"Bakura's presence is a terrible omen," Atem said as he paced the floor, The Battle City tournament was on in an hour, and the Sailor Scouts were on their way to the game shop to meet with Yugi and himself. "And to openly attack Serena… a very bold challenge, as far as I'm concerned," He continued.

"I'd say Bakura was sending a message, bro. He wants us to know that he's here, that danger and trouble could be around any corner. He wants to put us on edge," Yugi agreed. His attention was drawn to the door as the bell jingled to announce guests. As predicted, the Scouts all filed into the shop and sat around the lounge table, where Joey as well as Atem and Yugi were already present.

"OK, so give me the 4-1-1. What's going on here? Serena told us some jackass named Bakura attacked her with a dragon last night and that you saved her butt." Lita said bluntly. Atem nodded.

"Bakura is an enemy of mine from the ancient sands of Egypt. Back then, he was a masterful thief who killed many a man in his travels. He attempted many times to gather and steal the Millenium Items after sealing his spirit in the Ring. He got his hands on the Millenium Eye, which he eventually gave to Seto Kaiba. It's complicated," He explained.

"And what precisely were those… things that attacked me?" Serena wondered. Atem sighed.

"Those were Duel Monsters brought to life by Bakura's shadow powers… He, being the spirit of a Millenium Item, has powers derived from a place called the Shadow Realm. You remember me telling you about the ancient Shadow Games, right?" He asked. Everyone nodded. "Well, back then we used dark shadow magic to bring the creatures to life. That same magic was used last night by Bakura and I. However, that wasn't the only sort of power used last night, was it?" Atem turn to Serena with a smile.

"That was the power of my Moon Prism," Serena said with a nod, holding up the crystal. "We each have one… They allow us to transform into our Sailor forms," She explained. Atem nodded, then quickly frowned.

"It's strange… I've seen Bakura use the Morphing Jar before. But that dragon… Bakura has some new strategy in his Deck. Keep that in mind if even you duel him," Atem warned. The Scouts, Yugi and Joey all nodded.

"Well, if Bakura wants to play with dragons we can just let Mr. Moneybags take care of him," Joey commented. "Speaking of…" He added as the lounge TV suddenly cut to Seto Kaiba's face in his office.

"He's allowed to just cut in on the TV programs?" Serena wondered.

"Serena, Duel Monsters is a HUGE deal around dese parts and Moneybags is a big name in it. Yeah, they let him butt in from time to time," Joey said as Kaiba began to speak.

"I am Seto Kaiba. For the few of you that have been living under a rock, I am the CEO of KaibaCorp. As of now, KaibaCorp is announcing the Battle City tournament to begin! See you on the field," He said before the program cut back in. Joey grinned as he slid his Duel Disk on.

"Alright, let da games begin!" He said before rushing out the door to find his first opponent. Everyone blinked, half-expecting to see a cartoon dust cloud in his wake. Atem smiled and shook his head.

"That's Joey for you… We really should split up. Meet back here at lunch?" Yugi suggested. Serena looked to the Scouts, who nodded in agreement. "Alright, cool. See you later, then," He said. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed in different directions.

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"So… everyone wearing a Duel Disk is eligible to challenge?" Amy wondered to herself. She had wandered over to the scene of Bakura and Serena's battle, looking around and seeing several Duels in progress. A shout of "Yo! Blue!" caught her attention, causing her to turn around.

"My name is Amy," She said politely but firmly. The man facing her had spiky black hair and what looked like a school uniform, but black. From the looks of him, he was more of a Seto Kaiba- type person than anything else. He gave a nod of acknowledgement and gave her a once-over.

"Well, Amy, let's duel for the Battle City tournament. I see you have a Duel Disk," He said, indicating the device on her arm. She raised an eyebrow and finally decided.

"Sure, but may I ask who exactly I'm facing off against?" She asked as she started up her Disk. He nodded and pressed the button to activate his Disk as well, sliding his deck in as he spoke.

"The name's Chazz Princeton. Top of my graduation class at Duel Academy," he added as he drew his opening hand. She arched an eyebrow again.

"Academy? There's a school for this game?" She wondered. He nodded. "Geez. Must be a popular game in this area…" He gave a short, barking laugh.

"Of course it is. It's only the most popular card game there is," He said. He drew his sixth card and eyed his hand. "I'm starting by playing Golem Dragon in Defense Mode (200/2000)! I'll Set two cards and it's your turn," He said as a dragon with massive forearms appeared..

"Draw! And I'll play… Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" Amy announced. A blonde-haired man in a purple suit rose to the field (1200/800). "And since all my Monsters are Level 2 or lower, he can bypass that big dragon and attack you directly! Icicle Spear Strike!" She ordered. Dewdark charged and leapt over Chazz's dragon, raining spears of ice on his head (8000 6800) before performing a neat flip back to Amy.

"I'll lay two cards facedown as well before I end my turn," She added. Chazz nodded and drew as a small crowd of spectators began to form around the two duelists.

"Alright, you called down the thunder and now you're gonna it. I activate my facedown Twin Dragons! I'm now allowed to Summon one Dragon from my hand as long as it has the same Level as Golem Dragon, so I'll call forth Lancer Lindwurm!" Chazz said as his card flipped. A gold-armored green dragon summoned to the field with a large spear in its hand (1800/1200). "He's not staying, though. I play the Dragonic Tactics card, Tributing two Dragons I control to Summon a Level 8 Dragon from my Deck! Burning Dragon, in Attack Mode!"

"From your deck?" Amy was shocked at the sudden power play. Both of his monsters disappeared in a whirldwind to be replaced by a flaming hulk of a dragon descending from the skies (2500/2100). Chazz smirked as it came to rest on his field. Man, is this guy Kaiba's son or what? He's got the dragons, the attitude and everything, Amy thought.

"When Burning Dragon is Summoned, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are annihilated!" Chazz said as a wave of flames spread out from the dragon. Amy cursed silently as her Ice Barrier and Claymore Mine cards were obliterated. "I'll Chain my card, Dragon's Descent! It allows me Special Summon another Level 4 Dragon from my hand! I'll play Guivre!" A dragon that Burning Dragon dwarfed appeared next to the flaming behemoth, its small head directed straight at Dewdark (1300/400).

"I attack Dewdark with Guivre!" He said, The dragon reared back and shot a fireball at her monster, shattering it on contact (80007900). "When Guivre destroys a monster in battle, I get a Wyvern Token (400/400)," He added as a small, almost infantile dragon appeared. "Now, Burning Dragon! Incineration Charge!" Amy held her arms up in self-defense as the dragon flew toward her and slammed her with a flaming claw (7900 5400). "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Amy gulped. Such force on his side of the field… She looked at her hand. Dai-Sojo was of no use… She supposed Strategist could help her draw a card, but for what? And Gantala couldn't be played either.. No monster in her hand could match Burning Dragon, which was rather fitting. She began to move her hand to her deck in surrender when a voice stopped her.

"You're giving up already?" Amy's head shot up to see Atem in the crowd, his arms crossed. "This match is far from over, Amy!" He said. Amy looked at him for a moment, then finally nodded. She closed her eyes and put two fingers on her deck.

Come on, deck. Don't fail me! She thought as she drew. Looking at her card, she furrowed her eyebrows. Cryomancer! Now if only I could summon twice… "I'll lay it all on this! Strategist of the Ice Barrier, in Attack Mode!" And old man in blue robes appeared (1600/1600). "I discard Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier in order to draw one card!" She announced. Drawing her card, her eyes lit up. "I play Monster Reborn to Special Summon my Cryomancer back to the field!" Another man, this time in a tan outfit with an icy sword rose up (1300/0). "That's all for now," She finished. Chazz laughed and drew.

"Burning Dragon, attack Cryomancer with Incineration Charge!" He ordered. After a moment, he blinked. "I said charge!" He said again. Amy gave an infuriating smile. "What's going on here?" He demanded.

"Rather simple, actually. So long as my Cryomancer and one other Ice Barrier monster are on the field, monsters of Level 4 or higher are unable to attack!" She explained. Chazz exhaled impatiently and motioned to pass turn. She drew and smiled again.

"I play Medallion of the Ice Barrier!" She said. "This card gives me an Ice Barrier Monster to my hand. And I choose Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier, which I will then Summon!" She said. A woman bearing remarkable resemblance to Amy herself rose up (1700/900). "I'll then activate her effect, revealing one Ice Barrier from my hand," she held up Dai-Sojo, "to return your one Spell or Trap to your hand," She finished. Chazz growled as he took his card back.

An Ice series of monsters… her heart is in her deck. But does she have enough belief in herself to lead it to victory? Atem thought. He looked at her eyes, which showed determination. She wants to win, that much I can tell. But she won't win this duel if she doesn't start showing some confidence in herself.

If I go on the offensive now and he counters, I have no way of fighting back. On the other hand, I want to do what I can now that he has no way to counteract an attack Amy was conflicted in her thoughts. She looked across and saw Chazz tapping his foot impatiently.

"Come on, Blue Bonnet. You gonna make your move or pass? I'd like to win sometime today, my time is rather valuable," He said. Amy narrowed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. Something inside her snapped, whether it be from Chazz's smart remarks or the pressure of the duel.

Atem's eyes widened from the sidelines as a powerful surge of energy hit him. What was that? The last time I felt that sort of power was when Jaden and Yusei were gearing up for our match against Paradox… was that Amy's dueling spirit breaking loose?

"Alright, that's it. I'll tune my Level 4 Dance Princess and Level 2 Cryomancer Tuner monster!" Amy said with a toughness new to Chazz, who instinctively took a step backwards. He'd heard of Synchro monsters but never seen one. "I play Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" She announced as a huge, blue and white dragon was Summoned. "I now activate the special ability of my Dragon! Discarding two cards from my hand, I can send two of yours TO your hand! Burning Dragon! Lance Lindwurm! Begone!" She commanded as she dumped her hand. "Now the coast is clear. Brionac, attack that Token with Freezing Whirlwind!" The dragon roared and unleashed a tornado blizzard (6800 4900).

"Strategist, Dewdark get in there with Ice Sword Slash!" She continued. The old man and warrior leapt in the air and slashed with the sword he'd just gain at Chazz (4900 2100). "That's all for now. Give me your best shot!" She challenged, surprising even herself as Chazz drew.

"Uh… Ok… I draw and play one face-down card. Then I'll activate Hopeful Future! Come on, spirit, don't fail me now," Amy heard him whisper. "Hopeful Future lets me draw two cards if I have no hand, so here we go," He said aloud. He smiled. "Now I activate my other face-down card, Dragon's Scent! Since you have two monsters on the field, I'm allowed to Special Summon Wish Dragon from my hand!" He said large-winged dragon with curved horns appeared.

"Then I'll sacrifice Wish Dragon for its special ability, summoning two Dragon Tokens which I will then sacrifice to Tribute Summon this! Light and Darkness Dragon!" He said with great confidence. Amy watched in awe as a massive dragon that was split between an angelic-winged, white-colored dragon and a demonic-looking one rose to the field (2800/2400). "This duel is over, Amy!"