Hi, I'm back! And it's time for another episode of fanfic, Duelists of The Future! Anyway, to replace Aya Kristina Corrington, I've decided to add a new character. I won't tell you anything about him, but you'll know him when you see him. So, the tournament has now begun! Who's going to make it through the Sub-Competition? Will anyone get eliminated? Only time will tell, so without further ado, I present the brand-new episode to you!

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Duelists of The Future- Season 1- Episode 09, 'Match Point For Geoff' (2/8/2003)

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A couple of days has passed since the start of the tournament. Some duelists had already been eliminated, and others were progressing quite nicely. One of the 'finer' duelists happened to be engaging in a duel with a seventeen year-old girl down at the shores of Emerald Island. He was beating her in flying colors, no matter what she threw at him. "Gate Guardian, obliterate the third hat, now! Thunderstroke attack!" shouted a man. The large monster powered up a large beam composed of water, wind, and thunder elements, then fired it at the third hat. The beam destroyed the third hat, then a Dark Magician materialized and exploded, ending the match.

Girl's Life Points- 0

"Ha, ha, I won!" he exclaimed.

"Oh... how could I lose," she whined and stumped her feet in a small tantrum. The large man approached her and received her three stars, adding his total up to six stars. After inserting them into his dueling glove, he smiled and extended his hand in front of her.

"It was a good and honorable match," he told her, and she shook his hand.

"Same here. Well, I guess I'd better get going."

"Take care," he said as she departed from him. Afterwards, he walked off to find some more duelists. The man's name was Geoff Okasinski. He was 22 years-old, and his date of birth was January 7, 1981. He was a white male that stood tall at 6'0 ft, and weighed in at 200 lbs. He was also a muscular man; his brown hair was combed a long braid that extended down to his waist. Geoff was a pretty nice guy, very active and nowhere near socially inept. He was a very outgoing guy who loved to talk, especially to women. His gentle, brown eyes concealed the tough, powerful guy that he really was. Geoff loved to play Duel Monsters; his favorite cards being the extremely rare and powerful Tri-Horn Dragon, and another card known as the Cosmo Queen. He also liked playing with other types of video games, too, as well as make friends, and he hated all kinds of bullies. Geoff walked away from the shores and began to head back into the main area of the island to try and find more duelists to crush. He had always been kind of poor since his entire life, so winning the prize money meant a lot to him. However, he quickly forgot about the prize money upon spotting a familiar person, well actually two, walking about. It was Ashton Ketchum! And he was walking along with... his mother?! Geoff was confused. His mother, Selena Okasinski, hadn't went along on the trip with him. The last thing he remebered her doing was hearing her 'doing it' with his father in their room (not that he was trying to listen, they were really loud). So, how did she get out there? First off, no one really knew how to get to Emerald Island except for the pilots of the cruise ship. Secondly, she wasn't on the cruise ship... so someone had to be impersonating her. But, his mother was always generally weird, and he have seen her doing things no one ordinarily could do. Geoff decided to follow them to see where they were going. Maybe then he would get some answers...

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Eventually, Ash and Selena arrived at the spot they were heading toward. It was a large, red tint. Geoff watched them secretly, and was very careful not to expose himself. Ash and Selena continued inside the tint, and Selena zipped the tint up from the inside. Geoff knew he couldn't get close to them without them seeing his shadow, but he could still see their shadows inside the tint because Selena had turned on a lamp to help illuminate the inside. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, as if he was trying to activate something from within... Inside the tint, Ash looked around the place. There wasn't much inside, just a bed, a few bags, and two chairs. Selena offered one of the chairs to him and he seated himself.

"Okay, now, listen closely, Ash. You told me the other day that you were having a bit of trouble controlling your powers, right?"

"Uh, yeah," replied Ash. "It was happening pretty frequently, but ever since you came around, they've kinda died down."

"Well, do you mind describing each of the times they appeared?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Just... tell me.. what were you doing at the time? What was you thinking about when it happened? How did you feel? What were you moods? Just try your best to give me a vivid description of what was going on at the time your powers began to arouse," she explained.

Ash nodded his head. "Okay. Um, well, the first time it took place..."

(Flashback 1)

He had just purchased the Plasma Blaster from the gunshop, and was heading home. Ash had no intention of participating in Pegasus's little championship. He was coming to kill him. Ash was still infuriated at what Pegasus had did earlier. His hands quivered slightly as Ash began to get more and more enraged by the second. Without warning, the earth suddenly began to shake. Ash wondered what was going on. The earth continued to shake. It wasn't bad, but it was bad enough to knock down a few things inside buildings. Then, it stopped. Just as quickly as it came it went away.

(End Flashback 1)

"...I was confused, a bit disoriented, and kinda shocked because Pallet Town had really had many earthquakes in the past, especially tremors. I'm not exactly sure if this is the work of my powers or not, because I've never been able to do it," Ash told her, and Selena acknowledged this information.

"Oh, that was probably you. See, if you're who I think you are, then control over the Seismic Activity of the earth are a part of your 'arsenal', if you wanna put it that way."

"Wait a minute, who do you think I am?" Ash wondered.

Selena shook her head and spoke, "No, no, we'll come back to that later. For now, just continue with the stories. When was the next time this happened and what was you doing?"

"Um..."

(Flashback 2)

Suddenly, a cluster of green energy shot a symbol hanging from a tree and destroyed it. Ash was off in the forest (behind his house) getting some long range target practice. He reloaded the gun with new ammunition and aimed for another target. This target was a pole which was farther away than the last one. He eyed the target carefully, to make sure that what he was aiming at was the actual thing. Suddenly, his eyesight honed in on the object.

"What the..." Ash was shocked. "How is... this possible..." he wondered. He could see the target perfectly now, because his eyesight had zoomed in on it. Ash closed his eyes, then opened them back up to find that they returned to normal. What had just happened to him? He didn't have any binoculars, yet he could see as far as one. Maybe Pegasus was right, maybe he did have some kind of special powers. But how would it be possible?

Ash (voiceover *): *I was very confused about all this, but I decided to delve into this matter some more, and began trying to purposely making my powers activate, in hopes of controlling them. If I could learn how to master my powers, my... well, I'll just go on.*

He sighed and decided to try it again. He squinted his eyes and focused on the pole, hoping he could do it. However, this time around, a bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck the pole down. Ash gasped in shock. That was no coincedence, either. There wasn't any thunderstorm going on, and Ash knew it was him who channeled the lightning down to the pole, but how could he do all this?

(End Flashback 2)

"And that's what happened?" Selena asked.

"Yep, but that's not the last time my powers decided to strike back up, though," he informed her.

"Really? Well, what was you thinking about?"

"Does that really matter? Sometimes I'm not even thinking about anything at all and they strike up! All I wanna know is can I control them?"

"Well, we'll see. Go on with your next story," Selena ordered. Ash sighed deeply and began to remeber what happened.

"Well, next time they cut loose, I was on the boat..."

(Flashback 3)

Without warning, the boat began to rock back and forth. It was gentle at first, but as seconds passed it grew more violent. Ash quickly darted outside. Although the sun was high in the sky, the ocean waters were shifting and surging quite violently, like a storm was there. Ash was in complete confusement as the waters tossed the boat around. The shaking made Ash lose his footing and he fell on the floor. Getting back up, another wave plastered against the ship. As the ship rocked, Ash began to realize how this was happening. It wasn't any storm in sight, yet the ocean waters were raucous. It had to be him doing it. Those mysterious powers must've kicked in again. Another wave hit the ship, and it was more violent than the last. The tipping of the boat made Ash fall to the floor and slide into the bedroom of the suite. Another wave ravaged the ship from the other side, causing the boat to tilt to the left, making Ash slide out onto the balcony. He quickly used the railing to regain his footing, then tried to concentrate on controlling the storm. Apparently, his powers were somewhat tied into his emotions, because whenever Ash began to get angry, something weird happened. Ash closed his eyes and continued his attempt to get rid of the raging waters. When he opened his eyes back up to see if any progress was being made, a huge tidal wave had formed and was charging relentlessly toward the cruise ship. Ash gasped in the surprise and closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to control the powers within. He could hear the deep rumble of tidal wave getting ever closer to the ship, and that made him concentrate even harder. Ash opened his eyes to find the tidal wave still charging for the ship. He frowned and tried cooling himself down by forgetting about what happened. He began to think about pleasant thoughts, like the times he spent with Delia at the park, and others. The tsunami finally began to fizzle out as it began shrinking down into the ocean below.

(End Flashback 3)

"...I don't understand why these powers like to start so violently, and it takes all I can to stop them. Yesterday morning, I was having a bit of trouble with them too, remeber? You said you saw the lightning bolt strike down that Apple Tree. What can I do, Auntie?" Ash asked.

Selena sighed. "Hmm... this is all very interesting. I think I have enough details, Ashton. Now, let's get to the training." Selena took out a marker and began to draw a circle in the grass.

"What are you doing, Auntie?"

"This is all part of a ancient ritual know as 'Meditation'. Meditation is supposed to help you reach down within your inner self and balance out your emotions, thoughts."

"So in other words, you're gonna try putting me in a trance?"

"No, silly. Meditating will help to find the imbalance within you, which is your powers. Once you harmonize your powers with your thoughts and actions, you will have completed the first step in your goal of mastering your rare powers, get it?"

"Uh, yeah, I understand," Ash acknowledged. Selena directed him to the center of the circle. Ash seated himself in the circle and closed his eyes. Selena began to talk soothingly to him, telling him to released the stress and forget about everything. Ash continued to sit there with his eyes closed, doing as Selena instructed. He was trying to forget about everything.

Outside, Geoff was a bit surprised... he was too stunned to blink his eyes or think any thought about this, that is, until a little girl walked up to him and began yelling obnoxously. "Hey, man, are you a duelist? If you are, duel me right now!" she snapped.

"Hey, hey there, chill out," Geoff said.

"Just answer my question, are you a duelist?!" she shouted.

"Yeah, I'm a duelist, but I'm not gonna duel you right now."

"Hunh? What do you mean you won't duel me right now?! I asked you duel and just what you're gonna give me, a friggin' duel!"

"Chill, little girl, I just don't have time right now, please," he responded, then tried to turn his attention back to Selena and Ash. The little girl's face began to flood with anger and dissappointment.

"Hey! I didn't come out here just to sit around watching dummies like you sit around doing nothing, I came to duel! Give me a duel right now!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Be quiet, or else you'll...." Geoff's voice trailed off as he tried to think of something to scare the little girl off. "...um, you'll wake up the mean old witch inside the tint!" he whispered.

"Really? There's a mean old witch in there? Wow, this is gotta see, whee!" the little girl began running toward the entrance of the tint.

"Hey, no, wait!" Geoff grabbed her and pulled her back toward him. "You can't do that! If you go inside, she'll put a hex on you!"

"Oh, really? I didn't know that," she chirped, then suddenly stumped on his foot as hard as she could. Geoff yelped out in pain. "Did you really expect me to buy that 'witch' crap?! Duel me, old geezer, now!!" she demanded.

Geoff grabbed his foot and hopped about trying to rid himself of the pain. "Old geezer?! You got a lot of nerves, little twerp. What's your name?"

"Me? I am Rebecca Hawkins, number one duelist of America..." before Rebecca could finish her introductory speech, Ash and Selena decided to come out of the tint to see what all the noise was. "Waah! There really was a mean old witch in there!" Rebecca darted off into the forest.

"Geoff... is that you?" Ash's eyes widened in shock.

"What's this? Who are you people and what are you doing in my camping area making all this noise?" Selena asked.

"Mother, you don't recognize me?" Geoff was taken aback. Selena sweatdropped and laughed quite nervously.

"Oh, but of course! How are you?"

"Uh, fine. Mother, how did you get all the way out here in such short time? The last thing I saw you doing was, uh... well you know."

"Yes, I'm sure I do. Well, I just rented a speedboat and made my way out here. I had some business to take care of, and I'm sure you understand," Selena said and forced a chuckle. "Now, why don't you and the girl take your little dispute somewhere else, eh?"

Geoff knew there was something off with his mother. "Wait a minute, how did you know how to get to Emerald Island? This is a remote island that most people never even heard of. The only people I know of that knew how to get here was the pilots of Pegasus's cruise ship."

"Um, well, I sorta hacked into Pegasus's exclusive computer and found out the directions," she rushed out.

"But, you don't know how to hack into other computers."

"There's a lot you don't know about your mother, son. Now..."

"Wait a minute," Geoff interrupted. "You're not acting the Selena I know. My guess is you're not her, aren't you?"

"Now, what gives you that idea? That's absurd!" Selena chimed, but Geoff was convinced she wasn't his mother now.

"I just realized something. In this entire conversation, you never once said my name. Mom... what's my name?" Geoff inquired. "How old am I? What year was I born in? What month? What was the date? You don't know a single thing about me, which leads me to conclude that you're not my mother," he announced.

Selena began to laughed malicously. "You're right about that, punk," she suddenly lashed out and grabbed Ash by the neck, choking him. "You should've minded your own business! Me and Ash were about to progress in his lesson, but you came and interrupted it, along with that brat!! Go away and stay away, or else I'll sever his head from the body!!" she yelled.

Geoff's eyes began to glow an fiery red. The Selena impersonator found herself releasing Ash although she didn't want to. "Hunh? What's this?" she was surprised. Geoff was using telekineses. He used the telekinetic power to pull Ash over to where he was standing. He then looked up toward the sky "Element of Lightning, I call upon you! Come to me!" he shouted. Suddenly, several lightning bolts struck Geoff and he began to absorb it all like a sponge absorbing water. Selena's, along with Ash's, eyes were popped open in shock. After he soaked in as much as he wanted, the lightning bolts fizzled out. His hands were sparking with electricity in them. He thrusted his right hand out and a lightning discharge jumped out of his hand and struck Selena, electrocuting her to a sizzling crisp. Her fried remains of ashes were all left of her. Geoff turned to face a shocked Ash.

"Well, what's up, cousin?"

"How did you manage to that?" Ash mused.

"C'mon, I tell you over some lunch, how about it?"

"Uh, sure, cuz," Ash replied and two gave each other a short hug. Just when they were about to walk away, a voice stopped them.

"Hey, stop! I remeber asking you to duel me but you were too chicken! C'mon, big guy?! Think you're tough enough to take the skill and finesse of a true champion?!" Rebecca had returned.

"Oh, boy..." Geoff sighed and put his hands on his forehead.

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Sakura was at her campsite enjoying some roasted marshmellows. She munched on one as she whipped out a small book full of blank pages. It was her personal diary that she used to keep track of her life and any treasured memories it held for her. It was also a way to express how she felt during the day: her thoughts and feelings, what kind of mood she was in, her emotions toward someone, and other things. She transported a pen out of her S.C.T and began to write a log entry.

"Wednesday, June 1st, 2033. Time of day: 12:00 hours. Temperature: 74 degrees. Weather: Sunny with a few wispy cirrus clouds decorating the sky. Dear Diary, today is the third day of the Duel Monsters: Crystal Kingdom Tournament. So far, I have earned five stars total. I plan to earn more, but I'm not rushing to get them. I'm carefully choosing my opponents to make sure I get someone at my level. I'm not too good at this game, but I do hope I can at least make it through the Sub-Competition. That's all I want. Once I reach Crystal Kingdom, I can confront my true love, Maximillion Pegasus. Hopefully, he'll see that we belong together, and he'll kiss me and give me some hot love..." After Sakura finished the log entry, she transported both the pen and book inside her device and began munching on more marshmellows.

"Hey there, Sakura," someone spoke.

Sakura looked up to see Li Showron, the boy she ran into on the cruise ship. She sighed in relief. "What's up, Li? I hadn't seen you since we bumped into each other on the cruise ship. How are you?"

"I'm fine," answered Li. "Those marshmellows look delicious, may I have some?"

"Of course," Sakura granted. Li sat down and popped one in his mouth. "So, how are they?"

"They're really good," Li commented and grabbed another one, popping it in his mouth. "Have you been in any duels yet?"

"Yeah, I've been in a few duels. I've earned five stars, see?" Sakura whipped out her dueling glove and showed it to him. Li awed and she giggled. "It's not that big an accomplishment. I bet you have more than me."

"That I'll have to agree with," Li smirked and flashed his seven stars in her face.

"Wow! You have seven stars already!" Sakura exclaimed in amazement. "You must be an excellent duelist!"

"That I'll also have to agree with," Li chimed with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Hey, Li, I wanna ask you something that regards Duel Monsters. Do you mind helping me familiarize myself with the tactics and strategies of Duel Monsters? I really need to make it through this little competition, so, can you help me?" Sakura asked.

"Uh... I don't know, Sakura. I'm kinda busy winning," Li replied, and Sakura began to plead.

"Oh c'mon, Li, please?! I need your help. You seem like you're a master with this game, and since we've gotten off to a good start so far, I want you to teach me how to play Duel Monsters like a master."

Li sighed deeply. "Really, Sakura, I'm not that good. I do consider myself a fairly good duelists, but I'm nowhere near the level of a master."

"I'll tell you what: how about we have a little duel right now just so I can show you just how bad I play and how much I need your coaching," Sakura suggested.

Li shook his head. "Nah, that'll be unnecessary. I'll teach you how to play the game like a pro."

"Really? You'll do that for me?! Thank you! So, when will we start?" she asked.

"Meet me at the docks around 18:00 hours (6 pm). We'll start your training there, okay?"

"Fine with me," Sakura chirped and giggled in delight. "Li, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your helping me. Thanks a lot."

Li got up off the ground and shrugged. "Aw, it's nothing. I'll see you in a little while, right?"

"Right." Sakura watched as Li walked off. She sighed in relief and looked up to the sky. With Li helping her learn the game, she was sure she was going to get through the Sub-Competition, make it to Crystal Kingdom, and reunite with her true love.

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Seto Kaiba walked through the meadows of the island while looking over his deck. It was at pure perfection. He had just crushed a duelist not too long and took all his stars. It wouldn't be too long before he qualified for entrance to the main championship. Once there, he was going to work his way through the duelists until he reached Pegasus, and once there, he was determined to beat him and take over Industrial Illusions. Seto smirked as he ran across one of the Blue Eyes White Dragons. These cards made a whole lot of duels easier, but Pegasus had been distributing a lot of these cards lately, so he was sure he'd run across a duelist with one sooner or later. But, it still didn't phase him. Seto thought he had the strongest deck in the world. His eyes flashed across another duelist picking some strawberries off a bush. He smiled and ran off to crush him, but Misty stopped him.

"What's up, there, Seto?" she chimed.

Seto froze. He was still insanely nervous around Misty due to the fact that he poisoned her sisters. He didn't want to talk to her or even see her, but he had to act normal and keep his cool. He turned around to face her. "Hi, Misty," he replied.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. Look, I was about to..." Seto got interrupted by Misty.

"So, how are you doing in the tournament? Have you had any duels yet?" she asked him.

"Yes. To date, I have earned seven stars," Seto told her.

"Oh really? You're doing pretty good in this tournament," Misty commented.

"Well, that's what you can expect from the World Champion," Seto shot back and chuckled. "Are you doing well in the tournament? I would hope so." He really hoped she was sucking, but he had to keep a positive, good image when around Misty. If he started showing that he was nervous or started acting gloomy around her, she would get suspicious.

"Well, thanks for your concern, I appreciate it," Misty said, then continued on to tell him about to status. "Well, I've gotten six stars total, but I'm gonna try to earn nine before this week is over with."

"Misty, I don't mean to be rude, but how are your sisters? If you're out here, then they must have recovered from the poisoning you told me about, right?" he asked with a pinch of nervousness in his voice, but Misty didn't seem to notice. She sighed heavily.

"Actually, that's why I'm here. You see, I'm trying to win the prize money so that I can pay that wench I told you about the money she demands in order for her to began researching the toxin and finding out what she can about it. Once she does that, she'll try to find a cure," Misty explained.

[Oh no! If Misty succeeds and win the prize money, then I'm doomed! Whatever happens, I cannot let that girl advance into the main tournament! I've got to knock her out right here and now!] "Well... I wish you the best of luck on your noble quest. If you win the tournament, give me a ring and let me know how everything turns out," Seto requested, and Misty nodded.

"I'll do that," she replied.

"Well, I shouldn't be holding you up from your journey. See 'ya later," Seto rushed out and ran off in search of the duelist he was preparing to clobber.

"Good luck, Seto!" Misty yelled after him.

"Thanks, and good luck to you too!" Seto yelled back, then turned his attention to other matters. "Whatever I do, I've got to find a way to knock Misty out of the tournament. If she manages to save her sisters, they're gonna rat me out, and I'll be finished!"

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"First off, what's your name?!" Rebecca asked.

"Me? I'm Geoff Okasinski..."

"Geoff Okasinski? You're recognized as the 3rd best duelist of the entire world! I've seen you on tv before! I wonder how proud my Grandfather will be when he hear that I defeated the 3rd best duelist of the world. Well, enough about you. Now, I want a duel and I'm gonna get duel! Bust out your cards and let's get it on!!" she screamed impatiently.

"Allright, Rebecca, I've had enough of you. Let's duel!" Geoff snapped and strapped on his new, midnight blue dueling system. Rebecca strapped on her pastel pink system and walked a good distance away from Geoff. Both of them inserted their decks into the slot, powered up their systems and looked at each other. "Allright, little girl, ready to get your butt kicked across the island and back?"

Rebecca pulled a little brown bear out of the purse she was carrying. "I'm not the one who gonna lose, you are! You've just met your match, Geoff! Isn't that right, Teddy?"

Geoff's eyes bucked open. [She talks to the bear? I can't believe what I'm seeing!] "What are the stakes, Rebecca?"

"4 stars. Who ever wins gets 4 stars as a rewards, agreed?" Rebecca suggested.

"Agreed!" Geoff complied.

***Rebecca's Life Points- 2000/Geoff's Life Points- 2000***

He began to draw some cards from the deck to form his hand, but Rebecca interrupted him. "Wait a minute, ladies first!!" Rebecca commanded and drew some cards out of the deck. Geoff shook his head at the obnoxious girl and sighed. Rebecca showed her cards to the bear. "Hmm... isn't this great Teddy? (as teddy) It sure is, Rebecca! (normal voice) Thank you, Teddy! (Geoff is disturbed) For my first move, I'll lay out a card face-down and summon the Shadow Ghoul, in attack mode!" Her monster jumped out of the holocard and took a stance on the field.

ATK: 1600 DEF: 1300

"And one more thing, I'll play the Time Seal card! (Geoff gasps) That forces you to skip the draw phase of your turn, and since there's no monsters on your side of the field, you can't do anything. But, I'm free to directly attack your life points!" Rebecca announced.

"Geoff, this is bad!" chimed Ash.

"Now, Shadow Ghoul, attack with Green Vapor Shrouds!!" Rebecca screeched in delight. The Shadow Ghoul launched dozens of green beams at Geoff and knocked him over with them. Rebecca giggled and said, "Did that hurt, tough guy?"

Geoff got back up and watched his life points sink down to 400. "Whoa!" he was shocked.

"I can't believe it, Geoff! Rebecca managed to take away the majority of your life points in just one turn!" exclaimed a surprised Ash.

Rebecca laughed heartily. "I told you you've met your match, Geoff! You're going down! Whee!!" she jumped up and down, laughing as hard as she could. She was obviously savoring and enjoying the moment. Geoff just frowned and drew a card from his hand.

"I've got to be careful. I don't have many life points left, and she still has a face-down card just waiting to be sprung. But, if I don't make a move now, she'll be able to attack me again, and the result won't be pretty, either. I'll attack with my Sanga of Thunder, in attack mode!" Geoff slapped down his card, summoning it to the field.

ATK: 2600 DEF: 2200

"Attack Shadow Ghoul, now, Thunder Strike!" Geoff commanded. His monster fired several beams of pure electricity at Rebecca's Shadow Ghoul, but she was prepared.

"Ah ha! I'll stop your attack dead in it's track, with Negate Attack!" The mystical portal absorbed the lightning, saving her monster from destruction. Geoff scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Now, let's see here," Rebecca drew a card from her deck and looked at it, then showed it to the teddy bear. "Whee! Look what card we drew teddy! Isn't this amazing?! (as teddy) Yep! (normal) I summon the Witch of the Black Forest, in attack mode!"

"Witch of the Black Forest?" mused Geoff as the card loaded into battle. The witch snickered upon taking her place. "Why would Rebecca play that card? It has hardly any attack strength..."

ATK: 1100 DEF: 1200

"Oh my, Teddy, Geoff thinks slowly. His primitive mind is no match against my genius brain, isn't that right, Teddy? (as Teddy) Yep!" Rebecca giggled. [I know I'll lose a lot of life points, but I know he'd rather attack the witch because it's weaker. Anything to distract him from the real prize, which is Shadow Ghoul.]

"You just made a big mistake, Rebecca. Sanga of Thunder, attack Witch of the Black Forest now!" Sanga of Thunder delivered its powerful bolts of thunder to the witch, who shrieked and shattered rather violently.

Rebecca's Life Points- 500

"Take that, Rebecca!" quipped Geoff.

"You have no idea what you're setting yourself against, Geoff. Thanks to the destruction of my witch, Shadow Ghoul's attack powers raises up 100 points!" Rebecca exclaimed joyfully, but Geoff was not phased at all.

ATK: 1700

"What good will that do? On my next turn, that Shadow Ghoul is still toast, and so is the remainder of your life points."

"Not if I can help it!" shot back Rebecca, who then drew another card from her deck. "Hmm... well, I guess there is a way to have your cake and eat it, too. Get a load of this, Geoff! I play this card, Judgement Blaster!" Rebecca slapped down the magic card onto the field and discarded five of her card to activate it. Geoff's eyes popped open as a large, pink whirlwind swept across the field, obliterating everything in its path. Sanga of Thunder was unable to weather the magic and shattered. After it faded away, Rebecca snickered.

"Man, she destroyed my Sanga of Thunder. Now I won't be able to call forth the Gate Guardian," he muttered to himself.

"To finish my turn, I'll lay out another card face-down," Rebecca does this, then began giggling. "Oh, Teddy, he doesn't know anything, does he? (as Teddy) Not a thing, Rebecca! Now kick the rest of his butt off! (normal) I wouldn't have it any other way, Teddy! And don't forget, Shadow Ghoul's attack power raises another 500 points for 5 sacrificed monsters!"

ATK: 2200

Geoff looked at the little girl oddly as he drew his next card. [That's Shadow Ghoul's getting stronger and stronger with each card Rebecca sacrifices. I need a card to get rid of it!] He looked at the drawn card and smiled. "Perfect! I'm using Reborn the Monster to revive my destroyed Sanga of Thunder, in attack mode! Slamming down the card, the Sanga of Thunder materialized onto the field.

ATK: 2600 DEF: 2200

"Go Sanga of Thunder, attack now!" Geoff snapped. Sanga of Thunder fired its bolts of lightning at Shadow Ghoul, but Rebecca protected herself by springing up the hidden Negate Attack. Rebecca laughed in delight.

"Worked like a charm," she muttered and drew a card from her deck. "Well, well, what have we here? This is a nice magic card. I play Dian Keto, the Cure Master to reinforce my life points by 1000!"

Rebecca's Life Points- 1500

"And... (draws card from hand) I play Cannon Soldier, in defense mode!" The Cannon Soldier appeared on the field and pointed the large gun on it's head at Geoff.

ATK: 400 DEF: 1300

Geoff sighed heavily. "I wanna get rid of Shadow Ghoul, but if I don't destroy Cannon Soldier while I have the chance, Rebecca will use it to obliterate the rest of my life points," Geoff murmered, then drew a card from his deck. It wasn't what he wanted, so he added it to his hand. "Now, Sanga of Thunder, attack the Cannon Soldier with Thunder Strike!" Cannon Soldier as unable to withstand the attack and burst into pieces.

"Aw, why did you destroy my Cannon Soldier?! Oh, why?! Oh, why?! Oh, why?!" Rebecca whined, then began talking as Teddy. "Rebecca, don't forget, the Cannon Soldier has been sent to the graveyard, and that gives Shadow Ghoul 100 more attack points! (normal) Oh, Teddy, thanks for that reminder. You hear that, Geoff? Because you destroyed Shadow Ghoul, its attack power is raised another 100 points!"

ATK: 2300

"That's nice and all, but bear in mind that it's still not strong enough to destroy Sanga of Thunder, Rebecca. Now make your move."

"That I will do," Rebecca snapped and drew a card from her hand. It turned out to be a trap card known as Tribute to the Doomed. She giggled happily as slapped the card down on the card reader. "I'll play this card face-down and end my turn!" The holocard appeared face-down in the appropiate slot, therefore concealing the card underneath.

"I'm surprised you'd put your Shadow Ghoul at risk, seeing as its the strongest monster you've conjured so far," said Geoff, but Rebecca shook her head.

"Why should you care? What you should be thinking about is taking out my poor, defenseless, Shadow Ghoul."

"You'd better be careful, Geoff. It could be a trap," chimed Ash. Geoff acknowledged the information, and Rebecca began to get mad.

"Hey, you, stay out of it! This is a duel between me and Geoff!"

Ash just ignored the girl. Geoff began to think over about his attack strategy. [That face-down card could very well be a trap, but how can I know? The only way to know is to attack, but I don't wanna risk my Sanga of Thunder or my life points. If I'm to merge Sanga of Thunder with Kazejin and Suijin to create the Gate Guardian, I'll need it. Perhaps a card in my deck can help.] Geoff drew a card from the deck and it turned out to be a Remove Trap. "Yes! This is exactly what I need!(slaps down card) I play this card, Remove Trap!"

"Aah!!" Rebecca screeched in surprise. The Remove Trap card instantly shattered her Tribute to the Doomed, leaving Shadow Ghoul completely defenseless.

"Now, Sanga of Thunder, attack Shadow Ghoul!" shouted Geoff. The thunder elemental box destroyed Shadow Ghoul with its blasts of lightning, and Geoff hooted over his victory. Rebecca was shocked, but she wasn't about to give up.

Rebecca's Life Points- 1200

"Yeah!! Whoo!!" Geoff screamed in glee. Ash also managed to crack a smirk at his cousin's triumph over the Shadow Ghoul, but Rebecca glared at him.

"Geoff, this isn't over just yet. In case you've forgotten, I'm still dominating the match. I have 800 more life points than you at my disposal. Now, let's see what my next move will be," she said as she drew a card from her deck. After looking at it, she placed it onto the card reader. "It's not exactly what I wanted, but it's more than enough to stop you in your tracks! I play one card face-down in defense mode!" The holocard loaded the shield into battle, and Geoff laughed.

"Going defensive, hunh Rebecca? I guess you aren't gonna give up?"

"No! I'm not a quitter!" retorted Rebecca.

"You would quit if you wanted to save yourself from embarrassment! What happened to all that tough, defiant talk you were giving when the duel first began? 'I'm gonna lose, you're gonna win'! Remeber that? I know it must be extremely embarrassing to be on the losing end when you were so sure you were gonna win!" taunted Geoff.

"Shut up!"

"Okay, if you insist," Geoff replied and drew a card from his deck. "Ah... what have we here? Remeber this card, Rebecca?" Geoff revealed the card to her, which was a Dian Keto, the Cure Master.

"It's the card I used to reinforce my life points!" exclaimed Rebecca.

Geoff nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh. And I'm gonna use it to increase my life points by 1000!" he slapped it down and the card immediately began to work.

Geoff's Life Points- 1400

"You copycat!" Rebecca yelled in disgust.

"Say what you want, I don't care. Sanga of Thunder, attack Rebecca's face- down card at once!!" commanded Geoff. The monster's lightning traveled at blazing speeds towards the face-down card, which caused Rebecca to smirk.

"My Shadow Ghoul may not be on the field, but I still have other cards! I'm flipping my face-down defensive monster face-up to reveal..." Rebecca did this, and the card turned out to be the rare Millenium Shield. "...The Millenium Shield!" she announced, which forced a gasp from Geoff.

ATK: 0 DEF: 3000

The lightning plastered into the Millenium Shield in full force, but the attack had no effect against it. "Since Millenium Shield's defense power is 3000, and Sanga of Thunder's attack power is only 2600, your failed attack costs you 400 life points!" she giggled at this turn of events, and Geoff scoffed at them.

Geoff's Life Points- 1000

"Smart move, I must admit," muttered Geoff.

"Now it's my turn again," Rebecca stated and drew a new card from her deck. "Aah! This is perfect! Prepare yourself, Geoff, for the rebirth of Shadow Ghoul! (slaps down card) I call out Monster Reborn to bring back a deceased ghoul!" Monster Reborn's magic successfully revived Shadow Ghoul, much to Geoff's dismay.

ATK: 2300 DEF: 1300

"And last but not least, I play yet another Cannon Soldier in defense mode!" Cannon Soldier rose out of its holocard and took a stance.

ATK: 400 DEF: 1300

Geoff drew a card from his deck and smiled. He also pulled out a card from his hand and began to play them. "Rebecca, you've played a good duel. You were quite a challenge, but now, it's over. I've just drawn the cards that'll defeat you. (Rebecca gasps) First, I play this card: Raigeki! (slaps it down) Raigeki is a magic card that'll destroy any and every monster you've got put into play!" Geoff annouced.

Rebecca was utterly shocked as a large green beam erupted on her side of field, obliterating every monster she had on the field: Cannon Soldier, Millenium Shield, and Shadow Ghoul. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!!" she whined and pouted.

"And now, I shall play this card called Reinforcements, which allows me to add 500 attack points on any monster I want for one turn! And I'll use this on Sanga of Thunder!" he slapped down the card, thus unleashing it into the duel.

ATK: 3100

"And since you don't have one monster on the field, I can attack you directly, therefore wiping you out and ending the match. Sanga of Thunder, attack Rebecca with Thunder Strike!!" yelled Geoff. His monster obeyed his commanded and fired it lightning bolts right into Rebecca, knocking her to the ground. "Ha! And that takes you down to 0!" Geoff exclaimed in glee.

***Rebecca's Life Points- 0/Geoff's Life Points- 1000***

"Good going, Geoff! You beat her!" cheered Ash.

Geoff smiled in satisfaction. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

" (beating the ground in anger) No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!! I wasn't supposed to lose, you were!! You nasty mean man!! You stole victory from me!!" Rebecca shouted and began to cry. As the field dissappeared and the systems powered down, Geoff looked over at Ash, then decided to try and cheer Rebecca up. He approached the little girl and kneeled down beside her.

"Just because you lost one duel doesn't mean anything, Rebecca. We all lose sometimes, but the important thing is to swallow your pride and try again. There will be other duels, Rebecca. Just because you lost this one doesn't mean you're sunk, allright?" he said in a gentle tone of voice.

Rebecca looked up at him and wiped the tears off her face. "You don't understand. I only had four stars to begin with, so now because I lost to you, I won't be able to compete in the tournament anymore. Wait a minute, we're not friends. Go away!" she threw her four stars next to him, then looked back toward the ground.

Although she stepped on his foot and insulted him several times, Geoff just couldn't help showing the girl an act of compassion. He had always been a nice person who tried to help everyone, and he felt compelled to cut Rebecca some slack. He reached over and picked up two of the stars and held them in front of her. "You're not out of the tournament, Rebecca. As long as you have stars, you can compete. So here," he grabbed her hand and placed the two stars in her palm, then closed her hand into a fist.

Rebecca looked at him, smiling. "You really mean it? You're giving me two of your earned stars?"

"Yep. Take them," Geoff answered.

"Oh, thank you, Geoff!" she got off the ground and jumped in glee. "Thank you!" she shouted and began to run off.

"You're welcome," Geoff replied and watched the girl run off into the horizon, then picked up the two remaining stars and inserted them into his glove. Afterwards, he walked over to Ash. "Well, I am getting hungry. How about that lunch I was talking about?"

"You bet," Ash agreed and the two began to walk off.

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Brock was counting the total amount of stars he had earned while running down to the campsite. He added up a total of six stars, then placed them all into the star shaped slots on his dueling glove. He was doing pretty good in the tournament so far, and after winning a tough duel a few moments ago, Brock decided that he needed to give his brain a little rest from dueling and strategies. Once he reached the campsite, he looked around for Tristan but didn't find him. "Must be off dueling," he muttered to himself and sat down on the grass. He slipped his hand out of the glove and stored the glove in his S.C.T. Looking out over the lake, Brock decided that a nice swim would be a good way to relax his mind. After transporting some red and gold swimming trunks out of the device, he walked into his tint to put them on. After a minute or so, he came back out wearing the trunks. He stretched his arms out for a second, then prepared to jump into the water. Just as he was about to, a voice called out to him and stopped him.

"Hey, Brock!" It was Tristan. He walked up to him and sighed. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just earned two stars, which gives me a total of six," Brock responded. "What about you? How are you faring in the tournament?"

"I got eight stars," Tristan said.

"Really? How did you manage to get ahead of me?" Brock inquired.

"I won a duel with someone who had six stars," answered Tristan. "He was a pretty good duelist, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I beat him with ease."

"Let me guess: that's what you was just doing?"

Tristan nodded and said, "Yep. What are you about to do?"

"What does it look like I'm about to do, doofus? I'm about to take a nice, calm, relaxing swim. My brain's all fried because I've been thinking heavily about dueling strategies since the start of the tournament. I need a little time away from it," Brock explained.

"Oh. Well, if you wanna find me, I'll be up at the gardens foraging some fruits, allright?"

"Okay. I guess I'll see you in a little while then."

"Later, bro," Tristan told him and walked off in search of the gardens. Brock climbed up onto a nearby tree. He crept off onto a branch overlooking the water and sighed deeply. Then, he performed a perfect swan dive into the water below. His head popped up on the surface and he smiled. After taking a lot of strokes across the surface of the lake, he inhaled deeply and dove underwater. Meanwhile, at the campsite, Surge appeaed from behind some bushes and walked toward the tint. Tristan was off foraging and Brock was taking a good swim in the lake; the circumstances were just perfect for him to sneak in and take back his cards. Surge walked off inside the tint and began looking around for Tristan's S.C.T. To his surprise, he managed to find it! He reached down and picked the device up, then turned it on.

"Please state your name and password," the computer told him.

"Oh..." Surge sighed in frustration. He forgot that he needed Tristan's password in order to access his friggin' computer terminal. "I wonder what this stupid prick's password is..." Surge racked his mind trying to figure out what it could be. The computer reminded him to verify his name and password again. "Tristan Taylor, and the password is, um, swell?"

"The password you have said is incorrect. Please state your name and password."

"Stupid Prick! What's your password?!" Surge yelled in frustration.

"The password you have said is incorrect. Please state your name and password."

Some footsteps suddenly sounded. Someone was coming toward the tint! Surge quickly deactivated the machine and sat it back down where it was, then began creeping out of the tint. The footsteps were getting ever closer now, so Surge decided to duck down behind a nearby bush. Peaking over it, he saw Tristan entering the tint. "Blasted prick," he muttered to himself.

"I knew I was forgetting something," Tristan's voice sounded from the tint. He then came back out wearing the S.C.T on his arm. Surge managed to hold in all the insults and anger he wanted to unleash and began sneaking off away from the campsite. That dick. Surge was extremely mad. He wanted his cards back, and he wanted them back now.

Meanwhile, Brock was enjoying his swim in the lake. He swum about underwater, watching all the different specimens of fish and other types of harmless aqualife. He swam deeper into the lake and found something. It was somekind of sunken ancient plane (a miniaturized version of a 737 Boeing plane). Brock was startled, but curiosity got the best of him and he made his way toward the defunct plane. How it got in the lake he didn't know, but Brock was extremely curious as to what kind of treasures the plane coudl possibly hold in store. It didn't take Brock too long to reach the plane, and he began searching around for an entrance. He found a door near on the other side of the plane and started pulling on it. At first the door wouldn't barely open, but eventually Brock managed to snatch the door off its hinges. Deciding that he needed some more oxygen, Brock sifted through his device until he found what he was looking for. He transported a hypospray (something like the things doctors use in Star Trek) out the device and stuck it into his neck. The hypospray was known as an Oxygen Infuser. This was the new way of sucba diving. Instead of carrying a large tank on your back with all sorts of wires and gauges to monitor, Oxygen Infusers were simply a dose of oxygen that would supply the body with oxygen for up to 24 hours. You still held your breath, but it was as id you took in a breath that would last for 24 hours instead of a minute or two (also, that "tight" feeling you get when you're running out of oxygen is gone until your running out again). After doing that, Brock discarded the hypospray and swam into the plane. A couple of suit cases floated in the room, and Brock swam over to one. He grabbed it and opened it up, but nothing special was in there. Just a lot of old clothes. The other one held the same thing. Brock dropped both of those and swam over to the pilot's cabin. Nothing was inside that room, either, so Brock swam out of there and noticed some cabinets above the seats of the plane. He began to open them, but nothing but emergency equipment was inside those. Brock began to think that nothing was in the plane, but then he noticed a lever on the floor. Wondering what it was, Brock glided over to it and pushed the lever over, then a floor tile right in front of it opened up. Brock propelled himself through the hole and found a room full of gold. There was gold laying everywhere. Gold floated all over the room. There was gold lining the walls, gold all over the floors... everywhere Brock looked gold was in his eyesight.

[What the... I can't believe this,] Brock thought to himself as he grabbed some gold necklaces and put it around his neck. Brock was amazed at the amount of gold in the ship. [I have to show this to Tristan.] Brock propelled himself out of the room and carefully glided through the tight vessel. Tristan loved gold jewelry, and Brock knew Tristan would be blown away by this.

-----------------------------------------

Jasmine Cortez had won yet another duel. She claimed four stars from the female duelist and walked off. This added her stars up to a total of nine. Jasmine was progressing quite swiftly in the tournament. Soon, she would rescue her love from Pegasus's evil clutches and let Pegasus know not to ever mess with them again. Jasmine was determined to reached Pegasus and make him pay. [Don't worry, my dear Morty, I coming for you, and there's not a power on this earth that'll stop me. Not the duelists in the tournament, not Pegasus, not Pegasus's bodyguards, nothing!]

-----------------------------------------

Maximillion Pegasus was walking through the cooridors that lead to Morty's cell. It was time to convince him to cough up the Millenium Key. Pegasus was growing rather tired of playing these games with Morty, but he had no choice. The researchers turned up nothing, and Morty was making any notions to give in and give up the key. Pegasus has learned from experience that after days and days of the correct type of torture, even the strongest of men couldn't help but give in. And Pegasus was sure that Morty couldn't hold out much longer. After reaching his cell, Pegasus ordered the guard to power down the force field. He walked inside, and smirked sinisterly at the man. "Hello there, Morty."

Morty was asleep, but Pegasus's voice woke him up. He was startled as he looked up, but sighed deeply when laying eyes on Pegasus. "What do you want now? Come back to do some more of your lame torturing?" he asked.

"Lame torturing? Judging by the way you look, my torturing hardly classifies as 'lame'. You can't barely hold your eyes, you don't have much of a voice to speak with, and there are pricks, cuts and bruises all over your sweaty body. That doesn't fall in the 'lame' category, if you ask me," retorted Pegasus.

"Who asked you, dick? I may look like your torturing is hurting me, but it isn't. These words are coming from me, a man who has had your acts carried out on him. If I'm saying your torturing is lame, then it is. Oh, and I can't hold my eyes open because I don't go to sleep down here. I stay awake, just in case you try to sneak down here and kill me in my sleep."

"Brilliant thinking, Morty-boy. There have been a few times when I wanted to come down here and slit your throat, but I restrained myself. There's no telling what might happen to me if I do that. That Millenium Key of yours could work some 'spooky' mojo on me and kill me in my sleep. Plus, if I kill you now, I may lose the secret to getting the key off your neck. Now, for today, I'll start off the same way as before: how do you get the key to come off your neck?" Pegasus inquired.

Morty burst into taunting laughter. "How many times are you gonna do the same thing over and over again, Peggy?"

"Peggy?!"

"You know as well as I do, maybe more, that I am not going to tell you a thing about how to get the key off my neck. You'll have to do better than that," Morty jeered.

Pegasus punched Morty across the face. "Silence! Stop your jeering!" he demanded, but that made Morty laughed even harder. "What's so funny, you dick?!"

"You know what? You're a (laugh) you're a joke!" Morty laughed harder than before. Obviously, Pegasus's attempts of coming on serious turned out to be quite the comedic act of the year to Morty. "I've never laughed so hard in my life!" he managed to speak.

"Shut up!!" Pegasus whipped out a small doll. Morty started laughed harder than ever. That is, until Pegasus pricked the doll's knee bones. A surge of pain jolted through Morty's knee, forcing him to quit laughing and let out a yelp. "In case you don't know, this is an ancient magic artifact that's been used for centuries to get a person's cooperation. It's called a 'Voodoo Doll'," Pegasus stated.

"A Voodoo Doll?"

"Oh, yes," he quipped sarcastically. "You see, with this little baby, anything painful that I do to this doll will cause a sudden surge of pain to erupt wherever I decided to muck. For example: your neck," Pegasus thumped Morty's thryoid gland underneath his neck, and his hurted as if Pegasus really thumped it.

"Ow!" he couldn't help but wince from the pain.

"Ah.. not a pleasant feeling, is it? But, it's not really happening to you. You see, that's the speciality of a Voodoo Doll. Any pain that you feel is all in your head. It's not really happening to you, but the Voodoo Doll probes your mind and forces it to think that it's actually happening. This way I can do some of the most painful things imaginable and you won't be able to die and escape it all, like you would if I actually pricked on you. Oh yes, we're about to have some fun! Now, of course, I won't just be pricking on the doll. Oh no, we're going to go far beyond that!" Pegasus yelled excitedly and pulled the head off the Voodoo Doll. Pain exploded all over Morty's head as he thought his head had been severed from the body.

"AAHH!!!!!!" Morty screeched in sheer pain.

Pegasus laughed evily as he began to pull the arms of the Voodoo Doll. Morty jerked and convulsed about in response to it and continued screamed in searing pain. "Oh, Morty-boy, things are about to interesting!!" Pegasus said and laughed sinsterly as he stabbed the doll in the navel with a knife. This forced Morty to bend over limply. He was still screamed in pure agony. There was nothing he could do to shut the pain out.

"Please, stop! Make it.... stop!!!!" Morty hollered out.

"Thought you could take anything I threw at you, Morty? You're having a change of heart now, aren't you?" Pegasus then bent the doll into a shape of a bow.

"UGH!!!!!!!!" Morty moaned as he began to pass out due to the extreme pain.

"Now will you tell? Now will you..." Before Pegasus could finish, his phone suddenly rang. Annoyed, he picked it up and answered it. "This is Pegasus speaking."

"Sir, there's been an intruder spotted in the castle halls. He's armed and dangerous and it would be wise for you for seek shelter within the upper floors while we dispose of the threat," the guard told him.

"So be it," Pegasus replied and hung up. He then stared at Morty. "You may have gotten off easy this time, but next time you won't be so lucky. Once the intruder is dealt with, I'll be back..." he walked out of the cell and put the force field back up. The pain suddenly stopped, giving Morty a chance to breath and regain his stamina and awareness. Once the Voodoo Doll was out of the same room as the target, it would no longer give pain. Morty sighed deeply as Pegasus walked off. Jasmine had to come and soon. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on...

By GateGuardian 3500 ----------------------------------------- Did you like the episode? I tried to get it up here a bit sooner, but school's been hectic. Well, that's a wrap! Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll have Episode 10 up, but I'll try to get it up in about two weeks. I don't have much to say, so I guess I'm gonna go. Peace out, and have a great weekend!