Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin!

"I don't wanna be the first to touch that thing…" Haze muttered, gesturing toward the door in the middle of the apartment building's front lawn. Several days had passed since the white, nondescript face had made its announcement, prompting Kaje and his friends to watch the mysterious portal almost constantly, awaiting the moment when the word "Duelia" would appear on its surface. Finally, it had happened, and Haze had been the first to speak as the five friends stood around the door in awkward silence.

"Well, one of us has to open it," Koukin pointed out. "If no one opens it, we can't join the tournament, and we miss out on whatever rewards are offered to the winners."

"I'm with Haze," said Dylan solemnly. "I don't want that face coming back and biting off my hand or something."

"I don't think that entity would bother to do that," reasoned Kaje. "If it invited us to Duelia, clearly it wants us there, and not screaming in our own worlds with a hand missing."

"Wonderful," Zero retorted. "So you're saying that it'd rather pull us into its own world, where we're probably at the mercy of whatever evil it could planning."

"Okay, I walked into that one," admitted Kaje with a shrug. "Look, if it makes you guys feel any better, I'll open the door." When no one said anything to contradict him, Kaje nodded in satisfaction and reached for the doorknob. Not giving his friends the opportunity to make any further fuss, the largest of the group quickly grasped and turned the cool metal knob. When Kaje pulled back, the door opened, revealing a crowd of people gathered in some sort of enormous city square.

"I was expecting a building, but I've been wrong before," Koukin said with a raised brow. He stepped forward and put his foot over the threshold experimentally.

"Well, your foot's not gone," commented Dylan approvingly. "That's a good sign." Koukin gave his friend an amused glance before stepping through the door completely.

"It's safe, guys," he invited casually. "It's just like any other doorway… only, you know, freestanding and defying physics and all of that. I say we go ahead with it."

"Works for me," agreed Kaje before leaving his position and stepping through the portal himself. It took a whole minute before Zero, Dylan, and Haze followed their friends' lead, letting the door swing shut behind them. Just as their side of the door had been inscribed with the word "Duelia", the other side had an inscription that spelled out "Ketto Sekai".

"Odd," Koukin remarked. "I wonder what that means."

"Looks like it's Japanese," conjectured Haze. "Not sure what it means, but it's probably the name of our own world."

"Weird…" Zero murmured. "Our planet has its own name, but it's not the one printed on the door. I always thought 'planet' and 'world' were more or less synonymous."

"That's probably proof of how little we know about the universe around us," said Kaje thoughtfully, playing with a bit of stubble on his chin.

"How can you people be talking about our own world when this one is so freaking cool?" Dylan asked as he pivoted in place, taking in the sight of the city they had ended up in. Indeed, it was an impressive sight; buildings surrounded the area, ranging greatly in shape and size from short, squat, restaurants to tall department stores that seemed almost to sway with their height. Though the establishments were truly something to behold, the area on the inside was equally breathtaking. At each corner was an enormous fountain, each of which held a statue of a dragon, their wings spread wide and their heads upturned to let loose the torrents of water. In the very center of the titanic square was a circular stage, the size of which none of the five residents of Ketto Sekai had yet seen. All around the stage stood a bustling crowd of Duelists, varying not only in skin color and body type, but also apparently by species. There were humans, of course, but a trio of vibrantly colored anthropomorphic animals was standing opposite from Kaje and his friends, and a white creature resembling a mix between a reindeer and a dog with a Mohawk of green fur was flying over the crowd on flat wing-like ears.

"This place is amazing," Koukin agreed quietly. Kaje and Haze nodded, but Zero seemed only mildly impressed.

"I'll be moved to tears when I see an awesome jungle or something," she said with a roll of her eyes. Before any of her friends could respond, a hush fell over the massive crowd. At the center of the giant stage, a circular portion of its surface slid back, revealing a space underneath, from which a figure in a white robe began to rise on a platform. When the platform reached its intended position, the robed figure spread its arms out in a welcoming gesture. The gender of the figure was absolutely indeterminate—the robe was quite loose-fitting, and the attached gloves allowed for no sign of visible flesh. Most notable concerning the entity was the mask that covered its face. It was simple; white with black lenses for eyes, a long nose, and a set of vertical slits where one's mouth would be.

"Hello, contestants," announced the distorted voice that everyone recognized as the one matching the mask that they had all previously seen on the doors to Duelia. "and welcome to a world of my own creation, a world ruled by the game of Duel Monsters, a game you all love. In this world, you will attain greatness by defeating your fellow Duelists, and you will all compete for the highest title any tournament could ever offer. The winner of this contest will have a status akin to a god among the universe." A generally excited response came from the huge crowd, lasting several seconds before the figure in white raised its hands to request quiet. "I am Goste, and for one of you, I will be your final and most challenging opponent in this tournament. You may be wondering exactly how to procure that position, and the answer is simple." Goste raised one of its hands, revealing a tiny spherical jewel that reflected the sunlight in a brilliant red. "This is an Accolade, and it is the unit of progress here in Duelia. Each participant here will receive a set number of Accolades at the start of the competition, and in a Duel, you will wager your Accolades against those of your opponent. This part of the tournament will last exactly one year, a time that will be tracked on the screens placed in this world and in worlds all over the universe. At the end of that year, anyone still in possession of at least one Accolade will be admitted to the finals." The crowd began to murmur, but Goste spoke over them. "I am aware that this seems like a feat easily accomplished by many, but remember, my friends—this is a competition. There are those who will seek to take all of the Accolades of their opponents, and when you are presented with a challenge where Accolades are being wagered, you must accept that challenge. If you refuse to do so, or if you lose all of your Accolades, you will be removed from the tournament."

"Sounds similar to the tournaments we used to be in," remarked Yugi, who was standing near Kaje's group. "Remember, Joey?"

"Like Duelist Kingdom, when we had to collect those Star Chips," Joey replied with a nod.

"I wish I'd thought to make Duels mandatory in the Battle City tournament," thought Kaiba aloud. "That would have made things a lot more interesting."

"During your stay in this world, you will encounter many opportunities to obtain supplies, cards, and other items," Goste continued. "All facilities in Duelia are free to contestants who possess at least one Accolade, including lodging at the various inns and hotels you'll find here. However, be aware that not many challenges will await those who insist on remaining stationary. To help you remain competitive, the finals have been organized so that those with the most Accolades will be pitted against those with the fewest Accolades." This brought a myriad of mixed responses from the crowd. "In short, I encourage all of you to be forthright with your Dueling. With that, I will wish you luck, and express to you my hope of seeing the very best Duelists in the universe here in the City Zone for the finals of the Gauntlet of Eternity, one year from this—" Several screens began rising from the ground in the square, shooting up from nowhere, it seemed. "very—" All at once, the screens lit up with an identical display that read 1:000:00:00:00. "second!" The very instant Goste spoke the word "second", he flicked the Accolade he held up into the air. There was a great flash of the brightest white light, and when it cleared, Goste was gone. The displays had already begun to count down, leaving the massive crowd to disperse in mad cacophony.

"What a presentation!" said a very tan boy with a mop of blonde hair who was wearing a great deal of gold jewelry.

"Marik!" Yugi cried happily, extending a hand, which the tan boy shook enthusiastically.

"It's good to see you, Joey, and Kaiba again," Marik said cheerily. "I've been looking forward to having a Duel with you for quite some time."

"After all that happened up on the blimp, it'd be fun to Duel against just plain old Marik, and not that creep who took over your mind," agreed Yugi.

"I vastly prefer not to think of the Battle City semifinals," Kaiba said flatly. "That was meant to be one of my greatest triumphs, and that whole mess with the Egyptian God cards messed everything up."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about those cards making any more trouble," supplied Marik with reconciliatory gesture. "They're safely locked away in Atem's pyramid, along with all of the Millennium Items."

"Let's hope you know what you're talking about when you say 'safely locked away'," Kaiba replied, his voice still carrying a surly tone. "With any due luck, I can Duel in this tournament with no worries about freaky dark magic and past lives getting in the way."

"Excuse me," interjected Koukin politely. "I couldn't help but hear you mention the word 'Duel'. Would you by chance be willing to accept a humble challenge?"

"You're challenging me?" Kaiba asked incredulously. "Me? Seto Kaiba, organizer of the Battle City and KaibaCorp Grand Prix tournaments?" He scoffed rudely, but Yugi stepped in.

"Kaiba, you have to remember that we're in a place where people from different worlds are gathered," the smaller boy reminded his companion. "This guy might not even be from our world, so he might have no idea who you are or what your reputation is."

"Yeah, Kaiba!" cosigned Joey. "Don't be a first-class jerk, for once in your sleazy life!"

"Can it, Wheeler," Kaiba replied icily. "I suppose you have a point, Yugi. Not many Duelists here will know my name, so I'll use this punk as an example, so all denizens of the universe will revere Seto Kaiba."

"Sounds fun," said Koukin with a grin. "I enjoy setting good examples, but I hope some will come to respect the name of Koukin Shisai. Would you mind if we wagered Accolades?"

"Whatever," said Kaiba. "How many?"

"I'm… not sure," Koukin replied hesitantly. "I don't know how many we start with." It was at that moment that he noticed an unfamiliar, if barely perceptible, weight in the front pocket of his pants. He reached into the pocket and withdrew a small black leather-bound book, which he opened to find several pages that had tiny pockets of their own. The first five pockets on the first page were occupied by different-colored Accolades. Kaiba looked at the black book for a second, then reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and brought out a light-blue book of his own. Koukin took one of the little gems out of its place, examining it for a moment before speaking. "How does two Accolades sound to you?"

"Sure, fine," Kaiba accepted hastily. "Now let's Duel!" He and Koukin moved apart so that there was room between them for the Duel field, but as their Duel Disks activated, each participant looked down at his left arm curiously.

"This isn't the Duel Disk I was using back in Ketto Sekai," remarked Koukin, examining the compact disk on his forearm. The one he had walked in with was silver with protruding wings that formed the holder's side of the field. This Duel Disk had no protrusions at the moment, and it was black with a red insignia on the top that depicted the silhouette of a fox's face. There was a similar disk on Kaiba's arm, but it was light blue with a white insignia of a pair of dragon's wings. Koukin dug around in his other pockets for a moment or two, finally coming up empty-handed. "My Duel Visor is gone, too!"

"So is my Duel Scouter!" exclaimed Haze from behind Koukin, frantically patting himself down. Zero, Dylan, and Kaje quickly followed suit, but no one managed to find their special eyewear.

"Well, I guess this world runs on more different rules than we thought," Kaje mumbled. "Maybe we won't need our Gazer equipment here. Go ahead with the Duel, Koukin, and we'll see what happens."

"Might as well…" sighed Koukin. "Are you ready, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kaiba said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Like I said, let's Duel!" At his words, both his and Koukin's Duel Disks sprang to life. The front of each instrument opened, allowing a short cylindrical extension to emerge. The extensions unfolded rapidly, becoming the appropriate spaces to place cards. Compartments on the front and sides of the Duel Disks popped out, revealing that the Duelists' Decks had been stored inside the Duel Disks themselves. A slot on Kaiba's Duel Disk appeared above the front compartment, which was empty, and displays materialized over the heads of Koukin and Kaiba, both marked by the letters "LP", and reading a value of 8000. "You can go first," said Kaiba after a few seconds, his voice carrying a mixture of haughtiness and astonishment. Seemingly in response to his speech, the Duel Disks spit out cards from the compartments containing the Decks, which faced the holders' wrists.

"So, what do we do about the Accolades?" Kaiba asked, just before a small compartment opened at the top of each Duel Disk. Kaiba looked down at the compartment and scratched his head briefly before placing two of the tiny gemstones inside of it. Koukin did the same, and the compartments snapped shut automatically.

"All right," said Koukin, taking the six cards that had been distributed from his Duel Disk. "I'll start by summoning Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke, in Attack Mode!" As Koukin placed the card on the red space on the far left on his Duel Disk, a man dressed in a gray jumpsuit appeared in front of him, standing to Koukin's left side. The man crossed his arms in front of himself, his hands closed in fists. As a display headed by the letters "ATK" appeared above his head, the number on which read 1800, he uncrossed his arms and opened his hands, revealing sleek blades poised in the space between his middle and ring fingers.

"Well, that was nifty," said Joey, who had found a bench nearby and was seated on it backwards to watch the Duel.

"That's not the only nifty thing I'll do," Koukin responded. "Now I'm giving those kunai of his an upgrade. I equip Sasuke with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" The ninja in gray threw his blades upward, and they combined in a flash of light. A sword dropped from the sky, landing in Sasuke's hands. As the ninja swung the katana, it was apparent that it had been fused with his hand. "Thanks to this sword, my monster gains a cool 800 Attack Points." Just as Koukin had said, the display changed from 1800 to 2600. "I'll finish by placing two cards face-down. Your turn, Mr. Kaiba."

"Not a bad first move," admitted Kaiba. "but watch this! I draw!" His Duel Disk presented a sixth card, which he took. "First, I summon Lord of Dragons, in Attack Mode!" A man garbed in a cape and armor appeared directly in front of Kaiba. His adornments were decorated with bones of some sort, and the display over his head showed a value of 1200. "Next, I'll activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon!" A golden flute shaped like a dragon's head appeared before the Lord of Dragons, who took it and began to play an enchanting melody. "With its power, I can summon up to two dragons from my hand, so say hello to the Kaiser Glider and my personal favorite, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" On either side of the caped flutist, a dragon burst into existence. On its right was a gold-colored dragon that appeared to be radiating a fiery aura. On the other side was a bluish-white dragon with huge, flaring wings. The gold dragon had 2400 Attack Points, and the white one had 3000. "Now, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke! White Lightning Attack!" The white dragon rose from the ground, flared its wings, and opened its mouth to release a wide beam of blue-white light that enveloped Koukin's monster. The display above Koukin dropped from 8000 to 7600, but when the beam faded, in the ninja's place was a smoldering pile of ash that vaguely resembled a log.

"Well, that stung," Koukin said, brushing himself off. "Good thing Sasuke is versed the Ninjitsu Art of Decoy. While he's using it, he can't be destroyed in battle." The gray-clad warrior reappeared, with the Trap Card that gave him his power standing behind him.

"Just dandy," muttered Kaiba. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"Excellent," Koukin said, taking his next card. "I'll set a monster face-down, and then I'll have Sasuke attack your Lord of Dragons! Go, Sasuke!" The grand master struck a pose, then disappeared. From behind Kaiba, he swooped in, but Lord of Dragons vanished and was replaced by a jagged rip in the air.

"I activate my Trap Card!" announced Kaiba, revealing the card. "Dimensional Prison will trap your ninja in another dimension, preventing him from attacking!"

"I don't think so," Koukin said calmly, revealing his other card just before Sasuke was swallowed by the black hole. "I activate the Ninjitsu Art of Transformation Trap! All I have to do is sacrifice a ninja, and I get to Special Summon a beast in its place that's up to three Levels higher. Good bye, Sasuke. Nice having you on the field!" The gray ninja disappeared in a burst of pixels, and a gigantic koala bear popped up on Koukin's side of the field in a puff of smoke. "Say hello to my friend from Down Under—Big Koala!" The blue-tinted beast tilted its head and eyed Kaiba's monsters warily as its Attack Points display appeared, showing a value of 2700. "Now, let's see… new monster, check. Still my Battle Phase, check. All right, Big Koala, take out Lord of Dragons!" The big bear lowered itself to all fours and charged, delivering a mighty headbutt that made Kaiba's monster shatter.

"Lucky shot," groaned Kaiba as his Life Points lowered to 6500.

"Now for the insurance," Koukin continued. "For my next act, I'm equipping Big Koala with this Black Pendant, raising his Attack Points by 500." A necklace with an ornate ebony charm stretched itself around the bear's neck, and the Attack Points display changed to 3200 as a dark aura surrounded Big Koala. "Turn end."

"I draw," Kaiba said sullenly as he looked at his new card. "I activate Shrink, a Spell that will cut your koala's Attack Points in half!" Big Koala suddenly dropped in size, ending up about the size of a normal koala, and having only 1850. "Perfect," said Kaiba with a grin. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy Big Koala with White Lightning!" Blue-Eyes flew into the air and shot its breath weapon, incinerating Koukin's monster and taking his Life Points down to 6450. As the Black Pendant card entered the compartment on Koukin's Duel Disk that faced the field, a black aura came out of the compartment, enveloping Kaiba and taking on an electrical appearance. Kaiba winced as his Life Points went down to 6000.

"Destroying my Black Pendant comes with a price," Koukin said, showing just the slightest signs of smugness. "As you can see, that price happens to be 500 Life Points, and I've got three of those trinkets in my Deck."

"Wonderful…" growled Kaiba. "However, you're out of tricks, so my Kaiser Glider can go right in to destroy your monster! Go, my Glider, take out his face-down monster!" The golden dragon rose a bit in the air and vaulted forward, twisting as it flew and creating a corkscrew of flame around itself. As it neared the giant card resting in front of Koukin, the card flipped up, revealing a man in gray wielding a large blade. The warrior tried to defend himself against the dragon's attack, but it was no use. He shattered in the blaze, but a black rip in the air appeared and swallowed Kaiser Glider, along with the pixels that remained of the defending monster.

"Out of tricks?" Koukin repeated with a smile. "Ninjas never run out of tricks. For example, my D.D. Assailant takes any monster that destroys him and takes that monster to an alternate dimension. I believe you tried to take Sasuke there last turn."

"You're crafty, kid," said Kaiba.

"Kid?" Koukin repeated again. "I'm older than you!"

"But you're not richer than me," replied Kaiba. "I set a card face-down and end my turn."

"You know, Mr. Kaiba, I'm going out of my way to be polite because I don't know you," Koukin said, beginning to become a bit indignant.

"Don't bother!" Joey shouted. "He's just a jerk. You won't get any respect from him unless you beat him, so don't hold back, man!" Yugi looked at his best friend scornfully, and Kaiba glared at the blonde boy angrily.

"I think the blonde guy's right," Zero speculated. "Kaiba seems like a real asshole. Let him have it, Koukin!" Kaje, Dylan, and Haze nodded in agreement, and Koukin returned the gesture with an appreciative grin.

"I'll draw and activate Dimensional Fissure!" shouted Koukin triumphantly. "This Spell makes it impossible for monsters to enter the Graveyard." From behind each of the Duelists, a four-pointed black star appeared and began to shift and shake in midair. "Instead, they'll go to the other dimension, where your Kaiser Glider and my D.D. Assailant currently reside. I'll also place a card face-down and end my turn." The giant version of the card materialized in front of Koukin, and Kaiba took his next card.

"I summon Vorse Raider, in Attack Mode!" the tycoon announced, placing down a card that released a vicious-looking humanoid beast in body armor. The monster roared and brandished a bladed staff as a display above its head appeared, reading 1900. "What a fortunate moment for me, seeing as you're open for an attack. Vorse Raider, have at him!" The beastly warrior charged forward, but it ran into a shimmering wall of light as Koukin flipped up a card.

"Sorry, Kaiba," said Koukin with not much regret. "but my Mirror Force doesn't quite agree with your Vorse Raider." Vorse Raider was suddenly sucked into the reflective surface he had hit, his image becoming oddly flat before being launched back toward Kaiba. Vorse Raider crashed into Blue-Eyes White Dragon, causing an explosion that left neither of the monsters standing, or even existing.

"All right!" cheered Yugi. "That's one of my favorite Trap Cards!"

"I only liked it when I got to turn it into a dragon," Kaiba grumbled. "I've got no more cards in my hand, so I have to end my turn."

"Sweet!" Koukin said as he drew his next card. "I summon White Ninja, in Attack Mode!" A masked figure in a white jumpsuit leaped onto the battlefield from behind Koukin as a display reading 1500 appeared. "Now that the tables have turned, it's my turn to attack! White Ninja, strike him down!" The warrior jumped forward, doing a handstand in the center of the field, and jumped again, aiming a kick right for Kaiba's head. Just as his attack was about to connect, Kaiba flipped up a card, and White Ninja disappeared in a bluish-green vortex. The vortex reappeared on Koukin's side of the field, depositing his monster harmlessly.

"I activated my Negate Attack Trap!" announced Kaiba triumphantly. "It… negates you attack."

"Fair enough," Koukin said. "Your turn." Kaiba drew his next card and smirked.

"I activate the Soul Absorption Spell Card!" he said proudly. "Now, every time a card is removed from play, I gain 500 Life Points for each one removed. Unfortunately, that's all I have for now, but I think I can take a little damage."

"I see," replied Koukin evenly, looking at his next card. "Okay, White Ninja, let's try this again." The white-clad man looked back and nodded at his controller before repeating his attack routine, this time striking Kaiba in the head. Kaiba reeled backward as his Life Points ticked down to 4500. "Next, I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Kaiba drew a card and paused for a moment.

"I think I'll summon my Kaiser Sea Horse, in Attack Mode!" he said confidently. A humanoid sea serpent clad in armor floated up from a pool of light on the ground. In one hand, it clutched a bladed shield; in the other, a staff whose head resembled a crescent moon. "With my Soul Absorption in play, I'll get 500 Life Points for destroying your monster, so go Kaiser Sea Horse, attack White Ninja!"

"Yeah, see, I'm not too keen on taking any more damage…" said Koukin uncertainly. "I'm gonna have my White Ninja transform into something a little beefier, if that's all right with you. Go, Ninjitsu Art of Transformation… again!" White Ninja made a hand sign in front of himself and disappeared in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, a huge beast stood in his place, baring its jagged teeth and shaking its shaggy reddish fur as its Attack Points display popped up, showing 2700. "Care to replay your battle?"

"I think I'll pass…" Kaiba relented as his Life Points jumped back up to 5000.

"Cool, then for my turn, I'll have Behemoth, the King of All Animals, attack your sea horse!" The lumbering beast galumphed forward and bit down on the Kaiser Sea Horse savagely, bringing Kaiba's Life Points down to 4000 again before Soul Absorption brought them back up to 4500. "Once again, I'll set a card, and that'll do it for me."

"I summon Luster Dragon!" Kaiba shouted hurriedly. A beautiful blue dragon flew onto the field, its scales shimmering like sapphires.

"You know you can Set monsters, right?" asked Koukin, scratching his head in thought.

"I never back down, and I will not let my monsters go down without a fight!" replied Kaiba fiercely. "Do your worst!"

"You're gonna wish you hadn't said that…" sighed Koukin, drawing his next card. "I summon Strike Ninja to the field!" A ninja in black jumped onto the field, sporting a shiny mask that resembled a golden star as his Attack Points display appeared, reading 1700. "Now I activate my Trap Card! Strike Ninja, execute the Ninjitsu Art of Duplication!" Strike Ninja made a hand sign in front of himself and was enveloped in a puff of smoke. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Koukin shouted as the smoke cleared, revealing a face-down card, two ninjas in red suits, and a ninja wearing black and holding a staff similar to the one Kaiser Sea Horse had held. "Now, using these three ninjas, I'll build a little something called the Overlay Network!" Each of the monsters became a sphere of brown light that swirled together like electrons around a nucleus. In the middle of them, a black hole appeared, and a formless shadow jumped out of it. "From that network, I Xyz Summon Shadow-Stalker Shinobi, in Defense Mode!" The shadow took a humanoid shape as a display materialized over its head, marked by the letters "DEF", and showing a value of 2500. "Now, I'll get rid of an Overlay Unit from my Shinobi to activate its special ability. Go, Shadow Snatch!" Koukin's ninja sucked in one of the brown balls of light and shot it at Luster Dragon. When the dragon was hit, black lines ran along its body, and it flew over to Koukin's side to stare at its summoner viciously.

"What's going on?!" Kaiba yelled. "What kind of monster is that, and what has it done to my monster?!"

"It reminds me of that time I met some Duelists from the future," said Yugi thoughtfully. "One of the guys I met did something called a Synchro Summon. Maybe this is like that."

"That's some story, Yug," Joey said with a chuckle. "Duelists from the future… you've got quite the imagination, pal."

"Nonetheless, you'll get your dragon back next turn," promised Koukin. "For now, enjoy the 1000 Life Points you got from my sacrifice and Shadow-Stalker's ability, because you won't have them for long." Kaiba's Life Points rose to 5500. "Now, Luster Dragon and Behemoth, attack!" Behemoth charged and headbutted Kaiba, sending him flying as his Life Points dropped back down to 2800, and Luster Dragon shot a stream of blue fire that hit Kaiba in midair and took his Life Points down to 900. "Like I said, you can have your dragon back." The black lines on Luster Dragon faded, and it flew back to Kaiba's side. "Also, since Luster Dragon dealt you direct damage, I have to give up 500 Life Points." Koukin's Life Points dropped to 5950 as Kaiba drew his next card.

"I'll set a card face-down, and that's it," Kaiba said sullenly.

"Well, this will be fun," said Koukin cheerily. "I Flip Summon my Armed Ninja!" The sideways card brought forth by Strike Ninja's duplication flipped up, revealing another staff-wielding warrior in black. Without hesitation, the monster threw its staff and impaled Kaiba's Soul Absorption card, causing it to shatter. "Well, look at that—it's like he knew what I was going to do. Anyway, no need to take control of your monster again, so I'll just have Behemoth take out your Luster Dragon!" The mighty animal king lumbered toward Kaiba, but he flipped up a card, and Behemoth became frozen in place as Kaiba's Life Points rose to 3600.

"Thanks to my Draining Shield, I won't be losing my dragon or any more Life Points," Kaiba said with a sigh of relief.

"Well, I don't have any more room for face-down cards, so it's your move," continued Koukin, waving Kaiba on.

"Good to hear," Kaiba replied, taking his next card. "I'll Set a card, and now, Luster Dragon, take out his Armed Ninja!" The brilliant blue monster stretched out its neck and spat of ball of blue flames at the black-clad ninja, incinerating it and taking Koukin's Life Points down to 4350. "Your turn, Koukin." Koukin drew his next card, but then looked at Kaiba in surprise.

"You haven't used my name since we started this Duel," he said quietly. "If I didn't know better, I'd say I'm earning your respect. That being said, I think it's time I gave you a chance to make things a little more even. I'll just place a monster in Defense Mode, and that'll be it." Kaiba grinned wickedly as he drew his next card.

"I activate my Trap Card!" Kaiba shouted, flipping the card up. "Return From the Different Dimension!" A black rift appeared in front of Kaiba as his Life Points dropped to 1800. "With this card, I can bring back any monsters that have been sent beyond the Graveyard, namely Vorse Raider, Kaiser Glider, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The named monsters fell from the rift, taking their places by Luster Dragon. "Next, I'll sacrifice Luster Dragon and Vorse Raider for another Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" A second blue-white dragon flew in next to its twin, and both roared triumphantly. "Now for the Battle Phase! Go, my Blue-Eyes! Destroy Behemoth and Shadow-Stalker Shinobi with White Lightning!" In twin bursts of the fearsome attack, the dark form and the reddish beast were demolished, leaving Koukin with 4050 Life Points. "Finally, Kaiser Glider, finish his face-down monster!" The gold dragon zipped forward and dove into the card, which flipped up to reveal another White Ninja. In a blaze of fire, it disappeared. "That's the end of my turn, so any monsters summoned from the Different Dimension go back to where they were." The black rift reappeared and sucked in Kaiser Glider and Blue-Eyes as Koukin drew his next card.

"I should've learned from Dueling with Kaje that mercy turns are never a good idea…" muttered Koukin.

"Man, that was low, even for Kaiba," Joey spat disdainfully. Yugi nodded, his expression disheartened.

"I never would have thought Kaiba would resort to trickery," said the shorter boy sadly.

"I don't think anyone's ever gone neck-and-neck for this long with Koukin," Zero said in wonder. "Who do you guys think is gonna win?"

"That's a tough one," answered Haze, scratching his head. "They've both got advantages and disadvantages right now."

"What are you talking about?" Dylan asked, gazing at Kaiba's monster. "Kaiba's got the big monster now, so the outcome's obvious."

"That's not always the case," said Marik, who had walked over to see the Duel from the other side. "There's been many a time that Kaiba's been defeated when the power has been on his side. Just ask Yugi, if you don't believe me."

"I think I see where you're coming from," Kaje replied, looking closely at the field. "On one hand, Kaiba has a powerful monster, but Koukin took a turn to save a card in his hand. Even though his Spell and Trap Card Zones are all used up, there's one thing that can turn this whole Duel around, and if he can pull it off, Kaiba won't have any spare cards to stop it." Marik nodded enthusiastically, and everyone looked expectantly at Koukin.

"I suppose all of these useless cards are blocking my progress, aren't they?" said Koukin with a shrug. "Well, I'll just have to get rid of them. I send my Ninjitsu Arts to the Graveyard! Be gone, Decoy, Duplication, and Transformation!"

"You can't just get rid of your Spell and Trap Cards!" Kaiba protested, his eyes growing wide.

"I can when I'm using them for a sacrifice," said Koukin as the three giant cards were set on fire. "With these three offerings, I call upon Uria, the Lord of Searing Flames!" From the smoking inferno rose a long thin red dragon. It spread its arms wide to reveal the wings that hung from them, and began to twist in midair, showing off the curved spikes that ran down its spine. With a glint in its eyes, it straightened itself and let loose a mighty roar, its mouth opening wide to reveal a second set of teeth as its Attack Point display appeared, reading 3000.

"Could that be…?" Marik asked, his mouth gaping. "It looks like Slifer, the Sky Dragon, but…"

"But it's got mouthception going on," Dylan pointed out.

"How is this guy summoning an Egyptian God?" wondered Joey. "I thought those were locked away for good."

"It's not him," Yugi said after a few moments in thought. "It may look like Slifer, but Slifer can't be summoned by sacrificing Trap Cards."

"How perceptive," Koukin said, nodding. "This is actually a Sacred Beast, and its summoning condition makes it perfect for my ninja Deck. Unfortunately, I couldn't get rid of my last Trap Card, so I can't give him another 1000 Attack Points, but now I have the space to place a card face-down. That'll do it for me."

"All right, then I'll set a card face-down and end my turn right away," hurried Kaiba, taking the card he drew and immediately placing it onto the field. "No doubt you're hoping I'll choose to have my Blue-Eyes tie with your Uria, but I don't believe in such sacrifices, so it looks like we're going to be here for awhile."

"Actually, I'm getting kind of bored," Koukin said with a yawn. "Things don't normally stall much for me, so I'm not really used to my Duels taking this long. I think I'll help you along and have Uria attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The sinister red dragon flew forward and breathed a wide stream of fire at its target, but Kaiba flipped up a card, and a bundle of dynamite sticks appeared, attaching itself to his dragon's neck by means of a long chain. As the fire drew closer, Blue-Eyes shot its lightning breath, and the two attacks tied for a moment. "How is your dragon fending off Uria's attack?" Koukin asked.

"It's that dynamite I put on it," answered Kaiba proudly. "That explosive's called Blast with Chain, and it grants my monster 500 extra Attack Points; just enough to get rid of your faux Egyptian God card." The lightning overtook Uria's flames, overwhelming the red dragon in light and making Koukin's Life Points fall to 3550.

"Why didn't you use Uria's priority effect?" asked Kaje as Koukin staggered backward slightly from the damage. "You could've gotten rid of Blast with Chain before he even activated it."

"I thought I had it in the bag, to tell you the truth," Koukin said with a sheepish grin. "It seems as though it's gotten out. I end my turn." Kaiba drew his next card, but didn't even look at it.

"Blue-Eyes, attack Koukin directly!" shouted Kaiba with a loud laugh. "White Lightning!" The white dragon shot a burst of light that knocked Koukin onto his back and brought his Life Points to just 50. "This was fun, but I guess it turns out that you're just not good enough to face me."

"Come on, Koukin!" Zero pleaded. "Please tell me you have a plan." Koukin got up, dusted himself off, and drew his next card.

"Don't worry, guys," he said, his eyes sparkling with confidence. "Even if I go down, I'm gonna go down fighting. Remember my old friend Strike Ninja, Kaiba?" Without waiting for an answer, Koukin slapped the card down, causing the black-clad warrior to appear instantly. "He'll be the instrument of your destruction, just you wait! Strike Ninja, attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and end this Duel!" Strike Ninja leapt forward, becoming nothing more than a black blur with a flashes of gold from his shuriken mask. He jumped in for a kick, but Blue-Eyes blasted him with its lightning breath, sending a sizable portion of it directly at Koukin.

"Oh, he's ending this Duel all right!" gloated Kaiba. "Thanks to your attack, you'll take 1800 points of damage, and you'll lose!"

"Now stay with me on this one," Koukin said calmly as he flipped up his face-down card. "because it's about to get complicated… but not really. I activate my Dimension Wall Trap Card!" The lightning blast neared Koukin's face, but disappeared into thin air with an eerie ripple. "This handy card can be activated when I take damage from a battle, and it lets me transfer every point of that damage to you. I told you Strike Ninja would finish this." The ripple in the air appeared in front of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the lightning burst erupted out of it, swallowing Kaiba and his dragon and leaving Kaiba with 0 Life Points.

"This can't be happening!" yelled Kaiba. "You tricked me, you dirty cheater!"

"From one businessman to another, I'm sure you can appreciate the value of a reciprocal," Koukin replied coolly. "You threw me off so that I'd give you a mercy turn, and you almost had me, but nature is full of reciprocals. Any fraction multiplied by itself evens out to one, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and one act of deceit begets another."

"But how did you know Kaiba wouldn't summon another monster and finish you off?" Yugi asked, looking puzzled.

"It's quite simple," explained Koukin. "Most prideful people act alike, as do most people who believe that their victory is ensured. When I didn't activate Dimension Wall in response to Kaiba's Blast with Chain, Kaiba figured that my face-down card was probably useless, so he took his time. I baited him into leaving me with just enough Life Points to survive, which gave me the opportunity to finish the Duel on my terms."

"So that's why you didn't finish him with the full Blue-Eyes attack the turn before?" asked Marik. Koukin nodded.

"This… isn't… fair!" Kaiba continued, gaining no one's attention. "I'm one of the best Duelists in the world, too good to get beaten by a punk like you!"

"Yeah, well, that punk just won two of your Accolades," said Dylan gleefully. Seemingly at the mention of the prize, both Koukin's and Kaiba's Duel Disks began to glow faintly. There was a small flash of light, and the glowing stopped. Koukin opened the compartment on the top of his Duel Disk to find four Accolades, which he deposited into his tiny black and red book.

"Well, what do you know," Koukin mused with a grin. "I was right; that was fun." Just then, several sets of footfalls could be heard approaching from behind the two groups. Everyone turned around to see Jaden, Syrus, Zane, and Crowler running up to them, accompanied by a man in a red suit. He had long white hair that covered his left eye, and there was a childlike gleam in his visible eye.

"Are you the one who summoned that Sacred Beast?" asked Jaden, out of breath from running across the square.

"Yeah, that was me," Koukin answered. "Why?"

"The Sacred Beasts were locked away under Duel Academy Island after Kagemaru tried to use them for his own gain," explained Zane. "It's impossible for anyone to ever get a hold of them again, yet you clearly summoned Uria, Lord of Searing Flames."

"Oh, Zane, you are so ignorant when it comes to the matters of worlds beyond," said the man with the long white hair. "Cards in our world that are one of a kind have been known to be much more common in other worlds, where they simply hold no importance."

"Pegasus!" cried Yugi in surprise. "What are you doing with Jaden and his friends?"

"Oh, hey, I thought that was you, Yugi," Jaden said, giving the King of Games a thumbs-up and a grin. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"Why, I've joined the tournament, of course!" the white-haired man exclaimed with a big smile. "How could I pass up the chance to compete with Duelists whose skills I've only barely glimpsed?"

"That doesn't explain why you're with these people, Pegasus," pointed out Kaiba. "Duel Academy doesn't even exist. For that matter, it's just a vague idea I've been kicking around in my head for the past couple of weeks."

"Kaiba, the brown-haired kid in the red blazer is from the future," Yugi explained. "He and I teamed up with a guy named Yusei to save Pegasus from a crazy Duelist who used Malefic cards."

"So, you weren't makin' that up?" wondered Joey, scratching his head and wearing a dumbfounded expression.

"Of course not," Yugi replied. "but I don't get how Jaden got here, when the door to Duelia opened in our time."

"Yugi-boy, has your time with the Pharaoh taught you nothing?" chided Pegasus, wagging a finger at Yugi. "It is not only space that creates a division between worlds. In some cases, the mere passage of time can transform a world considerably. I discovered this when I still held possession of the Millennium Eye. It allowed me to see other worlds, which gave me immense insight as to the workings of the universe. On an off-hand note, you're looking quite young, Kaiba-boy."

"Creep," Kaiba muttered. "Look, all of this is very interesting; you're from the future now, other worlds, blah, blah, blah… but I've got better things to do than listen to all of your technical garbage, so I'm out of here." With that, the brown-haired tycoon turned and stalked off.

"Good riddance to him," said Joey, to the approval of Kaje and his friends.

"Anyway, Pegasus has helped us out a lot in the past," Jaden continued. "When the door appeared, and Goste announced the tournament, he was the one we called first, and now here we are."

"Unfortunately, Yuki-boy, this is where our cooperation ends," Pegasus lamented. "You're excited to start the tournament, but I've got some investigation I need to do, so I must depart. Ta-ta, everyone!" With a jaunty wave, Pegasus walked off, heading down an alley and disappearing.

"I think we should follow his lead, Professor," Zane said, turning to Crowler.

"Normally, I'd disagree on the grounds that Jaden and Syrus are my responsibility," replied Crowler. "but they're seniors now, just about to graduate, and they've handled themselves well in the past. Can you two manage to stay out of trouble?"

"What do you think?" Jaden answered with a wink. Crowler sighed, but gave the two students an understanding nod.

"Don't worry, Professor," assured Syrus. "If we get into a jam, Jaden and I can get ourselves out, no problem!"

"I'd expect nothing less from my little brother," Zane said, looking down and giving his brother one of his rare smiles before he and Crowler headed off in separate directions.

"I don't suppose you'll be sticking with us, Marik," said Yugi uncertainly. Marik considered this for a moment before answering.

"I don't see why not," he responded warmly. "It's been so long, I wouldn't want to just split off right away."

"All right!" cheered Joey. "Let's go kick some butt!"

"It was nice to meet you," Yugi said to Kaje's group. "Maybe we'll meet again before too long."

"That would be a treat," said Koukin with a nod. "I wouldn't mind beating another resident of your world." The remaining groups laughed together before Jaden approached Yugi.

"It was cool catching up, Yugi," he said, his eyes shining. "Maybe we can have a rematch sometime. I didn't get a good hand last time."

"I'm up for it whenever you are, Jaden," said Yugi, and they shook hands before Yugi, Joey, and Marik departed to the south. Jaden then turned to Koukin.

"Too bad I missed the Duel, man," he said. "Sounds like it was pretty sweet!"

"I don't know that I would've wanted to see that Sacred Beast again…" Syrus argued meekly. "It reminds of how our island almost got sunk."

"Oh, come on, Sy," pleaded Jaden. "Even then, they were pretty cool monsters."

"If you say so…" replied Syrus.

"You're welcome to come with us, if you'd like," Koukin offered, but Jaden and Syrus shook their heads.

"Nice offer, bro, but I wanna wait until the finals to meet up with you guys again," said Jaden. "There's no telling how powerful your friends are, if you threw down a Sacred Beast without batting an eye. I don't want to face off against any of you unless I know I'm ready."

"I'd come with you," Syrus said sheepishly. "but if Jaden's going, I'm sticking with him. It's what best friends do. Besides, I couldn't stand missing out on the Elemental Heroes kicking all those Duelists' butts."

"You run E-Failures?" Haze asked Jaden, barely holding back a laugh.

"Yeah, and they'll help me beat you, so be prepared to get your game on!" replied Jaden confidently before he and Syrus headed off to the east.

"I guess that leaves us five," Kaje pointed out. "Where are we headed?"

"Actually, it's you four," said Haze hesitantly. "I've seen your Decks a million times before, so I wanna find some folks from other worlds and see what kinds of cards they use."

"Seems legit," Dylan said.

"Just be careful out there, Haze," cautioned Koukin.

"I will," Haze said with a grin. "You guys take care of yourselves. I want to be able to Duel one of you in the finals."

"Count on it, bro," assured Kaje. Haze gave his friends a small nod before walking off down an alley.

0:364:22:35:17


In case you haven't read the first version of this story, and were wondering, the above numbers mark the remaining time in the main round of the tournament. Originally, the counter measured months and days, meaning it would read 0:00:00:00:00:00, but since not all months are equal in length, I just changed it so it measures days, hours, minutes, and seconds, beginning from one year.

Now that I have my design for the Duel Disks down, I need color schemes and symbols for the Duel Disk of any character you want to see in this story. Basically, I need a main color, a minor color, and a specific symbol that will be on the top of the Duel Disk. It'll become important later. Anyway, if you read this, please do review. Feedback will be much appreciated.