This has taken too long. I have no idea how good or bad this is going to be (perhaps why I've been procrastinating), but I've got to get to work if I want a wide berth for my next new story. And now for a battle of complete opposites; Shun vs. Jonouchi.

Everyone was gathered around the collapsed Alice. She seemed as healthy as she could be under the circumstances, but there was a lot of legitimate concern that she wouldn't wake up. Atem, Yugi, and Jonouchi looked up to Kaiba, still on the balcony.

"Atem, take her through here," Kaiba said gesturing below him. A door opened in the wall ground level underneath him.

"I'll go with you," Runo volunteered.

"No," Atem shook his head before scooping up Alice in his arms. "You have to stay here. Your match with Hector is coming up."

"What does that matter now?"

"This isn't just a tournament," Yugi reminded everyone, "There's more than just our own lives at stake."

Atem nodded in agreement. "Get Kane for us. Jonouchi, Shun, good luck." With that he ran off through the door out of the arena.

"Get on with the next game already!" Kane called from his little thrown. That was the first time all but Kaiba had heard Kane's voice. Kane had been really enjoying himself until the end of that last match. He had really taken a shine to that "Alice" girl, but now she was broken. On top of that, he was told there was no way for the contestants to escape from this room once the finals started. It didn't help that he knew why they were able leave since Kaiba built it. He was clearly an enemy now. Kane couldn't allow Kaiba to live anymore. Couldn't allow any of them to live anymore. Not anyone in the world! Kane shook his head, as if to shake the crazy thoughts out of his head…

"You ready ta go?" Jonouchi asked Shun. By now the remaining spectators were back on their balcony.

"Sure," he said dispassionately, "whatever." Shun strolled lightly to his side of the field.

"What's your problem?" Jonouchi demanded.

"I just want to get this over with."

"Well, I get this whole 'Ghouls' thing is stressful, but that doesn't…"

"I mean this battle."

"Why you!"

"Who do you think will be victorious?" Marucho asked.

"Definitely Shun," Dan answered instantly, "Almost nobody can beat him at Bakugan."

"It does look like he's already gotten into Jonouchi's head," Marik agreed.

"Jonouchi will win," Kaiba stated simply. Anyone who can stand up to god truly has the right to call himself a duelist.

"Kaiba betting on Jonouchi?" Yugi joked, "I must be in a parallel dimension." Still, Yugi knew the smart money was on Jonouchi…

"The third match of the finales;" the announcer declared, "Shun Kazama vs. Katsuya Jonouchi! Field Open, and begin!"

"Duel!"

Shun: Life Points – 800

Jonouchi: Life Points – 800

"I'll go first if you don't mind," Jonouchi said as he reached toward his left wrist, "Dr- Oops, wrong game… Sorry 'bout that."

Yugi covered his face, embarrassed for him since he clearly wasn't.

I take it back, Kaiba thought sourly, the fight on Alcatraz was a fluke.

"Okay," Jonouchi said, getting serious again, "How 'bout this? Baby Dragon!" A cute little yellow dragon with little wings, big fists, and bright eyes appeared on Jonouchi's Gate Card.

Baby Dragon: G-Power - 240

"Jonouchi," Yugi called from the balcony, "You know you don't have to tribute summon in this game, right?"

"Say what?"

"He's not very skilled, is he?" Tigrara asked.

"You'll pay for your carelessness," Shun assured, "Bakugan Brawl! Monarus, stand!" A strange green butterfly appeared hovering just above the battlefield. It's glassy, but determined eyes focused on the child opponent on the ground below with irritation. The butterfly warrior charged forward in a steep dive. Jonouchi couldn't hold back his hearty laugh.

"I can't believe ya fell for that!" Jonouchi exclaimed in between his bursts of laughter. His laughter was replaced with a confident smile, "Reveal, face-down card! Time Warp!"

"This oaf set a trap?" Shun gasped.

"Don't underestimate me kid," Jonouchi warned, "I got more battle experience than you or any of your friends." Shun sneered as Jonouchi continued. "Time Warp speeds up the passage of time by a hundred years, making your monster old and decrepit and my Baby Dragon grow into an adult!" The Gate Card started to distort, engulfing Monarus and Baby Dragon. When the distortion subsided, Baby Dragon had grown much larger. Its wings now looked large enough to get it airborne, it had a long neck, darker scales, and an untrimmed beard. Surprisingly, Monarus looked totally unaffected.

"Hey," Jonouchi protested, "Why didn't your butterfly thing get any older?"

"Monarus is a sacred warrior," Shun explained, "It can't be affected by such simple tricks! And it looks like you overestimated your dragon's lifespan. Your plan backfired!"

"That's where your wrong, Mister Smarty-Pants! This is my dragon in his prime!"

Thousand Dragon: G-Power – 480

Monarus: G-Power – 380

"That's as strong as I am!" Skyress exclaimed.

"Go! Thousand Dragon! Thousand Nose Breath!"

Thousand Dragon took to the air. It breathed in deeply and shot twin jets of fire that erupted all around Monarus. Monarus burned to a crisp. Thousand Dragon turned back into a ball, but instead of flying back into his hand, it smacked into his nose hard.

Shun: Life Points – 700

"I lost…" Shun fumed, "to that… that…!"

"Hey, cut me some slack," Jonouchi said, rubbing his sore nose, "I'm still new at this game. Heh-heh."

Atem breathed a sigh of relief. Alice was already in the care of several well trained doctors with hospital-quality equipment. Apparently, Kaiba had learned from Battle City… The first Battle City, rather. The doctors told Atem that Alice would make a full recovery. Atem could only hope they were right. Atem sat anxiously next to Alice, Millennium Ring in hand. He thought he'd still be angry, especially sitting there with the cause of his friend's pain in his hands, but he couldn't bring himself to be. He was worried, he was sad, but he wasn't angry. All he could do now was think about what he could have done and wait for Alice to wake up.

"I wonder how they're doing…" he said absently.

Jonouchi: Life Points – 210

Thousand Dragon: G-Power – 480

Jinzo the Cyber Shocker: G-Power – 480

Shun: Life Points – 195

Storm Skyress: G-Power – 480

Ravenoid: G-Power – 420

"This guy's good!" Jonouchi said tentatively, "I let my guard down for a second an' he'll clean my clock in one turn!"

"Why?" Shun growled to himself, "Why can't I beat this… this idiot?"

"It's your turn, pal," Jonouchi said cheerfully.

"I'm not your 'pal'!" Shun snapped.

"Now it looks like Jonouchi is in Shun's head…" Marik noted.

"I can't tell," Kaiba groaned, "Is he a moron or a genius?"

"I think he's a little of both," Yugi smiled, causing all but Kaiba to laugh a little.

"I heard that, Yugi!" Jonouchi called up at his friends.

The match had been turning just about every turn. Jonouchi's unconventional "luck tactics" kept throwing of the more complex plans Shun employed. Jonouchi seemed to be enjoying himself, and even some of the stoic members of the crowd couldn't help but be amused by his antics. Shun on the other hand, was furious by the whole arrangement. While he never lost control of himself, he certainly wasn't enjoying the game.

"Bakugan Brawl! Ventus Jetman, Stand!" Shun cast his Bakugan toward Thousand Dragon. The creature appeared as a giant green robot with a jetpack and large hands with holes in the tips of its fingers. "Gate Card, Open! Draining Field! This card steals the power from your Bakugan and gives it to mine!" A red aura appeared around Thousand Dragon and started to drain into Jetman.

"Uh, oh! Better activate Jinzo's special ability!" The tall, alien-looking Jinzo turned its head toward the battle nearby. Its red goggles started to glow and a pair of red beams blasted toward the center of the Gate Card.

"I don't think so," Shun interrupted, "Hurricane Shield, Activate!" Skyress, on the other end of the battlefield, gave a strong flap from her great wings. A blast of wind rushed toward the Gate Card even faster than Jinzo's eye beams. When it reached the Gate Care it spiraled around it like a giant tornado. When Jinzo's eye beams met the spiraling winds, they just scattered harmlessly away.

Jetman: G-Power – 840

Thousand Dragon: G-Power – 0

"Not good!" Jonouchi gulped.

"Jetman, attack!"

"I'm playin' an Ability Card! Devil's Dice!" An imp with a toothy grin and a large die appeared next to Thousand Dragon. "This card will reduce Jetman's power based on the number I roll!"

"But even if he gets a six, he'll still lose the battle!" Dan pointed out.

"Yes," Drago agreed, "but if he doesn't lessen the blow, he'll lose the entire match!"

The imp threw the die high in the air. "Come oooon, five or six!" Jonouchi pleaded.

The die spun in the air for many agonizing seconds and landed on its corner. It spun on that corner until it landed on a…

"A five?" Shun gasped, "No!"

"Alright!" Jonouchi celebrated for a moment, but then stopped jumping for joy when he saw Jetman leveling its hands at Thousand Dragon. "Oh, boy…" Jetman's fingers turned out to be machine guns that rotated at the wrists as they fired. Thousand Dragon was Swiss-cheesed while Jonouchi behind it, just as animated as ever, "danced" to avoid the spray of bullets.

Jonouchi: Life Points – 42 "Phew…"

"How can you be so lucky?" Shun asked, irritation and a little bit of despair in his voice, "You're Yugi's friend, I know you wouldn't cheat, but…"

Jonouchi caught his breath when he heard the question. "'Lucky?' I'm not lucky; I make my own luck. It's not about the dice roll, it's about when to roll the dice!" From the blank expression on Shun's face, it was clear he didn't get it. That didn't stop Jonouchi, though. He was the one on a roll. "Hee hee hee! That's a good line! I bet I could put that on a bumper sticker or somethin' and make a fortune! I'm such a genius! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Imbecile…" Kaiba sneered.

"But Jonouchi," Yugi called, "You only have a few Life Points left! If you lose one more time, it's over!"

That caught Jonouchi's attention quick. "Uh, yeah. I guess you're right…" He got more serious, "I was hoping to save this for a little later, but I guess it's time to play my trump card! Go! Red-…" Suddenly he stopped mid-throw. "Wait, it's not really a trump card is it? Trump ball, maybe? Trump figure? Hey Shun! What do you call your best fighter in this game?" Shun didn't answer. He was still stuck trying to decipher Jonouchi's get-rich-quick scheme. "Eh, whatever. Go, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon: G-Power – 480

Red-Eyes and Skyress squared off. Skyress reared back on her giant, green-feathered wings, brandishing her talons and long, bladed tail feathers. Red-Eyes took to the skies to meet its opponent. It contorted its long, thin, black, and thorny, body threateningly. Two pairs of red eyes locked.

"Gate Card, Open!" Shun declared, shaken out of his stupor by Red-Eyes' fierce battle cry, "Character! Skyress's power doubles!"

"I don't think so," Jonouchi grinned, "I activate Jinzo's effect!" This time Jinzo's eye beams found their mark, blasting the Gate Card and burning it away.

"Destruction Delta Storm, activate!" A whirlwind built in Skyress's wings that was strong enough to push Red-Eyes back.

"I'll counter with Angle's Dice!" This time a little cherub with a die appeared. Like his counterpart, the angle tossed the die in the air and it landed on one corner. This time, however, before the die landed on a number it shattered. "What the-!"

"It wasn't me…" Shun gasped.

Red-Eyes belted out an earthshaking roar and started to glow. Fire darted across the dragon's body, leaving white streaks in their wake. As the fire reached its climax and began to subside, Red-Eyes continued to glow. Its pitch black scales replaced with glossy, reflective ones that seemed even blacker than before, and streaked, of course, with white.

Storm Skyress: G-Power – 680

Red-Eyes Rising Dragon: G-Power – 620

"All right!" Jonouchi cheered, "I got no idea what happened, but this is awesome!"

"H-his dragon evolved," Shun gasped.

"I attack with the Ability 'Black Fire-' wait a minute…" Jonouchi paused mid-command, "The attack's name changed, let me read…"

…

"Okay, I got it now. I attack with Rising Meteor Bullet (cool name)!"

The hurricane in Skyress's wings blasted at Red-Eyes, fireball gathering in its jaws. Red-Eyes shot the fireball just as the hurricane was about to hit. The attacks clashed, but the hurricane was quickly pushed back. The fireball smashed into Skyress and she fell.

Shun: Life Points – 0 "…"

"I'm sorry, Skyress," Shun said as he retrieved his friend, "I wasn't strong enough to help you."

"That's alright," Skyress said sincerely, "You did your best."

Suddenly, Shun took on a determined expression. He looked over to Jonouchi. "Once we defeat Kane, we are going to battle again. And I'll win!" Jonouchi smiled knowingly and flashed the thumbs-up.

"The third match is over! The winner: Katsuya Jonouchi!"

I've used that trick a lot in this story, but nowhere has it been more grievous than here (causing me to break one of the fundamental rules of storytelling). I've got a set pacing for this story though, so you do what you can. If you have no idea what I'm talking about than either you're not paying this any more attention than it disserves or I'm doing my job better than I thought. And hey, Yu-Gi-Oh! pulled this trick at least a few times, so I get to use it to.

All that said, I like this chapter. It's hard to make a character simultaneously look competent and like an idiot. I like writing post-Millennium World Jonouchi. I think I've written a funny character well. Sure, I'm laughing at my own jokes, but at least I'm laughing. That's something. I guess…