The four high-schoolers left the arcade, smiling and talking. Téa pulled her jacket back on, still sweating lightly from playing her favourite dance game, her cheeks pink and her hair tousled lightly. Emiko and Bakura both praised her while Yami just smiled. Emiko looked down at the small, iridescent Blue-Eyes White Dragon keychain she had won and smiled, holding it up to the light of the deep, orange sunset, gazing at the beautiful, rainbow shimmer it reflected as it swung lightly.

"Thanks for coming along," Téa said, "That was a blast!"

Emiko looked down at her watch and said, "Oh, I really need to get going. I have to get back to the Kaiba Corporation building in 30 minutes."

Bakura said, "No worries. Today was quite fun!" Emiko nodded and Bakura continued, "By the way, thanks for coming with me today, Em."

She said, "Sure. Anytime."

Yami and Téa said, "We've got to get going, too. We're gonna head to the museum and check it out."

Bakura said, "Sounds great. I'll probably hang around town for a bit longer before I go home."

Emiko and the others waved goodbye to one another and she jogged back to the park, unlocking her bike from the rack and hopping on, riding back to the Kaiba Manor. She grabbed her new and improved duel disk and her deck from her bedroom, then she took a shortcut through a nearby trail to get to the Kaiba Corporation building, skidding to a halt as the sun finally dipped just below the horizon. After a few moments, she looked down at her watch, seeing that the limo driver was still waiting patiently outside with no sign of her brothers. She jogged inside and asked the receptionist, "Hey, where is Seto? Have you seen him?"

"Hello, Miss Kaiba," the young brunette said, looking down at her monitor over her tortoiseshell glasses, "Yes, he and Mokuba are upstairs on the test floor still."

Emiko frowned, then said, walking past her to the elevator, "Thank you, Nat. Can you ring up and let them know I'm on my way?" The woman nodded as Emiko entered the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly.

"They were supposed to be finished testing by now," she thought, tapping her foot anxiously, "We're going to be late at this rate."

The door opened with a ding, revealing Mokuba and the rest of the testing crew, all watching intently with a variety of worried and panicked expressions on their faces.

"What's going on, Mokuba?"

Mokuba said, his voice unsteady, "Em! The simulator has just summoned the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Seto is totally unmatched right now!"

Emiko walked over to the window and asked nonchalantly, "Really? He actually gave the simulator his Blue-Eyes?"

Mokuba said, "You don't understand! He's turned off all the safety settings! He could be seriously hurt!" Emiko gasped.

"Get me a headset, Roland! Hurry!"

"Here you are, Miss Kaiba-"

She slammed the headset over her ears and said sternly into the microphone, "Seto! Seto, can you hear me!? You have to stop this duel! Now!"

Seto pressed a button embedded in his jacket collar and said bluntly, "I know what I'm doing, Emiko. I'm nearly done here." Emiko bit her lip and clenched her fists. They all watched in anticipation as Seto sacrificed the three monsters he had on the field, summoning the biggest Duel Monster she had ever seen. As his monsters disappeared, a massive, blue creature with red, glowing eyes and sharp horns rose from the ground. Though it looked like a hologram, the creature was exceptionally detailed and it had a heavy presence surrounding it. As the creature opened its mouth and roared, the building itself shook and the computers started to glitch and flicker.

"No way," Mokuba said, staring out at the new monster, "That Egyptian God Card is humongous!" Emiko gazed at it, her mouth hanging open for a moment before it reached down, grabbing the two monsters Seto had left on the field, its attack points rising rapidly as the two monsters disintegrated and were absorbed into the blue creature's body.

Seto shouted, "That's it, Obelisk the Tormentor! Let's see how powerful you really are! Absorb their power to increase your own!" The massive beast raised its fist, but as it hit the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, a blinding light flashed from the floor below and the electricity around them began to surge, causing the lights around them to flicker. Emiko gasped and looked down at Mokuba, who was still frozen. The computers continued to flicker as the testing crew murmured among themselves, but in mere moments, the entire dashboard burst into an electrical fire. The men stood up, stumbling away from the computers hurriedly. Mokuba fell backwards. Emiko shielded her eyes from the unexpected bright light coming from the arena.

Mokuba sat in awe of Seto and his great beast which still loomed over the battlefield as Emiko shouted, "Roland! Hit the emergency stop! Now!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

The littlest Kaiba said aloud, a smile growing on his face, "Obelisk the Tormentor...he defeated the Ultimate Dragon with a single punch...!"

Seto held the card in his hand, laughing to himself while Emiko shouted at him through the headset, "Seto! Seto, are you okay? Seto, answer me!" He ignored her, but over the headset, she and Mokuba could hear him talking. His tone was the same arrogant tone that always got on Emiko's nerves and she grimaced.

"Incredible. If this is just one of the Egyptian God Cards, imagine what I could do with three. I will defeat Yugi and reclaim my title as the number one duelist!"

He looked up at the observation deck and said, "Emiko. Mokuba. Let's get going. We have a tournament to announce."

Téa and Yami walked out of the museum and into the now-bustling center of Domino City. The two were still mildly shaken by their encounter with Ishizu.

Téa and Yami walked out of the museum and into the now-bustling center of Domino City. Téa said, looking around, "The invitation said to gather here for a big announcement. I wonder if Ishizu was right about this being Kaiba's tournament?"

Yami said, "I don't know if everything Ishizu said is true, but I do know that I must enter and win this tournament in order to fulfill my destiny and defeat this 'great evil' of which she spoke." She sighed.

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Yami," she said softly, "I'm sure there's still danger ahead."

He nodded and said, "Yes, whoever is after the Millennium Puzzle is still out there. However, Téa, you must trust me. This deck has never let me down before. As long as Yugi and I stay connected to one another, I am confident that we can use this deck to win this tournament, unlock the mysteries of my ancient past, and realize our destiny." Téa smiled.

"And," she said, "you can count on my help!" He returned her smile, but gasped, looking around with an intense glare. She asked, "Hey, what's the matter? You okay?"

Yami shook his head and said, "Yes, Téa. Everything's fine."

"Yugi, is that you?"

Téa groaned, "Oh, joy."

A tall, familiar blonde woman ran across the street, waving happily to them. Yami turned and said, "It's Mai Valentine." He smiled and waved back as she caught up to them.

Mai, wearing a corset-style top that tied in the front, a slim pencil skirt, and a violet vest threw her arms around Téa and Yami, practically shouting, "I know you two missed me! It's been awhile!"

Téa sneered, annoyed by the blonde, "Yeah, it's a real shame we don't hang out more often, Mai..."

Mai giggled and teased, "Oh, it sure is! By the way, you two are looking snazzy tonight...is this a date?"

Téa snapped, "We're just friends!"

Yami cleared his throat and said, wriggling free of her tight grip, "I assume you got an invitation as well?"

Mai said, "Of course. Then, you got one, too?" He nodded.

"I received an invitation, but it didn't say who it was from, though I've got a strong suspicion. Do you have any ideas?"

Mai shrugged and said, "Beats me. Nobody seems to know. Everyone I've spoken to got an anonymous invitation." She pulled out the envelope and said, "But, there is a bit of a buzz going around that it's someone with a 'ton of cash and an obnoxious attitude'. My best guess is Kaiba."

Yami nodded. Téa said, "Yeah, us too. We ran into Emiko earlier and she hinted at a big secret her brother had for us. I'm sure it's this tournament."

Mai said, "Yes, that would make sense. Well, it's safe to say it's not Pegasus again." Above them, the big screen in the center of the city lit up and displayed the face none of them were happy to see. Seto Kaiba was projected onto every single television screen in Domino City.

"Greetings, duelists. Welcome to the town of Domino." He smirked and continued, "More importantly, welcome to my tournament. I see you've each received your private invite to Kaiba Corporation's very exclusive Duel Monsters tournament and you had enough brains to actually show up here tonight."

Jeers erupted from the crowd around them as Mai, Téa, and Yami exchanged glances.

"Being that you are all elite duelists, I've added special rules to my tournament, just for experts. For example," the screen cut to a shot of a girl's arm, which Yami and Téa recognized as Emiko's, adorned with a large device with a panel jutting out along her arm and two slots on either side of the main device, "You will duel using my new, improved Duel Disks." The screen cut back to a shot of himself, now also wearing the Duel Disk.

"Another new rule: before each duel, both players must ante up their rarest card and the loser of the duel forfeits his card to the winner."

Yami's eyes narrowed. Mai growled.

"My competition will make Pegasus and his Duelist Kingdom tournament look like a joke."

The wind picked up and rustled the trees around the crowd, whose tone had shifted from jeers and annoyance to cheers and admiration. Above them, a helicopter was hovering and Seto Kaiba stood, hanging out of the door, his eyes locked onto Yami.

He smirked and said, "Folks, don't forget to register, because exactly one week from today, my Battle City tournament begins!"