Disclaimer: I do not own any of the animé shows or other Japanese classics that will appear on this fanfic.

However, I do own the league of evil called the Blackhearted AND the Black Chaos Dragon.

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UNITED WE STAND AS ONE

Meeting the Team. Duel in Domino City!

Takuya awoke as the sunlight that streamed in from the window fell upon his face. He took a moment to look around like he always did every morning only to find that he was in the infirmary of ADI headquarters.

So it wasn't a bad dream, after all, thought Takuya. As he sat up, he realized that most of his bandages had been removed. His arms and torso were no longer wrapped up and the bandage that covered his cheek was gone, too. He lifted up his hand close to his face and flexed his fingers before clenching his hand into a fist.

"Glad to see you're awake." Takuya looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a boy with brown hair wearing green clothes, along with a blue vest, a blue and yellow cap, and a pair of fingerless black and turquoise gloves. Next to him was some sort of furry yellow creature with red circles on its cheeks, two pointed ears, a thunderbolt-shaped tail, and a tuft of fur projecting off its head.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Takuya.

"That's good," said the boy, "My name's Richie and this is Sparky."

"Pikachu," said the little yellow creature, whose name was Sparky.

"Takuya Kanbara," said Takuya as he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Takuya," said Richie as he shook his head, "Anyway, I gotta go. Oh, by the way, there's going to be a meeting held in the library soon, you better get there quickly. See you later." And with that, Richie left with Sparky on his head, leaving the goggle boy in the room alone.

Takuya got out of bed and managed to make is way to the chair where his shirts, cap, and goggles were. He slipped his yellow T-shirt over his head and pulled his red one overtop of it before putting on his socks and tying on his shoes. Takuya slipped on his gloves and placed his cap on his still-bandaged head. After snapping his goggles on, Takuya turned to head out the door. Just as his finger reached out to presses the OPEN button, his eyes fell on the object sitting on the table next to the bed. The Pyro Stone. Takuya picked up the red crystal and looked into it. The live flame he had thought he had seen earlier inside of it was gone. Shrugging, he slipped the red lanyard over his head and let the Pyro Stone hang from around his neck. After making sure that his D-Scan was in his pocket, he pushed the button, opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway…

…and promptly ran right into someone else.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" said a gruff voice.

"Watch where I'M going?! You ran right into me!" said Takuya. The boy got up off the floor and looked up at a man around the age if eighteen with brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in black clothes and a long white sleeveless coat with red lining. Around his neck on a yellow lanyard was a yellow crystal.

"Hey, you've got a stone, too!" Takuya exclaimed.

"And I see you do, too," said the man.

"Yeah, mine's the Pyro Stone of Fire," said Takuya before holding his hand out, "My name's Takuya Kanbara."

"And I'm Seto Kaiba," said the man, not taking Takuya' hand, "I possess the Blitz Stone of Thunder."

Takuya put down his hand after Kaiba refused to shake it before saying, "So, were you just headed to the library."

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Kaiba as he continued to walk down the path he was going.

"Hey, wait for me," said Takuya as he followed the duelist. As they walked through the corridors of the base, Takuya came across a familiar face.

"So, what do you think so far, Takuya?" Albert asked as he walked alongside Takuya.

"Well, I have absolutely no idea where the library is, so I'm just following this guy, Kaiba," said Takuya.

"Well, all you have to do is follow the signs," said Albert.

"Oh," said Takuya as he looked on the walls.

"Albert, why don't you introduce me?" said a voice. Takuya turned around to see a white robot with two large horns wearing a white silk cape walking just behind Albert. Around his neck was a grey stone on a grey lanyard.

"Takuya, this is Rokusho, the holder of the Mecha Stone of Steel," Albert introduced, "Rokusho, this is Takuya Kanbara, the holder of the Pyro Stone of fire."

"Pleased to meet you," said Rokusho as he and Takuya shook hands.

"The pleasure is all mine," said Takuya. It was at that moment that he noticed something on Rokusho's right arm. It was some kind of golden sword, which caused Takuya's eyes to go wide considering that it was practically pointed at his face.

"Sorry," said Rokusho as he saw the look on Takuya's face, "This sword is part of my body. It can't be removed."

"That's…okay," Takuya said uneasily.

The group soon arrived at the library. Upon entry, all three stone holders were amazed by how many books there were. Bookshelves covered the walls from ceiling to floor. A few spiral staircases led up to small balconies to reach some of the high shelves. But even then, the balconies also had ladders on wheels, much like the ones on the first level. The only wall free of books was the one opposite from the door from which the group had just entered. Hanging on it was a large painting. Below that was an enormous fireplace with chair and tables around it and a small bowling ball-sized objected wrapped in a blue cloth, which stood near the fire. As the group neared the fireplace, they saw a young woman with long dark hair and glasses sitting in one of the chair reading a book.

"Is that a good book you're ready?" Rokusho asked the woman.

"Yes, it is," she said.

"You must love books very much," Rokusho commented, seeing as how absorbed the woman was into her book.

"I do, indeed," said the woman.

"My name is Rokusho," said the white Medabot, introducing himself.

"My name is Yomiko Readman," said the woman. As she moved her book a bit to turn the page, Kaiba got a glimpse of pink crystal on a pink lanyard around her neck.

"That's a stone!" exclaimed the owner of Kaiba Corp.

"The man said that this is the Strato Stone of Wind," said Yomiko.

"Which man?" asked Rokusho.

Meanwhile, Takuya walked over to the fireplace. He bent down to move the cloth-covered object from the fireplace, intending to get it out of the way in case a spark flew.

"Please, do not touch me," said a voice. Takuya pulled back and the object turned around. It wasn't a cheap decoration, after all. It was some sort of armored creature the shape and size of a bowling ball wrapped up in a blue cape.

"I am Meta Knight," said the creature.

"Takuya Kanbara," said Takuya, "So I guess you must have gotten a stone, too."

"The water powers of the Aqua Stone," replied Meta Knight.

"Nice to meet you," said Takuya.

Just then, the soft sound of a small wind instrument could be heard playing. Everyone turned to see a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears dressed in a green tunic, a green cap, leather boots, leather gauntlets, and white clothes underneath the green tunic playing some sort of musical instrument. He stopped for a moment and looked at everyone else. Rokusho clapped his hands for the young man.

"That was a nice tune," said Rokusho.

"Thank you," said the man as he stood up. Around his neck was a light-blue stone.

"So, what stone is that?" asked Takuya.

"This is the Chrono Stone of Time," said the man, "My name is Link."

Not far away from where Yomiko sat was a girl with short dark blue hair reading a book. She wore the uniform of a Japanese schoolgirl and she had some sort of pink wand-like object in her pocket. Around her neck was an icy-blue crystal.

"Oh, hello," she said, "I didn't notice you as you walked in. My name is Ami."

"Pleases to meet you," said the others.

"So, which power were you given?" asked Kaiba.

"Well, this is supposed to be the Cryo Stone of Ice," said Ami as she set her book aside.

"Anyway, I better be getting back to the kitchen," said Albert, "The chief will be here soon, so find something to read or something." And with that, Albert left the library.

It wasn't long before a boy with brown hair and a sword dressed in an odd green costume walked in accompanied by Ryo and a black-haired man wearing a white uniform. The boy had a green stone around his neck while the man had a white one.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to two more stone holders," said Ryo. First, he gestured towards the boy. "This is Li Syaoran from Reedington. That stone around his neck is the Arbor Stone of Wood."

"Hi," said Takuya, being the first to respond.

"And this is Daigo Madoka," said Ryo, "And that's the Spark Stone of Light around his neck."

"Hi," said Daigo.

"Which means we're now only missing a few more people," said Ryo, causing everyone to fall over.

"Could you at least try to be more specific?!" said Kaiba.

"I don't know. Three to seven, maybe," said Ryo.

Meanwhile, Takuya had found an interesting book and sat down on the couch to read it. He soon became as oblivious to his surroundings as Yomiko until he noticed a shadow blocking his light. Looking up, he could see a man around the age of eighteen with lavender hair wearing black clothes, a blue jacket, and carrying a sword on his back. Around his neck was a silver crystal.

"You must be another stone holder," said Takuya.

"Good guess, kid," said the man, "It's right around my neck."

"I know," said Takuya, "I'm Takuya."

"My name is Trunks," said the man, "and I possess the Lunar Stone of Moon."

"Moon?" Kaiba asked, "What exactly is that supposed to do?"

Before Trunks could respond, the door opened and Kai entered accompanied by a fourteen-year-old boy with dark hair dressed in a white shirt and black pants and a young man with a blue top, white, pants, a red hood, and a sword.

"Here are the two that arrived around the same time as the goggle kid, Ryo," said Kai, "This teenaged punk is Shinji Ikari. He possesses the Destiny Stone of Fate."

"Hey, don't call me things like that," said Shinji.

"And this is Ashitaka, holder of the Spirit Stone. Its power is self-explanatory," said Kai.

"Greetings," said Ashitaka.

"Alright, everyone's here. So where's the leader?" Kai asked as he leaned his back against a wall.

"He'll be here," said Richie upon entering the library with Sparky now on his shoulder.

As they waited for the arrival of the ADI's leader, Albert re-entered the room with a large tray covered with china teacups and a large pot of tea.

"Tea, anyone?" he offered as he poured everyone a bit of the hot drink.

"Thanks," said all the stone holders as they each took a cup and sat down.

"Hey, where did Yomiko go?" asked Takuya. He felt someone tap his shoulder and he turned around to face Link, who was pointing up towards the side. Takuya looked and saw Yomiko among the stacks pulling out books and piling them all in her arms.

"She must really like books," said Li.

"I think 'obsessed' is a better word to use," said Rokusho.

As everyone talked amongst each other, exchanging stories and learning more about each other, the doors opened once again and in walked a man in his mid-thirties or so with a red cloak over his shoulders. He had spiked brown hair with a few strands falling over his face. Beneath the cloak, he wore a suit of blue leather armor, a pair of black boots, and a pair of brown leather gauntlets.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you all to the leader of the Anime Defense Initiative," announced Ryo, causing everyone to look in his direction.

"At the moment, you may call me the Otaku," said the cloaked man.

"Otaku? That sounds more like an evil alias," said Rokusho.

"So why did you bring us here?" Daigo asked.

"I shall explain everything," said Otaku as he sat down, "Long ago in ancient times, there lived a great evil whose name has been forbidden from being mentioned ever again, so don't ask me what his name is. Anyway, he came to possess the Omega Stone – a crystal so powerful that it could destroy the universe if placed into the wrong hands. The sorcerer tried to harness its power and ended up becoming a being of great power. However, my ancient ancestor, Hikari Otaku, was able to steal the Omega Stone. He split the Stone into sixteen different pieces and scattered them all over the universe, hoping that the evil would never be able to put them back together. Each piece contained a different power and each one contained a different anime spirit. The demon was then sealed in a mystical realm by Hikari Otaku, who sacrificed his life to do so."

"So these stones are all part of the Omega Stone?" Shinji asked.

"Yes," replied Otaku, "But now the demon has returned and the pieces of the Omega Stone have been given to you. Each stone has its own special power and beast. Tell me, what are each of your stones' powers?"

"Well, mine is Fate," answered Shinji.

"Water," said Meta Knight.

"Time," said Link.

"Light," said Daigo.

"Mine is Ice," said Ami.

"Spirit," replied Ashitaka.

"Wood," said Li.

"Steel," answered Rokusho.

"Wind," said Yomiko, who had finally finished stacking her arms with books.

"Thunder," said Kaiba.

"Moon," said Trunks, "although that doesn't tell me much at the moment."

"Fire," replied Takuya.

"Hang on a second. That only makes twelve of us," said Shinji.

"He's right," added Trunks, "There's supposed to be sixteen in total. Which means that four stone are missing."

"What?!" exclaimed Otaku.

* * *

A lone figure stood in the shadows completely concealed from sight as he watched world after world being destroyed. All around him, viewscreens displayed burning wastelands, war-torn worlds, and countless victims. The figure grinned. As he continued to watch the mass destruction, legions of Blackhearted minions were bringing in captives to be converted into Blackhearted, themselves.

"Everything is going as planned." A massive shadow appeared on the wall behind the figure with red glowing eyes and a bright red mouth.

"I expected just as much, Cherubimon," said the figure, not removing his eyes from the viewscreens. Cherubimon had been one of the beings who had become a Blackhearted willingly, hence he wasn't under the complete control of the demon.

"If everything goes well, nothing will stand in the way of the Blackhearted," said a new voice, which happened to belong to a teenager with long white hair. He was dressed in blue jeans, a blue and white striped T-shirt, a green unbuttoned T-shirt overtop, and some sort of golden ring with five spikes and a pyramid in the center worn around his neck by a string.

"Bakura," said the demon, recalling the name.

"Malik believes that the time has come to strike," continued Yami Bakura, "But you may speak to him if you wish." At that moment, a teen with a large mass of spiky greyish-white hair and the Eye of Anubis glowing in the center of his forehead appeared. He wore a long purple cloak over his shoulders and he was carrying some sort of artifact in his hand.

"Now would indeed be a good time to strike," said Yami Malik as two black creatures rolled in a man, who was strapped to a table with wheels. The evil spirit grinned as he clutched the Millennium Rod in his hand. With one tug, he freed the artifact's blade from its sheath.

"For," continued Yami Malik, "if we were to wait, we could be run down very quickly. The best thing to do is to attack the throat while we can." And with that, Yami Malik raised the Millennium Rod and plunged the blade deep into the man's throat, silencing him forever.

* * *

Back at ADI headquarters, Takuya had just jumped off the diving board and landed in the swimming pool of the base's recreation center, which some of the staff dubbed as part of the extremely large training center. The boy resurfaced and lifted his goggles away from his eyes. However, his mind was still troubled.

"Hey, you okay?" Li asked, who was also trying to enjoy a good swim.

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind right now," answered Takuya.

"You behind left someone you love, didn't you?" said Li.

"How do you know?" Takuya asked, slightly bewildered.

"Because I had to do the exact same thing," replied Li.

* * *

Red lights started flashing and a loud alarm started blaring. One by one, or in small groups, all the members of the ADI reached the command room, where Otaku sat in a large chair.

"What's up?" asked Trunks.

"We've got a problem in one of the worlds," answered Otaku, "Richie, pinpoint the location. Ryo, run a scan for any familiar Blackhearted. Jim, go get the transdimensional portal ready."

"So, what's the problem?" asked Takuya. As if to answer his question, three viewscreens suddenly popped out from thin air in front of Otaku, each with the face of the person whom Otaku had just contacted.

"Sir, this Blackhearted doesn't register in our files," said Ryo.

"Alright. Richie, where is the target?" demanded Otaku.

"Just two more seconds," said Richie, "Here we go. Location: Domino City."

"That's my hometown!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"The portal is ready, Sir," said Jim. (A/N: Yes, this is Jim from Outlaw Star.)

"Move out, then!" ordered Otaku. The twelve stone holders quickly nodded and ran off towards the portal room.

* * *

DOMINO CITY

A large swirling vortex suddenly appeared out of the blue and the twelve stone holders emerged with Kaiba in the lead. The wealthy CEO walked past all the fallen buildings and debris until he stopped at one particular building.

"Kaiba Corp.," Ami read the sign over the door.

"Kaiba, does your family own a company or something?" asked Shinji.

"I own the company," said Kaiba as he scanned the area.

Mokuba, I know you're still alive. Just hang on, little brother. If I could help you before, I an do it again, thought the duelist.

"Seto Kaiba!" a voice boomed out. A swirling black mass appeared and materialized into dark figure completely covered in a black hooded cloak. Its yellow eyes pierced through the darkness that its face was hidden in.

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked.

"I just wanted to see if you truly are the best duelist in the world," said the figure.

"I have no time for games!" Kaiba shot back, "I'm here to save my brother!"

"You mean Mokuba?" the cloaked figure asked slyly, which caused Kaiba to change his tone.

"What have you done to Mokuba?" Kaiba asked.

"Nothing yet," replied the figure, "But here's how it works. We shall duel. If you win, Mokuba goes free. If I win, you surrender the Blitz Stone and join the Blackhearted."

"Kaiba, don't do it," said Daigo.

"Stay out of this!" snapped Kaiba before turning to the cloaked Blackhearted, "I accept."

"Excellent," said the Blackhearted. He snapped his fingers and he and Kaiba suddenly appeared on the roof of Kaiba Corp. headquarters.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, the others just looked up.

"We have to do something," said Ashitaka.

But before any of them could make a move, several black creatures appeared. They were all about two feet tall with yellow glowing eyes.

"These things must be Blackhearted," Trunks observed.

"We'll deal with these guys first, then help Kaiba," said Rokusho as he threw aside his cape. He and the other four sword users all drew their weapons and stood ready.

"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!" shouted Ami, transforming her into Sailor Mercury.

"SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" shouted Takuya.

"AGNIMON!"

Daigo reached into his GUTS uniform and produced the Spark Lens. Holding it up, the sides opened and the crystal flashed, transforming him into the warrior of light, Ultraman Tiga. But instead of being a giant as he usually was, he was human sized.

"Let's do it!" said Trunks. And with that, he flew into battle and began slashing at the minions with the Z-Sword.

"CHANBARA SWORD!" shouted Rokusho. He went from one minion to another, slashing every single one with his golden arm-mounted weapon.

"ELEMENT LIGHTNING! COME TO MY AID!" shouted Li. He threw the incantation into the air and pressed the hilt of his sword against it, sending bolts of lightning at the Blackhearted. Meanwhile, Agnimon smashed his fists together and created two swirling flames around his arms.

"BURNING SALMANDER!" shouted the Legendary Warrior of Fire. He drew back each fist and threw them forward, firing each attack at the minions.

"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!" shouted Sailor Mercury. Her attack destroyed several minions, but only to succeed in bringing more in.

"Everyone out of the way!" shouted Link. Everyone backed away as Link performed some sort of arm motion. He suddenly slammed his palm into the ground and created a dome of fire around him, which spread outward, killing several Blackhearted minions.

Meanwhile, Yomiko stood with her briefcase open. She grabbed sheets of paper from it on occasion and threw them at the minions, seriously cutting them.

"I hope Kaiba's doing okay," said Shinji.

* * *

"Are you ready?" asked the Blackhearted duelist.

"Let's just get this over with," said Kaiba. He placed his dueling system onto his arm and slid his deck in. the card zones snapped together and the Life Points were set. The Blackhearted suddenly pushed aside his cloak to reveal a dueling system on his arm.

"Time to duel!" shouted both duelists as they each drew their first five cards.

(A/N: Please note that I'll be using Battle City rules.)

Kaiba: 4000 / Blackhearted: 4000

"I'll begin with these," said the Blackhearted. First, he placed a monster in facedown defense position. Then he placed two cards into the Magic/Trap slots and the holograms of two facedown cards appeared.

"Now it's my turn," said Kaiba as he drew his first card, "I'll begin by place one card facedown and then playing my Battle Ox in attack mode! And now I'll have it attack your facedown monster! AXE SLAM ATTACK!" The Battle Ox raised its mighty ax and brought it down on the Blackhearted's monster, which turned out to be a Griggle.

"It's still earl in the duel," said the Blackhearted as he drew a card, "First, I play the Blue-Winged Crown in attack mode! Next, I'll play this field card: Mountain, which increases my monster's attack power from 1600 to 1800. And now Blue-Winged Crown, attack with Blue Wing Beating!"

"Not so fast!" said Kaiba, "I laid down a Trap Card, which I'm activating now!" said Kaiba, "Reverse Trap!" The holographic card rose up so that it faced the Blackhearted.

"Reverse Trap?! That reverses increases and decreases in all monsters' powers for one turn!" exclaimed the Blackhearted.

"Correct," said Kaiba, "meaning your Blue-Winged Crown has been reduced to 1400 attack power!"

The two of them watched as the Blue-Winged Crown attacked the Battle Ox, only to have itself destroyed.

Kaiba: 4000 / Blackhearted: 3700

"Very impressive, Kaiba," said the Blackhearted, "But let's see how long you can keep up your winning streak." The cloaked evil reached for his deck and drew a card. "Let's see if your Battle Ox can handle this monster." He put the card facedown in defense mode.

"I don't plan to attack it with my Battle Ox," said Kaiba as he drew his next card, "For now I sacrifice it and send out the Judge Man!" With those words said, the Battle Ox was destroyed and the powerful Judge Man emerged. The megaton monster advanced and brought its clubs down on the Blackhearted's monster, which turned out to be a Giant Soldier of Stone.

"A lucky shot," said the Blackhearted. He drew his next card and laid it facedown in defense mode.

"Are you just going to keep defending?" Kaiba asked, "Stop wasting my time like this. I'll equip the Judge Man with Invigoration, raising his attack power to 2600 and lowering his defense to 2000. Now Judge Man, attack with Double Megaton Club Bash now!" The monster followed Kaiba's command and brought down its clubs, destroying a Giant Rat.

"You destroyed my Giant Rat, which means I may select one monster from my Deck with an attack power of 1500 or lower and summon it onto the field in attack mode," said the Blackhearted. He ran through his deck until he found the card he was looking for. Then he shuffled his cards and reinserted them into the card reader before placing out his card. "Labyrinth Wall!" As soon as his card touched the surface of the duel system, massive stone walls emerged and stood tall.

"And my turn ends," said Kaiba.

"First I draw," said the Blackhearted, "Next, I'll switch my Labyrinth Wall into defense mode. And then, I place this card in defense mode."

"This duel won't go anywhere if you keep defending," said Kaiba as he drew, "Now I'll place one card facedown and throw down Ryu-Kishin Powered in attack mode." Upon the world Duel Monsters champion's words, the mentioned monster appeared alongside the powerful Judge Man.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, huh?" the Blackhearted muttered to himself.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, Razor Claw Slash attack!" Kaiba ordered. His monster leapt forward and slashed at the Blackhearted's facedown monster.

"You attacked my Guardian of the Throne Room!" said the Blackhearted as his monster was revealed, "Its defense points are 1600, equal to the attack power of your Ryu-Kishin Powered. So no damage as been done. And now it is my turn." The cloaked being reached down to his deck and drew one card from it.

I wonder what that creep is thinking right now, Kaiba thought as he waited with his arms crossed. Finally his opponent moved.

"I shall sacrifice my Guardian of the Throne Room and bring out the Twin-Headed Fire Dragon!" announced the Blackhearted. The yellow tank was immediately destroyed and out came a massive red dragon with two heads and a clawed tail. "Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, DUAL INFERNO ATTACK!" The mythical creature opened both of its mouths and fired, each spewing a stream of hot flames at Kaiba's Ryu-Kishin Powered, destroying it."

Kaiba: 3400 / Blackhearted: 3700

"That was a fatal mistake," said Kaiba as he drew, "For now I send the Judge Man to attack your Twin-Headed Fire Dragon! TWIN MEGATON CLUB BASH!"

The Blackhearted, however, was not afraid. "In attacking my monster, you have activated a Trap Card: Spellbinding Circle!"

Kaiba could only watch as his monster was ensnared by the trap and his attack points lowered from 2600 down to 1900. He grimaced at the idea of what was going to happen next.

"Now it's my turn again. Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, DUAL INFERNO ATTACK!" ordered the Blackhearted. Once again, the monster opened its mouths and fired, obliterating Kaiba's Judge Man.

Kaiba: 3100 / Blackhearted: 3700

Kaiba slowly drew his next card and looked at it. He then turned towards his opponent. "First, I place this card facedown and place a monster in defense mode," he announced, "Next, I'll play the Ookazi card!"

"Ookazi?" the Blackhearted wondered.

"Ookazi is a Magic Card that takes off 800 of your Life Points directly," Kaiba explained.

Kaiba: 3100 / Blackhearted: 2900

"This isn't over yet," said the hooded duelist, "Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, attack now!"

"Not so fast! I'm activating a Trap Card, as well," said Kaiba, "Say hello to the Dragon Capture Jar!"

"WHAT?!" screamed the Blackhearted. He watched as his creature was taken into the ceramic jar and sealed up inside it.

"And now that you've attacked, it's my turn," said Kaiba. He drew his card and looked at it. It was one of his beloved Blue-Eyes White Dragons, but he couldn't play it then since he only had one monster on the field. He took a quick look at the other cards in his hands and a strategy came to him quickly. But instead of executing it right away, he simply laid one card in defense mode and ended his turn.

Desperately, the Blackhearted duelist drew his next card and sighed with relief. "I play Remove Trap!" He placed his card onto the field and destroyed the Dragon Capture Jar, freeing his Twin-Headed Fire Dragon. "Next, I sacrifice my dragon and my Labyrinth Wall to summon Garnecia Elefantis in attack mode!" Upon those words, both creatures were destroyed and the massive purple elephant emerged.

"Garnecia Elefantis?!" Kaiba gasped. It was a super rare card and it was also one of the strongest Beast-Warrior monsters in the whole game.

"Garnecia, go! IVORY SABER SLASH!" shouted the Blackhearted. The massive elephant lumbered over to one of Kaiba's facedown cards. It looked like it was going to be a hit until the mighty creature suddenly fell through a hole in the ground.

"You amateur!" said Kaiba, "You fell into another trap: Trap Hole!" The massive monster was destroyed and Kaiba discarded his Trap Hole into the Graveyard. It was his turn once again. Drawing another card, he saw that he had drawn his second Blue-Eyes White Dragon and looked at his hand once again.

"This duel is about to end!" said the top-ranked duelist, "First, I play the Lord of Dragons in attack mode! Next, I'll activate this Magic Card: The Flute of Summoning Dragon, which allows me to summon two dragons from my hand. So now, let them be revealed!" Kaiba slammed his two cards onto his duel system and his two Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared and roared loudly.

So, these are the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragons, thought the Blackhearted.

All I need now is my third Blue-Eyes and I'll be able to fuse them with this Polymerization card, Kaiba thought to himself.

"Go Blue-Eyes White Dragons," ordered Kaiba, "WHITE LIGHTNING ATTACK!" Both dragons powered up and launched a powerful sparking beam of energy at the Blackhearted, aimed directly at his Life Points.

"Activating Waboku!" announced the dark duelist. His card was turned up and three women dressed in light-blue robes appeared, blocking Kaiba's attack.

"You're only delaying the inevitable," said Kaiba.

"We'll see," said the Blackhearted. He drew a card and placed it onto the field in defense mode.

"That was fast," said Kaiba as he drew his next card. It was his third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But instead of playing it, he set a Trap Card down and waited as he watched his opponent draw his next card.

"Looks like it's all over for you, Seto Kaiba," said the Blackhearted, "I play Dark Hole!"

"Not so fast!" said Kaiba, "I activate Magic Jammer! I'll discard one card from my hand to stop you from using that Dark Hole." He reached into his hand and pulled his third Blue-Eyes White Dragon out and sent it into the Graveyard.

"Well played," commented the Blackhearted, "I guess I can just throw my only card in my hand onto the field in defense mode. And I'll activate the Gamble Trap Card, calling heads in the process!" A massive hand appeared and flipped a large coin. The coin bounced for a moment before landing with the heads side up. Smiling, the Blackhearted drew from his deck until he had a total of five cards in his hand.

"Well then," said Kaiba, "I play Monster Reborn and bring back my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba's third dragon immediately appeared on the field between the first two and roared. Then he placed another card onto the field facedown. The Blackhearted might have been scared, but no one could tell since his face was hidden by his hood.

"And now, I'll use my Polymerization card to fuse them together!" announced Kaiba. A white stream of light engulfed all three dragons. A moment later, a pair of white dragon wings emerged and the light receded.

"What is that creature?!" gasped the Blackhearted.

"Say hello to the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" shouted Kaiba as the mighty three-headed dragon stepped forward and roared, "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, NEUTRON BLAST!" All three dragon heads opened their mouths and each one powered up a White Lightning. Then, they combined them all into one massive energy ball and fired a beam at it, destroying the Blackhearted's monster, which was Neo the Magic Swordsman.

Such a powerful monster, thought the Blackhearted duelist.

"Surrender now while you still have a chance!" said Kaiba.

"Never," said the Blackhearted as he drew his next card, "First, I activate the Dark Magic Ritual! And now I'll sacrifice the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Monster Egg from my hand to summon the Magician of Black Chaos!" A pentagram surrounded by two poles appeared on the field. The images of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon and a Monster Egg appeared and disappeared into the poles. A dark cloud appeared above the field and the powerful Magician of Black Chaos descended down from it and landed on the pentagram.

"What a waste," said Kaiba.

"And now, I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" continued the Blackhearted, "And now I'll play my own Polymerization card!"

WHAT?!" shouted Kaiba, "You can't fuse a Red-Eyes Black Dragon with the Magician of Black Chaos!"

"If you were one of the Blackhearted, you would understand," laughed the cowled minion, "Our powers allow anything to happen!"

The two of them watched as the Magician of Black Chaos merged with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. There was a bright flash and there stood the Red-Eyes on its own as it slowly changed. Its horns began to change shape as a mass of long black hair grew out from its skull. A series of buckles appeared all over its arms and legs. A flash of red light appeared above the monster and two red beams flew down and hit the dragon in the chest and forehead, creating a pentagram at each location.

"Behold the BLACK CHAOS DRAGON!" shouted the Blackhearted. The dragon let out a mighty roar as its stats were revealed. Its attack power was 3400 and its defense was 2900. Upon seeing this, Kaiba smirked.

"You're wasting good cards," Kaiba said, shaking his head.

"Now I empower it with Megamorph, doubling its attack power since my Life Points are lower than yours!" said the Blackhearted.

"WHAT?!?!" shouted Kaiba.

"Black Chaos Dragon, attack the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with CHAOS INFERNO!!!!" shouted the Blackhearted. The dragon opened its mouth and built up a massive red and black fireball, which it launched at Kaiba's dragon, destroying it and doing serious damage to his Life Points.

Kaiba: 800 / Blackhearted: 2900

Kaiba knew his current situation. He was now facing a monster he had never seen before in his life with power that could destroy him instantly. He drew a card and looked at it.

"I play Monster Recovery," said Kaiba. He removed his Lord of Dragons from the field and placed it on top of his deck with his hand and shuffled. He replaced his deck into the card reader and drew a fresh hand of five new cards. He noticed one particular card and it gave him hope.

Let's going, Kaiba. We don't have all day," said the Blackhearted.

"You want quick, I'll give it to you," said Kaiba, "I play the Mysterious Puppeteer in attack mode and activate Ultimate Offering! With this combo, I can summon an extra monsters without losing a single Life Point." He took three cards from his hand and placed them all out on the field in defense mode.

What is he planning? The hooded fiend wondered, I better not risk it quite yet.

"I'll play the Pot of Greed," said the Blackhearted. He slid his card into the slot and the green grinning jug appeared on the field. A pair of ghostly hands emerged from it, grabbed two cards, and brought them over to the duelist. Immediately, the Life Point counter switched from his number of Life Points to the words "DRAW TWO". The Blackhearted drew two cards form his deck and placed a Harpie Brother on the field before ending his turn.

This better be it, thought Kaiba as he drew. He held the card up close and looked at it. It was the last card he was looking for.

"Yes!" said the champ, "Alright, time to end this duel! First off, I sacrifice my thee facedown monsters: Mystic Horseman, the Hitotsu-Me Giant, and Saggi the Dark Clown." The three monsters appeared on the field and were destroyed one by one.

What is he doing?! Thought the Blackhearted.

"And now here comes toe monster of your demise!" said Kaiba he placed the card he drew onto the field, "I now summon the GOD OF THE OBELISK!" Thunder roared and lightning flashed as flames rose out of the ground and the massive hulking monster, God of the Obelisk emerged onto the field.

"God of the Obelisk?!" gasped the Blackhearted ,but he quickly recovered, "Nice try, but it won't do you any good. Even if my Harpie Brother is destroyed, I'll still have 700 Life Points left."

"Who said I was going to attack right away?" Kaiba asked, "For now I play Soul Exchange! I'll sacrifice my Mysterious Puppeteer and your Harpie Brother to activate God of the Obelisk's effect!" The two monsters were destroyed and the God of the Obelisk clenched its fist and drew it back.

"Strike now, Obelisk! Destroy his monster and his Life Points with God Hand Crusher!" Obelisk brought forth its massive fist and slammed it down hard on the Black Chaos Dragon, obliterating it while at the same time destroying the rest of the Blackhearted's Life Points.

"THIS CANNOT BE!" shouted the black hooded minion as he dropped down to zero.

"It's over," said Kaiba, "I've won."

Kaiba: 800 / Blackhearted: 0

"Now release my brother!" demanded Kaiba.

"You think it's that easy, do you?" asked the Blackhearted, "Well it's not!" He reached into his deck and pulled out a Swordstalker card, which he threw at Kaiba. The card instantly transformed into a real monster and the Swordstalker ran towards Kaiba.

"I'm afraid it's easier than you think," said Kaiba. The Blitz Stone around his neck suddenly began to glow. The Chinese character for thunder within it shone brightly as sparks flew inside the crystal. Just as the Swordstalker struck, an electrical barrier surrounded Kaiba and protected him.

"What in the?!" exclaimed the Blackhearted, "Is that one of the stones?!"

"The Blitz Stone of Thunder!" announced Kaiba. The electrical barrier suddenly lashed out at the Swordstalker and destroyed it. Almost immediately after the monster's demise, the barrier dropped and a massive bolt of lightning descended down from the sky and landed right between Kaiba and the Blackhearted minion.

"This cannot be!" shouted the cloaked being.

"It is. Now face the power of the animal spirit of the Blitz Stone!" shouted Kaiba. The Blitz Stone glowed brightly and several bolts of lightning rained down from the sky and combined into one massive bolt, which took on the shape of a massive sparking dragon. The dragon roared loudly and launched itself at the Blackhearted.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" screamed the underling as the dragon made contact with him and completely destroyed him.

"I have won," said Kaiba.

* * *

"I'm out of paper!" shouted Yomiko.

"There's too many!" said Agnimon.

"We cannot defeat them all!" exclaimed Meta Knight.

Ultraman Tiga fired another Tiga Slicer and backed up against his allies.

"We can't go on like this," said Trunks.

Suddenly, several bolts of lightning rained down on the Blackhearted and destroyed all the minions. When the smoke cleared, everyone could see Kaiba emerging from the Kaiba Corp. building with a small boy with long black hair holding his hand.

"Kaiba, you made it!" said Takuya after he devolved from Agnimon.

"Who's the kid?" asked Li.

"This is my little brother, Mokuba," Kaiba introduced.

* * *

"Well, so much for that," said a deep voice, which so happened to belong to yet another being who joined the Blackhearted willingly: Cell.

"Shut up!" said Yami Malik, "At least the lord hasn't overheard us."

"But now we know the true power of at least one of the stones," said Cherubimon, who was still speaking via his silhouette on the wall, "Let us use that to our advantage."

"Then I suggest we wait," said a new voice. Everyone turned to see a tall dark-skinned man with red hair wearing armor and a red cape enter.

"Ganondorf, don't think you're so great just because the possess the Triforce of Power!" said Yami Bakura.

"Patience is a virtue," said Cell, "I bided my time carefully in order to reach the form I'm currently in."

"Cell and Ganondorf both have a point," said Cherubimon, "We should wait."

"For now," muttered Yami Malik.

* * *

Kaiba sat in the ADI infirmary as his brother slowly awoke.

"Mokuba, are you alright?" Kaiba asked.

"Seto? Is that you?" Mokuba asked, weakly.

"It's me, Mokuba," Kaiba reassured his brother.

"Seto, I knew you'd come to rescue me," said Mokuba, smiling.

"You know I'd never leave you," said Kaiba, "You're my little brother."

"Kinda a sweet scene, isn't it?" Ryo asked as he and Kai stood just outside, "Two brothers reunited."

"Why are you asking me?" Kai retorted.

"Just trying to make conversation," said Ryo.

"Well, don't," said Kai as he left.

* * *

Takuya laid on his bed in his quarters thinking. Seeing the Kaiba brothers reunited caused him to think about his own little brother, Shinya. His mind kept going back to his friends and family. But then again, so did everyone else's.

"Something tells me this is war," the goggle buy said to himself.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Next time, the team goes off for extensive training after their last battle with the Blackhearted. Their trainers – one a powerful swordsman, the other a gunblade wielder – are going to push the team to their limit. But can they do it in time to face off against the enemy?

Special Bonus: An introduction to the Armored Blackhearted.

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And that was the second chapter. Please read and send in your reviews.