A/N: All right, Chapter 9 is here. Hope you're enjoying the quick updates so far, and I hope those of you who are reading (including those who aren't necessarily reviewing) are enjoying the story itself as well as the quick updates.

Mira: You're hardly the only one who doesn't like Jade, and I won't hold that against you since she's made to be unlikeable. She's one of those duelists that shows up to win, not to make friends.

Lumen: Well, here's the new chapter for your reading pleasure. More nail-biting excitement, no doubt... that is, if you're prone to nail-biting. I bounce my knees.

Monica: Actually, after having played the duel out, I can tell you with full certainty that he would have lost – he just didn't feel like being humiliated by giving a pretense of denial. Nevertheless, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one.

-------

Kyle continued to stare at Zack. The man had changed a little bit, but not much since the last time they'd seen each other – which had been the first and only time they'd ever dueled. A cursory once-over let Kyle know that Zack was here for the same reason he was... to compete in this elite tournament.

Nevertheless, he couldn't stop himself. "What are you doing here?"

Zack chuckled. "Oh, come on, Kyle, you can do better than that. Your eyesight isn't that bad. I'll bet you saw the duel disk on my arm before you even saw me. It's why you're here, after all, isn't it?"

"But... you're in a tournament. A huge one. You wouldn't even attend the Madison tourney and... you're here."

"Yes, I sure am." Zack looked around – there was a pair of duelists a few block away participating in a duel, and a throng of curious folk had surrounded the arena they'd set up. "And I'm here to duel. What about you, Kyle? Are you here to duel, or just stand around and make small talk all day? That's not going to get you to the finals."

Kyle's eyes regained their focus. "I know what'll get me to the finals," he replied. "Six locator cards are all I need."

"And how many do you have?" Zack asked.

Kyle let out a sigh. "One."

"One? It's been more than an hour into the tournament and you haven't yet challenged anyone?" Zack tsked. "Kyle, really... you know better than that. Just because you have Labyrinth Brothers on the line doesn't mean you should just chicken out. You need to take the initiative, or else you'll get challenged by someone else who was a quick thinker. Even worse, you'll just get left behind with that one measly locator."

Zack paced back and forth. "You came all this way, and you haven't done anything about it. Typically you, I suppose, but in this tournament, you have to grab your opponent by the horns. Make him duel you. If he refuses, he's out for good and you'll have one less wuss to worry about."

"You're nothing but talk," Kyle accused. "I beat you once before. Now I've got two Labyrinth Brothers and as far as I know, you don't even have one to your credit."

Zack smirked. "Then what're you going to do? Challenge me? Go ahead. Take the initiative. Show me you can do what you're here to do – to prove to everyone, as well as yourself, that you're worth more than anyone ever believed you to be."

Kyle's expression darkened. "I've got nothing to prove to anyone. But if it's a challenge you want, then I'll give you one. Let's duel."

"Just what I wanted to hear," his newfound opponent grinned. Almost in unison, the two duelists ejected their holoprojector pods and activated their duel disks.

"Now, I've already lost a Battle City match... probably because I went second in that round," Zack informed him. "So I think I'll go first this time around."

"Fine by me," Kyle responded, "since I usually operate on the assumption that the challenger goes second."

"Good deal." Zack and Kyle both drew their first five cards, and then Zack drew his sixth. "Let's get this show on the road. I place three magic/traps face-down and end my turn."

The three m/t's manifested as holograms directly at Zack's feet. Kyle raised an eyebrow at them as he drew his sixth card. Cool. "All right, then. I place one magic/trap face-down, and then summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode."

Kyle's monster appeared on the field in front of his m/t, no less real in the middle of the street than on a holographic dueling arena. It bore a vicious axe and an even more vicious grin, and somewhere near its knees a set of Vorse Raider's attack/defense values appeared in bold neon colors. Kyle blinked at Zack's lack of a response. Huh. No Trap Holes. He's probably protecting his Life Points in other ways, though. "Vorse Raider, attack his Life Points!"

"Not so fast, Kyle. Activate Enchanted Javelin!"

Zack's trap flipped face-up, and a jewel-encrusted javelin appeared in front of it, then speared through Vorse Raider as it rushed in to attack. Zack grunted as the axe sliced at him, effectively depriving him of 1900 Life Points – but then his LP just as quickly went straight back up to 4000.

Right... I should have remembered that one. "End turn, then."

Zack drew his next card. "I play Copycat (0/0) in attack mode."

Kyle raised an eyebrow as a spellcaster dressed in a court jester's outfit with a mirror in front of its face wavered into existence – as did its ATK/DEF factors. "Tell me that does something useful and you're not just trying to throw the game."

"Oh, it's useful, all right. Whenever I summon Copycat to the field, it can take on the attack and defense values of one of your monsters. In this case, Vorse Raider."

Accordingly, Copycat's mirror aimed at the one monster on Kyle's field, and its ATK/DEF values rose to 1900/1200.

"Of course, if I were to attack now, the result would simply be both creatures leave the field. So to change that, I put into play the field magic card Luminous Spark." The field between the two duelists began to sparkle with random tricks of light. "If you'll recall our last duel, this card increases the attack power of all Light monsters by 500 and decreases their defenses by 400. And Copycat is Light, so..." Zack gestured to Copycat's new values of 2400/800. "Copycat, attack Vorse Raider."

A blast of light from the fingers on Copycat's free hand streamed toward Kyle's monster. Kyle pressed the button meant to activate the one card he still had face-down. "I activate Mirror Force, to destroy your Copycat!"

Zack tsked and pressed an activation button of his own. "I was expecting something like that. I pay 1000 Life Points to activate Seven Tools of the Bandit and stop your Mirror Force in its tracks. I much prefer to keep my monster and see yours gone." Zack's Life Points sank to 3000 for the activation of Seven Tools.

Copycat's beam sent Vorse Raider to oblivion, and Kyle's Life Points dropped to 3500.

"Your move," said Zack.

Kyle drew. Wow. And here I thought he was starting off weak.

You should know better than to underestimate him, especially after your last duel.

Ehh. "I place one monster in defense mode and end my turn," Kyle announced.

"Hmm." Zack drew. "I place one magic/trap face-down. Copycat, attack his monster."

Copycat did exactly as it was told – only to find its attack target flipping face-up. Kyle's Man-Eater Bug (450/600) appeared, then sailed across the field, latched onto Copycat, and exploded... taking Copycat along with it.

"That'll do," Kyle said, satisfied.

"Irritating little bug." Zack sighed. "End turn."

Kyle drew, then said, "I place one magic/trap face-down, and then play Mystical Elf (800/2000) in attack mode."

Kyle's Mystical Elf appeared, her eyes closed and her hands pressed together in prayer. Her lips moved, but only unintelligible sound came out. Zack pursed his lips. "I see you're taking advantage of Luminous Spark."

"I believe you've got it," Kyle responded, as Mystical Elf's values changed to 1300/1600. "Mystical Elf, attack his Life Points."

An orb of glowing energy appeared in front of Mystical Elf as her praying became louder. That orb shot across the field and struck Zack squarely in the chest. He grunted as his Life Points dropped to 1700. "Ow."

"My turn's finished."

"Good." Zack drew. "I place one magic/trap face-down and end my turn."

He must be running out of things to play. Kyle drew. "I place one magic/trap face-down, along with one monster face-down. Mystical Elf, attack once more."

Another orb bolted toward Zack, but as it did so, Zack announced, "Activate Enchanted Javelin." As soon as he was struck, his Life Points sank to 400, but then jumped back up to 1700.

Kyle harrumphed. The longer he delays my attacks, the more chance he has of pulling off a combo I can't stop. "End turn."

And sure enough, after he'd drawn his next card, Zack announced, "I play Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000) in attack mode."

"Activate Trap Hole," Kyle quickly supplemented.

"Ah-ah. Activate Seven Tools of the Bandit." Once more, Zack's Life Points descended by a thousand to stop Kyle's Trap Hole; meanwhile, his holographic monster appeared without further hindrance. It was a rather hideous creature, in Kyle's opinion; hands sprouted from it in every possible direction, including on its face. It bore all shades of green, and several of its arms crossed in front of its hand-heavy chest. Green fingers flexed in every direction, making it look almost like Medusa. Kyle's eyes shifted down to its attack and defense factors, now changing to 1900/600. Another Light monster. His deck's festooned with them.

"I don't suppose this thing is related to Senju of the Thousand Hands, is it?" Kyle inquired.

"Related, yes, but a better effect. Senju only lets you retrieve a ritual monster from your deck... Manju lets you retrieve either a ritual monster or a ritual magic card." Zack looked through his deck, found an appropriate card, placed it among those in his hand, and then re-shuffled his deck. "Now, with that overwith... Manju, attack Mystical Elf."

Manju's response was to pad across the field on its numerous hands and completely envelop Mystical Elf in a crushing embrace. Kyle's Life Points dropped to 2900.

"And that ends my turn."

Kyle drew. I can't attack, but I can at least defend. "I sacrifice my face-down Kotodama (0/1600) in order to place another monster in defense mode. And my turn's finished."

"All right, then," said Zack, drawing. "I place one monster face-down and switch Manju to defense mode. Your turn."

Kyle drew once more, then said, "I place one magic/trap card face-down and end my turn."

"Hm. I also place one magic/trap face-down. But I won't stop there." Zack grinned. "I sacrifice Manju and my face-down Time Wizard (500/400) in order to summon Wingweaver (2750/2400) in attack mode."

From the remains of the sacrificial monsters, there rose a fairy that – unlike its predecessors – was extremely beautiful. She wore a yellow wraparound cloak, and six great white wings sprouted from her back. Her long brown hair flowed about her shoulders, and her face was serene. Her ATK/DEF changed to 3250/2000. Yuck. Stronger than a Blue-Eyes. But not without its weaknesses.

"Wingweaver, attack his monster."

"Guess again," said Kyle. "Activate Widespread Ruin."

Kyle's trap flipped up and loosed a cloud of flame upon Wingweaver. When the cloud dissipated, there was nothing left – it had incinerated the opposing monster.

"Hm. Well, it's not going to do me any good to leave myself open to attack... so instead I'm going to summon another monster."

"You can only summon one per turn."

"I can only summon one normally, yes. But this is a special summon, and in order to perform it, I need to remove two Light monsters from my graveyard. So goodbye to Time Wizard and Manju... and hello, Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800)."

In place of Wingweaver, a transparent fairy appeared. Her wide see-through wings flapped gently as she hovered there, waiting for her opportunity to attack. She was nearly as beautiful as her predecessor, and nearly as dangerous, as well – for her attack and defense had become 2500/1400.

I need to get him on the defensive. His monsters are losing defense points because of that field card, and that can be to my advantage if only I can bring out a high-powered monster. Maybe if I can bring Sanga out... he'd be powered up by the field card, too, after all...

"By the way, Soul of Purity and Light has a special effect besides the way she's summoned," Zack mentioned. "Whenever your Battle Phase comes along, all of your face-up monsters lose 300 attack points for the duration of that phase."

Great, so now I'll need a monster who can do better than 2800 attack points... and the only two monsters in my deck that could do it are Sanga and Tri-Horned Dragon. I guess we're about to see if I'm lucky enough to draw either one.

"End turn."

Kyle drew his next card. Hmm, no luck. "I place one magic/trap card face-down and end my turn."

"Well, in that case, I'll place one monster face-down. Now, Soul, if you would attack his face-down monster?"

Soul's attack was a screamer-like flying sweep of Kyle's face-down – only to be repelled by a massive warrior festooned with swords and bearing a giant shield.

"You'll have to try harder if you want to destroy my Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500)," Kyle remarked.

"Indeed, it seems that way," Zack agreed. "That ends my turn."

Kyle drew, but shook his head. "I'm not playing anything this turn."

That caused his opponent to draw – and then Zack announced, "Neither am I. Your turn."

Kyle raised an eyebrow as he drew. Well, this duel could be a lot more interesting. "I place one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Zack drew his next card, then glanced up at Kyle with a look of satisfaction. "All right, then. I play Otohime (0/100) in attack mode."

Another attractive Light monster appeared alongside his Soul of Purity and Light. This one had long red hair and wore a purple vest, as well as a matching skirt and elbow-high gloves. One side of her exposed midsection was decorated with yellow tattoos, as was her left shoulder.

As her attack/defense shifted to 500/0, Zack noted her effect. "Whenever Otohime is revealed on the field, she can change the battle position of one of your monsters. In this case, I declare her effect on your Shogun."

Kyle ground his teeth as a white aura surrounded both Otohime and Shogun. Shogun threw his shield over his shoulder and then pulled out a pair of the massive swords on his back as he was switched to attack mode. Shogun's a lot weaker in attack mode...

"And now, Soul of Purity and Light, attack Total Defense Shogun."

Soul's screamer attack didn't go unchallenged this time, and Shogun shattered in a haze of sparkles. Kyle's Life Points descended to 1950.

"Otohime has another effect that makes her especially tidy," Zack continued. "She's a Spirit monster, and as such, she returns to my hand at the end of my turn. That way I don't have any messy openings in my Life Points to worry about."

"How very convenient," Kyle muttered.

"Got that right. I end my turn." And with that, Otohime vanished from the field, and Zack pulled it from his duel disk to return it to his hand.

Kyle drew his next card. This isn't going to do me any good right now... let's just hope I hold out. "I place one magic/trap face-down and end my turn."

"All right. I replay Otohime in attack mode, and switch your remaining monster into face-up attack mode."

"Thus revealing my Wall of Illusion (1000/1850)," Kyle reported calmly. His calm was entirely fake. This is bad... with his field card in play, even with Wall's effect, he could win the game right here and now. All he needs to do is attack with Soul, and then follow up with Otohime...

Zack cocked his head. "You wouldn't leave yourself open to that move. Not when you knew it was coming. No... I think I'll refrain from attacking this turn. Otohime returns to my hand. Your move."

Kyle blinked in surprise. He thinks I've got something to counter Soul's attack? Nevertheless, he drew his next card – and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, some luck. "I play Pot of Greed," he said, and he drew two extra cards by that card's effect. The next two gave him even more cause to grin.

He looked back up at Zack. "Get ready for a bizarre play."

"I've seen a lot of those. Bring it on."

"All right, then, here goes." Kyle pressed one of his m/t buttons. "I placed this card on the field already, so I activate Polymerization from there, in order to fuse the Crass Clown (1350/1400) and Dream Clown (1200/900) cards I have in my hand..."

The two announced monsters appeared on the field for a moment, and then their holograms seemed to merge into each other by the effect of Kyle's Polymerization card. A dark cloud rose up around the blending creatures.

"And that gives rise to Bickuribox (2300/2000)."

Out of the dark cloud, a freakish jack-in-the-box creature sprung up and giggled insanely at Zack's Soul. It was outfitted in court jester's clothing, but there was no doubt in either of their minds that laughing was the least of its abilities.

"According to Battle City rules, since that's a fusion monster, it has to wait a turn before it can attack," Zack said. "By which time I'll have dispensed with it already."

"I don't want it to attack. What I wanted was more tribute fodder on my field, and since that was a special summon, I can still play a monster from my hand in the normal fashion. I sacrifice Bickuribox and Wall of Illusion in order to summon Tri-Horned Dragon (2850/2350) in attack mode!"

Kyle's Tri-Horned Dragon, as compared to the two duelists, was gargantuan. It seemed to stand at least three stories tall, and was no doubt giving people in the office buildings on either side of the street something to stare at as it rose up from the twinkling remains of the tribute monsters.

"And since my dragon isn't a fusion monster, he can attack right now. Which is exactly what I want him to do. Tri-Horned Dragon, attack Soul of Purity and Light!"

As the turn moved into Kyle's battle phase, and his dragon stomped across the field, its attack points descended to 2550 – due to Soul's effect, of course. But it's not enough to counter the attack.

Tri-Horned Dragon roared and swiped its claws at Zack's fairy. She shrieked as she was destroyed. Zack's Life Points dropped to 650.

"That's enough for me to activate my trap card," said Zack, "so I activate Numinous Healer."

The trap revealed a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform standing on Zack's m/t field. His Life Points rose up to 1650.

"Whenever I take Life Point damage, I can activate this card to increase my Life Points by a thousand. If I have Numinous Healers in my graveyard already, my Life Points go even higher."

"At this point, it seems rather unlikely you'll make it long enough to get another one," Kyle responded. "I end my turn."

"We'll see what I can come up with." Zack drew his next card. "I place one magic/trap face-down and one monster in defense mode. End turn."

He's on the defensive now. And all he's got going for him are Light monsters – since they lose four hundred defense points by his own field card, he's lost his advantage. I'd better take hold of the opportunity. Kyle drew, then announced, "I play Slate Warrior (1900/400) in attack mode."

His Slate Warrior appeared next to Tri-Horned, looking pitiful by comparison... yet it was one of the most powerful monsters of its level.

"Tri-Horned Dragon, attack the monster on the left," Kyle ordered, pointing to the monster Zack had been keeping on his field for a while now.

The swipe of his dragon's claws revealed the monster to be Magician of Faith (300/400), now with a defense power of zero.

"Ah, well," Zack shrugged. "I don't have any magic cards in my graveyard, so I can't retrieve any by her effect."

"Too bad for you. Slate Warrior, attack his remaining monster."

Slate Warrior's punch ended up causing Zack's Otohime to be showcased once again, upon the eve of its destruction.

"I thought so," Kyle said.

"Remember Otohime's effect... one of your monsters goes to defense mode," Zack reminded him. "And in this case, I choose your Tri-Horned Dragon."

The white aura appeared once more, and Kyle's dragon took on a less aggressive stance.

"Fine. I'll just put it back next turn. My turn's finished."

"Hm." Zack drew his next card...

Then looked up at Kyle.

And placed his right hand on top of his deck.

Kyle frowned. That's the gesture for surrender. "You're giving up?"

"I've got nothing left to play. I've done my best, and it apparently didn't hold out quite as well as I'd hoped." He gave Kyle a small smile. "I'd just as soon not have to get hit by your monsters. I know when to quit, and it's time to do just that." He pressed his thumb stud.

Kyle blinked as the holograms vanished into the nothingness from which they'd come.

"Well, don't just stand there, Kyle," Zack snickered. "Pick up your projectors and then get over here to claim your well-deserved prize. You won, after all. Initiative, remember?" He moved to retrieve his own holoprojectors.

Kyle did the same after a moment, and when he pressed his thumb stud, the field plates on his duel disk split apart and swung back into idle mode. He approached Zack warily.

Zack, for his part, merely grinned. "S'all right, Kyle. Not everyone can make it to the finals, after all."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what is?"

"You are." Kyle crossed his arms. "I don't heard a single word from you for months, and then you pop up in Battle City, just like that. And everything's automatically okay?"

Zack shrugged. "I've had to deal with some things. Sorry if that grates, but frankly, you can't expect me to stick around forever."

"No, but I can expect you to at least let me in on all your little plans when they involve me in some major way."

"And I did, didn't I? You've got Sanga. And Suijin, too – congratulations against Madison, by the way. I especially liked the wink. Oh, man, that pissed her off."

Kyle blew his breath out through his nose, a sign of annoyance. "You were trying to get as far away from both Jade and Sanga as possible."

"A goal I accomplished, too. For a time, anyway."

Kyle wasn't listening. "You stuck me in the middle of all this. Do you have any idea how much she's hounded me for the Brothers? She nearly got the entire set at one point."

"But she didn't get the set," Zack pointed out, "and with your dueling skills and that nicely amped deck of yours, it'll stay that way."

"You're so sure."

"Yeah, I am. And you should be, too." Zack thumbed through his deck and plucked a pair of cards from it, then removed a locator card from a slot in his duel disk. He held all three out to Kyle. "Your prize."

Kyle's brow creased as he took the cards. The locator was just a card-sized section of clear plastic with a microchip inside; the Duel Monsters cards, on the other hand, were much more impressive.

One was the ritual magic card Novox's Prayer.

The other was Skull Guardian (2050/2500), the corresponding ritual monster.

Kyle raised an eyebrow and looked back up at Zack. "You sure you want to part with these?"

Zack shrugged. "They're the cards I wagered for Battle City. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather they go to."

At that, Kyle frowned again. "I thought you said you lost a Battle City match already."

"I did. The winner wanted something else I had, so I handed that over instead."

"Who was the other winner?"

At that, Zack smirked. "Some mysteries are better left unsolved. But I'm sure you'll find out for yourself."

Kyle wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but he chose not to press the issue. "What're you going to do now? Keep giving up?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't think you quite understand what I'm doing."

"Bingo, Sherlock."

"I'm doing all of this to help you." Zack gave Kyle a significant look. "From the first moment you walked into the store to the win you just made now... all of it has been because I wanted to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"You lost yourself. After hearing all those stories about you, I wasn't sure if you could ever be found again. Then Chubs brought you in and said you were gaining an interest in Duel Monsters, a game I love. That's been the one driving force in your life, ever since. Look at what's happened ever since you found something you could enjoy."

"Duel Monsters isn't the only reason I changed, Zack. I couldn't bear to watch myself do the things I was doing anymore."

"And you had to get a fresh start, didn't you? Duel Monsters was perfect for that since you'd never played before. Now look at you. You're here, a star duelist ready to take on anyone."

"Don't start thanking yourself for that," Kyle scoffed. "I could have gotten your kind of help anywhere."

"If you say so. But I'm not thanking myself for anything. The person I'm thanking is you."

"Me?"

"You're a good duelist, and a good person. You're to thank for becoming all of those." Zack offered a smile. "You're the friend people ask for. Receptive, adaptive... flexible."

"All of which could be applied to the bunny ears on top of my grandmother's TV set."

Zack shrugged. "Then I guess it all depends on you. Bunny ears catch and relay what other people say and nothing more. I could stand here all day and tell you the differences I see... but the viewpoint that counts is yours."

For that, Kyle was surprised to find he had no answer. Even Theoris was slightly startled to hear the analogy.

Zack's smile returned. "Anyway. Congratulations on your first win. I hope those cards will do right by you."

And then he turned and walked away... leaving Kyle and Theoris both to ponder what he'd said.

I used to catch and relay for my parents. Hell, I sometimes even do it for you, when it suits me...

Does this disturb you, that you would relay what I say?

...I don't know.

Kyle... do you trust me?

Yes. Yes, I trust you.

Then that is all that matters. Go now, and seek out another opponent. Whatever you may think, Zack is right – your decisions are entirely your own and it is easy to see for those of us that are not you.

Why has it suddenly become harder to figure myself out?

We must all find ourselves. You are still finding yourself. And I would help you in this quest, should you wish for such.

Kyle nodded after a moment. Yeah, I know. And thanks. Then he looked back up. Well. I still have a long way to go in this tournament. Things should start to get very interesting.