In his normal form, Yugi is roaming the Domino City (currently aka Battle City) streets, with his hands casually behind his head, searching for his next opponent. Perhaps he shouldn't have wasted that much time with that mime (or whatever that weirdo was) on the bench. It's late in the afternoon by now. The first day of the tournament is almost over and Yugi has collected only two locator cards so far.

The first round of the Battle City is scheduled to last two days. In other words, one can be disqualified even without actually losing all their locator cards; whoever hasn't collected six locator cards by tomorrow evening is automatically out of the running!

Darn, perhaps we need to take a chance here. When we find our next opponent, let's bet both our locator cards rather than just one. It may sound risky, but, otherwise, we will never collect six at this rate.

'Yugi,' Yami says in his partner's head. 'No offense, but I think you get distracted easily by stuff around you. So, perhaps it would be better if you transformed and let me take it from here. I will look for our next oppo...'

'Hey, partner, look over there,' the physically underdeveloped, childlike boy exclaims, pointing towards a large, blue structure. 'Domino City aquarium is open. Let's go!'

'Yugi, what did I just say abou...'

However, before Yami Yugi can finish that thought, the boy is already excitedly running, heading there.

Yami rolls his eyes (well, he doesn't actually; he's not currently in control of Yugi's body, so he has no physical body and therefore no physical eyes to roll, but, you know, he does so conceptually). 'What am I going to do with you, partner?' he wonders, with Normal Yugi still not paying attention to him.

Mai and Ishizu are walking, side by side, and talking, as if they were friends.

'Real Gods?' Mai bursts into laughter, eliciting a suppressed glare from Ishizu, who is now struggling to remain her usual, stoic and collected self.

Mai stops, leans over and places her palms on her knees until she recovers from laughter. Her eyes to Ishizu. 'Sorry, girl,' she says. 'I didn't mean to offend your religion and Allah and...'

'I don't believe in Allah,' Ishizu corrects her, annoyed. 'Just because I'm wearing a headcloth doesn't mean I'm a Muslim. I believe, or should I say, I KNOW, that Ancient Egyptian Gods are the ones who created the universe and maintain order.'

'Whatever,' Mai represses one more giggle while making a dismissive gesture. 'You have the right to believe in what you want, but, myself, I'm an atheist. In fact, I have been one for as long as I can remember, no matter how hard my old woman would try to brainwash me with Bible quotes when I was little. God Cards are just cards; they're not real Gods. Let's be serious, girl!'

Ishizu closes and lowers her eyes, places her palm on her chest and exhales in an unintentionally sexy manner. Her eyes back to the blonde woman. 'Mai,' she says softly. 'Since you defeated Yugi at the Duelist Kingdom, have you noticed any strange symptoms?'

Mai raises an eyebrow. 'What symptoms?'

'Dreams. Visions. Anything that would be classified as strange in your short sighted eyes,' Ishizu takes a somewhat more stern expression.

Mai gasps. The sudden migraine she suffered when she was about to fight Bandit Keith, soon after she had beaten Yugi (thankfully, it didn't affect her to the extent of losing that duel). Visions and dreams she has had since that day. Scenes from Ancient Egyptian society.

Mai takes a step back, shocked. 'Who are you?' she is about to ask.

However, what finally comes out of her mouth is this, 'Well, I have had some strange dreams, but that can be attributed to the stress I underwent at the Duelist Kingdom and the stories about Ancient Egypt I heard Yugi and his friends say. No need to accept your hocus pocus nonsense- still no offense- as true when there is a perfectly logical and scientific explanation for...'

Ishizu takes a step forward and caresses Mai. 'The signs have always been there, Mai,' she insists. 'It is your choice to embrace them or disregard them. If you want to believe that Obelisk the Tormentor ended up in your deck because of the trick of some conjurer, so be it. But I urge you, look deep in your heart before you draw your conclusions.'

Mai is gaping at the more dark skinned girl for a while. Finally, she sighs and regains composure, 'Look, Isabelle...'

'Ishizu!' the other woman corrects her, irritated.

'Never mind. I'll just call you Isa,' Mai laughs. 'It rolls off the tongue better.'

Ishizu pouts and frowns (one of her very few gag moments) while Mai gets serious again.

'Anyway, Isa,' the blonde girl continues. 'Either there are God guys up there in the sky or not, I can understand this much. That, just as the Duelist Kingdom, this tournament is not merely about a children's card game and that there are madmen out there that are trying to use the cards to fulfill who knows what psychotic ambitions.'

'My brother is one of those madmen,' Ishizu inwardly says with a sigh.

Mai places her palms on either of Ishizu's shoulders, causing the latter to gasp. 'In any case,' the blonde woman carries on, 'you don't have to think about such stuff all the time. When was the last time you relaxed and felt happy? When was the last time you explored what good stuff life has to offer?'

Ishizu's eyes widen. 'Never!' she answers, to her own surprise too.

Yeah, come to think of it, all she can remember from her life is misery and pain. She spent the greatest part of it underground, in a patriarchal community, helplessly watching her brother tumbling into destruction. Even when their father died and she left that prison, she did so only physically. She never left the prison in her mind.

'Then how about you meet me tonight for a girls' night out?' Mai proposes.

Ishizu does not know how to answer.

'I'll be waiting for you on this spot, tonight, ten o clock,' Mai winks. 'You can come or not come.'

And, with those words, the blonde woman walks away, leaving the tan skinned girl speechless.

Normal Yugi looks around the stadium. Crowds of people are sitting at the seats and cheering for a man who is performing stunts with a black killer whale. Wait, that lightly dressed guy looks familiar. Ain't he...

'Hey, Mako Tsunami,' Yugi calls out and waves.

This draws the other duelist's attention. 'Yugi Muto!' he cries and, with an impressive leap, jumps off the tamed whale and ends up in front of his old friend.

The two men hug.

'So, how many locator cards have you collected so far?' the taller boy asks.

'This many,' Yugi displays his two locator cards.

'As many as me, I guess,' Mako shows his two cards as well. 'As much as I love aquatic stunts, perhaps I should stop wasting time and get back to dueling.'

Silence. The two duelists exchange meaningful looks. Looks that are getting more and more serious as Yugi transforms into his Yami self. No need for words!

'LET'S DUEL,' both of them cry simultaneously, placing their respective decks in their respective duel disks.

'Since we're running short of time, let's bet both our locator cards each,' Yugi suggests.

'Deal,' Mako nods, with an equally serious expression. 'Whoever wins this duel has four locator cards. Whoever loses goes home. No grudges. Okay?'

'Okay, Mako,' Yugi nods with a smile. 'No grudges.'

'Not fair,' a fat woman in the stands grumbles. 'I paid to watch an aquatic show, not a children's card game.'

'Myself, I couldn't care less,' the aforementioned woman's skinny husband sighs; he is here only because his wife practically dragged him over!

In the meantime, the two duelists have tossed a coin and it has been decided that Yugi will go first.

The boy skips his draw phase, since it's the first turn, and begins.

'I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode.'

A lion with a black mane and a silver horn appears. With a roar, it curls into a defensive position.

'Also, I set 1 card. Turn end.'

A face down card appears behind Yugi's monster.

It's Mako's turn. He draws. Perfect. The Legendary Ocean! He has three copies in his deck, so it was almost certain that he would draw one.

'I play a field spell card. Legendary Ocean!'

He places on the duel disk a card depicting an ancient city underwater. Immediately, a mass of holographic water engulfs both duelists and the monsters, so it now looks as if they were really dueling underwater.

Yugi gasps, surprised, his eyes roaming around the transformed battlefield.

'This card gives my monsters unbelievable powers, Yugi,' Mako grins. 'There is no way I can lose on my home turf.'

Yugi regains composure and braces himself, prepared for whatever the opponent is about to do.

Mako carries on, 'I summon the Mermaid Knight (1500/700) in attack mode.'

An arguably beautiful mermaid appears. She has red hair and a green tail. She's wielding a sword.

'As long as the Legendary Ocean is on the field, all water monsters gain 200 ATK and DEF points,' Mako explains, with his monster's ATK increasing to 1700.

'Now, Mermaid Knight, slay the beast wannabe!'

Swimming like an olympic champion in the holographic water, with a determined expression on her face, the mermaid strikes Gazelle with her sword. With a whimper, the lion subsequently breaks into a million tiny pieces.

'There's more to that,' Mako cries with a smile of satisfaction. 'When the Legendary Ocean is on the field, my mermaid can attack twice!'

'WHAT?' Yugi cries. The next thing he knows, the female knight has struck him with her sword, reducing his life points to 2300.

In the stands, the fat woman's child comments, 'Hey, mom. Did you know that mermaids are the most useless creatures in the world? I mean, they're neither women nor fish, so one can neither eat them nor screw them.'

'Where did you hear that joke, Tim?' the woman asks her son, glaring at her husband, who gulps.

'Your turn,' Mako chuckles.

'This isn't good,' Yugi thinks as he draws. 'I need to protect my remaining life points if I want to have a chance in this duel.'

He looks at his new card. This might help.

'I play the Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode.'

A sturdy, red skinned warrior appears. He has long, black, messy hair, he's wearing fire red trousers and his upper clothes are concealed by a huge, purple shield he's wielding. The monster kneels behind his shield.

'Turn end,' Yugi declares, hoping that this monster's high DEF power will buy him some time.

'Don't try to hide, Muto,' Mako cries triumphantly as he places his next monster on the board. 'Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 (1500/1300) in attack mode.'

A red submarine with gray missiles appears on the field and immediately gets the power boost from the field card, its ATK points jumping to 1700.

'As long as the Legendary Ocean is on the field, this card can attack you directly,' Mako exclaims.

Yugi's eyes bulge as the Amphibious Burgroth fires its missiles, which bypass the Big Shield Gardna and strike him. Yugi almost falls on his back as his life points drop to 600.

'Almost there,' Mako thinks with a smile. 'Even the great Yugi Moto is helpless against the power of the ocean!'

Before he ends his turn, he sets 1 card. 'Back to you, Yugi.'

'If this thing attacks me directly again, I will lose,' the boy with multicolored hair thinks with a bead of sweat on his cheek. 'I need to draw something that can get me on the offensive. NOW!'

He draws. The Summoned Skull! He smiles. This monster is strong enough to wipe out Mako's monsters. And it gets even stronger when it battles water creatures, gaining 750 ATK points!

'I tribute the Big Shield Gardna and play the Summoned Skull (2500/1200) in attack mode.'

The well known demonic creature appears on the field. However, before it can open its wings and complete its entrance sequence, Mako responds!

'Face down card activate. Torrential Tribute! I can activate it when I have a water monster on the field and you summon a monster. All monsters on the field go bye bye!'

'WHAT?'

The trap card depicts a torrent, which is what the mass of water around the two duelists turns into. All monsters on the field are destroyed. When the sea has subsided, the field is bare once again.

'I-I end my turn,' Yugi stutters.

Feeling victorious already, Mako begins his turn. 'I play the Terrorking Salmon (2400/1000) in attack mode.'

A giant, gray fish with two fins on either side of its head appears on the field.

'Wait,' Yugi protests, pointing forward. 'According to the Battle City rules, you cannot summon such a high level monster without tributing first.'

'I can, thanks to the Legendary Ocean, baby,' Mako brags, as the Terrorking Salmon gets the field power boost, its ATK points increasing to 2600. 'The level of every water monster, be it on the field or in my hand, goes down by one. That means that my salmon is now a level four monster, though its power does not go down a bit, HAR HAR...'

Yugi's eyes bulge. Now what?

Mako caresses his chin, eyeing the face down card on Yugi's field. Yugi set that card on the first turn of the duel. If it was a trap card, he would have activated it by now. Therefore, he guesses it's safe to attack. This duel is over!

'TERRORKING SALMON, ATTACK YUGI'S LIFE POINTS DIRECTLY!'