Yu-Gi-Oh 1. Chapter 1

It was a balmy summer night in Domino City, and many people were standing around in a small courtyard, conversing and mingling indistinctly. On almost every building was an enormous television screen, although none were on at the moment. Although there were many people, a large majority of them didn't look as if they were from around the city; they appeared to be foreigners, gathered from all walks of life.

A familiar face stepped into the large courtyard, a golden triangle hanging on a chain necklace around his neck. He strolled alongside a skinny brunette wearing a short skirt and a yellow tank top. Next to her was another man, taller than both of them, texting on his iPod.

The brunette walked calmly beside him, carrying her orange-colored purse on her shoulder. She opened her mouth and spoke softly, "The invitation said the tournament would be announced tonight. Ishizu was right."

"I don't know if everything she said is true," the man with the chain necklace replied, stopping in his tracks. "But I do know this." He faced her. "I must enter and win this tournament in order to fulfill my destiny."

Looking away from the screen, the taller man chuckled at Yami's destiny talk. "Don't count me out so quickly, Yami. I haven't stopped practicing since Duelist Kingdom. I've gotten much better than I was back then."

The girl seemed hesitant, pondering something. "Just promise me you'll be careful, guys, 'cause I'm sure there's still danger ahead."

Yami looked forward. "Yes, whoever's after the Millennium Puzzle is still out there." He reached over to a deck holder latched onto the right side of his belt, retrieving his Duel Monsters deck and staring at the top card. It was his reliable Dark Magician. "But you must trust me, Téa. This deck has never let me down before. As long as Yugi and I stay connected to one another, I am confident that we can use this deck to win this tournament, unlock the mysteries of my ancient past, and realize our destiny."

"If you don't lose to me, of course," said Jericho, texting again. "Destiny only gets you so far."

A voice called out to Yami from the distance. As Yami and Téa peered around, they noticed a well-endowed blond in a light purple miniskirt running up to them, waving her arm around and smiling.

"It's Mai Valentine," Yami noted, he and Téa turning to face the new arrival. As Mai caught up to them, Yami spoke, "I assume you've come here for the tournament."

"But of course," she said, facing him. "I presume you two got invitations also."

"Yes, we did," Yami replied. "But it didn't say who it was from. Do you know who's hosting this tournament?"

"I have no idea. It's a mystery. Nobody seems to know. Everybody I spoke to got an anonymous invitation. But there is a buzz going around that it's someone with a ton of cash and an obnoxious attitude. I'd guess Kaiba."

Jericho threw his hand up and let it fall to his side. "Seto Kaiba. Hah. I'd love to take him on again. It won't end the same way. I can guarantee that!"

Yami's eyes widened as images of ancient stone tablets flashed before him, filling his mind temporarily. "Of course! That must be why Ishizu told me to enter! If the events of the past are to happen again, I must face Kaiba in this tournament!"

Mai crossed her arms and looked at Yami as if he was a crazy that had just escaped from the psych ward. "What are you mumbling about? Anyway, nobody knows for sure who it is that's throwing this thing."

"I suppose we'll find out soon."

"It's pretty safe to say it's not Pegasus again."

"Speaking of Pegasus, it's beginning to look like Duelist Kingdom all over again," Yami spoke with a bit of disdain in his voice.

"You can say that again. There certainly are a lot of familiar faces in this crowd, most of whom I'm not too happy to see."

Téa gasped, then sighed in disgust, lowering her head and sulking. "Ugh, you're right." She pointed to two shrimpy men standing around on the alpine building in front of them. "That's Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor."

Mai extended her index finger to an even shorter man in a pink jacket speaking to what seemed like little clones of himself. "Over there's Espa Roba. They say he uses psychic powers to duel."

"And Mako's here too!" Téa added quickly, observing a man in blue clothing eating fish from a couple of skewers.

"If what Mai said earlier is correct, then this tournament is going to have one new wrinkle," said Yami, turning toward the large television screen positioned on the building that Weevil and Rex were standing on the steps of. "Kaiba."

Seto Kaiba's booming voice carried over to every person in the courtyard, then even further as every screen in the city televised him. "Greetings, duelists. Welcome to the town of Domino. But more importantly, welcome to my tournament." He paused, then began again. "I see you each received your private invite to KaibaCorp's very exclusive Duel Monsters tournament, and you had enough brains to show up here tonight." At this, there was a small commotion amongst the people in the courtyard, torn between praising Kaiba's cockiness or yelling at him for his rudeness. Either way, Kaiba continued his speech. "Being that you are all elite duelists, I've added special rules to my tournament, just for experts. For example..." The screen zipped down to a shot of Kaiba's left forearm, where a shiny new technological device was attached. "...you will duel using these new improved Duel Disks." The crowd began to chatter amongst themselves even more. "Another new rule that I designed for the tournament is that before each duel, both players must ante up their rarest card and the loser of the duel forfeits his card to the winner."

Yami protested immediately at Kaiba's new rule, lurching forward. "Forfeit my Dark Magician?!"

Mai didn't enjoy the new rule either. "That means losing even one duel can ruin my deck!"

Jericho pocketed his iPod and smirked confidently in the wake of this new rule. "If he wanted my rarest card, all he had to do was ask."

"My competition will make Pegasus and his Duelist Kingdom tournament look like a joke," Kaiba resumed, his fans cheering him on. "Unlike his sad excuse for a tournament, each player will begin with 8000 Life Points instead of 2000, and that also brings me to my next rule - direct attacks will be permitted in the tournament!"

"That new rule of his could change the game entirely!" Yami shouted, trying to process all of the information Kaiba was handing out to them.

Unlike the others, Jericho was reveling throughout this. Each new rule Kaiba came out with only increased his excitement for the tournament. "This just makes for a much more enjoyable challenge."

"One final thing," Kaiba said, grinning sinisterly. "You'll each be given 1 Locator Card when you register. In order to find the location of the Battle City Finals, you'll need 6. The first 8 duelists to gain 6 Cards will move on to the Finals, while the rest of you will be eliminated!" The screens shut off abruptly, leaving each person to wonder.

The winds picked up considerably in the courtyard, the trees blowing in every direction. Each person in the courtyard and in the nearby streets shifted their attention from each other to a KaibaCorp helicopter flying just above the trees, Kaiba hanging out of the side of it, staring a hole through Yami. The two made no sounds, but they knew exactly what the other was thinking.

"Don't forget to register and pick up your Duel Disk because exactly one week from today, my Battle City tournament begins!" Kaiba yelled, raising his hand high above his head.

"You're on, Kaiba!" Yami bellowed up to the rich CEO of KaibaCorp, returning Kaiba's stare.


	2. Chapter 2

A loud bell rang at Domino City High School, signaling the end of the day. Most students hustled out of the building, but a few stayed behind, mingling in a classroom.

"Man, could class get any more boring? I was about to fall asleep," Jacob Harrison said, standing and stretching out his limber body. He squatted down, his running suit expanding with his quads and calves. Straightening himself out again, he pulled out a small box, setting it on the table next to him.

"You did fall asleep," sighed his sister, Susan, tying her long brown hair into a ponytail. "Luckily, I copied down all the notes for you…once again."

With a cheesy grin, Jacob said, "You're the best, sis! Now, who's ready to duel?"

He peered across the table at his two other friends, Aaron and Scott. Aaron was a typical bookworm, his face buried in a book about mathematical algorithms. He didn't seem very interested in Jacob's open challenge. On the other hand, Scott, a muscular teen with a blue Mohawk, pulled a similar box out of his backpack and set it on the table.

"You're on, Harrison!" Scott exclaimed, flipping open the latch on the box that was held closed by Velcro. He laid a deck of cards onto the flat surface and took a seat. "I'll squash you with my dinosaurs, bro!"

Susan put a stop to the duel before it even started, slapping a booklet down for them to see. The cover read OFFICIAL BATTLE CITY RULEBOOK. Aaron looked over as she began explaining. "Hold on, guys. Before you go at it, I think you should familiarize yourselves with Seto Kaiba's new Battle City rules. You are participating, aren't you?"

"Of course!" they both shouted in confident unison.

"Okay, so things are quite a bit different from Duelist Kingdom. You didn't have to sacrifice weaker monsters for stronger monsters there, so it was really down to whoever got the stronger monster out first. Kaiba's changed this, and for the better, I think. Now, in order to summon a 5-star or 6-star monster, you have to sacrifice one monster. For 7-star, 8-star, and 9-star monsters, you need to sacrifice two monsters. For a 10-star and above monster, you need to give up three monsters."

"I'm gonna miss spamming really strong monsters at no cost," Scott said as Susan turned the page.

She continued, "Another big change is Fusion Monsters. If you use one for a sacrifice, it counts as however many monsters you used to make the fusion. For instance, if Kaiba sacrificed his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—"

"Why would he do that? There's nothing stronger than that dragon," Jacob interrupted, crossing his arms.

"I don't know! Just go with it. Anyway, if he did that, it would count as three sacrifices."

"That's a pretty cheap way to get stronger monsters out, don't you think?" Scott wondered.

"No, it's a good test of skill," Aaron spoke quietly. "Seto Kaiba is a genius for coming up with these rules. It makes the game a lot fairer and more equalized than it was before. Now someone who only has high level monsters isn't guaranteed victory. In fact, it's more likely for them to lose."

Scott waved him off. "You just have a crush on Kaiba." Aaron shot him an icy glare. "Keep going, Susan."

The girl cleared her throat, pointing to the bottom of the page. "It also notes that Fusion Monsters must wait one turn before attacking." She turned the page again. "You know about direct attacks, so I won't go over that again. Hmm. Here's one. You can't look at your opponent's Graveyard. On that note, when you discard from your hand or deck, you don't have to show your opponent which cards you got rid of."

Jacob fiddled with his deck. "That could work in my favor! Hah."

Susan flipped through the book, looking for any rules that needed to be brought up. She reached the final couple pages, squinting. "The forbidden and limited list. Hmm. It's mostly just cards that inflict effect damage, like Hinotama and Meteor of Destruction. You can only have one copy of Monster Reborn in your deck now, too."

"Darn, I was thinking of having three copies of all those cards in my deck," Scott said, fanning through his deck. "They all fit my dinosaur theme, don't you think?"

"Why are there so many rules?" Jacob whined, shuffling his cards. "Duelist Kingdom was so much simpler."

"And inconsistent and filled with plotholes." Aaron returned to his book, no longer interested in the conversation.

Susan stood up, leaving the book on the table. "Well, I'm gonna head home. I suggest you guys look that over some more and memorize the rules, especially you, Jake. It'd be pretty embarrassing to lose your first duel because you forgot how to summon monsters correctly."

Jacob chuckled nervously. "Yeah…right. I'll see you at home, sis. Let Charles out when you get there."

"Will do," she said, grabbing her jacket and leaving the room.

Susan didn't usually walk home from school, but it was a cool summer evening and her bike had a flat tire. Domino City wasn't a bad place to live, but like most every place, it had its share of misfits and criminals. Unfortunately for her, she managed to encounter a gang of these lowlifes. They were wearing long purple robes, and didn't appear to be anybody she recognized from the police reports.

"You wouldn't happen to have any rare cards, would you?"


	3. Chapter 3

There wasn't an escape route in sight for Susan. The robed men had surrounded her before she could grasp what was happening. One man had even grabbed her cell phone from her purse and smashed it on the ground, giggling childishly as he did so.

"I don't have any Duel Monsters cards!" she screamed at them, trying to keep track of all five men.

"Hey, the lady said she didn't have cards, so get lost!"

"Who are you?" asked one of the men, removing the hood from his robe, revealing an old, sickly looking man with spiked gray hair.

Before them was a tall boy in an orange biker jacket, holding his helmet in one arm. "The name's Tristan! Don't bother introducing yourselves because I don't care. Leave the girl alone."

Another boy came running up next to Tristan. The blond boy had an odd hairstyle, and was also holding a helmet in one arm, with a Duel Disk clipped to his other. "What's taking so long, Tristan?" He stopped as he saw the girl and the group of men, who had all stepped back into a single line behind the female. "Eh? Who the heck are these circus freaks?"

"I don't know, Joey, but they're messing with this girl and it's pissing me off," Tristan said, clenching his fists.

Susan recognized both of the boys from school, but she also knew of Joey Wheeler as the runner-up at Duelist Kingdom. She talked to them a few times during class, but she was always too busy with schoolwork to hang out with them. Hopefully they would be able to get her out of this situation she found herself in.

The men noticed the Duel Disk on Joey's left arm, gleaming sinisterly.

"What are you freaks lookin' at?" Joey questioned. He followed their stare to his arm. "My Duel Disk? What do you want with my Duel Disk, huh?"

The man in the middle of the line pulled back his sleeve, where a similar Duel Disk was attached to his bony forearm. "I challenge you to a duel, Joey Wheeler!"

"Don't do it, Joey," said Tristan, anxious for a fight. "These guys can't be trusted. I say we waste 'em right now and get this over with. What about it, bud?"

"Sorry, Tristan," Joey began, setting his helmet down next to him. "But I gotta do this. This guy's askin' for a butt whoopin', and I'm just the guy to give it to him."

Tristan grumbled, stepping back behind his friend reluctantly. "Alright, but I got your back if they pull anything."

"Thanks. So what do I call you, huh?"

"You can call me Seeker. I'm a Rare Hunter!" proclaimed the old man, holding out his hands.

"Rare Hunter? What the heck is that?"

"Duel me and you'll find out!"

"Meh, whateva." He looked at his Duel Disk, trying to figure out how to work it. He'd only just gotten it that day. He fidgeted with some of the buttons, finally pressing a blue button on the bottom that activated the mechanism. Two bird-like devices flew out from the sides, landing on the ground and illuminating with a brilliant array of colors. The Duel Disk lit up with yellows and reds. "Alright, let's do this! But first, let the girl go!"

"Fine! We don't need her anyway," Seeker said, gathering up his cards. "When I beat you, I'm going to take your rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"We'll see about that." Joey motioned to the girl. "Go on. Get outta here. We got these punks."

"T-thank you," Susan muttered, scampering off the battlefield past Joey and Tristan.

She made it out of the street and down the next block before running right into another robed man. His palm smacked into the back of her neck before she could let out a scream, knocking her unconscious. He scooped her up in one arm and walked back into the alley.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean she didn't come home?" Jacob questioned, holding the phone to his ear. "Yes, mom, I know. Don't worry. She's probably at the library or something. I'll find her." He hung up.

"You don't think she's at the library, do you?" Scott asked.

Jacob shook his head. "No, she would've told me. We have to find her, dude. Let's go."

The two took off running down the street. The sun was setting and soon it'd be too dark to look for Susan. They soon approached a large group of men in what appeared to be a stand-off from the distance, but as they got closer, they realized the men were engaged in a duel.

Scott and Jacob stopped some feet away, keeping a safe distance.

The blond-haired man had two monsters on his side of the field, while the old guy he was dueling had only one.

"Your monster may be too tough for my Alligator's Sword and my Panther Warrior, but I got just the dragon to stomp it!" Joey picked up a card from the middle of his hand and put it down on his Duel Disk. "Say hello to my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000), baby! Ohh, yeah!"

Floating out of the portal that opened up from the newly materialized card came a ferocious looking black dragon with blood red eyes, razor sharp teeth, and claws long enough to slice a great white shark in half in one blow.

"Holy *****, I know who that is now!" Jacob exclaimed, his eyes popping with excitement. "That's Joey Wheeler! He came in second at Duelist Kingdom!"

"What's he doing here with those guys in the purple robes? Seems kind of random, don't you think?" Scott added.

Jacob's jaw dropped as Red-Eyes was ordered to attack, blasting the old guy's stone monster away with an incredible fireball. _Wow, that's some firepower, alright._

Seeker gleamed over his hand, his eyebrows raising and his teeth showing through his large grin. "Looks like your time is up, Wheeler!"

"What do you mean by that? I've been crushin' ya!" Joey responded, curious as to what the Rare Hunter had planned. Maybe it had to do with the card he had just drawn, or maybe he was simply bluffing.

"I've got the most powerful cards in the game in my hand! You should be familiar with them!"

"Why's that?"

"Your friend Yugi Moto owned them at one point." Seeker snickered deviously. He definitely had something planned.

From the sidelines, Jacob and Scott wondered which cards the Rare Hunter was talking about as well. They tried visualizing the cards Yugi was known for. Dark Magician? That obviously couldn't be the case since Dark Magician was only one card, and the Rare Hunter was referring to multiple cards.

_"…owned them at one point."_

That was it! There was only one set of cards Yugi used to own that he was known for. But they were impossibly rare, so could the Rare Hunter really have them in his possession?

"Arg, stop messin' with me and just make your move!" Joey said impatiently.

"As you wish!" The old man laid his entire hand onto his Duel Disk, revealing a combination of cards thought to be almost impossible to gather.

"No way. It couldn't be!"

"That's impossible!" shouted Jacob, alerting the others of his and Scott's presence.

Seeker paid no mind to them as each of his five cards materialized onto the playing field: a left arm, a right arm, a left leg, a right leg, and finally, a head – all combining into the majestic bronze body of Exodia the Forbidden One.

"Stare into the face of annihilation, Mr. Wheeler!"

"No! It can't be!" Joey stumbled backward, falling over.

"Joey!" Tristan yelled.

"Exodia…OBLITERATE!" commanded Seeker.

_

"Master, the girl is in position."

"Excellent. Seeker should be finished with his task by now. Find little Yugi. Make sure he's the one who duels for the girl."

"It will be done."

Susan, bound and gagged, was suspended twenty feet above a circular tank filled with murky water. Two triangular fins cut through the water's surface, circling below the girl.

_

"Ah, yes! Finally, we have the rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Seeker announced joyously, shuffling the card into his deck. He turned.

Joey was on the ground, Tristan at his side helping him up.

The group of Rare Hunters moved away. Seeker glared at Jacob and Scott as he passed by. A cell phone rang, disrupting his gaze.

"It's the boss," said one of the Hunters. He put the phone to his ear, listening intently. There were a few seconds of silence, and then he hung up. "The girl is in our possession and the plan is ready."

Jacob wondered aloud, "The girl?" _Susan takes this route home. Did she run into these guys? Is that why Joey was dueling them? If that's true, then they must have her!_ "Hey, are you talking about my little sister Susan?"

"***** off, kid."

"That little girl was your sister?" Tristan asked, him and Joey making their ways over to the younger boys.

"You saw her?" Jacob was grasping for anything that would help him find his sister now.

"Yeah. These circus freaks were messing with her when we showed up. She ran off, but now it looks like they got her anyway."

Seeker chuckled, breaking up their conversation. "That's right, and if you ever want to see her alive again, tell your friend Yugi to meet us at the old bait shop by the docks in half an hour!"


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had gone down completely by the time the group made it to the docks. The water glistened under the moonlight, and seagulls floated atop the surface, sleeping peacefully. Most of the boats were still out fishing, leaving a majority of the area empty.

Propped up by four wooden pillars, the old bait shop stood at the far end of the docks, about the size of an average two-story house. The windows were boarded up and a big CLOSED sign was nailed to the front door above a broken pane of glass, which indicated someone had gotten there before them and forced their way in.

"This place doesn't look stable at all," Tristan noted, effortlessly peeling a board off of one of the windows. "The wood is totally rotten."

Jacob grasped the knob on the front door and twisted it, pushing the door open. "I don't care. I'm getting my sister back."

Scott grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him back. "Hold on, dude. We should wait for Yugi. He's the one those pussies want. If we go in without him, they might hurt Susan."

"Ugh, you're right…"

"Here they come!" Tristan said, waving his cell phone in the direction of three individuals.

"They?" Scott asked. He thought only Yugi was coming.

"Yep!"

Three people arrived at their location. One was obviously Yugi, a rather small and unintimidating looking boy with spiked black hair that had blond spikes shaped like lightning bolts running through it. He was wearing his Domino High School uniform, and had a golden pyramid attached to a chain hanging around his neck.

"You guys know who Yugi is," Tristan said, pointing to the little boy. He moved over to the brunette woman that stood about two feet taller than him, wearing a skimpy miniskirt and an orange-yellow top with the sleeves cut off. "This here is Tea Gardner, and this," he stepped aside. "Is Jericho Dudley." The young adult was holding up his cell phone as a source of light, illuminating his soft face under a scalp full of spiked blond hair.

Jericho stepped forward, putting his phone into his pocket. "I'll go first, guys. I've got a better light source."

"A flashlight?"

"A spotlight?"

"The sun?"

Jericho shook his head. "Nope – even cooler. Watch this." With the press of a button, his jacket lit up like a Lite-Brite toy, blue rays pouring out. The words BEST IN THE WORLD were spelled out on the back of it.

"Do I even wanna know where you got that?" Tea asked with a sigh.

Jericho gave a thumbs up gesture, then proceeded into the building. The others followed behind.

"So Susan is your sister, huh?" Yugi walked alongside Jacob.

Jacob simply nodded his head in response.

"I know what it's like to have a relative in this kind of situation." Jacob didn't respond, so Yugi continued. "You just have to have faith that it'll all work out in the end. We will get your sister back, and stop whoever is doing this from doing it again to someone else. I promise you that."

Jacob finally acknowledged Yugi, exhaling deeply and showing a faint smile. "Thank you, Yugi."

Yugi returned the smile and looked back at Joey, slowing his pace. "Hey, you've been awfully quiet this entire time. Is something wrong?"

Joey grumbled. "I dueled this one weirdo called a Rare Hunter, and he beat me. He took my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Yug. I can't believe I lost."

Trying to placate Joey, the small boy thought of a plan. "Hey, it's the same guy I'm supposed to duel, right? I'll win your Red-Eyes back, Joey!"

Joey looked to his friend with bright eyes. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course!"

"Man, thanks a lot, Yug. I don't know how I'm gonna repay ya."

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for."

"Well, we're here, but it doesn't look like anyone else is," said Tea, stopping beside Jericho at the front of the group.

Most of the shop was empty. All the containers that once held live bait were baron. The floor creaked uncontrollably and was covered in dust. Spider webs held a variety of insect carcasses throughout the spacious room. There was a door leading to the back storage area. Perhaps that was where they were supposed to go.

"Last one through is a rabid Kuriboh," Jericho said, pressing on toward the door, which opened abruptly as he got near. "Spooky."

"I don't like this one bit," said Scott, proceeding into the room behind Jericho and Tea.

As soon as the group had advanced into the room, the door slammed shut behind them, and two men in purple robes stood in front of it. The dim lights brightened, revealing the rest of the cavernous room. Several more men in purple robes congregated at the opposite end of the room, standing in front of a large fish tank. Hanging above the tank was Susan, seemingly unconscious.

Jacob lurched forward, wanting to go after his sister immediately. "Susan!"

"Dude, hold up!"

Scott ran after his best friend. Both of them were soon intercepted by two Rare Hunters, who threw them into a net and dragged them over next to the tank.

"Great idea, dude," Scott said, huffing.

The golden pyramid around Yugi's neck lit up. In place of the small boy was a taller man. He didn't look much different from Yugi other than his height, although the blond bangs in his hair were rearranged to stand up straighter.

"I'm here, Rare Hunter!" His voice was also a lot deeper – almost intimidating. "Let them all go now! I'm the one you want!"

"Yugi Moto! I am the one who defeated Joey Wheeler and took his Red-Eyes Black Dragon! After I'm finished with you, I'll strip you of your Dark Magician!"

Seeker made his appearance, stepping into the middle of the room, about ten meters away from Yugi. He held up his arm, his Duel Disk activating.

Yugi snarled, holding his arm out as his Duel Disk activated as well. "Let them go, Rare Hunter!"

Seeker snickered. "They'll be freed. All you have to do is beat me."

Confident in his ability as a duelist, Yugi couldn't help but grin. "That's all? Then game on, Rare Hunter!"

"You can call me Seeker. And I wouldn't be so confident."

"Why is that, _Seeker_?"

The old man's toothy grin showed itself. "You're not allowed to use your Dark Magician in this duel!"

Yugi's eyes popped. "What?!"

Joey shouted in protest, "That's not fair! What, you can't beat him at his best? I knew you were a coward!" He faced Yugi. "Don't agree to this, Yugi. That's a completely unfair advantage!"

Tristan chimed in, "Yeah, buddy, don't do it! That's like telling Kaiba he can't use his Blue-Eyes White Dragons! It's insane!"

Yugi removed his deck of cards from the deck box attached to his belt. He flipped it over so that the bottom card was facing him. It was his Dark Magician. _I can't use my Dark Magician? But he's my favorite card, and the key to my deck._

Seeker was growing impatient. "What's your decision, kid? Keep in mind that if you choose not to duel me, those three will all die."

Yugi swallowed his pride and removed Dark Magician from his deck, walking over to Joey and handing it to him. "Take good care of it for me. I'll be back for it."

"Yugi, no…" Tea said quietly, holding her hand to her lips.

The crazy-haired boy returned to his place, sliding his deck into its holder on the Duel Disk. "Let's do this, Seeker. If I win, you must release my friends."

"Fine. But if _I_ win, you'll die along with them!" He cackled, then stopped abruptly as he began coughing. His bony index finger pointed toward Joey and the others. "If any of you decide to play hero or interfere in this duel, the girl will be dropped into the tank. And if you speak of my strategy, I'll tear your Red-Eyes to shreds, Wheeler! Just so you know, there are two bull sharks in that tank, just waiting for a new victim to fall in."

Hearing this, Jacob and Scott pulled at the net, trying frantically to get out, yelling Susan's name. The Rare Hunter guarding them shocked them with a taser, quieting them down for the time being.

Yugi drew his five starting cards, anxious to win the duel and free his friends. This was more serious than he thought. "I won't lose this duel, Rare Hunter!"

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into! Since you're the King of Games, I think it's only fair that I go first!" He looked over his hand. _Excellent…Two pieces of Exodia and a Graceful Charity already. I'll have Exodia the Forbidden One assembled in no time. My master will get Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and I'll get his rare Dark Magician. I couldn't have asked for a better duel._


	6. Chapter 6

Susan, still out cold, dangled above the tank inhabited by two starving bull sharks. Next to the tank sat Jacob and Scott, tangled in a fish net with Rare Hunters armed with tasers guarding them. Several meters away from them, Yugi Moto and the Rare Hunter named Seeker had begun their duel. Behind Yugi was his group of friends: Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Tea Gardner, and Jericho Dudley. If anybody tried to interfere in the duel or rescue Susan, she'd be dropped into the tank and Jacob and Scott would be killed thereafter.

The situation was dire, and each move required extreme caution and thought put into it. Yugi knew he couldn't make one slip-up, or they'd all be done for. He didn't know why this was happening, though. Did it have to do with Seto Kaiba's new Battle City Tournament? Or did it run much deeper than that? These were all things he preferred to figure out sooner rather than later, and to do that, he needed to defeat this Rare Hunter.

"I'll start this duel by activating Graceful Charity!" Seeker proclaimed as a card came to the field. It depicted an angel with sandy blond hair cupping her hands under a glowing card that was floating above them. "This lets me draw three cards as long as I discard two." He peaked at his hand. _Ah, another piece of Exodia! Now I have both legs and the right arm. Yugi will be finished before he even gets started._

"Yugi, watch out! He's got something terrible planned for you!" Joey blurted out.

"Quiet, you fool! Your precious Red-Eyes Black Dragon depends on you keeping your big mouth shut, Wheeler!" ordered Seeker as he put a card onto one of the five spaces on top of the Duel Disk. "I place one monster face-down and end my turn, Yugi!" _With my face-down Stone Statue of the Aztecs' special ability, any damage he receives by attacking it will be doubled! I won't even have to get my hands dirty in this duel. I was expecting a little more from the King of Games._

Yugi drew his card. _OK, it's my move. What should I start with? He used Graceful Charity last turn, allowing him to gain one extra card overall, but the only thing he did was summon that face-down monster. Does he just have a really bad hand, or is he planning something that could destroy me if I'm not careful? I'll just have to play it safe and trust in my deck. Even without my Dark Magician, I know I can win this._

"Are you going to make your move or not, Yugi? Or have you already figured out that it's pointless without your Dark Magician?"

"I can win this without my Dark Magician!" Yugi fired back. "Just watch. I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600) in Attack Mode, and use him to attack your face-down monster!"

Out of its card came a giant yellow magnet with arms and legs, charging up a ball of electricity. The electrified orb jetted into Seeker's face-down monster, flipping it face-up.

"Stone Statue of the Aztecs (300/2000)!" Disappointed by the newly revealed monster, Yugi could do nothing but watch as Beta's attack dissipated on contact with the giant wall of green and blue bricks.

"Yes, and due to my monster's special ability, any damage you receive from attacking it is doubled, so you lose 600 Life Points, little Yugi!"

**[Yugi: (8000 = 7400) / Seeker: (8000)]**

Yugi remained calm as his Life Points went down. _That didn't go too well, but this duel is far from over._ "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Without warning, the chain holding Susan clinked as it was lowered slightly, alarming the protagonists.

"Yugi, the girl!" Jericho shouted. It took all of his might to stay back and not interfere in the scheme of the Rare Hunters.

"What's going on, Rare Hunter?" Yugi asked angrily.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that every time you lose Life Points, the girl is lowered closer and closer to the tank. It'd be wise to not make foolish moves like that again, Yugi." Seeker snickered.

Yugi looked sorrowfully at Jacob. The stakes were at an all-time high, and he just made them that much worse. His eyes sent a silent apology to Jacob.

"Let's see what fate has in store for me this round," Seeker said boringly, picking up a card from his deck.

"Hold on, Seeker! I activate my trap – Light of Intervention! With this on the field, you can no longer summon your monsters in face-down Defense Position!"

From the sidelines, Tristan and Tea cheered together. "That's the way, Yugi! No more surprises from that scumbag!"

Joey wasn't as convinced as his friends. Yugi was focusing on the wrong part of the duel, and there was nothing he could do to help him.

"It doesn't matter to me," Seeker said. "You still can't get past the monster I already have on the field, so make your move." _All I need is two more pieces to complete the puzzle._

"My pleasure. I sacrifice my Beta the Magnet Warrior to summon Berfomet (1400/1800)! And with Berfomet comes the ability to add Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts from my deck to my hand! But that's not all. I'll now fuse them together using my Polymerization card!"

Yugi's monsters scrambled to the field but were quickly sucked into a swirling portal. Soon after, the portal spat back out a more ferocious looking beast with two horned lion heads and the wings of Berfomet. It growled softly as it pawed at the ground, its claws scratching at the tiles.

"Meet Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)! He's more than enough to dispose of your monster, but according to the new Battle City rules, he can't attack the same turn he's summoned. It's your move."

Seeker seemed a bit unnerved by Yugi's fused monster, but he knew what his plan was and all he had to do to win was stick to it. Even with his monster gone, he had a stronger one to replace it. He was prepared for this. "Your new monster may be more powerful than mine, but it won't matter when I activate another Graceful Charity!" After he discarded his two required cards, he pulled another from his hand and showed it to Yugi. "I now activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards!"

_All he's done so far is draw cards and play defensively. He must be planning something big._ Yugi waited for Seeker's move to progress.

The old man looked at his hand, which totaled nine cards. _Four pieces of Exodia! One more and I win automatically! I think I'll have a little fun now before my inevitable victory._ "I summon The Trojan Horse (1600/1200) in Attack Mode."

Resembling the horse used to smuggle the Greeks into the city of Troy, a large wooden horse galloped onto the field, taking its place beside Stone Statue of the Aztecs.

"But that monster is too weak to destroy my Chimera. What are you planning, Seeker?"

Seeker removed two cards from his hand, sliding them into two Spell and Trap slots in his Duel Disk. "First I activate Axe of Despair, equipping it to my Horse and giving it 1,000 more attack points (1600 = 2600)!" He laughed maliciously as Yugi's eyes showed his frustration. "But that's not all. My second Equip Spell goes to my Stone Statue of the Aztecs, raising its defense by 800 points (2000 = 2800)! You'll never get past my monsters now. Your Chimera was a waste of cards!"

Yugi stared at the two empowered monsters before him. He had to figure out a way to get past them before it was too late. _His monsters are too powerful. What am I gonna do?_ He looked over to Joey, remembering he had given him his Dark Magician before the duel had started. _If I had my Dark Magician I know exactly what I'd do…but I don't, so I've got to come up with a strategy quickly!_

Seeker threw out his arms. "Go, Trojan Horse, and destroy his Chimera with Stampeding Smash!"

The wooden horse whinnied before charging straight at Chimera at full speed. The horse's hooves sent vibrations throughout the floor. As it neared the flying beast, it reared up onto its hind legs. The flying beast extended its wings in an attempt to escape, but the horse was too quick and had slammed its two front hooves down onto each head of the mythical creature, going right through its skulls and destroying it.

**[Yugi: (7400 = 6900) / Seeker: (8000)]**

The horse whinnied again and returned to Seeker's side, who was rejoicing under his toothy grin. "You lose more Life Points, which means the girl is lowered even more."

Indeed, Susan was lowered closer to the tank. This time the sound of the machine winch activating woke her up. As soon as she saw the tank below with the fins circling, she let out a scream, but it was muffled by the rope tied around her mouth.

Seeing his sister screaming for her life, Jacob pushed through the pain of his earlier tasering and got to his feet. Scott did the same, and both of them began pulling at the net as a team. Jacob managed to free his legs, moving to free the rest of his body when four Rare Hunters halted his progress with crowbars. Scott was brought down immediately afterward.

Through the net, Yugi could see Jacob's face. The look on it made Yugi feel uneasy. He knew he was failing his new friend, but he was trying his best. He wouldn't give up, though. He never broke a promise before and he wasn't going to start now. "Jacob, don't move! Stay calm! I promised you I would win this duel and I don't plan to break that promise. I need you to trust me, please!"

"Aw, how heartwarming," spoke Seeker, aggravating Yugi. "Face it, Yugi – there's no way you can win this without your Dark Magician. You're helpless against my powerful beasts. You can't get past their attack _or_ defense. This was easier than I thought it would be. My master will be extremely pleased when I take your Millennium Puzzle to him."

This caught Yugi's attention. He remembered his last duel with Bandit Keith, who wanted the same thing. But who was this man pulling the strings, and what did he want with his puzzle?

"Rare Hunter, who are you working for? What does this person want with my Millennium Puzzle? Tell me!" he demanded, clenching his fist.

Seeker giggled at the thought of revealing such sensitive information. "You're not in a position to ask those questions, little Yugi. You're about to lose this duel."

Yugi scowled. He figured he wouldn't get any answers. "Fine. In that case, I'll activate Chimera's special ability. When it's destroyed, I can Special Summon either of the two monsters used to Fusion Summon it. I choose Berfomet!"

The winged creature with deep red skin returned to the field, kneeling down. Its birdlike wings folded inward in front of it, acting as one big shield.

"That pathetic thing again?" The old man checked his hand. There was nothing more he could do this turn. "I end. Let's see you get out of this one, Yugi."

The King of Games peered down at his hand after drawing. He only had three cards, two of which were monsters that required a tribute to be summoned to the field; even then, neither of them were strong enough to bring down Seeker's Trojan Horse. _I have to figure this out. The fate of my friends depends on it._


	7. Chapter 7

"Yugi!"

The boy turned his body halfway. "Jericho?"

"Yugi, let me duel in your place!"

Normally Yugi would take this as an insult, but in his current situation, he could understand why his friend wanted to take his place. He wasn't doing so hot, and he couldn't figure out a strategy to defeat Seeker's monster. He wasn't about to give up, though, not with his friends on the line. He shook his head. "Thank you, but no. This is my duel. I refuse to lose. I can do this, Jericho."

"But what about your Dark Magician? Don't you need him?"

Yugi smiled. "No. I may depend on him in a lot of my duels, but I didn't get to be the King of Games using only him. I've lost powerful cards before and still made it this far." He stopped. Something hit him. _Powerful cards… That's it! He's trying to gather all five pieces of Exodia! That's why he didn't do much of anything at the beginning of the duel. I'll bet he has most of the pieces already, and that's why he's on the attack now. He's gotten cocky, and that'll be his downfall. I just have to stop him from drawing the rest of what he needs before it's too late. I know exactly what to do now._

Jericho regained his confidence in his friend. He had a point. "Alright, man. Win this so we can duel in Battle City!"

Yugi nodded quickly in acknowledgement, and then returned his attention to his duel with the old man. "I've got you now, Rare Hunter. I figured out your strategy, and I've also figured out a way to counter it."

Seeker was indifferent. There was no way the boy could've figured out his strategy. "Really? You're bluffing. Nothing can stop me from claiming victory in this duel."

"Think again, Seeker. I know you're trying to assemble all the pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One! I'm telling you now that it won't work!"

Now Seeker believed him. He coughed and snarled for a moment, his shock getting the better of him. Then he realized there was still no way Yugi could stop him from drawing the last piece of Exodia. Unbeknownst to Yugi, he had marked his cards, and he knew the head of Exodia was his next card. It was inevitable. "Hah. So you figured out my strategy. That doesn't mean you can stop it. I'm too close to lose now."

"We'll see about that, Rare Hunter." In an assured manner, Yugi slapped a card into an empty slot on top of his Duel Disk. "I sacrifice Berfomet to bring forth Summoned Skull (2500/1200)!"

A lightning bolt twisted out of the ceiling, striking down in front of Yugi. Stepping forth from the drifting smoke was a volatile fiend. In a way, it looked like a taller Berfomet, down to the wings and horns, made from pure muscle with an exoskeleton of bone.

Seeker was not intimidated. "You like sending your monsters into battle to die, don't you? My monster still has 100 more attack points than yours does."

"I'm not done. Now I activate the Magic Card known as Spell Textbook."

"Huh? What does that do?"

"It's simple. First, I must discard all the cards in my hand," Yugi responded, holding up the only card in his hand before discarding it to the Graveyard. "Then I'm allowed to draw one card. If it's a Magic Card, I can play it immediately." He placed his hand atop his deck, his eyelids closing. _Please…heart of the cards, guide me…_ He drew. _Perfect!_ He flipped the card so that it was facing his opponent. "I drew Card of Sanctity."

"It doesn't matter what you drew. I'll still be the winner of this duel!"

"I'll play my Card of Sanctity, which lets both players draw until they're each holding six cards." He smirked as he looked at Seeker's full hand.

"That's not fair! I already have six cards."

"That's exactly why I was hoping for this card." He scanned his fresh hand. _I can work with this. Seeker won't be winning this duel now._ "I place two cards face-down, and then I'll attack your Trojan Horse with my Summoned Skull!"

The old man's wrinkled brow curved as he tried to figure out why his opponent was attacking with a weaker monster. Yugi wasn't stupid, so this had to be part of a plan. "It'll never work!"

Summoned Skull's clawed hands produced an immense amount of lightning, surging throughout his entire body as his wings lifted him up. Trojan Horse reared up onto its hind legs in preparation to fight back, but it was in vain. The fiend's lightning struck it, paralyzing it. It fell to the ground with a loud thud before it was mercilessly sliced through the gut and destroyed.

**[Yugi: (6900) / Seeker: (8000 = 7400)]**

"What? But my monster was stronger than yours! Tell me how you did that!" Seeker was outraged.

Yugi picked up a card from his Graveyard, showing it to the old man. "When I activated Spell Textbook, I had to discard one card from my hand. Fortunately for me, that was my Beast of Gilfer. Whenever he's sent to the Graveyard, I can select one monster on the field and lower its attack by 500. I chose your Trojan Horse, weakening it enough so that my monster could destroy it."

Seeker grasped a card in his hand, bending it angrily. "It still doesn't matter," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then you won't be upset when I activate this – Time Seal!"

The card in Seeker's hand was almost bent in half now from his fury.

"This stops you from drawing on your next turn, so go ahead and make your move, Seeker."

Joey literally jumped into the air with bliss. "Yeah, that's my boy! Show him why you're the King of Games, Yug!"

"Do you think Yugi can actually win now? From the looks of it, he only has one more turn to pull out the win or it's all over," Jericho noted.

"Yugi will figure it out. He's never let me down before."

The old man's demeanor remained relatively the same throughout his next turn. He threw a card into the Graveyard as he ended his turn, already having a full hand. "Your move. On my next turn, you're finished."

"I set one card face-down," said Yugi. He slid the card into the device, then entered another card next to it. "Then I activate Card Destruction! This forces us to discard our entire hand and redraw the same amount of cards we threw out!"

Seeker's eyes almost fell out of his skull. Veins bulged in his cheeks and forehead, and the corners of his lips began twitching. Four of the five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One were now in his Graveyard, so even on his next turn when he drew the head, his automatic win condition would no longer apply. _My Exodia pieces! I'll have to start all over!_ "Curse you!"

A green-bordered card flipped up next to Yugi. "I activate Necromancy! With this, I can bring back up to four monsters from your Graveyard to your side of the field…but I only need one: the Right Leg of the Forbidden One!"

Without his consent, Seeker's recently discarded Right Leg of the Forbidden One appeared on the field in attack position.

"What's the meaning of this, you fool?"

"Activate Trap – Chain Destruction! Now, any copies you have in your hand and your deck are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. That takes care of Exodia."

Seeker fell to his hands and knees, pounding the floor beneath him with his fists. _This isn't happening! I had him right where I wanted him. I controlled this duel the whole time. How could he do that to me? No, I can still win without Exodia!_

"If you're finished bowing down to me, I'll activate another face-down – Dust Tornado! Say goodbye to your Horn of Light."

Several miniature tornadoes emitted from the purple card, swirling into Stone Statue of the Aztecs and removing the beaded horn from its head, lowering its defense back down to its original value.

"With your monster weakened, I play Monster Reborn, bringing back a card from my Graveyard that you may recognize."

A golden circle spun onto the field, first standing upright but then flipping and lying flat on the floor. The center lit up brightly as the tip of a blue hat poked out. Soon the entire body of a sexy female magician stood in the circle, holding a scepter in her right hand.

"It's Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!" exclaimed Tristan. "Oh, yeah! Yugi's got this guy now! There's nothing he can do!"

"I'm not done yet, Rare Hunter!" He looked to Jacob, nodding once before playing his card. "I activate Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 of my Life Points, I can bring back a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position. I choose Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500)!"

**[Yugi: (6900 = 6100) / Seeker: (7600)]**

The demonic-looking monster made its field debut, hunching over beside Dark Magician Girl. The three monsters positioned themselves for battle.

Yugi grinned hugely. "The tables have turned, Seeker. _I'm_ in control now."


	8. Chapter 8

Seeker's plan had crumbled. At first he had everything under control, but now he was at a severe loss. Yugi had three monsters on the field, each with at least 2,000 attack points, while he had only two monsters that wouldn't be able to protect him for long. _How could I have let this happen? I had the perfect strategy! No, I can't let Yugi win. My master will never forgive me!_ "Yugi, I won't lose!"

"It's too late, Seeker. I have the advantage and I don't intend to lose it again."

Seeker motioned to his fellow Rare Hunters behind him. The one with the remote for the winch in his hand nodded and held it up for everybody in the room to see.

"If you attack me, the girl will be dropped into the tank. How do you feel about your 'advantage' now, little Yugi?" Seeker snigeled heartily before dropping to one knee to cough loudly. _I've got him now, master. His Puzzle and rare card will be ours in no time._

"Don't risk it, Yugi!" Tea cried out.

"Dude, you can't! He'll kill her!" Tristan shouted.

Joey remained silent. He couldn't imagine the pressure of such a decision that his friend was faced with making. He wanted to let Yugi do this on his own.

_What do I do now? If I attack, he'll drop Susan into the tank…but if I don't, he'll win and drop her in anyway._ Yugi shook his head, conflicted and frustrated. "Why don't you leave the girl alone and finish this duel with honor, Rare Hunter? Or are you afraid?"

Seeker snigeled again. "I don't care about honor, you fool. I just want your Dark Magician card, and I'll do whatever it takes to get it! So what do you say?"

Yugi tried not to look at Jacob and Scott still stuck in the net, but that was exactly what he needed to do. It was barely there, but he could see the faint smile on Jacob's face, giving him permission to go on. Yugi narrowed his eyes, unsure, and trying to get confirmation. Trying to keep his arm hidden, Jacob managed to give Yugi the thumbs up gesture. _He might have a plan if he's allowing me to continue the duel._

_It's still risky. Who knows what that Rare Hunter is really thinking_, Yugi protested.

_We'll just have to trust him, Yugi. I don't think he would risk his sister's life_, thought the pharaoh.

_I guess you're right. Just be careful, Yami._

"I say…Beast of Gilfer, attack his Stone Statue!"

The fiend lowered its head, ramming its horn into the statue and crumbling it effortlessly.

Seeker guffawed loudly. "I didn't think you cared so little about your friend's life, Yugi! Now, watch her **die** because of your selfishness!" He snapped his fingers.

The floorboards creaked below the small crane holding Susan as the winch activated and began lowering her. Suddenly, it stopped. Jacob and Scott halted their struggling, wondering the same thing as everybody else.

The Rare Hunter holding the remote vigorously pressed the button, but to no avail. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

From the rafters, two objects shot out in a flash of silver, stabbing into the hands of the Rare Hunter. He dropped the remote, screaming out. There was another flash of silver, and a pocket-sized blade was lodged in the back of his throat, his tongue sliced right down the middle. The other Rare Hunters watched in horror as he spat out blood, falling in a heap to the floor.

The lights went out.

Several quick slashing noises could be heard, followed by an equal amount of thuds on the floor.

When the lights came back on, every Rare Hunter except for Seeker was lying in a pool of their own blood on the old floor. Many jaws were hanging open as everyone observed the room that was now filled with dead bodies, their eyes eventually winding up on a row of four individuals standing between Seeker and his monsters. They were dressed in what appeared to be black ninja garments, with a mask covering their faces, save for their eyes. They were all about the same height; the only thing differentiating them was their belt colors – magenta, teal, green, and yellow.

-00-00-00-00-00-00-

Staring at a wall of monitors in discomposure, an olive-skinned man with feathered white hair down to his shoulders stabbed his golden scepter into the right armrest of his chair.

"Who the hell are they? Odion!"

A man of much darker complexion dressed in the same purple robe entered the room and knelt down beside the chair.

"Yes, master?"

"Tell Kai to find out who those four fools are at once. They're interfering with my plan!"

"As you wish, master."

-00-00-00-00-00-00-

"Eh, someone wanna tell me why we're surrounded by dead bodies, and why there are four ninjas over there?" asked Joey, trembling at the fact that he was surrounded by death. "This is seriously not cool."

Jericho grabbed his phone, snapping pictures of the four individuals.

"I don't think this is such a good time for pictures, dude," Tristan interjected, nudging his friend's arm.

"My phone is going to search similar images on the internet and hopefully we'll find out who these guys are in a few moments," Jericho responded.

Finally, the ninja with the magenta-colored belt spoke. Surprisingly, it was a female's voice. "Seeker, it's over. You're not going to bully anybody else."

Seeker was almost at a loss for words. He'd never encountered such strange people, and he wasn't exactly normal himself. He straightened himself out and cleared his throat. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

"We are ending your reign of terror, and preventing you from harming anyone in the future. Hand over the Red-Eyes Black Dragon to Yugi Moto."

"Oh, is that what this is about? Wheeler's card?" He was no longer afraid of them – at least, not as afraid as he was. They were probably just more friends of Joey's. "So, Wheeler, you had a backup plan in case Yugi failed, did you?"

Joey held up his hands. "I have no idea who these guys are, man. They're no friends of mine."

Seeker grinned and took a card from his pocket. It was the Red-Eyes Black Dragon he'd taken from Joey. "I won this card fair and square. There's nothing you can do about that."

The one in the yellow belt lunged at the old man, quickly relieving him of the card before he could react. As he turned his head to look at his empty hand, the green belt swept him from his feet, knocking him to the ground.

Yugi cried out, "What do you think you're doing? Stop this madness immediately!"

The teal belt lifted Seeker to his feet, beaming at Yugi as she did so. Her eyes were an intense shade of blue. "Madness?" She scoffed as she turned and dragged the man toward the tank.

Jacob and Scott had managed to free themselves through all of the chaos, backing away from her. They weren't pushovers, especially Scott since he was on the football team, but they saw what she was capable of, and wanted no part of that.

She hoisted the old scumbag onto the metal rim of the tank. "No, this is chaotic justice."

"W-w-what are you doing?" Seeker said, wriggling around on the edge of the tank, watching as the shark fins maneuvered around in the murky water.

"She's gonna push him in!" Tristan shouted.

"Stop! Don't do it!" Yugi yelled to her.

Joey opened his mouth to speak, but his Red-Eyes card hit him in the chest, grabbing his attention. He held it in his hands, admiring it for a moment before he remembered what was happening in front of him.

"W-wait, we can talk about this! You don't have to do this! How about some cards? You can go through my entire collection – choose any cards you like!" Seeker pleaded. His nose was so close to the water that he could smell the salt.

"No. Any other desperate attempts to bargain for your worthless life?" The girl was cold in her tone, indifferent to the fact that she was about to send a man to his death.

"Um, what about—"

She shoved him in without hesitance, turning away.

Yugi and his friends cried out in shock and protest, beginning to run to the tank before realizing there was nothing they could do for him. His agonizing screams subsided within a few seconds as the sharks went straight to work on him, thrashing about, causing the tank to wobble, water splashing onto the floor around it. The floorboards creaked below.

The teal belt returned to her place next to the other girls.

"How could you?" Yugi cried, seething through gritted teeth. He'd returned to his normal short stature, his voice higher again. "Tell me!"

"He deserved it," said the green belt bluntly.

"Nobody deserves death!"

"That's wishful thinking at its worst," the teal belt said. Her expression hadn't changed one bit since she'd dropped the man into the tank.

The floor groaned beneath them, at first subtly, but then it grew into a large bellow. It was about to collapse from the shifting weight of the shark tank. Susan was still dangling above the tank, the small crane connected to it; if it went, the crane and Susan went, too.

Realizing this, Jacob rushed to the crane, trying to find a control stick to move his sister out of the way before it was too late. Scott scrambled for the remote that the Rare Hunter had dropped, removing it from its pool of red liquid.

"How do you work this thing?" Jacob yelled in confusion, fumbling with the switches and levers. Scott moved over to him, also puzzled by the mechanism.

Without warning, the floor beneath Scott caved in, dropping him. He'd have fallen dozens of feet into the ocean below the building had it not been for Jacob's quick reflexes. The football player grabbed his friend's other hand, trying to get himself back up. The floor creaked again, and this time the boards beneath Jacob gave way. Both boys dropped into the hole, but then stopped.

The magenta belt had grabbed Jacob's foot, her other arm hooked around the crane's base. She groaned as the two boys swung gently in the hole above the ocean's surface. Each movement from them caused more strain on her arm. Simply holding them from falling was a laborious task on its own, seeing as Jacob was about 130 pounds and Scott was nearing the 215 pound mark; almost 350 pounds on one arm was tearing her muscles apart.

Joey and Tea began running to help, but the floor moaned with each step.

"Don't move!" Jericho ordered.

"But we have to help her!" Joey said defiantly. He faced the other three girls. "Hey, that's your friend! You're supposed to be helping her!"

After he finished his sentence, Tea's feet fell through the floor. Yugi and Joey dove for her, stopping her at the waist. Water splashed next to them, reminding them of the tank. The sharks were restless. They'd had their appetizer, and now they wanted the main course. They bumped against the glass walls ferociously, their long tails throwing more water at the group. It was still only a matter of time before the tank dropped, bringing Susan with it, or the sharks broke free.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the floor began cracking apart through the middle of the room. The gap began as only an inch or so wide, but it soon evolved into at least a foot. The far half of the room was ready to fall straight into the ocean; its rotten support beams must've cracked under the weight of the tank.

Damn, it looks like I'm gonna have to save everyone, Jericho thought as he took a deep breath. He released it, taking a step toward Yugi and immediately crashing through the floor.

He looked up, seeing his forearms in the green belt's grasp. "T-thank you, I think?"

With a grunt, she pulled him out of the hole and pushed him toward the door. "Get to the door and open it. We'll get your friends." She looked at Tristan. "What are you standing around for? Help him with the door!"

She hastily hopped into the air, landing on her tip toes a few feet away, then taking off again. She made it to Yugi and Joey, helping them pull Tea out, who promptly thanked her.

"Omi needs us," said the yellow belt, treading lightly but swiftly toward her friend, who was struggling to keep both boys from falling to their deaths.

The teal belt poised herself to join, but a bizarre feeling crept down her spine. She turned her head, eyeing the rest of the room. She stopped searching as she found a man in a black robe halfway hidden in the farthest corner of the room, near what looked like another door. Although his face was concealed in the shadows, she could somehow tell he was staring right back at her.

"Kalika!"

Her eyelids closed and reopened. She regained her state of mind, dashing forward, dodging several more holes in the floor that had opened up as she moved. The floor looked like a mangled slice of Swiss cheese by the time she reached her friends, and it was only getting worse by the second. The large divide in the room that had formed earlier had opened up wide enough so that the beginning of the tank was hanging over the edge.

With the three of them pulling, the two boys were raised in no time. Jacob wasted no time returning to the crane's console. When it became apparent he was never going to figure it out, the yellow belt stepped in, pressing select buttons and moving the joystick to the side. The crane whirred and moved away from the tank, lowering enough for Jacob and Scott to untie Susan.

Jacob and Susan embraced tightly.

"There's no time for that!" shouted the magenta belt, interrupting their reunion. "Get to the *****ing door!"

Jacob, Susan, Scott, and the three females raced to the door, each step carrying with it the risk of falling straight through the floor and into the unsafe depths below. The crack was now gigantic and, in Titanic fashion, the back half of the room split off from the front half, falling into the ocean. The tidal wave it created rose up, slamming down on the humans. Jericho, Tristan, Joey, Tea, and Yugi were all thrust through the door as the water forced them forward. Behind them, Jacob and the rest weren't so lucky. The wave hit with so much force that it shattered the floor even worse than it had been before. There was hardly any floor left to tread on as the wave receded.

"We're not gonna make it before this place collapses entirely!" Susan whined. She could feel the floor cracking under her feet as she moved.

"Like hell we're not!" Scott grunted, picking up the fragile girl and tossing her with all of his might straight into the open doorway, where the green belt caught her.

"Nice one, man!" Jacob complimented.

The floor gave way completely just as the yellow belt made it to the doorway, falling into the corridor with the others.


	9. Chapter 9

"Dude, get your butt off my face!" Tristan grumbled, shoving Joey off of him as he sat up, checking his surroundings.

Yugi held out his hand, helping Tea to her feet.

Jericho removed his jacket and sighed mournfully. "My jacket is destroyed. I paid $200 for this thing." He noticed a large pile of thin wooden beams, drywall, and ceiling squares in front of him. "Oh, crap, those kids!"

He moved to grab a wooden beam, but the rubble began shaking, little pieces tumbling onto the floor as bigger pieces shifted around. A burly forearm burst through the rubble, pulling out a body attached to; it was Scott, covered in dirt, mold, dust, and rotten wood specks. He threw two beams away from the pile, pulling Jacob and Susan out behind him.

He had covered them when the ceiling came down. Jericho admired the loyalty and selflessness the boy showed, and held out his hand. "This may seem like an awkward time to request something like this, but when we get out of here, I'd really like to duel you."

Scott didn't know what to say at first. He'd almost just died twice – once from falling through the floor, and once from the ceiling caving in on him – and here was someone he barely knew asking for a duel. Somehow, he figured this was Jericho's way of complimenting him.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" He shook Jericho's hand.

To most people, his response would seem odd after what had just transpired, but this was a circle of duelists. To them, he would've been crazy not to say yes.

"Are you hurt?" Jacob asked, looking over his sister, who had only a few scrapes as far as he could see. She shook her head, smiling at him. Everything was going to be fine now that they were out of harm's way. "Good. I'll never let this happen to you again, sis. I'll protect you better next time. I promise."

The pile came to life again. The remaining three beams and most of the drywall slid away, and the four women who had interrupted Yugi's and Seeker's duel rose up. Their black suits were coated in a thick layer of gray from the drywall. Their distinguishing belts remained untouched, though, through some strange means.

With the women came a wave of tension. Everybody perked up, glaring at them. The women formed a single file line, making their way past the group and to the door leading to the front room.

As the teal belt passed, Jericho reached out and gripped her arm. "Hey, who do you think you are? You can't just—"

Without hesitation, she broke free of his grasp, twisted his arm behind him, and kicked him into the wall.

"That does it! I've never hit a woman before but I think I'm gonna start with this one!" Tristan shouted, rolling up his sleeves.

"Tristan, don't," Yugi said. "Let them go."

The girl gave a cold glance to Yugi, the blue of her irises meeting with the purple of his. She continued on without so much as blinking.

"Why'd you stop me, dude? She deserved to be roughed up a little. You saw what she did to Jericho."

"I have a feeling we'll see them again. Right now we need to focus on ourselves and get out of here."

"Right."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bright HID lights on the front of a car marked its path as it traversed down a street in between two large warehouses. It came to a slow stop in front of a metal garage door, which pulled open, allowing entrance into another warehouse at the end of the street. The V8 engine purred before revving up as the vehicle moved into the abandoned building. After it had been fully engulfed by the building, the garage door slid shut, and industrial-sized lights popped on, illuminating a vast majority of the area.

Like ants to a picnic, several Rare Hunters showed themselves, surrounding the fire red sports car. The driver side door opened, and a man in a black robe stepped into the light, showing his slightly tanned skin. He was a taller man, so it was surprising that he fit so comfortably into the small car. He ran a hand through the front of his hair, pushing it up into thick black and red tufts.

The man pressed a button on his remote, and the car chirped twice.

"Master Marik has been expecting you," a wide-eyed man said, kneeling down in front of the car. There was a symbol depicting two flags – one checkered and the other red with a small slanted cross in the center – intersecting at the bases of the poles in the middle of the fender. He lifted his finger to caress the symbol when he was subsequently grabbed by the hood of his robe and slammed onto his back.

The spiky-haired male pressed his knee into the man's windpipe, causing him to cough and sputter. "_Don't_…touch my car." He wrenched his knee. The man began wriggling around underneath him. "If I find even one _speck_ of a fingerprint on my car, I will rip your hands from the wrists and force feed them to you until your throat is so full of your grubby little fingers that you choke to death. Do you understand me?"

There was an instant nod.

"What's going on out here?" Odion's deep voice resounded throughout the spacious room. "Kai, you know it's not wise to keep Master Marik waiting."

Standing up, Kai brushed his pant leg off and turned to Odion. "Alright, let's go."

The wide-eyed man on the floor rolled over, rubbing his throat and coughing up blood.

Odion and Kai ingressed into a much smaller room with television screens covering one of the walls. A luxurious recliner sat ten feet from the wall, facing it.

"Kai, what did you find out?" inquired the man who was slouching in the recliner. "Who were those four fools?"

"They were all women," Kai responded, taking a place next to the recliner and observing the various scenes unfolding on the wall in front of him. "The one with the purple belt is called Omi. The one with the blue belt is Kalika. I don't know the names of the other two yet."

"You had better find out. I can't have them ruining anymore of my plans, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

He could see KaibaCorp Tower in one of the center screens. His eyebrow twitched.

Marik grumbled, turning his scepter slightly and looking over the screens in front of him. He could tell Kai was glaring at one screen in particular; he did it every time he was in the room. "In four days, Seto Kaiba will be vulnerable. That is when we'll make our move."

"How can you be so sure he'll be competing?"

"He'd be a fool not to."

Marik pulled out a deck of cards from a square box by his feet. He scanned through the cards, picking out two and replacing the rest in the box. The two cards were unlike the rest. One was color-coded in red, and the other in yellow.

"He wants these two cards, and he knows he has to duel in order to get them."

Kai's face tensed up. "The Egyptian God Cards?"

"Yes; the most powerful cards in all of Duel Monsters. Due to an unfortunate event, Kaiba has the third Egyptian God, and I want it back."

"I'll humiliate him and bring you the God Card."

"Kaiba is not one to be underestimated. I brought you in because you were an exceptionally skilled duelist, Kai. Duel Odion, and if you can defeat him, I'll assign you to face Kaiba in Battle City."

Kai faced Odion, who merely nodded back. The two headed out of the room, returning to the room where all of the other Rare Hunters were residing. They were both handed Duel Disks, which were promptly activated.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Pouring rain clapped down onto the roof of the game shop as Yugi and the other returned to the game shop. Jericho, Joey, Tristan, and Tea shed their wet jackets and left them on the coat rack by the front doors. Yugi was met by an old man, shorter than even he was.

"Yugi! I was worried sick! You look like you've been in a fight!" the old man huffed.

Yugi chuckled. "Sorry, Grandpa. But I'm fine, really! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

"Who are your friends?"

Scott, Jacob, and Susan introduced themselves cordially. They'd been in the shop before, but only for brief stints, so they'd never actually met Grandpa.

"Yugi, a package was delivered here while you were out," said Grandpa, handing him a disc. "I'd like to watch it with you, but it's really late and this old man needs his beauty sleep!"

The group said their goodnights.

"Who's the disc from?" asked Tea.

"It doesn't say."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The rain increased its power, dropping so hard it sounded like hammers on the roof of the altitudinous building. Lightning struck several times, acting as a spotlight. Four Yamaha sport bikes purred through the rain, driving into the parking garage below.

"Sometimes I think we chose the wrong vehicles for this kind of stuff."

"Oh, quit your whining, Omi. You're just not a good driver. It's okay."

"I'm not a good driver? You're full of it, Athena. I saw you spinning the tires out there a few times."

"Yeah, yeah…" The girl with the yellow belt set her helmet on the seat of her bike, twirling her keys on her index finger.

The teal belt got off her bike, lifting her arms to remove her helmet. She grunted as she did so, garnering the attention of her comrades.

"Kalika, is something wrong?" asked Athena, tilting her head.

The blue-eyed girl removed her hood with her left arm – with no accompanying grunt – freeing a mass of sandy blond hair from its restraint. She rubbed her right arm, groaning slightly as she did. "It was that collapse in the corridor. I'll be fine." She turned to the green belt. "Hera, are you still going back out to track the Rare Hunters?"

"No, I think we've gotten ourselves enough attention tonight. We should lay low for a bit and plan our next move out. Come on."


	10. Chapter 10

With some haste in their step, Yugi and company moved to the King of Games's bedroom.

Jacob stopped in the doorway, admiring the space before him. It was nothing like he'd expected. The walls weren't covered in obnoxious trophies, there weren't piles of fan mail on the small desk against the far wall, and there weren't expensive gadgets and trinkets everywhere. It was rather simple – some posters of different games spread around the walls, shelves lined with books and board games, a twin-sized bed in the corner, and a small television set on the floor facing the bed.

_So this is the King of Games's room_, he thought, gazing over every inch of it like a mechanic at a car show.

"Hey, other people still need to get in," Scott reminded his friend, nudging him forward so he and Susan could enter.

Tea, Tristan, and Jericho took their seats on Yugi's bed, while the others sat in front of it. Yugi slipped the disc into the player on top of the television, grabbing the remote as he sat back.

"Well, here goes," he said, clicking the power button.

The screen fizzed for a moment before it went black.

"What's the deal? Why would someone send us what's basically a blank disc?" Tristan wondered, folding his legs up on the bed as he got more comfortable.

After a few seconds of nothing, a thin horizontal light shone in the middle of the screen, illuminating what appeared to be two hands holding it.

"…The f*** is this?" Scott questioned, his brow raised.

A voice finally broke the silence on screen. It was nasally, yet dominant and commanding in its direction. "Yugi Moto! I'll keep this simple. If you value your friends' lives and your cards, you'll enter Seto Kaiba's Battle City Tournament and forfeit your Millennium Puzzle to my Rare Hunters. If you don't, your friends will pay dearly for your mistake. You have two days to make your decision. The choice should be obvious."

The video cut out.

Yugi sat and processed what had just been explained to him.

"That was creepy," remarked Susan. "Who was that guy? And what was he holding?"

Joey huffed. "I bet he's the guy that ordered those Rare Hunters to attack us!"

Scott and Tristan stood up, speaking in unison. "Then let's get him!"

The two turned to each other. "I'll kick his a*** while you kick his face in!"

"Yeah!"

Tea, trying to stop a lynch mob from forming, stood in between them and held out her hands. "Guys, calm down. We don't know anything for sure yet. We can't act too quickly. Right, Yugi?"

~*~*~*~

Several Rare Hunters surrounded two duelists like they were observing a street fight. On one side, Odion had two face-down cards in his back row and on the frontlines was a giant multi-legged scorpion-like creature, coiling its tail back in preparation for what was sure to be a nasty attack. Opposite of the bald Egyptian was Kai, who had two cards face-down in his back row and two half-beast-half-animal looking creatures defending his Life Points. Above them all, nearly touching the ceiling, was an effulgent golden pyramid, turning even the darkest of crevices in the warehouse to brightly lit areas. Some of the Rare Hunters had their hoods up to block out the immense light.

"This duel is nearing its end," Odion declared. "By devouring your monsters, my Mystical Beast of Serket has already amassed 4,600 attack points, far exceeding those of your Sphinx Teleia and Andro Sphinx."

"Yeah, get him, Odion! That bug is f***ing sick!" screamed one of the Rare Hunters in the crowd.

Odion continued, "Once it destroys your two monsters, it will have 7,350 attack points, higher than anything you can muster."

With 5,000 Life Points still left in the duel, Kai didn't feel as threatened by Odion's seemingly ever-powerful monster as one of the lesser Rare Hunters would. He calculated his strategy, planning for Odion's attack and the aftermath of it.

"You're right, Odion," Kai said. "This duel is nearing its end, but I won't be the loser. Your monster doesn't scare me and neither do you."

"Fine, then, Serket, devour his Andro Sphinx so that your strength may grow!"

"Activate face-down card - Super Rush Recklessly!"

Kai's face-down card responded by standing vertically next to him, depicting a tomato red boar goring a man at supersonic speed.

"With this card," Kai began, "I can return your Serket to your deck by destroying one of my monsters, meaning your attack doesn't go through and your field will be wide open on my next turn."

Odion wasn't fazed by this. "I figured you had something waiting for my attack, so I, too, had a counter-measure! Behold my Trap Jammer!"

Odion's card activated, and out of its purple confines came a circle with ancient writings throughout its body. Inside the circle lay a bear trap that jumped out, expanding and chewing Kai's card to shreds.

Kai grimaced slightly. _Figures he had that waiting for me, but that's alright. I can still pull off my strategy._

"Your trap was negated by mine, and now my Serket is once again free to grasp its next meal!" Odion proudly tossed his hand out, signaling to his monster to continue its attack.

The voracious arachnid screeched as all of its legs pushed it forward. The rabid lion Andro flexed its large biceps as it got into a defensive position, grabbing both of Serket's large pincers in each hand. Unfortunately, Serket's tail was still free, and stabbed into the bipedal lion's neck, its lethal barb injecting fast-acting venom that sent Andro into a series of severe convulsions. As Andro shook on the floor, Serket gobbled it up, growing even bigger and more powerful, its attack points shooting up to 6,100 and Kai's Life Points dropping to 3,400.

Serket returned to Odion's side of the field as he motioned for Kai to take his turn.

The young adult drew his card, adding it to the four others he had in his hand while double-checking his strategy. _I've got everything I need to end him right here and earn my shot at taking down Kaiba in the tournament._

"You have 2,200 Life Points left," Kai reminded his opponent, plucking a card from his hand and sliding it into a back row slot of his dueling device. "Soon you'll have none… You may be Marik's top duelist, but that won't stop me from taking you out."

One of the Rare Hunters near the back of the crowd shouted out, "Don't let him talk to you like that, Master Odion! Kick his a*** and show him why you're number one!" His comments began to rile up the crowd.

"Silence, you fools!" Odion ordered, quelling the uproar immediately. _The rest of these lowlifes here cower at my feet, but you, Kai, you're different. You show no fear, despite knowing my status. Certainly from having seen me duel, you should know how powerful I am, yet you haven't given an inch in this battle. You're a competent adversary. Regardless of this test, you should go far in the Battle City Tournament._

"This card spells your Mystical Beast of Serket's demise," Kai said confidently, sliding his finger over the top of a particular card in his hand. "Now, first I need to bring back the monster you just destroyed, and I'll do it with Monster Reincarnation!"

He played his card, a teal metal cross with two sets of wings floating down from below the Pyramid of Light, being almost enveloped in its rays. It stopped a few feet from the floor, then lit up in its own teal rays, rising back up toward the ceiling. As it rose, the floor cracked apart and Andro Sphinx climbed out from the crevice, then dematerialized as Kai put the card in his hand after discarding one other.

"Since Andro Sphinx can't be brought back from the Graveyard by conventional means, I had to think outside the deck box a little with Monster Reincarnation instead of simply using Monster Reborn. Now, since he's back in my hand, I can give up 500 Life Points to summon him to the field again!"

Rubble fell off of its armor and mane as it positioned itself next to Teleia once again, the two monsters giving one another a look of welcoming.

**[Kai: (3,400 = 2,900) / Odion: (2,200)]**

"Welcome back, my Andro Sphinx."

"Why did you bring back a monster that will only be destroyed and have its power absorbed again?" wondered Odion, genuinely bewildered by this tactic.

Kai held up another card from his hand. "You'll see. Now, I activate Wild Nature's Release!"

Andro was overtaken by a sudden rush of power, a blazing orange aura surrounding it, causing Teleia to hop back a couple feet from its sheer temperature.

Odion just stood silently, still wondering what his opponent was up to. Despite that power-up, it was still weaker than his Serket.

"That card?" Odion asked. "But even with that, your monster is still weaker than mine by 600 points, and it'll be destroyed at the end of your turn. What are you up to?"

"You're missing the bigger picture. Wild Nature's Release adds my monster's current defense points to its attack points, giving it 5,500 points, but do you really think I'm finished pumping him up yet?"

Some of the Rare Hunters ooh'd and ahh'd as Kai smiled coyly.

Odion's sweat glands began to act up, a small drop forming on the back of his head. _If he's not bluffing, his monster will become more powerful than mine!_ He glanced at his face-down card. _My Mirror Force Trap Card will be able to destroy both of his monsters at once, but if his Andro is just going to be destroyed at the end of his turn anyway, is it worth it? I may need it after this turn if Serket is destroyed since I'll have no monsters to defend my Life Points from another assault._ The cards in his hand – Seven Tools of the Bandit, Embodiment of Apophis, and another Trap Jammer – weren't going to help him out of this particular bind.

Kai looked down at the one card left in his hand, then pointed to the card he had had face-down on the field for a few turns now.

"Activate face-down – Axe of Despair!"

More sweat developed on Odion's rough skin as an axe appeared on the field, the handle looking as if it were constructed out of burnt skin. _All this time I thought that was a Trap Card, but now I find out it was a simple Magic Card? I could have destroyed that thing at the beginning of this duel had I known!_

"Equipping this to Andro raises his attack points by 1,000 (5,500 = 6,500), giving him enough to rid the field of your pesky Serket. Oh, and don't forget Andro's special ability – whenever it destroys one of your monsters, half of that monster's attack points are deducted from your Life Points. In simple terms, your own monster will be your undoing."

An invisible hammer hit Odion right in the chest, making it hard to breath. _He's right! If I allow my Serket to be destroyed by that beast, I'll lose the rest of my Life Points. I have no choice._

Andro gripped the axe in its clawed hands, snarling mischievously as Kai called for it to attack Odion's Serket. It let out a battle roar, then jumped twenty feet in the air, bringing the axe down as hard as it could on Serket, only…

Odion was ready for the attack, springing his Mirror Force up just in time. A reflective mirror-like substance formed in front of Serket, shielding it from Andro's foray.

"My Mirror Force will protect Serket and destroy every monster on your side of the field that's in attack position!" shouted Odion, clenching his fists as a small feeling of relief came over him. _He'll only have one card left in his hand after this, and on my next turn I'll be able to set more traps to bounce back and claim victory. I'll show Master Marik that I am truly the best suited for protecting him and taking down his adversaries._

Kai snickered calmly as Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia burst into what looked like glass pieces, catching Odion's interest.

"Why are you laughing?!" asked Odion, becoming flustered by Kai's behavior.

"You forget who you're dueling," Kai explained, shifting the card in his hand between his fingers as he surveyed the field. "I've seen you battle some of these clowns before. I know your strategies and I know which cards you have in your deck. I knew you had a Mirror Force that you hadn't yet used and, knowing your strategies, I figured that face-down had to have been it. You probably wanted to save it for later, but once I reminded you of Andro's effect, you had no choice but to use it this turn. And you know what?"

He paused, building up anticipation for his next words. The Rare Hunters watching the duel were entranced, having not seen such a good duel in many months.

Kai shook his head slowly. "It was a waste."

This insulted Odion, and he spat back, "Impossible! I destroyed your only two monsters, leaving you with nothing to defend yourself against my next attack! You're just trying to rile me up!"

"It's working," Kai murmured to himself.

"Explain your empty words!"

Kai took the last card in his hand and flipped it so that it was facing Odion. "You did exactly what I needed you to do so that I could use the trump card of this deck."

~*~*~*~

Contemplating his next move, Yugi stood up from the floor. He looked up at all of his friends, who were waiting for his input.

"Well, Yug?" Joey asked.

"It's just like he said," Yugi replied. "The choice is obvious."

"What? So you're gonna give up your Millennium Puzzle to those crooks?!" Tristan said with concern in his voice.

Yugi shook his head. "Not quite. I'm already entered in Kaiba's tournament, but I'm not going to give up my puzzle. If he wants it, he'll have to win it from me, and I'm not going to let that happen!"

Joey jumped with joy. "I knew you wouldn't give up that easily! Don't worry, Yug. You got me by your side throughout this whole thing. I won't let those guys touch your puzzle!"

Scott and Jacob joined in the pep talk.

"Yeah, we're with you, too, dude!" Scott said excitedly.

"Those Rare Hunters won't stand a chance against all of us!" added Jacob, taking out his deck and sifting through his cards. Doing this, he noticed the time on his watch – it was past midnight. "Oh, crap! Sorry, guys, but me and Susan have to get going. Our mom is probably worried sick about us." He bowed his head to Yugi. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. I owe you one…no, more than one. I owe you my life."

Yugi chuckled, holding up his hands. "No, it's okay. Don't mention it!"

Susan yawned, stretching out her legs as she stood up and neared the door. "Phew, I'm exhausted. Thank you again, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Jericho. I'll see you at the tournament!"

"For sure!" Tea said, giving her a thumbs up.

Susan and Jacob exited the room, but Scott was stopped in the archway by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Jericho in front of him.

"Don't forget, we still need to have a duel," the man said.

Scott nodded affirmatively, then headed out.

"We have two days before Kaiba's tournament starts. Let's make the most of them, alright, guys?" Tea mentioned, gathering everyone's attention.

Yugi smiled. "Yeah. It looks like I have a lot more to prepare for than I thought going into this tournament. But I'm glad I'm not alone."

~*~*~*~

Odion was silent, trying to calm himself down. He was Marik's right-hand man, his most trusted advisor and duelist ever since they were children growing up together. Marik entrusted him to test Kai, one of their most recent acquisitions. He knew going in that Kai was a skilled duelist, but he didn't think he'd be as good as he was. From the moment the duel started, Kai held his own against him, despite their difference in battle experience.

They fared mostly evenly for most of the duel up until Kai managed to summon his top tier Sphinxes. The older duelist's experience and trap-heavy deck were the only things that kept him from being demolished early on. Summoning his Mystical Beast of Serket turned the tide, though, and kept Kai on the defensive up until recently.

Now, without Serket, Odion was on the defensive once more.

Cracking his knuckles, Kai went on. "You see, in order to summon Theinen the Great Sphinx, both Andro and Teleia have to be destroyed simultaneously. Then I can give up 1,000 Life Points to bring him out, which I'll do now!"

**[Kai: (2,900 = 1,900) / Odion: (2,200)]**

The Pyramid of Light dimmed, almost as if it had been doused with dirt. Seconds passed and then it began rumbling. The bottom split open, and the pyramid lit up once more, shining down on a descending creature that Odion had only witnessed once in his lifetime before now.

The beast was seemingly a hybrid of Kai's previous two monsters, with Andro's upper body and Teleia's lower body. The only notable differences were the definition of the monster's physique, the armor it wore, and the two feathered wings sprouting from its back.

"Meet Theinen the Great Sphinx (3500/3000)!" Kai announced, basking in its glory. "His special ability allows me to sacrifice another 1,000 of my Life Points to increase his attack by the combined attack points of every monster in my Graveyard until the end of my next turn!"

**[Kai: (1,900 = 900) / Odion: (2,200)]**

Thick beams of dusty light flickered out of Kai's Duel Disk, zapping into Theinen the Great Sphinx. Each zap appeared to increase the beast's already impressive muscle mass and height. Soon it towered over Serket, who had previously been the largest monster on the field.

Kai closed his eyes, counting in his mind how many of his creatures had been wiped out since the start of the duel. _Andro Sphinx, Sphinx Teleia, Guardian Sphinx, Criosphinx, Enraged Battle Ox, Sea Koala, two Unifloras, two Dust Knights, Gigantes, two Warrior Lady of the Wastelands…_

Odion stood still, awaiting the beast's attack. He knew his key monster was about to be wiped from the field as well as the rest of his Life Points.

"Thirteen monsters with a whopping total of 20,800 attack points. Add that to my Theinen's 3,500 and he's got 24,300 attack points. Your Serket barely has a quarter of his strength!"

Odion recalled perfectly how many monsters he'd taken out before this moment, and how powerful they were. He didn't think he'd have to deal with a situation like this from his destruction, though.

"And since I'm still technically in my Battle Phase, I can finally eradicate your monster for good!"

Kai ordered his attack, to which Theinen merely stepped on the bug, squashing it with little effort.

**[Kai: (900) / Odion: (2,200 = 0)]**

As Odion grasped how the duel had turned out like this, Kai deactivated his Duel Disk, collecting his cards and stuffing them into a shiny bronze deck box, which he placed in a pocket in his pants.

"As per Master Marik's directions, you were tested," Odion spoke in an almost robotic tone, putting his deck away as well. "And it's obvious that you passed."

A large number of the Rare Hunters that were gathered around the two started conversing amongst themselves, bewildered by the overwhelmingly powerful final attack from Theinen the Great Sphinx.

"Remind me not to screw with these guys again," said one.

"Goddamn, I thought Odion would have won easily."

"Tch. You're telling me. I just lost twenty bucks."

"Those Sphinx cards are incredibly powerful. I hope I don't have to face anybody with them at Battle City."

"Odion almost had that kid a few times. If it weren't for that Theinen Sphinx thing, he would have won. Guaranteed."

Ignoring the Rare Hunters' chitchat, Odion turned and headed back toward his master's chamber, Kai following close behind, the Rare Hunters parting as they moved.

In Marik's dwelling, the mastermind Egyptian was still observing the wall of television monitors, wagging his Millennium Rod around.

"Master Marik, he is ready," Odion affirmed, kneeling and bowing down as Marik spun his chair to face them.

Marik examined Kai. "Excellent. If you could defeat Odion using that Sphinx deck, you will certainly be unstoppable in the tournament with your _real_ deck."

Odion perked up. _His real deck? Could that mean he's even stronger than what he showed in our duel?_

Kai looked at his former opponent, relishing in his curiosity. _Heh. He has no idea. That Sphinx deck was just a backup. I have yet to reveal the deck I'll actually be using in the tournament, the one that will humiliate Kaiba..._

Odion pondered to himself as Kai moved closer to the monitors. _Regardless, I trust Master Marik's decision._

Marik observed Kai viewing the monitors, enjoying the feeling of control he had over him. _The boy is so determined to duel Seto Kaiba, he's left himself completely open to my control. He'll be easy to manipulate once the tournament starts._

"The tournament begins in two days. I want both of you ready. Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and Kaiba's Egyptian God Card will both be mine, and if those four girls interfere again, I'll kill them."


	11. Chapter 11

"You've assembled a powerful deck, Yugi."

With the little Yugi standing beside him in spirit form, the ancient spirit Yami set their dueling deck on an end table that Grandpa Moto had brought in for them to assemble their cards. The pharaoh placed his hand on the top card, smiling proudly.

"What if it's not good enough to win?" Yugi asked with unnecessary worry in his voice.

Picking the deck up again and flipping it so the bottom card was facing him, Yami spoke, "There comes a time when there's nothing left to do but believe in the deck you've created. Yugi…" He turned to face his smaller partner. "This tournament is unlike any challenge we've ever faced before."

"Right."

"The fate of the world depends on us, so you've got to be strong and trust in your cards."

"But there's still so much we don't know."

"Our destiny will reveal itself when the time is right."

Yugi gasped, almost as if he was surprised the pharaoh didn't give him a straight answer.

"According to Ishizu, an ancient evil force will return to threaten the world, and you and I must defeat it…by winning Kaiba's Battle City Tournament," he extended his arm with deck in hand, "with this deck. If you believe in the heart of the cards, we can unlock the secrets of the past and save the world."

The pharaoh's strong words replaced Yugi's hesitation with courage, and the young boy perked up brightly. "Yeah, we can do this!"

"Yes, we can, but it won't be easy."

"I'm ready to face whoever or whatever we have to! You stood by me and helped me rescue my grandpa from Pegasus, and now it's my turn to stand by you. I promise you and I will work together to figure out your past. You already saved the entire world once 5,000 years ago, but there was one difference then – you had to do it alone, and this time you have me by your side to help you."

Yami smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

With Yami's arm still extended, Yugi placed his hand over the deck and the two became one again, this time with Yugi on the forefront. He grabbed his dueling belt and slung it around his waist, buckling it and sliding his deck into the box attached to it.

Bursting with newfound valor and enthusiasm, they both cried out in unison.

"Let's duel!"

Dabbing his Mohawk with gel, Scott carefully maneuvered around his messy room, making a mental note of all of the things he would need for Battle City.

Duel Disk – check.

Cell phone – check.

As he moved on to his dueling deck, he took a moment to go over it one more time, assessing all of the individual cards within it and the strategies he had come up with. He wiped his hands free of extra hair gel with a shirt that was hanging on his bed before picking up the deck of cards and going through them.

"I can't wait to put this deck to the test against all of the talented duelists in the tournament. It's gonna be tough, but I know I can make it to the finals, where I hope to battle you, Jacob."

He placed the deck in a holder on his belt, breathing in and out deeply.

"I wouldn't want it any other way, dude."

Hearing that familiar voice, Scott swiftly turned to see Jacob leaning against his open door, wearing his usual running suit as well as his Duel Disk.

"Whoa, dude, when did you get here?" he asked, chuckling self-consciously.

"A few minutes ago. I would've said hi earlier but you started talking to yourself and I didn't want to interrupt. So you're ready for the tournament, then?"

Nodding, Scott attached his Duel Disk to his arm. "Sure am. Hey, where's Susan?"

"She's outside with Aaron."

"Aaron? What's he doing here? I didn't think he cared about Duel Monsters."

"Apparently he's in the tournament, too. He has a Duel Disk and a deck and everything. I don't know what cards he has, but I doubt it's anything for us to worry about. He's never shown interest in this stuff before so I don't think he went out and bought a bunch of rare cards all of the sudden."

Scott agreed with his friend's assumption. "Yeah. I hope you're ready, dude. All of the world's best duelists are gonna be there, including Yugi! You better have your deck in top condition because I don't want to hear that you lost before the finals."

"Don't worry about me. I'll do my best."

Scott headed for the door, pocketing his deck. "Promise me one thing, man."

"Yeah?"

"You'll make it to the finals so we can duel and have an amazing match, and you won't let anybody stop you."

Jacob chuckled lightly. "You got it, man. Now let's go. We've only got an hour before the tournament officially starts."

The clouds in the sky cradled the sun as it hit its peak high above the town of Domino, which was bustling with activity as an army of duelists ready for battle marched through the main street toward the town's center. The forecast looked bright and mostly clear for what was sure to be an eventful day.

Studying the transparent piece of plastic in his hand, Yugi Moto appeared perplexed as he strolled through the street, coming to the town square and stopping just in front of a clock the stood on top of a street lamp.

"This clear card was in the same package as the Duel Disk," he recalled. "Looks like it's part of a map, but where's the rest of it?" He sighed sharply. "It must be another new twist Kaiba threw into his tournament."

As he tried to make sense of the locator card, a friendly voice yelled out his name.

"Yugi! Hey!"

The King of Games spun around, finding Joey, Tristan, and Tea running up to him.

"Hey, guys!" he exclaimed joyfully. "It's good to see you here. Where is Jericho?"

Joey waved him off. "Ah, who knows. He'll show up sooner or later. Right now we gotta focus on the tournament." He scanned the area around them. "Look at all of these duelists, just ready to get their butts kicked by yours truly, the fantastic Joey Wheeler!"

"Looks like a pretty big turnout for this thing," Tristan said. "I'm sure one of them will get lucky and knock you out of the tournament, Joey."

Wheeler didn't take kindly to his friend's joke, punching him on the shoulder half-heartedly. As the two were about to get into it, Jericho showed up, sporting a shiny metallic blue jacket and black pants.

"What's up, guys? Man, I've never seen so many duelists in one place in my life, and I was at Duelist Mania 3. This thing is gonna be crazy. I hope you're ready, Yugi, 'cause it's gonna be me and you in the finals."

Jericho was clearly elated, drawing the attention of several other duelists around them. One of those duelists was Mako Tsunami, the famous fisherman who used WATER attribute monsters to drown his adversaries' chances of victory. He made a beeline toward the group, waving his hand at them upon arrival.

"Mako! Long time no see," Yugi said.

"Aha! Certainly has been! What a grand pleasure seeing you here, Yugi Moto. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll get pretty far in this tournament Kaiba set up, but make no mistake, I'll be the last duelist standing!" Mako declared, heaving his chest out and crossing his arms proudly.

"We'll see about that," Joey said, also crossing his arms. "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon would beg to differ."

"Oh, yeah?" Mako laughed. "Well, my Fortress Whale will capsize your dragon with the splash of its tailfin! You don't stand a chance against my denizens of the deep!"

"My Black Tyranno would eat your whale for supper," Scott scoffed, appearing next to Mako. Jacob, Susan, and Aaron were catching up to him. "And then snack on the rest of your sea creatures."

"I don't believe we've met," Mako said as he observed the muscular teenager. "I am Mako Tsunami, fish duelist extraordinaire! Who might you be?"

Scott extended his hand for Mako to shake. "I'm Scott Wahlberg, and I'm going to be the best dinosaur duelist in the world soon. I just have to surpass Rex Raptor."

Almost as if on cue, the world's current best dinosaur duelist Rex Raptor walked onto the scene, glaring at Scott. Scott glared back, then held out his hand.

"I'm Scott Wahlberg. Mister Raptor, you've been a big inspiration to me," he said. "Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to be as good as you and be a regional champion."

The snobbish duelist gave him the cold shoulder. "Keep dreaming, kid. I'm the world's best dino duelist and that's not gonna change anytime soon. Go back to flipping burgers while I win this tournament."

Feeling slighted, Scott was ready to wallop his idol, but Susan grasped his bicep, sending a soothing chill through his body. He relaxed and backed down.

"Whatever," he said. "When this thing starts, you better hope we don't duel each other."

Rex simply shrugged and walked off.

"What an ass, and here I was idolizing that guy."

"It's alright," Susan assured him. "He'll get what's coming to him. You just need to focus on the now."

"Speaking of which," Tea said, checking her watch, "the tournament should be starting any minute."

Jacob shook his arms and stretched his legs out, exhaling deeply.

"Nervous?" Yugi questioned.

Jacob rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, really. I don't know if my deck can compete with all of these seasoned duelists."

"Well, as a good friend always tells me when I'm nervous before a duel, you just have to believe in your cards and they'll back you up."

Unbeknownst to them, a small unit of Rare Hunters were seated behind a hot dog and rice cake stand, watching Yugi and his friends covertly.

One took a bite of his hot dog, chomping loudly as he sat back in his chair. "Mmm, just look at that brunette."

"The tall one or the short one?" asked the Rare Hunter beside him.

"The tall one. I think her name is Susan." He licked his lips. "Those legs are phenomenal."

The third Rare Hunter, who had a laptop open and held a frostee in his hand, cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the other two. "Her name is Tea, you dumbass. The short one is Susan. We're here for their rare cards, so keep it in your pants and get ready."

On the laptop screen was a table with pictures of Yugi, Joey, Jericho, Mako, and Rex, each with a star rating beneath their picture. Yugi had five stars, Joey had four, Jericho had three, Mako had three and a half, and Rex had three. Below that was a picture of their rarest card, although Jericho's was a glaring question mark.

"These rare cards will make fine additions to the master's collection. The only question is, which care do we go after first?"

Fireworks shot up and exploded in the sky, filling it with glittering colors and immaculate designs. Brass fanfare played from speakers around the city.

"Greetings, duelists. Welcome to Battle City."

Replacing the speakers was Seto Kaiba's harsh voice, catching the awareness of everybody in Domino.

Baffled, Tea tried to figure out the source of his voice. "Where is he?"

Aaron finally spoke, pointing out a speaker than was nuzzled in between two benches. "High-quality speakers. I counted ten of them when we got here. But the question still remains of where exactly Mister Kaiba is…"

To quash their wondering, a shadow was cast over them, darkening the courtyard. They all shifted their gazes upward, their jaws popping open as a colossal blimp hovered just above the buildings. Hanging from the bottom of it was a triangular television screen presenting Seto Kaiba, who looked to be sitting down comfortably in a room somewhere.

"Leave it to Kaiba to flaunt his money." Tristan sneered.

Aaron glowered at him for a moment before concentrating back on Kaiba's emergence.

Kaiba continued. "It's time to put your dueling skills to the test. I hope none of you entered my tournament looking for friendly competition. Battle City's going to be an all-out war." He held off his speech for a moment, letting his sentiments sink in. "Before my Battle City tournament begins, I thought I'd let you all know what you're in for in case you want to back out now. Let's begin with my new Duel Disks."

Yugi glanced down at his.

"Everyone who I decided was good enough to enter received one. With it, you can duel anytime, anywhere…and they contain a tracking chip that allows me to watch every move you make."

The conceited CEO placed his deck into the holder on the Duel Disk before moving on.

"Next, let's talk about the most important tournament rule…"

He removed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his deck, holding it up for everyone to see its splendor.

"The loser of each duel is required to fork over their rarest card to the winner. If you don't have the guts to risk losing your precious cards, then I suggest you forfeit now."

Some of the less timid duelists spoke up, claiming to not be afraid.

"And anyone who's foolish enough can challenge me to a duel," he said, replacing his Blue-Eyes in his deck, "because I'll also be competing in this tournament."

"Thought so," Yugi whispered to himself.

"But don't get your hopes up because I intend to win, and there's one duelist out there I can't wait to defeat."

"You're on, Kaiba!"

"Hm. And speaking of winning, only the eight best duelists will make it to the final round, which will be held in a hidden location."

Joey wasn't sure how that stipulation would hold up. "Then how do we get there? No one will show up if the location's hidden."

"Just keep listening," Aaron murmured.

"In order to find the finals, you'll need these locator cards," Kaiba said, holding one up. "You've each received one with your Duel Disk, but don't get too excited. One's not enough. You'll need six of them to make it to the tournament finals. Every time you win a duel, you get a locator card from your losing opponent. When six cards are stacked together, they produce a map of Battle City and activate a global positioning satellite, which will transmit the location to you. But the tournament finals are a long time away, and most of you will be eliminated way before that. Alright, everything I just said and more can be found in my tournament rulebook. Just remember: only one player can win and claim the title of number one duelist in the world."

"And that'll be me," Jericho affirmed, pointing to himself.

The courtyard began bustling again, each duelist trying to one-up the other in their arguments about who the better duelist was. Kaiba's blimp continued to hover through the city as its owner began to speak.

"Now get ready, duelists," he spoke with a snide grin across his face, throwing his arm outward. "Let the tournament begin!"

The courtyard erupted with duelists filing out in search of opponents, rare cards, and locator cards. Soon most of the area was cleared out, leaving only Yugi's group, some stragglers by the hot dog stand, and the faction of Rare Hunters behind it, still unseen by Yugi and company.

Yugi sighed. "Well, time to face my destiny!"

Jericho immediately turned to Scott. "Before we go our separate ways, how about we have our duel right here, right now?"

A big grin came over Scott's face. "Yeah! This is gonna be great! Get ready because I'm not holding back!"

Watching this duel unfold, the Rare Hunters stood up, leaving from behind the hot dog stand and approaching their targets.


	12. Chapter 12

Scott and Jericho's Duel Disks activated as they took their places.

"Uh oh, we've got trouble!" Tea alerted the others as the gang of Rare Hunters drew closer. "Rare Hunters!"

Scott groaned. "Already? Christ, the tournament literally just started! Sorry, dude, but I guess we'll have to wait on our duel just a little longer."

"It's alright. I didn't want to eliminate you this early yet anyway," Jericho joked.

Tristan and Joey stepped in front of Tea protectively.

"Yugi Moto! We are Rare Hunters and we want that Dark Magician you have," announced the closest hunter. "Duel me!"

Yugi's Millennium Puzzle lit up and soon the pharaoh took his place, looking with disdain at his adversaries. Before he could make his move, Jacob stepped in front of him.

"Not so fast!" he shouted firmly. "If you want a duel, _I'll_ be your opponent!"

The Rare Hunters laughed to themselves, irritating the young duelist.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of a high school kid making you look like a fool?"

"You're the fool for challenging me! I am Devero, number one Rare Hunter!"

"I don't really care who you are. When you threaten my friends, you cross the line. Let's do this!"

Yugi asked from the background, "Jacob, are you sure you want to do this? These Rare Hunters can be cunning."

"I'm sure," Jacob responded flatly, drawing his opening hand.

"Jacob, be careful..." Susan worriedly said. _This is your first serious duel, and if you lose this, you'll be out of the tournament right away! Please, watch yourself and pay attention._

The KaibaCorp tower stood at the center of Domino City, conspicuous and overbearing, almost like Kaiba was compensating for something. It stood above even the clouds, barely touching the sun.

Inside its main control room, dozens of computer screens lit up with graphs, charts, videos of various Duel Monsters cards, statistics, and views of different sections around the city. Each screen had a female attending it.

The CEO of the company, Seto Kaiba, stood at the helm of the room, Mokuba at his side. He pompously smiled at his creation.

"Detecting activation of Duel Disk battle system," a mechanical female voice rang out through the speakers in the room. "Competitors: Jacob McKnight versus Rare Hunter. Beaming duel status to KaibaCorp mainframe."

Kaiba had no idea who that was. "Pull up the duel on monitor one. I want to see who the first people are to participate in my tournament." _I'm surprised Yugi isn't one of the duelists._

"Right away, sir," responded one of the women.

As the duel was shown on the biggest screen in the room, Kaiba snickered when he noticed Yugi standing on Jacob's side.

"Figures he'd be involved _somehow_."

Mokuba excitedly leaned into a small monitor in front of him. "Hey, the other duels are coming in now, too! Our system is recording all of the cards being played. If anyone uses one of the two remaining Egyptian God Cards, we'll know exactly where it is!"

_Perfect. My plan is coming along nicely. As soon as one of the Egyptian God Cards is played, I'll be right there to take it from the winner. Once I have all three, I'll be completely unstoppable. Every duelist will shudder in my wake._ Kaiba chuckled ominously to himself.

"Let's see what Yugi's involvement is in this."

Devero had naturally decided to go first in his duel with Jacob. With six cards in hand, he plucked one card and placed it face-down.

"Let's see you get past my face-down monster," he sniggered.

"I will," Jacob said, drawing a card. He's wide open apart from that one face-down. I have to capitalize on this and give myself the advantage first. He pushed a card into the bottom of his Duel Disk, waiting for it to materialize face-down in front of him. "I play one face-down card, and then I summon Command Knight (1200/1900) to the field in Attack Mode!"

Decked out in dark red armor lined in gold designs and with a purple cape fluttering behind it, Command Knight marched to the field, one hand grasping the hilt of its sword as it awaited orders from its king.

"My monster's ability gives each Warrior-Type monster 400 extra attack points, including itself (1200 = 1600)!"

The Rare Hunter hardly seemed concerned.

"Command Knight, attack his face-down monster!"

The knight leapt forward and removed its sword, stabbing into the face-down card near Devero. It flipped over, revealing a simple koala with a twig of bamboo in its mouth – Des Koala (1100/1800).

Yugi's pupils dilated as he saw which monster it was. "Jacob, watch out! That monster has a nasty special ability!"

"He's right!" Devero laughed. "My Des Koala inflicts 400 damage for each card in your hand, and I count four. Plus, he has higher defense than your pathetic knight's attack, so you lose an additional 200 Life Points. What a loser."

"That's 1,800 Life Points altogether!" Susan cried. "You have to be more careful, Jacob!"

**[Jacob: (8000 = 6200) / Devero: (8000)]**

"Damn, that's brutal," Jericho said. "And it's only his first turn."

"He can turn it around," Scott added. "He has to if he wants to face me in the finals! Come on, man!"

Jacob grunted as his Life Points took a big hit. _Susan's right. I have to take it a little slower if I want to last in this duel. _He looked over his hand. "I end my turn."

"That's it, huh?" Devero laughed. "Fine, then." He drew. "I place two cards face-down, then I summon another monster face-down as well."

_Another face-down monster. He must think I'll blindly attack it. But what if he's expecting me not to attack it so he can sacrifice both of them for a much stronger monster next turn?_ He snarled, looking over his hand as he drew his next card. _I have to figure out his strategy and quickly, but I can't neglect mine either. For now, I'll just have to build up my forces._

"I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) in Attack Mode!"

Next to Command Knight appeared another soldiers laden in thick silver armor and holding two long swords.

"And his special ability allows me to Special Summon another Warrior-Type monster from my hand as long as it's Level 3 or lower," Jacob explained, laying another Marauding Captain onto his Duel Disk. "Now that I've got two Marauding Captains on the field, you're done."

"And why's that?" asked Devero, humoring the young boy. "They're both still weaker than my Des Koala even with your Command Knight's power-up."

"I'll tell you why. Marauding Captain's second special ability makes it so that when you attack, you can't attack another Warrior-Type except him! And since I have two on the field, their abilities cover for each other, so you can't attack any of my monsters, and my Life Points are safe!"

"Alright, man! That's the way!" Scott shouted.

"He's got nothing on you now!" Joey joined in. "Kick that slime ball's ass!"

Despite the impressive combo his friend had pulled out, Yugi couldn't help but worry still. _That Rare Hunter isn't concerned at all that he can't attack with his monsters, but then again, he's not trying to. What's his strategy?_

Devero laughed, partially in part because his opponent was playing right into his hands and partially to irritate him.

_Something's up. I just pulled out two more monsters and effectively built an impenetrable wall, yet he's laughing at me._ "What gives, Rare Hunter?" Jacob asked.

"You'll see when I activate this – Secret Barrel!" With a press of a button, the Rare Hunter's trap card flipped upwards, and a multi-barreled machine gun pelted Jacob.

The boy fell to one knee, eliciting cries from his sister and best friend. He rubbed his chest where the bullets had hit and tried to regain his breath. The Life Point counter on his Duel Disk beeped and began to go down rapidly.

"Secret Barrel blasts away 200 of your Life Points for each card on your side of the field and in your hand," Devero clarified with a devious grin on his bony face.

Scott clenched his fist. "That's another 1,400 Life Points gone!"

Tristan chimed in, "He's lost 3,200 Life Points already, and the Rare Hunter hasn't even attacked with a single monster!"

"I've deduced that Jacob's strategy is to swarm the field with Warrior-Type monsters," elucidated Aaron. "The Rare Hunter's strategy is to chip away at the opponent's Life Points with cards that deal effect damage, therefore he doesn't need to attack with his monsters. Unfortunately, that means he can win the duel without being affected by Jacob's monsters."

**[Jacob: (6200 = 4800) / Devero: (8000)]**

_This guy is pissing me off! He hasn't attacked once yet he's gotten rid of almost half of my Life Points! I need to figure out a way to get to his Life Points before he depletes all of mine. I know there's something in my deck that can help me here._ He drew his card, disappointment showing on his face quickly after.

"Didn't draw what you needed, huh? Too bad," said Devero insincerely.

"I end my turn," Jacob said glumly.

Devero gladly drew his next card. "Alright, I think it's time I went on the offensive! I sacrifice my face-down monster, Sangan, to summon Raiza the Storm Monarch (2400/1000)!"

A whirlwind kicked up, blowing the trees in the courtyard around. The wind was so powerful that the cloth roof of the hot dog stand ripped off, flying away into the sky as the hot dog guy chased after it. Jacob and the others covered themselves with their arms as Devero's monster appeared. It was a tall humanoid creature completely covered in metallic armor in varying shades of green, a long cape behind it that was separated down the middle to give the appearance of wings.

"First thing's first," Devero continued. "Whenever Sangan is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can take a monster from my deck and put it in my hand as long as it has 1,500 or less attack points." He sifted through his deck, admiring the cards he had available to him.

Jacob gritted his teeth, trying to remain calm in the face of his opponent's newly summon beast. _That monarch has way more attack points than any of mine, but it still can't attack due to Marauding Captain's effect._

"Ah, I think I'll choose Giant Rat," said Devero, taking a card from his deck and showing it to Jacob. "With that out of the way, my Raiza the Storm Monarch's special ability activates when it's successfully Tribute Summoned!"

_Oh, shit,_ Jacob thought, his calmness slowly slipping away. _That can't be good._

Devero smirked. "I can choose one card on the field and return it to the top of the deck, and guess which card I choose? It's gonna be one of your Marauding Captains! Time to break through that wall, kid." He began laughing maniacally.

Reluctantly, Jacob removed one of the Marauding Captains from his Duel Disk, sliding it back onto the top of his deck. He bit his lower lip.

"Raiza the Storm Monarch, get rid of that other pesky Marauding Captain with Storm Whirlwind!" Devero called out.

The green armored humanoid slowly raised its arms, extending them out and opening its palms. The wind kicked up again, at first a bit breezy and then suddenly powerful enough to knock one off their feet. Two small tornadoes developed on either side of the Marauding Captain, coming together and picking it up. Several lightning bolts struck the flailing warrior, burning it to a crisp before it dematerialized.

**[Jacob: (4800 = 4000) / Devero: (8000)]**

Watching the battle from the control room of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba enjoyed watching one of Yugi's friends squirm, but he had no clue who the duelist was that was inflicting this pain.

"This Devero guy is making Yugi's friend look like a complete joke," he said as a picture of the man was pulled up on the big screen. "What information do we have on him?"

One of the dime a dozen employees responded, "Very little. He wasn't listed in your tournament database until about two days ago."

Kaiba sold shock. "What?! How's that possible?"

"He must have hacked into the system and added himself."

"That's illegal!" Mokuba protested.

The woman elaborated, "He calls himself a Rare Hunter. That's about all the information we have on him. Sorry, sir."

Mokuba turned on his heel to leave the room. "We'll disqualify him! Right, Seto?"

"Wait." He lowered his head, realizing that the presence of Rare Hunters was in his best interest. "They took my bait. It's just as I planned."

Seto Kaiba wasn't the only one observing the duel. From the security of his hideaway, Marik Ishtar also took entertainment to watching his servants terrorize Yugi and his friends. Odion stood by his side.

"It's not Yugi, but this could be even better," remarked Marik, folding his hands together on his lap.

"What do you mean, master?"

"By taking out his friends, Yugi's confidence will be crushed. When I finally make my move, he'll be nothing more than a pushover."

"Hmm."

Marik continued, "It's all falling into place, Odion. First, I'll have my Rare Hunters dismantle his group of friends, crushing his spirit. Then, I'll go after Yugi himself and claim his Millennium Puzzle! All the while Kai will have gotten Obelisk the Tormentor from our tournament host, Mister Seto Kaiba. When I have all three Egyptian God Cards and the Millennium Puzzle, I'll have the power of the pharaoh at my fingertips. I'll be unstoppable and this world will finally be mine!"

Back in the duel, Jacob stood with 4,800 Life Points, one Command Knight on the field, one face-down card in his back row, and four cards in his hand. On the other side, Devero was on the offensive with all of his Life Points intact, Raiza the Storm Monarch and Des Koala on his field, two cards in his back row, and four cards in his hand.

It was Jacob's turn again and he knew it would over soon if he couldn't find a way to fight back and get an advantage.

"You can still win this, man!" Scott yelled.

"We believe in you!" added Susan.

_Believe…believe…that's it! Yugi said all I had to do was believe in my cards and I couldn't be beat._ He drew his card, which was the Marauding Captain sent to the top of his deck by Raiza's effect. It's time to rebuild my wall.

"I play The Warrior Returning Alive!" he proclaimed loudly. "With this, I can take one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, and the only one in there is Marauding Captain." The card ejected from a slot in his Duel Disk, falling into his hand.

"So what?"

"Are you forgetting what you just did last turn? You sent my other Marauding Captain to the top of my deck, and I just drew it. Now I have both of them back to stop you from attacking once more!"

Devero shrugged. "Big deal. Go ahead and summon them again. It won't matter."

Jacob placed his two monsters on his Duel Disk, both of them summoning almost simultaneously. A barely visible gray aura surrounded them and Command Knight as they appeared.

"Once again, you fell into my trap!" Devero activated a face-down. "Go, Secret Barrel!"

"Another one?!" Joey gasped. "That's not good!"

Jacob lifted his arms up to cover his chest and face as the turret bombarded him with bullets. He stood his ground this time, though the hit to his Life Points wasn't favorable.

**[Jacob: (4000 = 2600) / Devero: (8000)]**

"That chode!" Jericho angrily murmured. "It doesn't matter what Jacob does! If he stays defensive, that ass clown will just use his traps to take out Jacob's Life Points, but if he goes on the offensive, his monsters' special abilities will do the same thing!"

"There's gotta be a way for him to win this," Tea said, half-wondering and half-stating.

"That was cheap," Jacob hissed. "But I'm not out yet. I place one card face-down. It's your move now."

"If you think that was cheap, wait till you see this." Devero jammed a card into his Duel Disk, snickering mischievously. "Say hello to Dark Hole! This wipes out every monster on the field!"

He leaned forward, holding his gut as he laughed uncontrollably, watching Jacob's face contort more with each monster sucked into the black hole in the middle of the field.

"You just wasted all of that!"

"Your monster is gone, too…" Jacob said, trying to convince himself that something good came out of that.

"Good, because now I can summon an even more powerful monster in its place!"

Jacob's pupils dilated. _What's he talking about? How can he summon something stronger with no monsters to sacrifice?_

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're frozen in fear," Devero said. "It's quite simple. The effect of this monster allows me to Special Summon it when one of my Beast-Type monsters is destroyed, and all I have to do is give up 1,000 Life Points. Quite a deal for this monster."

**[Jacob: (2600) / Devero: (8000 = 7000)]**

After Devero placed the card on his Duel Disk, a behemoth stepped out of the hologram card's borders. Its skin was dark green, and it had some form of armor on its shoulders and around its forearms. In its left hand it wielded a big wooden club.

"What the hell is that?!" Jacob screeched, dread overcoming him.

"That is my Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest (2600/1800)!"

"This Rare Hunter isn't half bad," Seto Kaiba commented. "Of course, he'd be no match for me, but against someone like that Jacob McKnight kid, I can see why he would look fairly imposing. That's a strong monster he summoned, and he did it while clearing the opponent's field as well. The only Life Points he's lost so far have been the ones he gave up to bring that monster out."

Mokuba huffed loudly as he noticed something on the screen. "Seto! His cards!"

Kaiba pulled up a separate screen on the monitor below him, observing the Rare Hunter's cards closely. It took a moment, but then he realized what the problem was.

"He marked his cards, and that's why he's been so confident this whole time. He always knows which card he's going to draw next, so he can always be one step ahead of his opponent."

"This guy's a menace! First he hacks into your system and now this? Come on! I'm going to disqualify him before this duel goes any further, Seto!" Mokuba avowed.

"Let it go, Mokuba," Seto said coolly. "I'm aware of his shenanigans, but I'm willing to let it slide this time."

Mokuba held out his arms in objection. "Sorry, big brother, but you made me Battle City Commissioner, so it's my duty to uphold the rules! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't flush that turd right out of Battle City!"

"Because I need him. This Devero guy may have something I want." _Besides, I can't wait to see how Yugi deals with one of his friends being eliminated right off the bat._

Smiling widely, Devero gave Jacob a thumbs down.

"One attack from my Green Baboon and you're finished, kid! Then you'll hand over your rarest card and your only locator card, and then we're coming after you, Yugi!"

"You won't get past my friend, Devero!" Yugi retorted. "I can assure you that!"

"By the look of this duel, yes, I will," Devero said snidely. "Now, Green Baboon, attack and finish off this twerp!"

Green Baboon shrieked and ran at Jacob, raising its massive club.

"I activate Negate Attack!"

A vortex of colors swirled in front of Green Baboon, absorbing its attack and sending it back to Devero's side of the field.

"You've only delayed the inevitable," the miffed Rare Hunter said.

Jacob ignored the Rare Hunter's taunting and pressed his fingers against his deck. _Believe in my cards. Come on!_

He ripped a card out, hesitating to look at it immediately.

"Yes! I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600)!"

Purple rays poured out of the materialized card as a tall being stepped onto the field, covered in iron armor. Large iron shields concealed its arms.

"That thing is too weak to do anything," Devero claimed.

"You're almost right," Jacob said. "He's too weak to attack you with, but he's exactly what I need to use this card!" He slid a green-bordered card into its slot. "Release Restraint! It allows me to take Geafried the Swordmaster from my deck and summon him to the field."

"Hell yeah!" Scott cheered. "That's Jacob's ace combo right there!"

Light shone out of the cracks in Gearfried's armor, soon enveloping him. Purple electricity crackled around the mass of light. Seconds later, a different warrior appeared in Gearfried's place. It was a physically impressive man wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist. He had long dark hair that came down to his tailbone. Held in both hands was a thin sword that was the length of half his body.

"Who the hell?" Devero asked.

"That's Gearfried the Swordmaster (2600/2200)! He's strong enough to end your monster, but that's not what I have planned." Jacob slid another card into his Duel Disk's bottom row. "I activate Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!"

Geafried the Swordmaster's weapon dissolved, being replaced by a thicker and slightly shorter sword that fused with its right arm.

"That sword increases Gearfried's attack by 800 points (2600 = 3400)," Jacob said triumphantly. "Now he's more than enough to deal with your Green Baboon, but I'm not gonna attack just yet. Gearfried's special ability lets me destroy one of your monsters each time I equip him with an Equip Spell Card."

Devero complained, "That's bullshit!"

Gearfried's sword shot a purple-orange laser right through Green Baboon, slicing it in half effortlessly and ridding the field of its presence.

Yugi smiled as Jacob declared his attack, finally cutting into the Rare Hunter's Life Points.

**[Jacob: (2600) / Devero: (7000 = 3600)]**

"Wow! Now the Rare Hunter's Life Points are only 1,000 higher than Jacob's!" Tea exclaimed joyfully.

Susan heaved a sigh of relief. _There you go, Jake. Don't let up now!_

Devero's eye twitched as he grasped his next card. _I-I can't let him beat me or Master Marik will be furious!_ "Argh, I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (900/300)!"

A furry little creature drilled out of the ground with its nose, swiping at the air with its claws as the two drills on its shoulders spun in intervals.

"Attack his Gearfried, my Mole!" Devero ordered.

"What are you thinking?" Jacob questioned as their two monsters collided.

When neither monster took was destroyed or took any damage, Jacob's brow raised almost to the top of his forehead.

"Neo-Spacian Grand Mole's ability gives me the option to return both of our monsters to our hands without taking any battle damage," Devero explained, gaining a toothy grin akin to that of the Rare Hunter Yugi had fought in the warehouse.

_Damn it! Just when I get some momentum going, he has to go and ruin it. Luckily for me, his field is wide open next turn._ Jacob replaced Gearfried the Swordmaster in his hand, eyeing the other card he had been holding.

"Just in case you were thinking about ending this duel on your turn," Devero started, pointing to his face-down card, "here's a little surprise for you – Gravity Bind!" Hehe. Now he won't be making any of those plays again. My Life Points will be safe, at least until I can summon something to protect them.

From Devero's side of the field came a magnificent blue orb, static electricity crackling inside of it. It sent a small wave outward, but this didn't seem to have an effect on anyone.

"What does that card do?" Jacob asked.

"It stops all Level 4 or higher monsters from attacking," replied Devero. "That means you won't be repeating any of that Gearfried nonsense again!"

Jacob considered this, then peered at his hand as he drew his newest card. His Gravity Bind would definitely put me in a troublesome situation if I had some Level 4 or higher monsters on the field, but I don't, and the only one in my hand is Gearfried the Swordmaster. He's in for a rude awakening now.

"It's over, Devero," he asserted firmly.

In disbelief, Devero scoffed. "You're bluffing. You can't summon anything powerful enough to wipe out my Life Points while I have Gravity Bind on the field."

Adjusting his glasses, Aaron decided he should comment on the situation. "Jacob doesn't need to summon a very powerful monster at this point. I think I know exactly what he's got in mind to finish this Rare Hunter off."

"Yeah? What's that?" Joey asked.

"His whole strategy is basically swarming the field with Warrior-Type monsters. That hasn't changed since the duel began as far as I've seen."

"You mean he's gonna summon more than one monster again?"

"Precisely. That Gravity Bind card is overall useless against someone like Jacob, whose monsters are mostly Level 3 and below from what I've observed, which is exactly what that Trap Card can't stop."

On the battlefield, Jacob picked a card from his hand and showed it to the Rare Hunter. "Remember this guy?"

Devero squinted his eyes to see the card. It resembled something familiar from earlier in the duel. It was definitely another Warrior-Type. _Wait a minute. Is that…? No!_

"I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) to the field in Attack Mode!"

Returning to the field for a third time was Marauding Captain, swinging his sword with a purpose, ready for revenge.

"And with him I can summon another of my monsters," Jacob noted, placing another card onto the dueling device. "So I bring forth Mataza the Zapper (1300/800)!"

Out of Marauding Captain's shadow came a seventeenth century warrior decked out in samurai armor and weaponry. It sneered at Devero.

"Together they only have 2,500 attack points," Devero said. "I'll still survive another turn, and that'll be long enough to come back and destroy you."

"We'll see. Marauding Captain, attack him directly!"

The blond warrior's sword flung forward as it dashed into Devero, jabbing him without mercy.

**[Jacob: (2600) / Devero: (3600 = 2400)]**

Devero shook off the attack, motioning for more. "Come on, twerp!"

Jacob smirked. "I think now would be a good time to tell you Mataza the Zapper's special ability. It gets to attack _twice_ each turn." He gave his opponent a thumbs down. "You're done."

Devero shrieked and fell to his knees as Mataza the Zapper went in for the kill, slicing at him ruthlessly and efficiently until his Life Points were gone.

The two warriors sheathed their swords, bowing their heads in respect and dissipating into tiny data particles as the duel came to an end.

Mokuba smiled as he saw justice being served to the Rare Hunter. "That should show him. Now he's eliminated from the tournament and shouldn't bother anyone else."

Kaiba stood indifferently. _So he didn't have an Egyptian God Card. That must mean they're still out there._

Susan ran over to her brother, hugging him like she hadn't seen him in a year. Scott also joined in the congratulatory embrace, patting his friend on the back.

"I gotta say, that was some smart thinking there at the end," Joey admitted. "I thought he had you but that Mataza the Zapper card really came through for you."

"Nice duel, man," Tristan said.

Jacob laughed and blushed simultaneously, unsure of how to process all of the praise he was receiving at one time. "Thanks, you guys. I couldn't have done it without your support. Oh," he faced Yugi, "and thank you for what you told me about believing in my cards. It really helped me out there."

Yugi smiled, then held out his hand. In his palm were two Duel Monsters cards.

"What's this?" Jacob wondered. "Cards?"

Yugi nodded. "Mhm. Watching your duel today made me think these cards would be put to better use in your deck instead of mine."

Jacob took the two cards from Yugi, admiring the endowment. "Wow, Celtic Guardian and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. Jeez, I-I don't know what to say. I'll definitely treat them well!"

The two Rare Hunters that were with Devero snuck off while the others were distracted, knowing the numbers weren't in their favor. Devero wasn't so lucky.

The man let out a stark cry of agony, gripping his head with both hands and yelling into the sky.

"No, master! I'm sorry! I did my best! Please, spare me!"

Yugi and the others noticed, wondering what in the world was going on with their fallen opponent. Was he going insane?

Devero stood up, still screaming. "Don't! No! Please, master!"

"What the hell is going on with him?" asked Scott. "Is he on PCP?"

"I've seen this before," Yugi replied. _That's the Millennium symbol!_ He thought as a golden eye appeared on the Rare Hunter's forehead.

Devero seemed to calm down and stop struggling. When he spoke, his voice was distorted and much lower-pitched. "We meet again, pharaoh! Remember me? Actually, perhaps you don't. You were trapped in the puzzle when I dueled little Yugi. Congratulations on defeating my Rare Hunter, you fools; but that's not saying much. He was one of the weakest duelists in my crew. My other minions will prove _much_ more formidable."

Joey whispered to Yugi, "What is with this gum ball?"

"Pharaoh, I've waited for you for years. Finally, after all this time, I will destroy you. I will not allow my other Rare Hunters to fail me like this one did. I have little time for his kind of foolishness, so I've taken over his body and trapped his mind in the Shadow Realm!"

"How do you control him?" said Yugi, unsure of what was really going on.

"Each of the Millennium items contains its own unique power, so mind control is a simple task with my Millennium Rod."

_He must be the great evil Ishizu spoke about_, Yugi thought, standing stoically in front of his friends.

The possessed Devero continued speaking. "Remember my name…Marik!"

Yugi stepped forward. "Marik! What is it you want from me?"

"I want what belongs to me, and I'll take it using the strength of the Egyptian God Cards!"

"Egyptian what?"

"Millennia ago, a trio of powerful behemoths rampaged throughout ancient Egypt. These Egyptian God Monsters spread destruction throughout the world until the pharaoh sealed them away for eternity! But when Pegasus created Duel Monsters, he resurrected these mighty beasts as cards. With these Egyptian Gods, I can destroy you and claim the power I deserve!"

"You'll never claim the Millennium Puzzle!"

"You misunderstand. I want more than the power of the puzzle. I want the pharaoh's power, the boundless energy of the ancient ruler himself! With it, no one will stand in my way. I'll use the almighty magic I gain to conquer and lead the world. I will be unstoppable. The end is near, pharaoh. It's my world now."

"Not yet, Marik…" He thrust out his hand, pointing at Devero. "I'm beginning to understand why Ishizu asked me to participate in this Battle City tournament. It's my destiny to stand between you and the powers you seek, and I will."

Devero chuckled. "Then your destiny is easier said than done, you jackass."

With that, Devero fainted, falling to the ground in a heap.

"Well, that was odd," Tristan said. "Is anyone hungry?"

"Now's not the time for jokes," Tea hissed.

Joey put his hand on Yugi's shoulder, turning him around. "You alright, Yug?"

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about what the future of this tournament holds."

"Don't worry about it. All of us are here to help. There's no way that Marik creep can beat all of us as long as we're here for each other."

"Hm. You're probably right."

Jericho cleared his throat, getting the group's attention. "Obviously today's been pretty crazy so far, but I think Tristan and Joey have the right idea. We can't be too stressed out about this. It'll just hinder our collective performance. So what I think we should do is relax and enjoy the tournament. Speaking of the tournament, I think we should split up."

Susan instantly objected to this idea. "How can you suggest splitting up when there's a madman after us?"

"I don't mean every one of us has to go their own way, but all of us sticking together in this large group is just as bad an idea. If we want to get locator cards and reach the finals, we need to branch out and find opponents. We can't do that if we're all in one big group. Nobody will wanna take on a gang of duelists, especially when Yugi and Joey are a part of it."

Susan moaned, silently admitting that he had a point.

"I'll go on my own," he finished. "I work better that way. Besides, we have our phones if we ever need help."

"I think I'll go solo, too," Scott said.

"Susan will stick with me, then," said Jacob. "There's no way I'm leaving her side after everything that's happened so far."

"As much as I'd like to stick with you guys, I gotta head out on my own as well," stated Joey.

"I'm going with you, buddy," Tristan said, stepping over to Joey.

"Tea, if you don't mind, I'd like to be on my own." Yugi held out his hand to the brunette, who hesitantly accepted and joined up with Joey and Tristan.

Cleaning his glasses off, Aaron inhaled and exhaled deeply. "That leaves just me, which is fine. Hopefully I will see all of you in the finals."

They said their goodbyes, then each headed in their own direction, hoping to claim victory and return with access to the tournament finals. The road ahead would be filled with obstacles and pot holes, though.

"How touching."

Putting his hands in his pants pockets, Kaiba spun and headed for the door.

"Come on, Mokuba. I'm going to duel."


End file.

Yu-Gi-Oh, Adventure, Supernatural