Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 3: Sibling Showdown
An uneventful three days had gone by since the big announcement of who was going to be participating in the Millennium Tournament. Yuma and the others had used those three days to train and prepare for the duels that were to come. Those three days seemed to go by in a flash though, and that afternoon it seemed like almost everyone in the city was massing at the same stadium where the World Duel Carnival had been held. While most of the people at the stadium were trying to find seats, Yuma and Kotori were making their way to a small auditorium in the stadium's basement. The reason for this was because Yuma had gotten a letter in the mail asking all tournament participants to gather there before the start of the duels.
"I wonder why all the competitors are supposed to meet down here?" Kotori wondered as she and Yuma reached the door.
"It's probably just to explain the rules or something." Yuma assumed.
As soon as they walked through the doors, Yuma and Kotori saw Shark and Kaito waiting to meet them, along with Hikari and Droite. For the most part, the auditorium was more or less empty. The staged had been set up with a large monitor, a podium and a large object hidden under a blue sheet.
"Hey guys." Yuma greeted as he and Kotori walked up. "Looks like we're the first ones here, huh?"
"This is the first time I've seen you show up early for anything." Shark remarked.
"I'm sure it won't be much longer before the rest of the competitors show up." Hikari assumed.
At that moment, the auditorium doors opened again and in walked a familiar man with red hair. Yuma and the others instantly recognized him as Gauche.
"Well, looks like I'll have some tough competition in this thing." Gauche observed as he walked up. "How ya doing, Yuma?"
"Hey Gauche!" Yuma enthusiastically greeted. "I'm really looking forward to taking you on in this tournament."
"Same goes for me." Gauche replied. He then noticed Droite and Kaito and his expression darkened. "Hi Droite."
"Hello Gauche." Droite responded. "Is that new manager I hired for you working out?"
"Yeah, though sometimes she's a real pain in the ass." Gauche answered. "So how much longer do you plan to stick around here playing school teacher?"
"At the moment, it's looking permanent." Droite told him.
"I see…" Gauche replied. He then gave Kaito an icy glare. "If we end up facing each other in this thing, I'm am gonna kick your ass."
"You're welcome to try." Kaito calmly replied.
With that, Gauche excused himself and went to take a seat towards the front of the auditorium. Droite let out a small sigh as soon as he was gone.
"Well, that was awkward." Shark remarked.
"Probably would've been even more awkward if Droite was dueling in the tournament too." Yuma assumed.
"Hey, come to think of it, why aren't you in this tournament Droite?" Shark asked. "I mean you'd be a pretty tough opponent to beat."
"Well… with everything that's going on, both Kaito and I thought it would be better if I sat this one out." Droite answered, placing her hand on her stomach as she spoke.
At that moment, Hikari, Kotori and Kaito all exchanged looks. Yuma of course was ignorant of this, but Shark quickly picked up on it.
"Is there something going on that we should know?" Shark asked.
"No." Kotori responded.
"Of course not." Hikari replied with an innocent smile.
"No." Kaito flatly told him.
Before Shark could question them further, Alit entered the auditorium with Mizael and Cathy. Cleo and Rio entered the auditorium soon after.
"Looks like half the competitors are here now." Cleo observed. "Though I don't see those Death Queens here yet."
"They'll probably show up before too long." Shark assumed.
"Hi guys." A familiar voice greeted. Yuma and the others looked to see Michael entering with Thomas.
"Hey Michael." Yuma responded. Meanwhile, Thomas and Cleo were glaring at one another.
"You know, we should probably all find our seats before this presentation we're supposed to see starts." Rio told everyone upon noticing Cleo giving Thomas the death stare.
"Actually, if it's okay I'd like to have a word in private with Shark, Yuma and Kaito." Thomas requested.
The rest of the group agreed to this and went to go sit down. Thomas, Yuma, Kaito and Shark remained by the door.
"So what's up?" Shark asked.
"Well… I know this is kind of weird for me to be asking you about this, but I was wondering if any of you guys knew anything about one of the other duelists in this tournament." Thomas began as he rubbed the back of his head. "Her name's Samantha Warren."
At this, Shark exchanged looks with Yuma and Kaito. "Yeah, we kinda know her. Why?"
"Well you see… I kinda slept with her the other night." Thomas admitted.
Yuma and the others were utterly dumbstruck upon hearing this news. Not even Kaito could hide his expression of utter shock.
"What… the… hell!" Shark spoke. "How… how did that even happen?"
"I had just gotten back from that tournament in London when I just ran into her." Thomas explained. "She mistook me for her ex-boyfriend or something. Anyway, we ended up going back to my place and before I knew it we were in bed together. But when I woke up the next morning, she was gone. Since then I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. I was just wondering if any of you guys knew anything about her."
"You dumbass!" Shark cursed.
"What the hell's your problem, Shark?" Thomas asked.
"Thomas, it's much better if you don't get involved with that woman." Kaito told him.
"And why's that?" Thomas demanded to know.
"Well you see…" Yuma began.
"Well, well. Looks like the gang's all here." A familiar voice spoke. Yuma and the others looked and saw Alnia walk in with Chitose and Samantha.
"Samantha, I…" Thomas began.
"Get out of my sight before I rip off your balls and shove them down your throat!" Samantha ordered in a hate-filled voice.
Thomas was visibly shocked by the way Samantha spoke to him. After a brief moment he silently left and went to take a seat by Michael.
"You'll have to forgive Mitaka." Alnia told them. "She's been in a cranky mood ever since the announcement of who was competing in this tournament."
"Just what do you three want?" Shark asked.
"We just wanted to say hi." Alnia answered. "And to tell you that no matter how this thing plays out, the three of you are dead."
At this, particles of light streamed from the Emperor's Key and took the form of Astral. "You will not win, Alnia. You and your fellow Death Queens may be powerful, but in the end cannot overcome the power Yuma and I have."
"We'll see about that, envoy." Alnia told him.
"Alnia, we should probably sit down." Chitose suggested. "This presentation we're supposed to watch should be starting at any moment now."
"Yeah, I guess it is about that time." Alnia agreed. "We'll catch you all later."
With that, Alnia and her gang took their seats in the auditorium. Yuma, Kaito and Shark all took their seats as well, with Astral floating behind Yuma's chair. After a few short minutes, a man walked onto the stage. The man in question was the same man who announced the competitors for the tournament, Armin Baker.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." Armin spoke from behind the podium. "Those of you here have probably noticed that two of your fellow competitors are still not here. That is because their planes have been delayed, but I have been assured that they will arrive here soon. In any case, it is my honor to welcome you all to the Millennium Tournament. I would like to begin by briefly telling you all about the history of this tournament."
"Aw jeez! I didn't come here for a boring lecture." Alit grumbled under his breath.
"The tournament began almost thirty years ago as a way to honor the original champions of Duel Monsters." Armin continued. "There were those who felt afraid that the memory of those who help to found this great sport of ours were in danger of being forgotten. And now I would like to show you all a symbol from that glorious past. It is said that one of the original champions, Seto Kaiba had started the original Battle City Tournament in the shadow of a museum that at the time was holding a mysterious and magnificent stone tablet from Egypt on display. With the permission of the Egyptian government, we have borrowed that very same tablet to show to you all now. Behold!"
With that, a pair of ropes from above pulled off the cloth covering the object on stage, revealing it as an ancient tablet of brown stone. Two figures were engraved on the front of the tablet. On of them was man with almost star-shaped hair wearing a pendant in the shape of an inverted pyramid hanging from his neck. The other figure, who was facing him from the other side of a flaming caldron, was a man holding a scepter in his hand. Behind each figure were two monsters, one of which looked like a wizard or magician and the other looked like a dragon. Yuma and the others were stunned by the appearance of those two figures and their monsters.
"Is… is that one guy on the tablet Yugi Muto?" Shark asked.
"It looks that way." Hikari answered. "That monster behind him even looks like his ace monster, the Dark Magician."
"That figure holding the scepter at his side looks like Seto Kaiba." Kaito observed. "And the dragon behind him looks like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"It looks almost like they're dueling." Kotori realized.
"Yeah, it does." Yuma agreed.
"Fascinating!" Astral declared
Meanwhile, Alnia's teeth were clenched in rage. "That damn pharaoh! How dare that old man show that tablet in my presence!"
"Take it easy, Alnia." Samantha told her. "I get why you're ticked, but we don't want to make a scene."
"Quite an interesting tablet, isn't it? Armin asked. "Some of those who have seen this stone even believe that this tablet shows the very origin of Duel Monsters. This tablet will remain on display here in the stadium for the duration of the tournament so that those of us who wish to can gaze upon it and contemplate its secrets. For now though, I believe it is time to get down to business. The other reason you all have been called here is for the announcements of the matchups for the preliminary round. I now turn your attention to the monitor."
The large monitor on the stage turned on and showed an ordinary tournament bracket. Every one of the duelists competing looked for their names to see who they were up against.
"I'm up against Chitose in the first round!" a surprised Alit quietly observed.
"Hey Thomas, looks like you're facing that girl you've been talking about in the prelims." Michael noted.
"Yeah… looks that way." Thomas responded.
"So, I'm up against Atlas in the first round." Mizael observed. "It's about time she and I settled things."
"Gauche is up against Alnia." A concerned Droite noticed.
"The duels in Bracket A will be held this afternoon." Armin announced. "The duels taking place in Bracket B will be held tomorrow."
"Aw man! That means I'm not gonna get to duel until tomorrow!" a disappointed Yuma complained.
"Yuma, you should take a closer look at who we'll be fighting in the first round." Astral told him.
Yuma took a second look at the name of his opponent and shot out of his chair. "I'm up against Kaito?"
"A duel like this was bound to happen sooner or later." Astral pointed out. "Especially in a tournament like this. We must be prepared."
"Looks like I'm up against one of the no-shows, Shane Ford." Hikari observed. "What about you, Ryoga?"
"I'm… up against my sister." Shark answered. "And in the very first duel of the tournament too."
"The first duel will begin in fifteen minutes." Armin announced. "I wish all of you the best of luck."
The stadium was already packed to the rafters as Kotori, Cathy and Droite tried to make their way to their seats. They were fortunate enough to get some seating towards the front.
"It'd be nice if we had our own special section like the wives of athletes get." Cathy remarked.
As soon as they found their seats, Kotori froze upon seeing who they were next to. It was a young woman with reddish-pink hair wearing a vest that was actually a denim jacket with the sleeves torn off over a pink t-shirt that showed off her cleavage, along with a pair of very short denim shorts. Kotori instantly recognized the young woman as Anna Kozuki, who during Mitaka's attempt to get the Numeron Code had become Kotori's romantic rival. Anna had fallen into a coma after Kotori had defeated her in a duel, but Astral had managed to revive her and the other young women who had become Mitaka's pawns.
After a moment, Anna quickly noticed Kotori. "Oh… hi Mizuki."
"Hi there, Anna." Kotori replied with a nervous smile. "Uh… nice day for a tournament, huh?"
"Um, Cathy, why don't you take the seat next to Anna?" Droite suggested.
Cathy agreed and sat down between Anna and Droite's left. Kotori took the remaining seat on Droite's right and looked down nervously at the floor.
"This is so awkward!" Kotori quietly declared. "I never expected to be sitting near Anna of all people!"
"Hello everyone." A familiar voice spoke. Kotori and the others looked and saw Durbe with Gilag and Vector taking some of the seats in the row behind them. "It looks like we arrived just in time."
"So Nasch and Merag are going to be up in the very first duel." Vector observed. "This'll be quite the show."
"I'm kind of hoping that Rio will end up beating Shark this time." Kotori admitted. "It must be frustrating for her to keep losing to her brother all the time."
"If I'm right, Nasch won't have as easy a time facing Merag as he did in the past." Durbe told her.
"What makes you say that?" Droite asked.
"Rio spent a lot of time with Cleo during the last three days." Durbe answered. "I have a feeling that part of that time was spent training."
Shark waited up on the stage on the stadium floor for things to begin. Yuma and most of the other competitors meanwhile were waiting in a sort of dugout that had been set up. Alnia and the rest of the Death Queens were in another dugout that at the moment they had all to themselves. After a few moments, Rio took the opposite side of the stage.
"It's kinda funny how we'd end up facing each other in the first round." Shark remarked.
"This won't end the same way as all our other duels, Ryoga." Rio declared.
"We'll see about that." Shark told her.
"First duel of the preliminary round, Ryoga Kamishiro vs. Rio Kamishiro!" announced a referee standing at the base of the stage. "Begin!"
Shark and Rio both activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. The rest of the people in the stadium activated their D-Gazers as well and the color of the surrounding area changed.
"I'm going first!" Rio declared as she drew her first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Blizzard Falcon in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on Rio's side of the battlefield with an icy blast of wind was a large blue falcon with a yellow beak. It seemed to have armor instead of feathers, with both its wings being made out of light-blue metal and shaped almost like the wings of a butterfly.
"That ends my turn." Rio announced.
Shark drew his first card. "I summon Left-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Shark's side of the field was a blue and white shark with an oversized armed head. It had four fins on its back that were arranged like the fingers of a left hand.
"Since I just summoned a Water monster, I can also summon Shark Stickers!" Shark announced. Materializing next the Left-Hand Shark was a sleek blue fish with suction cups on the top of its head. "I now use the level three Left-Hand Shark and Shark Stickers to Xyz Summon Black Ray Lancer!"
A vortex appeared in the center of the field and sucked in Shark's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the center of the vortex a moment later was a creature covered in black scale-like armor. It had a humanoid upper body, and a purple helmet completely covered his head. On his back was a pair of large blue fins like those of a fish. The creature had a slender midsection, and on its waist was another large pair of blue fins where legs would normally be. In its right hand, the creature carried a long red spear.
"Black Ray Lancer, attack Blizzard Falcon!" Shark commanded. "Phantom Harpoon!"
Black Ray Lancer threw his red spear at Rio's armored bird. Blizzard Falcon was pierced through the chest and shattered into bits of light.
"I activate my Trap, Snowbird Migration!" Rio announced. "When a Water Winged Beast-type monster I control is destroyed in battle, I can summon two new Winged Beast monsters from my deck in Defense Mode with their effects negated. I summon Blizzard Thunderbird and Aurora Wing!"
Two new monsters appeared on Rio's side of the battlefield. The first was a slightly humanoid bird-like creature with a body covered completely in blue ice-like armor. On its back it had a large pair of wings made of golden blades. The second monster was another bird with a white body with massive wavy blue and green wings and tail feathers. On its head was a large wavy blue and green crest.
"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." Shark announced.
"Looks like Shark's already taken the lead in this duel." Yuma observed from the dugout.
"True, but Rio already has everything set up for an Xyz Summon." Astral pointed out.
"That's not the only thing she has set up." Cleo spoke.
"You look like you know something." Hikari responded. "Care to let us in?"
"You'll all see what I'm talking about soon enough." Cleo replied.
Rio drew her next card. "Using the level four Blizzard Thunderbird and Aurora Wing, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 103: Ragnazero!"
Another large vortex resembling a swirling galaxy appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in the two birds as balls of blue energy. Emerging from the center of the vortex with a blast of ice and snow was a woman with grey skin wearing a sleeveless white dress with a long skirt. Down the front of the skirt was a large section of red, and around the skirt's end were several gold triangular ornaments. She had six blades of ice on her back, and in each hand was a curved ice sword. A red stocking covered the lower half of the woman's face. She had red eyes, and dark-blue hair arranged in a very ornate style. Two of the ornaments in her hair were two more long blades of ice. Written on one of the blades in strange red alien writing was the number 103.
"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Fairy Penguin!" Rio announced.
Appearing next to Ragnazero was a small penguin with a gold glowing halo above its head and an extra pair of small white-feathered wings on its back. Silver armor covered the penguin's chest and shoulders, and in the center of its chest plate was an ice-blue diamond. Hanging from a silver belt around its waist was a small sword.
"Wait, did you just say that thing's a Tuner?" Shark asked.
"I activate Fairy Penguin's effect!" Rio announced. "When Fairy Penguin is summoned normally, I can summon a Winged Beast monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated and its DEF reduced to zero. I summon Blizzard Falcon back from the Graveyard!"
A burst of cold wind blew on Rio's side of the battlefield. The wind died down and Blizzard Falcon reappeared.
"I tune the level three Fairy Penguin into the level four Blizzard Falcon for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Rio announced.
"Say what?" Yuma exclaimed.
"Cleo, did you know about this?" Hikari asked. Cleo's response was to merely smirk.
Fairy Penguin drew its sword and held it in the air before changing into three rings of green light. The rings encircled Blizzard Falcon and changed the bird into four white stars.
"Spirits of winter gather here and now in this place! Bring forth the light that shines on the frozen land!" Rio chanted. "Syncrho Summon! Appear, Aurora Burst Dragon!"
The stars flashed and became a pillar of multicolored light that spread a blast of snow and ice over the battlefield. After a moment the pillar of light faded to reveal a slender bipedal dragon with long arms and legs and scales as white as snow. Its torso was covered in golden armor, in the center of which was a glowing blue gem. The dragon's eyes were as blue as sapphires, and in place of horns it had a pair of small gold-feathered wings on its head. Golden bracelets adorned the dragons wrists and ankles, and on his back were two pairs of large feathered wings that glowed with the multicolored light of an aurora.
"No way!" a stunned Shark exclaimed.
"I told you Ryoga, this duel won't end the same way as all the other duels we've had." Rio told him. "This time, you're the one who's going to lose!"
Author's Note: Before I did anything else with this story, I put together sort of a rough tournament bracket to figure out who everyone was going to go up against. It was kind of hard because I wanted certain characters to go up against each other in the later rounds. So what ended up happening was that some major duels were slated for the prelims in order to set up the duels that I really wanted to happen.
Please review and let me know what you think.