Hey guys! Time to REALLY get this story moving! I'm starting the first major arc with Yugi and those with him. I don't know how long each arc will be, but I'll try not to make them too short. Also, for those that want to see arcs with the other characters, please be patient. I want to go through one arc at a time without cutting away from the action. Now then, enjoy the fun with what I got planned, starting with this light hearted chapter. Here we go!
Yugioh: The Hope of Six
Chapter 11: Kaiba Arc – Part 1
"Man, classes are as dull as ever." Joey complained as he walked down the hallway.
"I don't know about that. Today's history lesson was really interesting." Yuya said, making Joey snort and whispered "nerd" under his breath.
It had been a month since everyone arrived safely from the Airship. Throughout that time, life had gotten to a more normal level. True to Kaiba's word, Yusho and Shuzo had new paying occupations during their stay in Domino City. Because of this, they were able to enroll Yuya and Yuzu into Domino High School as transfer students. Kaiba had to pull some strings to make their background info credible, but no suspicions were raised. Yuya now wore the blue school uniform for the boys while Yuzu wore the pink one for the girls. After their last class for the day had ended, Yugi and the gang headed toward the school entrance, chatting as they went.
"Italy has always interested me." Bakura admitted politely.
"Yeah, I liked hearing about those Italian operas." Yuzu added energetically. Joey snorted.
"Don't mind him. He's never been one for history." Tristan pointed out.
"Oh yeah? Like you've never fallen asleep in class before?" Joey challenged.
"At least I try to pay attention!" Tristan snapped back, getting right in his friend's snarling face.
"Like how you "pay attention" to my sister?!" Joey shouted back.
"Here we go again." Yuya sighed, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough…
WHACK! WHACK!
"Will you two stop already?! You're making something out of nothing, like you always do!" Yuzu said irritatedly, holding her fan in a tightly clenched fist. Joey and Tristan grimaced while rubbing their heads.
"What happened to our agreement about not fighting around Yuzu?" Tristan complained.
"Sorry man, slipped my mind." Joey admitted. A few people did see the commotion and got a few laughs. Joey gave them all glares.
"Haha. You laugh now people, but if you piss her off, it ain't funny when she does it to you. Trust me on that." He warned. Clearly not interested in getting smacked by "Paper Fan Yuzu", the onlookers quickly made themselves scarce. Yuzu groaned.
"If you guys just don't argue so much, you wouldn't see the business end of my fan so often." She told them.
"Don't mind them, Yuzu. This is how they are sometimes." Yugi said. Yuzu sighed in resignation.
"She does it to me too from time to time. I guessed I sort of gotten used to it." Yuya admitted. Yuzu glanced at her boyfriend and smiled.
"Maybe I did it enough times to make you notice." She said teasingly before she pecked Yuya on the cheek, making him blush.
"Hehe. I guess so." He admitted. Yuya and Yuzu were dating for a while now and they seemed to be very happy. Yugi and Tèa smiled at seeing this before glancing at one another. They too had been going out for quite some time and loved every second of it. Joey and Tristan were truly happy for the new couples. Although, one felt a pang of jealousy.
'Look at them. Yugi and Tèa. Yuya and Yuzu. So close and totally into each other. Man, I wish I had that. The problem is, Joey would never give me his blessing to ask her out. He's too protective of her.' Tristan really did like Serenity, a lot. He just didn't see how he could be with her as boyfriend material while her brother was against it. Just as he thought this, Tristan and the others spotted the very girl he wanted to date waving at them.
"Hey guys! We've been waiting for you!" Serenity called out cheerfully. She then indicated the light purple eyed girl standing next to her. She seemed to be around the same age as her with long lilac hair tied in a ponytail by a yellow ribbon. She smiled at them and nodded.
"Yeah, though we haven't been waiting that long." The girl said. Tèa smiled as the gang met up with them.
"Hey you two! How was the work in the library today, Miho?" She asked as she turned to the other girl. Miho shrugged.
"Oh, you know. It's the library… always quiet." She said softly muttered. Miho Nosaka was Serenity's best friend, like how Joey was Yugi's. They were close since they were kids. Two weeks ago, Serenity and her mother moved to Domino City and was now attending school with everyone else. Miho came into town about a week later. Serenity introduced Miho to Yugi and her other friends shortly after, and they all liked her. Yugi and Yuya noticed that she was a little shy, but it didn't really bother them.
"Eh, too quiet for my tastes." Joey admitted. Miho actually laughed from the comment. She quickly turned away when Joey looked at her.
"Sorry. It's just, I agree." Miho muttered. He didn't notice that she blushed a little just then. Serenity noticed, but didn't say anything for the moment.
"So, are you joining us?" Bakura asked her. Miho nodded.
"Yeah. I heard that the new magician in town is amazing. Tèa and Serenity convinced me to come watch one of his shows after school today." Yuya smiled at this.
"He's my dad." He revealed. Miho gasped.
"Really? That's so cool Yuya." She told him. Before he could say anything else…
"Hey kids!" Everyone turned to see Yuzu's dad, Shuzo, running up to them. "Just clocked out for the day. You all ready to head out?" The whole group nodded.
"Yep. We've just been waiting for you, Dad." Yuzu said.
Yuzu's dad was hired to be the new gym teacher for Domino High School. Their old one accidentally injured himself so severely that he could no longer do his work, so the school searched for a replacement and Shuzo was the best person for the job.
Most of the students liked him, but a few were annoyed by his goofy habits. Nevertheless, he proved to be a competent teacher and quickly gained the respect of both students and staff. It helped that he got major support from the school's new transfer students.
Although she was embarrassed at first, Yuzu was pleased and proud of her dad for fitting in so well. Yuya also approved, since he had been a second father to him while his own was missing. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Tèa, and Bakura had gotten used to his antics as well.
"And it's not just us. Miho has decided to come too." Yugi pointed out. Shuzo nodded approvingly.
"The more the merrier! Well, alright then! Let's head out!" With that, Yugi and everyone left the school and walked out into the city.
Along the way, Miho kept stealing glances at Joey, who was busy chatting with his sister. She never told anyone aside from Serenity, but Miho was a huge fan of her best friend's brother. She liked Joey's dueling style and his unwillingness to give up. His handsome features were a plus, in her opinion. Miho kept track of his dueling career from Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and the KaibaCorp Grand Prix. She felt Joey should've ranked higher in the last two tournaments. He was the runner up in Duelist Kingdom, but his rankings dropped in the subsequent competitions. She blamed Marik Ishtar and Zigfried von Schroeder, the Duelists who beat him.
Of course, Miho knew Yugi Muto was the best, but Joey Wheeler was definitely her favorite (which Serenity fully agreed with). Her personal wish was to see Joey defeat Seto Kaiba. She heard from her friends how much of a jerk Kaiba was, especially toward Joey. He never saw Joey as a Duelist that could be a match for him. She knew Joey also wanted to beat him badly to prove how wrong he was. The thing was that Kaiba was too powerful a Duelist. He used to be the world champion before Yugi came along. She figured Joey may have a better chance of defeating Kaiba if he made some changes to his Deck. But would he?
Aside from his dueling talents, Miho also liked Joey as a person. When she met him for the first time after transferring, she had a hard time talking to him. It wasn't everyday she got to meet her idol. Before long she learned Joey was kind, funny, and really supportive of his friends. He also proved he could handle himself in a fight. Overall, she liked Joey, to the point that she developed real feelings for him. Of course, she was nowhere near ready telling him any of this. Maybe someday, but definitely not now.
After walking half an hour, the gang arrived at a small but fun amusement park. Once Shuzo paid for their tickets, they headed right in. There were all sorts of games to play and rides to get on, but they could wait. The gang wasted no time in making their way to a stage performance scheduled to begin in ten minutes. There was a large curtain covered stage with several rows of seats to fit dozens of people.
"Looks like we got some good seats." Bakura noted as everyone sat in the front row. The two couples got seats together (with Shuzo on Yuzu's other side). To his delight Tristan got a spot next to Serenity (who felt the same way), while Joey occupied the other with Miho after him. Bakura sat on Miho's other side. In short, almost everyone got to sit next to the person they wanted.
"Definitely." Yuzu said in agreement, but then looked a little sad. 'I wish I could've brought Aqua. I know she would enjoy this too.' Aqua, the Water Ignis that Yugi brought back from Cyberse World, was currently keeping Yuya's mom company back at their apartment.
Yuzu liked having Aqua around in her new apartment that she shared with her dad. It was like having a sister. She wanted to take her to school and show her around, but Aqua advised it would not be a good idea. It would be better for her to remain out of sight of the public.
When Yoko suggested that she could watch over Aqua, everyone seemed fine with it. So for the past month, when Yuya and Yuzu leave for school, Yuzu would drop off Aqua at Yuya's place with his mom.
"I can't wait." Miho said, bringing Yuzu out of her depressing thoughts.
"You're gonna love my dad. He's awesome." Yuya said enthusiastically. Several minutes later, a large drum roll could be heard throughout the area along with the announcer.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to our live magic show! It is sure to be mesmerizing as well as entertaining! We hope you enjoy the performances you are about to witness! Without further ado, please welcome to the stage, the star of our show and great master of magic… Yusho Sakaki!" Yuya, Yuzu, Yugi, and the rest of the crowd cheered and clapped as Yuya's father stepped out from behind the curtain and bowed to his audience. He spotted his son and friends in the front row and gave them a friendly wave.
Yusho was happy Kaiba got him this position. It suited his talents perfectly. His experience in Action Duels helped his magic acts to be very believable and the younger kids simply loved him. Plus, it helped that his leg finally healed. Yusho took great pleasure from seeing everyone smile, especially the children. Yugi, Yuya and everyone else had saved up enough money to come to this place, especially to see one of Yusho's performances.
"Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming! I have some amazing tricks to pull off today that will leave you in awe! So, ready to see some magic?"
Nearly everyone in the audience shouted "Yes!". Yusho smiled.
"Then let's get started!" For the next hour, Yusho performed some great tricks that really entertained the crowds. With some tinkering with his Solid Vision tech he changed his hat into a realistic looking rabbit and back, made a whole deck of playing cards fly through the air, and even levitated a small BMW several feet off the ground.
His last trick required a volunteer, and he just happened to pick Miho out of the whole audience. After Summoning his Entermate Sky Magician, Yusho used two of his Monster's linking rings to make Miho disappear then have her reappear in her seat. The girl was totally bewildered and couldn't figure out how that even happened. This got a big applause from everyone, especially those close to him. When Miho asked Yuya how his father could've done it, he just said it was a secret.
Once the show was over, the group headed out to enjoy their time at the amusement park. They split up into separate groups and agreed to meet back at the entrance with Yusho and Shuzo before the park closed. Bakura left to get his face painted. Yuya and Yuzu decided to go on some rides. Yugi headed off with Tèa for something to eat. Joey and Tristan rushed off to play some games, while Serenity and Miho went to the house of mirrors.
The girls were enjoying themselves while looking into the various mirrors in the place. "Oh! Check this one out Serenity! My head's so much bigger than the rest of me!" Miho called out while looking at a disproportioned reflection of herself. Her best friend laughed.
"Look at mine! I think I need to take off a few pounds!" Miho giggled at Serenity's own reflection, which showed her with more than "a few pounds".
"This is so much fun! I'm glad I came here with you and your friends!" Miho said joyfully.
"I'm glad you did too." Serenity said. It was at that moment she popped up an unexpected question. "Miho… do you think Tristan likes me?" Miho turned to her friend, confused.
"What do you mean? Of course he likes you. He's always kind and friendly toward you. Why question that all of a sudden?" Serenity sighed as she turned to another mirror, this one showing her as thin as a twig.
"What I mean is… Does he "like me" like me?" Miho then caught on.
"Come on. I'm sure he does." She said.
"Then why hasn't he asked me out on a date yet? I've been waiting for him to do that ever since I transferred here. What's taking him so long?" Serenity complained, still staring at her odd reflection. Miho then looked at a mirror beside her, now showing that her feet were ginormous.
"I can't say, Serenity. Maybe he's too shy to ask, or more likely… he's afraid of how your brother would react." Serenity sighed as she turned to her best friend.
"I think you're right, about my brother I mean." She recalled a month ago how Joey was opposed to Tristan dating her. Granted, Tristan did say something that could've easily been misinterpreted, but he made it clear he didn't mean it that way. It was still enough to rile up Joey, though. Serenity loved her brother and was grateful that he always looked out for her, but he had no say on who she chose to date. If Tristan asked her out, Joey would have no authority to say no and put his foot down.
"Joey's a great guy, he truly is. He just needs to loosen up and allow his sister to be with the man of her choice." Miho replied with conviction. Her friend nodded.
"Yeah. Joey trusts Tristan to have his back. He has to know he would never mistreat me." Serenity then smirked. "By the way, when do you plan to hook up with Joey?" Miho yelled and nearly jumped while her face was flushed.
"W-What are you talking about?! I said nothing of the sort!" She retorted, her voice sounding a little higher than normal while waving her hands wildly. Serenity laughed.
"I was just messing with you." She told her. In her mind, she knew how much Miho wanted Joey to know how she really felt toward him. If only she had the courage to do that…
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Take that, space scum!" Joey yelled as he blasted the last space ship in triumph.
"No invasions from you today!" Tristan added, feeling the same after zapping a few green Martians.
Earlier, they both found a game where they got to shoot several aliens and their space ships for prizes. They each hoped to win something for Serenity and Miho. Joey wanted to win a stuffed Red-Eyes Black Dragon for his sister, while Tristan had his eye on a stuffed Kuriboh. Joey was surprised to learn that he wasn't planning to win it for Miho. Tristan said he would get her something else. When Joey asked who the Kuriboh was really for, Tristan said the prize one was for "someone special" (which was technically true). Joey smirked and started teasing him.
"A special someone, eh? Who is it? Miho, even though you said otherwise and just didn't want to say?" He asked. Tristan growled.
"I ain't telling." He retorted. Joey snickered as he elbowed him playfully.
"Aw, come on man. Why the big secret? You can tell me. Come on, is it really Miho?"
"I said I'm not telling! End of discussion!" Tristan yelled heatedly. Joey was stunned by his friend's reaction.
"Okay, okay! You don't wanna say, that's fine! Geez, I was just curious. No need to be so tight lipped about it." Joey said. After a moment, Tristan apologized for snapping and the two were back on good terms when they found the alien shooting game. He was glad Joey was as dense as he was when it came to girls and romance. Otherwise, Joey would've picked up right away that the special someone was Serenity.
After a few minutes of alien blasting, Joey and Tristan scored high enough to get their desired prizes. However…
"What do you mean you don't have any more Kuribohs?! You got one sitting right up there!" Tristan yelled while pointing at the wall behind the shooting stand, which had a Kuriboh plush on a high shelf. The owner of the game, a young man in his early twenties, shook his head.
"No. That's just for display. It's not an actual prize. The guy who came before you two earlier won the last one. You'll have to pick another. How about a Dark Magician Girl instead? We got quite a few, plus she's also a cute one." Tristan fumed at this before he made up his mind.
"Fine, I'll take one of those." He said in a resigning tone. Shortly after, Joey and Tristan rested at a nearby bench, holding their prizes. While Joey was pleased he got the one he wanted, Tristan clearly felt the opposite. The former didn't like seeing the latter like that, so he tried to cheer him up.
"Look pal, I know you're bummed you didn't get that Kuriboh, but don't let that ruin your fun time here. I'm sure your "special someone" will like anything you've won. It wouldn't matter if it was a Kuriboh, a Dark Magician Girl, or even a Harpy Lady." Joey's face then turned sour. "Now… if it was a stuffed Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then we would have issues." Tristan couldn't help but laugh from hearing that. He started to feel better already.
"Still wanting to kick Kaiba's butt in a Duel, huh?" Joey snorted.
"'Course I do. I know how good rich boy is, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying. One day, I will clean his clock! And when I do, it will be the greatest moment of my life!" He declared. Tristan smiled from Joey's determination to defeat Kaiba someday. He was about to reply to that when someone else butted in.
"You want me to get that in writing? Maybe as your eulogy for when he buries you after your next Duel?" Joey and Tristan turned to see their friend/rival, Duke, who stood a few feet away with a mocking grin. His comment got the result he expected.
"What's that Devlin?! You want a piece of me?!" Joey shouted as he sprang to his feet and tried to move to hit him, but Tristan held him back.
"Cool it dude! He's just getting you worked up like he always does! Calm down and… Hey! What's that you got there?!" He demanded as he pointed to something Duke was holding in his arms. The guy held up the stuffed Kuriboh he carried and smiled.
"Oh this little fella? I won it at the alien shooting game a short time ago. Turns out it was the last one they had. Lucky day for me." He said proudly. Tristan fumed as his anger quickly returned.
'You've gotta be kidding me! He's the one that got the last stuffed Kuriboh?!' He thought furiously.
"Since when are you into stuffed toys, Duke?" Joey asked, sounding calmer now. Duke smirked.
"I'm not. I actually plan to give this to a certain girl I know. Namely, your cute and sweet younger sister." Joey now looked as furious as Tristan did.
"Say what?! You planning to put the moves on Serenity again?!" Duke chuckled.
"I do happen to have a thing for the ladies, you know. Serenity just happens to be my top choice." Joey was about to say something threatening when Tristan shoved him aside, gave him the Dark Magician Girl plush Tristan himself won, and stood before Duke. Surprisingly, he took out his Deck from his jacket pocket and his Duel Disk from the backpack he wore.
"Not happening! If anyone's going to give Serenity a stuffed Kuriboh, it's going to be me… after I win it from you!" He declared after inserting his Deck into his Duel Disk, which he then slipped onto his arm. His loud proclamation surprised the other guys, but Joey more so than Duke.
"Wait a second! Serenity is the special someone you mentioned before?!" He yelled in shock. His long time friend didn't reply. Right then, his whole attention was on the guy who had the prize that should've been his. Duke's demeanor then suddenly became more serious.
"You want to duel me for a stuffed Duel Monsters plush toy?" He questioned. Tristan didn't soften his gaze.
"I want to duel you to prove Serenity doesn't deserve someone like you!" He said strongly. Duke narrowed his eyes and appeared to be thinking about it. After a minute, he tossed the Kuriboh at Joey.
"Hold on to that for me, will you?" He asked as he too got out his Deck and Duel Disk from his own back pack. Joey groaned as he now held three stuffed plushies.
"Dang it. Since when am I a pack rat?" He complained. Tristan and Duke eyed each other.
"If you're actually serious about this, then okay. I'll give you the stuffed Kuriboh if you win. But if I win, you won't attempt get in between me and Serenity from now on." Tristan didn't like the idea of seeing Duke with Serenity (nor did Joey for that matter), but this was his chance to take Duke down. He wasn't going to pass it up.
"Deal! Now let's do this!" Tristan accepted as the Duel began.
"DUEL!"
(Tristan: 4000) (Duke: 4000)
"I'll take the first turn. I draw!" Duke declared as he drew his first card. "First I play my Field Magic card, Dice Dungeon!" A giant dice board materialized between the two Duelists.
"What does that do?" Tristan asked.
"You missed me playing this during our Duel against one of the Big Five way back when. It was after you sacrificed yourself to save Serenity." Duke told him. Tristan remembered that all to well… and the fact that he ended up becoming a mechanical monkey. He hated the short period of time he spent in that form. "You'll see what it does soon enough. Next I play Summon Dice! By paying 1000 Life Points, I can roll a die and can perform a Summon depending on the die! Go, dice roll!" Duke then rolled a holographic die on the Field.
(Duke: 4000 - 1000 = 3000)
Tristan and Joey watched as the die rolled for a few seconds before landing on a 5.
"Is that a good number for you?" Tristan questioned. Duke smiled.
"Oh it is. If I get a 5 or 6, I can Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher Monster without a Sacrifice! I Summon Orgoth, the Relentless!" (EARTH; Level 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2450) A huge purpled armored warrior holding a sword appeared on Duke's Field. "After that, I Set one card facedown and end my turn. Alright Tristan, let's see what you've got!" Duke challenged. He didn't think his opponent would be too hard to deal with. He was about to find out how wrong he was.
"Don't go easy on him, buddy! Kick him to the curb!" Joey shouted. He didn't look it, but he was still surprised by Tristan's special someone was Serenity. 'He really likes my sister that much? Guess I never thought he was serious about her. I'll have a little talk with Tristan later about that. But right now, I'd rather see Serenity with Tristan than with that obnoxious Duke.' He thought to himself. Tristan smiled.
"Got it! My turn! Draw!" He liked what he drew. 'I may not be in the same level as Yugi or Joey, but I think this should give Duke a hard time.' He thought as he started. "First off, since I don't control any face-up cards, I can Normal Summon Machiners Metalcrunch without a Sacrifice, but by doing so it's original Attack Points become 1800!" (EARTH; Level 9; ATK: 1800; DEF: 0) An orange and green robot appeared before Tristan. It originally had 2800 Attack Points, but lost some of it's power due to it's Effect.
'Why would Tristan Summon a high level Monster in a way that would weaken it?' Duke wondered.
"Now that Metalcrunch has been Summoned, I can reveal 3 EARTH "Machine" Monsters from my Deck! You get to decide which one gets added to my hand, while the other two go back in my Deck! My Monsters are Machiners Sniper, Machiners Soldier, and Machiners Airraider! Go on and take your pick!" Tristan said confidently.
Duke took a moment to study Tristan's Monsters, and picked the least threatening of the three. "That's a gutsy move you know, letting me choose a card for you. But since you insist, I'll let you have Machiners Sniper!" He said, making his choice. His adversary didn't seem disappointed.
"Alrighty then, Machiners Sniper it is!" Tristan said as he added the card to his hand and shuffled others back into his Deck. "Next, by discarding one or more "Machine" Monsters whose total Levels are 8 or more, I can Special Summon one of my favorite heavy hitters from my hand or Graveyard! I discard my Level 8 Machiners Megaform to Special Summon Machiners Fortress from my hand!" (EARTH; Level 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1600) Now on Tristan's Field was a blue tank on three sets of treads with two arms and a shoulder cannon mounted on it.
"That's a pretty big tank." Duke noted as the new Monster matched the size of his own. Joey snickered.
"Believe it or not, that's not even his biggest one." Duke tensed a little. That statement made him more weary.
'I really don't like the sound of that.' He thought as the Duel continued.
"With two "Machine" Effect Monsters now on my Field and no other Monsters, I can play Iron Draw! It allows me to draw two more cards, plus I can only Special Summon once for the rest of the turn! And now for the fun part!" Tristan felt pumped for his next move. "Battle! Machiners Fortress, attack Orgoth the Relentless! Burst Cannon!" The cannon on Fortress began to charge up for the attack…
"The Effect of Dice Dungeon activates! During the Battle Phase, we each choose a Monster we control and roll a die! Our Monsters will be affected differently depending on the number we both get!" Duke revealed.
"In that case, I hope I get a good one! Dice roll!" Tristan said as he and Duke rolled their die. Tristan's landed on a 3, while Duke got a 2. This made the former smirk.
"Looks like you're not the lucky one. Getting that 2 means my Orgoth gains 1000 Attack Points! On the other hand, because you rolled a 3 your Fortress' Attack Points drop down to zero!"
"Zero?!" Tristan shouted in disbelief.
"Oh man! That means Tristan's going to take a huge hit to his Life Points!" Joey said in alarm.
(Orgoth the Relentless' ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500)
(Machiners Fortress' ATK: 0)
Right after Fortress fired it's weapon, the empowered Orgoth repelled it with it's sword and slashed the tank to pieces. Tristan barely managed to remain standing after the failed attack.
(Tristan: 4000 - 3500 = 500)
"Tristan!" Joey shouted.
"It's all good dude!" Tristan grunted. Duke smiled condescendingly.
"Doesn't look that way to me. What can I say? Dice really seem to favor me over my opponents." He mocked. To his surprise, Tristan smirked.
"You said I was not the lucky one, right? Well… you're dead wrong Duke!"
"What do you mean?" Duke asked.
"When Machiners Fortress is destroyed in battle and goes to the Graveyard, I can destroy one card you control! So say goodbye to your Orgoth!" Tristan revealed triumphantly.
"No!" His opponent yelled as his Ace was blown apart. "Because I no longer control any Monsters, Dice Dungeon is also destroyed!" He said right before his Field Magic card was also gone in an instant.
"Take that! Tristan may have lost one card, but you just lost two!" Joey yelled joyfully. Tristan definitely felt pleased.
"I had a feeling you would try to protect your Monster somehow, so I wanted to have a Monster that could destroy yours regardless how the battle turned out! Dice may favor you, but I got a better arsenal on my side!" He said. Duke didn't feel so smug anymore.
'Darn! He was hoping his Monster would destroy mine, whether it be battle or card effect! If only I had gotten a 6, Orgoth's Attack Power would've been doubled and Tristan would have lost the Duel right away!' He figured Tristan had a little luck on his side after all.
"I got another surprise for you! Remember the Monster I discarded earlier? If a face-up Machiners Fortress I control is sent to the Graveyard while that "other" Monster is also in my Graveyard aside from the Damage Step, I can banish Fortress to Special Summon that Monster to my Field! I banish my Fortress to bring out something a little bigger! Come out to fight, Machiners Megaform!" (EARTH; Level 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1500) What appeared to be humanoid version of Machiners Fortress arose from the ground in front of Tristan, towering over his opponent.
"I'm definitely in trouble now." Duke muttered to himself. 'This must've been his plan from the beginning. If he attacks me with both Monsters, I'm finished!'
"Yeah! Get him Tristan!" Joey cheered.
"Fortress cleared your Field, now I just need take you down! Machiners Metalcrunch, attack Duke directly! Steel Pummel!" Tristan's first Monster proceeded to inflict some damage to the enemy, but…
"Oh no you don't! I activate Dice Crisis! When my opponent's Monster attacks, this Trap card lets me target the attacking Monster and roll another die! If it lands on a 6, I can Equip my Trap to that Monster, take control of it, and make it's Attack Points 0! Go, dice roll!" Once again, another die rolled out.
"Come on! Anything but a 6!" Joey and Tristan both shouted, hoping he wouldn't get the number he wanted.
'Please! Give me a 6 this time!' Duke mentally begged. The gods above must've heard him, because the die landed on the highest number possible. "Alright! With that 6, Metalcrunch is mine and loses all it's Attack Points!" Duke declared as he stole Tristan's now powerless Monster. "Now you can't beat me this turn!" Tristan groaned.
"Drat! I thought I had him! Now he's taken one of my Monsters!" He said frustratingly. Even if he attacked with Megaform and destroyed Metalcrunch, Duke would still have some Life Points left. He hoped he would win this turn.
"It's not over yet pal! You can still win this!" Joey encouraged. Tristan nodded back and smiled.
"I hear ya man! I'm nowhere near throwing in the towel!" After a quick look at his cards, Tristan came up with a new plan. "I Set two cards facedown and end my turn." This surprised both guys.
"He didn't attack with his other Monster?" Joey asked, stunned.
"Why didn't you have your Megaform attack?" Duke asked. His opponent smiled.
"Simple. I want my next attack to be the one that finishes you." Duke chuckled.
"I see. Good luck with that, but I'm still going to win and spend some quality time with Serenity. My turn! Draw!" The card he just drew would definitely help him keep his word. "I switch Metalcrunch to Defense Mode, then play Monster Reborn to Special Summon Orgoth back from my Graveyard!" Duke's Ace returned to fight again. "I then Equip Orgoth with Axe of Despair, which gives my Monster a 1000 Attack Point boost!" Orgoth roared as it's power increased.
(Orgoth the Relentless' ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500)
"Oh crap! Now that brute is strong enough to wipe out both Megaform and Tristan himself!" Joey realized.
"It's been fun I'll admit, but it's over now. Battle! Orgoth the Relentless, attack Machiners Megaform! Diamond Blade Strike!" Orgoth raised it's blade and ran forward to cut Tristan's robot in half. Only it never got that far.
"No it ain't! Since you just declared an attack, I activate my Dimension Wall Trap card! Now instead of me, the damage from this battle will be dealt to you!" Tristan revealed.
"You what?!" A shocked Duke exclaimed. "Well at least I get to take down your Monster!" Tristan still smiled.
"Wrong again! I activate my Quick-Play Magic card, Malefactors' Command! This allows me to take a Union Monster from my hand or Deck and Equip it to a "Machine" Monster I control, but that Union Monster can't be Special Summoned this turn! From my hand I Equip Machiners Gearframe to my Megaform!" A smaller orange robot attached itself to Tristan's bigger Monster. "Now I activate Gearframe's Effect! When the Monster it is Equipped to is about to be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can destroy Gearframe in it's place!"
Duke gritted his teeth as Orgoth sliced Gearframe instead of Megaform, and then the damage got redirected at himself.
(3500 - 2600 = 900)
(Duke: 3000 - 900 = 2100)
"Nice one buddy!" Joey called out, nearly accidentally dropping the stuffed plushies he was holding in the process. Duke then looked back at Tristan, amazed by his performance.
'I can't believe how good Tristan is. I did hear that he got his Deck upgraded while he was on Yuya and Yuzu's world, but I didn't think it would be like this.' He then decided to give a compliment. "Tristan, your new Deck is powerful." Tristan looked down at his Deck and smiled.
"Thanks. I practically had to build my Deck from scratch to help out Yugi and Joey on Yuya and Yuzu's world. I needed to step up my game big time if I was going to be of any use there. It was a war, after all." He then turned to Joey. "It wasn't just me. Joey and Tèa both got some upgrades for their Decks too."
Joey nodded. "Darn right we did, and it paid off." Duke couldn't help but smile.
"I'll bet it did." Duke then returned his attention to his opponent. "That was an impressive counterattack, but I'm still standing. I Set my last card facedown and end my turn."
"Not for much longer. My turn! Draw!" Tristan's eyes widened. 'I got it!' He then smirked. "Alright Duke, get ready to hand over that Kuriboh, because you're about to lose! First I Summon the Monster you let me have, Machiners Sniper!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 800) A pale yellow robot with a sniper rifle materialized next to it's much bigger companion. "Then, by Sacrificing my Machiners Megaform, I can Special Summon a "Machiners" Monster from my hand or Deck except "Machiners Megaform"! In it's place, I Special Summon from my Deck my top tank: Machiners Colonel!" (EARTH; Level 10; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500) The big blue tank that Tristan used against Apollo appeared for battle once again.
"So that's Tristan's best Monster?" Duke asked himself in awe of it's appearance.
"Oh yeah!" Joey said excitedly.
"Time for some blasting!" Tristan added before continuing. "I activate Machiners Colonel's Monster Effect! Once per turn, by destroying a "Machine" Monster I control, I can destroy all your Monsters with equal Attack Points or less than the destroyed Monster! I destroy my Machiners Sniper along with the Machiners Metalcrunch you stole from me!" A couple of blasts from Colonel's blaster and both Monsters were gone, along with Dice Crisis since the Monster it was Equipped to was also destroyed.
"Not too shabby, but my Orgoth is still stronger!" Duke pointed out.
"Not anymore! I activate Limiter Removal! This doubles the Attack Points of all "Machine" Monsters I control until the end of the turn! On the downside, they all get destroyed during the End Phase, but I'm not worried about that since I plan to end this with my next attack!" Tristan said as his own Monster also powered up.
(Machiners Colonel's ATK: 3000 x 2 = 6000)
"You're in for it now!" Joey said.
"Here I come Duke! Battle! Machiners Colonel, attack Orgoth the Relentless! MECHA SLICER!" Tristan's Monster treaded forward the opposing Monster with it's menacing saw blade.
"I still got one trick left! I play my Trap, Negate Dice! When my Monster is about to be destroyed in battle, I can roll a die and, if it is 4 or above, the attack gets negated! Final Dice Roll!" Once more, a six-sided die rolls out before both Duelists. It looked like it was about to land on a 5. But at the last second… "What?! I got only a 1?!" He shouted incredulously as the dice landed on the lowest number he could get.
"Guess your dice aren't on your side this time! Machiners Colonel, take him down!" Tristan ordered as the assault proceeded. With a single motion, Orgoth was cut down… along with Duke's remaining Life Points.
(Duke: 0)
Joey whooped and nearly manhandled his friend for his victory. "Yes! That's how it's done!" He said, giving his friend a thumbs up, with Tristan returning the favor. As for Duke, he didn't seem so depressed about losing. He walked up to Tristan and shook his hand.
"You dueled great Tristan. You deserve that stuffed Kuriboh, along with Serenity's affections." He said solemnly. Joey still felt a little uncomfortable from hearing that, though.
"Thanks Duke." Tristan said as Joey handed him the Kuriboh he earned. Duke seemed hesitant about something, but eventually managed to get it out.
"Listen. I gotta tell you something." Tristan turned back to him, along with Joey.
"Like what?" Tristan asked. Duke sighed before explaining.
"As you know, I told you and Joey at the KaibaCorp Grand Prix that I had a date with Serenity later on. I only said that because I knew it would get under your skins. The thing is, I talked to Serenity after she moved here and really did ask her out… only for her to say "no"." This fact stunned the other guys.
"Seriously? She turned you down?" Tristan asked, not quite believing it.
"You, who is a well known ladies man, got rejected by my sister?" Joey said before he snickered. "Guess she knew you better than I thought."
"More than you think." Duke said with embarrassment. "Apparently, she somehow found out about the whole dog costume thing and wasn't happy to learn of it." Joey cringed, remembering that event all too well. "Serenity said she didn't want to date a guy who would put her brother through such humiliation. Even though I told her I apologized for what I did, she still didn't want to go out with me. She was being nice about it, thankfully. Also…" Duke then looked at Tristan. "She mentioned that she was more interested in dating someone else."
"Who?" Tristan asked, sounding both hopeful and afraid at the same time.
"She wouldn't say, but I have a pretty good idea." He paused again before giving Tristan a hard stare. "Tristan, I can tell Serenity wants to be with you." Tristan and Joey both gasped. "I'm guessing it had to do with you protecting her from that jerk, Nezbitt. If you haven't asked her out already, I strongly suggest you do so while you can. I have no doubt she will give you the answer you want to hear. So, good luck man." With that, Duke turned and walked away. Tristan stood there with Joey, pondering Duke's words.
The two friends turned to each other. Tristan broke the silence first. "Joey… I know how you feel about Serenity being with other guys. I don't want you to have to worry. What I said before was true. She really is special to me, and I want to do what I can to make her happy. I just don't want you to treat me like the enemy." Joey's response was a very surprising one. He placed a hand on Tristan's shoulder and smile.
"Tristan Taylor… I have only two personal enemies, and you ain't one of them." He said kindly but firmly. "If I have to trust someone to treat my sister right, I would be very grateful if it was you. You can quote me on that."
"Joey…" Tristan said in a soft tone. Joey then shrugged.
"Of course, she's still gotta say "yes" to you first." He said offhandedly.
"Say yes to what?" Joey and Tristan turned to see Serenity (who had just asked) and Miho walking toward them.
"Oh, hey girls! When did you two get back?" Tristan asked, sounding slightly jumpy.
"And how was the house of mirrors?" Joey added.
"Just now, and it was a lot of fun. You should go in there yourselves sometime." Miho answered. Miho then eyed the plushies the guys were holding. "What's going on here? I didn't know you two were into stuffed animals." The two flushed with embarrassment.
"Are ya kidding? These aren't ours! We won them for both of you!" Joey said before he walked up to his sister. "Here ya go sis. One stuffed Red-Eyes Black Dragon from your big bro!" Serenity surprisingly shook her head.
"Thanks Joey, but I actually think Miho would like it more." She said as she turned to her friend.
"Miho?" Joey asked, confused. Miho blushed a little.
"R-Really? B-But your brother wants you to have it…" She said while looking away.
"It's fine, Miho. You can have the Red-Eyes and I can have the Dark Magician Girl instead. Honestly, that one is much cuter anyway. Is that okay with you, Joey?" Serenity asked. Although taken aback by this, her brother didn't see the problem with it.
"Hey, whatever my sister wants." He said as he gave the girls their desired prizes. They both thanked him, though Miho still seemed flustered. Serenity figured having a stuffed version of her favorite Duelist's Ace Monster had something to do with it.
Tristan still had his plush to give. He had great difficulties to get the frog out of his throat as he approached Serenity. "Here Serenity… I won this for you. Thought you'd like it." Serenity beamed as she held her second plush.
"Oh, I love Kuriboh! It is one of the cutest things ever! Thank you Tristan!" He smiled from her gratitude. He then cleared his throat, though more loudly than he intended.
"There's um… something else." He said.
"What is it?" Serenity questioned, curious about what he was going to say.
"Serenity…" Tristan took a deep breath and let out slowly before he finally had the nerve to do what he should've done much earlier. "Will you go out on a date with me?"
Serenity and Miho gasped, eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Joey was surprised too, but in a lesser extent. Serenity couldn't believe what she heard just now. Did Tristan ask what she thought he asked? "A date? Really?" The younger Wheeler needed to confirm that she heard him right. Tristan nodded.
"Really. What do you say?" After several seconds, Serenity ran up to Tristan and hugged him tight. Her expression was radiant.
"Yes! Yes, of course I'll date you!" Tristan felt his heart beat faster as hugged her back.
"G-Great! How about tomorrow night?" Serenity nodded.
"Perfect!" Joey and Miho were glad to see them like this.
'Looks like Duke was right.' Joey thought, seeing how happy his sister was with his close friend.
'See, Serenity. I told you Tristan liked you.' Miho said in her mind, smiling at the pair.
"Hey! Did we miss something?" Everyone turned to see Yugi (who just got the group's attention), Tèa, Yuya, Yuzu, and Bakura (whose face was painted to look like a zombie) coming their way. Joey pointed his thumb at Tristan and Serenity.
"Oh, nothing big. Just that those two are having a date tomorrow night." They all stared at them in surprise.
While this was going on, Duke observed everything from a distance. He gave a resigned sigh as he headed out from the park, knowing the girl was with the right guy.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yoko was quite busy herself while everyone was at the amusement park. After her husband and son leave for work and school respectively, she would occupy herself by cleaning and tidying up their new apartment. It was small but comfortable and the rent was reasonably priced. Yoko and her family liked their new home away from home. She was also glad Aqua was around. It was refreshing to have another girl to talk to, even if that girl wasn't human.
"What do you think Aqua?" Yoko asked after finishing up her dusting of the living room and cleaning the windows. The Water Ignis, standing up from inside Yuzu's Duel Disk, scanned the room and nodded with satisfaction.
"It looks perfect Yoko." She replied. Yoko smiled.
"I couldn't agree more. I don't know about you but I need a break." She said while wiping her forehead of sweat.
As Yoko walked to the kitchen for a drink, Aqua looked out the now clean windows. She saw that storm clouds were coming in. The weather forecast said it would rain hard later on, along with some thunder and lightning. Lightning. Aqua still couldn't believe he was alive after all this time. He imprisoned her when she stumbled onto his true plans for Cyberse World and put her partner, Miyu, in a coma. He did many terrible things that were unforgivable. She honestly didn't know who to fear more at this point: Lightning or Revolver, the latter of whom wanted to see all of the Ignis dead, including Lightning.
The Water Ignis felt extremely relieved to actually be on a world where no one was after her or any of the others. Her fellow Ignis all felt the same way through their connection. Aqua missed them, especially Earth and Ai. She missed being with Earth even more after learning of his true feelings for her. It made her very warm inside. She longed to be with him again.
As for Ai, Aqua started to worry about him. Throughout the past month she had heard no word regarding his mission. She prayed he was safe on the Astral World, despite how dangerous it became.
While watching the clouds slowly moving in, Aqua had one of those brief visions of the near future. She gasped in horror by what she saw. She saw lasers, metal slowly moving, and… a dark green light that obscured all else. All this left her very shaken. It was apparently noticeable because Yoko saw her hunched over in distress.
"Aqua, are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked, sounding concerned. Aqua looked up at her with troubled eyes, then back outside. The skies were growing darker.
"A storm is coming… and it will shower everything with pain and suffering."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Any success?" Kaiba asked as the technician stood before him in his office. The older man looked very nervous.
"I-I'm afraid not, Mr. Kaiba. Not matter what we try, we cannot recreate the kind of holograms used in the "Action Duel" that was recorded. Even our attempts to make Action Cards have failed. I'm afraid we simply do not have the technology for something this advanced." He said. Kaiba was not pleased by the news as he slammed his fists on his desk and stood on his feet. This made the other man back away a little.
"That's ridiculous! This company has the best virtual gaming technology in the world! After a whole month, you're telling me that KaibaCorp can't make Action Duels work?!" The technician grimaced, but didn't look away.
"Well, maybe if we had enough of the necessary tech and software, we might be able to accomplish it. As for right now, though… no, we can't." He barely muttered.
Kaiba snarled. When he first saw the recording of Yuzu's Duel with Mai Valentine, he knew immediately that he had to incorporate Action Duels with his gaming tech. It would make his company more profitable and popular than ever. He didn't think replicating the process would be this troublesome, however.
'After all that time, we got nowhere?! I did not imagine creating Action Duels would be so complicated. Looks like I need to implement Plan B…' Kaiba thought before speaking again. "You might be right. Continue working on it." Kaiba ordered, though a little less angry. The technician nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." With that, the man walked out in a bit of hurry. Mokuba, who had watched and listened to the whole exchange, turned to his brother.
"Seto, What do you plan to do?" Asked the younger boy. Kaiba sighed as he turned to him.
"I think it's time for Yusho Sakaki to pay me back for getting him his amusing new line of work." He then picked up his desk phone.
"Are you calling him now?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba took on a look of disgust as he dialed the number.
"No. Someone I would rather not have to put up with under any other circumstances…"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Later that evening, not too far away, stood a young man overlooking the stormy skies with a wicked smile on his face. As a flash of lightning illuminated his face, Noah Kaiba was in a great mood. His "special project" was finally completed after working on it for the past month. Thanks to the finances and resources he procured, everything was all set for those who would meet their ends.
Noah stood in a dimly lit room with his hands behind his back. He didn't flinch as he heard a door slide open behind him. "I see you have finally arrived." He said without turning around, knowing full well who his guest was.
"My flight got slightly delayed due to the weather. It was a pain." Vivian Wong told him as she walked beside him. Noah shrugged, hardly considering it an issue.
"No matter. Your timing was perfect actually." He told her.
"Why is that?" Vivian as she turned to him.
"Because I just got confirmation that we are ready to "invite" Yugi Muto and his friends over to play…" Noah said, still smiling evilly. Vivian shared the smile.
"Great." She said before looking outside just like Noah. 'I can feel it. You will be mine very soon Yugi. You will not get away from me!' She thought eagerly to herself. "When do we start?" Noah glanced over at her.
"No time like the present. I trust you know your assignment?" He asked. Vivian nodded.
"Of course." Noah nodded back.
"Good. Then get started right away. Once Yugi and his friends arrive tomorrow…" Noah's grin became even more twisted as another lightning bolt struck nearby.
"Death-T will begin."
To be continued.