A lot of setup is now covered and out of the way. It's time for the Tournament to begin. Hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own anything in this fic, technically not even the original content.
Battle City Tournament Begin!
(Chapter Begin)
(Recap)
Last time, Seto Kaiba received Obelisk, an Egyptian God Card, and created the Battle City Tournament to find the other two God Cards. His secretary convinced him to visit a friend of hers and found that he may have inadvertently made her life difficult. With the Tournament starting, Seto doesn't need the distraction. Can he get the god cards?
(Recap End)
Maria was on her computer as usual, double and triple checking files of duelists, making sure people's decks were legal. She intentionally ignored any known Rare Hunters though, since they were the targets of this Tournament. Soon enough, the Tournament started, and one of the very first duels started was Yugi vs. a known Rare Hunter, simply going by the title "Rare Hunter".
'Okay, Yami, let's see if you can handle Battle City Rules,' thought Maria, as the duel was being monitored by the Kaiba brothers.
It was then Mokuba noticed something, "That guy's a cheat! We should bust him immediately!"
"No Mokuba," said Kaiba, "If Yugi can't handle someone like this, then he obviously doesn't deserve the title 'King of Games.'"
"But Seto!" complained Mokuba. It wasn't that he was favoring Yugi, it was his position as Battle City Commissioner and enforcer of fair play that he brought it up, "He's Cheating! That's exactly what we're supposed to prevent!"
"Mokuba, These 'Rare Hunters' are the people this Tournament was made for," said Maria, "You remember seeing Obelisk, right?"
Mokuba shuttered at the memory of such a powerful card.
"Well, these Rare Hunters have the other Two God Cards. This Tournament is meant to bring all three of them together," explained Maria.
"Even so..." protested Mokuba further.
"Mokuba, have a little faith in Yugi," said Maria, giving Mokuba a smile, "He has a knack for winning long odds."
(AN1)
Sure enough, minutes later, Yugi managed to dismantle Exodia and defeat the "Rare Hunter", getting back Joey's Red Eyes.
"Alright, I think it's time I headed to Battle City," said Kaiba, enjoying having a card superior to Yugi's Deck.
"I'll join you," added Mokuba, "I got to make sure there are no other cheaters!"
"I'll stay here and pass on any relevant data immediately, Mr. Kaiba," informed Maria.
Several duels were commencing and deck data was obtained. One notable duel Maria noticed was Joey facing off against Espa Roba.
'Jono's reincarnation certainly is more skilled than he was,' thought Maria, as she watched his duel, as he used some luck-based cards to defeat Roba, gaining Jinzo in return, 'Joey will definitely benefit from Jinzo's power.'
(AN2)
A few hours passed with few hiccups, mainly cheating moves. Maria and the staff were quick to shut down duels that held illegal moves, disqualifying more than a few people who thought they could bypass Kaiba Corp Security that easily. It wasn't until an particular alert came up that Maria took notice: Yugi's Duel Disk was no longer transmitting data. While that didn't stop the Duel Disk from functioning, something Seto designed personally as a failsafe in case of a power outage, but the Duel Disk couldn't transmit Data from Yugi's duels at this point. This worried Maria, not for Yugi losing a duel, but more so what it meant about who he was dueling. These Rare Hunters were far and away more organized than Ishizu had let on.
"I'm joining Mr. Kaiba in locating Yugi Moto," informed Maria to the staff, "continue the work as normal. All orders still stand."
"Yes Ma'am," replied the staff.
Maria exited the room and headed for the elevator. As she awaited to reach the ground floor, she closed her eyes and reached out to her bonded Monster, the Dark Magician Girl. Pegasus didn't make her a card until shortly before the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, so she hadn't been released for that long, but that didn't matter when it came to Reincarnation. A few minutes of concentration and she felt the connection with DMG, observing a room that appeared to be a basement of some sort. Yugi was about to duel a man in a Mask that went by the name Arkana, one of the registered Duelists for the Tournament. He must have been the one to nab Yugi, but he didn't seem to be tech savvy enough to block the Satellite signal. It was clear he was one of the Rare Hunters. Delving a little further, she felt a strange but familiar sensation from Arkana's Deck but couldn't get an accurate reading before the Elevator dinged, bringing her out of her mediation.
As she left the building for her vehicle, she called Seto, "Mr. Kaiba, I have an update regarding Yugi Moto."
"Is this from the system, or from you?" asked Seto, who was using a code between them for when Maria used her connection to the DMG, having been informed by Maria as something only between them and Mokuba.
"I think we both know the answer to that question," replied Maria, "I'm heading to Battle City. When I get closer, I'll try to find a more accurate location. I do know what happened though. Yugi was taken to duel an opponent known as Arkana. I strongly believe he's with the Rare Hunters. I'll contact you soon."
With that, Maria hung up and pulled her car out to the road and headed to Domino City, which was nicknamed Battle City for the Tournament.
(AN3)
Maria found a parking spot that was sheltered enough that no one would go there unintentionally. She headed to the streets before reaching out through her meditation once more, connecting with her Spirit Monster, Dark Magician Girl.
"Master, can you hear me?" called out Maria into Yugi's deck.
"Mana? What are you doing here?"asked Dark Magician, noticing his former apprentice, "You shouldn't be here!"
(AN4)
"I reincarnated, and the Pharaoh has my Spirit Monster," explained Maria, "Where are you? Yugi's Duel Disk's signal can't be tracked, so i need to know where you are right now. Also, I'm feeling a familiar presence that's similar to yours but not yours, what's up with that?"
"A Duelist by the name of Arkana has challenged the Pharaoh to a Duel, with the Ante as Dark Magician," informed DM, "I'm afraid my darker half has sided with him, though I trust my Pharaoh to show my dark half who truly believes in us."
"I see, can you let me track your magical signature. It'll be more accurate than just my Spirit Monster alone," requested Maria.
(AN5)
Maria felt a second Ping, as she opened her eyes and felt just how far away her Master's location was. Bringing out her phone, she quickly relayed the news to Seto and Mokuba, who had called into the main office to identify alternate networks that could piggyback off of Kaibacorp's Network. Using the map of the city and possible locations combined with Maria's tracking spell, they were able to narrow it down to a specific building. It was halfway across town, so Maria returned to her vehicle to get to a better location. As she drove, she noticed two familiar looking people and honked her horn to get their attention.
"Téa, Mr. Muto!" called out Maria, getting their attention.
"It's Maria!" Téa said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Probably the same as you, looking for Yugi," said Maria, "Get in, I'm heading to his location now."
Unlocking the doors, Téa and Solomon got in Maria's car as she continued her way to where Yugi was located.
Seto and Mokuba Kaiba continued their trek towards the location pinpointed by their systems and Maria. Along the way, they didn't forget their duties however, as Kaiba collected two more locator cards while Mokuba disqualified Five more duelists for unsportsmanlike conduct, as well as underhanded tactics. They managed to find the building with only an hour delay for everything that happened. When they got there, they heard a vehicle pull up. Seeing Maria exit her vehicle, as well as Téa and Solomon, the two guests were surprised to see the Kaiba Brothers.
"Kaiba?" asked Téa, "What are you doing here?"
"I would hazard to guess the same as you, Gardner," replied Seto, "We lost Yugi's signal, and tracked a lead to this location. Maria should have filled you in."
"Need to know basis, boss," smirked Maria, much to the irritation of Seto.
(AN6)
They managed to enter the door, before Maria felt her connection with her Master break. He had been sent to the Graveyard without being revived. But she could feel her spirit monster within a hundred feet of her now. The group headed down the stairs when Maria's eyes glowed and she had to steady herself as she found herself looking out of DMG's eyes.
"It's True!" gasped Arkana, seeing DMG before him, "A Female Dark Magician!"
'Someone didn't pay attention to the latest set of cards released,' thought Maria.
"But you're Girlfriend's not strong enough to take down my Dark Magician!" declared Arkana.
Maria cut off the connection to prevent herself from harming her own body attempting to destroy Arkana for that remark. Yami was her best friend! It was always platonic, never romantic! Maria joined the others at the door that blocked them from Yugi's duel with Arkana. A door that was locked. Maria passed her companions and grabbed onto the door, using the anger she felt at Arkana's insult, and yanked the door off it's hinges.
(AN7)
"I'm not paying for that," said Seto, as he moved himself and Mokuba out of the way from Maria's fury.
Téa did the same for herself and Solomon. She didn't know what set off Maria like this, but she wasn't going to be in the crossfire.
Yami turned around at the sound of the door being ripped off its hinges, a key in his hand, having unlocked himself from the shackles that bound his ankles. Yami wasn't there for long when Yugi took his place and raced over to save Arkana. Maria and the others entered the room to see a glowing sawblade nearly slice through Arkana, and Yugi if he didn't pull them both free with milliseconds to spare.
"Uh, Maria, what is everyone doing here?" asked Yugi as he got his bearings.
"You disappear not only from sight, but from Kaiba Corp's tracker, and you wonder why we are here?" frowned Maria, as she approached the two of them. Helping Yugi up, she moved passed him to grab Arkana by the collar of this shirt and brought him up to her face, "Never insinuate the Dark Magician Girl as Yugi's Girlfriend again!"
"Wha?" deadpanned a vacant expression of Arkana, before gathering his wits and pulling out of Maria's grasp as he raced over to a curtain, where it looked like someone was sitting on the other side.
Arkana grabbed the person into a hug, only to reveal it as a doll. Amongst his ramblings, he took on a completely different expression, and Maria felt a familiar energy coming from Arkana.
"HA! Arkana is gone!" came a mixture of Arkana's voice as well as another's, this one more sinister, "We meet again, Little Yugi. And you must be Maria. I see you are a reincarnation with memories of the past. Well, you can't help the Pharaoh anymore than Yugi can. My last meeting with him nearly proved fatal to them both!"
Maria glared. She had heard about the fire Yugi was in, and the reports mentioning the Millenium Puzzle in his hands spoke volumes as to what occurred. She may not have forgiven the Pharaoh for his mistakes in the past, but that didn't mean she would be happy with him not having the chance to make it up to her. They were best friends, so sue her.
"You must be Marik Ishtar," said Maria, as the others gathered around her and Yugi, listening in on the conversation, "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, I credit how intricate your forces are. I expect you to be at the Finals Tomorrow, even without winning a single a duel yourself. I can sense you have the Millennium Rod, allowing you to Mind Control Arkana, as well as any of your servants. The day is lost, and you have failed to get Obelisk or Yugi's Puzzle."
"Too true, Maria," responded Marik through Arkana, "But don't think for a moment I'll ease up. Tomorrow is a new day, and a new opportunity to win Yugi's Puzzle and Obelisk the Tormentor!"
Marik then laughed before releasing his control over Arkana, but Arkana's mind was not longer there, having been sent to the Shadow Realm by Marik.
"I say, you kids have your work cut out for you," spoke up Solomon.
"Maria," asked Yugi, turning to her, "How did you know where I was? I'm pretty sure I was cut off from Kaiba Corp's Systems."
"Let's just say you should never take out DMG from your deck. That way, I'll always be able to find you," smirked Maria, as she winked at Yugi, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
Téa got a bit upset at what she thought was Maria's attempt at flirting. She was about to open her mouth before Maria turned to her, raising her hand to stop her from speaking.
"Don't feel Jealous Téa," said Maria, "He's not my type."
Maria then joined Seto and Mokuba as they turned around and headed out, seeing as there was no longer a need for them to be there. And while no one said anything, Kaiba saw first hand the power of the Millennium Rod, and didn't claim it was a mind trick. Even if he didn't care for the ancient history, he couldn't exactly ignore it as much as he wanted to. If Yugi or Téa ever brought this up, he'd outright deny it, because that would be his pride talking.
(AN8)
(Chapter End)
Alright, on to Author Notes...
AN1: Seriously, Yugi does have this knack for beating long odds. Not as long odds as Joey faces, but some substantial odds nonetheless.
AN2: Another Forbidden Memories reference, and also Joey gaining a neat monster as well.
AN3: I will leave the explanation for another time. If you have figured it out, great. Try not to spoil it in the reviews please!
AN4: Mahad and Mana have a very deep connection, as such, connecting like this isn't impossible even for a reincarnation like Maria thanks to the memories.
AN5: Maria may have Mana's memories, but that doesn't mean she has the same innate magical talent. The Modern World doesn't have Magic and Magicians like the old ways, so it's much harder for her to use spells than Mana did, despite having the memory of her training.
AN6: Maria likes to push Seto's buttons, even if she's supporting him over Yugi. Something she feels a bit more comfortable, having spent more time with him.
AN7: Considering the Parallel of DMG having a boosted Attack stat herself, you can see why she has increased strength, though it's more emotional than magical.
AN8: Just because he won't deny it in private, doesn't mean he'll start accepting it in public. He does have his pride and image to keep after all.
Next time, a new day and more duels to be had. I always misremember the Tournament to be one single day, but it's actually two days, all things considered. Yugi gets two locator cards here, while Joey only gets one. The Second day, Yugi gets the final 3 Locator Cards while Joey goes double or nothing twice and gets 4 Locator Cards with TWO Duels! How's that for Wheeler Luck! Jono couldn't pull that off!
For those reading my other stories, I am working on them. I just tend to have other things take priority. I also forget at times. I AM HUMAN, okay! Until next time...
Later,
RDF1
