Disclaimer: If I owned YuGiOh, I'd have laughed already.

Tournament of the Century

Chapter 3: Meeting up, Dueling Around

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Crowded. That was the best word to describe the docks. Well, not entirely crowded, but it was still a lot of duelists. Some of them were talking, others trading... it hardly seemed as if any of these people were actually any good at Duel Monsters, period.

Joey slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes, staring at the golden horizon as a small black shape slowly formed. He reached over and tapped Yugi on the shoulder a few times, and pointed at the sun.

"Hey, Yugi, do you see that? That looks like the ship, don't ya think?"

Yugi blinked and stared hard, narrowing his own eyes and raising a hand to block out a bit of the sun. "I'm not sure, but it looks like it..."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Yugi Motou and Joey Wheeler."

The voice of a girl filled their ears, and they immediately turned around, and standing right behind them was Mai Valentine. Yugi smiled and Joey crossed his arms, looking rather indifferent.

"Hey, Mai! It's nice to see you again? What have you been up to? Did you get invited to the Tournament too?" asked Yugi, stuffing his hands into his pockets as a chilly breeze picked up.

Mai winked and nodded. "I've just been doing what I usually do, you know... shopping, shopping, and getting anything I want!" there was a pause, "Oh... yeah. I did get invited to the tournament. It was pretty abrupt, too. Just received a letter for the special invitation... all these kids must be the ones who signed up for it down at Kaibaland."

Joey sighed and shook his head. "Mai, Mai, you never change. Why, I bet the great Joey is still better at Duel Monsters than you!"

Mai fumed and grabbed Joey by the collar of his shirt. "For your information, I've gotten a lot better since the last time Yugi beat me at Duelist Kingdom. Next time we duel, Yugi, you can kiss your winning streak goodbye!"

Yugi nodded and smiled. "I look forward to another duel with you, Mai!"

The black form on the horizon had been getting bigger all the while, and now it was the form of a ship. A large ship, possibly one of the biggest anyone at the docks had ever seen. It slowed itself down a bit, coming to a slow, steady halt right at the docks. A bridge extended, and four men in suits came right down it, forming a barrier around it as the crown suddenly attempted to converge on that one point.

Two of the men raised a microphone and spoke together, "THIS IS THE SHIP THAT WILL BE TAKING ALL OF YOU TO THE TOURNAMENT OF THE CENTURY. PLEASE APPROACH THE BRIDGE AND GIVE US YOUR INVITATIONS. UPON BOARDING THE SHIP, GET YOUR DUELIST CARD AND DUEL DISK SYSTEM INSIDE THE MAIN ROOM. YOU WILL THEN BE PAIRED WITH TWO OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO FORM A TEAM. THEN, JUST SIT THERE AND WAIT. THAT IS ALL."

Yugi, Joey, and Mai all looked over towards the ship, then back at each other with a nod. They slowly pressed through the crowd, at least until Mai got in the lead, and seriously began to push and shove the other duelists out of her way.

"There's one thing I like about Mai... when she wants to get something, she'll do stuff like this to get it... and if I'm not in her way... all the better for her to do our dirty work for us!" exclaimed Joey.

"Joey..."

Yugi's response was too silent for Joey to hear, and just a few seconds after he responded, they were at the base of the bridge to the boat. The man extended a hand to Mai and spoke in a gruff voice.

"Invitation, please."

Mai reached into her coat pocket and removed a small card, which she handed to the guard. He nodded and stepped aside, letting Mai onto the bridge. Yugi and Joey stepped up, and the guard simply moved out of the side.

"Kaiba has given us the okay to let you on board already, Yugi, Joey. Please continue."

The pair of duelists blinked, then Joey shrugged and stepped onto the bridge, with Yugi trailing behind him. Mai was waiting for them, and led them into the main room. All three gasped in awe, now knowing the sheer size of the ship... two large arenas had been placed in the very middle of the room, for people with Duel Disks to duel in without outside annoyance.

"Crystal chandeliers, candles, this place is absolutely gorgeous! It fits the perfect kind of transportation for a lady like me." Said Mai.

A group of three men stepped up to them and handed them each a Duel Disk, which they attached to their arms easily. Then, the men gave them each a simple card, with strange information on it.

"What's this... I see my name, my picture... Duelist level? Team mates?" Yugi puzzled.

"Simple. Pull off the two white squares covering the rest of the team mates square, and there will be a picture of your team mates for the tournament. Your duelist level reflects your performance, and is needed to advance." One of the men said before all three turned about, and headed back from whence they came.

Yugi blinked, and peeled off his two stickers. Immediately, a pang of panic and fear coursed through his heart at the sight of one of his team mates. Mai blinked, and pointed at Joey. "You're on MY team?"

Joey sighed and nodded. "It looks like it... and I was so hoping for a team of duelists reflecting my rank... at least we got Mako Tsunami on our team."

Mai grit her and shook Joey violently. "Your rank is the rank of children and amateurs, Joey!" She shook him a bit longer, and then looked over to Yugi, who held up his Duelist card for them to see.

Joey leaned in to look, and grinned. "Hey, you got that Amadeus kid on your team... and... MAXIMILLION PEGASUS? Hey, is this some kind of joke?!"

Joey reached out and grabbed a nearby guard. "My friend here is partnered with Maximillion Pegasus, the biggest creep in all of history! How is this possible? Tell me!"

"Both Maximillion Pegasus and Seto Kaiba are participating in the tournament. Neither of them is hosting it, but the host feels as though they should join. Now, I must be going..." the guard pulled away from Joey and walked off.

Yugi kept his gaze down for a little while longer, feeling the Millennium Puzzle pulse hotly against his chest, but then looked up, smiling a bit. "Pegasus lost his Millennium Eye, remember? He can't possibly do anything to me or Amadeus, and his skill would be a great help to my team!"

Mai shook her head. "I can't agree with you Yugi, but if you're going to be okay with it, it's best if I don't worry about you getting your soul stolen or anything like that... c'mon, Joey. Let's go find Mako so I can show him what a terrible team mate I got..."

Joey grimaced before being tugged off by the ear by Mai, who disappeared into the crowd. Before he could begin looking around, a large voice echoed throughout the ship.

"NOW, THERE WILL BE ELIMINATIONS. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE DUELIST ARENAS SET UP AT RANDOM LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE SHIP. THE TEAM YOU BATTLE WILL BE CHOSEN RANDOMLY, AND IT WILL BE A TWO VERSUS TWO, THEN A ONE VERSUS ONE. THE LOSING TEAM WILL BE EJECTED, AND THE WINNING TEAM WILL STAY AND BE GIVEN A COMPETING SLOT ON THE ISLAND. TO SEE YOUR TEAM NUMBER, LOOK AT THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER OF YOUR CARD. THE FIRST TEAM DUELS WILL BE ONE VERSUS THREE, FIVE VERSUS FIFTEEN, TWENTY-ONE VERSUS..."

Yugi ignored the booming voice and looked to the corner of his card. A large "1" was there, and he nodded. Looking over to one of the dueling rings, he saw the number 1 and the number 3 on the side of a machine, in a digital display. He nodded and headed towards it, opening the door on the side and going in.

Amadeus was already waiting there, and Pegasus came in through the opposite amidst a crown of fans, but not wearing his usual suit, but rather a pair of brown pants and a white shirt with a green vest. Yugi's gaze locked with Pegasus' for a second, and the silver-haired man smiled, brushing a bit of hair off to the side, showing... the Millennium Eye.

Yami immediately came out, and pointed towards Pegasus with a finger, and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by him, "It's a long story, Yugi-boy, but did you really think I'd let my Millennium Eye escape me in the hands of a mere child? Besides... we're on a team, and I have no intention of stealing anyone's souls today. Can we just duel together and be over with it?"

Yami frowned, but nodded as well. "As you wish, Pegasus. But try anything rash and you'll have me to deal with!"

"Excuse me, can you stop babbling like idiots and get the duel on already?" came a voice opposite their side.

A pale, large-eyed, soft purple-headed boy wearing a horrendous amount of orange has already activated his duel disk, and was waiting next to a girl with short brown hair, green eyes, and something very similar to a jumpsuit, her own Duel Disk at the ready. The third of their group lounged against the wall of the arena, a girl who wore a lavender long-sleeved shirt, blue pants, and the way her eyes looked with her black dangling about in front of them made her look tired.

"Amar and Mila. Do you think you actually stand any chance at winning?" asked Pegasus.

Amar rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter who you are, I'm going to crush you! Me and Mila will knock you guys out right now!"

"DUEL!"

Pegasus – 8000

Yami – 8000

Amar – 8000

Mila – 8000

Each duelist drew five cards, and Pegasus smiled as he drew his sixth. "I'll go first, mmhmm... and I play Red Archery Girl in attack mode!"

A translucent bubble appeared with a clam inside, the bubble quickly popping and the clam opening wide, revealing a mermaid with green hair and a blue tail, and wielding a bow with a quiver on her back. (1400/1500)

"I'll also set two cards, face down... end my turn."

Yami drew a card and nodded. "I'll set one monster card face-down on the field, and then place another card down. End turn."

Amar drew a card and laughed in a deep, yet terribly annoying voice. "You don't stand a chance! I'm going to summon my Pious Maiden in attack mode and have her attack your Red Archery Girl!"

The sound of a soft weeping filled the area, and a white-robed woman appeared, giving off a small glow and wiping her face with her hands, reddish hair bouncing about. (1750/1000)

She raised her arms upwards, magical energy gathering at the tips of her fingers, then pointed them at the Red Archery Girl, her fingers crackling with electricity.

"Sorry, dear child, not today... my trap card activates! Coral Barrier! Any monster with an attack power of less than 2500 cannot break it, and it also covers my team mate as well!" said Pegasus, pointing at the ground.

The lightning flew from the fingers of the Pious Maiden just as a barrier of multicolored rock with amazing patterns upon its surface came up from the ground, absorbing the attack with ease.

"Well, you're barrier won't last long! End turn!"

Mila drew her card and slapped it down onto her duel disk. "I'm going to summon Knight of Landskron in attack mode, then play the magic card Aura of Victory!"

A Knight clad in platemail and a helmet with a "V" on the front appeared on the field, brandishing a long sword and a short sword in each hand. (1400/1400)

"And my magic card, Aura of Victory, will deal me his attack power in Life Point damage, then triple his attack power for one turn!"

A soft golden aura appeared around the Knight of Landskron, then suddenly flared outwards, shining brightly, the Knight increasing in size. (3200/1400)

"Now, Knight of Landskron, attack the Red Archery Girl!"

Pegasus raised a finger and moved it side to side. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You just activated my Permanent Trap Card! Go, Mirror, Mirror!"

A large mirror with a stone border appeared behind the coral barrier, which was deftly destroyed by the Knight of Landskron in one quick swipe. The Knight charged forward to attack the Red Archery Girl, bringing down his swords upon the clam and her.

"Gotcha!"

"Not really, child..." mumbled Pegasus, pointing at the mirror.

The mirror gathered together sparkles of energy, and released it in a beam of light directly at Amar, who raised his duel disk system and took the blast full force, with sound of decreasing life points soon after.

Pegasus – 8000

Yami – 8000

Amar – 6200

Mila – 6600

"Mirror, Mirror deflects ALL Life Point damage I take from here on out to one chosen opponent. In this case, Amar." Said a smug Pegasus.

Mila grit her teeth and looked over to Yugi's side of the field, watching the Coral Barrier shimmer still, unbroken on that side.

"Why is your Coral Barrier still affecting him?"

"Simple. Because Coral Barrier is a Dual Protection card. It doesn't leave the field until you destroy both sides of it... now may we please continue?"

Mila shook her head and set a card down, then Pegasus drew again, setting two cards down on the field.

"I'm going to play Instill Vitality, allowing me one more summon or set this turn... and summon Two-Spirited Magician."

A green glow suffused around Pegasus' Duel Disk for a moment, then a light shone, revealing a green robed individual, half their face a bright white, the other half a deep black. (1000/1000)

"Now, I'll sacrifice him, and his special ability makes it as though I've just sacrificed two monsters... and use the tribute to play Ryu-Ran in attack mode!"

A large, blue spotted egg appeared on the field, evil yellow eyes peering out through a small hole. A pair of clay-red wings and legs finished the look, and a bit of fire came out of the hole. (2200/2800)

"Oh, but that's not all... the last card in my hand will show you why you should respect those who are better than you. I activate Doppelganger!"

The toonish cat swirled out of the card Pegasus just set on the field, and swooped around, doing a few circles around Pegasus before whispering into his ear.

"Is that so? Well, so be it! Doppelganger here can turn himself into ANY card that's been played. And he chose.. Aura of Victory. The good part? The 2200 damage I would receive from powering up Ryu-Ran is instead directed to Amar!"

The pair of opposing duelists took a step back, their faces showing the sudden loss of their previous attitudes.

Doppelganger unwound itself from around Pegasus, then curled around the Ryu-Ran, and dissolved into a golden aura, which appeared around Ryu-Ran for a second before flaring out exactly how it had done around the Knight of Landskron, and Ryu-Ran grew in size. (6600/2800)

"Ryu-Ran! Attack Mila's Life points directly! Finish her!"

The eggshell cracked around the diameter of the egg, and the Ryu-Ran popped out, giving a mighty roar. It turned towards Mila and tilted it's head back, then released a mighty stream of fire from it's gaping maw.

Mila cowered as the fire swept over her, wiping away the rest of her life points with that soft beeping sound.

Pegasus – 8000

Yami – 8000

Amar – 4000

Mila – 0

Yami watched in amazement. "He's... gotten so much better than the last time we met! He just wiped out Mila on his second turn! And Amar is down to 4000!"

Pegasus maintained the smug face, his now empty hand waiting at his side.

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End of Chapter 3.

Well, there you go. Dueling. It's just... yeah. Pegasus DID get his Millennium Eye back, and I'll explain how, later in the story. Until next time.

To be continued in Chapter 4: Conclusions of the Harpy