Yugi Moto has had a few disappointments in his life, one being that he had not been able to be with his parents while he was growing up.  He adored his grandfather who had raised him, but it wasn't the same, sure he had a lot of good friends, but it was all he could do not to show his heartache over not knowing his mother. 

The second disappointment in his life was the fact that he didn't get very tall, he had a feeling that because Yami was shorter than Tea that maybe that was going to be his height limit.  It was trivial to care about how tall one became, but deep inside, he had wished to tower over others like Tristan or at least be as tall as his friend and in a way brother, JoeyBhe liked Joseph now...

 

Yugi wore a black, high-collared jacket and black pants, he also had black leather shoes upon his feet.  His Millennium Puzzle looked like an upside down golden pyramid with the ever-watching eye upon the center, and even with the heavy chain which he used as a necklace to carry it around his neck it didn't seem to be all that heavy.  He had red eyes and hair that was yellow, black and red, all of it was pulled back in a pony tail to keep it as adult as he could.  Yugi had once had his hair looking like a flash of raising lightning, he was too old for that now, now he had to be serious, now he had to let Duel Monsters be the fun thing in his life, and let the Kaiba Corporation be his future.

 

Yugi's home was the game shop that his grandfather had owned and ran, it was small, but it's revenue had always paid the bills even with Seto Kaiba and Max Pegasus being the front runners in the Duel Monsters business.

 

Yugi stood in the middle of the old wooden floor which creaked under ones feet as they walked around, he could see the walls plastered with promotional posters featuring him when he was young and also the many that Yami had posed for.  There were showcases wrapped around three walls with magazine racks on both sides of the door and near the register. 

  

Near the register were boxes of packs reading ALegend of the Blue-eyes White Dragon@, and AMagician's Force@ there were others like Metal Raiders and Labyrinth of Nightmare, Chaos Ruler and so on.  Inside the cases however many cards were shining from their foil pictures drawn by a nameless artist and then there was the cut-away which was once in Maximilian Pegasus's AIndustrial Illusions@ lobby when one would enter the huge building it was the first thing they would see.

The cut-away was half ABlue Eyes Toon Dragon@ and half clear plastic with paper thin circuitry inside which would allow the card to image upon the dueling field in three dimensions.  Yugi could remember that Joseph had lifted it after all of the pain and torment in which Yugi's grandpa and Yugi himself had gone through over Pegasus's insane Duel Monsters tournament... But, maybe Pegasus was just in a deep depression over losing his love and he would do anything to have Cecilia returned to him even if it meant hurting others, however Max was kind of too happy with enjoying his Toon monsters as though he were a child...maybe that was how he coped with his loss...Killing Keith wasn't a very sane thing to do either though, so enough with trying to make sense of the life that Maximilian Pegasus lived.

 

Yugi smiled and in a deep voice that was once reminiscent of Yami's he called, AGrandpa, I'm home, are you here?@

 

There was a stumbling coming from behind a door that led to a stock room and then the door flew open revealing a very short, old man who had long white hair and a beard, he wore tan trousers and a white dress shirt with a vest and an ascot at his neck, he almost clicked the heels of his black leather shoes when he saw Yugi, he smiled big and winced his eyes then extended his arms and said, AYugi, my grandson, how I missed you so much!@  The old man embraced Yugi as best as he could however Yugi backed away careful not to hurt his grandfathers feeling, and extended his hand in a friendly handshake, he continued to smile, but had a slight look of seriousness in his face.

            Grandpa straightened his ascot and cleared his throat and said as he gripped his grandson's hand, AYou are a man now Yugi, I am very pleased to see you againBbut you are still my grandson!@  He cried embracing Yugi once again, the man excepted his Afathers@ treatment, it wasn't out of disrespect, it was love...Speaking of which...

 

AYugi!  Hello Mr. Moto.@  It was Tea Gardener, and was she hot or what!  She was two years into dancing school and already performed in more than ten plays as a backup dancer, there was also a music video or two that she had participated in also.  Tea had long brown hair and big brown eyes, a very pretty smile and a beautiful face.  Her body was very slender with a slight bulk of muscle for stanima in dancing, she wore very short and tight pink vinyl shorts which the lights in the store reflected off of and a tight white cap-sleeve top with pink sleeves and pink accents on the sides.  On her feet she wore white sneakers with pink rubber soles.

 

Yugi had now comically pushed away his grandfather and embraced Tea who was slightly taller than he was, but he thought of it this way, he was very close to her chest...No, he couldn't think that way, she was his friend, probably closer to him than Joseph.

 

AYou look so good Yugi, how is school going?@ Tea said in her usual high-spirited way.

 

             ASchool is going great Tea, grandpa's money is going to good use,@ Yugi said with a laugh which was picked up by Tea and grandpa.

 

AEveryone is going to be here soon, they know that you are back in town, I just wanted to be the first to see you before you and Joseph did your manly hassling of each other.@  Tea said.

 

Joseph and I don't...@ Yugi started, but when the whole gang showed up outside the glass doors of the shop and began heading in, Yugi's retort about not hassling Joseph was turned into a lie as he found himself saying, AIt's Joey, the runner upBmister-no-posters himself!@

 

Joseph laughed and ran a flat hand through his short yellow hair and said in a pseudo-New-Yorkers accent, AI'm Yugi Moto, the king of games, no one can beat me, and if they ever do, they will automatically lose anyhow and I will be declared the winner!@

 

AYou were saying Yugi?@  Tea said to her friend in a joking way, Yugi replied with a shrug and met Joseph with a handshake.

Joseph had opened a company for teaching Duel Monsters to those who wanted to learn, he had also remained a professional player and had won many tournaments by doing so.  The others who had come to meet Yugi upon his return from school were Joseph's sister Serenity who was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a very pretty face, she wore a sailor dress that was green and white denoting the uniform of the highschool she attended, she was in her last year and was going to become a teacher for the blindBdeciding this after she herself had almost lost her sight.

There was Tristan who had now worked for Duke Devlin the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters as a corporate interlink handling business between other companies who had wanted to take part in the world wide production of his dice game.  Tristan was very tall and built well, he wore a brown suit with a dark tie, He had short brown hair and at the moment he and Joseph's sister Serenity were dating each other. 

Duke Devlin the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters was near-by but had kept some distance between the man who worked for him and Serenity due to the fact that he had wanted Serenity for himself.  He had accepted his so called defeat to the point where he would drink himself to sleep on some nights wondering if a friendship with Tristan was the right thing to do.  Duke wore a red suit with a black tie and had his long black hair in a pony tail, there was a small golden die earring posted through the hole in his left ear lobe.

 

Grandpa had offered the group of friends to come into the living area of the game shop so they could all relax and he and Tea would get something for them all to eat.  The living area was so familiar to Yugi it was like a normal living room with sofa's and chairs, a nice dark carpet and a TV and video disk player on a rack.  On a far wall was a stereo with the CD, tape, and record players all in one with the tuner.  The wall across from the stereo was the entrance to the kitchen where grandpa and Tea had gone while the others sat.

 

Serenity leaned towards Joseph and said in a small voice, AJoey, shouldn't you go help Mr. Moto and Tea in the kitchen?@

 

AI'm sure they got it all under control, I'm trying to rest here, its not easy playing in tournaments and beating everyone that I face.@  Joseph replied.

 

AThat's exactly what you're doing Wheeler, your playing a game, now go help our host out.@  Duke said.

 

In almost a sulking manner Joseph dragged himself into the kitchen, he wouldn't listen to his little sister but Duke had something about him...what a jerk!

 

ANow, with the wanna-be duelist gone, I wanted to ask you something Yugi, there is a duelist going around by the name of Paladin...that's right after the card you used to use by fusing your Dark Magician with the Buster Blader, it seems to be his favorite card, he has a strong deck and dueling skill that surpasses Seto Kaiba.  He might also be as good as you...I won't say better though because you did beat me at my own game all of those years ago.  Let me get to the point, Tristan and I saw him play at an expo where we were selling DDM and he is very good.@  Duke said.

AYugi, this Paladin wants to challenge you and because you are known for accepting all challengers we kind of told him to come here today, I know you just got back from the university, but we figured you would be ready anytime.@  Tristan said.

 

AI will accept this Paladin's challenge, did you see what kind of cards he uses?@  Yugi asked.

 

AA lot of the same that you do, or did, he has a Dark Magician Girl which he can't accept seeing her die in the game, he kind of over-did his defeating of his opponent when they destroyed his Magician Girl, so watch out for that.  I saw him fuse Fallen Angel Mary and the Merciful Nun to make Saint Joan of Ark and with that and the Black Paladin Magician he turned 8000 life points into zero with the inclusion of his opponents dragons and a United We Stand magic card....But you have Slifer the Sky Dragon, you shouldn't have any problem defeating him.@  Duke said.

 

AThere is one more thing, Paladin said he was going to look for Arcana, you might remember him, he is still out there; he wanted to defeat Arcana before facing you, he said he needed a certain card.  He gambles, card for card, I guess he will want your Slifer, I don't know if you would want his Black Paladin, but the Saint Joan of Ark fusion is not bad at all.@  Tristan said.

 

ADo you really want to fight this guy Yugi?@  Serenity asked.

 

AI do, I have never turned down a challenge before, maybe he has something interesting that I would want, although I'm not that much into gambling for cards, that is; unless I have to.@  Yugi replied.

 

Suddenly Joseph came into the room from the game shop and with him were three people, one was Seto Kaiba, he was tall with short brown hair and dim eyes denoting an anger with-in.  He wore a white suit and a light blue tie, the shoes on his feet shined brightly from a fresh polish.  With Kaiba was his brother Mokuba who was slightly shorter than Seto and quite younger.  He had long black hair and dark eyes, he had a look of kindness but also a focus about him where he wasn't going to take anyone's crap, it could have been his teenage hormones or something unknown.  Mokuba wore a dark blue suit and a black tie, he also carried a silver briefcase which once was held by his older brother.

 

It was the third person who was one of fairytales, he was tall and slender and dressed in a black suit with a long jacket, he had long black hair which was woven into thin, tight braids, he had black make-up lining his dark eyes making them even darker and an almost grim look upon his face.  This was Paladin and in his hand he carried a black velvet drawstring closure pouch which must have held his cards.

 

Everyone had returned into the main room where a silence had filled the air and Yugi's eyes widened as he saw the card of the Black Paladin Magician come to life before his eyes, if this man had the magicians cap and sword than he would have been a spiting image of the unknown artists rendition of a Super Hero Paladin Mage Knight!

 

            AYugi, its good to see you again, I hope you have been learning the craft in which I am most proficient?@  Seto said in a soft and dark sounding voice.

 

AI have Kaiba.  Is this the man that I was told so much about?@  Yugi said in a focused and deep voice.

 

AMeet PaladinBnot to be mistaken for a hologram of the Duel Monsters card.  He has come to me in search of you.  He had told me that Duke Devlin and Tristan were of no real help to him, but everyone knows of the Kaiba corporation.@  Seto said.

 

AHey, we were of good help!@  Tristan said feeling a little upset.  ADon't worry about it Tristan, this is not the time!@  Duke said stepping in.  Yugi had noticed that Paladin remained in his cold state, it was strange...

 

APaladin wishes to challenge you Yugi and not the Yami spirit which you have always had fight your battles...@  Seto said, however Paladin stepped forward.

 

AEnough Kaiba, it is almost like by you talking for me that I am letting you lay forth the challenge in my place and that makes me no better than Yugi Moto and his Yami, I will do the honorable thing and request this myself.  Yugi Moto, I challenge you to a duel for your Dark Magician, and in equality, you may choose any of my most valued cards that you wish including my Black Paladin.@  Paladin said in a strong voice reminiscent of a former foes toneBhe was named Marik Ishtar, and Paladin seemed to almost be a reincarnate, however there was something different about him.

 

At the mentioning of Paladin wanting Yugi's Dark Magician over Slifer the Sky Dragon Kaiba almost screamed at what was to him stupidity, he said, AHow could you want Yugi's Dark Magician, when you can get his Egyptian God card Slifer the Sky Dragon!?@

 

AWhat use would I have for a Dragon in my deck, the value of the purple robed Dark Magician that belongs to Yugi Moto is far more valuable than an Egyptian God card...I do however fancy your XYZ Dragon Cannon or Obelisk the Tormentor, even your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is of no use to me.  No, it is his Dark Magician which I treasure and wish to possess.@  Paladin said, he then opened his pouch with everyone's eyes upon it and pulled out a stack of cards, he slid a few into his right hand and placed the rest into the pouch, he then spread them in his left hand revealing The Black Paladin Magician who looked almost as he did, the picture upon the card was a bust shot where the figure had a focused and nasty look upon his face and a tall ribbed, black pointy cap and in his right hand he held a serrated sword.  This was different from the one in which Yugi had once played, but it was something that he didn't want.  Next to the Paladin Magician was the Dark Magician Girl, it too was a close-up bust shot with the girl leaning to the left, a floppy blue and pink cap upon her head of yellow hair and a pretty face with big green eyes and upon her small frame she wore a blue and pink dress that fell over her shoulders and in her right hand was a scepter with a swirl at the top.

The next card made Yugi's heart sink, it was a Dark Magician, and he knew who it once belonged to, it also should have been hisBa prize he should have won in the Battle City Tournament so many years ago.  This Dark Magician was known as the Yami Dark Magician, he stood facing to the right with his arms crossed and his scepter low to his waist, he wore red and gold and had a dark evil face and a line of beard upon his chin.

 

AWhere, where did you get this card Paladin?@  Yugi asked in what sounded like fear.

 

AArcana, the masked magician, that freak show's face was so deformed that I had to get past that before I could concentrate on the game with him, besides that the man is totally insaneBhe sends his love by the way.  Arcana went into a stupor after my Black Paladin ended his magic card wave upon me.  I met him a week ago, you see I have never felt anything from my Dark Magician, he looked as though he were going to jump out of the picture and he had a tablet behind him, it was nice for a collection, but he was not a friend.  Look at him Yugi, he had once backed your Dark Magician Girl in the defeat of Arcana, this card has not been tampered with, Arcana had cut one of his down, this is not the one.  Although this is rightfully your card, I believe that since you forfeited it that I was allowed to take it as my own.  He and I have become friends and that was proven in the many battles I have taken part in, in my journey to you.  Even if it sounds crazy, the Yami Dark Magician is as good as a friend to me as my Black Paladin.@  Paladin said matter-of-fact.

 

ANo, Paladin, he is your friend, as my Dark Magician is my friend, and as hard as it is for me to put him up in a duel I will because I believe that he will always help me when I am most in need.  The Yami Magician is yours, I abandoned him, but I respect the fact that you told me your feelings on the situation.@  Yugi said.

 

The next card was a purple fusion card with a female knight in silver armor and short reddish-brown hair, she had a sword with the point facing down in front of her, this was Saint Joan of Ark and Yugi could tell that even though Paladin's Magicians were special to him, Saint Joan of Ark was his first, she was the one who got him the rest and Yugi knew that he would have to be careful. 

There were four more cards which almost scared all in attendance, they wereBthe Toon's!  Toon World, Toon Mermaid, Toon Summoned Skull and Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.  These cards belonged to Maximilian Pegasus, and no one has seen them since Duelist Kingdom.  Everyone was in shock as they looked at the magic card Toon World which was a green book with a gothic town in-between the open pages.  The Toon Mermaid was a clam shell with eyes and a mermaid inside holding a bow and arrow.  The Toon Summoned Skull looked like a plasm-stretched boney demon with bulging eyes.  And finally the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon looked like a small, cute, cartoon-like white dragon with big eyes and what looked to be a toothy smile upon it's lips.  These cards were thought to be long gone, but here they were in Paladin's hand and being offered to Yugi.

 

AHow about the Toon's, all four of them, you did defeat Pegasus, you should have them if you defeat me, four for one, sound like a good deal?@  Paladin said.

 

AI think I can speak for everyone when I say how surprised we are that you have the Toon monsters that belonged to Pegasus, I don't think I want to know how you acquired them, and as unfair this bet is to you, there must be something you have for my Dark Magician, so I will accept your challenge and duel with you without the help of my special friend.  Kaiba, can we get a pair of your duel disks?  Or do you prefer an arena?@  Yugi said.

 

Paladin thought for a second and said, AI think duel disks are more appropriate due to the fact that they allow us to fight along side our monsters.@

 

AI have a pair on me in the car, and after you win the Toon cards I will be more than happy to take them from you Yugi, and while I'm at it I will also win Slifer the Sky Dragon from you too.@  Seto said.

 

AThat remains to be seen Kaiba, so shall we duel Paladin?@  Yugi said.

 

AAfter you.@  Paladin said gesturing Yugi to the door of the shop and with cards in hand Paladin followed Yugi out with the rest in tail.  Yugi felt a little strange, maybe it was seeing Arcana's Yami Dark Magician, or maybe it was Pegasus' Toon cards.  Paladin was different than some of the others whom he dueled in the past.  Paladin was not going to be easy to defeat, but Yugi was the king of games, this will be another thought-filled duel with another victory for him and his Dark Magician would not let him down.

 

2

 

            The group gathered around in the middle of the street in front of the card shop; cars stopped to watch and others sounded their horns and found their way around the combatants.  The group looked around cautiously due to being in the middle of traffic, it seemed like the best spot to do this.  Paladin was sane so it seemed, but he wanted some action on the outside of the dueling circle.

 

Seto Kaiba had supplied a pair of his dueling disk's to Yugi and Paladin, these were not exactly disk's, they were made of white painted aluminum and attached to the wrist, the center was circular with an LCD display where the player's life points were visible in red digital numbers with a deck holder underneath.  The front edge was the monster card field and was made from a pair of interlocking panels where the cards could be read after they were slipped into notches so they wouldn't fall off of the platform.  To the rear of the platform were slots under each of the five monster zones where magic and trap cards were placed so they would be out of the way; the inside of the slots had a system for reading what the card was and each were activated by buttons above the slot.  To the side of the monster zone was a tip-out holder and reader for a field card and there was also a graveyard section.

 

Each duel disk had a detachable hologram projector which fired out of the disk and dug into the street giving a three dimensional field for a grid of the magic and trap zones.  Paladin and Yugi exchanged their decks and cut and shuffled them, with each player happy they handed each others decks back to one another and loaded them into the duel disk. 

The number 8000 appeared on the LCD display of both Yugi's and Paladin's duel disks and Kaiba moderated for them to begin.  Paladin was chosen to go first so he drew six cards and looked at them, they were: Mirror Force, Black Magic Curtain, Merciful Nun, Imperial Order, Royal Decree, and Dark Magician Girl.  It was a good draw, but he hated getting a lot of trap cards, so he decided to slide the three into the slots on his field where the back of the cards appeared holographically on the street before him, he said, AI will place three cards face down and one monster in defense.@  Paladin locked the Merciful Nun onto the field on its side, face down and the back of the card appeared on the street above the three trap cards.  Paladin knew that Yugi couldn't pull something larger than the 2000 defense points that his white and blue habited Merciful Nun had possessed, the 800 attack points would not work very well in any battle.  Paladin gestured to Yugi ending his turn.

 

AYou are going to hide behind your monster?@  Yugi said sounding a bit ignorant to Paladin's ears causing Paladin's relaxed and focused look to turn to a slight look of scorn, he replied by saying, AI guess I can always stand here and play a Petit Angel in attack mode and let you kick my ass.  Stop with the remarks and play like an honorable man, you're not a child anymore, so don't act like one.@

 

Paladin's words kind of surprised all who were assembled so instead of replying Yugi drew his sixth card which was Beta the Magnet Warrior, the other five were Mystical Ref Panel, Dark Magician, Monster Reborn, Big Shield Guardian and Alpha the Magnet Warrior.  Yugi decided to insert the Mystical Ref Panel into the first slot and then placed Beta the Magnet Warrior, who looked like a yellow robot, in attack mode on his field.

 

AI will play one card face down and Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode!  Beta, attack his face down card!@  Yugi cried and Beta began it's attack flipping Paladin's Merciful Nun face up.  The hologram of the Nun was kneeling with her hands folded in prayer, she easily blocked Beta's attack causing Yugi to take 300 points of damage to his life.  The Nun strangely looked over to Paladin and returned to her praying.  Yugi looked to Paladin who mouthed the word >oops!' to his opponent, Yugi kind of smiled and ended his turn.

 

With Yugi down to 7700 life points due to a failed attack, Paladin drew a card and looked at it, it was Polymerization, he was satisfied, but he was still short the other half of his fusions, he could summon his Dark Magician with the Black Magic Curtain but he would need his Buster Blader too for the Black Paladin Magician and in order to form Saint Joan of Ark he would need Fallen Angel Mary, so he looked at the few cards in his hand and choose to tribute summon his Dark Magician Girl, she was probably his favorite, so he figured he would get it on the field now.

 

With Paladin's eye on the trap that Yugi had face down on the field he pulled up the Merciful Nun and placed the Dark Magician Girl in attack mode on the field saying, AI tribute summon Merciful Nun for Dark Magician Girl...thank you for your protection...@  He said to his Nun as she vanished and the Dark Magician girl appeared on the field with some sounds coming from the speakers on the holographic pods of ooh's and ah's followed by a girlish giggle.  Yugi was in a little dismay over seeing one of his most used fighters on the opposite side of the field and the fact that Beta was not strong enough to survive the Dark Magician Girls attack.  It would be ok though, and Paladin knew that the trap that was set was nothing effective at this moment.  It was the three traps that Paladin had that worried YugiBwho knows they could be magic cards?

 

ADark Magician Girl, attack Beta the Magnet Warrior.@  Paladin said calmly and the yellow-haired Magician Girl obeyed her master and used her wand to destroy Beta causing the hologram to explode like shattering glass and for Yugi's life points to drop another 300 points due to the Dark Magician Girls attack being 2000Bwho needed the 1700 defense...

 

With Yugi's life points at 7400 he had a bit of respect for Paladin's skill in playing cards, but it wasn't enough to kill him, or even wound him, Yugi would come back strong and Paladin was waiting for it.

 

Yugi drew a card, it was Swords of Revealing Light, it would do to make time, hopefully something would come up and the Heart of the Cards would reign true.  Yugi placed the Big Shield Guardian in defense position and slid Swords of Light into the slot next to the Mystical Ref Panel, with the activation, long light swords appeared on Paladin's field and around the Dark Magician Girl who looked around in what looked to be fear, Yugi had said, AI play this monster in defense mode and I use the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!@ 

 

Paladin was not very surprised and when the Dark Magician Girl turned to him he whispered, AIt's alright,@ then said to Yugi, ANow you are not only setting monsters in defense but you are using Swords of Light to buy time; you don't hear me saying anything obnoxious to you about it.@

 

Yugi smiled and said, AI see you are more caring than you let on, thanking your Merciful Nun and telling your Magician Girl that things will be alright, its like you are their father not their master, but as all duelists know, there are always losses in a battle.@

 

AOf course, but there is no reason for your fighters to be used as pawns either.  Are you finished with your turn?@  Paladin asked.

 

AI am, go ahead,@ Yugi replied.

 

Paladin drew a card revealing Fallen Angel Mary, it was a little late for that, but he would have to see what happen's later, for now his field was protected and if he chose he could activate Imperial Order to negate Swords of Revealing Light and attack Yugi's face down card, but with no threat to him at the moment he would allow Yugi to continue and passed on the remainder of his turn.

 

Yugi drew a card and smiled to himself over the fact that it was Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, which meant for him to lay out his most powerful monster he would need Gamma the Magnet warrior and also he would have to retrieve Beta from his graveyard, for now he would set Alpha in defense mode upon his field next to his Big Shield who had 2600 defense points; Alpha had 1700 defense points.  On his next turn he would decide if he should tribute summon Alpha and Big Shield for his Dark Magician or if he got lucky and drew Gamma he could summon Valkyrion, he would have to decide on his next turn. 

 

Paladin drew and looked at what he had, an Axe of Despair, not bad, this magic card was a weapon attachment which would give the fighter he attached it to 1000 extra attack points, so he decided that his Dark Magician Girl needed to be as powerful as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so he slipped the axe into the magic and trap slot next to Royal Decree and activated it, attaching it to the Dark Magician Girl and causing a brutal-looking axe to appear in her left hand with her wand still in her right, the axe had an old wooden handle with a rotting face at the top and a huge metal blade with blood stains and cracks upon the metal, the Magician Girl smiled a little knowing that she was strong and had nothing to fear.

 

AI attach the Axe of Despair to my Dark Magician Girl giving her 3000 attack points and once again I end my turn, I believe that this is the last turn for Swords of Light?@  Paladin said.

 

AIt is, so I draw...@  Yugi said in thought as the swords remained on Paladin's field for the last turn. Yugi pulled a card looking at the red numbers that read 7400 upon his duel disk.

 

All who were gathered including the cars that stopped and parked on the street watched almost quietly as Paladin and Yugi were playing, with stakes so high, even Joseph and Tea were not being much of a cheering section.

 

Yugi looked at the card in which he drew, it was Pot of Greed which was a magic card that had a greenish jug with a grim smiling face upon the center.  Yugi activated the card and Paladin saw the pot appear on the field and laugh as Yugi drew two more cards and then vanish.  The two cards Yugi drew were Magic Cylinder and Gamma the Magnet Warrior!  The heart of the Cards was with him today he thought so Yugi placed the Cylinder in a slot and took Monster Reborn from his hand and activated it.

 

AI play Monster Reborn, to return Beta the Magnet Warrior to my field!@  Yugi said with vigor, however his glory was halted when Paladin activated Imperial Order, negating Monster Reborn and returning it and Beta to the graveyard, this card had also caused Swords of Revealing Light to negate, although it still remained on the field.

 

AImperial Order, try something else.@  Paladin said.

 

ANo, how can this be?@  Yugi said staring at the image of a king with his finger pointing down and a kingdom in the background, this trap stopped all magic on the field.  It was time to rethink his plan, so he decided to tribute both Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Big Shield Guardian for the Dark Magician.

 

AI summon my Dark Magician in attack mode, and I will also use my trap Mystical Ref Panel and take your Axe of Despair from your Dark Magician Girl and give it to my Dark Magician, you might have thwarted my attempt to summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, but now with my Dark Magician armed with the Axe of Despair he has an attack power of 3500 which is 1500 more than your Dark Magician Girl.@  Yugi said with pride, Paladin was not very amused and said, AI'm not the one who spent his childhood playing games when I should have been in school, so I know how to add and subtract, you don't have to explain it to me.  Good play though, at least I know what your trap was...the problem is however that with my Imperial Order on the field, the Axe of Despair is useless no matter who uses it, so I think your next move is obvious, your Dark Magician is stronger than my girl...so knock yourself out...attack me.@ 

 

Yugi felt like he was way off his game, how could he make a mistake like he just did.  He could attack Paladin's Magician Girl however, but what about the other two face down cards?  Well, he didn't use them yet and they were there since the first draw, so he would attack.

 

AAlright then, Dark Magician, attack the Dark Magician Girl!@  Yugi cried and the purple robed Dark Magician attacked the girl...however Paladin unleashed his Mirror Force causing the Dark Magician's attack to back fire and for not only the magician to explode into shattering glass but for the Axe of Despair to ask for a live offering to return to Paladin's deck; he refused and allowed the axe to go to the graveyard.

 

AMirror Force, oops again, your field is now empty and I do believe it is my turn.@  Paladin said, he drew and his eyes widened with excitement as he looked upon Buster Blader, he now had one out of two puzzle pieces for the Black Paladin Magician fusion and also the Saint Joan of Ark fusion, if he could get a monster reborn he could bring back the Merciful Nun, but with the Black Magic Curtain in hand, he could summon his Yami Dark Magician and on his next turn fuse it and the Buster Blader.

 

Paladin was now given the option to keep Imperial Order or dispose of it, to keep it would cost him 700 life points but because he wanted to use the Curtain he would have to let it go.  So Imperial Order vanished from the field and Paladin used the Black Magic Curtain causing a skeleton with what looked to be a robing shower curtain embellished with a pentagram to appear on the street, the curtain opened revealing the red and gold clad Yami Dark Magician exactly as Yugi had remembered from when he dueled with Arcana many years ago.  Paladin's life points began to drop from 8000 to 4000 on his duel disk, but after the wave of attacks upon Yugi, this round, everything would be ok and they would be equal...in Yugi's case less equal.

 

AMy Dark Magician Yugi, does he look familiar?  I know he does, and he is very happy to share the field with his girlfriend, who just so happens to be at 2300 attack points due to your Dark Magician being in the graveyard...why am I telling you this, you know this already.

Let me get to the point, I play Royal Decree to negate the effects of all of your trap cards, mine too and Dark Magician attacks your field.@  Paladin said and his Yami Dark Magician attacked as though he were hurting Yugi, from there the Dark Magician Girl took her turn and dug deeper into Yugi wounding him painfully of his life points. 

 

This was a serious set back for Yugi and he could hear his friends cheering him on and saying that it would be ok.  At this point Yugi didn't know if he was going to survive so he drew a card and looked at it with relief, he had retrieved Remove Trap, this would take care of Royal Decree which was a picture of a castle with the king above his people who were out in the street. Yugi put the card in the last slot of his magic and trap card zone and when he activated it what looked to be a broken bear trap appeared on the street before him.  The activation caused Royal decree to then vanish.  Paladin raised an eyebrow at Yugi's move and returned to his focus.

 

ALosing your Royal decree doesn't faze you?@  Yugi asked.

 

AWhat happens, happens, keep going.@  Paladin replied.

 

Yugi took Gamma the Magnet Warrior from his hand and set it face down in defense mode on the field, he would protect his life until he got something he could use in battle.

 

AI play this card in defense mode and finish my turn.@  Yugi said.

 

Paladin drew a card and looked at the picture of a twisting storm in the sky above what looked to be a field; it was the magic card Mystic Plasma Zone which helped all Dark Monsters by raising their attack points by 500 and lowering their defense by 400.  Paladin wanted it for attacking, such as with his Black Paladin Magician which he was going to fusion summon now, so he took his Buster Blader and Polymerization from his hand and slid Polymerization into a slot and took his Yami Dark Magician from the field when the magic cards picture appeared of a swirling mix of two monsters.  Yugi knew what was going on and in a way he showed fear because Paladin said, AI fusion summon Black Paladin Magician to the field in attack mode!@  The sound of Paladin's voice when he said that was powerful, he had finally brought his favorite card to the field and with his Dark Magician in the graveyard he had given his Dark Magician Girl 300 more attack points bringing her to 2600 which was exactly what Yugi had left.  Paladin had two options now, one was to attack the face down card with the Black Paladin who had 2900 attack points and then finish Yugi with the Dark Magician Girl.  Or he could do the same but vice-versa...The best choice would be to use the Black Paladin to win, so Paladin called upon the Dark Magician Girl first.

 

ADark Magician Girl, attack the face down card!@  Paladin said vigorously and Yugi watched as Gamma the Magnet Warrior appeared on the field as what looked to be an over weight pink robot with wings, the Magnet exploded and now Yugi's field was open wide for the Black Paladin to attack.

 

Yugi could hear Tea and Joseph; Mokuba and Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Seto...but also his Grandpa cheering him on...Seto Kaiba was cheering for him?  He had nothing...hardly, everything was going according to plan.

 

AYou did well Yugi, but for some reason everything didn't go your way.  I promise to take good care of your Dark Magician and use him well along side my Yami Magician.  I want to thank you for a good game and I'm sorry...Black Paladin, attack his life points and finish this!@  Paladin said and the Black Paladin Magician went in for an attack with his serrated sword...

 

AI don't think so Paladin, after all you don't have your Royal Decree anymore which allows me to play my trap, Magic Cylinder!@  Yugi said, he then activated his trap which were a pair of reddish-purple cylinders almost resembling dice cups causing the Black Paladin's attack to go through one and back out the other causing direct damage to Paladin's life points dropping the numbers from 4000 to 1100Ba shot of 2900 life points was painful and being the attack was from his Black Paladin, it was kind of an injury on the duelists pride.  There were now cheers from all assembled causing Paladin to know that he was alone in this like he always was...however he still had his fighters, and two of his favorites by his side now.  The Black Paladin and Dark Magician Girl turned to Paladin with a look of concern upon their faces, it was strange to see how life-like the holograms of the cards were acting, but even with the support Yugi had, Paladin was in reality not alone, his cards were his friendsBto him, they were real...

 

AGood shot, I have 1100 and you have 2600, you knew exactly what I was going to do, and that is why you are the king of games, but I won't lose, look at my friends who are with me, do you really believe that I can lose with my magicians by my side, they are too strong to simply perish, go ahead, I end my turn, do your best.@  Paladin said.

 

Yugi drew and he knew it was over for Paladin , if he could play this right; it was Slifer the Sky Dragon, and he knew how he could summon it, the problem was that Slifer wouldn't have any attack or defense points due to Yugi not having any cards in his hands, on top of that the Black Paladin would gain 500 more attack points due to Slifer being a dragon making the Black Paladin 3400, if only Yugi could have gotten Valkyrion the Magna Warrior into play.  Yugi was left with very few options now, he could sacrifice Valkyrion to special summon Alpha, Beta and Gamma from the graveyard then sacrifice them to summon Slifer to the field, but then Slifer wouldn't have any points and without any magic or trap cards Paladin would be able to win by killing Slifer with one of his cards and killing the rest of Yugi's life points with another.  The second option Yugi had was to special summon the three magnets and have them in defense and hope for a better card, but then he wouldn't be able to summon Slifer, what choice did he have...there wasn't any other...he would have to summon Slifer and hope that the Egyptian God would protect him.

 

AI use Valkyrion the Magna Warrior to special summon Alpha, Beta and Gamma from the graveyard and place them in defense mode, I then sacrifice Alpha, Beta and Gamma to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon in defense mode!@  Yugi said with confidence, but for some reason it was hopeless...Maybe if it were Yami who played this duel and not him he wouldn't have to rely on hope to win...

 

ASlifer has zero's or X's what are you doing?  Is this some kind of trick?@  Paladin asked, he knew he could win though, so he would hold out for Yugi to get some numbers on his dragon, after all the Black Paladin now had 3400 attack points.

 

It was now Paladin's turn so he drew and with luck he picked Fusion Gate, with that he could summon Saint Joan of Ark once he was able to bring the Merciful Nun back; he decided to pass his battle faze and let Yugi have the chance to get Slifer some power.

 

Yugi drew and looked at his Summoned Skull, it would work to give Slifer 1000 attack and defense points, he was hoping that Paladin would pass his battle turn again, so he ended his turn to Paladin who drew another Axe of Despair which was good, he decided to pass to Yugi who drew his Dark Magician Girl, that would work for another 1000 points making Slifer's attack and defense 2000, he was almost there.

 

Paladin drew again and got exactly what he wanted, Monster Reborn.  He used the card which was a picture of an Ankh or an Egyptian cross meaning eternal life. 

 

AMonster Reborn, I bring back Merciful Nun in attack mode, I then open the Fusion Gate and sacrifice Fallen Angel Mary and Merciful Nun to create Saint Joan of Ark!@  This was a prideful moment for Paladin and he looked at the first strong fighter that has ever graced his deck, Saint Joan was his card and the woman whom he won many duels with, the holographic image looked to her companions of the Dark Magician Girl and Black Paladin, she then turned to her master Paladin and smiled, then raised her sword for battle.  AWelcome back Joan of Ark, we'll fight very soon.@  Paladin said, he then passed his turn onto Yugi who drew nervously, it was almost like Paladin was playing with him or he really believed there was something that Slifer could do that if he attacked he would lose his three most powerful monsters.

 

Yugi obtained Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, he would hold it to give Slifer 3000 attack and defense, and even though he could turn Slifer into attack mode and destroy either Saint Joan of Ark or the Dark Magician Girl, he figured that he would keep up his bluff and go through one more turn to raise Slifer to 4000 points.

 

Kaiba looked on in wonder, he was surprised that Paladin didn't attack and end the duel three turns ago, but if Yugi had Paladin scared of the snake-like red dragon than that was best, if Yugi could get one more card, then he could turn Slifer into attack mode and destroy the Black Paladin and finish the rest and win.

 

Paladin drew another card, it was a trap card called Reinforcements, he took it and slid it into a slot, for later use if he would need to raise a monster by 500 attack points, it was time now he decided, he wanted a dark ending so he activated Mystic Plasma Zone causing the green grid of the Fusion Gate to disappear and for the sky to become dark around them.  The Dark Magician Girls Attack strength raised to 3100 and her defense dropped to 1300, he placed her in defense anyhow. The Black Paladin's strength raised to 3900, and Slifer's however, stayed the same at 3000.  Paladin looked at the Axe of Despair in his hand and decided to attach it to Saint Joan of Ark making her attack strength 3800, he was finished with his turn so Yugi drew a card, it was his Mystical Elf, and as long as it remained in his hand it would assist in making Slifer 4000 and that was stronger than the Black Paladin, so Yugi changed Slifer into attack mode and said, AI don't know why you didn't finish me off earlier, so because of your folly, I will destroy your strongest card.  Slifer attack the Black Paladin Magician!@  The red serpent dragon fired up its breath of energy and attacked, but suddenly everything went wrong; Paladin had activated his Reinforcements raising his Black Paladin's attack strength to 4400 and on impact with the Black Paladin, Slifer was destroyed by the great mage knights sword, Yugi's life points dropped down 400 points to 2200. 

 

Yugi's field was now empty and a silence overcame the battle ground, Yugi was in shock and stared at Paladin who drew a card which was Kycoo The Ghost Destroyer, he wouldn't be able to use Kycoo this time, but he placed the spiritual man on the field anyhow.

 

ADon't feel bad, it was a good fight, and I will take care of your Dark Magician, I'm sorry...  Black Paladin end this.@  Paladin said and his mage knight attacked Yugi's field and with nothing to stop a 3900 attack strength, Yugi's life points dropped to zero, the game was over and Yugi lost.

 

3

 

Yugi was visibly devastated over losing this game, and even with his friends around he felt like he wanted to die.  His Dark Magician was now gone, he was looking through his graveyard for it so he could hand it over to Paladin who was gathering up his cards to replace into his pouch, Paladin was thanking the drawing upon the plastic cards as he took them off of the field panel of his dueling disk, he then gathered up his Toon monsters which were to be awarded to Yugi if he won, but due to the circumstances they still belonged to Paladin.

 

AYugi, you don't have to give your Dark Magician to Paladin!@  Joseph said standing behind Yugi who was still sadly going through his graveyard.

AOf course he does, we made a gentleman's bet, you wouldn't want your friend to be disgraced by not giving me what is rightfully mine now would you?@  Paladin said to Joseph who now said, AYou creep, why don't you take off, you won didn't you?!@  AJoey!  This is my duel and I will give Paladin my Dark Magician, if I would have won I was going to take the Toon Monsters, now leave us!@  Yugi yelled as he looked at the Dark Magician in his hand.

 

AYugi...@ Joseph said, but grandpa, Tea, and Serenity had all taken Joseph away from Yugi who went over to the sidewalk where Paladin had gone after Yugi went into a tirade on his friend.

 

AForgive Joseph, he plays for money, I do not.  I believe that this is your's, take care of him, and never show him any hate...Please.@  Yugi said.

 

AI will, you are the best in the world, and it was a pleasure being able to duel with you...@  Paladin started, but Yugi interrupted by saying, AWhy did you apologize to me before unleashing your Black Paladin on my life points and defeating me?@

AI guess I have always felt that a loss is a hard thing to take so instead of calling you a loser and jumping up and down like a ten year old, I would spare you some pain by saying I was sorry for your loss.@  Paladin replied as he placed the purple robed Dark Magician into his pouch with the rest of his cards.

 

AI want to say thanks for showing me my true skill, I guess in the end it was the Yami Spirit who won the tournaments and every other game that I have played in the past.@  Yugi said with sorrow.

 

AHardly, you need to have more confidence in your ability.  I know you do, just get over this with your friends or have a drink either way tomorrow you will find new friendship with Slifer the Sky Dragon and from there you will beat everyone again.  I have to go.  I am driving out to Tokyo tonight to take on Mai Valentine for her Harpies and then I'm going to take part in a tournament that is supposed to last a few days that is hosted by Kaiba.  Perhaps I'll see you again someday, and maybe we can have a rematch.  For now, take care of yourself, and don't let this loss get you down.@  Paladin said, he then shook hands with Yugi and walked away leaving the dueling disk with Kaiba who nodded his respect at Paladin's victory.

 

Yugi made his way over to the others and when he got to where they were all standing around him he dropped the dueling disk that was loaded with his card deck onto the ground causing the cards to run out onto the sidewalk; to everyone's surprise Yugi began walking away from his friends with his head slumped saying, AI'm through playing Duel Monsters, it was never me who was playing, it was an ancient Pharaoh, I'm just a lonely kid with no parents...there is nothing special about me...@

 

The desperate cries of Yugi's friends and Grandpa were only muffled sounds as he walked to who-knows-where, no one came after him either...maybe it was time to give up the Millennium Puzzle too?  After-all, Yami has been very quiet...why?  His Dark Magician was now gone, but he knew in a better place...It was the fact that he had never won an important game in his life that...what did it matter, somewhere else would be the answer...He needed a bottle of Saki, this pain wouldn't go away otherwise...or would it?

 

Yugi's friends including Kaiba and his grandpa stood around the spilled duel disk staring at the cards that were flowing from the deck holder, Slifer the Sky Dragon looked lonely in the pile of magnet warriors and magic...Poor Yugi...

 

4

 

AYo Mai, there is this guy who is looking for you, he wants your Harpies.@  Joseph said holding a phone in his hand, he was walking around a round wood table in his dining room, and on the table was the deck of Duel Monsters cards that belonged to Yugi, Serenity sat at the table with a solemn look upon her face.

 

AIs that so?  And why should I be afraid of him?@  Mai said.  Mai Valentine was a tall, beautiful woman with long, braided yellow hair and big blue eyes, she wore a tight fitting black vinyl corset with buckling shoulder straps and a silver zipper going up the front with a circular ring as the zipper pull.  She also wore a flared red vinyl mini skirt and knee-high black vinyl boots.  She was sitting at a coffee table in front of a long velvety sofa with her cards spread out in front of her.

 

AYou should be afraid of him because he beat Yugi for his Dark Magician a few days ago.@  Joseph said flustered.

 

AYugi lost...and his Dark Magician?@  Mai said surprised.

 

AThat's right, and he disappeared too, I have his deck and I'm surprised that Kaiba hasn't started asking for his Egyptian God card Slifer the Sky Dragon.  You got to watch out for this guy...and the weird thing is, he's really nice and really cares about his monsters!@  Joseph said.

 

             AAlright Joey, I'll be careful with him, and look, I'll win Yugi's Dark Magician back for

him and hopefully everything will be ok...I think I hear someone knocking at the door...I guess it's him, I will win; I'll call you ok.@  Mai said.

 

ABe careful Mai.@  Joseph said hanging up the phone, he turned to his sister and said, AI have a bad feeling about this.@

 

***

 

Mai opened the door to her penthouse apartment and allowed Paladin to enter, he greeted his soon-to-be-opponent and she offered him a seat after gathering up her cards from the coffee table.

 

ASo, I hear you defeated Yugi Moto for his Dark Magician, may I see it please?@  Mai asked taking a seat next to Paladin.

 

ASure, I guess you should get to choose which of my cards you want if you win, I will tell you what I want of yours now.@  Paladin said digging into his pouch.

 

AOh, and what do you want, my Harpies Pet Dragon?@  Mai said.

 

AThat, and your Harpy Lady Sisters, also your Amazon Paladin, and your Harpy Lady Cyber Bondage, choose any four that you wish, I also have the Toon Monsters that belonged to Pegasus.

 

Mai was either impressed or astonished by what Paladin was asking for from her, he wanted all of her favorite cards, it was kind of scary, she would have to choose what she wanted from Paladin very carefully and also play her best game ever.

 

AYou want quite a lot, my Amazon Paladin though, it's a common card buy a few packs and you might just get it or I'll trade you now for it, say your Opticlops?@  Mai asked.

 

AThat's fine, but choose what you want...any three you would like or you can play me for all four Toon Monsters.@  Paladin said kindly.

 

Mai pulled her Amazon Paladin from her deck and handed it to Paladin who handed her the Opticlops card.  While Mai continued to look for what she wanted Paladin looked at the Amazon Paladin, it was a picture of a yellow haired woman dressed in white and leaning on a sword.  The attack was 1700 which was 100 points less than the Opticlops' 1800 attack points, but he wanted the card, that was all that counted to him.

 

AOk, I want Yugi's Dark Magician, your Dark Magician Girl and your Black Paladin Magician, do we have a deal?@  Mai asked.

 

ABut of course we do, how about we play on the roof, I picked up a duel disk at the local dueling center, it was only 20,000 Yen, that isn't that bad considering the technology, and I'm sure you still have yours from Battle City right?@  Paladin said.

 

AIt's a bit chilly out and on the roof it must be freezing!@ Mai complained.

 

 AI'll let you borrow my jacket.@  Paladin said a little agitated.

 

AI have my own, just hold on a sec and we'll go out, this isn't a date you know.@  Mai said in a little sexy tone.

 

AI hope not, I have a wife, she is going to be joining me for the tournament that Kaiba is presenting.  At the moment she is going to school but she is off for the weekend and is going to come by bus and we'll get a room for both days, then leave in my car.  Most likely she'll come straight from school to the tournament center, she is very supportive, we have a good marriage and she is ok with me playing in tournaments, I of course have a daily job as an artist and I still have to make the money to keep us in shelter so I don't run off to challenge people in Duel Monsters all that much, I have only wanted certain cards so I challenged Arcana for his Dark Magician, Yugi for his and now I want the Harpies from you.  After I'm finished with you I'm going into the World Tournament like I said for the 2 million dollar, American, prize.@  Paladin said.

 

AYou are very confidant that you'll win, we'll just see how you faire against me.@  Mai said as she put on a flared black vinyl jacket, she kept it open and grabbed her cards from the coffee table and led Paladin out onto the roof where they began to set up for their duel.

 

With the projectors out on the asphalt roof top and the duel disks loaded Mai and Paladin began their duel.  Mai was to go first so she drew 6 cards and looked at them.  Strangely the first was her new Opticlops which was a huge one horned cyclops; this was probably the best card to put on the field first, but Mai continued to look through what she had before starting.  The next card in her hand was a magic card called Elegant Egotist, this would allow her to summon her Harpy Lady Sisters or another Harpy Lady.  The next was a trap card called Aqua Chorus which was a picture of a young woman who looked to be praying, this card would add 500 attack points to each monster that there was more than one of the same on the field.  The last three of her cards were The Unfriendly Amazon who looked like a strong woman facing away from the front of the card and wearing gray clothes with her dark hair in a headband and a spear in her hand, this card was at level four stars with 2000 attack points, however it was an effect where she would have to tribute one monster to keep the card on the field.  There was also a card called Skull Red Bird which was an air monster as were her Harpies.  Her sixth card she had was a field magic card which would add to the attack points of all her air monsters called Raising Air Currents.

 

AWell, this is a strange sort of circumstances, I summon Opticlops in attack mode.@  Mai said placing Opticlops on her duel disks field, the holographic image appeared on the roof top and the speakers sounded with a growling from the huge monster.  Mai also slid Aqua Chorus into a slot under the Opticlops causing the back of the card to appear on the roof top behind Opticlops.

AYour turn.@  Mai chimed in.

 

Paladin drew his sixth card and looked at it, it was Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, the card he didn't get to fight with against Yugi.  In most cases he would put it out on the field to become equal with Mai's attack points, but due to the fact that he had his Gemini Elf which had an attack of 1900 in his hand, he would probably use that.  The Gemini Elf was one of Paladin's favorite cards, it was a picture of two female elves which looked to be sisters; the card was actually known as Gemini's Elves which could mean that they were this Greco-Roman gods  slave servants...but anyhow, it would probably be the first card on the field.  The other cards were Magic Cylinder which he put into a slot, Axe of despair, Beast of Talwar who was a powerful monster of level 6 with 2400 attack points, he would enjoy using this double sword wielding beast, later though.  Paladin's final card was...this was kind of funny, it was the Amazon Paladin, his new card...ok, he knew what to do.

 

AI summon Amazon Paladin in attack mode.@  Paladin said trying to keep his on-coming laughter down. The Amazon looked really small compared to Opticlops she was far prettier though...there was one other thing, the Amazon Paladin was now looking over to Mai in almost wonder as to why she wasn't with her mistress, but then as she looked to her new master she could tell that she was in good hands.  Mai however, looked in shock and said, AWhy would you fight me when you are 100 attack points less than I am?@

 

Paladin pulled the Axe of Despair from his hand and slid it into the slot under the Amazon, he said, AI wanted to see your reaction to us both getting our new cards, the difference is I have an attachment, Axe of Despair, and with it my Amazon Paladin now has 2700 attack points.  I am a warrior Mai, I try to avoid having too many traps and cheap effect magic cards, I always carry weapons and you should too.  Amazon Paladin, attack Opticlops.@  Paladin said and the small amazon used her new weapon to destroy Opticlops who shattered into a million grains of light.  Mai's life points began to drop to 7100, she was safe, but losing her new card to her old card was not something she thought would happen.  Paladin slid the Magic Cylinder into a slot and ended his turn. 

 

Mai drew a Harpy Lady Cyber Bondage, she had three of these and one would be a good start.  The Harpy had 1800 attack points so she knew not to lay it out without looking at everything in her hand, so she looked to Elegant Egotist and Raising Air Currents, she could summon the Cyber Harpy then use elegant Egotist to special summon another, then with the two on the field she could use her Aqua Chorus trap card to raise their attacks by 500 points, then to top Paladin she could use Raising Air Currents to raise them another 500 points giving them both a total of 2800 each.  Mai knew she would be able to destroy the Amazon Paladin, then inflict 2800 points of damage to Paladin's life points, she would get Yugi's Dark Magician back with no problem.

 

AOk Paladin, I summon Harpy Lady Cyber Bondage in attack mode, I then play the magic card Elegant Egotist allowing me to special summon a Harpy Lady from my deck, so I choose another Cyber Harpy.  I then activate my trap card Aqua Chorus which gives my Harpies 500 more attack points each, and finally I use the field magic card Raising Air Currents giving both of my Cyber Harpies another 500 points totaling them at 2800 attack points each; how do you like that Paladin, you can just as well surrender and give me my winnings now.@ 

 

Paladin looked out to the field to see wind blowing and birds in the sky with the praying female in the background and the two half woman half bird figures with long red hair and metal breast plate armor staring down his Amazon Paladin, he could see that she was frightened, and sadly, she would have to be.  Mai was going to kill her, but he would come back...somehow.

 

AWhy don't you shut the hell up for a change, you are so stuck up and I've only known you for 20 minutes.  Fine, you may kill my Amazon, but she will be avenged, you can count on that.@  Paladin said a little angry, he decided to allow Mai to finish what she started.

 

Mai called her first Harpy to attack the Amazon Paladin, and her master could hear her scream and cry as she exploded, Paladin looked away as he lost 100 life points.  Mai then called for her other Harpy to attack, but Paladin was protected and he activated his Magic Cylinder throwing the same amount of damage back to Mai who screamed as she felt her Harpies blow.

 

The stats were now with Paladin having 7900 life points and Mai having 4300, the combatants stood staring at each other, and Mai was very unhappy, she didn't see the Magic Cylinder coming.

 

With nothing said, Paladin drew and as luck would have it, it was the Harpy Lady Sweeper or Harpies Feather Duster, this card would remove all magic and traps from the opponents side of the field and in this case, it would cause the Cyber Harpies to fall back to 1800 attack points each, allowing Paladin to attack with his Gemini Elf and hopefully on his next turn he could summon his Beast of Talwar, or depending upon what Mai did, he would use Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.

 

AI use Harpy Lady Sweeper, say goodbye to Aqua Chorus and your field card and now your Harpies are back to their normal attack.  I now summon Gemini Elf in attack mode, and I attack your first Harpy, goodbye Harpy baby!@  Paladin and Mai watched as the female elves used a combined magical attack to destroy the first Cyber Harpy, Mai's life points dropped to 4200 and she cried, ANo my Harpy!@

 

Paladin had passed to Mai who drew and became a little unhappy about what she got, it was the Harpy Lady Sisters card, she couldn't use it without Elegant Egotist, she would have to set her Skull Red Bird, she could summon the Unfriendly Amazon and destroy the Gemini Elf, but then she would lose her Cyber Harpy and if she couldn't tribute another card the next turn then she would lose the Amazon too.

 

AI play this monster in defense and turn my Cyber Harpy in defense and it's your turn.@  Mai said nervously, she was getting worried about what her next move would be, Paladin was getting too strong.

Paladin drew a card which was the magic card Raigeki, this would cause a lightning strike that would destroy all of Mai's monsters on the field, but that was too easy, he would hold it and summon Kycoo in attack.

Kycoo was a spiritual looking man with a half red mask over his left eye, he had no hair and wore what looked to be a tunic or robe.  Paladin started by having the Gemini Elf attack the Cyber Harpy sending it to the graveyard, he then had Kycoo attack the face down card which was the Skull Red Bird who was a large red bird with a bright red crown of feathers, with both monsters destroyed he ended his turn.  Mai drew and it wasn't anything very good for attacking with, but if she placed it in attack mode she would be able to block Paladin's attack from both of his monsters.  This card was called the Dark Elf, she was robed and had purple hair and a golden crown, however with 2000 attack points and at level 4 she would cost Mai 1000 of her own life points to attack, so Mai summoned the card in attack mode and ended her turn rather than hurt herself anymore than she already was.

 

Paladin drew a card and looked at it, it was his Black Magic Curtain which would allow him to summon his newly acquired Dark Magician or his Yami Dark Magician, there was no better way to beat Mai, her use of word-dueling rather than monster dueling had angered him and he wasn't going to allow taunting to go unnoticed, so he would use this card wisely and let Mai continue on, he would then take her apart at the moment that she didn't expect it.

 

Paladin had non-verbally passed to Mai so she drew a card which was a Harpies Brother, he had 1800 life points and if she wanted to stay alive she would have to sacrifice him, so Mai summoned the male Harpy who was tall with long black hair and brown leather clothing,  red wings upon his back and a red claw at his wrist; she used him to attack Kycoo causing both monsters to explode at the same time.  Now with just the Gemini Elf and Dark Elf on the field, Mai passed to Paladin who drew a Man-Eater Bug, this was a large, ugly, brown bug that had an effect that would destroy one monster on the field, it was what was called a flip effect and could only work if it were face down.  Paladin had only one in his deck for emergencies and the chances of drawing it were usually slim, so he decided how to end this, the first thing Paladin did was play his Black Magic curtain allowing him to special summon the purple robed Dark Magician.  AYou remember him don't you Mai, I'm going to prove to Yugi that I plan to take good care of him, and you will be his first victim, and due to the fact that I just lost half of my life points summoning him I will set this card face down in defense mode, after all I can't summon anymore monsters once the curtain is used.  And my Dark Magician attacks your Dark Elf.@  Paladin said after setting the Man-Eater Bug, and Yugi's Dark Magician attacked the Dark Elf taking 500 life points from Mai.

 

Mai watched in horror as the Dark Magician almost smiled at Paladin, he was excepting his new friend and was actually enjoying his successful destruction of the Dark Elf.  Paladin now had the Gemini Elf attack Mai and when the two girls had finished inflicting pain upon Paladin's opponent, Mai was left with 1900 life points to Paladin's 3950.

 

At this point Mai was feeling helpless as Paladin's attacks had crippled her, she was freezing on the roof and starting to cry as she zipped up her jacket, she was so scared of losing that she drew nervously, there it was so far off from being something she could use in a combo, it was her third Cyber Harpy and without an Elegant Egotist she couldn't summon her Harpy Lady Sisters, she was being crushed and after she had such a strong beginning, Paladin was better than Yugi, there was no way she could win! 

 

Mai placed the Cyber Harpy on her field in defense mode, she didn't know what else to do, so she passed her turn over to Paladin who drew a card and placed it on the field in attack mode, it was a weak effect monster called Sangan, it was a brown furry monster with only 1000 attack points.  Mai knew that Paladin was playing with her, so she watched as he flipped the Man-Eater Bug into attack mode allowing it to kill Mai's Cyber Harpy.

 

            AWell, this is it, you played a good game, I just have the better deck and draw, faire well   

Mai.@  Paladin said, he then allowed the Dark Magician to attack Mai and finish her off, her life points went down to zero and she lost.

 

Mai felt like crying as she gathered up her cards from her duel disk, she had never played a game so poorly, especially when she would be forced to give up her favorite cards.  Mai looked at the three she promised to Paladin, the Harpy Lady Sisters of the three Harpies gathered about in the picture, then there was her Cyber Harpy that she had two others of, and finally her Harpies Pet Dragon which was a large red dragon with a collar about its neck with a long chain attached.  Paladin had now come over and said, AI won fair and square, please give me my prize.@ 

 

ANo...Please, I can't give up my Harpies, please don't make me!@  Mai cried nervously, it was a whole different side of Mai, it was almost like she was a frightened child.

 

ASo, you mock and taunt me, yet when you lose you refuse to give me what is rightfully mine?  Yugi was very honorable when he had lost, however, now I hear he has disappeared, is that what you are going to do, disappear instead of rebuild your deck with new fighters and other new cards and try again.  No one can win all the time, the odds are against it.  I play Duel Monsters because I enjoy the game and I enjoy collecting the cards.  I started with nothing more than a few average monsters and the Saint Joan of Ark fusion, from there I gained the better cards that I have now, and we made this deal which was perfectly fair, now don't disgrace yourself and hand me my prize.@  Paladin said and to his surprise Mai handed the three cards over to him. 

 

AI want to thank you for a good game, and don't feel bad, my time was going to come sooner or later, I used to be the one losing all of the time, maybe its time to rethink the game for some of you champions.  Be well Mai, I will see you again sometime.@  Paladin said.

 

 Mai replied by silently waving her hand.  After she had heard Paladin leave she began crying heavily and she ran back into the house where she screamed and cried at the same time.  The horrible thoughts of her losing her major Harpies cards was killing her inside and even her own screams were starting to scare her so she turned on her stereo where opera was playing through a pair of large black headphones which she picked up and held tightly over her ears all-the-while screaming in heartfelt pain with tears flooding her eyes.  After a few moments of crying she pulled the headphones from her ears letting them wrap around her neck, she then picked up the phone to call Joseph.  She could hear his voice on the other end and when Mai began to call Joseph's name she could only hear him reply, AMai, Mai, is that you?  Where are you, a concert hall or something!  Mai are you alright?@

 

With the opera blasting through the phones receiver Joseph could just make out Mai's tear-filled words of, AJoey, help me...help me please...@

 

5

 

            He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but he needed someone whom he just as well despised to give him the answers that he needed.  This person lived in a castle on an island in which he owned.  This person was Maximilian Pegasus, and as to why Yugi would travel by boat to see this man was a mystery even to him.

 

After Duelist Kingdom Pegasus had disappeared from any light, he had enclosed himself inside his castle and no one but his servants have seen him since.  Bakura who was Yugi's friend had a dark side to him due to the Millennium Ring which had just as well taken over his body.  The ring, like Yugi's puzzle, was an artifact of great and mysterious power.  Bakura had taken the Millennium item that had belonged to Pegasus, this item was called the Millennium Eye which had a price to having it due to the fact that the one who possessed it would lose their eyeball to allow it to take its resting place with-in ones skull.  After the loss that Pegasus suffered to Yugi he was weary and the sudden challenge from Bakura had caused Pegasus a quick and very painful loss.  This loss to Bakura had resulted in losing his Millennium Eye which Bakura had insanely removed with his own handsBlicking the blood off which coated the rear of the golden eye.  Pegasus was nothing more now than the remembered creator of the Duel Monsters game, it was Seto Kaiba who had taken precedence with the name Duel Monsters and he was now known as something resembling the creator.

 

As the small boat neared the great island where Castle Pegasus stood Yugi could see that his answers would come very soon, if not than he would be alone still.  With no dueling deck and the now silent spirit of the Millennium Puzzle about his neck he was feeling a little nervous due to the many years since he last set foot upon this islandBthis island known as Duelist Kingdom.

 

 When the boat made landing at the main dock near the castle an attendant that looked very familiar greeted Yugi and said, AMr. Moto, Lord Pegasus awaits your company.@

 

Yugi nodded his reply and followed the attendant up the path to the castle.  At the door a few guards allowed Yugi to pass them with the attendant in tail.  And finally they arrived at a door in which the attendant knocked and said, ALord Pegasus, Yugi Moto has arrived, shall I show him in?@ 

 

In a deep, moaning, posh voice came the words, AShow him in right away.@

 

The attendant motioned for Yugi to enter the room and he did so cautiously, and there sitting in what looked to be a well cushioned wheel chair was Maximilian Pegasus, he still had long white hair but the regal-looking white beard upon his face was new, he looked to have a covering of his left eye where the Millennium Eye once was, however his hair covered the spot none-the-less.  Pegasus also wore a suit which was black rather than the red he was known for.  All in all Pegasus looked worse for ware, he must have suffered badly at the hands of Bakura Bcorrection, it wasn't his friend Bakura who was now gone from the world, it was the Yami spirit whom had possessed him that was the cause for Pegasus' frailty.

 

Max Pegasus looked over to Yugi and with a tone of surprise he said, AYour looking good Yugi-boy, or are you the other one?@ 

 

AI am the small boy you once faced, the Yami spirit has been quiet lately.@  Yugi replied.

 

AWhy are you here...I heard you lost to Paladin...@  Pegasus said.

 

AYou know Paladin?@  Yugi asked.

 

AOf course I do, he is the one who defeated me for my Toon monsters, didn't he show them to you, he was quite excited when he won them, of course he did comment on how I whined when I lost, he then filled me full of good game-this, you'll do better next time-that.  How can a duelist not believe in trash-talk huh, some of the best came from your friend Joey, how is Joey-boy anyhow?@  Pegasus said.

 

AHe likes to be called Joseph now, but he is doing fine, unlike I am...@  Yugi said.

 

ACome now Yugi-boy, is the defeat you received at the hands of Paladin keeping you down that much, I got over it even though my precious Toon's are in another's hands...Can you imagine what it must be like for poor Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon or Toon Mermaid...he didn't want my Manga Ryu Ran though, it wasn't good enough for him.  Anyhow, why have you come here, it wasn't to try and beat me again in a game of Duel Monsters was it, you don't seem to have your cards?@  Pegasus said.

 

AI have come for answers, and to ask questions...I lost my Dark Magician to him, but that isn't what's bothering me, it's the fact that after all of the duels I have played and won I have realized that it wasn't really me playing and winning any of them...it was the Yami spirit of my puzzle that was winning the matches and not me.  I see the posters all over my grandfathers shop that say >Yugi Moto, Duel Monsters Champion' yet I'm not the champion, the Pharaoh is the champion, I'm just there, even if my thoughts and Yami's thoughts can coexist at the same time, it was still he who was doing most of the work, and making the important decisions.@  Yugi said.

 

AI see and since when was I a head shrinker, I have an art and electronics degree, not a degree in psychology?  I was going to use the life of your grandfather, Seto and Mokuba Kaiba and even your own to bring back my Cecilia and you come to me for advice?  So what if your friends don't understand the difficulty of your feelings, they are there for other reasons...What is it that you want Yugi-boy, why are you really here, tell me!@  Pegasus said.

 

AHow can I defeat the Black Paladin Magician...I used to use one, but I never thought of how to defeat my own card, I couldn't get Slifer the Sky Dragon any stronger than it and Paladin used a trap to ensure my defeat, I always watch the field, and for some reason the trap was almost invisible to me, I thought he would use it against Slifer, but it was there to help himself...you created the Egyptian God cards Pegasus, how are they used, what can they do?  What is the key to using Slifer effectively, what am I doing wrong...How can I get my Dark Magician back if I don't know how to defeat the one card that I used to win duels with!@  Yugi said exasperated.

 

AAlright Yugi-boy, I will show you the way, when I'm through with you, you'll be a new duelist and if not, well you can always let Yami fight your battles...@  Pegasus said.

 

AThank you Pegasus.@  Yugi replied.

 

6

 

   Mai sat cross-legged on her queen-size bed wearing blue denim overalls and a white long-sleeve top.  Like a small child she had every card that she had collected through-out the years sprawled out on the mattress. 

 

She was still crying, but at the same time was trying to make sense of what had happened to her.  There was a single pile to the left upper corner of the bed with her last two Cyber Harpies and three Harpy Lady's.  Also in the pile were three Elegant Egotists and Cyber Bondage armor which she could use to equip her weaker Harpy Lady's or strengthen her Cyber Harpies.  Mai had also separated the two Raising Air Current's that she had.  Now was the point where she had to find other monsters that she could use, especially one that was powerful enough to use as her deck leader.  There were so many cards before her that she couldn't find what she could use to keep her deck balanced.  She had three Harpies Brothers which she added to the pile of her main cards, but that was just about all that she had.

 

AIt's not going to be the same!@  Mai wept, but she continued to search for something, anything! 

 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door to her penthouse followed by the ringing of the doorbell.  Mai pulled herself off of the bed knocking the cards around at the same time, she ran to the door with her thin yellow braids swinging around all-the-while.  When she opened the door she was greeted by Tea, Serenity and Joseph who looked at her with surprise not only by the way she was dressed but also the look on her face, she was nothing more than a teary-eyed child who was in reality-- her early thirties.

 

Mai wrapped her arms around Joseph to his and the others surprise, she leaned her head on his shoulder and wept, AOh Joey it was horrible, I was going to beat him and he wiped me out with Yugi's Dark Magician...He's like a trophy hunter who's friendly...@

 

AIt's all going to be ok Mai, come on, lets go to your bed and lie you down, you should get some rest then tomorrow you'll be back to your old stuck-up self.@  Joseph said leading Mai into her room with his sister and Tea behind them.

Everyone stopped fast and looked in shock at Mai's bed that was covered with cards.  Tea said, AMai, goodness what have you been doing here?@

 

AI'm trying to repair my deck, but I don't have anything at all.@  Mai said sitting down on the edge of her bed, Joseph and Tea looked through the many cards to pick out something that looked powerful, Tea found a card that looked like a fairy warrior called Dunames Valkyrie who had 1800 attack points at level 4, and Joseph found an effect card of a fairy who looked almost like a business woman or some kind of Angel waiting to process a deceased at the gates of heaven, she had a halo about her head and had 1800 attack points.

 

AWhat about The Hysteric Fairy, and look Tea found that you have a Dunames Valkyrie, I know they ain't Harpies, but they are very powerful you shouldn't let them sit in your pile, you should use them.@  Joseph said. 

 

AFairies!  I can't use fairies, I play with Harpies, they are my friends, I don't have my dragon anymore either!@  Mai cried.

 

Joseph began to rummage through Mai's pile and found a great high-level monster who he had seen before, it was a pink dragon called Seiyaryu who was at level 7 with 2500 attack points and 2300 defense paints.  ALook Mai, you can use Seiyaryu as your deck leader, and you have so many other cards, it will take some time but you can put together a really powerful deck, you just need to take the time and get over losing your cards...and...and, I'll beat him Mai...I will beat Paladin and take back your Harpies and Yugi's Dark Magician too...@

 

All gathered turned to Joseph in shock and Mai wiped her eyes and almost screamed, AJoey you mustn't!  No one can beat him, he'll take your cards too!@

 

AI know it's a chance I'm going to have to take, but I can't stand to see you suffer like this anymore.  Mai, I will win, and I will get your Harpies back, and Yugi's Dark Magician will come back home too,@ Joseph said with confidence.

 

AI believe in you big brother!@  Serenity said happily.

 

Joseph's support was reasonable, Tea had almost patted him on the back, but Mai was so unsure.  Being the local champion due to Yugi not participating had made Joseph take a position among the Duel Monsters community and he felt that it was his job to challenge Paladin, before he took cards from anyone else.

 

ADid Paladin say where he was going?@  Joseph asked.

 

AHe is at Kaiba's World Championship, he said his wife was going to join him there.@  Mai said.

 

AHe's married...him?@  Tea said astonished.

 

AThen I'll just have to embarrass him with a loss in front of his wife, I'll bet she is just as big of a freak as he is...come on, it's time to put Paladin in his place.@  Joseph said, and everyone gathered together and left.

 

***

 

AYou are ready Yugi-boy, now don't go thinking that Slifer is all you have, he is immune to magic and traps, but you have to arm him with monsters in your hand.  Your next goal is to use the cards I gave you effectively, do you got it on how to use Relinquished?@  Pegasus said as he and Yugi went along the path to the docks, a servant was pushing Pegasus in his wheel chair.

 

AI got it Pegasus, and thank you, I will use Relinquished wisely.@  Yugi said.

 

AOne other thing before you go Yugi-boy, I want to apologize for the things I have done in the past, it was wrong of me, I have just had a hard time getting over the loss of my Cecilia, and I was so sure I could bring her back, but I should have known better.  I guess you can say that I have paid in full for my bad deeds considering my current situation.@  Pegasus said.

 

AYou are forgiven Pegasus, and once again, I thank you for your help, I'm going to win back my Dark Magician now.@  Yugi said as he boarded the boat which would take him to the mainland of Japan.  Pegasus watched as the boat left the island, hopefully Yugi would believe in his skill and not feel as though it were never he who had won the duels in the past, the Yami spirit was nothing more than an alter-ego, they had the same minds more-so all the time.

 

                    7

 

The Tokyo Dome was beautiful at night when it was lit up, the huge stadium was the location for Kaiba's World Championship and there was quite a large crowd drawn to the action.  Inside there were tables set up with venders of the latest cards and accessories and all around the stadium were pairs of people using new duel disks and playing each other.  It was amazing to see the large holograms which shared the gaming floor with the duelist.

 

There was a scoreboard where the top ranked in this contest were listed.  The number one spot belonged to Seto Kaiba and the number two spot belonged to Paladin which meant that with-in the hour the final battle was going to take place, until then everyone would challenge each other in a friendly game or just walk around to look at the tables where they could buy new cards or simply talk to other people.

 

Paladin stood near the entrance to the stadium where he was waiting for his wife, she had caught a late bus and he was hoping that she would arrive before his duel with Kaiba.  A kid had come over to him and asked to duel, but Paladin had to decline due to his waiting, he did however promise the kid a chance later if he could.

 

It was starting to come down to 45 minutes before the duel for the championship, and Paladin was starting to get worried, but in his excitement for hoping to see his wife a different familiarity had walked in.  It was a group consisting of Joseph, Tea, a childish acting Mai, Serenity, Tristan, Duke and Yugi's Grandpa, this was just great Paladin thought to himself, but he figured he would see them all here sooner or later, but it wasn't for business purposes, someone was going to challenge him and that someone was Joseph.

 

AThere you are Paladin, I'm not happy about what you did to Mai, so I'm challenging you to a duel, right here, right now, you have no choice on the matter, and I can see the rankings, you are going against Kaiba soon, so that gives you plenty of time to lose to me.@  Joseph said holding his cards and a duel disk.

 

AYou are one cocky little punk aren't you?  Well, I'm waiting for my wife, but I think I have the time to take your lousy attitude down and lets say three cards.  Name what you want from me, and I'll tell you what I want from you, deal?@  Paladin said.

 

AYeah you got it, and I want the Dark Magician that belongs to Yugi, and I will return it to him.  Then I want Mai's Harpy sisters, and also her Harpies Pet Dragon, go ahead, what can you only dream of winning from me?@  Joseph said.

 

AI want Jinzo, Legendary Fisherman and Insect Queen, and I won't have to dream about winning them from you either, because not only can I beat you, but here comes my wife, so I too have support.@  Paladin said as a small woman who looked like a girl came in through the doorway, Paladin towered over her making her look like a small child.  She had long, smooth and straight black hair and wore a sailor cap that was white with a black ribbon flowing from it, she had brown eyes and a pretty smile that was laced with clear braces with silver metal wire.  She wore a black long-sleeved sailor top with a white collar and white scarf.  This woman also wore a short white pleated skirt and black with white shoes and knee- high white socks.  Upon her back was a shiny black vinyl back pack style purse.

 

AI would like everyone to meet my wife Suki.@  Paladin said almost kneeling down and kissing the small woman on her mouth, she was very young looking and Tea said, AHow old is she?@

 

Paladin looked up from Suki to Tea with a disgusted look on his face and said, ASuki is 22, she is in her forth year of college, do you think I'm some perverted sick-o?@ 

 

AIt's true, she is going to the same school I went to, I still have my uniform and it is exactly the same as hers.  You must have money Paladin, I know it isn't cheep to send her there.@  Mai said.

 

AWe get by, her education is too important to let it go to waste in a poor school.@  Paladin said.

 

Suki kind of hid to the side of Paladin, she was very shy, but highly intelligent, she also loved her husband; however, Suki didn't look to be Paladin's type.

 

AAre we going to duel or what?@  Paladin said.

 

AYeah, right, lets get a spot over by the champions circle, I want everyone to see you lose.@  Joseph said.

 

AI won't.@  Paladin replied taking Suki's hand and heading over to an empty spot by the champions circle where he would face Kaiba in about a half hour.

 

After Joseph and Paladin set up Suki got close to her husband and reached up on her toes and said,  AGood luck Mika.@

 

AMika, that's your name, your not really Paladin?@  Joseph said.

 

AThat's right, but I will ignore anyone but Suki who calls me by my real name.  Now lets get started, I saw Kaiba coming towards us which means we have to start soon.@  Paladin said.

 

ADon't worry, this won't take very long, I will have you out in 10 rounds or less.@  Joseph said causing Paladin to lose his cool, so he said, AI have had enough of everyone's words, so I promise you Joey, that I will have your cards in 2 rounds, now I'll start us off, but you stop with the crap, I'm not going to hear your bull with Suki in my presence, she doesn't need to hear your remarks, so play like a man and stop acting like a boy.@

 

Joseph ignored Paladin and watched as his opponent drew his first 6 cards revealing the Gemini Elf, Man-Eater Bug, Vorse Raider which was a monestrous Viking holding a huge battle axe and an attack of 1900 and a defense of 1200, the next was called Newt, or as it was know, the Slate Warrior who looked to be a blue man with yellowish stone armor, this monster was an effect card with 1900 attack and a very weak defense of 400, it's effect was that if it was flip summoned it would gain 500 attack points and if it were destroyed in battle the monster who had attacked it would lose 500 attack points.  The next card was called Goblin Attack Force, it was an army of goblin soldiers and had 2300 attack points and zero defense points, the effect the card had was that after it attacked it would be turned into defense position.  The final of the six was a trap card called Ultimate Offering which was a picture of a red monster jumping out of another greenish monster, this trap allowed the owner to summon as many monsters as they could for 500 life points each.

 

Paladin placed the Man-Eater Bug face down in defense position on his field and slid Ultimate Offering into the slot beneath the bug, he tipped the duel disk down so Joseph could see what he had done then silently passed to his opponent.

 

At this point Seto Kaiba and many other players had gathered around to see Paladin and Joseph duel, it was a sight to see world class duelists battling right before the final competition.

 

Joseph drew his sixth card revealing Zombyra The Dark which was a demon with a cape who had 2100 attack points and an effect where the monster would lose 200 attack points every time it attacked.  The next card Joseph had was Gearfried The Iron Knight, who was a powerful black knight with 1800 attack and 1600 defense, next was a really weak card called Swordsman of Landstar who looked like a strange fairy, it had a poor attack at 500 and a defense of 1200.  There was also Jinzo which Paladin wanted, Jinzo was a long-necked android with 2400 attack points and the effect of nullifying all trap cards, then there was also the Legendary Fisherman which Paladin also wanted, he was a spiky-haired seaman who rode upon a shark and carried a spear with an attack of 1850 and the effect of causing it to be invincible when the field magic card Umi was in effect.  The final card that Joseph held was a magic card called Dark Hole, it was the picture of a black hole in space that would destroy all monsters on the field.

 

Joseph was very happy with his draw and he placed Zombyra on the field in attack mode, he said, AI summon Zombyra the Dark in Attack Mode and I attack your face down card!@

 

Paladin's bug flipped over revealing the brown monster who was destroyed upon impact of Joseph's attack, however, the bug didn't go alone, and Joseph watched as Zombyra the Dark was eaten alive.

 

AOop's, well it looks like it's my turn, because both of us have no monsters on the field at all.@  Paladin said as Suki looked at his hand, she knew with what he held that he could win on this turn.

 

Paladin drew to Joseph's disappointment, he had received the Amazon Paladin, that was nice, so he decided to summon it on the field, he said, AI summon Amazon Paladin in attack mode, and because you triggered my trap card last turn I reveal Ultimate Offering which allows me to summon as many monsters as I can for the cost of 500 life points each, so I summon Gemini Elf, Vorse Raider, Slate Warrior and Goblin Attack Force, all in attack mode.@  This move had caused Paladin's life points to drop down to 6000.

 

Joseph and all gathered were in shock at Paladin's perfect draw, they looked upon the five monsters on the field.  Kaiba laughed quietly with his brother Mokuba next to him, he had never liked Joseph and watched in happiness as Paladin unleashed his monsters upon Joseph's empty field.  One at a time the Gemini Elf, Vorse Raider, Slate Warrior and finally Goblin Attack Force lay waste to Joseph's life points leaving him hopelessly on zero.  It was a horrible loss for Joseph, but there was nothing that he or anyone else could do about it, he had cut and shuffled Paladin's cardsBhow could he get such a perfect draw!?

 

AIt looks like I lost, here are your cards, I put them up, so I will give them up, take care of them...@  Joseph said sadly.

 

AYou know I will take care of them, sorry it had to come out like this, I have a championship to win.@  Paladin said taking the cards from Joseph, he then handed them to Suki who looked at them then gave them back to Paladin to put in his pouch.

 

Seto and Mokuba had walked away without saying a word, it was best due to the fact that Joseph had gotten destroyed in the quick game, it was now time for Seto to prove he was the best and he would do that by breaking the rules to his own tournament and offer cards to Paladin in gamble for Yugi's Dark Magician and his Black Paladin.

 

                                                                        8

 

ALadies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Kaiba Corporations Duel Monsters World Championship!@  Said the MC who wore a black tuxedo and held a wireless microphone.  The crowd cheered and looked to the circle on a platform where Paladin was on one side with Suki nearby and on the other was Seto Kaiba with Mokuba.

 

AWe have had a great tournament but it's time to find our winner, the champion of Duel Monsters!  The challenger and ranked one among the finalists of the tournament, we have Paladin!@  The room filled with cheers as the MC pointed to the challenger Paladin, he was focused and looked to Suki who smiled a braces-filled grin to the man she loved, this was going to be his best match yet, all because Suki was here.

 

AAnd our champion, the owner of the Kaiba Corporation and CEOBthe Duel Monsters Champion, Seto Kaiba!@  The crowd cheered for their champion, but this was a fair competition and although it was against official tournament rules Kaiba had one more stipulation to add, which both he and Paladin could agree on. 

 

The MC had brought his microphone to Kaiba and after taking hold of it he said, AI have decided to change a rule due to Paladin's love of gambling for cards, and if he agrees I will hand my XYZ Dragon Cannon and Obelisk the Tormentor over to him upon losing this duel.  Doe's that sound good to you Paladin?@

 

AI love it, let me guess, you want the purple robed Dark Magician, everyone of you wants to get it back for Yugi, and, you also want my Black Paladin MagicianBto clip my wings...correct?@  Paladin said.

 

AThat is correct.@  Kaiba said.

 

AWe have a deal.@  Paladin replied.

 

After some cheers the MC finished by saying, AThe decks have been shuffled, so let the duel begin!@

 

There were the final cheers and then it became quiet.

 

Seto began by placing his own Vorse Raider on the field in attack mode, the other cards in his hand were two Blue-Eyes White Dragon's which were white dragons with curving necks and blue eyes.  There was also a magic card called Flute of Summoning Dragon which was a golden dragon head flute, the next card was a mystic who was in a sort of dragon skull armor called Lord of Dragons, the effect of this 1200 attack point being was to allow two dragons to go to the field if he was combined with the Flute of Summoning Dragon, also if magic was used towards a particular dragon, it would backfire; Kaiba had a perfect draw where he could have dominated the match in a few turns, but he was planning a strategy to allow his sixth card called Obelisk the Tormenter to come onto the field and end the game permanently.  Obelisk was a huge blue warrior-like monster with 4000 attack and defense points, he required 3 tributes like Yugi's Slifer did to summon to the field, if everything went well for him, Kaiba would be able to win this match very quickly.

 

AI summon Vorse Raider in attack mode and end my turn.@  Kaiba said allowing Paladin to draw his sixth card and begin his end of the fight.

 

Paladin's full draw wasn't too bad, he was really happy with the turn out, he got the Goblin Attack Force, his Yami Dark Magician, Call of the Haunted which was a trap card allowing one of his monsters to return to the field after being destroyed, there was another trap card which was Reinforcements and the last two were what made him very happy, Paladin had his Buster Blader and Polymerization card, which would allow him to summon his Black Paladin Magician now if he wanted to, but he thought that he would fight it out to please the crowd, so he summoned his Goblin Attack Force on the field and slid Call of the Haunted and Reinforcements into two of the slots.

 

AI summon Goblin Attack Force and I attack your Vorse Raider.@  Paladin said calmly, he was trying to think the game out and not lose track of what he was doing.  The holographic green goblins attacked the single Vorse Raider and destroyed it, causing Kaiba to lose 400 life points bringing his total down to 7600 which was nothing to be concerned about due to what his next move was going to be.

 

After Paladin ended his turn Kaiba drew a card which was Swords of Revealing Light, he was sure to win now, and he would enjoy the look on Yugi's face when he returned the Dark Magician to him, that or he could force Yugi to challenge him for it and Slifer the Sky Dragon.

 

Kaiba choose his Lord of Dragons and summoned it in attack mode, he then used the magic card Flute of Summoning Dragon which allowed him to put out both of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons, each in attack mode, from there he said, ADo you know what's going to happen next?  With your goblins in defense mode and having zero points, I will send my Lord of Dragons to finish them off, and then you will be taken near death as I use my two Blue-Eye's to take 6000 life points from you, are you ready to lose?@

 

AGo ahead, I don't think being taken to death is all that bad, because after all, what is more important in this game, your life or the lives of your monsters?@  Paladin said, it almost sounded like a riddle, but Kaiba didn't care, so he had Lord of Dragons kill off the Goblin Attack Force and then the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons attacked Paladin's life points directly leaving him with only 2000 points due to the 3000 attack points each dragon had.

Finally Kaiba activated his Swords of Revealing Light and ended his turn.

 

It was now Paladin's turn and Suki was worried about if Paladin would survive or not.  Yugi's friends were cheering on Kaiba and so was the rest of the crowd, once again Paladin was alone except this time the only person that mattered to him was by his side, Suki would help him win, besides, he had his Black Paladin Magician, he knew unless Kaiba had something really powerful up his sleeve, he would win.

 

Paladin drew a card and smiled at the fact that it was his Mystical Space Typhoon which was a magic card of a swirling tornado that allowed him to destroy any one magic or trap card on the field, he knew that Swords of Revealing light was his best choice. 

 

               However, Paladin was having second thoughts about destroying Swords of Light right away, Kaiba might pull out a trap soon and he couldn't risk it without Royal Decree, so he would summon his Black Paladin and keep Call of the Haunted face down until he really needed it.

 

AI use the magic card Polymerization and fuse my Yami Dark Magician and Buster Blader from my hand to form the Black Paladin, and because of your two dragons his attack increases to 3900, I will pass to you because of your Swords of Revealing Light.@   Paladin said.

 

Kaiba began to laugh, he might have had a pair of dragons who were weaker than the Black Paladin, but he was going to summon Obelisk, and then wipe out his opponents only monster.  He drew a card and received his Cyber-Stein, which was a very weak card but had the effect to allow Kaiba to summon a fusion monster of his own, but he figured that just in case something went wrong, he would hold the card.

 

AYour Black Paladin Magician is worthless!  I now summon Obelisk the Tormenter in attack mode by tributing my two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and Lord of Dragons, and I also see that you have two traps or magic cards on the field and the bad news for you is that Obelisk is immune to both, you have no way of stopping me, and I will win on my next turn.@  Kaiba said as he summoned the huge blue warrior to the field, Obelisk was strong, but if Kaiba attacked then he would end up with the same fate as Yugi did when he fought Paladin with Slifer.  Kaiba was in for a big surprise, he was a fool thinking that Paladin was going to come into this with a weak deck, every card counted and this time, he would be the one clipping Seto Kaiba's wings and bringing him down to the real world with a painful defeat.

 

AObelisk, attack the Black Paladin Magician!@  Kaiba called to his Egyptian God who went forth and attacked Paladin's magician, however like with Yugi, Paladin activated his Reinforcements causing the Black Paladin's attack points to raise to 4400 resulting in the counter attack of the Black Paladin who caused the destruction of Obelisk.

 

Kaiba was in shock at his loss, he felt so stupid falling into the same trap that Yugi did.  His embarrassment had caused him to quiet down from his taunts as he stood with an empty field and one card in hand, he passed to Paladin whose magician had returned to 3900 attack as Reinforcements went to the discard pile on the duel disk..

 

AYou should have kept your dragon's, oh well, I promise to make you look as bad as I can, and not because I'm being mean, it's because I'm tired of your words, they don't faze me, but they anger me that you can't show any real honor in a duel.@  Paladin said as he drew a card, what he received was something that would allow him to finish this game and take the prize, all he had to do now was take care of Swords of Revealing Light with his Mystical Space Typhoon and then use Call of the Haunted to bring back his Buster Blader which would automatically gain 1000 attack points due to Kaiba's dragons being in the graveyard.  The card in which Paladin drew was Monster Reborn, the Ankh--eternal life, this was going to be something special for Suki, winning with her by his side was going to make him very happy, he would use Monster Reborn to bring back his Yami Dark Magician and wipe Kaiba out.

 

AI trigger my trap Call of the Haunted and bring Buster Blader back from the grave, I then use Monster Reborn to special summon Yami Dark Magician to the field in attack position.  My monsters combined attack points are 10,000, all I have to do is attack your empty field and I win, I will need to allow all three of them to attack, so are you ready to give up your cards and your title as champion...plus the cash prize?@  Paladin said looking upon all three of his fighters, he was very proud to see all three of them standing together on the field.

 

Kaiba laughed and said, AI think you are forgetting that Swords of Revealing light is still good for two more turns, and by then I will have my strength up on the field, I have a card in my hand that will change the whole match around for me, you cannot defeat me in a duel, I am not Yugi Moto!@  Kaiba said, although he knew if he used his Cyber-Stein he could summon his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which would be stronger than the Black Paladin by 100 points after the magicians effect of gaining 500 points from dragons, but what was the one card in Paladin's hand?

 

AI believe that we had a good game, you have a lot of strong cards, but I want your XYZ Dragon Cannon, ever since I saw it I have wanted it.  Most importantly however I want the cash prize so I can pay for my Suki's schooling in full so we can live a better life and be ahead of the bills for a change.  By defeating you Seto Kaiba, I would have set out and done what I wanted to, I have defeated all of the best in the world, and now I just have to defeat you.  I use the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!@  Paladin said.

 

ANo!  This can't be, no, how can I lose!@  Kaiba screamed as Paladin unleashed his three fighters upon Kaiba's life points, first the Yami Dark Magician who dropped Kaiba's life to 5300, followed by the Buster Blader who caused 3800 points of damage leaving Kaiba with 1700, finally the Black Paladin Magician attacked leaving Kaiba with nothing as he dropped the cards from his hand in despair and almost fell to his knees in defeat if it weren't for his brother Mokuba taking hold of him.  AObelisk...I lost Obelisk...@  Kaiba whispered.

 

The holograms had now disappeared and the MC came out to a slight silence in the crowd that quickly turned to cheers for the new champion.  AWe have a winner!  Congratulations Paladin, you are the new Duel Monsters World Champion!@

 

Kaiba came over with the two cards, Obelisk the Tormentor and XYZ Dragon Cannon in hand, he held them out to Paladin in good faith as his winning opponent took hold of them and quickly looked at Obelisk and spent longer looking at the XYZ Dragon Cannon which was a fusion card that was free from using Polymerization to create what looked to be a tank with a dragon's head and a robot gunner, it required the X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank.  The card had an effect allowing a monster to be destroyed on the opponents side of the field, it was the card he wanted for his collection and he felt that receiving this was more of a prize than the money.

 

Paladin handed the cards to Suki who looked at them then held them while Paladin looked to Kaiba who extended his hand to the man who defeated him in battle.  They shook and Mokuba walked with his brother off the stage.

 

                    9

 

Paladin had found the kid that wanted to challenge him before Joseph had and was denied a challenge due to his fear that the new champion would do what he did to Seto Kaiba.  It was all in fun and Paladin went to the doorway to the building with Suki as he looked for Yugi's friends to make sure that there were no hard feelings.

 

Suddenly all eyes turned to one person who had entered the building unnoticed, it was Yugi Moto, he was back in town and he was ready to return his Dark Magician to his hands.

 

Joseph and the others had noticed what Paladin had saw and ran to Yugi who greeted them in a focused and serious way, he knew that if he was going to defeat Paladin that he would have to stay in touch with what he was going to do and not let anything else take his focus away from the task at hand.

 

AI will talk with everyone later, right now I have to get my Dark Magician back.@  Yugi said.

 

Joseph had pulled Yugi's deck from a pocket and said, AI have your deck Yugi, all of us added something to it to help you and maybe by having a piece of everyone with you, you'll be able to beat Paladin.@

 

Yugi took his deck and added Relinquished, the Black Illusion Ritual and Sonic Bird to it, these three cards came from Pegasus.  He then shuffled the deck without looking to see what his friends had added then said, AThank you.@ 

 

Paladin stood by the doorway with Suki waiting for Yugi to come challenge him, it was quite a sight with the large group following behind the challenger and Paladin was a little unsure as to how this would result.  Attitude helped but so much, it was the luck of the draw, there was no Heart of the Cards where if you believed in your deck that all the cards that you needed would come. 

 

APaladin.@  Yugi said upon arriving at the doorway.

 

AYugi.@  Paladin replied.

 

AMy friends tell me that this young lady is your wife, it's a pleasure to meet you, however you don't seem to look like this mans type, but I take it that there is something more between the two of you other than looks and personality.@  Yugi said.

 

AMika is a great man and I will always be by his side, even if your entourage out-numbers his.@  Suki said softly with her hands folded in front of her, she swayed nervously a little, but Paladin took hold of her and pulled her close to him.

 

AI agree, he is a great man, but he has something that I want back and I will get it back.  Paladin, I challenge you to a duel, I want my Dark Magician, and I will offer you what ever you would like, do you want to look through my deck or do you have something in mind that you have seen before?'  Yugi said.

 

AI guess I will take Slifer the Sky Dragon, what better choice is there, after all I do have Obelisk the Tormentor, I get to choose the dueling ground though, and I almost forgot, I accept your challenge.@  Paladin said.

 

At this point Seto and Mokuba Kaiba had come over, and from what Mokuba saw he said, AAre you going to duel Paladin again, do you think that you'll win?@ 

 

Yugi turned to Mokuba who was taller than he was and said, AI do believe that I will win, I have a new heart in my deck, the hearts of all of you, you see I went to someone who had once been a bad memory in not just my life but everyone else's, and they taught me how to bring out my true talents, but there was one more thing, he gave me a card that will help me to show my true potential.  Now then where do you propose we do this Paladin?@

 

AThe parking lot, its dark out now and it will be the best place to fight, under the stadium lights, I think if we are going to have a fight over a dark magic user than we should be in the night.@  Paladin said.

 

With both in agreement the large group left the Tokyo Dome to go to the parking lot where most of the cars were gone.  All who were left in the building had also followed and gathered around for the battle between Yugi and Paladin, it was champion versus past championBYugi Moto the best in the world, might just defeat the new blood in the Duel Monsters arena.

 

                  10

 

The sides were very unbalanced with Yugi and his large group on one side and Paladin with his wife Suki on the other, around them were the spectators and with the arena set up and the decks shuffled and cut, the deciding battle was on.

 

Yugi was to go first so he drew his six cards and came up with Sonic Bird which was an eagle with a silver rocket pack and goggles upon its eyes, it was an effect card that allowed the player to retrieve a ritual magic card from their deck and had 1400 attack points.  The second card was one that Yugi knew he didn't have in his deck it was Gearfried the Iron Knight, Joseph must have put this in.  The third card was a magic card called Horn of the Unicorn which was a weapon that added 700 points to a monsters attack.  The forth was a Cyber Harpy which Mai must have contributed.  The fifth was a Vorse Raider, compliments of Kaiba and finally there was Beta the Magnet Warrior.

 

For his first move he decided to play Gearfried in attack mode causing a large black knight to appear on the asphalt of the parking lot, the knight had a long blade for one of its hands depicting its sword.

 

AI summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode and I pass to you Paladin.@  Yugi said.

 

Paladin drew his sixth card which was a Cyber Harpy, the one he won from Mai, the rest of his cards were the Time Wizard which was a little magic user that looked like a clock which had an effect of destroying all of the opponents monsters if the hands landed in the right positions, however there was another effect that it had that Paladin used this weak monster for.  The next card was the Black Magic Curtain, followed by the Dark Magician Girl, Gemini Elf and finally Zombyra the Dark, this was a great draw and Paladin was very happy with it. 

 

Paladin summoned Zombyra the Dark in attack mode saying, AI summon Zombyra in attack position and I attack your knight.@

 

Zombyra destroyed Gearfried and caused Yugi to lose 200 life points dropping him down to 7800 and dropping Zombyra the Dark's attack strength to 1900, with nothing else to do Paladin passed to Yugi.

 

Yugi drew a card revealing Summoned Skull who was a large warrior that was half man and half skeleton, it required a tribute of one card to summon and had 2500 attack points, for now, Yugi would hold onto the card and summon the Vorse Raider from Kaiba, that way he would be equal to Paladin's strength and lock up the field.

 

AI summon Vorse Raider in attack mode and its your turn.@  Yugi said.

 

Paladin drew a card and looked at it, he had received Fallen Angel Mary, one half of the Saint Joan of Ark fusion, he would hold onto it for now due to the fact that he had other plans at the moment.

 

Paladin activated the Black Magic Curtain and summoned his Dark Magician from his deck, he wanted to use Yugi's which was not something that he thought of off hand due to the fact that it was his card now so he referred to it as the purple robed Dark Magician.  Yugi looked upon his favorite card that was on the other side of the field looking comfortable in the hands of another, maybe he shouldn't want him back, maybe Paladin was the one who had deserved his magician, it would be ok...Yugi hoped it would at least.

 

With Paladin's life points cut in half to 4000 from the Black Magic Curtain he looked upon the battlefield and said, AZombyra, attack Vorse Raider.@  The two monsters clashed and because their points were equal they were both destroyed.  ADark Magician, attack Yugi's life points directly.@  Paladin said this with a tone of scorn and what no one thought would ever happen did and Yugi watched as his ownBor former Dark Magician attacked him and inflicted pain upon his body.  Yugi's life points dropped down to 5300 and he stood watching the hologram of his Dark Magician staring back at him, not feeling sorry what-so-ever.

 

AIt hurts you that the Dark Magician has accepted me doesn't it Yugi, well don't feel bad, we have a mutual agreement, we win together or not at all, so why don't you go, and learn to sacrifice or your attacks won't be very great, you can't blame me for going head to head with Zombyra, he can only attack monsters not the field so if I used his great power to destroy your Vorse Raider than the field would be open for me to attack you directly with your former Dark Magician, I hope you agree that my decisions were well played.@  Paladin said.

 

AI'll give you the credit, but sometimes I have to wonder what your motives truly are, you fight honorably and you don't taunt throughout the entire match, but when you attack it is full of anger, you seem to let your actions speak louder than the words that are said.@  Yugi replied.

 

Yugi drew a card which was Magic Cylinder, he placed the trap into a slot then set Beta the Magnet Warrior in defense position then passed to Paladin who drew a card to reveal the one piece to his new puzzle that he was waiting to show to all around him.  Paladin now had his Dark Sage which had 2800 attack points and 3200 defense points, the Dark Sage was an old version of the Dark Magician which also had an effect of being able to draw one magic card from the deck.  The difficultly of using the Dark Sage was summoning it, the Sage was an aged version of the Dark Magician and that required the summoning of the Time Wizard and using its effect and being successful with it, then using a Dark Magician from the field as a tribute.

 

Paladin looked to Suki and she smiled at him showing her braces, she looked so pretty, she would be his good luck charm in getting the Time Wizards effect to work for him and if it didn't he would lose all of his monsters, if it worked he would get the Dark Sage summoned and destroy all of Yugi's monsters in the process.

 

AI summon Time Wizard in attack, and activate it's effect.@  Paladin said and the clock-shaped wizard began turning it's hands as all assembled watched breathlessly as the hands began to slow down.  Finally the hands stopped on 12 and 6 meaning that the effect was successful and Yugi's face down magnet was destroyed.  Paladin then used the option to summon the Dark Sage sending the purple robed Dark Magician to the graveyard.

 

AI special summon Dark Sage in attack mode and he attacks your field Yugi.@  Paladin said as a feeling of hopelessness flooded Yugi's heart, he had his Magic Cylinder, but he wasn't at a loss yet, he would have to hold on to it just a little longer, just in case he would have to rely on it to keep him alive, but at the moment Paladin was winning and winning strong.  With Yugi down 2800 more life points and standing at 2500 Paladin drew the magic card that he was entitled to so he chose RaigekiBthe stroke of lightning that would destroy all of his opponents monsters, he would use it to finish the game when the time came.

 

It was now Yugi's turn and he drew a trap card called Negate Attack, it did what its name said, it would stop the full attack faze of his opponent, so he inserted the card in the slot next to the Magic Cylinder and set the Cyber Harpy in defense mode then ended his turn.

 

Paladin drew a card which was Change of Heart, it had a picture of an angel upon it with half of the card dark where the angel had demons wings and the other half being light where the angel had feathered wings.  The first thing Paladin did was turn the Time Wizard into defense position, he had no other need to use the effect even though he was allowed to; he just didn't want to risk his own destruction. 

The next step in Paladin's Plan was to play Change of Heart which he did and after he looked at the card he took from Yugi he smiled to himself at the fact that it was a Cyber Harpy, the same that was taken from Mai.  Yugi's friends had given him cards so they would be with him in battle, it was a nice thought, but it was nothing more than that.  Paladin looked at his Dark Magician Girl and tribute summoned it in attack mode and Yugi's Cyber Harpy returned to his graveyard. 

 

Yugi looked upon his field, one shot would cause his defeat and the Dark Magician Girl was at 2300 with Paladin's Dark Magician in the graveyard, he was going to lose, his traps would only do so much and the weak Sonic Bird wouldn't protect him, he would have to do what he could against Paladin, but then he would accept defeat, he knew that he played a strong game and even Paladin would acknowledge the fact.  Maybe he would get lucky on his next draw and get something, anything that would help him against the Dark Sage and Dark Magician Girl. 

 

AYugi, you are getting sloppy, you are getting weaker than you were before, do you still doubt your skill?  You shouldn't, but I'm just happy that my Dark Sage and Dark Magician Girl get to be the ones who finish you off.  Maybe you'll do better next time my friend.  Dark Sage, attack!@  Paladin said and his old magician used his great power to attack Yugi's life points and finish the battle for Paladin, however Yugi had played his Magic Cylinder sending the attack of 2800 back to Paladin and dropping his life points down to 1200.  It was a very painful blow, but Paladin accepted it and ordered his Dark Magician Girl to attack, but Yugi stopped it with his Negate Attack trap at the same time causing Paladin anger for only a moment and he said, AYugi, I will finish you next round, there is no possible way for you to defeat me even with your friends cards in your deck, the world is a different place, magicians young and old, male and female are going to reign supreme, and they are the ones who serve me, they are my friends, my partners, my soldiers.  Go ahead and drop something into defense, or stand and fight, this has been an honorable battle, and it was a pleasure dueling you Yugi Moto.@  Paladin said.

 

AIt's not over yet Paladin, I will draw and from there we will see what happens.@  Yugi said, he then closed his eyes seeing Yami for an instant, but the vision disappeared to his relief, for if he was going to lose, he would do it himself.  He pulled a card from the top of his deck and then opened his eyes to see a blue bordered ritual monster who was more of a monster than any of the other cards could be referred as, it was Relinquished, a monestrous almost top-shaped Bthing with what looked to be the Millennium Eye on a tentacle.  Relinquished was given to him by Pegasus, how could he win with something given to him by one who became a mortal enemy?  But Pegasus wasn't an enemy when he left the island, he gave Yugi the card and the ritual magic to assist in regaining his Dark Magician and his confidence.  It was time...

 

AI think the tables are turned now Paladin for I now play Sonic Bird in attack mode activating its effect that allows me to take a ritual card from my deck.@  Yugi said, he began digging through his cards for the Black Illusion Ritual, Paladin couldn't help but to laugh and Suki couldn't help but to join in causing Paladin to look over to her with a rare smile, they finally stopped laughing for Paladin to say, AYugi, you are a real man, you decided to stand and fight, thank you, you are a great opponent!  Sorry about the laughs, I couldn't resist!@

 

Yugi held the Black Illusion Ritual between two fingers and looked to Paladin with a smile, he was the only one who had known his fate as his friends watched on the edge of wonder, he said, ANo Paladin, I have to thank you, you showed me that I was more than a body for an ancient Pharaoh, I am my own person, I am a man, and I can make my own decisions.  My friends each gave me a card that was special to them, but it is the monster that I received from one who was not a friend, but an enemy that is going to seal my victory; I play the magic card Black Illusion Ritual!@

 

The ritual card was a cauldron centered on the card and shaped strangely, what looked to be a liquid sprung from it and into a pair of cup on both side, this was it, Yugi would tribute Sonic Bird to summon Relinquished due to the monster only needing one level worth of tribute.

 

AI tribute Sonic Bird and summon Relinquished in attack mode!@  Yugi cried as everyone watched Sonic Bird disappear and for Relinquished to appear in it's place, Paladin was taken a back as he saw his possible defeat within Yugi's reach.  ARelinquished can possess any monster that I choose on my opponents side of the field and I choose Dark Sage, which will give Relinquished the same stats as the monster possessed which is 2800 attack points.@  Yugi said and Relinquished took hold of the Dark Sage, pulling the old magician into it's monestrous body and causing the Dark Magician Girl to look in fear.

 

AI also attach a magic card...Horn of the Unicorn!  This gives Relinquished an extra 700 attack points making its power 3500 which is exactly enough to send you out of the game when I attack your Dark Magician Girl, you only have 1200 life points and when Relinquished attacks your Dark Magician Girl, you will have lost, you may surrender.@  Yugi said.