The Return of Johnny Steps

A day or so after Taro had gone to Melody's, Yugi was walking home with Téa, since Joey and Tristan had to go to work for the time, Bakura was at home already, Duke had to tend to things at the Black Crown Game Shop his family owned, and Taro and Melody were hanging out at her place. Yugi had his hands behind his head, thinking. Téa looked over at him, her arms behind her back as she said "Yugi, is something on your mind?"
"Yeah. I just was wondering about those Card Hunters... and why we haven't heard anything from them. Makes me wonder if something big is up." He then stopped when he saw a report on some TVs nearby. Téa stopped also as the two turned.

"And to repeat earlier reports, game designer, Pegasus J. Crawford, was attacked yesterday, by an unknown assailant at his home outside of San Franciso. Reports released by Industrial Illusions employees say that the attacker came in fast and then was gone, but some guards were unconscious at the time, so the information given may not be 100 accurate. No injuries were placed on Crawford, but it is still unknown why this occurance had happened.
"What the-...?" Yugi blinked. "I wonder if the Card Hunters were behind this, Téa."
"Me too, Yugi. If they wanted a good target for cards, then who better than Pegasus?" Téa added.
Yugi nodded. "Mmm-hmmm." Yugi then had his arms crossed, exhaling some, eyes closed as he remembered what Senbei told him of the Card Hunters' agenda. He then heard someone say "Yugi Mutoh, I presume?"

Yugi shot his eyes opened and said "Who's there?" He turned quickly as did Téa, the question coming from someone whom was rather tall, with a long sleeved red shirt, some decorative jewelry, a bracelet here, a Native American-style necklace there, black pants with a bandana around the right knee, as well as black shoes. He just lifted up his sunglasses, smiling as he had light brown skin and some dreadlocks as well.

"Wait a minute! I remember you!" Téa said in surprise. "You're Johnny Steps! What the heck are you doing here?"
Johnny chuckled some as he replied to Téa's query. "Well, Téa, I had to try and find Yugi once more, and you."
"Me?" Téa blinked as Yugi looked at Johnny.
"What do you mean?"

"Well, I remembered whatcha said to me, Téa... about not giving up. So, I decided to take off into the world for a bit, work on my game in both Dance Dance Revolution AND in Duel Monsters. So..." Johnny smiled, then pointed to Yugi. "I want to take you on once more, King of Duelists! I want to see how my much improved Deck stands up to your famed Deck!"
"Say what...?" Yugi blinked in surprise.
Johnny turned his back to them, then turned his face back to them, smiling. "Well, we're going to need to go to KaibaLand if we're going to do this. So do you accept the challenge?"
Yugi nodded slowly, confused.

A bit later, at the KaibaLand amusment park, set up by Seto Kaiba while he was in Japan, Yugi, Johnny, and Téa walked to one of the Dueling Arenas so Yugi and Johnny could Duel. KaibaLand Japan was meant to be a place for fans of Duel Monsters, Duelists, and more to go and to have fun, as it was also set up with Duel Arenas, much like the ones used during Pegasus's famed Duelist Kingdom tournament. Yugi looked on as Johnny walked to one side of the Duel Arena set up. It had a large playing field, with 2 platforms apart from each other. One was red, the other was blue. The chrome design for it was most interesting, but sleek too.

Yugi then whispered to Téa. "What the heck is goin' on?"
Téa knelt down, whispering to Yugi softly. "Well, you remember when Atem and I went on that 'date' of ours before Battle City, Yugi? I played him in a game of Dance Dance Revolution, then Johnny took Atem on in a Duel, and well... that's why this is all happening. Sorry."
"Don't be. I don't mind a Duel. Besides, it could be fun!" Yugi smiled as he walked to the blue Duel Platform, with Johnny at the red. Johnny spoke to Yugi, smiling. "All right, we'll Duel with 4000 Life Points, Yugi! Same rules as Battle City, just no card being put up as ante. That OK with you?"
Yugi nodded softly. "Yeah." He took his Deck from the deck holder he had attached to his belt, placing it down as Johnny placed a Deck down also. Both looked at each other then said at the same time "DUEL!"

Both Yugi and Johnny now had 5 cards in their hands as Johnny said "Alright! I'll start off!" Johnny drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he then smiled, saying "I summon Spirit of the Harp in Defense Mode to get us started off!"
Johnny's leading summon was that of a beautiful girl, whom held a wooden harp against her yellow robes, with 2 blue round covers of sorts over her ears, her light green hair slightly showing as she smiled.

SPIRIT OF THE HARP
Light/Angel/4/800 ATK/2000 DEF

"And to continue, I will set one card face-down and end my turn." Johnny smiled.
"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his sixth card, looking at it. His hand had some decent cards to it. Yugi knew none of his current Monsters were good enough to attack Johnny's strong defender, so he decided to improvise until he could get a stronger Monster out. He took a card in his hand and said "I play Giant Soldier of Stone in Defense Mode!"

A large gigantic golem-like creature with two sheathes for swords on its' shoulders appeared on Yugi's side of the Field, kneeling down, with its' arms crossed over into an X in front of its' body.

GIANT SOLDIER OF STONE
Earth/Rock/3/1300 ATK/2000 DEF

"Next, I set one card face-down!" Yugi placed the card onto the play zone of his Duel Platform, as a large Duel Monsters card appeared, face-down behind Giant Soldier of Stone as Yugi said "And that's the end of my turn."
"My turn." Drawing his next card, Johnny looked at it and smiled. He then said "I now will play the Magic Card, Stop Defense!"
Yugi looked on and thought quickly "Uh-oh! Not good..."
"That's right, not good. When this Magic Card is activated, I can change the battle position of 1 Monster on your side of the Field that's in Defense Mode, and change it to Attack Mode! So I will do so to Giant Soldier of Stone!"

STOP DEFENSE
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Select 1 of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters and switch it to Attack Mode. If the chosen Monster Card is face-down, flip it face-up. If the card has a Flip Effect, it is activated.

Téa looked on as she thought 'He really has improved!'
Johnny then smiled as Yugi's Giant Soldier of Stone turned from Defense Mode to Attack Mode. Yugi blinked in surprise at this as Johnny then smiled and said "I will now play Hibikime in Attack Mode!"

A beautiful girl with a long green dress, blue hair, pale skin, a note-shaped scythe, and a smile with her blue lips.

HIBIKIME
Earth/Warrior/4/1450 ATK/1000 DEF

"Hibikime, attack Giant Soldier of Stone!" Hibikime charged forward and slashed Giant Soldier of Stone right in half, destroying it and dealing 150 points of damage to Yugi's LP, placing him at 3850 right at the moment.

"Nice move." Yugi replied, smiling.
"Thank you. I will next place one card face-down to end my turn." Johnny said, smiling.
"My turn then! Draw!" Yugi drew his next card then said "I will now activate my set Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!"

Yugi then watched the field as a purple mist appeared on the Field as Giant Soldier of Stone was back on the Field in Attack Mode. Johnny blinked as he thought 'What is that guy up to?'
"I will next sacrifice Giant Soldier of Stone to summon Chaos Command Magician in Attack Mode!"

The Monster summoned in Giant Soldier of Stone's place had a long magician's cap, a short staff, a cape, as well as armor of green and yellow, with a light blue face with some black markers down his cheeks some, as well as red rune stones embedded along the collar of the cape, the top of his gauntlets, as well as his cap. He twirled his staff then thrusted it forward.

CHAOS COMMAND MAGICIAN
Light/Spellcaster/6/2400 ATK/1900 DEF
Effect: Negate the effect of a Monster Card that specifically designates this 1 card as a target.

"Chaos Command Magician, attack Hibikime!"
Chaos Command Magician leapt up into the air, his staff shining brightly, as he then shot a blast of energy forward, blowing Hibikime away, and dealing quite a load of damage to Johnny's Life Points as well! To be precise, 950 points, putting Johnny at 3050.

Johnny just smiled as he said "Good move. But what I wanted you to do. I now play Soul Rope!"
A flash of light appeared as the image of a card appeared, one with a man beginning to glow, with a rope of light going through him, and a monk-like person in robes kneeling near him.

Yugi was familiar with Soul Rope, since he himself used it in his Deck. And he wondered some about what Johnny was going to Special Summon...

SOUL ROPE
Normal Trap Card
Effect: This card can only be activated when one Monster on your side of the Field is destroyed. Pay 1000 Life Points and Special Summon 1 Level 4 Monster from your Deck to the Field.

"I will now pay 1000 Life Points, and Special Summon... Witch of the Black Forest from my Deck to the Field in Defense Mode!"
With Johnny's summon, a young woman with a black robe (a light blue color to go with it and an eye in the center of that), purple hair, with a third eye on her forehead, and brown fur-lined ears.

WITCH OF THE BLACK FOREST
Dark/Spellcaster/4/1100 ATK/1200 DEF
Effect: When this card is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, move 1 Monster with a DEF of 1500 points or less from your Deck, show it to your opponent it, and add it to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

"And with that.." Yugi said. "I end my turn."
"Good. My turn! Draw!" Johnny drew his next card, then saw he had gotten Polymerization. He also noticed Lady of Faith in his hand, so he nodded and said "I will now play Polymerization, and send Lady of Faith from my hand, and Witch of the Black Forest from my side of the Field to Special Summon Musician King from my Fusion Deck!"

In a flash of light, Yugi looked on to see that Witch of the Black Forest was gone, and in her place, was a man with a guitar in his hand, his spikey blonde hair sticking up, a red bandana around his forehead, black leather pants, boots, and red gloves with spiked bracelets around his wrists. This card didn't look like much, but it was Johnny's best card.

MUSICIAN KING
Light/Spellcaster-Fusion/5/1750 ATK/1500 DEF
"Witch of the Black Forest" + "Lady of Faith"

"And since Witch of the Black Forest was on my side of the Field when I played Polymerization, I will now add 1 Monster with a DEF of 1500 points or less!" He grabbed his Deck, fanning through his cards, then smiled when he had gotten Beautiful Songtress, his card of choice. He showed the card to Yugi and smiled. "So I will add Beautiful Songstress to my hand with Witch of the Black Forest's effect. Now I get to shuffle my Deck."

BEAUTIFUL SONGSTRESS
Earth/Spellcaster/1/0 ATK/0 DEF
Effect: While this card is face-up, you can offer it as a Sacrifice to add 1 Magic Card from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

Johnny set his hand down, then shuffled his Deck, placing it down, then he said "I will now play Beautiful Songtress in Attack Mode."
With Johnny's summon, a beautiful woman with long black hair, a red dress, and a standing microphone appeared. Johnny smiled as he said "My vision of loveliness has one interesting effect I want you two to take note of! When I offer her as a Sacrifice, I get to add 1 Magic Card from my Deck to my hand! Beautiful Songstress, hit it!"

Téa blinked, thinking to herself. 'What kind of Magic Card could Johnny add to his hand to help Musician King? Yugi's got a 2400 ATK Monster in play, so there's not much else Johnny could use. But... Musician King's Level... it's...! Wait! If what Yugi told me about Magic Cards, there may be something Johnny's gonna get!'

Yugi looked on as Beautiful Songstress began to sing softly, her body fading away, but her song playing still as Johnny pulled out his Magic Card of choice, smiled and then said "AND NOW...!'
'Is it what I think he wanted?' Yugi asked himself, looking on as Johnny said "I play Pot of Greed!"

Yugi blinked as he said 'What...? It wasn't what I expected? Is he up to something?'
Johnny drew two cards, then smiled as he said "Now I will activate my set Trap Card! Activate... METALMORPH!"
Suddenly, Musician King gained a leather jacket with spikes protruding from the shoulder pads, as well as a different guitar as he grinned.

METALMORPH
Equip Trap Card
Effect: After activation, this card ican be equipped to one face-up Monster. The Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK and DEF by 300 points. When attacking with a Monster equipped with "Metalmorph", you can further increase its' ATK by an amount equal to half of the ATK of the Monster's attack target.

Johnny smiled as he said "Thanks to Metalmorph, my Musician King is now gonna rock harder than ever, with his ATK at 2050, and his DEF at 1800! But now it is time to rock and roll! Musician King! Attack Chaos Command Magician!"
Musician King took his pick for his guitar and began to play it, waves of sound shooting at Chaos Command Magician, causing him to cry out, as Yugi noticed that Musician King's ATK shot up to 3250, gaining 1200 points from Chaos Command Magician's ATK! That was Metalmorph's true power as then Chaos Command Magician exploded, Yugi covering his body some, his Life Points dropped to 3000.

Johnny smiled as he said "This is why I've been working hard! To get a shot like this against you once more, Yugi Mutoh! You've seen some of my true power at work here, so get ready to feel the burn! I will next set one card face-down... and that ends my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi said, determination coming to his face as he said "I will now play Graceful Charity! This Magic Card lets me draw 3 cards, then discard 2 to the Graveyard!" Yugi had 4 cards in his hand thanks to his earlier plays, but he didn't care for that at the moment. He drew 3 cards, then saw his hand had some good cards to choose from. He nodded and said "I will discard... these 2!" Yugi held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 and he also held up Giant Rat, placing them into his Graveyard pile. He then took another card he drew and said "I will now play Monster Reborn!"

In a flash of light, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 reappeared as Yugi said "And I Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 back to the Field with Monster Reborn!"
Horus roared at his return as Johnny said "So? It's still not strong enough to plow through Spirit of the Harp's DEF of 2000, and even without Metalmorph's effect kicking in, it's no match for my Musician King!"

"Who said I was gonna attack? I now play... Level Reverse!" Yugi said, holding a card that showed an image of Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 devolving to LV6, then LV6 devolving down to LV4 as he said "Level Reverse allows me to Sacrifice 1 LV Monster on my side of the Field to Special Summon 1 other Monster with LV within summoning requirements from my hand or Deck! It can be any of them! So... I choose Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!"

LEVEL REVERSE
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Offer 1 Monster with "LV" in its' card name on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to activate this card. Special Summon, within summoning requirements, 1 other Monster with "LV" in its' card name from your hand or Deck to the Field.

In a flash, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 disappeared, and LV6 took his place, roaring. Yugi then said "But I'm not done there, Johnny! I will next play Level Up! This little number is like Level Reverse, only I gotta send my current LV Monster to the Graveyard, then Special Summon 1 other that is written on its' card text! For Horus LV6, that means... one of my best cards... Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

LEVEL UP!
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Send 1 face-up Monster on your side of the Field that has "LV" in its' card name to the Graveyard to activate this card. Special Summon the Monster that is written in the card text of that Monster from your hand or Deck, ignoring the Summoning conditions.

Horus LV6 disappeared in a flash as Yugi held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8's card and said "Now I play Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 in Attack Mode!" Slapping the card down, Horus LV8 appeared, roaring as Yugi said "Horus! Attack Musician King!"
Horus LV8's mouth began to glow a blackish blue as it then shot a stream of fire forward as Yugi said "Black Flame Inferno!"
The fire wrapped around Johnny's Musician King as he cried out, blowing up, Johnny's LP now at 1100. Téa smiled at that and said "Way to go, Yugi!"
"Yeah... thanks for doing that." Johnny smiled.
"Why are you thanking me for that?" Yugi blinked.

Johnny chuckled. "Oh, you'll see! You'll see..."
"Alright... I set a card down, and end my turn." Yugi said, smiling.

"My turn. Draw!" Johnny drew his next card and then said "I will now activate the Trap Card... Skill Drain!"
Yugi blinked as Johnny said "I know I should be worrying about my Life Points, but with that damned Dragon's effect, I couldn't do a thing. So now... it's sealed, at the cost of 1000 Life Points!" Johnny's LP then dropped from 1100 to 100 as Yugi watched Horus crying out in pain, panting heavily. 'Horus's effect is sealed! Now I can't use Magic Obliteration to stop any of Johnny's Magic Cards!'

"Next, I will play the Magic Card, Mystik Wok! When I offer a Monster on my side of the Field as a Sacrifice, I can call either ATK or DEF, raising my LP by the sacrificed Monster's ATK or DEF! And I choose DEF, so with Spirit of the Harp's Sacrifice, I gain 2000 Life Points!"

MYSTIK WOK
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Offer 1 Monster on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice. Select the ATK or DEF of the Sacrificed Monster, and increase your Life Points by the same amount.

Johnny's LP was then up to 2100 with the explosion of Spirit of the Harp as Yugi said "Uh-oh!"
"And next... I play Coins from Heaven!" Johnny said as Yugi knew its' effect well since he also used it. Johnny drew 5 cards, since he had 1 card in his hand, but so did Yugi. He and Yugi both drew 5 cards, making their hand size 6 cards now. Johnny saw one card that'd help and he said "I now play my own copy of Monster Reborn! Musician King! Come on back!"

Leaping up in the air, then landing down and playing his guitar, Musician King returned to the Field with style, his ATK at 1750 again thanks to Metalmorph being in the Graveyard. Johnny then took another card from his hand and said "NOW, I PLAY FUSION WEAPON!"

Téa looked on and said 'Yugi told me about this card! Since Johnny's Musician King, a Fusion Monster, meets Fusion Weapon's Level requirement of 1 to 6, being a Level 5, he'll get an ATK boost of 1500 points plus a DEF boost of 1500 too!'

Yugi looked in shock as Johnny's Musician King was now at 3250 ATK/3000 DEF in just one shot! But Johnny wasn't done there as he said "I now play my next Magic Card, Trap Reconfiguration! This little number has me discard 2 cards to the Graveyard, then I can reactivate 1 Trap Card in my Graveyard! And you know what I am gonna pick!"

TRAP RECONFIGURATION
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Discard 2 cards in your hand to the Graveyard to activate 1 Trap Card in your Graveyard.

Suddenly, Metalmorph was back onto Johnny's Musician King, its' ATK up at 3550 and its' DEF at 3300! Yugi knew this could mean trouble as Johnny then thrusted his index finger forward. "Musician King! Attack Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

Musician King aimed his Fusion Weapon charged arm at Horus, his ATK then shooting up by 1500 points thanks to Metalmorph's effect! Now it was at 5050 as Téa gasped then said "Yugi!"
But it was too late! Musician King's attack fired at Horus, smashing it hard as Horus then exploded. Johnny smiled. "With that last play of mine, Yugi, you lose 2050 Life Points, leaving you at 950."

"Nope! You're wrong!" Yugi said. "I play my set card, Nutrient Z!"
Flipping up, Yugi's card showed the image of a kind of capsule with the number 4000 on it as well as a Z and a skull marker on the top of it.

NUTRIENT Z
Normal Trap Card
Effect: This card can only be activated during your opponent's Damage Step. During this turn, if you take Battle Damage of 2000 points or more, increase your Life Points by 4000 points before the damage is subtracted from your Life Points.

"With Nutrient Z, I can only use it during your Damage Step and if I take 2000 points or more of Battle Damage, Johnny. Now, my LP is first gonna go up by 4000 points, to 7000, but then I'll lose the 2050 you said I was gonna lose, putting me at 4950."

'Damn. I forgot how good this guy really is! He knew all along that I was gonna pump up Musician King's ATK! But I guess when he's the King of Duelists, he understands the game so well... so I gotta cut my loss soon, since this could be the end!'
"Alright, Yugi, I end my turn."

Yugi exhaled and said "Alright. My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card and said "I will now place one card face-down and..." He looked at the Monster he was going to summon, the card that could help him clench the Duel if he played his cards right. He thought 'Kuriboh... you trust me, like I trusted in you as a Deck Master. Even if it doesn't seem like you will, you are gonna help me win the Duel.'

"I will play Kuriboh in Attack Mode!" Yugi summoned Kuriboh out, whom looked like his cousin, Hane Kuriboh, only without angel wings. He blinked then said in a cute voice "Kuri". Johnny blinked then laughed. "You summoned that little furball to the Field? You commiting suicide?"
"You'll see, Johnny. I end my turn."

KURIBOH
Dark/Demon/1/300 ATK/200 DEF
Effect: Discard this card from your hand to make the Battle Damage inflicted to your Life Points by 1 of your opponent's Monsters 0. This effect can only be activated during your opponent's Battle Phase.

Johnny then smiled as he said "My turn then! Draw!" He drew his next card and said "OK! Musician King! ATTACK!"
Fusion Weapon began to charge up again, Musician King's ATK rised from 3550 by an additional 150 thanks to Kuriboh's 300 ATK to 3700 as it fired. Yugi then said "Activate Trap Card! Different Dimension Tunnel... MIRROR GATE!"

Téa blinked, then gasped at this. "Mirror Gate...?"
"I knew deep down you were gonna attack anything I threw down on the Field with Musician King after I saw how you went to great lengths to power it up, Johnny! Mirror Gate is just gonna be a little flip-flop since it can only be used in the Battle Phase! Your Monster becomes mine, mine becomes yours!"

DIFFERENT DIMENSION TUNNEL - MIRROR GATE
Normal Trap Card
Effect: This card can only be activated when you have a Monster on your side of the Field. Switch control of 1 of your Monsters and 1 of your opponent's Monsters during the Battle Phase of the turn this card is activated. The Battle is then conducted as normal. When a Monster destroyed during the Battle Phase is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, it goes to the Graveyard of its' owner.

Suddenly, Musician King appeared on Yugi's side of the Field, then Kuriboh on Johnny's as Musician King fired right at Kuriboh as Johnny's eyes shrunk. "Oh, no! That means that...!"
"Yeah! You took the Battle Damage I was gonna take!"
Kuriboh then exploded, as Johnny cried out, taking a whopping 3400 Battle Damage... too much for his LP of 2100 to take as Yugi smiled and said "That's game!"
Johnny sighed sadly as Téa cheered, clapping her hands happily as Yugi waved, his cheeks a tad red.

After the Duel, Johnny hung his head and sighed. "I still can't believe all my hard work was tossed down the drain..."
"Hey, come on, Johnny, you were great out there." Téa said, smiling as she patted his shoulder. "You did excellent against Yugi, even better than the last time you Dueled against him."
"I suppose..."
"Hey, I had fun! That's what I think matters... that we had fun with the Duel." Yugi smiled. "I think that a person whom is a true Duelist is someone who can have fun in a Duel, and so much more. Winning is all well and good, but the Duel itself should be fun."

Johnny blinked at this, and Téa just warmly smiled, Yugi smiling also as he had his arms at his sides. Johnny then smiled and said "Well, Yugi, I'll tell you this much. I did have fun in that Duel! I wouldn't have guessed how good you were really at all! Next time, perhaps I could beat you. So, for now... I gotta go! See ya." Johnny waved as he then walked off, Téa and Yugi looking at each other then chuckling as Téa said "Hey, Yugi... do you think you could help me to be a better Duelist?"
"What brought this on?"
"Well... seeing you Duel so well, all the times that you have, and I've seen it... it makes me wanna try harder... to do something more outside of my giving support. So could you help?"
Yugi blinked, but then smiled. "That, I can do!" Téa smiled also, as the two friends then walked out, heading for Téa's home. It was unsure of what was going to happen next... but whatever would, it would come well.

To Be Continued...