Sorry for the wait. I had a busy schedule. But here you go.

Sharing info: I was listening to KONGOS' Lunatic album while writing this story. I was listening to "Come with me now" while writing the part where the heroes battled the boss monsters. Great song.

PEACE

The oversized bull monster warrior called the Bull-Neck Guardian stood over the tiny human boys, clutching tightly on the hilt of his sword. He snorted his nostrils, glared at them with those oval black eyes underneath its helmet, and growled threateningly in hint of a battle.

"I think he's challenging us to a duel," Ash realized.

"I think so too," Yami agreed.

"Pikachu!"

The Bull-Neck Guardian rose its sword up high above his head. Yami, Ash, and Pikachu gasped in foreboding. It slammed the blade of its sword onto the ground. Ash, Pikachu, and Yami quickly leaped sideways out of the way, avoiding the attack. Yami skidded on his fours. "Something tells me that this guy's no pushover!" He said.

Holding onto the rails of the seatings, Ash and Pikachu were determined to fight the big beast, despite them being inexperienced. "All right, if he wants to duel..." Ash clutched his Poké ball. "Then we'll give him one!"

"Pikachu!" Lightning sparks emitted from its red cheeks.

Yami activated his duel disk as well. "Give it all you got, Ash!"

At the graveyard, a bunch more zombies moaned as they rose up from the burial grounds and surrounded the girls. Tèa and May choked out frightened noises as they inched backwards with their backs hitting the headstones behind them. "There's so many of them." The younger girl said fearfully. "What should we do?'

"We got no choice!" Tèa automatically responded, thinking they should stand up against the monsters.

May read her thoughts. "We must fight back!" She recollected her courage and got out her Poké ball. "Go, Combusken!" She threw it and out came her red and yellow chicken-like Pokémon, ready for battle.

"My thoughts exactly!" Tèa said, putting in her monster card in the slot. Her Dark Witch appeared on the field, also ready to defend her owner against the zombie freaks.

"Combuskin, Flame Thrower!"

"Dark Witch, use your Magic Spell!" Their monsters set out and fought against the zombie herd to defend their masters.

Combusken torched half of the ghouls on its side while Dark Witch bewitched the other half on her side. Once it's temporally clear, it was time for the girls to make their move. "Now's our chance!" Tèa said and grabbed May's hand and started to run with their loyal monsters running along besides them. As they fled deeper into the heart of the graveyard, more zombies in different and uglier appearance rose up from the graves and tried to seize the frightened girls. Their monsters counterattacked and bopped them back into their graves. May screamed as a rotting hand grabbed her ankle from underground. Its hideous face perked up from the ground and moaned. "Combusken!" May shrieked and her Pokémon cut the zombie's arm off, setting her free.

May timidly shook the dead arm off her leg, Tèa helped her on her feet, and they proceeded running. They panted and kept on running until they spotted a church up ahead. "Inside!" Tèa shouted.

The girls and monsters entered the house of sanctuary and slammed the doors shut. Tèa placed a plywood plank across the crossbar latch to seal tight the doors. "Are we safe here?" May asked.

"Only for the time being," Tèa answered.

Combusken and Dark Witch stood close to each other in the empty aisles of the nave, bracing for the worst. "Uh, Tèa?" May spoke up.

"Yeah, May?" The older girl responded.

"We're not the first ones here," she pointed to the bema. Tèa looked behind herself.

Standing on the alter is a human-shaped nun in black. Although she appeared to be normal, her skin was greenish brown and wore blank expression on her face like a lifeless statue. "Uh, hello?" Tèa addressed her.

The nun howled ghostly and vaulted from the altar and soared high in the worship room. The girls and their monsters exclaimed in fright as they now have to fend against the unholy monster spirit.

On the ocean shore side, the flying king-sized shark monster ironically called Airhead Shark with growled and glared ferociously at the two tiny humans and roared at them in battle. "You don't scare us, Tuna Breath!" Joey retorted, rubbing his nose as if from the monster's fishy breath. "I'm gonna fry your tail!" He inserted his monster card into the slot of his activated duel disk. "Go, Flame Swordsman!" His favorite monster appeared on the field with a lit fiery sword ready for action. "Flame Swordsman, grill that overgrown salmon into well-done!"

"Joey, wait!" Brock called warningly.

But Flame Swordsman lounged and slashed the torching blade against the flying shark's gray placoid skin who roared in reaction.

"Ha ha ha! How's that?" Joey smirked.

The shark king monster just growled in provocation and ripple its gills. The scales on its body chipped loose off its skin and launched against the opposing boys. They yelled in alarm as they barely dodged the razor sharp scales. Airhead Shark swooped over them who rapidly ducked and dropped flat on the ground. The king sea monster hovered in the air and then dived into the ocean, creating a tidal wave that washed over the human boys. Flame Swordsman was also wiped out from the thrusting waters and shattered. They stood up from the deep tides, coughing and sputtering.

"That didn't work!" Joey said.

"You think?" Brock said sarcastically.

The Airhead Shark rose its head over the water, ready for round 2.

"This could be trouble!" Brock said. "We may be outclassed."

But Joey only smirked in confidence and drew out more cards. "This won't be a problem for me, 'cause I won't have to hold back!"

"Me neither!" Brock got out another Poké ball and threw it out to the field. "Go, Poké ball!"

At the rainforest area, the serpent lady circled her coils around Kaiba and leered appealingly at him, flicking her tongue. "Hi there, handssssome." She hissed seductively. "I'm Viper Vixen. You look like a tassssty treat!"

Team Rocket quivered in fear, thinking they could be her next course.

"Hmm." Kaiba stoically responded and activated his duel disk. "I don't normally fight a lady, but I can see that you're no lady."

Viper Vixen hissed in comeback and wrapped her coils around the serious duelist. Team Rocket shrieked in horror as the serpent demoness tried to squeeze the life out of the KaibaCorp president. But to her shock, she was compressing only empty air. High above, Kaiba was carried by his Material Bat. Team Rocket sighed in relief. Viper Vixen growled in anger and took another strike at the brown-haired duelist.

At the cavern tunnel, the drooling butt-ugly trolls surrounded Tristan and Max and aimed their clubs at them. "Dinner..." They growled deeply and neared closer.

Max groaned anxiously and tried to back away from the enemies. Tristan stepped in and kicked a troll in the stomach. "Max, get away from here from here while I distract them!" He ordered.

"But I want to help!" The youngster protested.

"No, you're too young!" Tristan said firmly. "They'll eat you alive!" He tossed aside a troll and threw it to the ground.

Max felt offended by his underestimation. But then his face changed when he foresaw the attack. "Tristan, behind you!" He shouted warningly. Suddenly, one troll pounced on Tristan and pinned him to the ground. Tristan grunted as he struggled to pried off the wrestling demon off him. The troll pressed down harder on him against the ground. Tristan grunted desperately as his fighting arms were giving in. Max came to the rescue when he grabbed one of the bludgeons, bopped it on the head and then bowled it away off his friend. "Still think I'm too little?" The little kid asked.

Tristan quickly got on his feet, took Max's hand, and started running. "Come on, kid!" The twosome sprinted down the tunnels with the trolls pursuing them.

At the dinosaur territory, Billy and Kidd dueled against Giant Rex as testing of their new stolen monster cards. Each pair and team bravely fended off against the area monsters with their Pokémon and Duel Monsters, (except Tristan and Max who just fled and cowardly Team Rocket just did nothing and let Kaiba do all the dueling.) After a short while, the heroes were able to turn the tables.

"Is that all you got, you overgrown beefsteak?" Ash taunted.

"Pi Pi Pikachu!"

The Bull-Neck Guardian was getting fed up and was about to strike again.

"Ash," the pharaoh hinted. It was time that they wrap this up.

"Gotcha! Grovyle, I choose you!" The black-haired boy's green wood gecko Pokémon leaped and prepared its signature Leaf Blade.

"Buster Blade, ATTACK!" Pharaoh commanded his blue and violet swordsman to attack.

Both of the mighty monsters slashed their "blades" at the bull's face, creating an "X" mark that brought him down to defeat. He keeled over backwards, thundered loudly on the floor, and shattered to pieces.

"YES! WE DID IT!" The team leaders shouted together.

"PIKACHU!"

"We have just about enough of you!" Tèa declared. "Time to take you down, you grungy old hag!" She drew out her spell card. "I use my Silver Bow and Arrow!"

"Combusken, lit up that arrow!" May pitched in.

Combusken ignited the purple and pink arrow and it launched straight at the Unholy Nun, piercing it in the heart. It shrieked demonically as the light injected within destroyed it completely.

"ALRIGHT! YES!" The girls exulted in triumph.

"Steelix, use Hyper Beam!" Brock commanded his iron snake Pokémon. It roared and unleashed a ray of orange energy against Airhead Shark from its mouth.

"Red Eyes! Fry that overgrown salmon to a crisp!" Joey shouted. His midnight black-colored dragon with glowing red eyes screeched and breathed an overwhelming ray of photons at the foe. Both of the monsters' hit directly at Airhead Shark, creating clouds of smog that shrouded the beach.

Back at the caverns, Tristan and Max were still fleeing from the mob of trolls. "Are they still chasing us?" The smallest one asked.

"You wanna stop and find out?" Tristan replied.

"No!" The boys sped up their sprinting as the trolls behind caught up to them.

Suddenly, they felt movement behind their rumbling feet. The entire cavern rumbled and began to quake. The boys nearly fell down when they felt that jolt. The rocks from the roof dropped down and hit one of the pursuing trolls. A couple more debris broke off and squashed the remaining trolls chasing the humans. But time is running out for Tristan and Max.

"What's happening?" The dark-haired kid uttered in trepidation.

"The cave's caving in!" The pointy haired teen answered. "We must hurry!"

They ran as fast as they could. They were closing in on an exit from the cave. "Look, there's the exit!" Max pointed upwards.

"Hurry!" Tristan shouted. He and the youngster sprinted as they barely made it out alive when the tunnels and portal caved in behind them. They entered the sewer tunnels, the new level area.

The snake monster lady was ensnared and trapped in her own coils like a knot.

"Yeah! You're not so cocky now, are you?" Meowth taunted.

"Perfect! Not to finish you off!" Kaiba punned. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, ATTACK!"

The silver white dragon roared and expectorated a ray of electrical energy and blew away the viper lady who screeched roaringly as she shattered into pieces.

Team Rocket shivered in both awe and intimidation as the deceased snake lady's remains piled up in ashes. "Gulp! That Blues Eyes White Dragon sure is powerful!" James exclaimed.

"I'm glad it's not me," Jessie said.

"I'm glad it's on our side!" Meowth added.

The three slumped down and rested next to each other. "No time for sleeping, you three!" Kaiba barked. "We need to get moving!" He walked ahead.

"Hey, don't leave without us!" Team Rocket scrambled to their feet and followed Kaiba.

Behind the trees, Billy and Kidd who saw the whole thing, smirked and were determined to take the powerful card deck from their target's hand.

Back at the sewers, Tristan and Max took five on the rusty floors after barely escaping the cave of chaos. "Whew! We made it, Tristan!" The youngster panted. "I don't think those trolls are gonna bother us again."

"Great, now let's go find the others." Tristan suggested. He and Max proceeded and explored the sewage tunnels.

Back at the quiet church, The girls panted and rested for a moment. "Whew! That was too intense!" Tèa gasped.

"But we did it!" May said. "We actually beat them, Tèa! Those zombies and that freaky nun are gone!"

"Yeah! We won!" Tèa agreed as she and her friend celebrated their victory and posed two peace signs.

"Girls rule, monsters drool!" May smirked in triumph.

"Even damsels in distress can fight back and take down a few ghouls!" Tèa beamed. "Look out, boys! The girls are armed!"

"Oh yeah!" The girls slapped hands of teamwork and hugged each other gleefully. Outside the painted windows, Mew looked through the glass, spotting the humans.

Back at the beach, a smog of steam caused by Steelix and Red Eyes Dragon's combined attack briefly fogged up the area after it hit directly at the target. Joey and Brock anticipated with caution to see if their opponent took the damage.

When the mist cleared up, they saw that the defeated Airhead Shark which was no more was fried baked into a crisp. It laid in the simmering beach sand, sizzling like grilled fish food.

When the boys saw they have done, they looked at each other and cracked up in joy. "ALRIGHT! WE DID IT!" They exulted together. They jumped up in triumph, proud of their accomplishment.

"End of the road for you!" Brock announced, throwing a thumbs down.

"Looks like dinner reservations to your belly have been canceled!" Joey said, pointing down to the dead fish. "We turned the tables on ya!"

"You're the man, Joey!" Brock praised his friend.

"You rock, Brock!" Joey shared the credit.

The hardheaded duo locked hands of unity and began to sing and dance in victory. "We are number one, yeah! We just kicked some butt, yeah! We cannot be stomped, yeah! We will stomp on them, yeah! What else rhymes with yeah, yeah? I have no idea, yeah! There's nothing to say besides yeah! So we'll just end our song, yeah!"

"And now, it's time for lunch, yeah!" Joey added that extra line as he sat down on the sand in front of the grilled shark, and rubbed his hands together as he was about to chow down.

"No time for that, Joey," Brock interposed. He pointed to a large drainage pipe hanging from the rocky wall. "Look, I found a detour! Maybe we get cut through the other side."

"Can't we wait a little longer?" Joey pouted. "Can't even get a second to taste one lousy snack!" He reluctantly got on his feet and followed his comrade.

The boys ducked their heads and crouched down into the drainage pipe, entering the interiors on the other side. Mew floated down in front of the opening and went inside after them.

Inside the sewers, Tristan and Max walked down the quiet and dark tunnels. A river of green water rushed besides them downstream. "This place is like a maze here," Tristan commented, shining the mini flashlight around. "But this time, I'm sure we'll find a way out."

"You know, my mom doesn't like it when I play in the sewers," Max shared. "Think she'll find out if I come out smelling like that?"

"I think that's the least of your problems for right now," Tristan replied.

They came across a large circle shaped portal to the main sewer hall, an open range. Tristan halted Max from stepping over the line. "Is it safe?" The youngster asked.

"I'll check to see if the coast is clear." Tristan volunteered. "You wait here, Max. I don't want you to be in danger again. I'll call you if it's clear."

Max stayed where he was while Tristan walked off to test the area. "Be careful, Tristan." He advised.

With high caution, Tristan took tiny baby steps into the open range, listening for sounds and anxiously expected the unexpected. So far, it seemed clear. Nothing in sight. Once the background check was completed, Tristan decided that the sewage hall was clear and safe. "Okay, I think it's good." He said to himself. "You can come out now, Max!"

Max shot out a breath of relief and ran through the opening hole to join his friend. "Phew! That's good to hear."

"Guys?" A familiar voice spoke up.

"AAAHHH!" Both of the boys yelled and jumped up in fright. Max jumped into Tristan's arms and jiggled timidly as they turned around. Behind them was Joey and Brock.

"Geez, guys! We thought you were one of those monsters!" Max exasperated.

"Don't ever sneak up on us like that, man!" Tristan snapped in irritation.

"Our bad?" Brock said punctually.

"Hey, nice seeing you too!" Joey retorted.

"But we are sure glad to see you!" The boys all recited at once. They laughed and danced in reunion.

"How did you guys know we were here?" Max asked.

"We didn't," Brock replied. "We just came through a pipe, heard some voices, and found you here."

"Glad to see you guys made it," Joey said. "Any sign of the others?"

"Not really, but we're hoping you did," Max said.

"Well, we'll look for 'em together," Joey said. Suddenly, his and Tristan's faces morphed into terror when they spotted something.

"What's wrong, guys?" Brock asked.

"You look like you saw a ghost." Max said. Behind the Poké boys, Mew floated down.

"L-l-look behind you!" Joey chattered warningly, pointing.

Mew teleported before Brock and Max turned around and saw nothing there. They turned their head back and looked at the older boys like they're crazy.

"There was something there!" Joey said.

Brock and Max frowned, thinking they've been eating too much virtual foods. But then they're expression changed when Mew stood between the packs. Joey and Tristan exclaimed in alarm and stumbled backward. Brock and Max gasped in wonder. "No way!" The youngest boy exclaimed.

"Nice kitty?" Tristan uttered anxiously. He and Joey have never seen a Pokémon like that before. Of course they've never even seen Mew or any other Pokémon in their dueling world until now.

"Don't move, guys! I'll get it!" Joey grabbed the nearest brick to his feet and aimed for the pink mystic Pokémon. "Say ya prayers!"

Brock and Max stopped him at once. "NO, JOEY! DON'T!"

"Eh?" Joey looked at them in confusion.

"It won't hurt us!" Max ascertained.

"Mew is our friend." Brock explained.

"Your friend?" Joey and Tristan repeated in unison.

The Poké kids went to go greet their old friend while the dueling friends stood by. Confounded, Joey let the brick drop from his hand which landed on Tristan's foot. He yelped in pain and whacked his clumsy friend on the head. Brock and Max stood in front of the floating Mew in reacquaintance. "It's great seeing you again, Mew!" Max said.

"I wonder what's it doing here," Brock thought.

"So that's thing your friend?" Joey said.

"Looks more like an anime plush toy," Tristan commented.

"Mew, Mew!" The pink Pokémon mewed. "Mew Mew Mew!"

"What's it saying?" Joey asked.

"How should I know? I don't speak Pokémon." Tristan said.

"I think it's trying to tell us something," Brock said.

"Do you by any chance know where are friends are, Mew?" Max asked the mystic Pokémon.

"Mew! Mew!" It ejaculated in response and moved up and down excitedly. Its body radiated hot pink and sparkled. The friends looked at it in suspense.

"Dude, I think you said something that got it mad!" Tristan said.

"All I said was did it know where-" Max didn't get a chance to finish because they got caught in a pink flash that took them somewhere else.

"So now what do we do?" May asked, sitting on a pew.

"Well now that those deadbeats are gone, we should continue on finding our friends," Tèa answered. "From the looks of it, we need a miracle or a sign to lead us out of this dead zone."

"Yeah, you're right." May agreed. "I just hope my brother is doing okay." Her eyes shifted up and blinked when she saw something else at the alter. It was pink, furry, and has a long tail.

"What's wrong, May?"

"Don't look now, but there's something behind you."

Tèa expressed in creep. "There is? What?"

May got off the pew and approached the bema. "Don't move. Just stand still." She inched behind the nervous frozen older girl toward the mysterious intruder.

"What? What is it?" Tèa asked nervously. "What's behind me, May?"

May jumped onto the platform and spotted Mew face-to-face. "Mew, it's you!"

"Mew?" Tèa turned around and walked up the altar.

"Tèa, this is Mew," May introduced. "Whenever we're in a jam, it always come to our aid."

"Great." Tèa folded her arms. "I suppose you can just take us to our friends?"

"Mew, Mew!" It chirped happily. It snapped its tiny paws and produced a spark of pink flash that blinded the surprised girls.

Meanwhile, Kaiba and Team Rocket continued strolling down the rainforest. "Oohhhh...I'm tired being in this virtual trap!" James moaned. "I want to go back to the real world already!"

"Shut your complaining, James!" Jessie snapped irritably. "You think we don't feel the same way?"

"I just want to go back to the Pokémon world, where everything is normal and I can talk to anyone in my language." Meowth said. Above the tiring Team Rocket, a pink kitten-like Pokémon hovered over them, watching them.

"Come in, Mokuba, do you read?" Kaiba dialed his mobile phone to check on his brother. "Mokuba, do you read me? Come in over!" There was no answer. "Blast it! Stupid technology!" He grumbled and shut his mobile phone away. He is unaware that his brother and Pegasus were held captive by the other Team Rocket's Pokémon. He was then paused by Jessie startled squeal.

"Yoo-hoo! Mr. Kaiba sir!" James called behind.

"What is it now?" Kaiba replied sharply. He saw that there is a mystic pink Pokémon hovering Team Rocket who were happy to see it. "What in the-" Kaiba's eyes widened in wonder.

"Mew, Mew, Mew!"

"What is that?" Kaiba exclaimed.

"It's Mew!" James said.

"Oh great, another monster hologram!" Kaiba scoffed.

"Mew Mew Mew!"

"Mew says it knows where the others are," Meowth translated. "It says 'follow me and I'll take you to them'."

"It does?" James asked.

"Can it do that?" Jessie asked.

"Please! Do you expect me to take directions from a holographic fairy creature?" Kaiba scoffed. "Can't you see it's just a glitch?"

Team Rocket looked at him like he's mentally deranged. "But this is Mew," James pointed out. "Mew's actually friendly for a mystic rare Pokémon. It helped us many times, maybe that's why it's here!"

"You can follow that weird-looking illusion if you want, but I don't have time for this!" Kaiba walked away, but Mew floated in front of him. "Out of the way, hologram!" He tried to walk pass it but Mew would not let him leave. "Stubborn glitch!" He muttered in annoyance. "Will you just-"

"Hey, pal, Mew is not a glitch!" Meowth said scoldingly. "If it says it's gonna help, it's gonna help!"

"Just show us the way, Mew, so we can get of this madhouse!" Jessie bossily commanded the mystic Pokémon.

"Mew!" It tipped its tiny little arm and bore the foursome in a pink barrier and they all teleported.

Back at the coliseum, Ash, Yami, and Pikachu were nearly pooped after their enduring battle against the Minotaur giant. "Phew!" The Pokémon trainer sighed and sat down on the dirt. "I don't know about you, Pharaoh, but if I have to face one more virtual monster, I think I'm gonna lose it."

"Don't worry, Ash. We'll back in the real world," Yami assured. "That is, if we can find a way out of here."

"Pika." Suddenly, its long ears picked up something and detected another life nearby.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Is it another monster?" Yami asked.

"Oh great, just what we want," Ash grumbled and stood up. The team leaders awaited anxiously for another enemy.

"Whoever or whatever you, we already dealt with your friend earlier," Ash spoke up gutsily. "So go ahead and show your face!"

But to their surprise, a familiar pink kitten-like Pokémon descended in front of the friends. "Pika, Pika!"

"Mew!"

"Either it's another hologram or Mew's really here!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

Yami gazed at the mystical Pokémon closely. "Mew..." He said softly. His angled purple eyes shimmered. He felt as if he had a past connection with Mew a long time ago. "Have we met before?"

Ash and Pikachu stared at their friend in curiosity. "Uh, Pharaoh?"

"Mew, Mew!"

The pharaoh stared at the floating psychic Pokémon, recalling something in his days. "It was only a quarter of my lost memory, but I do remember you from my childhood."

"Mew?"

The pharaoh had a flashback of himself as a nine-year-old child riding on the Egyptian barge, cruising over the golden waters of the Nile River.

"When I was a small boy, I was riding on a barge, sailing down the Nile River." He related.

The young prince kneeled down on the edge, gazing at the sparkling water and spotted some fishes. He chuckled and reached his hand to the water, hoping to catch one. He leaned too close to the water, tipped over, and splashed into the water.

"I got to close and I fell overboard."

The Egyptian prince swam above the surface, struggling to stay afloat. Nearby, a pod of crocodiles scented their prey and entered the waters, initiating the hunt.

"I was then attacked by a pack of crocodiles."

The prince gasped in horror and tried to paddle to shore, but the agile scaly reptiles proved to be fast swimmers than he was. "I thought I was done for."

The young pharaoh screamed and shielded himself, waiting to be crunched alive. Just before the crocodile was about to take the first bite, a pink plasma ball fired from somewhere, hitting the crocodile's mouth. It screeched in alarm as it swayed backwards in the water. All of its sharp teeth crumpled from its long gums and it became toothless. More pink plasma balls shot out and splashed into the river, warding the other crocodiles away from the prince. The water reptiles whined in fear and swam away in retreat. The young prince still floating in the water, wondered what just happened.

"Mew came to my rescue and pulled me up from the river."

A pink kitty-like Pokémon soared over him and dangled its long pink tail, allowing him to take hold. The young pharaoh grabbed on and Mew lifted him out from the water and craned him to shore. The young future pharaoh looked at the mystic Pokémon and chuckled in gratitude.

Mew cocked its pink head and took off.

"Wait! Come back!" The nameless prince called out. But Mew was already gone from out of sight. It disappeared into the Egyptian sky. The prince stood there, wondering if he would ever see it again.

"Mew was the first Pokémon I ever saw," the pharaoh concluded. "I knew about Pokémon then as I knew about Duel Monsters."

"That figures," Ash said.

"Pika."

"Mew, Mew, Mew!" Mew bounced up and down in the air, feeling giddy.

"So tell us, Mew, what brings you to a place like this?" Yami asked the mysterious Pokémon. "If you didn't notice, things aren't going so right, right now."

"I think the virtual world is falling apart," Ash said. "We're trying to escape before it's too late."

"Mew, Mew." The pink Pokémon hinted them to come on.

"What do you think it's trying to tell us?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pika." It sat on its partner's shoulder.

"Perhaps it wants to show us the way," Yami translated.

"Pika, Pika!"

"Then by all means." Ash said.

Just as before, Mew blindingly flash the trainer, duelists, and mouse Pokémon, transporting them to another location.

Somewhere in a new location, Ash, Pikachu, and Yami out cold on a dirt road. They stirred up and looked around. "Un...what happened?" Ash moaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Pika, Pi." Pikachu rubbed its eyes as well.

Yami groaned and examined his new surroundings. They have arrived at a town of the Old West.

They walked around the silent ghost town. Everywhere they see, there was not a soul in sight. No virtual living thing, no sign of activity, nothing except a tumbleweed bouncing on the dirt path. The only sound they heard was the creaking of a rocking chair moved by the wind. "Why did Mew take us here of all the other locations?" Ash asked.

"It's a little too quiet here, even for a ghost town," Yami said.

"If we only we got some kind of sign, anything." Ash said.

No sooner than expected, their wish was about to be granted. "Hey, guys!" A small boy's voice called.

"Ash! Yugi!" A bunch of older male voices occured.

"Huh?" The boys heard those voices and surveyed the area. They didn't find anyone until they saw a small dark-haired boy with glasses emerging from a general store.

"Max!" Yugi and Ash exclaimed.

Max laughed in joy and ran up to his friends. Following behind, Brock, Joey, and Tristan emerged from the shop door. "Hey, it's Yug and Ash!" Joey grinned.

"Brock! Tristan! Joey!" Yugi waved. The boys huddled up on the dirt road.

"You guys made it!" Brock said to his leader friends.

"We were worried that you two might not have made it after that waterfall!" Tristan said.

"We thought you were goners!" Joey said, grabbing his small spiky haired friend and gave him a noogie.

"Not Ash and Yugi!" Brock said. "They can't be rid of that easily."

"Pikachu."

"Hey, guys!" A pair of female voices hollered.

The boys looked to their right. Two brunette girls arrived

"Awesome! My sister is okay!" Max beamed. He and his sister raced toward each other and hugged each other gleefully. Tèa smiled for the reunited siblings.

"Hey, look there's also Team Rocket!" Ash pointed out to the saloon where Jessie, James, and Meowth emerged from the swinging doors, followed by a young man in a white coat.

Ash added, "and there's what's-his-name?"

"Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed.

Kaiba approached the reunited group. "Well, what do you know?" He said. "Muto and everyone else are still in one piece."

"Nice to see you too, Kaiba," Yugi said.

All the friends, except Kaiba who just stood there with arms folded, praised with excitement and jubilant as they are psyched to see each other safe. At this rate, everyone just might make it after all. Team Rocket remained by. Mew flew over the Old West town and floated above the party.

"How on Earth did you all know that we were here?" They chatted.

"We didn't."

"It's fate that brought us together."

"Let's just say an old friend led us here to you!"

"Same here!"

"Ditto!"

"Life's full of surprises huh? But at least, everybody's together again." Brock said.

"I'm so glad that everyone's alright!" May beamed, hugging Yugi tightly, much to Tèa's annoyance.

"We've lucked out this time," Brock said. "We passed all those levels."

"Not only that, but we defeated those big weirdos back there," Tristan added with ecstasy.

"You know what this means," Joey brought up, smiling.

"Victory dance time!" Tristan declared. Both of the male friends giggled giddily as they got feelings of excitement inside them, ready to burst. The friends watched them in anticipation.

Joey and Tristan danced to a victory song of their own. "We just kicked a little can-can, kicked a little can-can, and then we make 'em run back to their mummies! Can-Can, kick a little can-can! Tell me who's the man-man! We like to kick a ton of cans!"

Ash, Yugi, and the others chuckled in humor while comical duo continued dancing.

"What are Joey and Tristan doing?" May asked, snickering politely.

"Acting like pair of idiots," Kaiba answered.

"They're just being boys," Tèa shrugged.

"I used to be like that," Brock said, arms folded.

"Pikachu."

Max giggled and joined the fun. "Can-can, kick a little can-can! Tell me who the man-man! We just like to kick them in the pants!" He sang and danced along with the big boys. "Yeah, yeah, we totally kicked them in the can-can, all the way to Japan-pan!"

"Great, now you got my little brother involved too," May said and palmed. Ash and Yugi chuckled while Brock shook his head in amusement.

While the trio sang their victory song, Team Rocket tiptoed away from the group in attempt to get away. Mew sensed something coming and teleported.

"We kicked them in the caaaans!" Max stood on the shoulders between of Joey and Tristan and they all rose their arms up high when they finished their piece.

"Duh, nice song," a male southern spoke up.

"Huh?" The party looked up and scoured the western area, trying to find out where that voice came from. Jessie, James, and Meowth who were at the steps of a saloon bar turned around and looked up. Behind them, two men dressed in cowboy uniforms, emerged from the saloon doors and stood at the porch. It is Billy and Kidd, finally meeting their targets!

"Well, howdy gang. It's great to finally meet you all." The short cowboy said. "Especially you, Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba was shocked that the new intruders in front of them knew his name.

"Who are you guys?" Ash asked.

"Where did you two come from?" Brock added.

"We are Billy and Kidd and we happened to be on a assigned mission in the name of Team Rocket." Kidd replied.

"Our motto is: we take what we find and we keep what we take!" Billy added, eying his beady turquoise eyes on the party. "That means y'all's."

"Billy and Kidd?" Max repeated.

"Team Rocket?" Tèa repeated.

"How many are those guys?" Tristan asked.

"Pikachu!" It glared fiercely at the new Pokémon thieves.

"Why are you here?" Ash addressed the outlaws.

"Wait just a second!" Jessie interrupted. "We're the real Team Rocket FYI, not you clowns!"

"Yeah, we were here first!" James added. "So take a hike!"

"You guys are losers!" Meowth exclaimed. "The Boss likes us more!"

"Duh, look who's talkin'!" Billy laughed. "It surprises me that you're still here!"

"As if you didn't notice, the Boss ain't exactly satisfied with your progress, so he hired us to take your place." Kidd informed. He glared down at his lower-rank members. "He mentioned that he was thinking about demoting you three to sanitary duty since you proved you ain't cut out for the big ranch."

Jessie, James, Meowth felt discouraged and their pride shattered to pieces. The party felt little pity for the trio.

"Hey, don't y'all act so surprise!" Billy said. "You guys ain't the sharpest toes in the bed!"

"Huh?" Jessie, James, Meowth looked at their fat rival member in queerness, like he said something funny.

The rest of the party burst out laughing while Kidd blushed in embarrassment. "It's 'sharpest TOOLS in the SHED'!" He enunciated sharply to his dimwitted partner.

"Duh, right! You know what I'm talkin' bout!" Billy said, feeling a bit silly.

"I don't care what you mean!" Kaiba snapped. "Nobody invades my company and gets away with it! Get out of this place immediately!"

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! What atrocious manners!" Kidd said. "I guess your stepfather has never taught you how to be a proper businessman."

"So now we'll have teach ya a lesson by hurting someone you love!" Billy said. He pointed to the video screen which just appeared in the virtual skies.

To the party's horror, Mokuba and Pegasus were held hostage by Team Rocket's Pokémon back at the lab.

"Seto!" The youngest Kaiba cried.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba shouted.

"Pegasus!" Yugi cried.

"Make one wrong move and they're toast!" Billy threatened.

"Poor Mokuba!" May said.

"What's your deal?" Brock asked the ruthless Team Rocket duo.

"They haven't done anything to you!" Tèa said.

"That's horribly low, even for Team Rocket to use a kid as shield for your demands!" Tristan said.

"That's right!" Joey agreed. "What kind of trainers are you?"

"One of a kind, partner," Billy answered.

"Why do you want with Kaiba?" Ash asked. "He doesn't have any Pokémon."

"Pikachu!"

"Who said we wanted Pokémon?" Kidd remarked. He drew out his duel disk from his holster and placed it on his forearm.

The gang exclaimed in shock when they saw a Pokémon trainer with a KaibaCorp gadget. Jessie, James, and Meowth appeared green-eyed.

"Duh, what do ya say we play a little game of duel?" Billy asked, putting on his duel disk as well.

"Duel disks? They got duel disks!" Ash ejaculated, eye widened.

"Since when does Team Rocket duel?" May asked.

"Pika!"

"We challenge Seto Kaiba to duel!" Billy proclaimed. "Winner claims da Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Kaiba was even more shocked that the two bifunctional intruders also wanted his rare and powerful monster cards. What did they need them for and why?

"So wait a minute!" Brock spoke up. "You're both Pokémon trainers and duelists?"

"That's right," Kidd said. "We do more than just poach Pokémon. We hunt for rare cards, too."

The party were amazed by what they heard. They could not believe that the new Team Rocket members are also monster card duelists.

"That's against the rules, isn't it?" Max said. "I mean a trainer can't be a duelist too, can he? Or is it a duelist can't be a trainer? Ah! Which one?" He placed his hands in confusion.

"Heh! Why go over the rulebook now since you're the one who invaded the dueling world?" Kidd said pointedly.

"It doesn't matter, this is not the time for this." Yami Yugi stepped in. "Listen, there's something bad happening in this world and we're all in grave danger. We are trying to escape before it's too late."

Billy and Kidd looked at each other curiously and smirked. "A life-and-death battle," the pygmy man said. "Interesting."

"That makes our jobs easier! Real cowboys work best when dere's peril!" Billy said.

"First you broke into my company, took my brother hostage and now you stole my gadgets and cards?! Unforgivable!" Kaiba stepped in, pushing his allies out the way, intending to make the intruders pay.

"Kaiba, step back!" Yami Yugi warned.

Brock and Tèa blocked Kaiba in his path to prevent him from challenging the Pokémon outlaws. "Get out of my way, you fools!" The brown-haired teen demanded warningly.

"No, you don't know who you're up against!" Tèa said.

"Those guys will swipe your cards in a flash before you even have a chance!" Brock added.

"But my brother!" Kaiba protested.

"We'll help you save your brother, Kaiba," Yami said. "I'll battle Billy and Kidd for you!" He activated his duel disk.

"Better make that two," Ash stepped in bravely aside by Yami.

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped on its comrade's shoulder.

The gang looked at him with surprise. "Ash..." Yami Yugi said.

"I've had more experience with Team Rocket than you have, Pharaoh," Ash said. "You'll need my help, even this is a new type of battle, but I can't let them get away with this."

"Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon agreed.

"The King of Games and the naive little Pokémon trainer are going to duel us," Kidd smiled. "This day just gets more and more interesting."

"Then it's winner takes all!" Billy declared.

"Uh, one little problem, Ash." Max pointed it out. "You don't have a duel disk."

Ash was struck dumb for he has forgotten that he is a Pokémon trainer, not a monster card duelist. "Oh, yeah, that's right!"

The party crashed to the floor in disappointment. "Oh, Ash!" May moaned.

"Pika!" Pikachu felt just as hopeless.

"Here Ash, you can borrow mine!" Joey threw his duel disk to the Pokémon trainer who caught it.

"Thanks, Joey!" Ash said, inserting his borrowed tool on the forearm.

"And use my deck too!" Tristan lent his deck to Ash.

"Thanks, Tristan."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ash," Brock said. "You barely even know how to play the game."

"I'll be fine, Brock," Ash said, shuffling his deck. "Yugi has already shown me the rules. He'll guide me and give me tips, right Yugi?" He inserted the cards in the slot.

"Right," the pharaoh replied, putting his faith on the boy next to him.

"Pikachu."

"Fool, you're going lose us everything!" Kaiba said unfaithfully.

"Have faith in them, Kaiba." May consoled him. "You never know. I hope."

Kidd chuckled sinisterly. "You got persistence, little boy. I'll give you that." he said, shuffling his deck. "But this will become your biggest mistake of your life."

"Heh heh heh! This is gonna be one swell hoedown!" Billy cackled. "We're gonna put your doggies down before one turn!"

In the style of an Old Western showdown, the two pairs of duelists stood front and faced each other middle of the virtual ghost town, ready to make the first move. Their friends were moved to the porches of the Old West building to clear the dueling path. The opposing teams' life points were reset to 8000. "Let's duel!" Billy, Ash, Yami, and Kidd announced together. And the double duel was on.