Chapter 8-
The Tryouts Begin
"How could I lose," asked Bakura, kneeling on the ground, "Your strategies… they're unstoppable."
"Aren't they? You know, you weren't too bad yourself."
Bakura got up, looking angry. "I lost! You beat me!"
"Seriously, you played well. Here, take this."
Jr. gave Bakura a piece of paper, about the size of a dollar bill.
"You've earned the privilege of entering Pegasus' Type Championship competition.
The date, place, time, everything you need to know is on that ticket. Just show up at the location with that ticket, and the rules will be explained there. You may keep the stack of cards I promised you, but you did lose, so I'll be taking the tool now."
Bakura glared up at Jr., as he reluctantly handed over the Millennium Eye.
Though Jr. knew nothing of how the 'duel winning tool' worked, he knew there was something to it, if his father needed it to stand a chance of winning the game he created against some rookie kid.
"Thank you. Kroket, prepare Mr. Bakura's flight back to the dock."
"Yes sir."
"As for me, I'll row back to the castle. See you there, Mr. Bakura?" asked Jr. climbing into the boat.
I'm going to get my Millennium Eye back, thought Bakura, as he climbed into the jet.
I will get it back.
"Thank you for choosing the S.S. Pegasus for your source of transportation, we hope you enjoyed your sailing experience."
Every single duelist heard this, as they walked down the gang plank.
"You ready, Yug?"
"You bet!"
Yugi and Joey were still in line to get off the ship, when they heard a familiar voice from behind them.
"Yugi Mouto!"
Yugi and Joey whirled around to see Marik Ishtar.
"Marik! So you got the invitation?"
"Yeah! I knew I'd find you here, so maybe we could duel in this tournament without henchmen, or dangerous winning tactics."
"Alright!"
Yugi, Joey, and Marik were now off the ship and on the mainland.
"Duel you soon," said Marik as he walked off.
"Where do we go from here, Yug'?" asked Joey.
"I dunno. There was another flier that was sent out that said to go in the castle, so let's head that way."
"Sounds like a plan."
So Yugi and Joey headed over to Pegasus' castle, where their tryouts would take place.
"Welcome all duelists," said one of Pegasus' servants once all duelists were present in Pegasus' huge meeting room.
"In the castle, there are ten dueling platforms. There are also ten dueling platforms outside the castle. To save time, there will be a limit to how long your duel will last. One hour. Whoever has the most life points at the end of the hour wins. Some duelists will be here for more than one day, so Pegasus has prepared several hundred rooms below the ground. The choosing will begin in a few minutes."
The meeting room was filled with discordant murmuring.
"Who do you think you're gonna go up against, Yug'? It would be cool if you and me duel, but I mean like, what're the chances 'a that?"
"It would be cool, but let's just leave the choosing to the officials."
"The results of our computer analysis match up will be dropped from the ceiling."
The duelists were still wondering what he meant, when several flaps in the ceiling opened up, letting thousands of 8 ½ x 11 in. sheets of paper flitter down into the duelists hands.
"Check it out! We've been matched up! Awesome!"
Joey and Yugi were perusing through the match analysis.
"Hey, look. Marik and Seto Kaiba are paired," exclaimed Joey.
"Looks like Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor have been matched up," added Yugi.
"What a surprise," said Joey, rolling his eyes.
"Will all duelists look at their match up paper, and report to the location they're supposed to be at," droned a voice over a loud speaker.
"Looks like we get the inside platform on day two," said Yugi.
"Guess we head over to our rooms. Hey, Marik and Kaiba are da first duel taday," added Joey.
"Should be an interesting duel. Now, on to our rooms."
"Let's go Mokuba. The faster we walk, the less chance we have of being spotted by unwanted attention."
Seto Kaiba and his little brother, Mokuba, were fast-walking towards their duel location with Marik Ishtar. It was being held at the duel platform in the grassy clearing where Joey Wheeler and Rex Raptor dueled during Duelist Kingdom.
"Slow down, big brother! My legs aren't as long as yours!" said Mokuba, struggling to keep up with his big brother's striding pace.
"Not much further, Mokuba. I see it."
Sure enough, just 100 feet away, was the dueling platform.
"You excited about your duel?" asked Mokuba.
"Not really," answered Kaiba, "Without his Egyptian god card, Marik should be no stronger than me."
They were at the platform, when a voice from behind them spoke.
"Hello, Seto Kaiba. Ready?"
Marik stepped out of the shadows, holding his deck.
"Marik. I hope you don't intend on winning, because that's what I'll be doing."
"Whatever. Let's rewind to the action and skip the 'you're gonna lose' part, shall we?"
"Very well. Let's duel!"