Tournament of Kings Chapter 13: Raising Hell, Part 3, a yu-gi-oh gx fanfic

"Yu-Gi-Oh! / Yu-Gi-Oh!: GX"

"TOURNAMENT OF KINGS"

Chapter Thirteen: "Raising Hell, Part III"

Back at the site where Duel Academy once stood… CLANG!

The massive jackhammer at the dig site had suddenly stopped, following a very loud "Clang," as it slammed into something more solid than the earth it was chipping away at. Immediately, one of the hard-hatted workers there got on his cell phone and dialed his boss' number.

"Sir!" he called, "I think you might want to come see this…"

"Can't it wait?" responded Shoji on the other end of the phone call. "I'm in the middle of something here."

"But sir," said the worker, "We've hit something! I think we've found it."

"Ah… Excellent." A wicked smile curled on Shoji's lips. "Well, what're you waiting for? Pull it up immediately."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"And don't wait up for me, this won't take much longer." He hung up his cell phone and resumed looking down on his younger brother while he struggled through the duel.

On the side of the Long Family:

-Tian has been knocked out.

-Shen has been knocked out.

-Zhu, 5700 LP, open field.

-Di, 8000 LP, open field.

-Pan, 4600 LP, open field.

On the other side:

Manjyome, 400 Life Points, an Exploder Dragon in Defense mode and two face-down cards.

Judai, 6000 Life Points, one face down card.

"Hurry the hell up, gentlemen!" called out Shoji from atop his mound. "I have some business to attend to."

"No problem, boss. It's my turn!" Zhu drew her next card, and seemed to look rather disappointed in her hand. All she had were low-level dragons; any one of them could have chipped away at Judai, but she feared his face down card. On the other hand, she could have made a small sacrifice by attacking Manjyome's one and only form of defense, knowing that Exploder Dragon's effect would cause her monster to be destroyed.

"Okay," she decided. "This will cost me, but it'll probably be worth it… I summon God Dragon Ragnarok, in Attack Mode."

God Dragon Ragnarok: 1500 ATK

"I attack Manjyome's Exploder Dragon."

Her opponent narrowed his charcoal eyes. "You are aware of course, that once my monster is destroyed than yours is too?"

Zhu nodded, "It's a small price to pay; my brothers will finish you off next turn!"

As her lightning-coated dragon slammed into his, the bomb in the smaller dragon's clutches went off, causing both of them to shatter to pieces.

"I end my turn," said Zhu.

"Draw," said Di. His hand was also crowded with semi-powerful dragons, but the card he just pulled made him smile. "Finally! I play-"

"Not so fast!" yelled Manjyome while pressing a trigger button on his duel disk. "I play my first face-down card, Call of the Haunted. With this, I bring back my Exploder Dragon, in Attack Mode."

Exploder Dragon: 1000 ATK

"Hmm. Nice move, but that dinky little dragon won't save you forever," warned a confident Di. "I play Fusion; by discarding five dragons from my hand, I'll summon Five God Dragon!"

Five God Dragon: 5000 ATK

Manjyome considered triggering his second trap, when his partner suddenly blurted out, "Oh no, you don't! I activate my other Trap Card, Warning of God. By paying 2000 of my Life Points, I negate the effect of Fusion, so no dragon for you!"

Judai: 6000- 4000 LP

Even Manjyome was surprised by this move. "Woah, Judai! I had no idea you had a card like that in your deck."

Judai rubbed his nose. "Yeah, well, I'm just full of surprises aren't I?"

Jun sighed; his face down "Ring of Destruction" could doom the both of them now.

Di cringed; now he had nothing to save himself. "I end my turn."

"Draw," said Pan. Looking over his hand of weak dragons, he saw one card that looked useful. "I play the Spell Card, Upstart Goblin. It lets me draw an additional card, but allows my opponents to gain 1000 Life Points."

Manjyome: 1400 LP

Judai: 5000 LP

"What?" gasped Shoji in horror. "Are you insane? You're supposed to deplete their Life Points, you idiot!"

"Don't worry Boss," assured the youngest of Longs, "I know what I'm doing… Now, I summon my Totem Dragon, in Attack Mode."

Totem Dragon: 400 ATK

"I know what you're thinking, Boss: 'What good will that puny thing do?' Well, his effect lets me count him as two Tributes for a high-level Dragon-type monster. I'll now play my Spell card, Double Summon, allowing me an extra Normal Summon this turn. I'll tribute my Totem Dragon for Dark Horus!"

Dark Horus: 3000 ATK

Manjyome gasped, "I know that card; it's the dark alternate version of Horus the Black Flame Dragon."

"Indeed it is," nodded young Pan. "You're lucky you have that Exploder Dragon on your field, Manjyome, so I'll just go ahead and attack your friend Judy."

"It's Judai!" screamed the frustrated brunette.

"Whatever. Say goodbye to your Life Points." The attack went through according to plan, with Manjyome cringing once more.

Judai: 5000- 2000 LP

"Sorry Judai," frowned his partner. "My face down card's not exactly helpful right now."

"Don't sweat it dude," said Judai in his typical optimistic tone. "I doubt he's got any more moves, and then it'll be our turn to kick butt."

"He's right," replied Pan. "I end my turn."

Shoji was now tapping his foot, becoming increasingly impatient. How was it, he wondered, that five people couldn't take down his brother, even when it seemed like he was on the ropes?

Manjyome drew his next card, a Spell card; he read it softly to himself, "Cemetery Change... Hmm..." I remember this card, he thought. It was one of the cards Saoiu gave me back when I was part of his cult. I thought I'd gotten rid of it since then...But then, another idea came to mind; he was devising a plan.

"Say, Judai?"

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't happen to have a card in your deck that could bounce certain cards from the Grave back to the deck, would you?"

"You mean like Pot of Avarice? Sure, it's in here. Haven't drawn it yet, though."

"Hmm… You don't mind it if I switch things up for us then, do you?"

"Uhh…" Not sure where his teammate was going with this, he shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Go for it."

Manjyome smiled, "Okay then. I play the Spell Card, Cemetery Change. This allows me to switch the cards in my Grave with ones from another player's, and I choose to switch with Judai."

Now Shoji was utterly shocked. He gasped, "Jun! Have you lost it, brother? You could have gained access to several Five God Dragons!"

Jun glared at him. "I don't need Five God Dragon to win this duel, Nii-san. All I need is for my dueling partner to draw the right card and bring out the true lord of dark fire."

Again, Judai was confused- partly because he was still more focused on eating at this point. But the words "lord of dark fire" somehow became tattooed to his brain.

"Now," said Manjyome, "I play the card The Shallow Grave. Each of us can now Special Summon a monster in each of our Graves, in face-down Defense Position."

As the Long siblings complied, Judai took time to look through his new Grave-bound monsters. That's when he realized what Manjyome was getting at: Judai now had Horus the Black Flame Dragon, both Level 6 and Level 8, at his disposal. Now I get it, he thought to himself. Manjyome wants me to play these cards… But wait, if I special summon Horus now, I couldn't use its effect to bring out Level 8… Guess I'll just have to summon another dragon instead.

Judai settled on a dragon, Masked Dragon to be exact, according to Manjyome's "Shallow Grave's" effect.

"I know exactly what I'm bringing to my field," said Manjyome darkly as a face-down monster rose onto the field as though it came up from the earth. "I then end my turn."

"Draw," said Judai. "Here goes nothing… I play Card Destruction; now we all discard our hands to the Grave and draw the same number from our decks." Everyone complied, and Judai was lucky to draw another deck-thinning card. "I now play Angel's Gift, drawing three new cards, then sending two to the graveyard…" His next free draw gave him two Elemental Heroes, and another Spell card. "Ha! This is my lucky day," he smiled. "I now discard my heroes to Angel's Gift's effect, so I can play this: my Pot of Avarice! Now, I'll select five monsters in my Grave, shuffle them back into the deck, and draw two new cards."

"Is this gonna take all day?" whined Zhu.

"Why?" smiled her opponent. "Are you in a hurry to lose? Anyway, here goes…" Among three other monsters, Judai grabbed the two Horus cards and shuffled them into his deck. He drew his next two cards carefully, hoping and praying he'd hit the jackpot.

"Manjyome?"

"Sanda."

"Thanks for the loan, bud! I sacrifice my face-down monster for this, Horus the Black Flame Dragon, Level 6!"

Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6: 2300 ATK

Suddenly, Di and Pan began to chuckle, catching Judai's attention. He grinned slyly to them. "Hmph. You really think I'm stupid enough to not know that you probably brought back your Five God Dragons in Defense Mode? I'm aware that it's Defense Points far outshine Horus' Attack Points. But I'm not planning on attacking them." He pointed at the one opposing monster that was in plain sight. "My target is… Dark Horus!"

"HA!" laughed Pan out loud. "Go ahead and attack him, it won't do you any good."

"Oh, but it will," grinned Manjyome suddenly. He then glanced over at Judai and said, "You weren't the only one that got a new hand this turn; I play the Quick-Spell card, Shrink! I now target Dark Horus, cutting its Attack Points in half!"

Dark Horus: 3000- 1500 ATK

"Oh no," gasped Pan softly.

"Oh yes!" cheered Judai. "Horus, destroy that carbon copy of yours: Dark Hellfire!"

The eagle-like dragon spread its white metallic wings and breathed a stream of black fire that caused the weakened dark dragon to melt away.

Pan: 4600- 3800 LP

"Now that's what I call excellent teamwork!" cheered Judai. "Now, before I end my turn, I'm gonna set this card face down. Now my Horus will level itself up, bringing out his highest form: Horus the Black Flame Dragon, Level 8!"

A wall of black fire engulfed the eagle-like monster, and expanded until an even bigger creature emerged, one that looked like Horus, except it not sported a pair of dragonic legs and a long, whip-like tail, while its top half remained eagle-like.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8: 3000 ATK

Still at 5700 Life Points, Zhu drew her next card.

"Heh," she smirked. "A lot of good all that did you, Jerry."

"IT'S. JUDAI."

"Judai!"

The brunette's auburn eyes widened; he heard that feminine voice. It sounded like a whisper on the wind, and it sent shivers down his spine. "…Did… Anyone else hear that?" he whimpered.

"Quit your whining," hissed his female opponent. "I now play my Fusion spell card so that I can discard five dragons from my hand, and- Augh!"

Just as her Spell card hit the field, it spontaneously combusted into a ball of black flame.

"Whoopsie," smiled Judai coyly. "I probably should have warned you: Horus Level 8 has a special effect that lets me negate one Spell card each turn. So, yeah, you're attempts at summoning Five God Dragon now are royally screwed."

"Ugh," she cringed. "I summon Masked Dragon."

Masked Dragon: 1900 ATK

"I'll attack your Exploder Dragon, if only to get it out of the way. Soon you won't have any defenses left, Manjyome."

Just as Exploder Dragon went off on God Dragon Ragnarok, Sapphire Dragon would meet the same fate; both dragons exploded on impact and Manjyome took no battle damage thanks to Exploder Dragon's effect.

"With Masked Dragon destroyed in battle, I'll search my deck for a new monster. I choose Wish Dragon, in Attack Mode."

Wish Dragon: 700 ATK

"I'll then use its effect: by tributing it to the Grave, I'll summon two Dragon Egg Tokens to the field in Defense Mode."

Dragon Eggs: 0 DEF x2

"I end my turn."

"Draw!" said Di. "I summon Spirit Ryu."

Spirit Ryu: 1000 ATK

"Heh," smirked Di. "I should thank you for playing that Shallow Grave, Thunder-boy; it's been a big help. Now I'll flip-summon my face-down monster. Behold, my Five God Dragon!"

Five God Dragon: 5000 ATK

Quickly, Judai muttered to his partner, "Don't worry, I've got a perfect Trap set up for this guy."

"Save it," Sanda whispered back.

"But-"

"Trust me…"

"I'll have Spirit Ryu attack your face-down card," the blue-haired opponent declared. "And as he does, I'll activate his effect: As I discard my other two dragon cards in hand, his Attack Points rise by 1000 for each discarded monster."

Spirit Ryu: 1000- 2000- 3000 ATK

The small worm-like dragon with tiny wings exhaled a tornado that only got bigger as its Attack Points increased. Its gale forces picked up Manjyome's face-down monster into the air, twirling it around before it finally revealed itself as Winged Kuriboh. The poor little monsters' wings just weren't strong enough to fly against the wind, and he was literally blown away like dust.

Manjyome put on a fake frown of despair. "Oh no, he's destroyed my monster. What-ever shall I do?"

"Finish him now, Di!" shouted Shoji.

"With pleasure, Boss. Five God Dragon, attack him directly!"

Shoji watched intensely as the five-headed behemoth unleashed a wave of elemental fury at his brother; there was no way he was getting out of this attack. He was finally done for…

Meanwhile, back at the Duel Academy dig site, a long crane was lowered to pull up a small plate of rock from the earth. It was hoisted above and beyond the unearthed crater and lowered to a team of construction workers equipped with pick-axes and jack-hammers.

Carefully they chipped away at the rock until it split open, revealing a white box no bigger than a suitcase. It was dusted, polished, and ready to be displayed in front of the eldest of Manjyome, Chosaku.

He stared at it, looking pleased with his men's work. This had to be the treasure that Seto Kaiba tried to keep secret. He was sure of it.

Back to the duel:

Di: 8000 LP- it was still his turn and was now attacking Manjyome, at 1400 LP, with a Five God Dragon.

Di's Five God Dragon mercilessly fired a barrage of lightning, fire, water and darkness at its defenseless prey, a surprisingly calm Manjyome. On impact, a wave of smoke engulfed the area in which the duelist stood. For a moment, while it seemed like Sanda was knocked out of play, his older brother was ecstatic; At last, he thought, Jun is finished!

Imagine his surprise when the smoke cleared and still standing there looking no worse for wares was Sanda, still holding on to the same amount of Life Points as before.

Manjyome: 1400 LP

"Wha… WHAT?" gasped a startled Di. "No way, that attacked should have finished you!"

Manjyome, relieved that Di was dumb enough to fall for his trick, took a moment to lavish in his small victory. "Ah yes," he said coyly. "That attack should have gone through, but it didn't. Would anyone here like to explain why it didn't? Anyone? Anyone at all? Come on, don't be shy."

Like a kid in school, Judai enthusiastically raised his hand. "Oo, oo! I do! Pick me, pick me!"

"Ah yes, you in the red shirt. Tell us what happened."

"Well you see, Winged Kuriboh's got an effect that activates when he's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. From there on in, all other attacks from the opponent are reduced to zero."

"That is correct. You get an 'A.'"

Judai's eyes widened and dilated with childish joy. "My first 'A...'"

The older Manjyome narrowed his eyes. "Are you two done?"

"I'm done," replied Di. "I have nothing else to throw at them, so I end my turn."

"Draw!" said Pan. "Don't sweat it, Di; I've got a face-down Five God Dragon too, and now I'll flip it face-up!"

Five God Dragon: 5000 ATK

"Now that it's my turn, he's completely defenseless! Five God Dragon, attack Manjyome!"

Sanda turned to his partner and said, "You may now spring your Trap."

Judai nodded. "Don't have to tell me twice. I chain Mirror Force! Now the attack is not only depleted, but it destroys all opposing monsters!"

The three remaining Long siblings watched in utter shock and humiliation as once again their fields were wiped clean.

Shoji was now grasping his hair, carelessly ruining its once dapper appearance. "How?" he muttered in disbelief. "How is this even possible? Are these two really that good, or just that lucky?"

His younger brother heard him and couldn't help but smirk to himself, "Heh. I remember getting that frustrated with you back in my first year at the Academy."

"Yeah," nodded Judai. "Good times, man. Good times."

"'Course, I was a stubborn, egotistical hard-ass back then."

"…You're still a stubborn, egotistical hard-ass."

"Shuddup."

"I… I have no cards left to play," frowned a disheartened Di. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw," replied Manjyome. His next card was a Trap card, one he looked over carefully. "Ah," he mused softly. "I put this in here at the last minute, just in case I'd run into a tag duel like this… I set this card face down."

A second face-down card rested next to the first one in the Spell/Trap Zone.

"Next," he announced, "I play Monster Reborn on Judai's monster, Elemental Hero Neos Knight."

Elemental Hero Neos Knight: 3000 ATK

"Finally, I summon Gray Wing, in Attack Mode."

Gray Wing: 1300 ATK

"Both of these monsters have something in common: they can both attack twice in one turn. But for Gray Wing, I have to first send a card in my hand to the Graveyard. I'll discard my Prairie Dragon, and I'll have both of these monsters take out the blue-haired boy. Sorry, kid; it's been real, but the show's over."

Both the heavily armored Neos and the crocodilian dragon dashed across the field to swipe away at Di's Life Points. It was only until now that his Life Points have even been touched, so to lose on such a grand scale as this would prove most humbling.

Di: 8000- 5000- 2000- 700- 0- KNOCKOUT

Of all the defeated Long siblings so far, Di became the first to drop to his knees upon defeat.

Without a loss of pace, Manjyome said to his partner, "Your move, Judai."

"Awesome. I draw!" After a few seconds of looking over his cards, the brunette suddenly wondered, "What's the score again?"

Sanda pointed at the opponents one at a time. "Pink-hair Lady's got 5700 Life Points, and the little one's only got 3800 left."

"Okay," nodded Judai. "For this turn I'll-"

"Hey, you guys!" called out a familiar voice. It was Motegi, happily marching back to the scene with his arms loaded with wrapped up food. "Sorry it took so long, but I brought back some food as promised."

"TIME OUT!" screamed Judai, as he sprung from the playing field, ready to pounce on the former Obelisk like a lion on a water buffalo.

As the former Osiris vacuumed up as much food as he could fit into his mouth, all eyes fell on him with both bewilderment and disgust- mostly disgust. All but Jun watched; he palmed his face in extreme embarrassment, muttering the words, "Honest to God, Judai, I can't take you anywhere…"

In a matter of minutes, Judai's hunger was at last satisfied. He then wiped his mouth clean of any sandwiches, vegetables or condiments that may have lingered before he finally got back up and walked back to his place in the makeshift arena. "…Okay, I'm back. Game on! …Wait. Where was I?"

While pinching the top part of his nose as though fighting a migraine, his partner softly pleaded, "Just hit somebody, please?"

"Oh, right! Horus, attack Pink-hair Lady: Black Hellfire!"

The half-eagle, half-dragon spewed a stream of black flames directly at Zhu; though it was just a hologram, she braced herself as though it would hurt.

Zhu: 5700- 2700 LP

Judai then looked over to his dueling partner and asked, "You've got a plan, right bud?"

"Well, it's sort of a backup plan, but at this point I think we're good."

"In that case, I end my turn."

Zhu drew her next card. I first play "Pot of Greed to draw two new cards."

"I'll allow it," nodded the master of Horus.

Zhu's next cards were Spell cards, which would prove useful as she devised a new plot to take down her opponents in one fell swoop. "I play the Spell card Thunderbolt to wipe out your monsters."

"That," Judai growled, "I will not allow. Horus, cancel it out!"

Horus' black fire burned the Spell card to ash, just as Zhu had planned. "You fools!" she grinned evilly. "I wanted you to use Horus' effect, so that I can play more Spell cards this turn."

Realizing his error, Judai gulped. "Uh-oh…"

"Now," said the female duelist, "I play the Spell card Monster Reborn, on my brother Pan's Five God Dragon."

Five God Dragon: 5000 ATK

"Then I play the Spell card Dragon's Mirror, sending five dragons in my graveyard out of play to summon my very own Five God Dragon."

Five God Dragon: 5000 ATK

"Finally," Zhu grinned, "I play the Spell card Change of Heart, on Horus the Black Flame Dragon!"

Horus' eyes went white as though it were under a spell, and fluttered over to Zhu's field to join the ranks in oversized dragons.

"With three god-like dragons at my command," bragged the pink-haired duelist, "I now dominate the field. It's all over now!"

Narrowing his eyes, Manjyome replied, "It is all over. I chain my Trap Card, Ring of Destruction! I'll use it on your second Five God Dragon."

A dark ring with a set of round bombs connected to it was placed around Zhu's Five God Dragon at its mid-section, binding its arms.

"You wouldn't dare!" yelled Pan. "Once that ring goes off, then we'll ALL be knocked out of the game!"

"Not necessarily," Sanda corrected him. "I now chain my other Trap Card, Life Exchange! This card activates when my partner and I experience Life Point loss due to a card's effect. Now all of the damage Judai would have taken will be transferred to me."

"What?" gasped Judai. "But… dude! You're gonna…"

"It's my last ditch effort," Sanda explained in a calm tone. "One of us has to win that treasure, Judai, and if I can't save myself than I can at least save you… Oh! And there's one other effect to Life Exchange: As my Life Points deplete, I can destroy the last Five God Dragon for good measure. So let's do this. Ring of Destruction, activate!"

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-KA-BOOM!

Manjyome: 1400- 0- KNOCKOUT

Zhu: 2700- 0- KNOCKOUT

Pan: 3800- 0- KNOCKOUT

Judai: 2000 LP- WINNER!

While both Zhu and Pan fell to their knees, they were soon helped back to their feet by their other brothers: Tian, Shen, and Di. They patted their backs and softly congratulated them for a duel well fought, despite their defeat.

Judai watched them from afar, realizing that they weren't the punks he once thought they were. They were a family, proud of each-others' efforts, just as they should have been. He smiled.

Motegi also observed them near the former Osiris and smiled, "They seem like nice guys."

"Yeah," sighed Judai. But then his attention switched to someone else who was licking his own wounds.

As Manjyome brushed dust off his jacket's arm, Judai moved in closer to speak with him. "Manjyome…?"

"San-da."

"I just wanted to say how cool that was of you to let me win like that."

The black-clad duelist paused to search through his recovered deck, just to see how far he was from drawing the card he intended to find. "…I really didn't have much choice, Judai… See?" He pulled out a card that was almost at the very end of the deck's stack, and showed it to his surprised partner.

"My 'Ring of Defense' was close to the bottom. If I had it on hand, I could have saved myself that last turn. But I'm not upset about losing, if you can believe that; I'm just glad we got the job done and showed up those amateurs."

"Yeah," nodded his friend. "We did do just that."

Nearby, Shoji's phone rang again. Patiently he picked it up and talked into it. "Yes? …I see. Excellent work, gentlemen. Bring the chopper around."

As the older Manjyome began to walk away, Jun and Judai were quick to catch up with him, both determined to make sure their deal goes through.

"Nii-san!" called out Jun, with Judai right behind him. "Remember your deal: We win, we get the object you were digging up at the Academy site."

The tall blue-suited man turned around to face his little brother and his tag-along friend. "Aw, Jun-chan, did you forget what he really agreed on? The deal was that if you won the duel, then you'd claim the treasure."

Both Jun and Judai gasped with gaping mouths, their eyes widened in shock. "But… We won as a team," argued Judai. "Didn't we?"

"I don't care if you win, kid. My brother here was supposed to stay in that duel to the very end. But instead, he threw the game; and now the deal is off. You may have won the game, but I've won the bet."

The younger Manjyome gnashed his teeth. "I always knew you were a cheat, Shoji, but this is low even for you!"

"You really need to just accept the way things are, little brother. You don't wear 'sore loser' well."

Judai was about to charge, when his friend held him back. "Let him go," whispered Jun. "He'll get his sooner or later."

A silver helicopter appeared in the sky, coming from where the dig site was. The door swung open, revealing Chosaku inside.

"Let's go, Shoji! We've got what we came for!" he shouted.

He threw down a long rope ladder for his brother to grab hold of. Shoji grabbed it and let the chopper lift him off the ground. He was keen on looking back at Jun and Judai with a smug smile and salute before disappearing into the chopper. The two boys shielded their faces from the whipping winds as they watched both the elder Manjyomes and their stolen treasure fly away.

III

Some time passed, and the group of duelists gathered at the food court set up by the construction workers. By now, even Sanda was starving and helped himself to a big plate of pizza and fries. The Long siblings had their fair share of fish foods and salads, but Judai was still scarfing down hamburgers and sub-sandwiches. In this one brief moment, there was peace between the rivals.

"So," lamented young Pan to his big brother Tian, "I guess this means we won't get into any dueling schools, huh?"

The blonde-haired leader frowned, "I'm pretty sure we just lost the Manjyome Group's sponsorship… But don't give up so soon, Pan. You guys deserve a chance to get into a good school."

Judai and company scooted over from the other side of the table and showed curiosity in the conversation. "So," mused Judai, "you guys really wanna get into North Academy, huh?"

"Well," explained Zhu, "Di and Pan are the real duelists in this family. The rest of us were just showing our support for them. As for Tian, Shen and myself, we already have jobs. I'm a hair stylist."

"I'm a fitness instructor," added Tian.

"And I'm aspiring to be a race car driver," confessed Shen.

Judai, Motegi and Manjyome exchanged glances of interest before the black-clad duelist replied with, "Well, to tell you guys the truth, we were pretty impressed with some of those moves back there. I totally wasn't expecting Dark Horus, or Spirit Ryu."

"Or so many five-headed dragons," smiled Judai sheepishly.

Young Pan turned to them and said, "But you guys were amazing. I can only wish I'd get as good as you two."

Jun couldn't help but feel touched by this. He smiled, "Tell you what, kiddo. You brush up your skills a bit, then when you're at the right age, I'll put in a good word for you and your brother at North Academy."

"Really? You'll sponsor us?" squealed Pan.

"I just might," said the youngest Manjyome.

Overcome with newfound hopes, Pan and Di gave each other a high-five.

"Thanks, Manjyome-san," smiled Pan, who then turned to the other duelist and added, "And thank you too for the awesome duel… Judai."

So excited to hear his name right that the brunette with the auburn eyes quicklythrusted his pinky finger into his right ear to clean it out. He then leaned in until his right ear was in the boy's face. "Say that again?"

"Judai."

"One more time, for clarification."

"Heh-heh… It's Judai."

"That's what I like to hear," grinned the red-shirted duelist, who shook the kid's hand firmly.

"There's just one question I have to ask you guys," Jun added while glancing over at Tian and Shen. "Since my brothers hired you to distract us, is there anything you might know about the so-called 'treasure' they were digging up back there?"

Shen paused to think about it, then replied with, "I remember overhearing them one time, something about finding the key to their success."

There was that word, the word that kept back into Judai's subconscious like a remembered nightmare: key.

"Three keys!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and staring blankly at nothing as though overcome by a trance. "Three keys to the gate that must never be opened! That's what my sister tried to warn me about!"

"What's that again?" blinked Zhu.

Judai leaned over to Manjyome and explained while frowning with extreme worry, "My dream this morning- it wasn't so much a dream as it was a vision. Fuu was speaking to me like a ghost; she said something about a gate that must never be opened, and there are three keys to it… It all makes sense to me now… That 'treasure' we were fighting for was one of the three keys."

Manjyome remained skeptical. "Are you sure?"

"Dude, I can feel it in my bones. Something freaky's going down, something we've gotta stop. You gotta be with me on this, Manjyome. Your brothers, whatever it is they're up to, they've got to be stopped."

It took him a minute for his former rival's words to sink in, but seeing the fear in Judai's eyes was proof enough that he was speaking the truth. Jun took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright, Juda. I'm gonna trust your gut on this, only because I already know my brothers are slimy crooks. But if you're right, and they have this so-called 'key,' then we have to figure out where the other two are and get them before my brothers do."

"Right… So… where does that leave us then?"

"Square one, I'm afraid."

Judai face-faulted.

"Hey," chirped Tian. "Do you guys need a ride back to Japan? We were gonna catch the ship the construction workers are going on."

"That sounds like a good idea," nodded Manjyome.

He and his friends grabbed the last bit of food they could- Judai's arms just weren't long enough to grab the table, so he made do with the last sub-sandwiches.

Together, the duelists boarded the last ship that would ultimately take them home, and towards their next adventures.

Life was quiet once more for the Yuki family, once Judai and Jun came back home. They both had lied to the family about spending that weekend at a friend's house to avoid worry from Judai's parents, and seeing the welcome they received upon coming home proved that their plan worked. All seemed right in the world.

A week had gone by. All was calm in the city of Domino, especially when night fell on one particular Saturday evening.

It took them several days to do so, but the elder Manjyome brothers finally managed to pry open their acquired white box from the dig site. They placed it in their own office in their recently repaired mansion. At first they were hesitant; they feared that this whole venture would have been for nothing. But curiosity got the better of them eventually; Chosaku opened the lid.

Both brothers were spellbound by the innards of the box: placed in its center, blanketed by a cloth of red velvet, was one of the rarest Duel Monster cards in existence, and the only copy of its kind.

The God of Obelisk.

That same night, Seto Kaiba was typing away at his computer in his office, when a sudden rap at his door caught his attention. "Enter," he said.

The door gently swung open; Kaiba paid no interest in whom it was that was now walking toward his desk. But once the man made his presence known by his side, he looked up and blinked with surprise. "Yugi."

The King of Games gave him a respectful nod. "Hello, Seto."

Kaiba leaned back in his desk, no longer interested in whatever he was typing. "I suppose this is about the plans we've discussed?"

"It is."

"And have you finally made your decision?"

"I have."

Kaiba noticed the weariness in Yugi's eyes. He could already tell what his decision was going to be.

It was on that same Saturday evening that Jun had control of the television in the family room, while most of the Yuki family was out with their friends or relatives. In a casual garb of a white tee shirt and black jean pants, he flipped through the channels to see if anything would spark his interest. Most of the channels had commercials, so it was unclear if any of them had something special to offer.

But eventually, he stopped on one channel and listened in. What he heard would come as such a shock that it compelled him to shout out, "Judai! Get in here, you've got to see this!"

Judai ran in, wearing a casual clue tee shirt with white lining like a sports jersey, and light tan pants. He jumped onto the couch next to Jun on his right, while Manjyome turned up the volume.

"Hey," peeped Judai. "Is that Kaiba-san on screen?"

"It is."

"We are coming to you live at Kaiba Corp.'s main tower," said the female news reporter. "Tonight, Kaiba Seto, head of Kaiba Corp., is going to announce a special event that will take place within a month or so. Stay tuned while Mister Kaiba prepares his speech…"

In a small auditorium within his main building, Kaiba had gathered as many news reporters as he could at the last possible minute. He stood onstage with a podium like a president about to declare war on a country. The reporters waited on baited breath while Kaiba cleared his throat and prepared himself for what he was about to say:

"Good evening, everyone. As you know, I am Kaiba Seto, head of Kaiba Corp. and long-time collaborator of Industrial Illusions. In the past few weeks, I have been holding secret meetings with the likes of Pegasus J. Crawford, as well as the King of Games himself, Moto Yugi…"

Two of Judai's younger siblings gathered at the television, listening in on the sudden new report. All eyes were glued to the talking box.

"There have been rumors going around if I was going to set up a tournament for the summer, as has become somewhat of a tradition in recent years. I am here to tell you that those rumors are true. But this will not be just any tournament, my friends; this will be the crème de le crème of tournaments. I'm dubbing it, 'The Tournament of Kings.'"

Seto continued his speech uninterrupted: "The last few years we have seen rising duelists from all over the world, and each year one player comes closer and closer to rivaling that of Moto Yugi. I believe, as does Yugi, that the time will soon come when someone will finally defeat him once and for all in a duel of the century. That is part of the reasoning behind this new duel.

"There are some of you who may wonder if this duel comes at an inappropriate time, in reference to the recent tragedy of Duel Academy Island. My prayers and respects go out to those families who've lost a loved one in that tragedy, but this tournament is also meant to be held in their honor as well. We will hold a special memorial ceremony one day prior to this new duel."

"Mister Kaiba, Mister Kaiba!" shouted some reporters.

"Please," he responded, "No questions until after I am finished."

Judai held his chin in his hand while his elbow placed itself on his knee.

"There is one more reason why we are holding this tournament. I will now stand aside and let someone else speak from here on in. Ladies and gentlemen, Mister Moto Yugi."

Cameras flashed as Yugi walked across the stage and toward the podium. The reporters were cheering somewhat, but as Yugi settled in front of the microphone, all fell silent.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, Kaiba, for this opportunity to speak to everyone."

Kaiba nodded to his former rival.

Yugi cleared his throat before announcing, "You're all probably wondering why I'm here. Well, I'm here because I have a very important announcement to make. You see, after all these years of being King of Games, I feel as though I have fulfilled all of my childhood dreams and then some. But there comes a point in a man's life when he has to step back and look back at what he's done in order to see where he's going.

"What I'm getting at is this: recently, I've been having less and less fun being the King of Games. Playing Duel Monsters is supposed to be fun, and for me it just isn't fun anymore. It's not that I don't appreciate the fans or the sponsors; it's just that having to show up in a dueling arena to prove myself time and time again is feeling like a chore. It's just not the same as it was when I first started out… I'm just…. tired. I'm worn out…"

"I've made a special offer with Kaiba Seto this weekend. I will be participating in the Tournament of Kings as a final challenge to the duelist that can defeat all other competitors. But know this, ladies and gentlemen: this will be my final game. Once this tournament is over, win or lose, I will be officially retiring my title as King of Games."

Gasps took over the room; even Judai's younger siblings were stunned even though they didn't fully understand the weight of this announcement.

Judai and Jun looked at each other, each with their mouths gaped open. Was this really happening?

"I hope you all understand where it is I'm coming from," said Yugi with a hint of sadness in his red-violet eyes. "I will not only be taking part in the tournament though, I'll also be a supervisor, a judge during the semi-finals and finals, and I will of course be there to crown the duelist whom I believe is most worthy to take my place.

"…I don't know what else to say, except that it's been such an honor to be part of your lives. I do hope that my decision will benefit the future of Duel Monsters… Thank you."

A barrage of camera flashes and reporters demanding attention rocked Yugi to the core; Seto gently pushed him aside so that he could take over and let his former rival pause to breathe.

"You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen," said Kaiba. "In the next coming months, we will be going forward with our plan to turn the center of Domino City into the biggest dueling arena the world has ever seen. All age groups, nationalities and such will be given their chance to sign in for their participation. So get ready, duelists: The Tournament of Kings will soon be on."

Both Judai and Jun took deep breaths.

"Woah…" muttered Judai.

"Yeah… woah…" replied a winded Manjyome.

Their whole world just changed in those few short seconds. From here on in, they would no longer be ordinary duelists. They would become contenders for the ultimate crown.

TO BE CONTINUED

Card Translations/Rulings:

God Dragon Ragnarok = Divine Dragon Ragnarok

Totem Dragon: In the TCG, this card counts as a Tuner. But Tuners don't exist in the YGO/GX world, nor do Synchro Monsters, so his initial effect and the fact that it's a Dragon type are the only things that come into factor here.

Spirit Ryu: I've used the original TCG ruling of this card before it was watered down; before you could discard any number of dragons, nowadays you can only discard one. This effect was also seen in the anime once.

Wish Dragon/Egg Tokens: A card and effect exclusive to the "GX" Manga. The effect ruling follows the Manga.

Prairie Dragon: A "GX" Manga exclusive, and truly is in Manjyome's all-dragon deck.

Cemetery Change and Life Exchange: Two anime-exclusive cards, both used in the "GX" anime. Their card rulings here follow those from the anime.

God of Obelisk = Obelisk the Tormentor