A/N: Chapter 11 is here. I'm sure everyone who's currently reading this fic has noticed by now that I've been committing to near-daily updates. I aim to get this story posted – in its entirety – by the end of this month, as I have plans for August that would prevent me from updating very much. Wish me luck on this endeavor, and have fun with this story meantime!

Mira: Very true. Glad you liked the perspectives, I hope they were realistic enough... considering the genre, anyway!

Wolfwings: I'm sure many would agree with you on that proclamation.

Monica: Weird moods help me write, so I encourage those. Since the GG cards are the rarest Kyle has, it makes sense that he would wager them in his duels... and they're powerful, besides.

Eusine: No problem, my friend. I've been updating rather rapidly these days, so it's on both of us. As for what you want, here you go!

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Kyle moved quickly through the streets and along the sidewalks, trying to make the Millennium Shield – which he had now enlarged to its full size on his right arm – obvious to all who passed by him. It's probably the one identifying mark I have that they gave to these duelists... Of course, it was difficult not to spot the shield; there weren't many people who would prance about the streets of Battle City wearing such a bulky item of gold on his person.

As he moved, Kyle spotted a morbidly intriguing sight. A man just slightly shorter and slightly older than him was standing over another man garbed in a black robe. The black-robed man was cowering in a corner of a nearby alley.

Kyle frowned at that. Is that a magician?

No, Kyle... those are not the robes a magician wears. The color is much too dark, and he is young. The magicians are invariably aged men who have the experience they need to venture out into the world with impunity.

The man on his feet wore his pale blond hair short, and it almost disappeared against his skin; perhaps he didn't get out in the sun as often as most others tended to. He had an expression of pure contempt on his face, and his voice was decidedly harsh. Kyle couldn't make out the words, but he was pretty sure, from the duel disks on their arms, that the black-robed man had lost a duel and the other man was demanding a bit more than just a card or two.

If it's not a magician, then that's got to be a Rare Hunter he's picking on. Kyle snorted. In which case, the man probably deserves it.

I wonder what is being demanded.

The standing man suddenly reached down and grabbed the Rare Hunter by his cloak. The hunter yelled out, but nobody seemed particularly inclined to help him, nor were there any authorities in the area. Kyle raised an eyebrow. Looks like he's taking it a bit far...

Then his other eyebrow went up as the hunter shakily pulled his deck from his duel disk and shoved it at the man who was accosting him. The aggressor accepted it wordlessly and released the hunter, but his glare of contempt remained.

That's a violation of Battle City rules!

Yes, it is. However, there are no Battle City officials in the area... and most noticeably absent is Mokuba Kaiba.

Kyle's eyes darkened. You had to go and remind me of that.

Without him or his brother, other acts may go through unchecked.

You suggesting that I provide that not-so-gentleman with a friendly reminder?

I think he would rather come over here.

Kyle refocused his eyes on the aggressive man, to see that Theoris was correct; he was staring at Kyle and taking a few tentative steps forward.

Kyle sighed and moved toward the man, though his instincts begged him not to. This is asking for trouble, Theoris. Look at the way he's staring at me. Reminds me of a guy I once knew... told me he spent his days after school finding stray cats and drowning them in a bucket of water. He had a look in his eye just like that.

Theoris emitted his version of a hiss. May he forever burn in the underworld.

Kyle blinked, then realized why Theoris was so upset. Oh. Yeah. Cats.

"Hey! You!" The man was pointing at Kyle now. "Your name McCraine?"

"That's right," Kyle responded. "And your name?"

"Peter. Peter Ward," the older man replied. "What's it to you?"

"What's my name to you?"

"I've been looking for you all day. I was told you'd be in this tournament; I joined in so I could duel you."

Kyle inwardly rolled his eyes. Must've heard I had a couple Labyrinth Brothers and wanted to duel me for them. "Rather forward, aren't you?"

"Why bother being roundabout in your delivery?" The man called Peter shrugged. "And now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, I challenge you to a duel."

The better angels of Kyle's nature told him to be polite in his response. But Kyle's demons sometimes still had their way of sweet talking his angels into silence. He scoffed. "What're the stakes? My deck against yours?"

"Hardly." Peter frowned. "You know the stakes laid out by the tournament: your rarest card and a locator card. You do have the requisites for both, don't you?"

Kyle ejected a sigh and flashed his two locator cards. "Good enough for you?"

"More than good enough."

"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me why you just now decided to deprive someone of every card he brought with him."

Peter's frown turned into an expression of contempt. "He deserved it. Got that?"

"What I've got is someone who just broke Battle City rules and stole a duelist's deck. I'm concerned you'll try to do the same to me, should I happen to lose."

"You've got nothing to fear from me, kid. You're not a Rare Hunter, just another duelist."

Kyle cocked his head. "Have you got something against Rare Hunters?"

Peter shifted his jaw to one side. "Doesn't everyone? At any rate, I challenged you to a duel, and it's against the rules to refuse me."

"You want to talk to me about rules, you'll tell me what your thing against Rare Hunters is, that makes you willing to break them when you think no one's looking." Kyle crossed his arms, or performed the equivalent to that effect, considering the bulky equipment on both of his arms.

The older man narrowed his eyes. "Trying to get me at every turn, huh? Can't even entertain a simple duelist?"

"I'm in the middle of something that's anything but simple, and I don't have time to play games with thieves," Kyle scorned. "So either you tell me, or the conversation ends here."

Peter ground his teeth. "Yeah, I've got a problem with the Rare Hunters. They wrecked my father's life, and in the end, took it away from him. This is revenge against them for ruining my only family and everyone else they've hurt. A bunch of cards is not worth a man's life, but if they're so determined, I guess there's no real choice but to show them that."

"By taking the cards away?"

"It's justice. I've suffered worse."

Kyle frowned. "Somehow I thought the Rare Hunters were fairly recent."

"And so is my loss! It wouldn't hurt so much, and I wouldn't feel nearly the satisfaction I do, if they weren't."

"Hurting other people won't make the pain go away."

Peter huffed. "How terribly cliché."

"Maybe. But it's true."

"Then I'll acknowledge that truth later. For now, I'm looking to duel. Are you going to accept or not?"

Kyle didn't drop his defiant expression. "What makes you think I want to?"

"You're in this tournament. You wouldn't have entered it if you didn't want to duel."

"Right about now, I'm wishing I hadn't entered it." Kyle sighed and shook his head. "Sorry... not interested."

He turned around and walked off.

"Must be nice," Peter called after him, "to at least have the chance to save the one you love."

Kyle stopped mid-step and his eyes narrowed. Oh, don't tell me...

"You don't have to worry about revenge, McCraine. Not as long as you win. That's the one motivation you've got. I mean, look at me. You think I'm so evil and cruel for wanting revenge on the people who hurt me... but here you are, with at least a chance to hang on. I never got that chance. You'd best not deprive yourself of it, otherwise you might end up like me. Bet you wouldn't want that, huh?"

Peter stepped forward, stopping only a few feet from Kyle. "They're inspired by revenge and greed. I could see it the moment they came to me. They'll never let you have it all back. I should know. I wouldn't let my opponent take back everything. You'll lose something, in the end, and you'll never get it back."

Kyle twisted around to face Peter. "What's your excuse?" he asked hotly. "Why did they recruit you?"

"They were willing to give me something. I couldn't resist the chance. It was such a simple trade-off, it was..." Peter shook his head. "It was ridiculous. I had to accept. They held up their end of the bargain, and I'm holding mine up in return. Or, trying to." He stuck his hands in his pockets, and his pale blue eyes scanned Kyle's expression. "But as long as you refuse me, I can't hold my end up."

"A duel?"

Peter nodded. "And I'm afraid the stakes are a bit less simple. If you win, you'll get my rarest card and two locator cards. But you won't get your friend back."

"And if you win?"

"If I win, you can forget about the locators; all I'm playing for is the last rare card you won and that shield on your arm. I don't know why they want it, but I know they're desperate."

"If they weren't, they wouldn't have resorted to kidnapping someone to get their way." Kyle clenched his fists.

"Take it easy. You'll get her back if you lose."

"I won't lose."

"Then duel me and find out."

Kyle ground his teeth. I hate being caught between a rock and a hard place.

We all do.

"Fine," he said. "Bring it on."

Only moments later, they had taken stance, their holoprojectors out and at the ready.

"In my book, the challenger goes second... so, after you," said Peter.

Kyle snorted and drew his first card. He could have rolled his eyes at the first five – those won't really do me any good – but the sixth one gave him a little hope. "All right," he said, slipping that card into one of his m/t slots. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed and give myself a little more to work with."

On the field, a 3D representation of Pot of Greed appeared for a few seconds. Its ugly face grinned insanely at Peter while Kyle drew his next two cards. The college student raised his eyebrow just slightly, discarded Pot of Greed, then made his move. "I'll place one magic/trap face-down and one monster face-down, and end my turn there."

Peter scoffed. "Hope it's something good. I want a good duel." He drew, then offered a grim smile. "I'll also place one magic/trap face-down, and then I play Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in attack mode."

Kyle rolled his eyes. He's insulting me at the expense of his own later injury.

You know better than that, Kyle, or have you forgotten the effect that card possesses?

I haven't, thank you.

"Let's draw out what you've got. Witch of the Black Forest, attack his face-down monster!"

Kyle's finger hovered over the m/t he still had face-down, but ultimately, he chose not to activate it and allowed Witch to destroy his monster.

Witch chanted a spell, and a bolt of black lightning descended upon Kyle's face-down card. The card flipped over, to reveal a diminutive elf bearing a golden staff, cowering from the attack. A moment later, the monster was gone.

"It's a shame to lose my Magician of Faith so quickly," said Kyle, "but I suppose I'll have to grin and bear it." He pulled Pot of Greed from his graveyard slot and put it back in his hand.

"That you will. That ends my turn."

"Hm." Kyle drew and inspected his new card, which he had to chuckle at a moment later. Nice. But not just yet. "I play Pot of Greed again." Again, the Pot of Greed hologram grinned at Peter as Kyle complied with the rules set by the card.

He considered his eight-card hand for a moment. "All right... I place two magic/traps face-down, then play Maha Vailo (1550/1400) in attack mode."

A sorcerer garbed in blue robes appeared on the field, and Kyle tried not to stare at it too much. It reminds me of those magicians.

Perhaps... but at least this magician is at your command.

Kyle nodded in silent affirmation, then looked up at the field. One face-down m/t. I'm betting it's a trap card. But it's kind of doubtful that it's there to protect his Witch. He'd want the effect, and destroying it would give the effect to him. And not attacking would only draw out a stronger monster to take out Maha Vailo.

"Maha Vailo, attack Witch of the Black Forest!"

Peter chuckled. "Falling for traps? I'd've expected better tactics from you, McCraine... but if you're looking to lose, you're doing well. Activate Magic Cylinder!"

Maha Vailo's attack was a beam of energy that lanced straight at Witch, but upon the activation of Peter's trap, a pair of gigantic purple cylinders appeared at her sides and the beam was deflected into the cylinder on the left. The cylinder on the right ejected an identical beam and fired it back at Kyle. The beam struck Kyle in the chest and forced him to stumble back.

"That's quite a hit," Peter commented, watching as Kyle's Life Points descended to 2450. "More than a third of your Life Points. You sure you want to keep going with this duel?"

"Don't say another word about surrendering," Kyle responded curtly. "You wanted a good duel, and I'm going to give you one. I'll end my turn."

Peter shrugged. "Have it your way." He drew his next card. "Hm. I place another magic/trap face-down, and then play Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200) in attack mode."

A pink, gargoyle-like creature appeared on the field and snarled at Kyle's Maha Vailo.

"No point in delaying. Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Maha Vailo."

Kyle pressed in on the m/t he'd not bothered to activate on Magician of Faith's destruction. "Not so fast. Activate Waboku."

As Ryu-Kishin Powered swiped its claws at Maha Vailo, a swarm of diminutive magicians appeared around the spellcaster and conjured a shield of light to protect it. Ryu-Kishin Powered's strike bounced against the shield, and it retreated to its original position.

Peter adopted an annoyed expression. "End turn. You're making it harder for me to beat you."

"That's the idea." Kyle drew. "I place one magic/trap face-down and one monster face-down." He glanced back up at the field. It's not another Magic Cylinder, those are restricted. At the worst, I'll lose Maha Vailo, and with another defender, it's an acceptable risk. "Maha Vailo, let's try this again. Attack Witch of the Black Forest!"

Maha Vailo's energy beam lanced forth again, and this time it was not interrupted. It speared Witch and obliterated her.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to make this more difficult for yourself? You know what happens when Witch goes to the graveyard."

"Of course I know. But I scored LP damage, right?" And it was true; Peter's Life Points were lowering to 3550.

"Not as much LP damage as I'll score on you next turn." Peter rummaged through his deck, made his selection, then let the auto-shuffler on the duel disk do its work.

"That's what you think. End turn."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Its not just what I think, it's what I know." He drew his next card. "I sacrifice Ryu-Kishin Powered to play Lesser Fiend (2100/1000) in attack mode."

A bestial, four-armed creature rose to the field – but then dropped into a holographic crag that opened spontaneously beneath its feet.

Kyle's face sported a grim grin. "Trap Holes do wonders. I was counting on you picking out a monster that needed a tribute."

Peter growled. "Fine... I place one magic/trap and end my turn."

Kyle raised an eyebrow as he drew his next card. Either he's got something, or it's a scare tactic. I'd strongly suspect the latter, else he'd probably have placed it before trying to play Lesser Fiend. "I place one monster face-down and have Maha Vailo attack your Life Points directly."

Maha Vailo cast another energy beam, this one directed straight at Peter. The older duelist could do nothing but grimace and brace himself against the attack, thus making his Life Points fall sharply to 2000. When the beam dissipated, he grunted. "You duel tougher than I thought you would."

"Revenge for Magic Cylinder. Now you know how it feels to be on the receiving end of revenge." Kyle cast a withering look at his opponent. "And I don't feel any better about it, in case you wanted to know."

"Just finish your turn so I can make a comeback," Peter snapped.

"Suit yourself. End turn."

"About time." Peter drew, then activated one of his face-down m/t's. "This won't do me much good, occupying a space on my field, so I'll activate Pharaoh's Treasure." The corresponding hologram flipped face-up to reveal a trap card with a treasure chest in the picture.

Kyle frowned. "Never heard of that one."

"Once it's activated, it goes back into my deck face-up," Peter said. "When I draw it again, it goes directly to my graveyard. Then I get to choose any card in my graveyard – except that one, of course – and put it in my hand."

He ejected the card from his duel disk and stuck it into his deck. The auto-shuffler mixed the cards again. Kyle found himself hoping that the card didn't come up anytime soon; he didn't want to face the prospect of Magic Cylinder returning to the field.

Peter inspected his hand a moment longer, then made his decision. "I place one magic/trap face-down and then play Man-Eating Treasure Chest (1600/1000) in attack mode."

The monster could have no other description but the one made obvious by its name. It was a shell-shaped treasure chest lined with rows of metallic fangs, its bile an assortment of precious jewels and gold coins.

"Man-Eating Treasure Chest, attack Maha Vailo!"

There was no saving Kyle's monster this time; Kyle could only watch as the living jewelry container hovered forth and caught Maha Vailo between its jaws, thus making his Life Points 2400.

Peter's face cracked into a triumphant grin. "Ha. End turn."

"I wouldn't get so jubilant if I were you," Kyle said, as he drew. "Your Life Points are lower than mine, even after that attack."

"A situation that'll be remedied soon enough. Your move."

"Yes, it is. And for it, I place one magic/trap and one monster face-down, then end my turn."

"Good." Peter drew, glanced at the field, raised his eyebrow at the face-down m/t's on Kyle's side, then sighed. "No doubt you've got other Trap Holes at your disposal. On the other hand, I can't stand here being afraid of what you might play... otherwise you'll give me hell. So... I sacrifice Man-Eating Treasure Chest to play Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450/1600) in attack mode."

Man-Eating Treasure Chest "sank" back into the 3D card it had emerged from, and the card morphed into a blown-up form of the one Peter had announced. From that card rose a fiendish creature wearing intricately woven robes – the resolution on that image must be pretty massive, Kyle thought – and bearing what appeared to be a glass of wine or champagne in its left hand.

"You may like his effect, too," Peter smirked. "As long as he's face-up on the field, the effects of all your Effect monsters are negated when destroyed by Fiend-Type monsters. And don't you worry, I've got plenty of those."

He's been playing Fiends left and right, of course he's got plenty of them.

"Dark Ruler Ha Des, attack the monster on the right!"

Kyle couldn't help but be at least slightly amused by Dark Ruler Ha Des's attack; the Duel Monster raised its wine glass, as if in a toast, and then violently tossed its contents on the card Peter had targeted.

It became quickly apparent to Kyle that the holographic liquid wasn't wine, as it burned through the card and put gaping holes through it before it dissipated on its own. At the last instant, the monster was revealed to be Kotodama (0/1600), and the greenish fairy emitted a truncated shriek as it vanished.

Peter looked on in grim satisfaction. "And it'll only get better. For the moment, that ends my turn."

Kyle pursed his lips and blew his breath out his nose as he drew. He raised an eyebrow at the card. Hmm. You've done me well before. I'll give you the chance to do it again in a few moments. "I place one monster face-down and end my turn."

Peter drew and chuckled. "Your defenses won't last you forever."

"Maybe not, but they'll last me a while, at least. Until the time comes to attack. Won't that be pleasant."

"I'm sure. I place one magic/trap face-down. Dark Ruler Ha Des, attack the center monster!"

Dark Ruler Ha Des again tossed the contents of his wine glass – which had spontaneously returned – on Kyle's monster, which revealed itself to be...

"The Unhappy Maiden (0/100)," Kyle said. He gave a small smile. "Maybe her effect is negated, but on the other hand, your Battle Phase is pretty much overwith, anyway."

"True. Your move."

Kyle drew. Hmm. You'll come in handy, too. For the moment, though... "I flip Magician of Faith (300/400) into attack mode to make use of her effect."

"Pot of Greed again?" Peter snorted. "Might want to start showing a little more creativity in your strategy, McCraine. Someone might think you don't have the cards you want and decided to get sloppy enough to leave your Magician defenseless."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I've got three magic/traps lined up and ready for action," Kyle retorted. "For now, you can talk to the Pot, 'cause the player don't wanna hear it."

With that, he played Pot of Greed a third time and drew his next two cards. Goody. I'll need both of these. For the moment, though, let's see how well I manage with this play... "I place one magic/trap face-down and one monster face-down, then end my turn."

Peter laughed. "That's it? That's all you've got?"

"I don't see you playing any better."

"Oh, trust me, it gets better." Peter drew, and cocked his head at the card. "Think I'll hang on to this one for the time being."

"Aw, c'mon, don't keep it a secret," Kyle mocked. "I'd love to know!"

"Oh, no, you wouldn't. So forget about it."

Kyle shook his head. "Nah, I don't feel like forgetting about it. So I activate the trap card The Eye Of Truth."

One of Kyle's m/t cards flipped face-up and revealed a hieroglyphic eye that looked strangely akin to the Eye of Horus. The iris glowed red and stared intently at Peter.

Peter only laughed. "Okay, then, if you're so determined to see my hand..." He held up the two cards in his possession for Kyle to see, and announced for clarification, "What I've got is Lesser Fiend and Soul Release."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. Soul Release wouldn't do a whole lot of good against me right now, not with what I've got in my graveyard. And at this point, there's no way I can pull them back to the field or my hand. Wonder what he's got planned.

I think the more pertinent concern is how to prevent his Life Points from increasing because of your trap card. As long as he keeps Soul Release in his hand, you are only helping him build up his chances against you.

I know. Hopefully he'll either play it or a Mystical Space Typhoon will end up in my hand soon.

"For the moment, I think I'll hang on to both of them," Peter said. "Dark Ruler Ha Des, attack Magician of Faith!"

Kyle activated another face-down m/t. "You're too eager. Activate Waboku."

Another shield of light appeared, this time protecting Magician of Faith from the acidic contents of Dark Ruler's wine glass.

Peter rolled his eyes. "My friend, you have no imagination. Just the same cards, over and over again."

"Well, it works, doesn't it?"

The elder duelist snorted. "End turn."

Kyle drew his next card, and his move was swift. "First I flip Penguin Soldier (750/500), to activate its effect and return both it and Dark Ruler Ha Des to our respective hands."

Peter groaned as he removed Dark Ruler from the field. Kyle nodded in grim satisfaction. "It may not make the problem go away permanently, but it'll be less of a pain in my side. Next I play my own Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in attack mode..."

A Witch identical to the one Peter had played materialized next to the holographic Magician of Faith.

"...and switch Magician of Faith to defense mode. No sense in leaving myself open."

Magician knelt down and laid her staff across her lap.

"Witch of the Black Forest, attack his Life Points!"

The same black lightning that had wreathed around Kyle's first Magician of Faith now bolted down and wrapped about Peter. The fiend-slinging duelist growled under the attack, and looked no more pleased when it was finished – nor could he be, after his Life Points had fallen to 900.

"That'll end my turn," Kyle announced.

"Good." Peter drew, and his Life Points increased by 1000, as per The Eye Of Truth's effect. He stared at the top of his deck for a moment, and Kyle couldn't help but crane his neck in curiosity.

"Hey, McCraine," Peter called out, "you might like to know that Pharaoh's Treasure is next up."

Oh, great...

"And by the way, the card I just drew is Snatch Steal." Peter smirked. "Thought you'd like to know."

Kyle blinked. Snatch Steal... equips to an opposing monster, brings it to his own field, and keeps it as long as it's equipped...

"Come to think of it, I'll use that right now." Peter slipped the card into one of his empty m/t slots. "Activate Snatch Steal on Magician of Faith!"

On the field appeared the image of a muscular soldier that lumbered to Kyle's side of the field. His bulky arms rocketed forth and grabbed hold of Magician of Faith, which briefly struggled under their grasp.

Magician of Faith was dragged to Peter's side of the field. The elder duelist allowed a small smile. "Since Snatch Steal causes you to gain a thousand Life Points every turn I keep it in play, it wouldn't do me much good to hang on to this monster for long. So I sacrifice Magician of Faith to place a monster face-down."

Kyle snorted as he discarded Magician to the graveyard. He's got to have put Dark Ruler back into play. Must be afraid of my m/t's, and he ought to be. But both Lesser Fiend and Dark Ruler have a much lower defense than attack. That's a weakness common to a lot of Fiend-Types. I can use that to my advantage.

"That ends my turn."

Kyle drew, and inwardly winced at the card. Not good enough. And every turn I do nothing, his Life Points get higher. Meanwhile, he's going to draw that Pharaoh's Treasure card next turn, and then things will only get worse.