Okay I don't get it…I've been trying, and trying, and trying my rear off here for the last few weeks…and I just want to know, what the HELL am I doing wrong! I mean I've been updating this fanfic like fucking mad and I still only have that one lousy review from the first damn chapter! heavy sigh Makes me wonder why I even try.

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Chapter 22: Johnny Boy, the Duel Tolls for Thee

Johnny was on the trail of Yugi Moto…he knew battle the winner of the Duelist Kingdom tournament would be tough, but he had told Misha he was up for any challenge. Plus how hard would it be to find him, with a haircut like that he'd stick out like a sore thumb. He called Misha on his cell phone, when he heard Misha's voice he said, "Misha…I've searched about a good quarter of Battle City, and I still can't find the guy."

"Well search Downtown, Midtown and Uptown, search in the parks…if fact I don't care what rules you have to break, turn the city upside-down if you have to. I'm going back to the hotel…oh, and don't let me down Johnny." Misha told him.

Johnny turned his cell phone off, "Trust me Misha…failure can't even touch Me." he thought to himself, he then continued to search for his target.

Back at the hotel Troy said, "Hey Misha…we found Johnny's file, now all we have to do is wait for him to find that opponent of his."

Brandon W. then walked up to Misha and in a whisper asked, "Misha…I was wondering, when are we going to get rid of Johnny?"

Misha answered that question with, "How long did it take the milk in the fridge to expire?"

"Are you talking about the 2% or the Skim milk?" Brandon W. asked. "Does it make a difference!?" Misha whispered rather angrily.

"Well the Skim was only a week away from its expiration date, but we didn't really know what the expiration date on the 2% was….unless we're talking about the 1.5% which we got into the fridge just in the nick-of-time." Brandon drawled on saying, Misha finally having enough said, "Soon…okay, we get rid of him soon…if he loses, we'll give him the boot."

"And if he wins?" Brandon W. asked.

"Who said he'd win? With whom I set him up against victory may not even be an option." Misha replied.

Meanwhile Johnny was still on the hunt, he finally found Yugi while walking down the street. "And now to close in on the target." Johnny thought to himself.

"I can't believe how difficult my last couple of duels have been…but why do I get the feeling that the worst is yet to come?" Yugi thought to himself, "Because now that you have Slifer…you're now a greater threat to Marik than ever, but I sense something as well…a chill in the air I haven't felt since DuelistKingdom." Said the ghostly form of Yami (That's the name of the spirit in the Millennium Puzzle in case you didn't know). "You think there's more than one evil at work against me here?" Yugi asked, Yami shrugged: "It's possible…in fact the chill in the air is the same one I felt when we faced Misha, chances are he's here in BattleCity too."

"Hey you!" Johnny called out, Yugi turned around and gestured if Johnny was talking to him, "Yeah, you…how about a duel, betting our rarest card and two locator cards." Johnny suggested. "Okay…I don't see why not." Yugi responded.

They shuffled their decks, activated their duel disks and were on their way, "IT'S TIME TO DUEL!" they both shouted.

Johnny looked at his first five cards, drew one, "Not a bad opening hand…this just might be the quickest duel I've ever been in, Misha's going to reward me when I bring him this guys' rarest card…and most of all, I'll finally get the respect I deserve!" he thought to himself, "I place these two cards face down, and play this monster face down defense mode, your move pal."

Yugi drew a card and said, "I place one card face down on the field, and Summon Celtic Guardian [1400/1200] in attack mode."

Johnny did a sort of sarcastic applause and said, "Bravo…but it still won't measure up to the DEF points of my face down monster, but I'm just warning you of course." Johnny drew another card and said, "Geez…by the end of this duel, I'll be in the finals and you'll be farther from it than before, I play another monster face down defense mode and end my turn, your move."

"What is this kids' strategy…so far all he's done is play monsters face down, he must want me to attack." Yugi thought to himself. He drew a card and said, "I play another card face down, and sacrifice my Celtic Guardian to bring out Summoned Skull [2500/1200] and I'll have him attack the face down card on your right."

Johnny watched as Summoned Skull sent a tremendous burst of lightening at the face down card, suddenly a rather goofy looking alligator bearing an axe appeared and blew apart from the blast. "My Toon Alligator……well that was expected, but since it was in defense mode my Life Points go untouched, and seeing as it is my turn again…I draw one card, and I think I'll flip my face down monster face up, say hello to the Bite Shoes [500/300]…and due to there effect your Summoned Skull goes into Defense Mode, oh but that's not all…I sacrifice Bite Shoes, so that I can summon Kiryu [2000/1500] in attack mode and attack your Summoned Skull." The dragon blew from its mouth a whirlwind of twigs and dust, and turned Summoned Skull into a pin cushion just before it broke apart, "Guess Summoned Skull was a Summoned Dud, huh." Johnny quipped, "Oh and it gets better…reveal face down card, Card Destruction…this means our present hands go to the Graveyard, but we get to draw a whole new hand." Johnny drew his new hand, Yugi did the same.

"Yugi…something's telling me that this is no ordinary duelist, he's obviously honed his skills to make it this far." Yami warned.

"Yeah…but who could've taught him this well?" Yugi asked himself.

"I bet you're trying to figure out who taught me to duel like this, well truth is a taught myself…but I'm not alone here, there are four other duelists just like me…some are just as challenging as I am, a couple are actually tougher…together we make Misha's Elite Five!" Johnny explained.

Right there Yugi understood, Misha was in Battle City…the question was where. Yugi then figured that this duel would be too big for him to handle himself, just then the Millennium Puzzle let out a great flash of light and Yami took Yugi's place. "So you are a friend of Misha's? Well then I shall duel you to my best ability!" Yami said to Johnny, Johnny smirked and said: "Best my not be good enough, as you can see I have a monster on the field…oh but my turns not over, at least not yet…Reveal face down card, Dragon Treasure…this equip card increases Kiryu's power from a weak [2000/1500] to a much stronger [2300/1800]…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I don't know what Misha has you believing…but maybe I can still help you see. I play another card face down, and summon a monster face down defense mode…your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "You know you can't keep playing the defense position forever…and it's only going to be a matter of time before I draw my most powerful monster…but until then, I play Cobraman Sakuzy [800/1400] in defense mode, your move loser."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I play this card face down and sacrifice my face down monster to summon Curse of Dragon [2000/1500] in attack mode, and I'll have him attack your Cobraman Sakuzy."

Johnny said, "Okay…and since it's my turn yet again I draw a card, and in fact I'll play this one face down on the field and end my turn…seeing as you don't have anything on the field that can beat my Kiryu yet."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and looked on the field, "He hasn't played any of his face down cards yet…but I have a feeling he's just waiting for me to attack so he can use them." He thought to himself, "I summon one monster face down defense mode and end my turn."

Johnny laughed and said, "Have you learned nothing…you won't defeat me that way, I summon Mad Sword Beast [1400/1200] in attack mode…and I'll have him attack your defense monster."

Yugi/Yami then flipped the card face up; it was Mystical Elf [600/2000]. Johnny watched as his monsters' attack bounced off Mystical Elf and as his Life Points went from 4000 to 3400. "I was too careless…but now that I know what that is, I'll send my Kiryu to finish it off." Johnny said, Kiryu attacked Mystical Elf the same way it had attacked Summoned Skull. Johnny laughed and said, "Man this is too easy…I mean don't get me wrong, but right now it doesn't seem like you're even trying…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I summon Feral Imp [1300/1400] in attack mode…and I equip it with the Horn of the Unicorn to raise its ATK strength to 2000, and have it attack your Mad Sword Beast."

Johnny watched his Life Points went from 3400 to 2800, He drew a card and growled, "I did not want to do this to you paly…but you left me with no choice, reveal face down card Cost Down, now this card allows me to decrease the level of any monster in my hand by two…which makes this level 7 in my hand a level 5, meaning instead of me having to sacrifice two creatures I'll only have to sacrifice one, and I'll sacrifice Kiryu…who has already done a bang up job, to bring out Mystical Knight of Jackal [2700/1200] in attack mode. Now my knight…attack Feral Imp!"

The knight ran forward and ran Feral Imp through with the blades it had clasped in its hands; Yugi's Life Points fell from 4000 to 3300. Both Yugi and Yami looked at the creature that stood before them, "Okay…now how am I supposed to beat that?!" Yugi asked Yami. "We'll just have to try our best." Yami answered.

Johnny laughed and said, "Your move…little it'll do you though, because next turn your freak of a dragon is next on my hit list."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "I summon Silver Fang [1200/800] in defense mode…but my turn doesn't stop there, reveal face down card Swords of Revealing Light. Now your Mystical Knight cannot attack for another 3 turns, your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "Well since I can't attack I'll place one card face down and end my turn, so it's your move again."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I sacrifice my Curse of Dragon and Silver Fang so that I can summon Dark Magician [2500/2100] in attack mode, your move Johnny."

Johnny then started to laugh and said, "You know you should've attacked me when you had the chance Yugi Moto……that's right I know your name now, it didn't hit me at first, but when you summoned Dark Magician it came all together for me, but the reason you should've attacked me is because of this. Reveal face down card De-Spell, which undoes the effect of your pathetic Swords and leaves my Mystical Knight ready to attack again. But I'll wait this turn so it's your move again."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "It's time to end this, reveal face down card…Book of Secret Arts, this boosts my Dark Magician's ATK strength to 2800, more than enough to destroy your Mystical Knight of Jackal."

Johnny then said, "Not so fast Yugi, reveal face down card Magic Drain."

"Oh no!" Yugi/Yami blurted out.

Johnny laughed, "Oh YES…due to the effect of this Trap Card you must either discard a Magic Card from your hand or Book of Secret Arts is destroyed, oh but let me guess you don't have a magic card in your hand. Ah well, bye-bye Secret Arts…it was nice knowing you." Just then a vampire-like creature popped up behind Book of Secret Arts and dragged it down into a chasm with him. "Now your Dark Magician is back down to 2500 attack points…which isn't enough to destroy Mystical Knight now, face it you're up the creek without a paddle."

Johnny then drew a card and said, "This was too easy, I'll play one card face down on the field…then I'll have Mystical Knight of Jackal waste your Dark Magician." Johnny's monster ran forward again to attack.

"Not so fast Johnny!" Shouted Yugi/Yami, "Reveal face down card…Mirror Force, now your Mystical Knight's attack is rebounded right back at it." Johnny watched as his monster's blades hit an invisible barrier and rebounded back at it, destroying it almost instantly. Johnny snapped his fingers and said, "Oh I wouldn't have done that so suddenly, I play this Magic card…Monster Reborn, and bring back my Mystical Knight of Jackal." Johnny smiled and thought to himself, "And in case he destroys my Mystical Knight of Jackal again I have three Magician of Faith cards in my deck that'll insure that I can bring it back." He then looked at Yugi's face and said, "Your move ol' chum."

"I know the odds are stacked against me, but I have to win…but against a duelist like Johnny how can I win?" Yugi thought to himself.

"Johnny can be defeated…and that monster is the only way to do It." answered a mysterious voice inside Yugi's head.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked the voice.

"Introductions will have to wait for another time Yugi…or should I say Yami." The voice responded.

"How do you know the name of the Spirit of the Puzzle?" Yugi asked.

"That along with who I am will have to wait for another time…right now what you need to know is that if you are to beat Johnny, destroying that monster he has right now is the only way to do it." The voice answered.

"Okay, so tell me how to." Yugi said to the voice.

"What you need to know about Johnny's deck is that it is completely designed around that monster he has on the field…in fact he designed it so he could bring out that monster and keep it on the field as long as he could, he has not only Monster Reborn…but three Magician of Faith cards to bring Monster Reborn back, just keep him from using Magician of Faith and you'll be in the clear." The voice explained, and with that it was gone.

"So are you going to make a move or pass this turn?" Johnny asked, tapping his foot.

Yugi/Yami smiled a bit and said, "I realize your strategy now Johnny…your deck is designed to keep Mystical Knight of Jackal on the field as long as possible, you rely on that monster more than any other in your deck."

Johnny back off a bit in shock, then regained his game face and said, "Yeah, so what…don't tell me you haven't done that before, put one monster of yours before the others, and even if you can find a way to defeat me…it's a little too late for that."

Yugi/Yami drew a card and said, "Okay then I'll place this face down on the field and summon a monster in defense mode…oh but I'll play the card I just put on the field, behold the magic card Ancient Telescope…now reveal the next five cards on the top of your deck to me."

Johnny took them out without looking at them and showed them to Yugi/Yami, good thing to…because Johnny's next draw would be Magician of Faith, Johnny put them back on top of his deck and said, "Not like it'll help you anyway…because I have a good feeling about my next draw." Yugi/Yami gave an honest smile and said, "I wouldn't doubt it."

Johnny drew a card and started laughing, "You're in for it now!"

Yugi/Yami shook his head and said, "No…I believe it is you who's in trouble, reveal face down card…Exchange, we must now exchange one card from each other's hands…I believe I'll be taking that card you just drew." Johnny growled a bit, and then took Fissure from Yugi's hand.

Very well…I'll still have Mystical Knight attack your Dark Magician, but that's not all…I think I'll use Mystical Knight of Jackal's special ability and send Dark Magician not to the Graveyard, but to the top of your deck…so now not only do you lose 200 Life Points, but now you have to sacrifice two monsters again to bring Dark Magician back out to play.

Yugi's LP-3100

Johnny's LP-2800

"Things aren't looking so up for you are they Yugi? Well you won't have to worry for long." Johnny said with mock sweetness, Yugi drew a card and said, "I play two cards face down on the field and put this monster face down defense mode, and activate one of my face down cards…now behold Monster Reborn, which I will use to bring back Curse of Dragon, but that's not all I'll flip my defense monster face up…it's your Magician of Faith [300/400], I now return Monster Reborn to my hand, and to finish it off I activate my other face down card…behold the Trap card Horn of Heaven, and I'll sacrifice Magician of Faith to destroy your Mystical Knight of Jackal."

Johnny watched as his Jackal was destroyed, when the smoke cleared Yugi/Yami could see Johnny's face…he looked FURIOUS! "You…you…you just did it, you crossed the line…I didn't want to go to the extremes, but you forced me to it…now you're going to get the full fury of my deck!" Johnny drew a card and said, "I play two cards face down, and Summon Masked Sorcerer [900/1400] in attack mode…oh, but that's not all…I also play the Magic card Yami, this card gives my Masked Sorcerer a ATK and DEF of 200 points, so now he's [1100/1600]. But it doesn't stop there…I also activate my other face down card Shield and Sword, which now makes my Sorcerer stronger than your Dragon. Now my Masked Sorcerer attack Curse of Dragon!"

The Sorcerer held a gold pendant in front of his face and started chanting to it, about a few seconds later a black fireball flew from the pendant and hit Curse of Dragon. "And due to Masked Sorcerer's effect I draw another card, and I also play the Magic card Stop Attack to put my Masked Sorcerer into Defense mode…your move."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I may not have much left to play with…but you won't win, that's all I can say, I summon Ancient Elf [1450/1200] in attack mode to the field, and since Yami is still in play…it increases him to [1650/1400], enough to destroy your Masked Sorcerer." The Ancient Elf then shot a beam of white light at Masked Sorcerer; the beam went straight through him. Johnny saw the mask crack just before he was destroyed, "Your move Johnny."

Johnny drew a card and said, "I'll play this monster face down defense mode and end my turn."

Yugi/Yami drew another card, "I will place this card face down…and have Ancient Elf attack your face down monster."

Johnny then shook his head and said, "You fell for it…you attacked Big Eye [1200/1000] and due to his effect I get to see the next 5 cards of my deck and arrange them any way I like." He drew up the five cards…smiling rather devilishly at the last two, he turned around and when he was done put them back on top and said, "Okay…your move I guess."

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "Okay…I guess I'll play Mega Thunderball [750/600] in defense mode, and that'll end my turn."

Johnny drew another card and said, "Then I'll play this monster card face down in defense mode, and place one more card face down and end my turn."

Yugi/Yami drew a card again and said, "Now I'll sacrifice Ancient Elf and Mega Thunderball, so that I may summon Dark Magician to the field once more…and I'll have him attack your face down defense monster."

Johnny flipped it face up and said, "Sorry…but you just attacked my 2nd Magician of Faith…meaning I can now bring back one magic card from the Graveyard, in fact I think I'll play it now, Monster Reborn…and I use it to bring back Mystical Knight of Jackal [2700/1200]!"

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "I play two cards face down on the field, and play Magical Hats…now try and attack my Dark Magician."

Johnny looked at the five hats that stood before him, he knew two of them were empty, two of them were probably traps, and one contained the Dark Magician. "Okay…Mystical Knight, attack the middle hat!" Johnny ordered.

After the hat was destroyed Johnny's monster became bound within a circle of light, "What the—what the heck is that?" Johnny said rather ticked off.

"Looks like you fell into my Trap card Spellbinding Circle; now your monster cannot move, but that's not all…it is also 600 ATK points weaker."

Suddenly the Dark Magician appeared from the hat at the far right, "Now my Dark Magician…attack his Mystical Knight of Jackal!"

Johnny looked at the 2400 Life Points he had left and drew a card from his deck, "Okay…this tears it, I play the Magic card Swords of Revealing Light, now your stupid Magician or any other monster you play cannot attack!"

"Very well, then I play Spear Cretin and use its effect to bring back my Curse of Dragon and end my turn." Yugi/Yami said, he then drew a card.

"Well since you can't attack I'll draw a card and pass this turn…your move." said Johnny.

Yugi/Yami drew another card and said, "For my next move I'll play Kuriboh [300/200] in defense mode and end my turn."

Johnny drew another card and said, "Well then I'll just lay this monster face down defense mode and end my turn…next turn you'll be free, but I'll end your pathetic strategy before that."

Yugi/Yami drew one more card and said, "Well then I'll pass this turn too…your move Johnny."

Johnny drew one more card and said, "Heh, heh, hee…I should've known you had nothing left, now I play Marauding Captain [1200/400] in attack mode, but I also reveal my face down monster…it's my third Magician of Faith, and now I can Monster Reborn my Mystical Knight of Jackal to the field again, didn't make much of these three turns did you?"

Yugi/Yami drew one final card and said, "Actually Johnny…I made more than enough of this turn, I now sacrifice my three creatures to bring out SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"

Suddenly the sky became dark, Johnny watched as a huge red, worm-like dragon appeared above him and Yugi…Johnny's throat emitted a sort of gurgling noise; he was too terrified to move.

"Slifer's ATK and DEF depend on how many cards I have in my hand, and since I have five cards in my hand…he has 5000 ATK points, and now, Slifer attack his Mystical Knight of Jackal!"

Johnny could only watch as Slifer released a blast of lightening from his mouth and destroyed his monster along with all his Life Points. Johnny then collapsed to all fours, "Johnny…this duel is over, and you've lost." Yugi/Yami said to him.

"No…no…no, n-n-n-no…it wasn't supposed to end like this…Misha's going to hit the roof." Johnny said in a whiny sort of tone.

Yugi stood over Johnny and asked, "What do you mean? Misha's a forgiving person the last time I checked?"

Johnny looked at Yugi and yelled, "It's not him I'm afraid of…it's that fellow he came here with, oh what's his name……Marik, yeah that's right…it was Marik."

Yugi then gave a rather shocked look at the information he just received, Johnny continued: "But you don't understand…if I come to Misha with only two Locater Cards he and the others will give me the boot."

"Johnny Lachapelle." Said a gruff voice from behind them, they both looked and saw a man in a black trench coat. Johnny crawled over to him and said, "Yes."

"You have failed Misha, Johnny…this is your third defeat, and you know what was coming if you should fail." The man told him.

"No…please no, don't do it…I can't do better!" Johnny begged, but the man took Johnny's arm and took off a bracelet that had been on it…the man broke it in pieces and said, "From this day onward you are exiled from the Elite Five—oops, I mean the Elite Four."

The man suddenly went into a trance and then walked away.

Johnny looked at the pieces of the bracelet; Yugi walked over to him and said, "I'm deeply sorry…if I had known what was at stake for you—." But Johnny cut him off and said, "I didn't know what was going to happen either…but thanks, here's my locater cards and Mystical Knight of Jackal…they're yours now."

Meanwhile the man in the black trench coat peeked at them, it was Misha…he still couldn't understand why he had had that vision of Kaiba Corp. goons busting into the hotel room. But the visions were obviously some sort of warning…but of what nature.