Ah another chapter done! Honestly when I first started this I didn't think that it was going to be this hard.
There's a few times this episode burnt me out because there was moments of talk talk talk.
Anyway it's finally done so yay! And I have seen some comment about Claire's birth parents do not worry it is coming, possibly sooner than you think.
Anyway I don't own Yugioh only the idea of the Millennium Bracelet and My OC Claire.
Destiny is strange.
The boat was quickly approaching the island and they could see more of it, they could make out the outline of a castle and some mountains and what looked like a forest.
"Man this place looks big Yugi! Why a whole island for a tournament?" Joey asked as he stared out at the island.
"Very interesting, especially since there's not a massive amount of people" Claire mused as she looked around. "He must like this island."
"Well there's only one way to find out, and that means getting off this boat" Yugi said as he moved away from the front following where people were crowding to get off the boat.
Once it had stopped and the anchor lowered a ramp was constructed to allow people off the boat and onto the dock.
"Woah check out the suits, these guys don't mess do they?" Joey asked as he looked down and saw more serious guards standing on the dock.
"No they certainly do not mess around." Claire said taking a quick note at the high security.
"Attention Duelists please disembark in an orderly fashion" a stern voice said over the ships speakers. Tristan got nervous at this point, they didn't plan this far in advance what if they get caught, he turned to Téa and Claire to voice his concerns.
"You two what if one of those security guys finds out that we're not actually Duellists, why don't we just play it safe and swim back." Tristan suggested.
"How do you expect us to survive a swim like that?" Claire hissed back at him giving him a small glare, Tea was also annoyed at this suggestion.
"Claire's right, we're in the middle of nowhere lame brain! If you can just play it cool and act normal then we'll be fine." She told him harshly. Everyone walked off the ship but Tristan decided that the best way to act normal was to walk off with his back straight as a board and his arms and legs acting like he couldn't bend them.
"Hey you!" One of the guards called causing Tristan to stiffen up even more he panicked, now what was he going to do "Don't look so nervous, you guys are our guests here." The guard said casually causing Tristan to breath a sigh of relief and turned quickly to bow at the guard.
"That's right! I'm you're guest" he said quickly before running off to catch up with his friends. After catching up he took a few long breaths before speaking once more "I think I just had a heart attack."
"Smooth Tristan real smooth" Claire said with a role of her eyes and a shake of her head.
"Yeah that wasn't suspicious at all" Téa said sarcastically.
"Alright! Every single one be of us made it here safe and...achool!" Joey was interrupted by a massive sneeze, not expecting the sneeze he didn't sneeze into his hand instead he sneezed on the bottom of Téa's skirt causing her to glare at him.
"You wouldn't have caught that cold if it wasn't for Weevil" Yugi said as he looked up at his friend. He felt a little guilty as he was the one that gave Weevil the cards "then again it was also a bit of my fault." He voiced as he remembered the events from the night before.
"No it wasn't" Claire said firmly, this caused Yugi look at her in shock. "You showed him thinking that he was going to appreciate the rare cards and then give them back, not toss them so he doesn't have to deal with them in the tournament." Claire said clearly upset over what had happened and didn't want Yugi to blame himself.
"Thanks Claire" he said as he nodded his head Claire's words making him feel a bit better.
"Speaking of our wormy friend, looks like he just slithered his way off of the boat and is already looking to start some trouble Joey said as he glared at Weevil. "That slimey bastard I'd love to wipe that smirk off his face."
Yugi agreed with Joey but he knew that there was more pressing issues at hand to deal with first. He saw a tall wide shouldered man step forward at the base of a large set of stone stairs.
"Welcome all Duellists now please follow the stairs to meet your host." He pointed up the stairs at the top was a castle.
"That castle has got to belong to Pegasus" Yugi told the others.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Joey asked before running towards the stairs the gang following and began to walk up the sstairs.
Halfway up the stairs Téa looked to admire the forest surrounding the castle but stopped as she saw something that didn't look like it belonged.
"What's that?" She asked herself as she turned to get a good look and realised that it was someone familiar.
"What is it Téa?" Claire asked as she was the closest to Téa.
"I just saw Bakura" She told Claire and she pointed to were he was standing.
"Bakura?" Yugi questioned as he had heard the two talking "you mean from school?" He looked to where Téa was pointing as did Joey and Tristan.
"Well where is he?" Joey asked because when everyone else looked there was no one there. This made Téa blink in confusion, she had just seen him right? "Come on he's not there right now and who knows maybe we'll bump into him later." Joey said so the gang began to walk back up the stairs.
Everyone was gathered at the front of the castle, excited chatter filled the air as they pointed out the different Duellists, Weevil Underwood, Rex Raptor, Mako Tsunami the Duellist who was ranked third in the regionals.
"All the best are here, but where's the Japan Champion Kaiba?" Someone in the crowd asked their friend.
"Didn't you hear?" His friend questioned slightly surprised at his friends lack of knowledge of what has been happening "some kid beat him, they say Yugi is the one to beat now." They explained this made Yugi's friends to nudge him slightly with big grins on their faces. Yugi looked at them all in turn feeling a little uncomfortable at hearing others talking about him. Claire could see that he looked a little uncomfortable so she put her arm around him and gave him a reassuring squeeze, making Yugi look at her, light purple and brilliant blue eyes locking, Words didn't need to be spoken and Yugi smiled at her before looking up at the balcony.
"Attention, please gather around, your host is anxious to greet you all" One of the guards was on top of the balcony looking down at the crowd.
The next few moments passed in tense silence Claire gripped Yugi's shoulder harder the sleeve of her dress had uncovered her Millennium Bracelet, the gold glinting in the sunlight.
"Boy wouldn't I like to have five minutes alone with that guy" Joey murmured to himself. Claire could feel the mix of emotions from the other Duellists, excitement, fear, anxiety her bracelet felt like it was pulsing with the more emotions she felt. With that a man in a red jacket with white trim detailing and long silver hair appeared on the balcony, Maximillion Pegasus.
Yugi remembered a little, like when he took his Grandpa's soul and that made him more determined, he wasn't going to be leaving this island without his Grandpa's soul, no matter what he was going to get in that castle.
Pegasus smiled down at all of the Duellists he even spotted something he didn't think that he would see, another Millennium item, well this was definitely going to be interesting, he could us her to his advantage.
"Greetings Duellists, I am Maximillion Pegasus!" He announced loudly throwing his arms out to the side. "It is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you all to the Duellist Kingdom, you stand before me, the best of the best, but come tournament end only one shall be crowned King of Games. I implore you all to assemble your Duelling decks with care, with creativity and with cunning." He said, he almost sounded like there was a bit of a laugh. "For this competition will test your skills like never before! To track your progress in the tournament you have each been given a Duelling glove and two precious star chips, you must wager these star chips in each duel you compete in. To advance to the final level of the competition for the chance at the ten thousand dollar prize and the honour of Duelling me you must win ten star chips." He could certainly keep the crowds attention easily and project his voice so all could hear him.
Claire let go of Yugi so he could dig in his bag to look for the glove that Pegasus showed the crowd and put it on as he continued to talk about the tournament. Yugi glanced around quickly there was no way he would be able to sneak in, he's going to have to play by Pegasus's rules.
"This tournament will be like none you have ever experienced, state of the art Duelling boxes cover this entire island and intriguing new rules will be in affect, I could tell you what these new rules are...but what fun would that be?" He asked he wanted them to find out on their own these rules. "You'll discover them as you compete or you won't last very long. Remember play boldly, think strategically and duel mercilessly as you only have until the sun sets tomorrow to get to my castle You have one hour to prepare both your cards and yourselves, , when the sky lights up with fireworks the tournament shall begin!" He finished everyone cheered excitedly as Pegasus walked back into his castle. This outcome couldn't be anymore perfect. Yugi has taken the bait and he has bought with him another item.
Everyone walked back down the stairs and began to explore the island to find where the best place for them to Duel would be.
Yugi and his friends decided to go to the west side of the island and after a twenty minute walk through the forest they came out onto a grassy meadow surrounded by the rest of the large lush green forest. They stopped for a moment to discuss what they were going to do first.
"Yugi, I don't know if I can win this thing, maybe it'll be best if you take your star chip back" Joey said looking down at the tiny gold star, a lot was riding on this and if he messes up his first Duel then he's finished.
"No you keep it Joey, your little sister is counting on you to win that prize money." Yugi said with a shake of his head.
"You can do this Joey, we all believe in you. All you have to do is steer clear of the more experienced Duellists at firt" Claire said as she came up next to him.
"That's right, and we're going to be right here for you both" Téa said with a small smile hoping to cheer Joey up. This did cheer him up as he smiled slightly at his friends.
"You just got to make your way up before taking on the more experienced players." Tristan said and everyone nodded at him.
"Thanks you guys" Joey said before turning back to Yugi a more determined look on his face "well Yugi between your Grandpa and my sister we don't have any room for mistakes." Yugi agreed with him on this, these Duels are not going to be easy. Just then above the castle some fireworks started going off.
"Look the fireworks!" Claire exclaimed as she pointed over to the castle.
"This is it then the start of the tournament!" Yugi and Claire both shouted together as they watched the fireworks for a second. Yugi then began to look around he knew who he wanted to Duel first.
"So what's your plan Yugi?" Joey asked as they continued to walk across the meadow.
"I'm going to stick with Weevil as we have a score to settle." Yugi answered this caused Joey and Claire to grin.
"I was hoping you were going to say that" Joey said as he looked forward.
"Yeah I want to see you beat him too" Claire said, she couldn't wait for Yugi to beat him for what he did on the boat.
"Isn't that him?" Téa asked the gang stopped and looked up the path ahead there standing just outside of the forests treeline was Weevil smirking at Yugi.
"Weevil I challenge you to a Duel!" Yugi shouted confidently at the other boy, this caused Weevil to turn around and run. The gang looked confused before they all began to run after him.
"I can't believe it! The slippery bastard is running away" Joey exclaimed the gang entered the forest and shortly after a hoard of moths began to fly over the group.
"Where are all these moths coming from?" Tristan asked.
"I don't know but they're disgusting." Téa said running along while covering her head.
"He's fast for a small guy" Tristan panted Téa, Tristan and Joey were at the back of the group, Claire was in front of them and Yugi in front of her.
"Maybe you're just slow for a big guy" Téa quipped still trying to keep up.
"Fuck, with how big this island is he might be running all day." Joey said in frustration "we'll never catch him." Yugi couldn't figure it, Weevil has been wanting to Duel him since they met on the boat, why is he running away. He then had a thought.
"Wait, what did Weevil say on the boat?" Yugi asked loudly before thinking back to when they spoke, he said about new rules that needed more strategy, this must be part of that, Yugi knew that he needed to figure out these new rules and quickly. They finally came to a clearing with Weevil standing in front of a Duel box laughing to himself.
"There he is!" Joey huffed a little annoyed that he ran, was he scared?
"Welcome, said the spider to the fly, you stepped right into my trap!" Weevil exclaimed happily. "Again!" Referring to what he did on the boat the image flashed in Yugi's mind making him frown.
"It's time you answered for what you did on the boat Weevil!" Yugi declared his puzzle then glowed for a few moments before it dulled back down, Yugi opened his eyes they were much more serious and Claire couldn't be sure but it seemed that Yugi had grown taller, but that was impossible. "Alright Weevil it's time we found out if you're as good as Duelling as you are at running away."
"Was I simply running away or cleverly weaving you into my web?" Weevil asked with a snigger.
"It's time to Duel!" Yugi exclaimed with a confident smirk.
"As you wish, there is where our Duel will take place. I'll just meet you in there." Weevil said pointing to the Duel box before running towards it and sitting down at the table. Yugi turned and walked towards the box, opening the door and sitting across from Weevil.
"These boxes must be set up all over the island." Joey said as the friends went to stand outside the box. "I don't like this, Weevil's a little too cocky" Joey observed frowning at the two inside the box.
"I agree he must have something planned." Claire nodded as she watched Yugi, she thought that he looked a little bit different but surely it was just her imagination.
"You've just stepped into a Hornets nest and there's no way out!" Weevil cackled as he sat down across from Yugi still grinning. "I notice that you have just one star chip. I guess that means that I get the pleasure of eliminating you from the tournament! Once your gone Everyone else will be easy pickings." Weevil continued.
"Not if I take you're two first." Yugi declared with a glare.
"What? Why would I bet my two star chips when you only have one?" He asked how dare he try to take both of his, who does he think he is?
"Because this will be an all or nothing match for the both of us. I have something else that I think you want" Yugi said before holding up his deck. "My whole deck!" He announced.
"So you'd risk your precious deck? Fine with me" Weevil said as he grinned once more "winning all your cards will be an easy way to exterminate you once and for all.
"Exterminate?!" Téa asked in shock, why would he say it like that?
"Swatt that little twerp like a Mosquito!" Joey called up to Yugi, if Weevil was going to use bug themed phases on how he was going to beat Yugi then they were going to as well.
In the forest some of the other contestants saw the Duel about to start so they turned to tell their friends.
"Hey it looks like a Duel is about to start over there!" One yelled causing the others to run forward and look out at the Duel box.
"That's Weevil Underwood, but who's the other guy?" One of them asked, Joey overhead this conversation and turned to look at the three on lookers.
"That guy is Yugi Muto he beat Kaiba." He then pointed to himself and grin "and I happen to be his best friend Joey Wheeler and these three" he said as he gestured to Téa, Tristan and Claire "these three are trespassers." He said with a shrug causing the three to sigh and shake their heads.
"Now is not the time to be making those kind of jokes Joey, Yugi is about to have an important Duel" Claire reprimanded him as she turned back to her brother, he had to win this Duel he needed to win all the Duels but this was going to be his first challenge.
"I thought I wouldn't be seeing a Weevil and Yugi match up until the finals." One of the on lookers said in awe, they wanted to stay to watch this match.
"Weevil's a regional champ no new kids got a chance against him" his friend said but still staying as this could be interesting.
"Well Yugi my adoring public is waiting so we should begin!" Weevil announced to Yugi the both of them then declaring Duel before drawing they're hand and the life point counter starting at 2000 for each player. It was Weevil's turn so he drew his next card before placing a monster on the field. "Lets see how you like my Killer Needle" he said as a massive bee with an oversized stinger appeared and hovered above the card. The Killer Needle had 1200 attack points.
"You'll have to get through my Mammoth Graveyard first" Yugi countered as he played his monster a skeleton mammoth appeared it also had 1200 attack points. "This massive monster will match your annoying insect point for point." Yugi said before he declared his attack once he did the mammoth charged at Weevil's monster.
"Killer Needle lets show the mammoth your stinger attack!" Weevil declared with a grin. Killer Needle struck Mammoth Graveyard and Yugi's monster disappeared in wisps of smoke. "Gone after one sting?" Weevil asked "he must be allergic."
"No" Yugi shouted in dismay, that should have been a stalemate they were both evenly matched.
"Have you begun to figure it out yet why I lead you all the way to this forest area?" Weevil asked Claire was sure his grin couldn't get any wider like he thought that he had already won. "If you just look around then you will see that our playing field on the table is an exact replica of our surrounding environment, one part wasteland and one part forest, and who thrives in the forest? Bugs! The strongest and most powerful insects rule the forest so as long as I play my cards in the forest area they get a field power bonus." Weevil explained the excitement in his voice very clear. "I guess that you just weren't listening when Pegasus said there where exciting new surprises in store for us. Maybe if you were smart enough like me you would have stolen the tournament's secrets for yourself like I did you would be getting the field power bonus instead of me."
"He cheated, he lead us here knowing it would give him an advantage." Joey said now really wanting to hit Weevil.
"Go ahead call me a cheater you're all just jealous and angry that you didn't swipe the rules for yourselves and because you didn't little Yugi is about to get stung" Weevil was then shocked because after saying this Yugi let out a chuckle. "Whar? How can you be laughing?" He asked.
"Because take a look at your ferocious Killer Needle now" Yugi said as he pointed to the bug, Weevil looked and to his horror his Killer Needle was disappearing.
"Oh no my monster what have you done with my monster?!" Weevil demanded. He then looked down at the table on the side were little screens that s deilibertly howed each player their own life points and their opponents. Weevil looked at Yugi's. It was still at 2000 he should have taken damage, does that mean? Yes Yugi's own monster also had the power bonus...how did he figure it out so quickly?
"My Mammoth had a field power bonus from the Wasteland just like your bug did from the forest." Yugi said triumphantly as he grinned at Weevil.
"The field point advantage was supposed to be mine alone" Weevil growled in frustration.
"I kept wondering about something on the boat ride here Weevil. Why were we travelling to some remote island just to Duel but when I sat down at this table and looked at this holographic display grid of our playing field it all came together." Yugi explained as he crossed one leg over the other and glanced down at the table. "Every monster has a type of field that it does best on, like a home field advantage and what makes this island so special is that it contains every type of field imaginable." Yugi continued before looking back up and locking eyes with Weevil "so when you deliberately lead us to this spot you were clearly hoping to gain some kind of field advantage." This statement caused Weevil to growl in frustration even more until a thought ran through his mind and he began to laugh once more.
"You're awfully clever to put it all together like that Yugi but figuring out one rule won't help you a lot, there are still surprises hidden under every rock and I know them all" Weevil said as he glared at Yugi.
"You can beat him Yugi!" Téa called out he had to stay strong.
"Don't let that sleeze scare ya he's bluffing." Joey called out as well.
"Really? Well let's just see how you handle this bluff" Weevil said as he played his card in attack mode. A purple beetle appeared seeming to make a roaring kind of noise. It's attack points rose from 1500 to 1950 because of the field boast. "My Hercules Beetle will find a way to crawl under your skin."
Yugi knew that even though he had figured out the field power bonus it was too late to rebuild his deck, a combo attack seemed like his best option right now so he picked his hard and played it.
"I play Feral Imp in attack mode" Yugi said the image of a large green furry creature that sat crouched down appeared above the card. "And now I'll add this magic card Horn of the Unicorn so it's magic will raise my attack points" this caused Feral Imps small horn on top of its head to change electricity sparked around it as it grew. Feral Imps attack rose from 1300 to 2000. Yugi then ended his turn.
"You'll have to do a lot better than that Yugi, my Hercules Beetle attack!" Weevil said already knowing the outcome. Hercules Beetle pushed itself off the ground a bit more to show it's belly tow points on it lit up and shit towards Feral Imp.
"Feral Imp magic lightning attack." Yugi declared electric shooting from the horn on Feral Imp and shocking Hercules Beetle. Unfortunately for him Hercules Beetle wasn't destroyed, and Yugi's monster was instead destroyed it and reduced Yugi's life points down from 2000 to 1350.
"Yugi's attack didn't even faze that thing!" Téa exclaimed.
"Something's screwy" Joey protested.
"My Imp should have destroyed your Beetle, is this another trick Weevil" Yugi demanded.
"No Yugi I just thought you knew all monsters with a field power bonus are also resistant to any type of magic attack and since my Hercules Beetle easily deflected your lighting bolts he has more than enough power left to destroy your puny Imp and continue to eat away at your life points." Weevil explained calmly feeling back in control.
"Even that four eyed creeps weakest bugs are gonna be tough to beat as long as he'sgot that field power bonus" Joey said in frustration.
"Yeah but it's is like it can just be turned off" Tristan was also feeling frustrated at how this seemed to be going.
"That Weevil's a no good cheat" Téa agreed.
"That he is but Yugi can beat him I'm certain he can." Claire nodded as she watched Yugi he better win.
"It's your turn make your move." Weevil said crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.
Yugi studied his hand for a moment before figuring that the best thing to do right now is to defend with his next monster, that way if it is destroyed he won't lose any life points. With this in mind he chose his monster and placed it face down sideways in defence mode.
"So we're defending now are we?" Weevil asked mockingly "very clever, since I can't see your monsters defence points I can't be sure I can beat it but even your strongest monsters can't stand against my Basic Insect." The green ant that he used in the finals appeared on the field, because of the field power bonus it's attack rose from 500 to 650. "Not only does he get the field power bonus but I'm upgrading him with Level 3 Laser cannon and a level 2 power boost." Weevil said with delight "now Yugi for all the bugs that you have squashed, stomped, crushed or fumigated it's pay back time!"
Yugi felt a little bit worried Weevil's insect was so powerful his defence wasn't going to stand a chance against it. The laser cannon sent out a blast to the face down monster revealing the monster and destroying it in a bright light that caused Yugi to cover his eyes.
"You'll have to do better than that if you hope to survive my bugs laser powered arsenal." Weevil laughed.
"Then I'll play this card" Yugi declared as he placed another monster face down in defence mode. Weevil was sure it was another defence card and he had a plan so that's all Yugi would be able to do.
"I'm going to keep you on the defensive, attack now with any monster and you'll instantly activate my trap card" Weevil said as he placed the card face down in the spell and trap zone.
"That Weevil's got Yugi cornered" Tristan said how was Yugi going to get out of this?
"Yeah he can't even counter attack" Joey growled getting more frustrated.
"As long as my trap card stays in play you're powerless to make a move against me, so does my tightening web make you squirm?" Weevil asked with a grin.
Yugi quietly placed a card in his spell and trap zone Weevil was so caught up in his bragging that he wasn't paying any attention to Yugi's moves so he figured that he'll set a little trap too.
"Face it Yugi I've got you pinned down and while you're totally unable to attack me I can attack you any time I want." As the turns passed Weevil kept summoning a new monster every turn. Yugi was counting on Weevil to get all his monsters out on the field. Yugi passed every turn just drawing cards watching Weevil build his bug army. "Keep drawing Yugi my army of insects just keeps getting bigger and bigger I'm going to wipe out all your monsters in one bug biltzcreed."
"Just look at our Yugi he's so confident in there" Téa observed.
"I know it's like when he Duels he becomes a totally different guy " Joey nodded. Claire couldn't agree more her Millennium Bracelet pulsed as she felt the confidence just oozing off of Yugi.
"Well what do you know? I'm down to my last little insect, and you know what that means don't you?" Weevil asked as he summoned his last monster, his side of the field was full of monsters, now Yugi just needed the perfect bait. "You're about to be exterminated!"
"We'll see what my cards have to say about that" Yugi said drawing his next card he drew the Dark Magician, there is no way Weevil could resist attacking the Dark Magician. "Alright Weevil I defend with the Dark Magician!" Yugi declared the Magician appeared kneeling on one knee.
"Excellent I'll destroy your very favourite card first, now my pet power up your laser cannon!" After chuckling to himself Weevil shouted "Attack!" This made Yugi chuckle and Weevil to look at him confused.
"What? Why are you laughing?" He asked.
"Weevil you're not the only one who can set a trap card." Yugi said "you were so busy bragging that you paid no attention to the cards I put into play."
"But I thought that they were all monster c-cards." Weevil stammered slight feeling a little fearful of what Yugi had planned.
"Not all while you loaded the field with your bug monsters I prepared a special surprise just for you, the power of my Mirror Force trap card!" With this Yugi activated his trap and a translucent barrier appeared in front of Dark Magician.
"Hold your fire!" Weevil commanded.
"Too late Weevil you already ordered your attack on my Dark Magician and Mirror Force will reflect it right back at you" Yugi said as the attacked bounced off the shield and hit all of Weevil's monsters this caused Weevil's life points to drop from 2000 to 555.
"My life points are devastated" Weevil said in shock. This made Tristan, Téa, Joey and Claire all cheer at Yugi's counter.
"Way to go Yugi!" Joey shouted fist pumping the air.
Weevil was in shock as he now stared at his empty side of the field, he obliterated his army of beautiful bugs in one hit, how dare he Weevil was going to make sure Yugi paid for that.
"You're a liar and a cheat Weevil but it was your overconfidence that allowed me to get the best of you. Your insects are decimated, your life points are low and as you yourself said before, you've used up all your monsters." Yugi said with a grin.
"Actually I lied about that too" Weevil said causing Yugi to gasp. "I still have my most powerful monster just waiting in the wings and this unconquerable insect will swatt you down once and for all!" Weevil declared all he needed was two cards and he would win.
Again I'm sorry Claire didn't really get up to much but we get a glimpse into what her Millennium Bracelet does so yay!
I've got so many ideas for this it's unreal but I need to get through the first lot of episodes.
I hope you have enjoyed this one and I'll see you next time!
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