[ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Replay ]
Story By Bryon Youngblood

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Replay
Note: For this fanfiction, I use the dub names, as well as some mannerisms
from both versions. Enjoy. Most names were provided from the English version
of Konami's "Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters" video game for Game Boy
Advance. Consult the strategy guide if you need to to learn who's who!

[ Chapter 1: The Beginning From An End ]

The place, Domino City, Japan. A large city, almost the likes of Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, or Chicago. People moving about in their lives. The Town Square, the Aquarium, the Business District, everywhere, people coming and going. Right now, the center of focus was Domino High School. Just like any other high school in Japan, really. Except for the fact that one of its' students, a young man whose hair was spikey, from the back of his head and around. His hair also had all sorts of colors. Magneta-like red around the spikey parts, black on the inside, and yellow bangs.

This young man, 16 in age, had purple eyes, and he also had the uniform of a Domino High School student. He just had on a blue coat like some students in Japanese schools had, and underneath it, a white shirt, buttoned up. And to go with it, blue pants and some slippers.as usually worn in the classroom. This young man was Yugi Mutoh, otherwise known as the King of Duelists.

Years ago, Yugi's grandfather, Solomon, had been known as an adventurer, a gambler, and an archaeologist. He had travelled to Egypt, and found a mysterious tomb, which housed a unique golden box with an eye on it. What Solomon didn't know at the time, was that this box held a puzzle. After that, Yugi, when he was 7 years old, was given the Puzzle. Being a boy who enjoyed games, Yugi began to work on the Millennium Puzzle. It took him until he was 15 years old to complete it. The day Yugi would complete it changed his life. He had not had many friends at first. Until that day.

That day, Yugi was telling T?a Gardner, a brunette young woman about Yugi's age, about the Millennium Puzzle and what it meant to him. But at the same time, he was bullied by Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, who had a reputation around Domino High for being toughs, and bullies, and Joey had taken the last piece of the Millennium Puzzle, and threw it into the school's swimming pool. However, Demetrius Ushio, formerly part of Domino High's student council, had tried to embezzle Yugi out of money by acting as his bodyguard. He nearly killed Joey and Tristan until Yugi stood up to him, surprising both Joey and Tristan. Yugi then was given back the final piece of the Millennium Puzzle he needed.. thanks to an anonymous friend, whom Yugi knew was Joey.

When he completed the Puzzle, Yugi had experienced moments where he slipped away. These moments, a spirit within the Millennium Puzzle would take over Yugi's body at times. Yugi didn't know it, but this other Yugi, known in truth as Pharaoh Atem, once lived 3,000 years ago and rid the world of the dark powers of the God of Evil, Zork. Zork himself threatened the world with the power of the Shadow Games, in which creatures from stone tablets known as Weiju, or Ka, and creatures in people's hearts and minds within darkness, or Ba, threatened the world. Atem sealed himself away into the Millennium Puzzle along with the darkness Zork represented, and a small bit of Zork. Zork, however, would survive... and their conflict would end 3000 years later. And it would come to include a game known as Duel Monsters.

But there was more Yugi would learn about Atem. Atem had no memory of his past achievements or his life as a Pharaoh. It wasn't until Battle City occured that he would learn of what he had to do. Atem's search had him search out the 3 Egyptian God Cards, Osiris, Obelisk, and Ra. In the end, he achieved them but lost them when he battled a group known as Doma. Doma had taken the God Cards, and set a plan into motion to reset history by cleansing the world. Atem fought hard, along with Joey, and his first real rival in the game of Duel Monsters, Seto Kaiba, but he had to learn of his own darkness, and also did what he had done 3000 years ago, shouldering the darkness.

Finally, the journey came to end. Atem learned that Bakura, a friend to Yugi, who possessed the Millennium Ring, had been controlled by his darker side, who in reality was Zork, wishing to conclude his battle with Atem in the ultimate Shadow Game, which if Zork had won, would have brought the world into shadows. Luckily, Atem won. Soon, after his memories returned and Zork was gone, Atem and Yugi, along with their friends, learned of the Ceremonial Battle at the location in which the Millennium Puzzle, Ring, and the other 5 Millennium Items were created, where Atem's fate would be decided.In the end, Yugi battled with Atem, and defeated him, thus sending him back to the afterlife.

It was now a little over a month after Yugi's victory over Atem, and he was just living life day to day, still missing him, but becoming strong for himself. Soon, the bell for class rang as Yugi got up, gathering his things until he heard someone say "Hey, Yugi!"

Yugi turned around and saw Joey, his messy blonde-haired, brown eyed best friend, having called his name. Joey smiled and said "What's the hurry, big guy? I mean, we still got another 2 periods to go through."
"Sorry, Joey, I can't! I gotta go pick up my cousin from the Train Station. He's coming in from Tokyo, and I told Mom and Grandpa I'd go get him. It's been about... ohhhhh, I'd say 6 years since I last saw him."
"Well, why not let us all go with you, Yugi?" A female voice said. Yugi and Joey turned to see T?a, who had short cut brunette hair, blue eyes, and a female school uniform, which had a pink buttoned up shirt with white around the colors and sleeves, a blue bow around the neck softly, and a similar colored pleated skirt.

She smiled as Yugi said "Well, T?a, I might want you guys to go with me, I just didn't want you to get into trouble. I mean, all I was gonna do was get my cousin, bring him by the school so he can register here at Domino High, and that's it. I even talked with the principal and my teachers about it."
"Wellll, I think that all of us going with you wouldn't be too bad. 'Sides, it's not that far from here, so rushing over there and getting him and coming back wouldn't be a problem."
"Yeah, man! And 'sides, it's not like it wouldn't hurt to have your cousin meet your best friends." Joey added, giving a thumbs up.

Yugi nodded and said "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. We better book it!" Yugi rushed out the door, his friends following right behind. As they ran out of the front gate of Domino High, someone was watching from the side of the gate. This person had dark purple hair, a cigarette in his mouth, a black duster, a black shirt under it, and a pair of dark grey jeans and boots. The man smirked and said "That's the Duelist King? Feh... no problem."

Yugi and his friends soon made it to the Domino City Train Station, waiting for Taro. Joey then said "Hey, Yugi, how the heck are we gonna know what Taro looks like?"
"Aw, don't worry, Joey. He'll know it's me, and I'll notice it's him." Yugi replied, smiling. He then blinked, noticing a kid about 15 or so, at 5' 1", with the same spikey kind of hair Yugi had, only his was dark brown, and he also had a dark red shirt, with an orange belt around his waist and blue jeans with white and black sneakers, as well as a red backpack and a rolling lugagge bag as he turned, then saw Yugi and shouted "Yugi!!" The young man came running up, grinning as he said "What's up!?"

"Hey, Taro!" Yugi replied as they slapped hands and Taro grinned brightly, then blinked when he looked at Yugi's friends. He then waved. "Yo! I'm Kentaro Mutoh, but you don't get to call me that. Just Taro, OK!?"
The others all nodded as Tristan said "Nice to meetcha, Taro. I'm Tristan."
Taro gabbed Tristan's hand and shook it rapidly in his own two hands. "Dude! 's a honor to meetcha!" He then stopped himself and looked at T?a, walked up and took her left hand, then kissed it as he said "And who is this lovely young lady?"
T?a giggled a bit and said "Well, I'm T?a, Taro. I'm surprised you don't remember me. Yugi has had me over before when you visited."
"Oh, right! Ehehehe.. sorry, it's just that you've grown A LOT since then!" Taro replied. Joey scratched his head then said "Yugi, are you sure this guy REALLY is your cousin?"
"Super positive, Joey. Taro and I, whenever we were around each other, were like brothers!"
"Yeah, well, I mean, he seems like he's everything you're not, dude." Suddenly, a right fist hit Joey in the cheek as he slammed to the ground with a thud.

Taro then said "Don't make fun of my family like that, buddy boy! That's what makes me a lot different from Yugi! He may try to use words, but me, I think the direct approach is always the best way to go when dealing with morons like you."
Joey sat up and shook his head rapidly as he then got up and put his face right into Taro's and said "What was that for!?"
"I told you, you make fun of my family, you gotta pay in blood!" Taro added. Yugi stepped forward and said "C'mon, guys, let's not fight! I mean, we just got here and..."
Yugi stopped himself for a moment and turned carefully, having felt something, but got nothing. He shrugged it off then got between his friend and his cousin so they wouldn't argue. But he found it harder to do than he thought.

A bit later, back at Yugi's house, he and Taro were getting situated as Taro said "Man, Yugi, you sure seem like you've done well for yourself!"
"I guess so, Taro. But... I don't feel like I myself earned the accolades of things like King of Duelists, ya know?"
"Whaddya mean? Ya referring to those times when you look like a whole new person and act like one?" Taro replied, scratching his head.
"Hey, how did...?"
"Dude, I've seen you on TV when you've Dueled and after it! How'd it happen? Wait, wait, wait!! Lemme guess... the Millennium Puzzle did it!"

Yugi blinked in surprise as Taro flopped down onto his futon, grinning, legs crossed Indian-style, hands on his knees as he said "Who was that if it wasn't you, dude?"
Knowing Taro had already asked, Yugi did the noble thing and explained the whole situation, about Atem, and what occured during his time with him. Intently listening, Taro nodded as Yugi continued to explain until finally "...And that's how it ended. I defeated Atem, and he disappeared into the light. And with him, the Millennium Items' task was complete, and they disappeared from the Earth as well."

"Dude... that is some crazy stuff!! Do Auntie Suki and Grandpa know about this stuff!?!"
"Grandpa was there for the final Duel. But Mom... I dunno how she'd take it if she knew I'd lost my soul and nearly lost my life on several ocassions, Taro. I mean, you handled it a little better than most people might have."

"Hey, Yugi... I grew up in Tokyo, man, and there is some crazy crap that occurs there quite a bit! So, trust me, I've seen alot o' weird stuff in my time, even if I am 2 years younger than you. But... you would tell your mom if you needed to.. right? I mean, she's gotta have a right to know that, man. But it's my opinion. You feel free to make the call however you please, man."
Yugi nodded a bit. "Yeah... yeah." Yugi looked down some as Taro then said "Well, I'm gonna go downstairs, see if your mom and Grandpa need some help with dinner, dude."

Taro stepped out of Yugi's bedroom, closing the door behind him. Yugi sighed some and said "Mom shouldn't need to worry about me anymore than she does sometimes. I can't tell her. I shouldn't." He then turned to his box, the same box he kept the Millennium Puzzle in and frowned some as he thought 'Atem... this is so tough for me... to not have you here. I don't feel I can be strong enough... but I'll try. I...' He then heard a crash downstairs and ran out of his room, racing down to the kitchen to see one of the dishes broken on the floor, the window open, and Taro, his grandpa, and his mom, all gone! Yugi also noticed a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up, reading it. All it said was "Come. Construction Site. Bring your Deck."

He knew that something was going on, but didn't know WHAT exactly. So, he raced back to his room, grabbed his Deck, and his Duel Disk, exhaled as he slapped his Deck inside of his Duel Disk and rushed out to the Construction Site. Once outside, Yugi headed north, because it was a 10 minute walk or so, but since he was running, 5 minutes was the most he'd take to get there.

At the Construction Site itself, Taro charged into a gated door that had him, Yugi's young looking mother, who had short magenta hair, a white shirt, and a long dark blue skirt, as well as his grandfather, who had grey hair and a matching beard, as well as a black bandana with two symbols that somewhat were close to infinity symbols, as well as green overalls and a white shirt under it as he said "Taro..."

"Hey, I gotta at least try to get us outta here, Grandpa! I know Yugi will show up, but I mean, gotta try something! Beats sitting here and waiting! I don't even get why this guy wanted to get us in the first place just to get to Yugi!" Taro replied, kicking at the door. A man who had dark purple hair, a cigarette in his mouth, a black duster, a black shirt under it, and a pair of dark grey jeans and boots appeared near the cage and shook his head. "Moron. You won't break out, until Yugi Mutoh shows. And I know he will show up." The man had a Duel Disk on also as he then smiled as he heard an elevator. "Well, well, well... he's here." He stepped forward, smiling as Yugi stepped out of the elevator to see his family.

He looked in shock and said "Mom! Grandpa! Taro!"
All at once, Suki, Solomon, and Taro all said "Yugi!"
"Good. You did come. I thought you would do so... King of Duelists. Heh. You're a lot shorter than you are on TV... I guess that means it's true that TV adds on a few inches and a few pounds."

Yugi glared at that man and said "Who are you!? And why'd you kidnap my family?!"
"My name is Senbei Nakamura. And I am a Card Hunter. You see, we target Duelists who have cards that serve our goal to making the most powerful Decks in the world, as well as controlling the game of Duel Monsters itself. You may think that we're like the GHOULs, but we're better than those fools, because we see the potential of all cards... not just rare ones. We copy them too, but we do it with more finesse. We also attempt to change the face of the game, by making dangerous but exciting scenarios... but this information will not help you. All I was asked to do was beat you... then take your Deck."

"That's not gonna happen! I'll make sure you're beaten right here and now, Senbei!" Yugi said. Senbei had his arms crossed, eyes closed as he smiled. "Well, well, confident, aren't we? Overconfidence is the signs of a large ego, and too much pride, Yugi. And I have seen some of your Duels and I know that you have had a lot of confidence..."
"You're referring to someone else who isn't of this world anymore, Senbei... you're up against the real me." Yugi replied as he got his Duel Disk on the ready. Senbei smiled as he did the same. "Well, well.. then show me the real you and your skills."

"Before we begin, how much Life Points will we both be receiving?" Yugi asked.
"8000. Which has become a new standard for the game in some circles. I hope twice the regular amount of Life Points is no problem for someone of your skills..."
"Of course not!" Yugi replied as both he and Senbei had 5 cards, and at the same time, they said "Duel!!"

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his sixth card, having the limit of cards he could have in his hand as he examined his hand. He looked carefully then said "Alright, here I go! I summon Giant Rat in Attack Mode!"

With the Monster Card placed onto his Duel Disk's Monster Card Zone which was placed in front, a greyish rat that held a human skull in its' left paw, with orange eyes and an orange tail appeared onto the Field, snarling some. Yugi had recently added Giant Rat to his Deck, because he had plenty of cards to make good use of its' effect.

GIANT RAT
Earth/Beast/4/1400 ATK/1450 DEF
Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of Battle, you may select 1 EARTH Attribute Monster with an ATK of 1500 points or less from your Deck and Special Summon it to the Field in face-up Attack Mode (no Sacrifice is required for Monsters of Level 5 or more). Your Deck is then shuffled.

"I'll next set a card face-down to end my turn with just my 4 cards left."
"Heh. Impressive strategy so far, I am sure. My turn! Draw!" Senbei drew his next card and smiled as he said "I will set one Monster face-down, then also set one Magic or Trap Card face-down. Turn... end!"

Senbei smiled as he thought 'Fool. Even if he does attempt an attack, my card is all set to make sure my plan to get a stronger Monster than any he has succeeded without a hitch. And if he attacks and has something to counter my card, his Monster will be weakened by my lovely Newt.'

NEWT (English Name: Slate Warrior)
Wind/Demon/4/1900 ATK/400 DEF
Effect: Flip: Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 500 points. Any Monster that destroys this card must decrease its' ATK and DEF by 500 points.

"Alright... my turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his next card and then said "Giant Rat, attack Senbei's set Monster!" Giant Rat charged right at Senbei's set Monster snarling as it leapt up and about to slam its' tail on it when Senbei said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!"
Suddenly, a spiraling swirl of some kind appeared, blocking Giant Rat's attack, then caused it to skid back to Yugi's side of the Field.

"As you may know, Negate Attack is a card that only works when you attack with a Monster, all attacks are negated, and your Battle Phase is over!" Senbei said, smiling.

NEGATE ATTACK
Counter Trap Card (Quickplay Magic Card in the anim?)
Effect: When your opponent attacks with a Monster, all attacks are negated and your opponent's Battle Phase ends.

"Not bad. But now... I'll reveal my own set Trap Card! Ultimate Offering!"
Yugi's Trap Card flipped up, showing an image of a large green monster being seperated by a blood red monster from its' head as he smiled.

ULTIMATE OFFERING
Continuous Trap Card
Effect: At the cost of 500 Life Points per Monster, you are allowed an extra Normal Summon or Set.

"Next, I will set a card face-down, then I will play my Magic Card, Book of Moon!"
Giant Rat began to glow as it disappeared, with a face-down Monster Card now appearing where Giant Rat was before. Yugi knew at least now his LP was safe due to Giant Rat's being in face-down Defense Mode.

BOOK OF MOON
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Flip 1 face-up Monster on the Field into face-down Defense Mode.

"Turn end!"
Senbei looked on. 'I wonder why he played Ultimate Offering. Unless he has something up his sleeve. He has only 3 cards... so he can't be that dangerous of a threat.'
"My turn!" Senbei drew his next card and said "Now... I will flip up my face-down Monster! Come to life, Newt!
With that said a blue skinned kind of newt with yellow eyes and a red dot in the center of its' forehead took to Senbei's side of the Field, with a yellow chest plate with red markings on it, its' mid-section revealed also, with a yellow set of round armor around its' waist, red pants, yellow boots, green sleeves with a red line around the wrist, its' fists clenched. But not only that, Newt's normal stats of 1900 ATK and 400 DEF were upped by 500 points due to its' Flip Effect to 2400 ATK, 900 DEF.

Senbei added "I am not done yet! Next up, I play Fairy Meteor Crush, equipping it onto my Newt!"
Newt's body began to glow as Yugi knew he might lose some LP on that transaction... due to Fairy Meteor Crush's effect.

FAIRY METEOR CRUSH
Equip Magic Card
Effect: When a Monster equipped with this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of one of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters (face-up or face-down), inflict the difference as damage to your opponent's Life Points.

"Newt, attack Yugi's face-down Giant Rat and crush the vermin!" Newt charged as Senbei ordered the attack. It thrusted its' right fist downward, smashing Yugi's Giant Rat, which screeched out in agony as it was destroyed! Yugi then saw a small burst of energy come forth and hit him as he cried out, his LP reduced by 950 points to 7050.

Taro looked on. "Whoa! This guy is good! He managed to weaken Yugi's LP just a bit, but still..."

Yugi then said "Alright, but since you destroyed Giant Rat in battle, I get to use its' effect!" Yugi pulled his Deck out, beginning to examine it carefully as he smiled, getting his Monster of choice, Green Gadget. He then said "With Giant Rat's effect, I Special Summon Green Gadget!"

With that said, a robot with small hands and feet, silver legs and a gear like body in the center, with green in the center of the gear, as well as a head on the top with a red eye, and green shoulders with silver cogs appeared on Yugi's Field, its' body glowing red a bit.

GREEN GADGET
Earth/Machine/4/1400 ATK/600 DEF
Effect: When this card has been successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Red Gadget" and add it to your hand.

"And with Green Gadget's effect I get to add a Red Gadget from my Deck to my hand!" Yugi pulled his Deck out then searched for a Red Gadget, then added it to his hand, smiling as he said "And now I will pay 500 Life Points to use Ultimate Offering's effect, and make a Normal Summon!"

Yugi's Life Points dropped from 7050 to 6550 as he said "I will now Normal Summon Red Gadget in Attack Mode!"
Red Gadget materialized near Green Gadget, its' body red on its' feet, hands, part of its' wrists, and its' upper body and lower body, its' head was rounded out, with black and silver eyes, silver eyes and legs, a gear on its' back and gears on its' wrists, its' arms at its' sides.

RED GADGET
Earth/Machine/4/1300 ATK/1500 DEF
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Yellow Gadget" and add it to your hand.

Yugi pulled his Deck out then grabbed his Yellow Gadget and added it to his hand. He now had one last thing to do. "I will pay another 500 LP and make the last Gadget be known... Normal Summon Yellow Gadget!"

With that, the final Gadget in Yugi's Deck materialized, with its' yellow body, silver gears on its' shoulders and lower body, with similar colored arms and legs, and a green eye in the center of its' face. Yugi's combo was now made complete.

YELLOW GADGET
Earth/Machine/4/1200 ATK/1200 DEF
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Green Gadget" and add it to your hand.

Now, Yugi's LP was at 6050, but he had 3 Monsters on the Field as Senbei said "Damn you... you managed to get 3 Monsters out at once!"
"That's the power of my Gadgets! They unite to pull one another out! And they're not gonna be alone for much longer, Senbei! I activate my set Trap Card, Mobile Fortress Stronghold!"
Appearing behind Yugi was a gigantic robot with a white body, large arms and legs, and in the center of its' chest were 3 circles... one with a green "G", another with a yellow "Y", and a red "R". Stronghold then knelt down, arms at its' sides.

MOBILE FORTRESS STRONGHOLD
Normal Trap Card
Effect: After this card is activated, it becomes a Monster Card (Earth Attribute/Machine-Type/Level 4/0 ATK/2000 DEF) and Special Summoned in Defense Mode. If "Green Gadget", "Yellow Gadget", and "Red Gadget" are all face-up on your side of the Field, the ATK of this card becomes 3000 points (this card is still treated as a Trap Card).

Senbei chuckled as he then said "Very well... I'll just set a card down and end my turn.”

Yugi nodded and said “My turn! Draw!” He drew his next card and then said “Next... I will turn Stronghold to Attack Mode!” Yugi knew Stronghold’s card was now considered a Monster Card, so he just simply shifted it to Attack Mode, with his Gadgets all on the Field on the Field as well, Stronghold’s ATK raised from 0 to 3000 points! The slots with the colored letters R, G, and Y opened as Yugi’s Gadgets shot into the air and slammed into their respective positions, Green Gadget where the green G was, Red Gadget where the red R was, and Yellow Gadget where the yellow Y was as Yugi said “Stronghold, attack Newt! Steel Gear Crush!”

Stronghold pulled its’ fist back and thrusted it downward, smashing Newt into nothing, dropping Senbei’s LP by 600 points, as Senbei cried out, some parts of Newt flying past him. Yugi then said “Even if Stronghold’s ATK drops by 500 points to 2500, and its’ DEF dropped to 1500 due to Newt’s effect, Senbei, you still lose 600 LP and so your LP drops to 7400! Now... time to do some more damage! Gadgets, Direct Attack, Triple Gadget Strike!”

All 3 of Yugi’s Gadgets shot out, charging at Senbei, all 3 punching him, dropping his LP by 3900 to 3500! Senbei groaned and said “So... this is the true talent you have, huh...? Good...”
Yugi then said “Well, I can’t do much else, so I will set one card down and end my turn!”

Senbei chuckled, drawing his next card as he smiled. “Fool. Set card, activate! CALL OF THE HAUNTED!!!”
Suddenly, a series of headstones appeared onto the Field as Taro said “Not good! He gets to now Special Summon a Monster from his Graveyard in Attack Mode!”
“That’s not good... it’s like his whole Deck emphasizes on power...” Solomon added.
“Sure feels like Beatdown to me too, Grandpa! And I’m sure he’s got more in wait there than just Newt!” Taro added as he, his aunt and his grandpa watched the Duel intently.

CALL OF THE HAUNTED
Continuous Trap Card
Effect: Select 1 Monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Mode. When this card is destroyed or removed from the Field, the summoned Monster is destroyed. If the Summoned Monster is destroyed, this card is also destroyed.

Soon enough, Newt rose out of the Earth, as a mist covered the Field, which had Yugi worried. Senbei then smiled as he said “Next I will play Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to reduce the Levels of all my Monsters by 2! And so... to follow up... I will Normal Summon The Dark Ruler, Hades!”
With that, a demon with green skin, his hands and face only visible, his eyes red, a brown beard, and celtic-esque armor, with orange and yellow horns, holding a glass of red wine appeared on the Field. The robes were of purple and gold with a face on the upper portion near the next, as well as a skull-like shape under that, with red eyes as well... and then Senbei smiled.

THE DARK RULER HADES
Dark/Demon/6/2450 ATK/1600 DEF
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, negate the effects of Effect Monsters destroyed by Demon-Type Monsters on your side of the Field in Battle. This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard.

Senbei then said “Newt, attack Green Gadget!” Newt leapt forward, punching Green Gadget right as it sat in Stronghold, blowing it up and dropping Stronghold’s ATK to 0... and Yugi’s LP to 5550. Senbei then added “Hades, destroy Stronghold!”

Hades sipped some of his wine then shot a stream of fire out, blowing Stronghold up to nothing, and sending Yellow Gadget and Red Gadget back down to the ground, Yugi’s LP drop to 3100, 400 points lower than Senbei’s as Senbei said “As you can see, your Deck seems to be a Deck of Glass if you forget of Stronghold’s effect only kicking in if all 3 Gadgets are in play. So now, I set a card down and end my turn.”

Yugi nodded as he said “My... turn...” He was about to drop, then stopped when he felt something... something from his Deck.
“Huh?” Yugi replied, blinking as he drew his next card, and then saw Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4, one of his new additions. He wondered if Horus was what he felt.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV 4
Fire/Dragon/4/1600 ATK/1000 DEF
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, control of this card cannot be switched. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a Monster as a result of Battle, send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 “Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6” from your hand or Deck.

He looked at the rest of his hand and nodded as he took a card and said “I play the Magic Card, Coins from Heaven! With this, both of us get to draw til we have 6 cards in our hands!”
Senbei nodded, drawing his 3 cards, as Yugi drew 3 also. He smiled as he saw another card that could help him... Hane Kuriboh.

HANE KURIBOH
Light/Angel/1/300 ATK/200 DEF
Effect: When this card is destroyed as a result of Battle, all damage done to your Life Points this turn is reduced to 0 until the End Phase of the turn.

Yugi nodded also as he said “I will summon Hane Kuriboh in Defense Mode!”
With that, a small brown furry creature with brown fur, yellow eyes with blue pupils, green hands and feet with yellow claws and white wings appeared onto Yugi’s side of the Field as he said “And now I will just turn Yellow Gadget and Red Gadget to Defense Mode! Turn end!”

Yugi knew once he had what he needed to get, he’d let Horus out, since he felt that is what he felt from his Deck and then said “Your move, Senbei.”
“A fuzzy Angel is your last resort? Heh! You must be desperate, Yugi! Very well! My turn!” Senbei drew his next card, one sliding out of his Graveyard and into his hand as he smiled and said “Now, I Normal Summon Sinister Serpent in Attack Mode!”

SINISTER SERPENT
Water/Reptile/1/300 ATK/250 DEF
Effect: If a "Sinister Serpent" exists in your Graveyard during your Standby Phase, you can add that "Sinister Serpent" to your hand.

With that summon made, a green serpent with a soft yellow underbelly and green wings with yellow feathers appeared as Senbei said “But! I won’t end there! I now play my set Trap Card, Meteorain!”

METEORAIN
Normal Trap Card
Effect: During this turn, when your Monsters attack with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent’s Defense Mode Monsters, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent’s Life Points.

Senbei then said “Sinister Serpent, destroy Hane Kuriboh!”
With the command made, Sinister Serpent charged, ramming into Hane Kuriboh, as it cried out “Kuri!!!” And then exploded, sparkling dust all over the Field as Yugi looked on and Senbei said “Hades, destroy Yellow Gadget, and Newt, you get Red Gadget!”

Senbei’s Monsters charged, attacking Yugi’s Monsters, destroying them as Senbei said “And that’s game...!”
“No. Not at all.” Yugi said, smiling, his LP still at 3100.
“What!? How come your Life Points aren’t at 0?!”
“Simple.” Yugi said, holding up Hane Kuriboh’s card. “Hane Kuriboh’s effect. When it’s destroyed as a result of Battle, all damage I receive this turn is reduced to 0. So you were pointless in playing Meteorain.”

“Blast... alright, I end my turn for now!”
“Good... ‘cause it’s my turn!” Yugi added, drawing a card. He then said “Now... I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode!”
With the summon made, a small silver colored robotic-like falcon-like creature with red eyes appeared on the Field as Yugi said “Horus, attack Sinister Serpent!”

Horus’s mouth began to flash with a black and purple flame as Yugi added “Black Flame Fireball!!” Horus shot a fireball at Sinister Serpent, destroying it, dropping Senbei’s LP to 2200 Life Points now. Yugi then said “I will set one card down and now... since I am in my End Phase, I’ll send Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 to my Graveyard, then Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 from my Deck!”

Horus LV4 disappeared in a flash of fire and then a much bigger version of Horus appeared, longer wings on its’ body, a more falcon-esque appearance, a long tail, and longer talons as it roared.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV6
Fire/Dragon/6/2300 ATK/1600 DEF
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, it is unaffected by any Magic Cards. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a Monster as a result of Battle, send this card to the Graveyard and Special Summon 1 “Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8” from your hand or Deck.

Senbei looked on and blinked as he said “What the-!?”

Taro looked on in awe and said “Whoa... what the heck is that!?”
Solomon chuckled and replied “This is a new Monster of Yugi’s... Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6. LV4, LV6, and LV8. All of them work in sync with one another."

“Dad, how exactly do they work together? I saw that LV4 changed to LV6 once Yugi destroyed his Sinister Serpent.” Suki asked, standing up some.
Solomon smiled. “It is simple. LV6’s effect is all Magic Cards cannot affect it... plus when it destroys a Monster in Battle, you can send it to the Graveyard, and bring out the biggest of them all... LV8. You will see, Suki. He’ll bring it out, and win. I can just feel it that Yugi will bring out LV8.”

Yugi stood still as Senbei said “My turn!” He drew his next card, and showed Yugi his card. “I will now play the Magic Card, Dark Hole, and wipe out the whole Field of Monsters!”
Suddenly, a black hole appeared on the Field, circling rapidly, sucking in Hades and Newt into it, beginning to also yank Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 into it also! Senbei began to cackle as the Dark Hole disappeared.

DARK HOLE
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Destroy all Monster Cards on the Field.

Senbei snickered and said “This is over, Yugi! Your big bad Dragon is gone! I will now play Monster Reborn to bring back Newt in Defense Mode and end my turn! How do you like!?”

MONSTER REBORN
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Select 1 Monster in your or your opponent’s Graveyard, and Special Summon it to your side of the Field, in face-up Attack Mode or face-up Defense Mode.

“It’s fine with me.” Yugi smiled as then suddenly, Horus LV6 shot out of the air and roared loudly as Senbei said “What!?! How is that possible!? How can Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 be back when I used Dark Hole to destroy it!?”
“Horus LV6’s effect is that no Magic Cards affect it while it’s face-up on the Field. So? Whatcha gonna do now?”
“... I end my turn. It’s all I can do.” Senbei said.
Yugi then said “My turn! Draw!” He drew his next card and said “Horus LV6, destroy Newt!” Horus LV6’s mouth let out the same black flame that LV4 let out as he said “Black Flame Stream!”
A stream of fire shot from LV6’s mouth then began to circle Newt, destroying it, even with its’ ATK reduced to 1800, and its’ DEF dropped to 1100 as Yugi said “I will set a card down. Turn end! And you know what that means... I will now send LV6 to the Graveyard... and call out one of my strongest Monsters in my Deck... call out Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!!!”

Yugi slapped down Horus LV8’s card onto his Duel Disk, as a flash of fire wrapped around LV6, evolving it into LV8. LV8’s body was now much bigger, with long arms where its’ talons were, as well as its’ claws and talons, its’ tail longer too as it had a blue dot on its’ forehead as it glared at Yugi’s opponent, its’ body glowing.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV8
Fire/Dragon/8/3000 ATK/1800 DEF
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of “Horus The Black Flame Dragon LV6”. As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, you can negate the activation and effect of any Magic Cards and destroy them.

Senbei looked on and said “Very well then.. this is where it ends!” He drew his next card, then he said “I will play Graceful Charity! Which lets me draw 3 cards, then discard 2 cards to the Graveyard!”

GRACEFUL CHARITY
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Draw 3 cards from your Deck, then discard any 2 cards from your hand.

Senbei quickly drew three cards and then discarded 2 to the Graveyard, as he smiled and said “I will now play Premature Burial, at the loss of 800 LP and Special Summon my best and favorite Monster! Come out! Grandius Dragon!”

PREMATURE BURIAL
Equip Magic Card
Effect: Pay 800 Life Points. Special Summon 1 Monster Card from your Graveyard, Special Summon it onto the Field in face-up Attack Mode, and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, the Monster is also destroyed.

With a loud roar, a Dragon with a bone-like structure along its’ spine, and with ribs, black wings, and dark talons and green skin under the bones roared as it appeared onto the Field, its’ tail slamming as it did.

GRANDIUS DRAGON
Wind/Dragon/8/3000 ATK/2200 DEF
Effect: When this card is succesfully Special Summoned, you may activate one Magic Card that exists in your Graveyard. If you do so, this card cannot attack during the turn it was successfully Special Summoned.

Senbei smiled as he said “Thanks to Grandius Dragon’s special effect, I can activate a Magic Card from my Graveyard, so I will activate Dark Hole!” Dark Hole slid out of the Graveyard Slot of Senbei’s Duel Disk, then appeared on the Field, circling around as Yugi said “No, you won’t! I will now use Horus LV8’s effect!”

Horus LV8’s body began to glow as it roared, a big explosion of light shooting all ocer as Yugi added in “MAGIC OBLITERATION!!!!!!” Horus roared louder, exploding a blast of energy that shattered Dark Hole and surrounded the whole Field. Senbei cried out also as then the light disappeared as Senbei said “N-no...”
“Heh. What will you do now?”
Senbei clenched his fist as he said “Turn end!”

Yugi’s LP - 3100
Senbei’s LP - 1400

Yugi exhaled and said “My turn. Draw!” Yugi drew his next card and then said “Now, I play Rush Recklessly, to boost the ATK of my Horus by 700 points to 3700!!”
Horus’s body began to glow as it roared, its’ ATK 3700 now. Yugi then said “I will now play Monster Reborn and Special Summon Green Gadget in Attack Mode.”

With a flash of light, Green Gadget appeared again as Yugi said “Horus, attack and destroy Grandius Dragon!” Horus’s mouth roared loudly as Yugi said “Black... Flame... Inferno!!” Horus shot a blast of fire that blasted Grandius Dragon to ashes, destroying it and dealing 700 points of damage to Senbei’s LP, dropping him to 700. Yugi then followed up “Green Gadget, direct attack! And add in Trap Card, activate Reinforcements!” Green Gadget’s body began to glow as Senbei said “What!?!”

REINFORCEMENTS
Normal Trap Card
Effect: Increase the ATK of a Monster by 500 points.

Green Gadget’s ATK was 1900 now as Green Gadget then charged with Yugi saying “Gadget Punch!”
Green Gadget then punched Senbei in the gut, causing the Card Hunter to cry out, his LP dropped to 0!!!
Senbei dropped to a knee as Yugi said “Yes!”
Taro, Suki, and Solomon all said “Way to go, Yugi!”

Senbei simply sighed and said “As promised, Yugi...” He took a key out and tossed it to him. “Here you go. This will let your family go... but I told you, the Card Hunters have a mission. And we will not stop it even if one of us loses to someone like you... one of us will probably beat you... or someone else. Count on it...” He walked off, then leapt off the construction site, but was gone...

Yugi looked at him, confused a bit But he shook it off and rushed to his family, unlocking them as he said “Hey,. you all OK?”
“Man, that was cool!!! I didn’t know you got this much stronger in such a short time!”
Suki smiled and said “You were very wonderful, honey!”
Yugi chuckled a bit, his cheeks red as he then smiled, just glad that his family was safe. He knew now of a new threat, but wondered what the Card Hunters would want from him in the future... so he would just have to be very curious.. and cautious to them...

Senbei himself, having landed on the ground surprisingly safely said “Boss... he knows...” speaking into a cell phone.
“Good. That means we have some idea of what he’d want from us I suppose... your work is done, Senbei. Let someone else handle the job.”
“Yes.” Senbei added, hanging up his cellphone, just walking off, a soft limp in his walk...

[ Chapter 2: Taro’s Time To Shine! ]

The day after Yugi's confrontation with Senbei, he was just at school like always. Just sitting, looking at Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 before class was to start, as Joey said "Hello! Earth to Yugi!"
Yugi shook his head and came back from the slightly unaware state he was in. "Huh? Did you say something, Joey...?"
"Yeah, man, I asked what happened with you and Taro after you got back to your place last night? I tried to call ya but no one answered." Joey replied, sitting in a chair across from Yugi.

"Well... this guy, Senbei, from a group known as the Card Hunters, kidnapped Mom, Taro, and Grandpa, and I had to face him in a Duel. And... I felt this link between me and this card." Yugi carefully held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 to Joey. Soon, walking up, T?a said "Hey, guys!"

Joey turned and said "Morning, T?a!" but then cried out as he dropped Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8. Luckily, T?a picked it up and smiled. She then blinked a second and said "Who's card is this?"
"That would be mine, T?a." Yugi replied.
"Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8..." T?a began to look it over then read its' effect and said*"What made you want to put Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 into your Deck, Yugi?"

Carefully, Yugi took the card back and said "Something about this card calls to me, T?a... I don't know what it is, but it must be what Atem felt whenever he used Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl... like I was destined to use Horus the Black Flame Dragon in all its' forms. It's amazing."

Soon, Yugi, Joey, and T?a turned as the door closed and they saw Tristan and Taro as Taro was now in a Domino High School uniform, adjusting his shirt under it as he said "Man, I cannot get used to this uniform! Yugi, how do you guys pull it out!?"
"I guess we grow into it, Taro. You get yourself all set up?"

"Yup!" Taro added with a big grin.
"We have his classes all set up, I showed him where everything is. It should be fine, Yugi." Tristan replied as someone behind them said "And who do we have here?"

All 5 standing there turned to see a young man with messy black hair, green eyes, a red and black headband with black diamonds in the center and the same uniform as a student at Domino High. Yugi spoke up and said "This is my cousin, Duke. His name is Taro Mutoh, and he's come all the way from Tokyo to stay with my family while his mom's in America."

"And whaddya mean by that 'who do we have here'?! Huh!? You being condescending to me!?"
Duke chuckled and said "Such a fiery attitude. You do know who I am, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! You're Duke Devlin, the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters, and from what I can tell, you sound like one royal pain in the butt." Taro replied, arms crossed over his chest as he huffed.
"Hey, at least I ain't a walkin' talkin' midget." Duke replied, but then Taro twitched at that, then tackled Duke, the two beginning to punch and fight as Taro said "You're gonna pay for that!"
"You and what army are gonna make me, twerp!?!"

Some of the other students in the room all watched as Taro and Duke began to fight one another. Walking up to Yugi and the others, also in a Domino High uniform, but with long white hair and brown eyes as he whispered to Yugi. "What's going on, Yugi?"
"Bakura... well, my cousin Taro and Duke are fighting. I knew when Taro got here someting like this was gonna occur, but in the middle of the classroom!? I'm sure this is gonna be one wild ride..." Yugi ended with a sigh until a female voice, soft and gentle, but sweet also, rang out and said "Would you guys please stop it? You know if the teacher walks in, you two both may be in trouble."

Taro had the collar of Duke's coat, as Duke had Taro's shirt. Both turned to the female voice and were in awe as the young woman in a girl's uniform had light purple hair, long in length, with part of it in a ponytail, tied by a yellow ribbon as both said, as if in a daze "Alright..." then they let each other go as the teacher for the homeroom stepped into the room and said "Everyone to your seats please. But..." He stopped and looked at Taro and said "Could you please step up?"

Hearing that, Taro gulped and rushed up to the front of the class, turning to everyone else as he cleared his throat. "I know what the teacher wishes of me. He wants me to tell you all who I am. My name is Kentaro Mutoh. But only teachers, and other adults will get to call me that. Everyone else can call me Taro. Uh, if you cannot tell by my last name, I'm related to our own Yugi Mutoh. He's my cousin. Sorry, I feel really shy in front like this! It's different when I am not around a big crowd.. so... sorry if I don't feel like talking!" He then rushed off, taking his seat near Yugi's desk as he sighed, panting a bit as Yugi patted his shoulder.
However... someone else in the class had their eye on Taro for a moment... and this one was another female student. This one had fiery red hair, and a girl's uniform on as she smiled, but this smile was like that of a succubbus... a sign of trouble.

After a few classes, about 3 hours or so later on in the day, around lunchtime, Taro was eating some lunch, particularly rice while he did his homework, making use of his pencils as makeshift chopsticks. He then continued to write as Yugi said "Sheesh, Taro, working through lunch?"
"Hey, man, the sooner I get this taken care of, the more time I get some work on the reworking of my Deck taken care of!" Taro swallowed his rice then said "What about the Card Hunters? You going paranoid on us?"

"Nope. I am cautious... but something tells me they want more than just what Senbei told me. And from what he told me, it does seem serious... to make Duel Monsters more exciting apparently..."
Taro had a small bit of squid leg in his mouth as he chewed then swallowed as he replied. "That cannot be good at all..."

But as Taro was about to speak again, the young girl with light purple hair walked up and said "Hello."
"Oh!! Uh, uhm... hi." Taro replied, his cheeks red some. "Ya know... I never caught your name..."
The girl giggled some and said "It's Melody. Melody Nosaka. But many of my friends call me Ribbon."
Yugi nodded. "Well, you know who we are, Melody. I was wondering what brought you over to our seats?"

"I just wanted to see how Taro was adjusting to our school." Melody asked, her arms behind her back.
Taro was about to speak until a red-haired girl came up and smiled "Taro Mutoh!!" She then out of nowhere hugged Taro as Taro gulped and Yugi and Melody had a shocked look on their face. Taro looked at her and said "Uhm, miss..."

"Oh! My name is Rumiko! I just wanted to say, I've seen you Duel in Tokyo before, and I must say it's an honor to have a Duelist as skilled as you around our school! Along with Yugi's known reputation, it will add to our school's popularity to know we have celebrities here!" Rumiko smiled, her long red hair resting along her back.

Tristan came walking up and said "Please, would you let go of my friend, Rumiko? You are suffocating the life outta him!"
In Rumiko's arms, Taro flailed his right arm and cried out "Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go! I LIKE THE ATTENTION, BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!!"
Rumiko blinked then dropped Taro onto his feet, who was panting his head off. With that said, the young red-haired girl said "Thanks for your time, Taro! Buh-bye." She waved then walked off. Tristan scratched his head and replied. "Holding up well?"
"So-so." Taro replied, as he smiled. "Hey, Yugi, if we got time, wanna get a practice Duel in!?"
"Will do, Taro. Lemme just grab my Deck and..." Yugi reached into his back, feeling for where he placed his Deck, but then he blinked. When he did... he had a bad feeling as he began to put all of his things out of his bag and cried out. "AAAAAHHHH!!! My Deck! No way!"

"Say what!? Your Deck's gone!?!" Taro said. "When did it...?"
"I think I have an idea of who might have swiped it. But how that person managed to swipe it without us knowing it has sticky fingers." Tristan said, with Melody then saying "Rumiko! It must have occured when she was hugging Taro."
Taro clenched his fist and said "Oh, that's it! I'm gonna go find that girl, and I'm gonna get your Deck back, Yugi! Just you wait!"

Reaching into his bag, Taro grabbed his Duel Disk, and his Deck and raced out of the classroom. Walking down the hallway, quite a bit ahead of Taro was Rumiko holding Yugi's Deck as she smiled and said "Like taking candy from a baby."

Once outside, Rumiko looked around to see if she could find someone or something. One couldn't tell until... "Do you have it?" A male voice spoke from the shadows. Rumiko stopped and turned as she smiled. "Oh, yeah, I sure did, Senbei. I got Yugi Mutoh's Deck. But... your leg... should you even be up, big brother?"

Senbei limped forward, using a crutch to help him some, nodding. "It's alright, Rumiko. I just busted it, that's all that happened. It'll heal soon. And besides, why else am I glad the Card Hunters had you enrolled here, at Domino High, the same school Yugi Mutoh goes to...? It meant we couild spy on him, and if need be, take any potential Decks and/or cards from others who play Duel Monsters. Did you recognize anyone else who played..?"

"Yeah, Mutoh's cousin... Tero... Tiiro..."

"It's Taro!!!!" Senbei and Rumiko turned as they saw Taro, panting who had his Duel Disk under his right arm as he said, his index finger pointed at Rumiko and Senbei. "You got some guts, Rumiko, acting nice to me, then swiping Yugi's Deck! And then you're gonna give it to Senbei of the Card Hunters!? I thought for a moment something about you wasn't right!"

"Heh. Well, well, you're not as dumb as you act, shrimp. I'll tell you up... we'll make a wager. I'll give you Yugi's Deck if you can beat me in a Duel. But if I win, I get his Deck AND I also get your Deck. What do you say?"
Taro nodded. "Alright, I accept, Ms. Sticky Fingers." And with that, he rushed a bit out, sliding his Duel Disk on and placing his Deck into it, as it locked onto the ready position, and his LP counter was set at 4000 points. Rumiko reached behind her to get a different model of Duel Disk... one that was more petit it seemed, but it still had the basic 5 card Monster Zone, 5 card Magic/Trap Card zone, and a slot for the Field Magic Cards, and the Graveyard as well as she smiled, placing her Deck inside of her Duel Disk, her LP at 4000 also as she drew her first 5 cards ands Taro did the same. Then she smiled and said "You know all I said in class, Taro? It was all a big act. So let me see what you actually can do."

Taro smiled as he said "With pleasure. I'll go first then! Draw!" Taro drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he smiled and said "Time to rock and roll the gears, beybah~! I summon X-Head Cannon in Attack Mode!" With Taro's summon a Machine-Type Monster with mostly a blue body, with some spots of yellow along the wrists, on its' fingers, down the middle of its' chest panel, and along its' upper arm area, and two cannons on its' shoulders appeared onto the Field.

X-HEAD CANNON
Light/Machine/4/1800 ATK/1500 DEF

"Next up, I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Taro smiled, as a large Duel Monsters card took to his side of the Field.
Rumiko casually drew her sixth card and said "Trust me, beating you will be too much fun, Taro... considering you must be lonely."
"..." Taro twitched at that a bit as Senbei already knew what his sister was doing... her skills at acting to her advantage as she continued. "You never seemed to fit in, and you won't here either. Everyone else didn't ask anything because they couldn't tolerate you. So why are you even here in Domino City?"

Taro clenched his cards, his hair over his eyes as he was remembering back in Tokyo... about 2 days ago, before his plan to set up a trip down to Domino City occured.

"Mom, how long do you think you'll be in Seattle for?" Taro had asked, sitting with his mother, Asako, as they ate dinner, which just was rice and shrimp, something simple, which Taro liked.

"It may be for the whole school year, kiddo. Besides, your Aunt Suki already said it was alright if you stayed with them in Domino City while you are gone. Besides, I am sure that you would make a lot of good friends there. Especially considering you will be there with Yugi and I know how much you enjoy being with Yugi." Asako smiled, her black hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Yeah. But the problem is, Mom... I've not had many friends at school... everyone seems put off by me whenever I just try to talk about Duel Monsters or anything else I like. I dunno if this place will be any different."
"You just need to believe, Taro. That's all you can do, sweetie..."
"I suppose."

Taro then heard someone calling his name, but it wasn't Rumiko. He lifted his head up and turned to see Yugi, T?a, Tristan, Joey, Duke, Bakura, and Melody, as he blinked and said "Guys..." With that said, suddenly, more students came out, murmuring as the Duel was about to get underway. Yugi looked on and said "Hey, Taro, kick some butt, man! I know how good of a Duelist you are so show her."
Taro nodded and said "Will do!"

Rumiko then said "Well, it won't last us too long! I play White Magical Hat in Attack Mode." With Rumiko's summon, a gentleman appeared. He had a black moustache, a while tophat with a blue trim in the middle, a white cape with reverse red side, a red bowtie, blue suit with white gloves and shoes. However, Senbei knew this card was of Rumiko's Deck, which she called "Sticky Fingers Theft".

WHITE MAGICAL HAT
Light/Spellcaster-Effect/3/1000 ATK/700 DEF
Effect: When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points, one card must be discarded randomly from your opponent's hand to the Graveyard.

Rumiko then smiled, following up by saying "And to add to that, I play this card. Confiscation!"
Taro gulped a bit as Tristan said "Hey, Yugi, what does Confiscation do?"
"The player who uses it pays 1000 Life Points and then can look at the opponent's hand and discard 1 card to the Graveyard. In other words, it provides card advantage a bit."

CONFISCATION
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points to look at your opponent's hand. Select 1 card and discard it to the Graveyard.

Taro's cards began to glow as Rumiko then saw virtual images of Taro's hand, sizing it up carefully, just smiling. The choices she had were Limiter Removal, Cyber Falcon, Y-Dragon Head, and Ground Collapse.

LIMITER REMOVAL
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Double the ATK of all Machine-Type Monsters on your side of the Field. At the end of this turn, all Machine-Type Monsters on your side of the Field are destroyed.

CYBER FALCON
Wind/Machine/4/1400 ATK/1200 DEF

Y-DRAGON HEAD
Light/Machine-Union/4/1500 ATK/1600 DEF
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if your control this Monster on the Field, you can equip it to your "X-Head Cannon" as an Equipment Magic Card, OR change it back to a Monster in face-up Attack Mode. When equipped to a Monster by this card's effect, that Monster's ATK/DEF is increased by 400 points (1 Monster can only be Equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the Monster that this card is equipped to is destroyed in battle, this card is destroyed instead.)

GROUND COLLAPSE
Permanent Magic Card
Effect: Select 2 Monster Card Zones on the Field (you cannot select a zone occupied by a Monster Card). The selected zones cannot be used as long as this card remains face-up on the Field.

Rumiko nodded as she said "I will discard... Y-Dragon Head." She tapped Y-Dragon Head's card and it exploded, as Taro then took it from his hand and slipped it into the Graveyard slot until he smiled and said "You know, I was hoping you would do that... 'cause it gives me an opportunity to do this! Trap Card, activate! Gears of Rebirth!"

With that, the card Taro had set shined as the red metalled Y-Dragon Head appeared on the Field again, its' card horizontally turned as it had its' wings over its' body. Taro smiled as Rumiko said "How the-!?"
"Simple! My Trap Card, Gears of Rebirth. When a Level 4 Machine-Type Monster rests in my Graveyard, I can play this card and Special Summon it or another Level 4 Machine-Type Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. But it can't change its' battle position next turn and can't attack while it remains face-up. Small price to pay."

GEARS OF REBIRTH
Normal Trap Card
Effect: Select 1 Level 4 Machine-Type Monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon the chosen card to your side of the Field in Defense Mode. This card cannot change its' battle position next turn, and cannot attack while it remains face-up on the Field.

Rumiko then said "So? It's gonna hurt you too. I play the Magic Card, Secret Pass to the Treasures!" Bakura looked on and said "I know that card. It allows a Monster with 1000 ATK or less that the player has to direct attack the opponent's Life Points. In other words, Rumiko can hit Taro for 1000 Life Points and..."
"Make him discard 1 card from his hand to the Graveyard... what a bad sitch that is for Taro..." Tristan replied. Melody looked on and said "How bad is it for Taro, Yugi?"
"I'm not sure yet. Rumiko's Deck isn't clear to me yet, even if her basic strategem is, Melody."

SECRET PASS TO THE TREASURES
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Select 1 face-up Monster with an ATK equal to 1000 points or less on your side of the Field. During the turn this card is activated, the selected Monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

All of the other students observing the Duel all looked on, all of them giving their own opinions to others, as Rumiko said "White Magical Hat, attack his Life Points directly!" White Magical Hat charged right at Taro as he gulped then was punched hard in the face, hitting the ground with a thud, his LP dropped by 1000 points to 3000, making him tied with Rumiko. But as Rumiko reminded him... "With that damage, you're going to have to discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard at random."

Taro got up and began to dig through his cards in his hand, then discarded Limiter Removal to the Graveyard. Rumiko smiled and said "I will next set a card face-down, and end my turn with just two cards in my hand."
After shaking himself off, Taro exhaled and said "My turn! Draw!"He drew his next card, now having 3 cards in hand. He then said "I will now play Pot of Greed!"

POT OF GREED
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Draw 2 cards from your Deck.

Taro quickly drew two cards, then looked at them sas he said "I now play Z-Metal Tank in Attack Mode!"
Taro's summon this time provided a golden colored tank-like Machine, with a green glass eye in the middle of its' mid-section, with 2 slots that seemed to be able to open... and now, Taro was ready to rock and roll as he smiled. "I'm sure you know how these 3 work, don'tcha?"

Z-METAL TANK
Light/Machine-Union/4/1500 ATK/1300 DEF
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if your control this Monster on the Field, you can equip it to your "X-Head Cannon" or "Y-Dragon Head" as an Equipment Magic Card, OR change it back to a Monster in face-up Attack Mode. When equipped to a Monster by this card's effect, that Monster's ATK/DEF is increased by 600 points (1 Monster can only be Equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the Monster that this card is equipped to is destroyed in battle, this card is destroyed instead.)

"X... Y... Z...?" Rumiko blinked as she said "They're all... what!? You don't mean-!"
"He is gonna do it, isn't he? He is gonna call that out!?" Senbei thought as Taro grinned and said "Get ready to meet the true power of my Machine Link Deck! X, Y, Z, UNITE!!!"

X-Head Cannon shot up into the air, Y-Dragon Head right behind, as a compartment on Y's back opened up, its' wings locking into place at its' sides as X-Head Cannon landed onto Y-Dragon Head's back, then Z-Metal Tank opened up its' back, sliding parts of itself into its' body as Y-Dragon Head pulled its' legs up and landed onto Z-Metal Tank, and then Taro said "And now... here comes the strongest of my Union Machines! X... Y... Z... Dragon Cannon!!"

Z-Metal Tank's compartments opened and revealed cannons as XYZ-Dragon Cannon sparked with electricity, as it was ready to fight.

XYZ-DRAGON CANNON
Light/Machine-Fusion/8/2800/2000
X-Head Cannon + Y-Dragon Head + Z-Metal Tank
Effect: This Monster can only be Special Summoned by removing from play the above Monsters on your side of the Field. You do not use "Polymerization" to Special Summon this Monster from your Fusion Deck. Discard 1 card from your hand to destroy 1 card on your opponent's side of the Field.

Rumiko looked on and said "XYZ-Dragon Cannon!? I knew all 3 of them could unite, but this is just...!!"
"What? Complicated for a guy like me? I'm not as dumb as I look, sweetheart. And now I am gonna use XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect, discarding a card from my hand to the Graveyard... and destroy 1 card on your side of the Field!"

Taro took Cyber Falcon from his hand and slid it into his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot, saying "XYZ-Dragon Cannon, Hyper Destruction!"
X's cannons charged up, as did Y's mouth, and Z's own cannons charged up all at once as they fired, blowing away Rumiko's set card, as Taro then said "Attack White Magical Hat, XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Now!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon's attack charged then fired, blowing White Magical Hat to dust, blowing it up, as Rumiko cried out, her LP dropped by 1800 points to 1200 points, but Rumiko smiled as she said "Foolish mistake, I got to say." With that, suddenly, a golden demonic snake like creature with an Aztec feel appeared, its' long arms at its' sides, its' 4 eyes glowing red, and a red orb in the center of its' body with a green slot shined. Taro blinked "What the!?!"

Rumiko then held up a card. "Check out my card... Statue of The Wicked. I bet you know how this works, right?" The red-haired girl's tone reminded the spikey brown-haired boy's attitude when he had summoned XYZ-Dragon Cannon. And she simply smiled, slipping her Trap Card away.

STATUE OF THE WICKED
Normal Trap Card
Effect: When this face-down card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Wicked Token" (Demon-Type/DARK/4 Stars/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) in Attack or Defense Mode on your side of the Field.

Taro then said "Well, at least I got the lead in LP for the moment, so I'll end my turn."
Rumiko smiled, drawing her next card as she then showed her next card. "I will now play Coins from Heaven. This little number will let us both draw until we have 6 cards. We both have 2... so we both get 4 cards."

COINS FROM HEAVEN (English name - Card of Sanctity)
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Both players draw cards until they both have 6 cards in hand.

Taro drew his 4 cards as did Rumiko, who smiled and said "I will next set another card down. And play Cyclone to destroy it!"

Taro blinked at that as the other card was destroyed, and out came another Wicked Token! Taro had then figured out it was another copy of Statue of the Wicked, which meant that she had 2 Wicked Tokens! And that meant she had two free Monsters now. Senbei smiled, watching the Duel, right arm across his stomach as he said 'Now it's time for the real fun to begin."

Rumiko then smiled, holding up a card as she said "Get ready! I now sacrifice both of my Wicked Tokens... and I call out this number!!" Rumiko's two Wicked Tokens disappeared in a flash of fire, her hand size being dropped to 3 cards in her hand now as she held up her 2-sacrifice Monster. "Come out! Ultimate Obedient Fiend in Attack Mode!"

In a blaze of fire, a gigantic red demon with black markings on its' body, two large red horns, a large-like teeth structure in the center of its' chest, eyes on its' chest and along the metal bandana it had, as it clenched its' fists and snarled... then roared loudly.
Taro looked on and said "Oooohhhh, boy... this isn't gonna bode well..."

ULTIMATE OBEDIENT FIEND
Fire/Demon/10/3500 ATK/3000 DEF
Effect: This card can only attack when there are no other cards on your side of the Field and you also have no hand. Negate the effects of Effect Monsters destroyed by this card.

Taro then blinked, remembering Ultimate Obedient Fiend's effect and said "Ha! In YOUR face, Rumiko! That card can't attack since you still got 3 cards in your hand! And you couldn't set 'em 'cause then your poor Ultimate Obedient Fiend STILL couldn't attack!"

Rumiko chuckled. "Foolish mistake." She took another card from her hand and showed it to Taro as he said "I will now play the Quickplay Magic Card, Shrink, and weaken your XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

SHRINK
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Select 1 face-up Monster on the Field. Reduce the selected Monster's base ATK by half until the End Phase of the current turn.

Suddenly, XYZ-Dragon Cannon began to shrink as Rumiko now had 2 cards as she then smiled and took another card from her hand. "I will now play this next card! The Secret of the Bandit!"

THE SECRET OF THE BANDIT
Normal Magic Card
Effect: This card can only be activated during Main Phase 1. Select 1 Monster on the Field. Each time the selected Monster inflicts Battle Damage, your opponent must randomly discard 1 card randomly during the turn this card is activated.

Ultimate Obedient Fiend began to glow as Rumiko said "As you can guess, my lovely little Fiend here will get the effect of Secret of the Bandit. Next... I will play Emergency Provisions and destroy my last set card!"

EMERGENCY PROVISIONS
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: Send Magic or Trap Cards on your side of the Field to increase your Life Points by 1000 points per card. This card is excluded.

With the explosion of her set Magic/Trap Card, Rumiko's Life Points were raised to 2200 as Rumiko smiled and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend, crush XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Inferno Fist!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend's fist began to glow with fire as it shot right at XYZ-Dragon Cannon, smashing it to dust, destroying it and dropping Taro's Life Points by 1100 points to 1900. But he then looked at his hand, randomly selecting a card, and discarding it to the Graveyard as he then thought to himself 'This is NOT good! That Fiend is strong, but Rumiko has wasted her whole hand just to attack with it... does she got some grander scheme in mind with Ultimate Obedient Fiend...?'

Rumiko then smiled, saying "Turn end."
Taro placed his hand on his Deck and said "My turn!" He drew his next card, with much gusto as he examined his hand. He then took his card of choice and said "I will now play this Magic Card from my hand! I play Silent Dead!"

SILENT DEAD (English Name: Silent Doom)
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Special Summon 1 Normal Monster from your Graveyard to the Field in face-up Defense Mode. As long as the Special Summoned card remains face-up on the Field, it can't attack.

With a flash of light, Cyber Falcon appeared back onto the Field in Defense Mode, its' wings wrapped around itself as Taro then examined other cards in his hand as he then took 2 cards and said "I will set 2 cards down, and so I end my turn."

Rumiko smiled. "My turn." She drew her next card and said "I will now set a card down, and since my poor Fiend can't attack yet... I'll end my turn."
Taro blinked as he then said "OK... my turn." He drew his next card as Rumiko then smiled, saying "Set Card, activate! SKILL DRAIN!!!"
Suddenly, Ultimate Obedient Fiend cried out as it dropped to one knee, groaning in pain as it then stood back up, cracking its' knuckles.

SKILL DRAIN
Continuous Trap Card
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, negate the effects of all face-up Effect Monsters on the Field.

Rumiko's Life Points were now at 1200 points as she said "Oops. Forget it. My Monster CAN now attack, sans its' effect, but a noble sacrifice for it to attack without restriction."
Taro gulped as he then said "I'll just summon Battle Footballer in Defense Mode."

A robot that appeared to have a football uniform on, its' arms crossed over its' body, a red helmet with the same shoulder pads, green chest armor and leg armor as it remained beside Cyber Falcon.

BATTLE FOOTBALLER
Fire/Machine/4/1000 ATK/2100 DEF

"Turn end."
"Getting desperate now, Mutoh? I can tell... you're nowhere near as good as your cousin. And beating you and keeping his Deck AND getting yours as well will be even sweeter. My turn!" Rumiko drew her next card and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend! Plow right through Cyber Falcon!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend's fist began to ignite as it attacked, but Taro smiled as he said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!"

Suddenly, Ultimate Obedient Fiend's attack was blocked by a vortex as it leapt back towards Rumiko as Taro grinned and laughed. "That was such an easy read to me! Too slow, I gotta say, Rumiko!"
"Feh. Lucky break. I end my turn."
Taro exhaled and said "My turn..." He looked at his hand again... seeing he had Scapegoat in his hand. If he just had his best Monster... he could easily raise it up with his other set card AND win the Duel.

SCAPEGOAT
Quickplay Magic Card
Effect: When this card is activated, you cannot summon any Monsters during the same turn (including Flip Summon and Special Summon). Place 4 "Sheep Tokens" (Beast-Type/EARTH/1 Star/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Mode on your side of the Field. The tokens cannot be used in a Sacrifice for a Sacrifice Summon.

Taro closed his eyes as he drew his next card, then opened his eyes as he smiled, getting the Monster he needed... Perfect Machine King!

PERFECT MACHINE KING
Earth/Machine/8/2700 ATK/1500 DEF
Effect: Increase the ATK of this card by 500 points for each Machine-Type Monster on the Field other than this card.

Taro then smiled as he said "I will now sacrifice Cyber Falcon and Battle Footballer... and I will call out Perfect Machine King in Attack Mode!"
In a flash of light both of Taro's previous Machine-Type Monsters had gone, and in their place, stood a larger machine. This one stood like a man, with red armor showing as well as white armor, including two missile launchers on the shoulders, the one on the right having a "04" on it as its' blue eyes began to glow. Perfect Machine King landed down onto Taro's side of the Field as he said "I will now set 1 card face-down! Turn end!"

Bakura looked on and then said "Is Taro throwing the Duel away? If Ultimate Obedient Fiend is going to attack, it's over. And... Skill Drain stops Perfect Machine King's effect. What is he...?"
"I do get what he is up to... it's simple, Bakura. Just watch." Yugi smiled. "Taro IS good. And I won't help anyone in their Duels. All I can give him, like I will give anyone else is support, nothin' more. So come on, Taro!"

Taro nodded as he said "So... whatcha gonna do now?"
"Gonna end this!" Rumiko drew her next card and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend! Attack Perfect Machine King!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend shot its' fist right at Perfect Machine King and then it stopped as Rumiko said "What..? How did..?"
Taro laughed then said "Check it out! My set card... Dust Tornado!"

DUST TORNADO
Normal Trap Card
Effect: Destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card on your opponent's side of the Field. You can then Set 1 Magic or Trap Card from your hand to your side of the Field.

A tornado appeared onto the Field, sweeping away Skill Drain. Taro simply smiled before speaking and said "Since Skill Drain is gone, Ultimate Obedient Fiend's attack is null and void since you got 2 cards in your hand now, Rumiko! Plus, with Dust Tornado's effect, I will set one card face-down in my Magic/Trap Card Zone."
Rumiko then took her free thumb to her lip and bit it as she said "He's right... so I will end my turn. But I doubt you can get enough power to your Monster to beat me, Taro."

Taro smiled as he said "My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card and said "You'd be surprised. I set a plan into motion WAAAAAY back a few turns ago."
"Hmm?" Senbei blinked then said "Wait a minute..."

Taro smiled and said "Set Card, activate! Scapegoat!"
With Taro's use of Scapegoat, four tiny goats, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 pink, and 1 orange, appeared on the Field, and happily smiled as Taro then said "But the fun doesn't end there! Trap Card! DNA Surgery!"

Joey then snapped his fingers and said "I get it! Taro is gonna use Scapegoat and DNA Surgery to raise Perfect Machine King's ATK by 2000 points!"
"2500, dufus!" Tristan added. "Don't forget, Rumiko has Ultimate Obedient Fiend in play too. Since we can guess he'll call Machine as the Type for DNA Surgery's effect. That means 500 for her Monsters too."

DNA SURGERY
Continuous Trap Card
Effect: Select 1 Type of Monster. As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, all face-up Monster Cards are treated as the Type selected.

With that, Taro's 4 Goat Tokens changed from Beast-Type to more Machine-Type as did Rumiko's Ultimate Obedient Fiend as Rumiko said "Oh, no! That means..."
"Yup! 500 x 5 = 2500! That means Perfect Machine King's ATK is gonna skyrocket from 2700 points to 5200 points!"

Perfect Machine King began to glow, and like Taro had said, its' ATK went up from 2700 to 5200 points. Taro then said "And since it's my turn... I'll attack! Perfect Machine King, attack Ultimate Obedient Fiend!"
Perfect Machine King locked onto Ultimate Obedient Fiend and shot a series of missiles from its' missile launchers on its' shoulders, blowing Ultimate Obedient Fiend to dust as Rumiko cried out, her Life Points dropping to 0 as Taro flicked his nose with his left thumb and put his index and middle finger into a V shape as he said "Victory is mine!"

Joey blinked in surprise as he said "He's THAT strong!? OK... mental note to self... don't insult Taro enough unless I want him to take me on in a Duel AND take me down..."
Tristan chuckled as he smiled. "Did you really expect less from Yugi's cousin?"
"No, no! N-not at all!" Joey replied, chuckling uneasily as Melody clapped happily, with Duke saying "Wow. This shrimp is..."

Taro then walked over to Rumiko, extending his hand. "If I could... can I please get Yugi's Deck back?"
Rumiko nodded then placed Yugi's Deck into Taro's hand as she said "A promise is a promise."
"Thanks, Rumiko. And I gotta say, even if you did swipe Yugi's Deck, you're sure a strong Duelist! I sometimes thought for a moment I was gonna lose there!" Taro replied, a big grin on his face as Rumiko blinked then said "Just because you won today doesn't mean you will win next time." She turned and walked off, walking to her brother, Senbei as he followed. Taro then heard more clapping besides from Melody and turned to see everyone clapping.

He sheepishly chuckled, then rubbed the back of his head as Yugi smiled, saying 'I can tell that for Taro, adjusting was going to be tough, but now... now that he knows he's not truly alone, he will do well. And I am going to be right there with him to help if I need to.' Taro then said "Thank you very much!!"

However... Senbei and Rumiko kept walking as Senbei said "I am sure the boss will not be very happy about us failing, Rumiko."
"Don't worry, Senbei... she did want to have their Decks studied for the REAL incident to come." Rumiko replied, smiling.
Senbei nodded as he said "Of course... but... I can't help but feel anyone of us won't beat Yugi or anyone else in his entourage..." Senbei had his thoughts to himself as he walked with Rumiko, to who knows where... as the plans of their "boss" seemed unknown for the time.

[ Chapter 3: Enter the Mandarin Fist! Lee Seiron ]

At the Kame Game Shop, Yugi, T?a, Tristan, Bakura, and Duke all watched on as Taro and Joey shuffled each other's Decks, getting ready to run a practice Duel. Joey handed Taro his own Deck and Taro did the same with Joey's as both placed them down and then drew 5 cards. Joey smiled as he said "I'll go first! Draw!" He then drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he then said "I'll start by playing Panther Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Placing a card in his Monster Zone on the playfield, Joey's Monster of choice has dark purple fur, a scimitar in one hand, a shield in the other, as well as blue, yellow, and red armor, brown boots, and a green cape. Panther Warrior's effect may have hindered it from making an immediate attack, but that is not why Joey led off with it.

PANTHER WARRIOR
Earth/Beast-Warrior/4/2000 ATK/1600 DEF
Effect: This card cannot attack unless you offer one of your Monsters on the Field as a Sacrifice.

"I'll set one card down and then end my turn." Joey replied, placing a card in his Magic/Trap Card Zone, right underneath the Monster Zone he had placed Panther Warrior's card in.

"My turn. Draw!" Taro drew his next card, then said "I will set one card face-down and then one Monster to end my turn." Taro replied, smiling. "You guys do this kind of thing often, Yugi?"
"Sure do!" Yugi replied. Duke took a few nuts from a bag of mixed nuts he had as he said "And to see these guys doing it is interesting. Although... I bet I could beat either one of them."
"That one time you beat Joey musta been a fluke, Duke." Tristan added, his arms behind his head. "You tried it with your regular Deck, you sure would lose, I can guess."
"Hey! This coming from the guy who doesn't got much in the Dueling department!" Duke added on as T?a shushed them both. "Guys! Can you keep it down? You might break their concentration."

Joey nodded as he said "My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card as he then said "I will play my..." Suddenly, the door opened and everyone lifted their heads up to see a young man standing in the door way, carrying a white dufflebag, having a black t-shirt under a unbuttoned red and white mandarin shirt, a blue sash around his waist, mandarin pants of black color with a yellowish dragon on the right leg, and black and white sneakers. He also had dark blue hair, which was tied into a ponytail by a yellow sash as he said "Yugi Mutoh?"

Yugi blinked as he said "Yeah... that's me... who are you?"
The young man bowed as he said "My name is Lee Seiron... I have come for two reasons! 1, I wish to Duel you for the honor of someone I care about AND to prove my prowess to you... and 2..." Suddenly, Lee held out a book, which was opened, and the cover had the Chinese letters for "Autograph" on it "Can I have your autograph?"
T?a, Tristan, Duke, Joey, Bakura, and Taro all collapsed as Bakura said "You want an autograph as well!? What kind of kook are you!?"
"Ehehehehe... the unusual kind, sir." Lee chuckled as Yugi blinked.

Soon enough, Yugi and Lee were outside as they had their Duel Disks on, their Decks at the ready, their Life Point counters at 4000 as both said "Let's Duel!"
Both Duelists quickly drew their first 5 cards as Yugi said "Lee, who is this person you care about that you said you were fighting for the honor of? Is it someone I've met before?"
"...You don't know? That person whom I refer to is Vivian Wong, the Duelist Queen of China."
"Vivian?" Yugi blinked as T?a sighed and said "I can't believe Lee is tied to Vivian somehow! I figured after the KaibaCorp Grand Prix we would have heard the last of her..."

Bakura and Taro looked at Joey, T?a, Tristan, and Duke as Bakura spoke first. "Guys, did I miss something here? What is going on fully?"
"And who the heck is Vivian?" Taro added, scratching his head.

"Vivian was a person whom Yugi and the rest of us first met at Kaiba's KaibaCorp Grand Prix tournament in California. She competed in the Grand Prix, but lost to Rebecca Hawkins in the first Duel. She then 'kidnapped' Mr. Mutoh AND made Yugi a proposal; if he won, she'd let him go, if she won, he'd go on a date with her. Simple enough, Yugi won. But she was NO pushover either time!" Joey said. "And if this Lee guy knows Vivian, that means it won't bode well for Yugi probably..."
"I dunno... that name does sound familiar..." Duke added, rubbing his chin, trying to think.

Lee smiled as he said "Let's dance. My turn. Draw!" He drew his 6th card and then showed his card of choice to Yugi. "I will get us started by activating the Magic Card, Reinforcement of the Army! This little number will allow me to get a Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type Monster from my Deck to my hand."

REINFORCEMENT OF THE ARMY
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Move 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type Monster from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

Lee pulled his Deck out and flipped through it until he got to one Warrior in particular... Legendary Fighter Wu Shu. He took it and shuffled his Deck quickly, then placed it back into his Duel Disk, examining the rest of his hand as he smiled and took Wu Shu and said "I play Legendary Fighter Wu Shu in Attack Mode!"

LEGENDARY FIGHTER - WU SHU
Earth/Warrior/4/1800 ATK/1700 DEF

With a flash of light, a man with greyish-silver hair, blue eyes, a white tank top, white-taped hands, black mandarin pants, and the same kind of shoes appeared, kicking the air, taking a fighting stance as he did. Lee took another card from his hand and said "I will now set one card face-down and end my turn!" Lee's hand size right now was 4, but he knew of the risks he would take in this Duel. But to fight, it was worth it.

"My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, examining his hand. He noticed one of his Monsters was Breaker the Magical Warrior. He figured if he used Breaker, he could then destroy that set card Lee had on the Field without worry. He nodded as he said "I will play Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Mode!"

In a flash of light also, Yugi's side of the Field had a warrior with red and gold armor, a shield of the same colors with a purple orb of some kind on it, and in his other hand, he held a green bladed sword, with a red and yellow cape, and a green lining to it. Soon, Breaker's sword began to glow, signalling his effect.

BREAKER THE MAGICAL WARRIOR
Dark/Spellcaster/4/1600 ATK/1000 DEF
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, put 1 Magic Counter on it (max. 1). Increase the ATK of this Monster by 300 points for each Magic Counter on this card. Also, you can remove 1 Magic Counter from this card to destroy 1 Magic Card or Trap Card on the Field.

Breaker's ATK was then shot up from 1600 points to 1900 thanks to the Magic Counter on it as Yugi said "And now..."
"Not gonna happen, Yugi! I play my set Trap Card! Weigh Restraints!" The life-sized Duel Monsters card Lee had on his side of the Field flipped up, showing a Trap Card whose image showed a Monste trapped by weights that had 1,000,000 on it.
Suddenly, metal weights slammed around Breaker, causing him to slump as Yugi said "Huh!? Breaker!"
"This Trap Card may be a Normal Trap Card, but the effect is a nice one, Yugi. For every Monster on my side of the Field, 1 Monster on your side of the Field has its' ATK dropped by 100 points x the number of Monsters I have. And since Wu Shu is my lone Monster... your Breaker loses 100 ATK points."

WEIGHT RESTRAINTS
Normal Trap Card
Effect: When this card is activated, select 1 face-up Monster on your opponent's side of the Field. Decrease the ATK of the selected Monster by 100 points times how many face-up Monsters are on your side of the Field.

"Now neither one of us has the advantage, Yugi. If you attacked, you'd lose your Monster, even if you got rid of mine as well. So, what will you do now?" Lee smiled. Yugi then said "Sorry, but you're wrong about that, Lee. I got a card in my hand that's gonna help make sure I won't lose my Monster if I attack yours! I activate the Permanent Magic Card, Kishido Spirit!"

With that, Yugi's Permanent Magic Card took effect, as a glowing blue energy wrapped around Breaker as Yugi smiled and said "As long as Kishido Spirit is in play, anytime my Monsters are in battle with yours and their ATK is the same, my Monsters don't get destroyed."

KISHIDO SPIRIT
Permanent Magic Card
Effect: Monsters on your side of the Field cannot be destroyed in a battle if the two Monsters' ATK is equal.

"Breaker, attack Wu Shu!" Breaker soon shattered the weights, but their effect left on as his ATK was 1800, the same as Wu Shu. He charged as Wu Shu, with Yugi shouting "Magical Sword Slash!" Breaker then slashed Wu Shu right down the middle, destroying it as he remained in place, leaping back to Yugi's side of the Field.

"I'll then set one card face-down and end my turn." Yugi replied as Lee said "Alright. My turn. Draw!" Both players had their LP the same, at 4000 points each, as Lee drew his 5th card. He then said "I will play Karate Man in Attack Mode!"
With Lee's summon, an Africian-American martial artist with a yellow gi, black belt, a red headband around his forehead, and a large black afro appeared on the Field, taking a fighting stance. Joey blinked at that Monster then began to laugh at it as he said "Oh, man! What is THAT supposed to do!?"

"I wouldn't laugh, Joey... that card is more of a threat than it looks..." Taro added, looking on intently.

KARATE MAN
Earth/Warrior/3/1000 ATK/1000 DEF
Effect: Once per turn, the original ATK of this card can be doubled. When this effect is applied, this card is destroyed immediately at the End Phase of the turn.

Lee then said "Karate Man, power up!" Suddenly, Karate Man's body began to expand as it gritted its teeth, then slammed its' foot down, its' stance changing, plus its' ATK doubled to 2000 points! Joey looked on as he said "How the-?"
"Karate Man's effect is it can double its' ATK for the turn it's in play, but it's destroyed at the end of the turn once the effect kicks in. Lee's got the clear advantage now... and who knows what else is in his hand." Taro added as Lee took a card from his hand and said "I will now play the Magic Card, Giant Trunade, returning all cards on our side of the Field to our hands!"

GIANT TRUNADE
Normal Magic Card
Effect: Return all Magic Cards and Trap Cards on the Field to their owners' hands.

A big gust of wind shot around the Field as Yugi caught his two cards and Lee then said "I will now attack! Karate Man, attack Breaker the Magical Warrior with Fists of Fury!" Karate Man charged and punched Breaker rapidly in the chest, cracking his armor as he then uppercutted Breaker, destroying him and dropping Yugi's LP to 3800 points. Lee then said "I will now set a card face-down, and end my turn." Karate Man began to glow, then disappeared in a flash of light as Lee knew his turn was done... but he was protected. Yugi then said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card. He looked at his card and said "I will now play Torike in Attack Mode!"

The Summon Yugi made had called out a small green Monster who had a yellow horn in the front, two in the back, and 6 small yellow claws, 3 on each foot as it roared.

TORIKE
Earth/Beast/3/1200 ATK/600 DEF

"Torike, Direct Attack!" Yugi said. Torike charged at Lee, as Lee then said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!" With that call, a vortex appeared, blocking Torike's attack, blasting it back to Yugi's side of the Field, rolling along the grouind, its' eyes swirling as it sat in front of Yugi, trying to regain its' composure as it got up, then shook its' head, ready to battle again as it thrusted its' right arm ahead of it.

Yugi smiled as he then said "I will next play Pot of Greed!" Yugi drew two cards then said "I will set one card down and end my turn."
"My turn. Draw!" Lee drew his next card as he examined his hand, then smiled as he said "I will now play Kung Fu Nyan Nyan in Attack Mode!"

Lee's next summon brought about a Monster whom had dark pink hair, which was tied up in buns, a light pink set of robes with a sash down the mid-section, a ribbon of light blue around her waist tied in a bow in the back, similar ribbons in her hair, light brown pants, and dark brown boots as she took a fighting stance. Yugi recognized this Monster easily as he said "Wait a minute! Vivian's also used this card!"
"Exactly, but for someone whose Deck is a Martial Arts Deck, Kung Fu Nyan Nyan is a perfect choice." Lee replied, smiling.
"Martial Arts Deck...?" Yugi added, blinking some.

KUNG FU NYAN NYAN
Earth/Warrior/4/1700 ATK/1300 DEF
Effect: If this card does not attack in the Battle Phase, its' ATK is increased by 300 points at your next Standby Phase.

"And to add that up, I will now play Monster Reborn, and bring back Legendary Fighter Wu Shu in Attack Mode!" Wu Shu then leapt back up from the ground, kicking the air as Lee took a fighitng stance and said "As you can see, Yugi, I came to play! I never back down and I always get serious in a Duel! In Battle, you got to give it 120%, since Dueling is a whopping 100% mental, and 20% prep work on your Deck! Strategizing, planning, plotting! All of it matters in the end when you think about it!"

Yugi looked on and nodded. "I agree, Lee. But having fun should be important too." A simple smile came onto the face of the spikey haired Duelist as he said "That person whom Dueled Vivian was someone I knew well. He was my other self, and he felt he kept Dueling 'cause of strong opponents. But... to me, I Duel because it's fun!"

"Fun? That's his answer? That's why he Duels!?" Duke said, blinking.
Bakura nodde