Note: Blake and Rocko are officially off the fic.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 16 for details

Chapter 17: The Black Gate Test, Part I: Fire and Ice

"Hey look!" Yugi told his other self as he saw Tea, Mai, Joey, Kaiba and Kevin all standing around, looking at the iron black gate that safely protected the only known exit.

Kaiba took notice of Yugi's arrival and simply said. "And he shows up." Everyone turned around and smiled and waved at Yugi as he walked off the plane. As soon as everyone was grouped back together, the gate began to open and out walked 2 men, one dressed fully in red, and the other, dressed in nothing except blue. In between them was a charming man with reflective blue hair, and dressed in a fancy tuxedo with a white rose on the front pocket.

"So you've all managed to make it to the Black Gate." He unexcitedly announced. "Well then, can you earn your freedom?" he chuckled as a new, advanced type of duel disk appeared on his arm.

"What is that thing?" Joey asked.

"Well it's an advanced version of a duel disk." The man simply replied.

"You all are just the same! And being the most superior duelist here, I challenge you to a duel!" Kaiba declared as his Platinum Disk loaded.

"Not just yet Kaiba! First, you must earn the privilege to challenge me. And no, you will not duel Yugi Moto." He chuckled, especially on the ending as Kaiba and Yugi locked eyes.

~~~~~~ FLASHBACK~~~~~

Pegasus: First, you must earn the privilege to challenge me! And you can only do that by defeating Yugi in a duel!

Kaiba and Yugi to face off. Saggi infects Yugi's deck. Kaiba summons Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Yugi pulls out Mammoth Graveyard/Living Arrow/Polymerization combination attack. Yugi summons Celtic Guardian. Kaiba wipes out Celtic Guardian with Blue Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba catches star chips and walks into the castle. Pegasus and Kaiba face off.

~~~~~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~

"A great duelist is prepared for anything? Right, Seto?" he questioned. Kaiba scoffed. "Of course! Name your terms!" he retorted.

"You will duel these two! But don't worry, you get a partner, him!" he yelled, pointing directly at Joey.

"WHEELER?!" Kaiba instantly screamed.

"That or I can always shut this gate..." he began.

"Alright, fine! Wheeler and I versus your two men." Kaiba spat.

"First, my name is Damien and I will permanently get rid of the lot of you! Now then, luckily for you 4..." he began, pointing at Yugi, Kevin, Mai, and Tea, "you get to watch your friend's destruction! However, in the small existing chance they actually win, I will challenge all 6 of you! Don't think 6 on 1 will be unfair at all. My deck is superior to any chance you all would have of winning, but first thing's first." He stated, snapping his fingers. Instantly, four platforms shot up from out of the earth, carrying the four duelists to the top of them, which was about 13 feet high.

"Now let the duel commence!" Damien stated walking back into the tower overlooking the gate. (I must prepare my deck) he thought. (Something to counter Black Magician, Blue Eyes, Crush Card, Harpie Lady, Buster Blader, Black Magician Girl and Guilford the Lightning. This will be a test indeed.)

The first player (the one in red) drew his opening hand. "Now I summon Fire Cannon (1650/1400) in attack mode!" he declared as a large blazing red cannon appeared on the field. "Now I'll set this card face down to end my turn." Kaiba rudely drew.

"Go! Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode! I'll set two cards down to finish out my turn." He announced.

The second figure drew. "I summon Ice Statue (1000/1800) in defense mode and set 3 cards face down to finish my move." He snickered.

Joey drew. "Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in attack mode and set two cards face down and end my move," announced Joey.

The first figure drew. "Now I summon Blackland Fire Dragon (1500/800) to the field and next activate Fusion! I'll fuse my monsters into the Inferno Dragon Cannon (2200/2000)! (Let's see. One of them has a weak monster on the field, and 2 set cards, while one has a strong monster and 2 set cards. I'm no fool) he thought.

"Inferno Dragon Cannon, attack Vorse Raider!" he commanded as the cannon launched a molten fireball at the monster, blowing it up on contact. (K's LP: 3700)

"My turn." Kaiba declared while he drew. "First, I'll activate Silent Dead to revive Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in defense mode. Then, I activate the magic card, Cost Down, to lower each monster in my hand by 2 levels! Finally, I sacrifice Vorse Raider to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) to the field!" he exclaimed as his dragon roared its signature war.

"Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack!" commanded Kaiba as the dragon unleashed its signature stream of white lightning at flaming cannon, causing complete destruction. (1's LP: 3200) "Now I control the field!" Kaiba yelled.

"Correction. We." Joey corrected.

"Whatever. Get on with the duel." He demanded as #2 drew.

"You will soon regret that! For now I summon Ice Knight (1400/1800) in defense mode as well!" he announced as a second ice figure with even an ice sword took its ice shield in front of it.

Joey drew. "I summon Baby Dragon (1200/700) in defense mode and end my turn." He simply declared.

(Wheeler don't be a fool...) thought Kaiba.

(They will bring themselves down!) thought both opponents.

"My move then! First, I play Return of the Doomed to revive Inferno Dragon Cannon (2200/2000)! Secondly, I'll activate Flame Strike! This card boosts my monster's attack power equal to the attack of the most powerful monster on the field!" he explained as the dragon cannon grew to the size of the dragon (3000/2000). Now, Inferno Dragon Cannon, attack Swordsman of Landstar!" commanded #1 while the dragon launched the fireball aimed directly at the swordsman.

"Activate trap card, Skull Dice! I knew you'd trigger it! And also, I activate my magic card, Rush Recklessly!" he burst while the swordsman glowed and it's attack points were raised (1200/1200)

"Now Skull Dice! Weaken his Inferno Dragon Cannon!" commanded Joey while the demon threw a dice on the ground, it rolled for a while, and came to a stop, landing on a 4. "That cuts your monster's attack power to 750, plenty enough for my swordsman to wipe out! Swordsman of Landstar, counterattack!" Joey demanded while the monster quickly wiped out its attacker. (1's LP: 2750)

(Something's not right about this duel) contemplated Kaiba. (While one of them tends to play offensive, one of them is playing defensive. I need to wipe out their remaining defenses, but I can't risk the chance of having my Blue Eyes destroy one of them.) he thought. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack #1's life points directly!" commanded Kaiba as the dragon launched the stream of white lightning.

Somebody then spoke out, but it was #2. "Reverse set trap card, Ice Mask! This trap weakens your dragon's attack power by the number of attack points one of my monsters has! So I'll use Ice Knight to cut your dragon's power to 1600!" he explained as the dragon was encased in ice for one second, but then continued its assault, at almost half its power. (1's LP: 1350)

#2 drew. "Next, I sacrifice both of my monsters to summon Ice Phantom! (2550/2800) Now you're out of options Wheeler! Ice Phantom, destroy Swordsman of Landstar now!" he commanded as the monster shot a stream of ice at the swordsman who became encased in it. The phantom then ran up and punched directly through the ice, shattering the swordsman. (J's LP: 2650)

"Too bad! Activate trap card, Michizure so you're monster's destroyed as well!" Joey exclaimed, but suddenly the trap was also encased in ice and instantly shattered.

"WHAT?!" Joey immediately reacted.

"Easy. At a simple cost of 2 cards from my hand, my Ice Phantom can destroy any trap card that affects it" responded #2.

Joey drew. "I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) to the field in defense mode and set another card face down to end my turn." He announced.

"My turn!" #1 proudly declared. "I call to the field Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in attack mode! Next, I activate the magic card, Secret Pass to the Treasures! This magic card allows me to attack your life points directly with my Hayabusa Knight! So Hayabusa Knight, attack Joey's life points directly!" commanded #1 while the knight jumped high in the air, and vertically slashed Joey, before returning to its post. (J's LP: 1650)

"However, you may recall Hayabusa Knight is able to attack twice in its battle phase! Plus, thanks to my Secret Pass card, I can attack Joey's life points again!" he instructed while the knight slashed Joey for the second time. (J's LP: 650)

"My move!" Kaiba declared. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards, and then summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) to the field in defense mode. Now Blue Eyes White Dragon! Attack Ice Phantom with your White Lightning attack!" commanded Kaiba while the dragon unleashed its signature blast of lightning, completely impaling the ice warrior.

"Reverse my second card, Enchanted Javelin! This trap adds the attack power of your Blue Eyes White Dragon to my life points!" exclaimed #2.

"And your trap has set off my counter! Reveal Bad Reaction to Simochi!" burst Joey as the trap card glowed. "Now it turns your healing into damage!" exclaimed Joey as #2 was shocked to watch his life points go down. (#2's LP: 550)

"Very well. I'll pass this turn." #2 declared while Joey drew.

"Now I summon Battle Warrior (700/1000) in defensive mode!" he declared as the warrior clenched his fists together.

#1 drew. "Are you ready?" he asked #2.

"Been waiting" he simply replied.

"Perfect because now you two witness the full power of our decks. Our decks are not simply fire and ice types, they contain multiple deck themes! Prepare to witness one, as first I activate Card Destruction!" requiring all four of us to draw new hands!" he exclaimed while Yugi and the others looked on.

"I don't like this at all." Otogi (Duke) said. "Multiple deck themes...there's no way they can lose. They can change the tide of the battle whenever they feel like it."

While #1 drew a hand of nothing but monster cards, #2 drew a hand of nothing but magic cards. Kaiba and Joey drew a combination of all 3 types.

"Now get ready to face us with a whole new strategy under our belts!" laughed both #1 and 2.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CARDS PLAYED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fire Cannon: ****/ 1650/1400/ Pyro Type

Vorse Raider: ****/1900/1200/Warrior Type

Ice Statue: ****/1000/1800/ Ice Type /Desc: When this monster is attacked in face down defense position you negate the attack and immediately summon this monster in face up attack position.

Swordsman of Landstar: ***/500/1200/Warrior Type

Blackland Fire Dragon: ****/1500/800/Dragon Type

Fusion: MAGIC/Desc: Fuse 2 monsters on the field or from your hand to create a fusion monster.

Inferno Dragon Cannon: *******/2200/2000/Fire Type/Desc: "Fire Cannon" + "Blackland Fire Dragon"

Silent Dead: MAGIC/Desc: Special summon one monster from your graveyard to play in defense mode. It may not attack as long as this card is in play.

Cost Down: MAGIC/Desc: Discard one card in your hand. The level of each monster card in your hand is downgraded by 2 levels until the end phase in which this card is activated.

Blue Eyes White Dragon: *********/3000/2500/Dragon Type

Ice Knight: ****/1400/1800/ Ice Type /Desc: If this card is face up on the field along with a "Fire Knight", you may special summon one "Aqua Knight" from your deck or graveyard to the field.

Baby Dragon: ***/1200/700/Dragon Type

Return of the Doomed: MAGIC/Desc: Revive one monster from your graveyard destroyed in your previous turn to the field in face up attack position.

Flame Strike: EQUIP MAGIC/Desc: A fire type monster equipped with this card increases its attack to the same attack strength as the monster with the highest attack strength on the field. If the equipped monster has the highest attack, increase the monster's attack power by 600 points.

Skull Dice: TRAP/Desc: You may only activate this card when your opponent attacks. Roll a six-sided die. Divide the attacking monster's attack points by the number rolled.

Rush Recklessly: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: Increase 1 monster's ATK by 700 points during the turn this card is activated.

Ice Mask: TRAP/Desc: When this card is activated, equip it one monster on the field. The equip monster's attack power is subtracted from the number of attack points of the strongest monster on your field.

Ice Phantom: ********/2550/2800/ Ice Type /Desc: Whenever this card is designated as a specific target for a trap card, you may discard 2 cards to negate and destroy the trap. Increase this monster's attack power by 200 for each monster with "Ice" in its name on your side of the field (excluding this card).

Michizure: You can activate this card when your monster is sent from the Field to the Graveyard. Destroy 1 monster on the Field.

Panther Warrior: ****/2000/1600/ Beast-Warrior Type/ Desc: Sacrifice one monster on your side of the field for this monster to attack. Cards tributed by other monster's effects are excluded.

Hayabusa Knight: ***/1000/700/ Warrior / Desc: This monster can attack twice during your battle phase.

Secret Pass to the Treasures: MAGIC/Desc: Select 1 face-up monster with an ATK equal to 1000 points or less on your side of the field. During the turn this card is activated, the selected monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

Pot of Greed: MAGIC/Desc: Draw 2 cards from your deck.

Lord of Dragons: ****/1200/1100/ Spellcaster /Desc: All Dragon-Type monsters cannot be targeted by Magic Cards, Trap Cards, or other effects that specifically designate a target while this card is face-up on the field.

Enchanted Javelin: TRAP/Desc: When your opponents monster attacks, increase your life points by the attacking monster's ATK points.

Bad Reaction to Simochi: CONTINIOUS TRAP/Desc: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, the effect of increasing your opponent's Life Points is negated and changed to inflict the same amount of points in Direct Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Battle Warrior: ***/1000/700/ Warrior Type

Card Destruction: MAGIC/Desc: All players must discard their entire hands and draw the same number of cards that they discarded from their respective Decks.