Narrator: Long ago, when the pyramids were still young; Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power—
Kaiba: HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!
We are NOT doing this same old Egyptian fairy tale! Let's skip over to the present time, where there are two brothers, twins to be exact, Atem and Yugi Muto. There will be no two-souls-sharing-one-body nonsense in this story, but there are Millennium Items.
Narrator: Very well… In the present, twin brothers, Atem and Yugi, are the last living descendants of the great King Yami, whom Atem greatly resembles. King Yami saved the world five millenniums ago and now… with the Shadow Games returning, it's time for Atem, his little brother Yugi, along with their friends, to take up the cards and finish what the Great Pharaoh started, five thousand years ago….
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bonds of Brotherhood
Series' theme song: One Card Short.
Life's just a game. We all wanna win.
Keep your hand a secret, unleash the monsters within!
Sometimes it's over before it's even begun.
If someone else gets hurt then, what have you really won?
I'm always one card short, always one day late!
For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate.
Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame.
I need just one more move, one final chance to prove
I can win this game.
Life's just a duel, that's how the world is made.
But are we really players, or are we being played?
I'm always one card short, always one day late!
For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate.
Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame.
I need just one more move, one final chance to prove
I can win this game.
One card short, one day late!
Give me somethin', somethin' to celebrate!
Stacked the deck myself so there's no one else to blame.
One more move I'm gonna win this game.
I'm gonna win this game.
I'm gonna win this game!
One more move, I'll win this game.
Episode One: The Skillful Dark Magician vs. The Blood Curdling Blue-Eyes White Dragon
At Domino High School during break, Yugi Muto was playing a friendly game of Duel Monsters with his best friend Joey Wheeler.
"It's your turn, Joey." Yugi stated, smiling pleasantly as he waited for Joey to make his move.
A taller, more-mature-looking Yugi by the name of Atem Muto was sitting between the two Duelists, watching the game with an air of interest. He likes to sit back, watch and see how his younger brother is progressing in his Dueling skills from time to time.
Joey sat there with his game face on; studying his hand—which looked a little painful on Joey's face, he looks as though thinking alone was giving him headaches.
Then Tristan came up and put an arm around Joey's neck.
"Hey, whatcha doing, Joey?" he asked.
"Don't tell me you don't know about Duel Monsters." Joey said smugly, but deep down, he was really annoyed.
"What's that?" asked Tristan.
"Quiet!" Joey said, now seriously annoyed as he shoved Tristan off. "Sit back and watch."
Tristan stumbled back and stood next to a girl called Téa. "Sheese!" he said.
"They've been at for hours," Téa said, "Joey's getting the hang of the game, but Yugi's like an expert."
"Actually, they've been at it for three minutes, Téa." Atem said, looking up at her. Then he turned his attention back to the game before him. "They only have a five-minute time limit on this Duel, and they only have two minutes left until break time is over."
"Oh…" Téa said, staring intensely at Atem and she blushed as she did sometimes when Atem speaks to her. Look at him… He's such a hottie! She thought with a dreamy expression. It's funny how Atem and Yugi are twins; Atem looks a few years older and a foot taller… He's the hot one while Yugi's the cute one…
"Alright, I'm ready, let's battle!" Joey said, playing Kagemusha of the Blue Flame (800 ATK) in attack position.
"You see," Téa said in explanation, mostly for Tristan's benefit. "Each monster has an attack number and a defense number. First player to eliminate his opponent's life points wins the Duel."
"Alright Yugi, it's your turn." Joey said with such self-confidence, that one would think he'd already won the Duel.
"That's pretty good move, Joey," Atem said encouragingly, he and Yugi both wanted Joey to get into this game, thinking it would do him some good. "But what do you have to back your monster up?"
"Huh?" Joey was puzzled, he look down at the Dueling mat and then at his hand. "What'd ya mean, Atem?"
Atem didn't say anything, but sighed as he decided to let Joey learn from his coming defeat. From experience, you learn after all…
Yugi smiled like a small child on Christmas morning as he replied: "Okay, my turn, huh? How about this one…" and he played Blackland Fire Dragon (1500 ATK) in attack position. "Attack!"
"WHAT?" Joey exclaimed. "You threw out that card like it was nothing. A strong card like that ends my game right there!"
"It's too weak, Joey." Téa said.
"Face it, you really stink at this game." Tristan stated, unintentionally attacking Joey's self-esteem again.
"He did fine for his first time, Tristan." Atem said. "But keep in mind that Joey is playing with a Starter Deck and Yugi is playing with modified Starter Deck, so he's got some stronger cards than what you'd get out of a regular Starter Deck."
"Oh," was all Tristan could say.
"Yep," said Yugi. "and our Grandpa owns his own game shop and we get all our best cards from him."
"But what if he has a card that you both want?" asked Téa.
"Then we Duel for it and the winner gets it." Yugi said. "But Atem plays like a super-pro; I haven't been able to beat him once!"
"I'm sure if you keep on playing to improve your Dueling skills, you'll beat me someday." Atem told his little brother kindly.
"Yeah?" Joey said "After class, let's go over to your place."
"Okay, and maybe I could get Grandpa to show us his super-rare card he's got."
In the dark corner of the classroom, Seto Kaiba glanced over at them from over the top of his textbook, thinking: Rare card? Could they have found the card I've been searching for?
After school, Atem and Yugi brought their three friends to their Grandpa's small game shop.
"Hey Gramps, we're home!" called Yugi.
"I see you two brought some friends today," Solomon Muto said, smiling pleasantly as the five of them approach the counter.
They all gathered around Grandpa at the counter. Atem, being a natural-born leader, stepped up to him.
"Grandpa, our friends would like to see your greatest card." Atem stated in a kind and respectful tone.
"Oh, you mean that card… Hmm…" Grandpa said, pretending to think it over.
Atem nodded and replied. "Yes, please."
"Please!" Yugi added, clapping his hands together as though praying.
Atem chuckles in amusement at his younger brother's childish behavior.
"Please show me," Joey added with a respectful bow.
Grandpa laughed. "Oh, how can I say no?" he took out a special collector's card case. "I don't take this out often…it's my treasure….and Atem's got his eye on this card," he said, glancing sideway at his elder grandson, who was eying the card in the case with longing. "Here it is," he said, holding the card up. "This is Blue-Eyes White Dragon. This is one super ultra-rare card!"
They were all very impressed with this card, including Atem, but Tristan who never really understood the value of cards, remains unimpressed as he made a grab for the card, but Atem, with amazing reflexes, seized Tristan's wrist to stop him from grabbing a priceless card unceremoniously.
"Don't touch, just look." Atem told him firmly, releasing his grip on Tristan's wrist.
"Right… Sorry." Tristan said, massaging his wrist. "But it doesn't look all that special to me…"
Grandpa held the card as though it were his newborn son. "This card is priceless! There are only four of them in the entire world!"
"Alright, I'll buy it!" Joey said, grinning.
Grandpa held his card to his chest. "I can't sell this!"
"Huh?" said Joey, looking slightly confused and then he smiled. "Nah, I couldn't afford that card anyway… I mean show me some other cool cards ta get me started."
Just then, the door opened and Seto Kaiba stood there. Everyone turned to see who was coming into their game shop.
"Kaiba," Atem said in slight surprise.
For some reason, Kaiba looks surprised to see Atem there too.
"Pharaoh, what are you doing in a dump like this?" Kaiba asked, looking around the shop with distaste.
"Pharaoh?" asked Téa, looking over at Atem for an explanation.
Everyone was looking at Atem now.
"It's a name I go by whenever I enter a Duel Monsters Tournament." Atem explained. He turned to Kaiba, who was in front of them now, having walked further into the shop during the exchanges. "And to answer your question, Kaiba; I live here. Now what do you want?"
It was clear to those around them that Atem and Kaiba are natural rivals; each considers the other their most fierce opponent in the game of Duel Monsters.
"I guess this is where you get such weak cards." Kaiba smirked. "So, does this store have any worthwhile cards lying around?" It was then that he spotted the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He ran forward, shoving Joey out of the way. "How the Blue-Eyes White Dragon end up in a place like this?" I never thought I'd lay eyes on the real article!
Grandpa shut the card case with a snap and said: "Time to put it away. This one is not for sale. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Kaiba glared at him, and then he swung his brief case onto the counter and opened it, to reveal a bunch of rare cards.
"Old man, I'll trade you all the cards here for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
All but Atem and Grandpa were impressed.
"But Kaiba, you've already got three Blue-Eyes in your Deck." Atem said. "What would you need this one for? Are you planning on building a spare deck with one Blue-Eyes in it?"
"Mind your own business; this is between me and the old man, so butt out!" Kaiba snapped
"This 'old man' is my Grandpa," Atem said, looking ready to Duel Kaiba on the spot. "And this is my home, so show some respect or I'll show you the door."
"That's quite enough, Atem." Grandpa said firmly and Atem wisely fell silence. "Haven't I taught you that you must earn respect, not demand it?"
"Yes, you have. Sorry, Grandpa." Atem said meekly.
Kaiba laughed. "No wonder you go under the name 'Pharaoh' when you enter a Duel Monsters tournament! Atem? What a joke!"
Atem glared. "Kaiba, do not push me," he warned in a low and fierce voice.
"Atem," Grandpa said warningly. Again Atem fell respectfully silence and Grandpa addressed Kaiba. "Mr. Kaiba, this card is not for sale or for trade. This card was given to me by a dear friend, and so I hold this card with as much value as I do my friend. And since you insulted my grandson, you can get out of my shop, boy. No matter what I was offered, I can never part with this card!"
"What did you say?" yelled Kaiba, looking horrified for some odd reason.
"You'd feel the same even if it were a weak card, right Gramps?" asked Yugi, completely oblivious to Kaiba's inner turmoil.
"Exactly," said Grandpa. "A treasure valued this much has a heart of its own."
Kaiba stood there, enraged. His fist shaking, then he slammed his brief case shut.
"I've heard enough, thanks." he said, exiting the shop. "Senile old fool!"
During the ride to Kaiba Corporation, Kaiba sat in the dark back seat, plotting to get his hands on the last Blue-Eyes.
Cards have hearts? That's ridiculous! Cards have power, nothing else! I will get that card for myself, just wait and see!
The next morning, Grandpa had just opened his shop for the day when three men in dark suits entered. The shortest of the three stepped forward so that the two taller men stood behind him like body guards.
"My master, Seto Kaiba challenges you to a Duel," he said. "You will come with us."
"And if I were… to decline?" Grandpa asked politely.
The short man's sunglasses flashed ominously as he replies: "We'll use force."
As he said it, the two taller men stepped forward to show that they would forcibly eject Grandpa from his own shop if he refused.
Young Kaiba does not understand, Grandpa thought. But I'll teach him a lesson about the Heart of the Cards.
Later….
Atem and Yugi returned home from school with their three friends. Atem stopped suddenly in the doorway and held out his arms to stop the others going in.
"What's wrong, Atem?" Téa asked, noticing how serious he looks.
"Something's not right." Atem said seriously, glancing around at the deserted shop. "Grandpa's not here and the door's unlock."
"Hey, you're right!" Yugi gasped. "It's not like Gramps to leave the store unattended and unlocked!"
"Yes, that is correct, Yugi," Atem said as they moved further into the door.
Yugi checked all their merchandises and announced that nothing was taken. Atem nodded in acknowledgement. Just then, the telephone rang and Atem rushed forward to answer it. He grabbed the receiver and yanked it off the hook.
"Hello, Grandpa?" he said hopefully.
"Ah, Pharaoh… perfect," said a voice.
"Kaiba!" Atem growled. "What do you want?"
"I'm keeping your grandfather for you, why don't you come by my building and pick him up?" And then with a click, the line went dead as Kaiba hung up.
"Kaiba, what have you done?" yelled Atem angrily. Receiving no answer, he slammed the receiver back on its' hook and turned to the others. "Kaiba's got Grandpa. And now we must go and get him."
The five of them rushed through the Kaiba Corp building and got into an elevator. When the doors slid open, they saw Grandpa lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway.
"Grandpa!" Yugi cried as he rushed forward with Atem hot on his heel. They both kneeled before their Grandfather.
"Grandpa, are you alright?" Atem asked.
Grandpa looked up at them with a pained expression.
"Atem, Yugi…I've failed you both," he groaned.
"What are you talking about, Grandpa?" Atem asked with deep concern as he held his Grandpa's hand.
"I wanted to teach that boy, Kaiba about the Heart of the Cards, but I lost." Grandpa wheezed; he seems to be having trouble breathing. Not a good sign.
"How's the old man feeling, hmm?"
Kaiba stood the doorway at the far end of the hall.
"Kaiba!" Atem shouted in anger. "What have you done to him?"
"We had a Duel, that's all." Kaiba said smugly. "With each of us putting our most valuable cards on the line. But I guess the virtual stimulator I've invented was just too much stimulation for him."
Téa pointed a finger of accusation at him and said: "You must have cheated!"
"Never!" Kaiba said, and he held up a card—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "And as proof, look at the card I've won." And then he quickly ripped the card in half, straight down the middle.
Everyone gasped.
"Grandpa's most valiant card!" Yugi exclaimed in horror.
"Since a Deck can only contain three of these cards, the fourth can become an enemy, so…" Kaiba said remorselessly, tossing the two halves of the card aside.
"Kaiba! That's ridiculous!" Atem shouted, outraged. "You could have used that card in a spare Deck. You didn't have to rip it up in front of our Grandfather!"
"Yeah, you're an idiot, Kaiba!" Téa shouted; she had tears in her eyes, thinking how cruel it must have been to Grandpa to see his treasured card destroyed before his very eyes.
"Dat's right, ya big jerk!" Joey put in, raising his fist at Kaiba. "He wasn't going ta use dat card, he was treasurin' it! So how can it become an enemy?"
Tristan looks as though he agreed with Joey as he nodded his head.
Grandpa reaches out to his most prized card with a shaking hand. "M-my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, my—my treasure…" he groaned again and Yugi's worries intensified as his grandpa appeared weaken by the destruction of his card.
"Grandpa, hold on." Yugi told him in a trembling voice, he was close to crying at that moment. He looks up at Kaiba with anger and tears in his eyes. "How could you do such a thing?"
"Atem, here, take this…." Grandpa said, holding up a Deck of cards to his eldest grandson, knowing full well that Atem is likely to Duel Kaiba on the spot.
"What? Grandpa, I…" Atem started to protest, but Grandpa spoke over him.
"I built this Deck, I put my soul in these cards and I taught you everything you know, Atem." Grandpa said. "Take my cards and teach him respect. You can show him the Heart of the Cards."
Atem took the Deck from Grandpa and looked through it. He saw that it contains monsters weaker and less effective than his own recently reconstructed Deck. Even Exodia didn't even prompt him to use this Deck.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa, but I can't use this." he said gently, handing the Deck back. "I'll just use my own Deck. Part of the Heart of the Cards is building your own Deck and having trust in your own ability to wield those cards, right?
"That's right, my boy." Grandpa coughed. "And I know you can do this, go show him what you're made of." He pushed the Deck Atem was holding to him away and said. "Give that to Yugi, my boy. After this, I'm retiring from Dueling for a while.
"Very well, I shall be thinking of you when I Duel, Grandpa." Atem turned to Yugi and handed him Grandpa's Deck and said. "You and the others take Grandpa to the hospital; I'll meet you there after I've dealt with Kaiba."
Without another word, Atem stood up and followed Kaiba into the Dueling Arena.
Outside Kaiba Corp, Yugi and his friends met the ambulance, Tristan carrying Grandpa piggybacked.
"Yugi, Tristan and I will go with your Grandpa to the hospital." Téa said. "You and Joey go support Atem."
"No, Téa, I'd rather be with my Grandpa right now." Yugi said seriously. "Besides, Atem's a really strong Duelist. He can take care of himself."
"Yugi's right, Téa." Joey said solemnly. "You three go with Gramps, I'll stay here and support Atem."
Atem and Kaiba took their places on opposite sides of the arena.
"We'll play by the special Kaiba rules and set life point at two thousand." Kaiba said as their platforms rises up and faced each other. "The first player whose life point hit zero, loses."
Atem smirked. "Heh, the rules are no different than our last Duel at the Domino Duel Monsters Tournament." He looked at Kaiba seriously. "Kaiba! You may have defeated me in our last Duel, but this time, I will defeat you! …For my Grandpa."
Kaiba smirked. "We'll see about that. I'll go first. Virtual system: on." The arena glowed around them as Kaiba drew the first card. "I summon the Hitotsu-Me Giant, in attack position."
A giant green, one-eye monster appeared on the field between the two Duelists.
Atem was startled. "The monster is taking on real form!" he gasped.
"This is my virtual stimulator." Kaiba said from behind his monster.
"You coward!" Atem spat in disgust. "You challenged my Grandpa to a Duel beyond his physical capability! You knew full well that his aging heart cannot handle that much virtual stimulation! And for that, Kaiba, I will show you no mercy."
"Well then, quit your yapping and take your turn already." Kaiba said impatiently.
"With pleasure." Atem said as he drew his first card. "I'll start with this card: Skilled Dark Magician, in attack mode!"
Skilled Dark Magician (1900 ATK) appeared on the field.
Kaiba was shocked at the Skilled Dark Magician's appearance.
"W-what's that? I've never even seen that card before!" Kaiba said.
"That's because this card is a new released card, it only just came out last week." Atem said. "It came in the new Spellcaster Booster Pack. Now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack!"
Skilled Dark Magician swung his staff around before pointing at Kaiba's monster, sending a magical shock-wave at it.
Hitotsu-Me Giant broke into pixel pieces as it was destroyed in battle.
Meanwhile, Joey ran into the stadium and stopped in his tracks. "Wha—? Monsters—real monsters?" at the same time Mokuba Kaiba ran into the stadium and cried out: "Big brother!"
Pharaoh: LP 2000
Kaiba: LP 1300
"I'll place one card face down and end my turn," Atem said, placing a card in the Spell/Trap card zone. "Your move, Kaiba."
Kaiba chuckles. "You think that just because you've improved your Deck, you're able to beat me? Think again!" he drew a card from his Deck. "I play Saggi the Dark Clown."
A clown monster appeared on the field, facing Skilled Dark Magician.
"Saggi the Dark Clown? Its' attack points is nothing!" Atem stated but at the same time, he wondered what Kaiba's true motives were. All he knew was that there was more to this clown than meets the eyes. "What are you up to?"
"True, your Skilled Dark Magician's attack is nineteen hundred, while my Dark Clown is only six hundred," Kaiba said. "But that's all about to change. I play an Equip Spell card, Axe of Despair, which adds one thousand attack points to my clown."
Saggi the Dark Clown grew larger with a new aura of power, dark and purple lightning flashed around in the aura of this clown's newfound power. Unnoticed by Kaiba, a sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's left shoulder glowed.
"I also play the Spell card, Black Pendant, which adds five hundred more attack points!"
Saggi the Dark Clown: ATK 2100
A sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's right shoulder glowed. This time, Kaiba noticed.
"What are those things?" he asked, pointing at Skilled Dark Magician.
"They're spell counters." Atem said shortly. "You'll learn what they do soon enough. Finish your move."
"Dark Clown, attack with dark light!" Kaiba ordered.
"Activate, Quick-Play Spell card: Mystical Space Typhoon!" Atem yelled out as he flipped over his spell card. "Destroys one Spell or Trap card on the field. And I chose... your Axe of Despair!"
Kaiba recoiled in shock. "No!"
Saggi the Dark Clown: ATK 1100
Skilled Dark Magician: ATK 1900
Skilled Dark Magician batted Saggi the Dark Clown's dark light aside with his staff and then raised it and sent his own form dark light at Saggi the Dark Clown, destroying him.
Kaiba grunted as his monster was destroyed.
"I end my turn," he said, and then he smiled. "But since Saggi the Dark Clown was destroyed while equipped with Black Pendant, you lose five hundred Life Points."
Pharaoh: LP 1500
Kaiba: LP 600
"Alright, it's my move now!" Atem declared as he drew a card from his Deck. "Now Kaiba, pay attention, you're about to learn about spell counters. Each time a player activates a Spell card, Skilled Dark Magician gains a spell counter. There can be no more than three spell counters on him at a time. Once he gets all three spell counters, I can activate his special ability. By sending him and his spell counters to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Dark Magician from my hand, Deck or Graveyard."
"Then that means…" Kaiba said with a scared look on his face.
"That's right, Kaiba." Atem said fiercely. "Skilled Dark Magician, I sacrifice you to activate your special ability!"
Skilled Dark Magician raised his staff high in both hands and struck the ground with it. A bright yellow circle, like the one in the background of the Dark Magician card appeared on the floor, encircling the Skilled Dark Magician. Then a hole appeared in the middle of the circle, and Skilled Dark Magician fell through it.
"Now, from my Deck, I summon my Dark Magician!" Atem shouted, removing Dark Magician from his Deck, placing him on the field and then shuffling his Deck.
A wizard in purple clothing and a pointed, crooked hat rose up through the hole from which Skilled Dark Magician has fallen. As the Dark Magician floated out of the hole and hovered above it, the hole closed up and sealed itself. As the Dark Magician's feet touched the ground, the yellow circle on the floor faded away.
"I play one card face down and end my turn." Atem said.
"My turn, I draw!" Kaiba said, pulling a card from his Deck and looking at it. And then, he laughed evilly. "This is it, Pharaoh! I'm going to crush your magician! I summon the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field with a mighty roar.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack!" Kaiba ordered. "White lightning!"
Blue-Eyes White Dragon: ATK 3000
Dark Magician: ATK 2500
The Blue-Eyes opened its mouth and shot a bolt of white lightning at the Dark Magician.
"You've triggered my trap card!" Atem declared, flipping one of his two face-down cards to reveal Shadow Spell. "Now your Blue-Eyes can't attack, and you can't change its battle position! Also, your dragon loses seven hundred attack points now."
Chains burst out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the white dragon, binding it. The dragon let out a helpless, weak roar. Seeing his dragon lying there, helpless affected Kaiba deeply, he stared at his dragon in despair, feeling that his dragon did not deserved this treatment from Atem and vowed vengeance.
"Pharaoh, I'm going to crush you!" Kaiba declared. "No one bounds my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and gets away with it! I place one card face down and end my turn."
"Alright, it's my move then." Atem stated, drawing a card. "Dark Magician, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon now. Dark magic attack!"
"I activate Negate Attack!" Kaiba yelled, flipping his Trap card face up. "This card negates Dark Magician's attack and ends your battle phase."
"Very well then, I place this one card face down and end my turn." Atem said, placing a card face down.
"My move," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "I activate the Spell card, Heavy Storm!'
A powerful wind swept the field, destroying all Spell and Trap card. The metal chains binding the Blue-Eyes down became very rusty and broke. Now free from the chains, the Blue-Eyes stood up and spread its' wings, letting out a mighty roar as it regains its' original attack points.
"And now…" Kaiba said, holding up another Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. "I summon my second Blue-Eyes."
A second white dragon appeared on the field next to the first.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Dark Magician!"
Atem grimaced and grunted. He watched with helplessness as his Dark Magician was hit head on by Blue-Eyes' white lightning and disappeared in the light, taking five hundred of Atem's Life Points with him.
"How the mighty have fallen…" Kaiba smirked, referring to the Dark Magician.
Pharaoh: 1000
Kaiba: 600
Atem said nothing as he drew his next card that turned out to be Kuriboh. This is useless; I can't defeat two Blue-Eyes with this card… He looked at the other two cards in his hand: Swords of Revealing Light and Obnoxious Celtic Guard. My only hope is to hold up a defense long enough for me to draw out the card I need to win this Duel…
"I set a monster in defense mode." Atem said, playing a face-down monster in defense position. "Next, I play Swords of Revealing Light!" Two dozen bright light swords appeared on Kaiba's side of the field. "Now you can't make any attacks against me for three turns."
"How desperate," Kaiba said cockily. "What good would a three-turn delay do you?"
"More than you could ever imagine, Kaiba." Atem replied with a poker-face smile. "That concludes my turn, your move."
Kaiba draws his card, and then laughed as he saw that he drew his final Blue-Eyes.
"It's over, Pharaoh!" Kaiba yelled triumphantly. "Behold, the monster unlike any you've ever seen! I activate the spell card, Polymerization! This fuses my two Blue-Eyes with the one in my hand." The three dragons merged to form a single three-headed dragon. "Here it is, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
Atem stared at the new dragon with a fierce look, as if telling Kaiba that he is fearless of him and his little pet dragon.
"Kaiba, Swords of Revealing Light is still in effect," Atem reminded him. "So your dragon will have to wait for its grand finale... My move!" he draws his card. "I play Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we each have six cards in our hands." They both drew their cards. "And now, I play Cards Destruction! Now we must throw away our entire hands and then redraw the number of cards we threw away."
"What are you up to?" Kaiba growled as he threw away and then drew his six cards.
"You're about to find out. I play Monster Reborn." Atem stated, "to bring back Dark Magician, in attack mode."
Kaiba smirked. "So you're going to have me destroy him all over again…"
"Not quite," Atem said with a smirk to rival Kaiba's. "I place four cards face-down and then…" he held up the Mage Power spell card for Kaiba to see. "I'll equip Dark Magician with this, Mage Power." He laid it down face-up on the field. "Now my Dark Magician gains an additional five hundred attack and defense points for each spell and trap card on my side of the field. And as you can see, there are five cards in my spell and trap card zone."
"Oh no, that means your monster is stronger now." Kaiba said, looking a little more than afraid.
"That's exactly what it means." Atem said before declaring his attack on the so-called 'ultimate' dragon. "Dark Magician, attack! Dark Magic Attack!"
Dark Magician: ATK 5000
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: ATK 4500
The Dark Magician flung his staff around before thrusting it forward toward the three-headed dragon, sending a powerful dark and purple wave at it.
"So much for your Ultimate dragon…" Atem smirked as the dragon shattered into pieces. "You now have one hundred Life Points left, so the end is near…"
Kaiba grimaced and growled, his fist shaking. "I will not lose!" he declared. "I won't lose to you, Pharaoh!" he draws his card. "I play Monster Reborn, to bring back Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Again?" Atem asked with a smirk. "My Dark Magician defeated that dragon once before and he'll do it again."
"I'm not done!" Kaiba yelled. "I play Megamorph, which doubles my dragon's attack power. Now, go Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack! Wipe him out!"
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: ATK 9000
Dark Magician: ATK 5000
Atem smirked. "You've just made a grave mistake, Kaiba, and that will cost you the Duel. Go, Trap card: Magic Cylinder!"
Kaiba gasped. "Wh-what's that?"
"This ultra-rare Trap card stops your attack and redirect it back at you!" Atem declared. "You lose, Kaiba!"
"NOOOO!" Kaiba screamed as the blast from his Ultimate dragon went into one cylinder and out the other, it flew directly at him, hitting him in the chest and his Life Points dropped to zero.
Pharaoh: LP 1000
Kaiba: LP 0
In the stands, Joey was celebrating while Mokuba despairs in his big brother's defeat.
"Aw yeah! Atem, you're da man! You've won!" Joey was yelling while Mokuba muttered on the other side of the stands: "Im-impossible! Big brother never loses!"
"You play only for power, Kaiba and that is why you lost." Atem said. "But if you put your heart in the game, there is nothing you can't do. That is what my Grandpa was trying to tell you when he was talking about the Heart of the Cards, you need to put your heart in your cards and in the game and duel with passion."
But Kaiba heard none of this speech, still muttering: "How could I lose to… to him?"
"Kaiba," Atem said, and then all of a sudden, the Millennium Puzzle glowed and the Eye of Wdjat glowed on his forehead. In that moment, he felt power surging through him and he sensed that he could remove evil from a person's heart along with an overwhelming temptation to do so. "This will crush the evil in you—Mind Crush!" He thrust out his hand and Kaiba's inner evil was shattered into pieces. Kaiba screamed and then fell to his knees. "Now the evil that has been poisoning your mind has been crushed to bits."
At the hospital, Grandpa opened his eyes.
Yugi, who was standing over him, gasped. "Grandpa's awake! Grandpa, are you alright?"
Grandpa smiled proudly up at the ceiling. "Atem won." He said.
In a dark room, a tall man in a red suit stood listening to his messenger as he held a wine glass in his hand.
"Mr. Pegasus, Seto Kaiba has been defeated in a Duel….by someone named 'Pharaoh'."
"Hmm." Pegasus said interestedly, his Millennium Eye flashing from beneath his silver hair….
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
I hope you like this first episode of my Yu-Gi-Oh! Series. I know some of the cards mentioned in this episode either didn't exist in the Duelist Kingdom era or aren't even real cards, but let's pretend they do, that's the whole purpose of fan fictions.
I have seen both the 4Kids' English dub of this episode (Heart of the Cards) and the uncut edition (The Blood Curdling Blue-Eyes White Dragon). I'm sure you've noticed dialogs from both the 4Kids' dub and the uncut edition in this story. That is because I'm using a mixture of both English editions, the uncut being closer to the original Japanese dialogues and the 4Kids being what most Americans are familiar with. I've only used the 4Kids' dialogs when it makes more sense in the conversations between characters.
This story was written because I've always felt that it would be better if Atem and Yugi were actual brothers than being two souls inhabiting one body. I've seen Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Syrus reminded me a little of Yugi—same eye shape and body build. To me, Zane is like a mixture of the Pharaoh and Kaiba. Cold and unemotional at times, yet very caring. Zane and Syrus's brotherhood is what inspires me to write a story of Atem and Yugi being brothers.
Anime animation/artwork choice for my series: the high-quality animation that was done for Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: The Pyramid of Light. All cards look like their real-life counterparts as they did in the movie. Outside school, Kaiba wears his white sleeveless, cape-like jacket. I like him in that outfit best, so in my series, he is wearing it even in the Duelist Kingdom era. I always love the movie's animation was a lot better than the television series, so when you visualize my series, imagine the characters in their movie animation
I do not know when I'll update and add the next episode, but rest assured that it will eventually come up. It may be awhile, because I have not seen all the uncut episodes or the original Japanese episodes, so I cannot compare the two versions of certain episode. If you know a site where I can read dialogs of Yu-Gi-Oh! Episodes, both 4Kids and uncut, (Not yu-jo Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode Guide, I already know that one well, and it doesn't give me the whole uncut dialogs) that would be very much appreciated! Till next time.