Hey gang! Thanks for my first couple reviews on this fic, one even gave me a crazy idea that I feel CRAZY for not thinking of in the first place… Another update here, this should be a longer chapter, the first was just to get things going… For some reason Hey Arnold is a little harder for me to write for than Pokemon, so if this update is later than sooner, quality comes with time..

This one will be a little more in-depth in storyline. Here we go!

DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT own Hey Arnold or Yu-Gi-Oh..

Chapter 2

Monday arrived quickly for Arnold as his potato-powered alarm clock blazed, piercing his peaceful withdrawal from life. He clumsily unhooked the positive wire from the potato, killing the annoying repetition of his own name. Arnold stretched after rising from his soft bed and slowly made his way down the stairs, toward the kitchen, where the smell of bacon, eggs and pancakes came from. His Grandma always made three very hearty meals per day, everyday.

"Hey Shortman!" Arnold's Grandpa exclaimed as Arnold arrived into the kitchen. Surprisingly, his Grandpa was the one responsible for the awakening smell of breakfast. As usual, he was already dressed in his brown suspender pants and white shirt. The only time Arnold could remember of himself getting up earlier than his Grandpa was when Oskar kept making up excuses to not deliver the morning paper.

"Where's Grandma?" Arnold asked, after rubbing his eyes and scanning the kitchen.

"Oh, she's feeling a little under the weather right now… Your parents went to the market to get her some medicine and tea. And all the borders have already left for their jobs. So it's just you and me Shortman! Like Bert and Ernie, or Mario and Luigi, Peter Parker and Spider-Man or Thelma and Louise…" Grandpa started showing off, flipping the pancakes in the pan, and trailing off with more pairs of people.

"Oh, okay Grandpa, I was just wondering since she usually makes breakfast. I hope she'll be okay…" Arnold grew concerned fast. He couldn't remember the last time his Grandma was so ill that she stayed in bed.

"Not to worry Shortman, your Grandma is tougher than ALL of us think… Why, I've seen her meditate in a walk-in freezer for four days straight, blindfolded while standing on her head, walking 10 miles uphill both ways all at the same time!"

Arnold gave his grandpa a strange look. He appreciated his Grandpa's exaggerated effort to cheer him up, but knowing his Grandma, he really struggled to believe if it was true or not. "She'll be just fine Arnold," his Grandpa continued, "but YOU won't be fine if you keep fartin' around here… Grab some food and get ready for school before you're late for the bus."

"Okay Grandpa," Arnold responded, as he grabbed a fresh pancake and a couple bacon strips, with no plate, making some sort of bacon-pancake taco and made his way up to his room to eat and get ready at the same time. Even though his parents were back home with him, his Grandpa always kept that parental instinct of his in close check.

Arnold started getting ready for school once he got back into his bedroom. He quickly got out of his PJs and into his blue jeans, white shirt and red-plaid buttondown long sleeve shirt, rolling up the sleeves and leaving the top couple of buttons undone, showing the white shirt. He finished up his food after putting on his red-and-white Converse Hi-tops.

"I have a strange feeling about today…" he thought to himself as he grabbed his backpack, making sure his deck was kept safe in it. He had started hearing stories of Duel Monsters cards being stolen at school, so he kept his deck inside a locking deck box as of recently. "I feel like something really strange will happen... And I know it has something to do with whoever is stealing those cards… But if they try to come after me, I'll be ready!" Arnold made sure he had all his things together, and made his way out of his room and down the stairs.

"I'm leaving Grandpa! I might be home a little later, I'm getting together with some friends after school," Arnold explained, popping his head into the kitchen, and seeing his grandpa reading the morning paper.

"Okay Shortman, but don't forget about your homework, and dinner is at 6:00," His grandpa responded.

"I'll be back before then Grandpa, bye!" Arnold left the kitchen and made his way out to the bus stop. It was a nice April morning, and it was supposed to be sunny, so he didn't bring any kind of jacket with him.

A couple minutes later, the bus arrived and Arnold made his way on. He instantly found where Gerald sat, and sat down next to him, like he did every morning.

"Yo bro," Gerald greeted as they did their secret handshake. "You ready for that math test? Personally, I think it's psychotic to mix letters with numbers…."

"Yep, I'm ready… I studied last night but not overkill, my homework's been good this chapter so I think I'll be fine," Arnold responded.

"Man, I don't think I'll do too hot. I've been struggling this whole week, I should've studied more last weekend…" Gerald said. Maybe he should've asked Arnold to help him with math Saturday night instead of playing card games till sunrise. "But," he continued, "I did put those cards you game me into my burn deck, and I came across a few others too!"

Arnold stayed off the subject of Math, since Duel Monsters seemed to help Gerald stay relaxed amidst the stress of the test. They started looking at each other's cards, and began talking about strategies they might use at this weekend's card shop tournament.

The bus stopped a few minutes later, welcoming in Helga G. Pataki. The bus immediately quieted down a little. Helga, dressed in bell-bottom blue jeans, pink Converse, a red girl-cut shirt and a light pink, light material zip-up hoodie sweater, located Phoebe near the back of the bus, who was saving her seat. Helga also wore a pink beanie with a red stripe across it, making her two thick pigtails droop out of the back, almost like rabbit ears. Her pink bow was tied around her right wrist several times.

As she made her way to her seat, she noticed Arnold and Gerald chatting about Duel Monsters. They were in their own little world, and didn't notice Helga standing in the isle, peering at their cards with them.

"That's the best you dweebs got?" Helga asked out of the blue, in the middle of Arnold's sentence. "Please, I've seen better cards in a game of Uno, gimme a break…"

Arnold and Gerald looked flabbergasted. A: Why would Helga, of all people, say anything remotely related to Duel Monsters to them? B: What makes her think the cards are weak or worthless? And C: Would that mean she's familiar with the game? Is it possible that she has a deck of her own?

"Why would you care Helga?" Gerald asked, after taking a second to register what she just said. "What makes you think you know what you're talking about? Do you even know what this game is?"

"Of course I do, Geraldo, it's Duel Monsters. Everyone plays it. Including me."

"YOU?" Gerald asked, flabbergasted yet again. "You play this game? Get outta town Helga, I know you'd be the LAST person on Earth to play a trading card game, you're too busy bossing others around and being full of yourself. You're too GOOD to play this game Helga…."

"Well thanks for the compliment, but judging by the looks of what I see in YOUR cards, I know a whole lot more about the game than you do…." Helga responded. She couldn't wait to show off her powerful cards she got the past weekend.

"What? I oughta-" Gerald started as he almost got up.

"Cool it Gerald," Arnold said, after watching this whole event unfold. "Come on guys, we're on the bus and we're almost at school… sort this out at recess or something, or-"

"Can it football head, I've had enough of Thing 1 and Thing 2 for a bus ride. Oh, and Arnold-" she started, as she started to walk towards her seat. "YOUR cards? Worse than tall-hair-boy's Uno cards."

Arnold and Gerald looked on as she made her way to her seat. "What was that about?" Arnold asked Gerald as they turned back around in their seats. "I mean, I'm as surprised as you are at the fact that she not only knows what the game is, but that she also has a DECK, and according to her a really powerful one… but was all that really worth her time? We didn't even notice her come on…"

Gerald shrugged and started going through his deck again. "Man, I don't even care anymore. She's always buttin' into other people's business, ridiculing whatever that business is. She's all talk, plain and simple. Besides, even if she DOES play, could you imagine someone like her even CONSIDERING to enter a trading card game tournament?"

"From what she just did Gerald, I wouldn't be surprised if she did."

A minute passed by before Gerald broke the silence. "Wait, Arnold... why was she looking at our cards? I still don't believe she plays, and if what you said is true, that she might have some powerful rare cards at her disposal, where do you think she GOT those cards?"

Arnold thought for a second. "Well, as for why she was looking at our cards, she might've just been interested at what we use to play the game with. She probably just likes to play… As for where she got her cards, we don't even know if she has any. Knowing Helga, she might just be mocking us… and if she DOES have some rare cards, maybe her dad bought them for her. He owns his own business, you know…."

"I think there's more to it than that, man," Gerald exclaimed. "For instance, how long was she standing there? Probably long enough to see all of our rare cards we have with us… What if she's been pulling this stunt on other kids? Knowing what someone has, then-"

"Wait Gerald, are you assuming that Helga is the one stealing cards?" Arnold whispered, making sure no one heard their conversation. "No way Gerald, not her… Believe me, I know her way better than you do, and I know for a FACT that she's not the one."

"But think about it Arnold… The bragging, the whole 'lookin' at our cards' thing, and when she said 'That's the best you dweebs got?' Like she was LOOKING for something take-able?" Gerald began to look anxious, and started rummaging through his cards.

"Gerald, what are you doing?" Arnold asked, concerned for his friend who, he realized, might be losing his mind.

"I'm making sure that cardnapper didn't touch MY cards!" Gerald shot out.

"But Gerald, she didn't even leave the isle.. And you have a window seat…."

"Better safe than sorry man," Gerald responded.

Arnold thought about what Gerald said, and linked those things to what just happened. He did agree that there was a slight possibility that Helga was the one going around school stealing cards. He knew she was more of the money type, and he knew some Duel Monsters cards were worth a lot of money. But he didn't believe that she was REALLY the one taking cards. That's just not the Helga he knows. Helga would never steal.

The bus arrived at P.S.118 after what seemed like an eternity. From the second Arnold woke up, he knew this would be a long day. So far, his prediction had been correct.

Well, that's chapter 2! A little longer than the 1st chapter, which is good! That means no writer's block!

Reviews, comments and ideas are always welcome! Keep me going!

The next chapter might take awhile, it's not written yet and I have a long week ahead of me, but I'll get it out as soon as I can! Please review!

-MoltresFeather