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

50. Chapter 50 Dreams do come true! part3

Rebecca, sitting on the sidelines with Leon, asks, can he believe that guy? He entered the tournament just to publicly humiliate Kaiba! Leon says he did have his reasons. But Tristan says that when Zigfried started endangering people's lives, he stepped over the line.

The dueling stations descend to the arena floor, and Kaiba jumps out. Yuna thinks that Zigfried was blinded by jealousy. He spent his entire life trying to outdo Kaiba, but he was always one step behind.

As her rival came her way, Yuna was shocked to see how he possessively wrapped an arm around her, startling her and causing the whole arena to let out wolf whistles. Mahad and to be restrained by Mana and Ishizu just not to kill the arrogant CEO.

Kaiba turns to walk away, and Mokuba jumps up to run after him, calling out to him to wait. Joining his brother, Mokuba tells him, awesome dueling! Kaiba says he hopes that defeating that wannabe sent a message to the rest of their competitors that Kaiba Corp is not a company to be messed with. Next time, he won't be so friendly. Noah soon joins them, commenting how Seto had quite a few tough spots but that it just proved how good a Duelist he really was. The green-haired boy took a hold of Yuna's hand as they walked and Mokuba grinned at the slightly annoyed look in his brother's eyes. Even though he knew Noah looked at Yuna as just an older sister, Seto couldn't help but be jealous. It was even worse with Sasha and Mokuba snickered at the memories.

Kaiba stops to tell Roland to announce the start of the championship matchup. Roland asks if he should have security remove Zigfried from the park, but Kaiba says it won't be necessary. He wants Zigfried to see what he missed out on, so he tells Roland to give him a good seat for the next duel.

Zigfried seethes as Kaiba laughs. Then Kaiba heads off, Mokuba running after. Kaiba, smiling, says, ''Let's show him how successful Kaiba Corporation is.''

The crowd cheers as Roland announces the final match of the Grand Championship, featuring the boy wonder, Leaping Leon Wilson! Leon looks a bit unsure, as the spectators around him cheer for him. Roland says, ''Leon will be facing off against the reigning international Duel Monsters champion, the Queen of Games, Yuna Yami Mouto. This will be a duel to remember!''

Meanwhile, Zigfried, still in his dueling station, laughs to himself, as he holds up the card he had in his hand at the end of the duel. Roland announces that the championship bout is about to begin in Kaiba Land's Blue-Eyes Fortress, a castle near the Kaiba Dome.

00000

With another two hour or so until the final match, Yuna decided to take a little walk through the park. What she hadn't been expecting was for Zigfried to corner her near the KaibaDome and demand a duel. She hadn't wanted to accept, but Zigfried had threatened that he would unleash a new virus that would cause the Kaibas a lot of trouble. Not knowing if he really could do that now, Yuna had accepted.

Now, she stood opposite Zigfried in one of the hidden streets of the amusement park, Duel Disk activated on her left arm and her fateful Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field. Her life points were at a steady 3200, as they had been for most of the duel. Zigfried had gotten only one lucky direct attack and thanks to the special effect of his Valkyrie Zweite with the use of Fortune Chariot. The next time he tried that, Yuna had retaliated with her favorite magic card, Fiend Sanctuary, which ended with Zigfried losing 800 life points instead of her.

Zigfried, on the other hand, was left with only 400 life points, seething as he held only three cards in his hand, out of which only one was a monster. On the field, he had a face down monster and his Pot of Greed as an attempt to make Yuna hesitate to attack his monster, but Yuna had seen through his bluff and had attacked with her Blue-Eyes last turn, but his continuous magic card had saved him from her attacking with Dark Magician. Now, he drew and then activated his pot of greed, getting two more Valkyries, which gave him three. He had been lucky that the card he had summoned allowed him to return his ride of Valkyries to his hand from the graveyard, so he played it and summoned his three monsters.

Yuna wasn't impressed as her Dark Magician was destroyed and her life points dropped to 2900. She had something in her hand that would devastate hr opponent, even if he somehow defeated her Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And indeed, Zigfried played his only remaining magic card, Dark Core, which he used to destroy her monster by discarding his last card. Even as Blue-Eyes gave an enraged roar at not being able to defend its master, Zigfried was surprised when Yuna didn't even flinch when her life points stopped at 1100.

The German laughed as he saw how he had devastated the Queen of Games last defense. ''Watch, your highness, as I demolish what is left of your life points!'' He orders his last Valkyrie Dritte to attack, and it brings Yuna down to 100 life points. ''Hahahaha! This is the day you become a loser, Yuna Yami Mouto!''

Yuna chuckles under her breath, causing Zigfried to freeze up. This might be his first time dueling the Duel Queen, but he had sen enough of her matches to know that nothing good ever comes from that smug little laugh. ''What's so funny!? You're about to lose!''

''I wonder about that.'' Yuna said as she drew her last card. She smirked s she saw what it was. ''I play Double Spell, which allows me to play the same cards you did last turn and I choose to destroy Valkyrie Zweite and return Monster Reborn to my hand!'' Said monster disappeared from the field and the German cursed under his breath. This wasn't good! It meant he could no longer attack the Duel Queen directly if she summoned a stronger monster!

''Next,'' Yuna continued, ''I play Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw until we hold six cards!'' Now this confused Zigfried as he drew six cards and Yuna drew three, one of which she immediately played since it was Watapon. ''Now I sacrifice my monster to summon Dark Magician Girl!'' The female spellcaster apprentice appears and glares at her master's opponent. (2300 ATK because of the Dark Magician in the graveyard). ''Next, it's time for you to see why I ma the Queen of Games!''

''Huh!?''

''Watch as I summon the three most devastating dragons in existence that need no sacrifice! Come forth, Eye of Timeus!'' The Legendary Dragon of Atlantis appeared and roared. ''Together with Dark Magician Girl, he forms Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!'' The blond magician's blue armor turns a silver blue and looks like a knight's armor, her staff becoming a sword as she sits on the aquamarine dragon's back (2600 ATK). Timeus growls at Zigfried as he glares at his monsters with his one good eye.

''What is that thing!?'' Said German couldn't help but scream. The Dragons was easily a bit bigger than the Blue-Eyes White Dragons and that dragons was the strongest in the game!

''I'm not dome yet!'' Yuna yelled, not aware that their duel was now broadcast all over the world. Noah, Mokuba and Seto were watching from just around the corner and the only born Kaiba was smugly holding his laptop as he filmed and sent the whole duel to their satellite for it to be shown all around the world. The duelists were all watching in awe as the Duel Queen dominated her opponent.

''Now, I play Claw of Hermos, allowing me to fuse Dark Magician with him from my graveyard and form the Dark Claw Amulet!'' Said equip card appeared in the form of a big,purple and red sword with long robes and chest armor. ''I put this equip card on my Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, making her even more powerful!'' The red and purple armor and robes attach themselves to Dark Magician Girl and the robes turn into a long, slit skirt that falls over her usual skimpy outfit. The armor shapes itself to resemble miniature dragon wings on the female mage's chest and spread over her shoulders, a cape flowing from them. The cape was red, but shimmered purple as it swished from side to side. Dark Magician Girl grabbed her new sword that had a handle in the shape of the bottom of her Master's staff with a green orb at the hilt of the sword, held by dragon claws. The sword was purple from the hilt up and on the blonde's forehead the symbol of dragon knights appeared. ''Meet Dark Magician Girl Knight of Dragon's Claw Order!(3100 ATK)'' Timeus roared loudly, echoed by the white dragon by its side. ''Thanks to her new sword, she gets 500 ATK for each spellcaster, dragon and knight monster in either of our graveyards!''

''Awesome!'' Joey yelled from behind the Kaibas. The gang had followed the brother without them knowing, wanting to see what was so interesting that the busy CEO left his office for. They were not disappointed as they watched the girl show off her full power. Leon, who had tagged along with the extension of the Yugi-tachi, gulped as he realized just how tough his duel is going to be. ''She used two of the Legendary Dragons in the same turn! As expected of the Duel Queen!'' Rafael and Dartz nodded, having had the honor of seeing her do something similar before.

''What are you dweebs doing here?'' Seto growled out, but his eyes never left his rival. This was a whole new way of dueling that he's seeing from his rival and he had to wonder why she was so ruthless and why she was showing so much of her true potential. He'd have to ask her later.

''We followed you to see what got your undies in a bunch, and I'm glad we did!'' Valon said as he excitedly watched Zigfried freak out as Yuna said she wasn't done yet. ''Ooh! I wonder what that rival of yours is up to, mate!''

All eyes returned to the duel as Yuna said it was the final stage of her main phase and that she was going to show her opponent why she was the Queen of Games and Duel Queen.

''And the last part of this powerful combo!'' Yuna yelled as she raised her second to last card in her hand. ''I play Fang of Critius, using him to merge my Blue-Eyes White with Ragnarok to form Blue-Eyes Ragnarok Dragon!'' Said dragons fused and the new monster formed. It looked like the Blue-Eyes with two bigger fangs and it's wings shining black instead of white in the light. It's stomach was similar to Critius' and its eyes were surrounded by black scale armor. At the end of its long tale were the same spikes as on the tale of the Legendary Dragon. ''It has 3200 ATK and 2000 DEF, but that's not what I'm looking for in this dragon! I use Timues' special ability once more, merging Blue-Eyes Ragnarok Dragon with Dark Magician Girl Knight of Dragon's Claw Order!''

The two monsters roared as a bright light enveloped them. Pegasus couldn't believe his eyes as the cards he had given Yuna just a few days ago as a surprise formed before him. The cards were perfectly legal and although they were one of the kind, they could have never belonged to anyone other than this girl, just as the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon should only be in Seto Kaiba's hands.

A new beast appeared before Yuna, as large and as beautiful as the monsters that had formed it. The scales of this dragon were as white as the moonlight with shimmering colors of light blue and aquamarine as it moved. The wings were almost the same as the Blue-Eyes' but the body and head were obviously Timeus'. The tale was like Critius' and Timeus' eyes were covered with a black shied and blue eyes-like ''glasses'' that curved down the dragon's throat like wings. The dragon had purple and red armor oh its stomach and back, as well as around its ankles. In the center of its forehead were five gems, an opal and sapphire on each side of a single ruby. In the center of its stomach was a line of amethysts with a diamond in the middle of the line. The Dark Magician Girl's getup was almost the same, except she, too, had a ruby in the center of her dragon knights' symbol. In the center of her chest armor was a giant sapphire, surrounded with opals and diamonds and her eyes had turned blue instead of the usual emerald color. The sword's only change was that now a carved black dragon was on the handle and a big, round amethyst was at the bottom of the handle.

The new monster roared as the blond mage raised her sword, saluting their master.

''I introduce you to Dark Blue-Eyes Magician Girl Rangarok Dragon Claw! This is the ultimate dragon rider that exists in the game with amazing 4600 ATK and 3000 DEF! And with her special ability, if I discard every monster in my deck to my graveyard, she gets infinite ATK points for three turns! And since Ragnarok is in her name, and with the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl still technically on the field, I get to activate this dragon's second special ability. Since my monsters are all already in the graveyard, I payed the price to allow me to banish all of your monster cards!'' The German's aquamarine eyes widen as all his monsters vanish, both from the graveyard, deck and field. He had never seen this amazing a creature, except the God Cards that were also lurking in the Duel Queen's deck.

''How's this possible!? I've never heard of this card before!''

''What a monster!'' Rebecca awed.

''I almost feel bad for him.'' Mai said as she watched the pink-haired man have a nerve breakdown.

Seto couldn't say anything. Yuna was rarely this ruthless with her opponents, but when she was, it was scary to watch. He didn't know what Zigfried had done in th short time they had left Yuna alone to deserve the reincarnated Pharaoh's wrath, but he'll have to make sure Yuna's alright after this.

''I created those monsters so that Yuna could protect something that is precious to her.'' Pegasus mumbled to himself as he and Cecillia watched their ''daughter'' prepare to call the final attack. ''Whatever he did, he must have deserved for Yuna-chan to lose control like this.'' His wife nodded in agreement.

''It's over.'' Yuna said as she raised her right hand and pointed at Zigfired. ''Dark Blue-Eyes Magician Girl Rangarok Dragon Claw! Finish this with Ragnarok Dark Lightning attack!'' The monster didn't hesitate to follow the order as the blond spllecaster raised her sword as Timeus reared his head back, white lighting forming in its mouth. As the lighting orb was released, the Dark Magician girl brought down her sword, a ball of dark magic firing from it and merging with the white lighting. The orb became black with gold lighting cracking around it and as it hit Zigfried, Yuna's entire deck danced around their master's opponent.

As Zigfried fell to his knees for the second time that day, he stared at the beautiful girl now surrounded by her fateful monsters as they slowly faded away after his life point counter reached zero. Although the girl was a vision, the man felt a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought that he'll never be able to take this magnificent Duelist away from Kaiba's side.

Arms crossed, legs spread slightly apart, hips titled forward and back straight as her head was titled proudly up high, Yuna announced ''I win.'' as her friends made their presence known by cheering almost as loudly as the KaibaDome not far away. ''You dueled admirably, but you should know that it all pales when you are doing it for reasons like yours. Work on that, and it will be an honor to duel you again.'' Stunned by the praise, Zigfried couldn't stop the world champion from dragging him to his feet before leaving. He stared at his hand as she was long gone and wondered if he had dreamed that part.

00000

Yuna was having a rather big headache as her friends fussed over the duel, and although she answered every question, she felt the need to lie down and sleep. She could feel the possibility of a dream coming on and she didn't want it to happen during her title-defending duel.

Sensing that Yuna was far to tired to deal with their friends, Yugi invited everyone for burgers and Yuna made a disgusted face. Everyone knew that she couldn't understand how people ate questionable meet like that and Seto chuckled at her reaction. He had caught on to Yugi's plan and he offered to take Yuna to a more dignified lunch, causing some of the males in their group to protest. Not that the rivals paid them any attention as they walked off.

Mokuba and Noah grinning slyly as they stayed with the Yugi-tachi. They knew that their brother was ready to do anything for his rival, and they had to wonder just how much longer it would be before Seto couldn't hold his feeling to himself and he makes a move. And they didn't mind sticking with Yugi, since this gave them the perfect opportunity to plot new schemes with Mana, Bakura and Yugi, the matchmakers of the group.

Seto felt really worried at how worn his rival looked, but he guessed he understood. This tournament was tiring for the spectators, let alone the duelists, and Yuna had just dueled against those boring ponies Zigfried calls monsters. However, he didn't expect for Yuna to suddenly collapse against him as they walked towards the elevator to his office. He had barely caught her, startled by the sudden movement. As he checked her pulse while he held her against his chest, he realized with both dread and relief that she was asleep. Suddenly realizing why she had been so worn out, Seto sighed as he gently picked her up bridal style and carried her the rest of the way to his office, where he put her down, as gently as one would handle a newborn baby, on the black, leather couch that was as comfy as some beds. Covering her with his trench coat, Seto took his laptop and sat beside Yuna's feet and started finishing up his new upgrade for the anti virus, should Zigfried try to do something else while he was still here.

00000

When the group came to check up on the rivals just a few minutes before the duel, they were relieved when both of them came out of the elevator while playful bantering about girly ponies and and funny hairdos.

00000

Atop a high balcony overlooking the dueling stage, the gang is gathered.

Téa tells Mokuba he hooked them up with the best seats in the house. Mokuba says, it was nothing. Let's just say he knows some people who know some people. Later, maybe, he'll take them backstage to meet the stars. Téa says he really is a big shot.

Rebecca says the duel is starting. She's going to cheer the loudest for her Yugi's big sister, her soon to be sister in law!

''You do that,'' Téa tells her, a bit annoyed by the girl.

00000

Meanwhile, Yuna ascends a long, torch-lit stairway leading to the dueling stage. Yugi was there with her, wanting to wish her good luck. He tells the reincarnated Pharaoh this is it! He has to admit that, with her title on the line, he's a little nervous for her. Yuna chuckles while teasing him that if anyone should be nervous, it's her, but tells him to stay focused, and have fun while he watches! Yugi says he's being silly, but that he just couldn't imagine her without the title of Duel Queen and Queen of Games.

''They've become a part of who you are as much as your cards have.'' Yuna nods, but stops when Yugi suddenly remembers something. ''You're not allowed to use your God Monsters for this duel, right? And I know that you won't use the Legendary Dragons against Leon, and I doubt you'd use the same tactics you used against Vivian, so I have to ask: What are you planning this time? You didn't assemble the deck in front of me like you usually do!'' The younger twin whined and Yuna laughed at his childish act.

''You'll have to wait and see, Aibou. It will be an exciting game. I'll do my best and fight with no regrets.'' The Game Queen said as she get to the top of the stairs. ''It's time to duel!''

00000

Leon walks up a similar stairway, where he's accosted by Zigfried, who's waiting in the doorway at the top of the stairs. Leon asks what he's doing there, and Zigfried smiles, and holds out a card to Leon, telling him it might bring him luck. Leon hesitates at first, but then reaches out to take the card.

00000

Crowds gather below the Fortress, and Roland, on the dueling stage, welcomes them to the final bout of the KC Grand Championship. A blimp floats overhead, filming the duel for broadcast all over the world. Other crowds gather in the streets, where the match is being shown on a large screen.

Mai stops watching Valon and Joey bicker to watch as Yuna takes the stage. The female Duelist, although petite, commanded attention as if she were as huge as mount Fuji.

Then Leon comes out onto the stage, a fierce expression on his face. ''Let's do this,'' he says. He fought long and hard to get here. It's always been his dream to meet Yuna, he says, and now that he has, he's got a new dream—to defeat her.

Yuna arches a fine eyebrow at this. Something was not right here.

Roland announces that the duel is ready to begin. ''Who will be the champion?''

Yuna and Leon shuffle each other's decks. As she returns Leon's deck, Yuna wishes Leon luck, but Leon just grimaces and returns to his side of the field, saying he doesn't need luck.

Wondering what that's all about, Yuna also turns to take her place on her side of the field.

Roland says that to kick off the festivities, they have a special individual. Joey grins into the camera, but Mokuba pushes him away, saying that Roland is talking about his brother. He points up to the next balcony, where Kaiba is standing. Roland introduces the host of the KC Grand Championship tournament, Seto Kaiba.

Joey says, leave it to Kaiba to make this whole tournament about him. Duke points out that Kaiba did organize it and pay for it and build the theme park to host it, so he'd say it is all about him. Téa says that the only thing Kaiba didn't do in this tournament was duel.

''This tournament is crucial to Kaiba Corp's future.'' Duke adds as Joey thinks about what they had said.

''I think Kaiba would rather be dueling Yuna.'' Tea adds to her own statement.

Mokuba says his brother wanted to participate in this tournament more than anything, but he was too busy opening Kaiba Land and improving their company's image. Mokuba says his brother's the only one who really deserves to face Yuna. Joey says he doesn't know if he'd go that far. He coulda been a contender. Rebecca says, please, he lost his first duel! She almost beat Leon, and now he's got the title shot!

But Mokuba says that if his brother had dueled in this tournament from the beginning, he'd have blown them all away. ''They've been friends and rivals for years. No one deserves that chance more than Seto.''

Joey says that as a duelist, he understands how Kaiba feels. He'd like to be dueling Yuna, too. Rebecca agrees, but says Leon defeated all the challengers and earned his right to duel Yuna. Tea hopes Leon will duel with the spirit of those defeated duelists. ''Otherwise, he won't stand a chance.''

Noah snorts. ''He won't stand a chance even if she gave him all three of her God Cards and the Legendary Dragons. Yuna Nee-chii had once said, or that's what Mokuba told me, that even before she had those cards, she had been the Queen of Games. I've dueled against her even when the odds were completely against her, and yet she had won. Yuna Yami Mouto is no ordinary Duelist.''

Ishizu nods. ''You could say that again. She summoned a miracle in the last duel of Battle City.''

''And she summoned her God Card on her last move n our duel.'' Bakura added.

''Don't forget that she defeated an Exodia deck.'' Both the Ishtar twins and Joey pointed out.

''And she defeated all three God Monsters, since that's how she got them.'' Tristan points out.

''She defeated the Great Leviathan as well.'' Dartz added.

''And many other things!'' Yugi finished. Now was not the time for this, Yuna's duel was starting soon.

Kaiba says that the KC Grand Championship tournament was designed with one thing in mind—finding the only person besides himself who deserves to be called the greatest duelist in the world! Yuna rolled her eyes here, knowing that the rest of the world did the same. Unlike those who really insult her, Seto only said those arrogant things to get n peoples' nerves.

''So these two competitors will face off in one final battle to determine just that. Now, start the duel!'' The CEO yelled and the crowds all around the world cheered.

Leon starts by summoning Forest Wolf (1800 ATK) in attack mode.

Joey asks, what the heck is that? ''A wolf in grandma's clothing?''

Rebecca tells him not to be fooled—that card is bad news.

Leon ends his turn.

Yuna draws, then plays Polymerization, fusing Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100 ATK). She attacks Forest Wolf with Chimera and destroys it, taking Leon down to 3700 life points.

The gang cheer, and Joey says, who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

''Not Yuna'' Tristan jokes along.

Leon doesn't appreciate it, asking if they think this is all a big joke. He's waited his entire life for the chance to face off against Yuna, so he's not taking this lightly. He's here to win and win big.

Leon says Yuna is a great duelist. He can feel Yuna's strength in this duel. He's been dreaming about dueling Yuna for so long. Now his dream is realized.

Leon says he's going to play his most devastating creature! He summons a cute little girl monster in a pink dress, carrying a bag of groceries (1200 DEF).

Joey says he can't believe he knows this, but isn't that Little Red Riding Hood?

''It's cute!'' Tea says and Serenity sequels.

Seto frowns as he thinks this kid is disrespecting his rival and his tournament with these fairytale creatures.

Téa says Leon must like fairy tales, and Rebecca says they don't know the half of it. Téa wonders, how tough can they be? Rebecca says they're not the sweet little characters they remember.

Leon ends his turn, and Téa asks, what's up with Leon?

Rebecca says that ever since the duel started, he's been acting like a jerk.

Up in his balcony, Kaiba says that, for once, he agrees with the dorks. He's been watching the competitors closely since the tournament began, and something definitely seems different about that kid. To himself, he thinks that he doesn't trust him. 'Could he be a danger to Yuna?'

Yugi, who stayed on the same level as where the duel was taking place and just a bit to the side from Yuna, wonders if Yuna's thinking the same thing he's thinking. ''Leon's not acting like himself out there.''

Yuna agrees that Leon does seem a bit angry. ''What could have happened?''

Yugi wonders if the pressure is getting to him. Yuna doesn't know, but the duel must go on.

00000

Meanwhile, back at the Kaiba Dome, one of Kaiba's suits screams in anguish as he studies computer readouts on Leon. How could he have missed it?

''Mr. Kaiba is going to go ballistic!''

He runs frantically from the control room.

00000

Zigfried walks down a corridor toward the dueling stage, feeling incredibly smug about accomplishing to keep his little brother's identity safe this long.

''Soon, Leonhard von Schraider will defeat Herr Kaiba's greatest rival, the Queen of Games, and the Schraider family will be the best selling business family in he world!''

00000

Yuna summons Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400 ATK) and attacks Little Red Riding Hood, destroying it.

Tristan tells him, nice one! He never liked that story, anyway. Joey says these fairy tale freaks are nothing compared to Yuna's monsters. But Rebecca's not so sure. Every one of Leon's monsters comes with an annoying little twist.

Leon says that Little Red Riding Hood's twist is that once it's destroyed, he's allowed to transfer any Level 4 warrior monster from his deck to the field, so he summons Forest Hunter (1200 ATK) in attack mode. Forest Hunter's effect allows him to remove one Beast or Beast-Warrior monster from the game, so Yuna's Chimera is taken out of play.

Rebecca says Leon pulled all these tricks when he dueled her, too. But he seemed to be having more fun than he is now. Téa asks what changed, and Joey says he's dueling for the championship title now.

Rebecca says being nervous about a big duel is one thing, but acting like a total creep is another. Leon's been waiting to duel Yuna for years, so you'd think he'd at least crack a smile.

Yuna ends her turn.

Leon tells her that ever since he saw Yuna duel, she's been a role model to him. He dreamed about one day facing Yuna. But now that it's happening, he can't enjoy himself, because he has a job to do.

Yugi wonders what Leon's talking about.

Then the Suit, Fugata, runs onto the balcony, papers in hand, telling Kaiba he has to take a look at this. Kaiba takes the papers as Fugata explains that he ran another background check on Leon Wilson. Kaiba hopes this is some kind of a joke—but Zigfried, who's standing behind the balcony doorway, laughs and says it's true. Kaiba asks if this was part of his twisted plan, and Zigfried says yes, but it took Kaiba long enough to figure it out.

Kaiba asks Zigfried if throwing away his own life wasn't good enough—he had to drag his own brother down with him? Everyone gasps in shock, as Zigfried steps out onto the balcony to say it's all true. Leon Wilson is in reality Leonhard von Schroeder!

Zigfried tells Leon it's time to reveal the real reason he entered this tournament. Leon says, whatever Zigfried says.

''Leon, show them your true power.''

Leon says, "Hai, Nii-san"

Yugi says, this is insane!

Zigfried says that all he had to do was make them think that he was the real threat to the tournament. While Kaiba was intent on stopping him, Leon was quietly climbing the ranks of the competition, virtually unopposed! And now, a von Schroeder is about to win it all! Kaiba's biggest rival is about to reign victorious in Kaiba's own tournament, just as Schroeder Corp is about to release their new gaming system. Just imagine the publicity his new game will get when his brother defeats the Queen of Games herself!

Kaiba asks if Zigfried sabotaged his tournament just to sell a few lousy games. Zigfried says, if anyone knows about lousy games, it's Kaiba. Kaiba's had his moment at the top, so now it's time for him to step aside. As soon as Zigfried's brother is crowned world champion, the new age of Schroeder Corp will begin!

Joey says this duel isn't over yet, and Rebecca insists that Yuna won't lose!

Roland asks if he should stop the duel, but Zigfried points out that if Kaiba disqualifies Leon now, he'll be breaking the rules of his own competition—duels in progress can't be stopped. Plus, if he pulls the plug before a new champion is named, then the entire tournament was nothing more than a giant waste of time. But, that's only one man's opinion.

He tells Kaiba to do what he thinks is right.

Kaiba laughs, and tells Zigfried there's a little problem with his plan. ''There's only one duelist in the world who's talented enough to beat Yuna, and that's me. Zigfried, your plan only works if Yuna loses. Leon has as much chance of winning as your company has of succeeding.''

Yuna nods to her rival, ready to defend Kaiba Corp with everything she's got!

Roland says the duel will continue as scheduled, and may the best duelist win.

Kaiba watches, smiling, thinking that he never expected anyone to defeat Yuna. 'That honor will belong to me.'

Yuna smiles back, and Zigfried tells Leon to prove his worth as a von Schroeder and crush Yuna Yami Motou, just as they rehearsed it.

Leon says he won't let Zigfried down.

Yugi can't believe it. That means that everything Leon told them about his dreams of becoming a champion duelist was a big lie!

Yuna says she'll get to the bottom of this. She asks Leon if he's really there to destroy Kaiba Corp, or is he letting his brother control who he is?

''The truth will set you free.''

Zigfried tells Leon not to let these do-gooders turn him against him. They'll never know what their family has been through. He tells Leon to crush Yuna and obtain the championship title he deserves. It's his duty as a Schroeder.

Leon agrees, and won't listen to what Yuna is about to say. He says he knows Yuna would say that dueling for revenge is wrong, but his brother never asked for his help before, and now, for the first time ever, Zigfried needs him. Leon says he's sorry, but he can't let his brother down.

Leon says that ever since he can remember, Zigfried has been the most important member of their family. Leon says that with everyone's attention focused on Zigfried, he was pretty much forgotten about, so he learned to entertain himself. He spent most of his time reading fairy tales. It was fun, but part of him still wished there was something he could do to help his family, just like Zigfried. Then he discovered the game of Duel Monsters, and his life was never the same.

''You inspired me. Ever since I saw your very first duel, how you stood up to a regional champion and won as if you had done it thousands of times before ... How you never doubted yourself ... How you fought for the good in people and for those you care about ... How fire danced in your eyes ... I became obsessed with you! I wanted to duel you, even if I would lose, just to feel the trill of a real duel, just so I could feel the difference between an opponent who is just a duelist and an opponent who is a True Duelist!''

''Leon.'' Yugi says.

Yuna stayed quiet.

'' i felt envy every time I watched you duel Mr Kaiba, knowing that he was the only one who could make you feel like you were having a battle, and not just an ordinary game of Duel Monsters. And ever since I came here, I realized that no matter if you lose to someone, you will forever be the Duel Queen and Queen of Games in the eyes of the world. Your skill is far above anyone else's. And you only have on rival, but no equal. Well, I'm going to change that today! I'll take your official title and become your equal, just so I can make my family proud!''

''I understand what that feels like, Leon, wishing to duel against a True Duelist.'' Seto said, snapping everyone's attention to the CEO. ''But that doesn't mean that you can do things like this. It only disrespects those who you wish to respect. Yuna had nothing to do with this family feud, but she is a close friend of mine so your brother attacked her. However, if you're doing this, you should know something really important.''

Both von Schroeder gulp as a maniacal look enters the blue eyes that could freeze a star. ''A-and what's t-that?''

''In this world, there are things that won't change. If they are forced to change, chaos will erupt. Believe me when I tell you that disrespecting Yuna Yami Mouto will forever cause nothing but hate and anger towards the person who did so. And if you, or anyone really, defeats Yuna ... This world will lose all hope it has ever had.''

Leon couldn't understand what the CEO meant, but he could already feel the crowds disagreement to the way the Duel Queen had been treated in this tournament. First Vivian, then Zigfried and now even Leon ... War was near if this continued.

Leon tells Yuna he's not just fighting for himself, he's fighting for his whole family.

Yugi tells Yuna that Leon was brainwashed into dueling. He should play for his love of the game, not for his family's vengeance. Yuna says she believes that deep down, Leon knows that, too.

Leon continues the duel, summoning Iron Hans (1200 ATK). Once this monster is on the field, Leon can automatically summon his Iron Knight as well. Leon tells Yuna to get ready to step down, because there's a new champion in town—Leon von Schroeder. He summons Iron Knight (700 ATK), as Zigfried laughs, saying he knew Leon wouldn't let him down.

To everyone's astonishment, Leon says he wins! Yuna only has one monster while he has three. Before this turn is done, her title will belong to Schroeder Corp!

He plays his magic card, Iron Cage, which sends any monster he chooses to the graveyard. Joey says, there goes Yuna's only monster! But Leon uses his magic card to send his own Iron Hans to the graveyard. As a result, Iron Knight's attack increases to 1700. Joey says, that's an extra thousand points! and Duke adds that now Yuna's monster is toast. Leon orders Iron Knight to attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, destroying it, and taking Yuna's life points down to 3700. Then, Leon attacks directly with Forest Hunter, for another 1200 points of damage.

Yuna's down to 2500 life points.

Joey says Yuna's off to a bad start.

''No joke,'' says Tristan. ''Yuna just lost almost half her life points.''

Leon ends his turn.

Professor Hawkins tells Grandpa that Leon certainly is a talented lad. Grandpa agrees that, not only does he have impressive skills, he also has a great deal of respect for the cards in his deck. That is the mark of a true duelist. Téa thinks that when push comes to shove, Leon will do the right thing.

Grandpa reminds her that the Schroeder-Kaiba rivalry is a bitter one, and the anger and jealousy between the two families runs deep.

Leon looks up to his brother in the high balcony, and Zigfried thinks that Leon had better not let him down.

Yuna tells Leon, well done. She's impressed.

Leon says that his deck of fairy tale cards has always come through for him. There was a time when these cards seemed like his only friends.

Yuna's eyes soften. ''I, too, used to feel like that. I still do, sometimes.'' She whispered, but due to the microphone, Seto and her other friends heard her. Leon stared in amazement, not believing that the popular Duel Queen could have the same troubles as him.

''It started when I began to read fables and folk tales to pass the time. I used to pretend that I was part of the stories.'' Yuna smiles at the boy and he blushes. With her eyes still soft like that, Yuna looked like an earthbound angel and Leon had to force himself to focus. ''Pegasus must have felt the same way, since he created a whole series of Duel Monsters cards inspired by fairy tales.''

But, Leon says, this isn't about his dreams. It's about finally paying his dues to the Schroeder family, by making sure Kaiba Corp falls into ruins.

Yuna says that the only way to get through to Leon is to duel him with all her strength. Yugi protests, but Yuna tells him that Leon's mind is made up. He wants to fight for his brother, even if it means tarnishing his glory as a duelist. ''Sounds familiar?''

''Mokuba and me?'' Yugi whispers and Yuna smiles.

''In order to fight a duel I won't regret, I must fight with all my strength.''

Yugi nods, but he was still unsure about all of this.

Yuna draws Mirror Force, then plays Queen's Knight (1500 ATK) in attack mode and attacks Forest Hunter. It's destroyed, and Leon's down to 3400 life points. Zigfried watches, frowning, from the balcony, as Yuna sets one card face down and ends her turn.

Leon draws, then, thanks to Iron Cage's effect, he's able to bring back Iron Hans. Iron Knight's attack goes back to 700, but with Iron Hans back on the field, Leon is able to summon another Iron Knight. Next, Leon plays Spinning Wheel Spindle. Téa wonders what Leon can do to Yuna with a giant roll of string. Rebecca remembers that card—it's a monster destruction card.

Leon says it's time to reenact the story of Sleeping Beauty with Yuna's Queen. The spindle strikes Queen's Knight in the chest. Queen's Knight falls to the ground asleep, then disappears. Leon explains that she'll sleep in the graveyard for three turns, then she'll return. Now that she's gone, Leon attacks directly with Iron Hans.

Yuna activates her trap card, Mirror Force, reflecting the attack back on Leon's monsters and destroying all three of them.

Joey and the others cheer, while Kaiba snidely tells Zigfried, tough break.

Zigfried says to give Leon time. The Schroeders have a habit of toying with their opponents. To himself, Zigfried thinks that it's almost time to reveal the final secret.

Moving on, Leon plays his magic card, Water of Life, which brings back Iron Hans from the graveyard. Then he can summon another Iron Knight. Tristan says that knight keeps coming back for more! Joey says it's the deck that won't quit. Rebecca agrees, saying that's why Leon's so hard to beat. He built his deck with a perfect balance of magic, trap, and monster cards. Duke hopes Yuna can find a weakness before it's too late.

It's Yuna's turn, and she starts by playing Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Unfortunately for Leon, she says, she drew Watapon (200 ATK). Since it was moved from her deck to her hand by the effect of a magic card, she can special summon it to the field.

Then she sacrifices Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000 ATK). Leon looks on delightedly as she appears on the field. ''This is awesome,'' he says. ''She's one of you most famous monsters!''

Dark Magician Girl blows Leon a kiss, and he blushes, then says this isn't cool—now he has to destroy her.

Not if she destroys Leon first, Yuna says, then attacks the Iron Knight.

Leon loses 1300 life points, taking him down to 2100.

Yuna ends her turn.

Leon says it was nice meeting Dark Magician Girl, then frowns as he adds that all good things must come to an end. Zigfried thinks that they've toyed with these fools long enough. It's time to unleash the final phase of their plan.

Watching Zigfried over his shoulder, Kaiba wonders what he's up to.

Leon draws, then says it's the same card Yuna drew. Some might call it coincidence, but he calls it fate. Leon plays Pot of Greed and draws two more cards. He gasps when he sees what he's drawn—that's the card! Zigfried smiles evilly.

Zigfried calls out to Leon to make his family proud, and activate that card. Leon stares at the card in his hand, remembering when Zigfried gave it to him. When he saw it, he told Zigfried that he'd never even heard of that card. Zigfried told him it was one of a kind, and he'd been saving it just for Leon. When Leon drew it, Zigfried wanted him to play it immediately, and the whole Schroeder family would thank him. Leon promised he wouldn't let his brother down.

Zigfried thinks that everything they've done so far has been leading up to this moment. Silently, he urges Leon to play the card.

Saying that this is for his family, Leon plays the Golden Castle of Stromberg.

Kaiba, Professor Hawkins, and Grandpa gasp as Leon puts the card into the field card slot.

Even Leon is surprised when a huge golden castle rises over the field behind him.

Joey asks if anyone knows what that is.

Professor Hawkins says he does.

Grandpa does, too.

Kaiba turns on Zigfried, asking him how he got his hands on that. Zigfried just smiles.

Yuna says she's heard stories about that card, but she thought it was never released.

''It wasn't.'' Pegasus growled out. They all turn to the game creator as he explains that the card was never finished and was meant to be just a trophy to hang on a wall.

00000

In Kaiba's control room, one of the techies observing the duel says she's getting some interference at her computer console. The techie next to her says the mainframe's running fine. Techie #1 says the signal strength is fine, too. It makes no sense! But, whatever it was, it's over now.

00000

Back at the duel, Leon activates the special effect of the Golden Castle, allowing him to summon any monster with four stars or less. He plays Cinderella (300 ATK) in attack mode, and her fairy godmother appears to give her her fancy dress. Then, Pumpkin Carriage appears on the field, and Cinderella gets her Glass Slippers.

Rebecca calls out to Yuna to watch out—that princess is tougher than she looks.

Leon explains that when Pumpkin Carriage is on the field, Cinderella can attack Yuna's life points directly, and orders Cinderella to attack. Yuna's life points go down to 2200. Then Cinderella's Glass Slippers form on Dark Magician Girl's feet, reducing her attack by 1000 points.

Tristan says, Yuna's getting crushed!

Joey protests that she's the Queen of Games—she's not afraid of some princess.

Rebecca says, that's no princess, that's a monster in heels!

Kaiba asks Zigfried again where he got that card, but Zigfried plays dumb. There was no way he ws going to let this punk mess with his rival.

Professor Hawkins wonders if that's really "it," and Grandpa says it is. Téa asks what's going on, and Professor Hawkins explains that there are several Duel Monsters cards that Pegasus created, but never fully developed or officially released, and the Golden Castle of Stromberg is one of them. Grandpa remembers a tournament several years ago that offered the Golden Castle as a prize, but it was never meant to be used.

Professor Hawkins agrees, and says that because it was only a test sample, it was forbidden from tournament play. Grandpa adds that, since only one copy was ever made, it became one of the most sought-after cards in the game. Professor Hawkins can't believe that Leon has it in his deck!

''That card is as illegal in Duel Monsters as drugs are all over the world!'' Pegasus yelled.

Kaiba tells Zigfried that his brother just played an illegal card.

Zigfried disagrees.

Mokuba says that if it's really a non-registered card, Leon's Duel Disk shouldn't have recognized it. Kaiba says that the card limiter must have been deactivated, and he thinks he knows how.

Joey says that means Leon is cheating! Leon's surprised to hear it.

Kaiba says, that's the real reason Zigfried hacked into his computer system. Zigfried pretends to be offended, saying that the Queen of Games is about to be dethroned by a Schroeder, so Kaiba accuses him of cheating? Leon simply played a strong card. Zigfried says not to blame him because Kaiba's cheap computer network decided to malfunction.

''Kaiba Corp's heyday is over!''

Kaiba says no one's going to buy that. It's a fact—Leon broke the rules. He played a non-registered card in an official duel. Zigfried tells him to go ahead and cancel the match, even though he promised the world a winner. Kaiba says the duel will go on. Zigfried thinks that Kaiba knows that if he disqualifies Leon, his entire tournament was pointless and his reputation will plummet.

Leon looks at the castle behind him, wondering if this is really a forbidden card. No way, he says, His brother would never lie to him like that. Zigfried tells him to just continue his move. The Golden Castle of Stromberg was accepted by his Duel Disk, so it can't be illegal. He tells Leon to show these people what it means to be a Schroeder. Leon says all right, but Yuna turns on Zigfried, asking, how could he! Joey says he knew Zigfried was a jerk, but lying to his own brother! Zigfried tells Leon not to listen to them. Kaiba's friends just want to tear their family apart. Who is Leon going to believe, these strangers or his own flesh and blood?

Leon says he doesn't want to win by cheating. Zigfried again insists that the card is legal.

Yuna warns Leon not to trust Zigfried. She says Zigfried's just using him. He reprogrammed Kaiba's dueling system to accept an illegal card.

Leon asks his brother if it's true. Zigfried finally admits it, but says it's too late to stop him now. The most powerful card never released is already on the field, and no one can stop it!

Yuna tells Zigfried that he's stained the souls of all the duelists. He's not qualified to be a duelist.

Leon says, "Yugi!"

Zigfried replies, the souls of duelists? ''This is just a game.''

Yuna glares. ''Don't you understand? The duelists who have fought along, and those who've come to cheer for them... and everyone who's enthusiastic about dueling, and Leon's feelings—Zigfried has stained the good will of all of them.''

Zigfried tells Yuna she's too green to play the hero.

''Really now?'' Yuna says as she lowers her head and all those who knew the origin of her soul shiver as they feel the awesome power of it rising to the surface. ''I only you knew.'' She chuckles and looks up. Zigfried steps back as Shadows and Light fought in the depths of twin blood pools that Yuna calls her eyes. The sight, no matter how beautiful, was frightening.

''Wha?''

''I may be young, but I know more about this world than anyone else.'' Yuna says as she straightens to her full hight.

Zigfried, a bit intimidated by her, says there's only one winner here—Schroeder Corp. When Leon is crowned World Champion, they'll be the number one gaming company on Earth!

Yuna says, not if Zigfried forces him to win by cheating.

Zigfried just laughs, saying he calls it creative dueling.

''To duelists all over the world, its disrespecting the game! No one will want to have business deals with someone hated by gamers!'' Yugi pointed out.

Leon protests that he was supposed to win fair and square. But Zigfried says it turns out the rules didn't fit his needs. He tells Leon to use the card he gave him, and let Zigfried handle the rest. Leon's dreams are about to be realized—don't let them pass him by.

Leon says his dream has always been to win in a duel against Yuna, but he refuses to do it by breaking the rules. Leon plays Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the Golden Castle of Stromberg. Joey and Tristan cheer, telling Leon he doesn't need that illegal hunk of junk.

But the Golden Castle remains standing. Zigfried laughs, saying that since the Golden Castle of Stromberg card was never finished, he was able to add a few twists of his own. Grandpa says, a duelist can't change the attributes of a card! Professor Hawkins says, unless he was able to rewrite the file and alter the data. Kaiba asks Zigfried what he's done. Laughing, Zigfried tells him to witness the final phase of his revenge. Mokuba points to the Golden Castle, which has started to glow. Screens showing the duel flicker. Zigfried says if Kaiba thinks he hacked into his dueling system just to strengthen one card, he's wrong. In fact, that card was just a key. As soon as it was played, it unlocked the most devastating virus ever constructed.

Kaiba orders his man to launch the anti-viral program immediately, but Zigfried says, too little, too late. Every one of Kaiba Corp's program files and databanks is being deleted as they speak. When Kaiba's empire crumbles, Pegasus will have no choice but to negotiate a partnership with Schroeder Corp.

Seto calls Zigfried a snake, and Yuna says he must be stopped. Pegasus even adds that he'll wait for Seto and Kaiba Corp to recover rather than sign a contract with Zifried, which enrages the man but all he says is that Pegasus will have no choice in the matter .

Leon says it's all his fault. He never should have trusted Zigfried, and now it's too late.

Yuna says there's still time, but Leon isn't listening. He says he just wanted the chance to face Yuna in a fair duel, but that chance is gone. He begins to place his hand over his deck to surrender, but Zigfried interrupts him, saying it's not that easy. His virus can't be stopped by surrendering. There's only one way to put a stop to all this—destroy the Golden Castle of Stromberg, and the virus will cease.

''But how?'' Téa wonders. ''Magic and trap cards are useless against it.''

Joey says, who knows what other abilities Zigfried added to it.

Leon asks, now what?

Yuna says, they continue the duel. Leon says, it's no use. His brother made that card indestructible.

Yuna, angry, asks, what happened to the Leon she met at the start of the tournament? He wouldn't be giving up, he'd be fighting for his dream. She tells Leon to duel her with everything he has, and show Zigfried what the Heart of the Cards is all about. ''Together,'' Yuna says, ''You and I will put an end to Zigfried's selfish scheme.''

Leon still says it's all his fault.

Yuna tells him he's a true duelist, and that hasn't changed. He can't give up now, he has to do his best. ''Show them the glory of the duel. I will destroy this trap.''

Leon isn't sure, but Yuna says to trust her. ''Every card has its weakness. We just need to figure out this one—and we don't have much time.''

Leon agrees, feeling increadibly guilty for dragging a nice girl like Yuna into all of this.

Zigfried announces that as he speaks, thousands of Kaiba Corp files are being deleted, thanks to his undefeatable virus.

Yuna says they'll see. ''As the Duel Queen, I'll make sure that every duelists' honor is returned! I will show you what it means to be a True Duelist!''

Téa says that, if what Zigfried says is true, then Yuna has to get rid of that Castle card pronto, or Kaiba's going to lose everything.

Joey says there's only one problem—Zigfried reprogrammed the card and made it indestructible.

Standing grimly on the highest balcony, Kaiba turns and walks away. Mokuba sees him go, and calls to him. Zigfried says Kaiba is running from his problems, but Kaiba says he doesn't run from anything.

''When faced with a problem, I eliminates the source. Both metaphorically and physically.''

Kaiba says that the duel belongs to Yuna. He has his own battlefield. Mokuba, Noah and Kaiba's man run after him.

Now alone on the top balcony, Zigfried thinks that those fools don't realize he's already won.

Yuna walks over to Leon, saying that she knows Leon didn't mean to trigger that virus, but with Leon's help she thinks they can stop it. She asks Leon to duel with all of his heart. Yugi appears beside Yuna to say that she's right. As long as Leon stays strong and doesn't give up, they're bound to find that card's weakness. Yuna walks back to her side of the field and Yugi goes back to his place on the sidelines, and Leon clenches his fist in determination. There's nothing he can do to change the past, but he can work with Yuna to change the future.

He knows there's a solution to this whole thing, and if anyone can figure it out, it's Yuna.

''Then let's duel,'' Yuna says, and draws.

Zigfried chuckles, then says that the Golden Castle of Stromberg's special effect is automatically activated. Struggling, Dark Magician Girl is forced to attack Leon's monsters, but her attack is reflected back on her, and she's destroyed.

Yuna loses 500 life points, taking her down to 1700.

''There! Now that that meddlesome ditz is out of the way, it'll be easier to breath!'' Zigfried announces, still angry with the female spellcaster for defeating him so soundly in his first, last and only duel against Yuna.

Leon is as surprised as Yuna when he sees that Dark Magician Girl is destroyed. Cinderella gets her Glass Slippers back, along with a 1000-point boost. Zigfried explains that, as long as the Golden Castle of Stromberg is on the field, both players' monsters are forced to do battle each turn. Whenever the opponent's monster attacks, half the monster's attack points are deducted from the player's life points, and then the monster is destroyed.

Joey wonders, can he really make a card do that?

Tristan points out that he just did.

00000

Kaiba arrives at his control room, where he orders his people to initiate Protocol KC-514. They can't allow this thing to spread any further. Mokuba asks what he can do to help, and Kaiba tells him to take charge of E-Level security and make sure every firewall stays active.

Mokuba rushes to one of the computer stations, putting on the computer goggles and microphone, and gets to work. Poor Leon, he thinks, as he begins typing. Leon would have done anything to help his big brother, and how did Zigfried repay him? With lies and betrayal. His brother would never do that to him.

''Seto-nii!'' Seto turns to Noah. ''I should be able to get to the heart of the virus! If you give me just a few minutes, I'll be able to send your defense system right at the heart of the matter and then it'll be stopped in a matter of seconds!''

''How long will it take you to do that?''

''Like I said, a few minutes. I don't really know the exact time I would need.''

The CEO thought for a moment. ''Alright, I want three employees working with Noah! Anything he says goes as if I said it! Get to work!''

''Yes sir!'' Three employees come next to Noah and before going he tells Seto not to worry.

''I just hope you can do it as soon as possible, kid, because the virus is attacking Yuna's Duel Disk so she can't finish the duel.''

''I'm on it!'' Seto watches as his adopted brother runs off before returning to his own task. There was only 2% left for his newest, deadliest security system to be finished and if he can get it ready in time for Noah to send it out, Zigfried will have years of making up to do as well as KC will have a impossible-to-hack mainframe.

''Yuna, hold on for a little bit longer.'' He said quietly as his fingers started flying over the keyboard.

00000

Back at the duel, Yuna wonders how he can destroy the castle. Magic and trap cards are useless against it, and any monster she summons will self-destruct and drain her life points.

Leon wonders, what's the use? but Yuna tells him they can't give up. Every card has a weakness, and as long as they fight together until the very end, they'll find a way to tear that castle down. She sets a card face down and ends her turn, saying that she and Leon can do this!

Leon thinks that Yuna's right. Quitting is not an option.

He draws, and Zigfried interrupts again, to tell them that in order to maintain the Golden Castle of Stromberg on the field, half of one's deck must be discarded at the beginning of each turn—and the cost must be paid by Yuna!

Joey tells Zigfried that he's just taken cheating to a whole new level.

Professor Hawkins says it's the strongest card he's ever seen, and Grandpa agrees. When Zigfried broke into Kaiba's gaming system, he gave his Golden Castle powers that no card has ever had before, giving the card holder an unfair advantage.

Unhappily, Leon asks how Zigfried could do this to him.

Zigfried says that Yuna is the one with a disadvantage, so Leon should be thanking him. Yuna just lost half her deck.

Yuna pulls half the cards from her deck and discards them to the graveyard, and Joey says they can't let Zigfried get away with this. Zigfried says he might be up in the grandstand, but that doesn't mean he can't control this duel.

Leon thinks, Zigfried's insane.

Zigfried thinks that, before long, his brother will hold the world championship crown, and Kaiba Corp will crumble into ruins.

Zigfried tells Leon to summon a monster—this is a duel, after all.

Yua says he's right, and tells Leon to go.

Leon studies his hand, then summons Forest Wolf (1800 ATK) in attack mode. Now, Zigfried says, the Golden Castle of Stromberg forces Leon's monsters to attack. And Yuna is defenseless.

Cinderella attacks first, taking Yuna down to 400 life points. Then Forest Wolf attacks, but Yuna activates her trap card, Dark Magic Retribution, allowing her to bring one Spellcaster back from her graveyard when her opponent attacks, and she chooses Dark Magician Girl. Forest Wolf is destroyed, and Leon loses 200 life points, taking him down to 1900. But Dark Magician Girl only stays on the field for the duration of the battle, so she disappears after defending the remainder of Yuna's life points.

Yuna's safe for one more turn.

Leon protests that he can't even control his own monsters!

Drawing, Yuna tells him they'll be fine. Since three turns have passed since Leon played Spinning Wheel Spindle, Queen's Knight returns to the field. Yuna sets two cards face down, then plays the magic card, Card of Sanctity, allowing both players to draw until they hold six cards in their hands. Yuna draws her six cards (King's Knight, Multiply, Emergency Provisions, Royal Straight, Chain Destruction, and Time Travel), then summons King's Knight (1600 ATK) in attack mode.

With King's Knight and Queen's Knight on the field, she's able to summon Jack's Knight (1900 ATK) from her deck. Zigfried tells Yuna her three knights are useless against his castle, but Yuna says she wouldn't be so sure. She plays her magic card, Royal Straight, which allows her to summon an extremely powerful monster from either her hand, her deck, or the graveyard.

The three Knights are sacrificed to summon Royal Straight Slasher (2400 ATK). Then Yuna activates Royal Straight Slasher's special effect, allowing her to send one monster from each of the first five levels to the graveyard to destroy every card on her opponent's side of the field.

Zigfried gasps, and Joey tells Yuna, nice work! Magic and trap cards don't work, but monster effects do!

Yuna discards the Level 1 Kuriboh, Level 2 Old Vindictive Magician, Level 3 Giant Soldier of Stone, Level 4 Big Shield Gardna, and Level 5 Curse of Dragon, and Royal Straight Slasher destroys Leon's Iron Hans, Cinderella, and Pumpkin Carriage, but when the smoke clears, the Golden Castle of Stromberg is still standing. Zigfried laughs, and Leon exclaims that Zigfried was right—they'll never be able to destroy it.

Téa asks why the castle is still there—shouldn't it have been destroyed?

Joey says it should have been a sand castle.

Surprise, surprise, says Zigfried, and Rebecca says that when Zigfried overwrote the card's data text, he must have protected his Golden Castle against monster effects, also. Téa says, that means there's no way to get rid of it! Tristan says that means the duel's done.

Yuna says, not if she activates this card—Time Travel, which allows her to remove one of her monsters from the field until the beginning of her opponent's turn.

Then she ends her turn.

Zigfried tells her, how noble—her monster would have been forced to attack, and Leon would have lost. But, he says, it was all in vain. He tells Leon to begin his turn, so he can win the championship crown.

Leon thinks that he believes in Yuna—he doesn't know how Yuna will do it, but he knows Yuna will put an end to Zigfried's plan.

Leon draws, and Zigfried interrupts to tell Yuna to discard half her deck to the graveyard to keep his castle in play.

But Yuna smiles, and says she's sorry to disappoint Zigfried, but she can't do it. Zigfried insists that she must, but Yuna says he's wrong. She raises her Duel Disk and shows him that she only has one card left in her deck, and she can't discard half of it. ''The Golden Castle of Stromberg has to go.''

Zigfried says, it can't be! He watches in horror as his castle disappears.

Leon turns to Yuna, saying she did it!

Joey says, ''You mess with the best, and you fail like the rest!''

Grandpa says it seemed like the perfect card—Zigfried designed it to be impervious to the effects of every other card in the game. But in the end, everything has its weakness.

Professor Hawkins adds that with Yuna's refusal to give in, she was able to find it.

00000

In the control room, Kaiba and his people continue to work frantically. They have to cut off the virus before any other files are destroyed.

Then a graphic appears on his screen.

Mokuba tells him, good news—the virus just stopped dead in its tracks. Kaiba sees on the screen showing the duel that the castle's gone. He guesses Yuna found its weak spot after all. Mokuba asks if everything's safe now, and Kaiba says they'll know as soon as they launch the backup system and reboot the KC mainframe.

''Alright, people! Our Queen of Games gave it her all so let's do the same!'' The employees cheer as they start working with smiles on their faces.

''Seto-nii! I found the heart of the virus! It's the head computer of Zigfried's company!'' Noah yelled across the room.

Seto smirks. ''It's time to return the favor. Give me the address, Noah! I'm done here! We have a duel to see!''

With that, the three Kaibas finished up their work and hurried off to see the end of the duel.

00000

Back at the duel, Tristan says to get a load of "Zigfreak."

Joey tells Zigfried he cheated and he schemed, and he still lost.

But Zigfried laughs. He says he admits he's surprised that Yuna was able to destroy his Golden Castle, but in the end, victory will still be his! They may have stopped his virus, but not soon enough. ''By now, most of Kaiba Corp's gaming data has been permanently lost. Not to mention, Yuna only has one card left, and this duel isn't over yet. When Yuna is unable to draw a card in the next turn, my brother will win.''

Leon thinks that he can't let Yuna lose—not when his brother cheated her out of her title. There's only one way he can save her. He says he's quitting, but Yuna tells him not to think about it. ''Now that Zigfried's Castle is gone, the real duel can begin. As long as I have cards left, I'll carry on.''

She tells Leon that he owes it to himself to fulfill his dream and see this duel through to the end.

Leon agrees.

It's Leon's turn, but first, the effect of Yuna's Time Travel card brings Royal Straight Slasher back to the field. Then Leon plays Monster Reborn to bring Cinderella back from the graveyard. With Cinderella back on the field, he's able to summon Pumpkin Carriage. Then he sacrifices Cinderella and Pumpkin Carriage to summon Hex Trude (2600 ATK). He attacks and destroys Yuna's Royal Straight Slasher, and Yuna loses another 200 life points, bringing her down to 200.

Every time Hex Trude destroys a monster, Leon says, her attack strength increases by 400 points. Now her attack is 3000. A bit sadly, Leon ends his turn.

Joey says Yuna's only got one card left—and she's up against a monster with 3000 points. If she runs out of cards, she loses.

Tristan says, he hates to say it, but it looks like there's a new champ in town.

Yuna closes her eyes and asks the Heart of the Cards to guide her, then she draws her final card—Monster Reborn. She places one card—Chain Destruction—face down, then plays the magic card, Emergency Provisions, sending Chain Destruction to the graveyard to increase her life points by 1000, taking her back up to 1200.

Then she plays Monster Reborn to summon her ever fateful Dark Magician from the graveyard. Leon smiles to see Dark Magician on the field, then grows sad. Dark Magician only has 2500 attack points, while Hex Trude has 3000.

Yuna activates her face-down magic card, Necromancy. It brings back four random monsters from Leon's graveyard in defense mode. Little Red Riding Hood, Forest Hunter, Iron Hans, and Iron Knight appear on Leon's side of the field, as Yuna explains that Hex Trude will lose 600 attack points for each one of these monsters that's destroyed.

Next, Yuna activates her other face-down magic card, Diffusion Wave Motion, paying 1000 life points to allow her Dark Magician to attack every one of Leon's monsters. Yuna's life points go back down to 200, and Dark Magician attacks and destroys all four of the monsters Necromancy brought back to Leon's side of the field.

Hex Trude's attack goes down to 600, and, finally, Dark Magician destroys her.

Leon loses the rest of his life points, and the game.

Joey and the others cheer, and Grandpa says, that's his granddaughter! Professor Hawkins says Yuna never ceases to amaze him.

Zigfried is horrified. He's ruined!

Yuna walks up to Leon and tells him, well done. Leon thanks her, tears streaming from his eyes.

Yuna tells him he fought with honor under the toughest of circumstances, and never gave up. He should be proud.

Leon clings to Yuna, sobbing. He had never felt this relived to have lost and as Yuna wrapped her arms around the sobbing boy, he felt like everything was going to be alright. It was just a feeling he couldn't explain other than Yuna's calming influence on people. It felt a lot like what it would feel when an older sister would hold her younger sibling and Leon remembered many people saying that Yuna is like an older sister to many kids. He had seen how gentle she was with kids that first time he met her, as well as every time he saw her on the screens these past few days as she played with them. And then there were the Kaiba brothers. That Noah kid was even allowed to call her his Nee-chii, something Leon found as a huge honor. If only he could be brave enough to ask for such a privilege!

Telling Leon to stop his whimpering, Zigfried walks onto the field. ''It wasn't a total loss,'' he says. ''It will take years of reprogramming for Kaiba Corp to restore what my devastating virus has destroyed, and in the meantime...''

''You'll what?'' Kaiba asks, as he walks back out onto the balcony above. Take all of Kaiba's business away? Kaiba tells Zigfried he might have had a chance if his plan had actually worked.

Yuna grinned. She feared tht she had taken too long, but she had long ago learned to not underestimate the Kaibas.

Kaiba says that the moment he laid eyes on Zigfried, he knew he was a snake, so he was prepared for Zigfried's little scheme. His entire computer network has already been restored. The only loser here is Zigfried.

Zigfried doesn't believe it. He insists that his strategy was flawless!

Leon, taking Yuna's hand, walks up to his brother, telling him that even if his plan did work, nothing would have changed. Can't he see that their family's obsession with the Kaibas has ruined them?

Zigfried falls to his knees, saying that what has ruined them is that he's weak. ''I'll never beat Kaiba.''

Kaiba thinks that's the first sensible thing Zigfried's said all week. ''And don't feel so bad. It's not just you—no one can beat me.''

Ignoring how arrogant that sounded, Yuna tried to not roll her eyes at the brunet CEO.

Leon kneels in front of Zigfried, still holding Yuna's hand, telling him that it's not their family's losses that hurt them, it's their attitude. ''Dueling Yuna has taught me that real strength is sticking with it when everyone expects you to quit. We may lose some of our business to Kaiba Corp, but losing is a reason to try harder, not to give up. So let's go home and make Schroeder Corp the best company we can.''

Zigfried thanks his brother, and they hug. The young man had never felt this free, as if a strange weight had fallen off of his chest. He accidentally murmurs in German how he has this strange feeling of lightness and Leon answers that it's the feeling he shares with his older brother. He says he suspects it has something to do with Yuna and the two look up at the bemused Queen of Games. The two blush, obviously having forgotten that the girl speaks all the major languages and more.

Yuna ignores their embarrassment as she takes a hold of each of their hands and drags them to their feet. Zigfied and Leon felt almost ashamed of the smile that was sent their way. It was so gentle and understanding. The pink-haired man felt his heart speed up and he wondered if it was possible for this girl to be one those legendary Amazons with her unrivaled beauty and fierceness.

''It might get though, and maybe you will never achieve the dark dream of your parents to defeat the Kaiba family, but dreams do come true eventually. I can see that your personal dream has always been to be content with what you achieved when you did your best, no matter how trivial it seemed in comparison to what Seto did.''

The von Schroeder brothers' eyes widen. ''H-how?'' Zigfried stammers but Yuna just shakes her head with a small, sad smile.

''Seto told me that he once met a genius trying to prove his worth to his father, just as Seto had to continuously do so for Mokuba's safety. And if that wasn't a clue enough that you were influenced by what you were taught ... Well, Dueling is a double-edged sword. You learn about yourself through your opponent as much as you learn about your opponent through yourself. You can easily discover something about them and have something discovered about you. In our duel, although to the untrained eye it didn't seem that way, I saw your passion for games and your love of computers and programs.''

Zigfried gawked as he saw Seto nod in agreement to what his rival had said. The younger CEO had been contemplating just sending the pink-haired German his worst possible security program as payback for all the trouble, but instead he had left Zigfried pointers on how to improve the games the man thought would not sell. Oh, he sent him a little warning not to mess with him and an annoying image with a message, but he didn't do anything that would harm the company. He knew that Yuna would disapprove, but he also had his own reasons to do as he did. Seto was no Gozaboro and he somewhat understood through what the other CEO went through on a daily basis just to get that stupid man's, who calls himself a father, approval.

If it was even a fourth of what Seto had to go through, Zigfried deserved a little sympathy.

''There are other things you could do, you know.'' Zigfried perked up at this. Any advice from the Queen of Games was sound advice! ''You will never be able to beat Seto in the field of games and technology, but your software is incredible. Let go of this stupid grudge and live your own life, so you could feel proud because of it!''

Aquamarine eyes stared into rubies and Zigfried was shocked when a single tear escaped him. Letting go of Leon's hand, Yuna patted her rival's competitor and nodded once before turning to go to said rival and his brothers, along with her own little twin.

''Duel Queen!'' Yuna stopped. Both von Schroeder brothers bow low at the waist, showing nothing but utter respect for the girl. The crowd roared in approval at the sight and Seto's ever present glare softened just a tiny bit. When they straightened, both Leon and Zigfried looked the reincarnated Pharaoh dead in the blood red eyes and with utter conviction, they promised her something.

''We will do our best not to disappoint you and make you feel like you wasted your breath on us! From today on, the von Schroeders are fighting with pride for the better future!''

There was a tense moment of silence. Not even a fly dared to disturb it as everyone held their breath. The Queen of Games scrutinized the brothers before smirking and dipping her head in approval, causing their hearts to flutter in their chests. ''Looking forward to it.'' Zigfried nodded with determination and Leon smiled from ear to ear. The crowd roared their approval once again and the brothers were surprised when they heard the other duelists comment about how they could be forgiven ...

Yuna and Yugi watch, smiling, and nod to each other.

Kaiba tells Roland to wrap this up, and Roland announces that the KC Grand Championship has come to a close.

''The winner, and still world champ, is Yuna Yami Mutou!'' The crowds all cheer—except for Weevil and Rex, who huddle together, sulking. Mai watches on one of the big screens as people around her chant Yuna's name.

00000

''Congrats, buddy!'' Joey and Tristan say in union as the group walks down the stairs, towards the Kaiba Hotel where there was an after party for the ending of the tournament. All the duelists were surrounding the group, trying to talk with the Duel Queen, who was hugged by both Leon and Noah, the later trying to shoo away the other boy.

''That was a magnificent duel, both of you!'' Arthur comments as he and Solomon stop their private discussion on which moves were the best thought out and which were the most effective. Rebecca nods as she clings to Yugi's arm and Tea fumes.

''I'll have to say that you scared me for a moment, Pharaoh.'' Marik said, not believing that the other had been that close to losing. Bakura had been mocking for his doubt ever since the duel ended and only their younger twins had been able to stop them, barely, from getting into a physical fight. Said teens were now chatting with Mana and the younger kids, who all tried to get Yuna's attention. Mokuba was the only exception, since he was smugly grinning as he held Yuna's hand.

''That one had recked my nerves completely!'' Mahad complained as Ishizu chuckled. Mai rolled her eyes and crossed her. ''Well I always knew she would win!''

Rafael chuckles at the friendly banter.

Suddenly, right in front of the hotel, a swarm of reporters stops them, all asking questions addressed for everyone present. Joey and the other duelists were more than happy to answer, as well as the others who usually only cheered from the sidelines. Seto even graced the press with answers, stunning everyone since they knew the CEO didn't answer the press even when his company's reputation depends on it!

One question that was directed to Yuna cut through all rest in her and Seto's ears.

''Yuna-san! You often call people your opponents, sometimes enemies, but you never use the term 'rival'! Why is that?''

Yuna chuckles, stopping all noise. ''Why, you ask.'' The reporter nods. Yuna shakes her head

''Rivals ... are not ordinary opponents. They are the people that push you towards greatness with their mere existence. With every breath, two rivals strive to be better. To be the other's equal.'' Seto listened carefully. ''It is in human nature to try and become stronger, and thus every one of us has at least one rival. When you call someone your rival ... It means you are calling them your only equal in every way. It means you respect them more than anyone else in this world, in this existence. Rivals challenge each other and make that makes them evolve faster than two opponents who don't really care what the other thinks of them. Two rivals will always listen to the others opinion and take it seriously. They understand each other better than anyone else. They complete the other's existence. That's what it means to be rivals. Rivals and rivalries are what made history.''

Seto smirked. He agreed with every word his rival had just said.

''Then who are your enemies? Are they your rivals?''

Yuna looks seriously at the other reporter who had asked that question. Titling her head in his direction, Yuna answered the question as hundreds of microphones were showed in her face and cameras flashed.

''Rivals don't have to be enemies. In fact, an enemy is an enemy. A rival is the person without whom you'd feel like your life is incomplete.''

''Then can you name a few enemies?'' A female reporter asked.

Yuna chuckles. ''I don't rally know. There are a few that have been taken care of, but I don't know if there is any other enemy that I have out there.''

''Then what about rivals?'' A chubby reporter asked. ready to make a great story about the Duel Queen's most respected people in her life.

Yuna smirked. The press pressed closer to her, anticipating any sort of answer.

''I have only one rival.''

Someone in the reporter group snorted. ''Arrogant, aren't we? And whom might this almighty rival of yours be?''

Seto stepped beside Yuna as both Leon and Noah let go of her waist and stepped aside. Turning towards the press, Seto put an arm around the Duel Queen's waist and pulled her to him. The cameras paused in shock and the reporters gaped.

''Why, Seto Kaiba!'' Yuna said with a shit-eating grin as Seto declared that the little press conference was over, telling Roland and Fugata to escort them out of the park.

''Fucking press!'' The CEO seethed as he guided Yuna to the grand hall for the private party in honor of her victory and the official opening of Kaiba Land finishing with this day. Yuna chckled as she leaned against him, wondering just what the press will do when they realize they didn't take a single picture of her and the arrogant brunet like this. That, and they never wrote down her answer.

That night, all the invited guests had a great time on the informal party as they celebrated Yuna's victory and the continuation of her reign as the undefeated Queen of Games, the unbeatable Duel Queen.

And Seto felt lighter than ever as he fulfilled one more of his dreams. If dreams really do come true, then he should be able to confess to Yuna soon.

A/N: Here it is! The end of my 50th chapter! This is about a half of the story, I think, and Seeing the Past, Living the Future is now officially about half a year old! With this chapter, the story is finally leaving the original story line and enters the life of the gang after KC Grand Prix! Since this is and AU with a fem!Yami and no magic (not really), the whole Ancient Egypt arc doesn't exactly happen, but there will be a Ceremonial Duel of sorts. New characters from the AE Arc are going to start appearing and new twists will start happening with Yuna's special ''gift''.

Also, about some of the cards Yuna was using: The combos with the three Legendary Dragons belong to me (the idea and design), but Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight and Eye of Timeus don't!

I hope you enjoy it!

Please R&R!