Hey guys! The next chapter is here! Read on and I hope you enjoy!
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"Ladies and Gentleman! Duelists of all ages! Kaiba Corporation is proud to present the KC Grand Championship Tournament!" A loud roar of applause came from the audience of the Kaiba Dome.
"I can't believe how big this crowd is! Yugi said in awe, looking around with a large grin.
"It's huge!" Tea agreed.
"Uh guys what the hell is Joey doing?" Alissa asked, pointing to Joey who was moving his arms in an "intimidating" gesture at the other duelists.
"It's his weird chicken dance," Duke laughed. "He's trying to scare the competition."
"I need more female friends."
"And now, make some noise for the Master of Ceremonies!" Music played loudly as smoke filled the stage. Lights flashed and a platform began to rise from the ground.
"It's Mokuba!" Yugi said in surprise. Alissa grinned.
"He is charming. The role of MC is the perfect fit."
"Are you guys ready to get your duel on? I can't hear you! Are you guys ready to see some dueling or what?" A thunderous applause tore through the stadium. Whooping could be heard from several of the spectators.
"Good, cause it's time to kick off the best dueling tournament ever organized!" Mokuba continued. "Before the week is over, we may have a new Duel Monsters Champion! So give it up for the current title holder, Yugi Muto!"
"Yugi, Yugi. Yugi!" The crowd chanted in unison.
"Come on Yugi, give a shout out to your fans!" Yugi looked around nervously, his cheeks going pink.
"Uh…uh…"
"Alright, maybe later then. Now please direct your attention to the screen cause it's time to select the first round matchups! In Block A, the first two duelists to strap on a duel disk will be Joey Wheeler, and the mystery duelist Apdnarg Otum!"
"Where do we know him from?" Tristan asked.
"I don't know," Tea shrugged.
"I do," Yugi said quietly. Alissa looked at him and nodded. How can they not know who Apdarng Otum is?
"In Block B, Leon Wilson will face the Good Doctor, Richard Goat! But before the duels get underway, there's someone we all want to hear from! Yugi come on up here and say a few words!"
"Yugi, Yugi, Yugi!" The chanting began again.
"Come on Yugi, you can't let your fans down!" Tristan said, patting him on the back. Yugi shakily got to his feet.
"Um hello Kaiba Land!" Yugi waved nervously
"Uh Yugi, I meant come up on the stage." Yugi gulped.
"No one said there'd be public speaking." He walked nervously and awkwardly across the stage. By now, his face was as red as a tomato. Fortunately, the sound of an engine tore everyone's gaze away from the shy King of Games. The Blue Eyes jet could be seen above the stadium. A figure suddenly jumped out of the jet. Alissa instantly recognized the figure as the CEO himself. Oh my God what is he doing? Alissa noticed with relief that he wasn't falling to his death, but he was in fact wearing a jetpack. He crossed his arms in front of his chest with a cocky grin as he landed firmly and gracefully on two feet. He removed the jetpack from his back and received the microphone from Mokuba. Alissa took in a calming breath as she felt her racing heart return to normal. Is he stupid? What if that thing had malfunctioned?
"Alright, I'm going to make this brief," his tenor voice rang out clearly in the stadium. "This is not a show. It's the ultimate test of survival and it will push everyone participating to their limits! If you came for a friendly game then I suggest you go home! This is a ruthless battle and only one duelist will remain standing! From this moment forward, Kaiba Land is a battlefield so trust no one and may the best duelist win!" Seto's speech earned a roar of applause and they all began chanting his name.
xxx
You give me anxiety. Alisa sent a text to the young CEO then locked her screen. A couple minutes later her phone pinged. Does being around me make you that nervous? She could hear the smugness in his response. I'm talking about the jet pack smart ass, she sent back. I had everything under control, was his response. Yeah and what if the thing malfunctioned? It was a few minutes before he responded. Do you think I'm an idiot? I did extensive testing on it before I used it. She was about to send a smart-ass comment back but stopped. He was under enough stress already; he didn't need her being on his case about everything. Just warn me next time okay? You scared the shit out of me when you jumped out of the jet with just that thing strapped to your back. She locked her screen and turned her attention back to Yugi and the gang.
"Hey where's Joey?" Alissa turned her attention to the screen. The "mystery duelist" was standing alone at the Jungle stage. The group gasped when they saw a familiar mop of blond hair pass by them. He had a carefree smile on his face and carried two half eaten hotdogs.
"Joey! What are you doing here?"
"Hey guys! There's a two for one sale on weenies!" Mokuba, who had been walking around the stadium, taking care of anything that needed to be taken care of, turned and gasped.
"You should be on the Amazon Adventure Trail Joey!"
"Guess again Mokuba! Joey doesn't duel on an empty stomach! I gotta bulk up for my first match."
"Wake up! Your first match has already started! If you don't get your butt over to the dueling site in the next ten minutes you'll be disqualified!"
"Nyeh! You wouldn't do that would ya? Wait a minute, ten minutes, dats a piece of cake."
"Not exactly. You'll never make it. The Amazon Adventure is a fifteen square mile virtual jungle!"
"Huh?" Mokuba sighed.
"You give me no choice. I'm gonna to have to-."
"Nyeh!" Joey's shout interrupted Mokuba and he ran out of the stadium.
"Hey! Wait!"
"Joey!"
"What a spaz!" Tristan, Tea, Yugi, and Duke all ran after Joey.
"You were going to offer to let him use one of the shortcuts weren't you?" Alissa asked with a small, amused smile.
"Yeah. Well let's go. We need to meet him there to see if he gets there on time."
"Right behind you Little Kaiba."
xxx
"How much time does he have left Mokuba?"
"Twenty seconds." He isn't going to make it. Suddenly, Joey burst out from one of the bushes.
"If you're not here in ten seconds you're disqualified!" Joey yelped and picked up the pace, swinging his arms frantically.
"Six, five, f-augh!" Mokuba stopped counting down when Joey reached him and placed his hands on the young boy's shoulders.
"I made it," Joey gasped in between breaths. Suddenly it hit him. "Hey, how'd you two get here before I did?"
"Mokuba tried to tell you Joey but you ran off like a spaz. There's a secret passageway for special guests." Joey's face fell.
"It's not fair! I fought off giant snakes!"
"You realize those snakes were holograms right?" Joey's eye twitched as he shot Alissa a glare. She snorted, quickly covering her laugh with her hands. The rest of the group finally caught up to him. They were all out of breath.
"At least you made it on time Joey."
"Joey Wheeler," Apdnarg Otum spoke. "It looks like the student is about to face his former dueling instructor. Uh…I mean…it's time to teach you a lesson Kid!"
"Guys, we know that voice."
"We do? Are you sure Tristan?" Alissa brought her face to her forehead in annoyance. Seriously? How can they not tell it's Yugi's grandpa? He's wearing the same clothes. His name is Grandpa Muto spelt backwards for crying out loud!
"Yugi, that mystery duelist sounds just like your grandpa." Finally! Sheesh, took you guys long enough.
"It is him."
"But why would he wear the disguise Yugi?"
"Perhaps I should explain?" The group turned around to face the person that spoke.
"Professor Hawkins? You knew about this all along?"
"I tried talking your grandfather out of it but he wouldn't listen."
"I can't believe he had you guys fooled. I mean it's a pretty lame disguise," Alissa said with a small chuckle.
"Well it looks like Joey's still clueless."
"Yeah, what else is new?"
"Joey is getting his butt kicked." They were only seven turns into the duel and Joey was already down to 2200 life points, while 'Apdnarg Otum' had 5000.
"Yugi's grandpa is beating Joey at his own game!"
"It's cause he knows his strategy. He did teach him how to play after all." The group watched as Yugi's grandpa sent his two Stone Giants, Ancient Key, Ancient Gate, Ancient Giant, and Ancient Tome to the Graveyard to summon Ancient Dragon.
"Whoa look at that!"
"You know Yugi, your grandfather isn't the only one who has that card." Professor Hawkins reached into his jacket and pulled out his dueling deck. The card on top was the Ancient Dragon.
"You have an Ancient Dragon too!" The group gathered around to take a closer look.
"Yes but I have never been able to summon it because I don't have all the necessary components. In fact, your grandfather is the only duelist I know of who possesses all seven cards needed to summon this majestic creature."
"It's official. Yugi, your grandpa is bad ass," Alissa whispered loud enough for only Yugi to hear.
"Your grandfather has been waiting to summon that monster for years and he's about to win the duel with it!" The group watched as Ancient Dragon destroyed Joey's Goblin Attack Force. The attack caused his life points to drop to 1700. Joey's scapegoats were also destroyed, leaving him completely defenseless.
"I'll never let you win! This tournament is my chance to make it big and finally get some respect. Like Yugi gets."
"Joey lighten up a little bit! You're so caught up in the game you've forgotten to have fun and that's what's most important."
"Fun? Yug this is serious!"
"Chill out! This tournament is just a cheap way for Kaiba Corp to gain some publicity!" Mokuba glared at Tristan and raised his fist at him.
"You realize I'm standing right next to you right?"
"Tristan's right Joey! Not about the publicity part, but it is just a tournament. If you aren't playing to have fun then why play at all?"
"Alissa is right! Just be yourself out there Joey!"
"Thanks guys."
"I'm so proud of you kids. You're all so supportive," Yugi's grandpa cried happily.
"Proud? Whaaddaya talking about Apdnarg? Now back to the duel!" Joey was able to summon Gilford the Lightning and used it to get rid of Ancient Dragon. Gilford attacked Yugi's grandfather directly, bringing his life points down to 1200.
"I end my turn for now," Joey said, smiling slightly. Yugi's grandpa began to laugh as his Ancient Dragon reappeared.
"Your dragon's back! But how?"
"The second effect of my Ancient City allows me to special summon Ancient Dragon from my Graveyard. Now Ancient Dragon attack!"
"When his dragon attacks, they'll both be wiped out!"
"Except that dragon comes back!" The group watched as both monsters were destroyed and Ancient Dragon returned to the field.
"I may not have a deck full of rare cards like yours and I may not plan out my strategies. But I can think on my feet and I always trust my instincts. I guess dats because I had some good teachers. I was taught to play the game with heart and above all, have fun. And dats exactly what I'm gonna do! You ready Pal?"
"Fire away!"
"First I'm going to use Premature Burial to bring one monster back from the Graveyard and I choose my Goblin Attack Force. Then I activate another Magic card, Giant Trunade. Now all out Magic and Trap cards return to our hands! Since Premature Burial is in my hand again, I can activate it again. That means Gilford the Lightning comes back too! Alright Gilford, attack his Ancient Dragon!" Joey's monster attacked the dragon, leaving Yugi's grandpa wide open to an attack.
"Now Goblin Attack Force, attack him directly!" Joey's monsters attacked, bringing his opponent's life points down to zero. The onlookers stared on in shock.
"Did Joey just win?"
"It would appear so." The group ran to the fallen duelist.
"Nice duel Stranger," Joey said, offering his hand. "I only wish I knew who you were." Joey's statement made everyone start laughing.
"Actually, you already do." Yugi's grandfather took off his mask to reveal himself.
"No way!" The group laughed harder.
"To tell the truth, I wanted to duel you Joseph."
"You did? Why?"
"Well I did teach you, so I wanted to test you."
"How'd I do?"
"If I had to test you on your duel today, I'd give you an A+."
"Alright I aced the test!"
"There's a first time for everything," Mokuba replied.
"So, why'd you pick the name Apdnarg?"
"It's Grandpa spelt backwards."
"I don't get it." Alissa rolled her eyes with a smile. Typical Joey.
xxx
The sound of soft clicking filled the control room of the Kaiba Dome. Seto's deep blue eyes were trained on the computer screen and his mouth was set in a tight frown. A knock on his door made him sigh in annoyance.
"What is it?" The door opened and Alissa walked in, carrying a brown paper bag with the Kaiba Land logo and two paper coffee cups.
"I bring two Cave Dragon Café Mochas and Blue Eyes Burgers." She walked to his desk and placed the food and drink items on his desk.
"Can't you see I'm busy?" He returned his gaze to the screen.
"Too busy to eat? It's past two already. You didn't have anything this morning and I know for a fact you have yet to leave this room today." She pulled the two burgers and fries out of the bag and held them out to him. He looked at them briefly before returning his attention to his computer.
"I can take care of myself," he said calmly, reaching for one of the cups of coffee. His eyes darted to Alissa when she slapped his hand away.
"No coffee until you eat something."
"You can't tell me what to do." She shrugged and grabbed the two coffee cups before walking over to the trashcan. She held both cups over the trashcan, ready to drop them in.
"Alright fine!" Seto hissed, grabbing a burger from where she had left it on the desk. He tore it open and took a small bite. She smiled in triumph and walked back over to his desk.
"It's kind of sad that you changed your mind that easily for coffee."
"Yeah well it's been a long day. Shouldn't you be with your friends?" She unwrapped her burger and took a small bite before answering.
"Nah. Rebecca is dueling that Vivian chick right now and there's only so much 'Viv' I can take. The brief interaction we had last night was enough for my lifetime." She took another bite of her burger and grinned. "This is the best burger I've ever had. It's even better than In N' Out burger and let me tell you, that stuff is the shit."
"I'm glad it lives up to expectation."
"Have you figured out who hacked into your system yet?"
"No. But I suspect that whoever they are, they're already inside. I'm having extensive background checks done on all the participants."
"You really think it's one of the duelists?" Seto simply nodded. Alissa looked at the multiple screens mounted on the control panel on the far wall.
"Hey! I didn't know Pinky was dueling in this round!" Seto turned his attention to the screen that showed Zigfried about to duel two short duelists.
"Who are they? I don't remember seeing them at registration. Hey wait, weren't those guys mixed up in the whole Dartz business too?"
"Yes." Seto frowned and looked at Zigfried, who seemed to be smiling directly at the camera.
"I don't trust this guy."
"Yeah well join the club Rich Boy. Hm it looks like we won't have to deal with him for too long though. Those two twerps just summoned two powerful monsters." The two watched as Zigfried made his move. A tornado of swirling rose petals surrounded the two duelist's monsters and when it cleared, both their monsters were gone. They stood, shocked as their life points went down to zero.
"No way!"
"The winner of this match, after only one turn is Zigfried Lloyd!"
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Alright, I decided that this would be a good place to end this chapter. This isn't as long as the last few chapters have been, but it was a busy week and I'm beat. So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. R&R and I'll see you next week!