Author's Note: I cut this one down to the wire. Spent most of the day writing it, just got done editing it. I didn't even have the duel beta read. So, let's get this chapter going!


Okay, I had given up my dream job. No big deal! I'd just find a job that didn't require any fancy education.

The real problem was gonna be breaking the news to my friends. I knew they'd try to talk me out of it, and when I refused, they'd be bummed, so I figured the best time would be after Jesse's duel with Joey Wheeler. Jesse wins, we focus on that! Jesse losses, it's more bad news for the pile!

That's why, when Jesse pulled me aside right before his duel, I thought he'd figured it out.

"Listen, bud, I have something I need to ask you about." Jesse said.

"What is it?" I asked.

Jesse tilted his head to the side.

"You okay?" Jesse asked. "Ya sound nervous."

He's on to you! Run, Jaden, run!

"Nah, I'm fine." I said. "Just psyched for your duel!"

"You sure?" Jesse asked.

"Yes." I lied.

"Anyway, what I really wanted to ask was, do you mind if I borrow one of your cards?" Jesse asked.

"Be my guest." I said, holding out my deck. "Do you have one in mind?"

"Yup!" Jesse said.

Jesse looked through my cards until he found the one he wanted.

"Ah ha! This guy right here!" Jesse said, pulling one of the cards out. "You sure you don't mind?"

"Hey, it's not like I'll be needing it." I said, before quickly adding. "I didn't get challenged by one of the greats."

"Thanks, Jay." Jesse said. "I'm just hoping to have a little piece of you with me while I duel."

"Don't worry about it." I said. "You're the best duelist I've ever faced. You could beat Joey without any help. But if it makes you feel better, I'll help any way I can."

Jesse nodded. Ruby appeared on his shoulder, and Winged Kuriboh appeared on mine. Seemed like Winged Kuriboh was encouraging her too.

"Well, here goes nothing." Jesse said.

Jesse raced to the platform, while I went to grab a seat.


The stadium was packed. I'd go so far as to say it was a full house! Joey was obviously a big name, but Jesse had his share of fans there too. Guess being considered the Number One Duelist of our generation helped.

I managed to squeeze myself between Atticus and Chazz.

"Okay, Chazz, I get why Atticus and I are here, but what about you?" I asked. "You didn't seem interested in Jesse's duel before."

"I have my reasons." Chazz said, crossing his arms. "Atticus, you sure Jesse can do this?"

"Well, I hope." Atticus said. "Red-Eyes aren't my first choice of decks, but I like to think I gave him a good idea or two."

"Red-Eyes?" Chazz asked, raising an eyebrow.

Down in the stadium, the announcer had finished hyping up the crowd and the duelists took the stage! Jesse walked kind of robotically, clearly nervous, while Joey just strode on up, like it was no big deal.

"'Ey, you're Jesse Anderson, ain't ya?" Joey asked.

"Yer, sis!" Jesse said, then caught himself. "I mean, 'Yes, sir'!"

Joey just smiled at Jesse and said, "Calm down, bud. No need to be so stiff."

"R-Right, Mr. Wheeler." Jesse said.

"My friends call me Joey." Joey said, holding out a hand.

"Uh, then you can call me Jesse!" Jesse said, shaking Joey's hand.

"That's more like it!" Joey said, flashing a smile.

"Sorry about that." Jesse said.

"No prob." Joey said. "I hear from Pegasus you're one of the top duelist of your generation! He said he saw one of your duels at Duel Academy and it blew him away. Made him reconsider his rankings a little."

"Oh, yeah!" Jesse said. "My duel with Jaden."

I couldn't help but smirk. One of the best duels Pegasus had ever seen, and I was part of it.

"Then I oughta be the nervous one." Joey said. "So what do you say we set that all aside and get this show on the road?"

"Right!" Jesse said.

The duelists took their places, activated their Duel Disks, and drew their hands.

"You mind if I go first?" Jesse asked.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't." Joey said.

"Then I'll start by summoning my pal, Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise, in Defense Mode!" Jesse said.

Emerald Tortoise appeared on the field and briefly poked his head out, before pulling it back in.

"Jesse, you didn't tell me this place would be so crowded." Tortoise said. "You know how I get."

"Don't worry." Jesse said. "You can just stay in your shell for now. I'll set a facedown and end my turn."

"So that's one of those Crystal Beasts I've been hearing about." Joey said. "Nice! But let's see how it does against my Hundred Dragon!"

An adult version of Baby Dragon appeared on Joey's field. It crossed it's arms and snorted out smoke from its nose. Emerald Tortoise quivered a bit.

"You don't need to worry." Jesse said. "Hundred Dragon's only got 1800 Attack Points. You're safe."

"My dragon might not be able to beat your turtle yet, but with his ability..." Joey said, as he placed two facedown cards. "...he gains 100 Attack Points for each card on the field."

Hundred Dragon's Attack rose to 2100.

"Now, let's make turtle soup!" Joey said. "Hundred Nose Breath!"

Hundred Dragon shot fire out of its nose, melting Emerald Tortoise into his crystal form.

"I've heard about that!" Joey said. "Your monsters hang around as gems on the field."

"Hey, now, don't get too awestruck, or you'll miss my Trap!" Jesse said.

Behind the emerald, Jesse's facedown card was now face-up.

"When Crystal Conclave is activated, if you destroy one of my Crystal Beasts, I can bring out another." Jesse explained.

"So you've got insurance on your jewels." Joey joked.

"That's right!" Jesse said. "And I got protection for them too! Amber Mammoth, come out!"

Amber Mammoth came charging out of the Crystal Conclave card.

"Jesse, let me at him!" Mammoth yelled.

"Chill. We gotta wait for him to end his turn, bud." Jesse said.

"I end my turn." Joey said, as Hundred Dragon's Attack Points dropped back to 1800.

"There we go." Jesse said. "And here goes something!" Hey, don't steal my line!

Topaz Tiger appeared next to Mammoth.

"I'll take care of that dragon." Tiger said.

"Right!" Jesse said. "Topaz Tiger, attack Hundred Dragon!"

"But your Tiger's only got 1600 Attack Points!" Joey said.

"That's where his special ability comes in!" Jesse said. "When he attacks a monster, Topaz Tiger gains 400 more Attack Points!"

Tiger's points went up to 2000, as he chomped down on Hundred Dragon, shattering it. Joey's Life Points dropped down to 3800.

"Ah! That tiger's got a nasty bite!" Joey said.

"Now, Mammoth, attack Joey directly!" Jesse said.

As Mammoth aimed to hit Joey with his trunk, a sheep got in his way.

"I activate Scapegoat!" Joey said. "It lets me summon four Sheep Tokens to my field!"

One down, three to go.

"Well, that'll do it for me then." Jesse said.

"I summon Panther Warrior!" Joey said.

Panther Warrior jumped onto the field and pointed it's sword at Tiger.

"I have to sacrifice one of my other monsters to attack, but 2000 Attack Points makes it worth the price!" Joey said. "Now, your Tiger only gets that boost when he attacks, right?"

One of the Sheep Tokens turned into a light that Panther Warrior absorbed. Panther Warrior ran towards Topaz Tiger, but Amber Mammoth blocked it's path.

"Good call on Topaz' ability, but Amber Mammoth's got one too." Jesse said. "When you attack a Crystal Beast, Amber Mammoth can intercept!"

"I'll be back!" Mammoth shouted, as he reformed into an amber jewel.

Jesse's Life Points fell to 3700.

"Thanks to Conclave, I get to bring out another Crystal Beast!" Jesse said. "So let's hear it for Sapphire Pegasus!"

Sapphire Pegasus flew out of the card and his horn began shining.

"The best part is, when he's summoned, Sapphire Pegasus lets me place a Crystal Beast in my Spell and Trap zone!" Jesse said.

A ruby appeared next to the amber, as Ruby's spirit nuzzled up to Jesse's leg.

"Five of those things in two turns?" Joey asked. "Impressive. Your move, Jesse."

Jesse drew a card and held it up immediately.

"I play Crystal Beacon!" Jesse said. "Long as I got two Crystal Beasts in their crystal forms, I can bring one out from my deck."

Amethyst Cat appeared, then turned to Jesse.

"I've been sharpening my claws all day, waiting for this." Amethyst Cat said.

"Sorry, pal, but you're in for a catnap." Joey said. "I activate my facedown, Celebration of Creation! When you special summon a monster, it ends your turn immediately."

"Rats!" Jesse said.

"Where?" Amethyst Cat asked, looking around.

"I summon my Blue Flame Swordsman!" Joey said.

A blue version of Flame Swordsman appeared on Joey's field. Same amount of Attack Points too. Aren't blue flames supposed to be hotter or something? Remind me to ask Bastion next time I see him.

"That's odd." Atticus said. "I thought Joey would use a dedicated Red-Eyes deck. That's why Jesse wanted my help, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Chazz asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Joey Wheeler is the third best duelist in the world." Chazz said. "Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba are the only people above him and they're incredibly gifted duelists with some of the strongest cards in the game. Compared to them, Joey's nothing."

"So? Where are you going with this?" Atticus asked.

"The reason he's able to keep up with them is his unpredictability." Chazz explained. "You want to beat Yugi's Dark Magicians, you run an Anti-Spellcaster deck. You make a deck to destroy Spells and Traps to defeat Jesse. But Joey Wheeler? He doesn't hold himself to one thing."

"That's smart!" I said.

"I'll take that as a compliment then." Chazz said with a smirk. "After all, that's why I've mixed my various decks."

"I thought it was because you wanted your other monsters to meet us, Boss!" Ojama Yellow said, appearing.

Chazz ignored him and went on.

"The biggest disadvantage to that strategy is your lack of consistency, as far as support cards go." Chazz said.

"Huh?" Was my confused reaction.

"Imagine if you didn't have cards to bring Neos out easier." Chazz said. Oh! I get it now! "The less focused your deck is, the harder it is for your cards to work together. It's a risk. But Joey Wheeler's always been a gambler. Add to that his nearly two decades of experience with those cards, and you have one of the toughest opponents out there."

"So, Jesse needs luck to win?" I asked.

"More like a miracle." Chazz said.

Back in the arena, Panther Warrior had absorbed another goat and destroyed Sapphire Pegasus, while Blue Flame Swordsman destroyed Topaz Tiger. A sapphire stuck around on the field, while Tiger went to the grave. Jesse's Life Points were sitting at 3200 when the battles were over.

"I'll just set one card facedown, and call it a turn." Joey said.

"My turn." Jesse said, drawing a card.

"Go, Graverobber!" Joey said, as his facedown activated. "This lets me take one card from your grave."

"But I don't have…" Jesse started, before realization struck.

"Topaz Tiger." Joey said, smirking.

Jesse reluctantly removed the card from his graveyard and walked it over to Joey.

"Please take care of it." Jesse said. "Those cards are like family to me."

"Family, huh?" Joey said. "Then I'll keep it extra safe."

Jesse walked back to his side of the field.

"Come out, Cobalt Eagle!" Jesse said.

Eagle flew on the field and looked at the emerald, ruby, amber and sapphire behind him.

"Getting a little crowded back there, don't you think, Jess?" Eagle asked.

"Then let's cash in these crystals!" Jesse said. "I activate Crystal Conclave's second effect! I can send it to the graveyard, and if I do, I can return one of my Beasts, and one of your monsters, to our hands!"

The image of Crystal Conclave dissolved, as Eagle flew across the field and picked up Panther Warrior. Eagle threw Panther Warrior at Joey, then flew back to Jesse's hand. Panther Warrior returned to its card, and that card returned to Joey's hand.

"I activate Crystal Promise!" Jesse said. "I get to take one of the crystals on my field, and summon it to my Monster zone. You've met the others, so let me introduce you to my best pal, Ruby Carbuncle!"

Ruby burst out of the gemstone on the field.

"Whew…" Joey said. "I thought it was gonna be something fiercer than a little kitten."

"She might be little, but she's a big part of my deck!" Jesse said. "See, when I special summon Ruby, she brings out the other Crystal Beasts that are chilling in my Spell and Trap Zone."

One by one, the crystals on Jesse's field burst into their Beast forms. Tortoise and Ruby took defensive poses, while Sapphire Pegasus and Amber Mammoth joined Amethyst Cat on the offense.

"Hope you don't mind going back after such a short time, Sapphire." Jesse said.

"I'm fine with whatever you gotta do." Sapphire Pegasus said.

"I attack Blue Flame Swordsman with Sapphire Pegasus!" Jesse said.

The battle of the blue was equal in Attack Points too. Hey, I'm a poet! Anyway, Sapphire Pegasus cracked Blue Flame's sword. Unfortunately, while Sapphire turned into a crystal, Blue Flame Swordsman just turned orange and red. Huh?

"Something wrong with your disk?" Jesse asked.

"Nah." Joey said. "When Blue Flame Swordsman is destroyed, I get to summon the original Flame Swordsman."

And that meant another 1800 Attack Points to deal with.

"In that case, Amber Mammoth, attack the last Sheep Token!" Jesse ordered.

"I told you I'd be back!" Mammoth shouted, as it stomped on the Token.

"Now, Amethyst Cat, I know you've been waiting to sink your claws into Joey's Life Points, and you've been very patient." Jesse said. "So, here's your chance, girl!"

"Wait, what?!" Joey yelled.

Amethyst Cat leapt over Flame Swordsman and clawed Joey in the face.

"But how'd your cat get past my Swordsman?" Joey asked.

"If I cut her Points down to 600, Amethyst Cat gets a direct attack." Jesse explained.

Sure enough, when Joey looked at his Life Point meter, he was down to 3200.

"Now to keep 'er safe, I'll use Emerald Tortoise's effect to change her to Defense Position." Jesse said.

Amethyst Cat curled up, relaxing while she waited for the next turn.

"Your move, Joey." Jesse said.

"Hey, hearing you say that reminds me of Yugi." Joey said, chuckling.

"I should be the one reminding him of Yugi!" I groaned.

"Ah, music to my ears." Chazz said. "This is why I love watching Jesse duel."

"Y'know, I could summon your Topaz Tiger, but I hate seeing friends fight." Joey said. "So let's keep it simple. I sacrifice Flame Swordsman to bring out Jinzo!"

Flame Swordsman shattered and reformed into Jinzo.

"No problem." I said. "I beat the real Jinzo, Jesse can beat the card version."

"Don't be so sure, Jay." Atticus said. "Jesse's strongest monster is Sapphire Pegasus with 1800 Attack Points. He can't beat Jinzo in a straight battle, and Jinzo's effect keeps him from using any Trap cards to balance things out."

"But Jesse's strongest monster is Rainbow Dragon." I said.

"It's useless as long as Joey's got Topaz Tiger in his hand." Chazz said. "Duh!"

"And thanks to the special effect of the Crystal Beasts, he won't be able to play Spells soon either!" I realized.

"Jesse has to pull something off before that Jinzo completely seals off all exits." Atticus said.

"Now that I know that Mammoth can block an attack, I'll go for it first!" Joey said.

Jinzo shot a blast of electricity at Mammoth. Mammoth's 1700 Attack Points were nothing compared to Jinzo's 2400, and Amber turned into its gemstone. The electricity went past Mammoth and hit Jesse's Duel Disk, dropping his Life Points to 2500. Still, Jesse smiled all the same.

"Well, that's all for my turn." Joey said.

Jesse drew, then held up Pot of Greed. After drawing two more cards, he smirked.

"First, I'll play my field Spell, Rainbow Ruins!" Jesse said.

The arena turned into an ancient colosseum.

"Next, I summon my Cobalt Eagle back to the field." Jesse said.

Cobalt Eagle perched on a pillar and looked down at Jinzo.

"Your bird doesn't seem much stronger." Joey said.

"That's not what the Field Spell's for." Jesse said. "But that is what these are for! M Force and Crystal Release!"

M Force increases a Crystal Beast's Attack by 500, and gives it the ability to inflict Piercing Damage. Crystal Release is an Equip Spell that raises a Crystal Beast's Attack by 800. So, when the first card took effect, Eagle's wings got sharper. Then, with the second, Eagle's crystals popped out of his armor. All total, Cobalt Eagle now had 2700 Attack Points!

"Ready when you are, Captain!" Cobalt Eagle said.

"Eagle, attack Jinzo!" Jesse said.

Eagle flew towards Jinzo, who shot electricity his way. Eagle swooped out of the way, then clawed at Jinzo's wiring, shutting the cyborg down! As Jinzo short-circuited, the electricity hit Joey, taking his Life Points to 2900.

"Now that his field is clear, you can show Joey what a real swipe is like, Amethyst Cat!" Jesse said.

Amethyst Cat pounced on Joey, clawing at him and 1200 of his Life Points.

"Just 1700 to go." I said.

"That'll need to wait till next turn though." Atticus said. "Still, this has been an even match so far. I'm impressed."

Tortoise's effect placed Cat in Defense Mode again, and Jesse's turn was over.

When Joey drew his card, he got this incredibly confident smirk on his face.

"Well, Jesse, it's been a blast, but this is the end." Joey said. "I activate Red-Eyes Fusion!"

Several fans in the audience stood up to watch this next part.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Red-Eyes Fusion allows Joey to summon any Red-Eyes Fusion Monster using monsters from his Hand, Field or Deck!" Atticus explained.

"So he can use nearly any monster?!" I asked.

"You know, Jesse, you're not the only one with a family behind them." Joey said with a humble smile. "Take my sister, Serenity, for example. She insisted I add Goddess of the Third Eye to my deck for a moment just like this."

Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Goddess of the Third Eye appeared on Joey's field and swirled together.

"And my best buds are like family too!" Joey said. "So I'm definitely getting Yugi in on this!"

Chazz, Atticus and I all stood up now.

"I never thought I'd see it in person." Chazz said.

"I wasn't even sure it actually existed!" Atticus said.

"Bound together by a friendship that will last no matter what, trusting everything to the heart of the cards!" Joey said. "Rise, Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!"

On the field, staring down the Crystal Beasts was the Dark Magician, clad in armor resembling the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. With a sword in one hand and a magical blast in the other, 3000 Attack Points didn't seem like enough.

"How do you like it?" Joey asked. "Now you're not just facing me, but my best friend too."

"I'll be…" Jesse muttered.

"Uh, Jesse, I wanna go back in my card." Tortoise said.

"I hate to say it, but I'm with him." Eagle said.

"Don't be such cowards." Amethyst Cat said.

"This big guy's not just for show." Joey said. "First, I can destroy one of your monsters and deal damage to you equal to it's Attack Points."

Dark Dragoon shot the blast in his hand at Amethyst Cat. Before she could even cry out, she'd been turned into a crystal and the resulting shockwave dropped Jesse to 1300 Life Points.

"If I'd used another Normal Monster, I could have done that a second time." Joey explained. "But for now, I'll just attack Cobalt Eagle!"

Dark Dragoon swung his sword at Eagle, who couldn't fly out of the way. While his Attack Points were increased to 2200 by Crystal Release, it wasn't enough and Eagle's crystal fell to Jesse's field. A chip from the crystal hit Jesse, dropping his Life Points to 900.

"Huh?" Joey said. "Shouldn't your Life Points be at 500?"

"As long as I have two Crystal Beasts sitting in my Spell card zone, I can cut damage in half." Jesse said.

"Then I guess I'll have to wait until next turn to win." Joey said. "Your move."

Jesse drew a card and frowned.

"Rainbow Dragon?" Jesse asked. "Sorry, pal, but I can't summon you. Joey's got Topaz Tiger in his hand."

Ruby turned around and started crying to Jesse.

"What's that, Ruby?" Jesse asked.

"Ruby!" Ruby cried, indicating the crystals on the field. "Ruby ruby!"

"You're right!" Jesse said. "When I've got four crystals on the field, I get to draw one card, as long as Rainbow Ruins is on the field."

Jesse drew a card, then held up another.

"I play my Rainbow Bridge!" Jesse said. "This lets me search my deck for one Spell or Trap with Crystal in its name."

"Not so fast!" Joey said. "Once per turn, if I discard a card, I can negate and destroy a card you try to activate!"

Joey discarded a card, and the Rainbow Bridge disappeared just as it was starting to form.

"As an added bonus, Dark Dragoon here gets another 1000 Attack Points!" Joey said.

"We're not out yet!" Jesse said. "I activate Rare Value! I send one of my crystals to the grave, and then draw two cards!"

The cobalt on Jesse's field disappeared. Jesse slowly drew the top two cards of his deck, then, when he looked at them, he burst into a smile.

"YES!" Jesse cheered. "You're not the only one who can fuse their dragon with their best friend's ace monster."

Joey's eyes widened at that. Mine too.

"You mean…" Joey started.

"You're darn tootin'!" Jesse said. "Polymerization! From my hand, I fuse Rainbow Dragon and the Elemental Hero Neos I borrowed from Jaden!"

Neos and Rainbow Dragon swirled together, and a rainbow aura covered the field.

"Friendship born after a mutual jealousy! Take the form of the Protector of Bonds!" Jesse yelled. "Come out, Rainbow Neos!"

A giant version of Neos, covered in white armor resembling Rainbow Dragon, rose from the field. For clarification, Dark Dragoon came up to his foot! And he had 4500 Attack Points?! Who'd have thought my friendship with Jesse was stronger than Yugi and Joey's?!

"Now I activate Rainbow Neos' effect!" Jesse said. "I can send one of my monsters back to the deck, and it'll take your Dark Dragoon with it!"

"Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon can't be destroyed by card effects though!" Joey said.

"Who said destroy?" Jesse asked, smirking. "Rainbow Neos can return your monster to the deck!"

"Wait!" Joey cried out.

Ruby jumped on Rainbow Neos' shoulder. A red jewel began glowing on Rainbow Neos' helmet. Dark Dragoon quickly chanted a spell. A black magical blast shot from Dark Dragoon's hand, while Rainbow Neos' helmet shot out a rainbow blast. The two blasts hit each other, and when the dust settled, Dark Dragoon was knocked back into the Fusion Deck!

"Now, Rainbow Neos, let's go!" Jesse said. "Rainbow Radiance!"

Rainbow Neos shot another rainbow light at Joey's Duel Disk. Joey's Life Points hit 0!

Jesse stared dumbfounded as the holograms disappeared.

"I did it?" Jesse asked.

Ruby appeared by his side and nuzzled against him.

"He did it!" I shouted. "That's my best friend down there! Whoo!"

I started applauding. Atticus joined in, and soon, we'd started a standing ovation!

Jesse's eyes were watering. He wiped the tears away as Joey walked up.

"I can't believe I lost." Joey said with a defeated sigh. He then smiled and held out his hand. "Congratulations!"

Jesse, again dumbfounded, stared at Joey's hand, not knowing what to do at first, before shaking it.

"It was an honor." Jesse said.

"Hey, the honor was mine." Joey said, pulling Jesse into a headlock. "It's not often I get to duel a guy as tough as you!"

Joey released Jesse from his grip and handed him Topaz Tiger.

"Thanks." Jesse said.

While Jesse put the card back in his deck, Tiger's spirit appeared next to him and nodded.

"Don't worry about it." Joey said. "But Pegasus told me your dragon could only be summoned with all those crystals."

"Pegasus?" Jesse asked, looking at his Sapphire Pegasus card.

"Not that Pegasus." Joey said. "The guy who invented Duel Monsters! He told me about how some jerk tried to steal those cards before and how worried you got. I can't blame you for getting worked up, but you gotta get back up and rescue them. I taught that to a friend a while back. You remind me of him, actually."

Then realization struck Joey.

"Oh, right!" Joey said, turning to the crowd. "That do it for you, Pegasus?!"

A man in the audience stood up. He was wearing a trench coat, sunglasses, hat, and a fake mustache. I recognized this from my third year at Duel Academy. Maximillion Pegasus' public disguise.

The crowd immediately started freaking out once he removed his disguise.

Pegasus walked on stage next to Joey and Jesse. A man handed Pegasus a microphone, and he turned to the crowd.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen!" Pegasus said, in an over-exaggerated way. "I'm sure we all enjoyed the show, but there's more to come!"

Jesse turned to Joey, who smiled.

"You see, it's come to my attention that the new generation of duelists have been making names for themselves! Of all the new duelists out there, Jesse is the best I've ever witnessed. So I set this duel up as a test, before the real show begins!"

The real show?!

"The real show?" Atticus asked. Hey! I just narrated that!

"Let's be honest, nobody in this world is getting younger, including myself. To see if the new generation was ready, I asked Joey Wheeler to test Jesse-boy."

Ready for what?

"Ready for what?" Jesse asked.

"Ready to take on Yugi Muto and see a new King of Games crowned." Pegasus said. "As of now, the old era of dueling has ended. It's time for a new legend to begin!"


Author's Note: Way, waaaay back in 2007, on New Year's Eve, I ended the original Competition, the fanfic about Jaden's duel with Jesse. I don't remember if the duel was part of the final chapter or not, but it only seemed appropriate to post this on New Year's Eve.

On top of that, there's the obvious idea of the old dueling era ending on the end of the year.

From here on out, I'll be able to get the plot rolling. And for what it's worth, I've got the urge to keep writing, so hopefully, no more long, unannounced breaks.

You guys have no idea how hard it was to resist the urge to title this chapter "Duel House".