"Hello and welcome to Culture Shock, Domino's only local TV program dedicated to the people, places, and things that make up today's society. I'm Robert Hadley."

"And I'm Stacey Nguyen. Card games have always been a popular form of entertainment from the tarot readings of the far east to the more popular Black Jack."

"But the latest card game to sweep the world is Duel Monsters from Industrial Illusions."

"Duel Monsters has rapidly become the number one form of entertainment for everyone from young kids to middle-age men. It has become more than a card game, it has become a past time, like soccer or baseball."

"That's right, Stacey, and like soccer and baseball, it also has its all-stars. And nobody can think of Duel Monsters without thinking of Yugi Moto, the King of Games."

"I recently sat down with the young dueling dynamo to discuss his rise to fame and the secrets to his success."

"Yugi, you have been a familiar face in the world of Duel Monsters for a couple of years now. Yet it doesn't seem you've fallen into the normal glitz and glamour that most celebrities fall into."

"Well I have to admit, Ms. Nguyen, I'm still trying to adjust to it all. I've never been used to being the center of attention. But I think I owe a lot to the people around me."

"Your parents taught you to play?"

"No, my Dad died years ago and my Mom doesn't know a whole lot about card games. Actually I was taught by my Grandfather, Solomon."

"Your Grandfather, I was told he was once an Egyptologist."

"Yeah, he was, but now he's retired and owns a Game Shop right here in town."

"You said that you owe it to the people around you. Does that include your opponents?"

"Definitely, in fact if it wasn't for Seto Kaiba, I probably wouldn't be in the position I am today."

"That's right, the first public record of you dueling is your match with Seto Kaiba in which you summoned Exodia the Forbidden One (4). Tell me, have you used the Exodia cards since then?"

"No, to tell you the truth I think using the Exodia cards is a little unfair to my opponents. I like to duel on even ground with my opponents."

"You won two Duel Monster tournaments back-to-back, Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and became the second youngest person ever to win a tournament right behind Weevil Underwood. What do you think is the secret to your success?"

"That's a hard question to answer. Like I said before, I owe a lot of my success to the people around me. My Grandfather taught me to duel and I have friends who cheer for me when I win and give me encouragement when I lose."

"Which seems to be rare if your record is to be believed."

"It is rare but it has happened. My opponents duel their hardest forcing me to match them in strength and skill. In other words, they make me strive to improve myself."

"I have to admit, Yugi, you're nothing like what I expected. From the videos of your duels supplied to Culture Shock by Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation, you seem to be a fierce warrior yet kind as well."

"Thank you. I admit I can be an entirely different person when I duel sometime but I never lose track of who I really am. That's what I meant by moral support. My friends help remind me not to be too overconfident. I also owe a lot of thanks to my cards."

"Your cards?"

"That's right. I know it's crazy, but I consider my cards like a part of my family. And together we help each other win each duel."

"Does that include the three God Cards you picked up at Battle City?"

"That's right, even the three God Cards. We're probably the weirdest family you'll ever come across."

"Have you received any proposals?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, sorry, I guess I should rephrase that. Have you received any challenges?"

"You mean has anyone asked to duel me since Battle City?"

"Yes."

"Only Seto Kaiba has challenged me formally but I'm always willing to accept new duels."

"Yugi was very cheerful and polite, Thomas, not at all from what I'd expect."

"I guess as long as you don't have to duel him, he can be a pleasant boy. Thanks for that report, Stacy. Coming up next, are cartoons getting too adult. Henrietta Cuffington's special expose on the grown-up child, this is Culture Shock."

"You wanted a rematch, Seto Kaiba, well you got one."

"Yeah, but this time thing's are going to end differently, you pompous wind bag!" The two opponents stared each other down. The boys were the same age with one had spiky blonde hair with black roots and red tips and violet eyes. He was dressed in a blue jacket over a black shirt and blue jeans. He also wore an upside down pyramid around his neck.

His opponent was taller with brown hair in a bowl cut and blue eyes. He was dressed in a silver sleeveless duster over black shirt and pants. Both boys had strange devices with cards on them.

"Even you have to admit that your Blue-Eyes White Dragon (5) is no match for my three Egyptian God Cards." He motioned to the three giants behind him:

Obelisk the Tormentor (6), a burly demonic creature that towered over all.

Slifer the Sky Dragon (7), a serpentine dragon with two mouths.

And the Winged Dragon of Ra (8), a creature with a bird head and a combination of man and beast body. Its golden skin shone metallic-like.

(Y: 2200)
(K: 1300)

"Make all the smug pronouncements you like, Yugi," Kaiba said as he drew a card from his deck. "But know this, there's got to be a way to beat your God Cards and I won't stop until I find it! I play Polymerization fusing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon I have on the field with the two more I have in my hand." Holograms of two more Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards appeared before they transformed into energy and merged with the one that was on the field. "My three dragons have now fused together to form the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (9)!" The new monster was a large three-headed version of Kaiba's dragon. Kaiba leapt onto the forehead of the center dragon head. "And that's just for starters next I activate a magic card which doubles my monster's attack points, Megamorph!" The dragon suddenly grew bigger breaking the walls around the stadium they were dueling in.

(BEUD: 4500-9000)

"Now my Blue-Eyes is the most powerful monster on the field!"

"There's more to power than just attack points," Yugi argued in that deep voice he normally uses when he's dueling.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that my Egyptian God Cards possess powers far beyond mere monsters!"

"They what?"

"By sacrificing two," Yugi continued. "I can bestow upon the third infinite strength!" Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra also turned into energy and was absorbed by Obelisk the Tormentor. Obelisk's color turned a sinister violet hue, its eyes a blood red.

(OT: ∞)

Yugi leapt onto Obelisk's shoulder, "Now my Obelisk the Tormentor is the strongest monster in play!"

"No, I can beat your God Cards, I won't lose to you again!" Kaiba cried as his three-headed dragon opened all of its mouths, each preparing to unleash a fierce energy blast.

"Obelisk the Tormentor, show him what true power is all about! Attack with Fists of Fury!" Obelisk fired a blue shaft of energy from its arm which met an energy blast from Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon. The two blasts met half-way, each pushing against the other. Finally, Obelisk's blast overpowered Ultimate Dragon's and destroyed it sending Kaiba plummeting to the ground.

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

"Quick, someone get a fire extinguisher!" A voice cried as hands tried to desperately put a burning control panel out.

"I'm sorry, Mister Kaiba," a bearded technician said. "But I was almost certain my calculations were correct this time."

"Just give us one more chance," another technician pleaded.

"So you can fail again?" Kaiba retorted from behind them. "Sorry."

"Please, sir, we're very close to postulating a winning stratagem!"

"Well if I were you, I'd start postulating myself a new job. You had plenty of time to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards, but as usual I'm going to have to take matters into my own hand! Now get out!"

Slightly behind his brother, Mokuba Kaiba groaned. Kaiba had spent the past three months trying to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards. He passed Kaiba Corp. business off to Mokuba himself and the new Board of Directors. He even left his classes at Domino High, all just to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards. Mokuba knew that the technician's simulation was sound. But what they didn't know was that Kaiba reprogrammed the simulation so that the God Cards would win every time. Mokuba knew the God Cards were not unbeatable, he saw that for himself at Battle City, but Kaiba was programming no-win scenarios. But why?

Once in the sanctuary of his own office, Kaiba pondered the dilemma as he stared out the window. There has to be a way to get rid of Yugi's God Cards… He stared at a small television screen that was turned to a commercial for the latest expansion pack of Duel Monsters. The Industrial Illusions logo flashed briefly in the lower corner. And I think I know where to start looking.

Far away on the other side of the world, a man slept in a castle, unaware that a spirit had entered his bed chambers. The spirit went up to a safe and opened it without even turning the combination lock. The spirit disappeared into a leather brief case and the safe door slammed again.

The sleeping man had no idea.

He was standing in a desert landscape. What was he doing there, not even he knew. He could hear deep chanting in an unfamiliar language. He looked up and saw three creatures standing in the sky, three creatures he recognized.

"The God Cards?"

Light particles began rising. The light particles were making the God Monsters convulse in pain. The light particles entrapped the monsters in a large blue pyramid with a brass eye and a bead at the center.

The chanting grew louder and louder and all of a sudden he could understand it.

From the light comes the darkness.

The pyramid broke apart and the pieces started to fall on him.

Maximillion Pegasus sat up in his bed panting heavily. "What a horrible nightmare," he complained. He got up from his bed and shook the sweat from his nightshirt. "No more white wine before bed time for me," he chided himself half humorously. Pegasus went to the glass door and looked out at the night-covered ocean and the full moon. "Seems quiet enough, yet I sense chaos on the horizon. I may have lost my Millennium Eye some time ago, but I can still see that something horrible is about to unfold, something that involves the Egyptian God Monsters."

Solomon Moto was a man of habit. He enjoyed watching cartoons in the evening, drinking margaritas at parties, and tending to his beloved Kame Game Shop. Another habit he had was to read the newspaper whenever he wasn't helping customers. This morning, he was reading an article about a mummy and strange object that was brought to the Domino Museum. "It's about time the museum got some decent Egyptian artifacts. I guess they were tired of King Tut's bust and Nefertiti's necklace." He then took a closer look at the object that was brought in and gasped.

The object was a pyramid-shaped object. Because the picture was in black and white, he couldn't tell of the color. But the resemblance was uncanny.

"It looks just like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. This I have to see." Solomon threw down the newspaper and ran out ignoring the article about how lives were lost in bringing it to Domino and the mysterious chanting that some survivors of the exhibition claimed to hear.