Battle City Begins

Today was the day the tournament would start. Solomon swept the doorstep of the game shop. "It's a sad day when an old man has to do his grandson's chores," he said and yawned. "'Sorry, Grandpa, but I have to prepare for the tournament,' he says. I'd like a good duel as much as the next customer." Then his sadness turned into excitement. "Kaiba's tournament starts today and I wouldn't miss it for the world! Ho, ho! I'll close up the shop a little early," then he went inside and got the closed sign. "Like right now!"

Upstairs in his room, Yugi and Yami finished reconstructing their deck for the tournament. "You've assembled a powerful deck, Yugi," Yami told him.

"What if it's not good enough?"

"There comes a time when there's nothing left to do but believe in the deck you've created."

"I guess you're right," Yugi said. "This tournament won't be easy, but we'll be in this together. And we'll have the strength of all of our friends. It's our destiny to win this. You stood by me and helped me to rescue my grandfather from Pegasus, now it's my turn to stand by you. You already saved the entire world five thousand years ago, but you had to do it alone. This time you have my help."

"Right," said Yami. Now they were ready to get out there and face their destiny.

Joey spent the morning trying to think of a way to find the Rare Hunter and get back his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. But he had a hard time thinking because he didn't know where or if he'd be able to find him. So hard, he got a headache and lied on the floor. Man, why'd Serenity have to get all the brains in the family? I mean, sure, I got the good looks, but- "Serenity! I almost let the duel distract me from checking up on my little sister!" Joey reached for the phone and dialed the number to Serenity's room.

Tristan's voice was heard. "Hello, Serenity Wheeler's room."

"Whaaa!?" Joey yelped. "Tristan, is that you?"

"Joey, what a coincidence, Serenity and I were just talking about you."

"You were? Hey, what do you think you're doing in my sister's room?" Joey demanded, hoping Tristan wasn't hitting on Serenity.

"Well, I know how busy you are preparing for the tournament, so I thought I'd keep Serenity company," Tristan answered.

"You're the last person she needs, Romeo!" Joey yelled over the phone.

Tristan handed the phone over to the bandaged auburn. Hey eyes had not yet fully recovered from her surgery. "Hey, Joey. Why didn't you tell me Tristan taught you everything you know about Duel Monsters or how you finished second in Duelist Kingdom thanks to his training or that you would have never won the money to pay for my surgery thanks to Tristan?"

Joey kept silent as he was hearing her questions. He couldn't believe what Tristan was telling his sister. Tristan took the phone back. "Best of luck in Battle City. And don't forget about that super three card combo I taught you. Bye." Then he hung up.

"Tristan," Joey snarled, though he knew his friend had hung up. "I'll kick your lying butt!"

Emily and Yugi met up at the clock tower in the square. They figured it would be a good place to meet. They also decided to wait for Joey. Kaiba would be announcing the start of the tournament soon, so they waited. While they did, Mai and Max showed up. "What a turnout, right?" Mai asked. "All losers."

"Well, there are some people I've never seen before," Emily said.

Mai paid no attention. "Oh, this is so exciting! I wonder who I should take on first."

"Yugi, I thought I'd see you buzzing around," said Weevil's voice. Everyone turned and saw him and Rex coming towards them.

"I'll never forget how you played me like a chump-a-saurus at Duelist Kingdom, Mai," Rex growled. "Now, it's payback time. I still like you, Max, but don't think you're off the hook either."

Weevil chuckled. "And don't think I forgot about you, Emily," he said, moving closer to her. "I intend to win this tournament and make you my crowning jewel. My deck is swarmed with rare and powerful insects that will defeat Yugi!" He started to chuckle again, but stopped as he felt Mako grab him from behind.

"Those are big words coming from such a small guppy."

"Hi, Mako," Emily said.

He heard her, but didn't return the greeting. He began to boast about his deck and winning it all. "My mighty denizens of the deep will overwhelm every one of your monsters."

Rex scoffed. "Your sardines will be crushed by my Dino horde." Last year in the regional tournament, Rex dueled Mako before he went on to duel Weevil.

But Mako's deck had changed. "Don't be too sure. My new Fortress Whale is mightier than your Two-Headed King Rex."

Weevil snickered. "Well, I have a monster in my deck that's superior to my Great Moth, but don't think I'll tell you what it is."

Mako lifted Weevil by the collar and began shaking him. "Well then, maybe I ought to shake it out of you, Weevil."

Yugi and the girls watched and sighed. "Some duelists never change," Mai groaned. It was natural of them to feud like this since their competition in the regionals.

Emily crossed her arms. "If I'm not mistaken, Weevil, you were the first one sent paddling home from Duelist Kingdom."

"Yeah," said Max. "I hope you remembered to bring your oars this time."

But Weevil, Rex, and Mako didn't pay any attention. "We'll settle this feud when the tournament begins," said Rex. Weevil and Mako agreed. As they parted ways, Weevil and Rex winked and blew kisses at Max and Emily, which made the girls look sick.

Mai and Max decided to head out too. "Yugi, don't forget, next time we meet, we're rivals."

Yugi and Emily continued to wait in the square for a little while before they decided to head to the roof of one of the nearby buildings. Perhaps they could get a better lookout for Joey. When they got to the top, Kaiba's blimp showed up in the sky and his face showed up on screen. "Greetings, duelists, and welcome to Battle City. It's time to put your dueling skills to the test. I hope none of you entered looking for friendly competition. Battle City's going to be an all-out war. In case you want to back out now, I'll let you know what you're in for. Anyone I decided was good enough to enter has been given their own duel disks. They keep a tracking chip that allows me to closely observe every one of your duels. You can duel with them anytime, anywhere.

"Now then, before every duel, both duelists must anti up their rarest card and the loser must forfeit their card to the winner. If you don't have the guts to risk losing your card, you should back out now. And anyone who's foolish enough can challenge me because I'll also be competing."

"Thought so," Emily said.

"And there's one duelist out there who I can't wait to meet."

"You're on, Kaiba," Yugi said.

"The first eight duelists who make it to the final round will be dueling in a hidden location. To find this location, you will need six locator cards. You've all received one with your duel disks. You must wager these locator cards for when you duel. But the finals are a long way and most of you will be eliminated by then. All right, everything I said and more can be found in my tournament rulebook. Remember that only one of you will be crowned the number one duelist," Kaiba finished.

"And that'll be me," Mai and Max said unison.

"All right, duelists. Let the tournament begin!"