Written: 28/12/12

Author'sNote: The last chapter was interesting. :3 Don't you agree? :3 Hehe. :3 I was in a very good mood when I started this. :3 Can't you tell? :3

BUAHAHAHAHA!

SARAH WILL -

…

I'm just kidding. o.o

ON. TO. THE. NEXT. CHAPTER. x3

Thank you so uber much for everyone who has read and reviewed. =D I really appreciate it. :3

Here we go! Hope you guys like it. Thanks for reading. =)

It's Sarah's second duel of the Battle City Tournament, and who is she dueling? Well, of course, it's Eric Hall. He was going to ask for a duel from her sooner or later. He has this sort of connection with Sarah that the red-head doesn't really understand. What Eric's looking for from her is quite unfamiliar. This duel is worth four locator cards - FOUR. It's a win or lose situation for Sarah. If Eric won, he would make it to the Battle City Finals, while Sarah will be unable to help the Pharaoh any further. Who will win? I think that you should read to find out.

Disclaimer!: Fanfiction, and I do NOT get any money out of it either. Thanks. ^^

Battle City-New Evil Emerges, Old Friends Reunite Chapter 31

Locator Cards: Yugi: 3/Joey: 2/Sarah: 2

LP: Sarah: 4000/Eric: 4000

"Wait until you see some of my moves."

"New cards?"

"Try a whole new deck! I set aside my other cards for the time being so I could try out this new one I made. All my cards are cool, but this deck has proved to be more powerful. So, I've decided to try it against you."

I smiled sheepishly at the other. "Oh, is that right..."

Eric smirked. "Yup! So, please, enjoy the duel. And get ready to lose!"

"I beg to differ!"

"Let's start this."

I drew my first card and looked at the ones in my hand. There was no way I could afford to lose this duel, because if I did, then I would be out of the tournament. I wouldn't be able to help the Pharaoh when he heads for the finals. I'd be completely useless. At least if Eric lost, he would still have two locator cards left. But if I lost, then I would have zero.

I just hadto win this duel. Regardless of Eric's new deck. No matter how strong he may claim it might be.

"Alrighty, this duel has begun! I summon Samsara Kaiser (200 ATK) to the field!" A small robot warrior with a cape materialized onto my side of the field, posed for an attack. Although this little guy had a low number of attack points, he had a handy effect.

"Then I place one card on the field and end my turn. Your move, Eric!"

"First off, your little robot is adorable."

"Aw, thank you!"

"And second, it's gonna die."

"..."

He drew his card. "Right! I summon Marauding Captain (1200 ATK)! You're lucky we can't attack during our first turn, otherwise, you'd have lost quite a bit of life points."

"I can see that."

"I'll also place one card face down. Back to you, Sarah."

"My pleasure."

I took a good look at my hand. A strategy began forming in my mind, and I had to try to hide the smirk that threatened to emerge.

"For my next move, I'll summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (1800 ATK)!"

Eric's eyes widened. "Uh-oh..."

"Attack Marauding Captain!"

With a swift flick of his wrist, Kycoo sent a bullet of magic straight through the Marauding Captain. The warrior doubled over and shattered, leaving Eric with 600 life points less than before. To cause even more damage, I sent in my Samsara Kaiser to deal direct damage. Another 200 points down.

LP: Sarah: 4000/Eric: 3200

The crowd cheered. Eric stared at me with his eye twitching. I laughed.

"Now... what was that you were saying about melosing a lot of points?"

Eric muttered something under his breath. I laughed once more.

"Stay calm," I told him. "The duel just started.

"Oh, and by the way... did you know that each time Kycoo successfully inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I can remove from play up to two monster cards from your graveyard?"

Eric's eye went back to twitching. His Marauding Captain was just removed from play.

"Grr... this isn't over!"

"Of course not," I blinked. "but it's over for your Marauding Captain."

"... I am going to bring you down."

"Just try!"

"I will!" Eric drew his next card, back into the duel from the rouse. A bit of live rivalry would remind us who we were dueling against, and stir things up a bit. The match would become much more interesting. Speaking of interesting, Eric had no monsters on his side of the field. If he didn't come up with a strategy soon, then I might beat him.

"I need help from my deck to defeat you," he said. "So, I'm going to play the spell card Reinforcement of the Army! This card lets me add one level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck to my hand."

"So... you'll get monsters..."

Eric smirked. His maroon eyes glistened under the sunlight. "Exactly."

He looked through his deck and chose a card easily. He already had a strategy planned. After shuffling his deck and placing it back into the duel deck recognizer, he played the card in attack mode.

"I summon Evocator Chevalier (1900 ATK)! Tremble in his awesomeness. He's part of a group of monsters you've never seen before!"

The crowd and I held our breath. New monsters? How powerful could they be?

I guess I'm about to find out. I stole a glance from Yugi. He was wondering about it as well, but he nodded nonetheless. He was right. I had to get through his duel no matter what Eric threw at me. Failure was no option.

From within a vortex of holographic pixels appeared a marvelous warrior in the most prestigious armour I had ever seen. Captivated, I noticed its beautiful red shine and the glint of his sharp sword. He was a fine warrior, one who even caught the eyes of the crowd. They awed.

"How come all your monsters are so pretty?" I asked Eric.

Eric smirked. "They're catching your attention every time, aren't they?"

I nodded.

He shrugged. "Maybe... it has something to do with... you liking me."

I nearly gagged. The crowd laughed though.

"No, I'm serious. You always compliment my monsters. You haven't said anything like that to Yugi's monsters or that blond Joey's monsters. Always mine. Do you have to something you need to admit?"

I took a deep breath. "Actually..."

"Yes...?"

"... No... not really."

Eric anime fell.

"Ahem... now then... are you done your move?"

Eric shook himself out of his daydream. He should know by now that hitting on me won't help him any more. He activated a spell card. "Nope! One card face down, and I play the card Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade! This card allows me to power up my monster with 300 more points! Sarah, you're in deep trouble now!"

Evocator Chevalier glowed a bright golden colour for just a moment, while his attack points increased from 1900 to 2200. It was quite a boost, and Eric was in the position to deal some damage. The sword changed as well. The hue on its shining blade changed to a fiery orange.

"Finally, I can attack! Evocator Chevalier, strike down Samsara Kaiser!"

With a swift swing of his sword, Evocator Chevalier cut Samsara Kaiser in half. My monster disintegrated back into holographic pixels.

LP: Sarah: 2000/Eric: 3200

My eyes widened. "I lost half my life points!"

Eric chuckled. "I know, right? It's amazing! Only half more to go!"

Yugi called over from the sidelines, offering support. "Don't worry about it! Don't fall apart! You can still beat him!

"Anyways, why would you put Samsara Kaiser in attack mode rather than defense mode? You should have known that Eric would have attacked him!"

"I had a strategy but Eric ruined it." I said with a mild sweat drop.

I gave him a thumbs up. "Trust me. I'm not going to let that get to me."

Eric punched the air. Obviously, he was excited, because he was halfway to his win. The smile on his face was priceless. He was having fun in our duel.

I missed dueling like that, where nothing was at stake but a clean win.

In this tournament, it was completely the opposite. Every duel so far has been important. Something was always at stake, whether it was our last locator cards or our lives.

Yami and Yugi nearly lost their souls in their duel against Arkana. They couldn't get the image of me getting hurt out of their minds, while I couldn't get the image of them being tied up and me being unable to do anything about it out of my own mind. It was ironic. I swore that I would do anything to protect them, and during the time that they needed my help, I couldn't do anything. Marik was smart, I'd give him that. He knew what he was doing - which meant that we had to be even more careful.

If he could control minds with his Millennium Rod... then what else could he possibly do?

Eric brought me out of my thoughts. I didn't even realize that I wasn't paying attention. "Are you going to make your move, or not?" he asked me, not in a manner of being annoyed, rather, a manner in which he wondered what was taking me so long.

I blinked back into real time. I shouldn't allow myself to fall into my thoughts during duels, especially during a duel where all my locator cards were on the line. But I just couldn't help it. There was so much to think about. Even if Yami, Yugi and I had set up that one night for that very purpose - to talk - we ended up only scratching the surface.

"Oh... yeah, sorry."

Eric noticed something, I don't know what. Maybe it was the slight slouch in my shoulders, or the way I was looking down. It could have been that he could somehow see the pain in my eyes that I've tried to hide for so long. I wasn't quite sure.

Either way... he suddenly grew concerned. Ra... I did not understand this guy. He could tell something was wrong in a split second.

"Hey... are you alright?" he asked me, lightly. The inevitable question.

I promised myself that I would be stronger. I also promised Yami and Yugi that I would stop stressing myself out. Continuing to think about past events would be like suffering through the side effects of amnesia again.

Eric was being genuinely concerned, but I couldn't let him know about what was going on. If he was to get involved, then Marik would have another person he could target to get to us, mostly me. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I forced a smile as easily as if nothing was really wrong, even though it was quite the opposite. "Psh, I'm okay," I told him with a dismissive wave of my hand. "You worry too much. It may end up being your downfall."

Eric gawked. "I don't have to worry about you," he said, trying to cover the slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

I smiled. "Excellent," I said, to which he blinked. "You have much more important things to worry about, like your life points."

With a dramatic gasp, as if he was in a theatrical performance, Eric took a step back. "You wouldn't!" he cried.

"Why, yes. Yes, I would," I blinked.

But there was a problem. Eric's monster had 2200 attack points. I needed Sword of Deception, the only card I could think of right now that would have enough points to defeat Eric's Evocator Chevalier. And I needed it in my next draw. The odds of drawing the one card that I need were against me. Nevertheless, it was a chance and I had to try. I couldn't lose this duel.

I placed a forefinger on the top of my deck and held steady. This was it, I needed to draw Sword of Deception that would tip the duel in my favour.

The small crowd that had gathered held its breath as I was. Yugi gazed at me uncertainly.

"You can't possibly draw a duel-changing card so suddenly," said Eric, but he sounded as though he was reassuring himself more than showing me up. He knew that I had done it in the past. What was stopping me from pulling another winner?

The fact that I give up.

So I wasn't going to.

With a more fixed composure, and a confident gaze, I drew my next card. The site of it lifted my spirits.

If this duel was meant for me to lose, then I would have drawn anything else. But because I drew the one card that I needed, it meant that I was meant to win this duel. And win, I shall.

I looked at Eric. He blinked.

"I summon Sword of Deception (2000 ATK)!"

"What? No!"

A beautiful warrior materialized onto the field, clad in pink and white armour and sword, and long hair cascading down her back. Magnificent wings with a slight pink tinge opened from behind. She sparkled underneath the sunlight and holographic pixels.

Eric's eyes slanted a little bit. "So... we meet again..."

Sword of Deception's owner simply watched him, unmoving.

"... Sarah, she looks like you."

"We can pass for twins, no?"

"Yes... wait, no. I mean... actually - what was the question again?"

I laughed a bit at his sheepish sweat drop.

"Happy to see her?

Eric looked a bit unsure. "Um... possibly... I mean, she's one of your strongest cards. So... I don't know if I should be happy to see such a powerful monster again or if I should be sad because she's going to school me."

The crowd laughed. I smiled.

"Well... a little bit of both would be alright."

"Really?"

"No, she smells fear."

"... darn."

"Eric... I have to win this duel. I made a promise to someone and I'm going to keep it."

"Me too... I promised my friends that I wouldn't give up a duel easily. So... you're gonna have to try harder."

"... pardon me?"

Eric activated the face down card he placed on the field last turn. "This trap card is a powerful one, called Charter. I knew you were going to summon Sword of Deception sometime during the duel, so part of my strategy was to keep this trap card on the field. Low and behold, you did indeed summon the warrior I've been looking for. When my opponent summons a monster with at least 2000 attack points, the turn is over."

"No!" I cried. That trap just completely threw me off! Here I was, worrying about my next draw, when I completely forgot about Eric's face down card. How foolish of me...

Eric smirked. "Aw... did I ruin a strategy? That's too bad... If you have to win this duel, try a bit harder."

I gritted my teeth. I had to give him props, his new deck was indeed more powerful than the one before.

Eric drew his next card and smiled. "This is turning out to be interesting," he said. "I just drew a card that you're not gonna like. So unless your strategy can hold on until next turn, I think you're going to be throwing in the towel very soon.

"For this turn, I play the spell card Cost Down. As long as I discard one card, this spell downgrades all monster cards in my hand by two levels until the end of my turn."

"You can summon high level monsters as easily as if they were low level monsters to begin with," I said, realization hitting me in the side like a thorn.

Eric smirked. "That's right. Let's make this reunion a little more special, shall we? I summon Triple Threat Dragon (2800 ATK)!"

A majestic dragon of shining white emerged from within the colourful lights, stretching its wings to the farthest part of the duel field. Glittering scales and brilliantly deep lavender eyes shone like stars. The crowd awed and cheered. Two legendary monsters belonging to two individuals who always seem to duel against each other were battling it out once again. It was as if Eric wanted to prove that his dragon was stronger than my warrior.

"Oh no..." I nearly face palmed. I had the duel and then victory was quickly taken away. Eric had the upper hand, Sword of Deception didn't have enough attack power to destroy his monster.

"I want to show you that my monster is capable of good things..."

Thoughtfully, I looked over at Eric. He had his gaze down, looking at his cards as though he was coming up with more strategies, but his voice didn't sound as sturdy. There was some feeling behind it. I waited for him to continue. He noticed my slightly puzzled look and spoke again.

"That day during our duel... when the platform went berserk and you lost your memory, I felt as though it was my fault. My monster brought you a lot of misfortune, but it didn't meant to. I guess part of the reason why I want to duel you all the time is because I want to show you and everyone else who watched our duel that my dragon is actually pretty cool. And that... I didn't mean for you to get hurt..."

I was surprised. I never thought Eric would blame himself for what happened, it was a complete accident. Back then, Kaiba didn't have temperatures taken into account when he released that duel platform. The November weather had corrupted the machinery inside and the monster's attack power was accelerated with electricity. It was practically a grenade blowing up in my face, and I was thrown into the bleachers, knocking my head somewhere.

There was no way I was going to let Eric take the fall for whatever occurred.

"Eric... I never blamed you for what happened," I said. "and I never will. It was an accident."

The other shook his head. "But if I hadn't summoned the dragon at that specific moment..."

"You still wouldn't have saved me."

"..."

"I don't blame you, really. Fate wanted me to lose my memory for a reason, but I can promise you that you had nothing to do with the platform going crazy."

Eric gave me a small blink. Then he squinted his eyes. "You believe in that?" he asked.

It was my turn to blink. "Believe in what, fate?"

"Yeah."

"Well... yes, I do. It's all I ever live by."

Eric shook his head, disbelievingly. "I don't quite think of things that way. Even so, for everything that happened that day, I'm sorry. This time, and from now on, my monsters and I are gonna do our best to win the duels we have against you. Only to prove that that day wasn't our fault, and to show you how strong we can be without having to win from a crazy platform."

I took in a breath. "You would have won that duel if it never malfunctioned..." I realized.

Slowly, Eric nodded. "That's right," he said. "But because the platform malfunctioned, my dragon became so powerful that it blew you away. I never meant for that to happen... I wanted to win against you fair and square."

"Well, Eric, your chances are certainly rising."

"..."

"I have a feeling... that you'll be given another chance to duel me later on in the tournament."

"Why wait then when I can win now? I already have you cornered."

"Not quite... I still have my face down card..."

"..."

I looked at my side of the field and, sure enough, the back of my trap card was looking right back at me. I had completely forgotten about it until I took a better look and steadied my thinking. It was just the card I needed too.

"This is quite ironic..."

Eric blinked. "What is?"

"The fact that I have the same trap card as you..."

"What?!"

"I activate the trap card Charter! You summoned a monster with at least 2000 attack points, therefore, your turn is also over!"

Eric's eyes widened. "B-But... how did you...?"

"I thought you would summon your Triple Threat Dragon during our duel, just as you thought I would summon my Sword of Deception."

"Whoa... this is... insane!"

"Great duelists think alike?" Yugi blinked.

I nodded. "It sure looks like it," I said with a small smirk. "And now that your turn is over, it's time for me to finish this duel with my next draw!"

Eric crossed his arms. "Let's see if you can win," he said, nonchalantly.

With a deep breath, I steadied myself. This draw would be it, the one to change the game. Two of our best monsters are facing each other down to see who would win. This looked like Duelist Kingdom all over again; the last duel I played with Eric. I needed one card, just one...

If I was truly meant to win this duel and help the Pharaoh with the tournament, destiny would let me draw the card I needed.

I pulled a card.

The crowd, Yugi and Eric held their breath too, as much as I was.

I looked at the card... and smiled...

I'm not out just yet.

"Sorry, Eric... looks as though in order to prove yourself, you need to another chance in Battle City."

"No!"

"I activate Bright Shine!"

We watched as Sword Deception was engulfed in a rainbow light show, her sword a marvelous shine. The armour she wore glistened like the scaled on Eric's dragon but in more colours than just one. Her points doubled, just what I was hoping for.

"Not again..."

"Now, attack!"

Sword at the ready, my warrior monster slashed at Eric's dragon, who broke into a million pieces as the holographic imaging devices swallowed up all the colourful pixels. Nothing remained but 1200 points of damage to Eric.

LP: Sarah: 2000/Eric: 2000

"I nearly had you!"

"Keyword: nearly. I end my turn."

Eric sighed. "I knew I couldn't win..." he said. "You somehow always draw the card that would turn the duel around when you needed it."

"I guess... it's just fate."

"Yeah... yeah, I know."

Eric looked at his cards and sighed again. "I don't have anything I can play," he said.

I blinked. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah... really, I can't play anything. And I have no strategy, no backup plan... the duel's done."

"Eric..."

"It's alright." He smiled which made me blink again. "You have a promise, right? And... I tried to win against you like I told my friends. But why try to keep going when I know the cards in my hand aren't going to help?"

"Maybe..."

"No, I made up my mind. We'll meet again in the tournament, and then, it would be a better duel. A memorable."

I nodded. "I'll hold you to it."

"Great... but for now, I forfeit."

Eric put his hands over his deck and the holographic lights went out. The crowd cheered for a good duel and the two locator cards I won were given to me. I looked up at Eric. He nodded.

"It's alright, really. We'll meet again and I'll win."

I smiled back. "Alright..." I shook his hand. "Good game."

"Same to you. I've gotta go. So I'll catch you two later, alright?"

Yugi nodded. " Sure. See you."

I waved after him as he disappeared around the corner.

A funny feeling stayed within my stomach.

Locator Cards: Yugi: 3/Joey: 2/Sarah: 4

Author's Note: Phew... what a year. Can't believe it's gone already. I apologize for taking so long to update, but school comes first. But hey, I heard that the university summers are four months long - can you believe it?! So I'll hopefully be getting a whole lot done then. :3

Thank you so much for reading and pressing all those wonderful buttons below. I really appreciate it. :D I hope you liked this chapter!

Have an awesome New Year! Good luck and thanks again. :)

Oh, and I'm sorry for any grammatical and/or spelling errors. x'3

Thank you!