Yu-Gi-Oh!
Key of Light

If I had a dime for the many demands for me to update this story that are now littering the review box for it, I'd be damn rich. You people seem to fail to realize that I'm a 21-year-old that has a job and real life problems that take priority over my fan fiction. Not only that, but I've reported several times in my profile that I've had writer's block, and was having a difficult time getting this chapter to work properly. Next time, look in my profile before leaving heaps of reviews just telling me to update, for my sanity, PLEASE.

Anyway... someone asked somewhere if I was adding the DOMA Season from Yu-Gi-Oh into the story. No, I'm not. I'm only added a handful of the characters, though they're in a sort of similar situation in this story, as you'll see.

Now, sit back and enjoy. Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long.


CHAPTER TWO – ROUND ONE! DUEL!

Jounouchi glared at his opponent from across the way, holding onto his starting hand tightly. He had only seen the kind of duel disk Varon was wearing once before, during the Battle City the year before… What a sellout; he could not believe Mai was associating with trash like this.

"So, what happens?" he sneered. "They let you use their faked cards too?"

Varon raised an eyebrow in surprise, before he smirked. "I couldn't exactly get away with that and expect not to be disqualified, now can I?" he replied. "Besides… who else can show those robed idiots how to use these cards?"

Jou narrowed his eyes. "So, essentially, you're their teacher."

"Me and a few others," Varon replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Mai-san included."

Jou snarled angrily. No… Mai would never…! "You lie!"

"Do I?" Varon sneered, an eerie grin on his face. "Care to find out…?"

Fist tightening around his cards, Jounouchi growled softly. Oh… he was going to wipe that bastard's grin off his face… He announced his turn, starting off the duel as he drew from his deck. Looking down at his hand, however, he realized he had absolutely no idea what kind of deck Varon had. He had to be cautious…

"Wyvern no Senshi, summon in attack," he announced, placing the card on the field. The reptilian monster appeared a moment later, sword held at the ready. "Turn end!"

Varon raised an eyebrow, as if he were surprised that was all Jou was going to do. He announced his turn, glancing at the card… before placing it on the field.

"Psychic Armor Head, summon in attack!"

Jou stared… and stared… and just for kicks, he stared some more. He had just summoned… a helmet. It was not even a fancy helmet – just a simple white and blue thing with a visor… and with zero attack power.

"What the hell…?" he muttered.

The surprise must have been obvious on his face, for Varon started laughing. "What's the matter, Jounouchi? Never seen this kind of monster before? Thinking it's a fake?"

"I think you're off your nut," Jou replied, growling. "Who the hell starts off a duel with a monster with no attack power?"

The triumphant look that appeared on Varon's face made Jou take an unconscious step back. "Oh, trust me… there's a reason for this," he sneered, before ramming a magic card into the slot. "Activate magic card, Armor Gravitation! This card in combination with Psychic Armor Head, allows me to summon armor monsters up to level four. So! Trap Buster! Big Bang Bro! Armor Boot! Active Guard! Summon in attack!"

Two gauntlets, a pair of boots, and a chest guard appeared in addition to the helmet from before, all with zero attack power. That was not what made Jou bite his lip in worry, though; what made him so concerned was the fact that barely a moment later, the armor pieces actually equipped themselves to Varon, making him look like some kind of super hero out of a bad sentai show. Granted, that was more than just a little weird… but still, all of the pieces only had zero attack power…

"Battle phase!" Varon announced, making Jou jump in surprise.

"W-w-wait a sec, are you out of your—"

Jou was cut off as Varon suddenly charged forward, the fist with Big Bang Bro equipped to it ramming into Warrior of Wyvern's gut, making the monster break apart and sending it to the graveyard. Jou jumped when he heard his Life Point meter beeping, and stared in horror as it went down fifteen hundred points.

"N-nani?" he exclaimed, staring at it like it had betrayed him.

Varon sniggered. "Big Bang Bro has an effect; it can destroy a monster, and deal damage equal to the monsters attack directly to the owner's life points."

Jou gave him a dull look. It figured…

"End turn!"

As soon as the words left Varon's mouth, the armor he was wearing broke apart, and all five monsters were sent to the grave. Jou stared in confusion; what… would he be left vulnerable after every turn? That just meant that all he had to do was summon a powerful enough monster and completely wipe out his life points. Talk about a major hole in his strategy…

"My turn! Draw!" Jou shouted, pulling a card from his deck. Hmm… he did not have anything extremely powerful… but…

"Forward Captain, summon in attack!" he announced. The blonde, armored soldier appeared on the field, cape swaying slightly as it brought its sword up. "When effectively summoned, I can summon another monster below level four!" Jou pulled his card from his hand, before slapping it onto the field. "Battle Warrior!"

A creature that looked like a fighter from a science fiction film appeared on the field, fists raised and ready to attack. Granted, his combined monsters only had nineteen hundred attack power between them, but it was enough to make a sizable dent.

"Go, Forward Captain, Battle Warrior; player direct attack!"

The two monsters charged forward, both hitting Varon one after the other, knocking him down along with his life points. Jou thumbed the side of his nose, smirking.

"How you like that?"

Varon smirked as well, climbing back to his feet. "Bring it…"

Katsuya Jounouchi: 2500

Varon: 2100

-.oOOo.-

Harry let out a shout of surprised, holding his arms protectively over his face as the force of Rex's attack forced him to skid back, kicking up dirt as he went. He coughed, looking up as his DD Assailant shattered to pieces, his Life Points dropping in the process. That Giant Rex of Ryuusaki's was… well, a monster – a level four monster as a matter of fact, with a whopping two thousand attack points. Fortunately for him, Ryuusaki had not done his homework.

"DD Assailant has an effect!" Harry announced. "If you destroy it, both it and your monster are removed from play."

Ryuusaki let out an annoyed "Tch!" as the dinosaur disappeared, taking the card and pocketing it, as there was no place on the duel disks to put monsters removed from play. Harry did the same for his card, his mind working quickly. He had a plan that might work, but it all depended on the draw of his cards…

Dinosaur Ryuusaki: 4000

Harry Potter: 3700

"My turn!" Harry announced, drawing a card. He tried to keep the excitement off his face; he had just gotten his favorite card, the same monster whose image was on the watch Seto had given him what felt like ages ago. He could probably easily wipe the field with it…

…but no. That was the wrong kind of thinking. If he just relied on that card, he would loose easily, and then where would that get him? Loosing in the first round… Dudley would never let him hear the end of it.

"I'll place one card face down," he announced, sliding a card in the trap/magic slot. The card appeared on the field before him, face down, as he held up his favorite card. "And I'll play Gemini Elf in attack!"

The twin elves appeared on the field, and at Harry's command headed straight for Ryuusaki, attacking him directly with their magic. The dinosaur duelist looked furious, and Harry assumed it was because a virtual beginner had actually managed to land a direct hit.

"Maybe now you'll take me a bit seriously?" Harry suggested.

"Feh! Beginner's luck," Ryuusaki snapped, drawing a card.

The nasty smirk that appeared on Ryuusaki's face was enough to make Harry frown in concern. He held up a Fusion card, announcing what it did as if Harry was too green to know. Beginner or not, it did not take a genius to figure out what the magic card could do, and the fusion monster that appeared made the young wizard take a concerned step back.

"Hellhound Saurus," Ryuusaki announced proudly as the Pterodactyl-like creature appeared, flapping its wings, looming over the field. "Don't think your monster can protect you this turn, kid. This fusion monster can attack you directly. Granted, it only can just once, but that will be enough."

Harry was forced to protect himself again as the Hellhound Saurus opened its mouth and let out a terrible screech. His hands quickly went to his ears to block out the noise, but not before he heard the sound of his Life Points dropping.

Dinosaur Ryuusaki: 2100

Harry Potter: 1700

Biting his lip, Harry took his turn, but there was not much he could do. He switched Gemini Elf to defense mode, before setting another card face down in defense as well, ending his turn. Think, think…! He needed to think, but the sneer and cajoling from Ryuusaki was making it difficult. This was nothing like dueling by the lake at Hogwarts; Ryuusaki smelled blood, and he would not shut up about it either.

"I special summon Fleet-footed Gilgasaurus, in attack," he announced a triumphant smirk on his face. "When this creature is specially summoned, my opponent can special summon a monster from the graveyard… but you don't have any, do you?" he sneered. Harry wanted to hit him at this point, but he did not say anything as he held up another card. "And, because he was specially summoned, I can call another monster to the field."

Another Gilgasaurus appeared next to the first, snapping its jaws at Harry. He could have sworn it looked hungry…

On Ryuusaki's command, the monsters attacked; one of the Gilgasaurus' destroyed his Gemini Elf, before the dinosaur duelist paused, considering a moment, before ordering Hellhound Saurus to attack his face down card. It was a good thing he did, at least, for Ryuusaki anyway, because Harry's face down DD Warrior Lady had a defense of sixteen hundred. Fortunately for Harry, it also had an effect… and he almost wished a farewell to the Hellhound as it was removed from play.

It did not really help Harry, however. There was still one more Gilgasaurus left on the field, and Harry winced in pain as the raptor-like monster bit down on his arm, taking his life down to a dangerous level.

Dinosaur Ryuusaki: 2100

Harry Potter: 300

Swallowing as he drew, Harry tried to fight against the stone of panic that was settling in his gut. No… he still had a chance of saving himself; he could not panic, or he really would loose. He glanced down at his face down card; it was too premature to activate it, but if it could give him just a little bit of an advantage…

He decided against it; he was not entirely sure if it would work like he planned if he used it now anyway. Setting another monster on the field in defense, he glanced at the card he drew, before setting that face down in a trap/magic slot as well. Here goes… he had to be very careful from this point…

Unfortunately, the triumphant sneer on Ryuusaki's face as he inspected the card he drew after announcing his turn made a heavy lump settle in Harry's stomach. He sacrificed his two Gilgasaurus', bringing forth a terrifying Black Tyranno. Harry found himself looking up… and up… and up… the monster was terribly huge, with spikes coming from its shoulders and a long tail that was whipping back and forth.

Ryuusaki laughed in triumph. "Is that a defense position monster I see on your field…?" he leered. "It is… good. Because when there's nothing but defense monsters on your field, Black Tyranno can attack you directly!"

Harry froze as the giant dinosaur came charging toward him. No… no… no…! Somehow, he managed to get his arms moving, activating the trap card he had just set face down.

"Sakuretsu Armor!"

The Armor was like a miniature Mirror Force; when an opponent's monster attacked, the trap card stopped the attack and destroyed the monster. Harry nearly sighed in relief as the dinosaur broke into pieces, revealing an annoyed Ryuusaki beyond. He could feel his knees wobbling, but somehow he managed to stay standing, drawing a card as soon as his opponent declared an end to his turn.

Harry frowned slightly; still not the card he needed, but maybe it would help him get that card.

"I play Pot of Greed!" he announced, holding up the card for Ryuusaki to see, before putting it in the grave and drawing two cards. One Negate Attack… and the card he needed.

Harry was finally able to give a confident smile. "I activate Soul Release!" he announced, sliding the card into the slot. Ryuusaki raised a confused eyebrow as the contents of their respective graveyards were released, letting them take five cards and remove them from play as per the effect of the card. Harry took the cards, and, seeing as he only had four in the graveyard, removed them all from play.

"Now," he continued, finally activating the trap card he had set, "I'll activate Return from a Different Dimension. At the expense of half my Life Points, I can bring back the monsters that I've had to remove from play."

Three formerly defeated monsters appeared on the field: DD Assailant, DD Warrior Lady, and Gemini Elf. It all came to a rather quick end after that; the combined might of the monsters more than a match for the Life that Ryuusaki had left.

Dinosaur Ryuusaki: 0

Harry Potter: 150

Ryuusaki just… sort of stood there, mouth slack, hanging open in shock as a buzzer sounded above them, indicating the end of their duel to everyone else that was in the area. As for Harry, it felt light a giant weight was lifted off of him, allowing him to breath for what felt like was the first time since the duel started. That had been far too close for his liking…

Harry was just about to wonder what would happen next, when a voice came over the speakers:

"Duelist Potter: report to the Air Museum for your next opponent."

-.oOOo.-

Jounouchi stood, facing Varon and breathing heavily as a buzzer went off above them to the applause of the crowd that had gathered around them. The two of them smirked at each other, ignoring their audience, a new respect for the other's opponent in each of their eyes. Finally, too tired to stand, Varon fell back, landing on his rear end roughly before folding up his duel disk.

"Hmph…" he muttered after a moment. "Now I see why she used to speak so highly of you."

Jou raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything as Varon continued, "She won't show you that respect, you know. I can't explain what happened to her; at one point, she was starting to grow uncomfortable with what we were doing, and the next day she came back, putting twice as much effort into showing those robed idiots how to duel."

That made Jou frown, but he did not get a chance to comment. He looked up as an announcer's voice came, saying that he had to report to the park for his next duel. When he looked back, Varon had gone.

"Mai…"