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The Grand Tournament
Fanfic Chapter 234: Prelude to Danger Pt 1: Computer Glitch
Episode Basis: Unwanted Guests Pt 1
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! The gang was having some well-earned R&R at Amara's grandpa's dude ranch. Everyone felt that after the harrowing ordeal of the Seal of Orichalcos and the Doma Group, they deserved it. Even Yami agreed to holding off on recovering his identity for a little vacation. But as they ate, played, and reflected on the past week, their laid-back spirits became panicked when they realized that they had no way to get back home. And to add oil to the inferno, a Kaiba Corp. helicopter appeared. So much for their vacation.
The helicopter slowly touched down in the open field outside the perimeter of the dude ranch. Everyone ran to the edge of the property. "What could Kaiba want with us?" Yugi asked.
"Knowing Kaiba, he probably wants to charge us for riding in his helicopter," Joey said sarcastically. Amara stabbed him in the foot.
Luckily for them (and Joey in particular) the Kaiba that stepped from the helicopter was Mokuba Kaiba along with the Kaibas' manservant, Roland. Yugi explained their predicament. "So you guys looking for a lift, huh? Good thing I came along then."
"Thanks, Mokuba," Harold began but Amara clamped his mouth shut.
"What's the catch?" She asked suspiciously. "Nothing comes free, there must be a catch."
"Well there is," Mokuba said scratching his head in embarrassment. "You have to agree to participate in my Brother's new tournament."
"New tournament?" Everyone asked.
Everyone adjourned inside the main lodge where Mokuba explained, "You see, things haven't exactly been easy since we got our company back from the Doma Group…"
(The Previous Day)
With Kaiba Corp.'s USA branch destroyed, Kaiba, Mokuba, and the surviving Kaiba Corp. staff (those who weren't laid off by the takeover by the Doma Group) had to set up shop in a skyscraper. And as usual, Kaiba was nonplussed.
"Thanks to that maniac Dartz, Kaiba Corp.'s in shambles," he complained to Mokuba and Roland. "Massive lay-offs, stock in the gutters…" He cupped his fist and rested his elbows on his desk. "And I don't even want to think about the PR disaster the monster scare started." He turned to Roland, "I'll leave PR control to you."
"Yes, sir."
"This couldn't have come at a worse time," Mokuba commented, "Just as we were about to open up Kaiba Land."
"I know, we need something to get the public to trust us again."
"I have an idea," Mokuba said. "We should plan a big event to celebrate the opening of Kaiba Corp; that would get the public interested in us again."
"Good idea, Mokuba," Kaiba said as he worked his computer. "And I think I know what, the ultimate Duel Monsters tournament."
"Yeah," Mokuba said excited. "We invite the greatest Duelists from around the world and have them compete for the title. It'll be the biggest thing since Battle City!"
Kaiba turned to Roland, "What is the status of Internet registration?"
"So far, none of the people we've invited had turned us down," Roland reported.
"Excellent."
"Seto, you do realize…"
"I know, Mokuba, and it's all right. After all, if we're going to have the best, we need the King of Games himself."
"All right! Roland, fire up the chopper, let's go get them!"
"Right." Roland turned to leave but then he turned back, "Excuse me, sir, I know it's not terribly important but what are you going to name this tournament?"
"The Kaiba Corp. Grand Tournament."
"So anyway, Seto would like to see you right away," Mokuba concluded.
"He should try asking us first," Joey said crossing his arms. "Kaiba's not the boss of me."
"Considering how it's the only way we can catch a ride home, I'd say he does have one up on us."
"But Joey does have a point," Amara said. "He should've come and ask us himself or at least send out invitations."
Mokuba looked down, "Seto is really busy right now. In fact, he's so busy that he won't even be participating in his own tournament."
"That's not like Kaiba," Yugi commented.
"Yeah," Harold agreed. "I thought he would use this chance for another rematch with Yugi."
"He's probably afraid he'd get his butt kicked again," Joey said. "Afraid of his reputation getting shot."
Mokuba slammed his fist against the table causing his cup to shake, "That's not fair! My brother is too busy with his work to duel. You try opening up a chain of amusement parks!"
"Nice going, big mouth," Amara said as she kicked Joey in the shins.
"Well… maybe I did go a bit too far," Joey decided.
"All right, Mokuba, how about you give us the bottom line," Harold offered.
"Okay, well, we've invited the top Duelists from all around the world to compete for the World Championship title. But before we do, we need the champ. So please, Yugi, will you say yes?"
Yugi turned inward to Yami, "Do you think we should do it?"
"Why not, perhaps if someone else had the title it would take the pressure off of us."
"Count me in, Mokuba."
"Good, because Seto told me to hand you this." He took out an invitation and passed it to Yugi. He then took out four more, "Joey, as the runner-up at Duelist Kingdom and Rebecca, as the American Duel Monsters champion have also been invited as well as Harold and Amara, the two participants in the Wild Card match of Battle City."
"Sweet."
"Thanks, Mokuba."
Mokuba stood up. "All right, time to move out, the next flight for Kaiba Land is leaving immediately!" Everyone cheered.
In this day and age, it was unusual to see a castle in the mountains, but there was one. The castle's interior architecture resembled that of the ancient Greeks or the Romans. A man was lounging in a large bath tub listening as a woman played the harp when a servant came up to him. 'Excuse me, Master, but there is an e-mail for you."
"Gutten tag, Ignatz," the man said getting up. He wrapped himself in a bathrobe handed to him by a female servant and went to a laptop that was on a table on a balcony overlooking the forest. He clicked on the laptop and read the message. "So, my dear friend Kaiba is planning a tournament." He chuckled and plucked a rose from a bouquet on the table. "The rose of Kaiba Corp. But one must be careful, Herr Kaiba, for every rose has its thorns." He chuckled.
The Kaiba Corp. helicopter cruised over the skies heading towards a large amusement park. On board, Yugi and his friends gazed out in awe.
"It's huge!" Joey gasped.
"We're planning on opening one of these in every country in the world," Mokuba bragged.
"I want to go on every ride until I barf twice," Amara said.
"Nasty," Harold grumbled.
"I hope they have a tunnel of love," Rebecca said snuggling up to Yugi.
Tea watched them and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She then shook her head. "No way, I'm not like that, not towards him."
"Not like what, Tea?" Amara asked startling Tea.
"Uh… nothing, just talking to myself."
The chopper landed and everyone walked out. Tristan had to leap onto Harold's shoulders after being startled by a dragon statue out in front.
"Mokuba," Joey said calmly. "I was wondering… was… was Mai invited?"
"We sent out an invitation," Mokuba said. "But we haven't received any response yet."
"Oh." Joey fell silent.
"Joey…" Yugi muttered.
Joey sensed the concerned tone in his friend's voice and offered him a lop-sided grin. "I'm sure she's too busy winning tournaments left and right to respond."
"Yeah," Yugi agreed.
"Hey Mokuba," Tea addressed as she saw employees dressed as Duel Monsters were handing out balloons to kids. "I thought this place wasn't open yet."
"Officially, it's not, but these are special guests and every ride is free today."
"Tilt-a-Whirl until we hurl!" Joey and Tristan cried together.
Tea held her face in her hand, "I need some normal friends."
Mokuba gave them the nickel and dime tour ending at what he called the main attraction: a huge stadium shaped like Kaiba's beloved dragon. "This is the Kaiba Dome."
"'Kaiba Dome'?" Harold questioned.
"We're not dealing with normal people here," Joey whispered to Duke. Duke nodded.
The inside was a large arena much like the ones used at Duelist Kingdom. The podiums were arched-shaped and elevated off the ground. One of the kids, Luke from the name on the jumbo screen overhead, was dueling seemingly against nobody but as it turned out, the opponent was computerized.
"Now, Gagagigo (1), attack his Blade Knight (2)," the kid commanded. The green lizard warrior charged forward and swung his tail destroying the knight.
(L: 500)
(C: 2550)
"Reveal face-down magic card: Scapegoat, generates four tokens on field," the female-voiced computer said as one of its two face-down cards was revealed.
That doesn't make any sense, the kid thought. Why did he choose now to play Scapegoat?
"Hey Mokuba, check it out," Joey said. "Looks like your all-powerful computer made a mistake."
"The KC Duel-Tek 760 never makes a mistake, just watch," Mokuba said simply.
"I have a feeling that the computer's other face-down card is a trap," Yugi guessed.
"Reveal trap card," the computer announced. "DNA Surgery, transforms all monsters on field into single type. Type chosen: Dragon." Battle Ox (3), the remaining substantial monster on the computer's side of the field, the Scapegoats, and the Gagagigo on Luke's side of the field all turned into dragons.
"I end my turn," the kid said still confused as to the computer's move.
"Drawing card." A holographic card back appeared facing away from Luke. "Play magic card: Polymerization. Combine all monsters to form Five-Headed Dragon (4)." The five monsters on the computer's side of the field swirled together and a large dragon with five heads, each a different color and type appeared.
"There's no way that kid can beat that digital duelist now," Joey said.
Mokuba nodded his head in agreement, "The computer's been programmed to mimic the strategies of the world's top Duelists. We've imported Seto's deck in there as well as Yugi's."
"You must have my deck in there too, right?" Joey asked.
"Probably so it can lose too just to be fair," Tristan jabbed.
"Amara, do you mind?" Joey asked.
"Not at all." Amara pinched on the back of Tristan's neck causing him to drop to his knees.
"What's the fun in playing a computer that always wins?" Tea asked Mokuba.
"The players can choose from one of five skill levels, from beginner to expert," Mokuba explained.
"What an awesome way for kids to improve their skills," Yugi complimented. He could feel Yami agree with him.
"Five Headed Dragon attacks Gagagigo for game," the computer announced as the dragon fired an energy blast from all heads destroying Luke's monster.
(L: 0)
(C: 2550)
"Gave over," the kid moaned as his podium was lowered to ground level. A group of kids gathered around him.
"That was a cool duel," one of the kids complimented.
"Yeah," another agreed. "You almost had it."
One of the older kids, a boy with long purple hair in a sweater vest and shorts put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "You did a good job you just set your level too high. Next time don't try so hard."
"Look its Yugi Moto!" Before Yugi knew it, he was surrounded by kids asking for autographs.
"You're Yugi Moto," the older kid who complimented Luke earlier said. He then turned to Harold. "And you're Harold Kumara."
"Yeah, that's right," Yugi confirmed.
"How did you know?" Harold asked.
"I've… uh… followed Battle City very close. Can I have your two's autographs?"
Harold and Yugi looked at each other before smiling, "Sure," they replied. Nearby, kids, especially girls, were clamoring for Rebecca's and Amara's autographs.
"Doesn't anyone want my autograph?" Joey asked.
One of the kids heard him and turned to him. "Who are you?" He asked.
Joey facefaulted, "I was a Battle City finalist," he said.
"Oh… you're that Marik guy?"
Joey whimpered and leaned his head on Tristan's shoulder, "Nobody recognizes me," he complained.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Tristan asked jokingly.
Joey curled into a ball by the corner, "Nobody respects me," he moaned as Alexis patted him on the head.
"Excuse me, Mister King-of-Games, sir," a kid said. "My name's Rick, I was wondering if you could look at my deck?"
"Sure." The kid handed Yugi his deck.
"No matter what I do, I can't seem to win a duel," the kid said.
"I know that feeling," Harold said.
"These are mostly monster cards," Yugi noted.
"And not just any monsters, but dragon-types," Harold threw in. "That's unorthodox."
"That's nice coming from you, Mister All-Light-Attribute monster user," Rebecca said. Harold chuckled nervously.
"Dragons are my favorite," Rick explained. "I traded most of my magic and trap cards and filled them with dragon-type monsters."
"You'll never win with that deck," Rebecca commented.
Amara clamped the younger girl's mouth shut, "Rebecca, dear, sometimes its best to just clamp up, understand?"
"It's obvious you really respect your cards," Yugi said to Rick. "And that respect will take you far, but it's also important to balance your deck with magic and trap cards. Here…" Yugi took out a card and handed it to Rick. "Try adding this card to your deck."
"Heart of the Underdog," Rick read the title on the card.
Yugi nodded, "It reminds me of a very good friend."
"Who's that?" Joey asked.
"I'll tell you later."
"Thanks, I'm going to try it out right now!" He ran over to the platform.
"Try to set it at a low level," Mokuba advised.
"Right," Rick agreed and set it at level two.
In the castle, the man sniffed a rose, "It looks like my plan is in full bloom." He pressed a button on his laptop. "Let's say hello, shall we?"
In the Kaiba Dome, the lights suddenly went out. "Looks like the Kaiba Boys forgot to pay the electric bill," Joey joked.
"There must be some kinks in the electrical system," Rebecca theorized.
"That's impossible," Mokuba said running over to a control panel. "Everyone stay calm." The power to the dueling arena was restored. "There we go."
Suddenly the door shutters lowered. "We're locked in," Alexis cried.
"Altering original sequence," the computer announced, its voice changing from a soft feminine voice to a hard digitized voice.
Mokuba slammed the control panel, "It's not responding!"
"Move aside let a genius crack at it." She plugged her laptop into the control panel. "I see, someone must've hacked in and reprogrammed it. It seems that the door controls are tied in directly to the KC Duel-Tek 760."
"But why would they do that?" Amara wondered. "It's just an amusement park attraction!"
"Probably to get something from the Kaibas," Rebecca guessed.
"Let's tear that tin can apart," Joey said as he and Tristan started to run over to it.
"If you do that, we might never get out of here," Rebecca said. "The only way we're going to get out of here is if that computer loses in a duel."
"So our fate is in the hands of that kid up there?" Tea said.
"We're doomed," Amara said.
"It's time to duel!" The computer announced.
"Help," Rick called down. "I can't do this by myself!"
"Draw card into hand," the computer announced its actions. "Summon Berserk Gorilla (5) in attack mode. Set one card face-down. End turn."
Yugi looked up on the screen and gasped, "Mokuba, the computer is set to level five!"
"That's the toughest level," Mokuba said. "Rick will never survive it, he's just a beginner!"
Yugi and Yami shared a look and nodded. The gold pyramid with silver trim around it started to glow as they joined spirits. With abnormal grace, Yami-Yugi leapt up and flipped onto the podium. "I'll take it from here," he said to Rick.
"Thanks, Yugi," Rick said.
"I'll bring your deck to victory, but you must have faith in it." Rick nodded mutely. Everyone down below cheered. "I don't know who's behind this," Yami-Yugi said. "But whoever it is must be stopped! It's my move!"
To Be Continued
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Gagagigo
Level: 4
Type: Reptile
Attribute: Water
ATK: 1850
DEF: 1000
(2)
Name: Blade Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1800
(3)
Name: Battle Ox
Level: 4
Type: Beast-Warrior
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1700
DEF: 1000
(4)
Name: Five-Headed Dragon
Level: 12
Type: Dragon/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 5000
DEF: 5000
(5)
Name: Berserk Gorilla
Level: 4
Type: Beast/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2000
DEF: 1000
A/N: I saw a screen cap of Kaiba's computer in the dubbed version. It had various Duel Monster cards on it. I had fun trying to identify which ones. I recognized Guardian Eatos. Two were fusion monsters and at least 1 was a ritual monster. I'm pretty sure one of those fusion monsters was Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. If you ever find it you should try it out.