Disclaimer: I do not own anything! CURSE THE LAWYERS!

Very well then. Last time, Inuyasha reveals his purposes for fighting Hiei. Also, Yugi was challenged to a duel by Beck.

In this chapter, Yugi begins his duel, Schwarzvald unveils his dark power, and Hiei reveals a new servant to do his bidding.

In order to understand parts of this chapter, you'll have to read the last one.

Note: The starting hand is six cards here.

Chap. 13: Yugi's Duel and Kagome returns

New Paradigm Park, Fountain Center

"Now, Dark Dust Spirit, attack the fool's life points directly and end this duel!"

The hideous mummified deity leapt out of the thick dust it had created, and brought its twin claws upon the opponent, a second-rate duelist known as Rex Raptor. His monsters had fallen, one by one, before the might of the Dark Dust Spirit and many other such monsters.

The holographic dust cleared, and Raptor looked in outright terror at his opponent, a heavily bandaged man with a filthy reporters get-up and an eye that revealed his deep-rooted insanity. Attached to his arm was a Duel Gauntlet and a miniature comlink system.

Leering down at his ghastly opponent, Schwarzvald could not help but smile. This was the third duelist he had reduced to a blubbering mass, unable to even utter a single word as he robbed them of their rarest cards and key for the tournament.

"You remember our deal. Surrender all of your cards and your key, and I might let you live."

"No way, Seebach! You can't take all of my cards for one lousy duel! And I'm not giving you my key either! But you can have this!"

The "dinosaur duelist" reached into one of his pockets, where a small jackknife was safely hidden from view. The second this freak tries to get my cards, he'll have a little surprise in his chest!

Yet before Rex could even pull out the deadly weapon, an even deadlier one was fired into his skull: a Colt .45 Magnum.

Stepping away from the recently deceased duelist, Schwarzvald began rooting through his opponent's cards. Gah! These are absolutely worthless!

Scattering the cards onto Rex's corpse, the psychotic journalist extracted one of the precious keys from the gauntlet, and regarded his latest victim.

"Nobody pulls a knife on me and lives to tell of it, Raptor. Consider that on your way to Hell."

Suddenly, the comlink buzzed, indicating an incoming message from his superiors.

"Yes, Master Hiei?"

"Good afternoon, Schwarzvald. I am assuming the duel went well?"

"All went according to plan, my Lord. However, I would much prefer for my next duel to be somewhat of a challenge, so if you don't mind..."

"NO! Under no circumstances are you to engage Botan in any type of duel whatsoever! We cannot let her know we are on to her escape, or all will fall apart!"

"Understood, Hiei. Over and out."

The former reporter walked off, leaving the carcass for the scavengers...

Yugi vs. Beck

"Alright, Mouto, I'll make the first move!"

Looking at his hand, Beck could barely suppress a smile at his starting cards.

"Now I summon Geargolem the Moving Fortress in Attack Mode! And I'll also equip him with United we Stand, to increase his Attack power by 800 for each monster on the field!" The tank-like structure was surrounded by a bright light that represented United we Stand. (1600/2200) "I will also place 2 cards facedown and end my turn!"

Yami stared at this powerful monster with a level of dread. He knew that if Beck activated this card's special ability, it would be all over, especially if he powered it up any longer.

"Very well, I summon Kuriboh in defense mode! And then I will activate Emblem of Dragon Destroyer to add one Buster Blader to my hand, followed by 2 cards face down!"

"Is that the best you can do, Mouto? I activate Scapegoat, which will summon 4 Goat Tokens to increase my Fortress's Attack by 3200, to an enormous 4800!

Then, I shall pay 800 Life Points to attack you directly!"

"Not so fast, Beck! Activate Skill Drain!" Geargolem could not bypass the Kuriboh, and it's effect shut down.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MACHINE?!"

"Skill Drain is an unusual Trap card, in that I can deactivate all monster effects as long as it's on the field. All I have to do is pay 1000 Life Points. But that's not all I activated! Reveal Collected Power!" The energy of United we Stand was transferred into Kuriboh, which could hardly withstand the new power. "It focuses all Equipment Cards onto any selected Monster. And I select my Kuriboh!"

"Gyahh! I end my turn!"

"Very well, then. First I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I play the Heavy Storm Magic Card, which will clear the field of all Magic and Trap cards!" The mighty tempest tore down all of the magic and trap cards on the field. "Then I play Cost Down to reduce the Monster Level of all Monsters in my hand. Finally, I sacrifice my Kuriboh to call forth the Buster Blader!" In the place of the furball was a tall, imposing warrior with a huge sword. "But that isn't the end. I'll equip him with Big Bang Shot to increase his attack power by 400. Now, destroy his Goat Token!"

The mighty warrior brought his sword down upon the token, which was sliced directly in half before exploding in a hideous spray of blood. Then, a huge explosion tore the amount of Buster Blader's attack from Beck's life points, reducing them to a measly 1000. "I will end my turn by playing Dian Keto the Cure Master, which increases my Life points back to 4000."

Beck drew his next card. "Perfect! I play Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw 3 cards at the price of any two from my hand!" Upon looking at the cards he kept, Beck could not help but laugh. "Ahahaha! Now, Mouto, prepare to experience a monster unlike any you have ever seen before! I summon the Lycanthropic Dragon in Attack Mode!"

The dragon looked like it had been spawned from a nightmare world. It's entire body was covered in sickly green scales laced with a dark and powerful magic. Each of it's seven claws had a different symbol, all of which represented a different kind of evil. (1600/1200)

Yami could not help but stare at the hideous dragon with a level of horror and surprise. "Not a wise move, Beck. Your dragon will easily be destroyed by my superior monster, especially when Buster Blader powers up because of it!" (3500/2300)

"Well, Mouto, you obviously do not know the other card I plan to use. Activate Megamorph!" As if by a divine force, the dragon grew to a monstrous size as the Druid pentagram doubled it's attack power. (3800/1200) "And since your warrior's Attack power is a mere 3500, I will easily wipe it out! Lycanthropic Dragon, use your Shriek of Madness to destroy the Buster Blader!"

As soon as the attack was called, the demonic dragon leapt forward and began screeching into the monster's ear, and the mighty swordsman collapsed. (3700/1000)

Yami's life points went down, but the Buster Blader was still writhing on the ground, uttering ear-splitting screams as the blood pooled around it. Suddenly, the monster stepped up, and walked over to Beck's side, sprouting huge black dragon's wings as it did so, the pinions of which empowered it to an insurmountable level. (4000/2300)

"What is going on, Beck?! I thought you said you destroyed my monster!"

"Oh, I did, Yugi. However, my dragon has a unique ability unlike any you have ever known! It allows me to possess any monster it destroys with a horrible madness that turns it into a powerful dragon in addition to any other type it originally was! And thanks to your monster's ability, it gains an extra 500 for its becoming a dragon! I can't be stopped, so I will end my turn! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

He's right, unless I draw my Swords of Revealing Light on my next turn, I'm finished.

*Yugi, all we have to do is believe in the cards in our deck, and we can't be beaten. This Beck may have the upper hand, but every card, and duelist, has a weakness. All we have to do is have faith, and this idiot won't stand a chance!*

You're right, Yami. Let's finish this now.

Yugi drew the card that would make or break him...

Hidden fortress, backwaters of New Paradigm

"Well, has she gained her sight back?"

"Not yet, master Hiei. Whatever that "Darkness Flame" of yours was, it certainly did a number on her. It's a wonder she wasn't killed."

"I couldn't have killed her even if I wanted to, you simpleton. She is, after all, the reincarnation of a priestess. I have also heard rumors that she might have some kind of connection to King Yami. I will not, however, be deterred by this. I will find out where the final shard of that damn jewel is on that dog demon if I have to rip it out of her. Now, if you would excuse me..."

The servant, hidden in shadows, stepped away.

"Well, how the mighty have fallen. From being a high ranking priestess of Egypt, to a warring one in feudal Japan, to a pathetic and blinded high school student at the mercy of that which she swore she would defeat. How ironic. Well, it does not matter if you are linked to my ultimate opponent in any way. Your will shall crack like glass under my supervision."

Hiei stepped out of the prison chamber, taking one last look upon his captive. "Sweet dreams, Kagome, for your waking moments will be anything but."

Ok, it's official. I am obsessed with cliffhangers. And I also am not sure about how anyone will take the chapter, but I happen to like it. Well, we'll find out soon.

Okay, next time, Kaiba will begin his first duel, followed by Yusuke. Also, Yami's next draw will decide the fate of the duel. But what is Kagome's link to the 5,000 year old Pharaoh. Note: Most of my fics of the past will be slightly AU.

Review soon, and sorry for the lack of updates.