Leon - Castle Control Room

"A lot of people have been eliminated today, it seems," he said to himself.

The number of blips on the map of his island was indeed smaller than it was yesterday. That made him smile. The chaff was beginning to get separated, leaving only the best of the best duking it out on the island. Gone were the plebeians who just played the game for fun. Yeah, fun. Look where that got them. On a one-way ticket out of the tournament.

"Fools, the lot of them," he said again, leaning back on his comfy chair in front of the screens. He was looking at camera footage from Duels happening all over the island. Many Duelists caught his attention today. Of course, the one with the powerful Phoenix Magician was what caught his interest. "So much for my Exterminators. I guess they weren't up to par like the ones Pegasus used for his tournament. Perhaps he's stronger than I thought. Now he's with Yuri of all people. And they're on their way to finding a stowaway. Randall Lawson."

He tapped the screen with his finger. "Didn't think you could just sneak onto my island unnoticed, did you? I'd deal with you myself, but it looks like Yuri and the gang are going to take care of you. And Andre Martin is the one leading this charge. Maybe he isn't so bad after all. But, that's not up to me to decide. Seto wants you out. And my master gets what he wants."

Yuri - Atlas Forest, North Side of the Island

"Where've you been all these months?" Tyson asked. He and the others followed Andre up a mountain where Randall and his gang were hiding. "You were there one moment and gone the next?"

"I have my reasons," said Andre. "But they're my reasons. I can't tell you what's really going on."

"Oh shut up!" Crystal yelled. "You're not impressing anyone with your 'lone wolf' bullcrap. In fact, I find it rather annoying. It's like you want us to figure out what you really want."

"Seriously, dude, stop!" said Patty. "I've had enough of the lies, too. Bad enough you held out on us long ago because you thought your deck was too good for us, now you come and go however you feel like and think it makes you cool."

"Hey, enough! Both of you!" said Yuri. He pointed at them both. Then pointed at Gaz, who looked like he was ready to argue with the girls. "I don't like this as much as you do, but Andre did help us out back there. Am I correct in assuming that those guys were the last of the wannabe bounty hunters Randall hired."

"Yeah. They were," Andre replied. "All that's left is to take out the big boss himself."

"Leave that to me and Yuri," said Nick. "We'll take care of him."

"I highly doubt you can," said Andre. "Randall may be a dumbass, wannabe, mob boss, but he's still a good Duelist. Nick, you're good and all, but Randall's way out of your league. He was trained by Brett, that guy you all hate. Remember?"

Patty scoffed arrogantly and leaned on Nick's shoulder. "Uh, if you weren't playing mystery hero all these months, you'd know my boyfriend just beat Brett. Beat him so badly the family disavowed him."

Andre felt his shoulders slumping. "Oh…"

"Psst," said Gaz. He signaled Andre to follow him. "She's not kidding, bro. I've got an article here saying Nick beat this Brett guy in the tournament qualifier. He's now one of the top-ranked players on the island. You said he was the worst Duelist in the group."

Andre scratched the back of his head. "I, uh, I guess I have missed a lot, haven't I? But it doesn't matter. My money's on Yuri winning this thing."

"Still, I don't think it's wise to underestimate this Nick guy. He looks pretty tough and this tournament was made for the best of the best."

"Right, right, I'll log that away, thanks." Andre walked back to the group. "Well, sorry about that Nick. My apologies. I didn't know you gained some skill while I was gone."

"What do you mean I gained some skill? While you were away doing God-knows-what, Yuri and I were hard at work stepping up our game."

"That's right," said Patty. "My boys won tournaments, local events, a tag team grand prix, you name it. You suddenly show up with your overpowered cheese magician and think you're better than us?"

"Well, I guess there's only one way to prove it, huh?" said Andre.

"Yeah! Duel them, Andre!" Gaz cheered.

Arf! Arf! Max wagged his tail in agreement.

"Is Randall Lawson up there, or not?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, didn't I just say he was?"

"Okay, stop flexing your muscles at my friends and show us to him. Once we've taken care of him and his stupid little operation up in the mountain, you two can butt heads and settle the score."

"Why bother?" said Nick. "This chump is just a waste of my time now. We're better than he is. He just doesn't want to admit it. Right, Yuri?"

Andre balled his fists, digging his shoes deeper into the dirt to keep himself cool. "We'll settle this later. Right now I've got bigger fish to fry."

They walked up the mountain until they discovered a cave. But there was no one there. It was abandoned.

"Great!" said Andre. "They were right here."

"Someone must have tipped them off," said Crystal. "But who?"

"Doesn't matter," said Andre. "He's not here. We need to stop him now."

"You go ahead with your little charade," said Nick. "Yuri and I have more important things to do."

"Like getting more coins," Patty agreed. "We're wasting time. Quite frankly, looking for Randall is like looking for a turd in the sewer. Let him crawl around and hire his goons. We'll be ready."

"Yeah, like you guys were ready last time," said Gaz.

"They ambushed us and took us all at once," said Patty. "We weren't ready for them."

"Right, you guys took them on together," said Andre. "Even then, that wasn't enough. You guys are strong, don't get me wrong, but these losers aren't going to play fair and challenge you one on one. They're going to keep on ambushing you."

"I seriously doubt every player on this island is that demented," said Natalya. "There's no way they'll stoop so low and work for Randall."

"We can only hope," said Crystal. "Come on. Let's get out of here. I don't feel comfortable marching around in the woods anymore. Why don't we go to a place a little more crowded?"

"Sure thing," said Yuri. "I just want to earn my coins and earn my place in the finals. I really don't want to get sidetracked."

"Same here," said Nick. "If Randall wants to act big and tough, let him. I think we've all had enough of his games."

"If that's what you want to do," said Andre. "Fine. I guess your missions are important."

And so the group descended back down from the mountain. It was an hour's hike back to the bottom, and they stopped by the river to rest and have lunch. Yuri sat alone with Crystal and Patty, while Nick and the others were showing off their decks under a tree.

"And Zera the Mant will destroy your Chaos Emperor Dragon, Crystal. And then I'll attack you directly with Invader of Darkness. Once again, I win." She found no reason to celebrate. "This just won't do. What's the matter with you? Three games in a row? Crystal, that's unheard of even for you. What's happened?"

"I don't know," Crystal said, shuffling her deck. "Maybe...maybe my dragons just aren't all that good anymore."

"Aw, don't say that," said Yuri. "Your dragons are strong. You have a powerful bond with them that's always gotten you out of bad situations."

"So why is this happening to me now?" Crystal asked. "Except for Ten Thousand Dragon and Primordial Dragon, I didn't really change the deck all that much. I'm bricking more times than I care to count and that's never happened to me before."

"Bricking?" Patty said. "How are you bricking? That can't be. I've seen you pull off moves that get like three dragons out in one turn. How in the hell can you be bricking? What did you add in there?"

Patty searched around the deck over and over again, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Crystal, this is a very powerful deck. It's balanced. You got the right spells to get your bad boys out fast and traps to protect you until you do. Let me try playing with your deck."

"Okay," said Crystal. "I'll use yours."

They started to play. Patty was able to get out Chaos Emperor Dragon, Chaos Dragon Levianeer, and Tyrant Dragon out in her first turn."

"Crystal, this is so amazing!" Patty said, summoning a ritual monster called Raging Storm Dragon - Beaufort IX. "I'll attack Diabolos with Tyrant Dragon, activating his effect, which allows me to make a second attack. Using, Shrink, I'll cut your Invader of Darkness's ATK in half and that's game."

"Oh, dear," Crystal said. "How did you able to get them all out so quickly?"

"Your deck is great, that's why," said Patty.

Crystal blinked to keep the big tear from falling down her cheek. "So why hasn't it been all that great to me? Ever since I lost to Mandy, nothing has been the same."

"This is starting to worry me," Yuri said to Ser Norman. "What do you think's going on?"

I'm not sure. But it seems your friend might have broken the heart of her cards by taking that loss very heavily. That loss to her opponent the other day was quite devastating. And Crystal is a girl of great pride and love for her dragons. They are each a part of her soul; for so great is their bond. But...seeing them get decimated in their Duel must have struck a severe blow to Crystal's heart. And if her heart breaks, there comes doubt. And doubt in one's self usually leads to a weak connection with your deck. I think that's what's going on here. Crystal's lost her touch with the Heart of the Cards.

"You're kidding? Is there any way we can fix that connection? It really hurts seeing Crystal like this."

"Oh no, I lost again? I didn't even get to have a third turn!"

It's very tough to watch. I agree. She was a very powerful Duelist with great love and respect for the dragons in her deck. Now...she looks so lost. If she does not find a way to overcome her doubts and fears of losing again, I don't think she'll ever be the same again.

Patty handed Crystal her deck back and tapped his lower lip. She tried to think of a way to change the subject so as not to further upset Crystal. "So...Yuri. CEO of Phobos Corp. I think you're ready for it."

"I do, too," said Crystal. "And I truly hope you win. It's not right what the board of directors did to your father."

"What exactly happened?" Patty asked. "And how do you know so much about what's going on in the company."

Crystal giggled and shoved a meatball into her mouth. "I worked marketing for Phobos Corp these past two years."

"Seriously?" Yuri and Patty said at the same time.

"Yeah, I was so successful with my makeup, Duel Disk, and lingerie line that your dad had me test my skills in the real corporate world. Well, I excelled with flying colors. I was in charge of marketing the whole tournament right now."

"Wow," said Yuri. "You've been busy. Why didn't you tell me?"

Crystal pursed her lips. "Aww, well, I really wanted to keep this a secret until you inherited the company from your father. He asked me to, anyway. But with things being how they are now, I guess I can tell you. And Patty's been like a sister to me. So I guess I can tell her, too. Jacob was so impressed with my work on the marketing team that he made me an apprentice not long after Brett fled Aquarius."

"He made you his apprentice?" Yuri asked.

"Uh-huh. Over the past four months, he taught me everything I needed to know about the business. He taught me the politics of the corporate world, the lingo, everything. He said it was the least he could do for not helping me all those years that I served under Brett. He was sad he let the mafia have so much control of his city, but he's a changed man. He shared his secrets with me. I even played around with 'stonks' for a while."

"Ah, so you've invested in stonks," chuckled Patty. "I was beginning to notice you flaunting around in hot cars and stuff lately."

"Oh, it gets better. Right after we graduated, Mr. Montgomery had a talk with me. He said once Yuri inherited the company, he was going to name me his official secretary."

"DAMN!" said Patty. She gave her a high-five. "Wow! So not only are you a champ at Dueling and a hot pop singer, but you're also going to be the secretary of Phobos Corp's CEO? Seriously. Damn, Yuri, you've got to count your lucky stars. How many CEOs out there can say their secretaries are platinum album singers?"

"It'll be all for naught if I lose," said Yuri.

Patty's excitement soon washed away as quickly as it came. "Oh, right. Leon. But how?"

Crystal sighed. "It's what happens when you trust too much and give people more shares of your company than they deserve. The board of directors wasn't all too pleased that Yuri, a kid with no experience running a business, was about to inherit a multi-trillion dollar corporation. There was only one person they could trust. Leon. I overheard everything when I was coming upstairs to join them at my demo business meeting. I stopped right by the door at the end of his speech."

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Mr. Montgomery. "I am pleased to report that as of today, Phobos Corp's venture into other endeavors has now exceeded all expectations. Our artificial sun has made us the principal supplier of energy for the world. And our new upgrades to the United States' Military software, have gained us contracts with very generous bonuses. We will be doing business with them for many years to come. Costs are down, profits are up, and our stock is the highest it's ever been in years."

"Yes, yes," said a bald-headed board member. "It's all great news. We couldn't be more proud of those reports. In fact, it's why we're putting the company up for sale."

Mr. Motgomery's smile went away. He felt his chest tightening up. "Huh?"

"The United States government has questioned your legitimacy in governing both this company and this city in wake of the coup months ago. Your past deals with the mafia, sir? Letting them do as they pleased in the underbelly of the city. We understand you did it for the safety of your children, but it is just not fitting for someone of your stature to make negotiations with criminals. The Americans find it troublesome to know that a company with technology as advanced as the ones we produced belongs to a man who can make such troublesome decisions. Decisions without our knowledge, may I add. They view it as a threat to national security."

"National security? How?"

"To keep the Martinettis away from your family, you gave their son, Brett, over a billion dollars in company shares."

"Where did you learn that?"

"We discovered a great deal many things after the coup, Jacob. Your cowardice gave the Martinetti family the resources they needed to start a multi-billion dollar international criminal franchise. Just last week, US Special Forces raided a compound in France. There were hackers in there. They were aiming to do nefarious things with nuclear weapons. They were using technology from Phobos Corp. Technology that Brett Martinetti sold them. It's been retrieved but I'm afraid when word of this gets out, it's going to lead to a lot of bad press. So in order to remedy this situation, the United States government gave us a tender offer we simply cannot refuse."

"I'm afraid so," said another board member. "The deal is off if you are still CEO, sir. Also, the board has unanimously named your son Leon as the new head of Phobos Corp. We expect your resignation in thirty days. We're making the sale to Dagon Aerospace official after the Millennium Tournament. I'm sorry."

"Oh...wow," said Patty. "That's some heavy stuff. Maybe it's for the best. No offense, Yuri, but he almost caused World War 3."

"It's my father's company. He sacrificed so much to get it started. He did what he did because he loved us. Us! His kids. His family. I can fix this mess."

"How? The United States government is involved."

"I'm not my father, that's how. Trust me, if the Martinettis or any other criminal scum thinks they can shake me up the way they did him, they've got another thing coming."

He looked at Ser Norman and winked. Ser Norman held up his thumb in approval.

"Also, the sale of the company won't become official until after the tournament. If I win, I'm allowed one wish. And that wish is for Phobos Corp to stay with the Montgomery family. Leon will have no choice but to refuse the deal. If I lose, they're going to split the company in two. Leon will be in charge of the gaming division, AKA Duel Monsters. He'll name it as his own, while the U.S takes our technology. If you ask me, they're no better than criminal thugs themselves. I can't allow our technology to go anyone else. Aquarius technology is our technology."

"Hey, guys!" Andre called. "Come on. Let's get moving."

Once their bellies were full, they packed their things and continued trekking down a road called the Rose Road, which led them to a wide-open field blooming with red tulips as far as the eye could see, turning the fields into a sea of red. Thankfully, there were scores of other players here as well, and many of them looked rather friendly and seemed intent on just being here on the fields and enjoying a game or two.

"Are you guys still in the tournament?" Patty asked two players.

"No, we lost all our coins," one of them replied. Despite this, he still had a smile on his face. "But it was a fun ride. And I'll never forget this day."

"Yeah, for sure," laughed his friend. "We kicked so much butt yesterday. But, I figured that our winning streak was going to come to an end. Oh, well. Many of us are just here to enjoy the island before we have to go."

"Well, you're having fun and that's all that matters," said Crystal. "I wish more players could be like you. But do you know a place where we can find some Duelists with some coins left?"

"Yeah, they're all hanging out on the Dueling Field over there by the forest closest to the mountain. There's a lot of action going on over there. And I think it's about to get even hotter. You're Yuri Montgomery, right? The Prince of Aquarius?"

"That's me."

"Aww, I really wish I could have Dueled you in the tournament. Hey, any of you guys wanna Duel?"

Nick gave a friendly chuckle. "Sorry, guys. We're in kind of a hurry here. We don't really have time to have any friendly matches. We gotta get ourselves some coins."

"Aww, that's too bad," said one of the players.

"I'll take you on if you want," said Andre.

"You will? That's great? I just want one more match. Come on! Let's Duel."

They got into position. Gaz handed Andre his Duel Disk like a little squire serving his knight. Andre strapped the fancy Duel Disk on his wrist and the match started.

"I'll go first!" said Andre. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"My turn!" said the boy. "I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf in attack mode. And with an ATK of 2000, you're going to have a hard time going through this. And I'm gonna make it even harder for you when I play these cards face-down. Now, my Gene-Warped Warwolf will attack you directly!"

"I don't think so!" said Andre. "I activate the trap card, Magician's Navigation! This lets me summon a Dark Magician from my hand!'

"Dark Magician!" cried the kid.

Yes. The Dark Magician appeared out of his signature arcane glyph. He swung his staff across the air. His 2500 ATK displayed beside him.

"And that's not all my trap can do," said Andre. "I'm allowed to summon this monster from my deck. Apprentice Illusion Magician!"

"Two monsters with one card!" the boy's friend cried out.

Both he and his friend held their breaths when a pretty magician in a pink outfit appeared next to the Dark Magician. The Apprentice Illusion Magician tapped Andre's hand with her wand and added a Dark Magician to it from his deck. "Thanks," Andre said.

"She's pretty," said Andre's opponent. "I guess I'll end my turn." Heh, heh. Who cares if he summoned those two magicians. My Mirror Force card will blow them to smithereens.

"My turn!" said Andre. "Draw! If you think your face-down cards are going to save you, you've got another thing coming. I activate the spell, Dark Magic Attack! When I have a Dark Magician on the field, this card can let me destroy all your spells and traps."

"OH NO!"

Dark Magician rose into the air, spun his staff, and blasted all of the boy's traps.

"NO FAIR!" he cried.

"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do," said Gaz. "Get 'em, boss!"

"Of course," Andre replied. "I'll activate the spell card. Dark Magic Expanded! This will increase my Dark Magician's ATK by 1000 points. And why stop there? I activate another one, increasing his ATK by another 1000 points."

"Forty-five hundred?" gasped Crystal.

"Better watch out, Nick," said Tyson. "Looks like Andre just stepped up his game, too."

Nick crossed his arms. "Whatever."

"Not impressed, Nick?" said Andre. "Just wait until you see this! I sacrifice Apprentice Illusion Magician to activate her effect. When my Dark Magician attacks, she will increase his strength by another 2000 points!"

ATK/6500

Dark Magician sprinted across the field towards Gene-Warped Warwolf. He sprang into the air, spun his staff, and destroyed the boy's monster and the rest of his Life Points with one mighty attack. The spells Andre gave his magician made him so powerful, he created a small mushroom cloud with lightning zapping on the top.

Andre thanked the boy for the Duel and left. The boy didn't even move. He was kneeling on the ground, his mouth open so wide, everyone thought it would fall off.

"Holy shit," said Patty, as Andre passed by.

Nick slapped her on the behind playfully to get a giggle out of her. "Hey, nothing we can't handle, babe. When it comes to just me and him, I'll show you what a real Duelist can do."