Seeing the past, living the future

by Yuna Yami Mouto

It all started when the Mouto twins moved in with their grandpa in Domino City. Seto was living in hell until the "Demon child" came into his life and changed it for the better. They did not know one another, but a girl who was brave enough to stand up to him and his stepfather was enough to catch his interest. But there's something wrong with the girl, but what? Female Yami

48. Chapter 48 Dreams do come true!

A/N:I'd like to thank all my fateful followers, especially Red-Eyes-Black-Dragon, a guest ivystar and my new partner 4fireking!

To ivystar: I would like to thank you for the lovely review you gave this story and I hope you like it up to this point. I'm aware that there are a lot of mistakes but I hope it doesn't disturb your reading much. Please enjoy!

Here's chapter 48!

Yugi and his friends are camped in a meadow beside a lake in Professor Hawkins' trailer. Tristan and Duke sleep in bunk beds, while Joey lies sprawled across the bench seat at the table, snoring.

Rebecca wakes them by clanging a ladle on the bottom of a cast-iron frying pan. Joey leaps up, falling from the seat, while Duke bangs his head on the bunk above him, and Tristan leans out of the top bunk, wide-eyed. Téa comes in to join the smiling Rebecca, telling the guys that all they do is eat and sleep. Joey wants to know what her point is, and Duke asks what's for breakfast. Joey tells them to wake him up when it's chow time, and yawns, preparing to go back to sleep.

But then Rebecca asks where Yugi is. ''His spot on the couch is empty.''

Joey says he took off, and Tristan adds that he hates when Yugi does that.

''He probably went to find Yuna-san.'' They turn to see Arthur standing at the door of the little trailer. ''She ran off this morning, probably to the lake.''

00000

Yugi walks along a path through the woods. He was searching for his beloved older sister, who had refused to stay still after another dream last night. He stops at the edge of the lake to stretch, grateful for some peace and quiet.

He almost jumps straight into the lake as Yuna comes from behind him, saying that they needed all this time off. ''You and the others have been through quite a bit, little one.'' Yugi just looks at her, knowing that she will never admit that she had needed this vacation as much as the rest of them had.

''You know, Yuna ... Just because you are the Queen of Games doesn't mean that you have to act tough all the time. I'm your brother and I know that you also needed this, just as Seto did.'' Yugi cringes as he remembers the punishment that's awaiting him and the Bakuras and younger Kaibas for spying on the Dueling rivals. Yuna didn't show how much she minded it, but Seto had been beyond livid and it was enough for the both of them! He doubted that the younger Kaiba brothers will see the light of day for at the very least a month! And that includes the puppy-dog eyes treatment they are going to give Seto every day before it ends!

Yuna saw her brother's reaction and smiled gently at him. ''Don't worry, Aibou. Seto will let them out sooner than you may think.''

''Yeah right!'' Yugi scuffs. There was no way the CEO would forgive them so easily for interrupting his confession to his sister that easily. Seto was not a person who showed emotions easily or regularly, so it was a rarity that he had shown so much to Yuna during their stay on the small island. Much to their disappointment, the brunet was his old, cold CEO self the next morning and all through out the day, focusing on his work and only stopping for the meals and bathroom breaks. Yugi had seen how hurt and sad Yuna was that her rival had closed off to such an extent, but she didn't force him to open up.

It's been three days since they left the island and from all that the group knows, Kaiba Corp.'s newest project opens officially tomorrow with a Dueling tournament! Seto hadn't been in contact with the group at all so they don't know anything except what was on the news. In the meantime, the Egyptian families, along with Serenity and Solomon, had moved into Pegasus' mansion and the bikers were off with Dartz to search for their lost families. The last they heard of them was the morning before and it seems that they'd found Amelda's little brother two towns away from where they used to live. He was in an orphanage and healthy. The red-head was really excited when they video-chatted and even let Valon drape an arm around her waist. After that, they are going to search for Rafael's family, which Yuna insists lives in Mexico.

All in all, they're going great.

Mai had also left the lively bunch and the Moutos, saying that she wishes to make up with her family before returning for Seto's new project. She had spent three hours alone with Yuna, talking, shopping and such. Only Yuna was there to see her off as she mounted her red bike and sped off.

Mana and Mahad, already used to the California mansion, spent the last couple of days showing the others around and Mahad even took Ishizu on a double date with Bakura and Mana. Yuna had just yesterday talked with Mana about it for hours! Yugi had the biggest bags under his eyes when he woke up today!

Yuna, herself, felt refreshed. The three Legendary Dragons, along with the rest of the Orichalcos cards and the card of the Great Leviathan, were all locked away in her room in the Crafwords' mansion. Atlantis got a lot of attention, and despite her protests, she was claimed to be the one responsible for it's resurfacing. She had more admirers and fans than ever. Stan had called form Domino to inform Yugi and Solomon that the Kame Game Shop can no longer be seen under all that fan mail and Stan had thanked Yuna, saying he sold everything out!

The three God Monsters were once again with their rightful master and there were no maniacs out to get Yuna or her rival and friends. No one's life was at stake and her friends were all relaxing.

Yugi saw the relaxing of his sister's shoulders and he inwardly sighed in relief. He was glad that all that shit was over and done with, but he knew that Yuna won't stay passive for long. Actually, he doubted that she's gonna make it to noon before she sets out for a new adventure!

He was going to ask her about it, but he stopped as they heard approaching footsteps. Then Téa and Rebecca find Yugi and call out to him. Yuna smiles as Yugi turns to their friends and she does the same. Rebecca flings herself onto Yugi, knocking him onto the ground, while Téa twitches furiously. Rebecca declares that she was more worried about Yugi than Téa was, and he thanks her—he thinks—and asks if they can get up now.

Still twitching, Téa says that everyone's waiting.

Yugi glances at the Duel Queen and smiles.

Rebecca and Tea were slightly jealous as the smile on the girl's face makes her look even more enchanting than she normally is.

As Yugi and the two girls make their way back to the others, Yuna stays a little longer.

'I can feel it!' She thinks as she closes her eyes. 'A challenging air is rising! Seto's up to something crazy again!'

Yuna chuckled to herself. ''What are you up to now, my Card Prince?'' Whatever it was, she couldn't wait.

00000

Back at the trailer, they all sit at a camp table eating breakfast, and Joey tells Professor Hawkins he makes a mean dish of pasta. The professor tells them there's a lot more where that came from if they want to stay. Yugi thanks him, but says they should be getting back to town.

Rebecca is horrified, asking how he can leave when they haven't even gone out on a date yet!

Duke agrees. ''Not about the date, but that it's too soon to leave.''

Rebecca urges Yugi to stay for a vacation, and Duke says he'll be their tour guide.

Tristan also thinks they should stay and relax for once, and Joey says that if every meal is like this, he's moving in with the professor. And Téa tells Yugi that it is kind of nice here.

Before Yugi can answer, the phone rings inside the trailer, and Professor Hawkins goes to answer it. He responds in shock to what the person on the phone tells him.

Meanwhile, Joey asks Yugi for one good reason why they should go. Yugi just looks down and mumbles, but Téa has it figured out.

''It's because of Yuna, right?'' She might have asked sweetly, but she seriously still didn't get why the girl was such a big deal. Sure, Tea and Yuna are a lot closer now, but that doesn't really make them the best of friends. Yuna still ignores the brunette and Tea is still jealous of all the attention Yuna gets and so blatantly ignores.

Tristan understands, and Téa adds that Yugi has important stuff to deal with.

Then Yuna appears beside Yugi, surprising everyone at the suddenness of it, telling him that she's waited for a Duel with Seto for long, but another day or two will not hurt.

''Unless Seto gets really pissed at you guys.''

Thanking Yuna, Yugi tells the guys that they should stick around. Joey calls dibs on the lounge chair, while Duke claims the hammock.

Soon everyone is lounging by the lake. Téa asks the guys if they don't get tired of being tired. Joey says that's why they need a nap. Rebecca is snuggled up next to Yugi at the water's edge, holding his arm, asking if he thinks it's romantic, while he fidgets and blushes. Téa says that's enough vacationing for her, and Duke asks them when their ride back to the city is.

Joey and Tristan, Téa and Yugi all look up, suddenly realizing, as Joey points out, that Pegasus flew them there with Kaiba, and they can't afford flights home. Horrified, Tristan wonders why Joey didn't think of this before. Joey points out that it didn't occur to Tristan, either, and Yugi wonders, now what?

Yuna says nothing, still sunbathing and enjoying the weather. It wouldn't be long before winds disturb the peace.

Rebecca is happy enough to think that Yugi will have to stay, but Téa tells her not to count on it.

Just then, a sudden wind blows through the trees, and they look up to see the Kaiba Corp helicopter about to land in their meadow.

Yuna smirks at the sight, thinking how it was rather ironic how well she knows her rival.

Soon, they're greeted by Mokuba and Roland. Mokuba says they look like they could use a lift, and offers them a ride, which they gladly accept.

''Yeah!'' Joey exclaims. ''Moneybags finally pulls through for us! A'right! We're goin' first class!''

''But there's a catch—in exchange for the door-to-door service, you'll have to enter my brother's new dueling tournament.''

''WHAT!?'' The gang, except Yugi, exclaims as the youngest Kaiba arrogantly points to his brother's only rival.

00000

They adjourn back to the camp table by the trailer, and Mokuba asks if they've heard of the Kaibas' new theme park. Rebecca says it's been in every paper, and Mokuba says then they know it's about to open, and his brother wants to kick things off with a bang.

''Typical Seto.'' Yuna says with a nod as she gives Mokuba a smoothie.

''Thanks to Dartz and all that Doma shit, our stocks and reputation are a lot worse than they ever were in Kaiba Corp. history. Even with both Seto and Noah working on it, it's still not enough.''

''I see.''Yuna cautiously says. Mokuba was here for a reason, she knew that much. She has learned over the years to never underestimate a Kaiba, whichever it may be and Mokuba was most definitely not an exception.

''So we came up with the tournament idea to celebrate Kaiba Land's grand opening. Since Battle City was such a great hit, we thought why not.'' He shrugs. ''Nii-sama was happy with the idea and the best of the best have been invited to duke it out, but one is still needed.''

''Well,'' Joey puffed out his chest, ''It's nice that Kaiba finally realized what a great Duelist I am!''

Both Mokuba and Yugi snorted. ''I meant Yuna, as in the Queen of Games and Duel Queen!'' The raven-haired boy drawled. ''You know, as in the Duel Monsters Champion for five or more years now.'' He rolled his eyes in a very Kaibasque fashion.

Joey flushed in embarrassment. ''Right. I knew that!''

Tristan smirks at his friend. ''Right. Of course you do.'' For the sarcastic tone he received a punch from Joey.

Tea snorts. ''You're acting as though there's no tournament without her or something.''

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes once again. ''Did you ever hear anything about the tournaments without the Duel Queen there? The first world-wide talked Duel Monsters tournament was Duelist Kingdom and that was half because the new Gaming protégé who defeated my brother was going to attend. Any tournament that doesn't have the Queen of Games is considered a small duelist gathering. Nii-sama doesn't need that. He needs something big, something that will get people flooding through the gates of Kaiba Land. We'll gather the greatest duelists from around the world and let them play for the championship title. It will be the biggest thing since Battle City.''

Yugi smiled in excitement. ''Sounds awesome! I can't wait!''

Yuna nodded. ''So what's the name of this new tournament. Knowing Seto, it's something that everyone will rememberer.''

Mokuba smirked, very much like his brother had when he had informed Roland of the name. ''We call it the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship. Although Nii-sama is going to introduce it in Japan as KC Grand Prix. Says there's nothing wrong for the tournament to have two names.''

Yuna chuckles, knowing her arrogant rival could overdo things. ''Let me guess: It's because he couldn't decide which made him sound cooler, right?''

Mokuba blushed. The Game Queen knew him and his brothers all too mood for her not to realize the reason why the names were as they were. Seto's never going to live it down when he tells him how easily Yuna figured it out.

Yuna smirked at the blushing boy, knowing that his silence was answer enough.

Mokuba tells the gang that Kaiba expects to see them right away.

But Joey protests that he might want to try asking them first. ''Kaiba's not the boss of me.''

Tristan points out that since they can't get home without him, he does seem to have the upper hand. But Duke says Kaiba should have the decency to come and ask them for himself.

Mokuba looks a little guilty, but tells them that his brother is really busy right now. ''In fact, Seto's so wrapped up in his job that he won't even be participating in his own tournament.''

Yugi says that doesn't seem like Kaiba, but Joey thinks Kaiba's afraid of getting his butt kicked in public again. ''One more humiliating defeat, and his reputation would really be shot.''

Slamming his fist on the table, Mokuba insists that's not fair. He says his brother can't duel, he has too much to do, and tells Joey to try opening up a chain of amusement parks. ''It wasn't an easy decision for my brother to make. But he's doing this for our Kaiba Land dream.''

Yugi tries to placate Mokuba, while Téa yells at Joey, who allows that maybe he did get a little carried away.

Yuna glared at the blond, not believing how she was still friends with this group. They changed their minds about her closest friend faster than the wind blows.

Mokuba's ready to get down to business. He explains that they're inviting the top-ranked duelists from all over the globe to battle each other for a shot at the World Championship title.

''But to do that, as you know, we need the World Champ.''

Yugi turns to his sister, just as everyone else did, and was about to ask her but Yuna was already nodding at Mokuba. ''I'll be happy to help. I just hope that you guys will forgive me when I exit the park as the Queen of Games.''

Mokuba laughed as he threw his arms around her, thanking her. ''And I assure you, Seto would be really pissed if you lost!''

''I can't wait to see what Seto's made this time!'' Yugi says, joining Mokuba in hugging his sister.

Joey says if Yuna's in, so is he, and Rebecca also joins in, saying that where Yugi goes, she goes.

Mokuba says he was told to invite all three of them. He has tickets for Yuna, Rebecca, and Joey, and the next flight for Kaiba Land is boarding now!

00000

The Kaiba Corp helicopter flies over Kaiba Land, with Joey and Tristan, Mokuba and Duke staring out the windows.

Joey exclaims that it's huge, and Mokuba cheerfully tells him that they plan to open tons of these, all around the world. Téa says it looks like they've got every ride ever invented, and Rebecca, still clinging to Yugi, hopes they've got a Tunnel of Love.

Tea glares at Rebecca and Yugi, thinking that she wants to be with Yugi.

Mokuba bounced over to an amused Yuna and dragged her to the windows, showing her all that his brother made before anyone else could catch her attention. Joey and Duke glare, not believing how even the youngest Kaiba was ready to fight for the girl's attention.

The helicopter lands, and they enter the park, where Joey is startled to come face-to-face with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He jumps back, behind Yuna and Tristan has to reassure him that it's a statue.

00000

In an office across the park, two amused sapphires watch as the blond blushed in embarrassment. Seto leaned back in his chair, glad he instructed for the copter to land in front of the statues of his mighty beast.

00000

Kids buy Kuriboh balloons from Kaiba Land employees dressed as Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. They watch as kids ride a merry-go-round of Kuriboh and Scapegoats, while others ride a Blue-Eyes White Dragon roller-coaster. Téa says she thought the park hadn't opened yet, and Mokuba explains that these are special guests—and every ride is free today. Joey and Tristan gleefully plan to Tilt-A-Whirl till they hurl, while Téa groans that she needs some female friends.

The Game Queen smiles at the sight of all the joy she knew her rival never had in his youth, but that he wanted other orphans to have.

Finally, Mokuba leads them to the Kaiba Dome, a huge structure shaped like the head of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, with its fangs forming columns in front of the entrance. Gobsmacked by the huge dragon-shaped building, Joey says they're not dealing with normal people here. Duke agrees.

Yuna chuckles. Seto had unique tastes, and he loved his dragons a bit too much.

Inside, Mokuba says it's the world's largest indoor stadium, with their new state-of-the-art Duel Monsters platform. He says the duels will be televised worldwide, so the duelists had better not embarrass themselves.

They find a duel in progress, with the boy on one side ordering his monster (it's Gagagigo, 1850 ATK) to attack the opponent's Blade Knight (1600 ATK) and destroy it. The opponent, a computerized duelist called the KC DuelTek 760, activates its magic card, Scapegoat, creating four goat tokens on the field. The boy thinks that move makes no sense—why activate Scapegoat now? Joey tells Mokuba his state-of-the-art computer just made a mistake, but Mokuba tells him to just watch. Yugi has a feeling the computer's face-down card is a trap, and sure enough, the KC DuelTek 760 next activates DNA Surgery, turning every monster on the field into a dragon. The computer's Battle Ox and all the little Scapegoats become dragons, and so does the boy's Gagagigo. Now the computer plays Polymerization, fusing all five of its monsters to form the Five-Headed Dragon (Five God Dragon) (5000 ATK).

Joey says there's no way that kid can beat the digital duelist now, and Mokuba agrees, not a chance. The computer was programmed to mimic the strategies of the world's best duelists. They've imported Seto's deck, and Yugi's. Joey says that it must have his, too, and Tristan says that's so it can lose, too, just to be fair. Joey doesn't appreciate that.

Téa asks what fun it is to duel against a computer that always wins, and Mokuba says that the players can choose one of five levels, from beginner to expert. Yugi thinks it's an awesome way for kids to practice dueling and improve their skills, and Yuna agrees that with a few more duels like this, Luke could be a world champ.

The Five-Headed Dragon attacks, destroying the boy's monster and wiping out the rest of his life points. Disappointed, Luke descends from the dueling platform to his friends. One of them tells him he put up a good fight, he just set his level too high.

Just then, a loud ''Nee-chii!'' was heard and Yuna turned instinctively just in time for Noah to almost topple her over. The boy hugged the life out of the Duel Queen and Yuna chuckled at his enthusiasm. Then one of the kids recognizes Yuna, and they all run to get autographs. The kid who told Luke he put up a good fight introduces himself to Yuna as Leon, saying he's been a fan of Yuna's since Duelist Kingdom. Yuna shakes his hand and says it's nice to meet fans and young duelists, while other kids crowd around Rebecca, getting her autograph.

Joey asks if anyone wants his autograph, saying he was a Battle City finalist, but no one knows who he is. As Tristan teasingly asks if he knows Joey, Joey complains that he gets no respect.

Another boy, Rick, asks Yuna to take a look at his deck, saying that no matter what he does, he can't seem to win a duel. Yugi looks as his sister fans out the cards, which are all monsters. Joey says he sees the problem—all Rick has are dragon cards. Rick says dragons are his favorite, but Rebecca says he'll never win with this deck.

Yugi says it's obvious Rick values his cards, and that respect is going to take him far. But he also needs to balance his deck with magic and trap cards. Yuna agrres and asks Yugi to give her her extra deck, then gives Luke a card, Heart of the Underdog, saying it reminds her of a friend. Joey asks who the card reminds Yuna of, but Yugi says he'll tell him later.

Rick says he's going to test it out now, and runs back to the dueling platform. Mokuba advises him not to set the level too high, and Rick chooses Level Two.

Noah was a bit busy glaring at all the kids that were still trying to get his 'Nee-chii's' attention.

The duel is about to begin, when suddenly the power goes out. Joey jokes about the Kaiba boys forgetting to pay their electric bill, and Rebecca says there must still be some kinks in the system.

Running to the dueling platform, Mokuba says that's impossible. Working on the controls at the side of the platform, he tells everyone to stay calm. The platform lights back up—but at the same time, the stadium's emergency exits all close. They're trapped!

Noah steps away from Yuna and heads for his own computer which he left in one of the audience seats.

The computer's voice changes, and it announces that it's altering its original sequence. Mokuba continues to work frantically at the controls, but it's not responding. Rebecca takes over, plugging her laptop into the duel platform's controls.

''Just as I suspected,'' she says, ''The computer is being controlled by an outside party. The program is locked, and linked to the duel computer.''

Mokuba protests, why would someone do this? It's just an amusement park attraction.

Rebecca says they're probably using it to get something they want from the Kaibas.

''There's no doubt about it.'' The turn to the green-haired boy s he works on his laptop. ''Although that computer is used only for duels and shouldn't be connected to the building's systems, someone has hacked into the system and reprogrammed it. I'm sending a secret message to Seto straight away.'' He looked up at the kid on the platform. ''But until then, we need to keep out hacker busy.''

''But wait! Shouldn't Kaiba's security system throw the hacker out and give him the unpleasant surprise?''

Noah shakes his head. ''This computer doesn't have that defense. We haven't gotten all the bugs out and so we were going to do it tonight, separately from the main frame. If it had been connected to the main frame and something happened to this computer's system, the whole park's system would have been in the dumps!''

Joey and Tristan are about to go tear the computerized duelist to shreds, but Duke warns them if they do that, they might never get out of there. Rebecca says that the only way out of there is to defeat that computer in a duel.

''So,'' Téa says, ''Our fate is in the hands of that kid up there.''

The computer announces that it's time to duel.

Rick calls for help, saying he can't do this alone, as the computer summons Berserk Gorilla (2000 ATK). The computer adds one face-down card and ends its turn.

Then Yugi notices that the computer has reset the duel to Level Five, the toughest level. Rick thinks he's toast, and Mokuba agrees that Rick will never survive Level Five—he's just a beginner.

Yuna takes the situation over and leaps up onto the platform beside Rick, saying she'll take it from there.

Rick says it's cool.

Yuna says she'll bring Rick's deck to victory, but he has to have faith.

Everyone cheers them on, and Yuna says she doesn't know who's behind this, but whoever it is must be stopped.

'I must win! This is Seto's dream, and no one messes with my Card Prince!'

It's Yuna's turn.

Rick stands behind her, holding onto Yuna's coat, asking how they're supposed to beat an expert dueling computer? He thinks there's no way.

But Yuna says it's the person controlling the computer that worries her. 'After all, it's no small feat to get through the system without Seto noticing, even if this computer isn't connected to the main frame.'

Watching with the gang from below, Duke agrees that Kaiba's got some pretty scary enemies. Tristan wonders who would hack into an amusement park and trap fifty innocent people.

''With that deck, they'll never win.'' The dice master adds and Tristan agrees with him.

The kids start to cry, one little girl wailing that she wants her mom. Téa tries to reassure her, telling her that as soon as Yugi wins the duel, they'll all get out of there. Leon tells another boy to cheer up, that Yuna is the number one duelist in the world. ''There's no way she's going to lose to some machine.''

Joey agrees that it's no contest. ''That hunk of junk will be running home to its motherboard after Yuna's finished with it!''

The computer tells Yana to make her move, and Yana draws. She looks at her hand, thinking that with Rick's deck of all-dragon cards, this isn't going to be easy.

00000

Meanwhile, at Kaiba Corp, Kaiba is at his desk working on his computer, when he receives a message on the intercom that someone has infiltrated the Kaiba Dome central computer system.

Just then he receives Noah's message and he looks through the bits of program the kid had managed to record. His computer suddenly begins displaying code, then shows the views from inside the Kaiba Dome.

Kaiba asks how, as his computer screen shows the interior of the Kaiba Dome, with Yuna on the duel platform and the others standing around. The voice says he doesn't know, but everyone inside is being held captive.

Kaiba's first concern, naturally, is Mokuba.

'But this isn't just about Mokuba now! Yuna and Noah are there as well!'

00000

Yuna draws, and is surprised—and pleased—to see that Rick did have a magic card in his deck. So she summons Luster Dragon (1900 ATK) in attack mode, then plays Dragon Treasure, raising the attack and defense of every dragon on the field by 300 points.

Luster Dragon is now at 2200, strong enough to destroy Airknight Parshath and take the KC DuelTek 760's life points down to 3700.

Joey cheers, and Tristan says he'll take good old-fashioned brains over microchips any day.

Yuna ends her turn.

The duel computer draws. It returns Sinister Serpent to its hand from the graveyard. Next, it summons Slate Warrior (Newt) (1900 ATK).

Joey wonders what the computer is doing, summoning a monster that's weaker than Yuna's, and Tristan thinks it must have short-circuited after that last attack. But Rebecca says she doubts it, and tells them to watch.

Slate Warrior attacks Luster Dragon, destroying itself, and the computer is down to 3400 life points. But when Slate Warrior is destroyed in battle, its effect activates, lowering the attack and defense of the monster that destroyed it by 500 points. Luster Dragon's attack goes down to 1700. Now Berserk Gorilla can attack and destroy Luster Dragon, and Yuna loses another 300 life points, taking him down to 500. Robbin' Goblin's effect activates, and Yuna discards Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, leaving Baby Dragon the only card in her hand.

Tristan says this isn't good, and Duke says, if this keeps up, Yuna will lose all her best cards, and then it's all over!

Tristan doesn't like Duke's attitude, and grabs him by the lapels, telling him, how about a little encouragement?

The KC DuelTek 760 ends its turn.

Yuna draws, and summons Cave-Dwelling Dragon (2000 DEF) in defense.

Joey says he'd like to see old motormouth get through that! The duel computer draws, then sacrifices Berserk Gorilla to summon Jinzo (2400 ATK). All trap cards are now useless, and Robbin' Goblin is destroyed.

Joey is astonished to see that the computer has Jinzo in its deck.

Mokuba says he told him the computer has access to just about every card ever created! The computer uses Jinzo to destroy Yuna's dragon.

Yuna draws, and finally, she draws Heart of the Underdog (Bonkotsu no Iji), the card she gave Rick. She tells Rick this will bring out the true strength of his deck.

Téa asks what that card does, anyway, and Joey says it's best to just watch.

''Yuna's far to unpredictable for guessing games.''

Yuna summons Baby Dragon (700 DEF) in defense. Then she plays Heart of the Underdog.

Joey doesn't get it, asking what's that dog under?

Everyone laughs, and Tristan says that if anyone should know that card, it's Joey.

Duke says they should just call it "Heart of the Wheeler."

"Bonkotsu... ?" Joey asks. 'That sounds awfully familiar.'

''It's similar to 'someone'." Tristan says.

''And I know who~!'' Duke all but sang. ''Just be happy that the owner of the park isn't around.''

Rebecca cheers Yuna on, and Yuna tells the computer it's its move.

The computer draws, and summons Sinister Serpent (300 ATK) in attack. It uses Jinzo to attack and destroy Baby Dragon, then attacks Yuna directly with Sinister Serpent, taking Yuna down to 200 life points.

The computer ends its turn.

Yuna says it's time to end this.

She draws, and activates Heart of the Underdog's effect. If the card she draws is a monster, she can draw another card. She's drawn Curse of Dragon, so she draws another card, Koumori Dragon. It's also a monster, so she can draw again. She draws Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress, then Diamond Dragon, then Crawling Dragon, then Blackland Fire Dragon, and finally, Spirit Ryu.

Yuna summons Spirit Ryu (1000 ATK) in attack mode. She attacks Jinzo. Then she activates Spirit Ryu's effect, increasing its attack by 1000 points for every dragon she discards from her hand. She has six dragon cards, and she discards them all, raising Spirit Ryu's attack to 7000.

Jinzo is destroyed, and the KC DuelTek 760's life points are wiped out.

The lights come on, and the stadium doors open. Everyone cheers, and Leon says he knew Yuna would save them!

Tristan claims that he did, too, while Rebecca says ''Yeah, right.'' and Tristan sheepishly sweatdrops.

Yuna and Rick come down from the dueling platform, and Yuna hands Rick back his deck, telling him that it was his passion for his cards that saved them. The kids gather around Rick, trying to trade for his dragon cards, and Yugi and Yuna smile at each other.

00000

Aboard his jet, Zigfried von Schroider, the hacker, watches the action in the stadium on a computer screen, saying that this duel was merely one rose in his garden of mayhem.

As he looks at Yuna, he couldn't help but be impressed by the girl. ''No wonders how Yuna defeated Kaiba.'' He was far too interested in the Queen of Games, and as if the jealous Kaiba Corp King could sense this, Ziegfried got the scare of his life as Seto's infamous smirking face appeared on his screen. It was brief, but it did it's trick. if the computer hadn't starting releasing electricity through it's keyboard, Ziegfried would have punched it.

''Curse you Seto Kaiba!'' Yelled the pink haired man as the virus started taking effect.

00000

Outside the Kaiba Dome, parents are collecting their children. Yuna and the others come outside, Joey exclaiming that the good guys win again!

Rick thanks Yuna for the card, saying he'll take good care of it, then he runs off to his parents, telling them they'll never believe what happened.

Joey reminds Yuna that she said that the Heart of the Underdog card reminds her of someone.

Yuna hesitates, while Yugi plays it cool.

Yuna winks at Joey, leaving hid dumbfounded, then suddenly switches with Yugi, leaving a blushing Yugi in charge of the answer as the Duel Queen joins the younger Kaibas. Yugi yells at Yuna while she pretends not to hear.

Noah and Mokuba snicker, knowing this was a part of Yugi's punishment for the whole Truth or Dare thing.

Joey asks ''Well?'' and hooks his elbow around Yugi's neck, saying that everyone else seems to think it's Joey who reminds Yugi of this underdog...

Yugi tries to think of the best way to put it. He says the card makes him think of Joey because even when the odds are against him, he always pulls through.

Tristan says he can see Joey's business cards now: ''Joey Wheeler, Executive Underdog.''

Joey starts to yell at Tristan.

Meanwhile, a Kaiba Corp helicopter lands nearby, and a worried Kaiba leaps out, calling for Mokuba.

Mokuba runs up to him, and he asks if everything's all right.

Joey, followed by the rest of the gang, runs up behind Mokuba, telling Kaiba that he's a bit late to save the day—Yuna already did that. But now that Kaiba's here, he can fix that computer.

''Settle down, you underdog.'' The others laugh, while Joey fumes. ''What a Bonkotsu." The group positively exploded with laughter while Joey was as red as Yuna's eyes were.

The Duel Queen ignores her friends and in turn talks to the three Kaibas.

''Any news?''

Kaiba says there's nothing wrong with the computer—it's the hacker who broke in who's the wacko. Mokuba asks who it was, but Kaiba doesn't know. He says there's a long list of suspects. Kaiba Corp has its share of enemies, but he vows that the punk will be found and punished. Meanwhile, he orders Roland to triple security for the tournament registration that night. Roland rushes off to do his master's bidding.

Kaiba goes on to say that anyone who's late for registration will be disqualified, and tells Mokuba to make sure Wheeler's late. Joey's fairly sure he's been insulted, and yells at Kaiba as he walks away.

The CEO suddenly stops and Joey tenses, expecting to have finally pushed Kaiba beyond all limits and that the brunet was about to punch him, but Seto walks pass the underdog. The group watch with astonishment as he takes Yuna by the shoulders and pushes her towards the helicopter as he tells them all to hang out if they like, and tells Mokuba he'll leave it to him and Noah.

The group was a bit too shocked to do anything as Yuna protested about being manhandled like this as the cold CEO literally threw her over his shoulder when she planted her feet to the ground.

The helicopter lifted off with the two rivals inside.

00000

That night, they arrive at a ritzy party Kaiba's holding for the tournament registration.

Yugi asks Mokuba who all the people are.

Mokuba says they're trying to create a big buzz about the tournament, so they invited all the newspapers and television networks.

Tristan pops in front of one of the news cameras to wave hello to the world. Joey pulls him away, to introduce himself to the cameras as Joey Wheeler, two-time finalist, only to have Duke walk in front of him, saying he thinks it's obvious who they all came to see.

Rebecca, meanwhile, is enjoying the food, until a woman in a Chinese dress bumps into her. She tells Rebecca that the kiddie park is closed, and Rebecca angrily asks if she wants a piece of her.

Téa asks Rebecca what's wrong, and Rebecca points to the woman, who runs past them both to excitedly introduce herself Yugi, saying she'd recognize that adorable spiky hair anywhere. Her name is Vivian Wong, but she tells Yugi to call her Viv, winking at him while he blushes.

Rebecca tells Vivian to let go of Yugi, but she goes right on telling him that just because his sister and she'll be archrivals when the competition starts, doesn't mean they can't be buddies off the playing field.

She flings her arms around Yugi's neck, while Rebecca and Téa steam, and Joey, Tristan and Duke boggle.

Rebecca tells Vivian to let Yugi come up for air, and Vivian promptly lets him go—having spotted Seto Kaiba across the room. Vivian runs off, yoo-hooing to Kaiba.

Seto was horrified to see that his glare didn't work on this ditz and he actually stepped closer to Yuna, who was wearing Noah as a belt. When Yuna, annoyed by the afternoons events, looked up ti see Vivian trying to attach herself to Kaiba's arm, she felt her left eyebrow twitch and she walked away from her rival with a huff. Seeing this, the brunet flinched and Vivian smirked.

Now throughly annoyed, Seto turned his glare deadly and let all the murderous intent shine wickedly in his eyes and Vivian jumped back like a frightened rabbit.

As soon as he was free, Seto let his die-Gozaboro glare slip and he ran after Yuna. He really felt bad for how he had practically kidnapped her from her day of relaxation just so she could pose for pictures of the rides, attractions, the tournament, the games and such. Yuna had put on a smile for the entire afternoon, and although none of her fans were able to tell, Seto knew she was pissed, as was proven when she started ignoring him as soon as they were alone. Yuna has her pride just as Seto does, and the way Seto had acted as if she was just a pretty decoration for his company must have really hurt the girl. Seto hadn't even realized what he was doing until he saw one of the pictures.

Now this shit with the Chinese happened and Yuna stormed off before he could apologize. So now he must fix all of this.

Spotting her getting a bit more champagne, he signaled Noah to go and the green-haired preteen did so. Yuna looked confused until she felt longer arms around her waist and a broad chest against her back. She stiffened and Seto sighed as he leaned down to her ear.

''I'm sorry.''

00000

Leon greets Yugi, who asks what Leon's doing there. Turns out Leon's in the KC Grand Championship, too. He says it's been his dream to duel Yuna ever since Duelist Kingdom.

Yugi says it could happen.

Just then, Kaiba tells Roland it's time to get started. Roland says they're still waiting for one more challenger. Zigfried has just entered the room, rose in his hand. Kaiba says the latecomer is disqualified, and Roland stammers, but then Zigfried greets Kaiba, apologizing for his tardiness, saying that traffic was a nightmare. Then he introduces himself as Zigfried. Kaiba says he doesn't care who Zigfried is—he should show some respect.

Zigfried just chuckles to himself. Spotting the Duel Queen beside her rival, he extends a blood-red rose to the girl, who blinks at it. The pink-haired sevret hacker smiles at her.

''A beautiful rose for the most beautiful rose of the Dueling world, the lovely Duel Queen.''

Yuna actually blushes and Seto glares at the smirking man as he kisses Yuna's hand in formal greeting. ''My Queen, it is a pleasure to meet you.''

Seto snatches Yuna to his side as Noah steps in front of his Nee-chii, both sending him almost identical glares. Even Roland was glaring behind his sunglasses.

Kaiba speaks to Isono while glaring at Zigfried, telling him that now that all the duelists are there, he should begin.

Zigfried smiles and winks at the only girl in the group.

Seto was ready to kill the bastard!

The lights dim, and Roland takes the stage to announce the beginning of the most prestigious Duel Monsters tournament in history, the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship!

Joey tells Yuna it's time to strut their stuff, and Yuna switches to her game face.

Cameras flash as the press photograph the row of duelists, and Roland introduces them.

First up is the new boy wonder of dueling, the prodigy who has yet to be defeated, Leon Wilson! Joey and Yami look on in surprise, and Joey says, who knew that kid was such a big shot?

Next up is a robed fortuneteller, Fortune Salim, then a cowboy with a guitar slung across his back, Shane Jordan. Next is a Siberian muscle man, Sergei Ivanoff, and a man with a deerstalker cap and pipe, Detective Paul McGregor. He's startled off the stage by a strange-looking wild child with a monkey on his shoulder, Abe the Monkey Man. Seventh is a man in surgical scrubs, flanked by two nurses, Dr. Richard Goat, and eighth is a boy with a magic wand and cape, Balfry Ginger.

Next is an illusionist in a yellow suit, Totani Ialos, who produces a live dove in his hands, followed by Road Warrior-ish Australian, Ethan Shark.

The eleventh duelist is a robed swami, Jafar Shin, and twelfth is the woman who tangled with Rebecca earlier, Vivian Wong.

Thirteenth is the youngest regional champion, Rebecca Hawkins, who exchanges a sharp glance with Vivian.

Fourteenth is our own Joey Wheeler, the overwhelming underdog. Joey collapses in frustration at the introduction, then demands a little respect.

Fifteenth is the mysterious masked duelist, who bears a strange resemblance to Grandpa Mutou, Apnarg Otom.

Yugi and Yuna stare at him, wonderingly.

'Grandpa.' They both think as they shake their heads.

The sixteenth challenger is the stylish Zigfried Lloyd. Girls scream and sigh as he tosses his rose to the audience, while Kaiba frowns.

Kaiba says "Hmph." He smirks as Yuna ignores Zigfried when he blows her an air kiss, making the slightly older man frustrated. 'Yuna's not a girl you can impress with a rose and a bit of flirting, you bastard.'

''And the final duelist is the World Champion, Yuna Yami Mutou!''

Yuna steps out into the biggest and brightest light and the cameras go wild as everyone cheers for the infamous Queen of Games, the undefeated Duel Queen. The duelists watch with both envy and admiration as people scream for the beautiful girl to answer all sorts of questions and cheer for her.

Seto smirks. No one could ever outdo Yuna in popularity, no matter what they did. They could strip naked, and yet all eyes would still be rather turned to the heartthrob of the world.

''Whoever wins the sixteen-player elimination competition will go on to face Yuna for the International Duel Monsters Championship crown!''

Joey tells Yuna that this looks like the toughest bunch of competitors they've ever faced.

Leon agrees.

Yuna smirks at her would be-opponents and some of them flinch back. They all knew that the Duel Queen was impossible to beat, since not even the creator of the game could do so, and Kaiba had tried more than once and failed.

Roland announces that to ensure fair play, match pairings will be randomly chosen by computer, just before every duel.

Yuna notes that this means they won't have time to prepare for their opponents ahead of time. Joey says it means that none of the others will have a chance to prepare for him, either.

Cameras flash again as Roland wishes all the duelists the best of luck.

''Only one of them will be the World Champion Duelist!''

As every duelist thinks it'll be them, Seto smirks again, knowing that his rival will only ever take him seriously in a real Duel.

00000

Fireworks explode, and skywriting planes spell out "KC Grand Championship" in the sky over the Kaiba Dome on one side while on the other side of the park the spell out "KC Grand Prix".

The roof of the Kaiba Dome opens to reveal a stadium full of cheering spectators. Roland announces the beginning of the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship. They've assembled a lineup of first-class duelists from around the world, one of which will be crowned World Champ!

Joey clenches his fists and hunches over in his excitement.

From the front row of the spectators, Yugi watches with Téa and Duke, exclaiming about the huge crowd.

Duke points out Joey trying to scare his competition with his weird chicken dance.

Téa repeats that she needs some female friends, as Tristan mugs for the camera, making peace signs and grinning. Téa whacks him on the head, telling him to try acting normal.

Next, the announcer introduces the master of ceremonies—Mokuba, who appears on a platform that rises behind the stage where the duelists are lined up.

Mokuba asks everyone if they're ready to get their duel on, then says it's time to kick off the greatest Duel Monsters tournament ever organized. Mokuba explains the tournament rules, saying that the duelists will be divided into two groups, A and B, for the preliminary elimination. The winner will be the first KC Grand Prix champion.

''Before the week is through, there may be a new international Duel Monsters champion!'' 'Yeah right!' Mokuba, Yugi and most of the world thought.

Then he introduces the current champion, Yuna Yami Mutou.

As the crowd chants her name, Yuna stands up and smirks confidently up at them, causing the crowds to get louder.

Next, Mokuba directs everyone's attention to the Kaibatron for the first round match-ups. In Block A, the first competitor chosen is Joey Wheeler.

Joey is thrilled to be in one of the first matches, and tells his fans, this one's for them! His opponent will be the mystery duelist, whose true identity remains unknown, Apnarg Otom.

Joey tells the masked duelist that when he wins, that mask is coming off! Tristan wonders where they know that guy from. Téa doesn't know, but Yuna does.

In Block B, Leon Wilson will face Dr. Richard Goat.

Téa stands up to wave at Leon and cheer him on, and he turns to her, blushing.

Before the duels get underway, Mokuba says, there's someone they all want to hear from. He asks Yuna to come up to the stage and say a few words.

And although Yuna obliges, she knows what's about to happen. She was the one to suggest it, after all. She gets up on the stage and everyone scream their happiness at seeing their Queen.

But then, the crowd's attention turns to the roar of engines passing over the stadium—it's the Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet, and Kaiba jumps out, flying with a jetpack strapped on his back, his hair messing up from the wind. He descends into the stadium and lands beside Mokuba, dropping the jetpack and holding his hand behind him for Mokuba to pass him the microphone.

Kaiba announces that this is not a show. ''It's the ultimate test of survival! This is a ruthless battle, and, in the end, only one duelist will remain standing. From this moment forward, Kaiba Land is a battlefield! May the best duelist win.''

Zigfried regards Kaiba from under his bangs, while the crowd chants, "Kaiba! Kaiba!" Joey fumes, calling Kaiba a showoff, and saying Kaiba's lucky he's not dueling.

''Oh, and one more thing. Our honored guest and the Queen of the Gaming world has no reason to speak. We all know what she's going to say. So prepare your Decks - your swords, and raise your Duel Disks - your shields AND STAND AND FIGHT!'' The crowds cheered and Yuna smiled. Her rival knew her well. ''And let me tell you something: If anyone of you think of not giving it your all, erase that thought right now! You either go hard or go home! I may not be Dueling in this tournament, but I will personally be insulted if you slack around during your duels! You will prove your worth here, so you can either become a better duelist or the world will throw you out of the dueling circle!''

''WHAT!?'' The duelists yell.

Seto smirks. ''I will not forgive you for bringing such disgrace to our Duel Queen! As her rival, I will feel insulted even if she does not show it! And I promise to all cheaters that I will ruin you!'' The arena shivered as they realized that this was not an empty threat - it was a promise!

Kaiba thinks, he knows one of these punks is out to ruin him, and before this tournament's over, he's going to find out who.

Zigfried smiles.

Seto, with Yuna in tow, leaves with the crowd cheering for the greatest rivals history has ever known.

Roland takes over announcing duties, telling the crowd that all tournament matches will be held on Kaiba Land grounds, but only the two remaining finalists will be invited back to duel in the Kaiba Dome. Match One will take place on the Amazon Adventure Trail, and Match Two will be held beneath the Dragon's Lair Flume. Duelists should report to their designated locations.

Yugi exclaims as Leon appears on the giant screen, walking under the Dragon's Lair ride. Dr. Goat approaches, flanked by his two nurses. The duelists hand each other their decks, and one of the nurses wipes the doctor's brow as he shuffles Leon's deck. Then they take back their decks and prepare to duel.

The scene on the screen changes to show Apnarg Otom waiting for his opponent in the Amazon Adventure. Tristan continues to think that the dude in the mask looks so familiar, and Téa thinks maybe it's their gym teacher.

Yugi chuckles.

Then Duke asks where Joey is. They're all startled when Joey walks in front of them, a hot dog in each hand. Yugi asks him what he's doing there, and he says there's a two-for-one sale on weenies. Tristan and the others run up to him, along with Mokuba, who tells him he should be on the Amazon Adventure Trail. Joey insists that he doesn't duel on an empty stomach, but Mokuba warns him that if he doesn't get to his match in ten minutes, he'll be disqualified. Joey thinks ten minutes is a piece of cake, until Mokuba tells him that the Amazon Adventure is a fifteen square mile virtual jungle!

Mokuba sighs, saying he's going to have to... But before he can finish, a panicked Joey is running for the exit, the rest of the gang following him.

Mokuba says, oh well.

Joey stands in the prow of a boat heading down the stream into the jungle, while Tristan reads the map, and tells him where to dock the boat. Joey jumps out of the boat and runs down the trail, while Tristan yells at him to slow down—the jungle is loaded with pitfalls. Too late, Joey has already fallen into one. Soon, Joey is making his way across a wobbly suspension bridge, while hungry crocodiles snap at him from the water below. Then, the gang all run down a trail followed by a huge rolling boulder. Tristan tells them to break left, but Joey goes the wrong way, and the boulder rolls over him, leaving him lying on the ground with his eyes spiraling around.

Next, Joey's confronted by a snake, then he runs into a flock of bats. As he yells for help, Téa wonders if they should tell him they're only holograms. Duke thinks it would spoil the fun.

But Joey keeps running down the trail, even though he's starting to flag. He only has twenty seconds to make it to his duel, so he pulls out one last effort, pushing through the vines and leaves until he finally makes it into the clearing where the masked duelist awaits on the steps of a stone platform.

Mokuba steps out to tell Joey if he's not there in ten seconds, he's disqualified. Joey staggers up to Mokuba with five seconds to spare. But how did Mokuba get there before him?

Mokuba says he tried to tell him—there's a secret passageway for special guests.

Joey cries that it's not fair, while the rest of the gang catch up, all gasping for breath. But at least they made it on time.

The masked duelist tells Joey that it looks as if the student is finally going to face his former dueling instructor. Then he quickly corrects himself, saying it's time to teach Joey a lesson. Joey says he doesn't think so.

Tristan is sure that they know that voice. Joey and the masked duelist face each other atop the platform, while Téa tells Yugi that the mystery duelist sounds just like his grandpa. Yugi says it is, and Tristan wonders why the disguise, when suddenly Professor Hawkins shows up, saying that perhaps he should explain. He says that he tried to talk Grandpa out of it, but he wouldn't listen.

00000

Meanwhile, at the roller coaster, Leon has just wiped out Dr. Goat, who cries, "Noooooo!" and falls to his knees in despair, asking his nurse when his next appointment is. She says it's 10:30.

He's carried away on a gurney, asking for a second opinion, while a bemused Leon is announced the winner.

00000

Also meanwhile, two figures wearing ratty robes and carrying walking sticks struggle down a road, complaining about how hot and tired they are. They slowly make their way to the entrance to Kaiba Land, where they fall to their knees, tears streaming down their faces. It's Weevil and Rex, who've come to enter the tournament.

Rex has a few ideas about how, which is what worries Weevil...

00000

First, Grandpa switches his two Stone Giants back into attack mode, which turns the Ancient Key a little further in the lock.

From behind them, Yuna says that every move Grandpa makes must get him closer to unlocking that door. the group jumps in surprise as the Game Queen walks up to witness her grandpa's most anticipated move.

Next, Grandpa activates Ancient Key, using the power of the Stone Giants, the Ancient Tome, and the Ancient Giant to unlock the Ancient Gate. Finally, Grandpa sacrifices Ancient Gate, Ancient Giant, and Ancient Tome, in order to bring forth his ultimate monster, Ancient Dragon!

Everyone gasps in awe, and Professor Hawkins chuckles in pleasure. The Ancient Tome and Ancient Giant disappear, and the Ancient Dragon (2800 ATK) flies out of the city to loom over the field.

Professor Hawkins says it's breathtaking!

''That's what he's been waiting to summon!''

Yugi says it's awesome.

Grandpa says that for once it seems that Joseph Wheeler is at a loss for words.

Walking over to Yugi, Professor Hawkins tells him that his grandfather isn't the only one with that card. He holds out his own deck to show Yugi, with the Ancient Dragon on top. Yugi and the others gather around, exclaiming that the professor has an Ancient Dragon, too! But, he explains, he's never been able to summon it, because he doesn't have all the necessary components.

Grandpa is the only person he knows who possesses all seven cards needed to call for this divine creature.

''Except Seto and Pegasus.'' The others stare at her. ''What? Pegasus tried to win a duel against me with it. And I don't call Seto Card Prince for no reason, you know. Or maybe it's better Kaiba Seto, the Prince of Cards.'' She playfully winks at them.

''Then why doesn't Kaiba use them?'' Duke asks.

Yuna snorts. ''With Blue-Eyes in his deck, he needs no other dragon. Besides, it's Ancient. Seto doesn't like ancient things. And he's not the most patient person to wait to summon one monster.''

The others nod.

Arthur, trying to ignore that there were other people who could summon this card, hopes the kids appreciate the rare event they've just witnessed. Over the past few years, he and Grandpa have been in a friendly competition, both hunting down the same cards. Until recently, they each had six of the seven cards they needed, but that would soon change.

Professor Hawkins tells the kids that that was the cheeriest he'd heard Grandpa in a long time. Yugi's grandfather is happiest when he's dueling. Professor Hawkins says he thinks it keeps him young. Téa says she guesses he's just a kid at heart. Professor Hawkins says just look at him—he's managed to summon a card he's been waiting to play for years! And he's about to use it to win this duel.

00000

Joey first plays Premature Burial, paying 800 life points to bring Goblin Attack Force back from the graveyard.

That brings Joey down to 900 life points. Then he plays Giant Trunade, sending all magic and trap cards on the field back to their owner's hands. Grandpa's Ancient City and Legendary Gambler return to his hand, and so does Joey's Premature Burial.

Grandpa watches in horror as his Ancient City crumbles. Professor Hawkins looks disappointed, but Mokuba says it's awesome—if Joey doesn't screw this up, he may actually have a shot at winning this duel!

''How come?'' Tristan, always the clueless one regarding dueling, asks.

Mokuba says that without the Ancient City, the Ancient Dragon won't be able to come back.

''Oh.''

Now Joey plays Premature Burial again, paying another 800 life points to bring back Gilford the Lightning. Down to 100 life points, he uses Gilford the Lightning to attack Ancient Dragon. Both monsters are destroyed, and, this time, Ancient Dragon can't be revived. So Grandpa's wide open when Joey attacks with his Goblin Attack Force.

Grandpa's life points are wiped out.

The gang look on in amazement.

''Did Joey just win?'' Duke asks.

''It would appear that he did.'' Yuna says as she flashes them a smirk and leaves.

''Where are you going, sis?''

Yuna sighs. ''Yesterday, I agreed to help Seto with Kaiba Land's publicity and popularity. I'm helping him plan the after-party. I just had a little break to see how this one would end.'' And with that, the Duel Queen was out.

Everyone runs to Grandpa, still lying on his back after being trounced by the Goblins. Joey offers him a hand up, telling him it was a nice duel. Grandpa sits up and pulls off his mask, revealing himself to Joey, who freaks out to find it was Grandpa he was dueling with all along. Grandpa laughs, saying it was a pretty good disguise—maybe that will be his new look.

Joey asks Grandpa why he joined the tournament in the first place. Grandpa says he was hoping to duel Joey. He did teach Joey everything he knows, so he thought it was time to test him. Joey asks if he passed, and Grandpa gives him an A-plus. Mokuba says there's a first time for everything, and Tristan says to pinch him—he must be dreaming. Then he complains that it was a figure of speech, while Duke laughs.

Joey asks Grandpa why he picked the name "Apnarg," and Grandpa explains that it's "Granpa" spelled backwards. Ooooh, says everyone, while Joey says he doesn't get it...

Joey and friends leave the jungle area. Tristan congratulates Joey on his first-round win, even though it means he owes Duke a steak. Mokuba runs up to one of the screens located around the park broadcasting the duels, calling to the gang to hurry up—the next duel is about to begin.

On the screen, the announcer introduces the duelists, regional champion and self-proclaimed child genius, Rebecca Hawkins, who'll face model turned actress turned kung-fu master turned duelist, Vivian Wong. Téa isn't happy to see Vivian dueling, saying that that diva is nothing but bad news.

Grandpa with steam blowing from his nose and his eyes turning into pink hearts over how beautiful Vivian is practically sequels ''She's so cute!'' making everyone wonder if the Goblin Attack Force hit him to many times on the head.

Grandpa exclaims happily that it's another duel! He can't get enough.

Tristan tells him if he doesn't calm down, he's going to hurt himself.

Grandpa grabs Arthur Hawkins by the lapels, saying it's been so long since he's been near the action—then he suddenly pitches over, moaning in pain.

Yugi kneels beside him, asking if he's okay, while Arthur bends down on Grandpa's other side, and says it looks as if Grandpa's thrown his back out.

Mokuba pulls out his walkie-talkie, and says he'll radio for a doctor. Grandpa tells Yugi not to worry about him, but to go with his friends and enjoy the rest of the tournament. Yugi says he can't leave, but Professor Hawkins says he'll look after Yugi's grandfather, while Yugi goes to root for Rebecca. He says Rebecca would never admit it, but she could really use some support.

00000

Meanwhile, in the stadium, Fortune Salim is spotted entering the hallway by Rex and Weevil.

Weevil says this is their ticket in! Rex isn't so sure, but Weevil grabs him by the shirt, telling him not to be so negative. ''Name the last time one of my ideas didn't work!''

Rex says every time. ''Just once, I'd like to get my revenge without looking like a doofus.''

Salim goes into the men's room, complaining about stadium food, and Rex and Weevil follow him.

A scuffle is heard inside, and then Rex and Weevil leave, wobbling inside Salim's robe. A robeless Salim is seen tied up in a broom closet with a toilet plunger on his head.

00000

In the Blue-Eyes White Dragon station over the train tracks, Rebecca and Vivian shuffle each other's decks. Vivian thinks the duel is going to be short and lame—like Rebecca. She says she was hoping for a real opponent—someone strong, like Kaiba. She could use her beautiful skills to make him her captives of love, and together they'd be the strongest dueling couple in the world.

''You wish, you old hag! Kaiba-senpai would rather die than look at any other woman than Yuna-chan!'' Having come to respect the CEO immensely, Rebecca took to calling him senpai, as in both in life, Dueling and computers.

''WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME YOU LITTLE BRAT!?''

Rebecca smirked. ''I'm sorry if you couldn't hear me in your old age, but i said Kaiba-sanpai would never even look at you as long as Yuna-chan exists!''

Vivian fumed, knowing that the CEO really only cared for the Game Queen's opinion and didn't really pay attention to other duelists. ''Oh, please! What man would chose someone with less experience?''

Rebecca proudly said ''Kaiba-senpai'' as she thought about how the brunet lost his cool every time Yuna needed a hand.

''You can't be serious!''

''I'm deadly serious! To Kaiba-senpai, it doesn't matter if she is less experienced. He respects Yuna-chan and he trusts her!'' Rebecca says and tells "Viv" she won't be getting within 50 feet of Yugi.

Taking back their decks, Vivian says that when she wins the tournament, Yugi will forget all about Rebecca. In fact, he probably already has.

They exit the station onto either side of the train tracks, where Vivian makes a few kung-fu moves. As they face off, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon train speeds between them. When it passes, they stand ready to duel.

Vivian goes first, summoning Kung-Fu Nyan Nyan (1700 ATK) in attack mode. Rebecca starts off her turn by playing the magic card, Graceful Charity (Angel's Mercy), allowing her to draw three cards and discard two. She discards Cure Mermaid and Marie the Fallen One, then summons Fire Princess (1300 ATK) in attack mode. She sets two cards face down and ends her turn.

Just then, Joey and the others arrive at the station, calling out to Rebecca. She waves happily to Yugi, but is interrupted by Vivian, who dances around, calling Yugi her little dumpling, and saying she knew he'd be there to cheer her on. Yugi is mortified, but doesn't know what to say. Fuming, Rebecca tells Vivian that Yugi is there for her, but Vivian ignores her, continuing to gush at Yugi.

Téa steams, but Joey grabs Yugi around the neck and says Yugi's his hero. Tristan asks Yugi what his secret is, and a discombobulated Yugi suggests maybe it's his natural charm.

Téa grumbles that this is why she needs more female friends, then shouts encouragement to Rebecca, saying that that "glamazon" has got to go.

It's Vivian's turn. She draws, and Kung-Fu Nyan Nyan's effect raises her attack by 300 points, to 2000. Then Vivian summons Master Kyonshee (1750 ATK).

00000

Rebecca and the other duelists appear on television screens in Kaiba's office.

'Everything seems to be going smoothly', he thinks. 'But that's what worries me. I'd have expected my little hacker friend to strike again by now.'

Then he sits up, realizing that the hacker must already be in Kaiba Land. He calls Roland on the intercom, telling him to run a background check on every competitor.

''Until then, everyone's a suspect. And get Fugata to look after Yuna. Mokuba and Noah are with her, so he'll be looking after them as well!''

00000

Duke says it won't be easy to defeat Vivian. Tristan asks why, and the dice master reminds them that she's one of the top duelists selected by Kaiba to participate in the tournament. He's heard about her.

''She won the Asian Final against nine other duelists, making her the Asian Duel Queen.'' A new voice said and they all turned to see Yuna strolling up to them with Mokuba and Noah on either side of her.

''WHAT!?'' They all yelled. ''She doesn't have the right to call herself that!''

Yuna chuckled. ''That's why Seto invited her. Duel Queen vs Asian Duel Queen. Interesting, no?''

Mokuba nodded. ''Nii-sama got tired of all the rumors going around that Vivian defeated Yuna, therefore earning the title of Duel Queen he gave Yuna at the end of Battle City as the winer, so he made this little duel possible. That is, Vivian got a fair chance to compete for the honor to duel Yuna like every one of the other competitors.''

''Seto-nii thought it would be good to get rid of the stupid rumor as soon as possible. Nee-chii's the best Duelist in the entire world. If she lost even one Duel, who knows where we'd all be, right? Anyway, Nee-chii has to duel here for Kaiba Land, but if it ends up Duel Queen vs Asian Duel Queen, it'll serve as double purpose for Yuna Nee-chii.''

''Kaiba, that pervert! He only wants to see two hot chicks fight!'' Joey growled out, envy clear in his voice since the brunet could make it happen.

Yuna blushed to the roots of her hair as both Mokuba and Noah kneed the blond in the groin.

''Don't talk about Seto in such a way!'' Both younger Kaibas said in one voice as they glared at the blond, resembling their respected brother.

Joey whimpered as his balls hurt like a bitch and decided to never insult Kaiba behind his back with Noah and Mokuba around.

00000

Vivian plays her Mystic Eruption magic card, taking 1000 life points from any player who's lost a magic or trap card this turn. Rebecca gasps as her life points go down to 500.

The gang watch in horror, and Vivian tells Rebecca this is what happens when she plays with the big girls. But the funniest part of the duel is that Rebecca thought Yugi came to see her!

But Rebecca says that if she was about to lose the duel, she wouldn't be laughing. (Japanese Rebecca asks Vivian if she has any last words.) Rebecca draws, saying this is where it all ends. First, she collects her 200 life points from Marie the Fallen One, raising her life points to 700. Fire Princess's effect reduces Vivian's life points by 500, taking her down to 400. Vivian says she's still no match for her Dragon Lady, so Rebecca sacrifices her two monsters to summon Guardian Angel Joan (2800 ATK). Since Gravity Bind's been destroyed, her Guardian Angel Joan can attack.

Vivian starts to freak, but points out that even if Guardian Angel Joan destroys Dragon Lady, she'll still have some points left. Rebecca says that's why she's playing the magic card, Silent Doom, which lets her bring one monster back from the graveyard in defense mode. She chooses Fire Princess. Then she attacks and destroys Dragon Lady with Guardian Angel Joan, bringing Vivian down to 100 life points. The attack activates Guardian Angel Joan's effect, raising Rebecca's life points by the attack of the monster destroyed, which activates Fire Princess's effect, wiping out the rest of Vivian's life points.

Stunned by her loss, Vivian sinks to her knees, while Téa and the others cheer for Rebecca. Rebecca runs to join them, as Duke says they knew she'd pull through. Rebecca flings herself onto Yugi, telling a frustrated Vivian that no one comes between them.

Vivian chews her handkerchief and says they'll just see.

The gang check out the screens showing the other duels. Detective Paul McGregor has just beaten Shane Jordan, and, according to Kaiba's chart, Joey will duel whoever wins the next match—Zigfried Lloyd versus Fortune Salim.

''That's all nice and peachy.'' Rebecca says as the gang turns towards the little blond. ''However, I only care about where Yuna-chan is! I hope she saw this duel!''

Yugi reassures her that the Duel Queen had been here for the bigger part of the duel and that she had just left. Even as Rebecca pouts, they all turn to watch the match that is about to go down.

"Salim" staggers up to the dueling area, Mokuba watching suspiciously. Inside Salim's robes, Rex, holding Weevil on his shoulders, protests that he's the one who should be dueling in this match, not Weevil. Weevil says his insect deck is way better. Then Rex trips on the steps leading up to the dueling area, and the two boys fly apart, revealing their ploy.

Watching on the screens, Joey wonders what those two are doing there, and Tristan says they're acting like complete numbskulls, what else?

Rex calls Weevil a spaz for making them fall, but Weevil says Rex is the spaz!

Then Mokuba comes to stand over them, demanding to know what they did with the real Fortune Salim. Weevil says he's tied up right now, and asked them to fill in. Rex agrees, saying Salim thought they would best fill his shoes.

Mokuba, being one of the smartest people's younger brother, wasn't buying it, and tells them no one can duel unless they're registered.

Zigfried tells Mokuba to just let the boys duel. ''After all, I did wear my favorite suit, and I look too good to just win by forfeit.''

Mokuba says he can't, but Zigfried tells him to think of his business—he wouldn't want to disappoint his public.

He asks Mokuba to let him duel these two fools with an evil look in his eyes. Zigfried was having far too much fun toying with the Kaiba brothers. 'And besides ...' He thought as he looked to the side, where Noah was eating a sandwich with the Queen of Games standing beside him calmly. 'The Queen is here.' He smirks to himself, wondering what Kaiba would think if he stole his rival.

Rex and Weevil aren't happy about being called fools, and while they insult Zigfried, he turns to the overhead camera, thinking to Kaiba that he hopes Kaiba's watching, because he has a special show in store just for him.

Kaiba is indeed watching, thinking that he doesn't trust this guy.

Weevil and Rex start up their Duel Disks and face off against Zigfried. Weevil goes first, summoning Pinch Hopper (1000 ATK) in attack mode. Then he plays his magic card, Aerosol, destroying his own Pinch Hopper in order to activate its effect, which allows him to summon any insect monster he wants. He chooses his Insect Queen (2200 ATK), then ends his turn, saying that now his partner is going to get prehistoric on Zigfried. Zigfried doesn't seem impressed.

Rex summons Balloon Lizard (500 ATK) in attack mode, then plays the magic card, Ultra Evolution. This card allows him to sacrifice Balloon Lizard to summon any dinosaur monster. He summons Black Tyranno (2600 ATK), then says he'd like to see Zigfried get past his Jurassic giant. And even if he does, Weevil adds, he won't get past Weevil's incredible insect.

Zigfried says they'll see about that. He draws, then smiles. As rose petals fly around him in the breeze, he says his conquest has already begun to blossom. Zigfried plays his magic card, Ride of the Valkyries.

Four Valkyrie monsters appear on the field, riding in circles over the heads of Rex and Weevil's monsters. A great whirlwind rises around them, destroying Insect Queen and Black Tyranno and wiping out Rex and Weevil's life points in one blow. The four Valkyries disappear, and Kaiba watches openmouthed as Roland announces that the winner of this bout, after only one turn, is Zigfried Lloyd!

Yuna feels her jaw tighten as the pink-haired man blows her a kiss with a wink.

00000

In the Kaiba Dome, Roland announces that the first round of the tournament has come to a close. Round Two opens with the undefeated boy wonder, Leon Wilson, and the man-eater, Ethan Shark. Watching the announcements of the matchups on a screen in the waiting room, Joey tells Roland to quit the fancy intros and get to his duel!

Téa says Joey's a model of patience, and Yugi tells him he might want to take this time to run through his game strategy. In the room around them, other competitors are studying their decks. Yugi says it couldn't hurt. With his arm around Joey's shoulders, Tristan says Joey hates cramming, which is too bad, because he's about to get schooled by that freakazoid who took out Weevil and Rex in one move.

"That freakazoid," Zigfried, sits calmly off to the side, pretending to read a book as he formulated plans for both Kaiba's humiliation, as well as getting the Queen of Games to side with him.

Joey says the only thing he's scared of is that hairdo, and tells Zigfried that Pinky the Clown called and wants his wig back.

Rebecca mutters that she doesn't think Joey's in any position to make fun of anyone's hairdo.

Joey whirls on her, saying he heard that. Duke tells him to settle down—he's too high-strung to duel. Joey insists he's cool as a cucumber, then turns on Tristan when Tristan says, ''Oh yeah, real cool.'' and jumps on him as they wrestle.

Téa tells them to grow up, but gets knocked back against the wall by a stray elbow, causing her to protest again that she needs some female friends. As both boys protest that the other one started it, she notices that Leon's kind of quiet and asks if he's all right. He says he just has a case of the pre-duel jitters. He guesses they can't all be as calm as Joey.

Joey breaks off wrestling with Tristan and turns to tell Leon that he can't be too bad if he made it to the final eight. Leon should just do what he does, and believe he's going to win. Leon admits that he's afraid to win, because then he'll have to face off against Yuna. ''I've always been jealous of Mr Kaiba and how he gets to Duel her whenever he wants, but now I fear that if I win here, I'll have to go up against the undefeated Legend of Duel Monsters, and that's kind of scary. I heard that no one stays the same after their Life Points hit zero in a duel with her.''

Yugi is surprised by Leon's admission, but Joey tells Leon to just take it one duel at a time. Rebecca agrees, saying it's too soon to worry about the championship duel. Besides, he'll have to duel her before he can get to Yuna. Leon asks her to go easy on him. Zigfried observes from under his bangs while Leon tells Rebecca that she can be brutal.

The door opens and Mokuba enters, telling everyone it's time to get this show on the road.

As the duelists all file out, Joey extends a hand to Zigfried, wishing him luck. Ignoring the offered handshake, Zigfried says that, unlike Joey, he doesn't rely on luck. Joey runs after him, growling that he was just trying to be nice. He stops Zigfried, saying that where he comes from, you show your opponent some respect. Zigfried just laughs and walks away. Joey runs after him again, this time ready to fight, but Zigfried sidesteps him and he falls. He jumps up, still angry, but Yugi tells him to stop.

Zigfried continues to walk away, saying that if he were Joey, he'd listen to his little friend. Joey says he's not Zigfried, and Zigfried says if he were, he'd be a street punk with no talent and an appalling taste in outerwear. Joey tells Zigfried to bring it on, but Zigfried says he's wasted enough time on Joey already. Tristan restrains Joey from going after Zigfried, telling him to save it for the duel. Joey shrugs him off and walks off, saying it's time to beat the designer pants off that chump.

Watching in dismay, Duke says that Joey had better get a grip or he'll be history. The duel hasn't even started and already Zigfried's messing with his head. Rebecca says she'd better head off to her match, too. Yugi asks her if she's okay, and she says she knows that Joey needs Yugi, but that means he won't be there to watch her duel. But there's a bright side—she's planning to stay in the tournament until the very end, so they'll have plenty of chances to root for her. As she runs off, Yugi tells her to go get 'em.

Tristan tells Yugi, Téa, and Duke to come on—Joey's going to need all the help he can get to beat Zigfried. But before they can leave, Mokuba comes up, telling Yugi he needs to speak to him right away.

Mokuba asks if Yugi has noticed any strange behavior from any of the competitors. Yugi says he doesn't think so, and asks what's going on. Mokuba makes him promise not to tell—if word of this gets out, it could ruin the Grand Championship, and their whole company.

Mokuba reminds them of when the DuelTek computer went berserk and locked them inside the Kaiba Dome. Afterwards, he asked his brother if the system was secure now. Kaiba told him he'd reinforced the firewall, so that no one could break in from the outside, but he had a bad feeling that the person they were after was already on the inside. Mokuba wondered how anyone could have snuck in without them noticing, but Kaiba said no one snuck in—they'd invited the hacker in. Kaiba swore that when he found out who was out to ruin him, he'd pay. He was conducting background checks on all the duelists, and he was counting on Mokuba to keep an eye out for suspicious activities.

Yugi asks Mokuba who he thinks the hacker is, and Mokuba says he doesn't have the slightest clue. That's why he needs Yugi and the others' help. They have to let him know if they notice anything strange.

''Nii-sama doesn't really care or worry about our mainframe - his firewalls are going to give our hacker friend hell as soon as he tries something, and Noah's scanning our systems as we speak. No, Nii-sama's worried if something were to happen to Yuna.'' The boy stiffened at this and everyone else forgot about the duels. ''As a celebrity, Yuna knows what it's like to have both crazed fans as well as crazed enemies, right?''

Yugi nods, remembering the worst ever case scenario. He shuddered as he remembered her knocked out cold by her own gift as she barely breathed.

''Well, Nii-sama's files about Yuna's Duel Deck were infiltrated and someone made a copy before Nii-sama's defenses destroyed whoever's computer that had been. What really worries Nii-sama about the hacker is that they're aware of how much time they have to do what they want to out system before the program kicks in and, well, you know the rest. So some guy took all of Yuna Yami Mouto's files and copied them to his computer, meaning he knows every card currently in her Deck. Yuna's working on it with Nii-sama now, but we aren't sure what else to do other than figure out who the hacker is, therefore we're asking you to keep an eye on the other Duelists.''

Téa readily agrees, but says he does realize that strange things happen to them all the time.

Yugi says he was hoping that this time would be different. Just once, he'd like to see his duel in a tournament for the thrill of it, and not have to worry about who's trying to take over the world! They should be having fun, instead of hunting down bad guys.

Mokuba tells him not to worry. They'll find the hacker soon. He's not going to let some punk ruin this tournament. Téa says he can count on them to help out. Tristan agrees, then says, let's get out there and watch Joey's duel and do what they do best—cheer from the sidelines. Yugi still looks a little sad, but he smiles and nods.

With Vivian watching them from behind a doorway, Téa tells Yugi to look on the bright side—there's never a dull moment. He says that's for sure, as Vivian smiles to herself.

00000

In the Kaiba Dome, Roland says the next bouts are now under way.

''Facing off in the house of horror are Leon Wilson and Ethan Shark. Then it's showtime in the Kaiba Land Theater, as Detective Paul McGregor faces Balfry Ginger. They move on to the Wheel of Wonder, where regional champion Rebecca Hawkins faces Abe the Monkey Boy. And finally, in the Volcanic Pit, trendsetter Zigfried Lloyd squares off against Jumpin' Joey Wheeler!''

Yuna chuckles to herself as Roland tries to get the crowd railed up as best as he could. Seto was still the master of the ring, even with both Pegasus and Kemo, Mokuba and Roland competing for that ''title''. Looking over to her rival, Yuna sighs. She understands that Seto is worried for her, since only her file was copied. As she goes over her cards, she thinks of something an reaches for her gold box of the Millennium Puzzle. Seto stops working and looks over to his rival as he saw the flash of gold in the corner of his eye. He saw Yuna taking out some cards and it got him curious, but he knew they couldn't be the God Monsters.

Yuna brushed off the curious gaze fixed on her as she got the cards into her deck. She hadn't used this combo in a long time, but it could come in handy. Putting away her Deck, Yuna looked up at her friend. ''So, about that party after the last duel today ... ''

Seto rolled his eyes but let Yuna have her secrets as he started telling her what he thought up thus far, not knowing that the Duel Queen had plans of her own.

00000

Joey arrives at his duel in a Blue-Eyes White Dragon train car, to find Zigfried already waiting on a rock outcropping in the middle of the volcanic pit. Joey tells "Ziggy" it's time to get down to business, just as the rest of the gang arrive in more Blue-Eyes White Dragon train cars, calling out for him not to start without them. Joey says it's about time they showed up, then turns to growl at Zigfried, who chuckles as Joey approaches. As they shuffle each other's decks, Zigfried says, may the best-dressed duelist win. Joey says the whole world will see Zigfried shaking in his patent leather shoes.

Zigfried turns to observe the camera broadcasting their duel. In his office, Kaiba watches the duelists intently.

Zigfried continues to watch the camera as he shuffles Joey's deck. Joey thinks he's shuffled it enough, and gets mad all over again as Zigfried finally hands it back. Tristan tells Joey not to let Zigfried get to him, and Yugi adds to just stay calm, as Joey stalks back to his side of the field and asks Zigfried if he's ready to roll up his sleeves and get dirty.

Zigfried says he won't even break a sweat on Joey. ''Let's go, idiot.''

They and all the other duelists activate their Duel Disks, and the second-round duels begin.

Zigfried tells Joey that since Joey's at such a disadvantage, he should make the first move. Joey thinks that his opponent is insufferable, just like Kaiba. Although, the brunet billionaire was far more interesting than this pink haired freak, especially when he went into his overprotective mode.

As Duke tells Joey to stay focused, Joey draws, then gulps as he looks at his hand. He can't play a single monster!

Zigfried notes that Joey's beginning to sweat, and asks if it's the molten lava or something else. Grumbling, Joey plays one card face down and ends his turn.

Téa is surprised that that's all Joey is going to play. Yugi says he has a feeling that's all he can play, and Tristan covers his eyes, saying he can't watch.

Zigfried draws, telling Joey to watch and learn. He starts by playing a magic card, Graceful Charity, which lets him draw three cards and discard two. Then he ends his turn by playing one card face down. Téa says it looks like Zigfried doesn't have such a great hand, either, and Tristan says he knew they had nothing to worry about. Yugi just watches wide-eyed and says he doesn't trust that guy. He thinks Zigfried's setting Joey up for some kind of trap.

Joey laughs. He actually thought Zigfried might win in one move, like he did last time! But he couldn't even summon a monster.

Zigfried just glances at the camera, thinking that he thought Kaiba would be onto him by now.

'Maybe he needs a little hint.'

Zigfried pulls back his sleeve to check his watch, thinking that it's showtime.

00000

Kaiba jumps up from his chair as his computer screens go crazy. ''WHAT THE HELL!?''

Yuna jumps up to look over to her rival, just to see that he was working on fixing some insanity. Quickly calling Mokuba and Noah, she told them waht ws happening and demanded that Noah comes immediately.

''I'm on my way!''

Yuna watched with worry on her face as everything went berserk.

00000

Joey draws, saying it's time to turn up the heat. Just then, gouts of flaming lava shoot up around the players.

Jumping out of the way of the flames, Joey says, not that hot! Téa says it's a little too realistic, and Tristan tells Mokuba to turn down the flames.

But Mokuba says there's one small problem—this isn't part of the attraction! Téa asks, if Kaiba Corp's not controlling those flames, then who is? That's what Mokuba would like to know.

00000

As Rebecca duels Abe the Monkey Boy, Abe asks the monkey on his shoulder what to do, and the monkey chooses a card for him. But before they can play it, the giant Ferris wheel they're riding on begins to toss.

Rebecca runs to the window of their card to see that the entire wheel is spinning out of control.

00000

Detective Paul McGregor draws his card, telling his opponent, Balfry Ginger, that he's clued into his strategy. Then the theater's curtain comes down, leaving them in the dark.

00000

And in the House of Horrors, visions begin flashing all around Leon and his opponent. Leon exclaims that this house is haunted for real!

00000

In the Kaiba Dome, Roland announces that they're experiencing technical difficulties, and asks everyone to stand by.

00000

Kaiba works desperately at his terminal, saying that this is impossible! Roland bursts into Kaiba's office to tell him that they've got trouble. Kaiba says he's on it, while Roland asks how this could have happened. ''The entire unity system is down!''

Finally, Kaiba's screen displays a Virus Alert.

Kaiba thinks that he secured the entire network after the last attack. ''There's no way someone could break in again—not even a computer genius.'' He watches onscreen as Rebecca struggles to her feet in the caroming car, wondering if it was that cybergeek, Rebecca Hawkins? ''No, not even she could pull off something of this magnitude. The only person I know who could pull off a brilliant scheme like this is myself!''

Yuna runs to stand beside her rival, telling him that Noah was on the way to provide some help.

''Wait!'' Kaiba suddenly remembers a party given by his adopted father a long time ago.

A man with a German accent tells Gozaburo that Seto is the talk of the town. His son, too, is a prodigy.

The boy facing young Seto is a mini-version of Zigfried, right down to the pink hair and frilly tie. He asks Seto, why don't they spice things up a bit?

The lights begin to flash, and Gozaburo says there must have been a short. Kemo comes to whisper in his ear that their mainframe has been infected. Gozaburo says there must be some mistake. ''The KC mainframe is protected by a fail-safe system. No one can get in.''

Seto looks at the other boy in surprise. The boy says he dabbles in technology. He guesses that when you spend all your time alone, you tend to tinker in your own little projects. He says that Seto knows how it is.

Seto suddenly smirks in such a creepy way that the von Schroders take a step back from him after nodding to Gozaboro to reassure his stepfather. Gozaboro actually looked proud. The second he smirked the lights went back to normal and I just puff out his chest, pride radiating in waves off of him.

The message was clear.

His security software works.

He was able to exposed Siegfried and Gozaboro had thrown them out.

Present-day Kaiba thinks, it can't be!

Yuna touches his arm, whispering his name as he starts working franticly on booting up his newest version of his security systems.

''Yuna, you are not to leave this room without an escort, preferably me! Is that clear?''

Yuna blinks at the hard look in his eyes as he glances at her and she nods, not wanting to add to his stress by opposing. The CEO shot her a grateful smile before resuming his work.

00000

Meanwhile, Joey stands amid the shooting flames. He says now's as good a time as any to get his "A" game back on track, and summons Brigadier of Landstar (900 ATK) in attack mode. Then he powers him up with the magic card, Landstar Shot, increasing Brigadier's attack by 600, to 1500.

Then he orders his monster to attack Zigfried directly.

But Zigfried activates his trap card, Wotan's Judgment, which stops Joey's attack, and lets Zigfried switch any magic card in his hand with the top card on his deck (the card is Valkyrie Zweite), and reshuffle. He says if that's Joey's "A" game, he won't last much longer.

It's Zigfried's turn, and he plays Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from his deck. Next, he plays the magic card, Erda's Guidance. As the goddess of knowledge, he says, she controls the past, present, and future. The hand is the future, the field is the present, and the graveyard is the past. Now he can transfer one card from his hand to the graveyard, then transfer one trap from the graveyard to the field.

Joey thinks that's weird. Zigfried went through all of that just to play some trap card? Joey's even more surprised when Zigfried ends his turn.

Tristan, too, wonders that Zigfried isn't going to summon a monster.

Téa says she doesn't get Zigfried's strategy, and Duke says, what strategy?

The lava shoots up, and Zigfried glances at the camera, thinking that he knows Kaiba is watching, so he should enjoy the show while he can, because soon it will be curtains for him.

Joey clears his throat, shouting at Zigfried that the duel's over here! He thinks Zigfried could at least have the courtesy to look at him. Zigfried says he forgot Joey was standing there. Dueling Joey is about as interesting as watching grass grow. Tristan tells Joey not to listen, but Joey says if the duel is too boring for Zigfried, he'll have to make things more interesting. He draws, then sacrifices Brigadier of Landstar to summon Jinzo (2400 ATK). Thanks to Jinzo's effect, Zigfried's trap card is destroyed, leaving him wide open as Joey attacks him directly. Now, Joey says, maybe Zigfried will show him some respect. Zigfried's down to 1600 life points, and the gang cheer, while Zigfried steams. Joey says he's done enough for now, and ends his turn.

Zigfried says Joey was better off when he was ignoring him. But that's over, because now Joey has gotten his attention! Not only will Zigfried defeat him, he'll send him down in flames!

Zigfried draws, and says that this card should look familiar. It's the same one he used to devastate the last two fools.

Yugi says, ''Oh no!''

Zigfried plays the Ride of the Valkyries, and everyone stares in awe, as Zigfried laughs and says "Auf Wiedersehen" to Joey.

Lava spurts around Joey and Zigfried, as Zigfried asks if Joey would like to meet his friends. The magic card, Ride of the Valkyries, allows him to summon every Valkyrie he has in his hand, and he has four. The four Valkyries on horseback, each with 1600 attack points, descend to the field.

Zigfried says he'll begin with his favorite, Valkyrie Zweite. When she's summoned to the field, one of his opponent's monsters is automatically destroyed. Valkyrie Zweite charges, and Jinzo is sliced in half.

His next Valkyrie steals the attack points of monsters that have been removed from play, so she takes on Jinzo's attack of 2400. Then Zigfried uses her to attack Joey's life points directly.

Yugi calls out, ''Oh no! One more attack, and Joey's finished.''

''Real helpful, Yugi.'' Duke says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

''Yeah, you're almost as bad as Duke.'' Tristan adds and Duek turns to him, saying ''You little!''

Zigfried says he's right, and orders the other three Valkyries to attack. Laughing, Zigfried tells Joey thanks for playing, and the gang all gasp, as Yugi says Joey lost the duel! As the Valkyries return to Zigfried's side of the field, Zigfried tells Joey to look on the bright side—Kaiba Corp may have some lovely parting gifts for him.

But Joey looks up, smiling. He's still got 800 life points. Yugi exclaims that Joey's still in the duel! But how, Zigfried wonders. No one could survive that onslaught.

Unless, Joey explains, they have a handy little magic card called Hyper Refresh (Hyper Fresh). It doubled his life points to 8000 right before the attacks, so his life points never hit zero and explains that he can activate this card when he has no monsters on the field and his opponent's total attack strength exceeds his life points. He's still in the game.

Zigfried says that won't last long. He sets one card face down, then ends his turn. His Valkyries return to his deck. He shuffles, then holds his deck to his cheek, telling his "ladies" it's been a pleasure.

Joey tells him he can talk to his cards till he's blue in the face, but he's still not going to win. He's wide open, and it's Joey's turn.

00000

Meanwhile, Kaiba's doing the rebuild himself. As he works, he says, "Data input halted. Protocol shutdown. Memory wiped. Access standby. Download complete." Then, as he presses the Enter key, he says he won't let the hacker do this.

Yuna smiles as Seto lets his masterpiece do its job.

00000

The Ferris wheel stops, and Rebecca and Abe's car comes to rest.

Smiling, Rebecca asks, now where was she?

00000

The Blue-Eyes White Roller Coaster comes to a stop, and an overhead shot of Kaiba Land as people exclaim that it's repaired.

00000

In the Volcanic Pit, the flames finally subside. Tristan says he'd hate to see the gas bill.

Mokuba says he should check with Seto, and takes off.

Zigfried thinks congratulations to Kaiba for stopping the virus. Kaiba's saved the day—or so he thinks. 'I'd expected Kaiba to be able to stop my virus - that defense system of his is still considered the best in the world. But can Kaiba find me?'

00000

Watching the duels on his screens, Kaiba thinks that it looks like the computer whiz kid who broke into his father's company is all grown up, and he's back to his old tricks again.

Kaiba tells Roland to run another background check on Zigfried Lloyd. Kaiba needs to know if he's connected to the Schroeder family. Right now that freak is his number one suspect. He reminds Kaiba of a kid he once met. Kaiba says that in order to build relationships with European businessmen, Gozaburo met with the Schroeders at some boring party when Yuna looked at him quizzically.

Just then, Noah rushed in, apologies stopped as he hard his father's name.

Turning back to the screens, Kaiba thinks that that kid had the most dangerous programming skills he'd ever seen.

''At the time, I had to work on the security systems for KC. It happened while you weren't coming to school those three days. He had tried to humiliate our company, but my system had stopped him and no one really wanted to do business with them after they were caught. My stepfather made sure of that. But because he was a victim of my old system, he can figure out a third of what the new system would do, therefore I think I'll need Noah's help here.''

Noah suddenly tensed as Seto turned to look at him.

''Noah, this company is yours as it is mine and Mokuba's. But you have the right to choose if you'll help me or not. Whatever your decision might end up being, we're still family.''

Yuna smiled as Noah looked ready to cry. She knew that Noah still felt like he was imposing on the two brothers, so to hear that he was also family and that Seto trusted him with something this important to him must have finally placed those fears to rest. It was really amazing at how Seto knew the right time to say things like these.

Noah nodded with a happy, determinated smile. ''I'll help you in every way I can!''

Seto nodded back at him with a confident smirk. ''Good. Now. the two of us with Yuna and Mokuba's help can create a unique Kaiba Family anti-virus that will make every hacker tremble in fear at the very thought of it!''

Yuna blushed at the implication of her being family and she had to wonder if Seto had even noticed what he had said.

00000

Back at the duel, Zigfried tells Joey, let's go, time is money.

Adding that talk is cheap, Joey looks at his cards, then summons Swordsman of Landstar (500 ATK) in attack mode. He orders Swordsman of Landstar to attack Zigfried directly, but Zigfried says it won't be that easy. He activates his trap card, Fricka's Mediation, allowing him to neutralize the attack by removing a card from his graveyard.

Joey sets a card face down and ends his turn.

00000

Joey thinks that thanks to those three goddesses, Zigfried knows what card Joey's going to draw before Joey does. But not for long. Joey plays his magic card, Dangerous Machine Type 6. Joey will spin it at the beginning of each turn, and what it does will depend on the numbers that come up.

''I'm so lucky, people say that's one of my advantages.''

''And the reason Kaiba doesn't take him seriously as a duelist.'' Duke mumbles under his breath and Yugi sighs. It was the truth.

Zigfried says, so Joey's depending on Lady Luck to win the duel. Well, he can't depend on skill.

Joey says it took more than luck to get him where he is today, and he's about to prove it. But it's now Zigfried's turn, so Joey must show him his top three cards (Grappler of Landstar, Goblin Attack Force, and Sasuke Samurai). Zigfried tells him to put the second card on top, then the first, then the third. Joey is forced to set Goblin Attack Force, Zigfried "guesses" it, and it's removed from play. Then Zigfried sets one card face down and ends his turn.

Joey draws, and thanks to the Ring, his monster is discarded. Then Joey spins the Dangerous Machine Type 6, which comes up threes, allowing Joey to draw an extra card. Joey summons Sasuke Samurai (500 ATK). Zigfried says Joey's Samurai is useless, and activates his trap card, Loge's Flame. As long as it remains on the field, monsters with 2000 attack points or fewer can't attack. So Joey activates his face-down card, Graceful Dice, which will increase Sasuke Samurai's attack, depending on the number it rolls. Joey needs a five or a six, but it comes up a three, so Sasuke Samurai can't attack. Zigfried says Joey's so terrible at this game, it's frightening.

00000

Joey sacrifices Swordsman of Landstar to summon Maximum Six (1900 ATK). Whatever number Joey rolls is multiplied by 200 and added to its attack points. He rolls a six, so Maximum Six gains another 1200 points, raising its attack to 3100. Then Joey plays his Star Blaster magic card, sacrificing Sasuke Samurai so that he can summon a monster whose level depends on the number he rolls.

He rolls a five, which, added to Sasuke Samurai's two stars, lets him summon a seven-star monster—Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400 ATK).

Joey attacks Valkyrie Brunhilde with Maximum Six. But she's not destroyed. Zigfried explains that Brunhilde avoids destruction by giving up 1000 defense points. Her defense goes from 2000 to 1000, and Zigfried's life points are reduced from 1600 to 900. So Joey attacks and destroys the other Valkyrie with Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Zigfried's life points go down to 100.

Joey plays Dangerous Machine Type 6 again, sets a card face down and ends his turn.

Joey's friends cheer, while Zigfried looks grim. But then Zigfried chuckles, telling Joey he should have ended this duel when he had the chance.

Zigfried draws, saying this duel has gone on long enough. He plays the magic card, Enchanted Sword Nothung, raising Valkyrie Brunhilde's attack points by 400, to 2800. According to the legend of Nothung, Zigfried says, it was the world's greatest dragon slayer. With Nothung's effect, he can remove every dragon from play. Joey watches his Red-Eyes dissolve from the field.

Then Zigfried plays the magic card, Rainbow Bridge Bifrost, so that his Valkyrie gains 500 attack points for every monster he's removed from play.

Yugi says, now he gets it! ''Zigfried's been planning this from the beginning. That's why Zigfried removed all of Joey's monsters—to power up his own. Valkyrie Brunhilde's attack rises to 5000 as she gains 500 points from Jinzo, Panther Warrior, Goblin Attack Force, Gearfried, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.'' He explains to his clueless friends.

Joey activates his trap card, Compensation Mediation.

Zigfried taunts Joey for relying on luck again. Joey says Zigfried's scared because Joey never loses. Zigfried must choose two cards from his graveyard and shuffle them together with Compensation Mediation. Joey will choose one card, and if he picks his own card, he's saved. But if he fails, Zigfried wins.

Yugi says he knows Joey can do it. Joey picks the card in the middle.

But the card is Zigfried's Swan Maiden. Joey's luck has run out. Brunhilde attacks, destroying Maximum Six and taking the rest of Joey's life points.

Joey falls to his knees, and Yugi calls out to him.

Zigfried walks away, saying that some things never change. ''A rose is a rose, and a loser is a loser.''

00000

Roland announces Zigfried Lloyd as the winner.

As Mokuba and Kaiba watch, Roland says that the KC Grand Championship is down to its final four duelists.

''Joey almost won.''

''Hmm.'' Was all Seto said at Mokuba's comment.

Yuna feels gulty that she can't be there for the blond duelist, but there were other things she was plotting behind her rival's back. It had to be a surprise.

Joey's friends gather around him, and Tristan says, ''Big deal, so he lost the duel on a lousy game of chance.''

Duke says Joey must have just run out of luck.

Téa says, ''Nah, Joey wins his duels with talent, not luck.''

''So,'' Duke says, ''Joey didn't lose because he ran out of luck, he lost because he ran out of talent.''

Furious, Joey turns to ask if this is how they cheer him up. It's time for him to spread a little cheer of his own. Joey goes after them, and they run away laughing.

Yuna watched the three Kaiba brothers laugh at the comical scene going on in the Volcano Pits and she is happy to get this chance to get in a phone call.

Yugi thinks that Joey did a great job. 'And sooner or later, he's going to learn to control his temper.'

Joey continues to run after the others, complaining that he gets no respect.

00000

That evening was the wrap up of the first day of the tournament. Since Seto wanted the opening of Kaiba Land to be a blast, he had made sure that there were two parties going on. What he hadn't been expecting was that his rival would have a little something to do with it.

When Seto walked through the doors of the grand formal hall in his Kaiba Hotel, he was surprised to see that everyone was in formal wear even if he hadn't specified how they should dress. Not that he was displeased or anything. Just surprised.

Rebecca was in a cute, baby blue dress that reached to her knees and her hair was in a single ponytail. Tea actually found a decent, black, floor-length dress that Seto suspected was Yuna's doing. The three morons were all dressed in black tuxes and Yugi, Mokuba and Noah had gray suits on.

All the other duelists were there even if Zigfried looked like he would rather die than be here. Vivian, on the other hand, looked overjoyed to be able to see the CEO again. She was dressed in a red Chinese dress that strongly resembled a traditional Chinese wedding gown. Seto shuddered at the thought of who that unlucky bastard would be.

Yet, there was no Yuna around, even thought it was her that had insisted that they come dressed like this. He had received a message from both her and Juliena, saying that he's a dead man if he doesn't dress in the blue trench coat featuring shoulder pads and a raised studded collar, blue as he eyes, with silver studs and red inside that flared behind him like a cape, with the new black turtleneck that shimmered a bit in the light, as well as the black, leather pants and boots. The extra belts in pairs strapped around his upper arms and shins were the same color as the coat, opposed to the usual midnight blue. It made him look stunning, and many females were drooling over his appearance, yet there was no Yuna. Seto almost pouted.

Just then a familiar melody of a birthday song was heard in a chorus of voices. Everyone turned to the direction the sound was coming from, gasping as they saw a giant, five meters tall, detailed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon cake with the four Blue-Eyes flying around it and Fang of Critias sleeping at its feet. Beside Critias, Timeus was lying and watching the spectacle of the four magnificent dragons. Leaning against him was the Dark Magician Girl and up in the air, Dark Magician was facing off with the first Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A Kuriboh was sitting comfortably on the Ultimate Dragon's middle head. Saggi the Dark Clown was hanging from the head on the left and Black Luster Soldier was in his place on its back, like when the are fused in the Dragon Master Knight. Battle Ox and Blade Knight were standing back to back, protecting the female Magician. Lord of Dragon was nestled between the two Legendary Dragons and Kaiser Sea Horse was chasing a Red Eyes Black Dragon somewhere near the Ultimate Dragon's tail. La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp and his lamp were beside some toons, like the Toon Dark Magician Girl and the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon. There were a lot other monsters from decks of all his friends and his own Deck.

The room could only gape at the giant bander decorated with all sorts of dragons, saying in big bold letters ''HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETO!'' that was held in the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's paws. No one could believe their eyes. The sight was far too impossible to be reality. Seto looked over to his younger brothers and Yugi, but their jaws were on the ground as they stared at the magnificent cake.

As the singing got louder, one by one, the singers slowly exited from behind the Dragon. First Cecillia, Pegasus, Mia and Croquet and Kemo, then the three Egyptian families with a smirking Bakura leading them, after that Anubis and the Hizuris came out, followed by Dartz and the three Doma swordsmen with their families as well as Mai and Serenity. Seto couldn't believe his eyes as he saw them all and everyone in the room were rubbing their eyes, as if dreaming all these celebrities. Zigfried wanted to tear his suit apart as they all sang for Kaiba's birthday and the icing on the cake was when the Queen of Games joined them from the stage on which the duelists were announced just last night.

The Game Queen's tenor was soothing and everyone slowly started following her lead and singing the birthday song along with the others. A guitar soon followed and they saw that the Cyclones were playing for this party, obviously as a favor to the famous girl who had planed it all.

''Happy birthday, dear Kaiba/Seto!

Happy birthday to you!''

Everyone cheered as the cake suddenly released white lighting and the room lit up! The indoor fireworks were followed with Dren's ''One, two, and a one two three!'' and the screaming of the electric guitar as they started playing their songs. The room erupted with cheers and everyone started dancing as the stunned CEO was given his presents. The brunet could only stare in pure disbelief as Anubis finished the chain off with his gift and went to join the others in celebrating the Kaiba Corp King's birthday.

An all black-suit dressed Bakura with his Millennium Ring dangling in plain sight seized Mana by her wrist and started twirling her around the dance floor as the girl in the light green dress laughed. Malik, dressed in a white suit with a lavender dress shirt and gold tie, was fast to follow his lead and he snatched Tea's hand and dragged her to the dance floor, where she started giggling at his crazy antics. Both Duke and Tristan, clad in almost identical black and blue suits with a green tie in the Dice Master's case and a brown tie in Tristan's, asked Serenity, who was wearing a knee length sleeveless pink dress, for a dance but the girl was saved from choosing when Marik took her hand and led her away.

Pegasus and Cecillia sat at one of the tables and the silver-haired CEO immediately ordered a vine. Dartz and his wife were fast to join them while Valon, wearing a black tux, bugged Amelda, who was in a low cut, black dress, to dance with him. After some time, Anubis joined the older couples and watched in amusement as the redhead tried to run away from the persistent Australian. Ironheart sat with Arthur, who explained why Solomon couldn't come.

Julian and Sonia, Rafael's younger siblings who were a little older than Noah and were both dressed up for the occasion, and Mikey, Amelda's brother around the same age as Mokuba in a black suit, ran to the two still stunned Kaibas and introduced themselves. Dragging Rebecca and Leon, in a suit that matched his hair, with her, Chris also joined the group and she smiled at the confused sentences barely leaving the two sharp boys' mouths.

A elegantly dressed Mai and Julie had to drag Kuu and Joey away from the food before they ate everything and forced them to dance with them. Kuu quickly got in the rhythm and started dancing almost like an expert. Joey, on the other hand, looked awkward in his own body as he tried to move in the beat. The young CEO had to grimace and wonder if the dancing would be better or worse with some alcohol. Ishizu and Mahad, dressed in a white suit and dress, were dancing in a corner, exchanging kisses here and there and talking in each other's ear. They were just so sickeningly sweet, Seto had to look away. Kaiba was impressed to see how bold Rebecca was when she grabbed Yugi's hand and dragged him to the dance floor, and he was proud of his brothers each asking a girl to dance, Mokuba asked Chris and Noah asked Sonia. Both Rafael and Dartz jumped at that, ready to grab their daughter/younger sister, but Iona stopped them and scolded them both for acting so silly.

What was one of the biggest surprises was that Ryou had asked some Mia for a dance and had Roland snatch her away before he could even receive an answer. The CEO raised an eyebrow as he saw a rather Bakura-like smirk on the gentle boy's face and it made him wonder if he should talk to Roland about his obvious crush on Yuna's PA. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. The younger albino twin easily found a new dance partner while Roland was blushing while dancing with Mia.

Seto stopped observing his surprise party when he felt Yuna behind him. He turned to her and tried hard not to stare at the Duel Queen. She was dressed in a floor length dress the same blue color as his attire and eyes. The bottom of the dress, around her ankles, was red and the material seemed to shine in the room's light. The dress was slit on one side, showing off a long, ivory colored leg and the high heels that matched the blue of the dress. She wore a chocker of the same color, and her only other jewelry were the twin silver bracelets on either of her wrists. The Millennium Puzzle rested on a black chain that matched the heels of her shoes and Yuna looked like a dream in this getup. The only make-up she had on was a little eyeshadow and lipstick.

Seto wasn't sure if his heart had stopped beating or if it was beating to hard against his ribcage. As Yuna came to him and hugged him, Seto felt like one of his dreams had came true. For years, he had imagined how his birthday would look with Yuna in his arms, and although he has yet to confess to his childhood friend ... Seto felt like he was in a dream that was slowly becoming a reality. He ignored everything around him except his beautiful rival as they started swaying to a slow song Dren had signaled for his band to play since he saw the rivals' position.

One of Seto's dreams finally came true.