Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Summary: Luna and Leo are assigned a school history project. What do they choose to do the project on? Well, since they love Duel Monsters so much, they decided to write about the Battle City Finals! Though technology, they are able to stand in on the actual duels, witnessing every monster, spell, trap, and pun uttered by the original show's duelists!

TLTTLTLTTLTLTL

Welcome to the Neo Domino City Library,spoke an electronic yet distinctly feminine voice.

"Yeah, yeah, lady," Leo scoffed, waving his hand as if swatting away the disembodied speaker. Needless to say, he did not wish to spending his Saturday at the Neo Domino City Library.

He was just glad that unlike the stories of the olden-day libraries, where it smelled like rotting paper, the new library was completely digital. It was a total electronic database filled with the highest engineered self-checking reserve system. Neon blue lines and shiny, reflective metal was the theme of the modern library, like much of the city. However, it still retained potted fern like plants or palms in corners that used to be native to the area.

"Leo!" Luna scolded, popping up from behind a chrome terminal. "Over here!" She waved at her twin excitedly.

Why was she so excited to start working on a school project? Leo shrugged and followed his sister. Apparently, she had found an empty data access point, where they would be able to browse the endless information of cyberspace. The room was a basically a private, well-sized closet. Utilizing and accessing the data, however, transported the partisans into a simulated reality where it was most convenient to retrieve and process information.

The door readily slid closed behind Leo, making him jump a bit. Sometimes, the technology was just toofast for his taste.

Input Search Inquiry,the computer lady insisted. The walls disappeared, and the chamber was illuminated in a soft light.

"Uh…" Leo was at a loss for words. "Ask my sister."

Luna rolled her eyes, but giggled. "I would like to view the Battle City Tournament Archives…please," she added as an afterthought.

Instantly, the blue, bolded letters of the famous historical tournament were juxtaposed against the logo of the historically known Kaiba Corporation. They shimmered there in space in front of the twins for a second before fading into a menu.

"We're looking for a log of the duels," Luna told Leo.

"What for?"

"The project, dum-dum!" she quipped. "And we're going to do a report on one of the duels."

"Like that hasn't been done before," Leo contented. "But I'm just glad the teacher let us write one about dueling…even if it is a historyproject."

"We can probably learn a lot from this, actually," Luna's eyes sparkled.

"Actually, I heard that the memory encoding of these duels is really sketchy," Leo pointed out.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, sometimes the simulation recording go fuzzy around some duel monsters or actual people," he explained, scratching the back of his neck. "And that some duels are completely black."

"Well, we could only reconstruct with our 3-D simulation what they recorded back then. And back then was a looonnngtime ago. Besides, this tournament was completely full of pot holes anyway," Luna explained. "I'veheard that four of the finalists were actually supposed to be a part of the tournament in the first place."

"I thought it was five."

"Whatever. But we can find out the answer here if we stay a bit later," Luna smiled.

"Nevermind, let's just sit whichever duel we want to watch," Leo dismissed.

Battle City,the computer said.

The words echoed though Leo and Luna's minds like a sacred whisper.

This legendary tournament was a cardinal point in Duel Monster history. Not only was it the first to utilize the duel disk system, but their battles were the first to involve the Egyptian God cards. Of course, it was the duelist that made the win, and the finalists during the tournament were no joke.

Looking though the general information of the archives of the tournament revealed how it was initially set up. First, only some duelists of the time were even qualified to participate in the tournament. From that moment on, they needed for duel for six locator cards that would eventually reveal the location of the finals.

Running though the list of registered duelists and the finalists, only half of the eight had actually been registered. Ishizu Ishtar somehow joined the finals undetected. Odion Ishtar and Marik Ishtar joined under fake names. Joey Wheeler somehow entered the tournament without permission, yet was allowed to undertake the tournament. Even more baffling was the fact that a duelist named Ryou Bakura had apparently stolen another participant's duel disk, yet somehow was let into the finals.

Must have been some crazy times…

Having attended for a period at Duel Academy, Leo and Luna knew the general info about the tournament. But that was just the basics. For their report, they needed more rawinformation, more digging into the records of the tournament.

Luna and Leo could find book and books about this tournament. If they wanted to read about some professional analyst's thoughts about the duels, they could have; however, they wanted to make observations from the primary source.

And that meant watching the duels. Good thing is, modern technology just came out with a 3-D rendition of the duel to take place around the observers. In effect, Leo and Luna would be sitting on the sidelines like the other spectators.

"Kaiba's legacy on technology is amazing, isn't it?" Leo almost sighed.

Knowing her twin's thoughts, she just smiled and continued browsing though the files of the tournament. Eventually, she came to a folder that readBattle City Finals Record-Simulation.

"Found it!" she exclaimed, and lightly waved her finger over the word.

Then the computer voice announced, Error, Code 567483: Authorization Required.

"What?" she asked the computer, confused.

Leo only bit his lip.

Luna tried again, failed to access the folder, and admitted, "It's not working." She was disappointed.

"Luna, think about it," Leo comforted. "We've readabout these—they're legendary. We already know who won. But do you remember actually viewinganyrecording, even just in plain video, of these duels?"

Luna's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't think that they were intentionally blocked, do you?"

Leo nodded. He then offered her a pat on the back and a wide grin. "Just leave it to me—I'll hack us into this system."

And, like everyone on the planet, he activated his duel disk on his arm.

"Leo! What are you—"

"I summon Jinzo!" he yelled, placing a card face up on his duel disk.

Immediately, a nearly nine feet tall hologram appeared before the two twins. Luna was startled for a moment, but then regained her composure. She knew where this was going. Luna especially held a strong connection to the spirits of the duel monster, and that relationship was defaulted, if a bit dimmed down to, her twin brother.

Leo smirked, "Alright, Jinzo! Take it away!"

The bipedal creature that looked like a technologically-adept sorcerer nodded. His three goggled eyes glowed with a strong, red light before beaming at the suspended screen. Zero's and one's of "computer language" drifted across the screen, their code being transcribed, translated, and rewritten. Then, the card stopped, and he turned back to Leo.

"Thanks, man," Leo said gratefully, to which Jinzo simply faded away into crude pixels. Leo turned to Luna, giving a victory sign, "Take it away, Sis!"

"Sure thing!" she cheered, looking at the new list. "Hm…now which duel do we want to view?"

"How about the one with that one Egyptian God Card… 'Ra' or something like that—oh yeah: the Winged Dragon of Ra!" he finally remembered.

"Which duel was that?"

"You mean youdon't remember?" he looked at his sister skeptically. She only gave an embarrassed look back. "Oh, well…I don't remember the specifics, either…but I think that one of the Ra's was fake."

"Yeah, that too. But which duel had the real one?" she repeated her question.

"I don't know. Well, I do remember it was one of the Ishtars. But three contestants have that last name!" Leo stared at the screen. "Why don't we just start with that one right there—the second duel of the finals."

"Odion Ishtar vs. Joey Wheeler? Okay, here goes," she pressed her finger over the title. "If it's not in this duel, we can just go back and view the others."

Leo nodded.

The computer lady announced, Battle City Final Round Two—Odion Ishtar vs. Joey Wheeler.

The twins' surrounding changed as the holograms filled the room. The technology was absolutely spectacular. One moment they were in a closet-sized library terminal, the next they were over a mile in the air!

"Whoa!" Leo exclaimed. He shivered, feeling the wind on his bare arms.

"Yeah," Luna agreed, rubbing hers and brushing hair out of her face.

"Look at the city! This must have been what Neo Domino City—I mean Domino City—was like before! It's amazing!" Leo shouted, running towards the railings. Luna caught up behind him.

"This is so neat—it's like we're living the moment," she breathed. They braced as the blimp flew though a cloud.

"Oh, hey look—people!" Leo pointed. "But wait…I thought there were eight finalists. There's a couple more."

Luna looked over at the figures emerging from an elevator. "Well, I assume that one's the announcer," she said nodding towards an older, official looking man in a black suit and tie and sunglasses. "And that must be"—she paused to gasp as a tall brown haired man sporting a long white trench coat stepped on deck— "theSeto Kaiba."

"Oh boy," Leo rolled his eyes. "I heard he was a jerk. Why do you have a crush on him?"

"You just don't get it!" she huffed, tracing Kaiba Corportation's CEO to one side of the blimp. A small, long black haired boy followed in tow. "The one dressed like Carly must be Mokuba Kaiba, his younger brother."

"Hey, I recognize that one!" Leo yelled excitedly as a shorter kid with a very pointy hairstyle emerged with a larger group of people off the elevator. He then whispered reverently, "That's the King-of-Games: Yugi Moto."

As avid duelists and raised in a society completely obsessed with the now professional sporting game, they could not help but stare in silence and awe at his royal pointy-hair-and-bondage-ness.

"He's…shorter than I thought he'd be," Leo eventually spoke.

"Yeah…and not as intimidating," Luna concurred. "But…the look in his eyes is very sure, very defiant—like he knowswhat he has to do. Yusei's sort of has that look, you know?"

Shaking his head Leo then demanded, "Computer, pause. Name individuals."

Luna added, "Please."

The holograms paused, and glowing names appeared next to the people on the deck. "Okay, so this is Mai Valentine—she's a finalist." A taller, gorgeous woman with long blonde hair was looking up at Joey, her face that of a seasoned competitor with a soft heart.

Next they came upon a very handsome, slender teenager with black hair and bright green eyes. His style was most definitely punk, but for some reason he gave the impression off that he was good at math. "This is Duke Devlin—not a competitor, but I think he was later employed by Industrial Illusions," Leo then said.

"Tristan Taylor," Luna read aloud the name above a taller guy. He looked like a sophisticated delinquent, like he should be working for the mafia—his hairs at least reminded Luna of the yakuza bosses' style. Whatever the case, he didn't seem like fighting with cardswas his style.

"Hey, this girl is Serenity Wheeler," Leo read. The girl seemed a bit younger than the others, but was very pretty in all her youth. The most remarkable aspect was her gorgeous grey eyes full of hope.

"And this one's Tea Gardner," Luna said, staring at a teenage girl with short brown hair. The young woman looked distressed at the moment, and gave off a very caring feeling.

"And that must be the real Marik Ishatar," Leo said, nodding to the tan young man standing behind them. He had strange face markings extending from his eyes, and vibrant purple eyes. "He faced Yugi in the finals, right?"

Luna nodded. "Over there on the platform are Joey Wheeler and Odion Ishtar—I think that's that where they stand to duel each other," Luna said.

Joey Wheeler was a bright-looking, blonde teen who almost gave off a delinquent-like vibe. He was glowering at Odion for the moment, his face filled with contempt at mistrust. Odion, in turn, was a very buff and tall man with darker skin. On the left side of his face was some intricate tattoo of symbols neither twin could read.

"Hm, but I'm pretty sure that two of the contestants aren't up here," Luna tallied up all the people on the deck.

"Who cares? Let's watch," Leo turned to look at the dueling platform.

"Hel-lo! We're writing a report, here!" Luna reminded. "Computer Lady, reveal a list of the contests' names not on this deck."

The words Ishizu Ishtarand Ryou Bakurashimmered into view.

"Huh, you'd think they'd want to watch," Leo pointed out.

"Well, it says next to the Bakura guy's name that he was already eliminated. I don't know about Ms. Ishtar, though," Luna rubbed her chin.

"And you'd think a person even if they lost a battle would want to see the rest of the finals," Leo said. "But let's just watch this thing!"

"…Should I get popcorn?" Luna asked slyly, waving the names away.

"Hey!" Leo nudged her playfully. "Let's sit with the spectators hanging around the King of Games."

"Computer, resume play!" Luna cried. "Please." They hurried next to the audience, standing a bit beside Mai Valentine.

The announcer readily exclaimed for the spectators to hear, raising his arm into the air, "Alright! Both duelists will now take their places in the arena. Elevate the field!"

Tristan, the viewer with a triangular-styled brown hair do cheered, "C'mon, Joey!"

The announcer took no notice. "The winner of this duel will advance to the next round of the Battle City Finals; the loser will be dismissed," he explained. "Alright, gentlemen: it's time to begin, so if you'll please take your places on either end of the playing field, we can get this duel underway."

The duelers exchanged their decks, proceeding to shuffle. Joey, a blonde haired teen seemed to be intensely glaring at his opponent. The said opponent—Odion Ishtar—only showed a frown, even as Joey continually and excessively shuffled his deck.

"Uh…gentlemen?" the announcer urged.

Odion crossed his arms, done shuffling his deck. Now he was just waiting to swap them back.

"Yeah!" Tristan beside the twins shouted. "Show tattoo-face what dueling's all about, Joey!"
"Wow—Joey looks really fired up to duel Marik!" the King of Games remarked.

"Whoa, he really doessound like a kid!" Leo smiled.

"Leo, I think the King is actually just in high school," Luna reminded.

"Of course when Joey gets really steamed, he tends to shoot his mouth off," Tristan replied to Yugi. "But he better watch what he says to this guy—Marik's mean enough without Joey's lip."

"Why do they keep on calling Odion 'Marik'?" Leo asked.

"I can't remember right now…but it's on the tip of my tongue," Luna murmured.

Meanwhile, Joey continued shuffling Odion's deck.

Serenity said softly, "I hope that Joey's okay…"

"Serenity, I almost forgot that this is your first time seeing you brother's duel, isn't it?" Tea asked.

"That's right."

Tea smiled, looking up at the two duelists, "Well, I'm sure with you here cheering him on, there's no way he'll lose."

The announcer, apparently fed up with the needless shuffling, commanded, "Let's go!You've shuffled enough cards for ten duels. Now both of you take your positions."

"Sister, this…is really funny…and and duel hasn't even started yet," Leo said, barely containing his snicker at the shuffling of cards.

"Well, they didn't have machines to shuffle their decks back then," Luna said. "And youdon't even know how to shuffle a deck anyways!"

"Hey!"

Luna, realizing that she would have to be the serious one, tried to hide her own smile, "Don't forget that we're here to get information."

Finally, Joey stopped shuffling, and quickly swapped back decks with Odion. They walked to their respective dueling areas.

Joey extended his pointer finger dramatically at Odion. "Yo! Listen up you bald headed freak, according to my math—you're gonna be washed up in all nine turns if you can count!"

Duke asked, "Where'd he come up nine?"

Tristan replied, "With Joey, you don't ask."

"Okay, I'm confused," Luna said.

"Nine turns, I guess? But I thought there wasn't a limit," Leo thought aloud.

Clasping her hands together, Serenity admired, "My brother's awesome! He's got this whole duel calculated in his head already!"

"That's right, Serenity, you just keep believing everything he says," Mai acknowledged sarcastically.

Up on the metallic dueling platform, Odion reached behind his long robe, drawing out a strange golden device. It was a scepter of some sort, with an Egyptian-style eye on its head. When it was revealed, Joey literally recoiled. Some of the spectators beside Leo and Luna also staggered in disgust.

Joey found his voice, "Point that thing somewhere else and duel like a man!"

Surprisingly, Odion hooked it back though his belt, "Very well."

"Look, Marik-," Joey shouted angrily, but stopped mid sentence. " Did you say 'very well'?" Apparently, he was confused at Odion's behavior.

"Luna, what was that thing?" Leo inquired.

She shrugged, "I don't remember."

"Should've paid attention in our history classes, huh?" Leo snickered.

"Maybe one of these people here will mention later on what that was. Until then, let's just pay attention," Luna hoped.

"Oh…well anyway, since Marik's right behind us," Leo said. "I guess this Odion guy was the contestant that entered under Marik's name."

"Yeah, right," Luna affirmed.

Joey then cried, "Let's do this Marik!"

"It's time to duel," Odion spoke the staple of the game as they placed their decks within their dueldisks. "And destroy you!"

"…And destroy you?" Leo bit his lip, containing laughter. "Man, this duel is going to be dramatic—I can just feel it!"

Luna fought an urge to roll her eyes, "Yeah, like ourduels are anything different."

"Gentlemen, let the duel begin!" the referee called.

A great rush of wind swept over the playing field, ruffling out Odion's cloak. "Prepare for defeat!" he yelled.

Luna and Leo braced from the gust. The effects of the replay sure were well done.

"Don't count on it, Marik—I'm not scared of you!" Joey retorted, drawing his first card. "I'll start, ya freak."

On the sidelines, Tristan pumped his first into the air, "That's right! You da man, Joey!"

"Show this robed weirdo who's boss!" Mai shouted out.

Duke asked, "Hey, Yugi, did Joey ever take back his Red Eyes Black Dragon card?"

The small King of Game only shook his head.

"Whoa—the Red Eyes Black Dragon?" Leo's eyes went wide. "That card is super famous!"

"Not as famous as the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Luna said, her eyes darting to Kaiba on the other side of the deck.

"He'll be alright," Tristan reassured. "C'mon Joey, you've come this far, man—you can beat him!"

"Yeah, but I bet he's never faced an opponent as unpredictable as this guy," Duke said skeptically.

"Well, we've all seen the evil Marik's capable of," Yugi balanced, "and it's pretty obvious that he's not to be trusted.

"Joey's just gotta keep his cool," Tristan said.

"He sure had good friends," Luna grinned. "I bet they help him out with cheering." Leo only nodded in agreement.

"They're like his personal cheerleading squad," Leo said flatly. "But what do they mean about Marik being capable of 'evil'?"

Luna only shrugged. Though the duels were well known, not much information was known about the contestants of the Battle City Tournament. Sometimes, the whole fiasco could be a blatant mystery. What's more, many of the contestants would not talk about the finals afterwards. Furthermore, records showed that Kaiba had paid off the media a good sum of money to prevent any interviews or investigation into the matter.

So, then, why make such a 3D rendition of the duel for everyone (or at least the "Authorized Personal" ) to see? Leo and Luna could only push the question to the back of their heads as the battle commenced.

Joey on the stage started giggling in excitement, probably in anticipation of the duel. All of a sudden, another great gust blew through the stage. His cards were pushed right out of his hands.

"Oh no!" Luna inhaled a short breath.

Thankfully, Joey scrambled and successfully caught his cards, one he latched onto with his mouth.

"Hey, Joey! You might want to actually hold onto your cards for this duel!" Duke teased.

From the rest of the supports, including Leo and Luna, a feeling between relief and did-that-really-just-happen hovered in the air.

"You guys, he need support," prompted Serenity. "Nice catch there, big brother!"

Leo and Luna literally fell over at this antic. Her love and support for her brother seemed to blind her of his obvious goofiness. As siblings themselves, they glanced at each other.

"Is that how I'm like when you're in a though spot?" Leo asked.

"Um…"

Joey grinned, back in action, "Now then, where was I?"

"Acting like a fool," Odion answered.

"That's enough out of you, Marik, so check this out!" he placed a card on his disk in a sweeping motion. "Now, I summon Gierfried, the Iron Knight in attack mode!"

"Wow, that card is ancient," Leo marveled at the warrior. "Do you think we'll get to see the antique cards in these duels?"

"Yeah, for sure!" Luna assumed. "None of the Syncro-summoning had been developed at this point, nor the Elemental Heroes."

"Ah, now this is looking like a duel!" Tristan commended.

"And there's more where that came from!" Joey warned. "Now let's see what you got, though guy!"

Being Odion's turn now, he proceeded to draw his card.

"I'm waiting…" Joey said impatiently.

Placing a field spell card, Odion glared, "I'll play Temple of the King a card like none you've ever seen!"

The electronic sound effects switched to a rumbling noise as a great structure emerged behind Odion. It appeared to be an ancient alter of some sort, complete with massive columns and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. A golden box sat at the top of its stairs, ominous and impressive in its design.

"What's going on?" Joey seemed unsettled. "What's the deal with that building, Marik?"

"The structure behind me is the ancient temple of the kings," Odion disclosed. "Within this 5000 year old sanctuary lie the greatest treasures of the kings of Egypt!"

Joey could only stare, "…And what does that big shack do?"

"Big shack?" Leo blinked, and then burst out laughing.

"To protect the king's treasure," Odion continued, "It limits the number of magic and trap card you can play in one turn."

Joey eyes widened in disbelief at the huge handicap just inflicted upon him, "Aw, man…"

"And in front of the temple, I'll lay two cards face down as an extra boundary of protection," he said as two face downs appeared on the field. He glanced back up at Joey and threatened, "And with this move, I end my turn. So try to attack me if you dare—you have no ideawhat danger lurks within these temple walls."

Tea said surprised, "Marik hasn't even summoned one monster!"

"I was thinking that same thing," Luna turned to Tea, but remembered she couldn't be heard by the holograms.

Tristan yelled, "Attack his life points!"

Duke jeered, "That's stupid."

"Oh, and why's that?" Tristan demanded.

"Because Marik probably wants him to attack so he can activate his face down cards to put a serious hurt on Joey," Duke enlightened. "It's way too risky, dummy."

Tristan frowned, "Good point."

Serenity called to her brother, "Everything alright, Joey?"

Tristan added, "You look pretty scared, dude!"

Joey, uncertain of how to interpret their support could only stutter, "Ehhhh.."

"What's the delay?" Odion challenged. "Don't you realize that no matter what you do you're finished, Mr. Wheeler? So make your move!"

Joey drew his card, and thought for a moment. "Say goodnight, Marik!" he finally yelled. "I summon Tiny guardian in attack mode! And that's all I'm gonna do for now, chrome-dome."

"Joey's gotta attack him sometime," Tristan said.

Serenity said hopefully, "I'm sure that my big brother has some kind of plan."

"Observe, you fool," Odion wasted no time commencing his turn. "I place two more cards face down on the field—and now my move is complete."

Yuugi did some math, "Now Marik's got four cards face down!"

"That spineless snake is just going to sit back and wait for Joey to attack him," Mai speculated. "When he does, Mariks'g gonna spring one of his traps. It's the oldest and whimpiest trick in the book."

"Alright, baldy. Take this!" Joey drew and placed another card on the field. "I summon Hayabusa Knight. It's time for me to demolish that ancient palace of yours!"

Odion looked the tiniest bit curious.

Joey inserted a card into a slot, "I play Giant Trunade!" A card-inflicted mini tornado swept to Odion's side of the field.

Mai cheered, "Yes! Marik will have nothing on the field to protect himself!"

"It looks like Joey might be the winner!" Yugi agreed.
But, as the Trunade danced about Odion's cards, its effect did not work on the face down cards.

"WHHAATT…? Why did it stop? Your cards should've been history!" Joey asked in utter disbelief.

Mai asked the same thing, "What's going on?"

"Yeah, wouldn't we like to know," Leo nodded in agreement.

"Your Giant Trunade is no more," Odion gloated. "And your troubles have only just begun!"

"I don't get what just happened to my magic card," Joey seemed really shocked, like he was depending on this particular strategy. "It was supposed to get rid of every card you had on the field."

Yugi demanded an explanation, "What's the deal?"

"Yeah!" Leo and Luna agreed in unison, both glaring Odion.

"When you made the very foolish decision to activate your giant trunade, Mr. Wheeler," Odion reported, "you in turn triggered one of the most dangerous traps I placed on the field to protect myself.

Joey questioned hesitantly, "Is that so?"

"Yes, and now it's time to play the price for your mistake," Odion continued. "You see, with all my my traps cards in play, I knew you wouldn't attack me with a monster—you'd try to destroy my traps with a magic card."

"Oohhh," Joey balked in some sort of revelation. "So, you played a trap card that destroys magic cards?"

"But that's not all that it does. The trap you just triggered is about to devastate all of your monsters and an extremely large portion of your life points. So prepare to feel its wrath right now!" Odion revealed his face down card. "Judgement of Anubis! Never have you experienced a trap with a force such as this! Judgement of Anubis will now annihilate every monster you have on the field, and deduct half of their attack points from your life points."

"What?" Joey stammered. "No way!"

"Anubis, destroy!" Odion commanded, as a dark looking purple mist emerged from the trap card, "Building up your army of powerful monster was a grave miscalculation, because they're about to disappear with more than 2000 of your lifepoints."

Joey scowled, "Hey, you just wasted my best guys!"

"When you see the horrors that await you, that will be the last thing on your mind," Odion merely retorted.

"Now his life points are at 1900," Luna said. "I know he wins, but how?"

"Like I said, I don't remember," Leo replied.

"By thinking he had the duel won, he fell right into Marik's trap!" Tea agonized.

"That's right, Tea. Joey thought by not attacking with monsters, he was safe from Marik's traps," Yugi affirmed. "But some of the trickiest and most dangerous cards in Duel Monsters are trap cards. And Marik's field is full of 'em."

"Let's just hope that Joey learned his lesson because one mistake like that and he can kiss the finals goodbye," Mai assented. "And he's come too far to lose it all to a creep with a bad attitude—not to mention a bad hair do…more like a hair don't."

Leo laughed, "These past-time people are so funny!" Luna gave a smile as well.

"Marik is tough, but you still think Joey can win, right guys?" Serenity pondered aloud.

Tea gave a half promise, "Yeah, sure…"

"You think he can win—I know he can, right Yuug?" Tristan looked to be confirmed.

Yugi nodded, his hairstyle not even moving with the motion. "Don't worry Serenity, Joey's been in tougher situation that this," he comforted. "He just needs a little support from us and he'll be crushing Marik in no time!"

"That guy must have some powerful magic and trap cards, to not play any monsters," Leo said to Luna.

"Mmm-hmm," Luna nodded. "I'm glad we're watching this—we can learn some things."

Serenity looked back to the stage, her eyes shining in hope for her brother, "C'mon Joey, you can do it!"

Tristan likewise reassured, "Yeah, hang in there, man!"

"Have you realized you can't win, or do you want more punishment, Mr. Wheeler?" Odion proposed.

Joey simply smirked. "Heh. I gotcha good. You may not realize this because your ponytail's tied too tight, but I fell into your little trap on purpose, Marik," which each word his spirit seemed to increase. "Yeah—that's the ticket. I was just testing ya to see if your dueling skills were better than your sense of style. An' it looks like—you pass my exam." He then pointed directly at Odion defiantly, "Now I'll kick my game up a notch and open up a big tub of duel-whip all over ya!"

"Wow, he just totally got Odion on that joke!" Leo laughed. "I like this Joey. He's killing me!"

Luna couldn't help but give off some laughter of her own. Joey was a very spirited character, that was for sure.

Tristan instantly looked unconvinced, if a bit amused, "Ookkay, he has got to be kidding me."

"I knew it!" Serenity kept up her cheer. "Joey had this planned the whole time!"

"Heh, that was quite the flaunt," Luna commented.

Joey, still pointing like accusing a murderer shouted, "Alright, Marik, enough standing around—let's finish this duel!"

Odion had nothing to say to his taunts. "You're in quite a rush to lose," he said as he drew his card. "Now watch as I place two more cards face down."

Joey stared dumbly, but seemed a bit distressed, "Again?"

"That ends my turn," Odion spoke calmly.

"I'm getting really tired of this," Joey told him. "Ya know they call this game Duel Monster because you're supposed ta fight your opponent with monsters cards—not spending the whole game hidin' behind your little trap cards like a coward."

"Yeah, why doesn't Odion just attack?" Leo said. "Otherwise, nothing's going to happen!"

"That's not part of his strategy," Luna replied, looking at Joey's opponent.

"If you can find me the rule that forbids me from playing trap cards I'll stop, Mr. Wheeler," Odion returned.

"That does it, Marik!" Joey growled. "I guess It's time me more to show you how this is supposed to be played—with monsters!" He drew a card. "So now I summon Alligator Swordsman in attack mode."

"I'm waiting," Odion said, annoyed. "I thought that you were going to show me you were supposed to play this game. Go on."

"I'm going to let you off easy, Marik, by holding off my attack and laying this card face down," Joey said after a moment. "Back to you, baldy. Okay! Let's go!"

Odion drew a card and said, "Actually, I choose to end my turn without making any move."

Joey, after a moment of shock drew his card and said, "Two can play at hat game, so I pass also!"

"Perhaps now I'll draw a card that's worth using," Odion stated flatly, reaching for the top of his deck. "No…this one won't do at all. I'll pass again."

"This can probably go on for ages," Leo complained.

"I dunno…it seems like Joey is a bit more hot-headed . He'll probably make a move soon," Luna guessed.

Joey verbally growled as he drew his card, "Alright—you asked for it!"

"Oh no!" Yugi cried aloud beside the twins.

"Hey, c'mon Joey, don't attack!" Mai warned. "That's exactly what he wants you to do!"

"Guess you were right," Leo told Luna.

"Alright… You're not gonna know what hit ya! Here it comes right now! I summon rocket warrior!" Joey seemed really fired up. "You asked for it! I don't care how many trap cards you got on the field 'cuz I didn't come to the finals to watch. I fought my way here to duel like a man and win this, Marik." He pointed at his monster on the field, "Now, rocket warrior—attack his life points directly! Seek and destroy!"

Yugi yelled, "Joey, this is a big mistake!"

"On this, I agree with Yugi," Luna said.

Right on cue, Odion revealed his face down card, "Activate trap card! Eye of Wdjat!" The card gave off a glow, and the Rocket Warrior now sported a glowing yellow Egyptian eyeball on its forehead. "Now that the eye of Wdjat appears on the Rocket Warrior it is now under my control—and I shall redirect its attack to one of your monsters!"

"No way!" Joey recoiled.

Odion shouted, "Rocket Warrior—attack his Alligator Swordsman!"

"Finally some action!" Leo cheered.

"I don't think that's gonna work—I gotta face down card, too," Joey remined. "Activate fairy box! Thanks to fairy box, Rocket Man's plan of attack has been short circuited. Time to play peek-a-boo!"

A sort of wack-a-mole contraption hid his Alligator Swordsman, but the monster popped in and out of the visual field in different holes.

Seeing the monster, Odion commanded, "Rocket Warrior—attack at once!"

The green tin moster exploded onto the contraption, leaving only some smoke behind. "So much for that," Odion gloated.

But right then and there, Alligator Sword's head popped up in an adjacent hole, unharmed.

"What? I missed!" Odion cried in disbelief.

"Ha-ha-heehh!" Joey jeered. "I guess ya haven't hung out in the arcade in a while, eh? I'm on to your little game, Marik, and I've found out how the weakness of your trap strategy."

Leo and Luna both raised their eyebrows, surprised.

"You don't even have one single monster card. Just a deck overloaded with trap card, Marik," Joey said triumphantly. "Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket—ya egg-head." (Once again, Leo laughed at Joey's comments.) "So once I clear the field of your trap cards, there'll be nothin' protecting your life points. That's why I'm Joey wheeler—Battle City Champion—and you're just some ugly bald freak wearing a cape, right?"

"This guy is too funny!" Leo clutched his stomach.

"All he's doing is making fun at his opponent," Luna disapproved.

"I know—but it's funny!"

"You can insult me all you want," Odion frowned. "But the truth is you've already fallen into another one of my traps."

At this Joey stopped laughing, "What? Whaddaya mean I've fallen into another trap?

"You're about to see what I mean, first hand," Odion laughed. "You see, while I may be short on monster, I possess a trap card that is both a trap and a monster."

"I think the barber clipped the brain when he was cutting some of your hair," Joey hypothesized.

At this Leo broke out into laughter once again.

"Prepare to witness the power of an extremely rare breed of cards that's known as a trap-monster!" Odion bellowed.

"But is there such a card?" Yugi questioned.

Mai shrugged, "Well, I've never heard of it."

"Trap-monsters? I don't know anyone with one of those, either," Luna said.

Leo regained his composure, wiping his eye. "They could have been banned. A lot of these cards are non-existent now," he pointed out.

"Not only do I possess a rare trap-monster card, but you activated it!" Odion repeated. "And now feel the rage of a card like none you've ever seen before!"

"It can't be!" Joey reacted. The field was filled with swirling, translucent purplish smoke that swirled around Odion's face down cards.

"It is! There's no escaping from Embodiment of Apophis," Odion revealed. "My card activates like a trap but attacks like a monster! I'd say that this card disproves your theory about my deck and its weakness, Mr. Wheeler."

"So it's true?" Mai said. "Marik has a card that does the job of a trap and a monster at the same time?"

"I guess so, Mai," said Yugi, just as worried. "But I'm more worried about how powerful its attack strength is! If this card is strong enough, well then this could be the end of Joey!"

"I'm afraid it only gets worse, Mr. Wheeler. For you triggered not one but THREE of my Apophis cards," Odion said as two more facedowns were shown, each spewing more purple smoke. "And now it's time to meet your doom. Come forth, my beasts!" The purple mist materialized into blue, serpent-like monsters.

"What am I gonna do?" Joey choked. "He can attack me with three monsters!"

"You can do this Joey, just be strong!" Yugi called.

"You're at the end of your rope, Mr. Wheeler. Now then, for someone who was so vocal before you seem to be very silent," Odion jested. "Perhaps you've realized that talk doesn't win duels. It takes skill and power, and as soon as my three creatures attack you'll see exactly what I mean! You're finished!

"Oh no!" Luna cried.

"C'mon Joey!" Leo cheered.

TLTLTLTLTLTTLTLTLTTLTL

To Be CONTINUED!

Yep, I AM most certainly going episode by episode.

This was just an idea by my friend and I…it's tentative if I'll actually continue. If you would like more, then just say so! Or if you'd like Leo and Luna to view any other duels in the tournament, I could probably write that up, too.

Ah, I love the 4kids version of Joey just as much as I like the Japanese one.

PUHHHHLLeeasssseee review!