This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

WARNING: These stories are rated T for moments of violence, mild blood, frightening moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.


Title: The ESP Shtick

Running as fast as he could from Molly, Henry, Gordon, and Murdoch, James wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Molly as humanly possible. Nobody, not even Gordon or Henry, dared to follow him; knowing that James needed some time to himself.

"Dammit… Dammit!" The red-haired boy swore, eventually stopping to bend over and take a breather, "I'm not arrogant or self-centered! Far from it! All along, Molly's been playing me for a fool!"

Based on what happened, James and Molly had a pretty vicious fight after the former won a duel against Murdoch, leaving both teenagers heartbroken, and, in James's case, in denial. As James continued talking to himself about Molly, a teenage boy with brown/gray hair by the name of Hector Roberts walked up.

"Hey, James!" he began, looking eager to ask his friend to face him in a duel, "Are you up for a-"

"I'm not selfish," mumbled James, ignoring Hector before, without realizing it, turning and yelling in his (Hector) face, "Tell me I'm not selfish like Molly says I am! I'm a swell guy anybody can get along with!"

"Umm… Ooookay," recoiled Hector, being completely out of the loop, "You're not selfish; you're a swell guy."

James blinked, "Hector?"

"Yeah, so I came to see if you're interested in a duel," remarked Hector, turning and beginning to leave, "But I can see you have a few problems to work out, so maybe I'll go and duel somebody else."

"Hector, wait," called James, stopping Hector from leaving, "Sorry about my outburst. I'm in a bit of a funk at the moment. I recently just got into a heated fight with Molly, and now I'm pissed off because all along she was toying with my emotions for her own gains."

"Wait, you're talking about Molly Russell, right?" pondered Hector, being unsure if he heard that right, "As in the same Molly Russell who is sweet, shy, and wouldn't hurt a fly?"

"Heh… Sweet and shy? Yeah right!" pouted James.

"Look, I don't know what happened between you two, but blaming Molly for it?" Hector went on, shaking his head, "It makes no sense to me. Tell you what, why don't we have a Battle City duel? I'll wager my Locator Card and rarest card, 'Gorz the Emissary of Darkness', for the match."

"Sure, I guess," sighed James, activating his Duel Disk, "I'll wager my Locator Card and my 'Elemental HERO Neos'."

"'Elemental HERO Neos', eh? Sounds like a good bet to me. Fine, I'll accept it."

With that being said, both duelists, once Hector activated his Duel Disk, stood ready for their match to commence.

"Let's go," declared James, although there was a general lack of interest in those words.

"Let's duel!" added Hector.

With those words said, the battle commenced.

(elsewhere…)

While that was going on, Gordon and Henry both had met up with Thomas, Edward, and Emily for lunch at a café. The two older teenagers had finished telling their three friends the situation with James, Molly, and Murdoch—especially what happened at the end of the duel. Needless to say, after Gordon and Henry both had finished telling them what had happened, Thomas, Edward, and Emily were each very much, for the lack of a better word, shocked and/or upset.

"Poor Molly," said Emily sympathetically, "How could James break her heart like that?"

"I think he took her words wrong and thought she hated him," assumed Henry.

"Henry and I knew this would happen," Gordon pointed out, "We tried to stop him before he went too far, but he didn't listen to us."

"Damn that James… I'd like to bash his face in for saying such hurtful things to such an innocent girl like that," uttered Thomas crossly, "He should apologize to her!"

"Now, now, Thomas," scolded Edward, as Thomas barely paid any attention, "Wanting to hurt someone just because of what someone did to another person won't make matters any better."

"But Molly didn't deserve to be yelled at like that," argued Thomas, "Can't someone talk sense into James?"

"Thomas, you forget that James can be a VERY difficult person to talk some sense into," recalled Gordon firmly, "The only way he'll see sense-"

"Is if someone were to beat it into his stupid head?" interrupted Emily, also angry that James would break Molly's heart.

"No, that's not the answer," refused Edward, shaking his head, "It's if he were to learn a personal lesson on it."

"Somehow," huffed Thomas, "That won't be easy."

"Where's Molly now?" asked Emily, "Think we should go talk to her?"

"Murdoch took her home," answered Henry, "I think we should just leave her alone for a bit."

"Also, when we see James again, Murdoch wants us to give him this," Gordon held up a Locator card, "James forgot to take it when he stormed off."

"He doesn't deserve one at all," grouched Thomas.

"That's enough, Thomas!" cut in Edward sharply, "I know you're mad at James right now, but acting like this—you're becoming almost as bad as him!"

Thomas realized that his older friend was right about that.

"Here's hoping things between James and Molly get better soon," pleaded Henry hopefully.

(elsewhere…)

Over in another part of Knapford City, Percy was still searching around for a duel. It had been a good two hours so far, and he hadn't found someone who would challenge him.

"Man, why doesn't anybody want to duel me?" groaned Percy, "Is it so hard to ask for a duel nowadays?"

Just then, he happened upon a large crowd.

"A duel?" thought Percy, "This I gotta see!"

Once he pushed through the crowd, he saw two monsters facing off against each other. One was a blue-colored Dragon monster called 'Tri-Horned Dragon' (Level 8/ATK: 2850/DEF: 2350) and the other was a humanoid Machine monster called 'Jinzo' and was wearing a helmet of some sort (Level 6/ATK: 2900/1500).

"Wow! A 'Tri-Horned Dragon' and a 'Jinzo'!" Percy said excitedly, "I wonder who owns those monsters?" Taking a closer look, he could see the 'Tri-Horned Dragon' was being used by Dennis of all people, "Dennis?"

The other duelist, Dennis's opponent, was a boy with cyan colored hair, who also wore a black t-shirt and pale white pants. Percy seemed to recognize the boy, too.

"Is that Samson?" he thought to himself.

"Your 'Tri-Horned Dragon' is no match for the might of my 'Jinzo', Dennis," taunted Samson, "And thanks to my psychic powers, I was able to predict you'd use that monster," He pointed to a face-up Spell Card called 'Mesmeric Control' on his field, "That's why I had my Spell Card, 'Mesmeric Control, all ready."

"Not that card!" cried Dennis.

"I must target 1 monster my opponent controls; it loses 800 ATK until the End Phase!" smirked Samson, A large watch used for hypnotizing appeared, waving in front of Dennis's monster, "Its ATK of 2850 becomes 2050 instead!"

'Tri-Horned Dragon' fell asleep, causing its ATK to drop a fair bit (ATK: 2850 → 2050).

"H-How?!" panicked Dennis, looking at his Duel Disk—which only had the 'Tri-Horned Dragon' Normal Monster Card on a simple Monster Zone, "How do you know what I have?"

"It's all over, Dennis," grinned Samson, just as 'Jinzo' raised his hands and released a series of psychic waves, "Psychic Wave!"

The wave of energy collided with 'Tri-Horned Dragon', destroying it.

"Aw man!" whined Dennis, as he lost the last of his LP (LP: 600 → 0), "You've destroyed my monster!"


DUEL RESULTS: Samson Neilson wins!


Defeated, Dennis fell onto his hands and knees in disbelief.

"That guy couldn't do anything against Samson," remarked Male Duelist 1.

"He really does have ESP!" The voice of Male Duelist 2 figured, as 'Jinzo' faded away and Samson approached Dennis, "It's like no one is safe from having their cards guessed without failure."

"Oil Slick! I couldn't do anything to that guy's LP!" complained Dennis, "What a failure I was in this duel!"

"And that's another win for me!" said Samson proudly, arms holded, "Hand over your rare card and Locator Card."

Scowling at Samson, Dennis handed over his 'Tri-Horned Dragon' Normal Monster Card and his Locator Card.

"Here, take it!" The voice of Dennis grimaced, before he was shown scowling, "Just don't get it damaged, alright?!"

Looking at the card, Samson pocketed it and the Locator Card.

"Ah, that card isn't worthy to be in my Deck," dismissed Samson haughtily, "But it will come in handy as a little something for my cold drinks."

Dennis growled in annoyance. At last, Samson spoke up to the crowd, wanting to win yet another duel as quickly as possible.

"So, which of you guys would like to face me next?" Samson dared, looking at the large crowd around him.

"Um… I'll pass," declined Male Duelist 2 nervously.

"I wouldn't stand a chance if you're someone with ESP!" Male Duelist 3 chuckled fearfully.

"What's going on here?" asked Percy.

"Percy?" blinked Dennis, who was surprised to see Percy of all people.

Percy, meanwhile, just stood in his spot looking as though he was in a trance.

"You there!" The voice of Samson called out.

"Me?" Percy gestured to himself.

"Yes you," confirmed Samson, "I challenge you to a duel."

"Percy, I wouldn't challenge him if I were you," warned Dennis, "I mean it, too!"

"Why's that?" Percy asked.

"Because that guy's got ESP!"

"What, so he's crazy?" The green-haired boy commented rather naively.

Dennis face faulted, "No, you idiot!" he snapped, "He can see into the future! He'd know every card in your hand!"

"Psychic, huh?" Percy said thoughtfully, recalling Thomas's duel against Sailor John in San Francisco. Once he snapped out of his thoughts, he smirked, "Then I'll accept his challenge."

"You're crazy!" objected Dennis, displeased.

"There's no way he'll be able to beat me," grinned Percy, "I plan to win this duel."

"And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" deadpanned Dennis, not sounding convinced.

"Once upon a time, Thomas, my best friend forever, was able to defeat someone who could predict every card in his hand," remembered Percy, as fire appeared in his eyes, "No matter what my opponent intends to do to me, I'll win and slowly become a True Duelist."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," sighed Dennis.

"Percy, huh?" murmured Samson, walking forth, "Yes, I know you. You were one of the duelists from the San Francisco tournament a few months ago."

"That's right," admitted Percy proudly, "I even got to win 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' from Dennis here."

"Grr… Don't remind me…" Dennis mumbled unhappily.

"I also get the feeling you know who I am too, right?" smiled Samson.

"You're Samson," revealed Percy, "If I remember correctly, you attend Sodor High School like Dennis and I."

"That would be me," affirmed Samson, "Samson at your service!"

"Whatever! I hope you're ready," challenged Percy, "Because this is a duel I'm gonna win!"

"But before we begin, I'll tell you what rare card I'll wager," offered Samson, as an enlarged image of the 'Jinzo' Effect Monster Card appeared in the background, "I'll wager my 'Jinzo'!"

"And I'll stake my 'Time Wizard'!" added Percy, as an enlarged image of the 'Time Wizard' Effect Monster Card loomed in the background, "That one's my rarest card!"

(elsewhere…)

In another part of Knapford City, Thomas, Emily, and Edward were doing some exploring when some teens rushed past them.

"Hey, where's the fire?!" joked Emily.

"A duelist claimed to have ESP is said to be dueling nearby!" answered Male Teenager 1, "We got to hurry and see it!"

Once the trio was alone again…

"ESP?" quizzed Thomas.

(elsewhere…)

Back in the other part of town, Percy and Samson were about to begin their duel when Dennis chose that moment to speak up.

"Wait a moment!" exclaimed Dennis, as Percy looked over his shoulder and listened, "What about 'Red-Eyes'? I thought that was your rarest card?"

Without much choice, Percy had to explain about the Rare Hunter incident and how Thomas won the card back.

"I promised I wouldn't take 'Red-Eyes' back until I became a True Duelist and faced Thomas after this tournament's over," vowed Percy.

"Oh, that's all fine and dandy," grumbled Dennis, before angrily raising his (Dennis) voice and causing Percy to flinch and sweatdrop, "BUT I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LOST MY 'RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON'!"

"H-Hey, it wasn't my fault!" protested Percy, "That Rare Hunter jerk used counterfeit cards and cheated! Remember?"

"Excuse me?" Samson asked impatiently, "Are you two finished squabbling over there? I have a duel to win!"

Percy snorted and looked away from Dennis to face Samson instead. The two boys activated their Duel Disks and drew their opening hands as their LP gauges filled up (LP: 0 → 4000) x2.

"Duel!" Percy and Samson declared at the same time.

In the gathered crowd, Dennis, while he was still a bit angry over Percy no longer having access to the 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' Normal Monster Card, knew this was gonna be an interesting duel and decided to stay and watch—partially to see Percy get demolished by someone with ESP. Back on the field…

"I'll go first," suggested Percy, drawing a card, "Draw!"


Turn One: Percy Avonside (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Maximum Six", "Swordsman of Landstar", "Drop Off", "Alligator's Sword", "Graceful Dice", and "Battle Warrior"


Percy had drawn a Monster Card called 'Battle Warrior', and his hand contained 'Maximum Six', 'Swordsman of Landstar', 'Drop Off', 'Alligator's Sword', and 'Graceful Dice'.

"Not too shabby if I say so myself," thought Percy confidently, just before looking at his opponent, "Huh?"

Samson seemed to have both his hands by the sides of his head, his fingers drumming against his temples.

"I feel the energy of the cosmos…" chanted Samson, "Passing through my body… Becoming one with me! At this time, at this place… I will win this duel! It is destiny… The law of the cosmos!"

"He's gone nuts," cracked Percy.

"With my psychic powers," continued Samson, "I can see every card in your hand!"

"Yup, he's batty," sighed Percy.

That all changed…

"Such as, I know you have a 'Maximum Six' in your hand! As well as a 'Swordsman of Landstar'!" The voice of Samson guessed.

"How did he know?!" thought Percy, stunned.

"That's exactly what he did to me!" Dennis pointed out, having a feeling that Percy was spooked over Samson making a correct guess, "He'll know every card you have."

"We'll see about that," dismissed Percy, clearing his head and taking a card from his hand, "I play this card!" He placed the card onto his Duel Disk (sideways), "'Battle Warrior' in Defense Position!"

A fighter wearing blue materialized on the field in a defensive stance (Level: 3/ATK: 700/DEF: 1000).

"A 'Battle Warrior'?" chuckled Samson.

"I end my turn," concluded Percy, entering his thoughts, "Now I have to hope that guy doesn't destroy my monster before I can Tribute Summon."

"It's my turn," said Samson, drawing a card, "Goodness me… I wonder how I can get through a monster like that?"

Gritting his teeth, Percy knew that Samson was just mocking him (Percy).


Turn Two: Samson Neilson (LP: 4000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Amplifier", "Cyber Raider", "The Fiend Megacyber", "Psychic Shockwave", "Stop Defense", and "Mind Crush"


Adding the card into his hand, Samson decided to mock Percy further.

"'Battle Warrior' is, in actuality, an easy monster to defeat—he has low stats and no effects," noted Samson, then taking a different card from his hand, "This monster can easily defeat him."

"Nuts! He has a good card already in his hand," thought Percy.

"Here's my card," began Samson, turning the card ('Cyber Raider') over and revealing it, "'Cyber Raider'!"

A robotic fighter appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000).

"While a monster is in Defense Position, you won't take any battle damage," rambled Samson, taking another card from his hand, "But there are ways to force a monster into a different position—a position you might not like," He slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, "I activate the Spell Card!" Materializing face-up on the field was a Spell Card called 'Stop Defense', "'Stop Defense'!"

Percy wordlessly cried out, watching as 'Battle Warrior' was forced into a fighting position.

"I must target 1 Defense Position monster my opponent controls; I must change that target to Attack Position," explained Samson, as faded images of Percy's Deck and the latter drawing a card was superimposed over him (Samson), "I knew all along you'd Summon 'Battle Warrior' since you did draw it on your first turn."

"He knew what I drew right off the bat!" thought Percy, sweating fearfully, "And 'Cyber Raider' has a much higher ATK than 'Battle Warrior'!"

"Battle!" announced Samson, as his 'Cyber Raider' jumped into the sky similar to what 'Elemental HERO Neos' often did when attacking, "'Cyber Raider', attack 'Battle Warrior'!"

The scared Percy waited for the attack to come, and come it did.

"Cyber Knuckle!" The voice of Samson hollered.

And 'Cyber Raider' slugged 'Battle Warrior' so hard that Percy's monster shattered into shards of glass while being thrown back. Percy gritted his teeth once more as he felt the blow to his LP (LP: 4000 → 3300).

"Because he already figured out what I'd do, I lost 700 LP already," Percy told himself.

Looking at his hand, Samson smirked to himself.

"The idiot doesn't even know what is happening," he thought to himself, before taking hold of two cards, "I Set two cards face-down, Percy."

Two face-down cards appeared on the field behind 'Cyber Raider'. Up on the rooftop of a nearby building, there were some kids looking down on the duel. One of them was holding some binoculars and the other one had a headset. Back below, Dennis was exasperated over how bad Percy was doing in the duel thus far.

"Man, Percy is doing pretty lame," Dennis noted to himself, "I knew it was all luck that he managed to beat me."

Back on the field…

"You were doomed to failure ever since you accepted my challenge, Percy," smirked Samson, "Here's a tip; never go against someone who is psychic."

Percy merely grimaced. Up on another building's rooftop, Thomas, Emily, and Edward had each just arrived.

"Why are we up here, Thomas?" pressed Edward.

Thomas sighed, "I needed something like this to help me cool off," he confessed, "I'm still a bit angry with James over what he said to Molly."

"Yeah, we can tell," Emily nodded understandingly.

Suddenly, Edward could be heard calling out to the two teenagers.

"Hey, guys! Look down there!" The voice of Edward echoed.

Thomas and Emily both joined Edward near the building edge.

"Is that Percy down there?" wondered Emily, looking down below at the crowd.

"I believe so," agreed Thomas, as focus went towards a cocky-looking Samson down below, "It looks like he's dueling Samson."

"Samson?" blinked Emily.

"Remember him? He's a rather proud showoff kind of bloke," reminded Edward.

"Oh," remembered Emily.

"Either way, he seems to have the upper-hand at the moment," stated Thomas.

Suddenly Emily looked in another direction and noticed something else.

"Look over there!" cried Emily.

Thomas and Edward both turned around to look at what their dark green-haired friend was pointing at, which was the other building with a bunch of kids.

"Who are those kids?" frowned Edward.

"I'm not sure," replied Thomas, "But it looks like one of them has a pair of binoculars."

"Let's watch them and the duel and see what happens," suggested Emily.

And that's what they did. Down below, Samson was still gloating on how he was winning so far.

"If I were you, Percy, I would surrender before you embarrass yourself," he dared proudly.

"We're only a few turns into the game and you think you've won?" muttered Percy, who wasn't going to take it, "This duel isn't close to being over."

"Okay," shrugged Samson, "I guess it's your funeral."

Percy grunted with agitation before drawing his card.


Turn Three: Percy Avonside (LP: 3300)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (6): "Maximum Six", "Swordsman of Landstar", "Drop Off", "Alligator's Sword", "Graceful Dice", and "Skull Dice"


Back on the building roof, the kids were continuing to spy on Percy's hand.

"He has a 'Graceful Dice' in his hand," said Boy 1, the one with the binoculars, "And I think he might have drawn a second copy of it."

"That's perfect!" rejoiced Boy 2, one of the younger ones, "It has a ruling that you can only activate one of them per turn."

"Mm!" acknowledged Boy 3, another of the younger ones, as he spoke into a radio, "Hey, Samson!"

Back below, Samson was focusing on the duel when a buzzing sound was heard in a hidden earpiece he was wearing.

"Percy drew what looks like 'Graceful Dice'," The voice of Boy 3 was saying, "He has another copy in his hand, too."

"Mighty Cosmos, show me his hand and grant me the power!" chanted Samson.

Percy only sweatdropped. Finally, Samson spoke up.

"I see you have a 'Graceful Dice' card in your hand," teased Samson, before pointing forth, "And you've just drawn a second copy of it, too."

Percy gasped and looked at his hand, more stunned than ever before—because the card he'd just drawn 'wasn't' a second 'Graceful Dice' Spell Card… It was actually a Trap Card called 'Skull Dice'.

"A second copy? But that can't be right. Unless…" thought Percy.

Back on the roof, the boys watching laughed to themselves.

"Boy, that guy must be freaked out that his cards are getting guessed like that," chortled Boy 1.

On the roof of the other building, Thomas looked annoyed that Samson was cheating against Percy—but made no effort to stop it.

"Percy, if you're a True Duelist, you must be able to see through this trick," thought Thomas.

"This is unfair!" protested Emily, "We should go and stop this duel!"

"No, Emily," The voice of Thomas refused, causing Emily, and Edward, to look towards him in surprise, "Percy will realize he's been tricked," He smiled, "I'm certain of it."

Emily and Edward wanted to speak up, but felt there was no need to. Back below…

"Are you surprised?" laughed Samson, "My telepathic abilities were granted to me by the universe," He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "And now, here's something else for you to worry about!" His first face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, "I activate a Trap Card, 'Mind Crush'!"

"Tch!" muttered Percy.

"I must declare 1 card name; if that card is in my opponent's hand, they must discard all copies of it, otherwise I discard 1 random card," explained Samson, "Luckily, I already know all of your cards, so I won't be discarding anything," As he made his declaration, focus went towards Percy's hand (containing 'Maximum Six', 'Swordsman of Landstar', 'Drop Off', 'Alligator's Sword', 'Graceful Dice', and 'Skull Dice'), "I declare 'Maximum Six'!"

Percy gasped again, looked at his hand, and, sure enough, spotted the declared card.

"He did it again," thought Percy, "I don't know if he really has ESP, but he can definitely see the cards in my hand," Despite his clear frustration, he took the card ('Maximum Six') and sent it to the GY, "But not well enough!"

"Feeling flustered are we?" mocked Samson, "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but the same has happened with everyone I dueled!" As he finished talking, focus went towards Dennis in the crowd, "Including my previous opponent, Dennis!"

"I'm afraid he's right about that," bemoaned Dennis.

Back on the field, Percy suddenly grinned over the cards Samson supposedly guessed.

"I think I've clued in on your strategy, Samson," commented Percy, before taking and holding a card ('Swordsman of Landstar') "But first, I'll play this card!" From there, a monster started to appear on his field, "Go, 'Swordsman of Landstar'!"

Appearing on the field was a small, cartoon-like warrior monster with a sword and shield (Level: 3/ATK: 500/DEF: 1200).

"And finally…" The voice of Percy went on, before taking two cards ('Graceful Dice' and 'Skull Dice') from his hand. He was shown slotting them into his Duel Disk, "I Set two cards and finish my turn!"

Two face-down cards appeared on the field near his feet.

"He Set both 'Graceful Dice' cards on the field?" thought Samson, being well aware of how the card itself worked, "How interesting… Because his monster has 500 ATK, 'Graceful Dice' will be used to raise its ATK based on the roll of the dice," He then spoke aloud, "And I bet both those face-down cards are 'Graceful Dice'! Well too bad you can't use both of them on the same turn. Everyone knows you can only activate one copy of 'Graceful Dice' per turn!"

"Who knows?" retorted Percy, while entering his thoughts, "Bring it on! I'm about to expose your little psychic act!"

"It's my turn!" declared Samson, drawing a card, "Draw!"


Turn Four: Samson Neilson (LP: 4000)
Deck: 33
Current Hand (3): "Amplifier", "The Fiend Megacyber", and "Pot of Greed"


On cue, the 'Pot of Greed' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.

"I activate 'Pot of Greed'!" The voice of Samson proclaimed, before being shown drawing two more cards, "I must draw 2 cards!" Both cards were shown to be 'Everlasting Alloy' (Spell Card) and 'Confusion Chaff' (Trap Card), bringing another dangerous smile to his face, "My ESP is so great that it even rewards me for making correct guesses!"

Percy said nothing. Within the crowd, Dennis looked away, no longer wanting to watch. Back on the field, Samson placed another card ('The Fiend Megacyber') onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk.

"I Tribute 'Cyber Raider'…" As Samson spoke away, 'Cyber Raider' faded away in a blue streak, "…and Tribute Summon 'The Fiend Megacyber'!"

Appearing on the field in a burst of light, and in the place of 'Cyber Raider', was a large warrior with black and yellow armor (Level: 6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200).

"Now!" yelled Percy, "I activate a Quick-Play Spell!" After pressing a button on his Duel Disk, his first Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "'Graceful Dice'!"

"As I expected," thought Samson gleefully, "You're trying to oppose my ESP with a roll of the dice, because luck is one thing I can't predict… I accept your challenge!"

"I must target 1 face-up monster with 500 ATK or less, then roll a six-sided die. I must multiply the ATK by the number rolled until the end of this turn," explained Percy. As a little person emerged from the face-up 'Graceful Dice' Spell Card and onto the field and tossed a blue dice into the air, he entered his thoughts, "'The Fiend Megacyber' has 2200 ATK, and 'Swordsman of Landstar' has 500 ATK. If I roll a five or a six, my monster can win!"

The blue dice landed on the ground—particularly on a three, much to Percy's disappointment.

"What a shame!" insulted Samson, "A three will only triple your weak monster's ATK all the way to 1500!"

'Swordsman of Landstar' got stronger (ATK: 500 → 1500). Unfortunately, he was still not as strong as 'The Fiend Megacyber'. The Battle Phase then began.

"Here I go!" cried Samson, as 'The Fiend Megacyber' went in for the kill, "'Megacyber', take out the trash!"

Just when it looked like Percy's 'Swordsman of Landstar' would be destroyed, Percy was ready to counter.

"Ha ha! You fell for it!" responded Percy, "I open my second Set card!"

"Didn't you listen to me?!" berated Samson, "You can only activate one 'Graceful Dice' per turn!"

"Ah, but I never said it was a 'Graceful Dice'!" rebutted Percy, before pressing a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate a Trap!"

The remaining Set card rose to reveal itself as…

"N-No way! 'Skull Dice'?!" gasped Samson.

Yes, it was actually a Trap Card called 'Skull Dice'.

"'Skull Dice' is similar to 'Graceful Dice', but it targets the opponent's monsters instead," informed Percy, as focus went towards the face-up 'Skull Dice' Spell Card as a little demon emerged from the card and onto the field with a large red dice, "When an opponent's monster declares an attack: I must roll a six-sided die. The battling monster's ATK is divided by the number rolled until the end of this turn!"

The demon threw the dice into the air.

"If I roll anything except one, my 'Swordsman of Landstar' will be able to overpower your 'Megacyber'!" beamed Percy.

The red dice landed, rolled, and stopped at a five.

"Oh no!" panicked Samson.

'The Fiend Megacyber' groaned as he became much weaker thanks to the high roll of the dice (ATK: 2200 → 440). With him weak enough, 'Swordsman of Landstar' was now able to counterattack, destroying 'The Fiend Megacyber' with his sword. Samson screamed hard as his LP took a large hit (LP: 4000 → 2940). Up on the rooftop, Thomas, Emily, and Edward cheered that their friend made a successful comeback.

"Nice one, Percy!" came from Emily.

Down below, Percy then spoke to Samson as he fell onto his hands and knees.

"I know from experience that psychic powers are real, and you don't have 'em!" remarked Percy, "You thought I had two 'Graceful Dice', but one of them was actually 'Skull Dice'. You mistook one for the other because the two cards were stacked, so you could only see the dice on one of them. In other words, it ain't ESP letting you see my hand, you got someone spying on my hand and informing you! That's how you won against Dennis!"

Samson gulped fearfully. In the crowd, everyone watching was murmuring to themselves about the reveal, and Dennis was left outraged about it.

"Did you hear that?" said Timothy, looking towards Marion, "Samson was cheating all this time!"

"How awful!" Marion pouted angrily.

"So you didn't win fairly!" accused Dennis, "Only I can lie and cheat! But since I didn't this time, I'm in the right! Gimme back my Locator Card and 'Tri-Horned Dragon'!"

Back on the rooftop, the young boys watching and spying were scared.

"He knows!" gulped Boy 3.

"You idiot!" snapped Boy 1, "Why didn't you say it was 'Skull Dice'?!"

"Sorry…"

"Wh-What should we do?" worried Boy 2.

"HEY YOU!" A male voice shouted.

The boys turned around in fright and saw Skiff confronting them.

"Uh-oh!" The boys cried out in terror.

"What do you think you're doing?!" demanded Skiff.

The boys quickly raced off, dropping the binoculars and headset in the process.

"Come back here!" howled Skiff, as he grabbed the fallen items.

Just before the boys could make an escape, they were immediately met by Thomas, Emily, and Edward.

"Not so fast, you naughty boys," Emily said, with both hands placed at her hips.

"Oh boy…" whispered Boy 2, just as Skiff came walking up.

"So 'this' was Samson's strategy?" Skiff accused crossly, holding up the dropped binoculars and headset. As he yelled at the cheaters, the boys merely looked sorry for what they did, "By having you spy on his opponent's hands and telling him what they were while pretending to be psychic?" He shook his head with disapproval, "That's cheating! I'm afraid I'll have to disqualify him for this."

Skiff was just about to radio Spencer about the misconduct when Boy 1 stepped in in a hurry.

"No! Please don't!" he begged, "Keep Samson out of this!"

"Why shouldn't I report him?" urged Skiff harshly, "He's been breaking the rules."

"Just hear us out!" requested Boy 3.

"Alright, I'm listening," sighed Skiff, folding his arms.

Thomas, Emily, and Edward also agreed to listen. Down below, Samson initially looked worried, but managed a smile after a few minutes.

"You say my ESP is fake? Are you that jealous of me?" he asked snidely.

"Jealous?" growled Percy, not able to believe that Samson was so delusional, "Why would I be jealous of a cheater?"

"My psychic abilities have never let me down before and they won't now!" bragged Samson, "You shouldn't be making baseless accusations, Percy. A guess with no basis is mere speculation! I'll predict the future using my powers, and it'll come true 100%! I will win this duel! Do you know why? Because I have never lost a duel! You, meanwhile, are an amateur who got lucky in his first ever tournament!"

"I don't know what's gonna come in the future," admitted Percy, "What I do know is that there's somebody in this city who's waiting to fight me as soon as we get to the finals!" He envisioned Thomas standing by his side, "Somewhere, sometime, I'll meet him, and we'll fight! I know it! I'll fight now because I believe in that future! That's all there is to it!"

"I will destroy that future. I can easily defeat a duelist like you without communicating with the universe," promised Samson, He took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk, "I Set one card on the field and end my turn."

A face-down card materialized on the field near his feet and beside the other Set card. Up on the rooftop, Skiff was still speaking to the young boys.

"So…" figured Skiff, "Is that why you have been helping Samson cheat?"

"Yes," confirmed Boy 2.

"We just can't bear to deal with those bullies any longer," fretted Boy 1.

"By pretending he was psychic," explained Boy 3, "Samson would scare the bullies into leaving us alone."

"When did you first meet Samson?" asked Skiff softly, raising an eyebrow.

"After our parents died in an accident at the circus," frowned Boy 1.

"We were taken in by two very nice people shortly afterward," put in Boy 2 sadly, "But even then, we were frequent targets by our classmates…" Stills of himself and brothers meeting Samson were superimposed over him, "At least until we met Samson when he was on his way home from school."

"He scared off the bullies, and we've looked up to him ever since," concluded Boy 3.

"So please don't disqualify him!" begged Boy 2, "Otherwise, we three will be dead meat if the bullies learn of this!"

Despite the cheating, Skiff, Thomas, Emily, and Edward all felt sorry for the young boys.

"Alright," accepted Skiff, sighing heavily before smiling a little bit, "I'll let it slide just this once."

There was much rejoicing on the part of the boys.

"Oh, thank you!" cheered Boy 1

"Samson may not be psychic, but he's still a great duelist when he puts his mind to it!" mentioned Boy 3.

Down below, Percy was beginning his own turn.

"Here we go!" began Percy, drawing a card, "It's my turn!"


Turn Five: Percy Avonside (LP: 3300)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (3): "Drop Off", "Alligator's Sword", and "Trap Hole of Spikes"


He smiled big upon drawing a good card—a Trap Card called 'Trap Hole of Spikes'.

"Yes! I drew something great! With this, any monster he Summons will be destroyed upon attacking and deal damage equal to half of its original ATK!" thought Percy, adding the card into his hand. He then took and placed a new card ('Alligator's Sword') onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Alligator's Sword'!"

Appearing on the field was an armored alligator brandishing his sword (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).

"Ready? Then here's my Battle Phase!" gloated Percy, entering the Battle Phase. As he gave the order, 'Alligator's Sword' charged towards the defenseless opponent, "'Alligator's Sword', Dragon Sword!"

'Alligator's Sword' raised his sword and slashed Samson, causing him to cry out as his LP took yet another hit (LP: 2940 → 1440). Up on the roof, the three young boys were calling out and cheering for Samson to win, while Thomas looked worried about why Samson let in a direct attack so easily.

"Don't let your guard down, Percy," warned Thomas.

Back below, 'Swordsman of Landstar' was moving in for an attack.

"Go, 'Swordsman of Landstar'!" called Percy, "This hit will further even things up!"

It looked certain Samson was going to take a second hit, but Samson wasn't actually going to let it happen so easily.

"If you think I'm gonna eat a second direct attack like that, then you're delusional!" sneered Samson, motioning a free hand out, "Face-down card, activate!" The first Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "'Confusion Chaff'!"

Just as 'Swordsman of Landstar' was going to land a blow, he suddenly stopped his attack and turned to face 'Alligator's Sword'.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" flailed Percy, even though 'Swordsman of Landstar' didn't appear to listen, "What's going on with my monster? Why's he ignoring my command?!"

"When my opponent declares a second direct attack during the same Battle Phase: I must conduct battle between the attacking monster and the first monster that attacked directly (other effects cannot be activated during this battle)," explained Samson, as 'Swordsman of Landstar' charged towards 'Alligator's Sword', "Your 'Swordsman of Landstar' will instead attack 'Alligator's Sword'!"

*SLASH!*

In one attack, 'Alligator's Sword' cut 'Swordsman of Landstar' down, causing the weaker monster to shatter into shards of glass.

"Because my own monster was destroyed like that, I lose LP instead of you," remembered Percy (LP: 3300 → 2300). He took two cards from his hand, "But these cards will definitely mess Samson up," He slotted them into separate Spell & Trap Zones on his Duel Disk, "I Set two cards face-down!" Two face-down cards materialized on the field behind 'Alligator's Sword', "My turn is finished!"

"It's my turn!" proclaimed Samson, drawing a card, "And it's showtime!"


Turn Six: Samson Neilson (LP: 1440)
Deck: 30
Current Hand (3): "Amplifier", "Everlasting Alloy", and "Mind Control"


"Hold it right there, Mr. ESP!" cut in Percy, "Whatever card you drew is about to go bye-bye!"

"Hm?" blinked Samson.

"I activate 'Drop Off'!" As Percy was speaking, his first Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "When my opponent draws for their normal draw in their Draw Phase: My opponent discards 1 card they just drew!" He (Percy) laughed cheekily, while Samson stood there listening, "Whatever good card you drew, you have to discard it!"

"Are you sure about that?" smirked Samson.

Percy flinched, "Wha-?"

"By activating a Trap Card, you've sealed your fate, Percy!" informed Samson, "In fact, allow me to show you what I mean by that!" From there, his remaining Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Trap Card, 'Psychic Shockwave'!" While explaining what the card did, he held up his drawn card without revealing what it was, "When my opponent activates a Trap Card: I must discard 1 Spell/Trap; I must Special Summon 1 Level 6 DARK Machine monster from my Deck," He discarded the card ('Mind Control'), then held up a new card ('Jinzo') taken from his Deck, "Meet my ace, 'Jinzo The Psychic Shocker'!"

"'Jinzo'?!" cried Percy.

A magical circle appeared in the center of Samson's field. Rising from it was none other than the same android monster that defeated Dennis in the previous duel (Level: 6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1500). But did Percy look worried about fighting him? Not at all.

"Come on, buddy," thought Percy, "I've got a Trap Card all setup for you—just attack me!"

But Samson was not the least bit fooled; he knew that there was a Trap Card Set on the opponent's field.

"It seems you have another Trap Card on your field," noted Samson, "At least, you'd better hope it's not a Trap…"

"Huh?" peeped Percy, growing nervous.

"'Jinzo', demonstrate your first effect!" ordered Samson, as 'Jinzo's' vision and mouth lit up with pink energy, "Trap Crush!"

'Jinzo' fired off a laser beam from his eyes and mouth. The laser struck and destroyed the face-down card belonging to Percy.

"HEY!" flailed Percy, "What gives?!"

"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: I must negate all Trap effects on the field, and if I do, destroy them," said Samson, "And my monster has a second effect!" Focus went towards Percy and 'Jinzo', "Trap Cards cannot be activated!"

"What?! No one can activate Trap Cards?" gasped Percy.

"That's also how Samson was able to beat me!" added Dennis.

Up on the rooftop, Thomas, Emily, and Edward were watching the duel looking rather grim at the situation Percy was in. The young boys, however, were overjoyed that Samson was winning.

"Even when not cheating, Samson is a surprisingly good duelist," acknowledged Thomas.

"It'll take a miracle for Percy to win," figured Edward, "Especially with that 'Jinzo' out."

"Let's hope Percy has what it takes to beat him," finished Emily.

Back down below on the field, Percy (LP: 2300) and Samson (LP: 1440) faced each other.

"Not good at all…!" thought Percy wearily, "'Jinzo' has 2400 ATK… My 'Alligator's Sword' has 1500 ATK… When an attack is declared, my monster will be destroyed and I'll take 900 damage!"

"It won't be long before I defeat you, Percy," remarked Samson, taking a card from his hand, "But before I do attack you, I'll activate this Equip Spell," In his fingers, the card was shown to be a Spell Card called 'Amplifier', "'Amplifier'!"

As Samson slotted the card into his Duel Disk, a metallic helmet appeared on 'Jinzo's' head.

"What does that do?" asked Percy nervously.

"I must equip only to 'Jinzo'. It gains 500 ATK," explained Samson, as focus went towards 'Jinzo' as he motioned his arms about and grew stronger (ATK: 2400 → 2900), "There's also a second effect! During my Standby Phase: The equipped monster gains 300 ATK!"

Now Percy knew he was in big trouble; instead of losing his monster and taking 900 damage, he was going to lose his monster and instead take 1400 damage! Sure enough, the Battle Phase began.

"Go forth, 'Jinzo'!" ordered Samson, as his 'Jinzo' raised both hands up and began charging a sphere of energy, "Send 'Alligator's Sword' back to the swamp! Cyber Energy Shock!"

'Jinzo' obeyed, firing off the energy blast towards Percy's field. The orb soared around until it struck 'Alligator's Sword', knocking him down until he shattered into pieces. Percy braced himself from the light show that was the destruction of his monster as his LP got hit hard by the blow (LP: 2300 → 900).

"No fair!" whined Percy, "You deliberately equipped 'Jinzo' with an Equip Card to buff his ATK before attacking me! That's really harsh, man!"

"And what's wrong with that?" taunted Samson, "It's perfectly legal. You're just mad my strategy is superior," He took a card from his hand, "I Set one card on my field and end my turn!"

Samson slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk and caused a face-down card to materialize on the field behind 'Jinzo'. Up on the rooftop, Thomas, Emily, and Edward were still watching the duel, but then they were joined by Skiff and the three younger boys.

"Come on, Percy!" called Emily, "You can do it!"

"I don't think he can hear us from up here," indicated Edward.

"Then let's get down there!"

With that said, Emily and Edward both started to run for the exit—but then noticed that Thomas, Skiff, and the boys remained where they were.

"Aren't you coming, Thomas?" blinked Emily.

"No," declined Thomas, shaking his head, "If I was down there to cheer Percy on, it might weaken his will to want to become a True Duelist. Regardless, he knows I'll be there with him in spirit."

"Understandable," nodded Edward.

From there, the two Sudrian teenagers exited the rooftop, leaving Thomas, Skiff, and the three boys alone.

"Thomas," Skiff spoke up, causing Thomas to look over, "Percy will win, right? I mean, if he loses, he'll be out of the tournament," He was shown frowning, "You do know that?"

"As long as he believes in the Heart of the Cards," countered Thomas, "I'm sure he'll win."

"But I'm sort of confused," continued Skiff, "How exactly would you being there to cheer Percy on weaken his will to be a True Duelist?"

Thomas didn't say a word at first. But after a full minute, he finally spoke and explained what he meant by that.

"Percy wants to become a True Duelist," began Thomas, "In order for him to do so, I can't be there by his side to cheer him on all the time. If I did, he would keep relying on me to become better, and would never do so on his own."

Skiff and the boys were amazed.

"Wow…" admired Boy 3.

"That's…really deep," Skiff added, before looking back to the crowd down below, "But he will still need as much support as possible to make it through this duel."

Back to the duel, Percy was thinking about the situation.

"Damn! What am I gonna do?" thought Percy.

"Now, it's your turn, Percy," dared Samson, "If you're gonna surrender, you'd best do it fast!"

"Surrender?" repeated Percy, before going into his thoughts, "My future… Maybe it'll never happen, but when the time comes—when I realize my own strength—I know I can get to that place!" He spoke aloud again, "Get real!" On the rooftop, as he spoke his reason for not giving up, a certain someone was still watching, "Somewhere in this city is the place of battle where Thomas is waiting! I have to be there for him! I made a promise, and that means I can't lose!"

Thomas smiled a little bit. Back below, Samson couldn't help but laugh at what Percy said.

"Dream all you like! It'll never happen!" insulted Samson, "I declare here and now that your only future is defeat! Think about it! Only 900 LP left, and not even a single monster on your field or anything in your hand!" Focus went towards his 'Jinzo' (ATK: 2900), "Whereas I have 'Jinzo', one of the most fearsome monsters in the game!" He folded his arms in a huff, "If there is a way for you to win, I'd even like to see it!"

"I'll gladly show you! It's my turn!" promised Percy. He suddenly entered his thoughts one more time, "Come on! I need a card that can help me turn things around!"

At last, Percy drew a card.


Turn Seven: Percy Avonside (LP: 900)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Roll of Fate"


His drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Roll of Fate'.

"'Roll of Fate'-!" thought Percy, before speaking aloud, "I activate the Normal Spell, 'Roll of Fate'!"

The mentioned Spell Card flipped face-up and revealed itself, just before a dice was thrown into the air.

"'Roll of Fate'?" quizzed Samson, "You seem to run a Gamble Deck!"

"I must roll a six-sided die. I must draw cards equal to the result, then banish an equal number of cards from the top of my Deck," said Percy, as the dice came falling for the center of the field, "Depending on the result, I can easily refresh my hand!"

Landing on the ground and rolling about, the dice landed on a three.

"A three!" exclaimed Percy, drawing three cards and then drawing three more cards and pocketing them, "Now let me see…"

His hand now contained 'Baby Dragon', 'Scapegoat', and 'Time Wizard'. A big smile formed on his face as a plan was formulated.

"I think it's time to show him just how effective my 'Time Wizard' can be!" thought Percy, before taking a card ('Baby Dragon') from his hand, "All right, here's my next card, you ESP fraud," The card was placed onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Baby Dragon' in Attack Position!"

Appearing on the field was a young, orange-colored dragon (Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 700). Upon seeing the new monster, however, Samson burst out laughing hysterically.

"You call that a monster?" guffawed Samson, "I don't know whether to even attack it or give it a bottle."

"You won't be laughing for much longer," smiled Percy, holding up another card and showing it, "Remember this card? It's the one I'm wagering in this duel!"

"'Time Wizard'?!" gasped Samson, "But that's a Monster Card! You can't play two monsters in one turn!"

"Wrong again," rebuffed Percy, "'Time Wizard' can be played as a Spell Card. And with it, I'm going to weaken your 'Jinzo' enough to be taken down with one blow!" He slotted the card ('Time Wizard') into his Duel Disk, "Come, 'Time Wizard'!"

Appearing on the field was a cartoonish clock-like Spellcaster monster, wielding a small scepter.

"And now, I'll activate 'Time Wizard's' effect!" announced Percy, "Time Roulette!"

The hand on 'Time Wizard's' staff began to spin around and around.

"If this doesn't work, I'll be in more trouble than I already am," Percy thought to himself, "'Baby Dragon' will be destroyed, I'll take 700 damage, and be left at the mercy of 'Jinzo'!"

Eventually, the arrow slowed down…and landed on a Time Machine.

"Alright!" cheered Percy, "My gamble worked!"

"Time Magic!" wailed 'Time Wizard'.

Very quickly, 'Baby Dragon' started evolving into an older, more powerful monster called 'Thousand Dragon' (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"Now your 'Jinzo' will become scrap metal!" Percy boasted proudly, entering the Battle Phase without checking to see if anything actually happened to 'Jinzo', "And with that, I'll send 'Thousand Dragon' to attack!" As he announced the attack's name, 'Thousand Dragon' began to breathe out a stream of fire from its nose, "Thousand Nose Breath!"

The blast of fire overwhelmed Samson's whole field, looking certain to destroy the weakened 'Jinzo'—at least, that's what Percy had expected to happen.

"Say bye-bye to your 'Jinzo'!" yelled Percy.

"Take a closer look," The voice of Samson cut in.

When the flames died down, Percy saw, to his horror, that 'Jinzo' was revealed to have survived without a scratch. His armor wasn't even rusted into scrap from Time Roulette (ATK: 2900).

"Nothing happened!" gasped Percy.

"But why?!" demanded Dennis.

Samson folded his arms with a cocky smirk on his face and looked nearby towards his field at a face-up Spell Card he owned.

"'Everlasting Alloy'?!" recoiled Percy.

"If I control 'Jinzo': I must activate 1 of these effects," revealed Samson.

These were the effects written on the 'Everlasting Alloy' Spell Card:
-"All Machine monsters I currently control cannot be destroyed by my opponent's card effects, until the end of this turn."
-"When a card or effect is activated that targets a Machine monster(s) I control: I must negate that effect."

"In other words," guessed Percy, "Since I succeeded in using 'Time Wizard's' effect," As he panicked a bit, focus went towards 'Jinzo', "you activated 'Everlasting Alloy' and picked the first option, sparing 'Jinzo' from destruction…"

"Correct," confirmed Samson, "And since you've declared an attack…"

"…you're gonna attack right back!" fretted Percy.

"Fail! You're in big trouble!" reminded Dennis.

As expected, 'Jinzo' raised both hands and charged another sphere of energy.

"Cyber Energy Shock!" The voice of Samson called out.

'Jinzo' obeyed, firing off the energy blast towards Percy's field. The orb soared around until it struck 'Thousand Dragon', causing the monster to roar in pain before exploding from destruction. Percy braced himself from the light show until it ended.

"He took out 'Thousand Dragon'…!" uttered Percy (LP: 900 → 400).

(elsewhere…)

Meanwhile, somewhere across town, the duel between James and Hector was going on. These were the standings:
-James (LP: 550): Controlled two 'Fluff Tokens' (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) x2, and a Set card.
-Hector (LP: 1900): Controlled 'Gorz the Emissary of Darkness' (Level: 7/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2500) equipped with 'Giant Hunter' (Equip Spell), and 'Goblin Recon Squad' (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 0).

"That's all you can do, right?" frowned James, before drawing a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"


Turn Four: James Hughes (LP: 550)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (1): "Elemental HERO Neos"


His drawn card was the 'Elemental HERO Neos' Normal Monster Card.

"Here I go! I Tribute my two 'Fluff Tokens'," As James spoke, the two 'Fluff Tokens' faded away in streaks of blue, "Come, 'Elemental HERO Neos'!"

Appearing onto the field was the Ultraman-like 'Elemental HERO' in all his glory (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000).

"Not only that, I'll also activate a Trap!" continued James, pointing to his face-down card as it flipped up and revealed itself to be… "'Soul Union'!" First, a card ('Elemental HERO Flame Wingman') emerged from his GY, causing the spirit of 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman' to appear on the field before becoming one with 'Elemental HERO Neos', "I must target 1 'Elemental HERO' in my GY; this turn, 1 monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the targeted 'Elemental HERO' monster in my GY!"

The spirit of 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman' appeared on the field before merging with 'Elemental HERO Neos', causing the latter to grow MUCH stronger (ATK: 2500 → 4600).

"Gah!" panicked Hector.

"Go forth, 'Neos'!" commanded James, entering the Battle Phase, "Attack 'Gorz the Emissary of Darkness'! Wrath of Neos!"

The empowered 'Elemental HERO Neos' obeyed, punching at 'Gorz the Emissary of Darkness' and destroying the enemy monster. Defeated, Hector fell onto his knees.

"That's it, I lost…" sighed Hector (LP: 1900 → 0).


DUEL RESULTS: James Hughes wins!


James didn't even seem to be smiling from winning the short duel.

"Well, you've won," said Hector in defeat, handing over his Locator Card and rare card.

James gruffly took and pocketed the Locator Card, but declined taking the 'Gorz the Emissary of Darkness' Effect Monster Card.

"Keep it," he requested icily, "I'm not interested in your rare card."

Hector was a bit puzzled as to why James wouldn't take his rare card, but shrugged in response when he had no answer.

"Sheesh… Is that really James?" Hector thought to himself, as he walked away now out of the tournament, "I guess he'll need to work out his problems on his own."

The reason for it was because James was still in a very bitter mood over what happened between him and Molly.

"Why the hell did she have to lie to me?" The red-haired boy was telling himself, "Had she just said she wasn't interested in being my girlfriend when we first met, that would have been different. But no. She waits until now to say so."

Of course, Molly never even said something like that, but James was so cross right now that he wasn't thinking properly.

(elsewhere…)

Speaking of Molly… Inside her bedroom at the Russell residence, the poor girl was in her room with her head buried in her pillow, still crying her eyes out over what had happened between her and James.

"Why?" sobbed Molly, "Why did he say those things to me?"

Molly only wanted James to see the error of his ways after scolding him for his behavior. But she never thought he would snap at her like that and say he hated her. Just then, there was a gentle knock on her door.

"Molly, sweetie," The voice of Mrs. Russell echoed from outside the room, "Can I come in?"

Molly's quiet sobs signaled that it was okay. The door opened, and Mrs. Russell walked inside. She had heard what happened between her daughter and James from Murdoch, Gordon, and Henry, and thus felt sorry for Molly.

"I'm so sorry about what James said to you," comforted Mrs. Russell, hugging her daughter, "Everything will be okay though."

Molly only continued to cry softly.

(elsewhere…)

Back at the duel between Percy and Samson, Samson was still at it with the gloating.

"I just defeated your best move," beamed Samson, "What are you going to do now? Will you finally surrender to me?"

"Sorry to tell ya, Samson, but the word 'Surrender' isn't in my vocabulary," dismissed Percy, who then slotted a card into his Duel Disk, "I Set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"What?!" gawked Dennis, "You're still gonna fight despite struggling like a fish out of water?"

"I am," responded Percy calmly.

"C'mon…"

"A weak last ditch effort!" scoffed Samson, "According to my ESP, you're out of options!" He drew a card, "Draw card!"


Turn Eight: Samson Neilson (LP: 1440)
Deck: 28
Current Hand (1): "Machine Inspector"


Suddenly, the helmet on 'Jinzo's' head started reacting.

"Now that's it my Standby Phase, the second effect of 'Amplifier' gives 'Jinzo' 300 more ATK!" The voice of Samson recalled.

Roaring out, 'Jinzo' grew even more lethal than he already was (ATK: 2900 → 3200).

"With a single attack, you'll be defeated in the most humiliating way possible," noted Samson, "Maybe you should have given up when you had the chance to."

"I won't lose to you, Samson," refused Percy, before pressing a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'Scapegoat'!"

The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field and created the four monsters known as 'Sheep Tokens'.

"I must Special Summon 4 'Sheep Tokens'. They cannot be Tributed for a Tribute Summon," explained Percy, "At least with four monsters guarding me, I can survive for a few more turns."

"I'll change that in an instant!" insisted Samson, before holding his drawn card ('Machine Inspector') out, "I activate the Spell Card, 'Machine Inspector'! Each player excavates the top 4 cards of their Deck, then I can send up to 2 excavated Machine monsters and/or Traps to the GY, then, each player places their remaining cards on the bottom of their Deck in any order."

Percy grimaced, then excavated four of his cards, while Samson did the same thing. Both players had gotten the following cards:
-Percy: 'Rocket Warrior', 'Nutrient Z', 'Mad Sword Beast', and 'Cyber-Tech Alligator'
-Samson: 'Jinzo #7', 'Brain Control', 'Confiscation', and 'Healing Wave Generator'

"The cards I pick are…" As he spoke, Samson took a card ('Jinzo #7') and sent it to the GY, "My Machine monster, 'Jinzo #7', and your Trap Card, 'Nutrient Z'!"

"Damn…" grumbled Percy, forced to send his 'Nutrient Z' Trap Card to the GY, "That card could have been really useful for me."

Both players then placed the remaining cards on the bottom of their Decks in any order they saw fit. However, Samson wasn't done just yet…

"Now to finish resolving 'Machine Inspector'!" vowed Samson, drawing a card and looking at it, "If I send a Trap to the GY by this effect, I must draw 1 card!" Upon seeing what he drew, he knew it was only a matter of time, "It's here."

"Huh?" worried Percy.

"I Summon the Magical Mirror Master, 'Reflect Bounder'!" cried Samson, placing his drawn card onto his Duel Disk, "Attack Position!"

Appearing onto the field in a burst of light, was what looked like an armed mirror with a cape (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000).

"What is that monster?" asked Percy.

"'Reflect Bounder' is a special monster," answered Samson, "It has a dangerous first effect," Focus went towards the newly Summoned 'Reflect Bounder', "Before damage calculation, if this card is being attacked by an opponent's monster, and was in Attack Position at the start of the Damage Step: I must inflict damage to my opponent equal to the attacking monster's ATK," He nearly started laughing, "In other words, Percy, even if you Summon a strong enough monster to destroy it, you will be the one who takes the damage instead of me!"

"How dare you…" groaned Percy.

"'Now' do you understand?" urged Samson, "There 'is' no victory for you here! All that awaits you is a future of 'failure'!" When there was no response from Percy, Samson entered the Battle Phase, "Prepare yourself! 'Jinzo', destroy a 'Sheep Token'!" While announcing the attack name, the empowered 'Jinzo' raised both hands to charge another sphere of energy, "Cyber Energy Shock!"

'Jinzo' fired off another orb, which hit and destroyed the red 'Sheep Token'.

"Now destroy another token, 'Reflect Bounder'!" Samson ordered, as 'Reflect Bounder' charged an attack from its chest, "Mysterious Mirror Ray!"

'Reflect Bounder' fired off an energy orb, destroying the blue 'Sheep Token'.

"You're finished! Two of your 'Sheep Tokens' have been destroyed!" boasted Samson, "On my next turn, I'll have a new monster Summoned to the field, and you'll be finished! You'll never be able to avoid three attacks!"

Percy put on a brave face, but deep down he knew he couldn't win.

"He's probably right," thought Percy, "I did so much better when Thomas was around to cheer me on."

"Since I know I'm going to win, there's just no point in continuing the duel!" figured Samson, before doing a thumbs down motion, "So, surrender to me!"

"D-Damn it all…!" cursed Percy.

Back on the roof of the nearby building, Thomas watched some more, continuing to believe that Percy would, in fact, ultimately find a way around the seemingly unwinnable situation and turn things around. Back below…

"Admit your loss and kneel before me, Percy!" ordered Samson cruelly.

Percy envisioned himself within the darkness of his mind, knowing that there really was no way for him to win the duel.

"I'm sorry, Thomas," thought Percy, "Looks like I won't be able to keep my promise to you nor 'Red-Eyes'…"

Before he could declare a surrender, Edward and Emily both came into the crowd.

"Percy!" yelled Emily.

"Wait!" came from Edward.

Percy heard his friends and looked back, surprised to see them.

"Don't give up, Percy!" encouraged Emily, "We know you can beat this cheater!"

"Hey, who are you calling a-" began Samson, looking annoyed. But when he saw Emily, he was no longer annoyed and instead was thrilled, "Oh la la, who's this pretty lady?"

Emily was not at all amused with Samson flirting with her, but didn't speak up about it. Edward, meanwhile, was speaking to Percy.

"Emily's right," Edward was saying, "You can beat this guy, Percy. We believe in you," Back on the field, Percy was listening to his (Edward) words carefully, "Thomas might not be here to cheer you on, but he will always remain with you in spirit!"

Percy knew Edward was right; although Thomas was absent physically, he (Thomas) would remain by his (Percy) side in spirit, reminding him (again Percy) about their promise duel. Yes, Percy knew he had to win this duel and prove he (Thomas) can win without Thomas's help.

"You're right," he said finally, "I can't give up now. I'll win this duel without my very best friend's help!"

"Well? Are you gonna surrender?!" spat Samson.

"You must be kidding!" declined Percy.

"What?!"

Back in the crowd, Emily was left wondering just how Percy was going to turn things around despite being left with two 'Sheep Tokens' and no cards in his hand.

"It's alright," reassured Edward, getting Emily's attention, "Take a look at Percy's eyes."

Emily did so, and, back on the field, Percy's eyes were filled with determination to keep on fighting.

"You're right," The voice of Emily stated, "His eyes haven't died out!"

Meanwhile, Percy took a long look at the top of his Duel Disk, which the LP counter said '400'.

"I only have one shot left," thought Percy, "But I know I can do this. I just need to bet it all on a single card!"

Up on the rooftop, Thomas continued to watch his best friend about to make what could possibly be his final turn.

"You can do this, Percy," thought Thomas.

Down below, Percy finally made his move.

"Here I go, Samson! It's my turn!" announced Percy, drawing a card with a Destiny Draw, "Draw!"


Turn Nine: Percy Avonside (LP: 400)
Deck: 43
Current Hand (1): "Roulette Spider"


His eyes widened as he saw what he drew; it was exactly what he needed to win the duel.

"Yes!" thought Percy.

"So, if you won't surrender, what will you do?" questioned Samson.

There was a long silence as the crowd waited to see what Percy would do. At last, Percy did something unexpected; he slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk.

"I Set one card face-down," confessed Percy, as a single face-down card appeared on the field near his feet, "And that's all for my turn."

"That's all?" stammered Samson, "After declaring you'll never give up, you just Set a card?"

Percy nodded.

"Then I will make you regret not surrendering to me!" threatened Samson, drawing a card, "Draw!"


Turn Ten: Samson Neilson (LP: 1440)
Deck: 25
Current Hand (1): "Thunder King Rai-Oh"


Upon seeing his drawn 'Thunder King Rai-Oh' Effect Monster Card…

"This card will help finish things!" ranted Samson, as focus went to 'Jinzo' growing even more powerful than ever before (ATK: 3200 → 3500), "First, as it's my Standby Phase, the second effect of 'Amplifier' makes 'Jinzo' gain 300 more ATK—giving him a total of 3500 ATK!" He finally placed his drawn card onto his Duel Disk, "From there, I'll Summon 'Thunder King Rai-Oh'!"

Appearing on the field was a mechanical monster with electrical bolts sticking out of its shoulders (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 800).

"Ha! With three monsters on my field, your measly 400 LP won't avoid a direct hit once I destroy your remaining 'Sheep Tokens'!" figured Samson, as he eyed the opponent's whole field, "I see no need to tell you what my 'Thunder King Rai-Oh' is capable of doing, since you won't live long enough to trigger it!" The Battle Phase began, "It's time to end the duel! 'Jinzo', you're up first!"

'Jinzo' prepared to use Cyber Energy Shock, but that was the attack Percy had been waiting for.

"It's all or nothing, Samson!" shouted Percy.

"Huh?" gasped Samson.

"This will be my final gamble," Percy went on, "Me or you? This card will determine who gets attacked by 'Jinzo'!" He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate my Set card! Go, 'Roulette Spider'!"

The face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself, causing a little mechanical spider with an arrow to emerge onto the field, jump up, and latch onto 'Jinzo's' face.

"My 'Jinzo'!" flinched Samson, watching his monster trying to get the spider off his face with no success, "What have you done to him?!"

"The Quick-Play Spell, 'Roulette Spider'!" replied Percy, "When an opponent's monster declares an attack: I must roll a six-sided die and apply the result."

These were the results written on the 'Roulette Spider' Spell Card:
"1: I must halve my LP.""
"2: I must make that attack a direct attack."
"3: I must choose 1 monster I control, change the attack target to it, and perform damage calculation."
"4: I must choose 1 other monster my opponent controls, change the attack target to it, and perform damage calculation."
"5: I must negate the attack, and if I do, inflict damage to my opponent equal to that monster's ATK."
"6: I must destroy that opponent's monster."

Over with the crowd…

"Man, that Percy sure loves his Gamble cards," thought Dennis, amazed by how many luck-based card Percy had, "But that 'Roulette Spider' of his appears to be the King of all risky cards! What if he gets the wrong result? The consequences would be catastrophic!"

Back on the field, a web of sorts was formed on the field, and 'Jinzo' moved to the center of it. The numbers one through six were outlined in each section.

"To make things interesting, I'll let you be the one who tells 'Jinzo' to stop," offered Percy (LP: 400), as Samson (LP: 1440) fearfully listened, "After all, you have ESP, so you should have an idea where it will land, right?" When there was no response, he gave the command, "Let's do this! 'Roulette Spider', start spinning!"

'Jinzo' began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Everyone watched in complete silence, knowing that everything in the duel would depend on the result.

"Go on, tell 'Jinzo' to stop!" dared Percy, as Samson continued to be silent, "Well, Mr. ESP? What are you waiting for?"

Everybody waited and watched Samson. At last, he couldn't take it anymore.

"'Jinzo'!" Samson called out, as 'Jinzo' overheard his master, "Stop!"

'Jinzo' slowly stopped spinning as the crowd held their breath. The roulette eventually stopped at option '4', which also contained 'Reflect Bounder'.

"It's pointing at No. 4 and my 'Reflect Bounder'!" wailed Samson, "That means…!"

"Exactly!" agreed Percy, "I get to choose a monster you control and force 'Jinzo' to attack it and perform damage calculation!" As he finished speaking, the spider disappeared from 'Jinzo' as he charged Cyber Energy Shock and fired it towards 'Reflect Bounder', "I obviously chose to attack 'Reflect Bounder'!"

"No! Don't reflect it, 'Reflect Bounder'!" begged Samson.

It was too late… Cyber Energy Shock collided with 'Reflect Bounder', activating its first effect.

"No good!" sweated Samson, "'Reflect Bounder' has no choice but to send the 3500 ATK Cyber Energy Shock right back at 'Jinzo'!"

As predicted, 'Reflect Bounder', before being destroyed by his second effect, reflected 'Jinzo's' blast back, hitting and destroying him in a bright light show.

"Both 'Reflect Bounder' and 'Jinzo' have been destroyed!" proclaimed Percy.

"N-No!" whispered Samson, "That can't be! How could this have happened?"

"You wanna know, huh?" smirked Percy, "Let me do the math for you: 'Jinzo' had 3500 ATK, subtract 1700 ATK from 'Reflect Bounder'… and you lose 1800 LP!"

Samson grimaced as he lost the duel (LP: 1440 → 0).


DUEL RESULTS: Percy Avonside wins!


"And that means you're finished, and this duel is over!" finished Percy.

Everybody cheered for Percy's victory. Then they noticed that as Samson wailed, a headset fell from behind his ears.

"Is that a headset?" asked Male Duelist 1.

"Then he really was cheating!" accused Male Duelist 3.

"What a failure!" The voice of Male Duelist 2 mocked, "Just like when he got fired for collecting things other than scrap!"

As he got taunted by some of the other people, Samson looked down and felt very ashamed of himself. On the rooftops…

"Samson lost the duel!" groaned Boy 1.

"Noooo!" cried Boy 3.

"But it really was a great duel," sniffled Boy 2 tearfully, who was at least happy for Samson, "He really pushed Percy into a corner."

Back below on the street level, Percy walked over to Samson while looking more sympathetic than how everyone else was treating him.

"It was a tough duel," he said, "But since I've won, it's time to hand over your Locator Card and rarest card, 'Jinzo'."

"And while we're at it," put in Dennis, walking over to join Percy, "I want my 'Tri-Horned Dragon' and Locator Card back since you cheated!"

Feeling so badly humiliated, Samson had begun to cry as he looked up with tear-filled eyes.

"No…" sobbed Samson, "I just can't."

"What?!" growled Dennis, looking ready to throttle Samson. However, he got held back by Emily, "H-Hey! Lemme go!"

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Percy calmly.

"Don't look down on me!" freaked out Samson, aiming his frustration at everyone else around him, "Is this fun for all of you? Looking down on the guy who lost?! It makes you feel better, doesn't it? So you can think 'At least I'm not a loser like him'!"

"Look, Samson, I'm not looking down on you," denied Percy, "I just had better luck, that's all. But if someone here is looking down on you, isn't it yourself?"

"Be quiet! Shut up!" screamed Samson, "What do you even know?!"

"I'm just saying, don't hate yourself!" corrected Percy.

"Why shouldn't he? He's a w-" Dennis started to say, but got his stomach punched by Emily, "Oof!"

"Keep your mouth shut, Dennis!" hissed Emily.

And so, Samson decided to finally confess why he cheated to win his duels.

"I only pretended to be psychic in order to keep my three little friends from being bullied!" confessed Samson through his tears, "But now that everybody knows I'm a fake, they'll get picked on again!"

"What three little friends?" huffed Dennis, as Emily let him go, "What kind of excuse is that supposed to be? The only one around here is you!"

"Samson's telling the truth!" cut in Emily, "Edward and I saw them on the roof. They were the ones spying on Percy's hand."

"Mm," nodded Edward.

"And they're right here, too," The voice of Skiff added to that.

Everybody looked over and saw Skiff with the three young boys by his side.

"Hey, Samson," greeted Boy 1, "We think you did great."

"You dueled your best without cheating," praised Boy 2, "I bet if Percy didn't use 'Roulette Spider', you would have won."

"We're very proud of you," concluded Boy 3.

Looking over at his young friends, Samson couldn't help but smile through his tears.

"Oh, well, come here!" he cried, his arms opened up.

The three young boys joined Samson in a group hug as they all cried. Everyone thought the scene was very heartwarming indeed.

"Oh… I feel so moved!" wept Percy, who was also in tears, "I just can't be mad at them!"

Too bad someone didn't seem to think so…

"Ack!" coughed Dennis, sounding like he was gagging, "Too sappy. Gimme my Locator Card and 'Tri-Horned Dragon' back, right now!"

Everyone else shot the Smelter Teen a dirty look, shutting him up immediately. Samson, however, approached and complied.

"Here you are, Dennis," said Samson, handing the 'Tri-Horned Dragon' Normal Monster Card and Locator Card back to Dennis, "Your rare card and Locator Card."

"Gee, thanks," grunted Dennis, as he turned and ran off, "I hate all of this sappiness!"

Back on the rooftop, Thomas smiled one last time as he turned and left the area to find a duel, knowing he had to keep going if he was to search for the answers. Back on the streets, a few minutes later, Samson handed over his only Locator Card and his 'Jinzo' Effect Monster Card to the duel winner.

"Here, Percy. As we wagered…" The voice of Samson offered, smiling big, "My rarest card and my Locator Card."

"Great," accepted Percy, taking his prizes.

"Look I'm sorry I cheated in our duel," apologized Samson, but quickly recovered, "Maybe one day, we can have a rematch—a fair duel."

"Whatever, it's all fine," scoffed Percy, waving his left hand (with the Duel Disk), "You weren't the first cheater I've ever faced, and probably won't be the last."

"I see," realized Samson, "Well, I hope you succeed in your goal."

"Thanks," grinned Percy, "Until then, I still have a long way to go."

"Once again, I promise you there will be no cheating," promised Samson, "Instead, I'll have a stronger Deck."

"And I'm looking forward to that time," stated Percy, as he started to leave. He suddenly stopped, "But, you know, you're kinda like me."

"Eh?" wondered Samson.

"You have those kids by your side," The voice of Percy reminded, "I have my friends by my side," Nearby, Emily and Edward both listened to his words while smiling, "We are not alone, so we will be stronger."

"You only need four more Locator Cards," encouraged Emily, "Thomas also has two of them."

"You guys and James will definitely make it to the finals in no time," put in Edward.

"Yeah!" replied Percy grandly, "When we do, Thomas and I can settle our promise."

Within the sky, a reflection of Thomas could be seen, smiling as though he heard what Percy just said. Would they be able to make it to the finals and keep their promise? And what about James? Will he and Molly be able to patch things up from their explosive fight? That's hard to say, as the tournament had only begun.


Percy and Samson had their two-part match moved into a single, lengthy chapter for this version. Other than that, plus lots of spit and polish by us writers, no real changes were made.