Mai: "And now the last Star Chip..."

Mai said as she inserted the tenth Star Chip inside the slot of the castle doors. An unlocking sound was heard. She then turned the doorknob and pushed the doors open.

"Woah..."

They all started heading inside, when, suddenly, a man wearing a black suit and sunglasses, with a very long and pointy hairdo, blocked Anzu, Bakura and Honda's way.

"You guys are not allowed to enter the castle! You must be contestants that have ten Star Chips to make it through!"

Anzu: "Oh please, can't you let us off the hook this time? We're here to encourage our..."

"A no is a no! Now come with me..."

Mai then intervened and stood in front of him. She took on a seductive tone and looked at the man with a sexy gaze.

Mai: "Don't be so uptight. Do this little favour for me?"

The man blushed and started stuttering.

"U-uh! I have my orders ma'am! I can't just..."

Mai then walked around, distracting his gaze from Anzu, Honda, and Bakura.

Mai: "Come on, big guy, you can be more lenient than that, can't you?"

"I... I... I..."

Now free from the man's attention, Anzu, Honda, and Bakura ran for the door. Mai followed them. When the large man noticed that he was being fooled, he ran towards them.

"Hey! Get back here-"

They all pushed the door as hard as they could and closed it in his face. A loud bang was heard from the other side.

Mai: "Oof, that was close."

"That was awesome, Mai-san!"

Akia was really starting to idolize Mai. She looked up to her and she felt like she was a role model to her. She was a strong willed woman who always got what she wanted. The more Akia got to know Mai, the more she liked her and respected her. As for Jounouchi, Akia almost completely lost any romantic feelings she had for him. She just knew it wasn't going to work anyway. Besides, she'd rather just be his friend than complicate things. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she'd admit that Bakura occupied a much bigger part of her mind.

"I wonder who that big man back there was. Was he one of Pegasus' goons?"

Yugi: "That was Saruwatari. We ran into him after I duelled Mokuba who wanted revenge for his brother."

"Ah... Oh! I remember I saw him on the boat, too."

As they were talking, they reached a balcony overlooking an arena of some sorts. There, leaning on the rails was a blonde man wearing a bandana bearing the american flag design.

Jounouchi: "You dirty cheater!"

As Jounouchi was about to lash out at him, Honda grabbed him to hold him back.

Honda: "Calm down, Jounouchi! This guy is not worth your efforts!"

"Who's that guy?"

Yugi: "That's Keith Howard. He knocked Jounouchi out and forced him to play against one of his accomplices. When they lost, they locked us up in a cave. It took us a while to find our way out. Without Bakura's ring, we would probably still be stuck there."

"Well now I get why Jounouchi is so worked up about him."

Keith: "Hmph, I guess you losers made it out somehow. Not that it really matters since I'll be the champion."

Jounouchi: "You'll have to go through me first!"

Anzu: "Hey guys! That's Kaiba down there!"

Everyone turned their attention to what was happening below them. Kaiba and Pegasus both came out from the two opposing doors.

Kaiba: "Pegasus! Where did you take Mokuba?"

Pegasus chuckled. He seemed amused at how agitated Kaiba sounded, even though the latter tried to keep a controlled tone of voice.

Pegasus: "Oh, do you mean this?"

He then took out a card from his pocket and showed it to Kaiba.

"That's...!"

Kaiba: "Mokuba! What did you do to him?!"

Pegasus: "Don't worry, Kaiba boy. I merely trapped his soul in this card. If you want him back, you'll have to win in a Duel against me."

Kaiba: "Imprisoned his soul? That's not even possible! Your tricks won't fool me! I'll duel you and win everything back."

Pegasus: "Be careful, though. If you lose, you will end up in the same pitiful state that your baby brother is in."

Kaiba: "I won't lose."

Kaiba then took out two disks from the suitcase he'd been carrying.

Kaiba: "We will be playing using the new technology that I developed."

Pegasus then rose his index finger and shook it.

Pegasus: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You are not in any position to enforce your own rules into this, Kaiba boy. We will play using the duelling platforms that have been used during this whole tournament. Otherwise, your brother can stay a captive for all I care."

Kaiba groaned in frustration.

Kaiba: "Fine... Have it your way."

Having agreed to Pegasus' ways, the Duel started. From the beginning, it seemed like Pegasus had the upper hand. He was somehow reading Kaiba's every move and every card before Kaiba even did anything. After a few turns, Pegasus revealed his toon deck. His love for cartoons was what inspired him to create these cards.

"I know he's the creator of the game and all, but I can't help but feel like it's a bit unfair to have cards that were especially made for him."

'His weird power to read someone's mind gives him a huge upper-hand too. He's almost unbeatable. I don't think I'd even be able to stand a chance against him. Yugi might, though. He has a strange power in his millennium puzzle that might help him. Maybe I'm just trying to escape the responsibility of facing such a powerful opponent.'

Bakura: "It's really something that can't be helped..."

Kaiba was losing. He was losing fast. Even his Blue Eyes fell prey to Pegasus who took control of it and transformed it into a toon monster. All Akia and her friends could do was watch the tragedy unfold. They all knew the outcome.

Pegasus launched the last attack, which brought Kaiba's Life Points all the way down to 0.

Yugi: "Kaiba!"

Pegasus: "Well, a deal is a deal. Am I right, Kaiba boy?"

Pegasus then revealed his eye from under his hair and extracted Kaiba's soul and absorbed it into a blank card that was then filled with his figure.

Yugi: "Dammit! Now you too, Kaiba..."

Anzu: "Yugi..."

"All the more reason to do everything we can to defeat Pegasus."

'Even though I'm not particularly fond of Kaiba, I still hate to see him in such a sad state.'

Mai: "This is a whole new level."

Jounouchi: "I can't believe... Kaiba lost..."

Keith: "Well that was a waste of time."

Akia looked at him with annoyance. She had only met him and he was already getting on her nerves. She really hoped she'd go against him in her first match. She just wanted to crush that annoying ego of his.