It was the last day of school and students everywhere were anxiously counting down the hours and minutes until the final bell sounded. But as soon as it did, there was a mass exodus from all educational institutions. And Domino High was no exception.
One boy however, lingered inside the school building. Not because he was going to miss school, but simply because he was waiting for someone, or rather some people.
"Hey Yug," a voice called. Yugi Moto turned and waved to his friend Joey Wheeler.
"Hi, Joey," Yugi greeted.
"Oh man, can you believe it? Summer vacation at last! WAHOO!" Joey jumped into the air.
"Take it easy, Joey, you might bump your head if you jump up any higher."
"He wouldn't even feel it," said a new voice. Tristan Taylor walked up to them. "He's too thick-skulled to receive pain there."
"Oh, you're just a riot, Tristan," Joey said sarcastically. "Did it take you all day to come up with that or did you just think of it right off the bat?"
"You'd think those two would've grown up after all they've been through," a new person said. It was Ryo Bakura. Although he was dressed in the same school uniform as Yugi, Joey, and Tristan, his Millennium Ring hung around his neck. Some people stared at Bakura oddly and often asked him what he was doing wearing jewelry. Bakura simply shrugged and said it was a good luck charm given to him by his father. Yugi also wore his Millennium Item around his neck but people rarely paid attention to Yugi (when he wasn't dueling that is).
"That's true," Yugi agreed. "But I wouldn't have them any other way." Joey and Tristan continued the argument as Yugi looked around, searching for someone. "Um... guys, where's Tea?"
"She got the last clean-up duty of the year," Tristan said. He gave Yugi a sly smile. "Why so interested, Yugi? You got something important to tell her?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
Yugi's face grew beat red. "Well... er... uh... no, I mean it's not important, what I mean is uh..."
Joey shook his head. "Poor Yug, he may be a dueling dynamo, but when it comes to women, he's all thumbs."
"Cheer up, Yugi; women are a mystery not even the greatest sleuths can figure out."
"Oh really, Tristan, then what makes you such an expert?" Tea's voice came from behind Joey and Tristan. The two froze up. "Hope you boys weren't waiting too long for me."
"Not at all," Yugi said. "Now that we're all here, let's blow this burger stand." As the group left, they were chatting about all the things they wanted to do. Yugi wanted to eat nothing but cheeseburgers. Tea pointed out that he could get sick and Yugi argued that he did it once before and Tea came back that back then, he got sick and had to stay home from school for a week. Joey said that he would overhaul his deck so that it could beat Kaiba's deck but Tristan pointed out that his previous two constructions weren't able to beat Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. Needless to say, Yugi and Joey moped all the way down the street.
"Hey!" A kid called. "Are you Yugi Moto?"
Yugi still wasn't used to his new-found popularity due to his victories in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. So he nervously replied, "Um... yeah. Who are you?"
"My name's Calvin, I'm from America."
"Okay, is there something that you want?"
"Yeah, to challenge you to a duel!" The kid announced brandishing his Kaiba-Corp. Duel Disk.
"Look, kid, you obviously don't know who you're dealing with."
"I want to prove myself that I can take on the number one duelist in the land!"
"All right," Yugi said cheerfully. "I accept your challenge. But I should warn you, I won't go easy on you."
"Don't whoop him too bad, Yug," Joey advised. "We don't want the kid to lose his love of the game."
"Sure," Yugi replied. His Millennium Puzzle began to glow as Yugi fused with the spirit that inhabited the Millennium Puzzle. "Okay, I hope you're ready to duel," Yami-Yugi said. He reached into his backpack and took out his own Duel Disk. He snapped his deck into the slot as the tray came together.
"Let's duel!" They both cried. Their life point counters were set at 4000 and the duel started.
(Y: 4000)
(C: 4000)
"I'll make the first move," Calvin volunteered. "I summon Takriminos in attack mode!" A green lizard-like creature arose from the holographic card that appeared between them.
Name: Takriminos
Level: 4
Type: Sea-Serpent
Attribute: Water
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1200
"Your move, Yugi," the kid said.
Yami-Yugi nodded and drew a sixth card. "I summon Feral Imp in attack mode and I equip it with the Horn of the Unicorn!"
Name: Feral Imp
Level: 4
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1300
DEF: 1400
Analysis: Weak unless played with other cards.
Recommended strategy: Allow combo to take place before countering with Really Eternal Rest or related spell card.
(FI: 1300---2000, 1400---2100)
"Magic Lightning Attack!" Yami-Yugi cried. Lightning danced across the horn of the transformed imp. Takriminos tried its best to avoid it but it was destroyed.
(Y: 4000)
(C: 3500)
"Not bad, Yugi," the kid said. "A good opening move, but don't think I'll allow you to do that again. I summon Great Angus!" A pink-colored burly monster with large claws appeared.
Name: Great Angus
Level: 4
Type: Beast
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 1800
DEF: 600
"And I equip it with Beast Fangs," the kid added sliding a spell card into a slot below the slot where the Great Angus was.
(G.A.: 1800---2100, 600---900)
"I also activate a field magic card called Molten Destruction!"
(G.A.: 2100---2600, 900---500)
The area around them transformed into a volcano area.
"Angus, charbroil that imp!"
"Imp, fly away!" Yami-Yugi commanded. The Feral Imp flew into the air but Great Angus let out a huge burst of fire which sent it crashing to the ground.
(Y: 3400)
(C: 3500)
"That was some combo," Yami-Yugi said. "For now, I play Mystical Elf in defense mode."
Name: Mystical Elf
Level: 4
Type: Spellcaster
Attribute: Light
ATK: 800
DEF: 2000
Analysis: No potential threat
Recommended strategy: Use Stop Defense card
"I also lay one card face-down and end my turn."
"You didn't attack me!" Calvin realized. "Big mistake, I summon Don Zaloog in attack mode!" A white-haired man wearing combat fatigues and an eye-patch appeared holding two swords.
Name: Don Zaloog
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1500
"Being the expert duelist you are, I'm sure you know about Don Zaloog's special effect."
"What special effect is that?" Tea asked Joey.
"It can send one card from Yugi's hand directly to the graveyard."
"Yes, but it can also send two cards from Yugi's deck to the graveyard," Bakura added.
"So what effect will he use?" Tristan asked.
"That's up to Calvin but it can only work if he does damage to Yugi's life points."
"Hah! My bud won't let that happen."
"Now to get rid of your Mystical Elf," the kid said. "Angus, attack the Mystical Elf immediately so Don Zaloog can do his dirty work!"
"I'm afraid you won't be using Don Zaloog's effects today. Reveal trap card: Spellbinding Circle!" A circle with archaic symbols enclosed Angus and made him howl in pain. "Now your monster can't attack me which means my Mystical Elf is safe."
"I think I'm beginning to see why you're so good," Calvin muttered. "Fine, I end my turn!"
"Then I'll begin mine. I sacrifice Mystical Elf so I can summon Dark Magician Girl!" A woman wearing blue and pink with a headdress that was smaller than her male counterpart's appeared. Her staff was also smaller. She struck a pose and got ready to hear her master's commands.
Name: Dark Magician Girl
Level: 6
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2000
DEF: 1700
Analysis: Key to summoning Dark Magician
Recommend strategy: Destroy with spell or trap card before her power can be used to summon Dark Magician.
"Dark Magician Girl, attack Don Zaloog now!" The Dark Magician Girl fired a blast of pink energy from her staff. The warrior was destroyed.
(Y: 3400)
(C: 2900)
Joey whooped. "When Yugi starts bringing out his magicians, that's means the kid gloves are off."
"I play Remove Trap to stop your Spellbinding Circle. Next, I summon Soul Tiger in defense mode," the kid said. The Soul Tiger looked like a ghostly version of the animal.
Name: Soul Tiger
Level: 4
Type: Beast
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 0
DEF: 2100
"Angus, attack Dark Magician Girl!"
"I discard Kuriboh from my hand!" Yami-Yugi shouted. He placed a card inside his duel disk's discard slot. "Thanks to Kuriboh, I receive no damage to my life points and my Dark Magician Girl is safe." The Dark Magician Girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief from that. "It's my move," he said and Calvin knew he was in trouble. Yami-Yugi drew a card. "I activate the Sage's Stone."
"Not that!" Calvin cried.
"Yes, that," Yami-Yugi confirmed, "Now I can special summon Dark Magician from my hand!" His trademark monster appeared standing back-to-back with his female equivalent. The two looked like they were ready for trouble... to cause it.
Name: Dark Magician
Level: 7
Type: Spellcaster
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2500
DEF: 2100
Analysis: Strongest normal monster in deck, prevent it from being summoned at any cost.
Recommended strategy: limit monster card zone so two monsters can not be brought onto the field. Use Gravity Bind.
"I equip Dark Magician Girl with the Book of Secret Arts which raises her attack power by 300 points!" A book appeared in front of Dark Magician and as she read it, her body was covered in a magic energy.
(DMG: 2000---2300)
"And for my last spell card, De-Spell which I'll use to remove Molten Destruction."
(GA: 2600---2100)
"Dark Magician Girl, destroy the Soul Tiger!" The Dark Magician Girl lunged at the Soul Tiger and passed right through it. Dark Magician Girl looked around and finally spotted it in mid-leap. She aimed her staff at it and fired a pink burst of energy which destroyed it. "Dark Magician, your target is Great Angus! Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician waved his staff and Great Angus' colors became inverted like a picture negative before its body burst apart.
(Y: 3400)
(C: 2500)
"I'm not done yet," Calvin said. "I've got super-power cards that not even your Dark Magician can stand up to."
"So you want to go out in a blaze of glory," Yami-Yugi guessed. "Fine by me."
Calvin drew a card. "I play Card of Sanctity. Draw your six cards!" Yugi's hand was depleted from summoning Dark Magician and powering up Dark Magician Girl so he welcomed the card.
"Big mistake," Tea commented. "Calvin just gave Yugi an advantage."
"I'm sure there's a reason he did that," Tristan assured.
"I activate Polymerization," Calvin announced. "Fusing Warrior Dai Grepher with Spirit Ryu to form Ryu Senshi!" Two orbs of light representing the fusion material monsters came together to form a purple-armored warrior.
Name: Ryu Senshi
Level: 6
Type: Warrior/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2000
DEF: 1200
"And I equip it with Fusion Sword raising its attack points by 800!"
(RS: 2000---2800)
"Ryu Senshi, destroy Dark Magician Girl!" Both Yami-Yugi and the Dark Magician watched in horror as the warrior clashed his sword with Dark Magician Girl's staff. For a while, it looked the Dark Magician Girl could hold her own but alas, Ryu Senshi ran her through his blade. The Dark Magician Girl's eyes glazed over as she fell and disappeared like an RPG enemy.
(Y: 2900)
(C: 2500)
Yami-Yugi hated to see one of his monsters lose, especially one of his favorites like Dark Magician Girl. The Dark Magician looked horrified as well. But he was just a hologram, wasn't he?
"I see," he said. "You are a great duelist, I can see you will go far," Yami-Yugi complimented.
"Thank you, Yugi. Coming from you, that's a real compliment."
"But now play time is over. I'll also activate Polymerization and I'll fuse Dark Magician with the Buster Blader card in my hand!"
"What's the point in fusing two powerful monsters?" Calvin asked.
"I'll show you," Yami-Yugi said as the Dark Magician and Buster Blader turned into orbs of light and mingled together. "While they are strong alone, together, they are unbeatable, for they combine to form... Dark Paladin, the Ultimate Magical Swordsman!"
Name: Dark Paladin, the Ultimate Magical Swordsman
Level: 8
Type: Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2900
DEF: 2400
Analysis: Dangerous if opponent's deck contained Dragon cards.
Recommended strategy: neutralize Polymerization then take on cards individually.
"True, it's stronger than my Ryu Senshi," Calvin admitted. "But I'll only lose 100 life points."
"Not if I activate its special effect which allows Dark Paladin to gain 500 extra attack points for every Dragon monster played and that includes the Spirit Ryu that you used as part of your fusion."
(DPUMS: 2900---3400)
"Dark Paladin, attack with mystic blade! Destroy Ryu Senshi!" The two fusion monsters clashed blades and Dark Paladin won by literally slicing off Ryu Senshi's head.
(Y: 2900)
(C: 1900)
"But I'm not done yet. I activate De-Fusion which turns my fusion monster back into its two original monsters." Dark Magician and Buster Blader appeared on the field. "Now I'll have my Dark Magician finish you off. Consider this payment for Dark Magician Girl. Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician powered up his staff and swung it at Calvin. There was a huge flash of light that made everyone cover their eyes.
(Y: 2900)
(C: 0)
The duel disks deactivated. Calvin held his head low. "I should've known better than to challenge Yugi Moto. What was I thinking?"
"Don't beat yourself up," Yugi said returning to normal. "You had some great combos. That Ryu Senshi is really strong. If you equipped it with Megamorph or Axe of Despair, you might've succeeded."
"Thanks, Yugi. You don't know how much that means to me. I liked that strategy you used to bring out your Dark Magician, with Dark Magician Girl and Sage's Stone and all that."
Yugi blushed. "It's nothing spectacular, really. Most of the time, I use it when I'm in a hurry and want to bring out my best monster."
"Well it's still pretty good. In fact, I was wondering... would you like to trade with me. I would trade you your Dark Magician Girl for my Ryu Senshi. I'll even throw in the monsters use to fuse it."
"It does sound tempting but..." Yugi stared at the Dark Magician Girl which was at the bottom of his deck. "I don't think the Dark Magician would like it at all if I traded her away." Calvin looked at him strangely. Yugi looked up at him. "I know it might sound strange, but I consider each of my cards like my best friends. And I know I wouldn't like it if my best friends left me."
Calvin shrugged. "Well, I still don't understand, but I'll respect your wishes, Yugi. Just promise me one thing..." he gave Yugi a thumb up. "You'd let me have a rematch with you?"
Yugi returned the gesture. "You bet."
"That's Yugi for ya'," Joey said. "Not a bad bone in his body."
Tea nodded. She couldn't believe how far Yugi had come in such a short time. He went from a kid who was the constant target of bullying and ridicule to a strong capable duelist. Yet he still retained the kindness and sincerity that she knew he always had. I'm proud of you, Yugi, I'm proud that I'm your friend, she thought. She knew that Yugi had a little crush on her and in all honesty, she thought he was a little cute, but she just didn't think of him in the same way he thought of her. Still... why was a piece of her heart sad at that fact? Did... did she want...
"Tea?" Tea hadn't realized that Yugi was calling her and was staring at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"
Tea's face grew a little crimson but she smiled. "I was just thinking about how far you've come since Duelist Kingdom."
Yugi blushed at that comment.
"She's right, Yugi," Yugi heard Yami speak to him in his mind. "You've definitely gotten stronger. "
"Oh, I don't know about that," Yugi told the two of them (though Tea didn't know that Yami was agreeing with her). "I think the only reason I've got so far was because of Yami and the Millennium Puzzle."
"Yami is just as much a part of you as your arm is. No matter who is in control, it's still you."
"Hey, from my perspective, Yugi looks like Yugi," Tristan said.
"True, but things are not always what they seem," Bakura pointed out holding his Millennium Ring.
"I think Tea's right," Joey said. "You are definitely stronger than you used to be."
"Thanks, guys; you don't know how good it feels to hear you say that."
"All right, I say we all go over to the Game Shop to celebrate Yugi's victory."
"You're just eager to take a look at the new cards," Tristan accused.
"Hey, do I look like a duel-crazy blowhard?"
"Is that a trick question?"
Yugi, Bakura, and Tea all laughed at Joey and Tristan's argument. As they left, they were unaware that someone had been watching them ever since Yugi first started dueling Calvin. He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.
"I see you, Yugi Moto, do you see me?"