(A/N: Like I said, we get Espa this chapter. Enjoy).

Walking alone with his hamsters tucked away in his coat, Gundham Tanaka paced the streets of Domino City looking for a worthy challenge. As he rounded a corner, he came upon a duel between a young blue haired boy and a much taller gentleman wearing a green coat and a pink shirt. Only the former had a monster on the field: the mighty Jinzo.

"Jinzo! Attack his life points directly!" Its owner, psychic duelist Espa Roba, declared. "Wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Jinzo unleashed a blast of energy from his eyes and rendered his opponent's life points to nothing. Jinzo's owner laughed. "As I predicted, my Jinzo completely destroyed all of your life points."

"Ugh," the taller man said. "I got completely wrecked. Well," he said and handed Espa a rare card and a locator card. "Here you go."

"Hmph, your Lycanthrope doesn't deserve a spot in my deck, but I'm sure I could find use for it as a coaster. Now why don't you run along somewhere else? I'll be busy making my way to the finals that you'll be missing out on. Hahahahaha!"

Gundham paused and looked onto the scene with interest. As he stood there, somebody took notice of him, it was a young girl in a school uniform that contained a pink blouse and a blue skirt. She had fiery reddish hair. She had a duel disk on her.

"Oh, hey, are you a duelist too?" she asked, noting Gundham's duel disk.

"I am, yes. Are you looking for a challenge?" Gundham asked.

"I am, but I can't," the girl said. "Name's Christine by the way."

"Gundham," Gundham said. "And what do you mean, you can't?"

"That Espa Roba guy took my only locator card and my rare card. I'm so mad! I wish somebody would kick his butt, but he has to be cheating. He says he has ESP, but I don't buy it. I mean, whoever heard of such a thing?"

Gundham burst out laughing. At first, Christine thought he found her statement funny, but the smile on his face suggested otherwise. "ESP? Now things get interesting!"

As Gundham excused his way through the crowd, he could hear Espa shouting, "Is there no one here that wishes to challenge me, the psychic duelist, Espa Roba?"

"How about me?" Gundham asked, stepping forward out into the open.

"You?" Espa Roba asked.

"Indeed," Gundham asked. "I am the world renown beast tamer whose skills were forged in the fiery pits of Hell! I! Am GUNDHAM TANAKA! And I am the man who will one day rule this world!"

"You claim to be hellspawn, what utter nonsense," Espa scoffed.

"You discredit my statements so easily, yet you claim to have psychic powers?" Gundham questioned.

"My abilities are real compared to…whatever it is you claim to have," Espa said dismissively. "How many locator cards are we wagering?"

"I have two with me."

Espa grinned from ear to ear. "Then I shall wager two as well and relieving you of yours shall put me that much closer to the finals."

"Do not think you can treat me so carelessly, Esper, for you will soon find yourself with one foot in the grave," Gundham told him enthusiastically.

"It's Espa!" Espa corrected.

Gundham folded his arms, speaking calmly, "You are an esper, a young man with psychic powers." He glanced at Espa Roba. "I did not get your name wrong, Espa Roba."

"Whatever," Espa Roba said. "So, are we dueling?"

"We most certainly are!" Gundham declared with enough ham to cause cholesterol trouble. "And I shall take the first move, to give your psychic powers a chance to warm up."

"How very gracious of you," Espa said insincerely as the two loaded their decks and activated their duel disks.

"Let's duel!" They shouted together.

A much larger crowd had begun to corral around Espa and Gundham's location. Duelists that had seen Espa's previous duels now stood in the same crowd with those who bore witness to Gundham's duel with Hifumi. To say it was the biggest crowd that had gathered since Yugi Vs Seeker would not have been inaccurate. There was a lot of hype going on in that audience as Gundham got the duel underway.

"My first move shall be, THIS! I combine the mighty Silver Fang with these Beast Fangs! Raising its attack to 1500 points." Placing the white wolf onto the battlefield combined with the magical beast fangs, a particularly aggressive looking Silver Fang leapt up onto the battlefield. "Make your first move, esper. I am eagerly awaiting the unveiling of your psychic powers," Gundham said with great enthusiasm.

Espa tapped two fingers to the front of his temples and began humming to himself. He then declared, "Oh Cosmic Forces lend me your strength, allow me to tap into your energies. Make me one with the psychic universe!"

Gundham furrowed his brow. How strange, I can sense no altering of the natural forces of this world. Have his powers not warmed up yet? No, I would be able to detect trace amounts of their energies if that were the case. Or perhaps he needs no ethereal energy to activate his powers. A natural born psychic? Could such a thing truly exist?

"I see all," Espa said and then pointed his finger directly at Gundham with a self-satisfied smirk. "And I see that you have the Feral Imp and plan to power it up next turn with Dark Energy."

Gundham's eyebrows raised in slight shock. It's true I have those cards, even so… In Gundham's own warped view of the world, something about this situation seemed…off. Gundham believed he knew psychics or at least could feel psychic energy and he felt no such thing from Espa. Did Espa's powers come from within, or perhaps there was a more mundane explanation for his guess. Gundham braced himself, subconsciously folding his arms and laying his cards backs facing up against his arm.

Espa drew the top card of his deck. "If that's going to be your move, then I'll play a monster that would be stronger even than the Feral Imp and its dark powers. I play Gold Gadget!" Espa declared, unleashing a clockwork, gilded monster with 1700 attack points. "And thanks to its special ability, I'll play this too, My Biofalcon." A cyborg looking falcon that still had some of its fleshy bits visible. It too had 1700 attack points.

Gundham began to sweat. "This…cannot be."

"Go, Gold Gadget, destroy his Silver Fang!" Espa declared, palm outstretched. Gold Gadget leapt forward and punched Silver Fang in the jaw, destroying it and reducing Gundham's life points down to 3800. "And now, Biofalcon, attack Gundham directly!"

Biofalcon swooped in and clawed at Gundham's chest. Gundham did not flinch when the bird came in, but buckled and staggered backwards after being assaulted. His lifepoints dropped to 2100.

"Feel free to give up any time, Gundham. My machine monsters will crush you with the aid of my almighty psychic powers."

Gundham made an indiscernible noise.

Espa assumed Gundham was about to cry. "Is the big bad, Gundham Tanaka already lost his will to continue. One little scratch and I've got you reeling."

However, Gundham was not crying. He was, in actuality, laughing. He picked his head up and continued to cackle like mad. "Amusing, very amusing!" Gundham declared enthusiastically. "So indeed, your powers are just as they were foretold in the scriptures of hell!"

Even Espa was taken aback by Gundham's antics. …What?

Gundham, arms folded and eyes closed, was smirking. "It appears that if I wish to defeat you, then I must use my own powers." One arm raised and fingers clutched, the other down at his side, two fingers extended and holding his cards, Gundham shouted. "COME MY FOUR DARK DEVAS OF DESTRUCTION! Sun-D! Jum-P! Maga-Z! And Cham-P! It's time for us to face this foe together!"

From out of Gundham's coat, four fuzzy hamsters appeared, crawling all over his body.

"Hamsters?" Espa was completely confused.

Gundham folded his arms again as Cham-P, Gundham's biggest and most fluffy hamster, positioned himself on Gundham's wrist right next to Gundham's cards. The other three made themselves comfortable so that they could see his whole hand, San-D in particular sitting on the edge Gundham's left shoulder.

Gundham still looked amused. "It appears that even with your psychic powers you cannot tell the difference between a mere hamster and a hellfire guardian!" Gundham shouted. "This is but their sleeping form as you will see soon enough. It's my draw now, and with it a new wind is about to blow across this duel, Esper!"

So that Gundham could remain rooted in place, Maga-Z drew the card for him, earning a few awws and giggles from the girls in the crowd. Espa didn't know if he should cry foul for outside help, but he was hardly one to talk with his siblings up on a building spying on Gundham's hand. And even then, could pets even be considered outside help?

Espa then received unsettling news from said brothers. "What? What do you mean you can't see what he just drew?" He snapped in the angriest whisper he could muster. "The Hamsters?!"

"Is something the matter, Esper?" Gundham asked.

Espa growled, "No."

Gundham looked pleased as punch. "Allow me to guess, your psychic powers are being stifled by my own powers."

"What powers?" Espa asked. "You have hamsters. Hamsters!" He exclaimed.

Espa's lack of understanding didn't seem to bother Gundham in the slightest. He struck his signature pose, his hamsters repositioning themselves within seconds accordingly, "The powers I've possessed for years," he said as a glint of fire could be seen in his right eye, "The powers of HELL! I play this! My Berserk Gorilla!" Gundham declared, playing a fuzzy, reddish primate with temper issues. "And next, I'll play my Poison Fangs magic card!" Gundham declared, activating the continuous spell.

Espa was, once again, confused. "Poison Fangs? Where did that come from? I thought you had another Beast Fangs in your hand."

Gundham cackled. "Oh? Do thine own powers deceive you? It would appear the ethereal plane is playing tricks on you." Gundham chuckled in amusement as he prepared to attack. "But as for me, my powers never deceive me! GO MY GORILLA! DESTROY HIS BIOFALCON!"

Charging forward, Berserk Gorilla slammed both of its fists down onto Espa's falcon, destroying it. Espa's life points were reduced to 3700.

"And thanks to Poison Fangs, you lose an additional 500 life points," Gundham said with what passed as cheerfully for him.

Espa's life points were now at 3200.

"So you took off a chunk of my life points, big deal. Even if my psychic powers are being jammed by your occult powers, I can still duel without them!" Ugh, as if this guy needs an ego boost, but I have to keep up the routine or else... Trailing off his train of thought, Espa drew the top card from his deck. "Your monster is toast. I sacrifice Gold Gadget in order to play Jinzo!"

"The bane of all trap cards! My Berserk Gorilla..." Gundham said, he and his hamsters looking distraught.

"Go! Jinzo! Cyber Energy Shock! Eliminate his Berserk Gorilla!"

With a simple blast of psychic energy, Jinzo obliterated Berserk Gorilla and dropped Gundham's down to 1700.

"Impressive, most impressive," Gundham said, truly enjoying this battle of the supernatural. "You have been leading this duel from the very start. Then it appears I must raise my power level even more!" Gundham then began shouting unceremoniously, somehow creating a darkened aura around him as his hamsters stuck by Gundham's shoulders, chattering by his ears.

What the hell is this guy doing? Espa asked, still confused.

Gundham stopped shouting and the mysterious aura disappeared as he chuckled to himself, the hamsters returning to their original positions. "I've figured out your trick, you cur!" Gundham held his hands up in a kung-fu pose. "Your powers are limited only to what I have in my hand, or so my furry friends inform me."

Espa gasped. Did…did he figure it out? No, it's probably just intuition. And very dangerous intuition at that.

"But there is no way you could possibly know what lies in my deck," Gundham said as he drew the top card off of his deck, "So let me show you…" Both of Gundham's eyes flashed with fire. "WHAT TRUE POWER IS ALL ABOUT! I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 cards!" Gundham drew the two top cards off his deck: Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Graceful Charity. "And next I think I shall play Graceful Charity. Now I can draw three more cards as long as I discard two. And I think I will discard my Feral Imp and my Dark Energy magic card which you so eloquently deduced was in my hand." Gundham began laughing again. "But with my powers raised to fifty, no SIXTY percent, you could not hope to tell my strategy now!"

Espa could hear his younger brother through the device in his ear. "He's right! I can't see his cards with the way he's holding them and we didn't get a good look at them as he drew them."

Espa only growled in response. He had a right mind to pull the device out and pocket it.

Gundham then shouted at the top of his lungs. "SO NOW I USE POLYMERIZATION TO FUSE GAZELLE THE KING OF MYTHICAL BEASTS WITH BERFOMET TO CREATE CHIMERA THE FLYING MYTHICAL BEAST!"

The two-headed, winged, tan furred monstrosity appeared. Gundham laughed and laughed as it took to the field.

"What are you laughing about?" Espa demanded to know. "That monster isn't nearly strong enough to fight Jinzo!" The difference in attack points were clear cut: 2400 to 2100.

"Perhaps not," Gundham admitted, "But this turn it cannot attack." He chuckled. "Next turn though who knows? And just to keep you guessing I play the last card in my hand face-down on the field. Make your move, Espa Roba and behold the dark powers laden within my deck." Gundham seemed positively thrilled with the situation with the way he seemed to be chuckling.

He's bluffing, Espa thought, jaw slack, Trap cards are useless against Jinzo. It's probably some kind of magic card to boost Chimera's attack points. But which one? There are so many in duel monsters. Espa gnashed his teeth and declared as he drew the top card from his deck. "Your magic card won't save you. I play this, Amplifier!" A cybernetic helmet appeared on Jinzo's head. "Now Jinzo's attack points increase by 500 and with every turn his attack points will increase another 300. In other words, your monster shall join Silver Fang in the pits of hell!" Espa declared, index finger raised to the sky. He then pointed it at Chimera. "Now go, Jinzo! Destroy his Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!"

"FOOL! Activate face-down magic card! My Wild Nature's Release!" Gundham declared. Wild Nature's Release was a magic card that gave a monster all of the defense points it had as attack points, but at the end of the turn, the monster would be destroyed."

"What? Noooo!" Espa shouted.

Gundham laughed. "I'm afraid it's all over for poor Jinzo." Chimera's attack points surged to 3900. "Go, my beast! Annihilate his monster with Rampaging Charge!"

Power surging and state of mind berserk thanks to Gundham's magic card, Chimera was unaffected by Jinzo's cyber blast and tore him to shreds, ripping his head and part of his torso clean off as it rushed past Espa Roba like the wind, only to vanish.

Espa's life points dropped down to 2200 as the wind knocked him on his backside.

"And since a beast monster damaged your life points," Gundham said, "Poison Fangs activates and you lose another 500 life points!"

Espa's life points reduced again to 1700. The two duelists were now dead even.

"Fortunately for you," Gundham exposited. "Due to Wild Nature's Release's overwhelming power, my monster will be destroyed at the end of this turn, but because I am defusing Chimera, I will get to pick to keep one of its heads. Tell me Esper, in this situation, which monster do you think I will choose?"

Espa sat on the ground, his jaw slack. He was quite perplexed by Gundham's inquiry. He's…asking for my psychic intuition? Does that mean he doesn't know the truth? With everything that had happened, Espa just couldn't believe that Gundham hadn't figured things out by now. I…I don't understand.

Gundham became slightly annoyed with the lull in the action. "Surely your psychic powers are not so jammed as to not answer a simple question, Esper."

Espa then had an epiphany. He doesn't have any power at all. He's just like me, but unlike me, he believes in his powers not for personal gain, but for sheer spectacle. I don't really know why and… Espa got up from off the ground, I don't really know if he understands that my powers don't exist, but… Espa looked at the crowd that had gathered, Gundham…you see the people gathered here and you're acting in a manner only to entertain the crowd. Everyone came here to see a show and you're giving one to them. Your so-called occult powers vs my psychic powers, you truly believe this duel to be that sort of spectacle, or at least, if you don't believe, you want the crowd to believe. Espa was deeply moved. He clenched a fist, angry with himself. I can't believe I resorted to cheating despite my skill just to prove myself. Espa looked directly at his opponent. I want to be more like you, Gundham, someone who doesn't care what others think, someone who can have such confidence in their abilities that they can use their inner power to make others believe in it. Starting now, Gundham Tanaka, Espa said as he grinned manically and folded his arms, I shall follow in your footsteps. For my brothers!

Chuckling, Espa, put two fingers against his left temple and pointed the other at Gundham. "I say you will pick Gazelle and in attack position no less."

"Correct!" Gundham declared. "It would appear your psychic abilities function beyond my hand in some capacity, I am most impressed!"

Espa's brother that was holding the binoculars was slightly confused. "What's Espa doing?"

His sibling with the headset was just as confused. "I don't know." He radioed to Espa. "Hey, big brother, what's going on?"

Espa chuckled to himself and then cackled in a manner befitting his opponent. He then spoke both answering the question and seeming to be talking to Gundham at the same time, "From here on out, my psychic powers are just as much part of this spectacle as your own, Gundham Tanaka! But even if they're being smothered by your hellspawn powers, I will not lose this duel!"

Gundham was excited by this declaration. "Good! Good! Show me your true power, Espa Roba! I am truly enjoying the challenge you are providing!"

Espa's brother was dumbfounded. "Did…did our big brother really start to believe he has psychic powers?"

Espa's other helpful brother said, "But this works though. Even if we don't help him, Espa's still an amazing duelist. If he keeps up the routine in another way then that's even better! He doesn't have to cheat to win."

"You can do it, big brother!" Espa heard from the inside of his earpiece.

He smiled to himself as he said calmly, "Since I know your plan and I haven't played a monster yet, I'll play this one in face-down defense mode," Espa said, slapping it onto the duel disk. I'm going to go with my best intuition and understanding of the game. That Chimera maneuver had to be pure luck to draw the right cards, in which case... Something pulsed within Espa. Wh-what's this feeling...it's...it's as if I feel...powerful...some kind of force...dwelling within me...

"You seem to be feeling it," Gundham said, sounding pleased, "The natural energy coursing through this world. Well, can you feel its power? The power of your fighting spirit?"

This must be what he's feeling, this natural, raw instinct. His must be like that of a hunter, but mine… Espa chuckled. "I predict that you will draw a monster card with 5 or 6 stars and then sacrifice your Gazelle to play it in order to destroy mine. So I planned to play mine in defense mode to protect my life points," Espa declared. And that's not all I plan to protect, Espa thought, thinking of his brothers.

"Very well, Esper. Let's see how that psychic intuition holds up," Gundham said as Espa's turn ended. "First, Chimera is destroyed, and Gazelle takes its place." Gazelle appeared on the battlefield. "Next, I draw." Gundham laughed when he saw what was in his hand. "I don't know how you did it, Esper, but you were correct, I did indeed draw a 6-star monster. And now I sacrifice my Gazelle to play this: My BEAST OF TALWAR!" A giant green monster carrying two enormous sabers with blue wings appeared. "In spite of its name, my Beast of Talwar is actually a fiend type monster," Gundham stated. "Now, go my fiendish friend, destroy that face-down monster!"

Beast of Talwar slashed at Espa's monster, splitting a turtle wearing a UFO as a shell in half.

"You destroyed my UFO turtle," Espa Roba said. "That allows me to summon a monster with a fire attribute from my deck in attack position! And I choose this one: Giga Tech Wolf!" A wolf with machine parts attached to it appeared on the battlefield.

"Impressive choice," Gundham said, calmly, only to grin widely, striking his signature pose, "But next turn it will be annihilated by my Beast of Talwar."

Espa drew the top card of his deck. "The psychic forces tell me that's likely, which is why I'm playing alongside it, my Reflect Bounder in attack mode." A mirror faceted monster wearing a red a red cape appeared. It had 1700 hundred attack points.

Gundham was all too familiar with the monster from middle school. "Ah, I see, playing a monster I cannot destroy with greater power using your Giga Tech Wolf as bait. Most impressive."

Espa smirked. "Glad to see you understand my strategy." He then declared. "I switch Giga Tech Wolf to defense mode." Espa's wolf crouched and lowered its head, its cybernetic parts forming a cross shield in front of its head. "Make your move."

"But of course!" Gundham declared and laughed at what he drew. "It appears fortune still favors me. Activate Card of Demise. Now I draw as long until I am holding 5 cards in my hand as long as I discard my whole hand five turns later. It is a gamble to say the least, but it will be well worth the price to pay!"

Gundham looked at the cards in his hand after drawing them: Twin-Headed Wolf, another Dark Energy, Megamorph, Versago the Destroyer and his favorite monster, the almighty Summoned Skull.

Gundham was ecstatic, cackling once more. "I must have some foul demon watching over me for I have drawn the cards to seal your fate, Esper. First, I play Twin-headed Wolf in attack mode." A wolf with a green, furry body and two pink heads with red eyes appeared on the field. "Next, I shall equip it with my Dark Energy magic card, raising its attack points to 1800." The wolf received a foul red aura around it, howling with one head while the other looked at it and growled.

"Big deal, you can't destroy my Reflect Bounder without wiping out all of your life points," Espa stated.

"I won't need to do that this turn," Gundham said. "After all, waiting is part of any duel. Now go my Twin-headed Wolf! Annihilate his Giga Tech Wolf and rid it from the battlefield! Show it why dark organic matter is stronger any than steel!"

Twin-Headed Wolf charged and tore apart Giga Tech Wolf with its powerful jaws, sending the monster right to Espa's graveyard. "It is your move now, Esper."

"Very well," Espa said and drew the top card of his deck. "I play Pot of Greed so I can draw two-cards." Espa Roba smirked as he saw the two new cards in his hand. "Next, I play Monster Reborn to bring Jinzo back from the Graveyard." The formidable trap destroyer reappeared on the battlefield. And after that, I sacrifice Reflect Bounder so that I can play this card, my Machine King!" A towering thickly built, red robot appeared. It had 2200 attack points. "And Machine King's special ability is one any machine user is familiar with. "It gets an extra 100 attack points for every machine monster on the field, including itself." Machine King's attack power increased to 2400. "But that's not all, I also activate this magic card, Machine Conversion Factory and I add it to Jinzo!" A bunch of machines, wires and power tools surrounded Jinzo and brought its attack power up to 2700, disappearing and leaving his armor with a sleek, chrome coloring. "And now to bring truth to the vision I foresaw last turn. Jinzo! Attack! Destroy Beast of Talwar! Cyber Energy Shock!"

A red laser blasted outward and annihilated Beast of Talwar, bringing Gundham's life points down to 1400. "And now, Machine King, attack! Destroy Twin-Headed Wolf!" Gundham's life points dropped all the way down to 800.

Espa chuckled. "You're down to less than a thousand life points and I have two strong monsters on the field. This duel's over!" Espa declared. "I really must thank you Gundham, thanks to you I've awakened my psychic powers to a whole new level, but that does not mean I will show you any mercy."

However, Gundham wasn't distraught or defensive. He was, once again, chuckling happily.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"Tell me, Esper, what do you see your chances of winning as?" Gundham asked.

"One hundred percent. You can't make a comeback with only 800 life points, no monsters and only three cards in your hand!

"Then I must be rather skilled indeed for I intend to overturn your prediction with RAW POWER!"

"You're crazy!" Espa exclaimed. It had to be said. He couldn't keep it withheld anymore.

"That I might be!" Gundham declared, taking the insult in stride, "But you have to be a little addled to challenge an esper in the first place! My draw!" Gundham drew the top card off of his deck. "Excellent," he said with a small smile, "Just what I needed. I play Pot of Avarice! Now I shuffle my Gazelle, my Berfomet, my Twin-Headed Wolf, my Beast of Talwar and my Feral Imp from my graveyard into my deck and draw two cards." Gundham drew the top two cards off of his deck. He let out that over the top signature laugh of his. "Splendid, simply splendid. I have drawn precisely the cards I need to take you down. First! I activate Polymerization to fuse together my Summoned Skull and use Versago the Destroyer as a substitute for the long sought after Red-Eyes Black Dragon to CREATE! BLACK! SKULL! DRAGON!"

The powerful, veiny, fiendish, horned, and aggressive looking behemoth of a winged dragon with 3200 attack points emerged onto the field.

"So you made a powerful fusion monster," Espa said, throwing a hand to the side, "Am I supposed to be impressed? Your monster can't attack this turn and even if it could, I still have plenty of cards I can draw so that Jinzo can destroy it!"

"Sorry to disappoint you esper, but there will not be a next turn for I have these!" Gundham shouted, showcasing two magic cards. Espa recognized them by the pictures.

"Megamorph and Quick Attack!"

"CORRECT!" Gundham roared. "And since I have less life points than you, the power of my Black Skull Dragon is doubled and with Quick Attack it can attack RIGHT! NOW!" Black Skull Dragon, DESTROY HIS JINZO! MOLTEN FIREBALLS!"

A heated meteorite began to form in the back of Black Skull Dragon's throat as it flew a bit into the air and unleashed a barrage of meteorites unto Jinzo as the monster braced for impact, being annihilated by 6400 attack points of sheer raw power.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Espa Roba shouted, blinded by the bright light of Gundham's attack as Jinzo was destroyed and his life points became 0.

"YOU LOSE!" Gundham declared.

Espa dropped to his knees. He could hear the whispers and heckling from the audience members.

"What a fraud," He heard one person say. "He was so sure of himself, but he lost. Some psychic he is."

"He's just a loser.

"Loser!"

"No…I can't…" Espa said in distraught as he balled his fists on the ground. "Losing…is not…an option," he said, getting choked up.

Gundham's shadow suddenly loomed over him. Espa figured he was here to rub it in and then demand Jinzo and his rightfully earned two locator cards.

However, Gundham seemed to be a graceful winner as he said to Espa, "Get up from off the ground, esper."

"Huh?" Espa said, looking up at Gundham.

Gundham stood by his lonesome, his hamsters having retreated into his coat. "Defeat is not the end," he said. "Though the cosmic forces did not favor you this day, truly they will shine upon you in another duel. Redouble your efforts, esper," Gundham said and gave Espa a smile of pride. "You fought an honorable duel, though it's true your powers lacked in comparison to my own. But to that I say, train harder and harness your true power. And when you are ready, challenge me again, for I am the one and the only, GUNDHAM TANAKA, THE MAN WHO WILL SOMEDAY RULE THIS WORLD!"

Espa was one part confused, the other part comforted. Gundham was trying to encourage him. He wasn't pitying him or rubbing things in his face. Espa was just in utter awe. Once more he was inspired by Gundham. The man was talking about powers he clearly did not have, but he believed in them regardless and he believed in Espa. Despite winning, he still saw Espa as someone worthy of his respect.

I thought winning meant everything that there was no point in continuing if I ever lost. But Gundham, you've shown me another path. Espa hung his head. I am forever in your debt.

"You still have a single locator card, do you not?" Gundham asked rhetorically.

"Huh?"

Gundham seemed to smirk. "I believe that our paths are destined to cross again." Gundham declared down to Espa with pride. "Now, pick yourself up off the ground and hold your head up with pride, Espa Roba! Hand over your Jinzo now and I shall see you in the finals later!"

Espa stood up, still awestruck by Gundham's courtesy and respect. He'd even got Espa's hecklers to shut their mouths. "You…believe in my power?" he asked Gundham.

"I believe in your belief of your power," Gundham answered. "Just as I believe in my own power. Do not despair over this defeat, use it to make yourself stronger."

"But...without Jinzo, what can I...?" Espa began to ask. He had Machine King, sure, but Jinzo was his ace. Its trap card annihilating abilities gave him a serious advantage.

Gundham glanced aside down an alleyway. "There should still be a few card shops open even with the Battle City tournament going on. I recommend visiting a few. You may find the answer there. After all, does one card make a deck, no matter how powerful?" Gundham let loose an almost evil grin. "A deck is many up of over 40 components, one card alone is not enough. Look at this duel for example. I won using no less than five cards in a combination to win the duel in a victory brought about by the will of causality. So, I'll say it again, pick yourself up, Esper and rebuild yourself. Make that psychic power you claim to have your own. For I, GUNDHAM TANAKA, believe in you!"

The sun reflected behind Gundham, casting a light and shadow on Espa Roba and renewing his doubtful heart with purpose. He wiped the tears away from the corner of his eyes. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll take what you taught me today and become a better duelist." Espa handed over three items to Gundham. "Here, Jinzo and three locator cards."

"Much obliged, esper," Gundham said. "Jinzo's power will assist me when necessary. Now then, I bid thee, farewell." Gundham took his spoils of war, spun on his heel and walked away, his scarf billowing in the breeze.

"So dreamy!" a few girls cooed, several running up to Gundham and asking for autographs, crowding him practically.

"Back! Back you she-devils! Even power such as mine cannot handle this much feminine overflow at once!"

Espa could only chuckle to himself as he observed Gundham's predicament. He then noticed all the duelists staring at him. "Well, the duel's over!" He declared. "But I can still take any of you on! Who's brave enough to challenge me?" Many duelists fled the area, but a few stuck around to challenge Espa in succession. Gundham, Espa thought as he began another duel, I'm going to use what you taught me and rebuilt myself. I'm going to go straight for the Battle City finals! Nay, I'll win the whole championship! "I just have to believe in myself!" Espa declared as Machine King tore apart his opponent's monster.

After calming down the crowd of women with autographs and requests to feel his scarf and pet his hamsters, Gundham was once again alone and on the road, looking at the four locator cards he now had stuffed into his coat when they were not out. I now have four of the six items required to participate in the finals. He remembered his promise with Sonia. Hmm, I wonder if the Dark Queen is as successful as I am right now.

"Oh dear," Sonia said in a part of town with high rising buildings and very little sunshine, "I'm afraid I've become lost." She looked around at her surroundings before glancing down and putting a finger against her chin to figure out what to do next. This city is so big and I've spent more time sightseeing than I have dueling. Sonia looked down at her two locator cards and the rare card she earned from her last duel: Maha Vailo. How unfortunate, Sonia thought, That though this is a powerful card, only one of the cards in my deck will work with it. It is a shame I do not own an Axe of Despair or a Malevolent Nuzzler. Cards like that would surely help me right now. Perhaps I could double back to the school and trade with Fuyuhiko. I do recall he had one. Oh, but how do I get back to the school?

As Sonia walked around unfamiliar street signs with everything in the area looking the same, she walked past a restaurant with outdoors seating. Sitting in one of the chairs and drinking a bottle of brandy happened to be none other than the notorious Bandit Keith. After breaking free from Marik's control, Keith had been hospitalized for a few days, woke up and went right back to doing what he did best: cheating losers out of their money in underground duels in any shitty bar he could find.

When Sonia turned around the corner, she was one of the prettiest ladies Bandit Keith had ever laid eyes on. Keith chuckled to himself. Ah, nothing goes better with a bottle of booze than some European cuisine. Crass jackass that he was, Bandit Keith wolf whistled when Sonia was within range. It got her attention and caused her to turn around to look at him. Given she was European, Sonia had no context for Keith's behavior and simply thought he was trying to get his attention.

"Oh, hello there, sir," she said with a smile.

"Hello to you too there, toots," he said. "Why don't you have a seat?" he asked, grabbing the nearby chair and turning it around so that Sonia could sit down. "It just breaks my heart to see a pretty young thing like you walking around unattended. Sit down and let Bandit Keith buy you a drink, sweetheart."

Sonia smiled. "Oh you needn't worry about me," she said with a slight chuckle. She held up her duel disk attached to her arm. "I am in the middle of the Battle City tournament."

"No kidding," Bandit Keith said with an impressed smirk. "A beautiful woman that's also a duelist, who could ask for more?" He finished the bottle he'd been drinking from and then smashed it on the ground. "Whatdya say, babe? How about a duel against the intercontinental champ? If I win, we go on a date. If you win, you can take my rare card and my locator card AND I'll do you a favor if you ask." Course, I ain't gonna lose to some floozy.

"Bandit Keith?" Sonia asked, puzzled a moment until she recognized the name. "The Bandit Keith?" Sonia was a fan of all professional duelists across the seven seas from Kaiba, to Yugi, to Pegasus, and, yes, even Bandit Keith. He was like a celebrity to her. "It's a duel," Sonia said, her eyes shining with brilliance. She then flexed her arm and squeezed her bicep. "But I must warn you, I am not a woman with flexible legs!"

Keith got the euphemism, but shrugged it off. "Yeah, whatever. Get out your deck and let's do this."

Sonia readied her Duel Disk and Bandit Keith did the same. "Let's duel!" they declared together and the back alley brawl officially began.

(A/N: Aaaaaaand, cutting it there. Next chapter should be pretty short with just Sonia's duel with Keith. I'll explain more about the matchup after its over next chapter, but first let's talk about Gundham and Espa. I chose the matchup simply because the opportunity was too good to pass up with Gundham's delusions mixing well with Espa's fraudulence. I also thought it a great opportunity to do more with Espa Roba's character. I also thought it would be hilarious to have Gundham's hamsters coincidentally blocking the view of Gundham's cards through the spot where Espa's brothers were spying on Espa's opponents. It was also a good way to show just how good of a deck Gundham has. Don't you worry, we have not seen the last of Espa in this fanfic. And yes, I am aware how strong I made the Ho Yay with these two. Y'all can shut up about that.

Anyway, next chapter you'll all get to see what Sonia can do. Whether or not that will be enough to take down the intercontinental champ, well that remains to be seen. I mean, no matter who of Hope's Peak gets knocked out of the tournament, this is only the beginning. There will be other arcs and other duels. It's anyone's game…unless it's Yugi. If Yugi's dueling, it's a safe bet that he's got the duel in the bag XD.

But for now, that's all folks. As always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)