The three of them stood at the entrance to Kaibaland, decks in hand. It was a large theme park, with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon carved in statues all throughout. There were a number of dueling arenas for the kids who didn't have dueldisks, and a bunch of different rides for people who weren't interested in dueling at that moment. Food stands and merchandise peppered what little floor space was left, and everywhere there were people enjoying the sights of the park.

"All right." Seto turned. "You can go wherever you want to, as long as you stay within the park. Duel or don't, it doesn't matter to me, but remember, I'm still taking cards from each of your decks over time, so make the most of this opportunity." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Whatever you do, I recommend you don't disappoint me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Kyo bowed her head, and Kisara nodded.

"We won't let you down, Father." She promised.

"Good. I expect to be here for some time." He said. "If you get tired or want to go home early, you know who to ask."

One of the duties of every manager Seto hired on in his company was the ability to drive one of his company vehicles, in case he wanted to get somewhere fast – and they all knew that they were to help his daughter (and Kyo) in the same manner.

With that, he strode away.

Kyo looked up. The sun was getting low. Now that school was out, there would be a number of students of all ages running around. But as the evening wore on, the younger ones would leave, and the older ones would get tougher, until only the hardcore duelists would be left dueling into the night.

She figured she could probably work in a couple of easy duels and a medium one before they got to the tougher opponents. She looked down at her deck; that should give her plenty of time to get used to wielding Dark Magician.

Despite what had happened, she had still put him in her deck. He was far stronger than any of the cards she had won at school, and frankly, she needed all the help she could get. It was strange to have someone swear loyalty to her, but maybe the Dark Magician had just been afraid she would lock him away the way Yugi had.

At that thought, she softened. I promise never to lock you away, Dark Magician. She decided. Maybe if it had been a regular card. But a person, an actual person, didn't deserve to be treated like that.

I promise to take care of you.

"Kyo? Are you there?"

She looked up. "Sorry," She apologized quickly. "Where would you like to start?"

Kisara hesitated. "Um, I just asked you that," She mumbled.

Kyo looked around. "All right, then let's start over here." She said, pointing in a somewhat random direction with all the assurance of someone who'd thought carefully about which way they wanted to go.

"Okay, sounds good." Kisara smiled and followed.


"You want to duel with an ante? What cards do you have?" The kid asked with interest, toting his longboard and a backpack. He was wearing a white t-shirt and a ball cap, and had actually come up to them asking to duel just as Kyo had started to look for a duelist.

Kyo pulled out her deck and flipped through. She didn't want to even mention her Dark Magician; she wasn't sure anyone would ante for it without a dedicated deck, but she didn't want to take the risk of losing him regardless. She didn't really want to risk Black Luster Soldier, either; especially not with her current deck of Kuribohs, which went well with the method used to summon the Envoy of the Beginning.

"I've got Honest, Creature Swap, Burial from a Different Dimension–"

"Wait, is that Dark Magician of Chaos?!" He interrupted as he peered over her shoulder. "I want that one!"

Kyo hesitated. "I don't know…"

"Here, here," He went to his deck. "I've got a Magician's Valkyria." He said, pulling it out. "She's low level, but when she's on the field, your opponent can't attack any other spellcasters you control."

Kyo had to admit that was interesting, but… "That's not as valuable." She said. It would be an incredibly valuable card once she had more spellcasters for her Dark Magician deck, but at the moment it was a Kuriboh deck, and that wouldn't help her.

He hesitated. "Well, I have two." He said a little reluctantly. "What if I ante'd both of them? Their effects work on each other, so if you have two on the field, your opponent basically can't attack."

Now that was valuable. But if she lost…

Kyo bit her lip. She didn't want to lose the Dark Magician of Chaos, especially since it was from her father. She hadn't practiced with her new deck; she didn't know how strong it was.

"Trust me, Master. I will not let you down."

She looked down at her deck. She'd heard that voice, clear as day. After the encounter, though, she knew it was in her head – a mental voice that only she could hear.

"Let me protect you, Master."

You don't have to. She thought. I won't abandon you the way he did.

"Then trust me, Master. I will not fail you."

She hesitated, then nodded. "All right." She said at last. After all, he is a Duel Monster. If I don't use him, it wouldn't be any better than if he was locked away somewhere. Would it?

"Cool. My name's Dwayne, by the way." He held out his hand.

"I'm Kyo." She replied, taking it and smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Kyo? Like Kyo Moto?" He asked, startled.

Kyo blinked. "Yeah," She said slowly. "Why?"

"That's so cool!" He gasped. "Your dad's only the biggest name in Duel Monsters! I bet you're gonna be a tough duelist to beat!"

Kyo gave him a rueful smile. "I sure hope so. I'm sure you're a great duelist yourself."

Dwayne grinned. "Yup! C'mon, let's du– you don't have a dueldisk, do you?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Kyo said guiltily.

"That's okay, lots of kids don't have dueldisks." He looked a little disappointed, but rallied quickly and hurried off. "Come on, let's go find an arena!"


There was a small pilot stand on either end, where duelists would take their places and be lifted into the air over the field. Kyo stopped in front of hers and gazed at it for a moment.

This is it. My first true duel. She stepped into it, and it lifted her up.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Dwayne called, waving at her. "Rock Paper Scissors, let's go!"

"What?" Kyo asked, then looked down at the digital dueling mat and the screen that showed her the cards on her opponent's side of the field. The screen flashed, registering her presence, then showed her three options.

"Tap on whichever one you pick, and that'll tell us which one of us can choose whether to go first or second." Dwayne said.

Kyo nodded and picked the rock. The screen whirled for a moment, then revealed that he had selected paper.

"Cool. I think I'll go first." He announced. He studied his hand for a moment, then said, "I'll set one monster facedown, and then I'll set a card here." He looked up. "Take it away, Kyo."

She drew. Okay. He's got a facedown monster and possibly a trap. Not a very strong opening move, but it is going to keep me guessing. And without a clue as to what his strategy is, I could wind up taking some serious damage.

Not that my deck is all that offensive, She thought wryly as she looked through her hand. "I place three cards facedown and end my turn."

Dwayne chuckled. "All right, guess I'll be the one to launch an attack, huh? I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus in attack mode! Then I activate Mythical Bestiary, which lets me place two Spell Counters on Cerberus. And, because of Cerberus's special ability, it gains another Spell Counter, giving it a total of three."

Kyo looked down at the display. "Twenty-nine hundred attack points?" She queried, startled. How is that possible for a level four monster?

"Ah, so you don't know its special ability." Dwayne realized. "Not to worry. I'll explain. Mythical Beast Cerberus gets five hundred extra attack points for every Spell Counter on the card. These counters disappear when it makes an attack, but as you can see, it makes creating a powerful monster very easy if you have the right cards."

And it gained a Spell Counter when he played his spell card. She noted. "Impressive." She said.

"Yeah." Dwayne grinned. "So, since you've got no monsters on the field, I'll attack directly. Go, Cerberus!"

"Well, I may have no monsters," Kyo said as the beast bounded towards her. "But I have Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, and Multiply." She flipped them over, and a flock of Kuriboh flooded the field. "The flute lets me summon Kuriboh, and by tributing it I can turn one Kuriboh into five, all in defense mode to protect my life points."

"Heh." Dwayne chuckled. "Nice. Well Cerberus destroys one of them." The beast chomped down, and the glowing orbs across its body lost their light. "So since it attacked, it loses its Spell Counters, and its attack power goes back to fourteen hundred. I'll place this card facedown and end my turn."

"My move." Kyo drew. All right. He's still got a monster facedown, and he just replaced the spell. She mused. "I activate Detonate!" She threw down the card she'd drawn. "This lets me tribute the Kuriboh on my side of the field in order to destroy the same number of cards on your side of the field." She lifted her hand. "You only have three, so I destroy all three with my self-destructing Kuriboh! Go!"

The Kuriboh tokens flew forward, squeaking, and as they peppered Dwayne's side of the field, they exploded. The Cerberus howled, and the second monster appeared to be a library of some sort. The facedown spell was Magical Dimension.

So I'm dealing with a spellcaster deck? She thought. I guess that makes sense, since he has a Magician's Valkyria combo. She looked down at her deck. Let's see if my deck can handle this.

"Lastly, I'll summon a monster facedown. Your move, Dwayne." She said.

"All right! I set this card facedown, then I summon Magical Something in attack mode." Dwayne said, and a spellcaster appeared on the field. "Magical Something! Attack her facedown monster!"

The Winged Kuriboh squeaked as the magician's staff swiped through it.

"That's it for me." Dwayne concluded.

Kyo nodded and drew. She grinned, then grabbed one of her other cards. "I summon Kinka-Byo!" She declared, and the shadowy spirit-cat appeared on the field, its fur bristling and its eyes glowing.

"Thanks to Kinka-Byo's special ability, I can Special Summon one level one monster from my graveyard. I choose Kuriboh, in attack mode!" The furball reappeared on her side of the field.

"Attack mode, huh?" Dwayne said wryly. "Seems kinda pointless to me. Doesn't it get banished when it leaves the field?"

"Yes, but first," Kyo set down her card. "I'm going to activate Creature Swap! This lets us each choose a monster to swap with our opponent." She pointed. "And since the only monster you have is Magical Something, I'll take that, and I'll give you Kuriboh."

Dwayne grimaced. "Gotta admit I didn't see that one coming."

Kyo grinned back. "Now, Magical Something, attack his Kuriboh!"

The spellcaster darted across the field.

"Kinka-Byo, attack his life points directly!" Kyo added.

Dwayne pulled a face, and they both checked his life points on the display panel. He was down to twenty-one hundred, having just lost nineteen hundred in a single turn.

"That'll do for now." Kyo said. "And because Kinka-Byo is a spirit monster, it returns to my hand at the end of my turn."

"All right. I draw." Dwayne said. He studied his hand for a few seconds, then said, "I'll set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

All right. I should attack while he's on the defensive. She thought. "I summon Shining Angel in attack mode, then I'll have Magical Something attack your facedown monster. Go, Magical Something!"

The magician swiped right through the monster, destroying it, but not before she recognized Magical Undertaker.

"Magical Undertaker lets me summon a level four or lower spellcaster-type monster from my graveyard." He explained. "So I'll use it to summon Royal Magical Library in defense mode!"

That was that library from before. Kyo thought. But it's too strong defensively. Neither of my monsters can get past it. She stepped back. I'll just have to wait for now. "All right, well I can't attack, so that's it for me."

"Sweet. I draw!" Dwayne grinned. "I'll place this card facedown, then I'll summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode!"

He announced. "Valkyria, attack her Shining Angel!"

Kyo moved the angel to her graveyard as she lost two hundred life points. "Shining Angel's special ability allows me to summon a Light monster with fifteen hundred attack points or less in attack mode. I choose Winged Kuriboh!"

Dwayne snorted. "What, is your deck like, only Kuriboh? Come on! I thought you'd have something, I dunno, bigger."

Kyo gave him a wry look. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" That was the weakness of the Kuriboh deck: no powerful monsters. Most of her strength had come from Creature Swap, Multiply/Detonate, and Transcendent Wings.

But that isn't the case anymore. She thought. I have Dark Magician and Black Luster Soldier. She considered the field. I'll need to draw one of them if I want to get past Royal Magical Library. Magical Something can defeat his Valkyria, but I'll need to draw something stronger very soon.

"It's my move." She drew. This'll help. "I activate Allure of Darkness!" She announced, lifting the card. "This lets me draw two cards. Then, I can either banish a dark monster, or I'll send my entire hand to the graveyard." I'll banish Kinka-Byo–

Dark Magician!

She stopped, staring at him. She had literally just been thinking about him, and there he was. He could have been anywhere in her deck. She had multiples of every other card she needed for her strategies to make sure she pulled them, but this…

"Well?" Dwayne asked, a little impatiently as she just stood there. "Do you have a dark monster to banish or not?"

"I banish Kinka-Byo." She said, then looked through her options.

He'd even come with a way to summon himself.

"Next, I'll switch Winged Kuriboh to defense mode." She said. "Then I activate Mimiclay. As long as you control a monster, I can select one level one monster in defense mode on my side of the field, then special summon one with the same name from my deck. I choose Winged Kuriboh, so I pull another Winged Kuriboh."

"Okay, that's a lot of puffballs to have in one deck." Dwayne grumbled.

"Don't worry." Kyo said, lifting the Dark Magician. "It's time to summon something a little bit stronger." She could practically feel the card vibrating with anticipation. This is the first time he's being played in years.

Dwayne blinked.

"I tribute Winged Kuriboh (which is banished when it leaves the field due to Mimiclay's effect) and Magician Something (which returns to your graveyard) in order to summon my Dark Magician!" Kyo announced as she threw the card down. "Dark Magician, come forth!"