Chapter 11: The Tournament Begins

Three days have passed since the duel between Yuya Sakaki and the mystery duelist from Link VRAINS Playmaker. Everyone who has trained for the tournament has gathered in the courtyard of a regal-looking castle. Carly walks in and sees so many duelists.

"Whoa! I've never seen so many duelists here! They must be entering the tournament." Carly deduced.

"What do you expect, Carly?"

She hears a voice belonging to someone she didn't expect to see. Carly turns and notices Angela Raines and her camera crew.

"Angela? Why are you here?"

"I thought it'd be nice to cover this tournament, and I hear it's going to be bigger than the Fortune Cup and WRGP combined. What about you? Come to get footage for your little fan site?"

"Truth be told, Angela, I'm not just here for footage. I'm entering the tournament." Carly informed her.

"What?!" Angela gasped in shock.

"Yep. Got my deck together and everything."

"Well, good luck, Carly. Not that you'll need it." Angela smirked as she walked away with her crew.

"Trust me, Angela – I will win." Carly's thoughts echo in her head. She gazes at her deck. One of the cards seen is Fortune Fairy Hikari. "And this deck will take me right to the top."

Angela prepares for the report. "We are on in 5, 4, 3, 2…" The cameraman signals Angela to start.

"This is Angela Raines, reporting to you live from what appears to be a castle courtyard. While the ambience of this courtyard is breathtaking, it's this sudden announcement of a special tournament that's got the place abuzz with excitement. Everyone here is anxious to know who had the idea to put all this together." She looks around and sees many familiar and unfamiliar faces. "It appears that a lot of familiar competitors are here for this tournament. I see Regional finalists Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor, along with Teams Unicorn and Ragnarok… Oh! Look at that! Team 5D's is here as well!" She looks around and finds a few more notable duelists - Seto Kaiba, Zane and Syrus Truesdale, Vetrix and his sons, to name a few. With Team 5D's, Crow turned to Yusei.

"I wonder who had the idea to put all this together." Crow wondered. His answer came when Rex Goodwin walks out onto the balcony of the castle, surprising everyone.

"Goodwin!?" Jack gasped. "He's the master of ceremonies!?"

"We'll see, Jack."

Goodwin raised his hand to gain their attention. He eyes Yusei among the crowd. "Greetings, duelists. Welcome to the Planet of Zenova! For those who do not know me, I am Rex Goodwin, former director of Sector Security. I am here to announce the start of the Tournament of Time."

"Tournament… of Time?" Joey asked.

"Here you stand, the greatest duelists of all time! Though there are hundreds, if not thousands of you standing on this prosperous planet, only one will be given the title of the universe's greatest duelist! The only limit to assembling your duel decks is your imagination, for this competition will test your skills like never before!"

"In this preliminary stage, this whole planet will be your battlefield. You will go around from city to city competing in numerous tournaments to collect one of these." Rex Goodwin reveals a rainbow-colored crystal in the shape of a six-pointed star. "This is what's called a Spirit Crystal. Collect eight of these and you will earn a spot in the finals! The first sixteen duelists that accomplishes this will proceed to compete in the final stage, which will be a no-holds-barred, sudden death elimination tournament. The winner of the Tournament of Time will receive a once-in-a-lifetime duel with the planet's champion, and if they defeat said champion, the planet's benevolent ruler will grant them one wish, whatever it may be."

"I'd bet my pendant this 'champion' of theirs is Shade, but there's no way I'd get to him with all these guards." Yuya's thoughts echo in his head as he looks around at the other duelists. "We'll just have to win enough points to get to the finals."

"And to ensure that this tournament runs fairly, we will have referees surveying each and every one of you. They do not tolerate cheating." Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor sneered when he heard the rule. "This will be a tournament unlike any you have ever experienced. There will be Turbo Duels, Tag Team Duels, Master Duels, and who knows? Maybe you'll even duel riding the winds! They say you are the best of the best, now's the time to prove it! You have 30 minutes to ready yourselves and your cards. When the skies are alight with fireworks, the duels will begin!" Goodwin smirks. "One more thing, I will be participating in this tournament, not just as its master of ceremonies, but as a competitor as well." Hearing those words left the crowd flooded with murmurs of surprise just as he leaves. "Of all the duelists Shade gathered, I wasn't expecting Yusei Fudo to be in the tournament. This will be interesting."

On the island where Kuroi stands, Playmaker is with Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, and Yuya. "So, what do we plan to do to get in there?" Jaden asked.

"For now, we let the tournament run its course and win our way to the finals." Yuya told him.

"Playmaker, Goodwin said something about dueling while riding the wind. What's that about?" Yusei asked Playmaker.

"I think it's better you found that out for yourself, Yusei."

"Right… And from what we heard from Goodwin - we can't make any mistakes whatsoever."

"Exactly!"

The fireworks signal the start of the tournament. "Guys, look! The fireworks!" Yuma said.

"That means the tournament has begun." Yugi confirmed.

"So, where do we start?" Jaden asked.

"Well, the areas are pretty big, so it'll be a while before we find someone." Yuya deduced.

"Unless someone finds you first." They hear a cackle from the jungle.

"I know that laugh anywhere." They see Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor. "That's Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor!"

"You know those two?" Yuya asked.

"I only met Rex twice, but I've known Weevil and his underhanded trickery since Duelist Kingdom. On the boat ride there, he took my Exodia cards and tossed them overboard!"

"He what!?" Yuma gasped.

"That snake!" Yusei scowled.

They see Weevil and Rex run off into the jungle. "They're running away!"

The six heroes pursue Rex and Weevil until they catch up to them at a clearing. "Welcome, Yugi and friends. We're happy you could make it."

"All these years and you're still up to your dirty tricks!" Yugi accused the former champions.

"Tricks? This is the first time we decided to play it fair, since those referees are watching over our progress." Weevil admitted.

"For once, we're playing by the rules." Rex confirmed.

Weevil raised his Duel Disk. "Speaking of rules, what do you say we get started with a duel?"

"Why not. I beat you before in Duelist Kingdom, I can do it again." Yugi glared.

"Hold on, Yugi. Knowing Weevil, he'll have some underhanded trick he plans to use on you." Playmaker stopped the King of Games. "Let me be the one to duel Weevil."

"I was hoping to duel Yugi and get revenge for the embarrassing defeat he gave me at Duelist Kingdom, but you will do, Playmaker." Weevil accepted the terms. "After all, I've been meaning to face you and your Cyberse deck."

"I'm honored to be your first opponent, but you will lose if you face me." Playmaker warned Weevil.

"We will see, Playmaker." Weevil raised his Duel Disk as it boots up.

"Then let's get started." Playmaker's Duel Disk powers up. The first of many duels in the Tournament of Time begins with just two simple words.

"Let's Duel!"

To be continued…