This is just a little something I have wanted to do out of the norm. Hope you all like it.
-x-
Domino City was packed with people of all ages which wasn't all that unusual. However, what was unusual was that in a certain area all the people there had Duel Disks. All these people had other things in common. They had all brought their decks with them and they had all been invited by Seto Kaiba. Some of them were pro duelists while others were simply infamous due to their skills or had a one of a kind deck.
One such person, who was just now arriving on the scene, was Jaden Yuki. It had been a year since he had left Duel Academy and since his last duel to save the world he had been on the road. He still had the large, wild brown hair that stood up. He had on a blue jacket, black shirt, and jeans. On his belt was a holder for his deck that hadn't really changed all that much except for the addition of Yubel. And, unseen to almost everyone, was Yubel and Winged Kuriboh.
It was funny. A week ago he was eating a can of beans on the side of the road when all of a sudden a postman just showed up and handed him a letter. He didn't really know what made him accept it, other than there would be free food afterwards. However, he felt deep down that something big was about to happen. Most likely the world would need to be saved or something like that.
"You're sure taking this well," said Yubel. Jaden smiled and turned to face the duel spirit that only he could see and hear. "I can sense it too. Something big is about to happen. Something that has me worried."
"You? Worried?" asked Jaden with a raised eyebrow. "That can't be good when you're worried. But who knows, it might just be fun!" Yubel sighed. After his duel against Yugi, Jaden had become a bit more like his old self. After they had fused together, Jaden had become so serious and gloomy at times so it was nice to see him smile and enjoy things again. However, there were times when she wished that he would think things through a bit more.
"That just means that you shouldn't let your guard down," said Yubel.
"Alright, I got it," whined Jaden.
"Hey Jaden!" yelled a familiar voice as Yubel vanished. Jaden turned to see a short kid running towards him with blue hair and glasses. He also had on a blue trench coat.
"Hey Syrus," said Jaden as his friend stopped in front of him. "How are the pros?" Syrus shrugged.
"I'm still only in the middle of the rankings," said Syrus. "So I take it you got an invitation too?"
"You bet," said Jaden as he pulled out his invite. Syrus nodded.
"Cool," he replied. "A lot of the old gang got them as well. They should be here as well. And Crowler is here as well. Not to mention her." The way Syrus said that last word was made Jaden flinch a bit. As he said it, his teeth seemed to grit.
"Ah, who is this person?" asked Jaden. Syrus looked around and then pointed at a girl who was sitting by a fountain. She had long purple hair that went down her back and wore a yellow short sleeved shirt that revealed her stomach and jeans. Her face was turned to the side and Jaden could see that she had green eyes.
"Her name is Stella Fairweather," said Syrus as he narrowed his eyes at her. "We're currently tied at the same rank in the pros and I don't like her one bit!"
"Ah, and why's that?" asked Jaden.
"Because she thinks that Dark Magician Girl is a stupid card," said Syrus. "How could anyone hate a duel monster that hot?! There is something wrong with her." Jaden just laughed it off. He remembered that his friend had a crush on that card and it was nice to see that some things never changed. He turned his attention back on Stella only to find that an Obelisk Blue student from Duel Academy had walked up to her. Behind him were two goons and someone even worse, a lawyer.
"I hear you're pretty good," he said in an arrogant tone. "I challenge you to a duel." Stella turned her head away.
"Get lost creep," she said. The jerk grinned.
"So does that mean you forfeit?" he asked. Stella turned her head to look at him. Her expression was clear that she was annoyed and getting really angry with him.
"If that's the way you want to look at it then yes, I forfeit," she said as she stood up. She then pointed in a random direction. "Now get lost you little creep!"
"Fine then," he said. He then nodded and his two goons went right up to Stella and grabbed her arms.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded. "Let me go!"
"I will," said the creep. "But only after I take your rarest card."
"What?" yelled the girl. Now the people around were watching and waiting to see what was going to happen next. The creep grinned.
"You agreed that you forfeited," he said. "And that's the same as a loss in my book so I'm entitled to your rarest card. And if anyone has a problem with that then you can take it up with my lawyer." The lawyer chuckled as she girl squirmed.
Jaden was about to do something when someone else began to walk towards them who looked to be around they're age. He, like Jaden, had brown eyes and hair yet his hair wasn't as big or wild. He wore a red trench coat with its sleeves rolled up to his elbow, black fingerless gloves, a white shirt, jeans, and black steel toe boots. Jaden also noted something about this guy that no one else could; he had a duel spirit. It looked like some kind of tiger in Roman armor.
"Sorry I'm late," he said with a smile. "I would have been here sooner, but I got caught up with some things. So Stella, friends of yours?"
"Do they look like my friends?" said Stella as she sweat dropped. "Do something Adam!"
"Fine, fine," said the person called Adam. He then turned towards the creep calmly. "How about we settle this with our cards? I win and you leave my friend alone." Adam then held up his deck. "But if you win then I'll give you my deck."
"I bet it's worthless," said the creep. "Just who are you anyways?"
"Me?" said Adam as he pointed to himself. "My name is Adam Pegasus." At that, everyone around gasped causing Adam to flinch. He was the adopted son of the man who created the game of Duel Monsters. He was known for being one of the few people in the world who had a one of a kind deck that no one else possessed like Aster Phoenix did with his Destiny Heroes.
"Well, well," said the creep. "Isn't this interesting. Very well! I, Reginald Van Howell III, accept your challenge." With that the two of them activated their Duel Disks and then inserted their decks after they had been shuffled. Both of their life points went up to 8000 as they drew five cards each. "I'll make the first move," announce Reggie as he drew a card. "I summon Warrior Lady of the Wasteland in defense mode." A moment later a woman who liked like something out of a western in a green outfit appeared in front of Reggie in a kneeling position. "I'll also place one card face down and end my turn."
"Not bad," said Adam calmly. Then his eyes narrowed as he drew a card. "I think I'll activate the field spell card known as Colosseum – Cage of the Gladiator Beast!" As soon as the card was set into the Duel Disk, ruins began to rise up from the earth. The ruins circled around the two duelists and soon it looked like they were in a Roman coliseum.
"What is this place?" asked Reggie quietly. Adam chuckled.
"I'm guessing you skipped all your history classes," he said. "This is where gladiators fought for their lives for the entertainment of others back in ancient times. And they will once again for I summon my Gladiator Beast Dimacari!" A second later there appeared a purple ox that stood on its hind legs. On its arms were gauntlets and floating around the monster were disks of some kind. "Now attack with Champion Slash!" As soon as that command was given, Dimacari ran right at the Warrior Lady as energy claws came out of his gauntlets. He then slashed at his opponent in an X pattern and then leapt back before the monster exploded.
"You fool!" shouted Reggie. "You just activated my monsters special ability! I can now summon a level four or lower monster that has 1500 or fewer attack points. So come on out Mataza the Zapper." Now a samurai appeared on Reggie's side of the field. At the same time, a part of the ruins began to glow and Dimacari gained 100 attack and defense points. "What's going on? Why is your monster getting stronger?!"
"Well my field spell isn't just for show," said Adam. "Let me explain, every time either of us special summons a monster this card will gain a counter. And for each counter that's on it my Gladiator Beast's gain 100 attack and defense points. And now I'll end my battle phase in order to activate my monsters special ability, Tag Summon!" Dimacari then turned around and seemed to walk away and then another monster seemed to walk into the field area. This new monster was a green, armored birdman that had launchers attached to both his arms. Another counter was then added to the field spell bringing the monsters attack points to 1700. "You see, whenever one of my Gladiator Beast's survive a battle they are allowed to return to my deck and then I get to special summon another monster as long as it has Gladiator Beast in its name. So meet my Gladiator Beast Bestiari! And when he is special summoned due to Tag Summoning I get to activate his special ability and destroy one of your spell or trap cards!" Bestiari raised his arm and then aimed for the only spell or trap card on Reggie's side of the field. The monster then fired an arrow from its launcher that hit the face down card.
"What?" yelled Reggie as his Call of the Haunted was destroyed. "You'll pay for that!"
"I'm not so sure about that," said Adam. "I'll then place two cards face down and end my turn."
"Finally," said Reggie as he drew a card. "I activate my Fusion Sword Murasame Blade. This will give my Mataza the Zapper an extra 800 attack points giving it a grand total of 2100. And guess what loser, I can attack twice."
"You don't have to be a jerk about it," said Adam.
"Please," said Reggie. "That's what this game is all about. Now attack!" Mataza the Zapper then charged at the birdman with his new sword.
"I activate my trap card: Defense Tactics," announced Adam. Bestiari then got into a guarding position and blocked the attack. "This trap not only keeps my Gladiator Beast's from being destroyed but I also take no damage. The best part is that it goes right to the bottom on my deck afterwards."
"Fine, whatever," growled Reggie. "I end my battle phase." As soon as Reggie said that, Bestiari walked away and was then replaced with another monster. This time it was an armored lizard that looked more like a cartoon character than a warrior. The lizard man seemed to have small cannons floating behind his back, aimed at Reggie. Its original attack points were at 400 but then shot up to 700 due to another counter being placed on the field spell card.
"Allow me to introduce Gladiator Beast Secutor," said Adam. "And while I'm at it, I'll active my trap card: Double Tag Team. This trap card allows me to special summon one level four or lower Gladiator Beast from my deck or hand. So I'll choose Gladiator Beast Darius." Now a horse man appeared on the field wearing orange armor and holding a whip. As soon as he appeared another counter was added bringing him to 2100 attack points and Secutor to 800.
"Fine," growled Reggie. "I place one card face down and end my turn."
"Alright," said Adam as he drew a card. He stared at it for a moment and then grinned. "I special summon my best buddy, Test Tiger." With that, Adam's duel spirit appeared on the field and then another counter was added to it for a grand total of five. "Now I activate the special ability of my Test Tiger. By sending it to the graveyard, I can activate a Tag Summoning for one of the monsters on my field. And I pick Gladiator Beast Secutor!" Test Tiger vanished from the field in a golden light and then Secutor walked away. This time, a blue fish man walked onto the field who had two cannons on his back that looked like seashells. But he wasn't alone because Gladiator Beast Dimacari also walked back on the field as two more counters were added to the field spell card giving it a grand total of seven.
"Hey, what gives?" demanded Reggie. "How come you got two monsters instead of one?!"
"Special ability," said Adam as he waved a finger at Reggie. "You see, when Gladiator Beast Secutor is Tag Summoned, its special ability activates which allows me to Tag Summon two monsters when it tags in. Now I can activate the special ability of Gladiator Beast Murmillo which allows me to destroy one of your monsters! And I pick the only one you have: Mataza the Zapper!" The fish man then aimed his giant seashell cannons at the samurai and fired two powerful streams of water that him and destroyed him. "Now I attack you directly with Gladiator Beast Murmillo!" Once again Murmillo fired two streams of water at Reggie and brought his life points down to 6500. "You're up next Gladiator Beast Dimacari. And his special ability when he is Tag Summoned is that he can attack twice!"
"Say what?!" yelled Reggie as the purple ox charged at him. The monster attacked him with 2300 attack points which lowered Reggie's life points to 4200. The ox slashed at him again and now Reggie was down to 1900.
"Now finish this duel Gladiator Beast Darius!" commanded Adam. The horse man nodded and slashed at Reggie with his whip causing 2400 points of damage. Needless to say that Reggie's life hit zero and the spoiled teen feel to the ground.
"Why you," growled Reggie as he looked up at the teen who beat him. Whatever serious look was gone from Adam's face and he stood there with a grin on his face while scratching the back of his head.
"Wow, I can't believe I won," he said.
"I demand a rematch," said Reggie as he got up on his feet. "I had a bad hand, that's all!"
"Maybe some other time," replied Adam. "But maybe in the future you'll be more polite and a better sport." Reggie was about to say something, but stopped himself. He looked around and saw almost all the duelist in the area was watching him. They dared him to try something. Realizing that whatever intimidation he had when he came here was gone, Reggie decided it would be better to leave now and come back another time.
"Sweet duel," said Jaden as he and Syrus walked over to Adam and Stella. Stella looked at Jaden and blushed. Yet, when she saw Syrus, she raised her head and looked away. Syrus simply turned his back on her. "Ha ha, sorry about my friend."
"I know how you feel," replied Adam as he offered his hand. Jaden accepted it and as the two shook, their duel spirits appeared. "So, you have spirits as well. And might I add a very attractive one as well."
"Sorry, but I'm already taken," replied Yubel with a teasing smile.
"I'm Jaden Yuki," said Jaden.
"I'm Adam Pegasus," said Adam. "And it's lucky for me that I happen to run into to you."
"Why's that?" asked Jaden.
"My dad asked me to find you since you helped him out with the missing Ra card awhile back," replied Adam. "Someone has revived the Rare Hunters."
"The Rare Who?" asked Jaden. Adam sighed as a bored look appeared on his face.
"They were this group that went around stealing rare cards and selling them," Adam explained. "In fact, their former leader once held two of the three Egyptian God cards until Yugi defeated him."
"Oh yeah, I remember that," said Jaden.
"Well this new group is planning something," said Adam. "They aren't just taking cards, but souls and duel energy as well."
"So did you gather all these people to stop them?" asked Jaden. Adam shook his head.
"Nope," he replied. "This is just the bait."
"The what?" asked Syrus. Then, as if on cue, Seto Kaiba appeared on all of the large screen TVs.
"Welcome all duelists," said Kaiba as he got the attention of every duelist on the ground. "I am proud to announce that the Duel City Tournament will be held once again. The rules will be the same as last time, duel each other and collect locator cards that will point you to where the finals will be held. Also, in addition to a locator card, the loser must give up their rarest card!
"Now, to spice things up, the finalist will each receive a one of a kind dragon card that will be designed just for them. Also, the winner of this tournament will go on to face the King of Games in a title match. So at 9 AM tomorrow let the games begin!"