Chapter 4: Duel Process

Two Days Earlier

Ground Level Arcade, Luxor Hotel

Las Vegas, Nevada

–

The two duelists stared at each other across the expansive holo-platform, ready to throw down. Joey was once again mounted on the red pedestal – Henstridge claimed there was a rather notable success rate for those who stood on the blue side, thus he had called dibs for that position. Joey couldn't have cared less where they stood, just as long as they didn't waste their time making trivial decisions.

The others gathered around the lip of the platform, eager to see the duel about to take place. A few curious onlookers also approached, always intrigued by the duels that took place here – and a few were left over from the last game. They were hungry for a finished product this time around.

Yugi was sure Joey would give them one.

"All right," said Joey. "Since I volunteered to duel, I think it's only fair if I go first."

Henstridge spread his arms. "Feel free."

Joey drew six cards as their Life Point counters each scrolled up to 4000. "First, I'll summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in defense mode." As he spoke, a minuscule warrior wrapped in brown leather armor and bearing an absurdly short sword appeared on the field to defend Joey's Life Points. "Then I place one card face-down. An' dat's all for now."

"Is it?" Henstridge drew his first card. "We'll see. I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000) in attack mode." The monster he brought out was a Spellcaster-Type creature wrapped in black robes and bearing a glinting silver-tipped spear. "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, destroy his Swordsman of Landstar."

It didn't take but a single jab to shatter Joey's monster – but as the tiny swordsman vanished, Joey's Life Points dropped to 3700. He blinked. "How did dat happen? My monster was in defense mode!"

"Indeed, it was," Henstridge agreed, "but my Spear Soldier's special ability deals damage to players even if their monsters are defending. So it looks like I've drawn first blood." He looked pleased with himself.

Joey scoffed. "Yeah, well, don't go thinkin' you're all hot stuff just 'cause you got the first hit in. You got a long ways to go."

"Believe me, Mr. Wheeler, no one knows it more than I do. Now I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"What you oughta know is that I just drew out one'a your monsters. And now I'll avenge my Swordsman with Axe Raider (1700/1100) in attack mode! Now, Axe Raider, attack his Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!"

The axe-wielding warrior raised his weapon high over his head as he rushed toward the opposing monster – its blow cleaved Spear Soldier in half before the spellcaster vanished. At the same time, Joey noted that one of Henstridge's face-down cards was flipping up. "What've we got here?"

"What we've got is my Needle Wall trap card," Henstridge replied. "At the beginning of every one of my turns, one of your monster spaces is randomly attacked by twin spike walls... and if there's a monster caught there, that monster is instantly destroyed."

Yugi winced. He recalled a certain madman in the Battle City finals who would have loved to have that card. Then again, for all he knew, Marik did have the card and just never used it – something for which both he and Joey were quite thankful.

But it didn't help now that Joey was facing it down. Still, if the younger duelist was worried, he didn't show it. "If dat's all you got protectin' you, this duel ain't gonna last very long. I play one card face-down an' end my turn."

Henstridge drew his next card – and everyone watching the field jumped back in surprise as a pair of spike-festooned walls instantly appeared around Joey's center monster space and thunderously crashed into each other. The businessman shrugged. "I'm sure there are plenty more turns for it to prove itself more useful, but now you get the idea, Mr. Wheeler. Now I activate my trap card Rite of Spirit, which lets me revive a Gravekeeper monster from my graveyard – so welcome back, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier."

Joey rolled his eyes. "This really ain't gonna last long, is it?"

"You figure it out. Meanwhile, I'm going to activate my Necrovalley field card."

The drab grayish holographic platform suddenly remodeled itself with the assistance of its image projectors. Now the monsters were standing in the middle of a translucent valley amidst two desert-born cliffsides.

Joey frowned. "What's up with this?"

"Necrovalley is a field magic card. While it's in play, all Gravekeeper monsters receive a 500 point boost to their attack and defense points, and neither of us will be able to use an effect that involves our graveyards, such as Monster Reborn and Soul Release."

The statistics of Henstridge's Spear Soldier were hovering over its head – and now they read 2000/1500. The businessman smirked. "Looks like the play was effective. Spear Soldier, attack Axe Raider."

Another jab from the revived soldier, and Axe Raider vanished as had the Swordsman of Landstar before it. Instead of simply taking the 400 Life Points of damage, however, Joey flipped over one of his face-down cards to respond. "I activate Numinous Healer! When I take damage to my Life Points, this trap lets me increase them by 1000 – like so." He gestured to his LP counters, which were already ascending to 4300.

Henstridge harrumphed in response. "I'll end my turn there."

"Good. Now watch out." Joey drew his next card. "I place one monster face-down and end my turn."

"That's your big play?" Henstridge scoffed. "Let's see what I can do to respond." He drew his next card; again, the Needle Wall trap took effect, slamming this time on the monster space directly next to the monster card Joey had just laid down. Henstridge snapped his fingers. "Almost got him. Maybe this'll do it. Spear Soldier, attack his face-down monster."

Joey smirked as the spear, for the first time, proved itself unsuccessful in its attempt to rid the field of its target. "You'll need a little more firepower than that. Meet my Battle Footballer (1000/2100)."

The revealed Machine-Type monster grabbed the thrusting spear and shoved it back towards the opposing field – and its carrier along with it. Henstridge grunted as his Life Points dropped to 3700. "Very well, then. I end my turn."

"Not gonna see many monsters from you today, are we?" Joey commented, drawing as he spoke. "I play another monster face-down and end my turn."

"What you see is what you get," Henstridge responded smoothly. The Needle Wall crashed down on the center monster space again, narrowly missing (for the second time) the new monster card on the field. "Besides, why change a good thing? I play the magic card Book of Taiyou, which lets me flip one face-down monster on the field to attack mode... and of course, the one I choose is the one you just played."

Joey scowled "You've revealed my Roulette Barrel (1000/2000). In attack mode, he won't stand a chance against your monster."

"Very perceptive of you," Henstridge noted. "Spear Soldier, destroy Roulette Barrel."

Another thrust of the glimmering weapon, and Joey's monster was blown away – along with it, 1000 of his Life Points, taking him down to 3400.

Yugi frowned. Henstridge is walking all over Joey with that Spear Soldier. I thought Joey would have been able to get rid of it by now.

Joey has had his share of difficult duels before. Some of his most noteworthy battles involved trouble against one monster that proved exceedingly difficult to destroy. But he will prevail.

Yugi nodded. I know he will. But thanks for reassuring me.

What are yamis for?

Yugi snickered to himself, but then refocused his attention on the duel – just in time for Joey's next turn to begin. And the blond wore an expression of elation. He laughed aloud, then said, "Hey, if you think your Spear Soldier's somethin' else, take a look at this. I sacrifice my Battle Footballer to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!"

The new monster that rose to take Battle Footballer's place was slightly reminiscent of Darth Vader – although it was twice as imposing, and even more hideous. Despite its unseemliness, it was the dream card of every duelist and the worst nightmare of any opponent. It had seen Joey through several duels already, and was quickly becoming as much of a signature for him as Red-Eyes Black Dragon itself.

"An' just in case you didn't know, Henstridge, Jinzo's special ability lets him negate all traps... which means your Needle Wall's been knocked out." Joey grinned. "And I'm gonna send your monster on a one-way trip to Never-was-land. Jinzo, attack Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!"

But even as the dark energy blast emitted from Jinzo's fingertips, Henstridge was ready for the attack. "My traps may not be effective, but my monster effects are. I discard Charm of Shabti from my hand, which prevents my Gravekeepers from taking damage this turn."

"Well, dat's annoying. But it looks like the attack still worked on your Life Points," Joey noted, watching his opponent's LP drop to 3300.

"Yes, unfortunately, Charm of Shabti doesn't keep me from taking damage. But it's of little consequence," Henstridge informed him.

"Whatever. I end my turn."

Henstridge drew his next card. "I play Graceful Charity," he announced, and by its effect he drew three new cards into his hand, then continued, "and I'll discard my Secret Pass to the Treasures and Mirage of Nightmare cards. Next, I'll shift my Spear Soldier to defense mode and place one monster face-down. And finally, I play the magic card Gravekeeper's Servant."

Joey cocked his head. "Which does what, exactly?"

"Whenever you attack, you must discard a card from the top of your deck – and while Necrovalley is in play, you won't be able to bring back anything you lose."

"Right now I've got the advantage of you, Henstridge, so I hope I don't disappoint you too much when I say I think I'm willin' to lose a few cards to win the duel."

"I don't doubt you are," Henstridge replied. "I end my turn."

Joey drew. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards." He did just that, and then announced, "Next I summon my Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode. He's got two special abilities. The first one prevents you from choosing any Warrior monsters on my field except him as an attack target. The second one allows me to summon an extra monster from my hand this turn, so say hello to Sasuke Samurai (500/800), also in attack mode." Joey's Marauding Captain was a stout warrior clad in modest bronze armor, bearing a short sword; Sasuke Samurai barely came up to Captain's thigh, wore padded armor in the traditional style of a samurai warrior, and bore a glowing blade longer than its bearer was tall.

"Rather weak monsters," Henstridge noted. "Are you sure you want to discount my face-down monster so quickly?"

"I'm glad you brought dat up, and I'm gonna get to it in a minute. First off, though... Jinzo, attack Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, and I'd prefer if you destroy it this time."

"Gravekeeper's Servant won't allow you to attack until you've discarded a card from the top of your deck first," Henstridge reminded him.

"Right. In that case... I discard Armored Lizard from the top of my deck so Jinzo can give your Spear Soldier a proper farewell."

This time, Jinzo's energy burst went uninterrupted, and Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier was sent to oblivion.

"Next, I give up my Big Eye monster card so Sasuke Samurai can attack your face-down monster."

Henstridge looked ready to grin and show Joey the price for his folly – but any hint of that arrogance drained from his face when he saw Sasuke Samurai effortlessly cleave through the holographic face-down card. "But my Morphing Jar (700/500) has the same defense as your samurai's attack – it should have survived!"

"But it didn't, and here's why," Joey answered. "Sasuke Samurai's special ability allows it to destroy any face-down monster it attacks, no matter what dat monster's defense is. Not only dat, but it also cancels out any flip effects... which means you just lost your best shot at drawing yourself a new hand of cards." He smirked. "Sorry to bust your bubble. Now, Marauding Captain, with the sacrifice of my Graverobber card, attack his Life Points directly!"

The monster obediently swept across the valley and delivered a blow to the base of Henstridge's dueling pedestal, causing it to rock backward for dramatic effect; Henstridge grabbed one of the safety rails and hung on for dear life as his Life Points sank to 2100. Spectators surrounding the platform cheered at the sight of Joey Wheeler taking down a corporate bigwig – they apparently were all about the "little people". Yugi, Solomon, Tristan, and Téa were all cheering along with them.

"An' dat ends my turn," Joey said definitively.

A peculiar growling noise emitted from Henstridge's throat, but then he seemed to calm himself. He nodded once at Joey as he drew his next card. "A good play," he affirmed. "Clearly I've underestimated you – a mistake I don't intend to make again. With that in mind, I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) in attack mode."

With the arrival of the new Gravekeeper on the block came Necrovalley's addition of attack and defense points to its statistics, giving it 2000 points for each factor. Like its predecessor, this one was also cloaked in robes of black, but it was shrouded, as well – the only definite facial features one could see were his jet-black eyes. He bore a long dagger whose blade twisted back and forth in a serpentine fashion.

"Normally, I might use him to attack your Marauding Captain, and with him, the opening to your Life Points. But with the presence of a bigger fish to fry, I think I should probably take care of Jinzo first."

Joey scoffed. "And how do you plan on doin' dat?"

"Simple. Gravekeeper's Assailant has a special ability that allows him to change the battle position of one face-up opposing monster as he attacks, as long as Necrovalley is on the field. And last time I checked, it is." One side of Henstridge's mouth quirked up. "Gravekeeper's Assailant, switch Jinzo to defense mode and destroy it."

The visual effects were impressive, to say the least; Jinzo was forced to one knee by a spell cast in a foreign tongue by Assailant. As soon as the Machine-Type was in defense position, Assailant swept across the field and delivered a devastating blow with its dagger – causing Jinzo to shatter on the spot.

"That also frees up our trap cards," Henstridge noted, "meaning Needle Wall is back in effect, as are any other traps I choose to activate. So I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Don't forget, I got trap cards, too," Joey retorted as he drew. "An' I got ways'a gettin' you to show yours."

Henstridge rose an eyebrow. "Indeed? You'll have to indulge me on that one."

"Don't think I won't, either. I activate the magic card Bait Doll, which allows me to force the activation of a face-down trap card on your field. If that card needs a specific time to activate and this isn't it, that card is automatically destroyed – but if it is activated at the right time, you get to use its effect as normal."

"Well, in that case, I thank you," Henstridge smiled, "because you've activated another of my Rite of Spirit trap cards, allowing me to once again revive my Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack mode."

Joey frowned as he watched Henstridge's now-infamous monster reappear on his field for the second time. "Hold on a sec, you said cards that involve anything in the graveyard won't work as long as your Necrovalley is active."

"For most cards, that's entirely correct. However, Rite of Spirit is specifically allowed to bypass the effects of Necrovalley, so that reviving the monsters that protect it may go through uninterrupted."

Joey scowled. "Even worse. But there's no use cryin' about it, so I'll sacrifice my Sasuke Samurai in order to summon The Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600) in attack mode."

For the second time that day, the great fisherman-warrior and the white shark it sat astride appeared on the dueling platform, ready to both take down weaker opponents and defend against stronger ones. "An' don't bother goin' after him, 'cause the ocean won't allow it."

"Ocean?" Henstridge scoffed. "I see no ocean in my Necrovalley."

"Maybe not, but trust me, you won't be able to do it – his special ability prevents you from attackin' him. Just tryin' to add a little drama to it, y'know?"

"Nice effort."

The blond teen scoffed but otherwise ignored the comment. "I end my turn."

Henstridge drew his next card – and Needle Wall made itself painfully obvious as it smashed Marauding Captain into billions of holographic shards. Unwary onlookers jumped and even the veterans of this spectacle had to clench their teeth against the sight/sound.

The businessman frowned. "I was actually hoping that one would stick around. Now I can't attack at all."

"Sorry to see you're so disappointed," Joey grunted.

"Me, too. But in the meantime, I'll activate my Dark Room of Nightmare magic card. This causes you to take 300 points of damage to your Life Points every time I hit your Life Points with effect damage. And you can very well expect me to do that, soon enough."

"No doubt," Joey muttered. "Anything else?"

"No, that'll do it for me."

Joey drew, and swiftly set the drawn card on his field. "I place one monster face-down and end my turn," he announced.

"That was quick," Henstridge remarked. "I suppose you've found a monster than can block my attacks, hm?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"That is, if Needle Wall doesn't get to it first," Henstridge corrected. He drew, and Needle Wall's wrath bore down on Joey's field... this time destroying The Legendary Fisherman.

Joey slumped. "Can't catch a break around here!"

"Apparently not," Henstridge replied, amused. "In that case, it should be no problem to take out the rest of your Life Points in one fell swoop, provided the defense of your monster is low enough for me to do so. Let's find out, shall we? Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, attack his face-down monster."

"Ah-ah, I have a card face-down, remember?" Joey smirked. "And it's gonna make all the difference. Activate Fairy Box!"

His face-down monster card became enclosed in a box with several large holes in the top that was reminiscent of an arcade game he'd loved as a kid. "Your monster has a 50/50 shot at takin' mine out. If luck is on my side, your monster's attack power will drop to zero and my monster's defense will be subtracted from your Life Points... and all without you even knowin' what my monster is yet."

Henstridge became red-faced. "Then we'll see if that reputed luck of yours holds out, Mr. Wheeler."

For a moment, it seemed as though Spear Soldier had been struck with indecision... however, that moment quickly passed, and the monster shoved its spear decisively towards one of the holes.

It struck something.

And as everyone watched... its attack power sank to 0.

"Whoops, looks like that wasn't the one you wanted," Joey laughed. "Too bad. But you have accomplished one thing – you've revealed my Princess of Tsurugi (900/700)."

As a beautiful blonde girl emerged from Joey's Fairy Box, Henstridge's Life Points began to drop. But they dropped lower than just to the 1400 they ought to have stopped at. They kept going.

All the way down to 0.

Henstridge was wide-eyed. "How...?"

"Simple math," Joey answered, crossing his arms. "When you attacked Princess of Tsurugi, you triggered her effect: when revealed, she delivers 500 points of damage to your Life Points for every magic and trap card you have on your field. Necrovalley, Gravekeeper's Servant, Needle Wall, and Dark Room of Nightmare make four cards, and 4 x 500 equals 2000... so it effectively dropped your Life Points all at once."

Henstridge blinked. Blinked again.

And slowly... the spectators began applauding. The applause became raucous, filled with hoots, hollers, and cheers. Yugi and his friends were making the most noise of all – Solomon was dancing in circles with Téa, and Tristan was looking as though he had just survived a heart attack from the suspense of the duel.

Yugi, for his part, was nodding in pride at his friend, and on the metaphysical plane, Yami joined him. We knew you could do it, Joey. We're proud of you.

After several moments, Joey dismounted his pedestals and went to meet Henstridge on the other side. Joey offered his hand to the businessman. "That was a good duel."

But Henstridge didn't take it. "I could still contest the money, you know," he said, although he sounded half-hearted about it. "Underage gambling is illegal in the United States, and nowhere more so than here."

"Now wait just a minute!" Joey practically shouted, but before he could proceed to tell Henstridge exactly what he thought of the policies around here, Solomon intervened.

"Mr. Henstridge, you can't consider that game gambling," the elder man said.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because neither of you had a stake involved. Neither of you put anything of your own on a table and said you were willing to give it up in order to take what everyone else put down. It was contested money. You yourself said that neither I nor the house could properly lay claim to it. If so, then your duel with Joey was a prize fight, not gambling. And Joey won."

Henstridge's face contorted for a moment, obviously infuriated with both the smug duelist and the logical geezer standing in front of him. "Fine," he growled. "But don't expect yourself to be welcomed by security in the Luxor's casinos."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Solomon answered. "And I mean that, too. Your hospitality needs work. I'm amazed celebrities of any kind would want to come here, after the treatment we've received. Next time we're in America, I think we'll have to make sure not to bring our business here. You said you're the co-manager?"

The bald man's jaw shifted one way and another, and he nodded in furious silence.

"In that case, I'll have to submit my complaint to your counterpart." Solomon turned to Tristan, Téa, and Yugi, who were listening in on the conversation while trying not to be obvious about it – which only made them more obvious. "Kids, let's go. Good day to you, Mr. Henstridge."

7:55 a.m.

Las Vegas Crime Lab

–

"So as you can imagine, everyone left the scene rather dissatisfied," Yugi finished.

Grissom nodded. "I would be, too. Did you submit your complaint?"

"I did," Solomon answered, "although I'm sure it was caught up in the lower levels of management."

"Well, by the time it reaches where you intended it to go, it's going to fall on deaf ears," Grissom advised. "Simon Henstridge's 'counterpart', as you so quaintly put it, was his father. He's the sole heir of the business, and he's liable to be quite cranky the rest of his life – I'm to understand casino hotels do that to their management. Especially the Luxor."

"We'll have to tell Joey to win a better tournament next time, then," Solomon quipped.

"Not a bad idea. What happened after that?"

"I was allowed to cash in my chips, so at least that part of the story has a happy ending. We tried to avoid the Luxor's facilities by and large afterward. Of course, Tristan and Téa were absolutely in love with the arcade, so as a compromise, we kept our daytime activities out of the Luxor. Yugi and Téa went to see an IMAX presentation, though, and they also looked at some of the Egypt exhibits on display there."

At Grissom's look, Yugi shrugged. "I'm really into Egypt?" he offered lamely.

"Really? That's where the necklace came from?"

Again, Yugi touched it upon mention of it. "Yeah. It's a souvenir. Grandpa found it, had to get it."

"Tristan, Joey, and I went to the Hilton for the Star Trek Experience yesterday," Solomon continued. "We're all on-and-off fans of different Trek series. We just generally looked for things outside of the Luxor that we could enjoy."

"There's a lot in Vegas to be enjoyed," Grissom said reasonably. He flashed a grim sort of smirk. "And after the hospitality at the Luxor..."

"Indeed," Solomon snorted.

Grissom leaned back and opened the portfolio, apparently ready to take a few notes. "Where were you last night, at about 7:30?"

Solomon chuckled. "Escorting the young ones through one of the exhibits, actually. I remember the time because I happened to glance at the clock and noticed we'd been walking around doing nothing but staring at things for two hours. I assume there's camera security protecting those areas."

Grissom nodded. "What about Mr. Taylor?"

"Tristan was in the arcade," Yugi answered. "He told me he was taking challenges from other players on the Time Crisis game. You can probably look up the high scores on it... it's almost guaranteed to have his initials there repeatedly."

"And that leaves Joey," said Solomon, "who has yet to have his alibi confirmed."

"I'm afraid so. We're trying to get our hands on some of the security tapes now. Hotel management can be awfully stubborn about those. They think we're trying to compromise them."

Grissom's expression had reverted to its usual grim state. "Mr. Motou, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. We aren't going to accuse Joey of the murder unless we have solid evidence to back it up. But you're right – he is our prime suspect. And right now, an alibi would make all the difference for him."