Author's note:

This is my English translation of the story I had written in Hungarian, my mother tongue. Special thanks to Hero Beater and Fluffy Pillow for helping me every step of the way.

PANDEMONIUM

It was as if time had stopped completely. Seto's eyes were glassy as he stared at his cornered brother, holding the Mokubas so tightly it hurt, while the others trembled with anger, fists tightly clenched as they listened to their counterparts mocking Kaiba. Don't give up, Kaiba… Yugi implored him in his mind. Come on, rich boy… pleaded Joey on the verge of leaving his friends behind and marching out to the battlefield to teach their doppelgangers a lesson. As for Kaiba, he just sat there in grave silence, ignoring the nasty remarks and laughter until the four teenagers grew quiet, staring at him in resentment. The silence was almost deafening. Yugi Muto was beginning to lose his patience.

"Draw a card, you dog, unless you forfeit to me right now."

Kaiba placed his hand on top of his deck… and he drew, his urge to fight returning with a vengeance. He lifted his head stubbornly, glaring at his opponent, and held up the card.

"I activate my magic card: Pot of Greed. Now I draw two more cards," he said quietly, placing a hand on his deck. He closed his eyes. Please, let this be what I need… for Ani-chan and Mokuba… He carefully checked the cards he had drawn… and his face lit up.

"This duel is over!" he said, as confident as if he had the whole world in his pocket.

"Does that mean you'll forfeit?" sneered Muto.

"On the contrary – I'm going to avenge myself so badly you won't forget it for as long as you live, because I'm going to crush you and take the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, too!"

"Then what are you waiting for?! Show me your big trick! You don't even have a single monster in play – you don't stand a chance and you never have!"

"That's what you think!" retorted Kaiba, his tone fierce as he placed another card on the table. "I activate my magic card: Monster Reborn! I'll use this to bring back my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"What good is that going to do?!" hissed Muto when he saw the card return from the Graveyard into Kaiba's hand. "My Paladin is still stronger!"

The Dark Paladin remained at 5400 attack points; the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon faced it with 4500 attack points.

"I know that your Paladin is leeching off my dragons, but it's not going to save you, and I'll prove it right now! Here's my next magic card: Burial from a Different Dimension! This allows me to bring back up to three monsters removed from play to my Graveyard, so my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons return!"

The Dark Paladin's strength was bolstered by 1500 points – it was now at 6900. Muto stared at Kaiba blankly.

"But that's not all!" said Kaiba, positively ecstatic, and held up another card. "I also activate this: Diffusion!"

The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon thus returned to the Graveyard, to be exchanged for three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Muto stared at them in surprise, and then burst into laughter.

"What good are they, you miserable fool?! My Paladin could skewer two at once, so you're not getting past him even if you die trying!"

"Wrong! They are going to fly right over your leech without him even noticing!" retorted Kaiba. "You destroyed and mocked my dragons, and it's payback time. Now that all three of them are here together, I can activate this, too: Delta Attacker!"

"IT CAN'T BE!" howled Yugi Muto, almost trembling with rage. His fists clenched. "But that…"

"…allows me to attack with three identical normal monsters, and do it directly," Kaiba finished his sentence, his tone eerily calm. "I told you it was time for revenge, and I might as well go all out! Blue-Eyes White Dragons, all of you attack him and win this duel!"

Muto slammed his fists on the table in anger, but it was no use. He had lost 9000 points, and since he could go no lower than zero, zero his life points became. Ryou snickered.

"The duel is over! You lose," said Kaiba smugly, and before Muto could reach for them, he took the cards from his Graveyard. He quickly looked through them, pulling out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and tossing the rest back at him. "That'll teach you to prey on others, you snake. Now get out of here and take your idiot friends with you, and stay out of my sight, because if you cross me one more time, you'll be sorry for the rest of your life…"

Yugi Muto jumped from the table as if he had been bitten by a snake.

"You'll pay for this! Get them both!" he shouted to Wheeler and Taylor, and all hell broke loose.

It happened so fast that everyone watching from behind the hedge had frozen in shock. Taylor headed for Ryou, who snarled and let him close, only to set upon him tooth and nail, while Wheeler charged at Kaiba, who barely managed to kick his chair away from the table before Wheeler tackled him, wrestling him to the ground. A savage struggle ensued, Kaiba fending off Wheeler's fist with one hand as his other hand was desperately trying to pry off the hand that now clutched at his throat and cut him off from air.

Yugi Muto took advantage of the unfolding chaos, quickly snatching up Kaiba's deck along with his own lost Blue-Eyes White Dragon and taking off towards the school building. Mokuba was the only one who saw, and he broke away from his brother's grasp snarling to run after him along the hedge. Ani-chan shouted and hurried after him, but his voice was drowned in the pandemonium; Ryou was howling like a banshee as Taylor yanked at his hair viciously to pay for all the bites and scratches he suffered during their scuffle. The two of them made Wheeler and Kaiba's fight seem silent in comparison, until Kaiba could finally pull his leg back far enough to kick dead-weight Wheeler in the stomach. The sharp pain made Wheeler lose his grip on Kaiba's neck, only to slam backward with the next kick. Kaiba rolled on his side, gasping for air; Wheeler's fingers left dark blotches on his skin.

In the meantime, Ryou successfully punched his opponent in the nose and Taylor was starting to regret choosing him in earnest. He changed his mind, however, when Kaiba suddenly sprung up and planted his foot between Wheeler's legs with a well-aimed kick (whose voice then reached a pitch so high that even Joey flinched in pain), jerking him up only to grab his arm and send him hurtling to the ground with a crash. He then put his foot on his neck, pressing down; Wheeler's arms twitched a little in some vague attempt to get up, but the weight on his neck seemed to be growing each time he moved, and in the end, he gave up altogether and just lay there groaning like some living throw-rug.

"Stay down, mutt," growled Kaiba, taking his foot off him and leaving him behind.

By that time, Taylor finally kicked his opponent away and decided to make a run for it. He dashed out of the school yard, dust billowing in his wake, denying Kaiba the chance to have a word with him. Ryou wheezed and spat like a vicious cat, a hand on his aching ribs, but let him run and slowly began to retreat himself; he suspected that Seto wanted him dead, and wasn't far from the truth as Kaiba clenched his fists and started towards him. Ryou was only spared by all attention suddenly shifting away from him, leaving him time to run away: Mokuba had jumped in front of Yugi Muto from behind the hedge and punched him in the face. Muto ended up on the ground along with Kaiba's cards. His nose was gushing blood.

"That's for my brother, you scumbag!" cried Mokuba, stepping closer to give him another one, but before he could, Yugi tore the leather collar off his neck with one swift move and struck him in the face with the buckled end so hard it made Mokuba's eyes spark with pain. He fell to the ground, landing on his backside. His vision turned milky.

The air froze. Kaiba howled in shock; Yugi and the others groaned behind the hedge, and then all started running to try and protect Mokuba. They were too late, however: the next moment, Seto finally reached the end of the hedge, and when he saw the deep, bloody cut across his little brother's face, his blood boiled. Muto didn't even notice him, instead rising his feet and stepping over to Mokuba to strike him again, but the moment he raised his hand, Seto seized his arm and hit him in the face so badly it made Muto collapse again. His head smacked hard against the ground and then whipped backwards as Seto's hand fumbled and grasped for his shirt and yanked him back up. Seto's hand was shaking fiercely as its clenched on the fabric. His teeth were bared.

"Nobody hurts my family! You hear me?! NOBODY, EVER, AGAIN!" he shouted in Muto's face, shaking him like a cat shaking a rat. Yugi Muto stared into his angry blue eyes, his own eyes hazy. He tried to say something, but all that came out was a groan, and Muto fainted.