Introduction

It's been three months since the defeat of Prince Vlad, and many things have changed. Yugi continues to push himself to the very limit to improve his dueling skills, Joey and Mai are now living together, and Serenity has begun a relationship of her own.

But the small period of peace Yugi and his friends have enjoyed is about to come crashing to an end. Seto Kaiba has been driving himself insane in his ambition to dethrone the King of Games, but Kaiba is the least of their worries. An underground league of super rich gamblers that play with people's lives, led by a man who calls himself only Checkmate, has begun to move in on the game of Duel Monsters, and they would like nothing more than to see Yugi Moto fall. Can Yugi and his friends survive Checkmate's deadly game?

Greetings Weevil Underwood

I understand that you have a huge bone to pick with Yugi Moto. I can help you. It's about time this little do-gooder got his long over due rude awakening. If you are interested, then please make your way to the White King, the old game shop in Domino's sister city, tonight at midnight. Go to the door at the back and knock three times. The password is Little Pig.

Burn this when you're done. I'll be waiting.

A friend.

"Well… this looks like the place."

From the outside, the White King looked like any other game shop with a large oversized chess piece on the roof, but there was something dark about the place's atmosphere. It was on a dark deserted street. Weevil wouldn't normally go to a place like this in the middle of the night, but he was willing to do anything to get his revenge on Yugi Moto.

"Okay… The note said to go to the back."

Weevil made his way into the alley behind the shop. The door at the back looked like it was made of metal. He knocked on it three times, then much to his surprise, a video camera came out of the wall and looked at him.

"What's the password?"

"Little pig, let me in."

"You got it… Just push the door open."

Weevil started pulling on the handle, but to no avail.

"I said push!"

"Oh, sorry."

Weevil pushed against the door and it flew open. He found himself in an elevator that instantly started to go down and down and down.

"How deep is this thing?"

When Weevil finally reached the bottom the wall on the other side of the elevator opened. He found himself face to face with Rex Raptor and Bandit Keith.

"What the heck are you guys doing here?"

"What are we doing here? What about you?" said Rex

"Relax boys… You were all invited."

"Who said that? Show yourself!" said Keith.

"Calm down Mr. Howard. Don't you all remember what the letters said? I'm your friend."

"Howard? Your last name is Howard?" said Rex.

"Hey, shut it dino-breath! Dissing me is going to be hazardous to your health! And as for you, whoever you are, show yourself now or I'll…"

"Is that anyway to thank me for breaking you out of the insane asylum? Nevertheless I will show myself to you."

A huge spotlight lit up the room. Rex, Weevil, and Keith all found themselves standing on what looked like a giant chess board. The tiles were transparent and there was a huge pool beneath. But even more interesting was the man standing on the other side of the board. He was dressed head to toe in body armor that was white, gold, black, and silver. He was also wearing a cape that was white on the inside and black on the outside.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Rex "Some kind of renaissance carny?"

The man just laughed.

"Not even close… I am Checkmate… I trust you've heard of me Mr. Howard?"

"Wait a minute… You're… you're the head of an underground league of gamblers!"

"Not just any gamblers… the richest gamblers in the world!"

More lights came on. Keith, Rex, and Weevil found themselves in a room full of people, all dressed in simple masks and fancy clothes.

"Okay… So what do you want from us?" asked Keith.

"As you know, my friends and I are gamblers. Can a gold medal Olympic track runner outrun a panther? How long can a human being last when he's being burned alive? Can the smartest man alive find a way out of a no win scenario death trap? Now something else has caught our interest… Can even the King of Games… the great Yugi Moto… fall and fall hard?"

"Do you want those answered in specific order?"

"I would like all of you to help me see if little Yugi and his friends can be beaten, and in return… I will help tip the odds in your favor."

Checkmate snapped his fingers. Instantly three of his goons dressed in similar colored armor went up to Rex, Weevil, and Keith, and presented them with a box full of cards.

"WOW! Count me in!" said Rex.

"Once I'm done with him I'll be the new King of Games!" said Weevil.

"You got yourself a deal." said Keith.

"Very good… but you do know… this is more than about rare cards."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've selected you all because you all have motives, something that fuels you to take down your opponent. Mr. Underwood, you were once a regional Duel Monster's champion… but that was ages ago… You were defeated in the first round at the Duelist Kingdom Tournament by Yugi Moto, then at Battle City you were defeated by his best friend Joseph Wheeler. Ever since then you've been the butt of everyone's jokes… Mr. Raptor, you were a regional runner up, you lasted longer in the Duelist Kingdom tournament than your friend here, but then you were defeated by Mr. Wheeler, who until then was just an unknown rookie, and underdog. Ever since then it was all downhill for you. Mr. Howard, your were once the American and the intercontinental champion of Duel Monster. But then after the embarrassing defeat you were handed by Mr. Maximillion Pegasus you sank into a depression, and your defeat at the hands of Mr. Wheeler at Duelist Kingdom, and your most recent duel with him earned you a place in the asylum."

"Err… I'm going to kill that blonde haired bastard!" bellowed Keith.

Rex laughed.

"Pot, this is Kettle, come in over."

"What did you say?"

"Calm down boys… Rest assured, you'll all get a chance for revenge. But you'll all have more than rare cards and a thirst of vengeance to help you out, but more on that later. For now my men will escort you to your rooms."

After Keith and the others were gone some of Checkmates guests stood up.

"Do you really think those washed up has-beens have a chance of beating Yugi Moto and his friends?"

"Yeah, why don't you just face the King of Games yourself?"

"My dear friends, in the game of chess the pawns go first, and you save your best pieces for later. And rest assured I do have better pieces than those three."

The other gamblers calmed down.

"No one ever said it was going to be easy bringing down the great Yugi Moto… Can it really be done? Can even this legendary duelist survive the gauntlet that I'm about to throw for him? Ladies and gentlemen… place your bets."

(To be continued)