Well, thank you all for being so patient with me. Things have been nuts lately. I'm hoping to upload more often in the near future, so thanks again for your support, reviews, views, and patience. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its plots and characters (human, monster, or otherwise). I only own my characters (human, monster, and otherwise) and plots. Enjoy!
'You've assembled a powerful deck,' Yami commented, setting the final arrangement of the Duel Monsters deck on the dresser.
Still, Yugi, in his spiritual form, was uneasy, 'What if it's not good enough to win?'
'There comes a time when there's nothing left to do but believe in the deck you've created,' Yami replied. He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued, 'Yugi, this tournament is unlike any challenge we've ever faced before.'
'Right,' Yugi nodded.
'The fate of the world depends on us, so you've got to be strong and trust in your cards.
Yugi countered, 'But there is still so much we don't know.'
'Our destiny will reveal itself when the time is right. According to Ishizu, an ancient evil force will return to threaten the world and you and I must defeat it by winning Kaiba's Battle City Tournament with this deck. If you believe in the heart of the cards, we can unlock the secrets of the past and save the world.'
Yugi smiled and nodded, 'Yeah! We can do this!'
Yami agreed, 'Yes, we can, but it won't be easy.'
'I'm ready to face whoever or whatever we have to. You stood by me and helped me rescue my grandpa from Pegasus, and now it's my turn to stand by you. I promise you and I will work together to figure out your past.'
Yami paid attention in slight surprise as Yugi continued, 'You already saved the entire world once five-thousand years ago, but there was one difference then—you had to do it alone and this time, you have me by your side to help you.'
The pharaoh nodded, 'Thank you.'
Both he and Yugi had their hands on the deck, both saying with the utmost determination, 'Let's duel!'
Meanwhile, at the Wheeler residence…
Joey ran his fingers through his blonde locks as he muttered, "I gotta figure out a way to win back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
He groaned out in frustration and fell on his back onto the carpeted living room floor, I can't believe I let that Rare Hunter take my best card and before the tournament even started! Why did Serenity have to get all the brains in the family? Yeah, I got the good looks, but-!
He gasped and bolted up as he grabbed the phone, "Serenity! Speaking of brains, I almost let that duel distract me from checking up on my little sister!"
Joey rapidly pressed the buttons and heard the dial tone ring, up until he heard the phone pick up on the other side,
"Hello? Serenity Wheeler's room."
Instantly recognizing the voice, Joey cried out incredulously, "Whaaat?! Tristan! Is that you?!"
"Joey! What a coincidence! Serenity and I were just talking about you."
"Huh? Ya were?" He asked, but then asked Tristan suspiciously, "Hey, what do ya think yer doin' in my sister's room?"
Tristan merely replied, "Well, I know how busy you are getting ready for the Battle City Tournament, so I thought I should keep Serenity company, right, pal?"
"YOU'RE THE LAST THING SHE NEEDS, ROMEO!" Joey shouted into the phone. Though he didn't hear it completely, the phone was passed on to his little sister on the other end of the receiver.
"Hi there, Joey," Serenity greeted. "Why didn't you ever tell me that Tristan taught you everything you know about Duel Monsters?"
Joey's face became a mix of shock and complete disbelief, "What?"
"Or that you finished second at Duelist Kingdom thanks to his training?"
"Whaaa?!" Joey was beyond angry, but he couldn't seem to let that show. Of course, he wouldn't want to take it out on his little sister in the first place.
"And you never mentioned that if it weren't for Tristan, you wouldn't have won the three million dollars to pay for my surgery. You're so lucky to have such a sweet caring guy as your friend."
All too soon after that, the conversation went back to Tristan as he said his quick goodbye, "Uhh…Best of luck in Battle City, and don't forget about that super three-card combo that I taught you. Bye!"
Just about three seconds after the phone call was ended, Joey's face contorted into one of total rage, "TRISTAN! I'LL KICK YER LYIN' BUTT!"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP BE-!
CRASH!
Anya groaned and turned over in her bed. Now she really regretted staying up and going through all of her cards and putting together her deck. If only she could get another five minutes of shut-eye…
Silent Magician closed his visible eye, letting out a quiet sigh. With a wave of his hand, he brought the broken alarm clock back up to the table, fixed as if it were brand new. He glided over to his duel master and shook her gently by the shoulder. Anya merely groaned and curled up even further.
Silent Magician sighed once again. Looks like they would be doing this the hard way…
He tapped Anya's duel disc with his staff, calling forth another one of his "deck mates." A dim glow shone through as another monster emerged from the deck. The Decoy Dragon shook his little head and sniffed at the air. His attention was caught when the silent sorcerer pointed to him, and then to Anya.
Decoy Dragon growled out happily as it flew down and gripped onto the blanket with his fangs and claws. He pulled harshly at it, ripping it right off of Anya's body. Still, she didn't move and Silent Magician was most definitely not amused.
Bringing his staff up, the tip took on a light blue glow. Anya yelped as the mattress suddenly tipped up, throwing her onto the floor while it gently was set back into place.
As if nothing had happened, Silent Magician leaned down and patted her shoulder. She slammed her palms on the hardwood floor and exclaimed, "All right, I'm up!"
She got up off of the floor and rubbed her eyes as Decoy Dragon screeched out, Master! Don't you remember? You said you would be meeting your friend soon! He's expecting you in ten minutes!
"Oh, right! Battle City starts today!" Anya perked up with a grin, as if the current situation never happened. She went right into her closet, rummaging until she was fully dressed. "I can't keep Yugi waiting!"
Decoy Dragon merged back into the deck as Anya grabbed onto her duel disc. Silent Magician squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose before his own form disappeared into the deck.
"Sorry again for being a bit late, Yugi," Anya said to her friend as the two were wandering downtown Domino. Many other duelists were there and anxious for the tournament to begin.
"Don't worry about it," he responded. "You seem to be in a very good mood. Excited about the tournament?"
"Yeah, a little, but what I'm really happy about are my new cards! I finally got the cards I needed to use my Black Rose Dragon. I'm so stoked!"
"That's great, Anya! And just in time for today," Yugi felt happy for her, truly happy. He frowned a bit as he held up a clear card with what looked like a puzzle piece. "This clear card was in the same package as the duel disc. Looks like it's part of a map."
Anya held up her clear card, though it had a differently shaped piece, "I think Kaiba missed a few pieces. Must be a new twist or something…"
"Yeah," Yugi nodded.
"Yugi! Anya!"
The two turned and were happy to see a familiar face. Mai ran towards them waving with a smile. Considering her attitude towards them in Duelist Kingdom, it was quite a transformation.
"Hey, Mai!" Yugi greeted.
"Pretty big turnout for this thing," Mai said, looking around at the competition. "All losers."
Yugi merely replied to that, "Well, there's a lot of duelists here I've never seen before."
"Oh, this is so exciting! I wonder whose butt I should kick first in this tournament."
Just then, another familiar voice, one mostly unwanted, called out, "Yugi, I thought I'd see you buzzing around."
The three glanced up at the familiar voice and saw its source. Yugi and Mai were not ecstatic in the least. Anya, however, just wanted to shut them out of existence.
Looking as resentful as ever at them were Weevil and Rex. Both had duel discs, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the fact that they thought they ever had a chance to beat Yugi, Joey, or Anya even once.
"If it isn't Rex Raptor and Weevil. I thought I smelled something…" Mai said.
"I'll never forget how you played me like a chump-a-saurus in Duelist Kingdom, Mai. Now it's payback time," Rex replied with determination.
Weevil snickered menacingly as he said, "And Yugi, next time we duel, you won't be so lucky. My deck is infested with swarms of rare and powerful insects!"
Weevil didn't even get through much of his high-pitched snickering before a pair of tanned arms locked around his neck, "Those are large words coming from such a small guppy."
If Anya had held any discomfort before, it instantly disappeared as she smiled and waved, "Hey, Mako!"
He released Weevil, letting him catch his breath, "If anyone shall make any waves, it will be me!"
Weevil indignantly turned to him and growled, "You think you'll win this tournament?!"
However, Mako wasn't swayed as he replied, "Of course. There's nothing that can withstand my mighty denizens of the deep."
Rex crossed his arms with a smirk, "Your sardines will be crushed by my dino horde!"
"Don't be so sure. My brand-new Fortress Whale card is much mightier than your Two-Headed King Rex."
During this scuffle, a new look came across those that seemed to have been cast out of the conversation. Mai seemed to be a bit disbelieving that it was actually happening. Yugi seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassed. Anya, well, she was just plain trying to hold in her laughter. Boys could be such dorks…
"Well I have a monster far superior to my Great Moth," Weevil stated, but then added, "but don't think I'll tell you what it is."
Mako then took him by the collar of his jacket and shook him violently, "Well, maybe I can just shake it out of you, Weevil!"
Mai rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "Some duelists just never change."
Anya arched an eyebrow, "Were you expecting a miracle?"
Meanwhile, unknown to them, the duelists were being stalked, so to speak. A Rare Hunter sat in plain sight in a café with nothing more than a portable computer and a cup of tea.
"Their rare cards will make fine additions to my master's collection. The only question is which card shall I acquire first?"
"We'll settle this feud later when the tournament begins!" Rex glowered out, each of the boys glaring at each other.
"Fine. I will be waiting," Mako replied, just before the boys split off into the crowd.
After a brief moment of silence, Mai said, "I think I'll head off. Remember you two, next time we meet, we're rivals."
"Bring it on!" Anya smirked, holding up her duel disk in challenge. "I'm ready to go!"
"Yup. You and Wheeler were made for each other," Mai shook her head, walking off into the crowd.
Yugi laughed lightly as he told her, "She's right, you know. You two seem to even each other out nicely."
Anya smiled and nodded. She had no need to comment on that any further. It was, in all honesty, true.
"Speaking of evening each other out, we better find that boy before he does something incredibly rash…like always."
As they awaited the beginning of the tournament, the two had walked around, searching for their loud-mouthed blonde friend. They did so with no such luck.
"Kaiba should be announcing the start of the Battle City tournament any second now," Yugi muttered.
"…and still no Joey Wheeler to be found anywhere," Anya commented.
"I hope he shows up before this starts."
"Greetings, duelists. Welcome to Battle City."
The two looked up to the blimp that caused a dark shadow to be cast over a good bit of the city. And right on the gigantic flat screen upon that blimp was none other than the master of ceremonies himself, Seto Kaiba.
"It's time to put your dueling skills to the test. I hope none of you entered my tournament looking for friendly competition. Battle City's gonna be an all-out war. Before my Battle City Tournament begins, I thought I'd let you know what you're in for, in case you want to back out now."
"Not likely…" Anya mumbled.
"Let's begin with my new duel disks. Everyone who I decided was good enough to enter received one. With it, you can duel anytime, anywhere, and they contain a tracking chip that allows me to watch every move you make."
"Next, let's talk about the most important tournament rule. The loser of each duel is required to fork over their rarest card to the winner. If you don't have the guts to risk losing your precious cards, then I suggest you forfeit now."
"Once again, not likely…" Anya repeated, though she had to admit she had to put much more effort into that one. It would crush her to have to give up any one of her monsters, but if that's the condition she has to accept to help Yugi, then so be it.
"…And anyone who's foolish enough can challenge me to a duel because I'll also be competing in this tournament."
"Thought so," Yugi confirmed.
"But don't get your hopes up because I intend to win, and there's one duelist out there I can't wait to defeat…"
Anya smirked softly, her aquamarine eyes drifting down to her short friend, "I'd bet money against anyone who would guess who he was talking about."
Yugi nodded, "You're on, Kaiba."
"And speaking of winning, only the twelve best duelists will make it to the final round, and these finals will be held in a hidden location. In order to find the finals, you'll need these locator cards."
Ah, so explains the mystery of the clear cards. Yugi and Anya held there's up as Kaiba continued to explain,
"You've each received one with your duel disk, but don't get too excited because one's not enough. You'll need six of them to make it to the tournament finals. Every time you win a duel you get a locator card from your losing opponent. When six cards are stacked together, they produce a map of Battle City and activate a global positioning satellite, which will transmit the location to you, but the tournament finals are a long time away and most of you will be eliminated way before that. All right, everything I just said and more can be found in my tournament rulebook. Just remember, only one player can win and claim the title of number-one duelist in the world. Now get ready, duelists. Let the tournament begin!"
And even from their place on top of a building, they heard all the duelists below go absolutely nuts. Most of them were probably off to find their first duel of the tournament.
"Time to get to work then, I suppose…" Anya said.
"Where are ya, ya creep!"
And there goes their blonde little disaster right then. Down past the metallic fence, they saw their own Joey Wheeler equipped with his duel disk, but was obviously steaming. That combination was never a good sign…
"Well, so much prey, so little time. Who shall I hunt first?" asked the Rare Hunter as he scrolled through his list of prey. Each duelist in the Battle City Tournament was loaded onto his screen including their information: name, picture, ranking, and rarest card in their deck.
"Hey, freak! I knew I'd find ya!"
"Hmm?" he lifted his head and saw none other than Joey Wheeler, pointing an accusing finger at him. The Rare Hunter scoffed,
"Heh! Didn't you learn your lesson?"
"Yeah, never let an old creep in a cape slap ya around!"
"You fool," he chuckled.
Joey gritted his teeth as he continued to rant, "Listen, you got my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and I want it back, so it's time to duel! You ready ta duel me so I can win back my Red-Eyes?"
However, the Rare Hunter merely laughed, "I have no desire to duel you. I've already relieved you of your rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon. My hunt for your deck is over, and my prey's already been captured."
That just seemed to drive Joey further to the brink, "Well that's too bad 'cause I'm not leaving till I win back my Red-Eyes!"
"Joey! What's going on?"
"What's got you so fired up this time, Wheeler?"
Joey peered over his shoulder, seeing his best friend and his girlfriend approaching. Both seemed to be concerned and it seemed to grow as they drew closer.
"What are you yelling about?" Yugi asked.
He and Anya gasped at what the problem was: the Rare Hunter that sat just feet away from their companion. The man was dressed just like Bandit Keith when he tried to steal and destroy the Millennium Puzzle!
The Rare Hunter had caught sight of them as well, but instantly identified his newest prey, Yugi Muto! He has the item my master desires!
"That's one of the goons who swiped my Red-Eyes!"
"Hmm," Anya tipped her head forward slightly, her eyes narrowing and becoming more intense. So this is the guy who has no class, forcing Joey into a duel and taking his card by force.
That robe! He's dressed just like Bandit Keith was! Can he be the one' who's after my Millennium Puzzle? Yugi thought to himself. First Pegasus, then the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring, and now this guy?
"They call themselves Rare Hunters, which to me translates into 'cape-wearin' card takin' freak-a-zoids'! And this one owes me a rematch so I can win back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
Silently, the Rare Hunter closed his computer and stood, "I already told you, you have nothing that's of any interest to me, but perhaps your friend would be interested in being my next victim. It would be my pleasure to hunt the Duelist Kingdom champion and snare his Dark Magician, so I challenge Yugi Muto to a duel!"
"Look, this is between you and me, got it?" Joey interrupted. There was no way he was getting his pal involved in something that was his own fault!
"Joey, wait. Fine, Rare Hunter! I accept your challenge!" Yugi exclaimed. Joey looked at him surprised,
"But Yug-!"
"It's the only way to get back your Red-Eyes Black Dragon! I promise you I'll beat him, Joey!"
In that moment, Yami's spirit had taken Yugi's place, giving him is signature air of seriousness.
"So do we have a deal, Rare Hunter?" he asked. "As my first Battle City opponent, if you lose, you must return Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon! And if you win this duel, I'll hand over my Dark Magician to you."
"Yugi, there's no way I'm letting you risk your Dark Magician! I can take'im," Joey told his friend. "I'll never forgive myself if that ugly bum takes your most valuable card. I'll deal with this. It's my-!"
Yami held up a hand to stop him, "Thank you, Joey, but I must duel this Rare Hunter. I'll have to risk losing my Dark Magician eventually. This is my first Battle City duel and the first step in fulfilling my destiny."
"Joey, he's right," Anya reassured him, gripping his shoulder. "Let him handle this. If anyone can trounce this guy, it's Yugi."
"Let's get on with this hunt already," the hunter interrupted their sentimental moment. "The sooner I can take my prize, the better."
Yami nodded to his friends before confronting his opponent, "I'm ready to duel whenever you are, Rare Hunter!"
"Yug, wait!" Joey suddenly called out. He had almost forgotten the Exodia cards in the Rare Hunter's deck! He couldn't let Yami duel without that knowledge!
"Don't even think about revealing my strategy, Joey Wheeler. If you say a word about how I defeated you, I'll tear your Red-Eyes Black Dragon to shreds," the Rare Hunter warned him as he removed his cloak, "so I'd give my mouth a rest if I were you and allow me to stalk the Duelist Kingdom Champion and take his Dark Magician without your commentary."
"Fine," Yami held up his duel disk, inserting his deck into it as he continued, "I'll duel you one-on-one. Activate hologramers!"
The duel disks shot out the small holographic projection devices, being extra careful to spread out to cover the entire field. Once they were in place, they began to glow in a multitude of colors. Once in place, both duel disks activated, unwinding before a total of 4000 life points appeared for each duelist.
LP: 4000/4000
"I draw first. Get ready," Yami drew from his deck.
The Rare Hunter, however, looked at his hand and couldn't be more pleased, Excellent! I already have two pieces of Exodia. When I assemble all five pieces , I'll summon the all-powerful Exodia the Forbidden One and obliterate Yugi!
As Anya and Joey watched on, the latter couldn't help but interrupt again, "Yug! Watch out for-!"
"Silence, Wheeler, or say goodbye to your Red-Eyes!"
Joey's brown eyes intensified at that, but Anya merely kept a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder. She didn't know what more she could do to keep him calm. She said all she could and didn't want his most precious card to be torn up because he was his same old irrational self and end up regretting it later.
"To start off, I place two cards face-down on the field," Yami began, and two cards appeared right in front of him. "Next, I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600) in attack mode!"
Beta came to the field, but of course, no duelist could attack until the first turn is over.
"Can you handle my newest monster?"
Now it was the Rare Hunter's turn. He drew from his deck, "My first card will be—heh! Just what I suspected! Graceful Charity lets me draw three cards and I discard two."
That makes no sense. Unless you're desperate to dig something out of your deck, there's no point in using that card, Anya thought, narrowing her eyes slightly. Perhaps that has something to do with this secret strategy he used to beat Joey.
Excellent! The third piece of Exodia. Only two more pieces left!
"If only you knew what was in my hand waiting, you'd forfeit now and relinquish your Dark Magician," he taunted.
Yami merely replied, "Never! I may not know what's in your hand, but my trap card Light of Intervention reveals all your hidden monsters on the field. There will be no surprise attacks from you!"
However, this didn't seem to faze the Rare Hunter at all, "Hmm, doesn't matter. Stone Statue of the Aztecs (300/2000)! In defense mode!"
He must be waiting for something, Yami reasoned, but continued with his turn anyway.
"It's time for your stone statue to crumble," he drew his next card and made his move. "Now, by Battle City rules, I sacrifice my weaker magnet warrior to summon the almighty Berfomet and he is able to bring forth Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts! That's not all! Now I use Polymerization to fuse them together, forming Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!"
"Nice," Anya nodded.
"On my next turn, my all-powerful Chimera will erode your stone statue into tiny pieces of rubble. Then, according to Battle City rules, once you have no monster's left on the field, I can attack your life points directly!"
Forget about what's on the field, worry about what's in his hand! Joey thought apprehensively.
"Very impressive, but you'll need more than that to scare off the hunter!" the Rare Hunter responded.
"Listen, Yug, this guy's got a plan to wipe you out!" Joey spoke out again. "Check out the grin on that ugly kisser of his! This is exactly what the old creep did ta me! He's got somethin' in his hand that's gonna-!"
"Silence, Wheeler!" the Rare Hunter barked. "One more word out of you and say good-bye to your red-eyes forever!"
"Joey, you need to cool it! Whatever it is, we can't let Yugi get distracted!" Anywa tried to reason with him.
"I'll end my turn by placing this card face down on the field!"
The Rare Hunter then drew the card for his next turn, "I predict another Graceful Charity. Hmm, imagine that. I was correct! I draw three more cards and discard two."
Anya couldn't help but arch an eyebrow, "There's no way someone can use Graceful Charity that many times and not have something up their sleeve. Why is he just stalling?"
Excellent, now I have four pieces. I only need one more to summon Exodia that will obliterate Yugi in one attack! He's about to lose his Dark Magician forever!
"Yugi, your Dark Magician is as good as mine!" he gloated. Once I assemble all the pieces of Exodia, this hunt will end! And with the help of some invisible ink and x-ray contact lenses, I'll know exactly what card I'll draw next.
And, as luck would have it for the hunter, the final piece of the Exodia puzzle was at the top of his deck. The Left Arm of the Forbidden One. Once that card was drawn on the next turn, Exodia would be able to be summoned and obliterate Yugi from the Battle City Tournament!
"Now, I'll strengthen my defenses! Hmm. To protect me, Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200)! Even your Chimera's not powerful enough to destroy it! What are you going to do now, Yugi? You can't beat me if you can't get by my defenses!"
"You may be protecting your life points with fortresses and stone walls, Rare Hunter, but in order for you to win this duel, you must attack me eventually, so what are you waiting for?" Yami asked.
With a sinister grin, he answered cryptically, "Oh, you'll find out soon enough, Yugi, so go ahead and make your move! The hunter will strike his prey when the time is right!"
Anya felt Joey tremble under her hand and didn't bother to stop him from his outburst, which effectively caught Yami's attention, "Hey, Yug! Hold it! I can't stand by and watch this. No way! I won't let you lose your Dark Magician for me!"
"That's enough, Joey!"
This stunned both Joey and Anya. If Joey had interrupted this many times, it was obviously important, so why wouldn't Yami let Joey continue?
"You must not reveal the Rare Hunter's strategy. I will defeat him," Yami told him sternly. "You're my friend, Joey, and I'm fighting this duel for you just as you would do for me."
Joey nodded slightly, "You're right."
"Do you remember the time Weevil threw my Exodia cards into the ocean? You risked your life to try to get my cards back, not just because Exodia is the most powerful card in the game, but because I was a friend in need."
Weevil, that underhanded, condescending, pitiful excuse for a dueling mosquito, Anya remembered that night perfectly. She had no regrets of using her energy to help Joey and Yugi out of the ocean after jumping off of the ship, but she still wished she had a chance to stomp him out and wipe the remains on the grass…
"I'm onto you! I know your strategy, Rare Hunter!"
This caught everyone by surprise, especially the Rare Hunter. Anya didn't quite understand how any of that helped him, but then again she's seen stranger things happen in his duels.
"You're planning to summon Exodia, the Forbidden One!"
"All right!" Joey grinned from ear to ear. So, that's how he was defeated in that duel. That at least brought some relief to Anya, seeing as Joey was not so easily beat. Well, to her he wasn't.
Yami gave a thumbs-up to Joey, "Thank you, Joey. You allowed me to figure out his strategy without actually telling it to me."
Joey responded with a thumbs-up of his own, but then the Rare Hunter shook off his daze and said, "Just because you figured out my strategy doesn't mean you can stop me from succeeding. Everyone knows Exodia's the most powerful Creature in Duel Monsters! How will you stop the unstoppable Exodia?"
Yami merely smirked, "True. No one has ever defeated Exodia, but in order to win back Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I'll be the first."