directly, Hunter!”

The fiend came storming towards Saitu, and tried to hit him. A complete armor appeared around Saitu, the fiend looked questioned, but decided he’d try to hit the helmet of. To his dismay, the helmet exploded when he tried to touch it, leaving Saitu unharmed.

“What was that?!”

“My Sakuretsu Armor Trap Card destroys a Monster when it tries to attack. Who’s trapped now?” Saitu smiled.

“Well, I’m not. Newdoria! Suicidal Slash!” The second of his monsters did hit Saitu. His meter now showed ‘2800’. “I end. There’s no point trying to win. I have the ultimate force!”

“We’ll see...Draw. Spell Card ‘Monster Reborn’ activate!” An ankh appeared before Saitu. It started glowing harder and harder, untill the light became too much to watch. He fended off his eyes, and heard the man doing the same. As sudden as it had started, the light disappeared. The saphire Dragon had taken the place of the ankh. “That’s one. Now, as a second monster, I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok!” He placed the card on the Monster card zone next to Luster Dragon’s. A pink Dragon sprouted from the card, and took his place next to the saphire one. (1500/1000)

“Now, a second Spell Card: Stamping Destruction!” He placed the Spell Card in one of the slots. Luster Dragon ran towards the face-down card, and kicked it towards the man. It hit him on the knee. (LP 3500). “Now, while you’re there, kill that Newdoria. Saphire Slash!” Luster Dragon hit Newdoria with his incredibly hard wing, when he exploded, taking Luster Dragon away. “What the-?”

“When Newdoria is Defeated, he takes one monster with him. I do take Damage, but it was worth it. (LP 2800)”

“Couldn’t you tell me before that?”

“No.”

“Damn. You’re Mr. Funny, aren’t you.? Ragnarok, attack Directly! Divine Wrath!”

The Dragon shot a beam out of his mouth, hitting his opponent in the chest. This caused him to topple. (LP 1300).

“Now I’ll set a card. I have the feeling this Duel is almost over...”

The man drew his card, bearing a dark expression on his face. “I was just thinking the same! I was just thinking the same! Go, Twin-Headed Wolf!”

The name pretty much says it all. Both heads were barking angrily. (1500/1000)

“His stats are the same as my Dragon’s.”

“In that case, we are both thinking the same. Wolf! Sacrifice yourself for the greater good! Double Crunch!”

The Wolf tried to bit of the Dragon’s tail while he defended himself by shooting another beam at them. Both Monsters were destroyed.”

“Good...Now, Spell Card Allure of Darkness. I draw 2...” he took the top 2 cards from his Deck, and threw one of them in the air. It evaporated and re-appeared in the transparent Deck box the man was carrying around his waist. “...and remove from play Mask of Darkness. Now, let’s count together. Snipe Hunter, Newdoria and Wolf. That makes three!”

“Wow. You can count. Good boy.”

“Laugh now you still can! Decay and Death will come over you! Summoning this Dragon is all that’s left to do! Special Summon! Dark Armed Dragon!” He held up the card as he spoke these words, and the dropped it; it fell neatly in his middle Monster Card Zone.

The sky went dark, dark as Saitu had never seen this before. A legendary creature flapped it’s huge, black wing and landed between the Duelists, taking almost all the free space. (2800/1000)

“Dark Armed Dragon, take the Wolf’s Soul to destroy his pathetic card.”

The Dragon absorbed the Dark Energy from the Graveyard, throwing it at the face-down The Dragon’s Bead.”

“Now, Saitu, Draw your last pathetic Card.”

“This Deck has no pathetic Cards!” Saitu yelled as he Drew. This one had to be it. Otherwise it would be over.

“Draw! Monster Card, Lord of Dragons!”

A small man wearing bone-coloured armor and a dark blue cape appeared. (1200/1100).

“Hah! What’s he going to do?”

“Well, he’s going to make all the difference. Activate! Dragon’s Mirror!”

A blue Mirror with white borders appeared. Lord of D. stood on one side of the mirror, and a vague, smokey pink Dragon on the other. Both of the went through the Mirror at the same time, making it spin round. When it stood still again, it was facing the mysterious adversairy.

“King of the Dragon’s, I need your help. Come to me, let my Dragons go free! Fusion Summon! King Dragun!” A giant Dragon came crouching out of the mirror, but it still looked small in comparison to the Armed Dragon. (2400/1100)

“Your effort won’t pay of! Compulsory Evacuation Device!” The face-down card flipped face-up. A gint wind-making machine appeared, ready to blow the King back where he came from. The King blew his horn three times, and the Trap Card shattered.

“King Dragun is unaffected by targetting Trap Cards. I use his effect, Special Summoning Tyrant Dragon. Because of Tyrant’s effect, the King must make place for him.”

King Dragun evaporated in pink smoke, the smoke became orange and formed an even bigger Dragon, matching the Dark Armed Dragon. (2900/2500)

“Tyarant Dragon. Destroy his Monster. Fiery Fury.”

The Dragon opened his mouth, shooting a fireball towards Dark Armed Dragon, who got scorched badly before disappearing in a whisp of thick smoke. (LP 1200)

“You haven’t got me yet! I’ll turn the tables next turn!”

“No you won’t. Double Destruction attack!”

The Dragon shot a second attack, now towards the man himself. He yelled in pain as the fireball hit me. When his Life Point meter fell to 0, the flames disappeared, just like the Dragon.

“Now tell me what all that was about!” Saitu asked sharply, standing next to him..

“Your granddad would be proud of you...”

“How do you...?”

He now recognised the man. It was the notary.

“We’ll discuss the matter in my office...”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 2 : A legend's story]The office was big and fine-looking. There were huge wooden cupboards covering the wall, who must’ve been filled with documents. The notary pointed at a comfy chair on which Saitu took place after having thanked the notary, who took place in an even comfier chair at the other side of the desk. He took a big heap of papers from the other side of the huge desk, then looked at Saitu.

“I knew your grandfather. He left you a reasonable amount of money before he had died, but only a small fraction was available to your foster parents...”

Saitu tought that was weird, because that “small fraction” had been more than enough to raise him in a luxurious way. He nodded to make clear he understood

“However, he was of the opinion that you would only be worthy of the money if you were a good duelist. He asked me to duel you at the age of sixteen, for he knew I was quite talented as a duelist.” He made a gesture towards several trophies on one of the cupboards.

“May I ask you his name, sir?”

The notary smiled.

“Your grandfather was Mr. Seto Kaiba. I take it that you know him?”

He indeedly knew Seto Kaiba. One of the best duelists in the world, and the one who possesed three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards. He wasn’t really listening to what the notary said, but tried to do so anyway...

“...includes his landhouse and a vast amount of shares of Kaiba Corporation, wich is in possesion of his brother Mokuba Kaiba. He also wanted you to have this box. I don’t know what’s inside to be honest...”

He gave Saitu a little wooden box,with a silver Blue-Eyes White Dragon on it. If his grandfather really was Seto Kaiba (which was quite difficult to believe), there was only one way to cornfirm it. That way was simply opening this box...

Saitu opened the box and what he saw was something he had never seen before. Three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards were on the top of a Deck that must’ve been Seto Kaiba’s. He took a quick glance at the Deck, admiring it and not managing to understanding it was his now.

“You seem to like your inheritage?”

He almost started crying. Never had he been so happy in his whole life. In his hands was the ultimate power, and he knew it. This Deck was perfectly balanced by his grandfather, designed to be a World Champion's...and it was his now...

“Thanks”, Saitu managed to mutter, “It’s amazing...”

“I know...your grandpa used to beat me with that Deck quite a lot...Sometimes I won, but those occasions wer quite rare.”

There was a long silence wich was broken by Saitu.

“So it’s really mine?”

The notary nodded.

“I’ve got to test it.” he said fiercely.”I bet I’ll smash anyone with these!”

“Well, maybe you should have a chat with Mr. Mokuba. His brother was always great in organising tourneys...”

“Okay, I will...Thanks again...”

“Just doing my job.” the man replied.

Saitu stood up, shaked hands with the notary and left. The notary stared at the door for a while, thinking...

 

That night, Saitu told his parents everything he had learnt today, and that he would leave soon. They were amazed of Saitu’s real family and respected his decision...When he went to sleep, he remembered he should go to Kaiba Corporation the next day. When he managed to fall asleep at last, his dreams were full of his new Deck...

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=II Bonds of Friendship]

[spoiler=Chapter 4 : The Begining]

 

Saitu had had a call with Mokuba. He seemed not too suprised about receiving a call from his brother's grandson, said he was actually feeling like throwing in a tourney and that they should definitely have a duel when the moment was there. In the meantime, Saitu browsed the internet, looking for local tourneys. He found out there was one in the mall next day. He told his parents he would go; they told him they found it OK. That evening, he would’ve given his right leg to have a go with his Deck, but since his foster parents didn’t have any biological chilren, this was quite impossible, for he didn’t actually have any friends... He was home-educated, wich had a bright side; he was fairly intelligent for his age.

 

Saitu decided to have a long lay-in the next day, for the tournament started at 11 o’ clock, his alarm was set to go of at 10:15. When he finally decided to open his eyes, he was in quite a shock.

“15:09? I tought I had set it at 10:15?”

The red digits of the zero and nine flashed, turning into a one and a zero, which made the alarm go “beep-beep”.

“Damn! I set it on 15:10 instead of 10:15! What kind of an idiot am I?”

He got dressed, stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and took his already packed backpack.

”Bye mum!” and off he was, running as fast as he could. He arrived at the mall at 15:23, wich was a fair time. He ran into some guy when entering the tournament hall, wich caused him to fall onto the floor.

“Aw...I’m sorry.”

“You’ve got guts, daring to run into me.”

The boy was big, with strange long blonde hair, wearing a dark-blue Duel Disk with several orange dots on it around his left arm. It remembered Saitu of a card, but he couldn’t remember wich one.

“You’re a Duelist too?”

“No, the Disk just looks good on me.”

“Yeah, I think it looks cool too.” Saitu smiled.

“You’re laughing with me, the city champion?”

“No, I wasn’t,“ Saitu replied quickly, “ but I’d love to Duel you, I missed the tournament.”

The boy helped him to stand up.

“You don’t seem that bad, but I can’t stand it if people waist time...There ain’t much of it,so it needs to be treated with the utmost care...”

“Well then, let’s start Dueling right away!”

“Yeah...Okay, I’ll prove I’m a champion and let you start...”

 

“Thanks, but I don’t really need it.” He Drew six cards. “I summon Vorse Raider!” The fierce Beast-Warrior appeared from the Duel Disk, swinging it’s axe towards Ryan. (1900/1200)

“That’s some nice Monster you’ve got there!”

“You go and try summon a better one.”

“I won’t be needing a Monster...” He added his card to his hand. “I activate Spell Economics, and I’ll Tribute it right away! "Be aware of Time, the countdown for the Epocalypse has begun, let’s get ready to rumble! Activate Signature Spell Card! Final Countdown! 20 Turns to go, and then I’ll win...”

As he spoke those words, everything around their Dueling field darkened, grabbing the attention of several bored people. “Now, a third Spell Card. The Dark Door...”

A transparent wall appeared between the Duelists, with only a very small door in it.

“Only one Monster can pass through the Dark Door per Battle Phase.” He explained.

“I’ll set one more, and it’s your turn.”

“Sounds interesting.” Saitu remarked as he drew his card. The First Countdown Flame apeared. “I’ll Summon my X-Head Cannon!” A yellow-blue Transformer-like machine appeared. (1800/1500).

“If I didn’t knew any better, I’d think I was Dueling Seto Kaiba.” Ryan remarked.

“Yeah, well. I can’t blame you. It is his Deck, you know...” Ryan’s smile faded. “Vorse Raider, go! Axe Swing Attack!” Vorse Raider ran towards the door, but a scarecrow raised out of nothing, blocking him the way.

“Did you just summon a Monster in my turn?”

“No. My Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates one attack per Turn.

“But I can only attack with one monster each Turn!”

“Life isn’t fair...” Saitu threw a nasty look at the the scarecrow, which sunk back into the ground. “Your Turn...” Ryan drew his card.

“I’ll set a Monster and a Card...and that’s it...” Two holograms appeared, and a third Counting Flame. Saitu’d have to find a way to break this combo. There wasn’t a wide variety of Spell and Trap removal in this Deck, but there were a few cards that could do the job...

“Draw!” He looked at the card, and saw he had hit the one he needed.

“Activate Quick-Play Spell Card! Mystical Space Typhoon!”

A soft windstream started turning in the middle of the Dueling field. It got stronger in a few seconds, untill it finally pulled the scarecrow from under the ground. Then, it disappeared, taking it’s prize with him.”

“Trap Card Activate! Pyro Clock of Destiny!” A clock made out of stone appeared. It caught fire, and then it rose up to join the other Countdown flames.

“Doesn’t matter...your Stalling is insufficient. Vorse Raider, Axe Swing Attack!”

The Raider crouched through the door, and swung his axe at the face-down card. It revealed to be a little yellow clay mask. “My Mask of Darkness returns one Trap Card to my hand. Come back, Pyro Clock!” The floating clock split in 2 pieces. One of the pieces extinguished itself, transformed into a Card and came flying back to Ryan’s hand.

“Why didn’t you target your scarecrow?” Saitu wondered out loud.

“Err...because I’m not feeling like it.” he replied. Saitu almost laughed at him. He had forgotten it was there, probably. “You can do your turn now, Mastermind.”

“Geez...can’t I make one little mistake?” He Drew his Card. “I’ll set a monster and a card. I end, which means we’ve reached the sixth turn...” The sixth flame appeared. He was right. Saitu was getting short of time.

“Draw...Spell Card, Heavy Storm!” All the non-monster cards were blown away by a fierce wind. The wall with the door in it shattered. Saitu looked up. There were now seven flames.

“How the heck did you do that?”

“It’s called chaining...what‘re you going to do ‘bout it?”

Ryan was starting to piss Saitu of. He didn’t show this; he knew Ryan was just playing a game with him, and he liked the challenge. “Now that your backline is gone, I attack your monster with X-Head Cannon. Attack with Transshot!” A gun appeared on the shoulder of the robot, aiming for the face-down card. It shot, a flash of a stone creature, and the bullet hit Saitu in the shoulder. (LP 3100) “Aw! What was that!”

“My Destiny Hero-Defender. He’s got enough Defence Points (DEF 2700) to survive little bullets like those.” Saitu was getting in trouble...

“Then I think you can go again.”

“Good”, he continued, drawing his card. “Lightning Vortex! Activate!” He threw a card as high as he could, where it transformed into a shot of Lightning, striking down Saitu’s Monsters. “That was it, making the turn count 9.”

“Now I’ll show you who’s the boss. Your Defender has a downside; I Draw 2 Cards each Turn.”

“And I draw one during your Turn.”

He drew them, tought for a while, and decided to make his move.

“Kaiser Sea Horse in Attack position. That’s it.”

A purple-blue Sea Horse joined Saitu. (1700/1650)

“My Turn. I set two and that’s it.”

The eleventh flame appeared. Saitu was starting to get worried.

“I draw two-“

“And I activate another Pyro Clock.”

“That’s good. I Summon the strongest Monster I’ve got. ”Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The Sea horse mad place for the ferocious White Dragon. (3000/2500).

“Isn’t he level eight?”

“He is, but that’s where Kaiser’s effect kicks in. He’s a double tributer for Light Monsters. Now, Burst Stream of Destruction!”

The Dragon attempted to attack, but an armor formed around it, making him explode.

“Sakuretsu Armor. A neat Trap Card, I must say...”

“I know. It saved me from your huge-ass Dragon, it did.”

“I set one, and it’s your turn. Hey, we’re allready on thirteen. This should be a lucky turn for you.”

He laughed. “Of course it will. I set one, and Activate Gravekeeper’s Servant. Your Turn.”

“Gravekeeper’s? Then your face-down must be-“

“Yep. Macro Cosmos!” A giant dimensionhole appeared several meters in the sky.”

“It’s good. A cativate Dust Tornado, destroying your Gravekeeper’s Servant.”

A small tornado blew the Spell Card away.

“Now, I’ll summon my Y-Dragon Head!”

A red dragon-ish machine appeared next to him. (1500/1600)

“And now, I’ll activate Enemy Controler!”

A giant computer game controler appeared before them.

“Up, up, down, down, left, right, left right, A, B!”

The buttons were pressed by an invisible hand; a *beep*-sound came out of it, and the Warrior stood up. (ATK 100)

“Did you just used a cheat?”

“Yes, so?”

“That’s against the rules, isn’t it?”

Saitu laughed. “Screw the rules, it’s just a Spell Card. Dragon Head! Attack! Transshot!”

The Dragon shot a bullet from it’s mout, hitting Defender’s belly button; a sensitive place. Ryan’s Life points went down to 2600.

“It’s your turn now. I’ll get you down.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll set a card and end, which makes 16.”

“Then I’ll take it again from here. Y-Dragon Head, Atta-“

“Nup. Threatening Roar, a Staller’s best friend.”

“Then that makes 17. Go.”

Ryan’s hand was empty. It would be the last Turn that mattered.

“Topdeck! A new Gravekeeper’s Servant! This is epic. You can go. Do your last Turn.”

Saitu Drew in silence, the spectator’s became silent too.

“Too bad for you I can also Topdeck. I activate Trade-In to draw two...and that’s game, I guess.”

“So, I won?”

“Nope. I activate Monster Reborn to bring back X-Head Cannon, and I’ll Summon Z-Metal Tank.”

The blue robot re-appeared, and a yellow one took place next to him. (1500/1300).

Mechalicious! More than meets the eye! Contact Fusion! XYZ Dragon Cannon!”

The robots merged together, connecting and forming a giantic destruction Machine. (2800/2600).

“I discard a card to detroy your Gravekeeper’s again. Now, Attack! Transfobeam!”

Ryan got blown back by the blast of the attack. The holograms fainted, the crowd applaused. “That was awesome!” someone yelled.

”Let me help you now.” he said while helping Ryan to stand up.

“Thanks...”

“It’s nothing. You’re a pretty good Duelist.”

“Thanks again. But you’re better. Wait a sec.”

He walked towards his backpack and took a medal from it.

”I won it, but you’re better than I am.”

“Gee, I don’t think I can accept that.”

“I’ve got plenty...just tell me your e-mail to stay in touch.You’re an exceptional Duelist so it would be cool to be friends...”

 

And so, Saitu’s first friendship has been made...

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 5 : The End of the Start]

It had been 2 weeks since the defeat of City Champion Ryan, but he himself did not bother. The friendship between him and the talentfull Saitu had grown a lot, and so had their Dueling experience. Faith was about to interrupt the young Duelist’s stories as they were dueling the card shop, were they came a lot. Saitu and Ryan bought a pair of boosters each every time they came there, and gave the cards they didn’t need to promising Duelists after a Duel.

 

Tom’s Turn

-Tribtes Vampire Lord (2000/1500) to Special Summon Vampire Genisis (3000/2100)

-Saitu activates Shrink and targets Vorse Raider (ATK 1900>950)

-Saitu activates Crush Card Virus, tributes Vorse Raider to Destroy Vampire Genisis and Vampire Lady (1550/1550)

-End Phase (2750)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Discards Thunder Dragon (1600/1500) to add 2 more from his Deck to his hand

-Activates Polymerization to Special Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100)

-Attacks directly (Tom 0)

-Saitu wins (950)

 

“Damn that was close!” Saitu told Tom while helping Tom get up.He always had to help his opponents help getting up, because his Deck was quite devestating.

“Thanks...”Tom said. “It took me a while to build that one...”

“Told you you were close...You’ll get there eventually...”

“Probably. I’ll try.”

“That’s the spirit!” Saitu smiled. ”Here’s what I promised you.”

He gave the card “Call of the Mummy” to Tom, who happily accepted it.

“Whoa, look over there!” Ryan told Saitu, pointing at Sadie, the shopkeeper.

“I know you have a crush on her, but she’s not my type.”

“Not Sadie!” Ryan replied. “Even tough you’re right.” he added, whispering. ”The poster she’s hanging up.”

Saitu had a look at the poster.

 

[align=center]KAIBA CORPORATION PRESENTS

 

THE BATTLE CITY TOURNAMENT

 

THE TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE PLACE SOON

 

ENTER AT WWW.KAIBACORPORATION.COM

 

FABULOUS PRIZES TO WIN![/align]

 

The text was printed in flashy red, with an image of Blue-Eyes White Dragon at the background.

“I know...I entered yesterday...”

“And you didn’t tell me!? Damn, if I’m not fast, there won’t be any places left!” Ryan yelled.

“Don’t worry, you can enter ‘till Sunday. At 12 o’ clock, we will receive a mail with instructions...”

There was a short silence between the two.

“Do you... do you think I’ve got a chance?” Ryan asked.

“Of course! I mean, you’re as good as I am! And you’re still the city Champion!

They had dueled 7 times in those 2 weeks, of wich Ryan had won 4 times.

“Guess you’re right...Well,how about a Tag Duel? I can use my other Deck to pair with you.”

“Yeah...Wait a sec, have you got another Deck?”

“Yeah, an Earth Deck...It focuses on high attack...”

“Well then,let’s do it. Wich Duelists are worthy of being our opponents?”

“Look’s like those girls are friends.” Ryan said, nodding towards two pretty girls who were chatting in the middle of the Dueling Zone for Duelists who prefered playing without Duel Disks.

“You’re obsessed by everything that wears a skirt, you maniac...” Saitu told his friend, who was indeed very attracted towards the other sex. ”But you’re right let’s ask them.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 6 : Garden of Eden]

“Hey!”,Ryan said, while walking towards the girl’s tables. “Wanna Duel?”

“Wich one of us? asked the dark-haired girl curiously.

“Actually, we wanted to go for a tag.” Saitu replied, joining the group.

“Ooh! A tag Duel! We’re Tag pro’s, aren’t we, Jane?”

“Duh, we’ve got matching Decks!”

“So, wanna go?” Ryan asked a second time.

“Okay then...Alice, grab our Disks.”

“Okay, if you take our Decks.”

The group walked to the Tag Zone, were they stood in Tag position.

“Let’s go!” Saitu said.

 

[spoiler=DUEL 3:MOWING THE LAWN]

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Blade Knight (1600/1000)

-End Phase (8000)

 

Jane’s Turn

-Summons Lonefire Blossom (500/1400)

-Tributes Lonefire Blossom to Special Summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias (2800/2600)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (8000)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Activates Heart of the Underdog

-Activates Two-Man Cell Battle

-Sets a card

-End Phase: Special Summons Insect Knight (1900/1500) in Defence Mode

-End Phase (8000)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Activates Plant Food Chain and equips it to Tytannial, Princess of Camellias (2800/2600 > 3300/2600)

-Activates Cost Down

-Special Summons Gigaplant (2400/1200)

-Normal Summons Gigaplant

-Activates Gigaplant’s Effect to bring back Gigaplant (2400/1200)

-Activates Double Summon

-Normal Summons Gigaplant

-Activates Gigaplant’s Effect to bring back Lonefire Blossom (500/1400)

-Tributes Lonefire Blossom to summon Rigorous Reaver (1600/100)

-Attacks Blade Knight with Gigaplant (Saitu & Ryan 7200)

-Attacks Insect Knight with Rigorous Reaver

-Attacks face-down Gemini Elf (1900/800) with Gigaplant

-Attacks directly with Tytannial, Princess of Camellias (Saitu & Ryan 3900)

-Activates The World Tree

-End Phase (8000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Extra Draws due to Heart of the Underdog

-Activates Lightning Vortex (The World Tree 4 ©)

-Plant Food Chain activates, Special Summoning Tytanaial, Princess of Camellias

-Summons Lord of D. (1200/1100)

-Activates Flute of Summoning Dragon

-Special Summons Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

-Attacks Tytanaial, Princess of Camellias with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (The World Tree 5©) (Alice & Jane 7800)

-Attacks directly with Lord of D. (Alice & Jane 6600)

-Sets 2 Cards

-End Phase (3900)

 

Jane’s Turn

-Removes 4 Counters from The World Tree (5© > 1©) to destroy Lord of D. and Blue-Eyes White Dragon

-Summons Lord Poison (1500/1000)

-Attacks with Lord Poison, but is destroyed by Sakuretsu Armor

-Sets a card

-End Phase (6600)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Extra Draws due to Heart of the Underdog

-Special Summons Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850) by discarding from his hand

-Attacks directly, but the Trap Card Call of the Haunted is Activated, Special Summoning Tytannial, Princess of Camellias in Attack Position

-Replay; attacks Tytannial, Princess of Camellias (Alice & Jane 5600)

-Activates Valkyrion the Magna Warrior’s Effect, Special Summoning Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700), Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600) and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1700).

-Attacks with all the Special Summoned Monsters (Alice & Jane 1000)

-End Phase (3900)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Activates Seed of Deception, Special Summoning Nettles (1200/400)

-Summons Arcane Archer of the Forest (900/1400)

-Equips Nettles with Raregold Armor

-End Phase (1000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Monster Reborn to bring back Blade Knight

-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200)

-Activates Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Raregold Armor

-Attacks Nettles with Blade Knight (Alice & Jane 600)

-Attacks directly with Vorse Raider (Alice & Jane 0)

-Saitu & Ryan win the Duel

 

 

 

“I hate it when that happens!” Alice seemed to be angry with herself.

“Don’t worry, you’ve done your best.” Saitu tried to calm her.

“Yeah, you girls did a great job.” Ryan told them while tapping their shoulders. ”We should duel another time. This was great!”

“Really?” Jane asked him.

“Why would I lie about thing like that?”

“Your Magna Warrior was really cool!”

He shook his shoulders, blushing a bit.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=III.The Locator Cards][spoiler=Chapter 7 : Battle City, part II]

 

What was supposed to be a lazy Sunday afternoon was actually quite tense for all the Duelists in the country. It had been 50 years since the first Battle City Tournament and today all that excitement would start all over. Every Duelist who wanted to enter was nailed to his computer, waiting for 12 o’clock to arrive...

And then it was there. Somewhere in a big computerhall the finger of Mokuba Kaiba hit the “ENTER” button, making the Kaiba Corp. head computer send thousands of e-mails to people all over the country. The following text had been read by every Duelist in the country...

 

Dear Duelist,

The Battle City Finals will take place in exactly one week. In your local gamestore, each Duelist can pick up his or her pair of Locator Cards. 8 Of them are needed to proceed to the finals, who will take place in Domino City. Locator Cards must be obtained through Dueling other Duelists. You may bet as many as you want, only if the other Duelist agrees. Please contact your local gamestore for more details.

Greetings,

Mokuba Kaiba,

Director of Kaiba Corporation.

 

One Duelist however, had not even bothered to wake up. Saitu was still happily snoring in his comfy bed, untill the doorbell rang at half past twelve, that is. He managed to hear a quick conversation and then several persons running up the stairs. He got out of his bed just in time to see a boy and 2 girs entering his room. Saitu yawned loud and long.

“Do you guys know what time it is?”

“Yeah, half past twelve exactly!” said the blonde Alice. “So rise an shine, Sleeping Beauty!”

“We picked up your Locator Cards.” Jane replied happily. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

“Wha...? Locator Cards? Like, in the old days. And we have to gather six? Sweet, I’ve got two of them.” he said excited, while opening the red envelope Jane ha given him.

“No, Mr. Wiseguy, we start with two and have to gather 8.” Ryan told him smugly.

“Yeah...Well, you guys can go downstairs...Smells like mom’s making breakfast for all of us!”

“You had better get dressed, or do you wanna duel in pyjamas?”

“I wouldn’t mind!” Saitu replied grinningly as the group left his room.

 

“As far as I know already, our City’s lucky.” Ryan told the others while helping himself to some bacon.

“Why then?” Saitu asked him while filling his plate with scrambled eggs.

“Well, our Tournament Hall is huge, so there ’ll be Duelists from other cities as well.”

“Never seen any of them.”Jane told Ryan.

“I dueled some other City Champions...”Ryan proudly announced. ”There’s this guy from Konaville called Kurt. He’s the only one I couldn’t win from.”

“We’ll have to wait and see, don’t we?” Alice had just drained her coffee.

 

After finnishing their breakfast and having thanked Saitu’s mom, they all went directly to the mall. The Dueling field was so crowded that the organisation decided to allow One-on-One Duels in the Tag Duel Zone. A boy with short brown hair approached the group.

“Excuse me, are you Saitu?”

“The one and only.” Saitu replied.

“How about a Duel for Locator Cards? I bet 2 of them.” he held up 2 red cards with his name on it in green letters, but put them away quickly. Saitu hadn’t read the name.

“I’ll only bet one. Is tha okay with you.”

“Sure, I’ve got six already.”

Ryan made a gesture to Saitu and whispered : “That’s the Kurt I told you about”

“Never mind, I’ll break through his strategies whatsoever.”

“They found themselves a spot to Duel and as they got in positions, former opponents from Saitu came to watch, gossiping about the newcomer.

“Duel!” the two yelled, and they both drew five cards.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 8 : Deck Destruction]

 

[spoiler=DUEL 4: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU]

 

Kurt’s Turn

-Sets a monster and a card

-End phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Vorse Raider(1900/1200)

-Kurt Activates Gift of Greed, Saitu draws 2 Cards (Deck : 32)

-Attacks the face-down Needle Worm (750/600) (Deck : 27)

-End Phase (4000 Deck : 27)

 

Kurt’s Turn

-Activates The Shallow Grave, Special Summoning Needle Worm face-down

-Activates Hand Destruction (Saitu Deck : 25)

-Sets a Card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Blade Knight (1600/1000)

-Attacks the face-down Needle Worm with Blade Knight (Deck : 19)

-Attacks Directly with Vorse Raider, but is stopped by Flashbang

-End Phase (4000 Deck : 19)

 

Kurt’s Turn

-Activates Gravekeeper’s Servant

-Sets a monster and a Card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Attacks the face-down Morphing Jar (700/600) with Blade Knight (Deck : 12)

-Attacks Directly with Vorse Raider (Deck : 11), but is stopped by Flashbang

-End Phase (4000 Deck : 11)

 

Kurt’s Turn

-Activates Lightning Vortex

-Sets a monster and a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Trade-In, discarding Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Deck : 8)

-Activates Monster Reborn to bring back Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

-Attacks with Blue-Eyes white Dragon, but is destroyed by Sakuretsu Armor

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000 Deck : 7)

 

Kurt’s Turn

-Flip Summons Morphing Jar (700/600) (Saitu Deck : 2)

-Activates Dian Keto the Cure Master (Kurt 5000)

-End Phase

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Draw Phase (Deck : 1)

-Activates Soul Release and Removes From Play two Thunder Dragons, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank

-Activates Return From the Different Dimension (Saitu 2000) to Special Summon all his removed from play Monsters

-Fusion Summons XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)

-Activates Polymerization to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100)

-Discards 2 cards to destroy Morphing Jar and Gravekeeper’s Servant

-Attacks directly with both his monsters (Kurt 0)

-Saitu wins (2000 Deck:1)

 

 

 

“All Right!”

“He did it again!”

“That was awesome!”

Saitu smiled as everyone cheered and applaused.

“Thanks, but Kurt was also great. He earns as many applause as I do!”

He shook hands with Kurt and congratulated him. He knew he had been defeated for the first time in months, but he felt not so bad about having been defeated by Saitu, who had earned himself quite a name. He was about to leave along with his friends when Kurt called his name. “You forgot your Locator Cards!” he yelled ,running to Saitu an giving him the two red Cards. The name on the Card changed from “Kurt Miller” into “Saitu Kaiba”.

“Thanks...”

“Hey, gotta play it fair, don’t I?”

“Yeah...Thanks again for the Duel.”

“It’s nothing. I enjoyed myself too.”

Saitu turned to his friends. “I’m going home...I want to try out “Tag Force 5” a bit.

“Okay,we’ll try to gather some Locator Cards.”Ryan replied.”Come on girls, let’s go and get ‘em!”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 9 : All or Nothing]

 

Saitu was busy tapping the button of his gold-coloured PSP, when he was called on his mobile phone. He saw it was Alice who was calling him.

“What’s up Alice?”

“You got to come to the mall now!”

“But I was there this morning. Did I forget my backpack or something?”

“No, that’s not it. You know Duelist Kingdom?”

“You bet I do!” Saitu told her excited. “Got all the DVD’s, remember?”

“Well, appearently there are also player Eliminators here. One of them’s got Jane!”

“Okay...just relax, I’ll be right there.”

 

He arrived at the mall 6 minutes later. He was sure that was a new record, but he had to find the rest of the group first. There was a major Duel going on. Saitu didn’t see anything of the Duel, but he was sure it was interesting, because everyone who was in the mall seemed to be watching. Saitu managed to get to one of the first rows, and then he recognized one of the Duelists as Alice. The Eliminator’s field was empty, except for 3 face-down cards.

 

Eliminator’s Turn

-Activates Gift Card (Alice 5100)

-Activates Wall of revealing Light and pays 3000 Life Points (Eliminator:100)

-Activates Reversal Quiz and declares “Spell”, wich is correct (Alice 100 Eliminator 5100)

-End Phase (5100)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Activates Seed of Deception, Special Summoning Wall of Ivy (300/1200)

-Summons Arcane Archer of the Forest (900/1400)

-Equips Wall of Ivy with Raregold Armor

-End Phase (100)

 

Eliminator’s Turn

-Activates Ookazi (Alice 0)

-Eliminator Wins

 

The Eliminator was tall, almost as tall as Saitu was (and he was very tall for his age) an wore a long black coat, with matching hat. The expression on his face was cruel, without any other emotion visible.

“Now fork it all over...I told you the rules, and you shall obey...” he told Alice while walking towards her slowly.

“Then give back my sister’s Deck!”

“I would, if you would have won...Now hand over your Deck and your locator Cards...”

He didn’t wait, he pulled the Deck out of her Duel Disk, along with her 4 Locator Cards.

“You bastard!” someone in the crowd yelled. Saitu tought that person was very courageous.

“I’m not a bastard...yet!” He ripped the Deck he had just conficated in two, throwing the pieces in the air. Alice stood there, motionless, while the remainings of her thrusty Deck landed on her feet. She started to tremble, and looked as if she would start crying.

“Now I’ll take the title of bastard and wear it with pride. I’m getting paid for each kid who I can chuck out of this tournament...So who’s up next?”

There was a long silence, in wich the Eliminator gazed over the crowd.

“I will!” Saitu yelled. he squeezed himself through the front row, into the Dueling Arena.

“Well well,a face I haven’t seen yet today...Allow me to explain the rules to you...”

“I think I know the Dueling rules already...”

“But this won’t be an ordinairy Duel...If you lose, I’ll hapilly take your Deck and all your locator cards...”

“Yeah..., like that ’ll ever happen...What’s in for me, Steve?”

“Well I...wait a minute...how do you know my name?”

“It’s sewn on the inside of your coat...very neatly done by the way...you know your job well!”

The crowd was somewhere between surprised and amused.

“I see...If you win, smart boy...Well you’ll get the 8 required Locator Cards...and all the Decks I had to confiscate...As for the Dueling, we will play with 8000 Life points...Considering my Burn Deck, it would be only fair...more to take away...”

“What about Alice’s Deck? You ruined hers...”

“There will be an arrangement for you little friend...”

“Okay! I agree! Let’s go!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 5 : THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL]

 

Steve’s Turn

-Sets a card

-Activates Dark Snake Synrome

-End Phase

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)

-Attacks the face-down Marshmallon (300/500) (Saitu 7000)

-End Phase (7000)

 

Steve’s Turn

-Dark Snake Syndrome activates (Steve 7800/Saitu 6800)

-Activates Ookazi (Saitu 6000)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (7800)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Cost Down

-Activates Soul Exchange

-Summons Blue-Eyes White Dragon

-Sets a Card

-End Phase (6000)

 

Steve’s Turn

-Dark Snake Syndrome activates (Steve 7400/Saitu 5600)

-Sets a Monster

-Activates Wave-Motion Cannon (© 0)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (7400)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)

-Activates Roll Out!, Special Summoning Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300)

-Fusion Summons XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)

-Discards Thunder Dragon (1600/1500) and adds 2 Thunder Dragons to his hand

-Discards 4 Cards to destroy Wave-Motion Cannon, Dark Snake Syndrome, the face-down Spirit Reaper and the face-down Gift Card (Steve Chains the last one- Saitu 8600)

-Attacks directly with both monsters (Steve 1600)

-End Phase (8600)

 

Steve’s Turn

-Activates Reversal Quiz and declares “Trap”, wich is correct (Saitu 1600/Steve 8600)

-End Phase (7400)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Attacks directly with both monsters (Steve 2800)

-End Phase (1600)

 

Steve’s Turn

-Sets a card

-End Phase (2800)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Magic Cylinder

-Attacks with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Steve 0)

-Saitu wins the Duel (1600)

 

 

 

Steve flew several meters backwards, during wich he threw several smoke bombs. When the smoke had dissapeared, the only thing left was a brown bag, like the one kids put their lunch in to go to school. Saitu picked up the bag, and discoverd about ten Deck boxes. He read the names on the Deck boxes one by one, and the owners came picking it up and thanked him. The last one was green, with a plant-like motive. Saitu read the name, written in pink.

“Jane Solum?”

Jane happily stepped forward to receive her Deck box. She gave Saitu a hug. He tought it felt odd, but not unpleasant.

“Where’s Alice?” he asked her when the crowd had spread.

“Come with me, she’s over there.”

Alice sat on a bench, and Ryan was with her. She seemed to have been crying.

“Nice Duel...”she said vaguely...

“I guess so...”

There was a silence, wich was broken by Ryan.

“She just threw the pieces of her Deck away...All teared up, nothing left to do about it.”

Saitu took a piece of paper from the bag. It was a coupon for a nearby game store.

“Suppose this is for you...By the looks of it, you can burry yourself in cards after you spent it all!”

She didn’t take it.

“I’m out of the tournament...You guys take it.”

“You’re not out!”Saitu replied.

“Yes, I am! He took all my Locator Cards.”

“Well, you had 4...But 2 will also get you back in...” He gave her 2 Locator Cards.

“But you’ll need them to get in the finals!”

“No, I don’t....”, he explained, “There were 8 in the bag, and I had 4...That makes 12: 8 for me, 2 for you and 2 for Jane, hers were taken too.”

Alice started crying again, but the tears were the result of happiness now. She hugged him too, wich gave him the a slightly different feeling he had had before. Saitu turned to Ryan.

“How are yours coming up?”

“I’ve got 6...So I’ll probably get my remaining 2 tomorrow!”

“Great! I hope you girls can gather 6 in a week.”

“Once I’ve built a Deck, I’ll try!” Alice told him.

“If you can get to the finals, so can I!” Jane replied fiercely.

“Yeah...Let’s go pick up those cards...”Ryan said. “My mom can probably bring us to the store.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=IV.Huge Revolution][spoiler=Chapter 10 : The Force of a Girl]

 

Saitu woke up early the next day; 10 a.m.. He had slept quite well that night. He was of the opinion that, if you slept well, the day couldn’t be ruined. He and the rest of the group had had the chance to go shopping for some booster packs, but Alice decided she would open them at home, so that she could get other cards she needed in the mall’s card yunkyard later that night. Saitu had gone home for dinner early, and the only cards he ha seen that night were the Tag Force cards on his PSP. The mall opened at 9 o’ clock, so the rest of the gang might’ve gotten there early. They really wanted to join Saitu in the finals. He called Ryan on his mobile phone. He said they were already there, and that there were less people than yesterday. And most importantly: Alice had gotten herself a new Deck. Saitu had a good breakfast and then left for the mall nice and easy; even tough he wasn’t planning on betting Locator Cards today, he had taken his Deck with him.

Ryan had been right; only a third of the amount of people from the day before was present. That was logical; each Duelist had only received 2 Locator Cards and must obtain 8. And all over the country Player Eliminators were active to shrink the number of finalists; less than a quarter of the Duelists who had entered could actually go to the Finals. Plus, only the first 128 Duelists who had gathered 8 Locator Cards were allowed to enter. When Saitu had reported he had aquired 8 Locator Cards, he was one of the first 10, so he woul receive a post packet filled with Booster Packs before the end of the week.

He didn’t need to look for his friends for long; Ryan came running towards him.

“I DID IT!” he yelled. “I WON LOCATOR CARD NUMBER 8!”

“Really? That’s good! Really amazing!”

“Yeah! The girls are also playing well. Especially Alice. That new Deck of hers gave her an energy boost! A quarter ago, she already had 6 Locator Cards! And she always bets 1! And Jane’s also having a good day. She just told me she has won her fifth!”

“I think we had better watch out in the Finals. Those 2 might squash us.”

“Guess you’re right. I’m going to the shop to repport my victory! There must be some room left...”

“There must be. I was number 9 to register.”

“Well then, no reason to worry then.”

Ryan left for the shop, leaving Saitu behind. He didn’t see any of the girls, so he decided

to watch a duel. There was a noticable duel going on nearby; a short, brown-haired boy was losing to someone cosplayed as the Dark Magician Girl. Saitu tought he had seen her before, and that she was very pretty.

 

Dark Magician Girl’s Turn

-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon Magician’s Valkyria (1600/1800)

-Attacks with her first Magician’s Valkyria (? 1700)

-Activates Magician’s Circle, Special Summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)

-Attacks with her second Magician’s Valkyria (? 100)

-Attacks with Dark Magician Girl (? 0)

-Dark Magician Girl wins the Duel (1800)

 

“Saitu! I hadn’t seen you!” She ran towards him. “Ow, wait a sec.” She wentback to her opponent, who geve her a Locator Card. Saitu was confused. Appereantly, he did know this girl. It was obly when she took of her hat that he recognised her.

“Alice! I didn’t notice it was you!”

“Yeah, I still had this suit an I noticed I had drawn some good Spellcaster-type monsters. I decided to make a Magician Deck. Sweet, isn’t it?”

“Well, what I just saw was good...” he now noticed her eyes; they were a light shade of blue. Now that he was paying attention to her face, he noticed how beautifull she was. He found himself staring at her, an changed the subject.

“Where’s Jane?”

The answer came running towards them. It was weird to see how twin sisters can look so different.

“I’ve just won 2 Locator Cards!” she happily announced. ”Now I’ve got seven.”

“Hey, so have I!”

“That’s great! Let’s get our last one as quick as possible.”

Saitu wasn’t paying attention. A boy with brown hair, wearing white pants and a red jacket seemed to be looking for an opponent. Could he be...

“Hey, that guy looks just like Jaden Yuki!” Alice told her sister.

“You’re totally right. But he can’t be. Jaden must be about 50 years old by now.” Jane noticed. The boy spotted their group an came walking towards them. Now that he came closer, Saitu noticed his face seeme to be an exact copy of Jaden’s. He had plenty of posters of Jaden, so he knew how he looked like.

“Anyone of you wanna bet 2 Locator Cards? I’ve got six now.”

Alice seemed to be happy he asked. “I do. What’s your name, by the way? Mine’s Alice”

“My name? It’s Sanzyudai Yuki.”

“Sanzyudai?” Saitu noticed...”Then you must be...”

“Yeah, I am. Jaden Yuki is my father. But let’s forget that. Get your game on, Alice!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 6 : HERO VS. MAIDEN]

Sanzyudai’s Turn

-Summons E-Hero Avian in Attack position (1000/1000)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Summons Magician’s Valkyria in Attack position (1600/1800)

-Attacks, but is stopped by Negate Attack

-Sets 2 cards

-End Phase

 

Sanzyudai’s Turn

-Switches E-Hero Avian to Defence position

-Sets a monster

-End Phase (4000)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Summons Magician’s Valkyria

-Attacks E-Hero Avian with Magician’s Valkyria

-Activates Magician’s Circle, Special Summons Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)

-Attacks the face-down E-Hero Clayman (800/2000) with Magician’s Valkyria (Alice 3600)

-End Phase (3600)

 

Sanzyudai’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-End Phase (4000)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Attacks the face-down E-Hero Burstinatrix (800/1200) with Dark Magician Girl

-End Phase

 

Sanzyudai’s Turn

-Actvates Miracle Fusion to Fusion Summon E-Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)

-Activates Polymerization to Fusion Summon E-Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)

-Discards a card to destroy Magician’s Valkyria

-Attacks Magician’s Valkyria with E-Hero Thunder Giant (Alice 3200)

-Attacks Dark Magician Girl with E-Hero Flame Wingman (Alice 1100)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Alice’s Turn

-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl

-Activates Sage’s Stone to Special Summon Dark Magician from the Deck (2500/2100)

-Activates Thousand Knives to destroy E-Hero Thunder Giant

-Summons Gemini Elf (1900/800)

-Activates Magic Formula and selects Dark Magician Girl (ATK 2000>2700)

-Attacks E-Hero Flame Wingman with Dark Magician (Sanzyudai 3600)

-Attacks directly with Dark Magician Girl (Sanzyudai 900)

-Attacks directly with Gemini Elf (Sanzyudai 0)

-Alice wins (1100)

 

 

“That’s Game!” Alice told him smiling.

“Yeah, guess you’re right.” Sanzyudai replied, also smiling, while standing up.

He handed her 2 Locator cards, of wich Alice gave 1 to Jane.

“Thanks!” Jane said. ”Now we can both go to the finals.”

“Guess you’re right. My dad already got in yesterday.”

“In that case, I’ll be looking forward to the finals.” Saitu replied happy.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 11 : Surprising Synchro's]

 

Saitu’s evening had been filled with phone calls; he had inherited Kaiba’s old landhouse, but somebody was hiring a big part of it. Fortunately, the person who hired it didn’t use the guest house, so the gang would easily spend the time they weren’t dueling there. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully-equiped kitchen with dining room and a living room. The man was even friendly enough to get that part cleaned, for it hadn’t been used in years. He booked train tickets for everyone and called Mokuba, who would visit them once they were in town. They were planning to leave Friday evening, so that they would arrive Saturday morning and thus have time to go shopping. He double-checked his to-do list and then he finally went to sleep.

The next day he and Ryan met at the mall. The girls weren’t there.

“Where are the girls?” Saitu asked.

Ryan had to think for a second. Then he hit himself on the head.

“I forgot! It’s their birthday today, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t know that! I’ll buy them a Collector’s Tin each. Hope they’re statisfied with that.”

They left for the card shop. There was a huge crowd standing in line, so they had to wait. Neither of them knew what it was about. When they were nearing the counter, Saitu noticed it.

New Tins had arrived! Saitu looked at the cards in front of the boxes. They were cards like Saitu had never seen before. Their borders were white. A sign next to them said:

 

[align=center]NEW! SYNCHRO MONSTERS!

CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN OUR BRAND NEW COLLECTOR TINS![/align]

 

“Hey Saitu,Ryan!” Sadie welcomed them when they were first in line.

“Hey Sadie. How much for one of those new tins?”

“They’re €22,99 each. Interested?”

“I’ll pass...” Ryan said. “Forgot my money...”

“I’ll have a couple of them. I’ll have 4: Stardust Dragon, Queen of Thorns, Tempest Magician and Goyo Guardian. Could you wrap up the ones with Queen of Thorns and Tempest Magician?”

Hoping the tins were worth their money, Saitu took the bag and thanked Sadie. Once they were outside, Saitu gave the Goyo Guardian-tin to Ryan.

“No, you keep it. I’ll have one tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow they’ll be gone. We’re lucky there were left.”

“Okay then... but I’ll pay you back 2 of them! Otherwise I wouldn’t have a present.”

“You bet you are!” Saitu replied laughing.

 

It was almost 12 o’clock when they rang the doorbell on wich “Solum” was written. A woman who was a bit shorter than them opened the door.”

“We’re here for Alice an Jane.” Saitu announced.

“Then you must be Saitu an Ryan? The girls were thinking you forgot! Come on in!”

The room in wich they were standing was big, sunny and full of plants.

“The girls are in their room. It’s up the stairs, the second door on the left. If you excuse me, I was just about to go work in the garden. You should definitely come see our garden later today...”

Saitu smiled; he had just discovered were Jane and Alice had their passion for plants from.

They went up the stairs and decided to knock the door first. They heard footsteps and the door opened.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 12 : De-deck-tion]

 

Alice was standing in front of them, wearing a jeans and a white, short-sleaved T-shirt.

“Hi! We began to think you forgot!”

“Yeah...your mom told us. But how coul we forget you two?” Ryan replied. Saitu almost started laughing. The two entered the room and saw Jane placing her cards in her Deck Box.

“There. My Deck is as good as I can make it.” she said, appeareantly pleased with herself.

Saitu and Ryan wished her a happy birthday. Ryan gave each of the girls three kisses on the cheecks, but Saitu found it a weird thing to do, so he didn’t. He gave each of the girls their present.

“Ryan paid half of it.” he said, after they thanked him. They unpacked the Tins, revealing the brand-new Synchro Monsters.

“Damn...”, Jane said, smiling, “New cards...Now I’ll have to adjust my Deck again.”

“Synchro? What are Synchro Monsters?” Alice asked Saitu.

“They’re a new Monster class, but I don’t know how to use them yet.”

“There’s a guide included in the Tin.” Ryan pointed out.

Everyone opened their tins, and started reading the guide.

“So they’re like something between Ritual and Fusion?” Alice asked.

“You could say they are...” Ryan replied. “An then the Tuner monster is like the Ritual Spell Card...”

“Let’s open our packs to see wether we’ve got a Tuner in ‘em...I don’t think I have one yet...” Saitu said.

They opened their packs and indeed, several Tuner monsters apeared.

“Look at this!” Jane showed her sister a card.

 

Psychic /Effect / Tuner

 

“Psychic Monsters...” Saitu said, wondering. “Just a new type, I guess...”

“They look a bit like machines...”Ryan said. “Don’t think it matters actually...”

Everyone had more than one Tuner, and everyone managed to fit them in their Decks. Synchro Summons were not that hard after all! Saitu didn’t change Seto’s Deck. Instead, he edited his old Dragon Deck a bit. Ryan got some great cards, like Krebons and Telekinetic Charging Cell, wich could negate all attacks that targetted him without paying the cost of 800 Life Points. Jane also had some good draws; there was a serious amount of Plant Support in the new Packs. She would be able to get her Dragon on the Field in no time. Alice discovered an old “Level” Series, wich were reprinted especially for the Tins. She also had some Spell Counter Support, wich she hadn’t actually used in her Magician Deck.

When Saitu was sleeving his renewed Deck, he suddenly realised. His life had taken a twist in the past month, and it would take another in the following week.

He informed the others of the arrangements he had made. They would meet at 4 o‘ clock at Saitu’s place. His mother would take them to the station.

“I’ve checked the site of Kaiba Corp.” Ryan said. “There will be 28 competitors from other countries, mostly country champions.”

“Sounds tough...” Alice said. “But we’ll manage.”

“I hope so...” Saitu replied.

“But anyway,” Ryan said, “care to join us to test our new Decks?

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

Your duels are good, but can you make the chapters a little longer? (I mean 2 and 3, basically. 1 was good length, but 2 and 3 were relatively short)

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=V.Domino City, Here we come!]

[spoiler=Chapter 13 : Pot of Gold]

The largest of the two hands of the clock was nearing it’s top position, while the other was hovering next to the “4”. Saitu came down the stairs, wearing an enormous bag in wich he had managed to stuff most of the supplies he’d be needing for his trip to Domino City. He had double-checked his Deck and had printed the Decklist he needed. Now, he just had to wait for his friends to arrive. The doorbel rang, and Saitu was not surprised to see his friends standing in front of him. Alice and Jane were, Ryan still had several meters to go due to 3 heavy backpacks he was dragging along. Appearently he had offered the girls to take theirs too.They all got into Saitu’s mother’s car an then they were off, all of them a bit nervous for what ha to come.

 

Half an hour later Saitu, Ryan, Alice an Jane had taken their seats in the train. The trip to Domino City would take untill the next day, so Saitu had booked them a sleeping compartiment for four persons. It wasn’t big, but there would be place enough for everyone. Ryan left for the food waggon to buy some coffee. Saitu and the girls squeezed their backpacks into the tiny cupboards that were available. When they had finally managed to do that, they waited for Ryan to return. The train left the station a few minutes later, and about ten minutes later the door of their compartiment opened.

“Sorry that it took so long, but there was some dude who wanted to Duel me. He kept nagging about his Deck being unbeaten and stuff.”

“And you declined?” Saitu asked excitedly. “Where is this guy?”

“In the food waggon. I’ll come with you, I wanna see you beat him.”

They left the coffee on the table and left for the waggon. It was quite difficult to manouvre through the train. When the gang arrived, Saitu Immediatly spotted the Duelist Ryan had talked about. His short blonde hair was shaped as if it came from Japanese anime series, and he wore yellow-ish clothing. there was a red thunderbolt on his T-shirt. He seemed to be very muscular.

“What’s up? Are you back for the Duel?”

“Nah, not feeling like it...” Ryan said unenthousiastically. “My mate can have the honour.” he made a gesture towards Saitu.

“Right...and you are?”

“Saitu...What’s yours?”

“You can call me Flash, but that’s not important. Let’s go!”

 

[spoiler= DUEL 7 : A SHOCKING GAME]

 

Flash’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200)

-Attacks the face-down Shining Angel (1400/800)

-Batteryman AA (0/0) is Special Summoned in Attack mode

-Flash activates Inferno Reckless Summon, Special Summoning 2 other Batterymen AA’s from his Deck (3000/3000)

-Activates Trade-In

-Activates Lightning Vortex

-End Phase(4000)

 

Flash’s Turn

-Summons Thunder King Rai-Oh (1900/800)

-Activates Spell Absorption

-Activates Luminous Spark (Thunder King Rai-Oh > 2400/400) (4500)

-Attacks Vorse Raider (Saitu 3500)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4500)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Discards Thunder Dragon (1600/1500) to search 2 other Thunder Dragons

-Activates Polymerization (Flash 5000) to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100 > 3300/1700)

-Flash activates Thunder of Ruler

-Sets a card

-End Phase (3500)

 

Flash’s Turn

-Activates Continuous Circuit (5500)

-Tribute Summons Zaborg the Thunder Monarch (2400/1000 > 2900/600) and Destroys Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon

-Attacks, but is stopped by Interdimensional Matter Transporter

-Activates Spell Economics (6000)

-Sets 2 Cards

-End Phase

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Cost Down (Flash 6500)

-Activates Soul Exchange (Flash 7000)

-Summons Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500 > 3500/2100)

-Attacks directly (Flash 3500)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (3500)

 

Flash’s Turn

-Activates Two-Man Cell Battle (4000)

-Tributes Spell Absorption, Spell Economics and Two-Man Cell Battle to Special Summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000 > 4500/3600)

-Summons Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800 > 2400/400)

-Attacks Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, Saitu activates Shrink, Flash activates Waboku

-Activates Light of Intervention

-End Phase (3500)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Sets 2 cards

-Switches Blue-Eyes White Dragon to Defence mode

-Sets Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in face-up Defence position

-End Phase (3500)

 

Flash’s Turn

-Summons Thunder King Rai-Oh (1900/800 > 2400/400)

-Saitu activate Shrink and Targets Vorse Raider (ATK:1900 > 950)

-Saitu activates Crush Card Virus

-Lightning Vortex

-End Phase (3500)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Dragon’s Mirror and Fusion Summons Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)

-Attacks directly (Flash 0)

-Saitu Wins (3500)

 

 

Flash had to do a serious effort to remain standing. The hologram of the Dragon faded. For a second, Flash looked as if he was going to be sick. He walked towards Saitu calmly, an then shook his hand.

“That was a shocking outcome...” he said weakly.

“Yeah! That Hamon gave me a hard time.”

They both smiled.

“Well, you had better be on your way to the Finals of the Battle City tournament.”

“Yes we are. Why do you hope so?”

Flash looked as if Saitu ha said something stupid.

“Otherwise that would be ridiculous for me...If the champion of Ireland would’ve been defeated by some random kid...”

Saitu’s mouth fell open.

“I defeated the Champ of Ireland?”

“Yeah, but if we ever meet during the finals, I’ll give you a harder time!”

“You already were quite hard to get past...”Saitu felt like he was getting red.

 

Several minutes later, the group decided to return back to their compartement, to drink their cold coffee. Saitu had a bit of a mixed feeling. Had Flash actually been trying to win? Was his Deck really that strong? He decided to stop thinking about it, and just enjoy the rest of the evening. The girls had taken Monopoly with them, and Saitu wasn’t about to lose that easily because of being somewhere else in his toughts...

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 14 : The first Domino Duel]

Saitu entered the compartiment were Ryan, Alice and Jane were still sleeping; balancing a plate with four hot coffees and croisants on it. He gently placed it on the not-too-stable table. He walked over to the beds and poked Ryan.

“Awch! Stop it, mum.”

‘You wish...now wake up and go do something else before you feel like hugging...”

He waked the girls more gentle and then they all sat down to have breakfast.

“We’ll arrive in about half an hour. I called a cab to pick us up at the station.”

“Thank God you did. Those rucksacks are heavy. You seem to have brought clothes for a month!”

“We must be prepared for everything!” Alice replied as if she had been insulted.

“Just kidding, I was...”

“I know...” she told him. “So was I!”

It didn’t take long for them to get prepared to leave the train. They drunk the last of their coffee and threw away the plastic cups. They were ready when the brakes of the train came in action, and they could already see Domino City, the Kaiba Corp. building as a pilar in the center of the mass of houses....

 

The cab was quite comfy, and took them to the landhouse immediatly. It didn’t seem to be a landhouse anymore; by the looks of it, it had become a museum dedicated to Duel Monsters. Saitu lead the group as they entered the building. Saitu noticed a marble counter behind which a man was seated.

“Mr. Jack Arrow?” Saitu asked.

“That’s me. You must be Saitu then?”

“I am. We came for the keys of the guesthouse.”

“Oh, I see. Hang on, they’re here somewhere.” He found the keys somewhere in his breast pocket. Saitu reached for it, but the man pulled back his hand.

“That would be boring, wouldn’t it?” he said with a wide smile on his face. “You’re Duelists, so how about a duel first?”

“I’ll take care of that!” Ryan said energetically, pulling his Deck box out of his pocket swiftly.

“Sounds good to me...”

They stood in the middle of the museum entrance hall.

“Now, let’s write history...Duel... on!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 8 : RE-WRITING HISTORY]

 

Jack’s Turn

-Special Summons Gilasaurus (1400/400)

-Summons Sabersaurus (1900/500)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Attacks the face-down Arcana Force 0-The Fool with Gilasaurus

-End Phase (4000)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Activates Spell Economics

-Activates Final Countdown (4000)

-End Phase (4000 FC 1)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Summons Super Conductor Tyranno (3300/1400)

-Activates Heavy Storm (Ryan chains Waboku)

-End Phase (4000 FC 2)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000 FC 3)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Activates Jurassic World (Super Conductor Tyranno ATK 3300 > 3600)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000 FC 4)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-End Phase (4000 FC 5)

 

Jack’s Turn

-End Phase: activates Volcanic Eruption (4000 FC 6)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000 FC 7)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Special Summons Gilasaurus (1400/400)

-Summon Super-Ancient Dinobeast (2700/1400)

-Attacks with Super-Ancient Dinobeast, but is Destroyed by Sakuretsu Armor

-End Phase (4000 FC 8)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets 2 cards

-Sets a monster

-End Phase (4000 FC 9)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Ryan Activates Pyro Clock of Destiny (FC 10)

-Summons Hydrogeddon (1600/1000)

-Attacks the face-down Mask of Darkness (900/400) with Hydrogeddon, Special Summoning a second Hydrogeddon (Ryan retrieves Pyro Clock of Destiny)

-Attacks the face-down Arcana Force 0-The Fool with Hydrogeddon

-End Phase (4000 FC 11)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a card

-Activates The Dark Door

-End Phase (4000 FC 12)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Summons Oxygeddon (1800/800)

-End Phase (4000 FC 13)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Activates Pyro Clock of Destiny (FC 14)

-End Phase (4000 FC 15)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Activates Bonding-H2O, Special Summoning Water Dragon (2800/2600)

-Activates Fissure

-Attacks, but Ryan activates Threatening Roar

-End Phase (4000 FC 16)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Sets a monster

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000 FC 17)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Attacks the face-down Marshmallon (3000)

-End Phase (4000 FC 18)

 

Ryan’s Turn

-Activates Swords of Revealing Light

-End Phase (4000 FC 19)

 

Jack’s Turn

-Activates Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Swords of Revealing Light

-Activates Smashing Ground

-Attacks Directly (Ryan 1200)

-End Phase (3000 FC 20)

-Ryan wins

 

 

The twentieth in a series of bright flames apeared, and clocks seemed to sound from a distant universe: the effect of Final Countdown had resolved. The flames faded, and Ryan folded his Duel Disk back in place.

“Nice match.”Saitu said.

“’t Was nothing...Dinosaurs rely on strength...”

“Yes, but it didn’t help me much this round!” Mr. Arrow announced. “Here are the keys. I’ll show you were the house is.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 15 : Old School]

The guesthouse was bigger than Saitu had expected. The living room was equiped with a plasma TV and fine leather sofa’s. The kitchen was so big and clean that even Ryan admitted he almost felt like cooking. They dropped their stuff in the living room, and decided to unpack later. Saitu was surprised when the doorbell rang, basicly because he hadn’t expected to find a doorbell in a guesthouse. He opened the door and saw a man of about sixty years old standing there. Saitu realised this must be Mokuba Kaiba, and thus he greeted him with a handshake and let him in.

“It’s been a while since I last came in here.” he said, looking around him. “Looks like Arrow had some money to burn. I’m not surprised, that museum of him attracts loads of tourists.

“Yeah, we might go there when we have a day of.” Saitu answered while leaing the man into the living room. He intoduced his friends and then he went to the kitchen to get them some tea. When he came back carrying a tray, it seemed like an entire card shop had exploed in the living room. About a hundred Decks were spread over the table. Mokuba was flickering Ryan’s Deck between his fingers.

“Looks good...I like alternate winning conditions. I take it that you still have some work on it before the tournament starts?”

“We’re going to the card shop tomorrow. I hope I can fit my Synchro Monster in.” he showed Mokuba his Goyo Guardian.

“Ah, Synchro monsters! What a great idea of that Katrina! She’s been in charge of Industrial Illusions since May, and she’s made the company grow even bigger in those few months.”

“Katrina? Do you mean Katrina Pegasus, granddaughter of Maximilion Pegasus?” Saitu asked, while pouring tea in a cup.

“I heard she’s also in the tournament. Bet you’ll see her one of these days, she’s quite talented as a Duelist. Heard she left her Toons to what they were, and that she designed a new archetype for herself to use at the tournament.”

“She won’t be defeated very easy, I asume?”

“Well, I think it’d be better if you don’t have to Duel her. But if you have to, give it your best and you’ll see what comes out of it.”

“Speaking of Dueling, have you brought a Deck with which you can defeat me?

“Defeating you won’t be easy, but I’ll use my favourite Deck. Suppose you use my brother’s now?”

“I do. It’s great, I haven’t lost with it yet.”

“You might lose this one. Let’s go!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 9 : THE ALMIGHTY BEAST-WARRIORS]

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Blade Knight (1600/1000)

-Sets a Card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Mokuba’s Turn

-Activates Synthesis Spell, Ritual Summoning Lycanthrope (2400/1800)

-Saitu activates Botomless Trap Hole

-Summons Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100)

-Attacks Blade Knight (Saitu 3600)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Trade-In

-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

-Mokuba activates Cloning

-Attacks Gene-Warped Warwolf with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Mokuba 3000)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (3600)

 

Mokuba’s Turn

-Summons Chiron the Mage

-Discards a card to destroy the face-down Sakuretsu Armor

-Attacks Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Clone Token

-Attacks directly with Chiron the Mage (Saitu 1800)

-End Phase (3000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)

-Activates Shrink and selects Chiron the Mage (ATK 1800 > 900)

-Attacks Chiron the Mage with X-Head Cannon (Mokuba 2100)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (1800)

 

Mokuba’s Turn

-Activates Stray Lambs

-Activates Double Summon

-Summons Mystical Knight of Jackal (2700/1200)

-Attacks, but is removed due to Interdimensional Matter Transporter

-Sets a card

-End Phase (2100)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Lord of D. (1200/1100)

-Activates The Flute of Summoning Dragon, Special Summoning Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) and Thunder Dragon (1600/1500)

-Mokuba activates Compulsory Evacuation Device, and selects X-Head Cannon

-Attacks with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Mokuba 1800)

-Attacks directly with Thunder Dragon (Mokuba 200)

-Attacks directly with Lord of D. (Mokuba 0)

-Saitu wins (2100)

 

 

When Lord of D. had casted his magical blast at Mokuba, he toppled backwards. He didn’t seem to be hurt, but Saitu was worried nevertheless.

“I’m all right, I’m all right. Just getting a bit too old for this.”

“If you say so. Good duel by the way.”

“A good duel indeed. Always good to see that old Dragon again."

There was a short silence, which was interupted by Mokuba packing his Decks.

“Time to go, I’ve got some work to do. If I can help you, just call me, OK? I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 10 o’ clock, so you won’t have to take a cab again.”

They thanked him for his proposal, and then let him out.

“Well, let’s go to the store right now.” Ryan proposed. “This Deck has to be finished by tomorrow morning.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=VI. The First Round]

[spoiler=Chapter 16. The War has begun]

Saitu, Ryan, Jane, Alice and Mokuba were all a bit stressed. Mokuba had arrived just in time, so they might come too late, Saitu tought. When he told Mokuba this, he had to laugh.

“Us, too late? We can’t be late!”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it simple? I have to officially start the first round of the Finals. Didn’t forget I’m hosting this thing, do you?”

Saitu relaxed a bit. They wouldn’t be late. They couldn’t be late.

The card drove over a bump in the road. Saitu’s Deck box fell open, and his Deck spread over the floor of the car. With the help of Ryan, he managed to find all 40 of them back. He wanted to put the Deck back in it’s box, when he noticed something. The box had a double bottom, and in it were some cards and a hand-written note.

 

Need to place these 2 in, but can’t decide what to throw out.

 

He recognized the two cards. He decided to throw Blade Knight and Lord of D. out. He hoped that this switch wouldn’t affect today’s Duels.

Several hasty minutes later, they arrived. Saitu wanted to enter through the normal entrance, but Mokuba let them enter through the VIP entrance. A computer checked their qualification and entered the in the tournament. they had to split up when entering the vast tournament hall. Mokuba had to take care of some other bussiness. The others decided to stay together. In the front of the hall, there was a small stage in front of a huge white wall. The crowd was so big, Saitu could hardly believe there were only 128 people. Everyone was packed up in the front of the hall, because the tournament would almost begin. There was a lot of talking and laughter; everyone was ready for the first round to start.

A minute or two later, evryone went silent, bease Mokuba had appeared on the stage. He was holding a microphone and seemed to be ready to make some announcements.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome at the anniversary edition of the Battle City tournament, hosted by Kaiba Korporation. The first round will consist of four Duels against four different Duelists. Only those who win at least three of them may advance to round 2. Now, without further ado; the pairings!”

On the white screen, 64 pairings were projected by an overhead projector Saitu hadn’t noticed at first. He saw his name next to number 35, wished the others good luck and left for his Duel Field. He take a short look at his opponent’s name, Misty Riguez. Seemed familiar somehow.

He didn’t have to wait for his opponent, for she was already there.

“Hi. You’re Saitu?”

“That’s me, then you must be Misty?”

“Yep. Let’s go then.”

“I’m with you. Go!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 10 : DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT]

 

Misty’s Turn

-Activates Reinforcements of the Army

-Summons Marauding Captain (1200/400)

-Special Summons Command Knight (1200/1900) (ATK 1200>1600)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Reinforcements

-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)

-Attacks Marauding Captain with X-Head Cannon (Misty 3800)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (3800)

 

Misty’s Turn

-Summons Command Knight (1200/1900) (ATK 1200>2000)

-Attacks X-Head Cannon (Saitu 3800)

-Attacks Directly (Saitu 1800)

-End Phase (3800)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Z-Metal Tank (1300/1500)

-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon X-Head Cannon

-Special Summons XZ-Tank Cannon (2400/2100)

-Activates Dust Tornado

-Attacks with XZ-Tank Cannon (Misty 3500) (ATK 2000>1600)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (1800)

 

Misty’s Turn

-Activates The Warrior Returning Alive

-Summons Marauding Captain

-Special Summons Comrade Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) (ATK CSoL 500>1300 ATK MC 1200>2000 ATK CK 1600>2000)

-Synchro Summons Goyo Guardian by Tuning Comrade Swordsman of Landstar with Marauding Captain (2800/2000) (ATK 2800>3200)

-Attacks with Goyo Guardian, but is removed by Interdimensional Matter Transporter

-Sets a card

-End Phase (3500)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Brain Control (1000) and selects Goyo Guardian (ATK 3200>2800)

-Discards a card to destroy face-down Trap Card

-Attacks Command Knight with XZ-Tank Cannon (Misty 2700)

-Attacks directly with Goyo Guardian (Misty 0)

-Saitu wins

 

 

The Duelists were motionless for some seconds...Saitu was thinking, but could not comprehend the situation. He had won, making someone else lose. Was she mad at him? He had just done his best; he didn’t want to harm her.

“Hey, you all right?”

She asked him as if she had defeated him.

“Huh? What?”

Saitu noticed that she was smiling at him as if he was being silly.

“Don’t make a deal out of it. I knew I could lose and it happened. Just shouldn’t do it twice if I want to stay in.”

“If you say so...”he hesitated. “Shouldn’t we go to the judge? To tell him the outcome?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They walked over to the Judge’s Table together, wher they found Ryan, who couldn’t seem to be able to stop laughing.”

“Lightsworns! That girl just Milled herself down! We were done in less than 10 minutes! What about you?”

“I won...Warrior Toolbox.”

“Yeah, I should have brought another Deck, but I wanted to test my Goyo.”

“You have a Goyo too?” Ryan asked.

“I do! He’s getting popular I see...”

Alice and Jane arrived two minutes after that. Alice had won very nipt, but Jane hadn’t. Ryan tried to console her, which helped a little.

“Had to do it against Crystal Beasts.” she said. “I was doing fine and then came Abundance...”

“Don’t feel bad about it. You’re still in.” Misty told her. About everyone seemed to be coming to the Judges about now, so the group went to the back of the hall. A few minutes later, the pairings for round 2 appeared on the wall...

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 17 : Heavy Metal]

“Dueling Field 16...Coranos Crowler...Seems familiar...”

Saitu arrived at the Dueling field where a red “16” was marked. His opponent, Coranos, was just arriving at the other side of the field. He seemed to be of the same age as Saitu. With a weird gesture, he made his Duel Disk defold. It definitely was the biggest Saitu had ever seen; it almost reached the ground.

“Guess we don’t have much to say?” he announced.

“Err...if you say so. Let’s just go then.”

“Indeed. Duel!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 11 : HEAVY METAL]

 

Coranos’ Turn

-Activates Ancient Gear Castle (© 0)

-Normal Summons Ancient Gear Knight (1800/500) (ATK 1800>2100) (© 1)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200) (© 2)

-Activates Thunder Dragon

-Activates Polymerization, Fusion Summons Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) (© 3)

-Activates Shrink, targetting Ancient Gear Knight (ATK 2100 > 1200)

-Attacks Ancient Gear Knight with Vorse Raider, Coranos activates Magical Hats, targetting 2 Geartown cards, Saitu guesses right and Attacks Ancient Gear Knight

-Attacks Geartown with Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, Coranos targets Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (3000/2000) (ATK 3000 > 3300)

-Geartown is destroyed, Coranos targets Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (3000/2000) (ATK 3000 > 3300)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Coranos’ Turn

-Attacks Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon with Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (Saitu 3500)

-Attacks Vorse Raider with Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (Saitu 2100)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Trade-In

-Activates Lightning Vortex

-Summons Vampire Lady (1550/1550) (© 4)

-Attacks directly with Vampire Lady (Coranos 2450) and declares Trap

-Sets a card

-End Phase (2100)

 

Coranos’ Turn

-Tributes Ancient Gear Castle to Summon Ancient Gear Golem (3000/3000)

-Summons Ancient Gear (100/800)

-Activates Machine Duplication, Special Summoning 2 Ancient Gears from his Deck

-Activates Polymerization to Fusion Summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (4400/3400)

-Saitu activates Interdimensional Matter Transporter to Remove from play Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem

-End Phase (2450)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Soul Exchange, targetting Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem

-Tributes Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem for Vampire Lord (2000/1500)

-End Phase (2100)

 

Coranos’ Turn

-Tributes Ancient Gear to Summon Ancient Gear Beast (2000/2000)

-Activates Ancient Gear Tank, and equips it to Ancient Gear Beast (ATK 2000 > 2600)

-Attacks Vampire Lady with Ancient Gear Beast (Saitu 1050)

-Ancient Gear Tank’s affect activates (Saitu 450)

-End Phase (2450)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Monster Reborn, Special Summoning Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

-Attacks Ancient Gear Beast with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Coranos 2050)

-Attacks Directly with Vampire Lord (Coranos 50) and declares Spell

-End Phase (450)

 

Coranos’ Turn

-Sets a monster

-End Phase (50)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)

-Attacks Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) with X-Head Cannon (Saitu 50)

-Attacks Gear Golem the Moving Fortress with Blue-Eyes White Dragon

-Attacks directly with Vampire Lord (Coranos 0)

-Saitu wins

 

 

Saitu sighed and wiped of the sweat drops on his forehead.

“That was close.”

“I agree.” Coranos replied with his dry voice. “Your dueling skills are fantastic. They could even match my grandfather’s...”

“So your grandfather is Dr. Vellian Crowler? Is he here?”

“Not today, but he might come and visit me one of these days...If I’m still in the tournament supposedly.”

“You’ll do fine...All the Duelists here seem to be first-rate, and so are you.”

“Thanks. And congratulations on your victory.”

“You’re welcome. Bye then!”

He was quite relieved and excited when he was walking towards the Judge’s table to report his victory. One more and he would go to the next round. But would he win? Coranos was an extremely strong opponent. His next one would be even stronger...

Several meters in the air, close by the Judge’s table, Saitu saw several orange fires. He knew what they meant, and tried to count them. Number 19 appeared, and some seconds after that, number twenty, followed by a loud “Yahoo!”. When Saitu saw Ryan, he was chatting with his opponent, who was looking at Ryan’s Disk with amazement. Saitu now noticed he had actually never seen one of those before. Where would he have gotten it from?

“Did you win too?” Ryan voice seemed a bit distant. Saitu teared himself away from his toughts.

“Yup, but with only 50 points left.”

“Awch, almost burned yourself.”

“Yup, but it’s the winning that matters.”

They walked to the Judge’s table together. While the head Judge occupied himself with the laptop, Saitu asked him where Mokuba was.

“In the back, but you can’t come there.”

“He’s my granduncle.”

“Ow...in that case, you can go. But just you.”

“It’s all right.” Ryan said before Saitu could reply. “Just don’t be late for the next round.”

Saitu went through a corridor, and then saw Mokuba’s name on one of the doors. He heard something that seemed to be an argument. It wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, but he had heard his name.

“...can’t force him to if he doesn’t want to!”

“How do you know he doesn’t?” a woman’s voice asked.”You obviously haven’t told him anything about it, do you?”

A short silence followed.

“We must know whether he indeedly is strong enough, Katrina. That’s the reason of this tournament.”

“But he is! Ever since he has inherited his granfather’s Deck, he has only lost to a friend of his, who is also here...If he is also powerfull enough, we can invite him too...”

“If he is one of the best, we indeedly can. But we’ll just have to wait.”

“But why? I recognise strong Duelists when I see them, and that boy has got the power we need.”

Mokuba seemed to be thinking for a while.

“Then test him. You are the strongest Duelist present here. If he can defeat you, we’ll talk about it this evening.”

“Test him?” Katrina asked. “With my tournament Deck? That would be unfair.”

“Not if he posesses the power he claims to have.”

“Fine, I’ll crush him. Let’s hope he at least tries to go for it.”

Saitu heard high heels nearing the door, and he stepped away just in time for the door to open. Then, he saw Katrina Pegasus, dressed in a long red dress and high heels walking through the corridor, to the tournament hall. After he had seen the last of her long blonde hair dissappear behind the corner, he decided to get back too. He and Mokuba would talk tonight. If he overcame his test.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 18 : Three Turn Overkill]

Saitu, Ryan, Alice and Jane were in the tournament hall’s restaurant. They were waiting for the meals they had ordered. Ryan had taken his laptop from his backpack and was busy rattling the keyboard.

“Can’t find anything suspicious about her...” he muttered. “The entire biography...links to Industrial Illusion’s website...you know, the usual crap, but nothing dark about her.”

“Well, better hope she hasn’t got a secret organisation...” Saitu replied. “But we’ll find out if we get through to the next round.” Everyone had won in the second round, so chances were still open for everyone.

An hour later, after having had a good meal, the crowd began to gather in front of the small stage. There was a lot of rumour, for a quarter of the Duelists had already been disqualified from the tournament- the elimination system was harsh. Mokuba eventually appeared on the stage. Saitu noticed he obviously was a bit annoyed by something.

“Duelists, the second part of the first round will begin. The computer is busy creating the pairings. You may begin as soon as the pairings appear on the wall behind me.”

They did several seconds later. Saitu looked for his own name, but couldn’t find it right away.

“Ow, damn...” he heard Ryan say.

“Don’t tell me we’re up against each other!”

“No, it’s worse...Look!” he pointed at the pairings next to number 11.

 

11 = Saitu Kaiba VS. Katrina Pegasus

 

“You’re right. This really can’t be good.”

“Good luck. Guess you’ll need it.”

“Thanks for the support.”

“Sorry. didn’t mean to say it that way. Hey, by the looks of this fella’s name, the national champion of France will be slaughtered par moi!”

“Then you’ll need luck too. See you later.”

They split up. Toughts were flashing through Saitu’s mind. Random strings of words of the last month resonated in his ears.

“...he also left you this...”

“I bet I’ll smash anyone with these!”

“...good to see that old Dragon...”

Faith was in his Deck...

“...designed a new archetype for herself...”

“Test him? With my Tournament Deck? That would be unfair...”

His fear was in his opponent...

“...has got the power we need!”

“...is undefeated!”

So was his courage.

 

He was there. He had reached Field eleven. Where was she? She’d better be here in time...Otherwise Saitu would grab his chance for an automatic vicory if she was. He was considering going to the judges a minute later, when she arrived.

“Sorry, had some bussiness to do.” she smiled at him, and Saitu knew she wasn’t up to anything dark. Maybe she wasn’t that bad after all.

“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go then.”

“Hmm...If you’re ready...Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck. That would be you. Game Time!”

 

[spoiler= DUEL 12 : A COLLOSAL DUEL]

 

Katrina’s Turn

-Summons Gladiator Beast Andal (1900/1500)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200)

-Sets a Card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Katrina’s Turn

-Special Summons Test Tiger (600/300)

-Activates Test Tiger’s Effect, Tags Gladiator Beast Andal for Gladiator Beast Bestiari (1500/800) and destroys Saitu’s face-down card.

-Activates Gladiator Proving Ground

-Summons Gladiator Beast Equeste (1800/1200)

-Special Summons Gladiator Beast Gyzarius (2400/1500) by Tagging Gladiator Beast Bestiari and Gladiator Beast Equeste, destroying Vorse Raider

-Activates Monster Reborn, Special Summoning Gladiator Beast Andal

-Attacks directly with Gladiator Beast Gyzarius (Saitu 1600)

-Attacks directly with Gladiator Beast Andal (Saitu 0)

-Katrina wins

 

The life points meter dropped down to zero. Saitu was defeated. He fell down on his knees, breathing slightly heavier and faster than the usual. He wanted to think, but he couldn’t. Never had he been defeated this fast. This must’ve been a dream; a dream that struck him hard and fast.

“Are you all right?”

Katrina sounded as if she stood several meters away from him, tough Saitu felt her arm on his shoulder.

“Your Deck...Those cards...Never seen them before...They’re powerfull...”

“I know. They were created by me, for a special reason.”

“And that reason is...?” He found the power to raise his head, and look her in the eye. She looked around her, bit her lip for a second, and then whispered:

“Look...I can’t tell you now. If you want to, I can tell you this evening.”

Saitu’s mind seemed to clear up for a second. Could he trust her?

“Only if you also tell me why I had to be tested.”

“Tested? Why would I want you to be tested?”

“I’m sorry for having been impolite...I heard your argument with Mr. Kaiba.”

She rolled her eyes, and then she smiled again.

“I’ll tell you anything you need to know. Come to the Pandemonium hotel at eight o’clock tonight. Ask for me at the reception.”

Saitu nodded. Katrina stood up and walked several meters, then she stopped.

“That was my best starting hand in days...you were just unlucky I guess...”

At this, Saitu stood up. He looked at his Deck. The Deck that hadn’t failed him, and never would.

“You won’t get off that easy next time, Katrina!” He heard her laugh, and had to laugh himself. The tournament had just begun.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 19 : Down Under]

“So you lost 1. Big deal! How about some positive thinking? Win this one and you can go through!” Ryan was trying to give Saitu some confidence.

“Yes, but what if he comes up against me or Jane?” Alice replied. All three of us ‘ve got 2 wins and a loss. If it happens, the one must chuck the other out of the tournament!”

“Let’s not think about that happening! Have I told you I slayed the Champion of France?”

“Several times, yes.” Saitu told him. “We all know how you removed your Necro Gardna in the twentieth turn...”

“Anyways,” Ryan said as if he hadn’t heard Saitu ”tonight you’ll find out what all this fuss is about.”

“Yup. But let’s first try to get to the next round.”

“Look! The pairings are there!” Jane pointed towards the wall.

Saitu was on Dueling field 24. His duel would be against Thomas O’Neggan.

“Isn’t he the continental Champion of Oceania?” Saitu felt his confidence disappear.

“He is. But, on the other side, Oceania is as big as my backyard!”

“I tought you lived in an flat?”

Ryan blinked, and Saitu got the joke. He was curious which Deck Type he had to face now. He defolded his Duel Disk. Thomas was already present.

“This is it.” he said with a strong Australian accent when Saitu had placed himself in position.

“Yup. Sorry I have to chuck you out.”

“Let’s see ‘bout that!” he told him, laughing. “Anyways, it’s go time!”

 

[spoiler=DUEL 13 : DOWN UNDER]

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Activates A Legendary Ocean

-Summons Mother Grizzly (1400/1000) (ATK 1400 > 1600)

-Sets 2 cards

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Thomas activates Gravity Bind and Tornado Wall

-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Summons Giga Gagagigo (2450/1500) (ATK 2450 > 2650)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Summons The Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600) (ATK 1850 > 2050)

-End Phase

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Dust Tornado to destroy Gravity Bind

-Activates Cost Down

-Tributes X-Head Cannon to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

-Attacks Giga Gagagigo with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Thomas 4000)

-Attacks Mother Grizzly with Vorse Raider, Thomas targets Yomi Ship (800/1400)

-Sets a card

-End Phase (4000)

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Attacks Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Yomi Ship, is destroyed by Sakuretsu Armor (Thomas 4000)

-Attacks Vorse Raider with The Legendary Fisherman (Saitu 3850)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-End Phase (3850)

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Tributes The Legendary Fisherman to summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus (2600/1500) (ATK 2600 > 2800)

-Activates Levia-Dragon Daedalus’s effect, tributing A Legendary Ocean to destroy all other cards on the field

-Attacks directly (Saitu 1250)

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Sets a Monster

-Sets 2 cards

-End Phase (1250)

 

Thomas’s Turn

-Summons Hydrogeddon (1600/1000), is removed by Bottomless Trap Hole

- Attacks Y-Dragon Head with Levia-Dragon – Daedalus

-End Phase (4000)

 

Saitu’s Turn

-Activates Soul Release, and targets X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Vorse Raider

-Activates Return from the Different Dimension (Saitu 625) to Special Summon all the removed from play monsters

-Special Summons XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)

-Discards a card to destroy Levia-Dragon – Daedalus

-Attacks directly with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Thomas 1000)

-Attacks directly with XYZ Dragon Cannon (Thomas 0)

-Saitu wins

 

 

Saitu walked towards Thomas, and briefly congratulated him.

“Thanks. But your moves were way cooler than mine.”

“Guess you’re right. Otherwise I would’ve lost.”

Saitu went towards the Judge’s Table, expecting to find Ryan there, bragging about his victory. Strangely enough, he just sat on a bench, looking as if he could be sick anytime. Alice was trying to console him.

“What happened?” Saitu asked, seating himself next to them.

“Mister Big Mouth said Spellcasters wouldn’t pose a threat.”

“Hell did I know you adjusted your Deck? It really works, it does...”

Saitu laughed out loud. “How did Jane do?”

“She should be back in a mo’.” Alice told him. “Ah! There she is!” Jane arrived at the Table, looking extremely happy.

“I won! Who could’ve tought I’d actually get through?”

“What Deck Type?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, plain Lightsworns. Did get Judgement Dragon against me. The trick is to destroy him during your turn.”

“So we’re all through then?” Saitu asked, knowing the answer.

“Last time I counted, we were.” Ryan said. “So we’ll be facing each other the next round I guess?”

“Let’s hope for you we won’t.” Alice told him. “I won’t go that easy on you next time.”

Saitu was relieved. Everybody had made the next round, and he was going to find out the secrets hidden for him. But still, untill all questions were answered, the future wasn’t completely sure...

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

good. I can't wait to see how the next duel will turn out. Make it a close one too

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler= VII. The Society of Shade]
[spoiler=Chapter 20 : The Legend of the Gladiators]
Katrina stepped out of her limo, a large laptop bag hanging from one shoulder, her purce from the other. She crossed the busy street, and entered through the doors of the Pandemonium Hotel. She threw a quick look at the heavily decorated clock. Eight o’ clock was only two minutes away. Her usual elevator brought her to the penthouse in just a minute. The suite was of a vast proportion, a third of it was taken up by a beaytyfull lounge. On the table surrounded by sofas with a redish leather cover, there was a wine cooler with a bottle of excellent white wine, and two glasses. She hung the bag away, and placed the laptop next to the wine. She switched it on and then she waited. when her watch told her it was three past eight, she heard the lift arriving. Katrina saw the doors open and in the elevator was Saitu.
She led him to the sofa. She uncorked the wine, and while she was doing so, she said:
“I suppose you are the one with the questions. You can ask me anything you want, and if answering you is something I can do, I will.” She handed him one of the well-filled glasses.
Saitu had to think for several seconds, in which he sipped the wine, and looked around, admiring the room.
“Okay...The first question is about your Deck.” Katrina’s mysterious smile appeared onto her face once more. She tapped several computer buttons, and a slideshow started. It showed pictures of Roman colloseums, and the Gladiators in it.
“Several centuries ago, slaves were forced to fight for their lives as Gladiators...” She told him. Her voice sounded more deep, more mysterious than it usually did.
“Only the toughest managed to survive. The strongest slaves eventually got free, if they eventually had some serious injuries due to which they had to... retire. The Gladiator Beast monsters resemble them in the way that they are based on the survival of the fittest. Their strength is unmatched untill now... Eventually they shall be defeated, as were the strongest of the Roman gladiators...”
“You said they were made for a special reason. Which reason is that?”
“I’ll come back to that later.” she announced. “Any other questions?”
“Yeah.” Saitu didn’t know why she had told him about the Gladiators, but he had the feeling she would tell him. “What was the argument about?”
“It’ll take some time to explain, so please be patient...As you know, in Ancient Egypt, seven Millenium items were made. Then, years later, the Egyptian Empire collapsed. It is said that then, the millenium Eye got into possesion of Julius Ceasar.”
Saitu nodded. He still was puzzled. Millenium Items?
“Julius understood there was a certain force in them, which would only unleash itself when all of them were in possesion of one man. Knowing he would never achieve collecting them all, he had power stored in six Orbs, each of them represtenting a power of their own. When together, they could mean the end of the world when in the wrong hands.”
“Don’t tell me someone is actually trying to?” Saitu interrupted.
She looked him straight in the eye. Her look could only mean one thing; there was.
“His name is Gandrios. He is in the lead of a small group of elite Duelists, the Society of Shade. I am in the lead of an even smaller group, who is gathering the orbs themselves.”
A long silence fell. Eventually it was broken by the most logical question there was to ask for Saitu.
“How many have you got?”
“I am in possesion of two of them.” She took a wooden box from her purce, and opened it, revealing a green and a red orb. She carefully took the green one out of it, and gave it to Saitu.
“The orb of Courage. Now it is yours. You are now it’s protector.
Saitu sat there, motionless. The big, green marble lay in his open hands.
“The red one stands for power. The yellow one means patience. The blue one is intelligence. The white orb is Life, whereas the black one is Death.”
“Our Duel was a test. I failed it.”
“You did not lack power. you lacked courage.”
She opened another file on the computer, containing two fotos of a Duel Disk.
“If you had activates your Trade-In Spell card by discarding Blue-Eyes White Dragon from your hand, your two next cards would have been Thunder Dragon and monster Reborn.” she said, while pointing towards the card she mentioned. “You had a Polymerization card in your hand. You would’ve won if you would’ve done it like that.”
“Saitu was amazed. The cards on the picture were the same as those he had had in his hand during their Duel.”
“The test was wether you needed power or courage. I think I made my opinion clear. As for now, our roads will split.”
Saitu understood. He drained his wine, thanked Katrina for the information, and left the room after having put the Green orb safely in one of his pockets.. As soon as he had left, Katrina took her mobile phone.
“He has been told everything he needed to know, Mr. Kaiba.”
“Good. I trust him. he’ll do just fine. Just believe...”
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 21 : Opening up the Lockdown]
“So, basically, all we have to do is getting some orbs together before that nutter does? Sounds like the concept of a boring fanfic to me...”
“I found it weird at first too. But I don’t think she’d be lying about something that serious.”
Saitu and Ryan were in the living room of the guesthouse. The coffee pot was half empty, and Saitu went for a re-fill. He hadn’t slept very well that night. Toughts of the green orb of which he was now the guardian had taken serious bites from his otherwise so good sleep. The large grandfather clock announced it was nine o’clock. Mokuba would arrive at ten to pick them up for the next round, he had let them know via e-mail. Saitu had decided he would ask him about the argument he had overheard, and the orbs.
Did he really possess the potental Katrina claimed he had? Would he stand a chance against the Society of Shade? Was that the reason this tournament was organised?
It was half nine when Jane and Alice entered the living room, fully dressed and backpacks packed. The doorbell went, way too early. Saitu went to open it, not surprised Mokuba was there.
“I tought you said ten o’clock?”
“Yes, but due to circumstances, the second round will take place in the other side of the town. The hall from yesterday is way too big for only 32 Duelists.”
“’Kay then. Guys, we’re leaving!”
During the trip, Saitu had plenty of time to talk. A quarter after they had left, Saitu led the conversation to the subject he wanted.
“I accidentally overheard the discussion you had yesterday afternoon.”
“I tought so...I and Katrina had come to the conclusion that you would be told everything, only if you had won.”
“But I didn’t!” he said, a bit confused. “She said that I could and would have won!”
“Yes, for some reason she had your Duel filmed. With different shots, she proved that you indeedly could’ve used some determination, something like... courage, perhaps?”
Saitu remained silent a couple of seconds before asking the next question. “So you think I earned to be the protector of the Green Orb?”
“We didn’t have a choice. Postphoning the change of the orb’s owner could’ve been dangerous.”
“Why?”
Mokuba tought for several seconds. When he spoke, he chose his words carefully.
“Let’s just say being in possession of more than one and less than all Orbs could lead to... destruction of the owner’s personality. The Orbs posses mystical powers which nor I, not Katrina could comprehend...But please stop discussing the Orbs. You own it now and must protect it.”
He remained silent and focused on the road. Saitu understood.

At 10:30, they arrived at the slightly smaller tournament hall. After entering, they had to split up again. After a quick “Good luck!”, Mokuba dissapeared into a hallway, while Saitu, Ryan, Alice and Jane took another. The tournament hall had 16 Dueling fields, just enough for everyone to Duel. Again, there was a small stage, and a white wall for the pairings. After some minutes, Mokuba entered the hall, heading for the stage. Everyone became quiet as he started speaking.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations for having gotten this far. Know that you are the elite, and if you’re one of the sixteen people who can’t come back tomorrow, keep your head up. You are all terrific duelists.”
A short silence, and then he continued.
There will be two elimination rounds. Win both, and you’re in. Lose both, and you’re out. Those who have won one, will have a third round. If you can get your second win there, you can go to the next round, along with the other winning eight. Good luck to everyone, here are the pairings!”
The pairings were projected on the wall.
“Brock Smith.” Saitu read. “You know him?”
Ryan had to think for a couple of seconds, and then remembered.
“He’s an American elite duelist who’s strategy is Lockdown. He achieves that with Ojama monsters. He’s often nicknamed Brock Ojama.”
Saitu tought that was a cool nickname. But it wouldn’t help him to win. He proceeded to Dueling field 12, where he met Brock. Brock was an inch bigger than Saitu, and he seemed to be about 2 years older than him. They shook hands and shuffled Decks, without saying anything.
“Let’s go then!” Brock announced with a strong, deep voice. “To victory!”

[spoiler=DUEL 14. OPENING UP THE LOCKDOWN]

Brock’s Turn
-Activates Enchanting Fitting Room, Special Summoning Ojama Yellow (0/1000) and Ojama Green (0/1000) [O O X X O]
-Sets a Monster
-Sets a card
-End Phase (4000 / [O X X X O] Hand 3)
Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200) [O O X O O]
-Attacks Ojama Yellow with Vorse Raider
-Sets a card
-End Phase (4000 / [O O X O O] )

Brock’s Turn
-Activates Spirit Barrier
-Summons Ojama Blue (0/1000) [O X X X O]
-Attacks Vorse Raider with Ojama Blue (Brock 4000) [O X X O O]
-Adds Ojama Black and Ojama Yellow to his hand due to Ojama Blue’s effect
-Activates Polymerization to Special Summon Ojama King (0/3000) [O X X O O]
-Ojama King’s Effect blocks 3 of Saitu’s Monster Card Zones [B B X O B]
-End Phase (4000 / [O X X O O] Hand 3)

Saitu’s Turn
-Discards Thunder Dragon from his hand to add 2 Thunder Dragons to his hand
-Activates Polymerization to Special Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) [B B X X B]
-Attacks the face-down Ojama Black with Vorse Raider [Brock O O X O O]
-End Phase (4000 [B B X X B] )

Brock’s Turn
-Activates De-Fusion [O X X X O]
-Activates Ojama Delta Hurricane !!
-Sets a card
-End Phase (4000 [O X X X O] Hand 2)

Saitu’s Turn
-Brock activates Ojama Trio [O T T T O]
-Summons Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) [X T T T O]
-Attacks Ojama Yellow with Y-Dragon Head [Brock O O X X O]
-End Phase (4000 [X T T T O])

Brock’s Turn
-Activates Ojama Country
-Summons Snipe Hunter (1500/600 > 600/1500) [O X X X O]
-Discards Ojamagic for Snipe Hunter’s effect, adding Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green and Ojama Black to his hand
-Destroys Y-Dragon Head
-Attacks with Snipe Hunter (Saitu 3400)
-End Phase (4000 [O X X X O] Hand 3)

Saitu’s Turn
-Activates Trade-In
-Activate Heavy Storm
-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) [X T T T O]
-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) [X T T T X]
-Attacks Snipe Hunter with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Brock 2500)
-Attacks Ojama Green with X-Head Cannon (Brock 2500 [O O X O O])
-Sets a card
-End Phase (34000 [X T T T X]

Brock’s Turn
-Sets a Monster
-Sets a Card
-End Phase (2500 [O X X O O] Hand 2)

Saitu’s Turn
-Attacks Ojama Red with Blue-Eyes White Dragon [Brock O X O O O]
-Attacks Ojama Yellow with X-Head Cannon [Brock O O O O O]
-End Phase (3400 [X T T T X])

Brock’s Turn
-Activates Lightning Vortex (Saitu 2500 [O O O O O])
-Sets a Monster
-End Phase (2500 [O O X O O] Hand 0)

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) [O O X O O]
-Attacks Ojama Green with Z-Metal Tank, Brock Activates Defence Draw [Brock O O O O O]
-Sets a Card
-End Phase (2500 [O O X O O]

Brock’s Turn
-Activates Monster Reborn
-Special Summons Ojama King
-End Phase (2500 [O O X O O] Hand 1)

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Vampire Lady (1550/1550)
-Activates Interdimentional Matter Transporter
-Attacks directly with Z-Metal Tank (Brock 1000)
-Attacks directly with Vampire Lady (Brock 0)
-Saitu Wins (duh)[/spoiler]

“One down, one to go.” Saitu tought when shaking hands with Brock.
“Good game. Hope you win the next round too.”
“So do I.” Saitu replied. “Well, I’ll go to the Judge.”
He put his Metal Tank and his Vampire Lady, along with the rest of his hand back in the Deck Slot and shut his Duel Disk. He didn’t know what to think now. If his friends had won, the chances of facing them next would be bigger than in th last round. If he had to face Ryan or one of the girls, would he still be prepared to fight? Still having pleasure when winning? If he had to, he hoped they’d understand.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 22 : The disturbance of Yin and Yan]
The group consisting of our four Duelists was having a break. Saitu was quite happy. Everyone had won the first Duel, meaning that the chances of any of them being chucked out of the tournament were getting smaller.However, the chances of them having to play against each other was getting bigger and bigger. The others must’ve also realised this, Saitu noticed, for there was a lot of tension in the air. They were releaved when the bell anouncing the end of the fifteen-minute break rang, and when they could go to see the pairing of the second duel.
Half of the crowd was even more nervous than Saitu was. He was hoping this Duel would go fast. He couldn’t stand the tension, the nervosity...
The white screen released it’s secrets. The pairings on this screen would mean a lot for the rest of the tournament. Saitu found his name after several seconds.

[b]5. Nadine Hucy – Katrina Pegasus
6. Saitu Kaiba - Lao Tse
7. Jane Solum – Alice Solum[/b]

His eyes flashed towards the pairing under his. This was what he had feared. He had a bit of a mixed feeling. One of them would make it, the other one would have a chance in the runners-up round. He turned around, looking at what was going on on field 7. The sisters were shaking hands, both looking as if they would go for it even if that meant throwing the other out of the tournament. Saitu smiled. This was how he had wanted it.
Then, he saw an extremely short-haired chinese-looking fella on the field next to it. He was wearing a long orange frock, rememebering Saitu of a documentary he had ever seen. Lao must’ve been the Chinese Champ. His duel Disk seemed to consist of 2 parts: a white one where Spell and Trap cards had to be inserted, and 5 black monster Card zones.
He didn’t know how he had done it, but he found himself standing a meter from Lao, shaking hands with him. His eyes were a deep dark, and they wished him good luck. What? His eyes did that? Saitu shaked his head while walking towards the circle in which he had to stand. It must’ve been an Asian mind game. He looked to the field on his left side, where Alice and Jane were putting up a fight against each other. On his right, Katrina was greeting her opponent in quick French. she winked at him and waved when she saw him. He smiled back before focussing on the Duel again.

[spoiler=DUEL 15. SPIRITUALISM]
Lao’s Turn
-Sets a monster
-Sets 2 cards
-End Phase (4000)

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Vampire Lady (1550/1550)
-Attacks the face-down monster with Vampire Lady, but is stopped by Threatening Roar
-End Phase (4000)

Lao’s Turn
-Flip Summons Asura Priest (1700/1200)
-Activates Spring of Rebirth
-Summons Inaba White Rabit (700/500)
-Activates Creature Swap, targetting Asura Priest
-Attacks directly with Inaba White Rabbit (Saitu 3300)
-End Phase: Inaba White Rabbit and Asura Priest Return to the hand (5000)

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Kaiser Sea Horse (1700/1650)
-Activates Fissure
-Attacks Directly with Kaider Sea Horse, but is stopped by Draining Shield (Lao 6700)
-End Phase (3300)

Lao’s Turn
-Summons Inaba White Rabbit
-Attacks Directly (Saitu 2600)
-Activates Spirit’s Invitation
-End Phase: All monsters return to the owner’s hand (Lao 7200)

Saitu’s Turn
-Activates Thunder Dragon
-Activates Polymerization to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100)
-Attacks Directly (Lao 4400)
-Sets a Card
-End Phase (2600)

Lao’s Turn
-Summons Inaba White Rabbit
-Attacks Directly (Saitu 1900)
-End Phase: All monsters return to the owner’s hand (4900)

Saitu’s Turn
-Activates Trade-In
-Activates Heavy Storm
-Summons Kaiser Sea Horse
-Activates Monster Reborn to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)
-Attacks Directly (Lao 200)
-Sets a card
-End Phase (1900)

Lao’s Turn
-Activates Lightning Vortex
-Special Summons The Tricky (2000/1200)
-Summons Dark Dust Spirit (2200/1800)
-Equips Mirror of Yata
-Attacks, but is removed by Interdimensional Matter Transporter
-End Phase (200), Dark Dust Spirit returns to the field

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300)
-Activates Shrink and targets Dark Dust Spirit
-Attacks Dark Dust Spirit (Lao 0)
-Saitu Wins
[/spoiler]
The shock of their Duel wasn’t really big, but the shocks from the Duels next to them were. On the right, Dark Magician Girl went for a Direct attack, while on Saitu’s left Side, a huge Gladiator Beast he didn’t know whiped out an enormous Dragon-ish creature.
“Thank God, I’m happy you won.”
Ryan had watched the final turn of the Duel.”
“I didn’t. I’m in the Elimination Round.”
“Are you serious?” Saitu asked, closing his Disk.
“Yup. Let’s hope me and Jane don’t have to go up against each other...”
It is very strange how things sometimes go, but since both Ryan and Jane were in the group of 16 who had to go through the Elimination Round, the chances of them having to face of were huge. Saitu was thinking about this, trying to calculate the chances of them Dueling each other, when Katrina tapped his shoulder.
“Mokuba is looking for you. He’s in the main office.”
“What?! I’ll miss the Elimination Round! Two of my friends are in it!”
She looked at him in a strange way, telling him there were more important things to do first.
“Okay then...What was it about?”
“Dunno...he wanted to tell you in person. He seemed very excited.
Saitu thanked her. He ran off to the main office, through loads of corridors. He stopped to check a sign on which the directions were written. We followed the arrow “Main Office”, and strangely enough, he found himself trapped in a dead end. He wanted to go back, but there was a strange figure in the hallway. He was dressed in a black suit, wearing a high hat. Saitu tought he might work in this building, but then he saw that the man wore a cape.
“Greetings, visitor.” he spoke with a strange, high-ish voice.
“I am Magurios, Guardian of the Yellow orb. I wish to challenge you to a Duel.”
His moustache curled a bit when he smiled.
“You’re from the –“
“Yes, I am. I’m a proud and high-ranked member of the Society of Shade. Now, let the show start..."
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 23 : The Duel for the yellow orb]
“I assume the loser gives his orb to the winner?”
“Precisely. Don’t I look like a fair person then?”
He actually didn’t, but Saitu wouldn’t be able to escape if he didn’t duel Magurios.
“OK. Let’s go!”

[spoiler=DUEL 16: GOING UP]
Magurios’ Turn
-Summons Silent Magician LV4 (1000/1000)
-Sets a card
-End Phase (4000)

Saitu’s Turn
-Draw Phase (Silent Magician ATK 1500)
-Discards Thunder Dragon to add 2 Thunder Dragons to his hand
-Summons X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)
-Attacks Silent Magician LV 4, but is blocked by Spellbinding Circle
-Sets a card
-End Phase (4000)

Magurios’ Turn
-Summons Dark Lucius LV 4 (1000/300)
-Activates Level Up! to Summon Dark Lucius LV 6 (1700/600)
-End Phase (4000)

Saitu’s Turn
-Draw Phase (Silent Magician ATK 2000)
-Activates Trade-In
-Tributes X-Head Cannon to Summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)
-Attacks Dark Lucius LV6 (Magurios 3700), and selects “Trap”
-End Phase (4000)

Magurios’ Turn
-Summons Silent Swordsman LV3 (1000/1000)
-Sets 2 cards
-End Phase (3700)

Saitu’s Turn
-Draw Phase (Silent Magician ATK 2500)
-Activates Polymerization to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100)
-Activates Silent Swordsman LV3 with Vampire Lord
-Magurios activates Call of the Earthbound to make Vampire Lord attack Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (Saitu 3200)
-Attacks Silent Swordsman LV3 with Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, but Magurios activates Waboku
-End Phase (3200)

Magurios’ Turn
-Upgrades Silent Swordsman LV3 to LV5 (2300/1000)
-Activates Swords of Revealing Light ( I I I )
-End Phase (3700)

Saitu’s Turn
-Draw Phase (Silent Magician ATK 3000)
-Sets a Card
-Switches Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon to Defence Position (DEF 2100)
-End Phase (3200) ( I I )

Magurios’ Turn
-Attacks Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon with Silent Magician
-Attacks Directly with Silent Swordsman LV 5 (Saitu 900)
-End Phase (3700)

Saitu’s Turn
-Draw Phase (Silent Magician ATK 3500)
-Summons Vorse Raider (1900/1200)
-Sets a card
-End Phase (900) ( I )

Magurios’ Turn
-Upgrades Silent Magician LV4 to LV8 (3500/1000)
-Saitu activates Shrink, targetting Vorse Raider (ATK 950) and selects him as a target for Crush Card Virus, destroying Magurios’ Field
-Sets a Monster
-End Phase (3700)

Saitu’s Turn
-Summons Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300)
-Attacks Dark Mimic LV1
-Sets 2 cards
-End Phase (900) (Swords 0)

Magruios’ Turn
-Activates Level Modulation to Special Summon Silent Magician LV8
-Saitu activates Bottomless Trap Hole
-Actiavates Nightmare’s Steelcage ( # # )
-End Phase

Saitu’s Turn
-Activates Cost Down
-Tributes Z-Metal Tank to Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon
-Activates Soul Release, removing from play Silent Swordsman LV5, Dark Lucius LV6, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank
-Activates Return from the Different Dimension (450) to Special Summon X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank
-Contact Fusion Summons XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)
-Discards a card to destroy Nightmare’s Steelcage
-Attacks Directly with Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Magurios 700)
-Attacks Directly with XYZ-Dragon Cannon (Magurios 0)
-Saitu Wins (450)

[spoiler=Card of the Duel][img]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/8/81/CostDownDCR-EN-UR.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

His expression became blank after the punch from the Dragon, and he fell on his knees after being demolished by the Transformer-like machine.He sat like there for a few seconds, completely motionless, as silent as his monsters.
But then he started to scream; he yelled in pain as if his inside was on fire. Saitu tought he might as well die in the following minute, and was surprised when the screaming stopped, followed by Magurios standing up and walking towards him. He took the Yellow Orb, the Orb of Patience from his pocket, and threw it at Saitu. Strangely enough, it floated in mid-air.
“Who are you?”
He didn’t say anything. One of his eyeballs seemed to crack. Saitu noticed he wasn’t standing; he hovered an inch above the ground.
“It depends...” he said when he finally spoke. “Do you mean the person you just dueled, or do you mean me?”
“Wait a sec. Is this some mind-control thingy? I knew they shouldn’t evr have sold the Battle City DVD’s to brain-dead mules like you.”
“You are smarter than you look, young Kaiba. Yes, it is. This man, this feeble and weak creature which will die after I stop controling him, is just a puppet to me. I am Gandrios. I have the power to posses the six Orbs, the power to control the world.” His voice now was deeper, so Saitu tought he could believe the puppet-slave theory.
“Too bad for you. This one’s mine now.” Saitu remarked on a tone as if he was taking candy from a baby, while grabbing the warmish Orb and letting it sink in his pocket.
The figure that was in front of him started to crumble.
“We will meet again.”
The crumbles became dust, the dust faded as if taken by the wind. The only thing left of him, was a blank card. Saitu decided to take it with him. He turned around, heading for the office where he was being expected.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 24 : The Arrival of a New Challenge]
By the looks of the office, Saitu could tell this building wasn’t completely new to Mokuba. There was a large desk, and several big cupboards, completely made out of metal. On the vast desk, there were 2 computers and a laptop, with a fan to keep the temperature controlled. It still was a bit warmer in here than in the corridor, Saitu was thinking while he sat down on one of the chairs, watching while Mokuba was finishing a phone call. He put down the phone after some minutes, and then stood up.
“Did you get lost in the building? It took you longer than I expected.”
Saitu told him what had happened, and about the Orb he now owned.
“A second Orb?” He seemed to be talking to himself now. “It would be best to ask soemone else to guard it.”
“Why? I’ve done good untill now, haven’t I? He looked at Mokuba, puzzled.
“I believe Katrina told you about the possession of two Orbs? Their powers will weaken each other."
“I think I’ll give it to Ryan then. He’s one of the better Duelists I know.”
“A good choice. Now, I believe I wanted to talk to you because of another reason.”
He pulled a letter from under a pile of paper, and showed it to Saitu. He read the paragraph that Mokuba showed him.

[i]...am very honoured by your offer, and thus I accept it. My Deck will arrive the day before the exposition. I assume that you will have security for it; I wouldn’t want it to be stolen. I’ll send the rest of the information in my following letter... [/i]

The letter was signed:

[i]Yours Sincerely,
Yugi Moto[/i]

“Wow. Really?”
“Yupyup. Jack came up with the idea. He started working on it two months ago. He’s got an entire exposition hall ready for it.”
“Thanks for letting me know. When does the expositon start?”
“Tomorrow. We’ll have a press conference tonight.”
“But then...The Deck will arrive...”
Mokuba seemed as excited as him.
“Yes, it arrived half an hour ago. I haven’t seen it yet, but Jack called me about it. That’s why I had called you. I’m sorry for taking you away from the runner-up round.”
“No, it’s okay, really. Can I tell the others about the exhibition?”
Saitu waited while Mokuba seemed to think for several seconds.
“I think Mr. Jones and the Solum girls have proven themselves worhty as Duelists by getting to this round. You can tell them, but don’t tell anyone else. Miss Pegasus has also been informed, and even tough I asked her to keep it a secret, I’m almost sure she has told her friend Nadine about it too.”
Saitu couldn’t resist grinning. To his surprise, Mokuba grinned back, and then he understood. This man, an old man with a lot of inner strength, was his grandfather’s brother. Maybe he could...
“Could you tell me something more about Seto?”
Mokuba looked up quickly; the twinkling light in his eyes became slightly stronger. He sighed, put his elbows on his desk and rested his head on his hands, piercing Saitu with a strong gaze.”
“The most important thing you need to know”, he said, when he finally spoke, “is that my brother was a noble man. We had a bad youth, living in an orphanage before being adopted by...Mr. Kaiba...” A certain kind of anger filled his eyes. “However, it made both of us stronger. It made Seto to who he was; a powerfull bussinessman with high connections...and the number two Duelist in the world...” He cast a quick look towards the letter, which still was on the desk. “ After several years of competition with Yugi, he changed, accepting he wasn’t the best. He became more gentle, and people didn’t believe he was cruel and harsh anymore, like they had done in the past.”
He looked into Saitu’s eyes. His baby-blue gaze pierced through Saitu’s strong green look.
“Thanks...It’s good to hear my grandfather was a worthy Duelist.”
“Always nice if people listen to me...I’m getting old and really boring, but I can’t help it.”
Saitu had to laugh, but tried not to.
“Uhm...before I forget: You’re all invited to the press conference. I’m thinking of throwing in a little party tonight. I’ll pick you up at eight?”
He replied by nodding and left the room.
[/spoiler][/spoiler]

[spoiler=VIII. The Arrival of a Rival]
[spoiler=Chapter 25 : Du pain, du vin et des jeux de cartes]
When Saitu re-entered the tournament hall, Katrina immediatly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the rest of the group. She didn’t seem angry, just very frustrated that he was late.
“What took you so long? Oh, never mind!” she said before he could say anything. “The press is here. They just need a picture for an article for tomorrow’s newspaper.”
“Shouldn’t they be preparing for tonight’s conference?” He noticed a group of people setting up camera’s and stuff. Katrina grinned.
“So he told you about the exhibition?” She seemed very excited. “The article about the tournament will be a small one.”
The rest of the finalists, half of them slightly disapointed, was standing in small groups in one corner of the hall. Saitu and Katrina split up when he noticed his friends.
“Ryan won...” Jane said, before he could ask anything. She didn’t seem to care too much about it. Appeareantly she had learnt to cope with a loss.
“Well, you did put up a fight...”Ryan told her.”You cleared my field two times, performed multiple direct attacks, and I had only 300 points left. Come to think of it, I was almost chucked out...”
“I almost did...” She finally managed to smile again. “That ‘Queen of Thorns’ you gave me makes up for it.”
Ryan blushed a bit. “Who needs Synchro’s if you have Final Countdown?” Saitu’s mouthcorners twitched a little bit. He had always liked Ryan’s subtle humour.
“I’m going to change my Deck tonight...” Ryan continued. “The further we get in this tourney, the harder it gets to win...”
“Maybe I should do the same!” Jane said. “I’m going to pick up that new Spellcaster’s Command Structure Deck on the way home. It wont hurt, I think.”
“And I should prepare for my revenge.” Alice blurted out enthousiastically.
“Maybe that’s what Katrina ment...” Saitu didn’t know what made him say this, but he did know it was true. “My Deck is pretty old too. I’m thinking about changing it.”
Nobody knew what they had to say about that, so Saitu just continued talking.
“Two more things. We’re leaving for a press conference at eight. Ryan, we’ll pick up some tuxedo’s. I noticed a rental service this morning. Girls, I’m sure you two’ve got a formal dress with you...”
The girls looked at each other significantly. Saitu would’ve bet his Blue-Eyes that they didn’t had two of them with them.
“I missed the last Duel due to a Duel of my own. I dueled Magurios, the keeper of the Orb of Patience. I’ll give this to you to prevent problems.”
He handed the shiny yellow marble to Ryan, who took it and put it away carefully.
“If you lose it, you’ll be put into a coffin three meters under the ground. So don’t.”
Ryan’s smile was a bit different, as if he didn’t know wether Saitu was joking or not. Fortunately, their conversation was cut by three girls who joined their group. The first one was Katrina, the second one was her last opponent, Nadine, and the third was of the same age as Saitu was: three or four years younger than Katrina.
“I’m not disturbing you, I hope?” Katrina asked.
“No, not at all. Just discussing the weather and things...”Ryan said.
By the look in Katrina’s eyes Saitu knew they had been talking about the Orbs.
“I want to introduce my friends from France to you.” she continued. “These are Nadine and Mimirca Hucy.
“Didn’t we already Duel in the first round?” Ryan asked, after having received two kisses on the cheeks from each of the girls, a normal greeting in France.
Saitu vaguely remembered Ryan saying something about Lightsworns after the first round.
“Yes, but you wer’ only lucky becauz’ I ‘ad Milled both my Dragons during ze third turn.” she replied with a strong voice. “After zat round, I ‘ave placed some back-up in my Deck.
“In that case, you’re the last Lightsworn player left?” Alice asked her.
“I also play Lightsworns in a Fun Deck of mine.” Mimirca said. She didn’t sound French at all. Her English was flawless. “I’m sick of playing Mirror Matches, so I decided to go with something elso for this tourney...”She turned to Saitu, and her eyes struck him. They were a very light shade of grey, almost transparent. They felt as if they were mirrors who reflected all his toughts, and when he tought of this, Mimi’s eyes turned to a light sort of green. He could’ve looked into those eyes for an eternity, but that would’ve been awkward.
“Ahm...yes. I don’t like Mirror matches either. Last Time I watched one, I got bored out of my skull...”
“I’m sorry for interrupting this wonderfull chat,...” Saitu was surprised to see that Mokuba had joined their group. “...but after the photo’s, you’ll have to get into the cab that’s already waiting.”
They joined the rest of the Duelists, and the photo’s were taken very quick.
“I’m sorry I can’t drive you, but I’ve still got some work to do...” Mokuba continued while walking outside with the four of them. “I almost forgot. Katrina will pick you up. I won’t be able to. Saitu nodded. He didn’t mind actually. He liked conversations with Katrina, because she was rational and down to earth. But now, he had to think about his new Deck.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 26 : Stronger than Ever, the Princess Awakens]
Saitu had locked himself in his bedroom. The rest of the group was Deckbuilding in the living room, but Saitu needed silence to think. Heaps of cards, both old and new were spread over the table, moving and cris-crossing through each other in Saitu’s head. He remembered all the DVD’s about Dueling he had seen, and Decklists flashed before his eyes. The Deck had to be balanced, something he could only get to if he concentrated. He ahd been working on a Deck in his head for 2 hours when he finally started assembling his renewed Deck. It took him half an hour to get to all the cards and sleeve them. He was very statisfied when he put the result in his Deck box. After having cleaned up the rest of his cards, he went downstairs.

The rest of the gang was watching TV. Saitu noticed that the commercial was about the exhibition at Domino Museum. The next commercial was about the new Spellcaster Structure Deck, so Saitu started wondering about the others.
“Have you guys finished your Decks?
“Yup, mate. And it’s better than ever.” Ryan answered, very comfortable.
“Yeah, but I bet I could beat you with my new Deck.” Jane replied fiercely.
“You wish. Let’s take this Duel outside, won’t we?”
Saitu watched as the two took their Disks and strapped them on on the way to the garden. They stood several meters from each other when Jane toched the screen of her Disk. A giant green die came falling out of thin air, landing on [b]: :[/b].
“I’ll get over that!” Ryan tapped his own Touch Screen, and an orange die landed next to the green, baring the number [b]:::[/b].
“I guess I’ll start, mylady?” He smiled to Jane, whose black hairs were waving softly in the wind.
“Draw! Excellent! [i]"Be aware of Time, the countdown for the Epocalypse has begun, let’s get ready to rumble! Activate Signature Spell Card! Final Countdown![/i] (4000>2000)” The sky above them darkened a bit.”Now I’ll set a monster, a face-down card and end the first turn!”
The first fiery flame appeared above their heads. The sky was as dark as it had been before the appeareance of the flame. Jane cast a dark look at it when she Drew her card.
“Activate Field Spell Card! Black Garden!”
Trees came out the ground, thorny plants wrapped themselves around the trees. A statue of Cupid appeared next to Jane.
“Now, I’ll Summon my ‘Gigantic Cephalotus’ (1850>925/700) in Attack Position!” An enormous, flesh-eating plant appeared by her side. At the same time, a flower of a meter high grew instantly next to Ryan’s face-down Monster.(800/800)
“What the-?”
“Black Garden grants your opponent a Token each time you Summon.” Jane explained. She was obviously enjoying the payback.
“Cephalotus! Attack his Token!”
“No you won’t! Activate Threatening Roar!”
The little plant let out a surprisingly loud roar; loud enough to make Cephalotus go back to his owner.
“I set a Card...and End my Turn...” Upon these words, a second flame appeared.
“I’ll seize control now!” Ryan said after having drawn his card. “I set a second monster and three face-downs!” Four face-down cards appeared, joining the other one. “And I’ll switch this Token to Defence mode!” The little plant bent over. “By ending my turn, the count reaches 3!”
The third fireball appeared out of nothing. Jane smiled when she drew her card.
“I summon the Tuner Monster, Naturia Cosmos Beet!” A small black creature bearing three flowers on it’s head appeared next to the big Cephalotus. (1000>500/700)
“To that, I’ll chain Reckless Greed, and another one.” Ryan drew four cards, and then realized what he was facing.
“Tuner Monster?”
“Yes! But first, you’ll get another present of me!” Another Plant Token appeared.
[i]“Queen of the forest, come to me! Realease the power within thee! Synchro Symmon! Queen of Thorns!”[/i] A beautifull young woman, covered with leaves and thorny plants appeared (2200>1100/1800). She smiled at Ryan, who looked a bit insecure at the new Token.
“Now I Summon Lonefire Blossom (500>250/1400) and Tribute him to Summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!” A redish plant appeared. It caught fire, and from the ashes grew a gigantic rose. From that rose, a second woman appeared, dressed in rose leaves. (2800>1400/2600)
“I activate Torrential Tribute!” Ryan yelled, revealing the last face-down Trap Card. In the middle of the garden, there was a loud bang, and everything exploded in blue flames. When they had gone, only Queen of Thorns had dissapeared. “The Trap Card Pollinosis allows me to Tribute a Plant to negate anything.” She told him. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were full of fire. “Now, Tytannial, Attack the Token! Rose Punch!”
The woman grabbed for the little Plant, and pulled it out of the Ground. Ryan’s meter dropped to 1400. “Activate Monster Reborn! Come back! Queen of Thorns!”
The Queen came falling from the sky, dodging the flames gratiously and landing on the ground gentily. When she hit the ground, a new Token appeared on Ryan’s Side of the field. “I’ll set a Card and that’s it.”
Flame number four appeared. “I skip my Draw Phase due to Reckless Greed’s secondary effect!” He threw a glance at his hand. Saitu was wondering how he could save himself from this situation. Then he noticed Jane’s smile became even wider.
“Let me help you. Activate Light of Intervention!” The darkness faded.Unnaturally strong light dropped from the air. The flames were barely distinctable. ”My combo has been set up! Each Set you do become a Normal Summon in Defence Mode, and you have to pay 1000 Life Points for Each Non-Plant Summoned due to my Queen.” She laughed loudly. “You are so done for.”
“Change all my Tokens to Defence Position!” Ryan declared as if he hadn’t heard her. “Now I activate my Messenger of Peace Continuous Spell Card!” A man came walking from between the bushes, standing between the Player’s Monsters with his arms wide open. The pigeon on his shoulder made a soft noise. “Now I’m in control of the game! End Phase!” The fifth flame appeared, even tough you could nearly distinguish it in the bright light. Jane drew her Card.
“It’s over.” A silence fell over the duelists. The only noise left was that of the pigeon.
“Activate Heavy Storm to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field. Now, all the monsters regain their original Attack.” Her monsters became more powerful. “Now, time for the last card of the Duel; Card Rotator! I discard one card to change the battle Position of all your monsters!”
A giant puppeteer appeared behind Ryan, who turned around and looked at it, frightened.
“No...”
“Yes! Go, Revolutionairy Rotation!”
The face-down cards and the tokens suddenly were connected to the puppeteer’s hands. The man smiled, and then clapped two times.
The Tokens raised theirselves to full length (ATK 800), and the face-down Monsters revealed to be DD Warrior (ATK 1200) and Legendary Jujitsu Master (ATK 1300).
“I attack a Token with my Queen of Thorns! Thorn Throw Attack!”
The Queen broke of a giant Torn of Tytannial’s Rose, and threw it at the little Plant. Ryan’s meter showed that he only had 100 Points left, and he fell to his knees because of the impact.
“Go, Tytannial! Rose Punch!” The Princess pulled out the Plant and threw it away. It hit Ryan in the face, and he landed flat on his back. His Life Points had dropped to zero. The holograms faded, and Jane walked towards Ryan briskly. He thankfully accepted the hand he offered her and got back up.
“Your new Deck...is awesome...” he said.
“Thanks, your’s needs work.”
While they all walked back inside, Saitu couldn’t help noticing how Jane had changed because of the tournament. She had gained loads of self esteem and seemed much more mature. Maybe she was also capable of holding an Orb?
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 27 : Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...]
It was quarter to eight when Saitu paid the cab driver and hurried back inside, carefully carrying the costume he had just rented. Ryan hadn’t gone with him, for he had said he had a costume with him. He opened the door, and when he was hurrying through the living room, he was surprised to see Ryan did have a costume with him, a dark purple one, complete with hat and white gloves.
“What in the name of Ra is that?” Ryan , who had been sitting in the sofa, watching TV, got up.
“I used this when I cosplayed as the Witty Phantom once.” he smiled. “Jane said that painting my face red would be a bit too much, so I didn’t do that.”
“Well, at least you look decent. Kinda. Look, I’m goinfg to put this on quickly. Where are Alice and Jane?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “They’ve been in the bathroom for more than an hour...I hope they’re going to be in time...”
Saitu went to put on his tuxedo. It was a casual one, for as far as a costume could be casual. It was black, with a white chemise. After getting dressed, he strapped on his Disk and put his new Deck in it. It was almost eight when he came back down, and he started knocking on the bathroom door harder then he normally would.
“Just a minute!” was Alice’s reply.
“I’m counting! Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight,...”
The door flew open. Alice was wearing a light blue dress, and had her hair in a ponytail. Jane had chosen for a light green one. Both of then were wearing high heels.
“Looks good,” Saitu said aprovingly.
“Well, it took us long enough!” Jane answered.
They returned to the living room, where Ryan was waiting. Soon enough, the doorbell rang. Saitu wasn’t surprised to see Katrina.
“You’re bringing your Duel Disk? Excelent!” She wore her own Disk, a standard Kaiba Corp. one, around her arm. She was wearing red again; it stood good with her hair. “You’ll never know when tose Orbitals show up...” she noticed that the rest had taken their Disk too.
They all got into the limo, which got them where they had to get quickly enough. The conference was held just out of town, in a fairly small building. It was twilight, and the building had been beautifully decorated with banners picturing the fierce Dark Magician, and his lovely apprentice, Dark Magician Girl. A red carpet had been laid out, and the limo could park just around the corner. The group was about to enter when Saitu noticed he had forgotten his Duel Disk.
“Then go get it. We’ll wait outside.” Katrina replied.
“You just go already. I’ll be back before you can say Gogiga Gagagigo.”
He hurried to the limo, took the Disk out of it and thanked the chauffeur. When he came back, there were was a crowd building at the entrance; loads of people from newspapers and magazines were present. Saitu was trying to find a way through them, when an arm pulled him away from the mass. Saitu turned around, and was startled to see a pair of very light eyes. Mimi was miling at him, dressed in a startling white dress.
“You’ve brought your Deck?”
“Yep. So did you?”
“In that case, you can’t say no to a Duel.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
The stood several meters away from each other and from the crowd. Several people turned their heads interested as they defolded their Disks.
“Ladies first”, Saitu told her.
“Fine.” She drew six cards. “I’ll just Summon my Reflect Bounder and leave it at that.
A puppet-like creature with several small mirrors on it appeared before her. (1700/1000)
“Great. Then I’ll Summo my Vorse Raider!” The axe-wielding beast-warrior appeared. (1900/1200). “Axe Swing!” The Raider proceded towards the Reflect Bounder, smashing the largest of the mirrors with the axe. Part of the unleashed energy was shot back at Saitu. (LP 2100).
“My monster reduces the Life Points of my opponent by the attacking Monster’s attack before being Destroyed. She smiled confidentially, causing some of the people to applause. (LP 3800)
“Then it’s your Turn again...”
“I Draw. Nice!” She placed her newly-drawn card onto her Disk, causing a silver Fairy with ten-thousand arms to appear. (1400/1000). “Manju searches my Deck for a Ritual Spell Card. Beatly Mirror Ritual! Activate!” The silver Fairy disappeared, together with Fiend Reflection.
[i]”Mirror, mirror on the wall! Vanity will cause the world to fall! Go! Ritual Summon! Fiend's Mirror!”[/i] A giant purple Mirror appeared in the middle of the field. (2100/1800) “Attack! Reflection Strike!” The Mirror begun gathering the last bit of solar energy in the air and finally blasted it at the Raider. (Saitu LP 1900)
“Now, another face-down and you can go!”
“Impressive, but not yet good enough...” Saitu shouted as he drew. “This one’ll do it! Discard Thunder Dragon!” The spirit of a green, electryfied Dragon came flying out of the Graveyard Slot as Saitu discarded the Card. The Dragon split in two, each of the parts reforming into a new card. The Cards landed in his hands. “And now, Polymerization!” The Dragon Spirits re-appeared from the card, now melting Together, forming a Dragon with two heads. (2800/2100). “This is my little friend Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon.” Saitu said. “And I‘ll use him to destroy your Mirror!” The Dragon pointed his heads towards the sky, roaring loudly. A flash of Thunder came from nowhere, and it was about to hit the Fiend's Mirror.
A second Mirror appeared in front of it, bouncing the Thunder back at the Dragon, destroying it with a loud bang.
“Mirror Force...”she laughed, placing the card in the Graveyard.
“You’re just screwing me up, aren’t you?”
“Indeed I am. Now, end your Turn so I can finish you.”
“I’ll set another monster, and then you can.”
The hologram appeared as Mimi drew her Card.
“I’ll set one, and then I’ll attack your face-down with Reflection Strike.”
The mirror shot a ray of energy towards Saitu’s Card. It revealed to be an egg. Before being destroyed, it hatched. The Card that was inside flew into Saitu’s hand.
“White Stone of Legend...That means you really play with [i]that[/i] Deck?”
“Yes, I am. Can I go now?”
He Drew his card and smiled. Exactly what he needed.
“Trade-In allows me to discard my Dragon to draw two Cards.” He placed the Cards inside the Graveyard Slot and Drew two new ones. “Summon Kaibaman! His effect let’s me Tribute him to Summon Blue-Eyes from my hand...”
A Warrior with white coattails and long brown hair appeared, making place for the legendary dragon. [i]”Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Special Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”[/i] The creature roared into the night, his scales shining. Immediatley all the journalists started taking pictures of the mystical Dragon, who backed them away by turning his head in their direction. (3000/2500) “But I won’t leave it at one! Advanced Ritual Art! Paladin of White Dragon searches one Blue-Eyes from the Deck!”
Several monsters appeared one after the other. First, a yellow-blue machine, then a Knight on a Dragon, and finally the Blue-Eyes himself.
“Blue-Eyes! Attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!” The stream looked as if it was going to shatter the mirror, but another Trap Card was allready doing his work. A reflection of the Dragon appeared, only half the size of the real one. The stream bounced of the Mirror, back to where it came, destroying the Dragon. (Saitu LP 1300).
“Not another Trap!”
“Sorry...As long as my Mirror Wall stays in play, it halves the attack of all your Monsters.” (BEWD ATK 1500)
“Then it’s your turn again...” He watched anxiously as she Drew her card. “These Trap Cards are freaking me out...” he tought.
“To keep Mirror Wall in play, I pay 2000 Life Points.” Her meter dropped down to 1800.
“You’re lucky my Monsters stay away from my hand. Fiend's Mirror! Attack!”
The Mirror crushed the weakened Dragon. (Saitu LP 700). “The next turn will be your last. Enjoy.”
“I’ll give it my best shot then...” If he didn’t Topdeck anything good, he was a goner. He needed a monster with more than 4300 Attack points. He only had one of those. This Duel meant nothing; it was just a friendly competition. But he wanted to win anyway. He looked Mimi straight in the eyes, full of confidence in the card he was about to draw. Her eyes reflected his toughts, which were in fact doubting about the next Card. He Drew it with his eyes closed.
“Destiny Draw...” he whispered. Even the audience became silent.
He carefully flipped the card over. He had Drawn what he needed. Mimi seemed to notice it too.
“Spell Card activate! Dragon’s Mirror!”
“No!”
“Yes! [i]Forces merge together! Now, form the ultimate Power! Fusion Summon, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”[/i]”
The mirror appeared. Three Dragon Spirits came flying from the sky, passing through the mirror one by one. The Mirror started spinning and began to glow, finally releasing the strongest Blue-Eyes there was. (4500/3800) He immediatly shrunk to roughly three-quarters of his original size, so that is was only a little bit bigger than the Mirror. (ATK 2200)
“Attack! Triple Burst Stream!” Each of the Dragon’s heads pointed itself towards the Fiend Reflection, finishing it of with three Burst Streams. The Mirror shattered. (Mimi LP 1700)
“Now I’ll set one and then you can go.” Everyone clapped as tough he had allready won. Saitu wasn’t that sure of his victory, for he didn’t know Mimi’s Deck very well. he just had to hope...
“I draw then, finally, a Monster! Summon! Copycat!”
A huge clown holding a mirror in front of his face appeared. he was bigger than the Dragon. (ATK 4500) “Copycat adapts your original attack. I guess it’s bye-bye for you! Au revoir!”
“T’as tort, mademoiselle!” he responded. “I also have a Trap for you! Last Turn!”
Mimi’s Copycat and Mirror Wall vanished, and all the cards in her hand were sucked into the Graveyard slot. Saitu inserted his. “Now, choose a monster from your Deck to fight my Dragon. The victor of that battle wins the Duel!”
“I see. Then it’s a Draw.”
“What!”
“Mmm...all the Monsters are at the bottom of my Deck...oh, here he is!” She placed a card on the Disk, and a new giantic clown appeared. (ATK 4500)
“A second Copycat? Of Course!”
Me looked her straight into the eyes, knowing what had happened. The Monsters finished each other of ruthlessly. The numbers on his disk became letters, forming the word DRAW. He placed all his cards back in the Deck Slot, and then he walked towards Mimi.
“Nice Duel. Your Deck is awesome.”
“Thanks, but yours is waaay cooler.” She smiled and her eyes became blueish again. Where had he seen those eyes before?”
“Could you pose for a picture?”, one of the reporters asked.
“I don’t see why not.”, Mimi replied, placing her arm around Saitu. He just smiled at the camera. He noticed Ryan coming out of the building again.
“Where’s the Duel?”
“Ryan, the Duel’s over.” he pointed out having walked towards him with Mimirca.
“Dude, look at all the press. Hey guys! Don’t you want a picture of me?” he waved his arms, but none of them reacted. “Damn. I guess I’ll have to wait untill the finals are aired on the Card Game Channel to get famous...” He looked sort of disapointed. “Anyways, Katrina was asking for you. Shall we go inside?”
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 28 : Total Eclipse of the Heart]
Everyone eventually found a place in the conference room. Most of the people were sitting on unstable plastic chairs, for Mokuba hadn’t expected so many people. There was some exciting tension in the room, and Saitu enjoyed it. Finally, Mokuba came from a door Saitu hadn’t seen yet, and took his place on the little stage. Everybody became silent, and the journalists all took their booklets, ready to start scribbling things down.
“I’d like to thank you all for being here. I only expected a handfull of people, to be honest... I’m affraid the news has allready leaked, but I am proud to oficially present to you an exhibition many of you have never seen before, and will never see again. The Deck of none less than Yugi Mutou will come back to Domino City, where it’s story began!”
People began to applaude, and then Mokuba continued his story by telling the exhibition would last two weeks, and some other things, like the opening hours of the museum.
He then told about the history of the Deck; how it had changed since he had gotten it from his grandfather. (That sentence was really weird to Saitu.)
“Originally, the Deck was based on low-level Earth and Dark Monsters. Most of them were weak, but as you know, there weren’t many strong cards yet...”
He told about the first big Duel of Yugi; the one in which he defeated Seto Kaiba. (Again; funny feeling.) He continued about Duelist Kingdom, and the legendary Duel against Maximillion Pegasus, one of the greatest masterminds of the moment. (Saitu noticed Katrina laughing now.) In the Battle City tournament, Spellcaster support and Magnet Warriors were added. Every major change that Yugi had made during the following years was mentioned. Mokuba also talked about several supreme moves that had won him important Duels.
Saitu learned a lot about the Deck, and couldn’t wait to go check it out.
“As some of you now, tomorrow there will be a little pause in the Battle City tournament. All the finalists are invited to the official opening of the exposition.”
Even more applause, and after that the conference had come to an end. Everyone stood up to talk to each other. A few journalists decided to try to go ask Mokuba some more questions; and they weren’t disapointed. Ryan, Alice and Jane joined Katrina and Nadine. Saitu, however, had been asked a question by Mimi.
“Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I meant in private...”she seemed very nervous.
“Oh...We’ll go outside then.”
They left the room, and no one seemed to notice them. The front yard was deserted. They got seated on the little bench, and Saitu noticed Mimi was taking a deep breath. He pretended he hadn’t; he was toying with the strap of his Disk.
“So we’re free tomorrow, aren’t we?” she said.
“Suppose so.”
“I wanted to ask...I was wondering whether you...wanted to go watch a movie or something?”
He looked up from his Disk. Did she really...He looked her in the eyes, which seemed to have turned blue again. They reflected the light of one of the lanterns. He didn’t know how long they sat there. It might have been a minute, an hour, or even for all eternity. It didn’t matter.
“I’d love to...” Couldn’t he have said something else? Something witty, or something really cool. However, Mimi seemed delighted with his answer.
“Thanks...”
“The pleasure’s mine.”
And so they sat there for several minutes; talking about card games and movies. Eventually they started discussing the tournament’s outcome.
“I don’t think I’ve got a chance.” She told him.
“Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because of my sister. And Katrina. And you, probably...”
“C’mon. Do you honestly think I can win this?” He laughed. “I already lost to Katrina once, Ryan has defeated me a few times too, and you scored a draw against me. Seriously, I don’t stand a chance. I hadn’t even expected to get this far.”
Mimi looked as if she was going to reply, but then the doors re-opened. The rest of the group had obviously been looking for them.
“If you don’t mind, we’re about to leave.” Ryan announced.
“Oh. Right. Then I guess we can come with you?” Saitu replied.
They walked to the limo together. They got home very fast. Katrina explained that they wanted to leave early to avoid the traffic jam. Just before getting out, Mimi took Saitu’s hand, looked straight into his eyes, and placed a note in the palm of his hand. All of this without anyone noticing.
“There’s something special about her...” he tought while opening the door, watching the limo drive away. For the first time in his life, Saitu felt what love was like...
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[ragnarok1945]

Don't worry, I never favored Destiny Board because I've yet to see it work

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=IX. 180 Degrees]

[spoiler=Chapter 29 : Day at the museum]

It was almost eight when Saitu woke up. He wanted to turn over, expecting to see Ryan. But since he hadn’t been awoken by loud snores, it wasn’t worth the energy. He got dressed quickly. He felt a little piece of paper in his pocket.

8 P.M., Domino’s Pizza

Mimirca

He read it a second time, and then a third time. He knew that tonight was going to be special. He hadn’t been on a date before, for he only went Dueling instead of going to school. He only knew twenty-ish female Duelists. When he got downstairs, Alice and Jane were having breakfast, and Ryan was busy making a phone call.

“...Thanks, that’s great...Ok, we’ll be there at twelve...Yup, thanks again...Bye!”

He put the phone down and turned to Saitu. “I just called Mokuba to make sure that Jane could come with us. We’ll have to be next door at twelve.”

“That’s good. Good morning, by the way.”

“Same to you, but now sit down, we need to talk.”

Saitu was puzzled when he followed him to the living room. He sat down in silence. Ryan sat opposite of him. He took a deep breath.

“So?” he asked him.

“So what?” Saitu replied.

“C’mon, you know what I’m talking about.”

Saitu raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not going to tell me you ‘n Mimi were discussing the weather, are you?”

“I...We...What?” How did he find out?

“Okaaay...What did she say?”

“It’s none of your bussiness. I’m not going to say what we talked about. She asked, I didn’t!”

Crap. He had screwed up big time.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed of yourself. I knew, the girls knew. The way she looks at you sometimes pretty much tells it all. I don’t blame you, she’s not that bad.”

He stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and joined the girls, leaving Saitu confused.

 

He decided to let it go. At least Ryan took it serious, instead of laughing. He joined them for breakfast, where Saitu’s date wasn’t discussed any further. It was nine when they had finished. The girls decided to go shopping, leaving Saitu and Ryan alone.

“Make sure to be back at twelve.” Ryan told them. After they had left, Saitu invited him to sit down for a chat.

“And now for something completely different: card games.”

“Yes...What about them?”

Saitu chose his words carefully. “Don’t you think it’s funny I’ve been challenged by only one Orbital?”

Ryan tought for some seconds too. “Maybe Gandrios realized you’re no pushover. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’ll send soemone to beat the crap out of you soon enough.”

“Maybe...”

They watched some TV in order to pass the time. On the CGC there was a documentary about Yugi’s Deck, to promote the exhibition. It was interesting and long enough to kill time, and when it was quarter to twelve, Saitu had the feeling he knew every little trick the game master had up his sleeves.

The girls came home, with a bag of new clothes each. After they had put them away, the group walked towards the museum, which was less than 50 metres away.

Saitu had expected to see Mimi there, but he didn’t. He couldn’t see her amongst the other finalists. Nadine and Katrina weren’t there either. He hoped nothing bad had happened, and decided to just enjoy the tour.

 

He found it very facinating. He had allready seen Decklists, but everything’s better in real life. All 40 cards were in a seperate glass box, lying on a little red pillow.

It was seven fifteen when the group left. Some were picked up by car, others took the bus. A man in his early forties drove home with a bicycle. Saitu and the rest of the group walked back. Saitu was about to turn his PSP on, when Alice gave him a hint.

“Shouldn’t you change before leaving?”

“Change? Why? Do I look bad?”

She gave him a don’t-be-stupid kinda look. “Girls appreciate it if you dress as if you take the thing seriously.” She threw a rather nasty look at his jeans, which were slightly fading, and his old Hobby League T-shirt.

“If you say so. Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

He ran upstairs, and decided he’d look good in black. He put on some black jeans, along with a black leather belt. A shirt had to do. He quickly combed his black hair, and put on his shoes again. A quick jiffy of eau de cologne, and he was ready for it. He grabbed his wallet, cell phone and keys and left the room.

“Much better.” Alice said approvingly.

“I was thinking the same.” Jane joined her, inspecting him.

“I think he’d look better if he covered his face.” Ryan laughed, but he was silenced by Jane who turned around as if she was going to hit him. “Jut joking.”

“As always...” was her reply.

“It’s quarter to eight, so I’ll better get going.”, he interrupted, strapping on his Disk, as Katrina had adviced him to. “Don’t wait up for me.”

He almost ran to the pizzeria in the center of Domino City. When he was halfway, he noticed the battery of his cellphone was empty.

“Crap...” he tought. “But I don’t think I’d need it anyways.” Mimi was waiting outside Domino’s. She looked simply fabulous.

“Hi.”, he said breathless. She wore a black skirt, a pink top and a black jacket. Her hair was bound up in a ponytail, with a butterfly-shaped decoration thingy. She saw him, and her eyes turned from silver to blue when she winked.

“Hi...Let’s go inside, it’s freezing out here.”

The pizzeria was big, and there were loads of plastic tables and chairs, but there weren’t many people. Saitu ordered two hawai’s and two “big” cokes. While eating, Saitu decided to discuss the Orbs.

“Of course I know about them.” She took a sip from her coke. “I’ve known Katrina for quite a while. But my parents don’t allow me to participate in it. They say it might get dangerous. My mom’s way too protective.”

“Oh...I see...” He noticed she also had her Disk with her. The sleeves seemed very familiar, but everything around Mimi seemed familiar.

He payed, and left the change to the guy behind the counter. He was only a year or two older than Saitu, and he knew what it was like to have to work for money.

“That’s so sweet of you.”

“Don’t people do that in France?”

“Some do. But not everyone.”

“Which part of France are you from, anyway?” He was curious about her, an he assumed that that was good.

“A little village in the south. You wouldn’t know it...”

They turned the corner, and Saitu was surprised that Alice almost ran into them. Her long blonde hair was screwed up, and she breathed heavily.

“Saitu...The Deck...It has been stolen...” she had been running all the way.

“No...Yugi’s?” She nodded.

“For Ra’s sake, we must find it! Are there any clues?”

“Well, Mokuba said that the security tape isn’t very clear, so they’re still waorking on that one.”

“Good. We’ll find that son of a sphinx in no time.”

“Actually, it wasn’t a man. Jack’s sure it was a-“

“Hey Alice, have I actually seen you dueling before?” Mimi interrupted. She hadn’t said anything during their conversation.

“What? I...Np, you haven’t! I’m sorry Saitu, but we-“

Mimi laughed. “Then we shall play. Right here, right now.”

“Mimi, I don’t think there’s time for that.” Saitu whispered.

In a fluent motion, Mimi took a small glass ball out of her pocket. It was blue-ish, and when she released it, it hovered in mid-air. “I tought you guys were looking for these?” She suddenly seemed a lot colder. Her eyes flashed to black. “If she wins, she can have it. If she loses, I’ll take her soul with me.”

“What if I don’t want to? You can’t make me.”

She laughed again, more harsh and cold. How come she had changed so much in the past minute? “Then the orb of Wisdom will scatter. It’ll be gone. Forever. The entire hierachy of the orbs will be disturbed.”

“Alice, you can’t let her do that. You have to face her.”

She seemed to be paralyzed, and then turned to him. She pierced him with her eyes. They looked as if one could drown in it: a light shade of blue. And then he realized...

“You leave me with no other choice.” She defolded her Disk.

“Seems like a good decision. Let’s Duel!”

Saitu watched as both the girls drew their five cards. The stakes of this Duel were high.

 

For both of them.

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 30 : Magical Mayhem]

“I’ll start this...” Mimi said. Saitu watched as she played her first card. He had never suspected she wasn’t on his side.

“Not a very good hand, isn’t it...” she told herself. “Let’s solve that by playing Card Destruction, so that both you and me can have a new start.”

Both she and Alice discarded their hands; Mimi Drew five new Cards, and so did Alice.

“Watapon was added from my Deck to my hand by a card effect. Therefore, it is Special Summoned.” A fluffy fairy appeared. It didn’t look very strong, Saitu tought. But he was sure he had seen it before. (200/300)

“Now, I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn to bring back Queen’s Knight!”

A woman in red armor appeared next to Watapon. (1500/1600)

“I’ll do a Normal Summon now. King’s Knight!”

She placed the card next to Queen’s Knight, and a knight in yellow armor and a blue cloack joined her. (1600/1400)

“The effect of the King allows me to Special Summon Jack’s Knight from my Deck!”

She took her Deck (was it hers?) out of her Disk, and placed a card on one of the free Monster Card Zones. The third knight appeared next to the two others. This one had blue armor.

Saitu saw it. “That isn’t your Deck! It’s Yugi’s and you stole it from the museum!”

She smiled at him in a malicious way. “Yes I did. Pretty sweet, huh?”

He shook his head with his eyes closed.

“Let’s see if you can do it better...”

“Maybe I can...Draw! Good...Activate Field Spell! Magical Citadel of Endymion!”

She flipped open the Field Card Zone, and inserted her Card. Suddenly, their Duel was surrounded in a Magical aura. A pole appeared next to her, covered in glass balls. They reminded Saitu of Orbs.

“I’ll Activate this one now. Spell Absorption!”

A larger orb appeared on her left, and one of the small orbs on the pole began to glow.

“I’ll get a Spell Counter for that one. Now, I’ll set a monster and two cards, and then we’ll see what you can do.”

“Yes, and you’re about to see quite something. Draw...This will come in handy for later...”

She shuffled her new card in her hand. Saitu could see by her eyes (which had turned green) she was analysing the game. “I attack your Monster with Jacks’ Knight! Royal Swordslash!”

The knight raised it’s sword, and started running towards the face-down Monster, and hit it with all his force. However, the card seemed to be stronger: his sword broke in two.

“What the-?”

“You’re not the only one with a bloody Mirror Force in your Deck.” Alice flipped over her Trap Card. The knights all scattered when she did so.

“I see. I’ll set another Monster and it’s your Turn.” She didn’t really seem to bother.

“Then I can go again!” With grace, she added a card to her hand. “I Summon Magician’s Valkyria!” A beautiful young sorcereress appeared by her side. Her long orange hair reached her knees. Her clothing was very similar to that of the Dark Magician Girl. (1600/1800)

“I attack your face-down monster! Magical Blast!” The girl swung her wand towards the face-down card, and casted a spell. The monster scattered.

“You have destroyed my Sangan. Marshmallon is added to my hand.” She added the card to her hand.

“Yes, and I’ll activate my Magician’s Circle! I Summon a second Valkyria from my Deck!”

Another girl appeared next to the first one.

“Thank you. That allows me to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl from my Deck as well.” On Mimi’s side of the field, a woman with long blonde hair appeared. (2000/1700) She wore a blue/pink costume, and Saitu tought she bore a striking resemblance to Alice. Or the other way round. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Except that Alice had to win.

“You seemed to have forgotten that there are plenty of Spellcasters in my Deck too?”

“Not at all. You see, my Valkyria’s prevent your monsters from attacking any other Spellcaster, including theirselves. Your Turn.”

She drew a card. By the looks on her face, it was a good one.

“I activate Golden Sarcophagus.” A golden chest appeared, and another orb started to glow. Alice’s Life Points went up to 4500.

“I remove one card in my Deck from play, and in two turns, I can add it to my hand. I set a Monster and it’s your Turn.”

Alice Drew. She had to get that Dark Magician Girl of the field.

“I activate Spell Power Grasp, so my Citadel gains two Spell Counters, and I add another one to my hand.”

The third and fourth orb started to glow while she looked through her Deck. Her Life points went up to 5.000.

“I end.”

When Mimi Drew her card, the chest started to glow too.

“One turn to go...But I don’t think I’ll need it. I’ll activate Lightning Vortex!” She threw a card sevral meters in the air. It transformed into several bolts of Lightning, striking down on the Valkyria’s. Another orb started glowing, and her Life Points reached 5.500.

I Tribute my Marshmallon and Watapon...Mighty Knight,a queeste for thee. May your lance lead me to victory! Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!

A knight in blue armor, carrying a red spear and riding on a purple horse with yellow manes stood opposite of Alice. But she had seen something Mimi hadn’t.

“I attack with both my monsters. Magical Blast and Spiral Spear Strike!”

Alice was hit by both the knight’s lance and the magician’s spell. She was down to a pathetic 200 Life Points. Mimi set a card before she spoke.

“Do it. Do your last Turn.”

“Ok. This one will be the last one, if you say so. I activate my Spell Power Grasp I searched last Turn. That’ll make my Citadel’s Counters go to seven and my Life Points mount to 700. Plus, I’ll search for another Power Grasp.”

“Do whatever you want. You won’t win, silly girl.”

“Don’t listen to her, just do your Turn and show her who’s the strongest!”

Alice Turned to Saitu. “Saitu, you heard her. If I lose, she’ll take my Soul.”

“But you won’t.”

“I don’t know. And neither do you. But...I want you to know...that you’re more than a friend to me. That’s why I’m Dueling here. I’m taking my revenge on her for using you.”

“I-...” He was speechless. He stopped breathing, just for some seconds. “Thanks. I’ll be honest with you. My feelings are the same, but I never realized that till now. This is your moment. Defeat her.”

“I’ll try. I’ll activate Trade-In, exchanging my Silent Magician for two new cards.”

Her Spell Counters increased to eight. Her Life Points became 1200. Saitu saw she Drew her cards not just with her hands; she Drew with her soul. And she got rewarded for it.

“I remove six Spell Counters from my Citadel. Master of the Magician’s, I need your Power. Emerge, greater than before! I Summon Endymion, the Master Magician!”

One of the most powerfull Spellcasters appeared on alice’s Side of the Field. He wore an impressive costume; it looked like a crossing between an armor and a costume. An flappering cape completed the picture. His wand was several meters long. It was decorated with a purple power stone. (2700/1700)

“He looks like a fun playmate.” Mimi sneered. “What Tricks can he do?”

“More than you think. First, I can add a Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand. And guess what you threw there on your first Turn? Monster Reborn!” The card came out of her Graveyard Slot. She took it and Placed in one of her Spell/Trap Card Zones. Her Life points went up to 1700.

“I’ll use it to bring back my Magical Marionette!” A puppet player wearing a red cape joined her Endymion. (2000/1000).

“Now I’ll use Endymion’s Effect. I discard Spell Power Grasp to destroy your face-down.”

The Sorcerer cast a Spell at the face-down card. Two cylinders appeared, and then they scattered. “So you weren’t bluffing. But now, it’s safe to attack. Endymion, attack with the Ultimate Spell!” He swirled his wand, so that the energy stone started to glow. he then pointed it towards the Knight and released his energy. It scattered, and Mimi’s Life Points dropped to 3600.

“Now I’ll suiccide my Marionette on your Dark Magician Girl. Attack using Puppet Spell!”

Both the monsters prepared to strike, and they casted the Spell at the same time. They bursts of energy passed each other, both hitting their target.

“That was all I can do for now. Who’s going to do her last turn now?”

“I am. Because my Sarcophagus’s effect activates, I’ll add Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning to my hand.”

“What!” Alice exclaimed.

“You heard me right. I’ll Special Summon him right away. The beginning has come to an end. Black Luster Soldier, help me reach for victory.”

The ghost-like Spirits of Marshmallon and Kuriboh appeared. They evaporated, and the smoke formed a Warrior. A Warrior that was so powerfull, only one of them had ever been made. Alice seemed to realize this too. She stood there, motionless. Her arms hung besides her body. She had abandoned hope.

“Attack. Divine Blade Strike.” The Warrior hit Endymion, causing him to disappear in thick, black smoke. Life Points: 1400.

“Alice!” Saitu shouted. “I’ll save you. I will avenge you! I’m here for you, and I allways will be!”

She turned her head slowly. She looked him in the eyes. Saitu tought he could spot a tear inside of them. It was over. She still stood there when the Soldier attacked her, taking away all of her remaining Life Points. He disappeared, along with the aura of the Citadel.

“Farewell...Saitu...”

She fell onto the ground, as if in slow motion. Saitu ran towards her, and fell down on his knees beside her.

“Say something...please say something...”

She didn’t. She just lay there, with her eyes closed. A tear rolled over his right cheek. She couldn’t be gone. She must still be here, somewhere. He witched of her Duel Disk, and stood up slowly. Mimi still stood there, smiling at the scene.

“We’ll Duel.” He was breathing heavily.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. We’ll both bet an orb and a soul. You won’t get away with this.”

She laughed at these words.

“Ther’s no extra for me, so why would I?”

He tought for some seconds, then took his green Orb out of his pocket. he let it float, just like the blue one was still doing. “You master wouldn’t like it if this one broke.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 31 : Queen of Card Games : Back in Control]

He looked her straight in the eyes. They were black again.

“I’m afraid I haven’t got a choice.” She reshuffled her cards.

“I’ll start this one.” Saitu announced. He Drew six Cards. “Right”, he tought, “This’ll do.”

“Spell Card activate! Advanced Ritual Art! By Sending X-Head Cannon from my Deck to the Graveyard, I Ritual Summon Paladin of White Dragon!”

A blue beam hit the ground, and when the smoke was gone, there was a knight riding a white, Dragon-ish creature. (1900/1200) “I’ll Tribute him to get to a more powerfull Dragon... Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The knight disappeared, and his Dragon grew to three times it’s original size. (3000/2500)

“I’ll set a monster and a card, and then it’s your Turn.”

She drew her card slowly. “Very nice, but he won’t be around for long. Let’s see...How will we blow him into the Grave?” She smiled, and Saitu didn’t like it.

“I’ll Summon Mystical Elf. She’ll do just fine.”

Her Monster appeared. It had a blue skin, and was wearing a green robe. (800/2000)

“I don’t think she will.”

“I think she makes a great Tribute fodder for my Magical Dimension. This Spell Card lets me Tribute a Spellcaster to Summon a high-level one.”

The elf faded, and there another Spellcaster came. ”The Force of Dark Magic stands by me. I call upon you, Dark Magician!”.

Like they had done many times before, the White Dragon and the wizard stood there, facing each other. He wore a purple robes, and hiw wand was green, about two metres long.

“He won’t do it either! He’s not strong enough!” Maybe there was something else she was planning. He felt the adrenaline pumping through his body.

“That’s where the effect of my Dimension kicks in. After Special Summoning a Spellcaster, I get to destroy 1 monster.” As she spoke, the Dragon started to crumble, untill only some dust remained. “And now I’ll attack your face-down card. Dark Magic Attack!”

Dark Magician cast a Spell at the face-down card. It was a white egg, that hatched before being destroyed. A card came out of it, and it flew into Saitu’s hand.

“Bet you remember my White Stone of Legend?”

“I do. It’s your Turn.”

He Drew his Card. Wall of Illusion. That was good, considering his face-down Card.

“I set a Monster and end my Turn.”

“Stalling allready?” Mimi asked as she Drew. “Pathetic.”

“Defence is the best offence. Don’t forget that.”

“Huh. Well, good luck with that. I Summon Beta the Magnet Warrior.”

A yellow creature that seemed to be built out of magnets appeared. (1700/1400)

“And I’ll use him to attack your face-down Monster. Electromagnowave!”

The Magnet Warrior proceeded towards the card. He was almost there when he stopped. His head dropped, and he just stood there.

“Why did he stop?” She asked him. “How did you let him stop?”

“Simple. I Tributed my Wall of Illusion to Activate My Crush Card Virus. A virus is now devouring your Warrior from the inside.” The creature fell on the ground; it disappeared, but left a thwirl of purple smoke behind.

“My Virus also destroys your Magician.” Saitu continued. The purple smoke penetrated the wizard’s mouth. He too, fell on his knees, yelling in pain. Eventually, he also evaporated. The purple smoke now hung around Mimi’s hand, and one of the cards in it was sucked into the Graveyard slot. “Not to forget, he destroys all monster in your hand with more than 1500 ATK. The same counts for the next three cards you draw.”

“Then I’ll have to do it without my Buster Blader.”

“It’s not yours. It never was.”

He cast a Dark look at her Duel Disk, and the Deck that was in it. “You do not deserve to use this Deck.”

He seemed to have gotten through her. “What’s the matter? Don’t you...”,she pushed her hair out of her face, “...like me anymore?”

Saitu looked into her dark eyes.

“I don’t know you. You’re under mind control. The real Mimi is someone who I’ve never met before. You’re just evil, Gandrios, you used her as a puppet, a slave. Mimi does not deserve this.”

The world seemed to have stopped breathing. For several seconds, they just stood there. He looked her in the eyes. He had to get through to the real her. He wouldn’t be able to win a Duel. The Dark Mimi played it as good as Yugi would’ve done.

It was happening. Her eyes cleared up a bit. Saitu heard a voice, coming from inside her.

“No...I control you. Don’t stop the Duel. Keep going on...I’m in control...”

Her eyes went dark again. He was back in control. Saitu would have to end this quick.

“Your...Turn...”

She seemed to speak very dificult. That was a good sign, or at least he hoped so. Her field was open. He had to do it. Now. He was getting weak to. His aura was fading.

“Draw...Activate Monster Reborn to bring back Blue-Eyes White Dragon.” The Dragon re-appeared by his side. It roared stronger as he had ever done before.

“And I Normal Summon Kaiser Sea Horse...” The blue-purple seahorse appeared next to the Dragon. (1700/1650)

“Your field is open. I Attack for Game...”

His monsters attacked. Mimi’s meter reached zero. Saitu managed to walk towards Alice’s unconcious body. He fell on his knees, right next to her.

“It’s gonna be okay...” he told her. “You’ll be back in no time.” He put his arm around her, and then fainted. Everything went black, and he felt peacefull again.

Rain started to fall very softly onto his face...

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=X. The Invitation]

[spoiler=Chapter 32. The Incredible Healing Deck]

Saitu woke up, but he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t know where he was, or how he had gotten there. He tried to remember something, but he couldn’t. Things he might have said in a previous life suddenly shot through his head.

“Your field is open. I Attack for Game... It’s gonna be okay... You’ll be back in no time.”

Bang. He realised it. He had defeated Mimi, or at least an evil alter ego, in a Duel. He was in a comfy bed with soft sheets. He opened his eyes, and looked around him. He was in a hospital room. All alone. His hair was a bit wet. It must’ve rained.

He decided to stand up, and go find the rest. He opened the door, and entered the hallway. The cold floor felt weird, for he was walking bare-foot. The hallway was empty. He looked around him, hoping to see a doctor. And then he did. The doctor, dressed in a long white coat, seemed to notice him too.

“Saitu Kaiba?”

“Yes. That’s me. “

The doctor looked at him, questionning.

“I’m doctor Jerkins. I examined you last night. You should be in bed. When you came in your condition wasn’t stable.”

“It is now. I feel ok.”

“I think you really should rest. It’d be better for you to-“

“Doc, are you a duelist?” He seemed to be stunned by this question.

“Well...you could say that I am. But what has this got to do with you being out of bed with an unstable condition?”

“I challenge you. If I can win in this ‘condition’, you’ll let me visit my friends. I’m sure they’re in the same hospital. They must be.”

He obviously wanted to decline, but all duelists have some sort of honnour.

“Hmmm...even tough I shouldn’t, I accept your challenge. I’ll get my Deck and Disk, and I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Saitu re-entered his room to get his own Disk. “Great. If I win this, I’ll have to see Alice.”, he tought while strapping his Disk on.

He waited in the hallway, and the doctor came back after a minute.

“I suppose we can start right away.”

“You’re right.” Jerkins replied. “I’ll start things up by playing Injection Fairy Lily!”

He placed the Card on his Disk, making a young, red-haired nurse appear. She was carrying a giant syringe, with two wings on her shoulders. (400/1500)

“I’ll set another card face-down, and end my Turn.”

“Then I’ll go. Draw!”

“I activate my DNA Surgery Card. This allows me to turn all Monsters into Psychic Types.”

The nurse’s outfit became a sort of metal armor. Her stats remained the same.

“Good. I know her effect, so I’ll play Krebons, and leave it at that.”

A cyber-ish monkey-like creature emerged from his Disk. (1200/800)

“He’s allready a Psychic-Type, so your DNA Surgery won’t work on him. Your Turn.”

Jerkins drew his card, and by the look on his face Saitu could tell it was exactly what he needed.

“I’ll activate my Equip Spell Card, Telekinetic Charging Cell.” He placed it in the Spell Card Zone under the Monster Card Zone in which his Fairy was. She started to glow with a mysterious green aura.

“This Spell Card’s effect is that I don’t have to pay costs to activate the effects of Psychic Monsters. My Lily is one due to the effect of DNA Surgery.”

“Smart move...Good Luck overcoming my Krebons.”

“I’ll try it right away. Lily, attack with Syringe Growth!” She winked at him, and used the green aura to make her syringe grow to three times it’s original size. (ATK 3400)

“Krebons, defend with Binary Wall!” Out of his Disk came a large stream of zero’s and ones, and they formed a shield around Krebons, blocking the Fairy’s attack. (LP 3200)

“Then it’s your Turn again...I’ll get your Krebons of the field. Just watch me.”

“I will. Draw!” Not a great Draw, but he’d have to do it with this. “I summon X-Head Cannon in Attack Position!” The yellow-blue machine armored with guns coming out of his shoulders appeared next to Krebons. He had become a Psychic Monster too, making sparks come out of his guns. (1800/1500)

“He’s not too bad, but he won’t be able to get past my Lily.” The nurse giggled and winked at the machine.

“I didn’t say anything about attacking. I’ll Tune Krebons along with him to form Goyo Guardian!”

Krebons jumped up high, and X-Head Cannon flew after him. They spun around so fast they generated a ball of light, and when they finally came down again, they had Synchro’d into Goyo. His outfit was now somewhat like a shiny armor, and his whip sent electrical sparks flying. (2800/2000) “Now I’ll set a card and end my Turn.”

Jerkins laughed at Saitu’s new Monster. “He won’t manage. If I use Syringe Growth, my Lily will be 600 points stronger than your Guardian. Draw!”

“And this is where you are wrong! Continuous Trap Card activate! Royal Decree!”

He flipped his card over, and a castle wall appeared behind him. “With this Decree, I can negate all Trap Cards on the field, so your DNA Transplant loses it’s effect.”

The Injection Fairy and the Guardian transformed back into their human forms.

“Your Charging Cell is destroyed, for it isn’t equipped to a Psychic Monster. Now you’ll have to pay for each attack.” Now it was Saitu’s turn to smile. “Who’s trapped now?”

Jerkins smiled back. “With my two ‘Dian Keto the Cure Master’ Spell Cards, that cost is paid back to me.” He activated the cards, and his Life Points increased. Saitu checked his Disk; Jerkins now had six thousand Life Points. “Lily, attack with Syringe Growth!”

He syringe grew again. She flew towards Goyo, and stabbed him in the arm with it. He fell very slowly, looking as if he had just gotten high, and then scattered. (LP 2600)

“Now, in my second Main Phase, I’m going to have some fun. I activate Trade-In. I discard Guardian Angel Joan from my hand to draw two Cards. I’ll now activate my Spell Absorption Spell Card. This one gives me 500 Life Points each time a Spell Card is activated. I’ll set two more cards and then you can go.”

Saitu Drew his Card. “You do realize Trap Cards won’t work right?”

He nodded. “Yes, but that’s not my plan. I activate Poison of the old man, giving you 800 damage, and increasing my Life Points by 500. To that, I chain Emergency Provisions, tributing my two other cards, increasing my Life Points by 2500.”

When he was chaining his Cards, Saitu kept an eye on the meter. Jerkins now had 7000 Life Points, and Saitu only had 1800 left.

“Holy Ra, that limits my options, doens’t it?...” He looked at his Cards. “But I think I can Synchro my way out of this.”

“That’s impossible. There aren’t any Synchro Monsters with more than 3400 attack points.”

“Just wait and see. I activate Brain Control. Mind if I target your Lily?”

When she heard Saitu calling her name, she happily flew over to Saitu’s Side of the field. (Saitu LP 1000) “Now I’ll introduce to you my lovely ‘Rose, Warrior of Revenge’!”

A second red-haired girl appeared next to Injection Fairy Lily. Rose wore black clothing, and a long white scarf. (1600/600)

“First, I’ll attack with my Rose! Rose Ravage!” She ran towards Jerkins, performing several ninja-like manouvres which seemed to get him out of balance a bit. (LP 5100)

“Now it’s Lily’s Turn. Syringe Surprise!” When Lily attacked him with the small syringe, it didn’t seem to hurt Jerkins that much. (LP 4700)

“Let’s get this over with. Hell Flames will Burn eternally. Decibels rise to match an explosion. Synhcro Summon, Exploder Dragonwing!”

The monsters Synchro’s together, forming a giant Dragon with orange wings. (2400/1600)

“Now it’s only a matter of time. Your offence is gone, so I just need to wipe out your Life Points.”

“That’ll be harder than you think. I Draw, and set a Monster, and then it’s your Turn again.”

Saitu cast a dark look at the face-down Card. “If I’m right, that should be a Nimble Momonga. Nobleman would come in handy here, but since it isn’t in my Deck, I’ll just have to take the risk that I’ll increase hir Life Points.” He Drew his Card. “Too bad for you I’m lucky. I activate my own Trade-In, and I discard Blue-Eyes White Dragon.” He put the yellow and green card in his Graveyard Slot. He took the upper two Cards from his Deck and added them to his hand. “I drew just what I needed. two more Spell Cards. The first one is Monster Reborn. Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Special Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The glowing ankh appeared, and made place for the mighty Dragon. (3000/2500)

“Holy shi...”

“I’m not done yet. I’ll equip him with Big Bang Shot!”

He placed the Equip Card under his Dragon. He roared loud, no doubt waking everyone in the hospital up. A nurse came out of one of the nearby doors, gave a yelp, and hurried back inside. (BEWD ATK 3400)

“Blue-Eyes, attack his face-down Momonga! Burst Stream of Destruction!”

The ferocious Dragon ripped the Card in pieces. “You’re right. It was my Nimble Momonga. So I gain 1000 and lose 3300. Plus, two more Momonga’s are Summoned.” (LP 2800)

“That’s great. I attack one of them with my Exploder Dragonwing!”

The Dragon made the same movement as the white one.

“Huh? My Life points didn’t increase!?”

“That’s because Exploder takes away the Attack Points of every monster he defeats.”

Jerkins looked terrified. Then, all the holograms faded away.

“What’s wrong with my Disk?” Saitu asked, speaking more to himself than to Dr. Jerkins.

“I surrender. You have proven your worth. You can leave whenever you want, but I would advice you to stay.”

Saitu nodded. At the end of the hallway one of the doors opened. Alice stood there, still in the same clothes as the day before, but without her shoes. Jerkins turned around, and then got out of the way quickly to let Saitu pass. He kept on running untill he stood next to her. She hugged him, and he replied to this by running his fingers through her long, blonde hair.

“Thank you...” she whispered. “I tought I’d never get back.”

“The pleasure’s mine.”

He looked into her eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes out of which all life on earth seemed to gain it’s energy. He then rembered.

“Where’s Mimirca? Is she going to be okay?”

“She in the same room as I am. She’s still asleep.”

He then heard someone put down a phone. He turned around to see it had been the doctor.

“Mr. Kaiba, Miss Solum? Both of you are expected in the conference room in two minutes. Appeareantly some VIP is coming to pick up a Deck of which he said you found it back after being stolen.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 33 : The Rightfull owner]

Saitu and Alice hurried through the hallways. Flashes of people in their room, watching TV or solving crosswords were visible through several open doors.

“D’you really think he’s here?”

Sait had to to think about that answer. “To be honest, I don’t know.”

They finally arrived at a door with a little plaque that said ‘Conference Room’. Saitu wanted to enter, but Alice stopped him. “You’d better knock first.”

He did that, and a strong, self-secure voice answered him. Slightly nervous, he opened the door.

And there he was, sitting at the end of the long, wooden table. Yugi Muto was in his early fifties, but he still looked strong and confident. He wore a black T-shirt that Saitu had seen on the television; Yugi had won it at the National Championships. In fact, he had seen Yugi winning the T-shirt yesterday morning.

Saitu saw he was also wearing metal arm bracelets, and an old Kaiba Corp. Duel Disk System. His hair still was pointy, but there were now several grey hairs in the patchwork of black, yellow and purple.

“Please, have a seat.” he gestured towards the two chairs next to him. Saitu and Alic, both sat down, facing each other.

“Mr. Kaiba...I must say it’s quite an honour to meet you.” Yugi looked at him significantly.

“I’m afraid the honour is all mine. You can just call me Saitu.”

Yugi smiled. “I assume you know the history of your grandfather and me?” His mouthcorners twitched a little more.

“I do. He was the second-best Duelist of his age, and you had the first place.”

He sighed. “In our youth, we only Dueled when the stakes were high. After I and the Pharaoh had chosen to take different paths, I was all on my own. My friends never let me down, but Atem wasn’t an ordinary friend. Anyhow, your grandfather trained and trained, and eventually his level reached mine. We never Dueled in big tournaments. We did some Duels for charity and stuff, but almost all the Duels he won from me were off-screen.” This made him laugh. Saitu smiled too. Yugi then turned to Alice.

“Miss Solum, I’ve heard some things about you. It seems that you’re a talented Duelist who believes in what I call the heart of the cards.”

Alice nodded, and smiled.

“I believe you have something with you that is mine?”

“That’s right, Mr Muto.” She handed over the Deck.

“You can just say Yugi. Mr. Muto isn’t here.” He smiled at him confidentially. They both smiled back. “So, how did the Duels go?”

Alice told him about her Duel, how she had topdecked Endymion, and her defeat due to Black Luster Soldier.

“I should substitute him for something else.” Yugi admitted. “Konami’s going to ban him again, the bastards.”

Saitu said his Duel had been short. Yugi didn’t seem to mind. “One Day, both of you will get your rematch. I promise that they will be way more exciting.” He smiled one more time, and then he serious’d.

“Miss Solum, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll have to ask you to leave the room.” She looked puzzled, and Saitu did the same. “You could say I’ve got rather important bussiness to discuss with Saitu.” She nodded, and did what was told her. She left the room in silence, leaving only the sound of her footsteps behind. Yugi then shuffled his Deck, and put it on the table face-up. The top card was Kuriboh.

“You know what Spirit Partners are?”

“I do. They’re Spirits of Monster Cards that can communicate with humans.”

“Exactly. As you must allready know, Kuriboh is mine. He told me about you some time ago, and that I had to get in touch with you quickly.”

Saitu nodded. Yugi’d better not be joking.

“It seemed that you have joined the group battling against the Society of Shade in order to gather all the Orbs.”

“You’ve heard right. Katrina asked me, and I had no choice than to aggree. I didn’t believe her at first, but...” He sighed.

“In that case, you’re just like your grandfather.”

Inside Saitu’s head, a little light began to burn. Yugi had known his grandfather better than anyone else. He had so many questions to which Yugi must know the answers.

“But we’ll discuss him later. Kuriboh told me he sensed one of the Orbitals within the Spirit Monster World. Therefore, I’m inviting you to join me.”

“To what?”

“I will guide you to the Spirit world, in order to help you defeat the Keeper of the Orb of Life.”

Saitu felt that this would mean being one step closer to Gandrios. Soon everything would be over. His life would be back to normal.

“I’m in. On one condition: that you tell me what happened to my grandfather.”

Now, it was Yugi’s turn to sigh. “This will be complicated.”

“I will understand.” he replied fiercely, hoping that he indeed would. Yugi smiled back at him. He began his story, while Saitu was listening fascinated.

“Soon after Atem had left for his own world along with the Egyptian Gods and the Millenium items, the true power of the Orbs began to show itself. For ages, they had been oppressed by the Millenium Items. Pegasus, to whom they belonged at that time, decided that they should be hidden all over the world. He only kept the Orb of Power, hoping that that one would be stronger. He recently lost possession of it, when his granddaughter Katrina defeated him in an Orb Duel. She didn’t want her grandfather to be endangered by the Orb’s mysterious forces.”

He took a deep breath, and then went on.

“Almost fifteen years ago, your grandfather possessed the Orb of Courage. Using Kaiba Corp’s computer system, he had managed to track down Gandrios.”

Saitu visualised Seto Kaiba sitting in front of a huge computer showing a world map, smiling when suddenly a little red dot appeared.

“He left without telling anyone. He believed that he would be able to defeat Gandrios. Nobody knows what the outcome of the battle was, or even whether he actually found Gandrios. Nobody ever saw him again. His will stated that you, his only heir, would inherrit his Deck and his money, and that most of the Kaiba Corp stocks would go to his brother. But, not untill the battle for the Orbs would have started again.”

“So he might still be alive?”

Yugi remained in silence. He looked out of the window, a bit distracted. When he spoke again, his answer was short.

“There is a chance”.

Saitu felt new hope flowing through his veins. He was still alive. He was somewhere out there, still alive.

“Concerning or trip to the Spirit World. The tournament will be delayed a bit, due to Miss Hucy’s condition. I’ll see you tomorrow evening. I’ve taken care of a small jet. Seven PM sharp. You’ll be expected at Domino’s airport. Make sure to bring your Deck.”

“My Deck...Wait a minute. If Seto disappeared, how come his Deck was retrieved?”

Yugi laughed. “Maybe he had more than one Deck?”

Saitu nodded, smiled back, and left the room.

A new adventure awaited him. An adventure that would put an end to everything. He was concerned about what Gandrios would do after he would have put the fifth Orb in safety.

As Saitu walked back to his room, he felt a sudden stitch. His heart began to hurt a little. The Orbs of Courage and Wisdom must’ve started their conflict.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 34 : Bifurcation]

 

He had finally reached his room’s hallway. It had been over 15 hours since had aquired the blue Orb. If he didn’t pass it on to someone else, he’d have to pay for it. He couldn’t think very clear. He knocked on the door of the room out of which he had seen Alice coming out that morning. She opened the door. “Hey.”

“Hi. Could you come to my room for a sec? It’s important.”

“Okay then.” She blushed a little. It still felt a bit odd that they told each other about their feelings. Saitu held the door open for her, and gestured towards the bed. She sat down onto the edge of it, looking at him while he searched the night cabinet. He took the blue ball out of it, and gave it to her.

“Take this. You’re supposed to protect it from now on. Take care of it.”

As soon as she had touched the ball, the pain in his chest disappeared. He sat down besides her while she examined the Orb carefully. He noticed a blank card lying on his cabinet. It looked exactly like the one that had appeared after he defeated Magurios. He decided to put it into his wallet.

“What did Yugi tell you?” she had put the orb away in her pocket, and was now looking him straight in the eyes. Saitu looked back, and saw she was worried.

“I’m leaving with him tonight. We’re going to the Spirit World. Kuriboh told him one of the Monster Spirits is an Orbital.”

“Oh...” She clearly was disapointed. He tried to comfort her by taking her hand, which lay next to her.

“Do you have a Spirit Partner?” This question came a bit unexpected.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“I just tought it’d be fascinating to have one.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

There was a long silence, during which they just sat there, staring through the window. Two birds were building a nest in a nearby tree. “Do you think we can go home today?”

“I have no idea. Maybe I should go and ask one of the doctors.”

He stood up, and went looking for Dr. Jerkins. He found him in the staf room.

“Well, you allready proved you’re better, so I’ll call your granduncle to pick you and your friend up.” He made a quick call, and then told Saitu he’d be picked up in fifteen minutes. Saitu and Alice took the time to put their shoes back on, and take all their stuff. While Alice strapped her Disk on, Saitu looked at Mimirca, a bit worried.

“She’ll be allright. Don’t worry about it.” He turned back to her.

“I hope so. I’d never forgive myself if something had happened due to me winning.”

Alice took him by his hands, and looked him in the eye. “Don’t say that. You had no choice.”

“You’re right. If I hadn’t won, who would have? Katrina might’ve been able to, but maybe she would’ve come across Ryan or Jane first. And most important, you’d still be-“

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Alice replied, letting go of his hands.

The entire gang squeezed themselves into the hospital room. Ryan, Jane, Mokuba, Katrina and Nadine all looked a bit worried.

“I and Nadine will stay here with Mimi.” Katrina told him. Saitu nodded. When they were about to leave, Nadine called his name.

“Thank you for ‘aving saved ‘er. I do not know who else could ‘ave done it.”

“I...don’t think I had a choice really...I hope she gets better soon.”

She smiled. “I am looking for ward to our Duel. Good luck in ze next round.”

 

Saitu was happy just to sit in the car. He decided he should tell Ryan about Yugi’s invitation.

“Yeah. I know about it. Yugi visited us this morning to tell Mokuba about it.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“It was awesome. He even signed a poster for us.”

“I still think it was impolite to just ask him to.” Jane intervened. Ryan went a bit red. “He didn’t seem to mind really.”

It was one o’clock when they arrived at Domino’s Museum. Saitu noticed a sign “Exhibition cancelled due to external factors”.

They went inside, and Saitu started packing some clothes, for in case the trip to the spirit world would take longer than expected. They had sandwiches for lunch, and Saitu asked Mokuba some questions.

“The tournament? It should recommence the day after tomorrow. The doctors say that Mimi should be better by then.”

“Do you know anything about the blank cards that appear when an Orb Duel ends?”

He showed Mokuba the two Cards. He investigated them carefully.

“Or they are misprints, or Konami is joking. I really don’t know.You should ask Katrina. She knows more about the Orbs than I do.”

“Okay.”

 

Time seemed to pass very slow. When it was four o’clock, he decided to have a chat with the others.

“I want you guys to protect your Orbs. Carry your Duel Disk wherever you go.” Ryan was looking more serious than he ever had done. “So this is for real? We’re really in danger?”

“Not immediatley. Gandrios isn’t stupid. He’s waisted two Orbs on me, so he won’t send anyone to come ‘n get them back. I’ve reached the point wher I should go and search them instead of just protecting. If everything Katrina said was true, the Orbs’ strength should match that of the Millenium Items when brought together.”

Ryan stood up.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.” Saitu noticed his eyes narrowing.

“Why not?”

“Because...something will happen. I’m sur of it. I want you to stay here, and look after the girls and Mokuba. He’s not that young anymore.”

Ryan sat down again, rubbing his knuckles, lost in his toughts.

“I understand. I’m sorry.”

“That’s ok.D’you guys mind if I go and have some fresh air?”

He wanted to get out to have some time to think. Were they really in danger? What could happen while he was gone? Ryan should be able to protect everyone, and Alice and Jane weren’t bad Duelists either, but if... He sat down on the garden wall. A bird flew over his head, free in the wind. What he would give to be like him, without responsibilities? Being able to just...take off not to return? He burried his face in his hands. What had he gotten himself into? He didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially not his friends. Why?

A had gentily touched his. He looked and stood face to face with Alice. He didn’t know what to say.

“You’re worried...What’s wrong?”

He replied by smiling at her, and putting an arm around her. Then they just stood there.

“If attack points were my love for you, not even Five-Headed Dragon could express my feelings for you. I don’t know why, but it’s the way I feel.” She blushed, and he hold her even tighter. “Things will be fine. Don’t worry.” These words, these simple words of which he knew came straight from the bottom of her heart managed to give him new hope.

 

Half six came too fast. He said goodbye to everyone.

“Remember. I’m counting on you.” He whispered as he shook Ryan’s hand. He just nodded, but Saitu understood. He got into the car with his backpack. Mokuba took place on his left. Of they were, to Domino’s airport.

Mokuba managed to find a parking space quickly. He gave Saitu an envelope before he could get out.

“Don’t use it, unless you’re in trouble. Serious trouble.” Saitu shook his hand. He got out of the car, but Mokuba didn’t drive away for several minutes.

 

“Saitu Kaiba?” A man wearing long blue pants and a short-sleeved shirt was adressing him.

“Yep. The one and only.”

“I’ll be your pilot. If you’re quick, we can get into the jet within 10 minutes.”

He followed the man in silence. It was very busy on the airport. He saw several Egyptian people dressed in white, and a group of Scottish people in quilts. A bussinesman pointed at him and adressed his collegues, but they watched away as soon as Saitu saw them.

“I heard you’ve been in a good Duel last night?”

“Wha-...Ow, that one. It wasn’t bad...”

The pilot seemed amazed by this. “Not bad? You defeated the King’s Deck in six Turns! It’s all over the internet, but Mr. Muto specificly asked not to tell it in the media. We’re there.”

They stepped outside. A cool, gentle breeze tickled Saitu’s skin. A hundred meters away, Saitu noticed a small jet. He didn’t know what his future was going to be, only that he’d try to enjoy it a hell of a lot.

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

I'd say give it some small duels, it'll be a nice build up to the big one

[Mysty]

Once again, I'll say that this is a good fan-fic. It was cool how close Saitu was to losing from the Countdown, but he still won. BTW, on my fan-fic "The Evolution of a Duelist", I've made Chapter 14, and I'm thinking of the idea for the duel in Chapter 15. I'm mainly wondering what the opposing duelist will use against John.

[Mutant Monster RAEG-HAPYP]

One of the best fanfics I've seen

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=XI. The Monster Spirit's World]

[spoiler=Chapter 35. Tag Showdown]

 

Saitu woke up. The jet had finally landed. He had fallen asleep in his chair.

“Good morning. You can find a coffee machine in the back.”

Still sleepy, he managed to turn on the coffee machine. He poured in a cup for the pilot too.

“Thanks. We’re going to land in about 20 minutes.”

He drunk his coffee and looked out of the window while waiting. He put the cups back in place, and fastened his seatbelt in order to land. He had never flewn in a plane before, but it hadn’t been that bad. Even landing wasn’t that spectacular.

He took his backpack and Duel Disk, and got out after thanking the pilot. A cab was allready waiting. He stepped inside, not surprised to find Yugi waiting.

“How was the flight.”

“Good. Where are we?”

“China. The entrance to the spirit world is located in an underground chamber, beneath the Great Wall. Almost no one knows about it.”

Saitu nodded. He noticed that the cab driver was Chinese.

10 Minutes later, they arrived at a small motel to get some breakfast, which wasn’t that bad. Saitu hadn’t expected Chinese people to have bacon and eggs. They booked a room with two beds and a tiny bathroom. Saitu dropped his backpack, and Yugi re-opened the door.

“Are we leaving allready?”

“Sure. We’re in a hurry, are we?”

Back into the cab again. They drove in silence for ten minutes, and then they arrived at the great wall. While Yugi paid the cab driver, Saitu looked at his left and at his right. He couldn’t see the end of the Wall. They walked about 50 meters. Saitu then saw a trapdoor, but something made him realize he wasn’t supposed to. He looked at Yugi, questionning.

“You seem to think the same thing as I do. I had hidden the entrance with a layer of sand. Somebody must’ve entered.”

Saitu bit his lip. “Do you think it’s dangerous?”

“Only one way to find out.” he opened the trapdoor, revealing a stone staircase. Saitu followed him through it, and they discovered themselves in the middle of a stone labyrinth. There were torches burning every 10 metres. Yugi seemed to know his way, and Saitu followed him closely. After they had walked for ten minutes, they arrived in a vast Chamber, with candles burning. on the other side, there was a glowing portal. Yugi was halfway through the room, when the door behind them closed. He turned around. “sheet!”

Saitu looked through the room carefully, and then saw two shadowy figures standing in the corners behind them. He hadn’t noticed them before.

“I’m surprised you go here without the Map.”

“Brother, I don’t care, they’ve run into our trap.”

“Indeed, they’ll never see the day again.”

“The Master will reward us, then?”

They stepped out of the shadow. They were both bald, and bore Kanji signs on their foreheads. One of them wore a green robe, the other an orange one.

“After we’re through with you you’ll want to submit.”

“You’re right, Para, they’re in deep sh-“

“You guys again!” Yugi shouted. “Why on Earth has Gandrios hired you two?”

Saitu decided he should say something too. “Well, it does explain why they disappeared after last year’s World Cup Tag Duelling. I just tought they were ashamed becauser they ended up fourth.”

Dox, the brother in green sighed. “It’s true that we’ve made some mistakes.”

“But now we’re back for real, not for fake.

“I suppose we have to Duel you?” Yugi seemed annoyed by his own question.

“The idea of you is very fine.”

“In fact so good, we cannot decline.”

Yugi opened his Disk, and Saitu followed his example.

“If we can win, you guys get out of here, and won’t return. Is that okay with you, Yugi?”

“Works for me.”

Para drew six Cards, and made the first move. “I activate Polymerization in order to fuse Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier. I summon Labyrinth Tank!”

The ground began to rumble, and out of it came a bright purple tank. (2400/2400) Saitu wasn’t too impressed. A Fusion monster with only 2400 attack?

“Next, I’ll summon Jirai Gumo!” A ferocious brown tarantula that was almost as big as the tank came falling from the ceiling. Even tough it had 2200 attack, Saitu knew about his downside. (2200/0)

“And that concludes my Turn.”

“Then I’ll go next!” Yugi replied. “I summon Mystical Elf in Attack mode!”

The blue maiden in green opposed the stronger monsters. (800/2000)

“I’ll activate Magical Dimension. I Tribute her to Summon Dark Magician and destroy your Tank!”

The Spell Card’s hologram appeared. The Elf made place for an even stronger Monster.

”The Force of Dark Magic stands by me. I call upon you, Dark Magician!”

The purple-cladde Magician appeared, and the Tank exploded. (2500/2100)

“I’ll use him to attack your Gumo. Dark Magic Attack!”

Dark Magician swung his wand at the spider, who got blasted away. (Para & Dox 3700)

“That concludes my Turn. You’re next, Dox.”

Dox Drew his sixth Card. “I summon Kaiser Sea Horse, in attack mode!”

Before him, a purple-blue sea horse appeared. It was breathing heavily. (1750/1650)

“With Double Summon, I can Tribute him to Summon Sanga of the Thunder!” The sea horse rotated, and made place for a giant orange-brown golem. It bore a golden Kanji on it’s head. (2600/2200)

“Let’s end this Duel. I activate Brain Control to take over you Magician!” (LP 2900)

The Spellcaster walked over to the other side, facing Saitu.”

“Nice move, brother.” Para told him.

“Attack with Thunder Fist!” The golem charged his huge arms, generating sparks. He threw a thunderbolt towards Yugi, who made a quick hand gesture. His Life Points remained unharmed.

“I discarded Kuriboh in order to protect myself.”

“But your, or better, my Magician can still attack. Dark Magic!”

The Mage used the same wand gesture, and a black beam struck Yugi’s Duel Disk, causing him to fall on his knees. (Yugi & Saitu 1500)

“Are you all right?”

“Never been better.” he stood up.

“You have been weakened. I set a card, and end my Turn.”

“Then I’ll go. I activate mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down.”

Dox smiled. I chain my Judgement of Anubis. I discard a card, and I can destroy Yugi’s Dark Magician and inflict 2500 damage! It’s over.”

Yugi discarded another Card from his hand. The Magician transformed into the hologram of a face-down Card.

“I activate Book of Moon from my hand. Your Judgement of Anubis cannot target face-down monsters.”

It was Yugi’s Turn to smile now, and Dox stopped.

“Sorry, Yugi. That almost cost us the Duel.”

“Never mind. I like some spice in my Duel. Continue playing, and don’t dissapoint me.”

“Uhm...Okay. I’ll activate Trade-In to draw two new Cards.” The Disk swallowed his Blue-Eyes, along with the Spell Card. It spat out two new ones. “Good. I activate monster Reborn!

Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Special Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The giant, white-scaled Dragon appeared in order to face the Thunder God. (3000/2500)

Dox seemed amazed by the creature, but Para was unimpressed. “Relax, brother. If he attacks our Sanga, it’ll cost him the Duel...”

“I set a monster and a Card, and I end my Turn.

“That’s good. Then I can go again. Draw!”

Saitu intervened. “I activate my Trap Card, Crush Card Virus! By Tributing my Face-Down Wall of Illsuion, I can destroy your Sanga, and all the strong monsters in both your hands for the following three turns.

Para discarded his Suijin and his Unshaven Angler, while Dox discarded Gate Guardian. Both of them scowled. “I that case, I’ll set a monster and two face-down Cards.”

Two holograms appeared.

“Good move, Saitu. I activate my Heart of the Underdog Continuous Spell Card. Next, I’ll activate Card Destruction!” Everyone tossed their hand and Drew a new set of Cards. Dox discarded Kazejin.

“Drawing Watapon allows me to Special Summon her.” Yugi continued. He placed one of his newly-drawn Cards on his Disk. A little, furry, pink creature appeared. (300/200)

“I will flip my Dark Magician back into Attack position. Just to make sure he doesn’t feel left out.” He flipped the Card back over. “I’ll Tribute my Watapon. Demonic King of Fiends, unleash your might upon the unworthy! Summon, the Summoned Skull!”

As Watapon scattered, a hellish fiend brandishing a demonical wand appeared. He flapped his purple wings dangerously. (2500/1200)

“Summoned Skull! Attack with Lightning Strike!” The monster shot an electrical bolt from his wand, destroying the face-down monster. It revealed to be a purple rat with malevolent yellow eyes. (1400/1200)

“I activate my Trap Card!” Para declared! “Widepread Ruin destroys the strongest Monster on the Field, thus the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The Dragon scattered, and exploded. “And now, my Giant Rat’s effect activates! I summon Labyrinth Wall from my Deck!” He fanned out his Deck, and put a Card from it on his Duel Disk. “Now, I’ll activate a Book of Moon of my own to change him to face-down Defence Position.” He flipped the Card over.

“In that case, I end my Turn.”

Dox Drew a Card. It was Shadow Ghoul, so he discarded it. “I can’t do anything for now. But as long as we’ve got Labyrinth Wall, you cannot defeat us.”

Saitu Drew his Card. He showed it to Para and Dox, because it was his Vorse Raider. He Drew another one, and then he smiled.

“What’s up? Did you Topdeck?” Yugi asked.

“You bet I did. I activate Advanced Ritual Art. I remove X-Head Cannon from my Deck to Summon Paladin of White Dragon!”

A Knight riding a white, Dragon-ish Creature emerged from the Spell Card’s hologram. (1900/1200)

“Next, I Summon my Vorse Raider, in Attack mode!”

The axe-wielding Beat Warrior joined his Paladin. (1900/1200)

“Paladin, attack with White Strike!”

The Knight ordered his Dragon to gallop towards the face-down, and slashed it in half.

“My Paladin can destroy any face-down monster without Damage Calculation.” he explained. “Now, Vorse Raider, Attack directly with Axe Slash!”

The Raider aimed it’s slash at Dox’s Disk. Saitu looked at his to see that their Life Points had dropped to 1400.

“In my Second Main Phase, I’ll activate Paladin’s second effect: I tribute him to Summon Blue-Eyes from my Deck!”

He searched his Deck, and replaced Paladin. “I end my Turn by setting a face-down.”

Para Drew. He showed it to be Monster Reborn, then smiled. Yugi looked worried, but Saitu winked at him

“You can’t defeat us. I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Sanga of the Thunder!”

He placed the Card in a Spell Card Slot, and the golem reappeared. Little did he know, he would be washed away by a tidal wave a second later. It disappeared along with the other Monsters. Saitu couldn’t resist laughing.

“You! What did you do!?”

“I activated Torrential Tribute. What’re you going to do about it?”

“I end my Turn!” he said angrily.

Yugi Drew his Card. “Good one. You saved us there. I Summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!”

He placed the Card on his Disk, making an angry-looking Warrior with green armor appear. (1400/1200) “Attack using Sword Slash!”

The Elf attacked Para with a movement similar to Vorse Raider’s. The brother’s Life Points dropped to zero.

“It seems that we have run out of luck.”

“We weren’t playing for an Orb, so who gives a f-“

“Look, are you guys going to get out of here or what? And tell Gandrios he’ll get his part when I find him.” Saitu told them. A bit disappointed, the opened the lock, left the key, and started finding their way back throught the Labyrinth. Saitu looked a bit surprised to see their map still lying in the corner where Dox had awaited them. He picked it up and pocketed it.

“Ready to go?” Yugi asked him.

“Sure.”

He stepped through the glowing portal, and Yugi followed him.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 36. The Different Dimension]

Saitu felt he was spinning swiftly. Or was it just the blur of colours around him? He knew one thing for sure: that he was falling. He saw Yugi several meters above his head; eyes closed and his arms pressed against his sides. Saitu followed his example, which felt less unpleasant. He just wished it was over.

And then it was over. He didn’t know where they were. It looked like some sort of a vast cave, with campfires of blue flames. Yugi stood next to him. A furry, brown creature was flying around his head.

“We’re here, Kuriboh. Show us the way.”

Kuriboh squeaked in excitement, and started guiding them. On their way, Saitu saw many Monster Spirits. None of them paid attention to the humans. Eventually, they reached a staircase, with on top a mysterious, multicoloured, rotating panel. The staircase was guarded by two humanoid creatures. One of them was a girl dressed in black leather. Her blonde hair was long, and she was carrying a white, glowy sword. The other was a tall man, wearing armor and a rag cape.

“We’re looking for Exodia.” Yugi asked them.

“I wish you luck.” Warrior Lady said. “I haven’t seen him for 2 years.”

“Our Master has travelled to the other dimension, through the Different Dimension Gate.” Survivor explained.

“Could we use the Gate too?” Saitu asked.

Warrior Lady smiled. “I don’t know. You’re both Duelists, aren’t you? Maybe if you could...defeat us?”

“Daisy, don’t be so harsh on them. I’m sure these travelers are in a hurry.”

She looked at him. “C’mon David, it’s been sooo long since we’ve had a Tag Duel...”

He sighed. “If they aggree, it’s okay with me.

Yugi turned to Saitu.

“What do you think?

“Fine with me.”

Daisy smiled even wider, and transformed her sword into a Duel Disk. David took one from under his cloak.

“I’ll start things up.” Saitu announced after having Drawn six cards. “I activate Trade-In; by discarding my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I can Draw two...I’ll Summon Y-Dragon Head and that’s it.” A red, dragonish Machine appeared by his side. (1500/1600)

“My Turn!” Daisy said, Drawing a Card. “I activate Different Dimension Capsule. I can remove a card in my Deck from play, and add it to my hand after two turns have passed.”

A blue-ish sarcophagus appeared. She fanned open her Deck, picked a card from it, and placed it into a special opening from her Duel Disk. “Then, I’ll set a Monster and two face-downs. That’s it.”

“Then I’ll go next.” Yugi declared.

“I activate my Continuous Trap Card, Macro Cosmos!” Daisy flipped over her Card. A black vortex appeared above their heads. “Now, all cards that would go to the Graveyard are removed from play instead. And, I can summon a ‘Helios – The Primoridal Sun’ from my Deck!” She fanned it open again, and placed a card next to her Defence monster. A little humanoid creature with a sun as a head appeared. (100/100)

“Now, to start my Turn, I’ll also set a Monster, and then you can go, David.”

“With pleasure. I’ll Summon myself, D.D. Survivor to the field.” He stepped forward, preparing for battle. (1800/200) He walked towards Saitu’s Dragon, and bashed it with his fist. The Dragon got sucked into the black hole, and Survivor walked back to his place on the Duel Field. Saitu saw his meter had dropped down to 3700. He also saw Helios’ attack and Defence had increased to 200. “I end my Turn by setting two Cards.” The holograms appeared behind him.

“My Turn.” Saitu announced.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’ll activate two copies of Needlebug Nest. Therefore, I send the top 10 Cards from my Deck to the other Dimension. Since there was another D.D. Survivor in that packet, he’ll get Summoned during the End Phase. Please continue.”

“Okay. I’ll...What! Helios’ Attack is 700?”

“Yeah. His values are the number of removed monsters.” Daisy explained. “I’ve got one, you’ve got one, and David’s got 5, but he’ll lose one of them when this turn ends.”

“So I’ll have to get rid of it before it gets too strong...I summon Z-Metal Tank.”

The yellowish Machine stood where the red one had been Summoned a Turn earlier. (1500/1300)

“Nu-uh. I activate my Trap Card Dimensional Prison to remove your Tank.”

The Tank got sucked into the hole. There were now 16 removed cards, of which there were eight monsters. “In that case, I’ll end my Turn.”

“And then a second Survivor comes back.” David said. An exact replica of him came out of the hole.

“My Turn. My Helios is getting strong.” she looked at the sunny figure. (ATK 700)

“I’ll Tribute her to Special Summon Helios Duo Megistus.”

The first Helios made room for a second, fatter one. (ATK 1600)

“The following Turn, my removed Card is added to my hand. I’ll Summon myself, D.D. Warrior Lady, onto the field in Attack mode. She joined her Megistus. (1500/1600)

“Helios, attack with your Macro Sunray.”

The Monster’s head shot a ray of Light at Yugi’s face-down. It appeared to be Marshmallon. (300/500).

“That costs you thousand Life Points.” Yugi told them. “And what’s more, my Marshmallon stays right where it is.” (Daisy & David 3000)

“In that case, I’ll attack him with my D.D. Slash!” Her Disk transformed into a sword again, with which she slashed marshmallon in half. Both of the pieces got sucked into the hole. She herself went back to where she had stood before she has Summoned herself.

“Then it’s my Turn again...” Yugi said. I set a Monster and activate Swords of Revealing Light!”

Three shining Swords came falling out of the black hole. “You won’t be able to attack for three Turns! Next, I’ll activate my Heart of the Underdog Spell Card, and another face-down.”

“I’ll take the following Turn”, David announced. “I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.”

A man wearing a long robe, and holding a necklace with red beads appeared. (1800/1700)

“That’s all I can do. End.” One of the Swords disappeared.

“Then I’ll draw.” Saitu seemed to be lucky. He drew 2 his Vorse Raiders, X-Head Cannon, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He showed them all in order to keep drawing. Then, he was out of Normal Monsters, but not out of luck.

“I activate Dark Core to remove your Helios from Play. I can do this by removing my X-Head Cannon from play.” Both Helios and the blue robot disappeared into the hole. There were now 20 Cards in it. “I summon my Vorse Raider, and have it attack your Kycoo.”

The axe-wielding monster appeared, and peformed his Axe Slash on the Spellcaster. Their Life Points dropped even further. (Daisy & David 2900)

“I’ll end my Turn by setting a card.”

“It’s almost over. My Capsule activates, adding Golden Homunculus to my Hand. Next, I’ll Tribute my face-down D.D. Crazy Beast to Summon him.”

A giant golden figure appeared. Saitu was happy there were still 2 Swords to protect him, because this Monster’s ATK increased by 300 Points for each removed from play Card, and there were 25 of them right now. (9000/9000)

Yugi also happened to draw a series of Normal monsters. Beta the Magnet Warrior, Queen’s Knight, Summoned Skull, Jack’s Knight, Dark Magician and Gamma the Magnet Warrior were shown to the opponents, but the he got stuck. He had created huge hand advantage, but that wasn’t enough. “I end my Turn.”

David Drew, and set the Card he had Drawn. There was only one Sword left.

Saitu Drew his Card. Monster Reborn.

“I activate D.D. Dynamite. 25 removed cards make a total of 2500 Damage.” Saitu watched as the meter fell from 4000 to 1500.

“Too bad for you you couldn’t wait with that. I activate Monster Reborn. Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Special Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

The white-scaled Dragon, however, was no match for the homunculus, who’s attack increased to 9400. “Next, I activate Return from the Different Dimension!”

All three of his removed machines came falling from the hole.

"Mechalicious! More than meets the eye! Contact Fusion! XYZ Dragon Cannon!”

The three of them merged together to form a giantic Machine. (2800/2600)

Homunculus’ ATK lowered to 8700, which was still too much.

“There are five Cards on your field, and five in my hand too. With other words: I destroy your field.” All of their Cards got sucked into the hole, and then the hole itself imploded.

“Blue-Eyes, attack with Burst Stream of Destruction!”

The Dragon whiped down all of their remaining Life Points. The holograms faded.

“Good job, Saitu. Seto would’ve been proud of you.”

He smiled. Then, Daisy spoke again. “All right, you can go. Just a question: didn’t one of your driends insert a D.D. Warrior Lady in his Deck?”

“Yeah. He did.”

“In that case, I’ll be his Duel Spirit from now on.”

Saitu nodded. He said goodbye, and followed Yugi through the mysterious portal.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 37. Wizard’s Power-Easter Eggs and TIME]

Saitu found himself in a place similar to the one they had just left. He looked around him, observing all the fairys and warriors he saw. He followed Yugi, who seemed to know where they had to go.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to see Exodia. He shouldn’t be too far...”

They neared a door with a Monster’s Level Star on it. It opened as soon as Yugi touched it. Saitu expected to see Exodia himself in there, but instead, there was a little humanoid clock brandishing a wand. It wore a blue-red cape, and had seemed to be waiting for them.

“Time Wizard, we need to see Exodia as soon as possible.”

The little Spellcaster sighed. Saitu now recognised it too.

“Our Master has left.”

“What?” Saitu asked. “Where to?”

Time Wizard adressed him now.

“He is off to chase the one of whom he thinks has betrayed him.” he sighed again. “I’m in charge untill he returns.”

Yugi took over again. “Which Monster is it? We need to find him too.”

The Wizard took his time to think. “The Trap-negating cyborg. For long we have tought he was on our side, untill master Exodia saw his real intentions. He fleed, and Master Exodia promised to chase him for seven years, and then their battle would take place.”

Saitu’s toughts were racing at top speed. They’d have to wait.

“How long ago did they leave?” he asked them.

“Only several months ago. I’m eager to see him return. But I’ll have to be patient.” He toyed with his wand a bit untill the next question came. It was Yugi’s, and it was rather a request.

“Could you send us seven years into the future?”

Time Wizard’s eyes widened, and he was about to answer when the door opened. Saitu turned around to see a boy of about seven years old standing there. He had short, brown hair, and his Duel Disk seemed a bit too big. The wizard was the first to speak.

“I’m sorry, John. I’m discussing important matters.”

“Uh...Okay, I guess...” He wanted to leave again, but then he noticed.

“You’re Yugi! The King of Card Games!”

Yugi smiled at this.

“Yes, I am.”

“Whoa! Sweet! Can you sign my Duel Disk for me?”

Time Wizard interrupted.

“Not now, John. You’ll meet him again. Trust me.”

He looked at Yugi one more time, wondered who Saitu was, and then closed the door behind him.

“I’m sorry. That was John, and I’m his Duel Spirit. I promised him he could visit me any time he wanted...But anyhow. I will transport you, only if you’re perfectly sure.”

“I am.” Saitu answered. “I just don’t know how we will be able to get back.”

“Come and visit me. I’ll be around for some time.”

Saitu looked at Yugi, and he nodded.

“The entrance of the Spirit World constantly moves. Look for John. He’ll always be able to find it. Now, Time Roulette Go!”

The little clock at the end of his wand started spinning, and he cast a spell al them. Saitu’s eyesight got blurry, and eventually he felt as if he was spinning around again.

 

He was lying in a bush. The sun was shining brightly. Yugi was standing a meter in front of him. With a force Saitu hadn’t expected from such an old man, he helped Saitu to stand up.

“How in the name of Ra did this get here?”

He looked at Yugi’s Duel Disk. There was a Spell Card, “T-Threatment of the Master” on top of his Deck.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before. Judging by the name, it’s part of a bigger group of cards. Like the H.E.R.O. cards for Elemental Heroes, and G.E.M. for Crystal Beasts.

“You might be right. I hope it’s not a bad omen tough.”

“We should be fine, I guess. We’ll just have to find this John guy. Question is: where should we start looking?”

Yugi looked around. “I think we’re lucky.”

Saitu watched in the same direction as Yugi. A boy who looked just like the young John they had just met, was walking hand in hand with a girl. They both seemed about three years younger then Saitu, so that was correct. John had dirty blond hair. He was wearing khaki clothes, and his girlfriend wore blue jeans ans a white shirt. Her hair was long and black. She said something to John, and pointed at Yugi. John noticed them too. They walked in Saitu’s direction.

“Aren’t you Yugi?” John asked him. Yugi smiled.

“Yes, I am, John. I believe we’ve already met.some time ago.”

His eyes fell on John’s Duel Disk. Saitu recognised it as a Duel Academia Slifer Red Duel Disk. John then glanced at Yugi’s. He saw the card Yugi had just discovered.

“Treatment of the Master?! Were did you get it?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll duel you for it. In a Tag Duel.”

“What! We can’t possibly win that...”

“John. You need it. There’s only one of it in the entire world. We have to try.”

John looked at her, thinking.

“Okay. But what if you guys win?”

Saitu answered this question. “You’ll show us the way to the Monster Spirit’s World.”

He bit his lip. “It’s our only chance.” his girlfriend reminded him.

“Then it’s a deal. I’m John, and this is Kim. Who’re you?”

“Saitu Kaiba. Good to meet you.”

While John shuffled his Deck, he seemd to be talking to himself. Saitu could barely understand him.

“We’re going down...But I guess I’ll have to...”

“Duel!” Kim announced, drawing six cards. “I’ll start things off.

I activate Cross of the Dimensions. Now, we each activate a field spell from our decks and for the rest of the duel, field spells can’t be activated, more than 1 Field Spell can be in play, and the field spells cannot be removed from the field. I activate my Field Spell Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt!” She fanned open her Deck and opened her Field Spell Card Zone.

“I’ll activate my Warped Timeline.” John replied. He did the same thing. At first, Saitu didn’t notice anything changing. He then saw several bright-coloured Easter Eggs behind the trees and benches around them. John’s Field Spell didn’t generate holograms yet.

”Neither of us have a Field Spell.” Yugi noticed. “So what happens to us?”

Kim answered his question. “You each take 1000 damage (Saitu 7000, Yugi 7000), but you can each draw 4 cards. Anyway, continuing with the duel, thanks to my Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt, I can activate an Easter Egg from my deck, so I choose Easter Egg 5.”

A blue easter egg came rolling towards her. It stopped in one of her Spell and Trap Card Zones. There was a big pink number five on it.

“Now I’ll activate its effect, so I pay 1500 Life Points (Kim 6500) to draw 2 cards.” As she drew her cards, her egg became a bit pale.

“Now I summon Easter Egg Scouter. I’ll use its effect to add Easter Egg 10 to my hand. Now I activate Easter Eggs 1, 2, 9, and 10.” Four more bright eggs clogged up her backline. They bore numbers, just like the number five. A man with an egg-shaped head appeared, complete with a ribbon. (ATK 1600)

“Now I activate my Easter Eggs’ effects: 1: I gain 500 Life Points (Kim 7000), 2: You lose 500 Life Points (Saitu 6500), 9: You lose 250 Life Points and I gain 250 Life Points (Kim 7250, Saitu 6250), and 10: I special summon a monster from my hand and one of you special summons a monster that is 2 levels lower from your deck. I summon Dragon of the Many Eggs.” A pink-green dragon joined her Scouter. (ATK 2100) The rest of the Eggs became pale one by one too.

”Mind if I special summon my monster, Yugi?” Saitu asked him.

”Nope. Go ahead.”

”I’ll summon this little fella: Krebons!” The cyborg-like monkey appeared. (ATK 1200)

”A Tuner monster…” Yugi said. “I remember learning about those types of monsters. They allow you to Synchro Summon, right?”

”Exactly.” Kim replied” Anyway, I’ll remove my Easter Egg 9 from play. I set a card and end my turn. “

”About time.” Saitu told her. “Now it’s my turn, so I draw. I summon Kaibaman. Now I’ll tribute it for my ace card. Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!. The brown-haired man joined his Krebons, making room for the mighty Dragon. (ATK 3000)

“Now I’ll activate the effect of Thunder Dragon, I discard one to get two others from my deck.” He searched his Deck for his Dragons. “Now I activate Polymerization, so I – wait, the Polymerization isn’t working. What happened?”

John laughed, and explained.

”Warped Timeline, that’s what happened. Whenever a Normal Spell, Ritual Spell, Quick-Play Spell, or Normal Trap is activated, it gets negated and it gets 2 Time Counters.” A heavy stone clock appeared on top of Polymerizarion’s hologram. It’s arm pointed towards the two.

“While it has Time Counters, it is counted as a Continuous Spell. During each of your Standby Phases, you get to remove a counter. When the last one is removed, your card gets sent to the Graveyard and then its effect activates.”

“Crap.”, Saitu tought. He hadn’t seen any of their cards before. He figured that in other dimensions, other cards were used. This was a serious disadvantage for both teams.

”Fine. Since only the last player can attack on the first round, I activate Monster Reborn and Mystical Space Typhoon, which means they will all have to wait 2 turns.” The holograms appeared, both with clocks on them. “I’ll set a card and I’ll end my turn.”

John Drew his Card. “It’s my move then. I draw. I set a monster and a facedown and I’ll end my turn.”

”That was a short one.” Yugi noticed. “It’s my turn then. I draw. I send Alpha, Beta, and Gamma to the Graveyard. Attraction of positive and negative energy, work together to form the supreme electromagnetic creature! Special Summon! Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!

A huge multi-coloured creature reinforced their side of the field. It was as big as the Blue-Eyes. (ATK 3500)

“Now I’ll have it attack your Easter Egg Scouter with Electromagnetism!” The Warrior generated an electrical beam by smashing it’s vast arms together, destroying the Scouter. Her Life Points dropped down to 5350.

“I set 3 cards and a monster and I’ll end my turn.”

”Not yet!” Kim intervened. “At the end of your turn I’ll activate my Easter Mine.”

The hologram appeared, and got smashed by the clock at once. “It’s my move, so I draw. My Easter Mine will lose one of its Time Counters.” The wand moved towards the one smoothly. All her eggs gained color again. This meant they could be re-used.

“Now I activate the effects of my Easter Eggs again, so 1: I gain another 500 Life Points (Kim 5850), 2: Kaiba loses 500 (Saitu 5750), 5: I pay another 1500 Life Points (Kim 4350) to draw another 2 cards and 10: I special summon my Egg Treasurer (ATK 1500) and one of you can summon a Level 1 monster.” The eggs paled again.

”I’ll have to do this one again, Yugi. I summon my White Stone of Legend.”

The white shiny egg appeared next to the grown-up Dragon, who didn’t seem to dislike this. (DEF 200)

”I’ll have my Egg Treasurer destroy your White Stone and my Dragon of the Many Eggs attack Yugi’s monster.” Kim’s Monsters attacked, but nor Yugi nor Saitu seemed to mind this.

”When White Stone of Legend is sent to the Graveyard, I can add my Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to my hand.” Saitu announced. He searched his Deck, and put a second Dragon in his hand.

“You attacked my Marshmallon.” Yugi poined out. The marshmallow-like creature laughed at Kim, while she lost 1000 Life Points. (3350) She sighed.

“Okay then. I remove Easter Egg 10 from play and I’ll activate Easter Egg 7 from my deck. I’ll use its effect to destroy Valkyrion.” The warrior shattered into tiny little fragments.

“I end my turn.”

”Good. It’s my move.” Saitu told her. “I draw. My 3 Spell cards each lose a Time Counter” The three wands moved at exactly the same speed, at exactly the same moment.

“Now I’ll have Blue Eyes destroy your Treasurer. Burst Stream of Destruction!” The Dragon blew the Treasurer away, leaving Kim with only 2350 Life Points left.

“I’ll end my turn with that.”

”It’s my move then. I draw. I Flip Summon Time Wizard.” John announced. The red-blue clock wizard appeared on his side of the field. (ATK 500.)

”That’s the same card I gave to Joey, and the same Time Wizard spirit that brought us to this dimension!” Yugi noticed. The wizard spoke to them.

”Yes, and I’ve got a special trick, called Time Evolution.”

”That’s right.” John replied. “This Time Evolution ability lets me sacrifice my Time Wizard to turn it into the Time Magician.” Time Wizard started transforming. The result was a more human-like version of him. (ATK 2200).

"He also has a special ability: if i summon him through Time Evolution, then this turn, instead of having him attack, I can have him send a monster away for two rounds, and I choose Marshmallon." Marshmallon imploded as it got sucked into the other dimension. Yugi grumbled.

“I activate Time Spell – Time Flashback.” Another hologram with a clock appeared.

“I also activate Time Spell - Quick Cyclone, which means I can get rid of the Monster Reborn Kaiba controls. I set another card and end my turn.”

Yugi Drew, but by the looks of it, he couldn’t do anything yet.

“I set a card and end my Turn.”

”On to me again.” Kim smiled. Her eggs regained colour.

“My Easter Mine now activates, so I lose my 4 Easter Eggs and deal 2000 damage to Kaiba.

The eggs exploded with a surprisingly loud bang. Saitu lost 2000 Life Points. He only had 3750 left.

“Since 5 of my Easter Eggs are removed from play, I can summon Easter Knight.”

A knight with blue armor brandishing a fluorecent green sword emerged from her Duel Disk.

(ATK 2400).

“I equip my knight with the Easter Egg Scepter which gives it a power boost.”

The sword got replaced by a yellow scepter. His attack increased by 1000.

“Now I activate Easter Egg 8 from my deck and I’ll use its effect to destroy Polymerization.”

Saitu watched as his Spell Card shattered.

“I will now remove it from play. I activate the effect of Easter Egg Scepter, so I can activate the effect of Easter Egg 7 from my removed-from-play zone. I’ll use it to destroy Blue-Eyes.”

”Not on my watch.” Yugi countered. “I activate T – Treatment of the Master, so the monster with the highest level cannot be destroyed this turn, and that monster is Saitu’s Blue-Eyes, and T is unaffected by ‘Warped Timeline’.”

”So it really is one of the T.I.M.E. Cards...” John said to himself.

”If that’s the case, I’ll attack you, Yugi.” Kim announced. The knight attacked him directly. (3600).

”I activate my Time Trap – Damage Timer.” John replied. “It can only be activated if a monster dealt damage by attacking directly, and I must sacrifice a monster and pay Life Points equal to the damage dealt.”

His Life Points lowered even further.(4600).

“It allows the monster to attack again with the same target, but using its original ATK instead.”

The Knight attacked Yugi a second time. Yugi only had 1200 left.

”Thank you John.” Kim told him.

”If they can use cards to help each other, so can we.” he answered.

”Right. I end my turn.”

Saitu Drew his Card.

”Welcome to your last turn, Kim.” The clock reched zero, and it disappeared. “My Mystical Space Typhoon lets me destroy your Scepter.”

”Yes, but the destruction of the Scepter causes all of my removed Eggs to go to the Graveyard and inflict damage to someone equal to 500 x the number of cards sent that way. There were 7 cards sent, so that means 3500. I’ll choose to end Yugi right now. Scepter, destroy Yugi.”

There was a loud bang, but Yugi hadn’t lost a single Life Point.

”Unfortunately, my Time Trap has another effect, Kim.” John explained.

“Until the end of my turn, all damage that would be dealt to me is reduced to 0 and any damage that would be dealt to Yugi is put off until his End Phase. In other words, that Scepter damage will hit him during his End Phase, but no sooner.”

”Yeah, but both of you will be destroyed before that happens. I tribute my Blue Eyes White Dragon for Thunder Dragon.” The White Dragon made place for the small green one. (ATK 1600)

“What the...?” John said.

“You’re forgetting someone. Now I tune Krebons to my Thunder Dragon!

Hell Flames will Burn eternally. Decibels rise to match an explosion. Synchro Summon, Exploder Dragonwing!” With a loud bang, the huge red-winged Dragon merged from his Extra deck. (ATK 2400)

“I'll have it attack Easter Knight. Thanks to its effect, if your monster's ATK is lower than or equal to the ATK of my Dragon, I can skip the battle, destroy your monster, and inflict damage to you equal to your monster's ATK” Her Life Points dropped to zero. Her holograms fainted.

“One down, one to go.” Saitu tought.

”Good luck John.” she said before she sat down on a nearby bench.”

”It’s my turn. I draw.” John announced.

“My Time Flashback loses a Time Counter.” The hand slid from two to one. “Now I activate my Time Spell – Look Into the Future, so I pay 1500 Life Points (3100) to activate the effect of a Time Spell from my deck right now and send it to the Graveyard. I choose Time Spell – Pot of Riches, so I draw 2 cards.” He searched his Deck for the Spell Card, reshuffled it and Drew two new Cards.

“Good. Now I summon my Marauding Captain and I’ll use its effect to summon Mataza the Zapper.” A wary-looking swordsman and a young warrior appeared, with 1200 and 1300 Attack points respectively.

“Now I’ll equip Mataza with United We Stand, so it gains 1600 ATK.”

Mataza began to glow as hos attack rose to 2900).

“Mataza can attack twice, so let’s Mataza Whack Kaiba and his Dragonwing! I’ll use two direct attacks to finish you off.” The warrior stabbed Saitu twice with a dagger he had hidden beneath his close, and his Life Points dropped to zero. Saitu sighed, and joined Kim.

”During your End Phase, I activate my two Continuous Traps, Ultimate Offering and Stronghold the Moving Fortress. Stronghold gets Special Summoned to my field.” A giant machine with several gears missing joined his Marshmallon. (DEF 2000)

“Your Turn.” John declared. “It’ll be the last one.”

“Heart of the Cards, guide me.I draw. Please be the one I need.... “ He smiled when he saw what he had Drawn.

“I summon Green Gadget. I’ll use his effect to add Red Gadget to my hand.” A green machine wearing a huge gear on his back appeared. (ATK 1400)

“Now I’ll use Ultimate Offering’s effect (700) to let me summon Red Gadget.”

A third Machine appeared. (ATK 1300).

“Red Gadget lets me add Yellow Gadget to my hand. Now I pay another 500 Life Points (200) to summon Yellow Gadget (ATK 1200). Now I switch my Stronghold to attack mode (original ATK 0).” He smiled. “Everything is set up. This is the end.”

”No it isn’t.” John laughed. “You’ve got three weak machines, a Marshmallon and a token with zero attack points! You can’t win this!”

”Yes I can. First, Green Gadget, attack the Marauding Captain with Gear Spin!”

The gadget rolled towards Marauding Captain, destroying it. (2900). Mataza’s attack lowered to 2100.

”Stronghold! Attack with Mechanized Whack!”

The machine didn’t move. John laughed at it, but stopped doing so when the three gadgets jumped inside it, taking the positions of the missing gears. It’s attack rose to 3000, and it was able to move. It smashed Mataza, and John was left with 2000 Life Points left.

“My Stronghold becomes stronger when all three of the Gadgets are on the field. Now, Red and Yellow, attack with Gear Spin!”

They released themselves, and performed an attack just like Green Gadget’s. John’s Life points hit zero. The holograms faded; the Duel was over.

Yugi stepped towards John, and gave him the ‘Threatment of the Master’.

“I want you to have this. In my dimension, Konami would make its status Illegal anyway.”

John took the card. “Then I’ll show you the entrance of the Monster Spirit’s World. It’s hidden in the forest north of town. A Monster Spirit guides those who have the right to be there.”

“Thanks.” Yugi said.

There was a short silence, broken by Saitu.

“Well. I suppose we’ve all got other things to do?”

They said bye, and each went in another direction. Yugi smiled.

“What’s up?”

Yugi answered while they were crossing a street. “He forgot to ask me to sign his Disk.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 38. Psycho Shocker Android]

They had finally reached the woods. Saitu could feel they were close, even tough he didn’t know why.

“We should see a Duel Spirit around here.”

Yugi nodded. They proceeded to go north. Several minutes later, Saitu could hear the sound of a wooden flute.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know, but someone should be around here. That means the Duel Spirit who is to guide us is human.”

Soon enough, they noticed a man with long blonde hair, pointy ears and green armor sitting against a tall oak. His sword lay several meters further away. It was he who had been playing the flute, which he was now attaching to his belt.

“Isn’t that the Celtic Guardian?”

“Yes. He is one of the two Duel Spirits that have stood by my side. This is Caedmon. It’s celtic for ‘wise warrior’.”

As soon as he saw them he stood up, took his sword and greeted Yugi.

“Master, it is I who has received the task of guiding you. Follow me.”

He turned around, and began to march.

“Is it usual that Monster spirits only communicate with their Partners, or with the people they have to ask something?” He could still remember how distant all the Spirits had reacted to their arrival.

“Yes. Altough there are exceptions. Most of them are Spellcasters, like Time Wizard...”

They had reached an old elder tree. Caedmon placed his hand ot it, and a glowing hole appeared on it. He told them to enter through it, and followed them.

 

Saitu’s first impression was that the world was more empty, and darker.

“Where is everybody?” Yugi asked Caedmon, who sighed at this question.

“Tis no longer the noble Exodia or the wise Wizard of Time who rules this world. Jinzo has taken control over it, and has locked away most of the non-dark monsters. He does not know nor approve of me being a spy. I’m to help those who have been chosen to stop his terror.”

He lead them to the room where they had met Time Wizard so long ago. He bowed for Yugi, and then hurried off. Saitu held out his hand to touch the door.

“It won’t work when you do it.” Yugi warned him. He tried anyways, and he was surprised it did work. He took a step forward in the dark room, and after that, the door closed behind him with a loud bang.

“You fool!” a loud mechanical voice boomed through the chamber. “You utter fool! Did you think I not foresaw your arrival? You be Orbholder. I feel you.”

The voice belonged to Jinzo, who sat on a throne that didn’t stand there seven years ago. He stood up. He was big, dressed in green and a black cape. His eyes glowed. He wore a mask similar to that of Hannibal Lecter. His breath sounded like it came from an electrical lung, but it was probably due to the fact he was a machine, not a human.

“Why did you do this?” Saitu asked him.

“You dare asking me that? You foul human! If I could, I would spit at you!”

“But you can’t.”

“Exactly. I am became owner of the Orb of Life. Gandrios promised me body. Soul. Freedom.”

“Grammar”. Saitu tought.

The cyborg defolded an impressing Duel Disk. Saitu did the same thing.

“If I win, take over your body and own your Orb!”

“Good, but if I win, you’ll let all the spirits go, and you give me your Orb. And you’ll take Grammar lessons, cause you could use some!”

“Duel Mode On! Drawing Six Cards.”

Saitu drew five. He’d have to do this quickly. Where was Yugi?

“Summoning level four Drillago in attack position!” The machine declared. A robotic creature armed with several drills appeared. (1600/1100)

“End Phase.”

“That all you got! Draw!” He quickly analized his hand and the field. He’d have to do this quickly.

“I Summon Vorse Raider!” He placed the card in order to make the axewielding fiend appear. (1900/1200)

“Go! Destroy his Drillago with Axe Smash!”

A swing later, Drillago was shattered in one thousand pieces, leaving Jinzo with 3700 Life Points.

“I’ll set two face-downs, and then it’s your Turn.”

Jinzo’s Duel Disk ejected a card, and he took it.

“This is good. Activating Continuous Spell Card. Future Fusion sends Cyber Dragon, three Jinzo’s, and three Jinzo-Returners from my Deck to Graveyard. Two turns after Summon Chimeratech Overdragon.”

“Like you’ll survive long enough.”

Jinzo laughed. Saitu didn’t know machines could do that.

“Jinzo-Returner Special Summons Jinzo when send to Graveyard. Summoning three level six Jinzo from Graveyard.”

An army of Jinzo’s arose. They all were slightly smaller than their Master, but still big enough to make Vorse Raider to almost pee his pants. (2400/1500 – 2400/1500 – 2400/1500)

“I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Future Fusion!”

The holograms of the Spell Card got sucked up by a little black hole.”

“Doesn’t matter. Attacking your Raider with Jinzo. Psychic Wave.”

The first of the Jinzo’s started walking towards Vorse Raider. He seemed to be getting smaller and smaller as he went, and when he had reached him, he was only half his original size. Vorse Raider laughed at the little Jinzo, and then crushed him with his axe.

“What this is?”

“It’s Shrink.” Saitu said, revealing the Card. “It halves your Monster’s attack, leaving you with 3000 Life Points left.”

“Fine. Jinzo, attack using Psychic Wave!”

This Time the Raider didn’t get away. He was destroyed by Jinzo. The third one hit Saitu in the stomach, dropping him down to 1100 Life Points.

“You’re in trouble. Proceed the Duel.”

“I will.” He Drew. He felt the envelope Mokuba had given him about twenty-four hours ago. He then realized what was inside. He’d have to Summon it this Turn. He looked at his hand. It was possible, if he had some luck.

“It’s over. This last turn starts by discarding Thunder Dragon to add two to my hand. I then activate Polymerization to fuse Twin-Heade Thunder Dragon!”

He fanned his Deck, searched for his Dragons and discarded them. He took out his Extra Deck, and placed his Dragon on the field. (2800/2100)

“Next, I Summon my Magna Drago. It’s a level 2 Tuner.”

His little red Dragon joined the big sparking one. (1400/1100)

“Flames to dust, ashes to ashes. Rise and flare, Trident Dragion!”

The two Dragons Synchro’d together to form another one. It was huge. It’s three heads were angry, and were sprouting fire. (3000/2800)

“I won’t use it’s effect. I’ll win with a card that is very close to me.”

“Negative. You’d have to Summon a Monster with 5.400 attack points. Not even Dragon Master Knight, the strongest Monster in the Game could help you now.”

“Screw you. i’ve got something stronger.”

He showed Jinzo the last card in his hand. Dragon’s Mirror.

“I’ll activate Dragon’s Mirror to fuse the strongest Monster in Duel Monsters. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. Fusion Summon! Five-Headed Dragon!”

He has shouted the last sentence. He opened the envelope, and saw what he had expected to see. He played the card, and out of the Mirror came the first Dragon head. Then a second. Then, 3 other came. Finally, the five-headed Dragon stood there, overshadowing the entire Dueling Field. Even Trident Dragion seemed utterly small in comparison to this divine creature.

“System Error. This not can be!”

“Yes, it can. Trident, attack with Triple flame!”

Trident Dragion’s heads each attacked one of the Jinzo’s. There was only one left, and Five-Headed was getting impatient to take away Jinzo’s last 2400 Life Points.

“Do it. Pentuple Burst Breath.”

As all the Dragons worked together to blow up his Life Points, Jinzo started to crumble. When the holograms had disappeared, only several bolts, screws and other machine parts remained of Jinzo. On top of the ashes, Saitu found a white Orb, and another blank Card.

“Strange. Now I’ve got three of them...”

Behind him, the door re-opened again. However, it was not Yugi who was waiting for him.

It was Exodia.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

is there going to be only one major duel, or multiple ones?

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=XII. Back for the Battle]

[spoiler=Chapter 39. Back to Reality! Acceleration!]

“What? Exodia? I mean, where’s Yugi?

Exodia laughed.

“Yugi’s helping the other prisoners to escape at the moment. One the guards heard someone was Dueling Jinzo, the got out of here as fast as they could. Right after that, Yugi unlocked my cell. Come on, I’ll show you.”

He followed Exodia for a while. Saitu now saw happy faces all around him. They met Yugi on his way from the cells. Time Wizard was accompaning him.

“Saitu! You made it!”

“Yeah. It was cool. kinda.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t think you can stay here much longer.” Time Wizard told them.

“You’ll need to go back to your own time, to your own dimension.”

Exodia intervened. “I first need to thank these heroes. This should be appropriate...”

He have Saitu and Yugi a blank card. It didn’t resemble the Orb’s cards though. Yugi seemed to understand.

“I’d give you the third one too, Yugi, but it has been stolen before my departure.”

“That’s okay. Time Wizard, we’re ready to go.

The Wizard got ready to perform his Spell.

“Time Roulette, go!”

Saitu felt himself being timewarped again. Even though he now knew how it felt, it still wasn’t a pleasant experience. They found themselves right in front of the Different Dimension Portal, and since it’s guardians were nowhere to be seen, they decided to just step through it. Yugi then guided him through the Monster Spirit World. None of the monsters seemed to notice them, just like the last time.

Another portal, and they found themselves in the labyrinth again. Yugi found his way out fast, and then he called a cab.

“What are those cads Exodia gave us?” Saitu asked while they were waiting. Yugi sighed.

“These cards are inhabited by the Spirits of the Egyptian Gods. You can’t yet see them. I’ve got Slifer, you’ve got Obelisk. It’s weird, huh?”

Saitu remained in silence while they were in the cab. He didn’t even say anything when Yugi was discussing with the cab driver for trying to rip him off.

 

Even that night, when he was alone on the plain, he didn’t feel too good. He leaned against his window, watching the clouds as they were resembling the sea below them. At last he dozed off. He was sitting in the middle of nowhere. All he could see around him was nothing. The floor was white, and so was the ceiling. Walls were nowhere to be seen. He examined his body. He seemed older. His hands were bigger, and his nails looked different. From the corner of his eye, he saw a single card lying several meters away. As he looked at his Duel Disk, he noticed his Deck was gone.

He reached for the card. He was surprised to hear a voice when he was only an inch away.

“Trap Card Activate. Bannishment to the Afterlife. Farewell, my friend. This is where it ends.”

With a shock, he awoke. Whose voice had it been? It was loud, very low but still clear. ‘My friend’...

“We’ve arrived at Domino airport.” the pilot told him.

Saitu’s hair was sticking to the window. He got up, and noticed he was all sweaty.

 

Another surprise awaited him. When he got into the big hall, Mokuba and Ryan awaited him.

“Quick. In the car.” Mokuba told him.

“Why?”

“Gandrios has sent 2 Duelists. Alice and Jane are stalling them.”

He drove dangerously fast. Suestions were racing through Saitu’s head too. Who were those Duelists? Were Alice and Jane in danger? Why did Gandrios even bother to have them both defeated? Jane didn’t have an Orb jet...

He felt the white Orb getting warm. He had to give it away quickly.

They arrived at the mansion. The three of them ran through the living room and got into the garden. Saitu was shocked to see both of them lying there unconcious. He put the white Orb into Jane’s hand.

“You keep this.” he whispered, even though she wouldn’t hear him. He looked up and saw that Katrina and Nadine were facing the two now. The Duelists were both dressed in a long black robe. One of them was obviously a woman. Her skin was teal, and she had long purple hair. The second one was a man with messed-up black hair, and a red mask to cover his eyes.

Katrina and Nadine seemed to be about to win. They controlled a huge beast-warrior and a sparkling dragon. Saitu noticed his Deck had returned, and turned his Disk on to see the information of the Duel. Katrina had noticed him arriving, and focussed on the game again.

He checked his Disk and saw that the monsters were named Gladiator Beast Heraklinos and Judgement Dragon. The opponents only had 500 Life Points left, and Katrina 1200.

“I draw”. The woman announced. Her field was empty, and her companion’s too, but she laughed anyways. She had five cards in her hand.

“I Summon the Wind Effigy. I’ll activate Double Summon to Summon my Harpie’s Pet Dragon!”

A huge red Dragon appeared. It looked impressive, but it only had 2000 Attack Points.

“My Field Spell, Rising Air Current, will boost Hanna’s Dragon by 500 Points!” The man said.

“Yes, dear, but I didn’t really need that one. Activate Monster Reborn to bring back Harpie Lady #1!”

A woman almost identical to Hanna appeared next to her Dragon. (1300/1400)

“It will boost all Wind monsters by 300 points!”

Her Dragon rose to 2800.

“It’s still not eenough!” Nadine noticed. “Our monstres ‘ave 3000 attack points.”

“Silly girl. From my hand, I activate Inferno Reckless Summon.”

“No, you won’t! Heraklinos can negate any Spell Card by discarding a-...Oh.” she noticed her hand was empty. The woman dressed in black laughed as two more doppelgangers appeared.

“Harpie’s Pet Dragon! Attack with Dragonic Wingwind!” the Dragon shrieked ferociously as it blasted away Herklinos, along with 1300 Life Points. Both of the women fell down. This obviously hadn’t been just a friendly Duel.

Harpie Lady took Katrina’s red orb which had been lying on the table, and Harpie’s Brother took the blue one out of his pocket.

“Give them back!” Saitu shouted. Harpie Lady looked at him as if she had just taken candy from a kid.

“No. Harley, I think we should be leaving.” With an incredible speed, they ran through the house.

“Ryan!” Saitu shouted again. “Grab your Disk and follow me!”

He saw Ryan clicking his Duel Disk to change his Deck, and then they were off. On the street, they saw the Harpie’s had thrown of their black cape, and were flying low through the streets. Saitu saw two bikes standing at severeal meters from them.

“Hop on. We’ll return them later.”

Ryan did as he was told, and together with Saitu they managed to get in the vincinity of the Harpie’s.

“Ooh, seems like they’re determined. Do you plan on dueling while riding a bycicle?”

This gave Saitu a great idea. He strapped his Disk onto the steer. Ryan knew what he was going to do, and followed his example. They dodged another biker who was coming from the opposite direction, and went through a sharp turn. This was going to be tough, but they’d have to do it. He saw Ryan Drawing six Cards.

“I’ll kick things off. I set a Card and summon Goblin Attack Force!”

With difficulty, he managed to slip the Cards into the slots. Several green men appeared by his side, wearing helmets and waving their clubs. They didn’t look too smart, but their force’d have to compensate that. (2300/0)

“My Turn!” Harpie’s Brother announced.

“Open Trap Card!” Ryan interrupted him. “Final Attack Orders! This one makes sure all face-up Monsters must stay in attack position, therefore shattering the weakness of my Goblins!”

“A new Earth build?” Saitu asked him?

“You bet it is.” He smiled. They drove out of the city, onto a small road where almost no cars came. Saitu hoped this crazy Duel would be finished before his legs gave up...

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 40. The Fast and the Duelist]

Somewhere next to a small country road close to Domino City, reporter Fred was desperate for something to happen. His boss had told him he’d get fired if he didn’t find anything important enough to show on the news. He sat down on the little folding chair he had in his backpack, and burried his face in his hands...He was done for. Nothing was going to happen.

He was about to put his camera away when he saw two boys on bycicles arriving a bit further on the road. Nothing extraordinary, except for the fact they were actually Dueling!

He sprang up, quickly put his chair in his backpack, and started filming while getting on his own bike. Fred filmed the boys while going by. He had to follow them from a distance.

 

Meanwhile, Harpie’s Brother didn’t seem to have noticed this. He was invisible to most humans, and so he was to Fred. He drew a sixth card.

“I activate a Spell Card!”

Saitu hadn’t heard him speaking untill now. His voice was very confident and sharp, almost like a hawk. He gave everything he could to keep up with the incredibly fast Duel Monster Spirits.

“Rising Air Current will boost all my WIND Monsters by 500 attack points. Next, I’ll play my Ancient Rules Spell Card in order to Summon Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry!”

From his black and brown Duel Disk, a giant yellowish bird appeared. He had a yellow, divine-like aura around him. Neither Saitu nor Ryan liked the looks of it. (2900/2000 > 3400/1600)

“I Summon myself, Harpie’s Brother, and end my Turn.”

His values were displayed on the Duel Disks. They immediatley changed due to his Field Spell Card. (1800/800 > 2300/400)

“We are so screwed!” Ryan yelled.

“Yes. I totally aggree. But let’s see what I can do. Draw!”

This looked good. This Turn would be a gamebreaker, and no card on the field would be able to stop it. He set a Monster and a face-down, and ended his turn.

“About time!” Harpie Lady sneered. “I’ll have a go. I Summon myself! Harpie Lady!”

She slowed down, coming close to Saitu’s face-downs. (1300/1400 > 1800/900)

“To that, I chain with Inferno Reckless Summon!” She flung the card into her lila Disk’s Graveyard, and to exact copies of her appeared.

“Way to go sis!”

“Indeed!” Ryan told her. “I Summon two more Goblins!” Another six Warriors joined the first three, the one looking stupider than the other. Harpie Lady just laughed at the sight of them.

“My Ace Card! Delta Attacker!”

“What!?”

“No!” Saitu replied as they made their way up a hill. “I Chain Crush Card Virus!”

The Trap Card opened when they were on top, and as they went downhill, all the Harpie’s monsters started to decay from the inside, destroying them. Saitu discarded the Trap and his Wall of Illusion to the Graveyard.

“Hey! My Simorgh!”

“Don’t worry, bro. Setting this will render us the winner. I end my Turn.”

“I’m up!” Ryan told her. He Drew his card and added it to his hand. “Attack, my army of Goblins!”

As the green men approached Harpie Lady, she flipped up a Trap. The Goblins bounced against an invisible wall, and they shattered.

“Damn it...” Saitu heard him mutter. “Mirror Force...Your Turn.”

He seemed disappointed as they made a sharp turn. Both of them were starting to get tired. Saitu’d have to end it on his next Turn.

“Draw!” Harpie’s Brother exclaimed. His hand was empty, except for Terraforming, Trade-In and the freshly-drawn Monster Reborn. He showed his hand to Saitu, and then slid his new card in a Spell slot. Simorgh reappeared by his side.

“Go! Direct Attack!”

Saitu almost got blown of the bike by the shock of Simorgh’s attack. They only had 600 points left. But he’d have to turn the tables quickly. Harpie Lady noticed that too.

“What’s the matter? Is it over? Can’t our little boy win?”

“Yes I can! Draw!”

This wasn’t much, but he could do it with this hand.

“I activate my own Ancient Rules to Summon a level eight Normal Monster from my hand!” He saw Ryan smiling. He knew what was going to happen too.

”Abandon all hope! The Dragon of Destruction is here! Turn around, bright eyes! Summon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

A massive white-scaled Dragon descended from the sky. It turned its beatifull head towards the Duel Spirits and flapped its vast wings. (3000/2500)

“Next, I activate Dark Core to remove your Simorgh from play!” He could see Harpie’s Brother face twitching as his god got sucked up by a black vortex.

“And, in order to finish you, I Summon X-Head Cannon. Go, attack with Transshot!”

The blue robot fired several bullets at Harpie Lady, who yelped as if the bullets were real. (LP 2200)

“Blue-Eyes, attack with Burst Stream of Destruction!”

The Dragon attacked, finishing the Duel. Saitu breaked, and Ryan almost fell down next to him. The spirits vanished in a whisp of thick black smoke, leaving only the blue orb behind. Saitu picked it up, and pocketed it. Ryan took his phone, and called Mokuba. He was breathing heavily and didn’t seem to have enjoyed the cycling.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 41. We interrupt this broadcast...]

...And we still have some small messages for you. Yesterday, two teenagers have been seen playing Duel Monsters while driving bycicles. Our own reporter, Fred Wesley, was there to film it.

 

On the TV-screen of a dining room right on the border of Domino City, an interview was whitnessed by the same people it was about. Saitu, Ryan, Alice and Jane all sat a little straighter when an image of Saitu and Ryan passing by.

 

Saitu Kaiba and Ryan Johnes, two finalists in the Battle City Tournament, claimed to have been chasing Duel Spirits who had stolen something from them. Not many people can actually see the spirits, but these two teenagers can.

 

“We absolutely had to get...ehm...it back. Otherwise we wouldn’t have “borrowed” the bikes.” Ryan grinned, and so did the Ryan on TV. “The finals? Meh. Dunno about them. Maybe...”

 

Jane looked at him meaningfully, and Sally McLeggin reappeared on the screen.

 

”Last, but not least: the last round of the Battle City tournament is today. With only 16 participants left, things are to be exciting. The semi-finals and te finals will be transmitted live, here on CGC. This was Sally McLeggin, have a nice day.

 

The studio lights went out, and Alice immediatley smiled.

“Did someone tell you guys the finals would be on TV?”

“Nope, but it’s an extra motivation for today!” Ryan answered.

Saitu returned to Ryan’s laptop. After a few seconds, he had found what he needed; a database with information about the last 16 entries.

“Blimey. They know loads about us...” he said as he scanned the page. “They’ve got information about our Decks...I think I’ll check the others out too...”

His Deck was described as being Seto’s, Ryan as a Countdown Deck, and Alice had Spell Counter build. Other people he knew were Katrina with her Gladiator Beasts, Nadine with Lightsworns and Mimirca who played Monarchs according to the website. Players who had performed well included Damien Chimera with a Koaki Deck: he had once participated at the World Championships. Danny Gale was also an opponent who seemed to be good; his Deck focused on Summoning Evil Hero Dark Gaia. Saitu had seen most of the people play once and knew them by face.

“Wasn’t Jaden Yuki supposed to be in the tournament too?”

Ryan laughed. “He couldn’t come. All his Locator Cards were taken.”

“How come?”

“He had used Pot of Greed in the preliminaries.”

Jane almost choked on her sandwich, and Alice hastily hit her on the back.

 

The trip to the building where the round would take place wouldn’t last more than 10 minutes by foot. Mokuba had left the adress before leaving the day before, and so Saitu was sitting in the garden to enjoy the soft August sun. He almost dozed off, but a sudden stitching pain prevented him from doing so. He quickly searched his inside pock et to find th card Exodia had given him. It was becoming light blue, even tough it had been white when he had received it. Obelisk must’ve been regaining power. Saitu felt that it wouldn’t be long untill he was back to normal. The pain had stopped. He looked up at the blue sky, half-expecting to see something.

 

The sky was still baby blue as they entered the tournament hall. Ryan spotted Katrina, Nadine and Mimi, and they joined them. After having discussed some of the opponents, Mokuba found them. He spoke to Saitu, almost whispering.

“Come with me, I’ve got to tell you a few things.”

Saitu followed him to a small office. There was an old wooden desk and two matching cupboards. the metal chairs clashed horribly with them. The old man told him to sit down, and then did it himself.

“You’ll be wondering why I wanted to speak to you. It’s simple: Gandrios has been killed.”

“What!? But then...everything is-“

“No, it’s not. He was a mere puppet, and his master decided to clear him away after he had made the mistake of sending the Harpie’s for you. We don’t know who he is, but he’s more powerfull than anyone you’ve ever dueled. Gandrios was the leader of the Society of Shade. Therefore we can say he was one of the most powerfull Duelists alive. But now, someone even stronger is in charge.”

Saitu’s eyes were fixed upon the clock hanging onto the wall. Only ten minutes left untill the round began.

“And what should I do about it?” he asked, realizing he was rude.

“Use Obelisk.”

“What?”

“You heard me right. Only a God’s power could ever defeat ...him. Not today, but I want you to build a Deck based around him by tomorrow.”

“How do you-“

“Yugi called me right after he had seen you leaving. Therefore I knew what time you’d be arriving, and was just in time. Otherwise they would’ve gotten away with two Orbs.”

Saitu swallowed. “But it didn’t happen.”

“No, it didn’t. Now, go back to the hall. You’’l have two opponents to defeat today, Saitu. Tomorrow only four will be left, and it’s crucial that you’re one of them.”

He nodded, and found himself a way back to the hall. The pairings had allready been projected. He’d be playing against Danny Gale, who he vaguely remembered as being a Dark Gaia player. Due to having only 4 Duel Fields available in the small hall, the first round would be split in two. Alice was to duel on field number 3, against Jack Daniels, an Exodia Player. Nadine played on field number 4, against a Machine Deck. Saitu was heading for field number two, and he didn’t know the people playing on field 1. Katrina, Mimi and Ryan had to wait for the second part of the round. His heart was beating faster as he saw Danny arrive; pale with dark eyes and hair. He didn’t seem te be a pushover, but neither was Saitu.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=XIII. The Last Round]

[spoiler=Chapter 42. Father Earth]

“I’ll go first...” Danny announced. His voice seemed a bit insecure. He was about two years younger than Saitu, but that wasn’t an important factor. As he drew his sixth card, he smiled.

“All righty then! I activate Dark Fusion. I send from my hand to the Grave Valkyrion the Magna Warrior and Evil Hero Infernal Gainer! The darkest hour has arrived. Reveal your secrets, mother earth...Fusion Summon! Evil Hero Dark Gaia!

The hero arose with a booming groan. He was a man with giant wings, covered in something that seemed like an armor covered with rocks. (5100/0)

“Damn!” he heard someone in the public yell. He was about to say the same, but instead he just watched how Danny set a card. He drew his hand, and reviewed his options. There were 3 things to do with strong monsters; overpower them, weaken them, or blow them away with an effect. He’d have to see where he could get.

“I discard Thunder Dragon. I ad two to my hand and fuse them with Polymerization!”

He discarded one, searched two, and send them to the Grave. He fanned open his Extra Deck, and placed Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon on his Disk. The red Dragon appeared immediatley, sparking and roaring. (2800/2100)

Danny merely laughed at it’s sight. “Cool looks don’t make your Monster stronger! Even if they did, mine would still outclass yours...” Saitu ignored him. He had a plan.

“With Monster Reborn, I Summon Thunder Dragon from the Graveyard. Now I Summon the Tuner Monster White Stone of Legend.”

A green variant of the two-headed dragon appeared besides its older brother, along with a white, shining, stone-like egg. (1600/1500 300/250)

“Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian!”

The two smaller monsters disappeared. A Warrior with a white clown-ish face and a dangerous-looking whip had taken their place. (2800/2000)

“I add Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my hand with White Stone’s effect.” he further explained. Danny didn’t seem to get it: why would he summon relatively weak monsters?

“And the last card I’ll play this turn: Shrink!”

“What!?” Danny exclaimed as his hero shrunk. He was now much smaller than Saitu’s Monsters. It was left with only 2550 attack points.

“Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon! Attack with Elelectoblast!”

Danny seemes to have doubted right before his Hero was blast away by two electric charges. Was he just bluffing? (Danny 3750)

“Goyo Guardian, attack with Goyo Lariat!”

“No! Activate Sakuretsu Armor!”

As the Warrior was about to nattack, greyish armor appeared over his own. It exploded, destroying Goyo.

“Turn End!”

 

“He got himself out of that, didn’t he?” Ryan asked Katrina.

“I hadn’t expected less from him.” she replied.

 

“It’s not over yet!” Danny told him.

“Then show me what you’ve got.” His last move had given him some self esteem.

He Drew, and his face lit up again. “I remove Valkyrion from play to Special Summon Gigantes! I’ll Tribute him for Guardian Sphinx!”

A red giant appeared, and went up in red smoke as it became a sphinx. A sphinx that looked mighty and powerfull, despite its low attack. (1700/2400)

“I release my Sphinx to summon this! Exodd, Master of the Guard, in defence mode!”

A giant creature appeared. It was not unlike Exodia. In fact, he looked a great deal like him. (0/4000)

“Try to get past him!” he laughed.

“I’ve faced worse. Draw! I Summon Rose Warrior of Revenge!” A red-haired woman in a ninja-suit appeared. Her white scarf that she wore looked as if a strong wind was blowing. (1600/600)

“I end my Turn.”

Danny ended his turn after having set a card. Saitu passed, and so did Danny.

 

“Iet looks like zey do not ‘ave anything in zeir ‘ands!” Mimi noticed.

“Yeah, but I hope he gets that Exodia thing out of the way fast.” Ryan answered.

“Looks like Saitu has hit something!”

 

“I summon Z-Metal Tank!” A yellow Machine appeared next to his warriors. (1500/1300)

“I’ll tune my Warrior Lady to my Machine. Clustering hopes will become a new shining star. Be the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”

A massive Dragon, looking a lot like Blue-Eyes appeared next to Goyo Guardian. He now controlled two Synchro Monsters. And Stardust could prevent any destruction. (2500/2000)

“Turn End.”

 

More turns passed. Saitu summoned his X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) and his Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600), and he had set another Trap Card. At last, Danny seemed to have hit something too. He laughed, just as he had done the first turn.

“Dark Fusion again, but now stronger. Valkyrion the Magna Warrior and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!”

“What!” Ryan yelled! “That’s a 7500 attack beatstick!”

The hero re-appeared. It was now huge, and it roared loudly. (7500/0)

“Not again! Torrential Tribute!” A huge tidal wave appeared out of nowhere. All the Monsters got washed away, but Saitu and Danny remained dry.

“No! My hero!” he yelled. “But let it not disturb me...I can turn the tables next turn, you’ll see...” He seemed to have lost all hope. It seemed as if he had allready given up on the Duel, but Saitu saw that he still had a face-down card...

“My Turn?” Saitu asked.

“Go ahead. Finish me.”

Saitu didn’t know whether Danny was good at bluffing or whether he really had given up.

“Draw. I activate Soul Release! I remove from play X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank!” The Monsters appeared as foggy shades, then disappeared.

“Those Monsters! But then your face-down is...”

“Yupyup. Return of the Different Dimension!” He placed the Monsters he was still holding on the Disk. His Life Points got halved, but Saitu wasn’t looking at the scores. He took his Extra Deck out, and searched for the right card.

“I contact Fuse X-Head Cannon and Z-Metal Tank to Summon XZ-Tank Cannon!”

The blue and the yellow robot melded as one. (2400/2100) Saitu discarded another card, and Danny shrivelled as he saw his face-down Mirror Force exploding.

“No! You can’t do that!”

“Why can’t I? The rulings don’t say anything about-“ Danny was getting red, as if he was about to start crying.

“You just don’t understand, do you?” He sat down on the ground, his face burried in his hands.

“I cannot afford to lose.” he whispered.

Saitu lowered his Duel Disk arm. What had happened?

“Why is it so important to you?” Danny finally said, a tear slowly rolling over his pale cheek. “You don’t care. You’re here for the honour and the prizes.”

“Then why are you here?” Saitu dared to ask.

Several seconds ticked away. Neither of them seemed to be aware of the fact that people were watching them.

“I Duel for my father! When I was a kid, he gave me this Deck, and then disappeared. He didn’t believe in me! He didn’t believe I would once be somebody. If I win this, maybe he will...” He took out a handkerchief and produced a sound not unlike a trumpet. “I ask you to let me win. I’ll give you anything. Anything...”

“I can’t.” Saitu whispered. “I’ve got my own reasons to win for. I can’t let people win because they’re looking for fami-“

“Then explain,” Danny flared up, “what your grandfather once asked on top of the Duelist Kingdom Castle!?”

“I- What? No! That was different! He-“

His sentence was ended by a whistle. Saitu turned around to see Mokuba.

“I oficially end this Duel and declare Saitu Kaiba as the winner.”

Danny worked himself into a rage. “See! This is unfair! The Kaiba family can get away with anything! I demand a-“

“Silence!” Mokuba interrupted him. “Your Deck list didn’t contain Kuriboh or Necro Gardna or any other card that could help you survive this attack. Your conversation has caused this Duel to last longer than the time you had. And lastly, there is someone who has asked for you at my office.”

Mokuba didn’t seem angry, just a bit frustrated about how Danny behaved. He himself seemed to clear up immediatley. A light suddenly twinkled in his eyes, which Saitu hadn’t seen before.

“He told me he’s proud his son got so far in this high-ranked tournament. Now come with me.”

Danny didn’t follow Mokuba, but walked towards Saitu.

“I...I appoligise for...what I’ve said. I know I shouldn’t-“

“Forget about it.” Saitu held out his hand, and Danny shook it. He had expected it to feel cold, but it felt fairly warm. He turned around without looking back, and followed Mokuba to his office.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 43. Advent of the Emperor]

Since the match between Saitu and Danny was the last one, the judges immediatley announced the next pairings. Katrina was up against a Hopeless Dragon build,but Ryan and Mimi had to face each other. Ryan watched as they shuffled each others Decks. He was sitting next to Alice, Jane and Nadine. Five cards were drawn, and when the Judge blew his whistle, the Duel begun.

“I’ll start things up!” Ryan announced. "Be aware of Time, the countdown for the Apocalypse has begun, let’s get ready to rumble! Activate Signature Spell Card! Final Countdown!” His Life Points were halved as he placed the card in his Graveyard slot.

“I’ll set a monster and two face-downs, and that’s it.”

A first bright orange flame appeared above their heads.

“My Turn. I activate Bourse des Âmes!”

“Err...What?”

“Excusez-moi. All my cards ar’ French. I ‘ope you do not mind?”

“I guess not...”

“In zat case, I tribute your monstre for my Raiza, le Monarque de la Tempête!”

Ryan watched his hologram disappear, and then saw a great green figure rising on the other side of the field. (2400/1000)

“Well, so far my Dekoichi...”

“Zat is not all! When I Tribute Summon zis, I return one card to ze top of the Deck of ze owner!”

“You can’t send one of mine back. I activate two copies of Reckless Greed, so I draw four and skip two Draw Phases. And since Raiza’s effect is obligatory, you’ll have no choice but sending him back!” He smiled triumphantly, while the wind king disappeared as Mimirca placed it on top of her Deck.

“Zat was a nice move, I must admit! But zis is not over yet! I set two cards, and end my turn!”

Ryan didn’t draw, but instead he looked at his fresh, oversized hand. “I set a monster and two cards. Turn end!”

Mimi drew, and added the card to her hand without looking. She picked another one, and placed it onto her Duel Disk. A warrior with red, golden trimmed armor, a matching shield with a glass ball on it and a fairly large sword emerged. (1600/1000) The glass ball began to glow with a bright blue light. (ATK 1900)

“I ‘ave summoned Fracas, le Guerrier Magique. ‘E gains a Spell Counter when I summon ‘im. I remove ze Counter to destroy your left face-down!”

“Tricked again! I chain Good Goblin Housekeeping! I Draw one, and then Bottomdeck something from my hand. I’ll send this copy of Final Countdown back.”

“You ‘ave tricked me once more, monsieur Ra-en.”

“It’s pronounced differently, but I must say I’m flattered. Please continue your turn.”

 

Saitu noticed Ryan was blushing, and he heard Jane mutter: ‘What on earth is she trying to do?’.

 

“In zat case, I attack your monstre with my Fracas! Frappe Magique!”

The Warrior attacked the face-down. It revealed to be a Warrior, but before Breaker could hit it, both the monsters got sucked up by a black hole.

“Mais enfin! Wich trick ‘ave you played zis time!”

“Sorry. DD Warrior removes from play any monster attacking it, along with herself.”

One of her eyebrows raised about an inch, and she didn’t say anything as she set a card and ended her turn.

“I’ll skip this Draw Phase too, but I compensate that with another Housekeeping! This time, I draw two and send one back. Next, I’ll set two, and that’s it.”

The fifth flame appeared. Ryan looked as if he had everything just the way he wanted it.

“Let’s see what my turn will giv’ me. I Draw...I activate Fusion Instant. I can now Summon any level five or lower Fusion monstre, and I choose Roi Musicien!”

A scarcely-clad rock star appeared in front of Ryan. He was armed with a red guitar which was vibrating gentily. (1750/1500)

“Yeah. Rock on to you too, bro.”

“But of cours’, ‘e vill not remain on ze field for long. I Tribute ‘im for my Caius, le Monarque des Ombres!”

The musician disappeared. A dark figure laughed as it appeared out of the ground, dressed in a cloack so dark it could have been his shadow. (2400/1000) No one, except for Ryan expected it to be washed away by a sudden tidal wave that had sprouted out of Ryans Duel Disk.

“Torrential Tribute destroys every monster upon its Summon. So your Monarch is of to meet his maker.” He smiled again, but he stopped smiling when he saw Caius still standing there.

“I negate your Trap Card with one of my own! Pot-de-vin du Temple Maudit! “

“Qué?”

“It lets you draw a card, but I am affraid it vill not be any good to you anymor’! Caius can destroy your face-down with ‘is effect! Then, I attack you directly!”

“This I cannot allow! I chain Waboku!”

The beam of darkness that Caius had launced from the dark purple orb he had created was about to hit Ryan and whipe him out, but several women in teal cloaks took the shock.

“You survive zis turn, but I will reach victory during mine! You can go now.”

Ryan drew his card. Saitu couldn’t see his face very well, but it seemed as if his mouthcorners twitched a little. He placed his new card in a slot, and three shiny swords fell from nowhere between them. Caius turned away his massive head, as if he was affraid of being blinded.

“Swords of Revealing Light...It prevents you from attacking for three turns. I set a monster, and that’s it.” Seven flames were now dancing above their heads, causing the duel to bath in strange light.

“You are just lucky! I set a card and end my turn!”

One of the swords faded as a new flame appeared. Ryan drew, and something very strange happened. Saitu saw that he and Ryan were the only ones that could see it: a young woman whom Saitu knew as Daisy appeared in a miniature version, floating close to Ryan’s head.

“Huh? Who’re you?” he said out loud.

“Don’t talk. There’s no need for that. I can hear what you think.” she answered, even tough Saitu couldn’t see her doing so. He did notice Mimirca’s strange reaction.

“I’m Daisy, but you know me as DD Warrior Lady. I chose to assist you in the dark times that are to come.”

“All right.” Ryan tought. “Now we should first win this Duel.” He concentrated on the rest of his hand as he added DD Warrior Lady in it. He flipped over his face-down monster card, causing a browny yellow mask made out of clay appear. (900/400)

“When Mask of Darkness is flipped face-up, I can recycle one Trap Card from my Graveyard, which will be Torrential Tribute. I set two cards and end my Turn.”

“Zen it is my turn again. Zis is getting boring...I activate Hommage aux Damnés. I discard my Dandélion, and destroy zat little mask pathetic!”

The mask got wrapped up, and it exploded. Two little fluffs appeared on Mimircas’s side of the field. (0/0)

Only one shining Sword remained; the flames were now forming half a circle.

“My turn. I draw...and set a monster.”

“Zat went fast. I see you ave lost your ‘ope?”

“I have not. I must keep going, whatever happens.”

“Way to go!”, he heard a girl’s voice saying inside of his head.

“You ar’ very noble, but I cannot let you win zat easily. I tribute a Fluff Token for an old friend. Raiza, le Monarque de la Tempête!”

The green-clad figure reappeared, with a wind so strong it blew the last shining force away.

“Without your little sword, I can attack you, zerefore decreasing your life points to zéro, ouais?” Ryan returned the Spell Card to the top of his Deck. “Drawing it the next turn could win you ze game, but zere will be no more next turn. Raiza, attaque-lui!”

Raiza was generating a storm so fierce that Ryans face-down was revealed: a silver-red jar out of which a single green eye looked directly at Mimi. It shattered, and all the other Monsters disappeared.

“You’ve run into my Trap. Morphing Jar #2 will return all your Monsters to the Deck, and force you to mill untill you’ve seen the same amount!”

Mimi scowled as she shuffled her Deck. She put two spells in her grave, then a Mobius, followed by a Trap, and at last she Special Summoned Marshmallon in face-down defence position.

“I set one more card and end my turn. You are just stalling. Zwelve turns ‘ave allready passed. You cannot survive much longer...”

“We’ll see about that. Hey, this draw is a surprise. I activate Swords of revealing Li-“

“Non, I block zat with my Jugement Solennell!” As soon as the swords appeared, they had allready shattered in mid-air. Mimi’s Life Points were halved, but she didn’t seem to care.

“In that case, I’ll set a monster and a card, and end my Turn.”

The thirteenth of twenty flames appeared. Mimi drew, and by the look on her face, Saitu could tell that this was terribly wrong.

“I Tribute my Marshmallon for Caius! I will remove your Monster from ze game!”

The shadowy figure rose, and Ryan’s Monster got sucked in a black hole.

“No! My Warrior Lady! I activate Threatening Roar, so that you cannot attack this turn.”

“I would congratulate you if I had not had this! Gel du Piège!”

The hologram of Threatening Roar appeared, but it froze and shattered into pieces, causing Ryan to take the full blow. His Life Points fell to zero.

“Mimi Hucy is declared the winner of this Duel!” an official announced. The other Duels were allready finished. Katrina had spectaculary crushed her opponent by Summoning Gyzarius. Nadine congratulated her sister with her vicory, and Ryan joined the group too. He adressed Saitu first.

“Sorry that I lost.”

“You shouldn’t apoligise.”

“I feel like I should.”

“Why?”

Ryan blushed again. “I tought this tournament would be important to our battle against Gandrios?”

Saitu remembered he had forgotten to tell something. “Let’s go outside for the break. I’ll explain as much as I can in half an hour.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 44. Catastrophe]

Thousands of miles away from Domino City, was the headquarters of the Society of Shade. It was well hidden: the topmost chamber of the ancient pyramid of Gizeh. Only the highest ranked members were able to reach it, and were only allowed to when they were called by the true leader. He was waiting, sitting on his throne when a small man entered through the heavy stone door tablet. The man, whose name was Djihan, was wearing traditional Egyptian clothing and has shoulder-length black hair. His tan was very light, for he was only half Egyptian.

“Boss,” he began to explain in a soft, slow voice, ”the body has been found by...them. The boy allready knows about Gandrios’ death.”

“Very well.” the leader said. “Everything goes according to plan. If it keeps going as we wish, we can execute the final step tomorrow evening...” His eyes fell on the glass pyramid that was hanging on the wall opposite of him. It was a fine object, trimmed with gold. It had always looked the same, for the thousands of years it had existed, but now there was a shiny black ball in it.

“I take it,” he spoke again, “that my Deck has allready been prepared?”

“Yes sir. Only four more cards need to be inserted, but since they are yours, you can do that when you wish to do so.”

Djihan handed the man in the throne thirty-six cards. He quickly flashed through them, and completed the pile by inserting three monsters and a trap card.

 

***

 

“So it doesn’t matter after all?” Ryan stated, slightly indignified.

“I don’t see how it could, but I’m going for it anyways.” Saitu answered.

“Don’t forget about me.” Alice added.

The four of them were sitting on a small grasfield right outside the tournament building. The august sun was enjoyably warm.

“What time is it?”

“Three to twelve.” Jane checked her watch. “You guys better hurry.”

She and Ryan took a seat in the stands, while Saitu and Alice went to the Dueling Fields.

“Nervous?” he asked her.

“I don’t know. But I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

“Yeah.”

A silence fell. Neither of them knew what to say, and thus they joined the rest of the competitors. There were six of them. Katrina, Mimi and Nadine were the ones Saitu knew best. He recognised Damien Chimera, but he couldn’t remember the other names. One of them was rather old, wearing a matching Duel Disk. Saitu could vaguely remember him as an Archfiend player. The other was a girl who Saitu knew to be quite tough, but he couldn’t remember which Deck she played. She was the youngest contestant; she was only twelve years old.

“Attention Duelists!” the official wearing sunglasses and a costume shouted. “The final elimination round of the second Battle City Tournament is about to begin! Within a few moments, the pairings will be displayed. Four judges will be keeping an eye on the matches. Keep an eye on the time limit.”

The pairings were projected on the wall behind him.

 

1# Alice Solum – Mimirca Hucy

2# Katrina Pegasus – Ted Harker

3# Damien Chimera – Nadine Hucy

4# Jessica Princeton – Saitu Kaiba

 

Saitu went to Duel Field 4. Jessica, the young girl took place opposite of him. She wore a white outfit, her red hair tied in a ponytail, and wearing a rather small pink Duel Disk, complete with heart-themed sleeves. Saitu had learned he should never underestimate opponents, but this girl seemed as if she was just a kid.

“Attention Duelists! Commence the Duel!”

Saitu drew 5 cards, and so did Jessica.

“I’ll start!” she said, in a rather high-pitched sweet voice. She drew a card. “I summon Summoner Monk! He is switched to defence mode due to his effect!”

An old man, dressed in purple robes and a large white moustache appeared. (800/1600)

“Next, I’ll discard a Spell Card to Special Summon my favourite! Here comes Rescue cat!”

She searched her Deck, humming softly, and then summoned her monster. Rescue Cat was a little white kitty wearing a helmet and a tiny whistle, but just like its owner, it was more dangerous than it looked. (300/100)

“And you know what that means!” She giggled, and Saitu didn’t really liked that. He remained cool and expressionless. Of course he knew what Kitty Synchro was about.

“I Summon X-Saber Airbellum and Des Koala from my Deck.”

The cat vanished, making place for a beast that looked like a wolf and a large brown koala. (1600/200 – 1100/1800)

“Now, let’s have some fun! I activate book of Moon and Book of Taiyou, so that means I activate the flip effect of my little friend!”

Saitu checked his Duel Disk. His Life Points had indeedly halved. (LP 2000)

“Now I Tune my X-Saber Airbellum to my Summoner Monk in order to Summon Dark Strike Fighter!” A large, robotical creature appeared. It looked as if it used to be used to throw bombs. (2600/1800). Saitu didn’t know what he saw. He did the maths. He had lost the Duel before having done anything, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

The judge who was keeping track of the match blew his whistle. Had he also noticed it was over?

“Saitu Kaiba is declared the winner of this Duel. Jessica Princeton is disqualified due to cheating!”

“What!?” Saitu yelled. The Judge walked over to him, carrying a small portable DVD-player. On the screen, Saitu could see a pink Duel Disk, with heart-themed sleeves. The left hand took one card from the Deck, and four others out of the right arm’s sleeve. The four cards were Summoner Monk, Book of Moon, Book of Taiyou and Lightning Vortex. Saitu looked back at Jessica. She was biting her lip and shuffling her feet nervously.

“You are hereby officially disqualified without receiving price support. You are asked to leave the building and are banned from any Kaiba Corp organized tournament. Is that clear?”

For a second, she looked as if she was going to say something. Saitu saw a tear almost rolling out of her eye.

“Wait.” Saitu said. “I will continue the Duel, with 2000 Life Points left, and her keeping her monsters. In exchange, she ends this turn without performing another action.”

The Judge was amazed by this proposal. “You do realize your participation in the finals depends on that decision, right?”

“Yup. So can I?”

“Be my guest.” he muttered.

“Okay then. I Draw.” This is it, I have to FTK in this Turn, If I don’t who knows what might happen...

“I activate Trade-In, so I discard Blue-Eyes White Dragon and draw two cards.” He had to draw into something that could destroy those two monsters...He closed his eyes and focussed. For a moment, he tought he saw something green in the corner of his eyes flashing.

He drew, and opened his eyes. He had drawn two Spell Cards. And they could win him the game.

“I activate Monster Reborn! Abandon all hope, the Dragon of Destruction is here. Turn around, bright eyes! Special Summon! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

He placed the card from his Graveyard onto his field. It opened its massive wings, and roared loudly. (3000/2500)

“I’ll Summon Wall of Illusion; with her, I can finish you!” A large, brown-haired wall appeared. In the middle, there was a purple woman’s face. (1000/1850)

“But I’ve still got Monsters. You can’t... Ow...” Saitu showed her two cards; the front one was Lightning Vortex. Her Monsters got struck by lightning, leaving her field open.

“Attack! Burst Stream of Destruction and Charm of Illusion!”

Jessica’s Life Points fell to zero as she got hit by a purple and a white beam.

“Saitu Kaiba is declared the winner of this Duel...again!”

Saitu walked towards Jessica. She had fallen due to the impact of the attacks. He held out his hand, and helped her to stand up.

“Why did you take the risk?” was the first thing she said.

“Because I wanted to show you that there are better ways of winning than cheating. And I would feel sorry if you couldn’t do any tournaments any more.” He looked at the Judge. “Do me a favor, and undo that penalty.” He doubted for a second, and then nodded curtly. Jessica gave a little yelp of excitement, and hugged him firmly with surprising force. He was happy that she released him after only two seconds, for Alice had been watching them suspiciously.

He had done it. He had managed to get into the finals. Ten minutes later, he found out that Alice, Katrina and Nadine had also won. He was wondering how he was going to defeat three of the strongest women he knew?

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

as long as the short duels aren't TOO many in number. That gets annoying after a while (not right now, but you know what I mean)

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=XIV. Tormentor’s Reign]

[spoiler=Chapter 45: Deck of Death]

They came home after having walked about ten minutes. The mood was very strange: hapiness of what had been on the one side, nervosity about what would happen on the other. Shortly after arriving at the little guest house, Saitu excused himself and went to the bedroom he and Ryan shared. He opened the top drawer of his night cabinet, and there it was, clearer and sharper than it had ever been: Obelisk the Tormentor lay there, the blue color vivid as ever. He picked it up, and it felt like any other card. He had expected it to feel warm, or cold. Maybe he had wanted it to vibrate softly, but it didn’t.

He spread open his own Deck on the bed, the Deck that had served him so well. He knew every card of it, even tough he liked some of them more than others. Saitu sighed as he picked a few of them and put the rest back in their box, along with the empty sleeves of the chosen ones. He went through his trades, and found some cards that would suit him very well. He’d go for something different, which was risky at this point. If he succeeded, he would triumph and emerge from the battle stronger than ever. If he lost it all, he’d just feel terrible, ashamed of himself. He went through Ryan’s cards: he wouldn’t mind, for they always used each other’s. He added in some more cards, and finally, his Deck was complete, except for one card.

Saitu’s hand were slightly shaking with excitement as he opened the pack of spare sleeves, darkish blue with some sort of a mysterious shine to them. He used thirty-nine of them to put his new Deck in, and then put Obelisk in the fourtieth.

Were it just the sleeves, or did this Deck feel...lighter? Comfier in his hand? Better? Saitu shook his head. He was imagining things. He looked out of the window, and saw that Alice had also chosen to sit alone to reconstruct her Deck. She slid her new Deck in her Duel Disk, seeming very pleased with herself. Saitu expected her to have made some minor, subtle changes; not a complete change of game style. He put his Deck in a spare Deckbox that matched the sleeves. Had he, or hadn’t he succeeded in building a superb Deck? He threw a last glance at his creation, unstrapped his Duel Disk, and threw it on the bed. As he left the room, he didn’t see the blue shine coming from it...

 

He entered the living room, and silence fell between Ryan and Jane. They obviously had been discussing something. Discussing him? Why would they? Luckily, the doorbell rang, giving Saitu a reason to leave the room while the other two exchanged looks he couldn’t recognize. He was more than happy to see Mokuba, in his usual striped shirt and jacket. He seemed to be exhausted, as if he had skipped a night. Saitu invited him inside while Alice returned from her solitary Deck building in the garden. Everyone sat down, waiting excitedly for Mokuba to announce the reason of his visit.

“Sorry for bothering you, but I tought you’d stick around the tournament building.”

“We had some Deck construction to do.” Saitu explained. Mokuba didn’t seem to be surprised about this answer, and his moithcorners twitched slightly.

“Tomorrow, the finals will take place at the old Kaiba Corp Colloseum. I hope you know that the finalists of last Battle City’s Tournament were given the same information forty years ago?”

They all nodded: the finals hadn’t taken place in the colloseum, but on a giant floating airship.

“It’s about an hour from here, so I’ll pick you up at eleven, ‘kay?”

“Good.” Saitu replied. “Seems like the preparation took a long time?

Mokuba closed his eyes, and burried his face in his hands. He exhaled long and slow, and then continued. “I’m not as young as I used to be. Kaiba Corp will also be involved in the organisation of next year’s World Championships, which should take place in June. But first, we should take care about this little futility and then finish of a world-dominating society.”

“Meh. I’ve been busier.” Ryan answered.

 

***

 

Saitu woke up with a jolt. The voice, he had heard the voice again.

”Trap Card activate! Bannishment to the afterlife!”

Ryan had already abandoned his bed. He got up and noticed it was allready half past nine. He refreshed himself in the bedroom’s lavatory, and got dressed. When he strapped his Duel Disk on, he tought again of his challenge that was ahead. There was no good in hoping for good pairings, for any combination could be deadly. After breathing out, he went down to join the others.

 

“You got to eat.”

“Look, I’m just not hungry that’s all.”

“I’ll go easy on you if you do.”

“I know you won’t.”

“I know you know I won’t.” He’d feel crappy if Alice’s Dueling was lame due to slight illness. She ran her fingernails through her hair, with her ellbow on the table.

“You’d better not be sick today. It’ll be great.” He smiled at her, and she answered it. He hadn’t realized when he had put his hand on hers, but when he noticed, he didn’t take it away either. She grabbed the box of cereals, which were “Yugilicious!” according to the text on the front, and started to eat.

Saitu threw a look at the living room through the door, where Ryan and Jane were dueling on the coffee table. They’d come too, and Saitu had decided everyone should take his or her Orb with them. If Gandrios was indeed murdered by the big chief, that guy might’ve had decided it was time to do the nasty work himself, which would be dangerous to everyone.

 

Saitu was excited when he got out of Mokuba’s car. When he saw the huge, filled parking lot, he suddenly felt a bit nautious.

“Exactly how many people will come to see the finals?”

“The stade seats three thousand. Ticket sales started yesterday, but a few hundred are still for sale today.” This fact didn’t do his nerves any good. He almost felt like having to throw up when he and Alice took one corridor, while Mokuba accompanied the others to the seats in which the top 32 players would take place. They met Katrina and Nadine in a rather small room. Katrina didn’t show any sign of being nervous, but Nadine was pacing slowly through the room. The following ten minutes, Saitu could hear thousands of feet rumbling through the stade, and five minutes after they had been silenced, Mokuba entered the room. He would accompany them while walking into the stade, and serve as Judge for the final rounds.

 

 

The effect was overwhelming; over two thousand people yelling enthousiastically, and banners on which Saitu sometimes recognized his own name. He saw the little part of the stade in which about thirty people sat. He raised an arm, and his eardrums got pushed inside his ears even harder. He looked around while Mokuba performed a short speech. He saw a huge scoreboard, with pictures of the four finalists, each of them baring a number. Under the board, some sort of device that was used for lotteries. There were four balls sitting in it, each of them bore a number from one through four.

Mokuba had stopped speaking, and pushed a little button on his table. At once, the balls were released, and followd a zig-zag trail forming a half circle untill they reached him. Immediatley after that, they pictures on the screen started moving, showing that Saitu was up against Nadina, and Katrina against Alice. He stepped into the Dueling field, which was lined with golden-coloured metal, while Alice and Katrina sat down on the bench opposite of it. Next to their pictures, the number ‘4000’ appeared. Their Life points would be displayed on that board, but the number 4000 would play another big role today.

“I will start zis duel, with my Jeanne la Paladine, Seigneur Lumière!“

A warrior clad in white appeared. She brandished a shiny sword and shield, and his cape which was red on the inside, flappered s if there had just been a strong wind. (1800/1200)

“I end my turn, and zerefore I mill two cartes from ze Deck.” She send two cards to the Graveyard. Botm of them were Spells, but Saitu didn’t recognize them. (Deck: 32)

“My Turn! I set a monster and a card and that’s it!”

The crowd started talking. Couldn’t he defeat the measy little warrior that opposed him? Saitu Kaiba, the master of Beatdown?

“’zen I will draw!” (Deck: 31) “I set a monstre, and attack with-“

“No, you won’t. I activate Threatening Roar.”

An intimidating shout roared through the stadium. Jane, who had been about to slash her sword, stopped moving.

“In zat case, I will end zis Turn.” Saitu saw on his Duel Disk that her Deck only contained 29 cards. He looked up, and stood face to face with a giant white wolf, armored in gold. (2100/300)

“My little ami Wulf la Bête, Seigneur Lumière was sent from ze Deck to ze Graveyard, zerefore it is Special Summoned.”

“I see, well, let’s turn the tables. I draw and Summon Bokoichi the Freightnening Car!”

A plain train car, painted in shades of red and orange appeared. (500/500) Nadine smiled at the sight of it.

“Laugh as you want, but I activate Machina Duplication, tos Summon two more of them from my Deck!” Two new Bokoichi’s appeared.

“Saitu, what are you do’ing? Zey will not serve any purpos’ unless ze face-down card is-“

“Yep! I Flip Summon Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive!” (1400/1000)

The new monster appeared from under the hologram. All the cars clunked themselves securely onto it, and they began to shine brightly.

“I Draw four cards, and I set two of them. Your Turn.”

“I zat case, I Draw. Next, I will Flip Summon my Ryko le Chasseur. ‘E is a Seigneur de Lumière ‘o will destroy 1 card on the field. I chose your face-down card.!”

A small white wolf jumped from under the hologram and attack the face-down card. (200/100)

“No! I chain with this! Crush Card Virus! I Tribute one of my Dekoichis and destroy your strong monsters.”

Her Wulf and Jane started decaying from the inside, and two card melted away from her hand: Celestia, Lightsworn Angel and Judgement Dragon. Saitu was relieved to see two strong monsters go to the Graveyard. Her Deck only had 25 cards left. She scowled as she ended her Turn.

“Good. The I can go again. I switch my monsters to Defence position and set a monster and a card. Your Turn.”

 

“How come he’s playing so defensively?” Jane asked Ryan.

“Beats me, but I don’t think that’s the same Deck as the one he inherited...”

 

“My Turn! I Draw, and it is Aurkus le Druide. ‘E stays in my ‘and, but I will discard ‘im with my Échange Solaire. I Draw two,” One of them was another Ryko, the other was Monster Reincarnation ,” and then I Mill two.” Only 20 cards were left, but she didn’t look as if she was going to Mill herself down. On the opposite, it seemed as if she was going to win this very turn.

“I activate Réincarnation de Monstre. I discard my Ryko, and I retrieve my Dragon du Jugement.”

“Ow, crap.” He counted the Lightsworns in her Graveyard; Wulf, Aurkus, Jane and two Rykos. He was about to take a blow.

“You ‘ave allready counted? Zen I Summon my Ace Card. L’enfer, c’est les autres! Évoquement Spéciale, Dragon du Jugement !”

A huge, shining Dragon appeared. It’s wings looked as if they were made out of pure silver, and it roared as it shook its magnificent head. (3000/2600)

“I pay a mere zousand of my Life Points, and destroy everything! Judgemental Blow!”

The Dragon flapped its wings with an enormous ecplosion; the crowd yelled, and when the smoke had dissappeared, Saitu had lost 3000 Life Points.

“I Mill four Cartes and end my Turn. Zere is nothin’ you can do against my Dragon!” The mighty beast roared once more.

“Actually, I can! Draw! I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Dekoichi, and I chain Inferno Reckless Summon, so that I’ve got three of them!”

“Yes, but I get a second Dragon. I am sure that somewher’, zis strategie is considered powerfull. But ze main problem is: zis is Earth!”

The three locomotives opposed the two Dragons. They were weak, but still fiercefull.

“I Tribute all my Dekoichis. Prepare! The descent of this mighty creature shall be heralded by burning winds and twisted land. And with the coming of this horror, those who draw breath shall know the true meaning of eternal slumber. Summon, Obelisk the Tormentor!

The locomotives disappeared. Everything went dark, and Saitu could hear several screams from the audience. Everything fell silent as blue lightning struck Saitu. Before him, a creature even bigger than Judgement Dragon materialized itself from smoke. Even tough something this big would’ve been impossible for a Duel Disk to simulate, it stood right before him: Obelisk the Tormentor. (4000/4000)

“The last card of this Duel,” he continued, ”is Dark World Dealings. We both discard one card, and then draw a new one. I discard Dandylion, and summon two Fluff Tokens.”

Nadine’s hands were shaking as she drew. It was a Trap Card, and thus unaffected by Crush Card Virus. Saitu saw the reflection of the God in her great, green eyes. Two fluffy little Tokens appeared next to Obelisk.

“I Tribute my Tokens to Destroy your Dragons! Soul Energy Max!” The fluffs evaporized into balls of energy. Obelisk blew away all Nadine’s monsters, leaving nothing behind but a large whisp of dust.

“Attack! God Hand Crusher!” Nadine was blown back upon being hit by the fist of the ginat creature. The hologram (was it really only a hologram?) vanished, and Saitu walked towards Nadine in order to help her stand up. He held out his hand, but she didn’t take it. She was breathing heavily as she sat herself on her knees. It took her a full minute to stand up, and Saitu was happy that nothing was wrong.Who knew what kind of damage this god could do?

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 46: Oppressed to the core]

Alice and Katrina stood up as Saitu helped Nadine to reach the bench. She was OK, just a bit weak. He caught a glimpse of Alice as she crossed him, and he saw nerves in them. Katrina was still as cool as ever, and flicked open her Duel Disk with one fluid motion.

The crowd became silent at last: they obviously had been discussing Obelisk, and Saitu couldn’t blame them. Even Alice seemed to have wanted to ask him about it.

“The second semifinals will now begin! The winner of this Duel will face Saitu Kaiba in the finals. Start the Duel!”

“I will do that, if you don’t mind?” Katrina asked, drawing six cards. “I activate Gladiator Proving Ground, to add Gladiator Beast Bestiari to my hand. Next, I’ll play Gladiator Beast’s Respite; by returning 2 Gladiator Beasts from my hand to my Deck, I can Draw three cards. Next, I summon Gladiator Beast Equeste, and set 1 Card.”

A ferocious centaur, half man and half horse, jumped out of her Duel Disk, armored with a blue harness and a matching shield. (1600/1200) It was accompanied by the hologram of a face-down Card.

“Then it’s my Turn!” Alice said. “I play a monster and 1 card face-down, and that’s it!”

The crowd immediatly started discussing the second unusual opening move for today. Had the couple been planning their strategies together?

“You silly girl. It’s allready over. I Draw, and Summon Gladiator Beast Samnite!” A white tiger-like creature with huge fangs is brown armor joined Equeste. (1600/1200) “And because I Summoned a Gladiator this Turn, I can Special Summon Test Tiger, and I’ll Tribute him and send Samnite back to my Deck to Summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari!”

For a short moment, a bright orange tiger could be seen, but it scattered and the freshly Summoned Samnite appeared in a whisp of smoke. The people in the crowd who supported Katrina had allready done the maths: Bestiari could Contact with Equeste into Gyzarus, destroying Alice’s field and attack for exactly 4,000 damage with both Monsters. Bestiari appeared, flapping its great green wings. (1500/800)

However, that was everything it did. It got smashed against the ground as if it hadn’t encountered gravity before, or as if bound by several heavy chains. It scattered, and Saitu looked up at the big scoreboard. Alice’s Life Points had dropped to 3200. He looked back at the field and saw that she had activated her Trap.

“The Continuous Trap Royal Oppression allows both players to negate any Special Summon by paying 800 Life Points.” She smiled.

“Oh, so you know my strategy, and have found something against it. That’s good. Now I see why you have been entrusted with...you know.” Katrina smiled back. “This could be interesting. Equeste, attack with Centaurian Strike!”

Equeste attacked the face-down monster. An old magician clad in red appeared for a second, and then both Monsters were destroyed. (450/600)

“I see. I set two cards, and then it’s your Turn again.”

“Good. I’ll start my turn with Hand Destruction. We both ditch two and Draw two.” Both of them did. “I Summon my Magical Exeplar to the field!”

A young woman with long black hair, wearing a long green dress appeared. There were several glassy orbs on her necklace, and Saitu immediatley knew that this card must have a Spell Counter Effect. (1700/1400)

“Next, I’ll play Secret Village of the Spellcasters!” She slid open her field Spell Card Zone, and put a card in it. The duel field became enlighted by a shiny golden aura.

“In order to play Spells, you must control Spellcasters. And, because I’ve activated a Spell, my Exemplar gains two Counters, but I remove them at once to Special Summon Summon Night’s End Sorcerer from my Graveyard!”

Two orbs began to glow, but they soon went out. A young wizard in dark-coloured rags appeared, and was destroyed just like Bestiari was. (1300/400) Katrina’s Life points were now equal with Alice’s.

“You’ve Oppressed my Sorcerer, but I’ll try a second time. I activate Monster Reborn!”

The sorcerer appeared again. “If I let him stay, his attack will cause me to lose, so I pay another 800 Life Points to destroy him again!”

Her Life Points dropped to 2400.

“Then I attack with my Exemplar! Exemplaration!” The witch attacked by casting a bright blue spell at Katrina, who could barely remain standing. She only had 700 Life Points left.

“And with that, I end my Turn.”

 

“She’s got Katrina in a tight corner now.” Ryan commented. “She can’t negate Special Summons anymore, and can’t activate Spell Cards either.”

“Yes, but she’s still got Normal Summons. And two face-down Traps.” Jane replied. “You shouldn’t underestimate that. She seemed to suspect Alice would come up with something new. She’s not the type not to have planned anything against that.”

 

“My Turn. I start of with Dust Tornado to destroy your Village!” A whirlwind could be heard, and the golden aura was gone. “Next, I activate Trap Stun. For one turn, you can’t Negate my Special Summons. Looks like this is the last turn, huh?”

“I’d like to see you whipe out 3,200 Life Points and a monster in 1 Turn. Especially because you’re starting from scratch.”

“From scratch? Unknowingly, you yourself have set up everything. I’ll show you how. I Summon Elemental Hero Prisma!”

A figure that looked even more fragile and more beatifull that a diamond statue appeared. It was completely transparent, with shades of green and blue. (1700/1100)

“An Elemental Hero? Have you been watching DMX?”

“Me? Of course I haven’t. Who’d want to watch a show about a bunch of rap artists playing card games?”

“Hey! I liked that show!”, a brown-haired guy wearing a red jacket yelled.

“Whatever. Let’s finish this Duel, Yuki, and then we can discuss this. With Prisma’s effect, I can send Gladiator Beast Andal from my Deck to the Graveyard, and then he’s not an Elemental Hero anymore, but a Gladiator Beast. That’s an improvement. Next, I Special Summon a second Test Tiger, again Tributing him and sending Prisma- or should I say Andal, back to my Deck. This time, I Summon Gladiator Beast Darius from my Deck.” A giant horse wearing orange armor replaced the diamond man after the tiger had appeared. (1700/300) The green bird appeared next to it.

“When Darius is Summoned by another Gladiator Beast, he revives another one from the Graveyard. But now...When two enter the arena, only one can exit in one part! Dividez et Impera, Contact Fusion! Gladiator Beast Gyzarus! “

The two gladiators disappeared, and a giant green winged beast, similar in appearance to Bestiari, with stronger armor appeared. (2400/1500) It flapped its giant wings, and both Alice’s cards were blasted away.

“To finish, I activate Monster Reborn, and bring back your own Night’s End Sorcerer. I remove your Old Vindictive Magician and Magical Exemplar from play. Sorcerer, attack your former mistress with Night’s Curse!”

A black spell caused Alice’s Life Points to drop to 1,900. “And I’ll let my Gyzarus attack with Bestial Wingstrike!” Gyzarus flapped its wings again, this time causing Life Points damage.

Saitu looked down, towards his own Duel Disk. He knew what this meant. He would face Katrina in the finals. The only pairing he had not wanted to see had become reality. He saw Alice topple, and had reached her before Katrina did. He forced himself to listen to Mokuba’s announcement.

“The finalists have been chosen! Saitu Kaiba will face-off against Katrina Pegasus in exactly one hour. For those who want, they can remain seated. For everyone else, there are now extremely cheap booster packs in the stores! All of the have a special 20% discount, only for the following hour!” As most of the people hurried for the small booster shops spread around the stadium, Mokuba approached them. “It’s sure good to own UDE. You guys can spend the hour in the Top 32 Room, or else go buy some boosters too. But I don’t think any of you will need any; the prize support is massive.”

He, Nadine and Katrina left, while Saitu and Alice remained on the bench. It was strange, sitting there in the middle of an almost deserted stadium.

“Nice moves you played. Iwas surprised to see you’ve got Oppressions.”

“I’ve had a set of them for a while, but I’ve never really used them. Do you think you’ll need them?”

“No, I’ve got my own anti-Special Summon Traps.”

She smiled. They faced each other, and Saitu felt that she understood him. It was odd that such banal things as card games could have such an impact on the relations between people. Again, he had the feeling that he could keep looking in her eyes forever. The brightness of her iris, the intense black of her wide pupils, and those little stars that were always there when he wanted to see them. He got closer, as if trying to zoom in, and he didn’t know, and would never know whether his lips had touched hers. He felt something warm in his jacket pocket, and she seemed to have felt something too. The green and blue Orb were shining brightly. Katrina emerged from the door through which she had left them, followed by Ryan and Jane; they held their Orbs in their hands. The yellow, red and white one were glowing just as Saitu’s.

“What is this?” he asked Katrina.

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 47. Through the looking-glass]

“My Lord, it seems your plan is finally unfolding.”

“Which one of them?” the man sneered. “I have set two plans into work simultaneously, and both are succeeding. Young Kaiba is to compete in the finals, and my pyramid...it’s growing stronger and stronger...”

His face had once been handsome and sun-tanned. His long dirty blonde hair hung next to it as if it was a curtain. His eyes were a terrifying shade of dark brown, and they were n ow looking at a glass pyramid that was hung at the wall. Not so long ago, it had still been transparent, but now the black glass ball that was inside it had spread it’s colour. The gold trimmings had turned silver.

“In less than an half an hour, my third plan will be put into work. If he succeds, that is.”

“Yes, Master.”

 

***

 

Saitu had spent the rest of the break fanning through his newly-made Deck. Would it prove itself a second time? The stade filled once more, and Saitu checked the watch function on his Duel Disk to see that the finals would be starting within four minutes. Katrina re-entered the arena too, her face quite expressionless. She had beaten his the first time, could she do it a second time?

“Attention Duelists!” Mokuba called through his microphone. “The finals of the Battle City Tournament are about to begin. I assume that the candidates don’t want to offer prize sharing to each other?”

He smiled, but Katrina raised an eyebrow.

“In that case, let the Duel begin!”

“Who’ll start?” Saitu asked.

“You can have the honour. I’d like to see what you’ve got in stock for me.”

“In that case, draw! I set two cards and a monster, and that’s it!”

Katrina didn’t seem to be surprised when the holograms appeared. “Defensive rather than offensive, huh? As you know, my Deck focuses on battling, so Defence Monsters won’t help you this time. I Summon Gladiator Beast Retiari!” (1200/800)

A lizard-like soldier weaponed with a trident emerged. “Attack the face-down monster with Trident Assault!”

Retiari jumped and slashed the hologram in half, revealing a large purple locomotive. (1400/1000)

“When Dekoichi is flipped, I draw a card.”

“Drawing tactics won’t work. I send Retiari back to the Deck to Summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari, and destroy your face-down!”

The green winged beast appeared, not once but twice. A second Bestiari had appeared on Saitu’s side of the field, and they battled immediatley. Both of them were destroyed by each other.

“What in the name of Ra was that?”

“When a monster is Special Summoned, Mirror of Oaths negates it and lets me draw a card. Too bad Drawing tactics don’t work.”

“Well, you have proven me wrong. I set a Card and end my Turn.”

The crowd started cheering, and Saitu knew some of it was meant for him. He felt the adrenaline pumping as he drew. “Activate, Card of Safe Return! Each Time a monster is revived, I Draw a card! Now I Summon Black Salvo! It Special Summons a Dark Machine from my Grave!”

A black bomb with a malicious smile emerged (100/1100), followed by Dekoichi. Saitu Drew a card.

“I activate Foolish Burrial and Monster Reborn, meaning I can Special Summon Cyber valley from my Deck!”

He activated the two Spells, and fanned his Deck for a mechanical Dragon. (0/0) Then, he Drew another card.

“Three Monsters, of which one is a Tuner? Are you going to-”

“You bet I will. Behold the wings guided by great wings! Synchro Summon! Reverberate, Stardust Dragon!!

The three machines disappeared, forming a great shiny white dragon. As it slowly flapped its huge wings, bits of twinkeling powder came from them. (2500/2000)

“Stadust Dragon, Attack! Shooting Sonic!”

“I activate Mirror Force!”

“No you won’t! Victim Sanctuary!”

A giant burst of silvery light, and the Dragon was gone. Katrina seemed amazed by this.

“Did my Trap work?”

“If you meant to send my Dragon to the Graveyard, then yes. But unfortunatly, Stardust negates destruction, and will come back during the end phase. I set another two cards, and end my Turn.”

The crowd yelled even louder and applause was heard as Stardust Dragon reappeared, and Saitu Drew his fourth card for that Turn.”

“Not bad, but it’s not over yet. I Draw, and Summon Gladiator Beast Laquari. With Double Summon, I can also play Gladiator Beast Andal!”

An orange-armoured tiger and a blue-armoured bear appeared. (1800/400 1900/1500)

“Next, I’ll activate a Monster Reborn of my own to bring back Retiari!”

The lizard soldier appeared again, and then all three of them disappeared.

“Power beyond all, emerge from my soul! Contact Fusion, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!”

A giant beast-warrior appeared. It wore Laquari’s shoulder protectors, Retiari’s trident and Andal’s plate chest. (3000/2800)

For the second time, the same monster appeared on the other side of the field. They clashed into each other and Saitu drew another card.

“You really tought this out, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. The circle is now complete. The apprentice defeats the master.”

“I set one card, and then it’s your Turn.”

“In that case, I win. I remove Black Salvo and Cyber Valley from play to Summon Chaos Sorcerer.”

A warlock brandishing the powers of light and darkness joined the shiny dragon. (2300/2000)

“I activate Torrential Tribute. Stardust will have to negate it, so I survive one more Turn.”

“Not If I just activate Dark Bribe! Stardust Dragon, Shooting Sonic! Chaos Sorcerer, Chaotic Reverse!”

A loud explosion could be heard, and the crowd cheered even louder. The dust started to disappear, but then another explosion could be heard, and it wasn’t like the last one. He felt his body being teared of the ground, and heared by the scream that the same had happened to Katrina. The cheering made place for frightened screams as Saitu felt himself disappearing.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

how about an Exodia Necros deck then? Be interesting to see it again

[RyanAtlus]

[spoiler=XV. The Final Duel]

[spoiler=Chapter 48. The Lost Pyramid]

“Where on earth are we?”

Saitu heard Katrina speaking to herself. He felt that he was lying on warm sand. He opened his eyes to see they were in the middle of a vast desert. The only thing to be seen around them was a vast pyramid, and...

“Saitu!” he heard Ryan yell. “Wait there, we’ll come to you!”

Ryan, Alice and Jane were a hundred meters away from the, and it didn’t take long for them to reach Saitu and Katrina.

“Do any of you know what happened?” Jane asked them. Both of them replied ‘no’.

“It’s getting a bit too warm here. But I don’t see any shelter except for that pyramid over there.”

The wind blew, and a single card was revealed from under the sand. It was a weak Normal Monster with 1100 ATK and 2000 DEF, but it’s name was missing, just like it’s image and flavour text.

“This must be some kind of a hint...” Katrina proposed. “Does any of you guys know which card this could’ve been?”

“Island Turtle, obviously.” Ryan answered. “But there aren’t any islands here, only that freakin’ pyramid!”

“But it’s got a counterpart!” Alice noticed. “Pyramid Turtle is a Zombie Searcher!”

“I’m not going to search for Zombies.”, Saitu decided. “But since it’s the only clue we’ve got, let’s go check it out.”

For several minutes, they waded through the dry desert sand, the Egyptian sun burning on their necks. At last, they had reached the foot of the pyramid. They discussed whether or whether not to enter through the small door.

“Could be a Trap.” Ryan kept pointing out

“For the last time, it’s all we can do for now.” Saitu replied for the third time.

“Fine, but if we die because of you I’ll kill you.”

They had only just entered the pyramid when a heavy rock fell behind them, closing the way out.

“Told you! Told you it was a Trap!”

“Just shut up and find a way to get some light! Aw! Watch it!” Ryan had opened his Duel Disk.

“I Summon D.D. Warrior Lady in attack mode!”

A young woman dressed in black jumped out of the Duel Disk. She brandished a large sword which lit up due to the dimensional energy coming from it.

“Thanks, Daisy. Could you stay with us so that we can actually see?”

“It’s what I do, isn’t it? Hi Saitu!”

Saitu remembered how he had defeated the Duel Spirit, and how she had promised to become Ryan’s Spirit Partner.

They walked on, finding themselves a way through a large maze. They had managed to climb several stairs, which was good, since they were now trying to reach the top. After what had seemed more than an hour, they noticed an obstacle. On the ceiling, in the middle of a large hallway, there was a wooden board covered in spikess attached. On the floor below it, a giant picture of a face-down card.

“This scene resembles the card ‘Needle Ceiling’.” Jane concluded.

“That means we should pass this corridor three at a time.” Ryan said.

He and Jane ran through the corridor, followed by D.D. Warrior Lady. Nothing happened, and Saitu, Alice and Katrina followed.

“I’m glad we’ve got through that one alive.” Katrina told them.

They continued their search without meeting any more obstacles, and since it was getting warmer, they knew they were getting to the top. But in the middle of a certain corridor, there was another face-down Card. Ryan decided to walk over it, and because he was safe Jane and Saitu did the same thing. When Katrina stepped on it, there was a loud bang, and both she and Alice fell through the hole that was blasted through a great part of the pyramid. Jane was fast enough to pull out a Spell Card, and before Alice and Katrina had fallen, they were caught by several shiny swords.

“Thank God I’ve put Swords of Revealing Light in my Deck...Are you guys all right?” she yelled down.

“Yeah, but we can’t get up again I think!” they heard Alice answer.

Katrina then spoke: “You guys go on. We’ll find our way through the maze again.”

“Don’t we have to wait for you guys?” Saitu asked, but he heard no answer. Instead, he felt his Orb glowing again and took it out. Beneath them, he saw a red and a blue light.

“You can’t. Just hurry to the top. I’m sure this is important!”

Ryan looked at him, not really knowing what to say.

“They’re right.” Jane told him, her white orb glowing too. “Your yellow one should tell you the same.”

They turned away from the gaping hole, and continued climbing along with Daisy, who had floated over the hole. At last, they found themselves in a giant rectangular room, with a hole in the middle of the ceiling, several meters above their heads. There was light coming from it, and D.D. Warrior Lady faded again.

“Good Luck with whatever you encounter up there. You’ll be fine.”

A ladder appeared from the gap, and Saitu knew they had to climb it to do whatever they were supposed to do. He suddenly felt so lost, so insecure, but still he knew what he should do. He started climbing the ladder, followed by Ryan and Jane.

 

He crawled out of the hole, and found himself in a room lit by torches. At the other side of the chamber, he saw something resembling a throne, and a man sitting in it.

He spoke in a deep, raspy voice. “At last, you are here. I’ve been waiting for this moment, young Kaiba. Even better! Two of your friends managed to follow you!” Jane and Ryan entered the room. The man help up his hand, and a black pyramid flew through the room. He caught it and hung it around his neck.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Anubis, Egyptian Lord of the Death, and King of Destruction.”

“Pretty impressive, but what on earth are you trying to accomplish?”

Anubis laughed, and held up the pyramid. “This, this was once the pyramid of light. But with the black Orb of Death, its powers have multiplied. Take this empty shell...I don’t need it any more.”

He threw a transparent Orb at Saitu, and he caught it.

“Now, King of Light. Our Duel shall commence. I’ll begin with 12,000 Life Points, and your weakened team will start with 4,000 each. After each of your Turns, it’ll be mine. Now, Duel!” A large yellow-ish Disk opened, and he Drew five cards. The rest of them followed.

“I set a monster and a Card, and end my Turn.”

“Then I’ll go!” Ryan yelled. “You’re not getting away with this! Be aware of time, the Countdown for the Epocalypse has begun! Signature Spell Card, Final Countdown!”

“What are you doing? You’ve lost half your Life Points allready!” (Ryan LP 2000)

“I know, mate, but trying is the only thing I can. I set a monster and a card, and End my Turn.”

“Not yet!” Anubis interrupted. I activate the First Sarcophagus during what would be your Main Phase, causing me to search my Deck for the Second Sarcophagus during your End Phase.” A vast gold sarcophagus appeared. It opened, revealing a dark blue one. Then, it’s my Turn. I set a card and end my Turn.”

“My Turn! I activate One for One, and Special Summon Lonefire Blossom from my Deck!”

A bright yellow blossom appeared, emitting green sparks. (500/1400)

“I’ll Tribute it to Special Summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!”

The blossom burst open, revealing a giant woman with a ginat rose as a dress. (2800/2600)

“Attack with Rose Punch!”

Tytannial hit the monster, but it appeared to be Spirit Reaper. (300/200) This small, puple-clad reaper could not be destroyed by battle.

“Then that’s it for this Turn.”

Anubis smiled maliciously. “That means I can grab my Third Sarcophagus!” The dark blue opened, revealing a golden sarcophagus with blue striped.

“Yes, but it also means we’re on turn three allready.” Ryan exclaimed, referring to the three flames above their heads.”

“Don’t worry about your little twenty-turn clock strategy. After your friend did his turn, I’ll pulverize you. I activate Painfull Choice. I add one of these to my hand, and all the others are sent to the Graveyard.”

He put five cards from his Deck on his Monster Card Zones, and one on his Field Spell Card Zone; there were three ‘Clown Zombies’ (1350/0) and two ‘Pharaoh’s Servants’. (900/0)

“Add ‘Pharaoh’s Servant’ to your hand.” Saitu decided.

“Very well. I activate Allure of Darkness and remove him from play. Then, I draw two cards.” He added them to his hand, but didn’t put his Deck back immediatly.

“I Tribute my Sarcophagus Cards to Summon this! Spirit of the Pharaoh!”

A giant, rotten man appeared, completely with royal hat and staff. His armor was composed of dark blue and golden elements, and his red eyes shone ferociously. (2500/2000) Three Clown Zombie’s joined him.

“Oh, c’mon! You did NOT just Summon a bunch of monsters in one turn!”

“Silence, or I kill you even before I defeated you!”

“Try me, dead boy.”

“Ryan, keep it down. Draw! I Summon Cyber Valley and Activate Machine Duplication to Summon three more.”

Three metal snakes emerged from the Duel Disk (0/0)

“I’ll set another card, and that’s it.”

“Well, ain’t that pathetic. Your set card won’t do anything. I activate Royal Decree, thus negating all Traps.”

Ryan moaned. “Oh, Cra-“

“Indeed. I Draw. I guess we won’t have to count the Turns anymore. I activate Nobleman of Crossout!”

Ryan put his Wall of Illusion back in his Deck box.

“Spirit, attack with Jab of Might”

The monster blasted him away, and his Life Points were at 1500 now.

“I defeat you by letting two of my Clowns take away your Life Points. Bye-bye!”

Two of the Clown Zombies scratched him in the face, and he toppled onto his knees. (LP Ryan 0)

“Nooo!” Jane yelled, running towards him.

“Stand still, woman!” Anubis roared. A golden chain came out of the floor, binding her feet to the ground.

“Don’t die, just don’t die!”

“I’ll be fine, Jane…It’d almost be like a hollyday…Death is just the next big adventure...” He lay down on his back. “Jane...fight as hard as you can...Use Everything I taught you. Saitu...Kill the bastard...Don’t let him get away...”

Another scream echoed through the pyramid’s top room, and Saitu tried his best to keep standing where he stood, as Ryan closed his eyes, and lay there quite motionless...

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 49: A Fabulous Twist]

[spoiler=Field Overview]

Anubis controls Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000), 3 Clown Zombies (1350/0) and Spirit Reaper (300/200). He also has a face-up Royal Decree. [12,000]

Saitu controls 3 Cyber Valleys and a face-down. (0/0) [4,000]

Jane Controls Tytannial, Princess of Camelias. (2800/2600) [4,000]

 

 

Jane had become silent. Was Ryan still alive? Saitu could hear him breathe very feebly, and he knew he was OK. The light of his Orb extinguished very slowly.

“Where was I...Yes, I remember! I attack Cyber Valley with my last Clown Zombie-“

“Thereby triggering its effect!” Saitu countered. “I remove him from play, draw 1 Card and end you Turn.”

The snake faded into silvery dust as soon as the Clown hit it.

“I Draw!” Jane yelled. “You’re not going to get away with this. I Summon Botanical Lion in Attack Mode!” A huge lion jumped out of her Duel Disk. Instead of manes, he had a rose around his neck, and his body looked like it was made out of wood. (1600 > 2200 / 2000)

“I attack one of your Clowns with Botanical Slash!”

The lion jumped at the clown and bit of his head. (Anubis 11,050)

“And now I attack your Spirit with Tytannial! Rose Punch!”

The Princess hit the pharaoh with such a force that it scattered into pieces. (Anubis 10,650)

“I’ll end my Turn now.”

“And I’ll end your Duel now. I Draw!” Anubis cried out. “I switch Spirit Reaper to attack mode, and activate Creature Swap!”

The reaper stood up, brandishing his scythe. He walked over to Jane, and Tytannial walked over to Anubis’ side.

“Since your Lion cannot be controlled by another player, I’ll take your princess. And now I’ll attack my Reaper with it, Rose punch!”

He laughed maliciously as Tytannial strook Spirit Reaper for the second time, doing some serious damage. (Jane 1,500)

“Awch! I felt that!” She cried out.

“There’s more of where that come from. Clown Zombies, attack with Demonical Slash!”

The Clowns attacked the reaper, but their claws went right through him. Jane’s Life Points hit zero, and Saitu saw how she too fell to her knees. He turned to face Anubis.

“This must end, now!”

A wicked smile appeared on his millenia-old face.

“Never.”

He heard stumbling behind his back, and saw Alice and Katrina entering through the traphole.

“Oh my God! What did he do to her?” Alice cried out in terror.

“Stay calm, they seem allright.”

“I’m glad you’re here. Now all the Orbs are in this room. And I get a little boost from it.” His Life Points increased to 18,650.

“That’s madness!” Katrina exclaimed.

“Madness...? This is Egypt, and soon I will control it. It won’t take me long to control the entire world. Face it. You can’t beat me.”

“I can try. During your End Phase, I activate Fires of Doomsday.”

Saitu flipped over the card, and two blue-ish ghosts appeared next to his metal snakes. (0/0 0/0)

“Then it’s your Turn, King of Light.”

“Fine. I Draw. Next, I Draw four cards by removing from play all my Monsters.”

The snakes disappeared, and took the ghostly creatures with them.

“I activate Lightning Vortex to destroy all of you Monsters, but I ditch Dandylion, so I gain two Fluff Tokens!”

A flash of Lightning hit Anubis’ side of the field, and when the smoke cleared up, two little fluffs were on Saitu’s side of the field. (0/0)

“I Set a Monster and Activate Book of Taiyou, flipping my Dekoichi face-up.” He drew a card as a purple locomotive appeared, large puffs of steam emerging from it. (1400/1000)

“Dekoichi, attack with Hot Steam Punch!”

Dekoichi hit Anubis straight in the stomach, but he didn’t seem to feel it. (Anubis 17,250)

“I set one and end my Turn.” Things were starting to work out. Anubis obly had Royal Decree on his field, and he had generated field advantage. He looked down at Ryan’s body that lay several metars away, and hoped this would soon be over.

“My Turn!” Anubis declared. “I set a monster and a card and that’s it.

“Then I’ll go!” Alice said, whiping her blonde hair out of her face. “I Summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, and let him destroy your Decree!”

A magical warrior clad in red appeared. The orb on his shield sparked, on the hologram of Royal Decree shattered. (1600/1000)

“And now, the fun begins. I activate Magical Citadel of Endymion!” The whole Room got surrounded by a magical aura, with several poles with orbs on it stood by the walls.

“I equip Big Bang Shot to my Breaker, giving him an attack boost and piercing damage. Attack with magical Breakthrough!” (2000/1000)

One of the orbs on the poles began to glow, and Breaker slashed the hologram in two, revealing it to be a giant turtle with a pyramid on its back. (1400/1200) (Anubis 16,450)

“Due to Pyramid Turtle’s effect, I can Summon a second one from my Deck. You can’t stop me. A few more Turns and everything will be over.”

A second turtle replaced the first one.

“Fine, then it’s your Turn again.”

“I Draw and set one more monster. I end my Turn.” His smile became even wider.

“Stalling isn’t a good option against Gladiator Beasts!” Saitu sneered.

“Indeed. Too bad I won’t be using them.” Katrina replied.

“What?” both Saitu and Alice asked.

“The true power...is in the past. I activate Toon Table of Contents!”

A giant cartoony book appeared in front of her. A card came from between the pages, and flew into her hand. A second pole began to glow.

“With this second Toon Table, I search for the third one.”

The proces was repeated, and the third orb was activated.

“This third one helps to find me the tale of the dragon. I search for Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.”

She fanned her Deck and took a monster out of it, and a fourth pole activated.

“Thanks for all the Spell Counters.”

“There are more of where that came from. I pay 1000 Life Points to activate Toon World.”

An even bigger book folded open on her side of the field. (Katrina 3000)

“Isn’t it simply fabulous? I’ll give you a sixth Counter by activating Scapegoat.”

Four little lambs appeared; a blue one, a pink one, a yellow one and an orange one. (0/0 x 4)

”This very sad world could do with some more laughter. Special Summon! Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!”

Saitu recognized the white Dragon; this vicious creature was a carricature of his own loyal friend. (3000/2500)

“And here’s one more: introducing the great Toon Summoned Skull!”

The pink lamb disappeared, making place for a giant skeleton-ish fiend that looked just as ridiculous as the Dragon (2500/1200)

“I end my turn, for my little fiends cannot attack yet.”

“Humph. How very entertaining. I Draw. I set a third Monster and end my Turn.”

“I do the same.” Saitu said. He had to be carefull, seeing how slow the Duel was now proceeding.

“Seems like no one gets what they want. And nobody will. I set fourth monster and end my Turn.”

“Then I go! I activate Card Destruction, so we’ll all get a fresh hand!”

Everyone discarded and drew.

“I remove Six Spell Counters from my Field Spell. Master of the Magician’s, I need your Power. Emerge, greater than before! I Summon Endymion, the Master Magician!"

A giant warlock in black clothing appeared, brandishing a huge wand. (2700/1700)

“I add card destruction back to my hand, and now you’ll see something you’ve never seen before. I summon Silent Magician LV4!”

A young white wizard appeered. It had 5 orbs on his wand.

“With Hand Destruction, we all ditch two and Draw two. With Dark World Dealings, we do the same, but with only 1 card. I activate another Hand Destruction, followed by a second Dark World Dealings!”

Everyone replenished their hands. Four Orbs of Silent Magician began to glow, and four poles of Endymion too. Saitu now had Obelisk in his hand. It was only a matter of time before he could Summon it and everything would be back to normal.

“Lastly, Cup of Ace. If this works, this Duel is almost over.”

A giant coin appeared, and it fell on the floor from several meters high. The result was ‘Tails’.

“Too bad that didn’t work out. Now I draw two Cards.” Anubis laughed. “With this fresh hand I can destroy you next Turn.”

He didn’t pay attanetion to the field anymore. Silent Magician grew to almost twice its size, and it looked much older, much more mature. (3500/1000)

“What just happened?” he asked.

“What I was hoping for. One-Turn Evolution. Prepare to accept defeat, Anubis!”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 50. A Bitter Loss]

[spoiler=Field Overview]

Anubis controls Pyramid Turtle (1400/1200) is Defence mode, 3 face-down Monsters and a face-down Card. [16,450]

Alice controls Breaker the Magical Warrior equipped with Big Bang Shot (2000/1000), Endymion, the Master Magician (2700/1700), Silent Magician LV8 (3500/1000) and Magical Citadel of Endymion (5 SC). [4,000]

Katrina controls a face-up Toon World, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon (3000/2500), Toon Summoned Skull (2500/1200) and a Scapegoat Token (0/0) [3,000]

Saitu controls Dekoichi (1400/1000) in attack mode, two Fluff Tokens (0/0), a face-down monster and a face-down Card. [4,000]

 

 

“I attack your Pyramid Turtle with Breaker! Magical Breakthrough!” Alice declared.

Breaker slashed the turtle in half; Anubis’ Life Points fell to 15,650 and a giant zombie that consisted mostly about human skulls appeared in Defence Mode. (2400/2000)

“Ryu Kokki, huh? I’m not going to fall for that trick. Endymion, attack the face-down on the far left! Magical Blast!”

Endymion pointed his wand towards the face-down Card. It appeared to be UFO Turtle (1400/1000). A second one took its place immediatly, but this time the green turtle was in attack mode. It was utterly destroyed by Silent Magician’s Spell of Silence. (Anubis 13,550)

“I do not activate his effect.” he said calmly. “He has served his purpose.”

“Purpose? If his purpose was causing you to lose, then it did! I end my Turn.”

“Then it is my Turn. I set another Monster and a card, and end my Turn.”

Saitu Drew, and knew what he was supposed to do. As soon as he wanted to Summon Obelisk, a silver dagger came flying out of nowhere, nearly missed his hand, but pinned his God Card to the ground.

“Lightforce Sword should stop that God Card for a while, King of Light.”

“How did you know?”

Anubis smiled even wider. “Your sleeves are slightly transparent. Obelisk’s back is blue.”

Saitu looked at his card, and saw it was indeed distinguishable from the other cards in his hand.

“I switch Dekoichi to Defence mode and end my turn.”

The locomotive stopped sprouting steam as Anubis Drew his Card.

“I will pass too.”

“That’s great!” Katrina said. “I Draw. I attack you directly with Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon! Animated Burst Stream!”

The little Dragon attacked by launching a white beam, but Anubis’ Life points remained unharmed.

“Do you really think I would allow that? Waboku protects me from taking any damage.”

“Then I attack the face-down on the right with Toon Summoned Skull. Manga Lightning!”

The skeleton attacked, revealing the face-down to be Mother Grizzly; a large blue grizzly bear standing on her back paws. (1400/1000)

“I end my Turn.”

“Then I Draw again. I activate Black Pendant, and equip it to my Mother Grizzly I set a card and end my Turn.” An amulet with a large black stone now hung around the bear’s neck. (1900/1000)

“My Turn!” Alice said. “I activate Swords of Revealing Light, revealing your last monster!”

Three shiny swords fell out of the ceiling and surrounded Anubis’ Monsters. The last face-down was a green dragonfly: Flying Kamakiri. (1400/1000)

“Now I activate Lightning Vortex, destroying all of your monsters!”

She discarded a card, and for the second time, Anubis’ side of the field was struck by lightning. The only thing left was the cracked black amulet, and a whisp of green smoke coming out of it flew straight into Alice’s Duel Disk. (Alice 3,500)

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve allready won. Silent Magician, attack with Spell of Silence!”

The magician flicked his wand at Anubis, and a soundwave flew towards him. Anubis laughed out loud as two cylinders appeared. The soundwave came in through one of them, and came out of the other, hitting Alice in the chest. She flew several meters backwards, and fell on the floor without making any sound. (Alice 0)

“NO!” Saitu exclaimed. “End this right now! Just stop it!”

“Never.” Anubis whispered. “She’ll live again if and only if I do not win this Duel. The same goes for the others.”

A tear escaped from Saitu’s eyecorner.

“Saitu...we mustn’t give up...” Katrina’s voice sounded so very distant.

“Or just hand over all of the orbs...you’ll all go freely if you do...” Anubis sounded as if he was trying to make a fair deal at a flea market, but was being ripped off by a client.

“I didn’t hear that. I’ve learnt one thing over the past few weeks. I must never give up.” He felt gis voice becoming stronger again, and his orb shone even brighter. For the first time, he looked Gandrios straight in the eye.

“My grandfather never won from Yugi, even tough they were equally matched. It was only when he accepted the existance of mysterious powers that they became truely equal to each other. I know, I feel that he is still alive, somewhere. And once this is over, I’ll go and find him! Now do your turn and enjoy it, because it will be one of your last!”

“Fine. You want to fight? I’ll take you out as slow and painfull as possible. I activate Special Hurricane to destroy the Toons and the Tokens!”

A hurricane that looked like it was made out of stardust wooshed over their fields, destroying all of Katrina’s Monsters ans Saitu’s Fluff Tokens.

“Next, Burrial from a different dimension, to put Obelisk in your Grave.”

“In my Grave!?”

Katrina shuffled her hand nervously; Saitu had never seen her like that. Anubis must’ve cleared out her field for a reason.

“Yes, Miss Pegasus, you seem to understand. I activate Monster Reborn!” He laughed loud and maliciously, raising both his arms as the room filled with dark blue smoke. A large figure slowly rose from the floor.

“Let’s show them what tormenting is really about! Special Summon, Obelisk the Tormentor!

The huge monster was there at last. Saitu now knew what it felt like to oppose him. He watched in terror as the divine beast unleashed his God Hand Crusher on Katrina, whiping her out in one hit. (Life Points 0)

“You’re a bastard, you know that?”

“Yes. I end my Turn.”

As he spoke those words, Obelisk began to crumble slowly. Soon there was nothing left, except for a heap of dust that sunk into the cracks in the floor.

“Then it’s my Turn. I draw, and I’ll do it again by flipping up a second Dekoichi.”

A second locomotive appeared, and Saitu drew.

“Excellent. I activate my own Monster Reborn, and I’ll use it on Pharaoh’s Servant!”

An ankh appeared. It started glowing and got replaced by a mummified warrior. (900/0)

“Next I’ll play Monster Reincarnation, and retreive my Obelisk. I release all of my Monsters.

The descent of this mighty creature shall be heralded by burning winds and twisted land. And with the coming of this horror, those who draw breath shall know the true meaning of eternal slumber. Summon, Obelisk the Tormentor!”

The Tormentor was now at his side. “Attack directly with God Hand Crusher!”

The beast struck with such a terrifying power that Anubis fell on his knees, panting.(9,550)

“Seems like you’re finally weakening. Nothing can defeat a god.”

Anubis sprang back up. “Yes there is!” he shouted. “There are powers stronger than yours. Accept your defeat, young King of Light. This is almost over. I set a card and two face-downs, and end my Turn.”

“Pretty impressive.” a deep, cool voice said. Saitu looked behing him. Dressed in black leather pants and sleeveless T-shirt, and a golden pyramid hung around his neck with a chain, Pharaoh Atem looked more impressive than ever.

“Yugi!” Saitu yelled. “How did you get here?”

“The explanation is still on it’s way...”

“What do you-“

He was interrupted by Mokuba who came crawling through the hole.

“-shouldn’t do such things anymore, damn it. And you’re five years older than me, I don’t get it.”

“So the King of Darkness is also here. This could be very interesting.” Anubis interrupted. “Plus, I gain the Life Points you start with.”

“Not if we play a little game, Anubis.”

“A game?” He didn’t seem to understand.

“Me and Mokuba start out with 1 Life Point each. If we lose it, you can have our souls irregardless of the outcome.”

“WHAT?” Mokuba shouted. “I didn’t come here for Dueling, jeez. You said you were going to solve –“

“Then it’s on.” Anubis said.

“D’oh.”

“My Turn!” Saitu continued. “I set a card, and let Obelisk attack with God Hand Crusher!”

Obelisk attacked, but suddenly stopped. Piece by piece, a big glass pyramid started forming around them. After the pyramid was completed, Obelisk shattered into pieces.

 

[spoiler=NOTE]

Remove from Play all Divine-Beast Monsters on the Field. If this face-up card is removed from your side of the field' date=' destroy "Andro Sphinx" and "Sphinx Teleia" on your side of the field and remove them from play, and Special Summon all removed from play Divine-Beast Monsters to their owner’s side of the field. The Monster(s) Special Summoned by this effect are not destroyed during the End Phase of that Turn.[/quote']

 

 

“The Pyramid of Light! That can’t be!”

“Yes, Pharaoh. It is possible. I stole this card from the King of Light of whom I had taken control after our last Duel. My Turn!”

He Drew a Card, ans smiled.

“I pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!” (Anubis 8,552)

Two creatures arose from the ground. One of them had long blonde manes, and was clad in blue-silver armor. It muscular body was trained to destroy. (300/2500)

The other was obviously female; she had a human face with blank eyes, and long purple hairs. She had a grey lion’s body, except for two wings sprouting from her shoulders. (2500/3000).

“Luckily, your sphinxes cannot attack yet, and since you have no more cards in your hand, I assume it is my Turn.” Yugi explained.

“You are right, Pharaoh, but you won’t be able to bo anything with only 1 Life Point.”

“I can do enough. I Draw, and activate Scapegoat!”

Four multicolored little lambs appeared. (4x 0/0)

“I sacrifice three of my Lambs! The heavens twist and thunder roars, signaling the coming of this ancient creature, and the dawn of true power. Special Summon, Slifer the Sky Dragon!”

A huge, red Dragon sprouted from the ground. It twisted and turned, and was just as big as Obelisk. (4000/4000)

 

[spoiler=NOTE]

You must Tribute 3 monsters you control to Special Summon this card. This card cannot be targeted by the effects of a Spell' date=' Trap or Effect Monster. If this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, it is sent to the Graveyard during the End Phase. The ATK and DEF of this card becomes the number of cards in your Hand × 1000. When your opponent Normal Summons or Flip Summons a monster with an ATK or DEF of 2000 or less, destroy that monster.[/quote']

 

 

A crack of light then came through the celing, and Slifer slowly dissolved through it.

“No! My Dragon!”

“Too bad. I activate Solemn Judgment, utterly destroying your monster.” (Anubis 4,276)

Yugi groaned. “Then I set one Monster and a card, and end my Turn.”

“Excelent. King of Darkness, I will take you out first!” He Drew a card. “Andro Sphinx, attack his face-down!”

The beast tore the hologram in pieces, and it revealed to be a tine pinky ball, that was smiling happily as if nothing had happened. (300/500)

“My Marshmallon happily grants you a nice total of minus thousand points.”

Anubis grunted as his Life Points went down to 3,276 points.

“Fine. Sphinx Teleia, attack the other old man!”

Teleia jumped towards Mokuba.

“That’s not fair! I discard Kuriboh and make the battle damage zero!”

A furry hairball appeared in front of Mokuba and took the blow, squealing softly.

“I’ll take revenge. I Summon Chiron the Mage!”

A centaur wearing a helmet and brandishing a wand appeared. (1800/1000)

“I discard Shrink to destroy your pyramid!”

The centaur blasted it’s Spell right in between the Sphinxes, and hit the pyramid’s hologram. This caused the real pyramid to turn to dust which slowly fell down upon the scene. Anubis’ Life Points fell by 500, and his Sphinxes merged together into a bigger one. It had Andro’s upper body and the legs and body of Teleia. (3500/3000) Anubis lost another 500 points and the Sphinx grew to twice it size, and it had allready been huge. (6500/3000 Anubis: 2,276)

“HA! You helped me there, old Kaiba! I have Special Summoned my last monster, my Ace! Theinen the Great Sphinx!”

The sphinx roared ferociously as blue smoke suddenly filled the room, and Obelisk arose again.

“What!?”

“I’m smarter than I look. By destroying the pyramid, Obelisk is permanently Special Summoned again.” He grinned at Anubis, who was now raging over his own stupidity!

“I set one, and your Turn.”

“Foolish foold, I’ll finnish this right now. Theinen, attack with Gift of the Gods!”

“No you won’t! I activate Threatening Roar. Fooled you again, Anubis!”

Anubis roared even louder, and the glass pyramid that hung around his neck shattered. The black smoke formed an aura around him.

“I won’t go down without a fight! I won’t lose. I set one card and end my Turn!”

“It’s too late, Anubis!” Saitu declared. “Obelisk, use your Soul Energy Max!”

Marshmallon and Chiron the Mage vanished into whisps of blue smoke. Theinen was destroyed, along with the face-down Giant Rat that everybody had forgotten about. Anubis’ field was open. He only had one face-down left.

“Attack, with God Hand Crusher!”

Obelisk struck Anubis, and his Life Points went to zero. He was blewn several meters backwards. His last hologram opened.

“Trap Card Activate. Bannishment to the Afterlife. Farewell, my friend. This is where it ends.”

 

[spoiler=NOTE]

You can only activate this life when your opponent attacks your Life Points directly and your Life Points would become 0. Remove from play 3 DARK Monsters' date=' 2 LIGHT Monsters, 1 EARTH Monster, 1 WATER Monster, 1 FIRE Monster and 1 WIND Monster. The Duel Results in a Draw.[/quote']

 

 

“I haven’t won, so I’ll keep my promise.” Anubis said. His voice was very feeble.

“But neither have you, so your soul...is bannished to where no one will ever find it. I remove from play 3 Clown Zombies, Andro Sphinx, Teleia Sphinx, Giant Rat, Mother Grizzly, UFO Turtle and Flying Kamakiri.”

The holograms of all the monsters shone once more, and then disappeared. Anubis started to crumble away very slowly. Nothing was left of him. He had been defeated forver.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Duel]

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 50 bis: Farewell]

“Saitu!” Alice jumped back up, and ran towards the circle in which Jane, Ryan, Katrina Mokuba and Yugi stood. She didn’t know where the latter two had come from, and she didn’t care. In the middle of the circle lay Saitu, entirely still, without breathing. In his pocket, something green was shining brightly. She sat down on her knees next to him.

A tear rolled over her cheek, and once it hit the floor, the Orb stopped shining.

“We gotta get out of here.” Mokuba finally said. “This thing is about to collapse with all the holes your puzzele made in it. I allready took care of someone to pick us up.”

Soon enough, a helicoptre was heard. A beam of light from the Millenium Puzzle blasted a giant hole in the celing, showing a white KaibaCopter™ . A rope ladder fell through the hole. Saitu was heaved in by Ryan and Yugi, and Alice entered last. She recognized the pilot immediatly. The man had short brown hair, and was dressed in a long white cape with the letters ‘Kc’ on the neck.

“I...-how...” She stuttered.

“Not now, miss.” He said briskly. “We first got to get my grandson to a hospital...

 

 

 

 

[ragnarok1945]

I just haven't see anyone successfully use an Exodia Necros deck, that's all

[Mysty]

Once again, I am blown away by this fan-fic. You did a good job writing it. I voted 8/10.

[ragnarok1945]

will the next chap be up soon?

[RyanAtlus]

will the next chap be up soon?

 

Chapter 9?

I was trying to learn the different Crystal Beasts to use them in a uel,but if you're hungry for more, I'll do something else.

Ragnarok, you can send all thosethingsin a private message, otherwise this topic willlook like a 3 men-conversation! ^^

[ragnarok1945]

ok, I'll wait to see what you have planned on the Crystal beast deck. Been a while since I've seen one of those decks in a fic anyway

[Mysty]

Hey, great fan-fic. I liked chapters 9 and 10. Also, check out this site:

http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Crystal_Beasts

This will give you basic knowledge of Crystal Beasts.