"Hurry, Alyssa!" Nathan called as he and the kids hurried to the arena. The next duels were going to start soon. "She just had to stop for a snack."

"I'm coming!" Alyssa said as she tried to catch up with the boys. As she ran by, she passed two people in cloaks. When she did, she got a look only for a second and thought she saw her older sister as one of those people. "Zoey?" She turned to them, but they just kept going. "Zoey, hey!" She called for her, but nothing happened.

"Alyssa, we need to go." Augustus said.

"But I just saw Zoey." Alyssa said.

"Zoey? What are you talking about? Zoey's already at the arena. She went with Yukin and Siegrain, remember?" Nathan said.

"But I could have sworn that was her." Alyssa said. She thought she did see her sister, but she just brushed it off and kept going.

...

The Arena

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!" Nemo announced. "It's another great day for duels! We're going to kick things off with a big one! It's Izzy Reckler from Battlegrounds going against Yukin Sakuma from True Duel." Both duelists came out for this duel, but his friends were a little nervous for him in this duel.

"I can't believe he's going against Izzy after what he did to Gus." Zoey said.

"Izzy's tough. He did take second place last year." Siegrain said. "He's probably a lot stronger now than he was before."

"Battlegrounds Boarding School is brutal." Eli said. "They physically assault their opponents in a duel and hold nothing back. They show no mercy."

"I've heard of these guys. They think they're tough and that they're winners when they're really just cruel jerks." Nathan said.

"I sure hope Yukin's going to be okay." Alyssa said.

"I'm sure he will be. He won't let this Izzy beat him around so easily." Yuzu said. They might have been nervous to see this duel, but Yukin was keeping his cool.

"Izzy... I've got to say that I don't like the way you duel, the way you just attack your opponent." Yukin said. "You make it more like a beatdown than a duel."

"That's fine. I don't need your approval." Izzy said. "Frankly, I don't like the way you duel either. Dueling is about power and toughening out, not heart." Yukin refuses to lose to someone like him. He also knows how tough Izzy is. It's going to take everything he has to beat this opponent. Battlegrounds was watching the duel as well, as was Shun. Everyone is interested in how this duel was going to turn out.

"I'm sure you all want to see this duel start. As do I. Let's get started!" Nemo said. "They're going to be dueling in Mystic Bamboo!" The field changed into a series of bamboo forests floating in the sky and connected by bridges.

"Let's duel!" Yukin and Izzy said as it was heart vs. power. They started out with 4000LP and Yukin was making the first move.

"I'll start this off. I summon my Blue Moon Wolf to the field!" Yukin said as he summoned out his wolf with it having 1700atk points. Yukin jumped on it and rode it as it ran through the forest.

"You won't escape." Izzy said as he chased after him.

"I'll place one card facedown and that ends my turn." Yukin said.

"Run all you like. There won't be anywhere you can run." Izzy said. "It's my turn! I draw!" He drew his card and it ended up being Polymerization. "I activate Polymerization!"

"Polymerization?! You can fusion summon?!" Yukin said.

"That's right. I fuse Hieten the Earth Warrior with Haku the Sky Warrior!" Izzy said as two warriors began to fuse together. "With earth and air, challenge this warrior if you dare. I fusion summon Ragemu the Star Warrior!" He summoned an armored samurai-like warrior carrying a large spear with lion-face shoulder pads. It also had 2800atk points.

"That doesn't look friendly." Yukin said.

"It's not!" Izzy said as he cut Yukin off at the bridge and he knocked him right off his wolf. "Ragemu, attack his wolf! When Ragemu attacks, his special ability activates. He gains 300atk points for each level your monster has. Since your wolf is level four, he gains 1200atk points." Ragemu's strength increased to 4000. Ragemu used his spear and generated a powerful shockwave.

"Oh boy." Yukin said. He tried to move out of the way, but Izzy kicked him in the gut and knocked him in the path of the shockwaves. His wolf was destroyed and Yukin got hurt as his life points dropped to 1700.

"Ooh! That has got to hurt." Nemo said. Yukin tried getting back up, but Izzy stomped down on him.

"You might as well stay down. Unless you want more of the same." Izzy said.

"Get off me!" Yukin said as he pushed Izzy off. "You seem to have a lot of problems. I can't believe you actually attack people like that when you duel. What good does that even do?"

"It will show you that you're outmatched." Izzy said. "It will remind you why you shouldn't oppose or mess with anyone in Battlegrounds in the first place. We take the harsh realities of life and face it."

"By being ruthless and attacking people when you don't need to?" Yukin said.

"That is the way of Battlegrounds." Izzy said as the rest of his classmates cheered for him in full agreement and support. "It's your turn now. That's assuming you even want to continue." With Izzy's turn ending, Ragemu's attack points dropped to 2800.

"I will!" Yukin said as he drew his next card. "I'm going to start by activating my Variation spell card! This spell card allows me to summon any monster from my hand as long as each monster is a different attribute! I'm summoning out two monsters! Come out Flame Leon!" He summoned out his flaming lion with it having 1000atk points. "My second monster is Astrological Seeker!" His second monster came out with it having 1200atk points. "I now fuse the forces of fire with the forces of light! Come together as one!" He begun to elemental summon as fire and light came around his two monsters and they came together. "I elemental summon a star attribute! I elemental summon Rune Ramero!" He summoned out Ramero as it came out with 2900atk points.

"Woo! Looks like we're going to have a battle between two star warriors!" Nemo said.

"Since a spellcaster was sued to summon Rune Ramero, he gains an extra attack for every two levels!" Yukin said. "That means he can attack a total of three times. Rune Ramero, begin your attack with Mystic Starlight!"

"Nice try, but Ragemu can't be destroyed by a monster that's a lower than level nine. Your Rune Ramero is only level eight." Izzy said.

"But we can still attack and you still take damage!" Yukin said. Rune Ramero fired a series of lasers. Each one hit and Izzy's life points dropped by one-hundred for each attack. With three attacks, he has 3700LP.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Izzy said as he didn't even flinch.

"I'm far from beaten, Izzy." Yukin said. "I now activate my trap: Offering for Assistance! Since my battle phase has ended, this trap allows me to take two random spell or trap cards in my deck and set them to the field." He took two random cards from his deck and set them.

"Do you think those two cards will help you?" Izzy said.

"You'll see." Yukin said. "My deck hasn't let me down yet, and I know it won't let me down now. I believe in my deck."

"Believe? What nonsense." Izzy said as he remembered when he first entered Battlegrounds Boarding School. He was just a kid and he remembered what his sensei has told him.

"Remember that the duel disk is not a toy. It is your weapon. Your parents have entrusted you with it. It is my job to ensure that you use it. Remember that things such as bonds, believing, and mercy mean nothing in a duel. You either have the power to win or you don't. Life is a battle and you must win the battle."

Those words shaped Izzy into what he is. Battlegrounds does not tolerate mercy. Izzy looked to the stands to see his sensei watching. Through that eye contact, he knew his sensei was telling him to win by any means necessary.

"It's my turn!" Izzy said as he drew his next card. Yukin backed away to keep his distance from Izzy for when he attacks "I equip Ragemu with Star Spear!" His spear changed into a gold one with the blade passing through a star. "Now, he gains extra power whenever he engages in battle. An extra 100atk points for each level your monster possesses."

"This isn't looking good." Yukin said.

"It isn't for you!" Izzy said as he went at Yukin and tried attacking him with Yukin doing his best to block his attacks. "I now have Ragemu attack your Rune Ramero! He also gains an extra 300atk points for each level your monster has." Ragemu's attack points increased to 5200. "Plus, another bonus thanks to Star Spear." It increased again to 6000.

"This is bad." Zoey said as they all thought this could be the end if Yukin doesn't do something.

'He's trying to keep me on my toes.' Yukin thought as he was trying his best to hold off against Izzy. 'He's trying to keep me busy so I can't react to the real attack in time.' Ragemu raised it's spear and was going to attack. Yukin knew what he had to do to survive. As Izzy landed a strike on Yukin, Ragemu used the attack and caused some devastation with Rune Ramero being destroyed. Yukin was knocked to the ground, but his life points only dropped to 150. Izzy looked at how Yukin's hands were positioned and saw he discarded something.

"You let me hit you in order to get the chance to discard something." Izzy said.

"That's right." Yukin said as he tried to get back up. "The card I discarded was Candle Seahorse. By discarding that card to the graveyard, I only take half of damage."

"You may have survived, but there's nothing more you can do." Izzy said as he ended his turn and Ragemu's attack points returned to normal. Things were looking bad for Yukin.

"I can't lose... I won't..." Yukin said as he refuses to be defeated like this. As dark clouds formed over and blocked the sun, something came over Yukin. Something appeared to be taking him over as he felt a strange sensation come over him. It wasn't just Yukin. Drewsin, who was resting at Yukin's house, felt it too. He could feel Yukin's pain and anguish. As lightning struck from out of nowhere, Yukin stood up, but he appeared more menacing. Everyone was a little uneasy at what they saw. Even Izzy seemed a little intimidated.

"What's going on with him?" Izzy said as he looked in Yukin's eyes and saw rage.

"It's my turn!" Yukin said as he drew his next card. "I activate Savage Storm! For each spell and trap card I destroy, I can summon a level four or lower monster!" A powerful gust of wind blew and destroyed Yukin's own cards. "I summon Crater Cobra and Night Gorilla." His two monsters came out with 1700 and 1600atk points. "I now overlay my level four Crater Cobra and Night Gorilla!" Both of his monsters became energy as they came together in a vortex. "From the shadows and controls the dark, he shows no mercy to his enemies! I xyz summon Shadow Shudamin!" Shudamin came on the field with him having 2500atk points.

"Yukin can xyz summon?" Nemo said as everyone was confused.

"Where did he get that card?" Siegrain said as no one has seen him use it before.

"Where did he get Shadow Shudamin?! That's Drewsin's card!" Shun said as he was getting angry himself.

"I activate Shadow Shudamin's ability! I use one overlay unit to steal half of your monster's attack points!" Yukin said. Shudamin used an overlay unit and drained Ragemu's power as his attack points dropped to 1400 and Shudamin's rose to 3900. "Shadow Shudamin, again!" Shudamin used his power again and drained more power as his attack points were 4600 and and Ragemu's were 700. "Attack and finish this with Shadow Piercing Strike!"

"I... I activate Star Spear's ability to increase Ragemu's attack points by your monster's level!" Izzy said as he tried to survive.

"Xyz monsters have ranks, not levels. That ability is useless." Yukin said.

"Oh no! There's nothing I can do!" Izzy said. Shadow Shudamin went at Ragemu and attacked him. The attack connected and caused much damage as Izzy was blown back and he lost all of his life points. Yukin won and the field cleared away, but no one seemed happy about the victory. Yukin begin to calm down and snapped out of it.

"What happened to me?" Yukin said. Yukin looked around and everyone seemed scared and shocked at what he did. He saw Izzy get up and glared right at him. He may have won, but it doesn't feel like a victory. He looked down at Shadow Shudamin as he knew it had something to do with this. "Shadow Shudamin, what did you do to me?"