Hey guys, this is the big chapter! The duel between Yami and Randy's mother! Gee, I wonder who's going to win, herp a derp? Apologies in advance for my lame attempt at a duel!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 7; Game Start!

Upon waking from her dreamtime with Yami, Randy was immediately filled with a sense of tension. There might have been some other feelings in there too, like excitement at the thought of getting to see a real live duel with working duel disks and dread at the thought of her mother being so willing to risk everything on this one card game. Was she really so confident in her dueling skills? What if Yami really did lose?

She shook her head. There was no way that was going to happen. Yami was the king of games for crying out loud! If he couldn't defeat her mother, then his title didn't mean a thing.

There was a knock at her door, and Marik peeked in. "Good morning, your aunt asked me to came and wake you up."

Randy stretched and rubbed her eye sleepily. "Good morning, Marik. Is breakfast ready?"

Marik smirked. "Yes, and extremely tense at that. Your mother is glaring at the Pharaoh, and it doesn't help that Bakura keeps stealing bits of food from everyone else's plates."

Randy groaned. "Well, I suppose I should go down there and attempt to keep something remotely resembling peace."

After shooing Marik out of her room, she got dressed and headed downstairs. She was about to step around the corner and into the kitchen, when she heard her mother's voice say, "Look, I don't care about how much you say you love her, and I don't want to hear it because I don't believe it."

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe it, it's still true." Yami replied.

Randy froze and stood just behind the corner, waiting to see – or rather, hear – what would happen next. Loretta made a very unladylike snorting sound. "Whatever, I just have one question for you – what exactly did you plan on doing with your future if you won?"

There was a long pause, and Randy briefly wondered if he was even going to answer. Then he said, "I don't have a solid plan. I thought maybe I'd go for an Archaeology degree when I graduate from high school and we'd see what happens after that. But just because I don't yet know what I want doesn't mean I won't take good care of Randy. I would never hurt her. Ever."

Randy smiled happily at Yami's prominent love for her. Loretta just said, "Ha, I didn't think you'd have a plan! You men are all—"

There was a loud thump, and Aunt Cher said very firmly, "That's enough. The breakfast table is a peace-zone! And Bakura, get your thieving fingers off my bacon, there's still enough left on the griddle for you to have seconds!"

Randy decided that it was time for her to make her entrance. She rounded the corner to see Aunt Cher holding her plate as far away from Bakura as possible, Yami and Loretta sitting at opposite ends of the table, and Kaiba ignoring the rest of them and eating his food quietly. "But it's so much more fun to steal yours!" Bakura said with a grin.

It was then that Yami noticed Randy walking in. "Oh, Randy, good morning."

Randy walked right up to him and planted a kiss on his forehead, ignoring the look of death she was getting from her mother. "Good morning, Hun."

Yami smiled at her, blushing a little. Aunt Cher handed Randy a plate of eggs and bacon while fending off Bakura from her own food. "Morning, kiddo. Hungry?"

Randy nodded and took the plate. She wasn't sure what to say in such a tense environment, so she just silently shoveled food into her mouth. The awkward silence was killing her! On the other hand, it was quite entertaining watching Aunt Cher and Bakura battle it out for bacon. In fact, her aunt seemed to be having more fun with her friends than she herself was. The fangirl in her briefly wondered if her aunt and Bakura might end up together, but she quickly shot that idea down at the thought of having Bakura for an uncle.

Eventually she couldn't put off finishing her food any longer, and she set her plate into the sink to be rinsed off later. The moment she had done this, her mother stood up. "You ready?" she asked Yami.

Yami nodded gravely. "Kaiba, do you have an extra duel disk Mrs. Henderson can use?"

Kaiba pulled out his briefcase and opened it. Inside was a brand new duel disk. Marik appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow. "You keep your briefcase with you during breakfast?" he asked.

"Shut up, Ishtar." Said Kaiba.

Loretta took the duel disk gingerly and turned it over in her hands. "How do you use the thing?" she asked incredulously.

Aunt Cher held up her hands in protest. "Woah, hold it, not in here! Put it on outside, I don't want you accidentally turning it on and breaking something!"

Loretta rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Cherubim, they're holograms. How are they supposed to break anything?"

"You'd be surprised," muttered Bakura, and Randy chuckled, remembering the story that Yami had told her of how Bakura had broken Ryou's television set when he accidentally turned on his duel disk in the apartment. Ryou had locked him out of the apartment for a week.

Loretta scoffed. "Fine, let's just get this over with."

They all headed outside, and Kaiba showed Loretta how to put the duel disk on her arm and which buttons to push. At last, they were ready. Randy felt her chest tighten up. This was it; this was the duel that would decide it all. Would she be free to be with Yami, or would she be forced to never see him again?

.:.

Yami felt his resolve strengthen as he ro-sham-bo'ed with Loretta to see who would take the first turn (of course he won). He turned on his duel disk and cast a glance at Randy, who was standing with Kaiba, Bakura, Marik, and Cher off to the side. She looked worried, but she also looked like she believed in him. He smiled. Actually, he was more worried for her, considering she was standing among the three people who had caused him the most trouble in the past, not including Pegasus.

But he didn't have time to worry about that right now, he had to focus on the duel. He drew his cards and carefully studied his hand. After much thought, he said, "I place a card face down and summon the Celtic Guardian to the field."

As the holograms appeared, Loretta stared at them in awe. "Impressive." She said.

"I end my turn." Said Yami.

Loretta shook herself out of her amazed stupor and drew a card. "I place two cards face down, and I summon Agido and end my turn."

Yami drew a card and looked calculatingly at her half of the field. He remembered Ishizu having Agido. It had a higher attack than the Celtic Guardian, so he assumed she was being wary of his face down card. However, he knew that there was too much at stake for him to be cautious. "I place another card face down, and I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman who then attacks Agido."

As his monster moved to attack hers, she yelled, "Not so fast, I activate a trap card, Ordeal of a Traveler!"

Yami growled as the swordsman halted his attack. "What does that do?" he asked.

Loretta smirked. "Every time you declare an attack, you have to pick one of the cards in my hand and guess whether it's a monster, spell, or trap card. If you guess right, your attack continues. If not, the attack is negated. Well, care to try your luck?"

Yami smirked back. "I don't need to! I activate Remove Trap! Your Ordeal of the Traveler is no more, and Neo can continue his attack!"

Loretta gritted her teeth. "Not if I can help it! I activate Magic Drain and use it to take out your spell card!"

Yami pointed at her. "Hold it, that card's effect also states that I can discard one spell card from my hand to negate the effects of that card," he said, placing a card in the graveyard, "And I do just that! Both of your traps are negated and my monster destroys yours."

Neo the Magic Swordsman zapped Agido with a bolt of lightning and Agido exploded in a puff of holographic smoke. Randy and Cher stood shocked on the sidelines. "All of that in one turn…" Cher said in amazement.

"That's normal for one of his duels." Kaiba grunted.

Loretta snarled at Yami as she drew her next card. After glancing at it, she said, "I place a card face down, and a monster in face down defense. End turn."

Yami drew a card and looked warily at the monster card. What was that card? Surely it couldn't be a Morphing Jar, or a Man Eater Bug. Neither of those were very Egyptian-like. Then again, who knew with this woman? And then there was the trap or spell card to worry about. Should he play it safe, or just attack?

It was then that Loretta happened to glance down at her lifepoints, and upon seeing the number she yelled, "What the crap? How can I already be in the three-thousands?"

Yami looked at her in confusion. She had only lost two hundred lifepoints, so what was she complaining about? Then Randy yelled from the sidelines, "Mom, they start at four thousand, not eight thousand!"

Loretta stared at her daughter in shock. "What? That's ridiculous! What kind of stupid rule is that?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "With all due respect, Mrs. Henderson, you're using our Duel Disk, and therefore you're playing by our rules. Deal with it."

Loretta glared at Kaiba, and then she just growled, turned to Yami and said, "Whatever, just take your stupid turn."

Yami's eyes narrowed. This woman was a real brat. He glanced at his cards. "I place a card face down and…Neo attacks your facedown monster."

As his monster moved to attack, she flipped it over. "Sorry, but my monster is Golem Sentry, and his defense is higher than your monster's attack! Your monster goes into defense mode!"

The spellcaster backed off. Yami gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't do anything about it. "I end my turn."

Loretta drew a card and said, "I place a monster card face down and I use Golem Sentry's effect to flip him into face down defense again. I end my turn."

Drawing a card, Yami once again, glanced at Loretta's side of the field. Now he knew what that first card was, but what about the other one? And why had she flipped her Golem Sentry back the way it was? Did it have a flip effect? He was definitely going to start being more cautious. "I place a card face down, then I sacrifice the Celtic Guardian to summon Judge Man. End turn."

Loretta smirked at him. Playing it safe now, huh? Big mistake." She drew a card. "I place another monster in face down defense, and I flip summon Golem Sentry, activating its effect and sending Judge Man back to your hand. Your turn."

Judge Man vanished from the field. Yami frowned and drew a card. "I summon Twin-Sword Marauder and end my turn."

Drawing a card, she examined his side of the field. "I place a card facedown and sacrifice my facedown monster to summon Criosphinx. I also flip Golem Sentry facedown again. End turn"

He drew a card. What was this woman thinking? Her monster had less attack than his, even if it was a higher level. What was she planning? One thing for sure, he had to get rid of that Golem Sentry. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight, and Twin-Sword Marauder attacks your Criosphinx."

"Not so fast," she said. "I activate Waboku!"

Yami's warrior halted its attack. Yami growled in frustration. "I end my turn."

She drew a card. "I flip summon Golem Sentry again, and send Gearfried back to your hand. And because a card returned to your hand, Criosphinx's effect states that you must select a card in your hand and discard it to the graveyard."

Yami looked down at his hand. In it was, of course, Gearfried, and also Judge Man, Drop Off, and Raregold Armor. After thinking carefully, he discarded Raregold Armor. "Very well, do you end your turn?"

She nodded. He drew a card. He smiled at the sight of a familiar friend in his hand. "I place a card facedown, and I sacrifice Neo the Magic Swordsman and Twin-Sword Marauder to bring out Dark Magician!"

As the spellcaster materialized, Loretta took a step back in surprise. "So soon…" she muttered in shock.

"Dark Magician attacks your Golem Sentry! Now he can no longer send monsters back to my hand!"

Golem Sentry disappeared in a flash of negative colors. Loretta shielded her eyes against the brightness with her arm. "It's your move." Said Yami solemnly.

Glaring, she drew a card. "I place a card facedown, then I sacrifice my facedown monster, which was Sand Moth, to summon Guardian Sphinx. Sand Moth has the effect that if it is sent to the graveyard not by battle when it's in defense, it is brought back to the field with its attack and defense switched. End turn."

He drew a card, looking curiously at her side of the field. "Did she just forget to put her monsters into defense mode? Or did she have a different purpose for leaving them as is? Maybe something that had to do with that facedown card? "I place a card facedown, and Dark Magician attacks your Criosphinx." Criosphinx exploded, and Loretta's lifepoints dropped to 2500. "I end my turn." Said Yami."

She drew a card. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed, meaning I can discard a card from my hand, and your Dark Magician is destroyed."

Dark magician disappeared, Yami watching sadly. "Do you end your turn? He asked.

"Yes." She said with a smirk at his obvious sorrow.

He drew a card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight once again to the field, and I end my turn."

She drew a card. "I sacrifice Guardian Sphinx to summon a monster in facedown defense and end my turn."

He drew a card. "I summon Queen's Knight and end my turn."

She moved to draw a card, but Yami suddenly yelled, "Stop!"

She froze. "What?"

He grinned. "I activate my trap card, Drop Off! Now you have to discard the card you were just about to draw."

She snarled and added the card to her graveyard. "In that case, Sand Moth attacks your Queen's Knight, and I end my turn."

Sand Moth slashed Queen's Knight right down the middle, and the feminine monster was no more. Yami was down to 3500 lifepoints. He drew a card. "I place a card facedown and end my turn.

She drew a card. "I place a card facedown and summon a monster in facedown defense. End turn."

He drew a card. "I sacrifice Gearfried to summon Judge Man again. End turn."

She drew a card, and suddenly smirked. "Heh, I just sealed your fate, and drew the exact card I need."

Yami took a step back in shock. "What?"

"Oh yes," she said. "I sacrifice all three of my monsters to bring out Andro Sphinx!"

The monster that Anubis had used against Yami so many years ago appeared on the field and gave a fearsome roar. 'She's already summoned her most powerful monster,' thought Yami in frustration, 'How am I supposed to defeat her?'

.:.:.

Afternote: Zomahgoodness, what is Yami going to do now? Sorry if this is horrible, but this is the first time I've ever attempted to fabricate a duel, and it's a LOT harder than I thought! Luckily for me, we've reached half of the the climax with this chapter. The duel will be over by the end of the next chapter. I'm totally going to miss this story.

Anyway, how about a round of con experiences; the Yu-Gi-Oh! gender bender panel! I went as female Yugi, obviously, but there was a major flaw in my costume – mainly my shoes. Sure, they looked awesome, but I made the mistake of not bringing my regular Yugi costume with me and having to wear four-inch heels for all of Saturday. My feet were begging for mercy by the time I went back to my friend's house! Oh the pains of being a woman.

Well, that's all for now, see y'all later, and remember – no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers =3