"Alright, since you're the one who's challenging me here," Jaden began, drawing five cards from his deck. "I'll take the first move. So get ready to get your game on!"

"Heh, be my guest. You're gonna need the head start." Kaiba rested his hand over his duel disk as his starting hand was automatically dispensed to him.

Jaden Vs Kaiba

4000 LP / 4000 LP

"Alright, then, let's start off strong!" Jaden pulled two cards from his hand before inserting a third into his duel disk. "I activate Polymerization! Fusing the Elemental Hero Bubbleman and Elemental Hero Clayman in my hand, so I can summon the one and only, Elemental Hero Mudballman!"

3000 DEF

A tall stone warrior and water-themed muscle man appeared on the field before they were sucked into a portal of bright orange and blue a moment later. Then, from the portal, an even bigger warrior appeared. Bearing giant spheres of rock as armor, Mudballman took a defensive stance on the field ready to take any attack.

"And with that, I'll throw down some face downs, and end my turn," Jaden announced. "Whatcha think of that, Mr. Bossman?"

"Hm," Kaiba drew his card, eyeing the sight of his opponent's board with a glare. "If this is what passes for an A-list duelist in your generation, frankly, I'm not impressed."

"Harsh." Jaden frowned.

"You don't rise to the top of this world by playing nice kid, watch and learn!" Kaiba placed a card into the field zone of his duel disk. "I activate the field spell, Union Hangar!"

Mechanical storage units erupted from the ceiling and ground, completely surrounding them as the whole dueling arena was converted into a hangar. Crowler screamed as one of the storage units landed on him.

"This card allows me to add a union monster to my hand upon activation, so let's say hello to my Y-Dragon Head!" Kaiba pulled a card from his deck, revealing a mechanical dragon. "Infact, I think you should meet it face to face— So I'll summon it!"

One of the hangar's units burst open, as a mechanical red dragon flew forth.

1500 ATK

"But that's not all. When a union monster is summoned to my field, Union Hangar activates," Kaiba continued, "Allowing me to bring a union monster from my deck and attach it to my monster! So come forth, B-Buster Drake!"

Another unit shattered, revealing a robotic green dinosaur which stormed the field. This monster, however, quickly folded in on itself, forming a pair of blasters that attached itself to Kaiba's Y-Dragon Head.

"And yet, there's always still more, because now I activate this, my Double Summon Spell card!" Kaiba shouted, inserting the card as a holographic copy took the field. "This card allows me to normal summon again. So say hello to my X-Head Cannon!"

1800 ATK

Erupting from the ground, the upper torso of a blue robot dragged itself forth, taking a spot next to Y-Dragon Head.

"And because of that, my Union Hangar activates again!"

"Ah, jeeze, how many times are you gonna activate this thing," Jaden groaned, wondering where the next mechanical monstrosity would pop out from.

"As many times as I'm allowed, and then once more!" Kaiba said with a smarmy laugh. "From my deck, I attach C-Crush Wyvern!"

From one of the high perched hangars, a robotic pterodactyl flew out, gliding to the field below. As it descended, it transformed into a frame of rocket launchers, which landed on and attached to X-Head Cannon's shoulders. The monster's energy hummed to life as its ordnance was increased.

"Now, fuse! X-Head Cannon with Y-Dragon Head!" Kaiba ordered. The two machines had their attached upgrades shatter into pixels as they came together. Sliding into place, X-Head Cannon fused to Y-Dragon Head, forming a terrifying new creature. "Behold, XY-Dragon Cannon!"

2200 ATK

"Hah, you must be going slow in your old age." Jaden jeered. "You just lost all your hard work attaching those other dudes!"

"Hm, well it seems you must've stayed an idiot in your youth," Kaiba shot back. Making a fist, he pounded his chest. "Watch as the special abilities of my B-Buster Drake and C-Crush Wyvern activate in the graveyard, allowing me to add a Union monster to my hand, and summon one as well!"

"You and your big mouth," Yubel said with a disappointed tsk-tsk.

"So arise, Z-Metal Tank!" Seto declared. From another ground level unit, the golden machine in question raced out, taking a spot next to XY-Dragon Cannon. "Now, a final fusion. XY and Z, form the ultimate mechanical beast!"

2800 ATK

"XYZ Dragon Cannon," Jaden muttered under his breath, as the monster in question formed. He spoked up. "And by ditching a card—"

"You have seen my duels," Kaiba acknowledged, grinning to himself. "By discarding a card, I can destroy your Mudballman!"

All five of its canons charged up, unleashing a blast of energy that shattered Jaden's monster in an instant.

"And now, your life points are wide open!"

"Not so fast, I still got my facedowns!" Jaden declared, pointing to the two set cards at his sides. Kaiba smiled.

"As if I care about that! From my hand, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" A sudden wind storm took the field, blasting away one of the set cards at Jaden's side. Yet, when the wind cleared, it revealed him smiling.

"Thanks for that, Set, can I call ya Set?"

"No—"

"Because that light breeze you sent my way just destroyed my Hero Medal!" Jaden revealed the set card Kaiba just destroyed. And when this card is destroyed, it lets me draw a card!"

"Draw as many cards as you like, it won't stop what's coming." Kaiba extended his hand out with a snap. "XYZ-Dragon Cannon, Attack!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Yubel laughed as Jaden grinned.

"I activate from my hand, Sphere Kuriboh!" Jaden slapped the card onto his duel disk, summoning the cybernetic fiend to the field. "When you declare an attack, I can discard this little buddy to put your monster into defense mode!"

2600 DEF

"Years later and I'm still putting up with these furballs," Kaiba growled. "Fine, I'll end my turn!"

"Alright, time to take back this game. I draw!" Jaden's smile grew wider as he saw the card he drew. "Let's go, The Warrior Returning Alive! This card let's me bring a warrior from my grave and add it to my hand. So let's go, Elemental Hero Bubbleman!"

Retrieving the card from his graveyard, Jaden revealed it almost immediately.

"And since Bubbleman is the only card in my hand, I can special summon it, and draw two more cards!" Slamming the card onto his duel disk, the muscular form of Bubbleman took the field again.

800 ATK

"But I'm not done there, I activate Call of the Haunted!" Jaden's set card flipped up, revealing the trap card in question. "So say hello again to Elemental Hero Clayman!"

Jaden called out as the stone warrior took the field again.

800 ATK

"And now, what you've all been waiting for. The one, the only! Elemental Hero Neos!"

Clayman and Bubbleman disappeared from Jaden's field as he sent them away, giving way to Neos as he appeared from the field of hangars. The warrior leapt through the air, landing on Jaden's side with a battle cry.

2500 ATK

"Ha! All your efforts resulted in nothing, your monster isn't even strong enough to destroy my XYZ-Dragon Cannon, even in defense mode!" Kaiba grinned, but in the back of his mind he was unnerved. There was something about Jaden's warrior that reminded him of something.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Set," Jaden laughed.

"Don't call me—"

"Because I still got a card up my sleeve, or really, in my hand!" Jaden slammed the card in question into his field spell zone. "I activate Skyscraper!"

Suddenly, Jaden's half of the field erupted, as tall buildings crashed up through the floor, destroying the hangars and taking their place. The duel arena was now split into two, Kaiba's half with hangars and Jaden's with his holographic city.

"Now, Neos, attack Kaiba's Dragon Cannon!"

Neos leapt forward, his fist rocketing towards Kaiba's side of the field.

"When an Elemental Hero attacks a monster stronger than it, Skyscraper gives it a thousand extra attack points!" Jaden called out. "So go Neos! Cosmic Crush!"

2500 ATK → 3500 ATK

With a mighty blow, Neos destroyed XYZ-Dragon Cannon, causing scrap metal and chunks of electronics to rain down on the battlefield. Kaiba growled, angered but unmoved by the destruction of his monster.

"Ah, come on. At least give a bit of a reaction," Jaden whined. When Kaiba remained silent, Jaden groaned. "Fiiiine. I end my turn."

"My move, draw!" Kaiba whipped the card off from the top of his deck before his duel disk could eject it. "Let's start by replenishing the reserves, I activate Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we have six cards in our hands!"

Kaiba and Jaden drew in unison, the former slamming a card down instantly.

"Now I activate Trade-In! By discarding my Dragon Spirit of White, this card allows me to draw two more cards!" An ethereal version of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field before shattering, leaving two cards which were added to Kaiba's hand. "Now I activate Silver's Cry! This lets me revive my Dragon Spirit to the field!"

The ground shuddered and shook before going still. Then, the ghostly form of Dragon Spirit of White appeared, phasing up through the ground.

2500 ATK

"And when my dragon hits the field, I can destroy a Spell or Trap card in play, so say goodbye to your Skyscraper!" Kaiba's dragon's mouth burst open with a blast of energy, which it whipped across the field to strike the buildings in the background. The city came crashing down, revealing the hangars from Kaiba's field spell behind them.

"Ah jeeze, think of the collateral," Jaden joked. "Still, with or without Skyscraper, your dragon ain't big enough to take down Neos!"

"Heh, this dragon might not be," Kaiba laughed. "But this one is! I activate the effect of Dragon Spirit of White, tributing it to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand!"

Dragon Spirit shuddered before going fully opaque, colour returning to its body as it came alive. With a mighty roar, Kaiba's ace monster took the field.

3000 ATK

Jaden took a step back, the memory of the last time he faced off against Blue-Eyes hitting him straight in the panic button. He resisted the urge to make a joke for the first time in his life.

"Now, Blue-Eyes! End his pathetic hero! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

Blue-Eyes let out a mighty roar, arching its neck back before releasing a torrent of energy from its maw. Neos was hit dead on, resisting for only a moment before shattering.

"Neos, no!" Jaden called out.

4000 LP / 3500 LP

Jaden growled for a moment, taking a deep breath as he centered himself. At that, Kaiba laughed.

"Seems I've finally broken that insufferable sense of humor of yours," he said, shaking his head with a smile. "And all it took was breaking your action figure."

"Just finish your turn," Jaden said, frowning. Scoffing, Kaiba placed a card face down.

"I'll end my turn with three cards face down."

"My move, draw!" Jaden called out, adding a seventh card to his hand. "From my hand, I activate the Trap card, NEXT!"

Jaden slammed the card onto his disk, revealing the image of Elemental Hero Neos standing by the many Neo-Spacians in Jaden's deck.

"Since I control no cards, I can use this card straight from my hand and summon Neos and Neo-Spacians from my hand or grave! So come on back, Neos! And up with him, Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"

Neos appeared to the field with a flurry of light, alongside Dark Panther who pounced onto the board.

"Now, let's go, Contact Fusion!" Jaden pumped his fist into the air, as the background of the arena became a spiralling Galaxy. Neos and Dark Panther leapt into the scene of space and from it appeared a new monster. "Elemental Hero Dark Neos!"

2500 ATK

Kaiba scoffed, remaining silent as Jaden resisted the urge to growl.

"Jaden, perhaps you're letting him push your buttons too—"

"I know what I'm doing," Jaden called out, cutting Banner off. "But I'm not done there, I activate Polymerization! Fusing the Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand, to summon: Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

2100 ATK

"Was math the reason you dropped out of Duel Academy?" Kaiba called out. "Neither of your monsters are strong enough to destroy my dragon!"

"Not yet they aren't!" Jaden roared. "Because from my hand, I activate Pseudo Space!"

Again from the ground, tall building erupted, hiding away Kaiba's hangars again. These ones, however, were a neon cyan.

"What?! Why is your Skyscraper back!" Kaiba demanded, gazing whipping across the sight. Jaden let a grin peak through.

"Because my Pseudo Space card copies the effect of a field spell in my graveyard, so in this case, it's copied Skyscraper!" Jaden threw his arm forward, making a fist as he motioned to Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. "And with it, I'm gonna take your dragon down! Dark Neos, attack—"

"As if I'd let you get that far! Reveal Trap cards!" Kaiba called out, as two of his three set cards flipped up. "I activate Shadow Spell and Raigeki Break! The first card allows me to target a monster you control and prevent it from attacking, and the other allows me to discard a card and destroy a card you control!"

Two columns, one of chains and the other of lightning shot across the field, the former chaining Dark Neos to the ground whilst the other caused Flame Wingman to cry out before exploding. Jaden pushed against the ensuing storm of wind, standing his ground before laughter broke the air.

"Did you honestly think you could get away with that, putting so much of your hand straight into three of my set cards?" Kaiba jeered, pushing Jaden further. "Playing this game is a lot like a business, kid. You've gotta figure out whether the moves you're making are a good investment or not. And you just bet the company on a game called Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"A game called what?"

"Exactly," Kaiba smirked, crossing his arms. Growling, Jaden pulled the last card from his hand.

"I still got a trick up my sleeve, and just your luck, it's the exact card I need to turn this game around!" he called out. "I activate Double Hero Attack!"

The card in question appeared on Jaden's field, causing Kaiba to take a step back.

"Since I got a Neos fusion on board, this girl lets me summon another Elemental Hero straight from my grave!" Jaden explained. "So come on back, Flame Wingman!"

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, yes!" Jaden grinned, as his trusty fusion returned to the field. "And now, Flame Wingman! Attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes! Skydive Scorcher!"

2100 ATK → 3100 ATK

Flame Wingman leapt high into the air, cascading down on Blue-Eyes White Dragon in a torrent of flames. The dragon tried to retaliate with a blast from its maw, but Wingman was too fast, tackling straight into its chest and destroying it. Kaiba growled as cinders flew into him.

3900 LP / 3500 LP

"And that's not all. When Flame Wingman destroys a monster, it deals damage to you equal to your monster's Attack points!" Jaden cheered, throwing his palm forward and making a fist. "So say goodbye to another 3000 of your life points!"

"This I will not allow!" Kaiba roared. "I activate my final set card, Call of the Haunted!"

"Hah, bring back your Blue-Eyes all you want. I'll just wreck it again and Wingman will burn ya for game," Jaden called out with a cocky grin. Kaiba, however, wasn't smiling.

"I revive my Prime Material Dragon!" he called out, causing Jaden's eyes to bulge in surprise.

"What the heck, when did you send that to the graveyard?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"If you had been paying attention, you would've seen him discard it when he used Raigeki Break." Yubel groaned as Kaiba's monster took the field. The wood dragon roared, as Wingman's flames battered into it, but did not pass.

2400 ATK

"Ah jeeze, the one time I decide to stop paying attention," Jaden whined.

"The one time?!"

"And since I control Prime Material Dragon, your monster's damage replenishes my life points rather than hurts them!" Kaiba called out, further adding to Jaden's bad time.

6900 LP / 3500 LP

"Grrr," Jaden growled, all seven cards from the beginning of his turn sunk into gaining his opponent life points. All he could do was nothing. "I end my turn."

Jaden sighed as his Dark Neos returned to his deck, leaving him with the lone Wingman to defend himself.

"And now it returns back to me, as always!" Kaiba called, drawing a card to his hand. Looking at his options, he immediately plucked said card and placed it on his field. "I call upon Ahrima, the Wicked Warden!"

Hellish growls filled the air as a rabid hound decked in rocky armor and pointed spikes stormed the feel.

1700 ATK

"Don't be fooled by its gentle demeanor," Kaiba laughed as Ahrima gnashed its teeth at Jaden. "It has a quite vicious effect. By feeding a Dark monster to it, it lets me draw a card."

"Well good thing for me that you don't have one of those, huh?" Jaden commented, leaning his head back into his hand.

"Oh, don't I?" Smirking, Kaiba raised his hand up. "Ahrima, consume yourself!"

Jaden watched in horror as Kaiba's monster began to self-cannibalize itself, paradoxically losing mass until it was a fading pile of guts on the floor.

"All that? For a draw?" Jaden asked, confused as Kaiba slipped the monster into his grave and drew another.

"Because, drop out, sometimes the road to success leaves a few bodies in your way!" Kaiba revealed the final card in his hand. "I remove my Dark Ahrima, the Wicked Warden and my Light Y-Dragon Head from the game!"

Jaden's eyes widened.

"Ooooh, boy. Oh jeeze," he muttered.

"What? What is it?" Yubel asked, unsure of what was happening.

"Let's just say, his pooch wasn't the only body he's leaving behind." Gulping, Jaden took a step back.

"I summon the ultimate forbidden dragon! Chaos Emperor Dragon! Envoy of the End!"

Kaiba slammed the card onto his duel disk, causing the whole arena to shudder and shake. Then, from the center of the field, the ground cracked, collapsing in a second later. From the maws of hell itself, Kaiba's monster wretched itself upwards, taking the field.

3000 ATK

"By paying 1000 of my life points, I can burn the field away and start anew! So go, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Cemetery of Fire!"

Still half-buried in the ground, Kaiba's dragon wasted no time, opening its maw and allowing a torrent of flames to flood the arena. Prime Material Dragon and Flame Wingman drowned in the waves of fire. Even Union Hangar and Pseudo Space burnt away.

As the fire cleared and the board was licked clean, Jaden could only stare in amazement as every card on his field and in his hand was wiped out.

"And before you think my dragon's reign is over, Chaos Emperor burns you for 300 life points for every card sent to the graveyard!" Kaiba called out, as a smaller crack formed in the ground. "I count seven cards destroyed in total, so that's 2100 points of damage!"

A final torrent of flames shot out from the crack in the ground, striking Jaden head-on and making him cry out in pain.

6900 LP / 1400 LP

"Jaden, are you okay?!" Banner called as Jaden gripped his chest.

"I'm— Fine," he reassured. At that, however, Kaiba laughed.

"Fine? You call your current position fine?" Furrowing his brow, Kaiba pointed dead ahead, straight at Jaden. "You're down to no cards, with barely a sliver of life hanging on to your body. This isn't fine, this is a disaster!"

Gritting his teeth, Jaden remained silent.

"Heh, and look at that. I actually managed to shut you up." Kaiba smirked. "Did I do it? Did I finally shatter that insufferable thing you call a sense of humor?"

Yet, what Kaiba heard next wasn't the broken sigh of capitulation. It wasn't the angry shout of frustration or defeat. It wasn't even the bargaining whimpers of someone with some hope of winning. No, what came next surprised Kaiba.

It was laughter.

"Jaden?" Yubel floated around the teen, as he began cracking up for seemingly no reason. Loud roaring laughter took him, as his head dipped back. All at once, he threw his arms into the air.

"Woo!" he cheered, shaking his head and taking a confident step forward. Kaiba's eyes narrowed.

"You've gone crazy, haven't you?" he said, only half joking.

"You know, for a long time I wondered why you could never beat Yugi," Jaden began, catching Kaiba off guard. "I always thought, you had the better cards, you always had the home team advantage. Why couldn't you beat him?"

"Is this some attempt to psyche me out?" Kaiba said, his voice going low and gravely.

"But I can see now, exactly why." Jaden's smile fell, as he grew more serious. He pointed to Kaiba, making a finger gun aimed straight at the man's chest. "The moment you had Yugi at the ropes, you always underestimated him, gloated about a win you hadn't gotten yet."

"I will not be a player in your pathetic attempt at mind games," Kaiba roared. Jaden, however, remained calm.

"And what's a king to do with a dude claiming to have his crown?" Jaden posed. He cocked back, firing his imaginary finger gun. "Well, I'm about to show you. My move, I draw!"