My name is Mako Tsunami.

A few people remember me from Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. They know that my specialty is water monsters, specifically creatures of the deep.

But not many know why I duel. I duel so that I may someday win enough money to buy a boat and search the ocean for my long-lost father. There are plenty of folks who think I'm crazy, they believe my dad is gone for good. But I know deep down he's still out there, waiting for me.

But until I find him, I guess I'll just have to enjoy my career as a duelist. I've faced many interesting opponents in my time, and made some great friends.

But I've never faced an opponent like this one, and something tells me that I might be in over my head…

Kiddie Pool

Mako was breathing hard as he wandered through the desert sands. They were no landmarks, no buildings, no shelter. Only mile after mile of sand, sun, and heat. Mako didn't have any creatures in his deck that were adapted to the wasteland…

But it was quite obvious that he wished he did.

"A Des Lacooda or something like that would probably be useful for crossing this." Mako thought as he wearily trudged forward, "I feel like I'm going to die out here!"

The heat had beating on the ocean duelist for roughly forty-five minutes. To Mako, every second under the sun was becoming torture. He was so overheated, he couldn't even see what was right in front of him.

So one can only imagine what a welcome relief it was when he collapsed face first and landed with a splash in a pool of fresh, clear water. The sides were steep, like an in ground swimming pool, and the water was about four feet deep where Mako stood.

Mako surfaced, coughing for breath as he looked around. The desert was still there, sure enough, but he seemed to have wandered into an oasis without realizing it. The pool of water was about twenty feet in diameter, and a few small palm trees bearing fruit grew around it. Mako rubbed his eyes and looked around in shock.

"I must be dreaming." He said, shaking his head, "That's all there is to it. I passed out in the heat, and now I'm dreaming that I found an oasis."

Mako dunked his head under the cool, refreshing water. He came back up, and smiled as he swept his hair back.

"Well, if this is a dream, I might as well make the most of it." He sighed as he leaned back against a tree, leaving his feet in the water.

As the duelist soaked his feet though, he felt something brush against his heel. He shifted his foot a little, but it was brushed again. Mako looked down toward his limbs…

And saw a young woman rising out of the water before him! Mako gasped, and drew back as the figure moved closer.

She was a young woman, probably in her twenties, and she wore a simple, blue, Egyptian-style dress. What was most interesting was that her entire body, hair included, appeared to be made of water. Looking at her feet, Mako noticed that they merged into the water.

"Hello." The water maiden said with a pleasant smile, "Welcome to my oasis."

"Now I know I'm dreaming." Mako smiled, "I mean, this couldn't happen in real life."

"You're not dreaming." The girl said, shaking her head, "Both this water and myself are very real. You were fortunate to discover this place in the virtual desert. Many who enter it never manage to find their way out."

"That a fact?" Mako wondered as he stood up, "So what's your name?"

The girl seemed slightly hurt at this question.

"I thought all duelists would recognize me." She sighed, "I'm the Emissary of the Oasis."

"Emissary of the…" Mako gasped, "Wait, you're a Duel Monster!"

"That's right." Emissary confirmed, "But just so you know, friends call me Em."

"Alright…Em." Mako nodded slowly, "So, I'm guessing you're some kind of guide for lost travelers?"

Em frowned and took a step back.

"Well, not really." She sighed, "I'm actually an Eliminator created by Kaiba Corp. for this tournament."

"Eliminator?" Mako mused, "I remember those from our little welcome speech at the start of this."

"It's just like what you were told." Em explained, "You can challenge me to a duel, but if you lose you're out of the tournament…"

"Where as if I win, I get three points and a special gift." Mako interrupted with a smile, "Right?"

Em gave Mako a strange look. She slowly nodded as she floated further backwards.

"You aren't scared?" She asked.

"Nah." Mako smirked, "I have full confidence in myself and my deck."

"Really." Em said quizzically, "Well be careful none the less. If you accept my challenge, my children and I might catch you off guard."

"Children?" Mako asked.

Em raised one hand, and a deck of Duel Monster cards appeared in it.

"I consider the cards in my deck to be like children to me." Em explained, "You can see why if you like."

Mako thought for a minute, and looked toward the desert beyond.

"Can I sit in the water while I duel you?" Mako asked.

Em giggled a bit, and nodded.

"So, are you ready to begin?" Em asked as a duel disk appeared on her arm.

"Of course." Mako declared as he activated his own disk.

Suddenly, a group of cards floated up in front of him. Looking over them, Mako realized that they were the monster cards from his deck!

"Then simply choose your deckmaster." Em requested with a wave of her arm.

"Who are you using?" Mako asked as he looked over the cards.

"Why Mako, didn't you notice that I'm a duel monster?" Em giggled, "That means that I'll serve as my own deckmaster."

The shimmering maiden floated backwards, hovering over the surface of the water at the center of the lake. Mako was left on the shore, looking over his cards with a look of concern on his face.

"I've never played with deckmaster rules." He thought as he tentatively reached for a card, "But if I recall, Emissary of the Oasis's regular ability has something to do with low level monsters."

Looking at the card he was about to select, he smiled and jabbed it with his finger. The cards all vanished, save the one he had chosen. That one slid into the lake, and a shadowy figure appeared beneath the water.

"Get ready Em, because I've chosen my deckmaster." Mako said as he raised his arm over the lake, "A creature who needs no introduction: Terror King Salmon!"

The shadow leapt from the water, revealing a huge fish, about the size of a dolphin! It had pure white scales, and powerful jaws. It landed back in the water with a splash, and rose back to the surface looking at Mako.

"Climb aboard, son of the ocean." The fish requested in a gurgling voice.

Mako gasped in surprise. The salmon turned around, offering its back to Mako, who carefully climbed on board. He seated himself behind the dorsal fin, and the fish began to bob up and down in the lake.

"I never realized that you could talk." Mako said, staring at his deckmaster in awe.

"It is because you chose me as your deckmaster that I was given the power to." Salmon explained, "And now I may unleash a power that your opponent shall find to be her bane: my deckmaster ability! Listen closely, and I shall tell you of the specifics."

Mako leaned forward, and the fish muttered something to him. Sitting back up, Mako smiled as he drew five cards.

"You know Em, I actually feel bad for you. You have no clue just how great my deckmaster is." Mako smirked, "So how about you go first."

Em: 8000

Mako: 8000

Em blinked in surprise, as she drew her six cards. She looked over her hand, and smiled as she did so.

"A decision you might regret Mako." Em stated as she placed a card on her disk, "I summon Bio-Mage (1150/1000) in attack mode!"

Em held out one hand, and from the water rose a mysterious figure. It looked almost human, except its skin was silver. Behind it spread a pair of orange wings that pulsed with mysterious energy, as it clasped its hands as if in prayer. Em slid another card into her disk.

"And next, I'll lay this card facedown. That's my turn." Em stated as the card appeared behind her mage.

Mako drew, and looked over his hand carefully.

"Well Em, I got some great monsters in my opening hand. But before I can summon them, they'll need more room than this lake can provide." Mako announced as he slid a card into the field zone of his disk, "So I activate A Legendary Ocean!"

"Deep breath everyone!" Salmon shouted as he began to sink beneath the surface of the water.

Mako held his breath, and Em and her monster also sank into the lake. The duelists continued down, deeper and deeper, until they found themselves descending into a beautiful underwater city! Around them were white buildings and majestic pillars, glowing softly in the light that filtered down from above the surface. Looking over his shoulder, Mako smiled as he saw a large, white palace behind him.

"Okay Mako, it's safe to breath now." Salmon declared.

"Really?" Mako gasped.

He stopped in mid-breath. Realizing he was fine, Mako cautiously took a sniff. Then he inhaled deeply.

"This is amazing!" Mako declared as he took another deep breath of water, "Did you do this?"

"Of course, I can't allow my fellow ocean lover to drown." Salmon said with a flick of his tail.

"Um…Is this all you're going to do Mako?" Em asked as she and Bio-mage looked around the city.

"Not yet." Mako stated as he put another card on his disk, "I also summon Great White (1800/1000) in attack mode, and he gains two hundred attack and defense points thanks to my field spell."

Salmon let out a strange, squealing noise. From the palace emerged a creature that looked like a shark, about the same size as Mako. Unlike the average shark though, this one had arms and was standing straight up on its tail. Each of its fingers was tipped with a sharp, yellow talon.

"Great White, attack her Bio-mage with fin slash!" Mako ordered with a dramatic sweep of his arm.

The silver monster gasped in terror as the shark man swam straight toward it! As the creature approached though, Em's facedown card lifted. Immediately, a blue and green barrier sprung up in between the two opponents.

"Sorry Mako, but my Gravity Bind keeps all level four or higher monsters from attacking!" Em said with a smirk, "So you'll need another…"

Em stopped talking as she realized that Mako's monster hadn't stopped! It continued forward, passed through the barrier, and a sharp fin extended from its right arm. The shark man swung his fin forward, and sliced Bio-mage in half. The monster groaned, and vanished.

Em: 7350

Mako: 8000

"What happened?" Em gasped, "My trap should have kept your monster away!"

"Sorry Em, I forgot to mention the second effect of A Legendary Ocean." Mako laughed, "As long as it's on the field, all water monsters gain 200 attack and defense points, and lose one star level. So that means my Great White is only a level three monster, not a level four. You're a duel monster, I thought you'd know this already."

"Hey, I'm a light monster, not water." Em sneered angrily.

Then she smiled. A silvery glow surrounded her body as she raised one hand over her deck.

"You take round one, Mako." She said, "But now my deckmaster ability, Underdog's Representative, activates."

"Underdog's Representative?" Mako muttered as he scratched his head, "What's that?"

"Basically, anytime a level three or lower normal monster is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can summon another copy of it from my deck." Em declared as she waved her hand, "So I call my second Bio-mage!"

"Sorry Em, buy you can't." Mako declared as Great White opened its hand.

Nestled in the palm of the fish's hand was a silvery orb. From that orb, appeared the image of a frightened Bio-mage! Em gasped as Great White held the orb out to Terrorking Salmon, who greedily swallowed it. Immediately, the silvery aura around Em vanished.

"My deckmaster ability, Feast of the Sea King, is going to render your deckmaster ability useless." Mako explained as he patted Salmon's head, "Anytime my monsters destroy a level three or lower monster in battle, that monster's soul is devoured by my deckmaster! In game terms, the monster is removed from play. It never touches the graveyard, so you can't use your deckmaster ability."

Em gasped in horror. She looked over her field, and glared at her useless trap card.

"My turn's over Em. So go ahead." Mako declared as he waved his hand.

"Fine!" Em spat as she drew, "I don't need my powers to beat you!"

Em smiled as she saw what she had drawn. She placed the card down on her disk, and a terrible creature emerged from behind a pillar. It looked like a giant lobster, except on top of its head was a terrifying skull!

"Meet the Mad Lobster (1900/1200)." Em laughed, "And since he's a creature of water, your own field spell benefits him!"

"Uh-oh!" Mako gasped as he drew back.

"Lobster, destroy the shark with crazy claw crush!" Em ordered.

The red giant dashed forward, straight toward Great White. The shark swam for its life, taking an escape route around many of the pillars, but the lobster quickly caught up. It grabbed the shark man in its giant claw, and the shark moaned as it vanished in a burst of bubbles!

Em: 7350

Mako: 7900

Em was snickering as she slid another card into her disk. It materialized behind the lobster, which had already returned to her side.

"I think I'll end my turn with one facedown card." She said with a nonchalant flick of her wrist, "Now just try to beat my monster."

Mako drew, and smiled as he recognized the monster in his hand. He showed it to the Salmon, who nodded in approval.

"I won't just try to beat your lobster, I'll succeed." Mako stated as he put a card on his disk, "I summon Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (2000/1500) in attack mode!"

From the palace came a new creature. This one looked human, except he was covered in deep purple and blue scales. He carried a golden trident, which he pointed at the lobster. Mako smiled as he pointed straight at Em.

"And, despite his name, he's a creature of water. So that means my field spell gives him all that he needs to wipe out your overgrown crustacean!" Mako called out, "So attack serpent, and destroy her monster with trident fury!"

The scaly monster readied his weapon, and swam forward. The Mad Lobster drew back in fear…

And then a large mirror popped up in front of it!

"Sorry Mako, but your triggered my Nightmare Mirror Trap card." Em declared as she slid a card from her hand into the grave, "It lets me discard one card from my hand to throw your attack at something else. Now look into the mirror and tell me what you see…"

Looking at the mirror, Mako gasped as he saw…

"Me!" He shouted, "The mirror is reflecting me?"

"That's right!" Em shouted.

The Sea Serpent's trident slammed into Mako's reflection, hitting it right in the chest. At the same time, Mako gasped and clutched at his own chest! He almost fell from Salmon's back, but quickly regained his balance.

"Of course, since you only hit your reflection, my trap only deals you 1000 damage." Em sighed as she stroked her monster, "But at least I protected my poor little lobster."

Em: 7350

Mako: 6900

"You sure seem to like low level monsters." Mako observed.

"Technically, they're my own kind." Em explained as she looked back at Mako, "But it's more than that. There are a few low level monsters that have good attack point like my lobster, but very few of them are so fortunate. In fact, most duelists feel that low level monsters with no special powers are completely useless! So that's why I dedicated myself to them. Forming an oasis in my own heart for those lost in the desert of discarded monsters."

Em sighed and looked over her hand sympathetically. She carefully brushed one of her cards. Mako just stared at her for a minute, then cleared his throat.

"I never really thought of that." He muttered as he looked at his deckmaster, "Now I feel bad that I'm devouring the souls of your creatures…"

"Don't worry." Em sighed, "You know how it works. You can watch your monster get beat up, torn to shreds, or even lose its soul completely, but as long as you respect its sacrifice it will always be back to normal by the next time you duel."

"Yeah." Mako said as he started to smile, "You're right. It's really a great thing you do for those poor monsters Em, but all the same, I don't plan to lose to them. I'll end my turn by placing one card facedown."

Mako slid the card into his disk. It materialized in a cloud of bubbles behind his sea serpent. Em drew and smiled.

"Alright then Mako." She stated as she placed another card onto her disk, "I summon Jerry Beans Man (1750/0) in attack mode."

In front of Em appeared a creature that looked like a large jelly bean with arms and legs. It had a smiling face, and carried a toy sword in one hand.

"Why summon it in attack mode when my monster is stronger?" Mako frowned, "That doesn't make any sense."

"No?" Em asked as she slid another card into her disk, "Maybe this will change your tune. I activate Snatch Steal!"

A card showing a wily thief appeared on the field, and a strange looking bandit jumped out of it. He looked around, then ran forward and jumped at Mako's monster! The sea serpent gasped, and then lashed out with his weapon. The bandit dodged it though, and vanished into the scaly creature's body! Sea serpent's eyes glazed over as he swam over to Em.

"This simple spell lets me control one of your monsters." Em explained as she slid her last card into her disk, "Of course, I'd have to give you 1000 life points each turn to keep your monster…"

"But I bet you only wanted it as a sacrifice for some spell card." Mako guessed as a Jerry Beans Man's sword vanished.

"Very good Mako." Em applauded, "I only needed your monster so I could equip Jerry here with my Sword of the Soul-Eater."

In Jerry's hand appeared an evil looking black sword, with a single eye on the hilt. It began to blaze with black flames, and both the lobster and the sea serpent screamed as they dissolved into black sparks that were absorbed by the sword! Jerry held up his weapon, an evil grin spreading across his face.

"What did you do?" Mako shouted.

"Sorry, I guess you've never seen this card." Em said a she pointed to the weapon, "I can only equip this sword to a level three or lower normal monster. If I do, then I sacrifice all other normal monsters under my control and the monster with the sword gains 1000 attack points for each of them!"

Jerry (3750/0) laughed wickedly as the black flames around the sword spread over his body. At the same time, Em was glowing with a silver aura.

"Of course, since sacrificing my monsters sent them to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon another copy of Mad Lobster (1900/1200) from my deck." She stated as a card slid out of her deck and settled on her disk, "Too bad that I don't have any Sea Serpent Warriors of Darkness in my own deck, but oh well."

A second lobster swam out of a nearby building, and settled next to Jerry.

"Mad Lobster, attack!" Em called out, pointing at Mako.

The crustacean dashed forward, and grabbed Mako in its claw! Mako screamed in pain as he was squeezed by the massive limb, and finally released. Mako slumped weakly onto his deckmaster, who stared up at him with fear in his eyes.

"Jerry, attack with soul swipe!" Em ordered.

Mako gasped in horror as the jelly bean flew towards him! It swung its weapon right through Mako, who gasped as his life points tumbled.

Em: 7350

Mako: 1250

"What was all that about 'forming an oasis' for those monsters?" Mako gasped as he struggled to remain on Salmon, "You just sacrificed one of them in cold blood!"

"Not true Mako." Em stated, "I'd rather say that my monsters are now working together for the greater good. I'm thankful that my first lobster was willing to give his life to help, and now his brother will also work to help me."

"Maybe, but you actually did more harm than good to yourself with that move." Mako smirked as his facedown card lifted, "I activate Damage Condenser!"

Behind Mako appeared a large machine, which looked like a computer attached to a tank full of glowing energy. The number 3750 was glowing on the computer screen. Mako smiled as he discarded a card from his hand, and a group of cards appeared in front of him.

"Now, this trap is a little complicated, but it's great for summoning my strongest monsters quickly." Mako explained as he selected a card, "I just discard one card from my hand, and this trap will let me special summon a monster from my deck whose attack points are equal to or less then the amount of battle damage I just took. In other words, the more pain I feel, the more damage I can deal!"

"And you just lost almost four-thousand life points…" Em gasped as raised her hand to her mouth.

"So I can summon almost any monster I choose." Mako said as he placed the card he had selected onto his disk, "And I choose Levia Dragon-Daedalus (2800/1700)!"

The energy in the container began to vanish, and a glowing blob of blue light appeared in front of Mako. The light grew, until it was as long as two school busses end to end, and just as big around. It was soon covered in sea blue scales, with a frightening draconic face appearing on the front half! The gigantic sea snake let loose a terrible roar, and stared down at Em's monsters. Em gasped, but then she looked at her trap card.

"You had me scared for a minute Mako." Em sighed with relief, "But if I recall, that's a level seven monster."

"Level six thanks to my ocean." Mako corrected, "Seems you forgot about that."

"And it seems you forgot that I still have Gravity Bind on the field!" Em exclaimed as the blue-green barrier shimmered overhead, "So that means your overgrown sea snake can't attack!"

Daedalus let out a furious roar as the barrier closed in around it. It screeched in anger as it was forced downward by the force of the trap.

"Shoot!" Mako thought with a wince, "Now what? I could use Daedalus's effect, but then she'd just summon more monsters by her own ability."

"Your turn Mako." Em said with another wave, "But I don't think I'll have to worry about Daedalus after all."

"That's where you're wrong." Mako stated, drawing a card.

"Oh really?" Em asked, raising an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Because I just drew my Mystical Space Typhoon spell card!" Mako shouted, sliding the card into his disk, "And I'm using it to destroy your Gravity Bind."

A gust of wind shot away from Mako's body, and slammed into the green barrier. It shook under the force of the wind, then shattered into fragments! Daedelus rose up again, letting out a terrifying roar as it glared down at the lobster and the jelly bean.

"And I've got one more surprise." Mako declared, placing another card on his disk, "I summon Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness (2300/1500) in attack mode!"

Off in the distance appeared a large shadow, which began to move toward the two duelists. As it came closer, the figure became clear. It was a large killer whale, with several cannons and turrets built into its back! It continued until it was in front of Mako, and then turned towards the opposing side of the field.

"What the…That's a five star monster!" Em shouted, pointing at the huge creature, "How did you summon it without a sacrifice!"

"My Legendary Ocean is the home of many creatures." Mako explained with a grin, "And they are all eager to come defend it when it is threatened. In other words, the level reduction effect it carries applies to monsters in my hand, as well as on the field. So I can summon five star monsters without having to sacrifice another monster first!"

Em seemed shocked by this, but quickly regained her composure. She smiled as she pointed to Jerry Beans Man.

"Those two can't help you now anyway Mako." She declared with a grin, "Jerry is still much too powerful for them to beat!"

"Maybe so," Mako nodded, "but Mad Lobster will fall to them easily! Daedelus, take out that lobster with rip tide rush!"

The lobster let out a frightened sounding chittering as Daedelus started toward it. The great sea snake picked up speed, and slammed into the lobster as it turned to escape! The lobster screamed and shattered into fragments, a small orb swooping from where it had been standing. The orb landed right in Salmon's mouth, and the creature gulped it down.

Em: 6450

Mako: 1250

Em cringed as her monster was wiped out. Mako just smiled, and slid another card into his disk.

"I'm laying one more card facedown, and ending my turn Em." Mako declared as the new card began to float behind his monsters.

Em drew, and quickly pointed to Daedelus. Her eyes were glowing with a silvery light, and her face was twisted in anger.

"Fine Mako, get ready to lose a lot of life points!" Em shouted, "Jerry, attack Daedelus with bean sword slice!"

The little jelly bean with the large sword swooped forward again. He quickly brought his blade down on the sea snake, which screamed in pain.

"Looks like you're about to go down to 300 life points." Em laughed.

"Guess again!" Mako responded, jabbing a button on his disk, "I activate Tornado Wall!"

Mako's facedown card lifted, and a large whirlpool began to form around him. Surprisingly, neither Mako nor his deckmaster were being pulled by the vortex. On the contrary, they seemed quite content amid the swirling water. Em seemed confused as Daedelus shattered into fragments…

And Mako's lifepoints didn't drop!

"Now what happened?" Em shouted.

Mako smirked as he gestured to the whirlpool he was in.

"Sorry Em, but my Tornado Wall trap card keeps me from taking any battle damage so long as the field can be called 'Umi.'" He explained as his trap glowed in response.

"But this field…" Em started to protest.

"Is the Legendary Ocean." Mako interrupted, "And its final power lets me treat it as though its name was 'Umi.'"

Em scowled again, and looked at the one card in her hand. She sighed, and waved her hand, ending her turn. Mako smiled again as he drew a second card.

"Well look at what I got!" Mako smiled as he turned the card toward Em.

The card showed the image of a large, red clam. The strange thing is, this clam had a large drill coming from it.

"What is that?" Em asked.

"It's a monster known as Cannonball Spear Shellfish (1000/1000)." Mako explained as he put the card on his disk, allowing a larger image of the clam to appear in front of him, "And as long as he's on the field, he's unaffected by any spell cards, even Legendary Ocean."

"Then why summon it?" Em wondered, staring at the strange creature.

"Because of my orca." Mako grinned as the whale suddenly swallowed the Cannonball Spear Shellfish, "I just sacrifice my shellfish to it, and I can destroy any spell or trap on the field that I want! And there's only one I can choose…"

The orca focused one of its turrets on the jelly bean. The little creature drew back in fear, holding up its sword. The turret then fired, and the clam slammed right into the blade! The plant type screamed as his sword and the fish both shattered into digital fragments!

"And now…" Mako continued.

Orca turned all of its weapons toward Jerry Beans Man (1750/0), who cringed in fear.

"Orca mega barrage!" Mako ordered.

Every single cannon on the whale's back suddenly fired! Jerry screamed as hundreds of explosions surrounded him, causing him to burst into pixels, and sending his soul right into Salmon's mouth. At the same time, Em screamed as she was blown backward by the force of the blows!

Em: 5900

Mako: 1250

"I play my last card facedown. Your move Em." Mako stated as he put his final card into his disk.

Mako's card materialized next to the Tornado Wall. Em was grumbling to herself as she drew her next card. As her eyes fell on it, a curious look came over her face.

"Well, this is my best chance." She stated, sliding a card into her disk, "I activate Enchanting Fitting Room."

In front of Em appeared a large, red curtain, waving softly as though there were something behind it.

"This simple spell costs me 800 life points." Em declared as she waved her hand, "But it could summon exactly what I need."

Em: 5100

Mako: 1250

"Now, I take the top four cards from my deck, and we both look at them…" Em continued.

The curtain opened, revealing four cards.

The first was Pot of Greed.

The next one was a one star monster card. The image showed a peasant being struck by a man with a whip.

The third one was also a two star monster card. The image on it was of many people panicking.

The last one was a three star monster. This one showed several men entering a building.

"So now what happens?" Mako asked, looking at the cards.

"Now, I summon any level three or lower normal monsters that I found." Em said as the cards floated onto her disks, "But all the other cards are shuffled back into my deck, so I'll see Pot of Greed later."

The spell card vanished, along with the large curtain, and in front of Em appeared three smaller curtains

"Now then Mako, allow me to present my best combo!" Em declared, "First, Oppressed People (600/2200)!"

The first curtain lifted, revealing a downtrodden man wearing very tattered looking robes and carrying a hoe. He had a sad look on his face as he turned his gaze toward Mako.

"Next, People Running About (600/600)!" Em continued.

The second curtain raised, and a panicky looking man in simple robes now stood on the field. He carried a short sword in one hand, which was shaking so badly it was a wonder he didn't drop it.

"Finally, United Resistance (1000/400)!" Em finished.

The last curtain lifted away, showing a courageous young man in robes like the second. This man was bravely carrying a long sword in one hand, which he brandished toward Mako.

"Now, I lay my last card facedown and end my turn." Em stated, sliding her final card into her disk, "Oh, and just so you know, Oppressed People is a water monster, so it gets the bonus from your field card."

Mako drew, his eyes on Em the whole time.

"Just what are you trying to do Em?" Mako asked, "None of those monsters can stand up to my Orca."

"Not alone." Em nodded, "But these three monsters are very special Mako."

"Really." Mako asked.

"Yes. They live in a horrible country, where the rich are constantly hording their wealth. Those who are born in the lower classes are lucky to see a few coins come their way every year." Em sighed, "But they live on with a single goal: One that was formed from a dream, a promise, and a plan."

The three men in front of Em looked at each other, and nodded.

"The Oppressed People dream that they will be free one day…The People Running About made a promise to strike back…and The United Resistance has the plan to make it happen!" Em declared, waving her arm dramatically, "And now their plans shall come to fruition! I activate: HUGE REVOLUTION!"

The trap card lifted, and all three of the men held their respective weapons up. They crossed the weapons in mid air, and then glared at Mako, who drew back. Suddenly, from the trap card, emerged hundreds of people! They began to swarm all over Mako's side of the field, attacking his orca.

"What's happening?" Mako screamed.

"The revolution has begun." Em explained, "Since Oppressed People, People Running About, and United Resistance are on the field together, my trap will now destroy every card on your side of the field, and force you to discard your hand."

"Not before I activate this: Emergency Provisions!" Mako responded, his facedown card lifting, "This quickplay spell lets me destroy spell and trap cards on my side of the field, and restore 1000 life points for each one. So before your monsters destroy them I'll sacrifice Legendary Ocean and Tornado Wall!"

A large mouth jumped out of the card Mako had turned over, and began to suck up the water. Mako, his deckmaster, and Em all began to ascend to the surface of the water. As they did, Mako could only stare helplessly as the hundreds of peasants killed the Orca Mega-Fortress.

Em: 5100

Mako: 3250

Soon, both duelists were at the surface of the water. The three original peasants also surfaced in front of Em. The Oppressed People (400/2000) seemed to have been slightly weakened, and Em seemed a touch annoyed. Mako just watched as the Premature Burial he had drawn faded away into nothing.

"Well, nice work Mako." Em applauded, "Your little spell saved you from what would have been a painful defeat. But it can't protect you from all the damage I'm about to do! And since you have nothing on the filed or in your hand, it's my move."

"Here goes." Mako fretted as Em drew, "If she draws a monster with 1250 attack points or more, I'm finished!"

"Mako." Salmon gurgled.

Mako looked at his deckmaster/mount.

"Do not worry." Salmon continued, "I'm sure your desire to prove yourself in this tournament is greater than her desire to defeat you. Simply believe."

Mako nodded, and looked toward Em…

Who was staring furiously at her card!

"Shoot, looks like you'll last one more turn Mako." Em admitted, "But I'll still have all three of my monsters attack you directly!"

The three revolutionaries jumped forward. The depressed man's hoe was now covered in a crackling layer of ice, the frightened man's sword had an aura of flames around it, and the courageous man's blade was sparking with electricity! They let out a war cry, slicing at Mako with their weapons. Mako screamed as flames, ice, and lightning surrounded his body, depleting his life points. Mako quickly regained composure, although wisps of smoke were now rising from his body.

Em: 5100

Mako: 1250

"Alright, my turn!" Mako announced as he drew.

His eyes widened as he saw the card. He quickly slid it into his disk, and smiled as a large, green jar appeared before him.

"I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards." Mako declared, snapping the cards from his deck.

"Get anything good?" Em asked as Mako looked over his cards.

"You bet!" Mako cheered, placing another card on his disk, "I summon Mermaid Knight (1500/700) in attack mode!"

From the water in front of Mako emerged a red haired mermaid wearing steel armor and carrying a sword. She smiled at Mako, who slid another card into the field zone of his disk. Immediately, the entire field began to submerge again, until they were back in the underwater city!

"Oh no, you had another Legendary Ocean!" Em moaned.

"That's right." Mako declared, "And since I can treat is as 'Umi' my Mermaid Knight is permitted to attack twice, and she gets a little power boost. So do the Oppressed People (600/2200) come to think of it, but it's nowhere near enough! Mermaid Knight (1700/900), wipe out Oppressed People and People Running About with deep sea slash!"

The Mermaid, now much more at home in the undersea kingdom, swam forward at lightning speed, cutting the nervous man and the depressed man down! The two figures moaned in pain, and fell over, collapsing into particles. The orbs containing their souls quickly went the way of their predecessors, and were eaten by Salmon.

Em: 2900

Mako: 1250

"That's all Em, it's your turn." Mako declared, pointing his thumb straight down.

"Umm…" Em stammered as she drew her second card, and a look of fear crossed her face.

"Another Sword of the Soul Eater, and my Non-Spellcasting Area cards? These are worthless!" She realized.

"Disappointed with your draw?" Mako taunted.

"I move United Resistance to defense mode and end my turn." Em muttered, turning the card on her disk.

The heroic man moved to one knee, holding his sword in a parrying stance. Mako drew, and smiled.

"Time to end this." Mako announced as he placed another card on his tray, "I summon Creeping Doom Manta (1500/1400) in attack mode!"

From the palace behind Mako swam a giant manta ray, about the size of a VW Beetle. On its back was a terrible face that looked as though it had been carved into the creature's skin.

"Oh boy…" Em muttered.

"Manta, take out her last defense with doom sting!" Mako ordered.

The manta swam forward at lightning speed, and stabbed its barbed tail right into the kneeling man. United Resistance groaned, then shattered into a barrage of pixels, his soul orb floating into Salmon's mouth.

"And finally…" Mako continued, pointing at Em, "My Mermaid Knight will use both of her attacks on you!"

Em screamed in terror and pain as the warrior mermaid swam forward, and drew her blade across the duelist twice. Em fell to her back, and the ocean around the two faded. Soon, everyone was back on the surface of the lake, with Em floating on her back on top of it.

Em: 0

Mako: 1250

"Are you okay!" Mako shouted with concern in his voice.

Em moaned, and sank under the surface of the pool. Mako stared in horror at where she had been, but then she arose right in front of him, looking fully refreshed. Mako gasped and drew back at her sudden appearance and his disk deactivated.

"One of the benefits to being intangible, is it doesn't take long to recover from an attack." Em explained as she waved one hand, "Congratulations Mr. Tsunami, you've defeated me and earned two excellent prizes. The first is these three win points."

Three points of light flew from Em's hand to Mako's disk. The counter jumped from two to five as the lights entered it.

"And you are also awarded with this powerful card for your deck." Em continued, a card appearing in front of Mako.

Mako took it, and gasped.

"Ocean Dragon Lord Neo Daedelus." Mako gasped, "I…I've been trying to get this forever!"

"May it serve you well Mako." Em smiled, "And good luck in the rest of the tournament."

Mako seemed confused however.

"But...This card is virtual like everything else in here, isn't it?" He asked.

"True." Em nodded, "But after the tournament, you'll be given a voucher to mail into Kaiba Corp for a real copy of it."

Mako's eyes went wide as Em continued.

"Mr. Kaiba has a great deal of rare cards, not all of which he can use. Therefore, he's decided to give up a few of them to the people that defeat his eliminators."

Mako looked at the powerful monster. He quickly shuffled it back into his deck with a grin.

"That sounds unusually generous for the guy that came up with the ante rule." Mako admitted as he began to fade away, "But who am I to judge, right? If he wants to give cards like this away that's his choice."

Mako smiled as he vanished. Em nodded and slowly sank beneath the water again, the surface of it lying quiet and still.

I was worried for a minute there, but it looks like I get to keep going in this tournament...

And with a powerful new card to boot! But I'm not in the next chapter. Next time,you get to see how Mr. Gold's encounter with Mr Richington went. We call it:

Battle of the Sexes

If you haven't already guessed, Gold isn't going to be dueling Richington...

---

Original Cards

---

Nightmare Mirror

Trap Card

Image of an evil looking mirror.

When your opponent declares an attack, discard one card. Negate the attack of the enemy monster and deal 1000 points of damage to your opponent.

This card was first used on the show by Marik Ishtar. All creative credit for it goes to the writers that created it.

---

Original Deckmasters

---

Emissary of the Oasis

LIGHT

Spellcaster

Three stars

600 attack

400 defense

Underdog's Representative: Whenever a level three or lower normal monster is sent from your field to the graveyard, special summon another copy of it from your deck.

---

Terrorking Salmon

WATER

Fish

Five stars

2400 attack

1000 defense

Feast of the Sea King: Anytime a level three or lower monster is destroyed in battle, remove it from play without sending it to the graveyard (damage is calculated normally)