善良妈妈的朋友

Chapter 50

"27 minutes and 10 seconds. 27 minutes and 17 seconds. 27 minutes and... 25 seconds-"

"Must you keep doing that?" Crowler complained.

Joey though merely continued to follow after the man, occasionally glancing at the small timer he\'d found on his duel disc that showed how long he was locked out for.

"27 minutes and 52 seconds-"

"I am not going to duel you!" Crowler snapped in annoyance, finally turning and shooting a dark glare at Joey.

"And why is that, pal? Afraid ya might lose?"

"Hardly. There would be no challenge in it. I know exactly what you will do."

"Oh really," Joey asked with a huff, folding his arms over his chest... before sticking out his tongue and wiggling his eyebrows. "Bet ya didn\'t see me doin\' that!"

"I didn\'t mean..." Crowler said before rolling his eyes skyward. "I wasn\'t referring to being able to see just what foolish think you might do at any one moment. I was referring to your... and I say this only because there is no other word I can think of to describe it... skill when it comes to dueling." He began to circle around Joey, reaching out and lightly running his finger along the teen\'s shoulder like he was a butler inspected a piece of furniture to determine if it had been cleaned properly. "I can predict clearly what you will do if the two of us were to actually have a duel. You would send out a few monsters that you believed to be rather stronger but only in terms of attack points, reveal a single trap card and believe that to be some bold strategy, and then flounder about before risking it all on a gamble." He shook his head. "You would fail, of course. Against a duelist of actual skill you would be defeated rather quickly. So no... I don\'t think I will duel you at all."

And with that he turned and walked away.

"Yeah well... I can predict what you would do, ya coward!"

"No... you really can\'t," Crowler said dismissively.

Joey though merely smirked, not bothering to follow after Crowler. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Crowler said, slowly slightly.

"Nothing at all. Because it\'s like ya said... ya won\'t duel me... but not for any of the lies you\'ll blather on about. Ya can claim all sorts of things about how I\'m beneath ya or how it would be a waste of your time but we both know that truth: ya know it would actually be a challenge. It would mean having to actually put yourself to the test, to see if you can actually win."

"I have no idea what you are trying to say," Crowler said, now actually coming to a stop.

"See pal, I\'ve dealt with all sorts of people like you, who claim all sorts of things about how great they are." Joey\'s mind began to flash through faces from the past and present. "Some are jackasses about it but I have ta admit... they can actually duel." Kaiba\'s face floated in front of his eyes, arrogantly calling Joey a dog... and then backing up his comments by unleashing his monsters on Joey\'s; not even his best monsters at that. "Others treat it like fact; not cruelly, just that it\'s a fact... and you damn well realize they are right." Edwin cutting deals like the Devil he claimed to be appeared in Joey\'s mind, showing that every claim he made was simply true, like saying water was wet. "And some will tell you how they are the best... and then teach you how you can be the same." Yugi\'s grandpa destroying Joey and then explaining just how he\'d done it appeared before him like a vision. "And then... there is you. Yeah... I\'ve dealt with plenty of people like you, pal: ya talk this huge game, but it\'s because ya know ya can\'t back it up."

Crowler narrowed his eyes as he turned to stare Joey down. "Excuse me?"

"I think my pal Ed would say... those who can\'t do it, teach it?"

"That\'s not-"

But Joey cut him off. "Ya talk a big game about how amazin\' you are and how there is nothin\' I could ever do ta hope ta beat ya but we both know the truth: ya ain\'t that skilled at all. You are just some bigmouth hopin\' that no one ever calls ya out!"

"You... you think... I have no skill?"

"Oh, ya might have some skill," Joey said, rubbing the bottom of his nose. "Just... not as much as me."

Crowler trembled with rage before activating his duel disc. "I am going to enjoy defeating you. You and I will duel and the winner is going to the finals!"

"Now that\'s more like it!" Joey said as he stepped back. "So come on... its time ta duel!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Amazoness Queen! Attack and finish this!"

Yuri raised an eyebrow as Mai\'s monster took out her opponent (some guy who was using thunder dragons and was dressed like an old fashion fighter pilot). It wasn\'t that Mai was winning that was surprising; rather it was that it had taken her that long.

\'I spotted at least three times she could have ended the duel in a victory,\' Yuri thought as Mai took the duelist\'s locator card and his rarest card, a spell card of some kind,Yuri wasn\'t for sure, and began to walk back to where Yuri was standing. \'And she isn\'t basking in the crowd like she usually does... damn it, Selene is messing with her bad.\'

"Well," Mai said, trying to force a bit of false cheer in her voice, "that is my final locator card. Think we can focus on you..."

"I\'m good, Mai, you know that," Yuri assured her. "I only accepted the invite into this tournament because it made it easier for me to back you up."

"And it has nothing to do with worrying about what I would do to you if we met in the finals?" Mai teased.

"Not at all," Yuri said as the two of them began to walk away. "Surprised though you aren\'t crowing about it to everyone. Chances are you might be the first person to get all five locator cards. In fact..." Yuri pulled out her phone and began to scroll through it. "Yeah... you are the first."

"Of course!" Mai said and Yuri wondered if she was trying to sound confident for her own sake or for the world\'s. "Whose the next closest?"

"Tea."

"...seriously?" Mai said, nearly tripping over her own feet, she was so shocked by that little reveal.

"Yeah," Yuri said. "Tea has five Locator Cards. Just got her latest one. Then there is a big bunch up of duelists for third place. Yugi Muto has four locator cards. Same as Seto Kaiba. Joey Wheeler-oh!" Yuri stopped, smiling. "Edwin just got two more locator cards."

"Well, I suppose I\'ll have to... tease him," Mai said, her smile faltering for a moment.

"Mai," Yuri said, catching the other woman\'s arm. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Acting like everything is fine," Yuri said.

"Everything-"

"No, it isn\'t," Yuri said firmly. "I can tell... you are freaking out over what you found out." She gave her bicep a squeeze. "It\'s okay Mai... you don\'t have to act tough. If you want to scream or cry or curl up in a ball... that\'s perfectly. I\'ll be here for you."

"But I can\'t."

"Why not?"

"Because you guys aren\'t fine either!" Mai exclaimed, causing several people nearby to jump and glance at her. But Mai\'s calm demeanor had shattered and she was now gripping her head, fingers digging into her scalp. "You are all acting like this is just fine and is completely normal! Edwin is telling me how he still trusts me!"

"And you... don\'t want him to?" Yuri asked.

"I want you guys to be freaked out about this! I\'m a goddess! Or part goddess! Or a goddess erased her memories and that\'s me and at any moment she might decide to put them back in my head and what happens? Do I become her? Do we merge? Or will I just remember what she remembers but I\'m different enough that it will just drive me insane instead? I don\'t KNOW! And I keep looking at all of you and you are handling it so well so I feel like I need to handle it well too even though I\'m losing my mind!"

Yuri quietly led Mai to a bench, sitting down with her. "Do you want me to say I\'m freaking out?"

"...no," Mai whimpered. "Because if you do then I have to be strong and pretend everything is alright."

"Like you are now?"

"Exactly!" Mai exclaimed. "I... I don\'t know what to do! I don\'t know how to feel. Everything... everything has been torn to shreds and I can\'t get a hold and I\'m getting angry at you guys for being supportive and calm."

Yuri sighed and wrapped an arm around Mai, letting the other woman rest her head on her shoulder. "We are freaked out. But not because of Selene." Her face screwed up. "Okay, because of Selene. But more because of you. We\'re worried for you and want to help you and don\'t know how. But please know... we are worried too."

"Except Edwin," Mai said. "I kind of hate him for handling things so calmly and rationally."

~MC~MC~MC~

I let out a scream, Shadow Realm magic blasting out of my body as I tore into the warehouse. My eyes were blazing gold and it felt like I had molten lava flowing through my veins even as my nerves froze from the icy touch of the Shadow Realm but I didn\'t care!

"That\'s it, Captain, let it all out," Renard said calmly from the door, watching me as I blew off some steam.

"Fucking Selene! Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I roared. Shadow Realm fissures formed on the floor around me as I threw my back..

"I would suggest fucking her might solve your problems but relations with a deity never work in myth-"

"FUCK!" I grabbed a chair, turned towards a door, and opened a portal into Kemo\'s jail ceil, the thug having JUST enough time to stare at me and moan \'not again!\' before I threw the chair at the wall beside him before closing the portal. "I was trying to avoid this Mary Sue bullshit when I found myself in this dimension! Keep a low fucking profile, have some fun duels, don\'t become the center of the god damn universe! And instead... oooooooh... instead I am minority shareholder in the two biggest fucking companies on the planet, I have a god damn magical item that lets me do magic, and not only am I dating the sexiest woman in this world but she\'s secretly a goddess that wants to make me immortal while I plunder her snoo snoo and there is a secret society that was founded by my previous incarnation!"

"... you aren\'t from this dimension?"

"Yes yes, I\'m not from this world, nobody cares!"

"I kind of care."

"And I want to know why you are a human Don Carnage but I learned to not ask those questions."

Renard just stared at me. "I\'m... I\'m going to just give you a few minutes."

"Thanks," I said, panting, before opening up more portals. "Troy, give me some music to rage to."

My phone was silent before letting out a beep.

"I threw a wish in the well/Don\'t ask me, I\'ll never tell/I looked to you as it fell/And now you\'re in my way."

I stared down at my phone, my rage dialing down for a moment.

"I trade my soul for a wish/Pennies and dimes for a kiss/I wasn\'t looking for this/But now you\'re in my way."

"Seriously?"

"Your stare was holdin\'/Ripped jeans, skin was showin\'/Hot night, wind was blowin\'/Where you think you\'re going, baby?"

"...fine," I said before taping into the vengenful fires in my soul, getting angry all over again. "AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

"Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy/But here\'s my number, so call me, maybe/It\'s hard to look right at you, baby/But here\'s my number, so call me, maybe?"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Now then, I assume you know how we determine who goes first, don\'t you?" Crowler asked as he shuffled his deck. "Standard dueling etiquette means the one that made the challenge allows their opponent to go first. And since you challenged me I believe I will go first." Crowler moved to draw his cards... only for Joey to hold up his hand, wagging his finger at Crowler.

"Eh eh eh... while I did challenge you... I also took it back when it was clear you were a coward and would try and weasel your way out of any duel there was." He tapped his chin. "Now... who was it that decided to challenge who after that?"

"...you underhanded-"

"Didn\'t see that one coming, did ya?" Joey said as he drew his card. "So you just sit there for a moment and watch how I duel, alright? And maybe, just maybe, you\'ll learn somethin\'!" He held out a card. "I\'ll be starting with this: My Red-Eyes Wyvern in attack mode!" The smaller, armless cousin of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon let out a roar. "And I think I\'ll end my turn there."

"A small dragon, nothing set up in your spell or trap zone..." Crowler smirked, shaking his head. "You are proving me correct already. I summon my Ancient Gear Knight to the field in attack mode."

Joey blinked as he stared at the monster. Looked like a robot... but a really old one. \'Guess that makes sense, bein\' called the \'Ancient\' Gear Knight. But man, that thing looks ready to collapse on itself!\' The parts of the armor that weren\'t covered in rust were dusty and dull, which bits missing to reveal its inner workings. It held a lance in its hand and moved forward with a hiss of steam before it settled into position on Crowler\'s side of the field, staring at Joey with dim-lit eyes. \'It looks like it is barely working... but with the way that jerk was goin\' on and on\' about how skilled and amazin\' he is I bet that monster has some trick up its sleeve. But I wonder what...\' Crowler ended his turn and that sealed it for Joey. \'Yeah, that monster is hidin\' something in that rusted out shell of his so there is no way I\'m gonna just take it at face value! Need to ta do somethin\' to protect myself until I\'m sure just what this blowhard is up to!\'

Out loud Joey said, "Alright, I\'m gonna set this monster in facedown defense mode and end my turn. Let\'s see what ya can do there, Crawler."

"Crowler," his opponent snapped before giving a dismissive sniff. "And you still have done nothing to impress me, young man. A single monster with only a bit of attack power and a single defensive monster? Hardly anything to crow about."

"And ya would know aobut, crowin\', wouldn\'t ya?"

"...quite."

"Because that\'s your name. Crow-ler."

"I followed," Crowler said dryly. "Now then, I will show you how to truly duel properly. For your first lesson, the power of the Gemini Monsters! My Ancient Gear Knight may appear to be a simple normal type monster but that is because his ability must be unlocked, which I do so now by summoning him a second time, allowing me to release his effect: Now, whenever he attacks, you can\'t activate a spell or trap card until the battle is completed." He looked over Joey\'s side of the field. "Of course I\'d be surprised if you even had a spell or trap card in your deck. You look like someone who sees \'big spooky monsters\' and loses all other focus. So instead I will just set this card and end my turn."

Joey grit his teeth. "I\'m gettin\' real tired of ya talkin\' down ta me, pal."

"How else am I supposed to talk when you are so far below me in turns of skill, knowledge, ability... well, I could keep going on but we\'d be here all day."

"Yeah know what? Let me show ya some moves since ya think I don\'t have any." Joey tapped his duel disc. "First I\'m gonna reveal my downface card: The Black Stone of Legend." The monster card appeared, an ebony egg covered in a thick shell... that was beginning to crack. "See, I don\'t need any spell or trap cards in order ta take ya out. By tributing my Black Stone of Legend I can bring forth from my deck my old dear friend the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The egg shattered and unleashed shadow and flame that swirled on Joey\'s side of the field. After several moments the two merged together, forcing into the giant form of the Red-Eyes who let out a roar of defiance as he stared down at Crowler, the Red-Eyes Black Wyvern joining in.

"Did ya see that one comin\' Crummly?" Joey said with a taunting smirk. "Or this? Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroy that walking tin can! Inferno Fire Blast!" Joey beamed as his Red-Eyes launched a fire ball at the Ancient Gear Knight; when the blast finished all that was left were a part of legs that were half melted before the rest of the Knight shattered. "And now with no monsters to defend you... Red-Eyes Wyvern, attack with Blazing Bombarment!" The Wyvern screeched and let loose several smaller fireballs that seemed to hover in the air for just a few moments before rocketing forward, striking Crowler though the main merely held up his arm to shield his face as his lifepoints ticked down. (Crowler-1600)

The crowd that had slowly formed to watch the duel began to cheer and Joey took a moment to wave at them, beaming as he basked in their applause. But when he turned to look at Crowler he saw that the arrogant man was merely staring at him with the same cold, judgmental eyes that he\'d been sending Joey\'s way since the moment he\'d seen him.

"You think that was impressive? A single effect and a show of force? That is nothing, young man. Nothing at all. I don\'t know who taught you but they were rather lapse in their education-"

"HEY!" Joey snapped, sending his own glare at Crowler. "Ya can insult me all ya want but you will NOT insult my teacher!"

"You insult him yourself with your pathetic dueling skills," Crowler said before holding up a card. "You call yourself a duelist? No... you are just a slacker who gets by with the bare minimum. And now it\'s time I show you just how little that truly means. First I activate the field spell Geartown!" The holoprojectors fired up, whirling and buzzing, as they caused a great city of rusted metal and clockwork gears to rise up around Joey. What was most startling though was how utterly still it was. When Joey had seen Edwin activate his Citadel of Endymion the city that was created was full of energy and life even if it wasn\'t full of people.

But Geartown? It was still. Silent. Yes there had been motion when it had risen up but once it was fully formed everything ground to a halt. The machines stopped. The gears didn\'t turn. Everything just remained utterly motionless. A dead city for a dead race.

"I won\'t bore you with the effects of my Geartown... because it won\'t be remaining on the field that long. I activate the Ancient Gear Catapult, tearing apart Geartown in order to form it!"

"Wha?!" Joey exclaimed as he watched the town crumble, whole buildings falling into rusty ash until all that remained was a wheeled cannon-like structure with a domed top. "What the hell is that thing?!?"

"This is the device that will punch through the past and bring forth your destruction," Crowler informed him. "With the Ancient Gear Catapult I am able to summon from my deck one Ancient Gear Monsters, ignoring any summoning requirements. So now I will blast through the bedrock and bring forth the monster that has been hidden by time: The Ancient Gear Golem!"

The Catapult swiveled downward and fired, a beam of energy ripping through the field and creating a deep crater. And from that creator appeared the deactivated head of another rusted metal being.

"Uh... I think ya might have broken it-"

The eyes of the Golem suddenly flared to life and with a deep metallic bellow it slammed its fist up before bringing it down so it might haul itself free of the bedrock. Its armor still revealed the struts and innerworkings of the ancient machine but unlike with the Knight this made the Ancient Gear Golem look far more dangerous and deadly, like it had survived a thousand battles and was ready to survive a thousand more.

Worse, as the Ancient Gear Golem fully rose onto the field the holoprojectors revealed that it had 3000 attack points.

"But unlike you I don\'t merely have a single plan. Each choice builds upon itself, much like my Ancient Gear Monsters. When Geartown was destroyed it allowed me to use the pieces that hadn\'t been used to make the Ancient Gear Catapult to construct another Ancient Gear Monster; in this case my Ancient Gear Wyvern!" A metallic, bird-like monster appeared in defense position on the field, letting out a terrible screech as it flared out its wings. "And when this card is summoned I in turn can select one Ancient Gear card and added it to my hand." He smirked, a coy little expression. "Allow me to show you the power of the Ancients. Ancient Gear Golem, attack that Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Ultimate Pound!"

"My Red-Eyes!" Joey cried out as the Ancient Gear Golem suddenly rushed forward, far quicker than it ever should have been able to move, and threw a heavy piston-powered fist into his dragon\'s face, causing the monster to cry out before it shattered. (Joey-3400)

"How will you manage to defeat me now? Your strongest monster is no more and you face only one piece of the ancient might that exists in my deck. You have no strategy, no combo, that has any hope of defeating me. Your time in this tournament is over!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Marik felt his motorcycle shift gears, slowing down as he turned into an alleyway. He hated driving in cities... he had to slow down and all he wanted to do was feel the wind on his face and the sun on the back of his neck. Two things that had been robbed from him by his father and yet now that he had the ability to claim them far too often he was forced to shy away from those freedoms in the name of his quest.

\'All I want is to be free. To have the shackles the pharaoh placed upon my wrists before even my father\'s father was conceived removed. And yet in the very act of doing so... I have chained myself again.\' He shook his head as he slowed down even further, looking for the perfect place to park his bike. He wasn\'t even sure if he\'d ever be able to return for it but he wanted to make sure it was safe. It had been the first thing he had made as his own, truly his own, when he\'d freed himself from the prison the Pharaoh had trapped him in. Something that had no connection to the ancient times of Egypt. It felt wrong to abandon it and he truly hoped he would be able to find it again-

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he whipped around, drawing the Millennium Rod from the makeshift holder on his waist and pointing it a shadowy part of the alley. One that, considering how the sun was shining, should not have been cloaked in darkness. Well... if the shadows had been natural, that was.

"You are a long way from home, tomb keeper," a voice said, stepping out of the darkness.

"And you are quite foolish if you think that such a display will frighten me," Marik said as he looked over the figure that had emerged from the shadows. "You British... how many times have you come before my people and tried to claim what has always belonged to us?" He shook his head in dark amusement. "What you believe is some great power is merely commonplace for me. And my name... is Marik."

"And what is commonplace for you is a beloved creation for me," the white haired man with the Millennium Ring said, folding his arms over his chest and staring at Marik with a tiny smirk. "You believe you are the master of the Millennium Rod? That you understand its power? I was there when it was forged, servant."

"And yet if you truly were as powerful as you claim you would be able to take it from my hands," Marik said simply, holding the Rod out still, waiting to see if this man would actually be able to tear it from his grasp. But the white haired figure merely stood there, his smile slipping, and it was Marik\'s turn to grin. "So you created my Millennium Rod... but it is not yours to control."

He was suddenly reminded of his father.

He felt the power of the Shadow Realm crackle within him and he fully hopped off his bike, the new arrival though not budging an inch. "Tell me... who are you? I would like to know very much your name before I banish your mind to the Shadow Realm and use your flesh in my quest to defeat the Pharaoh." When the young man didn\'t say a word Marik shrugged. "So be it." The Millennium Rod warmed delightfully in his hand and he fired off a beam of Shadow Magic...

...only for the white-haired figure to open a portal in front of him, which sucked up the magic.

Marik, knowing already what was coming, spun around, catching sight of another portal and batting away his own magical attack with the Millennium Rod, sending it spraying against the alley wall like it was water.

"You wouldn\'t believe me if I told you, tomb keeper," the figure said, finally stepping forward into the sun. "In fact if you realized just who I was you would go running in terror and I can\'t have that. You have need of me..." He paused, jaw working, as if what he was about to say next was physically painful, "...and I have need of you. So, you are free to call me by the name of my host\'s reforging: Bakura."

"Bakura," Marik said, tasting the word on his tongue only to pause, going over just what the Millennium Ring\'s holder had said. "Reforging?"

"Ah... you humans," Bakura said. "You have lost so very much, haven\'t you?" He shook his head, letting out a scoff. "You would call it a reincarnation but that is impossible when the soul never was reborn. No... reforge. To have the body be reborn but given a new soul."

"This is all rather interesting," Marik said mockingly, "but it does not explain why you are here... or what I should listen to another word you have to say."

"Because we desire the same things."

"And that is?"

"First and foremost the defeat of the Pharaoh. You desire revenge... I desire his puzzle. Apart we have failed-" And this time Bakura didn\'t hide his disgust at that. Though Marik was feeling as much annoyance as the other did at how the Nameless Pharaoh refused to do the decent thing and perish. "But together? We will see his time ended. I can provide you with the power you need in order to defeat him." He held out his hand and another portal formed, through which he reached inside and pulled out... a deck of cards. "They are blank, tomb keeper. In the age of your forefathers this was how the Shadow Games were played. One did not buy their cards from a store... they built their army through their own power. I have already done so for myself... and now I give you the chance to do the same. Simply focus on what cards you desire and this deck will become them in full. The only limit will be your own strength."

With that Bakura carefully set the deck down on a garbage can and stepped away it, clearly knowing that Marik wouldn\'t trust him to simply take the deck.

"I give you this power to defeat our mutual foe. All I ask is that you surrender the Puzzle to me once he is done."

Marik frowned. "And you will do nothing? For one so powerful..."

"OH, I will be seeking out the Pharaoh myself. I might very well defeat him. But... I do prefer to have multiple options when it comes to dealing with my foes."

"Hmmm," Marik murmured. "I must admit... I am the same way." He looked at the blank deck and then Bakura. "Tell me... you said we have multiple goals. What is the other?"

"The defeat of one that has vexed us both: Edwin Chaos."

"I am already seeing to that."

"You will fail!" Bakura declared. "Because you have underestimated him... just as I did!"

Marik huffed. "And yet you have given me the tool to defeat him." He took the deck and turned away, smirking as he saw the first card begin to glow, revealing itself to be, properly enough, Ra\'s Servant.

"He is Endymion\'s reincarnation! The lover of Selene!"

That... made Marik pause.

"Edwin Chaos... is the chosen of a goddess?"

"A titan," Bakura said as Marik turned back to face him. "One who has already shown she will only interfere if he is threatened."

"And you know of a way to stop her? To destroy her?"

Bakura though rolled his eyes at that. "She is an immortal, you fool! You would have a better hope of drained the sea of every drop than defeating her."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"The only way to defeat a god: Give them exactly what they want."

~MC~MC~MC~

\'Man, this ain\'t good!\' Joey thought to himself as he carefully looked over the field. \'I still have my Wyvern but I can\'t even hope to defeat that giant metal mook with just him. My Red-Eyes was my best hope... a fusion could have overpowered that Golem but with him now in the graveyard... jeez, what am I gonna do?!?\'

But then Joey balled his hand into a fist, smacking his calf with it.

\'No... that is thinking just like how Cowerly thinks I do. That I\'m an idiot who can only win by brute force.\' He shook his head. \'But I\'m better than that. Yeah, in the beginning I didn\'t know how to duel properly. I just sent out powerful monster after powerful monster. Heck, even when I made it into the Duelist Kingdom Finals I still tended to rely upon brute force and a few lucky gambles.\' He frowned as he remembered how his last time using the Time Wizard, which had helped him defeat Mai and Rex, had failed and cost him in his duel again Edwin. \'But things are different now. Mr. Muto has taught me how to be a better duelist. I\'ve come to truly understand this deck and how it works. I showed that when I took out that Rare Hunter and I\'m gonna continue to show it here! This guy... he doesn\'t get to define me.\' He narrowed his eyes. \'I define myself!\'

Looking over his hand though he forced himself to turn away from the normal strategies he might use. He had Yugi\'s Summoned Skull but it would still be too weak to defeat the Ancient Gear Golem and there was the fact that it didn\'t have an effect; he honestly needed to figure out better cards to use with it so he didn\'t rely upon just having that monster wait in his hand until he could fuse it with his Red-Eyes. No, Joey instead looked over his hand and decided to try something new.

\'I only tested this out with Mr. Muto... I\'m not sure if I\'ll be able to pull this off against Crumbler here. But I\'m gonna try!\'

"Alright, first I set this card face down on the field and then I\'ll summon a new monster from my hand: my Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight in defense mode!" On Joey\'s side of the field the black armored knight appeared, his futuristic metallic armor gleaming as he knelt with his bladed shields at the ready to defense himself. "I\'ll add a face down as well, while I\'m at it. And finally I shift my Wyvern into defense mode and end my turn. So even if ya do attack my monsters my lifepoints will remain intact!"

"Is that supposed to worry me?" Crowler asked with a sneer... no, that wasn\'t quite right. A sneer would imply that he was actually feeling enough strong emotions to look down and belittle Joey. No, Crowler was just dismissing him, like one might dismiss a plate of food at a buffet before moving on. "I\'m afraid that your pathetic defensive tactics won\'t assist you."

"Whatcha talkin\' about? My lifepoints are complete safe!"

"My Ancient Gear Golem is able to deal damage to my opponents even if it battles a defense position monster."

"That mean\'s-"

"Correct!" Crowler declared. "All you\'ve done is provide a different means to defeat you! Ancient Gear Golem, destroy this delusional dullard\'s Gearfried!" With that the antique robot braced its feet before rearing back, steam escaping before between the breaks in its armored form as it clenched its fist before driving it forward...

...only to stop as a chain wrapped around its wrist.

"I activate my Red-Eyes Fang With Chain!" Joey declared as Gearfried grabbed onto the chain and tugged. "This trap card was made from a tooth of a dead Red-Eyes, beaten and molded into a powerful weapon... one that also had deep and powerful magiks merged into it."

As Gearfried tugged the fang sank deeper into the armor of the Ancient Gear Golem... and red lines began to appear in the metal. Not cracks... but glowing magical runes.

"What... what are you doing to my Golem?" Crowler demanded.

"See, here\'s the thing," Joey said with a smug smirk of his own. "By sending the Red-Eyes Fang With Chain to the graveyard I activate the magic embedded in it, which take your monster and turn it into armor I can them add onto my Gearfried! So say goodbye to Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight and say hello-"

The Golem exploded into pieces, the gears flying all over, only for the armor pieces to fly over to Gearfried as the chain and fang turned to dust. Gearfried stiffened as each piece slammed into him, locking into place until it was difficult to see where his original armor had once been. Instead he stood there, wearing the Golem\'s armor, his shields replaced with a gear and a piston he held like a mace.

"-to Gearfried the Red-Eyes Ancient Gear Iron Knight!" Joey rubbed his nose. "And yeah, that might be a mouthful... but it\'s worth it when that armor also boosts my Gearfried\'s attack up to what your Golem\'s was!" A projection appeared showing Gearfried\'s attack and defense were now 3000/3000.

Crowler, unable to do anything else, merely set a card in his spell and trap zone and ended his turn.

\'Alright,\' Joey thought to himself, \'I could shift my Wyvern into attack mode and go after his lifepoints after my Gearfried attacks his Wyvern... but...\' he looked across the field. \'He thought he had me but my facedown totally turned the tide against him. I don\'t want to take a risk with my Gearfried... if I lose him I\'m sunk. No... I think I need to for once place it safe.\' Out loud Joey said, "Alright, Gearfried, take out Crowbar\'s Ancient Gear Wyvern!"

"It\'s Crowler."

"Oh, sorry man. Take out Crowbar\'s Ancient Gear Crowler."

"...you are doing this on purpose," Crowler complained as Gearfried swung his new mace and shattered the Wyvern.

"Maybe," Joey said, tapping his chin and adopting a totally fake smile.

"...hmm," Crowler said with a sniff. "I suppose I shouldn\'t be surprised. When a duelist runs out of tricks it is only natural to regress to petty name-calling. That is the reason why rather than mock you I instead choose to focus on how I am going to defeat you right here and right now! And it starts with me summoning another Ancient Gear Wyvern to the field, which allows me to add one Ancient Gear card from my deck to my hand. Next I will equip my Wyvern with this: Ancient Gear Tank." A rather basic looking tank, which was little more than a wheeled wagon with a cannon and some plating on the front for protection, appeared on the field, the Ancient Gear Wyvern landing on it. "And now I will special summon from my hand the source of all my machines\' power: the Ancient Gear." A small, rather simplistic gear robot appeared on the field. "I can bring this monster out so long as I have an Ancient Gear Monster on the field. And it allows me to activate the card I set last turn... the card I tricked you with."

"Aw man!" Joey bemoaned. "That wasn\'t some trap at all, was it? That was a regular old spell card!"

"A very powerful spell card: my Spell Gear. This card allows me to send three Ancient Gear cards from my side of the field to the graveyard in order to activate its enchanted effect: Summoning one Ancient Gear Golem from my hand and another from my deck to the field!"

"WHA?!?!" Joey exclaimed. "Two of \'em!" He watched as the Spell Gear caused the three Ancient Gear Cards to break into pieces only to swirl about before they reformed into twin Ancient Gear Golems. "Aw man, it was hard enough takin\' out one of those tin can creeps!"

"Indeed," Crowler said. "And you will find that now with two of my mighty Golems on the field your hopes of defeating me have come crashing down..." The older man couldn\'t help but smirk, "...much like your Red-Eyes Wyvern. Ultimate Pound!"

Joey shielded his face as the Ancient Gear Golem launched his fist right at his Wyvern, shattering it and leaving a crater in the field... and his lifepoints. (Joey-2000)

\'Man, just when I think I\'ve lucked out this jerk pulls out a move like that!\' Joey thought as he looked over the field and considered his options. \'Right. So if I do nothing he\'s gonna just attack my Gearfried next turn and then wipe out my lifepoints with his other Ancient Gear Golem. But if I attack now I\'ll be completely defenseless. Except with those Golem\'s abilities to attack even defense position monsters and do damage that means that I can\'t even lay a monster in defense mode to protect my lifepoints!\' Joey swallowed. \'Is this it? Is this where I get kicked out of Battle City?\' He looked at his deck. \'No... no, I can\'t think like that. Its just like Yug always says: ya have ta believe in the heart of the cards!\' He reached for his deck. \'Come on... give me somethin\'...\'

Joey drew.

"Alright!" he exclaimed as he saw the card he\'d drawn before he looked over at Crowler. "Looks like this duel ain\'t over quite yet! I\'ll start by tributing the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon I have in my hand in order ta summon my Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon!"

The beast that appeared on the field clearly was a cousin to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon but there were enough differences to truly make it unique. It was bulkier, with a heavier body. Rather than standing on its hind legs it crouched down, flaring out its wings and having its neck parallel to the ground. It was more beastial than the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon but there was still something majestic within it, if only due to how primal it appeared.

"Am I supposed to be frightened of that monster?" Crowler taunted. "It is still a weakling at only 2400."

"Maybe," Joey said, holding up a card. "Or maybe its gonna destroy ya next turn when I activate this!" He set the card on the field. "But until then I\'ll just have my Gearfried attack your Ancient Gear Golem to get rid of one of those monsters! Gearfried, attack with Noble Shield Strike!" Gearfried nodded and launched himself forward, the collision between himself and the Ancient Gear Golem causing an explosion that destroyed the both of them.

"Hmmm... that might have been impressive if you hadn\'t revealed your strategy to me. That card you\'ve set on the field is a dangerous one... which is why I will go the next step and defeat you completely and utterly right here with this: Ancient Gear Fusion!"

"WHA!?!" Joey exclaimed. "What the heck is that?!?!"

"This card allows me to fuse together Ancient Gear monsters into a new, more powerful form. And if one of the monsters I am using is an Ancient Gear Golem on my side of the field I can use monsters from my deck as well. Thus I am able to fuse my Ancient Gear Golem with Ancient Gear Monsters from my deck to summon forth the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

Joey watched in shock as metal swirled onto the field, slamming into the Ancient Gear Golem and enhancing it. The robot\'s legs were torn from it but more were quickly added as its original plated form was enhanced until it had become a centaur-like creature that let out a deep echoing bellow. Its left arm became a spiked weapon, different in color than the rest of the machine but just as deadly and Joey took a step back as he stared at Crowler\'s creation.

"And now I will use the spell Quick Attack to allow my fusion it instantly attack you! And with its 4500 attack points your Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon will be no more along with your lifepoints! Now-"

"I activate Red-Eyes Perseverance!" Joey declared. "I can\'t activate traps and spells when your monster attacks but I can do so before that thing does! And this card will reduce the damage I take down to 1000 this turn at the cost of swapping one Red-Eyes Monster from my graveyard to my deck while sending a higher level monster from my hand to the graveyard. So I send my Summoned Skull to the graveyard to send my Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight back to my deck and lock you into 1000 points of damage."

Crowler though merely scoffed. "It hardly matters. Next turn you will fall!" His Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem lashed out with his bladed left hand, shattering Joey\'s Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon instantly...

...only for the shards to remain on the field.

"Did I forget this part?" Joey said with a smirk. "When you destroy my Red-Eyes Alternative Dragon that causes my original Red-Eyes to return to the field from the graveyard! Come on back Red-Eyes!"

The dragon let out a roar as he reformed, not caring at all that he was now facing a fair more powerful opponent. (Joey-1000)

"And since you used your own Fusion card... I guess I can use my own!" Joey held up a card. "I activate Red-Eyes Fusion, which allows me to fusion summon one fusion monster using monsters from my deck, field, or hand. So I\'ll now fuse my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the Gearfried that I returned to my deck in order to summon my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

Gearfried appeared on the field for a moment before the knight faded away, leaving only his armor that slammed into the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, causing the drake to let out a roar as he began to transform. The dragon grew more muscular, its wings gaining a metallic sheen, while its claws became pure steel. Gearfried\'s armor swelled and grew to fit the Red-Eyes Black Dragon until the drake was completely armored.

"Now, since my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon can\'t attack this turn I\'ll shift him into defense mode. And to protect him further I\'ll equipped him with this: the Black Metal Dragon!" The liquid metal dragon appeared on the field before flowing over the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, creating a metallic shell over him... but his defense didn\'t rise at all. Only his attack did. "Aw man!" Joey exclaimed. "I thought the defense would increase too!"

"Why am I not surprised you made such a simple and pathetic mistake?" Crowler asked. "You couldn\'t even bother to research your own card and now you are going to pay the price for it." He shook his head and let out a weary sigh. "I do think this might be for the best... you\'ll only hurt yourself with your weak dueling. Ensuring this is as far as you get, forcing you to set your sights on goals more your... level... is a kindness you\'ll one day understand." Crowler tapped his duel disc. "Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Ultimate Dissection!"

The Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem raised its left hand, steam hissing from its pistons and gears as it launched the blow... only for the liquid metal that had formed around the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon to latch onto it and begin to sliver up the arm of the machine.

"What... what is this?"

Joey chuckled. "I knew ya\'d think I was dumb enough to not just make that kind of mistake but admit it out loud ta ya... so I laid it on real nice and think just ta trick ya into attackin\'!"

"...no," Crowler whispered.

"Yeah. See, when you activated your Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem\'s piercin\' effect that allowed me to activate my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon\'s effect, which takes an equipped card and turns it into a weapon that destroys the monster attacking it! So say goodbye to your Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!" The liquid metal, at that point, completely solidified around the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, freezing it in place before cracks formed and the machine shattered. Only when it did so the original Ancient Gear Golem stood there.

"And when my Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem is destroyed the original Ancient Gear Golem remains, still strong enough to defeat your monster!"

Joey though merely raised an eyebrow. "And my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon still has one last surprise: when he was summoned my Gearfried become an equip as well. So I can destroy his armor in order to eliminate your Ancient Gear Golem before he even has a chance to attack!"

Crowler could only watch as the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon\'s eyes began to glow before it fired off the Gearfried armor, the metal cutting into his final machine monster like saw blades and reducing it to mere rusty relics. Arms fell off, legs were cut into chunks, and with a final slash the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon\'s armor took off the head of the Ancient Gear Golem. The now armorless Red-Eyes Slash Dragon slammed his foot down upon the Golem\'s cranium, crushing it under his talons. Crowler narrowed his eyes even as Joey, with a grin, switched his Red-Eyes Slash Dragon to attack mode and fired a blast of fire at him directly, taking out the last of his lifepoints.

"Well... it seems you were able to muddle your way to a victory," Crowler said, clearly disgusted that he\'d been beaten by the likes of Joey. "Very well... take one of my Ancient Gear Golems along with a locator card. But don\'t think this means anything! Soon you\'ll show just what kind of duelist you truly are."

Joey walked over to Crowler... and took only the locator card. "I\'m good with just this."

"...what? But... you earned it."

"Yeah... and I think it\'s gonna drive ya even more mad when I win Battle City without your monster."

And with that he turned and walked away.

"You... you... you\'re nothing but a slacker, you here me! Getting by on the bare minimum! And I will not rest until I put you and all those like you in your place! You hear me?"

Joey rolled his eyes. "Geez, glad I don\'t got him teachin\' me who ta duel."

"I will punish all slackers!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Somewhere in Domino Jaden Yuki looked up, feeling the oddest feeling of dread before shrugging and going back to drawing his dream Duel Monster.

/UzumakiLegacy"