Nick

Even though he was once brimming with confidence when he first got on the ship, Nick was suddenly overcome with a terrible sense of doubt and dread. Seeing Yuri in action against those two Duelists discouraged him more than anything. Even with the new cards in his deck, he felt like it didn't make a difference. As he watched the other Duelists battling against one another, the feeling became stronger and stronger. Eventually, he told Patty he would meet with her later because he wanted to spend some time alone.

He dashed into the forest as fast as he could and when he was alone by a small pool with a waterfall he sat by the bank and started crying.

"Who am I kidding?" he said. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm not a Duelist like Yuri. I'm not like any of those other guys. I may have gotten lucky in those tournaments back home but it's a whole new ball game now. All those new cards and shit. Just when I finally think I have an understanding of the game, it all changes. What am I going to do?"

The bushes behind him rustled. Nick got up at once. He sniffed and blinked his eyes to keep any more tears from falling. The person who walked out of the bushes was hooded and cloaked in brown robes.

"You okay, man?" the hooded figure asked.

"I'm fine," Nick replied. "Just who are you supposed to be? You here to challenge me or something?"

"Sorry man, 'fraid I can't. I ain't here to Duel. I'm here to help downtrodden Duelists like yourself. I can't help but feel yer feeling a little down. What's da matter? Doubting yourself?"

"You can say that yeah."

"There a lot on your mind."

Nick stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Well, no offense man, but I don't see how that's any of your business. Plus, you're dressed up like some goon. I don't know if I can even trust you. My instincts tell me I should just run right now, but I've got another feeling that tells me...I don't know. Maybe you're all right."

"Fair enough. My appearance is something out of the ordinary. But it's necessary for the situation I'm in right now. But you can trust me, man. I'm not gonna hurt you. You have my word."

"All right. I guess I can trust you."

"Can you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you? I can be someone who can listen to you. Perhaps I can even help you. I sense you're in a lot of distress and this tournament has something to do with it. Obviously. I'm sure a lot of people are stressed about winning and making it to the finals. But they don't have as much on the line as you do, I bet."

"Yeah. I have everything riding on this tournament."

"Someone counting on you?"

"Yeah. My sister needs me to win this tournament."

"Why? Something wrong?"

"A lot of things are wrong. She's been sent to live in foster care in California. As much as my own foster mom would like to have her, she can't. We can't sustain ourselves, not even with her chicken restaurant. Our request to take her got denied because of how we live."

"Why were you two separated?"

"Our parents divorced when we were really little. I was five and Jeannie was four. My dad took my sister and I went to live with my mom. It should have been the other way around. My dad was a scumbag. He did a lot of bad things to my sister. Terrible things. I shiver just thinking about the stuff he made her do. Lucky for us, he's not good at covering his tracks. He was finally caught. But my sister was sent to live with foster parents in LA. My mom vanished a year after the divorce. I was sent to live in foster care, too. It's thanks to my foster mom that we know about Jeannie's situation."

"Jeannie's yer sister?" the hooded figure asked.

"Yeah. She was informed by child care services or something like that, I dunno. They told her about my sister and asked if she wanted to take her in. Sadly, my foster mom couldn't because they learned she was an illegal immigrant in Aquarius barely making it with me and Sam. The only reason she got us was because her financial situation was much better. She owns a Peruvian chicken restaurant. When she first opened it, she was making big money. She wanted kids of her own to take care of, so she traveled to Florida and adopted me and this other boy named Sam, who I started to call my brother. Unfortunately, she had some trouble with the mafia and her financial situation dwindled. There's no way she'll be able to get my sister. That's why I worked my ass off to enter this tournament. I've got to win that prize money. It's worth millions and millions of dollars."

"Yeah, I know about the tournament's prize money. That's a life-changer right there if I do say so myself."

"You've got no idea, man. Just a handful of that money could set us up for life. I could move us into a mansion in the nicer neighborhoods with my friends. And most importantly of all, I could bring Jeannie back and we could be together. But look at all those guys out there. The competition is rough. And I just saw the way my friend Yuri Dueled. You should have seen him! He always knows what to do. Me, I just rely on luck. I've been lucky so far, but I just know it's going to run out eventually. And when it does…" Nick sadly sat down on the grass and sniffled. "I'm…I'm dead. My life's gonna be over."

The hooded figure just watched him for a moment. Nick tried to get a good look at his face, but it was just too dark. Whoever he was, he sounded young. Very young.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. Your life was rough. But I know you've made the best of it if you've made it this far. Bet your friends had something to do with it, huh?"

"Aw, man, you have no idea. I don't know where I'd be without them. I couldn't ask for a better group. Still. It's all going to feel like nothing when I lose and get sent home. All that dread and sorrow I'm gonna feel when this is over is going to haunt me forever. I don't think I'll ever be happy again."

"There's always a way," said the hooded figure. "And you should rest easy. Think positive. Just because your sister isn't with you, at least she's safe with a family that loves her, right?"

"I guess but it's not the same. She should be with me. We should be together. We should raise each other and help each other the way a brother and sister should. I'll never forgive myself for letting her get taken by my dad. I've got to make it up to her."

"Well, I wish you all the best, my friend." The hooded figure dug his hand into his pocket and took out a card. "I don't know why but I have a strong feeling this belongs to you."

Nick gently took the card from the hooded boy.

"Sphere Kuriboh? Hey, thanks…huh?"

When Nick looked up to thank him, the hooded boy was gone.

A Gaia the Fierce Knight galloped across the field, his purple stallion ran like the wind whinnying triumphantly. Gaia raised his red saber and pierced the heart of a Megarock Dragon, causing it to explode into thousands of small boulders inside a cloud of dust.

The Duelist who summoned him cheered triumphantly, swinging his fist through the air in victory as his opponent fell to his knees in defeat, thinking his Megarock Dragon would be enough to keep him alive through the first round of the tournament. The boy playing Gaia was far better than he had anticipated. Now he was losing Megarock Dragon, his gold coin, and was going to be spending the rest of the tournament on a small boat on the way home, already filled with passengers unfortunate enough to lose during the first round of the tournament.

"Competition is fierce," Patty said. She was leaning against a tree sipping on fruit juice from a pouch. "I thought the Megarock Dragon kid was going to win for sure."

"Well, there goes an easy win for me," Nick said, sitting on a boulder under the shade of the tree.

"Easy win?" Patty said. "Babe, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were scared or something."

"Scared? Me? No way."

"So why are you holding out? You know what, don't answer that. If you're looking to challenge small fry, you better hurry up. I heard a lot of Duelists already got eliminated."

"Man, that totally sucks."

Patty twittered as she slurped the last gulps of the juice pouch. "Yeah, you bet it does." She tossed it into a nearby trash can. "If I would have known you'd be such a chicken shit in the Millennium Tournament, I would have gone instead."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I felt bad for you."

"Hold on," Nick slid around on the boulder to face her. "Hold on, hold on. You're meaning to tell me you got an invitation to the tournament, too?"

"Yup."

"And you declined?"

"I had to. I was ashamed of my behavior. The drugs and booze made it so much worse, you know. I didn't even think anymore. Mistake after mistake. I wasn't meant to play in an illustrious tournament with the likes of Yuri Montgomery or state champs like those two losers Yuri beat earlier. And I felt bad for what I did to Yuri, breaking his heart and shaming his family by letting myself get drugged out the way I did. Man, that was the worst."

"I'm just glad your grandma and that Christian school she sent you to were able to straighten you up."

"Grandma sure did straighten me out, that's for sure. Pfft. And my butt's got enough welts to prove it. Anyways, your story about Jeannie touched my heart — yeah, I know, I've got a heart. I didn't want to be the cause of taking you out of the tournament and helping your family. So I sold my invitation to some kid at school for two thousand bucks. What are the odds? The guy with the Megarock Dragon was him."

Now that was indeed hilarious. What were the odds indeed? "Well, Patty, I've got to say I'm touched. I didn't know you were even thinking about me at the time."

"You weren't a good Duelist at the time. And you were such a sleazeball."

"Oh, come on! I wasn't that bad, was I?"

Patty's head slumped to the right as she gave him a 'seriously' kind of expression. "Nick, you used your phone camera to peek up my skirt at school hundreds of times, I caught you and Sam spying on me and Natalya as we were changing in my room — don't deny it. There's only one idiot on this island who wears a Duel Monsters limited edition Earth Attribute beanie."

She counted down the rest of his offenses with her fingers. "You sucked at playing Duel Monsters, you were arrogant, you talked to my boobs instead of me, grabbed my butt lots of times on the stairs, you were an asshole to anyone who wanted to help you out, you demanded money from Yuri all the time just because you saved his life. Shall I go on?"

Nick replied with a gentle chuckle. "Man oh, man. I sucked big time. No need to list anymore. I get the point, babe, damn. I guess I have come a long way, haven't I? But, uh, tell me. And be honest with me. Deep down — admit it — deep down, you sort of found me attractive and dare I say…" He suavely placed his fingers on his chin and closed his eyes. "Charming. Maybe even…sexy?"

Patty rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, okay, you may have smelled worse than the Kraken, but I won't lie, there was a little something in you that I found irresistible. Don't ask me what it is because I don't know. It was just something. Just a feeling."

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you dug me, babe. I just knew it."

Patty stretched her legs and positioned her hands behind her head. Nick gazed at her as she got comfortable against the tree. He cherished every gesture she made. The way her hips wiggled up and down, exposing the waistband of her purple underwear underneath her baggy cargo pants, her shirt lifting up to expose her navel and smooth core.

She was amazing. And the best part of it was…she was all his.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Patty said. "Don't let it go to your head, bucky. Just because you're on a noble quest to save your sister doesn't mean I'm getting all sappy on you. Even if you are my boyfriend."

"Well, she's not the only one I'm trying to help."

Patty's eyes circled around to look at him. "Say what?"

"Your grandma told me about not being able to pay for your education at FZD in Singapore. I know how much that meant to you, Patty. Hopefully, a huge lump of the prize money can help you out with that endeavor."

Patty blinked repeatedly before she eventually smiled. "Nick I…"

"Don't say anything, babe. I want to help you live out your dream. Now that Phobos Corp is expanding the game with some kick-butt monsters, I'm sure we could use some kickass designs made by you."

She got off the tree, walked towards Nick, and sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hang on and gave him a long kiss. "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with an asshole like you."

"Hey, Harley Quinn, where's the joker!?" said a tan-skinned young man in a black jacket and jeans.

"Roman?" Patty said. "Roman? Roman is that you?"

"The one and only," said their school friend, Rosita Vasquez. She emerged from the woods, trying to clip the left strap of her overalls back on. When she decided she actually liked the look of the strap hanging the way it did, she shrugged and left it be.

"Rosita!" Patty exclaimed and ran towards her for a hug. "So good to see you! What were you doing in sneaking around in there?"

"Using the bathroom. I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"Ew," Patty said. "So, uh, are you in the tournament, too?"

"No, but my boy, Roman is. I'm just his motivational support."

Roman laughed, casually putting his arm over her shoulders. "And booty call when the time comes."

"There he goes again?" she said.

"Hell yeah. If you see a red tent a-rockin' don't come a-knockin'."

"So you're the famous Roman Kingston," said Nick. "Your custom Duel Disks are some of the best I've ever seen, man. Wish I could afford them."

"Ah, I see," Roman said. His long black hair shined from all the gel he put on it. "So if she's Patty, you must be Nick Rogers." He reached over and shook his hand. "Damn, Güey ! I heard a lot about you. You got the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, right?"

Nick searched through his deck and showed him the legendary dragon.

"Damn, man! That's what's up! Better hold on to him while you can, cuz I intend to win this thing. So if you two are here, that means my quarry isn't that far away either."

"Quarry?" Patty asked. "You mean Yuri?"

"That's him," said Rosita.

"You make it sound like you're hunting him or something," said Patty.

"What?" said Rosita. "You guys didn't know? There's a bigshot Duelist around here who says he'll pay big bucks and a handful of tournament coins to whoever beats Yuri and brings him the Black Tyranno card."

"That sounds so familiar," said Patty. "This bigshot wouldn't be Brett Martinetti, is it? Poor Crystal. She'll be heartbroken if she finds out she's here."

Rosita made a face of disgust at the mere mention of Brett's name. "Brett?" she coldly as though she ate a spoonful of spice. "No way, Pats. He's on the United States government's shit list for murdering the son of their best congresswoman. The Gray Lioness of Captial Hill. What the fuck was Brett thinking messing around with him?"

"Thinking, princesa ," said Roman. "Keyword there. Thinking. Brett Martinetti is not a thinker, then again, neither was anyone in his family. They all suffered big time for what happened to Lance."

"Yeah, that's scary," said Patty. "They wanted to start a coup or something but failed because their private army got wiped out by some kind of spec ops unit or something. I bet you anything that the Gray Lioness was the one who did it."

"Maybe," said Roman. "Although there's talk that it was only one guy. I saw on the news that the cops found a survivor cowering inside a closet. He was scared to death, man. His hair was white and he shit his pants. He kept mumbling about a knight in shining armor or something. Saying he was the one who killed all his buddies."

Rosita laughed and punched him on the arm, releasing herself from his embrace. "You can't tell me you believe in that shit, do you, Papi? Brett's guys have been known to smoke a lot of dope in their little clubhouse. He must have been seeing shit. There's no way one man can beat an entire army of armed mercenaries, many of them turncoats from RAPTOR. Some of those cholos were ex-special forces."

"Whatever," said Nick. "We're going off the subject. I don't know who or what it was the wiped out those mercenary assholes, but I commend them. And like Rosita said, we shouldn't worry about it being Brett since he's on the US government's wanted list for what he did. There's no way in hell that he'd show up here. I say screw all that shit. We're in a tournament right now. We should be Dueling, not talking about Brett. You!"

He pointed at Roman. "I like you, man. I'm a big admirer of your work. However, I draw the line at hunting down my brother Yuri for some lazy-ass fool who can't even bother to take him on himself. You. Me. Right now. Let's put it all on the line."

"How many coins you got, homes?" Roman asked.

"Well, uh…" Nick's confidence suddenly faded when he realized he was talking to a superior Duelist with very little to back up his challenge. "I only got one."

No surprise, Roman and Rosita looked at each other, paused, and erupted into laughter together. Roman clearly had so much more than he did.

"Forget it, man," he said. "I'm not laying it all down if you only got one coin, even if your Red-Eyes Black Dragon is on the line. No, you get one coin in this Duel. If you manage to get more, then we can have a winner takes all match. Let's do this. I'll meet you on that platform over there."

"You want to use the platforms?" Patty said. "Man, that's so old school."

"Yeah, but I need to charge up my Duel Disk. I've been Dueling all day."

"Heh, funny," said Patty. "This knucklehead has been avoiding Duels all day. Go get him, tiger."

She kissed Nick on the lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck for a few more kisses.

"Thanks, babe," said Nick.

"Good luck," said Patty.

Rosita grabbed Roman for a good luck kiss as well, although theirs was far more intimate and touchy. He smacked her round buttocks to make her smile, then ran for the red platform. The platform turned on as soon as he stepped on it, taking it all the way up. He took off his backpack and cracked his knuckles.

"Good luck, Papi!" Rosita called and blew him a kiss.

Meanwhile, Nick got on the blue platform. As it took him all the way up, he got his cards out and shuffled them.

"You ready, Nick?" Roman called from across the field.

"You bet. Let's do this!"

They set down their decks on the hi-tech playing field, which turned on as soon as the cards touched the screen.

LP 2000

"Duel!"

"Who'll go first?" Nick asked.

"We'll flip," said Rosita. She took a coin out of the front pouch of her overalls. "Heads Nick. Tails Roman." She flipped and caught the coin, then smacked it on the top of her hand. "Heads. You go first, Nick!"

"All right, thanks, Rosita!" said Nick.

"Oooo, Patty," Rosita hooted with glee. "Isn't this exciting? Our guys going up against one another like this? Who's the better man, I wonder."

Patty looked at her with a confident smirk, accepting her challenge. "I guess we'll see. Usual wager, I suppose?"

"Yeah. A hundred bucks says my man is gonna beat Nick into tomorrow."

"You're on… princesa ?" Patty said, mocking Rosita's pet name.

Turn I

"Here we go, Roman! I'm going to go all out. I summon Alexion, the Faithful Squire ."

Nick summoned a young boy having difficulty carrying a large sword that was clearly not meant for him. He had blonde hair, messy and unkempt much like Nick.

ATK/1100 DEF/800 LV 4

"Now I lay two cards face-down and end my turn."

Turn II

Roman drew. "It's cool to know you're a fan of my work, Nick. But you're going to regret challenging me. First off, I play the continuous spell, Tune-Up Garage ! This reduces the level of all my machine monsters by 1, making them easier for me to summon. And I call on Motor Kaiser!"

The sound of a large engine revving up sounded off from his side of the field. Roman's mechanical monster rose out of the ground clapping its metal claws to intimidate its young opponent. And with an ATK of 2000, he was more than powerful enough to take on the boy.

"Your little squire should have stayed at home where he belongs," Roman taunted. "Motor Kaiser may be a Level 5 monster, but thanks to my garage, he's been reduced to a level four, so I can summon him in all his glory for no cost."

"Smart thinking, bro," said Nick.

"Damn right it was smart. But you sound confident, which means one of those face-down cards you set up for me must be trap cards. I'll clear the field with this. Twin Twisters. I discard a card from my hand and then I can destroy your two face-down cards."

Two tornados formed in Nick's Spell/Trap Zone, shattering them to pieces. One of the traps he had for Roman was Mirror Force.

"Summoning a weak monster with Mirror Force, huh? Man, that's the oldest trick in the book. You got to do better than using lunch room combinations like that to make it in this tournament, Nick. I'll attack your wimpy squire with Motor Kaiser!"

The monstrous robot stomped slowly towards the boy. He was afraid but kept his eyes on it the whole time, doing his best not to show any fear. Motor Kaiser stopped. It let out a monstrous motorized roar and blew black fumes from the exhaust pipes on its back. It raised both its claws to crush the boy, but he found the courage to start blocking them with his giant sword.

Motor Kaiser kept trying to get him, but the boy continued fending off his attacks. Alexios was actually defending himself. Patty knew it was a result of the hologram's advanced theatrical combat system, but this battle was going on a little too long. She eventually started to cheer for the boy. Nick must have done something.

Suddenly, to everyone's shock, Alexion blocked the final attack from Motor Kaiser and stabbed the robot in the face. The robot beeped and exploded.

"What the hell!?" Roman looked at his scoreboard. He lost 100 Life Points as a result of the battle. "There's no way your squire could have won that battle. My Motor Kaiser had more attack points than he did."

Nick chuckled and fixed one of his bangs. "Yeah, he did. But before your twisters took effect, I activated one of my face-down cards. The quick-play spell, Berserk Scales."

Patty squealed with joy, bending her knees forward and locking her fingers together. "Yes! That spell increased the attack of Nick's monster by 1000 points!"

"Yeah, but it has a drawback," said Rosita. "At the end of the turn, the monster who was strengthened by it loses 2000 attack points. He's back to being a weak little squire."

"She's right," Roman said. "I'll get him next time. I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Turn III

"My squire is not weak," said Nick. "In fact, he's grown stronger because of his last battle. Since he destroyed an opponent's monster and survived, I'm allowed to sacrifice him and summon a new monster. Behold Alexios, Champion of Justice !"

The boy started glowing brightly. In his place now stood a dashing knight with long, silky hair. He carried the sword he had trouble picking up during his youth. Now it was decorated with gold and gems. The blade was inscribed with the language of the elves, which told the story of his great deeds. He wore colossal golden armor and crimson red cloth-of-gold cape waved along with the breeze coming down from the mountains. His ATK was now 2500 and his DEF was 2200.

Roman placed both hands on the table, propping himself up with both arms as he tried to figure out what to do. "Man, all these new cards I've seen today. No wonder my Duel Disk was installing such a massive update this morning.."

"A good Duelist is prepared for anything," said Nick. "Yuri taught me that."

Patty stepped forward and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Uh, not for nothing, babe, but I think Andre taught you that."

"Fuck Andre. He didn't teach me shit. Never liked that guy."

"Babe, you don't seem to like anyone who tries to up your game."

"Heh. Andre didn't teach me to use these cool new cards. I doubt even he knows how to use them, which means I'm better than him. I've always been better than him."

"Sure, sure, if that's what you want to believe," said Patty, remembering all the times Andre had beaten Nick in their casual games at the card shop. She didn't dare argue because there was no turning back from butting heads with Nick.

Nick drew, keeping both eyes on Roman so he could see his reaction to the cool new summon he just made. "You ready for more, Roman? Thought that big scary machine was going to be enough to beat me? I've got so much more in store for you in this game. I summon Axe Raider in attack mode!"

"And I activate Bottomless Trap Hole! Your Axe Raider is going down. Literally."

Axe Raider screamed as he fell down in the darkness of the hole that opened beneath his feet, going down forever and ever. The hole closed up and Nick was back with just one monster.

"Well, no matter. I still got Alexios to deal damage to you. Attack!"

"And you fell for another trap, Nick. Draining Shield. Not only does this card stop your knight from attacking but it increases my Life Points equal to your monster's attack points. So now I've got 4500 LIfe Points and you're still stuck at 2000."

"That isn't good," Nick muttered. He slapped his palm over his head. "Aw, great. Now I've given this guy an enormous lead." He drummed the table with his fingers, wondering what on earth he was going to do. "Man, forget this. I activate Pot of Greed, giving me two cards. Now I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Turn IV

"Tough luck, chico. Draw!" Roman cackled at what he drew. "I don't have anything powerful enough to take on your knight. So I'll lay this card down in defense mode and end my turn."

Turn V

Nick breathed a sigh of relief. Roman wasn't proving to be any challenge for him at all. He drew and said: "Heh, for a second there I thought I had something to worry about. Hey."

It was the Sphere Kuriboh the boy in the hood gave him by the pond. Nick paused, for something strange happened. He heard the monster calling out to him.

Oooooooooo!

"What was that?" he wondered. "Heh. Probably just the wind. All right, Roman. You got one face-down monster standing in between Alexios and your Life Points. So, I'll get rid of it to make way for my champion. I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode! And I'm gonna use him to strike that face-down monster of yours."

Nick called on one of the most iconic monsters in the game. The elf warrior growled, brandishing his sword, making it flash in the sun. The hologram was so life-like it even reflected Patty and Rosita's images on the metal of the blade. He charged at the face-down monster, then jumped, raising his sword over his head in a falcon stance. The monster revealed itself at once. Patty and Nick cried out in terror while Rosita jumped up and cheered.

"Cyber Jar!" they all cried out.

The monster, when it was flipped over, automatically destroyed all monsters on the field. Then, it forced Nick and Roman to pick up cards from their deck. If any of them were level four or lower monsters, they could summon them at once.

Nick was able to excavate just enough monsters to form a wall. "I summon three monsters! M-Warrior #2, Warrior Dai Grepher and Little Winguard in defense mode!"

"I summon four monsters!" declared Roman. "I call on Cyber Falcon, Oni Tank T-34, Overdrive, and Megasonic Eye!"

Patty whistled at Roman's lineup of machine monsters, but it was more out of disappointment. "How this guy was able to win so many of his coins is beyond me, Rosita. I mean, if he hadn't drawn that Cyber Jar, he would have had four shitty turns and would be at the mercy of Nick's knight."

"I guess so," said Rosita. "Damn, I knew he was overconfident, but I guess it's his good luck that's kept him alive so far. Still, I wouldn't sell my man short. He's got enough monsters to protect his monsters from Nick's knight. And I'm sure he's got even more surprises set for Nick."

Turn VI

"You may have impressed us with your fancy flip monster, Nick, but I'm about to show you I don't need those new mechanics to win this Duel. First off, I play the spell, Clockwork Night!"

Rosita glanced at Patty and sniggered. "Oh, Patty. This is something that'll make your tits perk up. That spell card my boyfriend played changes all the monsters Nick currently controls into machine monsters."

Nick looked over his pod to see the transformation happening below. All his monsters turned into robotic versions of themselves. "Huh? What? No way!"

"And it gets better, Nick. Clockwork Night reduces their attack points by five hundred points. And it will increase my machine monsters by five hundred points. Next, I'm going to sacrifice Megasonic Eye and Oni Tank T-34 to summon my ultimate monster! Lead me to victory with all your mechanized glory once again, my monster! I summon Perfect Machine King!"

His robotic giant materialized on the field. It was colored red and white and had a big horn on its head. The design of the monster reminded Nick of a generic Japanese mech from children's cartoons. But there was certainly nothing childish about this monstrosity. Just looking at him made him nervous.

"That's right, Nick. Tremble in fear. Perfect Machine King has never let me down in a Duel and you're about to see why. He gains five hundred attack points for every machine monster on the field. Your machines plus the two I have increases Perfect Machine King's attack to the top of the charts!"

ATK/5200

"He's over five thousand attack points!" Patty yelled.

"And he's not through powering up," said Roman. "My Clockwork Knight activates and gives Perfect Machine King another five hundred point boost."

Nick recoiled backward when he saw the ATK display showing the monster's attack points rise to 5700. "No way! He's unstoppable!"

"Nick!" someone called. "Nick!"

"Who said that?" Nick wondered. "Hey!" He waved his arm over his head when he saw Crystal and Nikki running towards the platform.

"Rosita!" Nikki and Crystal said at once, giving their friend hug after hug.

"Wow, we're so glad to see you!" said Crystal. "We had a rough moment back on the hill."

"Sorry to hear that," said Rosita. "And I'm sorry to say your boy Nick's having a rough moment, too."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Nikki said gawking at the giant robot monster looming over her. "Good gawd, bitch! I didn't know Duel Monsters started adding fucking Gundams to the roster!"

"Just look at that thing?" Crystal said. "It has more than five thousand attack points."

"And he hasn't even declared his attack just yet," said Rosita. "You girls came in just in time to see Roman knock Nick out of the tournament. Let him have it, baby!"

"Yes indeed!" Roman said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "You remember my Tune-Up Garage, Nick? Well, lowering my Machine monster's Levels isn't all it can do. Once per turn, I can choose a Machine monster I control and it can inflict damage to your Life Points even if your monster is in defense mode. Say goodbye to the Millennium Tournament, Nick!"

Perfect Machine King's shoulders opened to reveal a missile bay. Hundreds of them fired at once, whistling into the sky. They weaved around the clouds before finally soaring back to earth towards Nick's Little Winguard.

"NICK!" Patty, Nikki, and Crystal yelled at once.

The missiles flew past Masaki and dove into the ocean. Perfect Machine King closed the bay doors on his shoulders, crossed his arms, and got down on one knee.

"Hey, what gives?" Roman shouted. "My Perfect Machine King got shifted into defense mode!"

"Did Nick just save himself?" Patty asked. "What happened?"

"I activated the effect of my new friend over here," said Nick. "Sphere Kuriboh. When your monster attacks, I can discard him and stop the attack. Then your monster switches to defense mode."

"Phew," Nikki wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "Nick, you gotta stop scaring me like that."

"Oh man," Crystal whined. "Good thing I packed a lot of underwear. I'm going to need one after a close call like that."

Roman slammed his fist on the table, his deck jumped from the impact. "Damn it, man! I was so close. You won't be so lucky next time. Just because you shifted Perfect Machine King into defense mode doesn't mean you're safe from him. I'll switch him back to attack mode next turn and destroy you! I would attack your monsters, Nick, but seeing as how they aid in powering up my Perfect Machine King, that'll be a big mistake. In case you have any ideas of striking him down while he's in defense mode, I'll set this card."

Turn VII

Nick - 2000 LP

Roman - 4500 LP

Nick chuckled while drawing from his deck. "Yeah, setting him back to Attack Mode. I don't see that happening anytime soon. And I don't plan on destroying him with my monsters. I activate the spell card, Shield Break! This card will automatically destroy a defense position monster you control. And since Perfect Machine King is the only one, he's gone, man, solid gone!"

Perfect Machine King's body started to spark. An error alarm beeped from his head, steam puffed out of his joints. He started to fall apart and then BOOM! He exploded and was gone.

Roman scratched his head frantically. "My Perfect Machine King! You destroyed him!"

"Way to go, Nick!" Crystal cheered. "You sent that overgrown bucket of bolts back to the scrap heap!"

Rosita wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, but his machines are still powered up by that Clockwork Night card. And Nick's monsters have been weakened by it."

"You underestimate Nick," said Crystal. "He's been through a lot and has grown as a Duelist and a person. You'll see, Rosita. He'll turn things around."

Nick enjoyed her vote of confidence and he had just the cards he needed to turn things around as she said. "All right. Time to see what my awesome new card can do. I activate the field spell card, Sogen!"

Brilliant green grass started to bloom across the metallic floor of the field. The field spell offered a power bonus to Nick's warriors but not by enough.

"What good will that do? They still can't fight my monsters."

"Hold your horses, Roman. Because I have a field spell in play, I can activate this cool spell card from my hand. Mound of the Righteous Hero!"

"What in the world does that do?"

"Watch," Nick said. He placed a card horizontally on top of the Sogen field spell. The ground started to shake and then a stone burial mound with a giant sword stuck to it rose out of the ground.

"What the hell did you do?" Crystal asked.

"Simple," Nick said with an arrogant snap of his fingers. "This card can only be activated unless Sogen is on the field. My burial mound adds another 300 ATK and DEF points to my warriors along with the Sogen field spell. Also, Warrior monsters cost two less to summon. And don't even bother trying to destroy Sogen. If you do, you'll destroy Mound of the Righteous Hero instead."

"Dude, that's insane!" Roman shouted.

"Yeah, what's special about these Fortresses is that there's a powerful monster inside. If I fulfill the requirements, I can summon a powerful monster from my hand or deck. You better hope you have some kind of strategy or something, Roman."

"I'll beat that stupid burial mound card of yours, all right."

"Yeah, well until then, you'll have to contend with this monster. I tribute M-Warrior #2 to summon Sword Hunter!"

He summoned a warrior carrying swords of all shapes and sizes, including a huge one strapped to his back. His attack points were 2450, far and away stronger than any of Roman's powered-up machines.

"And why stop there? I use the spell card, United We Stand! Now he gains 800 attack points for every monster I have on the field including himself."

"Shit! That means your monster's attack increases to 4850!"

"And don't forget the combined power bonus from Sogen and Mound of the Righteous Hero," Crystal reminded him. "That's a total of five thousand three hundred and fifty attack points!"

Nick commanded him to attack the Cyber Falcon. Sword Hunter banged his two main swords in reply and sprinted towards the Cyber Falcon. It flew away, zooming into the sky.

Sword Hunter knew what to do. He took a sword strapped to the round shoulder armor to his left and threw it to the sky with precision aim and great strength. The sword struck Cyber Falcon right on the chest. It screeched and exploded in mid-air. The sword Sword Hunter threw flew back to him. He caught it and sheathed it back into place.

Roman snarled as his Life Points dropped to 1050. Now Nick was in the lead.

All of a sudden, Rosita's confidence had fallen. She had nothing left to say. No words of confidence at all for Roman. He got decimated with just one hit. "Roman!" she whined.

"Not bad, Nick," Roman said after calming himself. "Not bad at all. You know how to use those cards of yours really well. But unfortunately for you, Perfect Machine King isn't the only strong monster I have. With the effect of my Tune-Up Garage, my monsters get their levels reduced, too, remember? I tribute Megasonic Eye to summon Barrel Dragon in attack mode!"

"Barrel Dragon?" said Nikki.

"Uh…oh," Patty said slowly.

A robotic dragon with revolver barrels for arms and a head appeared. It was an Alternate Art version of the Barrel Dragon. This one was jet-black with silver floral engravings on the barrels, blue neon accents, and trucker girl designs on the shoulders. The tail was longer than usual and tipped with a glowing sword. The card was full art and shined in a prismatic secret rare foil.

ATK/2600 DEF/2200

"It just keeps getting better and better," said Nick.

"You're damn right, it does. This card is going to help me wipe out that field of monsters you currently control. First, I'm going to activate my Barrel Dragon's special ability. I can target a monster you control, and then three coins get flipped. If the result is two heads out of three, I can blast it to kingdom come. Barrel Dragon! Do your stuff!"

Three coins magically appeared on their screens. They flipped in the air for a few seconds. One landed. Tails. The next one landed. Heads. The moment of truth. Nick began to sweat. The flip took but a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. It finally landed. Heads.

"Boom!" Roman declared. "Say goodbye to your Sword Hunter, bro! Barrel Dragon! Blast him!"

Barrel Dragon all three of its barrels. The recoil forced it back a bit but it was equipped with mechanisms that could reduce it just enough to keep it on its feet and make the shots accurate. Sword Hunter was hit so hard by the giant rounds that he flew into the air before he shattered.

Roman slammed his fist on the table, laughing with joy. "Yeah! Take that, bitch! That'll teach you to mess with Roman Kingston! And now that leaves Barrel Dragon with his attack. I'll destroy Warrior Dai Grepher! And remember my garage's special ability, Nick? It allows me to choose one Machine monster I can control and give it the piercing ability this turn. And don't forget about Clockwork Night, which increases my dragon's attack points by five hundred!"

ATK/3100

"Aw, great!" said Nick. "I've got nothing to save my monster or my Life Points."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Barrel Dragon fired and destroyed the warrior monster. Nick grunted as the blast struck him and reduced his Life Points to a mere 500 points.

"Now we're back in business!" said Rosita. "My man always knows what to do."

Roman, brimming with confidence, stood up straight and crossed his arms. "I end my turn. I've got to admit, Nick, it's been a while before anyone could get the best of Perfect Machine King. But this custom Barrel Dragon is one of my best cards, too. You put up a good fight, bro, but I've got you where I want you. You have no monsters except for that Little Winguard left. And even with your little fortress over there, I doubt you can do much to stop me."

"You have every reason to be confident, Roman," said Nick. "But just because you're in the lead and have a souped up monster at your control, it doesn't mean you should start celebrating. No sir. It's not over until the last card has been played. Or something like that, I dunno. Whatever. Draw! Awesome. I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards. Here goes nothing." He drew the two cards given to him by his new spell. "Aw, yeah! I did it. I know how I can win!"

"You're bluffing!"

"I don't bluff, Roman. I drew the two cards I need to take down that Barrel Dragon and the rest of your Life Points! First, I summon this card! Marauding Captain!" He laughed as he summoned a blond-haired knight in rusty blue armor, carrying twin swords [ATK/1200 DEF/400]. "And now with his effect, I can special summon a Lv 4 or lower Warrior from my hand. Come on out, Command Knight!"

His next monster was a young woman in ornamented red and gold armor [ATK/1200 DEF/1900].

"I got you right where I want you, Roman! Now I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Clockwork Night spell card."

"Shit!" Roman yelled as his card shattered in front of him.

"Yeah! Now your monster loses his boost and my Little Winguard is reverted back to a Warrior monster. The conditions are all set. I have three Warrior monsters on the field! And now I can sacrifice them so my burial mound can activate, releasing the monster inside!"

The sword on top of the stone burial mound started glowing. The door to the mound slowly opened, revealing a bright light. The sword trembled and took off, releasing a column of light. Inside the light, they all saw the dark silhouette of a woman floating in the air, naked and in a fetal position. The sword flew towards the woman, she suddenly woke up and grabbed it. The light got brighter and brighter. Pieces of armor flew out of the mound. They soared towards the woman and covered her body

Nick took the Fortress card off of Sogen and placed it on his field, flipping it over vertically the way he would if he played a monster in attack mode. He summoned a beautiful woman in white and gold armor with long blonde hair and a massive tower shield. She wielded a winged sword that was enchanted with magical symbols glowing blue.

"Rise up, Kalfyra, Champion of the Goddess!"

His champion stood triumphantly in front of Nick. Her hair waved in the wind like a fleece of gold. Her cape, shaped like a long ribbon swayed majestically. She held her sword over her face, chanting a prayer before she went to battle.

Art from Art Station

ATK/3000 DEF/2800

"No way!" Roman croaked. "Damn, Nick, she's beautiful, man!"

"Thanks, bro. And don't forget, with the field power bonus from Sogen, her attack increases by another two hundred points. And, she gains an additional one hundred points for every warrior I've got in the Graveyard."

"So she gets a total of six hundred points!" cried Patty.

Kalfyra's prayer was summoning the souls of all of Nick's fallen warriors. Their spirits flew out of the burial mound and into her sword, making it glow bright blue. She raised it over her head. Her sword was then enveloped by a fiery blue aura that grew and grew until it was 20 meters tall. Her attack increased to 3800.

"You played a good Duel, Roman. But I think it's time we ended this. Kalfyra, attack!"

The sword transferred some of its energy to Kalfyra, making her grown transcendent white wings. She used them to take flight and then struck down Barrel Dragon with all her strength, cutting him in half and wiping out the rest of Roman's Life Points.

"So that's it, huh?" Roman said as soon as the explosion died down.

"Don't be sad, Papi," Rosita said softly. "It was a good match and you gave it your all."

"Hahaha! Who's sad? Yes, that was a well-fought, Duel, Nick. Congratulations."

"Really? Thanks, man!"

The two lowered their platforms and met next to the arena. Roman shook Nick's hand and gave him the coin he earned, as well as his prismatic secret rare Barrel Dragon.

"Enjoy him while you can," said Roman. "Because I'm going to get it back pretty soon."

"Heh, I look forward to that, Roman. Good luck out there."

"Same to you," said Rosita. "You got better since I last saw you, Nick. I hope you can find a way to help your little sister. Come on, Roman. Let's get something to eat."

"Yeah, sounds good to me!" He swept her off her feet and carried her. "I'm in the mood for some cake if you know what I mean."

"Oh, dude!" Nikki said, slapping a palm over her face. "Too much info right there."

The friends shared a hearty laugh and then went their separate ways.