The day the whole duel monsters world has been waiting for is finally here. The day the Battle City tournament begins!
It's early in the morning. Wearing her usual, purple outfit, Mai is looking at her reflection in the full length mirror, in the room she shares with Pegasus. She smiles, raises the arm she's holding the duel disk with (where her deck is already fixed) and strikes a cool, though unnecessary, battle pose. 'You're ready to kick butt, girl,' she whispers to herself and sends her a kiss.
Next, she goes to look for her mate. Maximillion is sitting at his office, lost in thought. His head is tossed back and his arms spread.
'Honey, get ready or we'll be late,' the woman tries to draw his attention.
Pegasus raises his head. 'Late? For what?' he asks.
Mai raises an eyebrow. 'Don't tell me you're not coming along to the Battle City tournament.'
'Nah, I won't,' Pegasus confirms with a dismissive gesture.
Mai's eyes widen. 'How come?'
With a sigh and some difficulty, Pegasus stands up. 'Dueling with disks is not really my style,' he explains. 'All that tossing the disk and then pulling it back requires a considerable amount of effort and I'm not really the sporty type.'
Mai gives her lover a suspicious look. Is this really the reason he does not want to participate in what is probably the biggest event in the history of the game he himself created?
Nevertheless, in the end, the sexy woman shrugs, having decided not to give this any more thought; besides, she doesn't want to be late herself. 'Fine, I'll ride your helicopter myself,' she says.
'Have fun,' Pegasus waves goodbye.
When he's left alone, he tosses his head back anew and, with a sigh, returns to his thoughts. He bets that the Rare Hunters will somehow be monitoring simultaneously all duels played in the tournament, eagerly waiting for the moment a duelist will play the God Card they're missing: Obelisk the Tormentor. Too bad for them, they'll wait forever, for Pegasus has destroyed this card.
Having fully dressed (in his blue jeans and white t-shirt), Robert is standing in front of the window, in his hotel room, and gazing outside.
'Ready to go outside and battle?' Kaiba (next to him) asks.
Robert turns to the former tycoon. 'Do I have a choice?' he asks.
'No,' Kaiba chuckles. And, raising a finger, he carries on, 'And remember the deal: If you don't win this tournament, I shall kill you!'
Robert gulps. He can see the madness in this man's eyes. He can tell he means it!
'I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS,' Yugi (in his normal form) cries, rotating around himself and scanning the area. 'Where in the name of Ra can he be?' Since it's now almost summer and the weather is considerably warmer than it was during the Duelist Kingdom Saga a few months ago, Yugi is now wearing only his black, sleeveless shirt, having left his navy blue blazer at home.
Rebecca is standing next to her friend, in the square where the duelists have gathered, waiting for the Battle City tournament to officially begin. Her hair is loose. She's wearing a pink t-shirt, a light blue skirt and classy, white boots. 'In the name of Ra?' she playfully raises an eyebrow. 'So you have converted to the Ancient Egyptian religion?'
'No,' Yugi shakes his head laughing. 'I've just made of habit of exclaiming like that, having heard my other self speaking those words countless times all these years.'
Next, his face becomes frustrated again. He really can't believe this. The tournament is about to begin, Serenity has gone permanently blind, yet Joey is still missing!
'Perhaps we should call the police,' Rebecca suggests, with her arms casually behind her back, though she feels a little worried.
'No, he's fine,' Yugi sighs. 'I called his home. His father answered and told me that he drops by the house to get some sleep from time to time, but he's barely responsive. It's just that his sudden indifference is driving me nuts.'
Before Yugi can cry out his frustration, Mai shows up. 'Hi, guys,' she cheerfully waves as she approaches.
'Hi, Mai,' Rebecca winks with a smile.
Mai looks around, with a baffled expression on her beautiful face. 'So Joey isn't here yet?' she wonders.
'No,' Yugi sighs. 'Nobody knows where he is.'
'Oh,' Mai sighs, suddenly feeling disappointed. Even though the last time they met, they weren't exactly friendly to each other, she still regards him as a friend. Besides, she really wants to duel him sometime. Let's not forget that he defeated her at the Duelist Kingdom, although she rose to become the Duel Queen afterward. Mai really wants to settle this score sooner or later.
The Duel Queen regains her smile and tries to cheer up her friends too. 'In any case, I'm sure that blockhead will show up sooner or later. He wouldn't miss this tournament for the world. Let's concentrate on the upcoming duels.'
'You mean the duel between you and me, Valentine?' Rebecca provokes the older woman with a smile.
'Oh ho ho, you wanna be disqualified already, baby girl?' Mai retorts.
'GIRLS!' Yugi steps in. 'Let's promise not to duel one another now that we still have one locator card each. Ok?'
'I guess you're right,' Mai winks. 'Let's crush the weaklings and collect our locator cards first.'
That moment, the voices of newcomers are heard. Weevil Underwood. Rex Raptor. Mako Tsunami. They all are exactly as Yugi remembers them.
Weevil smiles at Yugi, although they are on far from good terms. 'Long time no see, folks,' the bespectacled, blue headed boy tries to make a cool entrance, hands in pockets. 'Enjoy your laurels while they last, for, this time, it will be me and Rex who will reach the finals.'
One would expect that Rex would also try to make a cool entrance by saying something stupid or do something ridiculous, you know stuff like that geeky boys like him and Weevil usually do. Instead, however, he just remains serious and silent, glaring at Mai, with the eyes of a murderer.
Weevil has no idea why Rex has changed lately. He inwardly admits that he's a little sad to see his old friend like that. Yes, those two mutually consider each other a friend. And they mutually care for each other, even though, in other respects, they're huge jerks.
They met at the Japanese Championship and they got along right away. And there were no hard feelings between them after the final match, which Weevil easily won.
At that tournament, Weevil and Rex found out they had so much in common. For one thing, they both were losers with zero social life before participating in that tournament. Both were socially invisible at their respective schools and, needless to say, no girl would ever ask them out.
What happened after they reached the final at the Japanese Championship? Well, they remained losers in school and, still, they were socially invisible and no girl would ever ask them out! But, in the duel monsters society, things were totally different for them. In that new world that opened up before them thanks to their dueling skills, they enjoyed the respect and reverence they craved. Respect and reverence they thought would make them truly happy. Respect and reverence Yugi and Mai partly deprived them of respectively at the Duelist Kingdom. However, in Rexes case, things were much worse, though he hasn't told Weevil, or anyone else for that matter, how he feels.
But Weevil can sense that something is wrong. He can feel his friend's sadness, though he's not sure what exactly the cause is.
And as sad as he is about the above, Weevil cannot let those bastards (Yugi and Mai) find out. In his enemies' presence, he has to be strong and cool. So, keeping the smile on his face, he carries on, 'I am many times more powerful than I used to be. I have included in my deck a monster even stronger than the Great Moth. But I won't tell you what it is!'
'Hah,' Mako Tsunami scoffs. 'Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's an insect. And insects are no match for my Fortress Whale.'
'Wanna bet?' Weevil fumes as Mako playfully gives him a noogie.
Yugi laughs, amused at their quarrel, whereas Rex remains serious.
He's sitting at an outdoor table, enjoying a cup of coffee and lazily browing through the Internet on his laptop. He has short, white hair in some extreme hairstyle and green eyes. Those creepy eyes. Joey, his latest victim, would recognize them anywhere. If he was here, that is!
But Joey is nowhere to be found. Not that the Rare Hunter cares. That blond deadbeat is no longer of any use anyway. Those duelists who are standing over there and chatting, on the other hand, unaware of him watching them. Yugi Muto, a boy that went pretty far at the Duelist Kingdom tournament. And the Japan champion, Weevil Underwood. And Mako Tsunami, a fearsome duelists who usually plays a water deck. And the USA champion, Rebecca Hawkins.
And Rex Raptor... wait, something about him seems off. He is not smiling or joking as his friend, Weevil. He seems serious and... angry. As if all his sights are already set on something. Or should he say someone. Mai Valentine!
Come to think of it, that gal is the really big fish for the Rare Hunter too. I mean, is there a better way to begin his course at the Battle City tournament than by defeating the Queen of Games?
The Seeker chuckles, slowly standing up and picking up from the table his deck and duel disk. Come on, Mister Mokuba Kaiba. Officially announce the beginning of this tournament already, so that I can deprive the Duel Queen of her rarest card.
In the KaibaCorp's control panel room, a group of scientists are watching, on giant computer screens, all duelists being about to engage into combat.
Yami Mokuba is standing, with his arms crossed and a sinister smile. Marik is standing next to him. Odeon is standing with his face concealed by his hood, his arms crossed and his back leaning against a wall. All three of them have already ensured their place in the finals, by reserving 18 locator cards for themselves, so there is no reason for them to go outside and duel for the time being.
'So, if I got it right, on these screens, we can watch anything that is going on at the tournament?' Marik asks his partner for confirmation.
'Precisely,' Yami Mokuba nods. 'And, when someone plays the God Card, we'll know right away.'
Marik's smile widens at those words. He turns to his henchman. 'Isn't this felicitous news, my dear Odeon?' he casually asks.
'Yes, Master Marik,' Odeon answers, lowering his eyes with a grim expression in them.
'What's wrong with him?' Yami asks curiously.
'Never mind him,' Marik chuckles. 'He rarely shows his excitement. But I'm pretty sure he's as excited as we are.'
This couldn't be farther from the truth. Odeon is in deep pain. It hurts him beyond belief to see his brother like that. As loyal as he is to his brother, as willing as he is to obey his orders no matter how many innocent lives that might cost.
Joey is waiting in another part of the city, not wanting to come across Yugi or any other person he knows. He just feels the need to be left alone. To battle alone. To test his new deck, the deck he himself made, all alone.
At last! After a pointless opening speech, Mokuba Kaiba has finally officially announced the beginning of the Battle City tournament. The Rare Hunter stands up, waiting for Mai to get away from her friends. When the group has scattered, the Seeker stealthily runs after the Duel Queen.
'Your Majesty, prepare to be disqualified,' he thinks.
Finally, he reaches her and stands in front of her. Mai gasps, but soon recovers from surprise.
'You are Mai Valentine,' the Seeker says with an enigmatic smile.
'And you're a weakling eager to part with his locator card, I presume?' Mai smiles as she prepares her duel disk.
'TIME TO DUEL!' both duelists cry.
