AN: My favorite arc from the series! And Lindsey will actually be dueling!

Chapter 27

Lindsey POV

Holy Shit

Lindsey stood in awe at the gates to Kaiba Land. She knew it was going to be big but this was ridiculous. There were Blue Eyes themed roller coasters and statues throughout the park. Vendors were dressed in dark magician outfits. The tallest Ferris wheel Lindsey had ever seen loomed over her, but the real attraction that caught her eye was the giant silver dome, labeled the "Kaiba Dome."

Lindsey began to walk through the park. Everywhere she looked she saw joy, except she only felt determination. She wanted this tournament to start more than anything. She fought her way through crowds and stopped when she realized she had no clue where she was going. She bit her lip and her eyes wandered, looking for some sense of direction.

Lindsey jumped at the hand that was placed on her shoulder. She quickly turned to see a tall raven-haired man, with tan skin. He was dressed in jeans, boots, and wore a cowboy hat. A huge grin spread across her face.

"Last time I saw you I was kicking your ass in the Semi-finals of the world tournament." Lindsey smirked. The man chuckled.

"Things have changed since then Miss Walsh, considering I'm now one of the top 14 duelists in the world." He smirked.

"So I take it, Shane Jordan, our worlds favorite cowboy isn't here to ride the Ferris wheel?" Lindsey joked.

"That's correct. I've been invited to participate in Seto Kaiba's tournament. I'm assuming you're here for the same reason?" Lindsey nodded. "So I guess the whole parties here then."

A confused look appeared on Lindsey's face. "What do you mean?" Shane laughed.

"Abe's here." He smirked as Lindsey's eyes widened.

"That creepy ass monkey man?" Shane gave a thumbs up. "No way!" She began to laugh. "That little amateur really proved himself worthy if he got invited here!"

"That's what I said!" The two continued to laugh together.

"Who else do you think will be competing?" Shane asked.

"I know of three that will be here for sure. One is Yugi Muto. The other is a guy named Joey Wheeler, and obviously Seto himself will be competing."

"You know this Joey guy?"

"We used to be friends. I haven't talked to him in months. He may not seem like much, but he's good. Don't underestimate him." Shane nodded understanding. Lindsey was about to ask Shane a question until she noticed him stiffen. Her face twisted. "You okay?" She noticed him subtly flick his eyes to her left. She panicked when she realized someone was behind her, and she knew exactly who.

She took a deep breath, and slowly turned. Green met blue and the tension in the whole park thickened. "Hello Seto." He said nothing in response.

"This seems like a bad time." Shane said nervously. "I'm going to…. Leave. Quickly." With that he ran off into the park.

Lindsey sighed. "Whatever you need to say just get it over with. I don't have the energy to deal with your bullshit. I have a tournament to prepare for."

"You don't have the energy to deal with my bullshit?" Seto replied in a low monotone voice.

"Oh god dammit here it comes." Lindsey rolled her eyes.

Seto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look I didn't bring you here to lecture you. I brought you here so you could show the world that you should be the true king of games. You've beat Yugi before. You'll do it again."

Lindsey's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't believe how calm and collected Seto was right now. She sensed there was so much more to this. "Why are you doing me a favor?" She plainly asked. "We haven't spoken in months, and now you just suddenly want to do me this favor?" She scoffed. "I'm not buying it." She cocked her hip and crossed her arms. Seto was unreadable.

"Is it so hard to believe I want to do something nice for you?" Seto Questioned.

"Yes." Lindsey's face twisted. "I don't know if you've noticed but you're not exactly a nice guy, and when you do shit like this, forgive me if it's a little suspicious."

Seto had no response. The two stared at each other with electric dagger until Seto's talking collar broke the silence. "Mr. Kaiba. We have a small issue at the Kaiba dome."

He grabbed his collar. "What kind of issue?" He said dryly.

"Several guests, Mokuba, and Yugi and his friends are trapped inside. Someone seems to have tampered with the system, but we can't find out who." Seto growled with displeasure.

"Figure it out!" He roared.

"Yes sir." Seto pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself.

He looked at Lindsey who had a skeptical look on her face. "You up for a walk to the Kaiba Dome?" Seto asked.

"No, but I have a feeling you're not giving me a choice." Seto smirked at her response, and the two made way across the park.

Lindsey was nearly out of breath. They had just walked, but the distance was enough to leave anyone winded for a moment.

"Did you need such a big park Seto?" She said with attitude.

"It was intended to be much larger, but the owner of the shopping complex across the street refused to sell me the space." Lindsey knew he was serious just from his tone. They were standing outside of the Kaiba Dome, thinking of a way to enter it. "You think you can fit into an air vent Lindsey?" Seto asked mockingly.

"Okay first off, fuck you, I was ten, and two, it's never going to happen." Seto chuckled while Lindsey fumed.

"You were really desperate to see me at that tournament." He kept teasing, slightly smiling at the childhood memory.

"Yeah, well a lot of shit went down that week. Remember the time you fell in love with me?" She batted her eyes and smirked as his face went back to stone.

"Seto!" Lindsey was about to make another snide comment when the raven-haired kid she loved to no end appeared.

"Mokuba!" Seto said, relief in his voice. "How did you get out?" Lindsey walked up, curious to hear the story.

"Yugi dueled the computer that was keeping us hostage. He won and the doors opened up! You should have seen it. It wasn't even his deck!"

Lindsey heard nothing after Mokuba said the word Yugi. She paled and she sensed the presence of several people behind her.

"Lindsey? Is dat you?" The familiar Brooklyn accent made her heart tight. She missed them all so much, but she was too stubborn to admit it, and there was no way she could be friends with Yugi's friends. She wanted nothing more than to see Yugi crushed in this tournament, something the gang would never condone. It was now or never. She had to face them sometime, and she couldn't exactly run away. She turned around to meet the friendly blonde's brown eyes.

"Hi Joey." She said softly. "How are you?"

"Been good. Just getting ready for da tournament. You?" This was probably the most awkward conversation of Lindsey's life, but an escape route was promising.

"Same." Tristan, and Duke walked forward. They playfully punched Lindsey on the arm. She smiled at the gesture, knowing they were still her friends. Sadness grew. Why was she so stubborn? She wanted everything to go back to normal. The group would be whole again, but it couldn't happen. She looked away from the boys to avoid crying only to catch eye contact with the one person she needed most.

Lyris' crystal blue eyes were filled with tears. Immediately Lindsey teared up and the two girls flew into each other's arms. They said nothing. Just cried. Lyris was the one person Lindsey couldn't be without. They were literally the same person. Seto cleared his throat.

"Hate to break this up, but you all have an opening ceremony to get ready for." Lindsey broke apart from Lyris to look at Seto. He made eye contact with her. "We'll talk later."

"No we won't." She backfired. Joey snorted while Mai and Lyris smirked. Seto looked stunned. For once he was speechless.

"Were leaving Mokuba." He snapped. Mokuba waved goodbye to the gang and the Kaiba brothers retreated into the park. Lindsey turned back to see the group smiling at her, all except for Tea and Yami who stood back, far from her.

"So Lindsey, what shall we do to kill some time?" Bakura asked.

"I could use a shopping assistant?" Serenity mentioned.

The gang was blurting out suggestions of activities to do together, and it only furthered Lindsey's pain. She held up her hands to silence them. "Guys, I'm so sorry. I don't hate you guys, but we shouldn't be hanging out. I have a tournament to prepare for." She thought it was a good enough excuse, and it was because the gang seemed to buy it. "Maybe later we can sort some things out, just not now." They nodded solemnly "I got to go. See ya at the ceremony." She began to walk away when the violet haired boy grabbed her wrist.

She whipped around and froze when she met his eyes. It wasn't Yugi, it was Yami. The two held each other's gazes for far too long.

She felt herself falling into him, but quickly caught herself. She quickly shook her head and retracted her wrist. "See you at the ceremony." She muttered.

She darted away leaving Yami standing there looking defeated.

Lindsey walked through the crowd without bothering to talk to anyone. Dinner had concluded and the opening ceremonies would be starting in a few moments. She thought about finding Shane but figured he'd be with a crowd of fans. She was in her signature white trench outfit, minus the duel disk.

She stopped to scan the room. A lot of world famous duelists were here. Her eyes stopped on the pink haired creep talking to Seto. She thought the guy looked familiar but couldn't place who he was. She decided to walk over.

"I don't care who you are. You show some respect." Kaiba spat. The pink haired male simply shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

"Who was that?" Lindsey asked.

"Some idiot named Zigfried Lloyd. Why?" Lindsey raised her brow in alarm.

"That sounds so familiar…" She could see Kaiba's confusion. Seto genuinely had no idea who this guy really was. I know I've seen this guy before…

"Well, why did you walk over here?" He asked in an icy tone. "If you want to talk now is not the time. You all need to be on stage." He walked away from her to go take his place.

"Don't worry." Lindsey mumbled to herself. "I won't be bothering you again."

"OMG! Isn't Seto Kaiba just the cutest little thing!?" A small Asian duelist wearing a long yellow dress ran up next to her. "I could just eat him up!"

"Touch him and die." Lindsey said softly without looking her way, though she could tell the girl was gaping at her. She smirked and walked up to the stage, as the tournament duelists were called to be in their places.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Rowland began, "Welcome to the most prestigious tournament ever to be organized! The KC Grand prix!" The crowd erupted into applause. Lindsey stood onstage over looking the crowd of people, as she stood side by side with the other duelists. She noticed the girl in the yellow dress a few people down from her. She goes first. Lindsey thought.

Rowland continued as the MC. "We have circled the globe, to bring you this all star congregation of duelists! We'll start with contestant number one! The dueling prodigy, leapin' Leon Wilson!" The crowd cheered as a small boy with deep pink hair waved. He had to have been not much older than 12.

"He's a mystery, He's a riddle, it's Fortune Salim!" A short man wearing an all black cloak gave a wave. "Next, he's straight out of the wild West. Please welcome, Shane Jordan!" A couple girls in the front row began to scream loudly. Lindsey clapped and cheered for her favorite cowboy.

"Next, he's all muscle, Sergei Ivanoff!" A blonde male stepped forward and rather than wave, flexed his very large muscles. Lindsey wondered why he was wearing a wrestling uniform. "Next we have the super sleuth, Paul McGregor!" An old man wearing a detective costume smiled at the crowd. "And of course, let's not forget the wild child, Abe the Monkey Man!" Lindsey shook her head at the guy parading around the stage like a monkey.

Stifling a laugh, Rowland announced on. "Up next, we have a man who scraps points away from his opponent with perfect precision, Dr. Richard Goat!" Lindsey clapped before realizing she was next.

"Next we have an individual who has taken the dueling world by storm since the day she was born. The beautiful, master of magicians herself, Lindsey Walsh!" She didn't wave. She smirked as the crowd erupted into a thunderous applause. Not bad for an introduction Rowland.

"Seeing isn't always believing, just ask the dueling illusionist, Totani Lalos! And next we have the dueling wonder from down under, Ethan Shark!" Ethan! No way! I love that Australian Beauty! "Next we have the calm and collected, Jafar Shin!" A man in neutral colored robes sat meditating on stage, not even caring about his surroundings.

"Now we have the delicate flower with quite the kick, Vivian Wong!" The Asian girl from earlier stepped forward. Lindsey's eyes narrowed.

"And we also have the young and adorable, Rebecca Hawkins!" Rebecca didn't look at the crowd, she made eye contact with Vivian and anyone could feel the tension between them. "Next we have Jumpin' Joey Wheeler!" Lindsey cheered as Joey was in his signature battle stance, trying to wow the crowd. "Next have the mystery duelist, Apdnarg Otum!" A short plum man with a bandana stood proudly on stage. You have got to be kidding. Lindsey mused.

"And our final challenger, the always stylish, Zigfried Lloyd!" The pink haired duelist threw a rose into the crowd and several fans squealed. "And our defending champion, Yugi Muto!" The crowd cheered as Yugi Stepped onto stage. Lindsey watched as he walked out in front of them. He stopped to make eye contact with her and the crowd fell silent.

The room was so quiet you could hear Lindsey and Yami's shaky breaths. Thankfully, Rowland broke the silence. "Uh… These 16 duelists will face off in elimination rounds for their shot to duel our champion and gain the title of King of Games!" The crowd erupted once more. Lindsey was nothing but determined. Rowland continued. "To ensure fair play, matchups will be determined at random using a computer simulator right before the start of every duel! On behalf of the Kaiba Corporation we wish you good luck! You represent the top ranked duelists from across the globe, and only one of you will be crowned, world champion!" The crowd erupted for the final time as the duelists left the stage.

Lindsey went in search of Seto. She found him talking to some business associates. She could care less about his colleagues, which is why she grabbed his arm and pulled him away. He looked furious with her but she ignored it. "Why aren't you competing in this tournament?"

"I have better things to do at the moment. Now if you'll excuse me I'm discussing business." His tone was short and clipped as he turned to go back to his colleagues. Lindsey grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"No. You're talking with me!" he didn't fight her. "I came here to claim MY title as king of games, but I don't want it if it means I can't beat you." Seto looked confused. "I've beat Yugi before, not you. I wont feel like a champion till I defeat you." Seto just stood there smirking. Suddenly it dawned on Lindsey. "You didn't invite me here so I could claim my rightful title. You brought me here knowing I would be King of Games when this all ended, and then right after the tournament, you planned to challenge me so you can take that title for yourself!"

"You're not as stupid as you act Walsh." He just kept on smirking.

"You are nothing but a narcissistic asshole Seto Kaiba!" She was furious and needed to leave the room before one of the reporters got the story of the year. She said nothing more. She stormed out of the room and made way to her hotel room.

Lindsey had reached the Kaiba Land Hotel and made way to floor 19, where all the duelists stayed. She exited the elevator steaming with rage. She was almost to her room when the familiar Violet haired duelist exited his room. He and Lindsey made eye contact. "Lindsey." Yami stated.

"Yami." She breathed. Without another word, she closed the gap between them and claimed his mouth. She fisted her hands in his hair and he did the same to her. She broke away momentarily to speak. "Your room. Now." Yami nodded as he kissed her once more. He grabbed her hand, led her into his room, and softly closed the door behind them.

Joey POV

Was that… Yug…. And Lindsey… going into Yugi's room? No….. she hates him…. That is 100% impossible. But they did have that moment on stage… I gotta tell Mai….

But should I…. I mean I don't want to start drama. Wait….. yes I do! I picked a great time to come out of my room!