Hey, everyone. It's DawnStoneSlifer here! (One of the owners of this joint account) We're glad you're enjoying the story so far, and we hope you continue to enjoy it as the chapters go on. We've been planning this fic since October last year, so it's safe to say that a lot of thought has gone into writing this fic.

Anyway, we hope you like the next chapter!

~DawnStoneSlifer~


"I'm fine, seriously. Let go of me," Elise swiped at the hand which was currently grasping her right arm. Surprisingly the hand loosened it's grip on her slightly.

"Sorry. Are you alright?"

Elise looked up into the concerned eyes of none other than the infamous Yugi Muto.

Only moments before, Elise had been looking down at the intense battle, admiring Yugi's strategic planning in using his opponents greatest strength against him. She'd watched as the holographic image of Slifer the Sky dragon shattered, symbolizing the end of the duel.

Elise had felt a wave of warmth wash over her, resting in her abdomen. Thinking that it was relief for Yugi's sake, she ignored it and made to stand from her seated position on the ground. That was when the blood rushed to her head and she couldn't tell up from down.

Without realising, Elise had stepped off the bank and down the steep hill. A few short moments of pain and disorientation later, and she found herself crumpled on the ground a few short paces away from Yugi, who instantly rushed to help after seeing her fall.

"Seriously, I'm good...just stood up too quickly, is all," Elise managed to ground herself, enough so the world stopped spinning.

Now she was standing up in front of him, Yugi - although the spirit of the Puzzle was currently controlling his body - could actually focus on her, his eyes darting from the Duel Disk on her right arm, to the tattoo's up her left. He also took in her brown hair which was pulled into a ponytail, with a few bangs framing her face. Her deep brown eyes locked onto him as she caught him looking at her.

"Elise Griffin?" Yami found himself asking out loud. He remembered his and Mai's conversation earlier on, and the name seemed to fit right in with the young woman standing in front of him. She seemed unique; sporting an unusual left-handed Duel Disk, not to mention the determination in her eyes seemed to suggest she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Huh? How do you know my name?" Elise felt her face flush. She liked to think it was due to being light-headed, but the way this boy had just looked into her eyes made her body tremble. She already felt woozy again, even though she definitely hadn't stood up too quickly just now. She glanced across to Kaiba who was strolling down the bank towards them. Had he told this boy who she was? No, that wouldn't be it; Kaiba wasn't one to talk about other people. Before Yami could answer her question, both Mokuba and Kaiba had reached them, the younger Kaiba holding two cards out for Yugi to take.

"Yugi. So you figured out how to defeat Slifer the Sky Dragon. Well done," Kaiba said patronizingly, "It's a real shame you won't have it for too long."

"Why not?"

"Because you and I are going to Duel for it right now," Kaiba almost threatened Yugi with this request. His tone offered no compromise, and his stubbornness would never let him back down once he wanted something.

"Then when I defeat you, Slifer the Sky Dragon will be where it belongs. In my deck. You see, I'm already in possession of one of the Egyptian God cards, and I plan to win the others. Now, it's time to duel! Once I win Slifer from you, I'll only need one more, then I'll be the number one duelist in the world!" As Kaiba rattled on, Elise rolled her eyes at his typical selfish nature. Yami let out a low growl in response to show his unwillingness to participate in this duel.

At this moment Yugi's opponent started talking again. Elise tried to follow what was being said, but there wasn't enough context to understand the situation that revolved around this young man standing feet away from her. She could understand the threat on Yugi's friends however, and so she did understand his outburst about leaving his friends out of this. His boldness about defending his friends even in the face of a very strong enemy made Elise's heart ache a little.

She'd never known strength like that, and certainly not from the tall man who hadn't even spared her a glance since the end of the duel.

Elise tore her eyes away from Kaiba's figure, in time to see Strings fall to the ground motionless, as if he had instantly fallen asleep, yet she felt the situation was a little more menacing that that.

"I must go now," Yami barked towards the taller man, "Our duel can wait."

He turned his gaze upon Elise, hesitant to leave the girl unattended; no matter how much she reassured him she was fine, her pale complexion and weary eyes said otherwise. Just as he was about to invite her along, rather than leave her on her own, she looked up and met his gaze.

"Are you gonna stand there all day, when it's pretty clear you have somewhere more important to be?" Elise snapped, "Don't think I'll be coming along, running around this giant place. I have better things to do."

"Well...okay then. See you around, I guess." Yami held out his hand to shake Elise's, but not before Kaiba grabbed his shoulder and shoved him in the other direction.

"We don't have time for formalities Yugi, we need to go. I'm not going to let you run away from me. First chance we get I'm going to take Slifer away from you."

Kaiba shot a glare back towards Elise, before taking off after Yami and Mokuba.


Once they were a safe enough distance away, Elise let out a shaky sigh, and slid to her knees on the ground. All reason for remaining upright for appearances gone, she was able to truly feel the discomfort settling itself within her body. Had she eaten something earlier that day to make her feel like this? Was it a bug maybe?

Before Elise could get to the bottom of how she felt, she heard commotion coming from the sidewalk where she had originally watched Yugi's duel. There were some new figures looking down; first at the motionless, spread-eagle figure of String's, and then next at her hunched over figure.

"Oh shit," she muttered, as she thought about what this scene could look like.

"Hey you! Are you alright? What happened here?" An abrasive voice met her ears, and it seemed to come from the boy who was currently running towards her. Groaning with effort, Elise made to stand, not wishing to show weakness in front of these strangers.

On top of the boy who had just spoken, there was a young girl and an old man running in tow. Wanting nothing more than to avoid these people, she turned to leave. That was until she spotted the Duel Disk attached to the boy's arm.

Looking down at her own, she grinned - what better to take her mind off things, than with a good duel. She was already itching to since watching Yugi's, and besides, she needed to gather the remaining four locator cards to reach the Finals, in order to take on Kaiba. Not to mention that after his lack of interest towards her moments ago, she wanted nothing more than to crush him in a duel and make him notice her.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" Now only meters away, the boy slowed down, and Elise was able to take in the rest of his appearance. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with a light blue jacket, giving him a casual look, but made scruffy by his dirty blonde hair.

"What happened here?" The girl now spoke up, seeming genuinely worried about the limp form of Strings.

"A duel happened, that's what," Elise shrugged, not wishing to delve into specifics.

"What, so he beat you and you decided to teach him a lesson for it!?" The boy was now pointing his finger aggressively at Elise.

"Now, now, Joey. Let's not jump to conclusions. Besides, this young lady is unlikely to be losing many of her duels," The old man spoke up once he had scrutinized Elise and noticed the tattoos along her arm.

"Nyeh?! Whaddaya mean, Grandpa?"

"Only that this lady standing in front of you is none other than Elise Griffin, a travelling duelist who has won many many tournaments on her journey. I'd say she would give even my young Yugi a run for his money!"

"You're kidding me!" The boy, Joey, exclaimed, now with a hint of excitement rather than accusation.

"Not sure about that, after what I've just seen. But I can hold my own in a duel, that's for sure."

"Hey, do you mean Yugi was just here?" Tea stepped forward.

"Yeah, he just ran off with Kaiba and Mokuba. I don't know where, though. He said something about finding his friends," Elise shrugged.

"Do you think he already has six locator cards? Nah, surely not! Ah! I want to get all of mine so we can go to the finals together. I just need two more! That's all!"

Joey seemed to be getting more frustrated as he went along, even going so far as to reach in his back pocket to show off his locator cards, as if to make sure he still had them.

Elise couldn't help but smirk. How perfect; if she handled this correctly she could be four locator cards up within half an hour, tops.

"I can help you out, Joey is it?" Elise spoke up, "As it happens I have two locator cards," She retrieved them from her backpack, "How about an all or nothing duel?"

"An all...or nothing?" Joey's face dropped as he tried to wrap his mind around this new challenge. "So if I win..."

"You get both of my cards, plus my rarest card from my deck. But...if I win..."

"Then I won't ever get to the final..."

"Nope, and I understand, it's a big risk and all. Plus with me being a more experienced duelist, I would understand if you want to back out. I'm sorry for even suggesting it in the first place."

Elise couldn't even keep the smile off her face. Joey's reaction was exactly as she planned. He instantly started saying that he was as good a duelist as she was and he could beat her in no time.

"Well then, let's duel!" Elise held out her right arm to activate her duel disk. Joey mimicked her, ignoring Tea's plea to forget dueling and to find Yugi.

"You're on, Elise. You haven't dueled anyone like me yet, and as I'm such a gentleman, you can go first."

Joey - 4000LP Elise - 4000LP

"Fine by me, but you'll regret that," Elise smiled, drawing her initial 5 cards, and then one extra. Her cards never failed her, offering her countless combinations meaning she always had strong cards for offense and defense.

"I lay two cards face down, and summon Achacha Archer (ATK1200/DEF600) in attack mode! And if you pay attention, Joey, my monsters effect inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points when it is normal or flip summoned! And with that I end my turn!" Elise smiled, the comfort of dueling almost making her feel back to normal again.

Joey - 3500LP Elise - 4000LP

"So what, I lost 500 life points. Big deal, it's nothing to what you're going to lose when I've made my move! I lay one card face down and then summon my Alligator's Sword (ATK1500/DEF1200) in attack mode! Now Alligator, attack her Archer!"

Joey - 3500LP Elise - 3700LP

"My turn! I summon Royal Knight (ATK1300/DEF800) in attack mode!"

"Ha? That monster isn't strong enough to destroy mine. You sure you're a decent duelist?"

"Quite sure Joey, thank you. I activate the equip spell, Malevolent Nuzzler, which increases my monsters attack by 700 points, making my monsters total attack point 2000, more than enough to destroy your monster! Royal Knight attack! Not only do you lose 500 points due to battle damage, but my Royal Knight's effect means I get to increase my life points by the defense points of any monster destroyed by battle with this card. How's that for you, beginner?"

Joey - 3000LP Elise - 4900LP

"Oh wow, She's really packing a punch, and it's only her second turn!" Tea couldn't help but admire Elise's dueling technique; there was something about it that Tea rarely saw in duels, and she had seen enough of them lately.

"Elise's strategy is certainly unusual. She never tributes her monsters to summon stronger ones, and instead focuses on using equip spell cards to strengthen her own monsters. At least, that's what I've gathered from watching her duels on TV," Grandpa spoke up. He'd always had an admiration for Elise's battle style whenever he had seen one of her duels. He could sense that her heart was in her deck, which was why it rarely failed her in a duel.

"So how much chance does Joey actually have?" Tea spoke up uncertainly.

"Hey! I can hear you!" Joey called out angrily. He knew he had to regain some ground, especially since Elise now had a monster with 2000 attack out on the field. He reached out to draw a card from his deck, hoping that it would be something useful for him.

"Alright! Check this out, Elise. I play Panther Warrior (ATK2000/DEF1600) in attack mode. Now, my Panther warrior can't attack unless I tribute a monster, so I activate Scapegoat! Now Panther warrior can attack when I tribute one of my goats! What's that you're thinking? My monster still isn't strong enough to destroy your monster? Well think again, because I activate Graceful Dice!" For once, Joey didn't need any luck with this card, even the lowest roll would give his Panther Warrior enough attack points to destroy her Royal Knight.

"Ha! I rolled a 4, giving my Panther Warrior an extra 400 attack points, so now Panther Warrior attack her Royal Knight!"

"Not bad Joey, my monster is destroyed."

Joey - 3000LP Elise - 4000LP

"Hey, why did your life points drop 900 points? You should have only lost 400, not that I'm complaining or anything."

"True, I did only lose 400 from battle damage, yet I can give up 500 of my life points to place my Malevolent Nuzzler back onto the top of my deck if it is ever sent to the graveyard," Elise smiled, already forming a plan for her next turn in her mind. Not bothering to look at her drawn card, as she knew what it would be, she instead focused on selecting her next monster to summon.

"Get ready to say good bye to your Panther Warrior, Joey. I summon Schwarzschild Limit Dragon (ATK2000/DEF0) in attack mode!"

"Hey, you can't do that! That's a level 8 monster and you didn't tribute to summon it! Everyone knows that!"

"Yes, but not everyone knows my dragon's special ability, it seems. If my opponent has a monster with 2000 or more attack points on the field, I can special summon this card from my hand. I'll also equip my Malevolent Nuzzler, making my Dragons attack points 2700. Now Schwarzschild, attack his Panther Warrior!"

"Nyehhh, My Panther Warrior!"

Joey - 2300LP Elise - 4000LP

Elise wanted to laugh; this was so easy. Just as she was about to gloat, she felt light-headed and could hardly see the cards in her hand as her vision blurred. She tried to take a deep breath to get some air, but her chest seemed to tighten, and it felt like a snake was constricting her windpipe. The discomfort had returned in her abdomen, along with an itching sensation on her left hip.

"Hey, is Elise okay? She seems out of it," Tea glanced across to the duelist who seemed to be struggling to stay standing.

"I don't know Tea, maybe we should stop the duel. After all, she wasn't exactly in top condition when we first met her," Grandpa turned to Joey, ready to call out to stop the duel, when Elise shouted out.

"Make your move, Joey!"

Joey, who seemed to have had eyes only for the cards in his hand, grimaced. He didn't know how to get out of this one with the cards in his hand.

"I throw a monster in defence mode and end m-" Before he could finish, Elise cut him off.

"Stop right there! I activate my trap card, Just Desserts! It inflicts 500 points of damage to you for every monster on your side of the field. I make that 4 monsters, inflicting a total of 2000 life points to you!"

Joey - 300LP Elise - 4000LP

"Aw man, I'm one attack away from being defeated! Ehh... I end my turn!"

Elise sighed. She needed to be out of here as soon as possible. She could at least breathe now, but her side felt like a hot branding iron was pressing against her skin. She couldn't hold on much longer, she needed to finish him off now.

Drawing her next card, she almost smiled at her luck. Just the card she needed for a quick finish! But, as she moved to insert the spell card into her duel disk, a searing jolt of pain shot through her body, resting in her side. Crying out in pain, Elise fell to her knees, eyes and fists clenched, her cards fluttering to the floor, forgotten. There was only one thing she could think to do to end the match, and her body did it before she could stop herself. Hand hovering over the remainder of her deck, she surrendered. With the duel deck disengaged, she detached it from her arm and slumped to the floor.

"Elise! Elise! ELISE!" She heard shouting, but didn't register it properly. Now the duel was over, she seemed to be more aware of her body, and the only place that was still hurting was the skin on her hip. She stretched her fingers to caress the spot on her hip under her t-shirt, but it felt like a blast of ice, which only aggravated the pain even more. The others had now reached her, and she peered up through a crack in her eyelids.

"Elise, what happened? How can we help?" It was Tea's voice who spoke up first, and she felt a hand press against her forehead.

"She's burning up, I'll call an ambulance."

"No..." Elise groaned. She was already feeling better, and the last place she wanted to be was in the hospital. They always asked way too many questions for her liking.

"But Elise..." Grandpa started, yet when he caught the look of determination on Elise's face, he knew she wouldn't be going to the hospital willingly any time soon.

"Hang on," Tea's voice sounded as the girl seemed to run a few paces away.

When her footsteps returned Elise felt something cold press against her forehead.

"I dampened a spare handkerchief I had. At least accept that if you won't go to the hospital."

"Th- Thank you," Elise wanted nothing more than to take the cool fabric and place it on her hip, but she wasn't prepared to show any more weakness. With this resolve, she forced herself into a seated position and looked around. She noticed Joey had been unusually quiet, and when she found him standing a few paces away, she understood why. He had picked up her fallen hand and was looking at one card in particular, a deep frown forming on his face the more he looked at it.

"You could've won. That turn, you had the card..." Joey muttered, no louder than a whisper.

"Huh, Joey? What are you saying? Elise, did you surrender when you could have won?" Tea was looking between the two.

"That's exactly what happened, Tea. Elise had Ookazi; it inflicts 800 damage to the opponents life points. I only had 300 points left. So, I want to know why. Is it some game you like playing? Messin' with people's minds, or..."

"Joey, stop it! Elise obviously needed the duel to end. Stop being so insensitive," Tea scolded.

"Oh...sorry, Elise, I just got caught up... I mean I just lost to you, big time." Joey knelt down and handed Elise her cards back, "How are you feelin'?"

"Better, thanks." Elise accepted the cards and placed them in her duel disk. She then reached in her back pocket for her locator cards, and then picked one card from her deck. She knew which one was her rarest card, it was the most dog-eared, yet also the one closest to her heart. It pained her more than any physical pain to hand it over, but a deal was a deal.

"Here, your prize."

"No. I don't want them. You won, you should be taking my best card along with the locator cards." Joey shook his head and pushed her hand away from him.

"Hey! I finally found you guys!" A new voice interrupted the silence that had settled between the two duelists. Everyone turned their head, to see a woman's figure waving at them from a car on the road. As they watched, the vehicle came to a halt and the figure stepped out, and began to make her way towards them.

Elise thought she'd seen her somewhere before, and once the woman got a bit closer, Elise could see her left arm was supporting a KaibaCorp Duel Disk.

"Mai! Were you looking for us?" Joey was now standing, waiting to meet with the newcomer. Both Tea and Grandpa seemed to welcome her as well, they obviously all knew each other.

"I've just seen Yugi and the Kaiba brothers heading downtown, they looked like they were in a rush. Yugi shouted something about finding you guys, so I thought I'd look for you too. Oh, who is this?" Mai had now reached the group and spotted Elise's figure on the floor.

"Elise Griffin; meet Mai Valentin-" Joey began.

"Save it, Joseph. we've already met. Right, Elise?" Mai winked, "Don't tell me you and Joey just dueled? Tell me you wiped the floor with him, right? Ha!"

"Hey Mai, that ain't fair! And where have you two met before, anyway?"

"Oh, we've competed in several tournaments now. When was the last one, Elise? Paris wasn't it, Hun?"

"Now you're just showing off, Mai. Besides, we have bigger things to deal with right now. Which way was Yug heading? We gotta find him, right Tea?"

"Yeah sure, but what about Elise? We can't leave her..." Tea looked across at Elise who had packed everything away in her backpack, including her duel disk.

"I'm fine, Tea, really," Elise didn't have to lie. The pain had all but left her and she had enough strength to push herself to her feet. Just as long as she didn't do anything strenuous, she was sure this thing... whatever it was, would pass.

"Joey, at least take my locator cards. I.. I don't want to duel any more today, which means I'd never make it to the finals anyway."

"Go on, Joey, you might as well, it's not like you'll win them any other way!" Mai chuckled. She'd missed winding Joey up in the gap between Duelist Kingdom and the start of Battle City.

"Mai..." Joey growled, yet he did accept the cards from Elise all the same.

"Right, now why don't you three," Mai gestured to Joey, Tea and Grandpa, "Go find Yugi, while me and Elise have a much needed catch up session. Besides, Elise and I hardly want to go running round the city, we are girls after all," Mai laughed. "Of course, Tea is as well, but if you hang round with boys, you're expected to act like them, am I right?"

"Okay, deal. We'll catch up with you later. See you, Elise." Joey waved goodbye and started running in the same direction that Yugi and Kaiba had departed earlier.

"Take care, Elise."

"Bye."

Tea and Grandpa started after Joey with a quick wave goodbye.

"Well, that's those wimps taken care of. Come on, Elise. You look as white as a sheet. Oh, and I hope you don't mind fast cars, Hun."


Well, here's chapter 2 for you! And, just a heads up, this is going to be a Yami Yugi X OC fic. The more you know :)

Thanks for reading.