AN: Beta Read by Brawn1984 and Starrmastrr

AN: I do not own Red Hood or Yu-Gi-Oh. They belong to DC Comics and Shonen Jump, Konami, and Kazuki Takahashi.

Seto Kaiba was flying a helicopter towards Duelist Kingdom. "I'm on my way Mokuba." He spoke.

Jason walked into camp to see Yugi and Bakura sitting down next to a tree stump getting ready to play a duel with Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Mai sitting Next to him.

"'Eye Jason!" Joey yelled. "Where ya been?

"Nowhere, just went for a walk and got challenged to a duel. I won their Star Chips and this coat along with this card." He said handing Joey the 'King of Yamimakai' Panik edition.

"Whoa! I've never seen dis card before." Joey said showing it to everyone.

'That's because it's not a card.' The Pharaoh told Yugi. 'Somehow Jason has trapped a player in that card.'

"Jason?" Yugi asked. "Where did you get this card?"

"I was playing against an eliminator named Panik. He only duels at night, uses underhanded tactics like shackling his opponent to their side of the dueling platform, uses flamethrowers to make them afraid and throw them off their game, intimidates them into making mistakes, etc."

"Den how come he didn't intimidate you?" Joey asked.

"We-well. It's because when it comes to dueling, I'm a completely different person. In fact, if I could duel all the time, I'd love it. I wouldn't be timid anymore; I'd just be the brave person I am when I duel."

'Maybe he's just like me.' Yugi thought. 'Maybe he just wanted to have friends and be brave.'

"So how did Panik end up in a Duel Monsters card?" Mai asked.

"Pegasus appeared in a hologram on the dueling arena and put him in the card and told me to take Panik's coat and Deck."

"So, you just took 'em?" Joey asked.

"I'd just watched him put a guy's soul into a Duel Monsters card. I'm sorry if that makes me a little bit terrified of the guy."

Everyone looked a little taken aback but backed off.

"So..." Jason cleared his throat. "...What are you guy's doing?"

"We're dueling." Joey said. "Yuge is playin' wit a card from each of us so it's like we're all playing. Ya want in?"

"Sure." Jason said looking through his deck until he found the card he was looking for. "Here you go."

"All right!" Joey said loudly. "Now we got some fire power!"

"Make sure I get this card back." Jason said. "I'm going to bed."

"What. Yer not going ta watch the duel?"

"Nah. You guy's enjoy." Jason said before walking away.

"Where am I?" Jason asked. He looked around and saw Yugi dressed as the 'Dark Magician, Joey dressed as the 'Flame Swordsman', Tristan dressed as the 'Cyber Commander, and TéA hiding under a Duel Monsters card dressed as 'Magician of Faith'. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing golden boots that showed him his reflection. His face was hidden in the shadow of a purple tri-horn helm. He was wearing a purple breastplate with golden accents, and purple Faulds with the same golden accents. In his hands he held a large sword, three feet in length that was eight inches at its widest that led to a point, and two inches at it smallest leading to the hilt. The hilt was easily a foot long and had traces of purple and three emeralds forged into the hilt. "Whoa. This is awesome." He said giving the sword an experimental swing.

"Easy Jay." Joey said. "I know it's cool but take it easy. Dere are real consequences ta whatevah we do here."

"I don't know what dream I'm in." Jason said ignoring Joey. "But I'm happy!" He looked over at Yami Bakura's side of the field "So does anyone want to catch me up on what's happened so far?"

"Big Yugi sacrificed da 'King of Yamimakai' ta destroy Bakura's 'Man-Eater Bug'." Joey explained. "Dat's how he was able ta summon ya Jay."

"Good to know." Jason said. "So, who wants to take Bakura out?"

"That's where you're wrong." Yami Bakura said. "Because I play the 'Lady of Faith' as well as 'Change of Heart' to take control of 'Orgoth the Relentless'."

"Actually." Tristan said. "This is 'Jason the Relentless'. Get it right."

Everyone looked at Tristan.

"What?" Tristan asked.

Jason looked out to see Bakura's 'Lady of Faith' change to Bakura before it changed to Yami Bakura. "Yami!" He yelled. "Activate my ability!"

"No!" Yami Bakura yelled.

"What?" The Pharoah asked.

"My effect! Activate it! If you can get my attack up high enough, I might be able to deal enough damage to Yami Bakura that I might be able to severely injure him!"

"NO!" Yami Bakura screamed again.

"Yugi! Use the power of the dark magician to…"

"No." Yugi said. "Use Jason's idea."

"Damage is damage. We will still win the duel."

"Shut up!" Jason yelled as he sliced through Yami Bakura who was going for Tristan.

NNOOO!" Yami Bakura yelled as he was sent to the card graveyard.

"I don't care if you are careless with my life!" Jason yelled pointing his sword at Yami Yugi. "I'm used to it by now! But never! NEVER! Put one of your "Friends" in danger ever again!"

"What?" Yami Yugi asked.

"While you and Yugi were arguing! Yami Bakura tried attacking Tristan! I'm not mad at the fact that you didn't listen to me. What I am absolutely livid about… is the fact that you care more about your pride than you do the lives of your friends."

"How can you say that?" Yami Yugi asked.

'Jason the Relentless' or more commonly called 'Orgoth the Relentless' fell to the floor like a puppet with his strings cut.

The others fell to the floor like puppets with their strings cut, and Yami Yugi fell into the darkness of his room in Yugi's mind palace.

Jason woke up and looked around. "What happened?" He asked.

"You were walking towards us when you passed out." Montgomery explained. "I told Mokuba that you were just really tired, but I want to know what happened."

"Duel in the Shadow Realm." Jason said.

"The what?"

"The Shadow Realm. It's a nightmare realm where anything is possible."

"Sounds terrifying."

"Not really. I'm going to go to bed."

"How can you sleep after that?"

"I grew up on the streets. I can sleep pretty much anywhere."

"What! Why! How! I have so many questions!"

"Ask me tomorrow."

Jason rolled over and fell asleep.

The silence of the night was broken by the *Thump, thump, thump* of helicopter blades slicing through the air. Seto Kaiba landed in a clearing and stepped off the helicopter and onto the grass. "So. This is Duelist Kingdom." He said unimpressed.

"Big Brother!" Mokuba yelled running up to him.

"Mokuba?" Seto asked. "I thought Pegasus had you."

"He did, but Jason helped me." He reached into his pocket and grabbed Seto's Deck. "He also saved your deck."

Meanwhile Joey, TéA, Tristan, and Yugi came up to them, and Yugi handed Jason back his 'King of Yamimakai' and 'Orgoth the Relentless' cards. Jason took them and put them in his deck box.

Seto grabbed his deck and looked through it before looking at Jason and Montgomery. He zoned in on Jason and walked over to him. "Thank you for helping my brother and saving my deck. I will make sure you are compensated." He looked over at Mokuba. "Let's go Mokuba." He spoke.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Jason told him.

"And why not?" Seto asked pointedly.

"Because. Pegasus told me that he would leave Mokuba alone if I make it to the castle first so he can challenge me."

"'Ey Jay." Joey said. "Look Jay, you're good, but you're not dat good. I was able ta beat ya."

"And if Wheeler was able to beat you then then there is no way that you can stand up to Pegasus!" Seto barked out.

"Fine." Jason said. "Then I'm heading up to the Castle, so Pegasus won't hurt Mokuba when you walk in there."

"I don't think so." Kaiba said. "I have business with Pegasus. You won't be going to the castle until I've broken him in two."

"Look. You have Mokuba. Just leave. Please."

"I don't think so." Kaiba yelled throwing something at Jason.

Jason side stepped and caught it as it flew behind him.

"Whoa." Joey said when he saw the fire in Jason's eyes. "Jay. Are you all, right?"

Jason stayed quiet as he looked at the device in his hand. It was Seto's first attempt at a duel disk. Jason put it on and inserted his deck into the slot causing his life points to appear. 2000. "If I win..." He said in a voice that held no empathy at all. This voice was about as apathetic as you could get. "...then you need to take Mokuba off this island."

"Fine." Seto said. "But WHEN I win, I will be staying, and going to the castle first."

"Then I can't lose." Jason said with fire in his eyes.

"Good luck with that." Seto said drawing five cards. "I'm going first." He said looking through the cards in his hands. "I set two cards face down and play 'Judge Man' in attack mode." Kaiba said throwing his Duel Disk letting the cord pull taught and whir to life sending a realistic looking 'Judge Man' into the clear night air. "I end." Kaiba said.

"I draw." Jason said drawing a card. "I play a card in face down defense position and set two cards in the Spell and Trap zone before I activate 'Swords of Revealing Light' on your monsters!" He threw the Duel Disk causing the string to pull taught and the hologram generator to whir to life. Showing a card face down.

"Pathetic." Kaiba scowled as his 'Judge Man' was surrounded by three shining swords that made him look away because of their intensity. "Do you end so I can end you?"

"I end." Jason said.

"I draw." Kaiba said. "I play 'De-Spell' and destroy your pathetic 'Swords of Revealing Light', then I play 'Swordstalker' in attack position, and He'll attack your facedown card."

"Oh no!" TéA yelled. "Without 'Swords of Revealing Light' Jason can't defend himself!"

"Actually." Jason said as he flipped his 'Giant Soldier of Stone' into face up defense position. "Kaiba attacked my 'Giant Soldier of Stone' with 2000 Defense!" A rocky soldier with twin swords on his back formed, kneeling in the air, and blocked Jason's view of Kaiba that's how big it was.

"Yes!" The others yelled in unison.

"Fine. I'll attack it with 'Judge Man'." Kaiba scoffed. "'Judge Man'! Judge the unworthy." The 'Judge Man' attacked the 'Giant Soldier of Stone' with his twin clubs, turning him into pixels. "I end." Kaiba sneered.

"Oh man." Tristan said.

"Don't worry Jason." TéA said. "You can still win this."

"I Know." Jason said. "I draw, and I play 'Overdrive' in attack position and set a card." He threw the Duel Disk and an AT-AV(All Terrain Armored Vehicle) appeared on the field. 'Overdrive' revved its engine in a taunting manor.

"Why'd you do that Jason?" Tristan asked.

"Am I supposed to be threatened by that?" Kaiba asked.

"I end." Jason said.

"What!" Joey yelled. "Jay! Yer making noob moves."

"Maybe." Jason said. "But they're my moves to make."

"I draw." Kaiba said before he began laughing. "I win!" He yelled. "I play 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' in Attack mode and attack your "Overdrive'!"

"Oh no!" TéA yelled. "Jason can't defend against a Monster like 'Blue Eyes'."

"Yugi?" Tristan asked. "Can Jason win this?"

"If he believes in the heart of the cards, I know that he has one card that can beat a 'Blue Eyes'."

"I equip my 'Overdrive' with 'Kunai with Chain'!" The 'Blue Eye's white Dragon' was tied up with the Chain and pulled into defense position as the chain went into 'Overdrive's window and 'Overdrive' jerked to the side. "My 'Overdrive's attack has gone from 1600 to 2100 and your 'Blue Eye's is forced into defense position."

"He did it!" TéA yelled in relief.

"It doesn't matter!" Kaiba said. "My 'Judge Man' is still strong enough to kill your pathetic car! 'Judge Man' Attack 'Overdrive'!" The 'Judge Man' ran at 'Overdrive' and hit it hard enough to flip it. Destroying it.

Jason's life points dropped from 2000 to 1900.

"NO!" Tristan yelled.

"Oh no!" TéA yelled. "Yugi, can Jason come back from that?"

"I don't know TéA. If he believes in the Heart of the Cards anything can happen.

"Ha! Next turn my 'Blue Eye's will destroy you!"

"Will it?" Jason asked.

"Of course, it will." Kaiba said.

"Take a look." Jason motioned at Kaiba's 'Blue Eye's.

Kaiba looked at his 'Blue Eye's and nearly choked.

"My 'Kunai with Chain' is still active." Jason said.

"All right!" Joey yelled pumping his fist in the air. "Dat's da way ta duel!"

"NO!" Kaiba yelled.

""Yes! Do you end Kaiba?"

"Yes!"

"I draw!" Jason said before looking at the card he'd just drawn. "I activate 'Change of Heart' on your 'Blue Eye's."

"WHAT!" Kaiba yelled as the others cheered.

"All Right Jay!" Joey yelled. "Destroy Kaiba wit his own card!"

Kaiba looked devastated as he withdrew his Duel Disk and handed Mokuba his 'Blue Eyes' to walk over to Jason.

Mokuba handed Jason Seto's 'Blue Eyes,' and Jason motioned for him to stay.

"Next! I activate 'Black Luster Ritual!"

"WHAT!" Kaiba, Mokuba, and the rest of the onlookers called out.

"I sacrifice your 'Blue Eye's to ritual summon 'Black Luster Soldier'!"

"What!" Kaiba yelled. "NO! It's not possible!"

Jason gave Mokuba the 'Blue Eyes' to walk back to Kaiba as a pair of cauldrons appeared, and 'Blue eyes' was absorbed into one of the cauldrons before a pale woman walked into a chamber wearing a pair of hose and an arming jacket. She wore a coif to keep her hair out of her face leaving her long red hair in a ponytail down her back. Her armor was dark blue with golden trim and designs. She grabbed a pair of greaves, unclasped them, and put them on her lower legs. Next, she grabbed her cuisse's and put them on her thigh's before connecting them to the greaves and tying them to her arming jacket. She put on her chainmail skirt to protect her groin, lower back, buttocks, and upper thighs that the cuisses didn't protect. It would also protect the strings holding her cuisses to her arming jacket, so they didn't get cut. Next, she pulled on a chainmail shirt and her breastplate. She grabbed her plackart and connected it to her breastplate. She grabbed her vambraces and attached them to her arms. She attached her Pauldrons to the shoulders of her arming jacket and her vambraces. She pulled her gloves on and grabbed her helmet. She pulled her long red hair out through the back of the helmet and put the helmet on. She grabbed her gold and blue shield before grabbing her curved sword. With her armor in place and herself armed, she walked towards a door and walked outside to the battlefield. "I end." Jason said crossing his arms.

"I draw and play 'Saggi the Dark Clown' in attack position, and I'll end." Kaiba said.

"Either I've broken you…" Jason said. "…or you're setting a trap for me."

Kaiba grit his teeth.

"I'll draw." Jason said. "And I'll play 'Goblin Attack Force' in attack mode, and I'll attack 'Saggi the Dark Clown' with 'Black Luster Soldier'."

"I activate 'Negate Attack'!" Kaiba yelled.

"Someone pick up that phone." Jason said. '"Because I called it!"

"Do you end?"

"Yes. I'll end."

"I draw a card and I'll switch my monsters to defense position. I'll end"

"I draw, and I'll play 'Orgoth the Relentless' in attack mode. Then I'll play 'Ookazi' dealing eight hundred damage directly to your life points." 'Orgoth' appeared on the field in his purple and gold armor and pointed his sword at Kaiba. Next a building appeared on the field and blew up sending shrapnel at Kaiba who was pushed back, and his life points dropped from 2000 to 1200. "I end Kaiba."

"I draw, and I end."

"I draw." Jason said, and I set a card face down and I activate 'Orgoths' effect. I roll three dice." Jason pulled the Duel Disk back and caught it before he pressed the dice function three times before throwing it back out and three dice 5, 5, 2. "My 'Orgoth the Relentless' gains 1200 attack points, and because I rolled two fives, I can attack your life points directly."

"WHAT! NO THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Kaiba yelled as his life points went from 1200 to 0000.

"YES!" The others cheered.

"No Kaiba." Jason said. "As Yugi is fond of saying. It was the heart of the cards that beat you. I win Seto! Now take Mokuba and leave this island."

"No! NO! NNOOO!" Seto yelled falling to his knees. "Why? How! How did I lose to the likes of you?"

"It's because he believed in the heart of the cards, Kaiba." The Pharaoh said.

"Seto." Jason said. "Please. I'm asking you one last time. Take Mokuba and get off this island."

"No!" Kaiba said dawning a look of grim determination. "I'll leave Mokuba in your hands, but I still have unfinished business with Pegasus."

"Don't you think that's what he wants!"

"And I will crush him under my boot."

"Like you did me!" Jason finally yelled. "I'm just a nobody who plays for fun, and you lost to me! How are you going to beat the CREATOR OF THE DAMN GAME!"

"My duel disk will give me the advantage!"

"Like it gave you an advantage against the loser who lost to Joey 'I lost to TéA Gardner' Wheeler?"

"'Ey!" Joey protested.

"He has a point, Joey." Tristan said.

"If you want to go on your suicide mission to fight Pegasus that's fine by me!" Jason yelled. "But I'm going to get to the castle, so Mokuba is safe!" He turned to Mokuba. "Let's go Mokuba."

"B-but big brother?"

"I'm sorry Mokuba, but Pegasus gave me his word that you would be safe if I got to the castle. Let's go."

"Go on Mokuba." Seto said.

"But big brother!"

"Now Mokuba!" Seto said sternly. "You'll be safe with Jason."

Mokuba began walking with Jason but kept looking back.

Once they were gone Seto looked at the others. "Now. If you'll excuse me, I have business with Pegasus."

"Not so fast Kaiba." Joey said grabbing Kaiba by his shoulder.

Jason and Mokuba took off at a run when they were far enough from the campsite.

"Where-where are we-are we going?" Mokuba asked out of breath.

"We need to get to the castle, and maybe get you some more Star Chips."

"Why-why me?"

"Because. Just because Pegasus gave me his word doesn't mean I trust him as far as I can throw him into the wind."

"What-what are we go-going to do?"

Jason stopped at a creek. "We'll stop here for now."

Mokuba stopped and fell to his hands and knees. Jason took a disposable water bottle from his bag and gave it to him. Mokuba downed the water before he gasped. Jason exchanged the water bottle and began filling the empty one in the creek. Mokuba downed the second one much slower.

"Get some sleep." Jason said laying on the ground and looking up at the moon. If he had to guess it was close to three in the morning now. Mokuba took Jason's advice and laid down before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Jason woke up to something pressed into his side. He looked down and saw that Mokuba had rolled up against him sometime during the night. He looked up and saw that the sun had been up for a while, so he shook Mokuba to try and wake him up. "Mokuba." He spoke. "Mokuba, wake up." Mokuba groaned and rolled deeper into Jason's side. 'Why me?' Jason asked himself. "Mokuba. It's morning. Get up."

"Five more minutes Seto." Mokuba whined.

"No. We have a busy day."

"Fine! I'm up!" He whined, rubbing his eyes.

"Good. Now eat something." Jason said taking a handful of snacks from his bag. Mokuba grabbed a bag of chips and a granola bar and ate them. "You good?" Jason asked.

"Yeah." He said taking a water bottle that Jason offered him.

Jason took the last granola bar and ate it. "Well..." He said putting the wrapper in his bag. "That's the last of the food. We need to make it to the castle today or we won't be eating anything until we do."

"Then let's get going." Mokuba said getting up.

"Not so fast." Jason said pulling a book out of his backpack. "Take out your deck and read this."

"What?" Mokuba asked.

"Take out your deck and read this rule book. We will do a practice duel to see where you are at when you finish reading it."

"Okay. Montgomery gave me some advice."

"Good. Use what he taught you, and what you read in this book." Jason said looking through his deck.

Mokuba spent the next twenty minutes reading the rules and regulations for Duelist Kingdom.

"Whoa! The winner of the tournament can get whatever they want?"

"Yeah, and if both of the finalists lose, they both get 3,000,000 dollars, and the others get 500,000 dollars for making it to the finals."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but that leaves a problem."

"What is it?"

"You. If I don't make it to the castle first, then Pegasus's promise to not hurt you is void. We need to get to the castle first."

"Then let's go."

"Not so fast." Jason said as he took out a dueling pad from his backpack and placed it on the ground. "We need to make sure that you are ready to duel." They shuffled their decks before handing them to each other so they could cut them and gave them back to their respective owner and they each drew five cards.

"Show me your opening move." Jason said.

"Okay." Mokuba said. "I play 'Red Medicine' increasing my life points to 2500, then I'll set a card in the Spell and Trap zone and play a Monster in face down defense position. With that I'll end."

"I draw." Jason said drawing a card. "I'll set three cards in my Spell and Trap zone, and I'll set a Monster in face down Defense position. I end."

"I draw, and I set a card in the Spell and Trap zone, and play 'Zanki' in attack position. I attack your face down with 'Zanki'."

"Thanks for activating my 'Sangan's effect." Jason said looking through his deck before selecting a card and adding it to his hand. "Now. Do you know why I was able to look through my deck?"

"Yeah. Your 'Sangan's effect allows you to search your deck for a Monster card with 1500 or less attack and add it to your hand."

"Good. Do you end?"

"Yeah. I end."

"I draw a card and play 'Amazoness Fighter' in attack mode. I will attack your 'Zanki' killing both of them."

"What! Why sacrifice your only creature?"

"You don't need to rely on creatures to win the duel. A good duelist not only has good Monsters, but just as good, if not better, Spells and Traps."

"Like with Life gain?"

"Yup. Or with damage dealing or damage prevention."

"Okay. Do you end?"

"Yeah."

"I draw and I play 'Garoozis' in attack mode, and I end."

"I play 'Amazoness Swords Woman' in attack mode, and I attack your 'Garoozis'."

"What? Why? Your 'Amazoness Swords Woman' has less attack points."

"Because of her effect. My opponent takes any damage I would take from an attack involving 'Amazoness Swords Woman'."

"Dang it."

"You may have lost 300 Life Points, but you also destroyed my 'Amazoness Swords Woman'."

"No. You sacrificed her. There's a difference."

"You are correct. I end."

"I draw and set a card in my Spell and Trap zone. I end."

"I draw. I play the 'King of Yamimakai' in attack position and activate 'Sparks' dealing two hundred damage to your life points. Then I attack your 'Garoozis' with the 'King of Yamimakai' dealing another two hundred damage to your life points."

"Do you end?" Mokuba asked a little harshly.

"Yeah. I'll end."

"I play 'Blue Medicine' increasing my life points by four hundred, increasing my life points to 2200. Then I play a Monster in face down defense position. With that I'll end my turn."

"I draw, and I activate 'Dark Hole'."

"What!" Mokuba yelled.

"I activate 'Dark Hole' and because of Duelist Kingdom rules we both take effect damage. I take one thousand from my 'King of Yamimakai' leaving me at one thousand life points. Then I play 'Strike Ninja' in attack mode. I end."

"Grr." Mokuba growled. " I take seven hundred from my 'Blast Sphere' and three hundred from my 'Chaos Necromancer' leaving me at 1200. I draw." His face brightened at the card he'd drawn. "I play 'Hieracosphinx' in attack mode and attack your 'Strike Ninja'!"

"'Negate Attack'." Jason said calmly.

"GRR!" Mokuba growled again.

"Do you end?" Jason asked.

"Yes." Mokuba grumbled.

"I draw." Jason said quickly schooling his emotions when he saw the card that he'd drawn. "I set a card in the Spell and Trap Zone, and I play 'Celtic Guardian' in attack mode. I'll end."

"I draw and I play 'Swordstalker' in attack position. 'Hieracosphinx' will attack your 'Strike Ninja' and 'Swordstalker', who thanks to his effect gains four hundred attack for each Monster in my graveyard, and there are four. So, he gains 1600 attack points for the four Monster cards in my graveyard bringing his attack up to 3600. He will attack your 'Celtic Guardian'."

"I'll take the seven hundred damage from 'Hieracosphinx' leaving me at three hundred life points, but don't forget about the rules. You can only attack with one monster per turn."

"Oh. I forgot."

"No worries. Just remember next turn, okay."

"Okay. I end."

"I draw and I play a card in face down defense position, and I end."

"I draw and I play 'Amazoness Swords Woman' in attack position. Then I attack your 'Celtic Guardian' with 'Hieracosphinx'."

I'm going to have to stop your 'Hieracosphinx' with 'Shadow Spell'. It stops your monsters attack, makes it lose seven hundred attack points dropping it down to 1700 attack, and it can't attack or change battle position."

"Seriously!" Mokuba growled out in annoyance.

"Yup. Do you end?"

"Yes."

"I draw and play a card in face down defense position, and I end."

"I draw and Play a card in facedown defense position and attack your 'Celtic Guardian' with 'Swordstalker'."

Jason looked at his spells and traps. "You win." He spoke.

"I DO!" Mokuba yelled jumping up.

"Yup. You win." Jason said extending his arm for a handshake. "Good game."

"Good game." Mokuba said shaking Jason's outstretched hand.

"Now tell me what you learned." Jason said

This caught Mokuba off guard. "What?"

"Tell me what you learned from this victory."

"Uh."

"If you can't tell me what you learned from our duel then you might as well have lost."

"Nuh Uh. Seto says the point of the game is to win."

"True, but to truly win the game you need to learn something from it."

"Really? Because you beat every opponent that you've come across."

"Not true. Do you know that my first duel was with Joey, and I lost?"

"You lost to Joey!"

"Yeah but guess what."

"What?"

"I won because I learned something from him."

"What did you learn?"

"He's cocky and overconfident in his abilities as a duelist even though he's subpar at best."

"What about your next duel?"

"I dueled a guy named Jack Thunder, and I learned that he played in the moment rather than thinking two, three, or four plays ahead. Do you know why I was able to keep you at bay for so long to the point that it pissed you off?"

"No."

"It's because I planned ahead. Not for every contingency but enough to slow you down. If you play smarter than you can beat your opponent before the match even starts. So, tell me. What did you learn from our duel?"

Mokuba thought hard about that. "You play differently than any other player we've seen so far." Mokuba explained.

"Elaborate on your thoughts."

"You play with a lot of Warriors and Beast-Warriors, but you don't rely solely on them."

"Good. Keep going."

"You use spell and trap cards to keep your opponent on guard and make mistakes by making them angry."

"What else?"

"Well... you treat people differently depending on who you're playing. You treated Seto differently than you did Montgomery, and you treated Montgomery differently than you did the guy pretending to be my brother."

"Good. Even though Montgomery and I didn't actually duel I probably would have treated him differently because he didn't want to take you back but had to. Then he went and forfeited the duel, so he didn't have to take you back. Anything else?"

"I don't think so."

"9 out of 10."

"What do you mean?"

"You missed one thing about this little exercise?"

"What?"

"How did I act after our duel?"

Mokuba thought back. "You didn't treat me any different. You treated me like an equal."

"Exactly. I don't do that for everyone. I didn't treat the Fake Seto like an equal, and when I fought Panik I didn't treat him like an equal. Remember to treat your opponent with the level of respect they deserve. For example, how should you treat a duelist like Yugi?"

"Like a rally point. I should want to get to his level as quickly as possible."

"Wrong. You should treat him with respect until he disrespects you. If you let people disrespect you then you show them how they can treat you from that point on. What about Joey?"

"Joey is a disgrace to the..."

"Wrong!" Jason interrupted. "Joey hasn't disrespected you so therefore you have no reason to disrespect him."

"But you disrespected him last night when you said that you lost to him."

"Did I? Or did he disrespect me first?"

"You... uh... Um... I'm not sure."

"Joey disrespected me first by saying that I lost to him, and I didn't stand a chance against Seto. Some people might say that two wrongs don't make a right, but in our world... it's about showing people how they can treat you. So don't go around disrespecting people until after they've disrespected you. That way they know you won't take their bullshit."

"Okay."

"Now tell me what I could have done differently."

"You acted too careless with your Monsters, by letting them go to the graveyard so easily?"

"Was I?" Jason asked.

"Yes. If you hadn't made so many careless moves, then you could have held out longer."

"Good. You missed one thing though."

"What is it?"

"Misdirection."

"What?"

"Misdirection. You keep your opponent occupied long enough to make them angry and lose focus. Like I did with you."

"Ugh." Mokuba groaned. "I hated that. You kept blocking me every turn."

"Misdirection. It's a valuable tool to have in your arsenal."

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Do you want to duel again?"

"Yeah, but now I have a question."

"Shoot."

"What did you learn from the guy pretending to be my brother or the kid whose deck, Star Chips, and dueling glove you took? Why did you take them anyway?"

"I learned that some people would do whatever it takes to get what they want... even lie, cheat, and steal. As for the kid. I took his Star Chips because I won, I took his dueling glove so that all he had from this place are memories, and I took his deck so that he would need to put some thought into his next deck."

"So, you were trying to help him?"

"No. I did it to break him."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember how I handled the fake Seto?"

"Yes."

"That's what I'm like. Whenever someone hurts another person, tries to hurt another person, or intends to hurt another person I let that part of myself out. That timid act that I put on. That's all it is. An act. This is what I'm like normally."

"Then why trick people into thinking you are timid?"

"Because. It makes people underestimate me."

"Why do you want people to underestimate you?"

"Would you think that a timid guy could hurt anyone?"

"No."

"That's why. I show people the timid me to make them think I'm weak when in fact I'm not."

"Can you teach me that?"

"It will take time, but if you really want to learn then I can teach you what I know, but first. We need to get you some more Star Chips."

"Okay."

The duo put their decks away and began walking. They walked for ten minutes before they found a trio of duelists."

"Hey!" Jason shouted. "Are you guys up for a duel?"

"Sure. We'll take your Star Chips."

"You'll actually be dueling my friend here." Jason pointed at Mokuba.

"I'll take his Star Chips just as easily."

Mokuba looked at Jason, and Jason nodded. They walked to Dueling Arena number 56 and rode the platform up to the top.

"Who's going to go first?" Mokuba asked.

"I will." The duelist said. "My name is Bonz by the way, and I hope you're ready to taste defeat."

"I won't lose." Mokuba said. "But, uh, how many Star Chips are we putting up I need..." He counted the Star Chips on his wrist. "...two more."

"Then I'll take two Star Chips from you." Bonz said taking two of his six off of his dueling glove and placing them on his platform.

Mokuba put two on his side.

"Let's duel!" The two shouted in unison.

"I'll play a card in the Spell and Trap zone, and I'll also play 'Pumpking the King of Ghosts'! I end." A giant Holographic Pumpkin with a single eye in the center of its face, a jagged Jack-O-Lantern mouth, four giant tentacles, and a golden crown appeared on the field.

Jason shuddered and really wished he'd stayed away from the sleaziest parts of the internet.

"I draw a card." Mokuba said. "Then I play 'Fissure', destroying your 'Pumpking'." A holographic Fissure appeared on the field and 'Pumpking' dropped into it.

"What!" Bonz yelled. "NO!"

"Yes. Then I play 'Dian Keto the Cure Master'." A kindly looking lady appeared on the field and created an orb of light before pushing it towards Mokuba increasing his life points to three thousand. "And I'm not done yet." Mokuba said. "I set two cards face down on the field and set a card in face down defense position. I end."

"I draw, and I play 'Crass Clown' in attack position." A rather fat clown with a pole balancing on a ball appeared on the field.

"Hey look." Jason said. "It's Chuckles the Ass Clowns evil sister."

"What?" Bonz asked.

"Oh. I dueled this guy who was hiding his true appearance. He kind of looked like that only not a pole dancing clown."

"AHH!" One of Bonz friends yelled. "I need brain bleach! Why the hell would you say that! Bonz! Get rid of that thing!"

"What?" Bonz and Mokuba asked in unison.

"Don't worry about it." Jason said. "Looks like that guy has seen the shady side of the internet too. It doesn't get any easier dude. I should know. The same thing happened to me. Damn tentacles."

"Can we get back to the Duel?" Bonz asked.

"Of course." Jason said. "Continue."

"Anyways." Bonz said. "My 'Crass Clown' will attack your face down Monster."

"My face down is the 'Giant Soldier of Stone." Mokuba said as a massive stone goliath appeared on the field defending Mokuba's life points.

"No!" Bonz yelled as his life points dropped from 2000 to 1350.

"Do you end?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes." Bonz said.

"I draw a card, and play a card in face down defense position, and I end."

"I draw and I play 'Armored Zombie' in attack position, and I have him attack your face down position Monster."

Mokuba flipped 'Zanki' to face up defense position, and a samurai with red armor and blue skin appeared in a kneeling rest. "My 'Zanki' has 1700 defense. You lose two hundred life points."

"Grr." Bonz growled as his life points dropped to 1150.

"Do you end?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes!" Bonz growled.

"I draw." Mokuba said.

"Wait! No! I forgot to put 'Crass Clown' in defense position."

"Sorry." Mokuba said. "Like I said, I draw, and play 'Rude Kaiser' in attack position." A green monster wearing armor, with axe blades on his wrists appeared on the field and roared at Bonz. "Next, I switch 'Zanki' to attack position. Next, I'll attack 'Crass Clown' with the 'Rude Kaiser'. 'Rude Kaiser' Twin Axe Slash!"

"NO!" Bonz yelled as his 'Crass Clown' was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, and he took 450 points of damage dropping his life points to seven hundred.

"I end." Mokuba said.

"I draw." Bonz said. "Then I activate my Spell card 'Nightmare's Steelcage'. For your next two turns no one can attack. Then I play 'Clown Zombie' in defense position, and I switch 'Armored Zombie' to defense position, and I end."

"I draw." Mokuba said. "And I play 'Hieracosphinx' in attack position, and I'll end."

"I draw, and I set a card in the Spell and Trap zone and set the 'Snake Hair' in defense position, and I end."

"I draw and I play a Monster in face down defense position, and I end."

"I draw a card, and I play 'Pot of Greed', and I draw two cards," a holographic vase with a creepy smile appeared on the field before spitting out two cards which Bonz caught. "Next I play 'Pumpking the King of Ghost's! He powers up my Zombie Monsters." Two of 'Pumpking's four tentacles pushed their way into the Zombies backs and began pumping ectoplasm into them, making them stronger.

"What the shit!" Jason yelled.

"Yes." Bonz said. "Fear my Zombies."

"I'm not afraid of your zombies. I'm disturbed that your monster is pumping his…" Jason was cut off by the sound of a bird crying out, interrupting him from completing his thought.

"Anyways." Bonz said. "I switch my Zombies to attack position. Next I play 'Stop Defense' on your face down Monster."

Mokuba switched his face down card to reveal his 'Mystical Elf' in attack position.

"Next I'll attack your 'Mystical Elf' with my 'Pumpking'."

Jason turned away as 'Pumpking' reached for 'Mystical Elf' and didn't turn around until after 'Mystical Elf' was destroyed.

"Finally!" Bonz yelled. "I've taken your life points down by half with only one attack."

Mokuba wasn't even phased as his life points went from 2000 to 1000.

"Next my 'Snake Hair' will attack your 'Zanki'..."

"Didn't you read the rulebook?" Mokuba interrupted him.

"Wh-what?"

"Didn't you read the rulebook?"

"What do you mean?"

"In the rulebook it says that you can only attack with one monster per turn."

"N-no it doesn't!"

"I'm afraid it does." Jason confirmed.

"Damn it!" Bonz growled.

"Are you finished?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes! Next turn I will end you."

"I draw a card, set a Monster in face down defense position, and activate 'Secret Barrel'.

"What does that do?"

"'Secret Barrel' inflicts 200 points of damage to my opponent's life points for each card in their hand and for each card they control."

"WHAT!"

"You have five cards on your field. That means that you take one thousand life points, and I win."

"WHAT! NO!" Bonz yelled.

"I'll take my Star Chips now." Mokuba said.

"Dang it!"

"Here's a consolation prize." Jason said handing Bonz a handful of cards. "Also, here's a tip. If you want a good duel, find and duel Joey wheeler at the graveyard arena in the caves."

"What?"

"You heard me." Jason said. "Now give my friend his Star Chips. We're on a time crunch." Bonz handed Mokuba two Star Chips, and the duo walked towards Pegasus castle.

"I can't believe I won." Mokuba said. "It was my first real Duel, and I won!"

"Yes, yes you did. Now. Tell me what you learned."

"He didn't have very many strong Monsters, but he relied on powering up the Monsters he did have, which could be a problem if he makes them too strong."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I could see."

"You did miss one thing, but it's not your fault."

"What was it?"

"He was trying to be scary, but he's just not scary."

"Why did you tell him to fight Joey?"

"Because it will help Joey."

"So, you set Bonz up to fail?"

"Sort of. He has a 50/50 chance of winning."

"Oh. So, Joey has a 50/50 chance to win too?"

"Exactly."

The duo walked towards Pegasus castle in companionable silence. Jason became increasingly anxious the closer they got to the castle. They walked up the stairs and arrived at the entrance to the castle. The door to the castle was locked with a lock that had ten slots for Star Chips and a dial to unlock the door. Jason put his Star Chips into the slots and twisted the dial causing the door to unlock and open.

Mokuba looked at Jason.

"Stick close to me." Jason said, and together the two walked into Pegasus castle.

Pegasus was in his study eating some cheese, sipping some wine, and reading a Manga when Croquet entered. "Master Pegasus. Jason Todd and Mokuba Kaiba have arrived at the castle."

"Excellent. Let us go greet them." Pegasus said putting his Manga down and standing up with a pop in his knees. The two walked to the Main Hall where they met Jason and Mokuba.

"Ah Jason." Pegasus said. "You are the first to arrive, and as promised no harm will come to Mokuba Kaiba."

"Did my brother make it here?" Mokuba asked sheepishly. "He said that he was coming for you."

"He did, but unfortunately he didn't have any Star Chips. I gave him a dueling glove and two Star Chips and sent him on his way. I told him that if he could get ten Star Chips, I would gladly duel him, but where are my manners. Would you care for something to eat? A drink perhaps? A nice refreshing bubble bath?"

"If you are offering." Jason said. "And if you intend to keep your word about Mokuba. I will gladly take all three, but I'd settle for a shower."

"I'll bet." Pegasus said. "How long has it been since you've had a proper meal? Let alone shower or place to sleep?"

"The boat ride wasn't bad. Though I did cram a bunch of snacks in my bag."

"What is he talking about Jason?" Mokuba asked.

"Young Jason didn't tell you?" Pegasus asked in faux shock.

"Tell me what?"

"Young Jason has been living on the streets of Domino City for the last two weeks before the tournament. Eating out of garbage cans, using rainwater and puddles to rinse away the dirt, taking showers in gym class at School so no one knows the truth. His goals for this tournament were to get the money so he could afford a place he can call his own. Did I leave anything out?"

Mokuba looked at Jason who looked Stoic rather than uncomfortable. "Is it true?" Mokuba asked.

"It's true." Jason said. "I'm not happy that, that was my life, but my goal is to win the tournament for the money so that I never have to live like that again, but there is something you left out." Jason directed at Pegasus.

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"The 'Glory of the King's Opposite Hand'. The other prize that I win for being the first one here."

"Oh my." Pegasus said. "It looks like someone actually read the rulebook."

"What does he mean Jason?"

"When I had you read the Duelist Kingdom rulebook..." Jason began. "...there was a section on how the finals work. The first one to the castle is given the honor of fighting Pegasus before the finals, three million dollars, and whatever they want. It can be anything. The other four finalists have to duel each other, and the second-place finalist gets three million dollars for coming in second place while the winner gets to challenge Pegasus. If they win, they get whatever they want, but if they lose, they also get three million dollars. The other duelists get 500,000 dollars as a consolation prize."

"My, my, my." Pegasus beamed. "Someone has done his homework. So, tell me Jason. What is it that you want more than anything in the world?"

"So many things." Jason said. "A place to live, never to go hungry again, clothes, a deck that no one has ever seen before, a motorcycle, an entire wardrobe that fits me perfectly and lets people know who I am. Though most of that I can buy with the three million dollars."

'I can make some of those things happen Young Jason.' Pegasus thought before asking. "Shall I have my servants take you to your rooms?"

"I suppose so." Jason said. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You're welcome young Jason. I will have your clothes tended to while you shower. A robe will be set out for you to offer you some dignity. Come see me when you are good and ready." With that Pegasus left them to their own devices.

Jason and Mokuba were led to a hallway that had bedrooms in it by a maid. She stood just over 5'5", with a petite anime build. "This will be your room young Jason." She said pointing to a room on the left side of the hallway. "And this will be yours Young Mokuba." She said pointing to the room on the right. "There are fresh towels in your rooms and a fresh robe will be delivered to your room shortly, and we will exchange it for your clothes. If you would empty out your pockets before we take them."

Jason looked at the maid. "Pegasus will keep his word about not hurting Mokuba?"

"Yes. When Master Pegasus gives his word, he keeps it."

"Okay. Just so you know if anything happens to him, there will be no force on this island that will stop me from getting him back."

"I understand sir." The maid said before leaving.

Mokuba looked at his door and Jason walked in, searched the room, and left when he didn't find anything. "You're clear." He spoke. With that Mokuba walked in and Jason walked to his room where he also searched to see if anyone was there. When he was confident that he was alone he took his backpack off and sat it down before taking his trench coat off and laying it on the bed. He looked through his bag and took out Bandit Keith's shades, vest, bandana, and cards. He set the cards to the side and set the bandana and vest with Panik's trench coat. He took all of the garbage from his bag and threw it in the waste bin before going back to the bed and organizing the bag. He set the knife on the nightstand with the cards. He put the rope and duct tape on the bed before dumping the bag out onto the floor. He put 'Glory of the King's Hand' and 'Glory of the King's Opposite Hand' in his deck box before taking his belt and deck box off and setting them on his nightstand, and put the rope, duct tape, 'Set Sail to the Kingdom', 'Duelist Kingdom', the extra cards, and his knife in the bag before he set it on the bed.

He looked around the room and noticed the bathroom. He went in and saw a laundry chute, so he turned on the shower before going back to the room and grabbed the clothes on his bed and threw them down the laundry chute before he stripped down, put his clothes into the laundry chute, and stepped into the shower.

The water was at the perfect temperature, and he wanted to stay like that forever, but he scrubbed at his skin with his hands to remove any excess dirt and grime before he grabbed the soap and washed his body. When he was done, he grabbed the shampoo, fancy shampoo conditioner, and washed his hair. He stayed under the water just a little bit longer before he finally shut off the water and grabbed the towel that was on the hook next to the shower. He dried off and wrapped the towel around him before he walked out into his room and found a fluffy white robe on his bed.

He put it on before he took the towel off and threw it down the laundry chute and went back to his bed and laid down. It wasn't long before he found himself drifting off to sleep.