Here is the second duel in Battle city! A lot of drama is coming up, so enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anzu had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that one minute they had been sitting in the coffee house sipping some cappuccinos, and the next he was dueling some stranger who showed up out of no where.

"I guess we will start where we left off," Liam smiled.

"Things will never be the way they used to," Dayan said shortly, "But I know this is what you want, and I will grant your wish. Only after this is done, I will have your locator card."

Liam shook his head, "I've been waiting for this for too long. This is my battle."

Dayan shoved his deck into the slot, and powered up the duel disk. Liam was going to be sorry that he came back to challenge Dayan. He beat him before and he would beat him again. Liam was not the strongest duelist in the world. Neither did he have the best cards, but he was pretty good at strategy. Dayan knew Liam would play his cards to their full ability.

"Ok, you start," Liam said after drawing his first five cards, "Let's see if you still have your old touch."

Dayan merely nodded and drew a card. He set one monster in defense, and awaited Liam to make his move.

"Giving me the silent treatment, Dayan?," he asked nastily, "I'm not too worried. I'll have you whimpering about your defeat in no time."

"You have never been a strong duelist, Liam," Dayan said with no trace of a smile on his face, "What makes you think you can beat me?"

"It is true that when you and I dueled on the underground, I never held acclaim, but there is much more at stake here. I always play better when things are on the line. Didn't you ever wonder how I even survived on my own?"

Anzu gasped, 'Did he say on the underground?'

"I didn't know, and I didn't care," Dayan replied, "You are nothing but a grain of dirt beneath me."

Liam smiled, "Still hostile, are we?"

"It doesn't matter how long it has been since we last saw each other. I will never forget your treachery."

"You're still upset about that? I would have thought you could move on, but geez. . ."

Dayan's face darkened, "Because of you and your cowardice and greed a little girl lost her life! You wanted me dead, and look what came of it!"

"I was not the one who did the deed. I just passed on information. I am no more guilty than you are."

"Bullshit! You knew what kind of man you were dealing with! You knew exactly how he worked, but I know why you did it. I know he threatened you, and you caved. You valued your own life over mine and everyone else around me when I would have given mine to save you!," Dayan was now seething with anger.

'What are they talking about?,' Anzu wondered confused. She would have to ask Dayan to explain every thing after the duel, because she was completely lost.

"That is your fault you didn't just let Akurei deal with you, not mine. You could have let him take you and no one else would have been hurt."

"You know very well had I stayed there and given up, everyone in that house would have died. He only stopped when I wasn't there because he wanted to draw me out, but I've had enough of this conversation! Are you going to move or what?!"

"Fine," Liam said as he drew a card, "Your defense won't last long, because I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman in attack mode. Now my swordsman, attack his face down monster!"

Dayan's face down card flipped up to reveal the Aqua Madoor.

"Too bad, Liam," Dayan taunted, "But then again I guess only a real duelist would know not to start with a monster that weak."

"Shut up!," Liam snapped as his attack was blocked and he lost 900 life points, "You got lucky, but now I place one card face down and end my turn."

Dayan smiled, "That's it? This duel won't go far with soft playing like that." He drew a card. "I set one card face down, then I summon my Opticlops!" Opticlops appeared on the field, "Attack his Masaki the Legendary Swordsman!"

"I activate my Enchanted Javelin!," Liam called out as his face down card flipped up, "Now your attack is weakened to 0!"

"I don't think so," Dayan laughed back, "Weren't expecting this, were you? I activate my Seven Tools of the Bandit! With this trap card, I pay 1000 of my life points to negate and destroy one of my opponent's traps."

"Damn you!," Liam yelled as the attack continued and destroyed his swordsman. He watched as his life points dropped to 2400.

"You aren't doing very well. Maybe you should throw in the towel."

"I won't quit that easy!," Liam yelled as he drew a card, "I set a monster face down in defense, and another card face down. Then I play a card that will destroy your defense!"

"My Aqua Madoor?," Dayan asked, "What card are you talking about?"

"This one!," he shouted back as he played a magic card, "This is my Fissure card! It destroys the monster with the weakest attack on your side of the field! That means your strong defense will be destroyed because of its weak attack! Goodbye, Aqua Madoor!"

Dayan's monster was engulfed by a giant hand and pulled into the ground.

"You will pay for that one," Dayan grumbled as he drew a card, "I summon Gemini Elf!"

"Ha! You activated my face down trap!," Liam said as his trap card activated, "Watch as your elves fall to their death in my Trap Hole!" Dayan watched helplessly as his monsters fell into the hole and were destroyed.

"Fine, then! I attack with Opticlops!"

"You've attacked my Man-Eater Bug!," Liam was laughing hysterically now, "Your stupidity has sacrificed both of your monsters!" Liam's Man-Eater latched itself to Dayan's fiend and destroyed them both.

"Then I end my turn by setting one card face down," Dayan said quietly with fire burning in his eyes.

Liam drew a card, "Soon, you will be defeated. Your two locator cards will be mine, and I won't forget about your rarest card, but how about we raise the stakes?"

"What are you wanting?," Dayan asked him cautiously.

"If I win, not only will I get your locator cards and rarest card, but I also want your life," he replied laughing maniacally.

"What?," Anzu exclaimed, "That's insane! What a sick freak!"

"Now what would make me do something stupid like that?," Dayan asked.

"You didn't let me finish," Liam interjected, "If you win, then I'll tell you some information you're just dying to know."

"And what would that be?"

Liam smiled nastily, "I can tell you where Akurei is."

His eyes widened, "You know where he is?"

"I've always known. Akurei has always tried to keep in contact with me. I am his eyes in the underground, and I can tell him anything he needs to know about everyone in its wake. People like you and Ryou. He's very interested in you two."

Dayan laughed, "I knew you were grimy street trash, but I still underestimated you. I can't believe you are still helping that filth, but have it your way, Liam. I agree to your terms."

"Wonderful, then let's get this duel going again with my move," he said as he drew a card. A large smile spread across his face, "I have drawn a card that will take you down. You are no match for its special ability, and with no monsters on your side of the field, you are easy prey. Now come forth my Gray Wing!"

"What's that?!," Dayan asked as he watched a large dragon appear on the field.

"This almighty dragon has an attack of 1300, but it might as well be 2600. Gray Wing's special ability is that if I discard one card from my hand, then I can attack twice taking out 2600 of your life points!"

"No!," Anzu called out, "That will take Dayan's life points down to 400! He'll never win with that!"

"Attack his life points directly twice, Gray Wing!," Liam shouted as he discarded one card into the graveyard. Gray Wing attacked. The entire area was engulfed in dust. When it slowly cleared away, Dayan stood with a smile on his face.

"Why aren't your life points dropping?," Liam yelled.

"Open your eyes!," Dayan shouted back, "I activated my face-down card. My all-powerful Nutrient Z!"

"What? You actually prevented the damage to your life points? Damn you!"

"Not only that, but Nutrient Z allows me to add 4000 to my total life points if my opponent causes 2000 points or more damage to them." Dayan life point's rose from 3000 to 7000, then dropped from Liam's attack to 4400, "That gives me 1400 more life points than before. Did you really think I would leave myself open like that?"

"Alright, Dayan!," Anzu cheered, "Show this guy what you're made of!"

"Fine, I end my turn by setting this card face-down," Liam sneered.

Dayan drew, "I summon another Opticlops! My Opticlops has 500 more attack points than your Gray Wing, so now I attack!"

"Not so fast," Liam yelled as he activated his face-down card, "You triggered my Waboku trap! This card makes an attack of one of your monsters 0 during the turn this card is activated, and since that is the only monster you have on the field, my life points are completely safe along with my Gray Wing."

"They won't be for long," Dayan taunted.

"Enough of your mouth," Liam drew a card and smiled, "I play Card of Sanctity! This card lets us both draw until we have six cards in our hands." They both drew and refreshed their hands. Liam stared at his cards for a moment pondering the best way to take Dayan down.

"Make your move already," Dayan said beginning to get impatient. He needed to know where Akurei was, and he did not want to waste anymore time with this upstart.

"Alright, I play soul exchange! I sacrifice my Gray Wing and your Opticlops to bring forth this ultimate warrior! Behold my Sword Hunter!" Liam's Sword Hunter jumped onto the field with various arrays of weapons and armor adorning him.

"You used that soul exchange card, so you have to skip your battle phase," Dayan said, "So my life points are safe for now."

"But not for long," Liam interjected, "You had better be getting your affairs in order, because I'm going to enjoy killing you very slowly. Maybe I'll enlist you as my slave for a few years, what do you think, huh?"

"I don't have to worry about it, because I will not let filthy bastard like you defeat me," Dayan replied as he drew a card. He viewed his Witch of the Black Forest for a moment, and then placed it face down on the field in defense mode. That would have to do for now.

"Is that it? A defensive monster is all you can muster? I thought I would never see the day that the great mystery duelist Dayan would play such a sappy move!," Liam jeered at him, "Now let's take you down, shall we? I'm loving every minute of this. Now, Sword Hunter, attack his face-down monster!"

Dayan's witch was instantly destroyed, and he selected a card from his deck with a smile on his face. Liam had allowed him to draw his favorite monster. He had experienced it before, but now Dayan was going to make sure he had a good taste of its wrath.

"I don't care what card you just took from your deck," Liam said as he set a card face down, "The attack on your witch increased Sword Hunter's attack to 2650, and this face-down card will make sure you can't defeat me."

Dayan ignored him and drew a card, "I play Change of Heart! I will take over your Sword Hunter!"

"You plan to use my own monster against me?," Liam said unenthused, "I wouldn't let that happen."

"I don't want to use your pathetic monster, but it will make a nice sacrifice," Dayan laughed.

"What?!," Liam exclaimed realizing what Dayan was doing.

"I sacrifice your Sword Hunter to bring forth my Summoned Skull!," Dayan cried as the Summoned Skull loomed over the field.

"I hate that card," Liam barely whispered to himself. He remembered all the times that Dayan would steal away the glory of the fight by bringing out that card. It was Dayan's favorite and he always used it to its full advantage.

"I see you remember my old friend here," Dayan laughed.

"I remember him all too well, and his power, but I'm about to defeat it with this!," Liam said activating his trap card, "I activate Gravity Bind!"

"Dammit," Dayan cursed watching as his Summoned Skull was subdued.

"My turn," Liam drew a card, "I play Queen's Double! This card let's me attack your life points directly, and since it is a one star monster, my Gravity Bind doesn't effect it at all! Now attack his life points!" A red-haired warrior approached Dayan and stabbed him with her razor like weapons in her hands. His life points dropped 350 points.

Dayan laughed, "I still have 4050 life points. It will take a lot more than that to take me down." He drew a card. His hand was not looking well. He placed one card face-down and ended his turn.

"Once again I'm amazed at how your skills have diminished since you left the underground," Liam laughed, "I attack you again with my Queen's Double." Dayan's life points dropped another 350. Dayan could have countered it, but he wanted to wait until the opportune moment to use his cards, until then his life points would have to be sacrificed.

He drew. "I set another card face-down, and I end my turn."

Liam smiled, "How sad. The defeat of the weak is always touching. I attack you once again! Are you just going to sit there and let me swat at you all day until you finally die?" Dayan's life points dropped again.

"I play Swords of Revealing Light!," Dayan played his magic card and ended his turn. There was not much he could do at the moment, but he did have a plan if all went exactly right.

"I see, another desperate move by a weak duelist. I have no objections, however. This card shall do nicely. I play fissure and destroy the only monster you have on the field to protect you. So long, Summoned Skull!" Summoned Skull was subdued just like his Aqua Madoor had been earlier in the game. Liam would pay for that.

"I activate one of my face-down trap cards!," Dayan hit the button on his duel disk with satisfaction, "My Michizure card lets me destroy one monster on the field when one of mine is sent to the graveyard. Say goodbye to your Queen's Double!"

"Fine, make your move so I can end this faster. I have some tasks lined up for you already when you are officially enlisted as my slave," Liam taunted.

Dayan drew a card, "I choose to end my turn without playing a card."

"Ha! Well, if you can't think of a move, then I can," Liam drew, "Even though I can't attack, I play Karate Man in attack mode to shield me. Now move."

"Fine, I lay one card face-down again and end my turn."

Liam yawned, "This is getting really boring, but if you are going to play it easy, then so will I. I pass my turn as well. This is the last one that the swords will be caging me." The Swords of Revealing Light vanished from the field as he ended his turn.

Dayan laid his fingertips on his deck. He prayed to the gods to give him the right card. There was a single card in his deck at this moment that could change everything. At the moment he had no monsters on the field, and Liam knew that Dayan did not keep many cards in his deck below 4 stars that were worth any attack power, but there was one card Liam did not know about, and if he drew it, he would win. He flung the card out from his deck and looked up.

"I have drawn," Dayan said simply.

"Oh, wow, really," Liam mocked.

"I got the one card in my whole deck that I needed. Now prepare yourself, Liam. I am about to defeat you. I play my Muka Muka!" A strange creature appeared on the field. It resembled a scorpion, but had bursts of smoke and ash that issued from its head, and gleaming red eyes that flashed in the sun.

"That?," Liam laughed, "It only has 600 attack! How the hell do you think you could win with that?!"

"You must not know about Muka Muka's special ability," Dayan laughed back, "For every card in my hand, my monster gets and additional 300 attack and defense points, and when I activate my face-down magic card," Pot of Greed flipped from its closed position on the field, "I count eight cards in my hand. That makes my Muka Muka's attack 3000, and yet there is that annoying monster on your side of the field protecting your part of your life points. That is why I activate my other face-down card. Feel that wrath of Ring of Destruction!"

"What?!," Liam cried.

"Yes. Ring of Destruction destroys any monster on the field I choose. Then that monster's attack gets subtracted from both players life points. It's a small sacrifice for me to completely wipe you out!," Liam's monster was destroyed as the ring caught it around the neck and exploded. 1000 life points were deducted from both players, "And now, Liam, I am going to show you exactly why I am the superior duelist, and why you are a parasite of the earth. Muka Muka, attack his life points directly and destroy him!" Muka Muka carried out it's assault on Liam's life points taking them down to 0. Liam was lifted off his feet from the power of the attack and sent crashing into a bench five feet behind him. Dayan ran over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Tell me now! I have had enough of your games! Where is Akurei?!," he screamed.

Liam just laughed, "Did you really think I would keep my word?"

Dayan started trembling with rage, "Tell me now! If you do not tell me, I will beat you within an inch of your life!"

"You don't have the guts to do it, Dayan. I know you. You wouldn't hurt anyone unless you were defending someone else."

"Then how would you like to see Akurei come after you for letting me defeat you? You know if I go to him, even if he kills me, he got what he wanted and will leave you be. Now come on, Liam, save your own skin again and tell me where he is."

Liam thought for a moment as he looked at the fire burning in Dayan's eyes. He was right. Akurei would kill him if Dayan got away, and yet he knew Dayan would find some non-physical way to destroy him if he did not tell. If he let the two of them collide, maybe they would kill each other and it would rid him of both of them.

"Alright," Liam said shoving Dayan off of him, "I'll tell you."

Jonouchi was walking away from his duel with Espa Roba. He now had another locator card and a Jinzo card. He could not believe he had banked so well off of that duel. If only Yugi could have seen that duel. He laughed smugly as he thought that would give him a chance to retell the whole duel move for move. He began to think about all the ways he could dramatize the really intense parts of the duel when someone called out to him.

"Hey! Jonouchi! There you are!," Honda called out through the crowds as he jogged over to him.

"Honda!," Jonouchi exclaimed glad to see a familiar face.

"I'm glad I found someone," he said, "Where are the others?"

"Aren't you gonna ask how I've been doin'?!," Jonouchi exclaimed.

"I already know. Serenity and I were watching the duel online at the hospital," he replied smirking.

"Oh, I see," Jonouchi said looking down kind of put off that he could start telling the whole duel over again, "I'm glad Serenity saw me fight."

"She had more faith in you than I did," Honda prodded.

"Whaa?," Jonouchi said a few moments later, "You jerk!" It was not even moments later that the two of them could be seen wrestling each other looking like they were trying to pull each other's ears off. They did not even notice Seto Kaiba walk by rolling his eyes at their childish behavior.

Mokuba quickly followed after his brother, "I just hope they don't hurt each other."

Kaiba scoffed, "That's my dying wish." He had more important things to think about now, however. It was time for him to participate in his tournament. He had already tested out his Egyptian God Card on an unsuspecting fool, but now it was time to find his real rival. Where was Yugi?

As he walked along the sidewalks of Domino's city park, Yami thought about Jonouchi. He had won back his Red Eyes Black Dragon card for him, but Jonouchi had insisted that he keep it until he was a True Duelist. Then he would win it back. That was one duel he awaited with anticipation. Jonouchi was the most fun person to duel. He got the most out of the game, and loved every minute of the fight. Granted that Seto Kaiba was his ultimate rival, Jonouchi still could make the game a lot more fun. But before he could think on it anymore, a harlequin jumped from a bush and landed in front of him.

"What the hell?," he said looking at the multi-colored freak in front of him. The harlequin responded by directing him toward a tent just a few yards away. The harlequin skipped to the entrance of the tent and motioned him to enter before disappearing inside.

"Hmm. An invitation into an undoubted trap inside a circus tent," Yami said but then smirked, "Interesting."

The sound of Dayan's boots pounding up the pavement echoed off of the buildings and alleyways as he ran at full speed up the street. Anzu was following him close behind. He had at first refused her accompaniment worrying for her safety, but she had insisted on coming. He finally agreed seeing as how she was not going to be convinced otherwise. With Anzu there or not, Akurei was going to pay. Dayan would make sure of that. He should have finished it the day Akurei had attacked him, but then it was when he saw what Akurei had done. . . That did not matter now. He had to get to Akurei and finish him off once and for all.

"Dayan!," he heard a voice call out to him. Reluctantly, he stopped and turned. Ryou was jogging up to him. Dayan's heart sank. This was the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Ryou!," Anzu greeted cheerfully not understanding the seriousness of Dayan's mission.

"Ryou, what are you doing here?," Dayan asked as Ryou came to a stop in front of him.

"I was walking home when I saw you," he replied, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Dayan's stomach flipped making him feel sick. Ryou had the right to know. Dayan had kept it from him for too long. He was so afraid of hurting Ryou that he kept it to himself vowing that he would tell him later, and then the years slowly passed and Dayan still kept his mouth shut. If he were ever to tell him, today would be it.

"Ryou, there is something I've been meaning to tell you for years," Dayan started feeling like his heart was being wrenched from his chest, "Maybe you should sit down."

Ryou looked at him curiously, "Sit down? Dayan, what's wrong?"

Dayan took a deep breath, "You know, Ryou, I'm not a good person. I never have been. I've never ran with the right crowd. There is just something in me that prevents me from making the right decisions."

Ryou stared at him with confusion, "Dayan, what are you talking about? What's gotten into you?"

Dayan looked at him with wet eyes, "Ryou, do you remember that night your parents tried to convince me to stay home at night? They said that it would help me better myself. Do you remember that?"

Ryou nodded slowly, "Yes. You promised them that you would stop hanging out with the rough crowd at night. I remember mom felt it was her responsibility to watch out for you."

Dayan looked at the ground in shame, "Then you'll also remember that I broke that promise. I still kept up my nightly runs, but I never let them know. I hid it, and they trusted me. Someone as low and cowardly as me they trusted. I broke that trust and betrayed them. Like I told you before, Ryou, I'm a horrible person, and for my punishment for breaking my word everyone in that house suffered."

Ryou still could not figure out what he was getting at, "Dayan, I don't know what has gotten into you, but if you need to tell me something, just say it."

Dayan hung his head lower in shame, "I'm responsible for Amane's death. I'm the reason your sister died."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ooo. . . Yeah I know his sister died in a car accident, but his is more amusing, is it not? Read and Review Please!