Disclaimer: I don't own Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!
When Arrathir awoke, he was back in the duelist room, overlooking the stadium.
"Are you OK?" asked Yugi.
"Yeah. What happened?"
"Well," said Yugi "When we beat Virus, the KaibaCorp mainframe came back under control and we were able to pull everyone back into the virtual world."
"What about the people who lost duels?" asked Arrathir "What happened to them?"
"When we got back to the virtual world," said Yugi "They all appeared with us. The finals are continuing. It's Joey against Kaiba now."
Arrathir hurried over to a seat by the window.
"Sorry about the inconvenience," said Judge Komo to the crowd "We've had some technical difficulties, but we are back on track! In this round, we have KaibaCorp CEO against Joseph "The Mutt" Wheeler!"
"Hey!" said Joey "You're going down for that, Kaiba!"
"We'll see, mutt," said Kaiba, drawing his hand.
"Let's duel!"
"I'll go first," said Kaiba "And summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100), in attack mode! I set one card and end my turn."
"I'll show you!" said Joey "Go, Axe Raider (1700/1150), in attack mode!" A soldier wielding a battle-axe appeared on the field. "I set one card. Now, Axe Raider, attack his Lord of Dragons!" The warrior cleaved Kaiba's monster in two.
KAIBA: 7500
JOEY: 8000
"I set one monster in defense mode," said Kaiba as a brown-backed card appeared on his field. "I set one cards and end my turn."
"I summon Blackland Fire Dragon (1500/800) in attack mode!" said Joey. An enormous black dragon appeared on the field. "Axe Raider, attack his facedown card!"
"You attacked my Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000)," said Kaiba as Joey's monster collided with his stone colossus.
KAIBA: 7500
JOEY: 7700
"I end my turn," said Joey.
"I summon Blood Vors (1900/1200), in attack mode," said Kaiba. A minotaur wielding an axe appeared on the field. "Now, Blood Vors, attack his dragon!"
"Reveal trap card," said Joey "Demon's Die!" A small demon appeared on the field and tossed a bright red die. The die tumbled around before stopping on a one. "Damn! That means your monster's still more powerful than mine!"
The minotaur sliced through Joey's dragon.
KAIBA: 7500
JOEY: 7400
"I switch Giant Soldier of Stone to defense mode and end my turn."
"All right!" said Joey "Get ready, Kaiba, because it's gonna get rough! I tribute Blackland Fire Dragon and summon Jinzo (2400/1500), in attack mode!" A green android appeared on the field, its eyes glowing red. "Jinzo, take out his Blood Vors! Cyber Shock!" The android cupped its hands and fired a ball of energy at the minotaur, blowing it apart. "End turn."
KAIBA: 7000
JOEY: 7400
"First, I play Dark Hole, clearing the field," said Kaiba. A black vortex appeared in the middle of the field and sucked in all the monsters in play. "Next, I summon X Head Cannon (1800/1500), in attack mode. X Head Cannon, direct attack!" The robot powered up its cannon and fired a blast of energy at Joey.
"I activate Scapegoat!" said Joey. Four little sheep appeared on the field. The blast took out one of the sheep.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"I summon Beaver Warrior (1200/1500), in attack mode," said Joey "And I equip him with Sword of the Dragon's Soul, increasing his attack by 700 points! Finally, I'll play Sword and Shield to switch your monster's attack and defense points! Beaver Warrior, attack his X Head Cannon!"
"Activate trap card," said Kaiba "Mechanical Magic Mirror. I activate Demon's Die from your graveyard!" The demon reappeared on the field and tossed his dice again. This time, the dice stopped on a four. The Beaver Warrior swung his sword at the X Head Cannon, which exploded, killing the warrior along with it.
"Aw man!" said Joey "His monster had the same attack as mine, so they were both destroyed!"
"I summon Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200), in attack mode," said Kaiba. A woman in black robes appeared on the field. "Attack one of his sheep tokens!" The witch's attack took out another of Joey's Scapegoats. "I set one monster in defense, switch Witch of the Black Forest to defense mode and end my turn."
"I summon Mystic Horsemen (1300/1550), in attack mode," said Joey. A man mounted on a horse appeared. "Attack Witch of the Black Forest!" The horseman charged and sliced through the witch. "I set one card and end my turn."
"I summon Y Dragon Head," said Kaiba "Then I flip summon X Head Cannon. Next, I fuse these two monsters to form XY-Dragon Cannon (2200/1900), in attack mode!" A hatch opened on the top of the Y Dragon Head. The X Head Cannon flew over top and settled down into the opening. There was a great amount of sparks as the two machines fused together. "XY-Dragon Cannon, attack Mystic Horsemen!" The cannon on the fusion monster charged up and fired a blast of white energy at Joey's monster, blowing it up.
KAIBA: 7000
JOEY: 6500
"End turn."
"You're gonna pay for that!" said Joey "I play Pot of Greed, drawing two cards. Next, I summon Time Wizard (500/400), in defense mode!" An alarm clock with arms and legs appeared on the field. "I activate Time Wizard's effect, which allows me to flip a coin. If I call it right, I destroy all your monsters! I call tails!" A giant coin appeared and flipped through the air, landing on tails. Joey cheered as Kaiba's monster exploded into a million digital shards. "Now, I switch Time Wizard to attack mode! Time Wizard, direct attack!"
KAIBA: 6500
JOEY: 6500
"I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200), in attack mode," said Kaiba. A purple gargoyle appeared on the field. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"I summon Gearfried, the Iron Knight (1800/1600)," said Joey "Now, Gearfried, attack Ryu-Kishin Powered!"
"You have a short memory, Wheeler," said Kaiba "You've fallen for the same trick as I pulled on you in the last Battle City, and with the exact same monsters! Reveal quickplay magic, Shrink! This reduces a monster's attack by 800 points! I reduce Ryu-Kishin Powered's attack to 800!"
"Come on," said Joey "You didn't think I'd expect that? Magic Jammer on your Shrink card!" Gearfried tore through Kaiba's monster.
KAIBA: 6300
JOEY: 6500
"End turn."
"I play Raigeki, destroying your monsters," said Kaiba. A lightning bolt came down and incinerated all of Joey's monsters. "Next, I summon Blade Knight (1600/1600), in attack mode. Blade Knight, attack Gearfried!"
"Are you nuts, Kaiba?" said Joey.
"Again, Wheeler, you forget that when I only have one card in my hand, Blade Knight's attack increases by 400!" The knight slashed Joey's monster to pieces.
KAIBA: 6300
JOEY: 6300
"I set one card and end my turn."
"I summon Baby Dragon (1200/700) and I play Monster Reborn to bring Time Wizard back to play. Next, I play Polymerization to create Thousand Dragon (2400/2000)! Thousand Dragon, attack Blade Knight!"
"I play De-Fusion on your Thousand Dragon," said Kaiba. Joey's dragon exploded and turned back into Time Wizard and Baby Dragon.
"I switch both my monsters to defence mode. End turn."
"I play Enemy Controller, paying 1000 lifepoints to take control of your Time Wizard," said Kaiba "Next, I tribute Time Wizard and Blade Knight to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)! Blue-Eyes attack his Baby Dragon! Burst Stream!" The dragon's attack obliterated Joey's monster. "I set one card. Your move, baka."
KAIBA: 5300
JOEY: 6300
"I play Graverobber," said Joey "This card allows me to use a card from your graveyard. I take Enemy Controller! Now I pay 1000 lifepoints and take your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
KAIBA: 5300
JOEY: 5300
"How dare you!" said Kaiba, enraged.
"Who's the baka now, Kaiba? Blue-Eyes attack Kaiba directly!"
"Activate trap," said Kaiba "Attack Nullification. This negates your attack and ends your battle phase."
"I set one card and end my turn," said Joey.
"I play Premature Burial," said Kaiba "To revive X Head Cannon (1800/1500), in attack mode. Next, I play Cost Down. This magic card lowers the level of all monsters in my hand by two until the end of my turn, so I sacrifice X Head Cannon to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)! Attack, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The two dragons met with an incredible force and destroyed each other. "Finally, I play Monster Reborn to bring Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to play! End turn."
KAIBA: 4500
JOEY: 5300
"I summon Kagenigen (800/600), in defence mode," said Joey "And I set two cards. End turn."
"You can't win, mutt," said Kaiba "I set one monster in defence mode and I attack with Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The attack took out Joey's monster.
"I summon Flame Manipulator (900/1000), in defence mode," said Joey "End turn."
"I flip summon Magician of Faith (300/400)," said Kaiba "I use its effect to retrieve Monster Reborn from my graveyard and revive my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now you have two dragons to worry about! Blue-Eyes, attack his monster!" The first dragon opened its mouth and fired a ball of energy at Joey's monster, destroying it. "Now, Blue-Eyes, direct attack!" The second dragon's attack hit Joey directly, knocking him over.
KAIBA: 4500
JOEY: 2300
"Give up, mutt. You've lost!"
"Never!" said Joey "As long I as trust in the Heart of the Cards, I'll never give up!" He snapped a card off his deck "I summon Alligator's Sword (1500/1200), in defence mode and I set another monster in defence mode! End turn!"
"This is getting boring," said Kaiba "Time to finish this, though this card is too good to be used on a bonkotsu (amateur) like you. I summon the God of the Stone Tower, Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000)! Obelisk, attack his Alligator's Sword!" The God raised his first and brought it crashing down on Joey's monster, the shock causing the arena to shake.
"I flip summon Tiger Axe (1300/1100) and summon Torike (1200/1600)," said Joey "I switch them to defence mode and end my turn."
"You'll run out of monsters eventually," said Kaiba "I play Change of Heart on your Torike and switch it to attack mode," said Kaiba "Now, to finish this! Torike, attack his Tiger Axe!" The monster jumped forward and slashed Joey's monster to pieces. "Obelisk, direct attack!"
Joey was thrown off his feet as the God's attack hit him.
KAIBA: 4500
JOEY: 0
"The winner of this round of the Second Battle City Duel Monster tournament, Seto Kaiba!" said Komo.
"You always will be an amateur, Wheeler," said Kaiba, leaving his duelling platform.
Arrathir turned away from the window, disgusted. "Is he always like this?" he asked Yugi.
"Well, I've seen him worse," said Yugi "But that's pretty much it."
"Attention," said Judge Komo "Would Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutou please report to the duelling ring?"
That means…I'm duelling Yami Marik!
When Yugi and Kaiba had arrived on the field, Yami taking over, Judge Komo made his usual announcement.
"Welcome to the first round of the semi-finals of the Second Battle City Duel Monsters tournament. First up, we have Seto Kaiba against Yugi Mutou. Who will claim the right to access the finals? Only one way to find out!"
"Let's duel!"
"This is going to be very exciting, Yugi," said Kaiba "I will finally take your title of King of Games I so rightly deserve and humiliate you in front of the entire world! I'll start this off by summoning Blood Vors (1900/1200), in attack mode. I set two cards and end my turn."
"Save it, Kaiba," said Yami "As long as you refuse to believe in the Heart of the Cards, you have no chance of beating me! I set one monster in defence mode and I play Card Destruction!" Both duellists discarded their hands and drew new ones. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Pathetic," said Kaiba "I don't know how you can call yourself a duellist if you rely on weak cards. I summon X Head Cannon (1800/1500), in attack mode. Now, Blood Vors, attack his facedown card!"
"You've attacked my Spear Cretin," said Yami, flipping over his facedown card, which Blood Vors cleaved in half "When this card is sent to the graveyard after being flipped, we may each special summon one monster from our graveyards to play without paying tribute costs. I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100)!"
"You are very lucky I didn't have my God card or one of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my hand," said Kaiba "I summon Z Metal Tank (1500/1300). Next, I fuse X Head Cannon and Z Metal Tank into XZ-Tank Dragon (2400/2100). Then I switch all my monsters to defence mode, and I set one card. End turn."
"I summon Breaker the Mage Knight (1600/1000)," said Yami "When this creature is summoned, I place a spell counter on it. Its attack increases by 300 for each spell counter on it. I may also remove the spell counter to destroy one magic or trap card in play. Now, Dark Magician, attack his XZ Metal Tank!"
"Reveal trap card," said Kaiba "Ring of Destruction!" A necklace of grenades appeared around the Dark Magician's neck. "And reveal Ring of Protection!" A green ring with four petals appeared in front of Kaiba. The grenades exploded, taking a chunk out of Yami's lifepoints.
KAIBA: 8000
YAMI: 5500
"I set two cards and end my turn," said Yami.
"I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000), in attack mode," said Kaiba. A lamp appeared and a genie burst from the spout. "Next, I discard one card to activate XZ-Metal Tank's effect, which allows me to destroy one of your facedown magic cards!" The cannon charged up and blasted one of Yami's facedown cards to pieces. "Now, XZ-Metal Tank, take out Breaker!"
"Reveal trap!" said Yami "Magical Cylinder!" A pair of red cylinders appeared on the field. XY-Metal Tank's attack entered one of the cylinders and came back out the other one, striking Kaiba in the chest.
KAIBA: 5600
YAMI: 5500
"La Jinn, attack!" said Kaiba. The genie gathered energy in its cupped hands and threw the ball of energy at Breaker, destroying the knight.
KAIBA: 5600
YAMI: 5300
"I set one card and end my turn."
"I set one monster in defence mode and end my turn," said Yami.
"You think you can win with defence?" said Kaiba "Fatal mistake, Yugi! I tribute my two monsters to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" The legendary dragon appeared on the field; its jaws open in a snarl. "Blue-Eyes, attack his facedown card!" The dragon opened its jaws, preparing to unleash its terrible Burst Stream attack at Yami's facedown monster. The dragon released a gigantic ball of white energy at the facedown card. There was a terrifying explosion and a brilliant flare, which made both duellists shield their eyes. When they were able to see again, there was a man hiding behind a large shield.
"You've attacked my Big Shield Guardna (100/2600)," said Yami "As well, I activated my quickplay magic card, United We Stand. The equipped monster of this card gains 800 attack and defence points for each monster I control, making it a 900/3400!"
Kaiba was shocked as his life metre clocked down from his attack.
KAIBA: 5200
YAMI: 5300
"Heh," he said "You're safe for now, but you won't be safe when I summon my Egyptian God! You should never have given that card back to me if you intended on keeping your title of Duel King! I set one card and end my turn."
"I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600), in defence mode," said Yami "And I play Swords of Revealing Light. I'm safe for three turns."
"I summon Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000), in defence mode," said Kaiba "End turn."
"I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200), in attack mode," said Yami "I set one card and end my turn."
"Second-last turn for your swords," said Kaiba "I set one monster in defence mode and end my turn."
"I tribute Gazelle and Beta to summon Buster Blader (2600/2300), in attack mode," said Yami "As you know, it gains 500 attack points for every dragon-type monster on the field and in either player's graveyard. When I used Card Destruction, I discarded Blackland Fire Dragon; meaning Buster Blader's attack goes up by 1000. Buster Blader, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The warrior charged forward and raised its giant sword to cut Kaiba's dragon in half.
"Reveal trap," said Kaiba "Attack Nullification!"
"And I counter with Mystical Space Typhoon!" said Yami "I destroy your trap!"
KAIBA: 4600
YAMI: 5300
"End turn."
"I play Dark Hole to clear the field," said Kaiba. A black vortex appeared and sucked all monsters in play into it. "Next, I summon Lord of Dragon (1200/1100), in defence mode. Finally, I play Premature Burial to return my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to play!"
KAIBA: 3800
YAMI: 5300
"Next turn, your swords will wear off and I will be able to attack!"
"You talk too much, Kaiba," said Yami "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800), in defence mode. I set one card and end my turn."
"Ha! You think I'll fall for that?" said Kaiba "Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy your magic and traps!" A whirlwind swept up Yami's cards. "Now, Blue-Eyes, attack his warrior!" The dragon's attack blew Gamma apart. "Lord of Dragons, direct attack!"
KAIBA: 3800
YAMI: 4100
"End turn."
"I play Pot of Greed, drawing two cards," said Yami "Next, I play Monster Reborn and Premature Burial to return Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600) and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) to play. Next, I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) and I tribute all three monsters to summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850) in attack mode! Valkyrion, attack his Lord of Dragons!"
"Activate trap," said Kaiba "Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device!" The Lord of Dragons shimmered and disappeared from the field. Valkyron's attack exploded harmlessly against the field.
KAIBA: 3800
YAMI: 3300
"End turn."
"I play Magic Sanctuary," said Kaiba "This card lets us choose one magic card from our decks and put it in our hands. I chose Flute of the Dragon Summon! Come forth, my Blue-Eyes!" Two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared on the field. "You know what comes next," said Kaiba "Polymerization! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!" The three dragons combined into a giant three-headed dragon. "Ultimate Dragon, attack! White Lightning!" The three heads gathered their energy for their attack.
"Since Magic Sanctuary lets us play magic card on our opponent's turn, I play Tribute of the Doomed to destroy your Lord of Dragons! Next I activate my quickplay magic card," said Yami "Spellbinding Circle!" A green circle appeared around the three-headed dragon, stopping its attack.
"I set one card and end my turn," said Kaiba "I suppose now you're going to use Change of Heart on my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."
"Wrong," said Yami "I tribute Valkyrion to summon Alpha, Beta, and Gamma back to the field!" The warrior split up into its three original monsters. "Next, I tribute Alpha to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700). Next, I play Sage's Stone to special summon Dark Magician (2500/2100). Finally, I play the magic card I got from your Magic Sanctuary, Dedication Through Light and Darkness! This card allows me to tribute Dark Magician to special summon Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)! I end my turn."
"I play Tempest, destroying all magic and trap cards in play," said Kaiba "Now, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack! White Lightning on Gamma!" The dragon's attack blew the warrior to pieces.
KAIBA: 3800
YAMI: 300
"You've lost, Yugi," said Kaiba "No matter what card you draw, my Ultimate Dragon will tear it to bits! Even if it is your God card! Draw your last pathetic card!"
"My deck has no pathetic cads," said Yami "I summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700). Next I play Card of Sanctity, making us draw until we have six cards in our hands.." Both duellists drew a few cards from their decks. "Next, I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding one, and then I play Monster Reborn to revive Buster Blader (2600/2300)!"
"Wait!" said Kaiba "You already used your Monster Reborn!"
"True," said Yami "But when Dark Magician of Chaos is summoned, I may return a magic card from my graveyard to my hand. "Now, since Skilled Dark Magician has three spell counters, I tribute him to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100). Finally, I play Polymerization to fuse Dark Magician and Buster Blader to form Dark Paladin (2900/2400)! End turn!"
"Fool!" said Kaiba "I will now crush you in one attack! Ultimate Dragon! Show him your strength! Attack his Dark Paladin!"
"You ignore the meaning of true power, Kaiba," said Yami "I activate De-Fusion, breaking your Ultimate Dragon back into the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Now, there are three dragons in play, and one in the graveyard, so Dark Paladin's attack goes up to 4900!" The Dark Paladin crushed one of Kaiba's attacking dragons. The other dragons' attacks flew off in different directions.
KAIBA: 1900
YAMI: 300
"Now, on my turn, I play Change of Heart on your Blue-Eyes White Dragon," said Yami.
"I was waiting for that one!" said Kaiba "Magic Jammer!"
"You wasted your card," said Yami "Because now I play United We Stand, increasing my Dark Magician Girl's attack and defence by 1600 points. Remember, she gets 300 additional attack points for each Dark Magician and Dark Magician of Chaos in all graveyards, meaning her attack is at 4800! Dark Magician Girl, Dark Paladin, attack Kaiba's dragons!"
"I activate Guard of Card to negate your Dark Paladin's attack!" said Kaiba.
KAIBA: 100
YAMI: 300
"I set one card and end my turn," said Yami.
"I set one monster in defence mode," said Kaiba "And I set one card. End of turn."
"It's been an honourable duel, Kaiba," said Yami "But it's time to end this. Dark Paladin, Dark Magician Girl, attack!"
"I activate Mirror Force!" said Kaiba.
"And I activate Dark Paladin's effect," said Yami "By discarding one card I can negate and destroy a spell card!" The Dark Paladin sliced through Kaiba's facedown card while the Dark Magician Girl attacked his lifepoints directly.
KAIBA: 0
YAMI: 300
To be continued…