(A/N: Certainly has been a while hasn't it? Happy New Year, folks. Unfortunately, since the time since we've last seen each other, I lost my job as a tech support engineer. It sucks and I'm currently working on getting a new one. But don't worry about me, you guys just worry about enjoying this newest chapter).
In sunny California, down the streets of San Franciso, two motorcycles sped down the roadway. They turned corners, burned rubber down straightaways and eventually drifted straight up to an incredibly tall skyscraper. The motorcycles stalled as the rider in back said to their partner, "This is the place?"
The rider in front took off their helmet, revealing Valon of organization Doma. "Yup, ere it is, good ol' Industrial Illusions, the origin of Duel Monsters."
"And Pegasus is inside?" The other rider said, now taking off their helmet, revealing Natsumi Kuzuryu. With Dartz's aide, she'd started on a new wardrobe, decked out in shoulder length, fingerless, leather gloves, a leather jacket, dark green leather pants and a slightly cropped, dark green shirt. Her entire lower abdomen below her navel was visible.
"He'd ave to be under the circumstances. What with KaibaCorp getting such bad press lately, the old bloke's probly workin is bum off trying to fix the mess." Valon looked at Natsumi as she turned off her motorcycle, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You sure you wanna do dis?"
"I want to prove that even someone normal can do something great. Besides," Natsumi said as she hung her helmet over the handlebar of her motorcycle. She smiled at Valon, "You'll be right at my side."
Valon smiled and the two headed into Industrial Illusions through the automatic front glass doors. The place seemed understaffed. There wasn't even a receptionist at the front desk.
"This place is oddly deserted," Natsumi commented.
"That's just Dartz's power at work, the more souls we consume, the more people can just vanish inta thin air," Valon said, snapping his fingers. "Their souls make a mighty fine snack for the Great Leviathan."
"I see," Natsumi said. She was doing her best to take the existence of magic and the supernatural in stride. After all, it had saved her life. Why question it?
She and Valon checked to see if the elevator worked and, fortunately, it did. Valon pressed the button for Pegasus' office and the two stood in determined silence for about a minute before the elevator finally opened to the sight of Pegasus' comfy office. All around glass windows gave the President, CEO, and Founder of Industrial Illusions a perfect view of the city space around his office both in the air and on the ground.
And yet, for someone so skilled and with a building so empty, Valon and Natsumi were unsettled by Pegasus'…behavior.
The man sat in his signature red suit behind his desk and…was pouring himself a glass of grape juice, sipping it slowly.
"Maximillian Pegasus!" Natsumi exclaimed, throwing her arm down at her side.
Pegasus put down his wine glass full of juice and looked at his two visitors with a calm expression and the smallest of smirks. "So, what's this? Dartz didn't come to take my soul in person?"
"Good, you know why we're here. That makes this easier," Natsumi said, readying her duel disk.
Pegasus chuckled. He pushed back in his chair, finished his drink and walked around to the front of his desk. "Little girl, you may have the power of the Orichalcos backing you, but do you really think you can defeat me when I created this card game?"
"Well I…" And there went most of Natsumi's confidence right out the window. "I have to try!" Natsumi exclaimed.
"Splendid," Pegasus said.
"Splendid?" Natsumi asked. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped. "I'm here to take your soul. Don't you care?"
Pegasus walked over to his coffee table and picked up a KaibaCorp duel disk. "My dear, of course I care, but some things you simply can't fight. There are things you simply have to accept." Pegasus parted his bangs where his Millennium Eye once was. A horrific scar now replaced not just the eye but the entire socket, leaving Natsumi pale in the face. "A duel for someone's soul," Pegasus said. "Really now. You say that as if I'm supposed to find this all surreal and terrifying. Little girl, I was stealing souls long before Kaiba-boy's tournament when Marik made a spectacle of it. I'm more than capable of dealing with whatever dark power you can throw at me. So, why don't we make this fun?" Pegasus exclaimed as he raised an arm to the ceiling. He then moved his arm back and forth, pointing to Natsumi and to Valon. "We shall duel in a triangle! Both of you will face me at the same time."
"You sure you wanna do that Pegsy?" Valon asked. "I ain't no pushover."
"Hard as it may be to believe, I'm not exactly the young man I used to be anymore. Besides, if your girlfriend here loses, I imagine you'll attempt to clean up her mess. Might as well give myself a challenge, you see."
"First of all, she ain't my bloody girlfriend," Valon said. "Second of all, if ya got a death wish," Valon said, activating his duel disk. "I'll gladly help send ya straight ta 'ell!"
Natsumi blushed. I wish he wouldn't deny that so strongly. Granted they weren't dating or anything, but she had to admit, she thought Valon was kind of cool. She was a bit of a sucker for motorcyclists.
Pegasus chuckled. "Wonderful. Simply wonderful, a scandalous duel between me and a couple of children. It really doesn't get any better than this. Ah, where are my manners? You both know who I am," Pegasus said, bowing, free arm crossed over his chest. "But I haven't your names."
"Natsumi Kuzuryu," Natsumi said.
"The name's Valon Hall," Valon replied.
"Well then, Valon-boy, and my dear Natsumi, let us have an unforgettable duel."
"You asked for it Pegsy," Valon said as all duel disks became active.
"Let's duel!" All 3 duelists exclaimed.
"I shall make the first move," Pegasus declared, fanning out the cards in his hand. "And I'll start with a new favorite of mine. Come forth, Toon Goblin Attack Force!" A bunch of goblins stormed the field, performing slapstick like an episode of the Three Stooges before alerting to attention in front of Pegasus. "Aren't they just a treat. With forces like these, who needs defense points, am I right?"
Toon Goblin Attack Force had 2300 attack points and 0 defense points.
"And, I suppose that's all I'll do for this turn," Pegasus said with a smile.
"You're gonna regret that soon, Pegsy," Valon said. "Here goes. My draw." Valon looked at the cards in his head. I don't got Psychic Armor Head in me opening draw. Great… Valon thought sarcastically. He didn't have the Seal of Orichalcos either. "I'm playing this, Jet Gauntlet!" A fancy piece of armor attached itself to Valon's left arm. It had 0 attack points and 1500 defense points. "And I'm also gonna set one card face-down," Valon said, slapping the card in the reader. "All right Natsumi, you're up."
"Right," Natsumi said as she drew the top card of her deck. She looked at her hand. Perfect. She thought. "I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"
"Ah, right on schedule," Pegasus chuckled as the seal engulfed the entire office.
Natsumi glared at Pegasus' lack of reaction to the seal becoming active. "W-well, since Valon and I are a team, we both benefit from the 500 attack points given to us each turn."
"Yes, yes, the rules of a triangle duel," Pegasus said. "Could you hurry it along, if I win this duel, I can still make my spa trip before my next batch of guests arrive assuming the place hasn't closed under the circumstances."
"Spare me the mental image!" Natsumi shouted. "Besides, you're not going anywhere except the Leviathan's stomach!" She pulled a card out of her hand and slapped it onto the disk. "I now set one card face-down onto the field. Next, I'm setting two cards face-down," Natsumi said, leaving only 2 cards in her hand. "Bring it on, old man. Let's see if the creator is any champion of any kind without his cheat device."
"My dear Natsumi," Pegasus chuckled. "I think you'll find I'm more than capable of dealing with both of you. I draw!" Pegasus drew the top card of his deck and placed it in his hand. "And what better way to add fun to this duel than with one of my favorite cards: Toon World!"
"I don't think so, I activate my face-down card: Iron Core Luster!" Natsumi exclaimed, revealing a counter trap. "This card allows me to negate and destroy any spell or trap card that's been activated. Sorry, Pegasus, but the cartoons will have to wait!" Natsumi exclaimed as she flashed the image of an Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru in her hand and her trap card gave off a bright glow.
Before Pegasus' spell card could manifest into Toon Kingdom itself, the card's hologram exploded and Pegasus sent the card to the graveyard.
"Way to go, Natsumi," Valon said, affirming the good move she just made, but his tone suggesting that simply destroying the card did not guarantee victory.
However, Pegasus seemed unbothered by this turn of events. "Is that all you've got?" he asked, brushing the hair on the right side of his head.
"Is that…what?" Natsumi was flabbergasted by Pegasus' chill demeanor.
"Yes, it seems so. Very well, I activate Toon Table of Contents. This spell card will allow me to call any toon card from my deck to my hand. And I think I'll select another copy of Toon Kingdom!"
"What?" Natsumi gasped.
"What's the matter? You do know you can have up to three copies of any card in your deck." Pegasus sighed. "Kids these days, so interested in making their decks so unique that they forget what works. A lesson to all you young writers out there, always have a backup plan."
Pegasus shuffled his deck, put the deck back in the slot of the reader and played a different copy of Toon Kingdom. "Let's try this again, shall we? I activate Toon Kingdom!"
A gigantic green book spilled over behind Pegasus, a large cartoony castle jumping out of the pages like a pop-up book. "Now, I must remove the top 5 cards of my deck from the duel in order to play my magnificent kingdom. But it's more than worth the effort. Now then, where were we? Ah yes, I was about to summon a monster. And I call upon this one, Toon Gemini Elf," Pegasus stated as the toon version of one of the most powerful 4-star monsters in all of duel monsters appeared. The cartoonish elves stood on either side of each other, back to back and blew a kiss in unison at Valon and Natsumi.
"Next, I'll set this card face-down onto the field," Pegasus said as the face-down hologram appeared and only two cards remained in his hand. "Your move, Valon-boy."
"Huh? He didn't attack?" Natsumi thought aloud. She looked at Valon's monster. But Valon has zero attack points with his monster.
"Confused?" Pegasus asked as he folded his arms, wagging a finger. "I know all about the armor cards, my dear Natsumi. After all, I created this game. And if I were to attack your monster in defense position, my Toon Goblin Attack Force would switch to defense mode, which wouldn't be very advantageous for me now would it? In the art of war, sometimes it is best to stand your ground, be the spider, and say hello to the fly," Pegasus said with a sinister sounding chuckle.
"You ain't gonna be chuckling for long," Valon said. "My move!" Valon drew the top card of his deck. "And I'm equippin' this! My Buster Pyle!" Valon exclaimed as a gauntlet formed on his right hand, two extending spears built into the back of the arm like a projectile weapon. "You're gonna regret not attackin with your Goblin Attack Force when you had the chance, Pegsy! Light's out!" Valon exclaimed and fired the extending spears towards Toon Goblin Attack Force.
"Valon, what are you doing?" Natsumi asked.
"He's using his monster's special effect," Pegasus said. "Sadly, I can't afford to let Toon Goblin Attack Force be destroyed that easily, so I activate this trap card: Toon Defense!" A large chain fell into the hands of the goblins and they used it to bind Toon Kingdom and used it to block Valon's attack.
"Ordinarily, when Buster Pyle attacks, the user takes no damage from the battle, but the monster it battles is destroyed and its owner takes 500 points of damage," Pegasus said as Valon's arm spears retracted. Pegasus' trap card vanished and Toon Kingdom went back to its original position. "Toon Defense turns any attack into a direct attack. And when facing armor cards, which typically have low attack points, it's certainly a good strategy, wouldn't you agree, my dear Natsumi?" Pegasus' life points fell to 3,500 thanks to the boost that Valon's "monster" got from Natsumi's Seal of Orichalcos. "I might still lose life points, but at least I'm not losing my monster. Certainly a better outcome, wouldn't you both agree?"
Valon grunted.
"What's the matter? Not going to attack?" Pegasus asked. "Oh, that's right. Only 1 armor card can attack per turn. I would know because that's how I designed them."
"Go! Natsumi. He's wide open. I know you've got a monster than can turn the tide 'ere," Valon told her.
"Right," Natsumi said and drew up to three cards. "I sacrifice my face-down monster in order to play Koa'ki Meiru Gholungulate!" Natsumi declared. Natsumi's face-down monster vanished as a gross looking skeleton with purple goop hanging off its back that looked like a bull, a goat and a horse all came together to make a mishmash of an animal that was missing its hindquarters, breathed strange green gas from its mouth. It had 2500 attack points and 1700 defense points. The core on its forehead glowed with the emblem of the Orichalcos as its attack power then increased to 3,000.
"And now, I attack with Gholungulate! Destroy Toon Gemini Elf!" Natsumi declared.
"Damage, perhaps. Destroy? I don't think so," Pegasus smirked. "I activate the special power of my Toon Kingdom. By removing the top card of my deck from the game, I'm able to prevent my monster from being destroyed."
One of the elves making up Toon Gemini Elf pulled out an umbrella from the other one's cleavage and opened it as Gholungulate exhaled its nasty green gas all over them. The umbrella was gone and the two were covered in soot, but they shook it off. However, Pegasus' life points did drop to 2,400.
"Next, since I have a Koa'ki Meiru monster on the field, I need to discard a Koa'ki Meiru core from my hand," Natsumi said and put the appropriate card in the graveyard. She now had one card in her hand. "My turn is over."
"Splendid. I do believe it's my turn then. So tell me, my dear Natsumi. Do you like dramas?"
"I mean…occasionally, I guess. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Here's something you may not know since your dueling ability reeks of inexperience, Toon Monsters can attack directly if the opponent isn't controlling a toon of their own and if Toon World or Toon Kingdom happen to be on my side of the field."
Natsumi did the mental math. "Oh fudge."
Valon sucked in a breath. Oh, this was bad.
"Now then," Pegasus said as he drew the top card of his deck. "In more modern cartoons, there's always a dramatic moment when a beloved character bids farewell to the audience," Pegasus said, spreading his arms out above his head. "And today, that character is…" he pointed to Natsumi. "You, my dear Natsumi. Toon Goblin Attack Force! Attack Natsumi directly!"
However, Natsumi only smirked as the goblin horde charged towards her. "Sorry, but the show's been cancelled! Reveal face-down card! Koa'ki Ring!" Natsumi revealed the remaining card in her hand, another Koa'ki Meiru core. "Since they're essential to the deck, of course I'm going to run three of them."
A flower-petal like device whirled into existence and flattened a few of the goblins. "Toon Kingdom may be able to protect your monsters from battle, but not from card effects. Your goblins are going to go out as most goblins do: with a bang!"
The device exploded like a landmine, engulfing all players in the smoke and dust that kicked up as goblins flew everywhere, the holograms bursting like a series of rapid explosions.
The resulting blast dropped all players' life points by 1,000. Valon and Natsumi had 3,000 apiece while Pegasus only had 1,400 life points left.
"Well, that certainly startled me, but don't forget I still have another monster. Step right up, Toon Gemini Elf! Attack dear Natsumi directly!"
The Toon Gemini Elves shuffled around the battlefield like figure skaters and then planted their heeled shoes into Natsumi's back, knocking her to the ground as she landed on her chin. Natsumi's life points dropped dangerously low to 1,100.
"I hope you enjoyed the fall Natsumi because winter is coming," Pegasus chuckled.
Natsumi went to pick up her Iron Core, but Toon Gemini Elf swiped it up.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Pegasus said, wagging his finger. "When Toon Gemini Elf attacks directly, it can force an opponent to discard one card from their hand. And since you only have one card, well, you know what happens."
Natsumi whined in annoyance, her hand now empty as the card was put in the graveyard by the solid hologram. However, despite this, she got up, rubbing her chin. "So, what was that about me biding farewell to the audience?" she asked with a cocky smirk.
"Oh my dear Natsumi, do you really think I didn't account for a trap card or two? Just because the first take failed, doesn't mean we can't edit it in post. I activate Toon Rollback! This spell card allows me to conduct my Battle Phase one more time!"
Natsumi's blood ran cold. If Toon Gemini Elf attacked again…
"It's time to say farewell. Toon Gemini Elf! Attack Natsumi directly again!"
"Not this time, Yankee!" Valon exclaimed. "Reveal face-down card!" A trap card was flipped face-up, revealing body armor against a green, wireframe background. "Go, Emergency Gravitation!"
Natsumi's torso suddenly became protected by the armor depicted in Valon's trap card.
Gemini Elf kicked into the armor and Natsumi hit the back wall of the Orichalcos seal, but her life points didn't change. Valon's did though, dropping all the way to 1,500. He also lost his Jet Gauntlet in the process.
"Oho? Sacrificing half your life points and a monster for a teammate?" Pegasus asked. "I didn't realize you were such a tight knit bunch."
"What can I say? I just can't bear to see a lady get hurt."
Natsumi blushed. "Th-thanks," she stuttered.
"Don't worry about it, cause it's my turn now!" Valon exclaimed.
"Not quite," Pegasus said. "Because first I'm sacrificing my Toon Gemini Elf in order to summon a fiendish toon like no other. Behold, Toon Summoned Skull!" From out of the bindings of toon world, a green, noseless fiend with big cartoonish yellow eyes appeared. He was bobbing back and forth, annoyingly long tongue slobbering everywhere. He switched between that and snickering with his hand over his mouth like he was part of an old-style cartoon.
"Isn't he just a dear?" Pegasus asked as Toon Summoned Skull made goo goo eyes, complete with instant lipstick at Natsumi and Valon.
"Creepy is the word I would use," Natsumi responded, sweating a little in discomfort.
"Poor dear, unappreciative of cartoons. I truly feel sorry for you," Pegasus said joyfully as he plucked a card from his hand. "I'm setting one card face-down," Pegasus said. "And now, I'm ending my turn."
"What do we do, Valon?" Natsumi asked.
"Don't worry, I got this under control," Valon said. "And I'm summoning this armor monster, Big Bang Blow!" Valon had a new gauntlet on his right arm. "And now, I'm attacking you with my Jet Gauntlet! Say goodbye to your Toon Summoned Skull, Pegsy!" Valon shouted as he ran towards Pegasus, left arm poised to strike.
"Not quite, I activate a trap card you're likely already familiar with. Toon Defense!"
As the trap card activated, Toon Summoned Skull hid inside the bindings of Toon Kingdom, allowing Valon to hit Pegasus right in the chest, knocking the man back and causing him to stumble as his life points were now at 900.
Valon quickly retreated to his initial position. Not good, he thought. That monster's strong enough to take either of us out. And with Toon World active, Natsumi's monster can't deal enough damage to destroy it. Plus her hand's empty. We're sunk.
"Valon," Natsumi said.
"Huh?" Valon looked at her.
"No matter what happens next, it's been an honor."
Valon's eyes shook. "Natsumi…I'm gonna miss you."
"Save the sappy speech. I'm not planning on going anywhere. I just need one good draw." Placing two fingers firmly on her deck, Natsumi's eyebrow twitched as she growled a little. This was it. All or nothing. One last draw would decide the outcome of this duel. "I don't want to lose!" Natsumi shouted, clenching her eyes shut, pulling the card out of her deck and swinging her right arm out and up.
Time seemed to slow down as she brought the card near face. Would it be the card of her salvation, or the card of her destruction? Natsumi gasped when she saw just what she had in her hand, pupil dilating. This duel was over.
Pegasus and Valon eyed her carefully, wondering if she was going to make a move or hang her head in shame.
Then, Natsumi's jaw hung open a little, then she bit down, grinning like a demon. "Perfect."
Loosening her wrists, Natsumi made a quick motion over her duel disk, picking up Gholungulate. "Your fiend may be powerful Pegasus, but it's no match for one of the most powerful monsters in my deck. I summon Koa'ki Meiru Valafar!" A gigantic demon with gray skin and flaming red armor on its arms, legs and head with magnificent red wings appeared on the battlefield. It had a whopping 3,000 attack points and 2,100 defense points. "Valon isn't the only one with sneaky abilities," she said. "Valafar normally requires two monsters to summon, but since my deck runs only Koa'ki Meiru monsters, I can just sacrifice any one of them for him. And since the Seal of Orichalcos is in effect, more attack points please."
Valafar's attack points surged to 3,500.
"This game is over!" Natsumi shouted. "Even if your monster will survive, you will not!" Natsumi shouted. "Valafar! Attack! Fire Demon's Iron Fist!"
Valafar swung forward with a big heavy punch that tore through Toon Summoned Skull like tissue paper, setting it on fire.
"Ohhhhh Nooooooooooooo!" Pegasus exclaimed as an explosion threw him back against his desk and he crumpled to the floor on his backside. His life points fell to 0.
The Seal of Orichalcos surrounded only him now. Weakened from the blows he'd taken, he looked up at his lit chandelier in his office. Out of his good eye, as his soul was taken, he could see a woman with a head of blonde hair.
You are so beautiful as always…my dear… Pegasus thought as his soul became one with the Orichalcos.
"Nice job pulling that out of the fire," Valon said, slapping Natsumi on the back reassuringly.
Natsumi laughed nervously. "Thanks," she smiled. "I uh, had a good teacher." Her legs then gave out and she dropped to her knees.
"You all right?" Valon asked.
"I just need a minute," Natsumi said, taking a deep breath.
Valon's ears then pricked up. He definitely heard voices. "Might wanna make it faster than that," he said, running over to the window. "We got company."
"So, this is the place?" Yugi asked Junko, looking up at the tall tower that was Industrial Illusions' headquarters.
"You've never been here before, Yugi?" Junko asked.
"None of us have," Téa said, "Last time we dealt with Pegasus, it was on Duelist Island."
"Ah, yes, that place. Quite the vacation spot if I do say so myself. Jabberwock Island is better though, more to do."
"Man, just how rich are you. That place is expensive."
Junko just laughed and walked up to the front door. "Come on, the place should be…" she said as the doors opened automatically to the group and she saw no one inside. "Empty, why is it empty?" Junko, of course, knew the reason, but the more she played dumb, the more difficult it was to suspect her of being truly diabolical.
"Hello!" Téa called. "Anyone here?"
"Maybe the receptionist is on a coffee break?" Miho suggested.
"We should be careful," Mukuro said.
"No kidding," Joey responded.
That's when the group noticed the elevator coming down. All eyes were on it. Junko stared at it harder, trying to guess which of Dartz's minions would come pouring out.
She was, of course, completely correct, as she often was. Neither Natsumi nor Valon surprised her.
"Natsumi!" Joey shouted angrily.
"Oh, hello, Joey," Natsumi said with such an uppity "I'm looking down on you attitude" that it was aggravating to almost all who heard it. "Come to bask in my superiority. Perhaps if you put your head at my feet, I might give Ibuki back to you."
"Yeah, you wish! I'm gonna wipe that smug smirk off yer face and drag ya back ta yer dad kickin' and screamin' for a well-deserved spanking."
"Well, listen to you Mr. Big and Tough Guy," Valon said, stepping around and in front of Natsumi. "If you're lookin' to tussle, my arms and legs ain't that bad."
"You!" Mai shouted.
"You know that guy?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, his name's Valon. I caught him sneaking on my property about a week ago. He tried to convince me to join his group, but he was barking up the completely wrong tree. Did you brainwash Natsumi too, creep?"
"Creep? Me? I'm a gentleman, thank you. And Natsumi ain't brainwashed, she just realized she was tired of the world kicking her around, so she decided to take charge."
"Why, Natsumi? Ibuki would never hurt anyone!" Joey shouted. "Why did you take her soul?"
"Because I hate people like her!" Natsumi exclaimed. "She has such an amazing talent and I'm left to suffer as a normal person! She doesn't even care! She just goes about her life like she takes it for granted!" Natsumi glared hard. "I had to work extremely hard to have the reputation I do, even if I am my father's daughter! Do you know how hard it is to be taken seriously in a family of Yakuza when you're a woman? I want to be just like my mom and grandma. If I get married off, I want people to fear me! I am nobody's trophy wife! And I got plenty far by helping my big brother out, but nobody seems to understand how hard I work! No one cares!" Natsumi's voice went dead in its emotional output, but she sounded really pissed off. "And if that's the case, then I'll just rebuild the world so that it does accept me."
"You're nuts!"
"I'm nuts? What's nuts is this caste system that plagues our society!" Natsumi said, back to yelling.
"All right, all right," Valon said. "Rather than scream and shout and debate until we're blue in the face, I've got a better solution. Why don't we duel?"
"You're on!" Joey shouted, activating his duel disk.
"Ditto," Mai said, activating hers.
"Mai?" Joey had not expected her to join in.
"I've got some pent up aggression to let out," Mai said, looking at Valon. "I don't know what it's like in your little group, Valon, but the bond Joey and I share is stronger than steel."
"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "Mai! Joey! Show them the power of our friendship!"
"Friendship?" Valon asked, chuckling. "There ain't no power in friendship. Friends are just people you get along with, mate. But if you need a lesson in reality. Natsumi and I are more than happy to show ya both what real duelin is all about it. It ain't about friendship and hope, it's about teamwork, skill and luck."
"Take yer speech and shove it, ya freak!" Joey exclaimed. "Real duelin's about heart! And when we're done with ya, yer gonna wish ya never messed with me or my friends!"
"Bring it then, ya wanker, you and the bird. Natsumi and I are gonna take ya both to school," Valon said as both members of Doma activated their duel disks.
"Go ahead, take us to school," Mai chuckled. "Unlike either of you," she said as her life points became 4,000 and she drew her hand. "I actually graduated."
Joey chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the day you and I would team up, but I ain't complainin'," Joey said as his life points became 4,000 and he drew his hand. "Mai, I'm countin' on ya."
"Don't worry, Joey. I gotta make sure you stick around long enough until we have another rematch. Ain't no way I'm letting these creeps take your soul."
"Well then, shall we?" Natsumi asked.
"Yeah, let's," Mai said.
"LET'S DUEL!" All four duelists shouted.
(A/N: And here folks we have the setup for something canon never gave us that I'm suddenly now wishing it had: a Joey/Mai team-up. Even if you're not in support of them hooking up—either by the show's standards, this one, or both—I still think it'll be fun to see them play off each other now that you've all had the opportunity to see Natsumi and Valon do the same. And yes, Hermos will be playing a part in the duel. Anime veterans will realize the timing on this.
The good news is that next chapter isn't just the duel, but also more plot with a surprise appearance of someone who should be in the arc a lot more, but sadly isn't XD. I'd love to stay and chat, but unfortunately, I'm attending the funeral today for my former eye doctor's wife. She was a very nice woman; may she rest in peace.
Until then as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)