Chapter 42

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Mai knew that people thought she was just a pretty face. They looked at her and instantly assumed she was just a dumb American who got by on her looks. And she didn't mind that. In fact she used it to her advantage. She purposely dressed to call attention to her curves. She teased her hair so that it was nice and big and poofy so everyone would think she was just a dumb blonde; she didn't do it for herself as honestly if she didn't have an image to maintain she'd just hack it off into a nice pixie cut like Yuri had sported; Edwin had even casually mentioned he liked short hair. She made sure her makeup was perfect before she stepped outside. And when she dealt with new people she'd adopted a gushing, giggling voice to make them think the only thing between her ears was cotton candy.

She wanted them to think that about her because it always shocked people when she used her brain and was able to completely outsmart them.

'Probably why I first fell for Edwin,' she thought to herself as she shuffled her deck. 'He was the first person in a long time that didn't look at me like an object.' In fact Edwin had been outright offended that she'd tried her tricks on him. That had really thrown her for a loop and made her want to find out more about him. And in trying to understand him she'd ended up growing attached to him… loving him.

But most of the world saw her as just a bubbly bimbo who got through life by getting men to buy her nice things and being a gimmick duelists. Even those that knew her record thought she was nothing special and would blow off her being a threat. That always ended badly for them.

So while she shuffled her deck Mai began to use that brain of hers to try and figure out Espa Roba.

'Seeing my cards instead of predicting his own means he's trying to claim he can read my mind. So he isn't pulling the tricks I was when I faced Joey. Instead this is pure slight of hand style magic act and I just need to figure out how he's pulling it off.' She looked at her cards. 'He hasn't touched my deck so he hasn't marked them. Knowledge of what deck I run and cold reading? Possible but we'll throw him off the scent in a moment. First let's see how he does his hocus pocus.'

Out loud Mai said, "I will summon my Amazoness Trainee in attack mode and set this card on the field in face down mode." The young amazon girl appeared and gave a determined nod.

Espa merely smile. "Ah… I think I see… yes, I clearly see now." He pressed his index and middle finger to his temple, eyes half shut as he brought his thumb up near his ear. "You plan to summon your Amazoness Paladin to the field this turn. A clever move… but I do not fear the Amazoness Onslaught you just set face down on the field."

Those that were watching murmured in surprise. "He just read Mai's mind!"

"He really is a psychic."

Yuri though shook her head. "Idiots," she muttered and Mai found herself agreeing. It was impressive if you wanted to believe but come in as a skeptic and you began looking for the cracks in the wall, the faults in the trick. She wasn't sure yet how Espa was doing it but she was sure by the end of the duel she'd be able to figure it out. Mai was jaded from her time in the entertainment industry and her own tricks. Yuri had seen it all before with the police. Nothing that the green haired kid did was going to impress them unless it involved his deck.

'Though it is going to be annoying with him calling out my moves like a Pegasus wannabe,' she thought to herself, mind already going over several strategies to help her not just pinpoint how Espa Roba was figuring out what cards she was using but how to counteract such moves.

"To start," Espa declared, "because you have more spells and traps on the field than I do I am able to special summon from my hand Psychic Megacyber." The monster… well, Mai wasn't exactly sure what it was other than it was yellow, armored, and had a fetish for spikes. And it was a lot more powerful than her Trainee. "Next, I will set in defense mode my Psychic Bounder!" This monster was easier to figure out, as it looked like a robotic clown top with a mirror in its chest; easier to gauge didn't mean that it actually made sense. "And because it was summoned to the field I am able to add one card from my deck to my hand." He smiled as he selected said card. "If you could tap into the mystical arts as I can you'd know what this was."

"Uh huh," Mai said dryly. "Going to make a move yet or what, sweetie?"

"Of course! Behold the power of my Psychic Megacyber as it destroys your Amazoness Trainee!"

"I activate my trap card, Amazoness Onslaught!" Mai declared, flipping the card over. "This card-"

"Allows you to summon one monster to the field and give it 500 attack points for the rest of this turn," Espa said with a lazy sigh. "And your Paladin, which is the monster you will summon, gains 100 attack points for every Amazoness Monster on the field, bringing it to 2500. But since I have no plans to attack it all of that was for nothing." Sure enough the Megacyber easily fired on the Trainee, destroying her. "I told you that your card was nothing I was concerned about. (Mai- 3300)

"You sure about that?" Mai said sweetly… just as the Megacyber began to glow.

"What… what's happening to my monster?!" Espa exclaimed in a panic.

"It attacked an Amazoness Monster and since Onslaught is on the field it automatically banishes your monster at the end of damage calculation." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Didn't you know that?"

Espa pressed his lips together. "Of course I did. It was just… meaningless to my plans!"

'I don't think so,' Mai thought to herself. 'I purposely kept my trap card partially hidden while holding it in my hand, so the text on the bottom couldn't be seen. So you have a watcher… and one that isn't using a database on the cards. They are just reading them.' Without twisting her head she glanced to her right and her left. 'Now… to figure out who is feeding you answers.' She didn't want Espa to realize she was on to him until she needed him to; if she couldn't pinpoint who in the crowd was giving him answers then letting him realize he was caught would force his ally to move. She caught Yuri glancing at her and the former cop mouthed, 'crowd'? Mai never moved her head but instead made a fist and bobbed it up and down near her hip. Instantly the older of the Gardner sisters nodded and set to work scanning the crowd for Mai so she could focus.

Espa set a card on the field before ending his turn, allowing Mai to go. 'Need to keep my cards as hidden as I can until I figure out which direction his spy is looking from,' she thought, annoyed that thanks to the way the buildings were set up the crowd fully circled them; the only direction the spy couldn't be in was directly behind Espa but that didn't help her much. 'Luckily I know my own deck.' Looking at Espa she drew her next card and smirked. "I activate Amazoness Call! This card allows me to select one card from my deck and add it to my hand.' She paused, hand hovering over her deck but not actually taking it out. "Care to tell me what card I'm going to grab?"

Espa merely shook his head. "The future is in flux… me predicting will only cause a new outcome to become solid and true."

"Uh huh, sure," Mai said dryly. "Then I'll just activate it now, so you can see it… and everyone else. Amazoness Village!" The holographic generators churned as the battlefield turned to a clearing in a lush jungle, the sound of running water and the cries of birds filling the air. Straw and grass huts appeared, as well as a camp cooking fire, and all over where weapons just waiting for their mistresses to claim them. "Next I activate my Onslaught's effect to summon this: my Amazoness Swordswoman!"

"Ah, the card you drew," Espa stated.

'No, its not,' Mai thought to herself. 'I hid it behind my other cards. You would have seen it though when I drew… if your watcher was on my right.' She dropped her hand as Swordswoman appeared and pointing right and then balled her fist again, shaking it this time; Yuri got the point and began to subtly scan the crowd in front of her and to Mai's left and behind. Out loud she declared, "And because she was summoned with Onslaught she gains 500 attack points, bringing my Amazoness warriors to 2000 and 2200. More than enough to take out your Bounder and half your lifepoints!"

"I'm afraid the fates aren't in your favor today, Mai Valentine!" Espa declared as he flipped up his set trap card. "Reveal Psychic Summons! This card allows me to summon one Jinzo monster from my hand to the field and make it the attack target for this turn!"

"Jinzo," Mai said, worry for the first time since the duel had begun creeping into her voice. She remembered Jinzo well; it was a very rare card, very powerful too. High attack and able to make trap cards utterly useless.

"That's right. But for this turn I won't be summoning the true Jinzo but one of his smaller cousins. I special summon Jinzo-Returner in defense mode."

Mai frowned at that. Jinzo-Returner wasn't that powerful of a monster at all, looking like a runty little cyborg that would be crushed under the boots of its bigger brothers.

"Next I will activate my Psychic Bounder's effect. When you declared an attack you triggered its effect, allowing me to destroy your Paladin and itself, ridding me of one more Amazoness."

Mai however didn't mourn the loss of her Paladin too much. "Ah, but the Amazoness monsters are a tribe… and they never fight alone. Thanks to my Village I am able to summon another of their number to the field directly from my deck, so long as its level is lower than the Amazoness monster you destroyed." On her side of the field a young amazon warrior appeared in defense mode. What she lacked in size she made up for in design, as she had far more bits and pieces to show off her rank than the Swordswoman did. "This is my Amazoness Princess. When she is summoned to the field I am able to add one Amazoness card from my deck to my hand…" she took out her deck and after a moment selected Amazoness Willpower; with no Jinzo out on the field she needed to act quickly to use it, to hopefully get back Paladin and go for the kill. "And now my Swordswoman will attack your Returner! And with my Onslaught on the field it will automatically be banished after this battle! Wild Slash!" The Swordswoman let out a battle cry and rushed forward, slicing into the cyborg and reducing it to shards.

"Hmmm… Amazoness Willpower," Espa said, pressing his hand to temple once more.

'Damn it all,' Mai thought bitterly. 'I got so focused on the duel I forgot he has people spying for him!' She was now very sure that Espa had a headpiece hidden in that hair of his (would explain the horrible cut, that was for sure!) and his watcher was feeding him what cards she was going to play. She'd gotten too focused on trying to treat this just as a normal duel that she forgot that it was anything but. This duel was one that was seeing her take on a fraud and trying to prove just what tricks he was up to. 'And now I just gave him a good chance to make some plays off my cards,' she mentally grumbled.

"That will work rather well for me," Espa Roba said. "I'll start by summoning this: My Jinzo Jector!" The cyborg that appeared looked a lot better than Returner. It was similar robes as Jinzo; the major difference between the two them was the monster Espa had sent out was short and it had long computer cables streaming out its head like dreadlocks. "But he won't be staying for long. I activate both of his effects! First I will tribute him to add one Jinzo card from my deck to my hand."

He carefully went through all his cards and Mai was willing to bet that he was doing that just to stall for time until he got the information from his source that he needed. She chanced a glance at Yuri who shook her head; she hadn't spotted anyone.

'So it's not someone in the crowd… up high then. The roof? Need to figure that out, as then I can begin shifting my body to hide them from them. They won't have time to change positions so if I can figure out how to block off their view they'll be useless and we can see how Espa does dueling without any cheating!'

"Ah, this card is the one that calls to me!" Espa said at last. "And now, because he was tributed, I am able to flip all your spell and trap cards face up and, if there is a trap, summon one Jinzo monster from my hand to the field!"

"Oh no!" Mai gasped. "Any card?"

"Any card. And I choose the one my Jector just found me! Come forth JINZO!"

The monster of myth, whispered of throughout tournaments all throughout the world with the same dread one might speak of a horror monster, appeared on the field in all his terrifying glory. Mai stared at the tall cyborg, with his soft fleshy skull and headgear that robbed from him of any humanity he might have once had. He stared at her field from behind the lenses of his goggles and Mai felt a shiver of fear run down her spine.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Aw man!" Joey exclaimed. "If Rex hits with that attack Yug's out of Battle City!"

"That's right Wheeler!" Rex declared as his Evilswarm Salamandra rushed towards the Pharaoh, its mouth dripping with saliva at the thought of tearing into the unprotected duelist. "I'm about to do with Kaiba and Pegasus couldn't: Defeat Yugi Muto!"

"I notice no one ever includes either of us on that list," Renard pointed out. "We came the closest."

"You would have done it without PaniK slowing you down," Edwin teased.

"Not so fast, Rex!" the Pharaoh declared, throwing out his hand. "For someone who claims to understand the power of the hunt you should know that until your prey is truly down it is unwise to grow lax. Because what looked like an easy morsel can suddenly become the true predator!"

Rex's eyes went wide as he looked at the Pharaoh's side of the field. "Oh no! Your downface card!"

"That's right, Rex! Reveal Magical Inheritance!" The spell card flipped up. "With this card I can automatically add one spell or trap card from my deck to my hand that mentioned the Dark Magician." He took out his deck and selected the card, the Evilswarm monster forced to stand there, frozen mid pounce, as he did so.

"That's it?" Rex complained. "You won't even get a chance to use that card as you won't be having a next turn to play it!"

The Pharaoh smirked, letting out a soft chuckle. "Are you sure?" He turned towards Edwin. "You know Edwin it was you and your deck that inspired this move. Your ability to bring out Endymion through the power of spells was truly ingenious. I hope you don't mind if I borrow from you?"

"Go on Yugi!" Edwin called out. "Let's see what you can do."

"Very well. When a spell card is activated on my side of the field it allows me to summon this: The Magician of Dark Illusion!"

On the field there was a flash of light but, at first, no one could see exactly what had changed. It appeared that the field was still empty, that the Pharaoh had failed to summon anything. However, it was only when everyone looked down that they noticed the shadow on the ground… the one that looked very much like the Dark Magician's. Only this shadow… opened its eyes, revealing glowing pits of blue. Rising suddenly up the shadow took on its full form, becoming a ghostly wraith that looked just like the Dark Magician.

Rex however merely scoffed. "So what? That thing only has 2100 attack points! And my Ultimate Conductor Tyranno is still able to attack all the monsters on your field! I'm gonna wipe it out right now!"

"Are you?" the Pharaoh asked, amused. "Reveal my other facedown: Soul Servant!" The Quickplay flipped up. "With this card I can select one Dark Magician card, be it a supporting monster or a spell/trap card, and place it on top of my deck. But more importantly the power of that spell is drawn to my Magician of Dark Illusion, giving him the strength to resurrect the original Dark Magician from my graveyard. Come forth Dark Magician!"

Joey let out a cheer as the Dark Magician burst back onto the field. "Yeah Yug, that's how ya do it!"

"And when my Dark Magician is summoned the Dark Magic Circle activates-"

"Not if I do this!" Rex said, holding up a card. "By discarding my Black Anklyo I can negate your card's effect for one turn and then draw one card." Rex smirked. "My Ultimate Conductor Tyranno can stay on the field now! You are still done for!"

"Then by all means Rex… attack my Magician of Dark Illusion. He is the weaker of my two monsters, after all."

"Well that is completely subtle," Renard muttered.

The dino duelist considered that for only a few moments before sneering. "Nice try, Yugi! You want me to attack that monster because it has some final effect that will help it defeat my Ultimate Conductor Tyranno! I think its better if I just lay siege to your Dark Magician first! Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, Gigawatt Impact!" The giant dinosaur roared and charged up the orbs on its body, a glow growing in its throat.

"Heh," the Pharaoh said. "It didn't matter which of my monsters you attacked, Rex. You were still going to lose your monster."

"Say what?!" Rex exclaimed. "How can you hope to defeat my Monster?"

"With these!" The Pharaoh declared, holding up two cards. "Every Magician knows that he must pass down his knowledge. And for the Magician of Dark Illusion he has taken on an Apprentice: The Apprentice Illusion Magician! And when another spellcaster, be it her master or one such as the Dark Magician, are threatened, I can send her card from my hand to the graveyard to increase my Magician's attack by 2000 points!"

"2000?!" Rex exclaimed in shock as the ghostly form of the Illusion Apprentice Magician floated down and merged with the Pharaoh's Dark Magician, causing him to throw back his head and cry out as his armor took on a shadowy shimmer. "But that would mean-"

"That your Ultimate Conductor Tyranno is no longer the most powerful card on the field! And its attack has just become a suicide run!"

"No!" Rex exclaimed in horror as his dinosaur's attack was sent right back at it, causing it to shatter. "My dino… you've made him extinct!" (Rex-1900)

Joey leapt into the air, pumping his fist. "Alright Yug! That's the way ta show that Jurassic Jerk!"

Edwin though wasn't as impressed. "It was a good move but he hasn't won yet, Joey."

"Eh, what are ya talkin' about, Ed? Yug just took down Rex's best monster and he has two powerful magicians on the field. What the heck can Rex do ta combat that? Nothin', that's what! That boneheaded bonehead is down and out!"

The Pharaoh frowned that. 'I don't believe Joey is right on this… I think Edwin is seeing things far more clearly.'

'I agree,' Yugi stated. 'I don't like the way Rex is acting. He's not behaving like he just lost the key to his victory. He knows something we don't and I have a bad feeling we aren't going to like it!'

Rex tapped his graveyard. "I don't trust you at the moment to not have a way to protect your Illusion Mage against my Giant Rex, so I'll just remove two monsters from play to increase my Evilswarm Salamandra's attack to 2450, to protect my lifepoints." The wicked dinosaur growled as he collected energy from the fallen. "You're move, Yugi."

"Very well, Rex," the Pharaoh stated, drawing. "I'll replace the two cards I used last turn with two brand new face downs before having my monsters attack! Dark Magician, destroy the Evilswarm Salamandra with Dark Magic Attack! Magician of Dark Illusion, destroy his Beatraptor with Illusion Magic Attack!"

"You know I keep forgetting that raptor was on the field," Edwin said idly as the Pharaoh's monsters blasted the two dinos, now leaving Rex with just his Giant Rex on the field… at least until Beat's effect activated and another of its pack appeared on the field, hissing at the two mages that stood in silence in front of the Pharaoh. (Rex-1850)

"Man, Yug sure did get that one back up and runnin'! I thought he was in trouble against ol' Rexy there."

Edwin though shook his head at Joey's comment. "The duel is far from over Joey and these two are playing a high stakes game."

"What ya talkin' about, Ed? Yug has two powerful magicians on the field and Rex just lost everythin' but his Giant Rex! I mean, yeah, that thing is dangerous but it's Yug! He faced down the Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

"I'm only saying that we shouldn't be quick to dismiss Rex. Remember… of the four of us here Rex has more duels under his belt then all of us combined."

"Thank you for remembering that, Edwin!" Rex called out with a grin. "Ya know, ya might be one of the few people in Battle City with some brains!"

"Might," Edwin said with a smirk of his own.

"HEY!" Joey complained. "Stop pallin' around with him!"

"Why?" Edwin asked. "Rex is rough but he seems like a good guy… just trash talks but so long as after the duel it isn't personal who cares? Have to put on a show for the audience." He then locked eyes with Rex. "So long as he remembers that."

Rex, much to the Pharaoh's surprise, actually looked down at that.

'Maybe Edwin is right,' Yugi thought. 'Sure, Weevil was a jerk and Rex did go after Joey but it's not like Joey didn't go right after him as well. And he hasn't done anything to us that could be seen as bad… heck, Mako threw a harpoon at us! Rex didn't even do that!'

'That is true, Yugi,' the Pharaoh admitted. 'We owe him more respect… both as a person and with his skills as a duelist.' He looked up at Rex drew his card. 'Because I have a feeling Edwin is right and Rex is about to show off his deck's power once again!'

"Alright, let me show ya another effect of my Miscellaneousaurus!" He tapped his graveyard. "During my turn I can remove fallen dinos from my graveyard in order to summon a dinosaur from my deck whose level is the same as the bones I've tossed aside. And by removing 4 dinosaurs I can summon a Souleater Oviraptor to my side of the field!"

Joey let out a groan. "Aw man, not that freaky thing again!"

"I will then activate Souleater's effect, allowing me to add one Dinosaur monsters from my deck to my hand." Rex smirked. "But it won't be staying there for long! Behold my Overtex Qoatlus!" The dinosaur, a twisted looking pterodactyl-like creature, appeared and let out a screech. "By taking 5 removed from play dinosaurs and shuffling them back into my deck I can summon this monster! And with its 2700 attack points it is more than a match for anything you can throw out onto the field!"

"That dinosaur is more powerful than even my Dark Magician!" the Pharaoh said in surprise.

"It is!" Rex confirmed. "And with it on the field it will be easy for me run right through you and win this duel! But first… Giant Rex, attack the Magician of Dark Illusion!"

"Reveal my facedown!" the Pharaoh quickly declared. "Attack Redirection! This card forces your monster to turn its attack onto my Dark Magician, which is more powerful than your Giant Rex meaning it will be destroyed!"

"Not quite!" Rex taunted. "I activate my Overtex's special ability: I can destroy one dinosaur on the field to negate the activation of a Spell or Trap on your side of the field. So my final Beatraptor heads to the graveyard and my Giant Rex continues its rush right at your Magician of Dark Illusion!"

"I hadn't wanted to do this but I have no choice. Activate Negate Attack!" The trap flipped up and the Giant Rex came to a dead stop. "This card stops your monster from attacking and automatically ends the battle phase! Meaning your Overtex won't get a chance to attack my monsters either!"

Joey let out a sigh of relief. "Man, that was WAY too close! Yug almost got completely clobbered!"

"But it's only a stall," Renard stated, rubbing his chin. "This turn… this is going to be the one that decides it. Because if Yugi can't stop Rex right here then the duel is done."

"And Yugi is burning through too many cards," Edwin stated. "He can't keep this up. He has to stop him right now."

The Pharaoh drew his next card. "Rex… this has been a grand duel and I thank you for it. You have shown me just how skilled you truly are. I wonder how things would have gone had you defeated Weevil… I can't help but wonder if Duelist Kingdom wouldn't have been better for it. But this duel is over!" He thrust out his hand "Behold the might of my mages!"

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Edwin whispered in delight.

"I combine the powers of my Dark Magician and my Magician of Dark Illusion!" The two monsters began to glow, the Dark Magician's form transforming into a long pitch black staff while the Illusion Magician became smoky talisman. "I Xyz Summon my Ebon Illusion Magician!"

On the field the two items spun around before being caught by a new dark mage. This one wore altered robes, seek and simpler than the Dark Magician's but no less powerful. His skin was tan and his long blonde hair reached to his feet as he spun his staff and pointed it right at Rex and his monsters.

"So what?" Rex asked. "You traded two monsters to get one that is just as powerful as your Dark Magician! It can run over my Giant Rex, sure, but next turn my Overtex will devour it!"

The Pharaoh smirked. "Haven't you been paying attention, Rex? It isn't the physical might that makes my mages powerful; it's the spells they can cast. And my Ebon Illusion Magician can perform some powerful magic! First, by detaching one of the materials used to summon my Ebon Illusion Magician I can summon one normal type spellcaster from my deck to the field. So, by detaching my Dark Magician and sending him to the graveyard-" The Ebon Illusion Magician shattered his own staff with his bare hands, "-I can summon Trance, the Magic Swordsman!" The blond paladin appeared, swinging his sword a few times before pointing it right at Rex. "But I'm not done yet! I activate the spell card Illusion Swap, which allows me to send one Spellcaster from my field to the Graveyard to special summon the Dark Magician!" The card, showing the Blast Magician turning into the Dark Magician, flashed on the field before Trance morphed into the Dark Magician; the purple robed mage smirked and waged his finger. "And unless you have forgotten… my Dark Magic Circle remains on the field!"

"Oh no!" Rex cried out. "That allows you to banish one of my monsters when your blasted Dark Magician is summoned to the field!"

"And I'll be selecting your Overtex!"

"I counter by sacrificing my Giant Rex to destroy your spell card!" the Overtex fired off a blast of power, shattering the Dark Magic Circle. "It cost me a Dino but it protected me and my lifepoints."

The Pharaoh smiled. "Are you sure? Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"

"What is Yug doin'?!" Joey cried out. "That overgrown plucked chicken is stronger than his Dark Magician! It'll be destroyed."

"No… it won't," Edwin said softly.

The Ebon Illusion Magician held out his hand suddenly, magic swirling around it. "I activate Ebon Illusion Magician's final effect! When a Normal Type Spellcaster attacks I can banish one monster from the side of the field!"

"But… but…" Rex stammered, "the only monster I have is my Overtex!"

"Leaving you wide open for me to attack your lifepoints! Dark Magician… Dark Magic attack!"

Rex could only cry out as his Overtex disappeared and his lifepoints clocked down to zero (Rex-0000)

"YEAH!" Joey cheered, pumping his first in the air. "That's the way, Yug!"

Rex's shoulders slumped in defeat. "And just like that… Battle City is over for me…"

"Don't be an idiot, Rex!" Edwin called out, strolling forward. "This wasn't all or nothing so don't make it that!" He scoffed. "You have two locator cards… Yugi gets one. That's it. You two never said anything about betting more than that."

"Edwin is right," the Pharaoh said in agreement. "I will not demand more than is owed of me."

Rex shut his eyes before nodding. "Yeah… I guess you're right." He deactivated his duel disc and walked over to the Pharaoh, clearly upset but having the decency to shake his foe's hand. He handed over the locator card and his Ultimate Conductor Tyranno. "Still, its gonna be hard to win without that."

Joey scratched his chin. "Well… Yug doesn't have ta keep your rarest card, right?" The others stared at him. "I mean… yeah, ya need ta ante up but that Ultimate Tyranno doesn't really work for any of his decks. He doesn't even have any dinos ta summon it! So… wouldn't it make sense for the two of ya to do another trade? You give Yug a card now that will be better for his deck and ya get back your card?" He noticed everyone looking at him. "What?"

"Just… surprised you came up with that idea, Joey," Edwin stated. "It's very mature."

"Heheh. It was, wasn't it? Ol' mature Joey Wheeler, here ta help!"

"And you lost all credibility," Edwin teased.

Meanwhile Rex had pulled out his deck to let the Pharoah look at it… but it was another card that attracted the Spirit's attention. "That Armageddon Knight you won in your first duel…" he trailed off, deep in thought. 'The Dark Calvary requires a Warrior Type monster and I no longer have Gaia in this deck. And that discard ability would be very powerful for my deck with Eternal Soul…' Out loud he said. "Rex, I will trade your Ultimate Conductor Tyranno for your Armageddon Knight."

Rex instantly leapt at the chance. "That would be perfect! Most of my dinos are Earth Types so I really don't have a use for it!" The two swapped cards and Rex grinned before his smile fell to a more soft one. "Hey Yugi? Ya… ya ain't that bad of a guy, ya know that? I got the sense at first that ya thought ya could rush in and act like you were some big dog… but you're alright. And I guess… have a right ta show off."

"I feel the same about you, Rex. And I hope you duel hard so we can have a rematch in the finals."

"Oh, you better believe it!"

Edwin, for his part, scribbled a number down on a piece of paper. "Rex, you run into trouble give me a call. But otherwise I don't want to see you till the finals because now I need to focus on getting some more locator cards!"

"Me too!" With that Rex parted from them and ran off, Joey shaking his head.

"Amazin'. I used ta think that dino dummy was a creep but now… he don't seem half bad."

"I have a feeling that Battle City is going to teach us all that the people we thought we knew are nothing like we expected." The Pharaoh though pressed his lips together in thought. 'That is one locator card… but while that was a good duel I must remember that there is more at stake in Battle City than a chance to get to the finals. Marik's Rare Hunters are still out there, hunting for me. And the God Cards are also somewhere in the city. This isn't merely a tournament for glory and riches… the very fate of the world might hang in the balance. I must remain vigilant and ready!'

Edwin suddenly paused, his phone buzzing. "Hey Pharaoh!" he called out. "Wanna help me figure out how a cheat is trying to trick Mai?"

The Pharaoh nodded but Joey shook his head. "Sorry guys but I need ta get some more duels in." The two merely nodded and waved goodbye before the Pharaoh and Edwin hurried to find Mai, Renard a few steps behind.

It would only be later that the Pharaoh remembered spotting the harlequin spying at them from a distance.

~MC~MC~MC~

'Jinzo,' she thought to herself. 'There are duelists who have altered their entire decks when rumors spread that someone had him in available to use at a tournament.'

He was the great disruptor. Able to take strategies and utterly shred them. She didn't know of a single other card that could take out an entire avenue of strategy like Jinzo could.

"Thanks to his effect, for those that don't know-" Espa lazily gestured at the crowd, "-all trap cards are negated and can't be activated. Meaning Mai's Willpower and Onslaught are utterly useless." He closed his eyes and chuckled. "Combined with knowing exactly what is in your hand and what you are planning… no one would blame you if you quit now."

Mai though shook her head. "I've only given up a duel one time and that was when I was utterly trapped. And I swore I would never do that again. Considering you haven't even taken one of my lifepoints I don't think you're offering because you can win." Mai narrowed her eyes and smirked. "I think it's because you know you can't win and are hoping that this little show will be enough to allow you to sneak in a victory." She shook her head. "Well I hate to break it to you, Espa, but I'm not going to make it easy on you. I have a date with Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Edwin Chaos… and I plan to beat all three of them! So make your move so I can knock down that tin can!"

Espa seemed startled at that but quickly recovered, his confident smirk returning to his lips. "Very well then. Jinzo, take out her Swordswoman! Psycho Shock!" The Cyborg didn't bother to move, instead merely letting his eyes light up before he fired off a beam of energy, shattering the Swordswoman. "What was that about not touching your lifepoints?"

"That you hadn't done so," Mai said with a bored sigh. "And… you still haven't."

Espa, and the crowd, all gasped as it was ESPA'S lifepoints that ticked down. (Espa-3300)

"Confused?" Mai asked. "My Swordswoman's special effect causes you to take all battle damage I would take from battles involving her." Mai took out her deck. "And my Village's effect ensures that the tribe remains strong, as I now summon my Amazoness Sage in defense mode." The cloaked religious leader of the Amazons appeared, kneeling along with the princess.

"Just stalling in a vain attempt to prevent your end." Espa set a card on the field.

"Easy to say… harder to make happen." Mai drew and smirked. "I activate Amazoness Fighting Spirit! This card powers up any Amazon Monster when they face off against a stronger monster, giving them 1000 more attack points. Meaning that with my village and the Fighting Spirit my Sage is now more than powerful enough to defeat your Jinzo!" Mai moved her Sage to attack mode, debating if she should do the same for her Princess before deciding to keep her in defense; doing so wouldn't win the duel and Espa still had his facedown… "Amazoness Sage, attack Jinzo!"

Espa waited until just before her Sage swung her staff before suddenly calling out with a manic grin, "Cyber Energy Shock!" The spell flipped up and Jinzo began to spark. "With this card I can destroy one card on the field and then negate one card on the field for one turn. So I'll destroy your Onslaught, just in case you manage to figure out a way to get it working again, in order to negate your Fighting Spirit, meaning your monster's attack drops down FAR below my Jinzo!"

Jinzo caught the staff with his hand, tilting his head before shattering it and then firing a blast of energy right at Sage, destroying her. (Mai-2500)

'That was foolish,' Mai thought to herself. 'He could have just flat out destroyed my Fighting Spirit to negate by Village' She summoned another Paladin from her deck, Espa's lips pressing together. 'He's good… but he's making mistakes.' She smirked to herself, keeping her cards tight and together. 'He's used to using his psychic scheme to win duels, throwing off his opponents. But since I'm not letting him see my cards and he can't get the effects he's lost his advantage and he's failing.' She watched as Espa drew his next card. 'During his own turns he's able to focus but during mine that's when he's getting sloppy. I just need to keep holding on and then overwhelm him.'

"I predict that this… will be your final turn," Espa stated. "I have seen your deck and know you will have nothing that can defeat me once I am done. You will surrender and you will be finished. I start by summoning Jinzo #7!" A small, more basic version of Jinzo, one clearly designed before the original true Jinzo, appeared. "And then I send my Jinzo to the graveyard-" the crowd gasped at that, "-to summon from my hand his upgraded form: Jinzo-Lord!"

Everything about Jinzo-Lord was an improvement. He stood nearly twice as tall as the original Jinzo. His outfit was far more regal looking with belts that twitched and twisted around him. His mask now had a third lens for a third eye. And the power that radiated off of him… the only thing that made Mai feel a touch better was that his attack had only risen by 200 points.

"Now then, my Jinzo #7 can attack you directly!" Mai shielded herself as the little cyborg easily leapt over her monsters, lashing out with his hands and nearly knocking her down. "And my Jinzo-Lord will now destroy your Paladin!" The Lord simply nodded and Paladin rose in the air, crying out before the psychic powers of the cyborg shattered her. "And finally I activate my Lord's special effect, which allows me to destroy any trap cards you do have on the field and do 300 points of damage to you!" Her stalled out Willpower shattered and Mai hissed in pain as her lifepoints dropped. "As I said… you are finished." (Mai-1700)

'Not quite,' Mai thought to herself. Out loud she said, "I know you're a cheat, Espa Roba. You have someone watching me, feeding you info about my cards. But!" She smirked. "I don't care."

"You… I…I am no cheat!"

"Keep telling yourself that, you might convince yourself at least. What matters is that I am going to defeat you right here, right now!" She took out her deck. "First, because you destroyed my Paladin, I can summon my Amazoness Tiger to the field!" The scarred pet of the Amazones appeared, growling even as it moved to stand with her Princess. "And for every Amazoness monster on the field my Tiger's attack increases. And my village will increase her even more. And…" she smiled, "I'm not done."

"Not done?" Espa said, now growing worried.

"You made a lot of mistakes in this duel. Tried to throw me off with your tricks but when I saw right through them your failures came back to haunt you. And now I am going to make you pay for that! I first activate The Warrior Returning Alive to return my Amazoness Swordswoman to my hand, then instantly summon her to the field!" The blade master appear, swinging her weapon as Mai shifted her Princess to attack mode. "See, you only negated my Fighting Spirit Spell Card for a single turn… not permentnatly."

"No… no it must have-"

"Maybe if you had actually focused on the duel instead of whoever keeps feeding you information on my hand you'd have realized your mistake! But you didn't and now my Amazons will destroy you and your cyborgs! Princess, destroy Jinzo #7!"

"Wait!" Espa cried out even as the Princess shattered his monster. (Espa-2400)

"Tiger, destroy his Jinzo-Lord!" Even with Jinzo's high attack the Fighting Spirit, the Tiger's effect, and the Village powered it up so it could easily roll over the Lord for another 900 points of damage (Espa-1500)

"And finally-"

Espa quickly slammed his hand on his deck.

Mai frowned, shaking her head as she walked forward, the holograms flickering and turning off as she recalled her projectors. "You forfeited."

"You… you tricked-"

"No," Mai said sternly. "That was you. You tried to trick me. You failed." And with that she grabbed the Jinzo from the top of Espa's graveyard and pocketed it before pulling Espa's locator card from his pocket. "Take it from me… get better. Stop relying on tricks. Duel with strength. Duel with passion. Duel with your all. Be better… or keep being garbage."

"You… you'll pay for this!" Espa cried out but Mai merely continued to walk away.

"Think he'll learn?" Yuri asked, joining her.

"I hope so," Mai admitted. "But sometimes it takes a great fall before people can pull themselves up." She didn't spare a glance back at Espa, focusing on what would come next. "You see Edwin?"

"No… I texted him…" Yuri frowned and pulled out her phone, speed dialing Edwin…

…and getting a Out of Service Warning Tone.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Greetings, good sirs."

The Pharaoh came to a quick stop, sensing that Edwin and Renard were skidding to a halt just behind him; they'd told The Pharaoh to go first as if they were the ones leading the way the two tall (okay, giants compared to Yugi) duelists would have left him in the dust by accident. They'd been hurrying to go find Mai and help her with her duel, as apparently there was a duelist who was pretending to be psychic, able to read what cards someone drew. The Pharaoh had known at once that this wasn't like Pegasus so that meant the person had to be a cheat and he wanted to help Mai figure out how they were pulling off the trick.

Except they'd been stopped by a tall lean figure dressed in a red and black harlequin outfit, a comedy mask hiding their features.

"Hello Yugi," the harlequin said, doing a little dance before bowing. "And Edwin. Greetings. We've been looking for you."

"…well Pharaoh you killed the first clown we dealt with so I'll deal with this one," Edwin said, cracking his neck before rolling his shoulders.

"We don't know what this clown wants, Edwin," the Pharaoh warned him.

"It's a clown. Isn't that enough of a good reason for it to die?"

"No."

Renard rubbed his chin. "I do not know… I find myself agreeing with Edwin."

"I only wish Lou Pickles were here," Edwin muttered. The Pharaoh shot him a confused look and the older duelist shrugged. "I'm writing a Rugrats fanfic in my spare time and I made Lou Pickles a monster hunter in it."

"It's actually really good," Renard stated. "I'm his beta."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "Is this truly the time for jokes?"

"We're dealing with a god damn clown. It's either time for jokes or baby murder and I don't do the latter." Edwin turned and glowered at the harlequin. "Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. It is who you are that matters. You… and who seeks you."

Renard frowned. "I dislike riddles."

"And vague comments," Edwin stated.

"I agree," the Pharaoh said, taking a step forward. "We aren't interested in your games. So either tell us what you want or we'll be on our way."

The clown wagged his finger at that. "Naughty naughty… to everything there is a season. A time to rise, a time to fall-" He giggled, "-a time to learn some important truths. Perhaps concerning my master… Marik?"

"A Rare Hunter then," the Pharaoh said sternly.

"Merely a messenger, I assure you. If you will simply take 53 steps that way you will receive the answers you desire." And with that the clown did a flip and disappeared into the bushes of the forest.

Edwin's brow furrowed as he turned and looked at the circus tent that had been set up in the empty lot to their right. "So we all agree this is a trap, right?"

"Very much so," the Pharaoh said. "But one I feel we need to spring." He paused, a smile sliding across his features. "And besides… nothing says we can't turn the trap on them."

"Fair enough," Edwin stated. "Lead on."

The Pharaoh nodded and the three men walked towards the tent, pausing only a moment as they stopped at a ticket booth… with the harlequin from earlier standing, now wearing a tragedy mask. "Tickets for the magic show…" the clown said only to turn towards Renard. "I'm afraid we are full."

"Then kick someone out," Renard said firmly. "I go with them."

"I'm afraid it is a limited showing," the clown taunted… only for Renard to grab him, rip him out of the booth and toss him to the ground. The clown tried to stand only for Renard to press his foot on the small of his back.

"An open seat just became available," the former Eliminator said before he knelt down and bashed the clown's head into the dirt, Edwin smirking at his bodyguard's actions. "Let's go."

The Pharaoh looked around the big top. It looked just like a standard circus. Sounded like one too, with the murmur of the crowd, the trumpet of elephants, and the carnival music filling the air. But it was dark an empty, as if they had stumbled upon the Three Rings of the Damned rather than for the living. At the center of the tent was a large ring with arrows pointing at it and as the three approached spot lights shone down on them and the ghostly crowd applauded.

"Come play with us Pharaoh," Edwin muttered, "forever… and ever… and ever…"

"The Shining doesn't have clowns in it," Renard pointed out.

"I've never seen it. Just pop culture osmosis." The three of them stepped into the middle ring… and it began to descend. "Oh, this can't be good," Edwin muttered as the ceiling above them closed, leaving them in darkness. The slow moving elevator continued down while Renard and Edwin pulled out their phones and turned on the flashlight apps. "Steel. Must have built the circus tent around it."

"I'm getting no reception," Renard said.

"Duel disc?" Edwin asked.

Renard frowned as he checked his. "Offline."

'I don't like this,' Yugi said. 'Whoever is doing this wants us to have no connection to the outside world.'

'Yes but they will have to at some point,' the Pharaoh pointed out. 'Marik desires the Millennium Puzzle and as Edwin pointed out he can't actually claim it without winning it from us in a duel. That means that Marik can't hope to merely trap us.' He frowned. 'Still, he has gone for a far more elaborate trap that I would have expected-'

Suddenly the elevator stopped and several screens turned on around flicked on, piecing the darkness. There was static and then a robotic female voice stated, "Hacking into Battle City database." The screens flashed and Edwin and Yugi's faces appeared on the screen. "Duelist Profile for Edwin Chaos. The Guardian Devil. Dueling Level-5 stars. Rarest Card: Endymion The Mighty Master of Magic."

The words LIAR flared on the screen.

"Duelist Profile for Yugi Muto. The King of Games. Dueling Level-5 Stars. Rarest Card: The Dark Magician."

The dark magician suddenly transformed, his skin becoming bronze, his hair white, his armor dark red. Suddenly the screens filled with flames and a hologram of the Red Dark Magician appeared, towering over the three of them.

"Heheh," it said in a distorted voice. "I've been waiting for you both. You, Yugi Muto, aren't worthy to have me in your deck so prepare to lose me forever!" The Pharaoh grit his teeth at that. "And you, Edwin Chaos, are a fraud and will pay for attempting to claim to be the master of magic!"

"Bring it on," Edwin said, eyes going black and gold.

"Enough of these tricks," The Pharaoh said, shutting his eyes and smirking. "Reveal yourself and let us get to the matter at hand."

"Gladly," a voice called out…

…a female voice.

"Well," Edwin said as a woman wearing a long red dress and a black half mask that twisted around her eyes and ran down her left cheek. It matched the black and red feathered headdress that adorned her head that added another 6 inches to her height. In her hand she held the Red Dark Magician and a duel disc was strapped to her wrist as she cackled at the three of them. "I didn't see that one coming."

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