Yu-Gi-Oh!:

Guardian of Death

DUEL 10: A Room Full of People Who Hate You

::Two more, two more:: Patrick Kingston thought counting his eight spell counters. He didn't even know which direction he was heading. Even Anubis was too elated to speak. That is, until he felt himself slipping. The ground underneath him caved in. He fell with a thud. He opened his eyes to see two weird men in Chinese suits.

"Heh, heh, heh. Look brother, more prey has fallen in!"

"Indeed brother!" Patrick stood and looked at his unsuspecting captors. One was wearing orange and the other green.

"You are?" Patrick asked cock-eyed.

"I am Mei!" The one in orange announced.

"And I am Kyuu!" The one in green responded in kind.

"Let me guess," Patrick started, "Tag? Well as you can plainly see I can face only one of you..."

The two looked at each other, "Ooops!" They said in unison.

"Tell you what; I'll roll a six-sided die. If it rolls a 1-2-3 I'll face Mei. If it's 4-5-6 then it'll be me versus Kyuu. Okay?"

The brothers nodded and Patrick dropped the die rolling a five, "It's you and me Green back!"

"You will show me with respect or be lost forever!" Kyuu responded.

"Uh-huh, let's just get this over with. I bet two Spell Counters," Patrick said uninterested.

"Very Well," Kyuu agreed, "Let's duel! I summon the Labyrinth Wall in defense mode! You'll never get past its 3000 def."

"Okay, I set 1 card on the field and summon Servant of Catabolism in attack. His attacks strike directly, flowing through your Labyrinth Wall!" The odd creature fired a crude gel through the Labyrinth and struck Kyuu directly.

"You'll pay!" Mei called out from the side lines.

"I must do this brother!" Kyuu called back, "And I will when I summon Suijin in attack mode!" A weird blue beast emerged. It was a head with arms and the Chinese character for water on its head, "Now attack!" Kyuu ordered.

"Not so fast," Patrick said flipping over a card, "I activate Gravity Bind! No monster level 4 or higher can attack." A glowing pulse pulled Suijin back to the ground.

"Then I set one card and end my turn." Kyuu decided.

"Good, now I attack with Servant of Catabolism again and-"

"My turn to counter!" Kyuu announced with pride, "Suijin uses tidal surf to drown out opposing monster and destroy it!" Suijin released a jet stream of water that surfed toward Jinzo#7 and engulfed it utterly. Nothing was left of it. "Now it's my turn and I summon Kazejin!" Another awkward beast emerged, this time as a green sphere with the Chinese character for wind on its head.

"In return," Patrick began, "I'll set one card on the field and set 1 monster in defense."

"You fool! You've let me summon Sanga of the thunder!" A large bronze torso took the field with arms and a head and a golden arch sprawling from its back. It combined with Kazejin in the middle and Suijin on the bottom to create an actual being.

"Behold Gate Guardian! On my next turn you're finished!"

"You still can't attack with Gravity Bind," Patrick informs drawing a card, "And your luck isn't getting any better. I play Black Illusion Ritual and sacrifice my face-down Sonic Bird to Ritual Summon Relinquished!" On the field Relinquished opened its wings. Though far stronger, Gate Guardian appeared in awe, "I'm done."

"I'll play Remove Trap on that pesky Gravity Bind!"

"Not when I've got this Mystical Space Typhoon set here!" Patrick's Typhoon decimates Kyuu's spell.

"I was hoping you'd do that! Chain Destruction destroys all of your Gravity Binds not already on the field! You lose the rest and I'll use my on Mystical Space Typhoon on your current Gravity Bind to eliminate all of them from your deck!"

(Patrick!) Anubis echoed with concern, (Stay focused! This is still your duel!)

"Now," Kyuu led in, "I attack Relinquished with Gate Guardian!"

"Who were you calling a fool again?" Patrick asked, "Relinquished equips Labyrinth Wall. His points are identical. Since He's in attack, which is zero, Gate Guardian's massive 3750 attack points are direct. Directly to you thanks to Relinquished's "saving throw" using your wall as a shield!"

"No!" Kyuu screamed.

"That's right! You attacked your own monster and now you lose! Hand over your two Spell Counters and your rare Suijin card!"

The duel had ended but Patrick still had a problem, "As punishment for humiliating my brother," Mei said, "Spend eternity in here!"

"Here's a thought," Patrick said pointing up his index finger as a show of his revelation. He pulled Mei close to him then leapt on him, using him as a human stepping stool to the hole he fell through. He climbed up hurriedly and ran off a bit as some of the ground gave way.

Patrick was bent over, gasping for air. When he looked up he saw a sign that said "FINALS. THIS WAY." Patrick followed the arrow with his eyes.

"Finals...here I come."

The trail seemed to go on forever. Patrick Kingston was on his way to wherever the finals of Duelist Paradise's tournament were to be held. He finally had all 10 Spell Counters. Now he needed to get through the finals and face Pegasus again.

He had to halt abruptly. The ground steeped off suddenly in front of Patrick. He looked down to see an odd building. Spikes were protruding like a crown and in the middle was a stadium-looking structure.

::You think these are the finals?:: Patrick asked in his head.

(Yes.) Anubis responded from Patrick's mind, (I sense Pegasus is in there. He awaits us. Let's greet him.)

::Now you're speaking my language!:: Patrick raced down the valley. The ground finally leveled off and Patrick raced to the building. He quickly found the entrance and entered. He looked around the structure. It was obviously brand new and smelled of pine-sol. Its glittering floors reflected the gleam of the fluorescent lighting, blinding Patrick.

Seeing Patrick looking dazed and confused a woman in a blue suit, kind of like a stuartess, approached him, "Sir, do you need help finding your seat?"

Patrick regained his composure just in time, "No, but could you steer me towards the finals? I need to register."

"If you've got ten spell counters then you should head into that room." The woman pointed with a smile. Patrick followed the instructions. He froze before the door. His eyes closed and he held his breath as he entered. His eyes opened and he gasped.

::Well,:: Patrick said looking around::It seems like I've got a room full of people who hate me.:: Patrick could see his adversaries. "Bandit" Keith Howard and Katsuya Jonouchi had made it. He also recognized Japanese Champion Insector Haga and former Japanese champ Dinosaur Ryuzaki. Another boy who had white hair was talking to Jonouchi, but Patrick couldn't think of his name from the Battle City Network.

"Look who finally made it!" Keith announced, "How 'ya doin' chump?"

Patrick smirked, "It seems you've recovered from your last defeat."

"Shuddap!" Keith snapped.

"Keith, you lost to this amateur?" Jonouchi chimed in. Before Patrick could respond, Krocketts entered the room.

"Duelists," Krocketts started, "You are the first eight to qualify for the Duelist Paradise finals. Present your spell counters. If you have 10 then you qualify for the Quarter Final Lottery.

Everyone there presented their Spell Counters and qualified. Each duelist wrote their name down on a slip of paper and put it in a box.

"Very well," Krocketts said holding the box, "We now draw slots for the Quarter Finals. The first duelist in round one is," Krocketts t led on drawing a slip, "Ryo Bakura." The white haired boy stepped forward a little.

"His opponent is, Patrick Kingston." Patrick and Bakura traded looks, "Next up, Amanda Matthews and, "Bandit" Keith Howard."

"Round 3 is, Katsuya Jonouchi and Brian Wesley. Finally, Dinosaur Ryuzaki and Insector Haga. Prepare duelists, the finals are here."