Inside one of the towers of the castle, the host of the tournament frantically checked to see if his person was presentable. Leon anxiously puffed into his palm to smell his breath. When the minty aroma satisfied him, he looked at the mirror for the tenth time and worked on his hair. Did it have enough gel? Were his bangs even? Was there any hair sticking out?

Before any of his questions could be answered, the door to his chambers burst open. Leon straightened up and gave a nervous gulp. Seto Kaiba walked into the chamber like he owned the place.

"Sir!" Leon called out. "I…I…wasn't…ahem. How can I help you?"

"Who are the flowers for?" Seto asked, looking around the office where he would be observing Yuri's progress in the tournament. There were bouquets of roses all over the place. He set his briefcase on a desk by the fireplace, then marched to a window to see the landscape. He placed his arms behind his back, patiently waiting for Leon to respond.

Leon nervously straightened his tie before he answered. "Sorry. I…I…they're for your daughter. I was kinda hoping she was going to be here. I really wanted to meet her."

Seto turned slowly to look at him then reared his head back as he rolled with laughter. "You thought Cora was coming? How sad? Sorry to disappoint you, hotshot, but she's busy studying."

"Studying? I thought she was on summer break?"

"I forced her to take summer classes. Believe me, she needs it. And there's no way I'm breaking the law by bringing her here. Cora has a big mouth. If word got out that I'm jumping worlds with my new device, I'd be in more trouble than the fools who challenge the rule of your brother down there."

"A High King?" Leon whispered. "He's really the ruler of your world. Heh. I always knew there was something special about Yuri."

"Who are you trying to fool, Leon? You legally changed your name out of spite for the boy. What's the matter? Sad that mommy and daddy didn't view you as the family favorite anymore? How petty."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I do understand. In many ways, Leon Caldwell, you and I are alike. Now. I am to understand your father, Jacob Montgomery, created some monsters of his own. I saw Yuri's Duel earlier today, which is why I took my sweet time getting up here. What the hell have you people done to our game?"

"You don't like them?" Leon asked.

"No. I specifically instructed Jacob Montgomery not to make any additions to the game without my say-so. Looks like he couldn't help himself with those gimmicks being implemented into the game. I wonder if this is the work of that fool, Andre."

"Who's Andre?"

"A third-rate Duelist but he wields a power that allows him to jump into different planes of existence. He's always been advocating for more monsters to be allowed for use in this world. By the way, do you know any good Duelists around here?"

"How good?"

"Elite. The best of the best."

"Why?"

"Andre, the one I told you about. He's on the island. I can smell his rebellious stench as we speak. You should send them to take him out. When they do, bring him to me."

"Is he going to give Yuri a hard time, sir?"

Kaiba let out another burst of loud laughter. "Him? Please. I told you before, he's a third-rate Duelist with a fourth-rate deck. He'll pose no challenge to Yuri. However, I don't want him meddling in Yuri's affairs any longer. Things never go according to plan whenever he's around."

Leon nodded while flashing a devious grin. "So you want my guys to take out this Andre, huh? Looks like he's a goodie-two-shoes looking to make things easy for Yuri. Well, I've done some research on the old tournament I based this one on. The Duelist Kingdom Tournament from your world. I learned that the host, Maximillion Pegasus, wanted to make sure that only four finalists made it to the end with the aid of Eliminators."

Seto looked back at Leon again and sniggered through his nose. "You really have done your research. Yes. Pegasus used Eliminators to thin out the herd. You have a total of eighty gold coins out there, don't you?"

"Yes," Leon answered. "And it's their job to collect the remaining forty and separate the chaff from the wheat."

"Good thinking. And make sure to add eliminating that annoying Dimensional Traveler to their agenda as well. I'll pay them well if they succeed."

"You got it, Mr. Kaiba. Leave everything to me.

Yuri

"We finally made it!" Crystal exclaimed, relieved to see some new terrain other than the forest, which they had been traversing in for almost two hours.

"Ah, the meadow at last!" said Nikki. "Good, I could use some sunshine."

Crystal ran ahead of the group, following a dirt path out of the forest into the wide, green, meadow dotted with blue, purple, and red mountain flowers. She dove into a large patch and Patty followed. She took out her phone and started pictures of Crystal rolling around in the flowers and smelling them.

"Isn't she a dream?" Nikki said. She elbowed Yuri in the gut. "I sure hope there's something going on between the two of you."

"Me and her!?" Yuri cried. "No way!"

"What? You don't like her? She not good enough for you, big boy?"

Yuri stopped dead in his tracks. "No, it's not like that!"

"Lay off, Nikki," Tyson said. He rubbed Yuri's shoulder. "Yuri's still hurting from his bad relationship with Patty. And Crystal's finally a free girl. After all that time under Brett's wing, I think she deserves some time on her own. I ain't gonna say anything about Lance."

"No need, I get the point. Still, I think it might do them some good."

"Yeah right," said Natalya. "Knowing you, you want something to gossip about for your blog."

"Yeah, that too."

The group laughed and broke the little tension that was building up. Yuri breathed a sigh of relief when the subject was finally dropped. Both he and Crystal suffered a lot when it came to romance, making talk about a relationship between the two of them a topic best left alone. Then again, Yuri just hated talking about romance in general.

Besides, he had more important things to worry about. The Millennium Tournament. If Ser Norman was right, these games were going to be his rite of passage to this 'other world' he kept talking about. After many months of listening to Ser Norman's epic stories and seeing all those things like his dreams and the sudden arrival of Marik and his small band of Rare Hunters, he was starting to believe something strange was going on. Time to see if there was something to it, or if this was just a clever hoax played by his father's advanced holographic technology.

He wanted to believe that. But there were so many red flags to show it was not true. For one, his father relied on a creative team to come up with any stories for his Duel Monsters animated television series. Ser Norman's tales were like listening to a historian talking about a rich and complex history. Like they were something real. Something that actually happened. Also, the Platinum Knight seemed too intimate to be some hologram. He was something much more. A friend.

"Look down there," said Nick. "Dueling fields all around. Time to see if I can find me some opponents!"

"Good luck, Nick," Crystal said. She brushed some grass off her knees and the back of her skirt. "Patty, you're going to be by his side, right? Why don't you give us a call if he finds a Duel?"

"Will do," Patty said. "Come on, Nick."

They both walked hand in hand down a hill, continuing to follow the dirt path to the meadow where large groups of Duelists traded or began having matches. Nick's hand lowered from her lower back to make an unsuspected pat.

"Aww, aren't they cute," Nikki swooned. "Hey, lovebirds, wait up!" she trailed after them.

Ren snorted softly at her antics. He straightened the straps of his backpack and smelled the fresh air. "Man, this is great. Leon's a creep but he sure picked a great spot to host a tournament. So, Yuri, how about we find you an opponent to go against. We can't have Nick taking all the gold coins now, can we? We need the both of you to make it to the finals."

Tyson's face suddenly creased to express his sadness. Natalya saw this at once and became worried. She patted his shoulder and said: "Tyson. What's the matter."

"Nothing, I…it's just gonna be hard to see these guys Duel in the finals. You both have noble reasons for being here. Restoring the family honor and proving yourself worthy of being king of your father's business empire, Yuri. And Nick is trying to get his sister back and bring his family a new life with the tournament prize money. Whoever wins, one loses everything. It's been bothering me the whole time."

"Aww," Natalya cooed. "Well, don't worry, Tyson. If anything, I feel scared, too."

"Me, too," said Ren. "Nick and Yuri sure have grown as Duelists this year. And both their skills and their friendship are going to be put to the test. May the best man win and all that, but I'm sure when everything's said and done, the brotherhood you two have developed endures."

"I sure hope so," said Yuri. "I hate that I have to compete against him just for pride and honor. But dad says I can't become CEO until I beat Leon and take the world title from him. Why? I'll never know. And I absolutely hate it that he's made me do this."

"Well, he wasn't expecting Nick was going to be here to help his family," said Ren. "So there's no need to get mad at him."

"No reason? The man has enough money to feed a dozen countries and he can't even help Nick and his family get a new house and a new life? If we want something, we have to earn it ourselves; I get that. But this! He can't help us out with this?"

"Did you even talk to him about it?" Ren asked.

"There's no point, Ren. You don't know Jacob Montgomery like I do. All our lives my brother and my sister and I have had to fend for ourselves. They had to get out of the house and build their own brands to move ahead. Me, I don't have the smarts to do that, so I had to work at my uncle's card shop. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was having to live with low-end stuff and watching all my peers walk around with the best clothes, Duel Monster cards, and drive in their hot cars? They had all that while I had to run a deck with a fucking Mushroom Man in it! Mushroom Man , Ren! Mushroom Man !"

Yuri breathed to calm himself but then he remembered the money he got from out of nowhere. "I got a generous donation from someone earlier in the school year. I got millions from them. Dad found out and do you know what he did, Ren. He TOOK all the money away. It wasn't fair!"

"Well, it's a good thing he did," said Ren. "It's not wise just taking money from strange sources. You have no idea who it came from or what damage had to be done to get it and give it to you. Someone's blood could be all over that money, Yuri."

Yuri straightened up and inhaled heavily again. He knew Ren was right. "Whatever,"

"What's all the commotion?" Crystal asked, rushing to the group. "Yuri, you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, tightly gripping his backpack and turning around so furiously his backpack wooshed across the air. His pouting died down when his eyes beheld a girl in the middle of a Duel at the bottom of the hill where they stood.

She was laughing happily, waving her arm back and forth over her head trying to get Yuri's attention. She was tall and very fit, wearing a midriff crop top underneath her denim jacket and the custom-made denim shorts she wore. Her hair was long and odd-looking, resembling a cape that was dark red on one side but under it was a rainbow of hot colors, crimson, scarlet, orange, ruby, maroon, oxblood, garnet, merlot, and even shimmers of gold. A bow with a sparkling ruby in the center, shaped like a dragon's egg, was clipped to the left part of her hair, and she had burning acid-green eyes.

Standing on her opponent's field were three monsters, Zanki, Kojikocy, and M-Warrior #1.

On her field, she wielded cards she had never even seen before. She used an archetype made entirely of dragons called Red Dragons, meaning only one thing. She was Mandy Arrington, the State Champion from California. She was the winner of the Create-A-Card Contest Phobos Corp put out last year. She was the winner; for not only did she impress the company with cool-looking cards, but an entire essay of effects and combos and even lore. Phobos Corp made more than just a card for her. They created the entire Red Dragon archetype, and they were exclusive only to her, making her cards rare and precious.

She devastated her opponent by summoning a large blood-colored dragon that was twenty-two feet tall with a sixty-foot wingspan and was 120 feet long from snout to tail. Its scales were like plates of steel, reflecting the sun as it took off into the air. It looked down at the three weak warrior monsters and showered them with a cone of fire that resembled a tornado made of flames, obliterating all three of them at once and wiping his Life Points out.

"Noooo!" her opponent wailed. "I ranked fourth in the regional championships last year! There's no way I could lose to someone like you!"

"Can he say that?" Ren asked. "He had three face-down cards. Why didn't he use them?"

"Maybe they weren't even traps," said Yuri.

Mandy laughed at him, then gave him the middle finger before grabbing her things and joining Yuri and the others, laughing every step of the way. Before Yuri could even say "Who are you?" or "Hello, my name is Yuri," Mandy grabbed him by the neck and smothered his face against her bosom. "Yuri Montgomery!" she declared. "I'm such a huge fan! Oh, it's so good to finally meet you!"

"Wow…" Natalya groaned. "Straight to the point, huh?"

"Hey!" Crystal declared. "Mandy, let him go! What's the big idea?"

"Crystal!" Mandy said, still suffocating Yuri with hugs. "Long time no see, hon."

"Yeah, I know. Now can you release Yuri from your boobs? He's suffocating?"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Yuri gasped. "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry!" she said, dropping him to the ground.

"Arrrch!" Yuri grunted, hitting the ground.

Still, Mandy continued with her fangirling. "Wow, the tales they tell about you are legendary! You know, it took me a while to believe anything all those people said, but I've got to admit, the more I heard about you, the more convinced I became. That being said, it's hard to believe a delicate little flower like yourself could beat the likes of Randall Lawson, Layla Lovecraft, and Brett Martinetti."

"I didn't really beat him but…"

"Oh, pish-posh, Yuri, I heard all about that Duel. Brett chickened out the moment your awesome Neo Black Tyranno could strike him with the finishing blow. We all know that Duel was won. So, have you been able to snag any victories since getting here?"

"So far just one," said Yuri. "Are you looking to challenge me?"

Mandy rubbed the back of her head and laughed, her cute and scratchy voice made Yuri smirk a little. "Nah, I've already beaten three chumps today. It's high time I got a break. I was thinking I'd head over the waterfall and do some fishing. But if you're looking for an opponent, there's some water Duelist over by the bay who's proving a tough cookie to beat. She's already got five coins."

"Whoa, she's a girl?" said Crystal. "Damn. That's awesome."

"And she's got five coins?" said Yuri. "Wow!"

"He must be pretty tough," Ren said. "Just the kind of opponent Yuri needs. Right, Yuri?"

"Sounds good to me. Thanks, Mandy. It was nice meeting you, but I have to get going."

"Yeah, the sooner we get away from her, the better," Crystal whispered in his ear.

"Ooooh, why not take me along with you!" she said. "Please! Please! Please!"

"I don't know," said Crystal.

"Fine, fine," Yuri said, afraid of what would happen if they rejected her offer to come with them. "Just don't smother me anymore, please."

"Hold up," said Tyson. "We can't just let anyone join our crew, even if it is just for tagging along. You gotta prove yourself worthy."

"I agree," said Natalya. "Sorry, but our group is very exclusive. You want to hang with us, you have to prove it."

Arf! Arf! Arf! Grrrr! Max concurred in her arms.

"Good thinking," Crystal said with a wink. She really wanted her to go away. "I'll be the one to test you. What do you say, Mandy?"

"Meh, whatever. You're not in the tournament though, so don't expect me to lay anything on the line."

"The only thing on the line is you coming with us. Beat me and you can tag along. Lose, and you leave. Got it?"

Mandy put her hands on her hips and looked at Crystal with a puzzled expression, which quickly formed back into her cute smile. "Fine. If that's how you want to play? Let's get this Duel started, huh?"

She ran back to the spot where she Dueled earlier. Meanwhile, Crystal took off her backpack to get out her Duel Disk. She strapped it on and got to her side of the field.

"Duel!"

"I'll start first!" said Crystal. "Draw. I summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode!" She summoned the wizard clad in dragon armor, his dark blue cape flapping as he jumped out of a portal of light and landed on the field. His 1200 ATK was displayed to his right. "Next, I activate Flute of Summoning Dragon and summon two dragons from my hand. Say hello to Luster Dragon #2 and the mighty Tyrant Dragon!"

Lord of Dragons grabbed the dragon-shaped flute that appeared in front of him. He blew into it, making a powerful bellowing call that summoned the two dragons to the field. Tyrant Dragon came out of a wall of fire and roared. Once he stretched his wings, his 2900 ATK projected beside him.

Then a giant emerald crystal rose out of the ground. A roar emitted from inside, shattering it and revealing the emerald green dragon inside. The holographic display revealed his power — 2400 ATK.

"That's our girl!" said Natalya. "She doesn't hold back at all! Look at those things. It's only the first turn and she already has the big boys out."

"Leave it to Crystal to go all-out at the beginning of the match," said Tyson. "How's Mandy gonna get past those two beasts?"

"Simple, she can't," Nikki said confidently. "Crystal's gonna beat that bitch back to L.A."

"I knew I admired you for a reason," said Mandy. "Your deck is just filled with the most powerful dragons in all Duel Monsters, and you know how to summon them without a sweat. But, you haven't seen the power of my dragons, Crystal. Time to show you what I've got. First, I summon Red Dragon's Egg in defense mode!"

A giant oval-shaped ruby with thousands of facts rose out of the ground and reflected the sun's light, making everything around it sparkle with red light. "Now I activate the spell, Dragon's Value. When Red Dragon's Egg is on the field, I can tribute it and add two cards to my hand, also, if I have no monsters on the field, I'm allowed to special summon a Red Dragon from my hand. Say hello to Theokoles, Vanguard of the Red Dragons ."

The Red Dragon's Egg hatched and from it emerged a red dragon wearing black armor, wielding a sword on its tail. Its ATK was 2000 and its DEF was 1900.

Timi Honkanen

"Yeah, I know. He doesn't look so tough, right? Well, hold your tongue because my dragon comes with a special ability. By discarding two Red Dragon monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, Theokoles gains 2000 attack points for the rest of the turn."

Theokoles snarled when a bright red aura enveloped him. The numbers on the ATK display rose up to 4000.

"Look at that!" said Ren. "Her dragon's power went up to the top of the charts!"

"No way man!" Tyson yelled over the dragon's roaring. "Those Red Dragons of hers are already smelling like bullshit!"

Mandy laughed and pointed at Tyrant Dragon. "All right, Theokales, attack and destroy her Tyrant Dragon!"

Theokoles spread his wings and roared again, swaying his head from side to side, his mouth burning like a furnace. He stamped his front legs on the ground and took off into the sky. Tyrant Dragon spread his wings, slamming his tail on the ground, accepting the challenge, and chasing after him. The two dragons chased each other over the forest, trying to hit one another with their fire breath attacks. They collided against one another, whipped their tails against their bodies, and bit and clawed one another.

Theokoles eventually landed the finishing blow and sliced Tyrant Dragon across the chest with his swordtail. Tyrant Dragon grunted from the shock of being hit and turned into a bright light, which blew up seconds later. Crystal's Life Points trickled down to 1450.

"Hey, shouldn't I have lost more than that?"

"You should have," said Mandy. "But lucky for you, when Theokalese increases his attack via his effect, he only deals half the damage you would have received. But don't think you're safe. He has one final effect that kicks in when he's done battling. If he successfully destroys a monster in battle, I'm allowed to wipe out a monster on your side of the field with 2000 DEF or less. So bye-bye Lord of Dragons!"

Lord of Dragons crossed his arms and prepared for the attack. Luster Dragon #2 fired a great blast of glittering green flames at Theokoles. He dodged it and blasted Lord of Dragons with four fireballs, striking him on the chest and destroying it.

Crystal held her arm over her face once the blast struck her. Her skirt flapped over her thighs and her hood helplessly waved behind her neck. "Your…your dragon is so strong."

"And he's just one of many, darling. Bring out more dragons for mine to slaughter, Crystal."

"If anyone is getting slaughtered, it's going to be Theokoles," Crystal said. "Draw! Shit! This card is too strong to summon. What's going on, I've never bricked before. Why is this happening? I set a card face-down and switch Luster Dragon # 2 to defense mode."

Mandy scoffed, fanning her cards over her face, so as to mock Crystal. "Aww, is that the best you got, Crystal? Looks like all that talk about you being the best Dragon Duelist in the world was all talk. Gimme your crown, hon. A new Queen of Dragons is here. And her name is Mandy Arrington! And Yuri, every Queen needs a King, right? I heard all about how that meth-head Patty broke your heart and embarrassed your family. I'll be twice the woman she'll ever be. I promise."

"I'm going to make a hard pass," Yuri said raising his hand. "I'm done with love."

"Aww, don't say that. You just haven't met the right girl, yet. Well, why bother just talking about how much better I am when I can just show you. Draw!"

Mandy kept her eye on Yuri as she slowly slipped the top card off her deck. "Hmmm, let's see what I can use to take down Crystal? Ah, I know! I'll use this. I summon Red Dragon Dragoon!"

Mandy's monster was another four-legged dragon with scales like blood-red rubies.

Art by Chaos Draco

ATK/1600 DEF/800

"My dragon may not look strong now, Crystal, but wait till you see what his special abilities can do. Since I have another Red Dragon on the field, Red Dragon Dragoon's attack increases by five hundred points [ATK 2100]. Also, when he attacks and destroys a defense position monster, you lose Life Points anyway. Go, Dragoon! Pierce!"

The dragon spread his wings, snorted, then galloped across the field. It stopped in front of Luster Dragon #2 and raised its spear but before it could strike, Luster Dragon #2 grabbed the spear with its mouth and held on tight. Dragoon kept pushing and pushing, trying to jam his javelin down his foe's throat, but he couldn't move. Luster Dragon #2 was too strong.

"Hey! What's going on!" Mandy cried out.

Was it Crystal's face-down card? Yuri and the others watched with great anticipation as the two dragons struggled to win the battle and survive.

"What's going on?" Tyson shouted. "Did she win the fight or not?"

"I can't tell," said Natalya, her toes curling inside her boots. "It looks like they're evenly matched."

"Come on Lusty baby," Nikki said, cheering Luster Dragon on. "Come on, you can hold them back. This has gone on too long. Crystal must have activated something. Right?"

Did Crystal activate something? No. She didn't. Dragoon won the battle and stabbed Luster Dragon #2 in the heart. Luster Dragon reeled to and fro, bellowing in defeat before it exploded. Dragoon's piercing damage reduced her Life Points to 750.

"Too bad, so sad," Mandy said. "Now, Theokoles will finish you off."

"Don't declare your attack just yet," said Crystal. "I activated my face-down card, the quick-play spell, Miracle of Draconian Wrath (Manga)! When you destroy a Dragon, I can set two spell or trap cards from my deck!"

"Oh no! Now you can set a trap for me."

"Hell yeah! Now I have three face-downs. What are you going to do?"

Mandy had to think about it for a moment. As much as she wanted to impress Yuri and make a good impression on the gang, she needed to be smart. If she lost Theokoles and Dragoon with one of those face-down cards! What if it was Mirror Force? That card could ruin everything and she could be finished. She squared her shoulders and pouted.

"You don't scare me, Crystal! I'll get you next turn! I set a card face-down and end my turn!"

"Man, that was a close one," Yuri said with a sigh of relief.

Your friend Crystal is well-prepared, Ser Norman said, impressed by her performance. Although I'm not at all surprised she could hold her own against these new cards. She did train you after all.

"Then I guess you have nothing to worry about," Yuri said to the giant knight. "I learned from the best."

Crystal wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, then asked Nikki to toss her a water bottle from her pack.

"Heads up!" Nikki said, throwing Crystal her water, which she drank until it was half empty.

"Ah, that was good. All right, where was I? Yeah, my turn. I reveal my face-down card, Holy Dragon's Charity . If I have two Level Five or higher Dragon-Type monsters in my graveyard, I can shuffle one of them back to my deck and draw two cards."

Crystal placed her two fingers on her deck then stopped.

Why the hell did I waste my hand like that? She thought. Ugh. I just wanted to show this wannabe Dragon Duelist what for and put her in her place. Who does she think she is grabbing Yuri like that? I'm going to make her pay for that!

She cautiously looked over to Yuri to see how he was fairing so far. He was smiling at her, both his hands gripping the straps of his backpack. He believed in her.

Yuri. If only I had the same luck as you when you draw cards. She gasped! Hold on! Maybe I do. You once told me that all you had to do to get you out of tough situations was to believe in your deck. Is that all you have to do? Seems a little farfetched, even childish. But...I trust you, Yuri. All right, Deck. Let's see what you've got for me. I got a chance to draw two cards. Don't fail me now!

She swiped the cards off her deck. She held them away from her gaze for a few seconds, her faith in her deck feigning for but a moment. She exhaled slowly and brought the cards to her face. She opened her eyes and gasped. "Yes! Well…yes! It does work. Yuri! You were right!"

"What works? What are you talking about?" Mandy asked.

"I'll show you in just a little bit! First, I activate my second face-down card. Immortal Dragon. This allows me to bring back a Dragon from my graveyard. Return, Luster Dragon #2!"

Mandy yawed as the emerald dragon returned to grace the field. Not even its mighty roar could daze her.

"So what?" she said. "I took it down once, I can do it again."

"I don't think you will because I reveal my second face-down card. Adamantine Sword Revival. When a Dragon is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can tribute it and summon from my deck an even more powerful monster! Say hello to my newest friend, Diamond Head Dragon!"

"Yes!" Yuri cheered.

"Woooo!" Nikki jumped up high and clapped.

"Nice! That's the card Uncle Sergei and I gave her!" Natalya boasted. "Ruby Dragon Gaming has always got your back twenty-four-seven!"

They all watched as Luster Dragon #2 transformed into a giant dragon with huge diamonds coming out of its legs, wings, and head as though they were horns. An armored plate of diamonds went down from the back of his head all the way to the tail. When the sun shined through his green membranes, they washed the field in emerald.

"His attack is zero!" Mandy yelled, struggling to speak over the dragon's roar.

"They won't be that way for long. When summoned to the field, he gains attack points equal to the ATK of the monster I Tributed plus 1000! So you're looking at a grand total of 3400 ATK points!"

Mandy gulped, hunching her shoulders and bending her knees in fright. "Oh no! That thing is stronger than my dragons!"

"I don't need luck to beat you, hon. Your time is over. You may have two beefy dragons on the field, but that won't matter when I play this. Red Dragon Excavation ! I send a Red Dragon from my deck to the grave and then I can summon a Red Dragon from the graveyard but its effects are negated and it can't attack this turn. Not that it matters. Say hello to my big beautiful ace."

She pressed the card to her lips and kissed it. "Vorondrax the High King of the Red Dragons!"

Art by Iren Bee

A wall of fire burst behind Mandy. She held out her arms dramatically as though she were actually summoning a creature of flesh and bone. Vorondrax the High King of the Red Dragons was the colossal red dragon Yuri and the others saw destroy the boy Mandy played against earlier.

With 3900 ATK it was truly a beast worthy of song and legend. All the foes Mandy defeated using this monster. The memory of their faces flashed through her mind each time she summoned him. He majestically walked on all fours, his wings down, flowing over his body like a regal cape. He had a crown of black horns on his head circling a red ruby inlaid on the center of his skull.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Mandy said confidently. She tossed some of her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, the adventures he and I have been on. All the lame challengers we beat. The tournaments we won. And now I'm going to use him to dethrone the legendary Queen of Dragons."

"How are you going to do that?" Crystal asked. "Your spell all but paralyzed the poor thing. He can't attack or activate his abilities."

Mandy reared her head back and laughed at her. "Is that what you think? No, honey. Vorondrax won't be wasting his time trying to take you down. See this?" She held up a card. "It's a spell called Dragon King's Demise. I can tribute Dragon monsters on my field and then inflict damage to your Life Points equal to the combined attack of all the dragons I control. Sorry, hon, but that's game over for you."

"Wait…what?" Crystal couldn't believe what happened. It was over.

Despite summoning her best dragons to the field, she failed to stop Mandy. Her fingers became so numb that her cards dropped one after the other to the ground. She, too, fell, slumping to her knees as Vorondrax raised his head up high and bathed the field in a fountain of fire, slowly incinerating Diamond Head Dragon.

Her dragon finally turned into cinders and her Life Points fell to 0.

"Holy crap!" Tyson shouted. "She beat Crystal!"

"No way!" Ren breathed. "Crystal lost? That's something you don't see every day."

"Weee!" cheered Mandy. "Now I get to tag along with you guys! And you, too, Yuri! Did you see me kick her bubble butt to oblivion?" She grabbed him by the arm and rocked back and forth. "Did ya see it?" she asked again. "Did ya see it? Huh? Did ya? Did ya? Did ya?"

"I did, I did," Yuri said. "Can you let go of my arm now?"

"No way! You and me are gonna stick together like glue. And I can't wait to see what kind of adventures we'll have on this island. Now If I'm not mistaken, you have a tough water Duelist to beat, don't you? Come on, I know the way!"

She yanked his arm, dragging him down the hill to the coasts. Crystal was still on her knees staring up at the sky. Ren walked to her, holding out his arm to keep his friends back so she could have some space. "Don't leave Yuri alone with her," he said. "I'll see to Crystal."

"All right," said Tyson. "Yuri's gonna need lots of help with her around. And Crystal, don't feel bad, baby girl. You gave it your all."

"Hang in there, girl," Nikki said. "I'm actually going to see to Nick and Patty. I don't want to hang around that Mandy bitch a second longer."

"Same here," said Tyson. "That girl rubs me the wrong way. If only there were someone here who could teach her a lesson."

"A deal's a deal," Crystal said at last. "We said she could hang out with us if she won, and she won. There's nothing we can do about it."

"You okay, Crystal?" Natalya asked.

"I'll be fine. As for my Dueling…" She looked at her deck. "Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought I was."

"It happens," said Ren. "Don't go doubting yourself now, Crystal. Yuri needs us. You lost, get over it. Dust yourself off and get them next time."

"All right. But if you guys don't mind, I'm going to join Nick and Patty at the meadow. I'm not in the mood to listen to Mandy's voice."

She stuffed her deck back in her deck box and stuffed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie before walking down the hill.

"Crystal…" Ren whispered. "What's going on?"

Randall

His friends made camp in a cave on the top of a cliff overlooking most of the island. Randall breathed in the fresh air, happy to be out of that small space he and his friends were trapped in for the entire voyage. He glanced back at his friends as they set up camp inside the cave. Even though they had no coins to wager, they managed to snag a few from some Duelists they challenged earlier that day. They were sent home without coins or even a deck, for Randall's friends had stolen their decks.

"All right, guys," Randall said. "From what I gather, Yuri doesn't have a lot of fans out there. This island is full of lots of hotshots looking to make a name for themselves by taking him out. So let's help them. Send the word out. I'll pay big for whoever takes Yuri down and brings me his Black Tyranno and all his forms."

"I doubt we're gonna get all his forms, man," said Calbot. "The rules state that we can only take one prize card."

"Yeah, well, I'm making up my own rules. If Yuri doesn't cough up the rest of those monsters, be sure to make him do it. It's what I paid you to do, remember?"

"Sure, you got it, sir!" said Trey. "We'll send the word out as soon as we beat a guy and take his coins."

"I know, I already told you to do that. For fuck's sake. Make yourself useful and get me a drink."

A/N

I based Mandy's Red Dragons off the legendary Red Dragons from Dungeons and Dragons. I used to play as one in a campaign my friends made and it was a real blast.